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.
This avant-garde band, founded in Louisiana but bred in San Francisco thanks to a van that broke down in the Bay Area in 1966, has been infamously anonymous for at least four decades.
PostedByMatt Smith
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 6:14 PM
After the BP oil spill devastated the Gulf of Mexico, you would expect that a prominent oil company like Chevron would want consumers to trust its ability to prevent such blowouts.
Yet the San Ramon oil company, is suing Scribd, a San Francisco document-sharing service, to try and obtain the name of a leak who uploaded to the Internet Chevron's secret guide on how to prevent oil blowouts.
Following the BP blowout last year, U.S. officials put a halt to drilling there, saying that oil companies haven't proven that they can adequately deal with future accidents.
White House officials told the Chronicle today that the president's trip is to focus on "plans to strengthen our economy and win the future.''
And of course, he is coming here to shake the money tree.
"Why did Willie Sutton rob banks?" Bill Whalen, research fellow with the Hoover Institution, asks rhetorically. "As he famously said, because that's where the money is."
PostedByErin Sherbert
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 3:28 PM
JFK U. gave her a bad review ... of her burlesque performances
At Hubba Hubba Revue, Sheila Addison always went by her stage name -- professor shimmy -- to keep her burlesque-performing life separate from her day job as a college professor.
Now, if you Google Sheila M. Addison, the top hits aren't about her credentials as a college professor or a respected family counselor. Rather, the most popular result is a story that's become much more intriguing than any sexy, irreverent onstage act she might have done.
Last week, SF Weekly reported Addison's unusual predicament; she filed a lawsuit against her former employer John F. Kennedy University for firing her after Addison's creative hobby as a burlesque performer was discovered.
In a letter sent to Addison on June 21, 2010, the university made their position very clear: Addison was being terminated for participating in bawdy burlesque performances at the Hubba Hubba Revue in San Francisco.
"This conduct is in violation of your contract, which states that the core faculty member shall not engage in acts ... that would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt, or ridicule on the university," according to the termination letter.
PostedByLauren Smiley
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 2:14 PM
Welcome to San Francisco, gentlemen
Three alleged white supremacists appeared in a San Francisco courtroom this morning to answer to charges of attacking two Mexican nationals -- kicking one unconscious while yelling: "white power."
The accused attackers in this Tenderloin hate crime case -- including Robert Allen, 38, Anthony Weston, 32, and Justin Meskan, 29 -- plead not guilty to charges of assault and battery, with hate crime enhancements. They weren't literally "Skin Heads," as the Mexican consulate claimed in its press release -- they all had hair. One had quite a lot of it. Two had goatees.
Afterward, reporters gathered at a press conference this morning, where District Attorney George Gascón alleged that the three men were part of a larger white supremacist group that had approached one of the Mexican men standing outside a Tenderloin bar.
They pushed him to the ground and kicked him until he was unconscious, Gascón said.
But all those calories apparently caught up with the Giants pitcher. Needless to say, Tiny Tim isn't so tiny anymore. Lincecum is now admitting that his love for fast food contributed to his 40-pound weight gain over the last year. He was his heaviest in October, when the 5-foot-11 player weighed a whopping 196 pounds.
"I wore a lot of sweats that month," Lincecum told USA Today.
PostedByPeter Jamison
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 1:42 PM
Old-school decontamination
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is monitoring radiation levels on airplanes, cargo, and passengers on flights inbound to West Coast cities from Japan, federal officials said today.
In a statement, Customs and Border Protection said officials were seeking to "evaluate the potential risks posed by radiation contamination on inbound travelers and cargo," although harmful radiation levels had not yet been detected on incoming aircraft.
Edward Low, a spokesperson for the agency, would not comment in detail on the measures being taken to detect radiation, and would not say whether passengers are being checked at San Francisco International Airport.
PostedByErin Sherbert
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 10:14 AM
Does this count as double-parking?
One man's parking ticket quickly turned into jail time after he lost his composure and stabbed a Department of Parking and Traffic vehicle after getting cited for illegally parking.
Police were responding to reports of the vandalism on the 4600 block of Mission Street earlier this week when they saw a man in his car, double-parked. The officers asked the guy to move, but he decided he was above the law and ignored them.
The cops went back to deal with the unruly driver, but as they made their way to his car, the man quickly pulled into an open parking space.
He was now legally parked. But they decided to talk to him anyway.
PostedByMatt Smith
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Drivers aren't going to like hearing this: Merchants on Haight and Clement streets are taking away desired parking spaces to make room for more bikes.
As part of a city "bike corral" program, the neighborhood merchants turned three parking slots into 30 on-street bike spaces. The SFMTA has already installed corrals, which consist of six bike racks stationed in front of Rocky Ricardo's Records in the Lower Haight. They have also been placed in front of Braindrops Boutique in the Upper Haight, and in front of Green Apple Books in the Richmond, Streetsblog reports.
Under the city's bike corral program, locals can request on-street racks in spots where bikes might otherwise block the sidewalk.
PostedByLauren Smiley
on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 7:24 AM
Last November, three white males attacked two Mexicans in the Tenderloin neighborhood. Those men are now facing felony assault and hate crime charges -- a relatively unreported case that District Attorney George Gascón will detail today.
If there is a silver lining to this alleged hate crime, it's that the Mexican victims now have a possible path to become legal residents.
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.'"
