When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
What with the prevalence of intensely earnest types, it's not always easy to merge social -ustice activism with a brilliant sense of humor, but Marga Gomez does just that.
If finding your way to the War Memorial Opera House for a performance of Carmen or The Magic Flute isn't in the cards, SF Opera Lab is here to bring the experience to you.
"How long a commitment have you given the city?" we queried.
"This is a great
city and I've been made to feel very welcome," he replied.
Well, okay then.
That question looms a bit larger now with the news that William Bratton, the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, has announced his mid-term resignation. Gascon spent the bulk of his career with the LAPD, applied for the top job eventually awarded to former NYPD chief Bratton, and then served as one of Bratton's right-hand men until taking over the Mesa, Ariz. police department in 2006. Among city employees, police brass, and others we've talked to since Gascon's hiring, more than a few have bandied about the notion that San Francisco's chief hopes to one day lead his old outfit, the LAPD. Yes, we've heard the words "stepping stone" employed. Is this so? We phoned Gascon to ask the question of the chief himself.
PostedByAnna McCarthy
on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Office Depot's lawyer says 'Not so fast...'
Yesterday, SF Weeklyreported that Fremont resident and former Office Depot employee, Earl Ante, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco that alleges his supervisor at the Depot directed him to alter data in order to cover overcharges to the City of Berkeley. The Depot ended up paying the city $289,000 as reimbursement in April when an audit revealed that the city had been charged more than what was agreed upon in its contract. San Francisco's purchasing department is currently auditing its own contracts with the company as a result of this and other investigations.
Court docs reveal that Ante, who worked as a salesman for Office Depot for nine years until he was fired in Nov. 2008, helped handle the Berkeley account for the company. Ante claims that his manager instructed him to alter any data on his company computer pertaining to the account when he learned that Berkeley would be conducting an audit. The lawsuit then alleges that Ante refused to follow this instruction and was fired as a result.
But Office Depot's representative, Jason Shockley, e-mailed SF Weekly to claim that these allegations are bogus -- and that if anyone is to blame for the overcharges, it's Ante himself.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 8:30 AM
Joe Eskenazi
Insert your own 'show them the door' joke here
If there's anything that makes neighborhood residents feel secure in their own domiciles, it's the sight of a door someone has evidently kicked clean through propped up against a tree for all the world to see.
The innards of this mortally wounded portal appear to be made of cardboard. Now there's a deterrent for any would-be intruder. And is that the exact model of door we have on our apartment? You bet it is!
Longtime city residents will not be surprised to discover that, upon not-so-much closer inspection, the discarded door reeked of urine.
Well, there's a crude yet novel interpretation of the phrase "get the door."
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 7:30 AM
Our loyal readers, as well as those with a disproportionate interest in malodorous local flora, remember a series of articles we wrote in early July about San Francisco State's shrinking violet of a corpse flower. After holding out for days past experts' repeated predictions of its imminent stinky bloom -- an event that only occurs once in a decade, if then -- the otherworldly looking plant noxiously opened over the July 4 weekend.
We were there with our camera to document the event. At the time, we noticed a camera (better than ours) mounted directly above the corpse flower and snapping automatically every seven minutes. We finally stumbled across the resultant stop-motion video -- and, like most stop-motion videos, it was a thrill. But it caught more than just a stinky plant. It caught ... some hippies!
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 6:30 AM
Valid ETC?
Whatever praises San Francisco drivers can sing of FasTrak, it also warrants mentioning that the bane of toll collectors everywhere also has something of a Godfather offer up its sleeve to coerce folks into signing up for the service.
I found this out myself. When your humble narrator loaned out his car, the otherwise flawless borrower managed to drive up to the Bay Bridge tollbooth with no cash whatsoever. But that's Okay -- if you agree to buy a FasTrak unit, the ticket fine is waived. And if you don't buy the unit -- you pay the penalty. That was an easy decision.
Fellow members of the FasTrak legion will nod at the familiar message that goes along with the accepting beep of using the device: "Valid ETC." Like all of you, I read that as "Valid et cetera" and wondered what, in addition to the fact they'd agreed to take my money, they wanted to tell me but didn't for the sake of brevity. So I called FasTrak and asked. And the answer wasn't exactly what I thought it would be.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 5:30 AM
I say high, you say low. You say why, and I say I don't know. Oh, no -- you say 'pedestrian sting' and I say 'Operation Safe Crossing.'
In what appears to be an adoption of less menacing nomenclature, the San Francisco Police Department has ceased undertaking "pedestrian stings." Instead, the cops have started holding the occasional "'Operation Safe Crossing' operation." (The repetition is the SFPD's, not ours).
Whether it's a "Pedestrian Sting" sting or "Operation Safe Crossing" operation, the drill is the same. A police officer in plain clothes wanders into an intersection. Drivers failing to obey the law and yield are flagged down by officers in uniform and cited. We've written about a few of these operations this year; invariably a number of drivers don't have licenses or registrations or are drunk and have their cars towed away.
In any event, we suggest you drive like an automotive saint at all times. But especially at these times and places on Thursday:
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
