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 a roomful of grimly unsmiling, gun-toting, uniformed police officers say they want everyone to "have fun," it goes without saying a definition of what is "fun" is forthcoming.
Or, perhaps more accurately, here's what the San Francisco Police Department this morning announced to the gathered media is not fun:
Drunkenness in public;
Open containers;
Bars or other establishments selling to minors or drunks;
Driving drunk;
Firing your gun in the air like you just don't care.
Regarding this last transgression, the police provided no fewer than seven written reasons why it's a poor idea to discharge a firearm skyward as a means of expressing celebratory urges.
Included was the fact that "a bullet fired in the air can climb up to two miles. When it falls back to earth, it can reach a speed of 300 to 700 feet per second." Cool! Or, rather, not cool. In any event, firing guns in the air is discouraged -- and anyone who needs seven rationales why to not do so, including scientific evidence, is probably not much of a reader.
Police Chief George Gascon, the master of ceremonies for this morning's press conference, promised a "significant number of police officers in uniform" during New Year's Eve. Expect thick concentrations of cops in "venues commonly used for celebrations" -- that'd be the Embarcadero, the Broadway corridor, Union Square, and all the familiar places. And expect the cops to get there early.
"We want to start earlier before people have had much to drink so they can see the higher deployment," explained Gascon. He anticipated at least 250,000 people to gather at the Embarcadero to watch the only legal fireworks show in town and more than half a million people to hit the streets citywide.
Police will also be undertaking "aggressive code enforcement of liquor establishments" targeting the selling of booze to sloshed or young customers.
Would-be drunk drivers should know that BART will be running until 4 a.m. and Muni's Owl service will be running every 15 minutes instead of every 30. And while BART won't be free, Muni and Caltrain will be. By the way, yes, the 31st is indeed the last Friday of the month -- meaning it'll be Critical Mass on top of every other traffic conundrum facing the city.
Gascon claims he has worked around overtime reductions equivalent to 150 fulltime officers by shunting more police to later hours for the holiday and pushing administrative workers outside.
And, once again, he urges everyone to come to San Francisco and "have fun. "
Bio:
Joe Eskenazi was born in San Francisco, raised in the Bay Area, and attended U.C. Berkeley. He never left.
"Your humble narrator" was a staff writer and columnist for SF Weekly from 2007 to 2015.
He resides in the Excelsior with his wife, 4.3 miles from his birthplace and 5,474 from hers.
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.'"
