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.
An inconspicuous doorway off Valencia Street leads to a treasure trove of zines and 10,000-plus hours of sound and video recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, all charting the progressive history of the Bay and its effect on global radical movements.
PostedByPeter Jamison
on Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 7:38 PM
Yes, San Francisco's politics suffers from bouts of dysfunction. But let's face it: The exploits of the boys and girls at City Hall can't hold a candle to the high drama on display in MTV's new blockbuster reality series, Jersey Shore. The show features an eight-count of self-styled "guidos" and "guidettes" packed into a beach house on America's most classless stretch of shoreline, working in a T-shirt store by day and drinking and screwing by night.
Meet 'The Ashley Simpson of Cape May' and 'Sookie'
You gotta wonder: What would happen if we shoved the highest circle of San Francisco's elected officials into such circumstances? Would Gavin Newsom put a beat-down on David Chiu for stealing his hair gel? Would Chris Daly shave off John Avalos' goatee while he was passed out after a long night of Kamikaze shots? Who would be the first to hook up?
We don't have answers to these questions, but we do have a slate of monikers for our politicians-cum-guidos, courtesy of the Jersey Shore Nickname Generator. As fans of the show know, every character has his or her own handle. There's Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino -- thus named because his abs are so toned as to present a situation -- and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, who is often erroneously called "Snickers" by her housemates. We decided to plug in the names of our local pols to see what this lovable cast of characters would be calling themselves on the Jersey Shore. Here you go.
PostedByLauren Smiley
on Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 5:30 PM
This has never happened to us before...
So the statistics released by Muni today seem to indicate that -- contrary to what the news may lead you to believe -- your probability of being mangled on (or by) Muni are decreasing. Muni vehicles got in (just?) 5.46 collisions per 100,000 miles traveled in 2009, the lowest tally in five years. Likewise, (only?) 125 collisions resulted in injuries in 2009, down from 174 in 2008.
So that means fewer people are being hurt, right? Well, hold the train, we can't be quite sure. Accidents like the massive West Portal crash last July that injured nearly 50 people count as only one collision. Muni spokesman Judson True promised to get us stats on actual injuries on Wednesday.
"Certainly high profile collisions like that have a big impact on public perception and they're deeply regrettable," said True. "The trends are positive. We've made some improvements but we have to be vigilant to maintain that trend."
Eggers recently spent several months producing the much larger than a breadbox, newspaper-like gargantuan called San Francisco Panorama, and ever since has been a go-to guy for comments about what's worth saving about newsprint periodicals.
But, as with other interviews conducted during the past decade, he seems to have whitewashed his own newspapering past.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Literacy problems here...
It's hard to read the writing on the wall when you can't read. And, according to a recent national poll, it's getting harder and harder to find a worthwhile, writing-splattered wall to enjoy here in San Francisco.
Central Connecticut State University's yearly "America's Most Literate Cities" rankings are out -- it appears ranking burgs' literacy is CCSU's gig in the same way Texas A&M is driven to engineer gargantuan bonfires -- and San Francisco dropped from fifth to 12th between 2008 and 2009. (Incidentally, Seattle won, as it always does. You can see the Top-10 here).
Now, that's not to say large amounts of San Franciscans have suddenly forgotten how to read or a large convoy of illiterates have landed here. What the CCSU poll contends, rather, is that the trappings of a "literate city" that folks who enjoy, like, literacy and stuff, have withered away here in the past year.
PostedByPeter Jamison
on Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Uttered in any location with a view of San Francisco Bay, the name of John Yoo tends to reduce people to convulsive hand-wringing. Yoo, a professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, has been a frequent target of liberal protesters and activists -- many of them students -- because of his association with the Bush administration's controversial interrogation policies. As a Justice Department lawyer, Yoo authored an infamous set of "torture memos" justifying the harsh treatment of suspected terrorists.
But also sorta cute?
Yoo, apparently shilling for his new book, Crisis and Command, consented to an interview with veteran New York Times Magazine Q&A writer Deborah Solomon. While nothing explosive comes to light in this breezy transcribed chat with the alleged torturer's apprentice, the piece is an interesting source document for those interested in the side of Yoo's personality that escapes protesters' attention -- the professor's famous erudition and charm.
In fact, one could make the case that Solomon lets her subject dial up the affability a tad high for the interests of a serious reading public, comparing him in a question to former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and cracking jokes about his psychiatrist parents. "She was much closer to the president than I ever was," Yoo quips in response to the Lewinsky prod.
In the beginning, God inspired Man to create Walkman cozies. And it was good. Next came iPod cozies, Blackberry cozies, and iPhone cozies -- which was progress, we think.
So naturally, we have.... Yep. Cozies. We spotted this one -- an elaborately knit number complete with different styles of knit flowers, yarn from multiple skeins, and an overall exquisite sense of style, in front of Haight Ashbury Music Center.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 7:59 AM
Ah, Academy of Art. This will go as planned.
As we've noted in this space before, real legal and political hearings don't often feature the Perry Mason specialty of the guilty party loudly and unambiguously admitting wrongdoing on the stand. And yet everything about the Academy of Art University seems to be surreal -- so why shouldn't it merrily violate this norm?
Last month, the Academy's planning director candidly admitted to the city's Planning Commission that, yes, the school occupied and began using a SoMa building for university purposes without attempting to obtain any of the necessary permits or undertaking any of the necessary legal steps -- even though the school knew damn well this was against the law.
On Thursday the Planning Commission will huddle in a closed-session meeting with members of the City Attorney's office and could potentially decide to sue the for-profit university. It's a move the Academy's many critics hope the city will make -- and wonder what the hell took so long.
The San Francisco Medical Examiner's office moments ago told SF Weekly that identifying the city's first homicide victim of the year isn't a matter of simply notifying the unfortunate man's next-of-kin before informing the press. It's actually a matter of figuring out who, exactly, the deceased is.
As of now, the man police found Sunday morning lying on the pavement in the 500 block of Naples with a gunshot wound to his chest is "John Doe No. 1."
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.'"
