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.
When day drinkers just could not stop pissing along the train tracks at Dolores Park, where every weekend tons of revelers gather to partake in booze and other inebriants, the city came up with a great idea to make public urination acceptable: install an outdoor urinal.
Making the less-traditional transition from brick-and-mortar to mobile pop-up, A16 is finally offering its hearty Monday meatballs and signature wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas without the inconvenience of needing to book a table.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 2:24 PM
Rep. Jackie Speier, seen here with Stephen Colbert, will continue her ride in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Jackie Speier's newly minted spokesman Nathan Ballard just informed the world that his boss will not be leaving Congress to run for state Attorney General.
Congressional seats rarely open -- especially in the Bay Area -- and had the San Francisco and Peninsula Congresswoman vacated her seat it would have sparked a feeding frenzy of political upward mobility. Here's what's not going to happen now: State Sen. Leland Yee won't be attempting to snare a Congressional seat; Assemblywoman Fiona Ma won't be attempting to grab Yee's senate seat; Supervisor Sean Elsbernd won't be gunning for Ma's Assembly seat; and Mayor Gavin Newsom won't be appointing anyone to Elsbernd's seat.
Speier's staying put also must be a welcome development for candidates who are already vying for the AG spot currently held by all-but-certain gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown: Kamala Harris, Alberto Torrico, Rocky Delgadillo, and others.
So, if you donated money to Newsom, you didn't get much return on your investment. Certainly someone was making money, though -- the pollsters, consultants, pizza chefs, and hotel-keepers of the realm came off quite well thanks to Newsom's largess.
One of the Leno headlines I remember from the deep past when Leno had dark hair, one (giant) chin, and a modicum of respect from the general public regarded "All-Wood Suits" being sold at a local store. Well, it's easy to see how someone could make such a mistake -- but it doesn't reduce the ridiculousness of conjuring up mental imagery of wood suits.
And then, decades later, I saw this wood suit right here in San Francisco.
Yet this is not a trend story. A cavalcade of San Franciscans with a fondness for dirty, disheveled, hobbling, malodorous, destructive, swarming street pigeons will soon be gathering -- and celebrating their common obsession with food. Will pigeon be on the menu as well as the mind? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, don't tell Mike Tyson.
As bemused visitors of BART's event-finder "My BART" Web site may have noticed long ago, the food-centric Mission community art space 18 Reasons is hosting a "Year of the Urban Street Pigeon" pot-luck and festival from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday. While the in-house text advertising the event mentions Muni-flattened birds and a "street food" feast in the same sentence, rest easy: No one will be scraping dinner off 18th and Guerrero. That's not what's meant by "street food," apparently.
PostedByJoe Eskenazi
on Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 6:30 AM
Joe Eskenazi
Amazing scenes were witnessed today...
City workers slowly ambling across Haight and Steiner undertook a job certainly none of them ever considered they'd be doing when they were children. The men were blasting the crosswalks off the street with fire.
As the workers explained, the temporary crosswalks placed on the streets by paving contractors are simple aluminum tape. And the only way to get it off before replacing it with thermoplastic tape -- your standard crosswalks -- is to roast it off with a propane burner.
This the workmen did, with one wheeling the burner along and another peeling the aluminum tape off the street. Every so often, the aluminum tape would burst into flames, and the workmen would hurriedly stamp it out.
Drivers motoring past ogled at the counter-intuitive sight of the crosswalks catching fire. And your humble narrator learned yet another thing you can do when properly motivated and in possession of a massive propane flame-thrower.
In any event, the facts: During his State of the City speech, Newsom touted three pro-business tax breaks that would, surely, bring jobs flowing into this city. Avalos, the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, was unimpressed. He wanted to see some paperwork demonstrating that the mayor's plans weren't costly boondoggles before he scheduled a committee hearing. Well, the mayor's folks said, that's the kind of info that would come out in a hearing.
So, how do you get the paperwork? Have a hearing. How do you get a hearing date? Show some paperwork. Cue Joseph Heller.
Now, however, Avalos tells SF Weekly that he thinks this matter is nearly resolved. The supes' Office of Economic Analysis has completed a draft copy of a report on the mayor's proposals. At this point, Avalos may be ready to schedule a hearing regarding the mayor's tax breaks for his Feb. 10 Budget Committee meeting.
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.'"
