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.
PostedByBob Calhoun
on Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 11:54 AM
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Kate Haskell/Flickr
The San Francisco Bay Area must hold a special place in the heart of confessed philanderer and Quaalude connoisseur Bill Cosby. After all, one of the most famous stand-up routines from his 1960's heyday is “Driving in San Francisco.”
“They built a street up there called Lombard Street that goes straight down,” Cosby observes on his hit record The Best of Bill Cosby (1969). “And they’re not satisfied with you killing yourself that way, so they put grooves and curves and everything, and they put flowers there where they have buried the people they have killed.”
The live audience laughs, and I used to laugh, too, before a staggering number of rape accusations now force me to separate the sweater-clad de Sade from his punchlines.
Cosby recorded his 1972 live record Inside the Mind of Bill Cosby (Ack!) at the Circle Star Theatre in San Carlos, a funky old concert hall where the stage rotated to give everyone in the room the same view of the performance in 10 minute intervals.
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Courtesy of Circle Star Theatre Facebook
Circle Star Theatre, San Carlos
Around the time Cosby recorded routines called “Bill’s Marriage” and the unfortunately named “Froofie the Dog,” Bay Area waitress Donna Motsinger got in a limo with Cosby to see him perform at the Circle Star. During the drive, Cosby gave her a drink.
"I didn't feel right. I felt bad,” Motsinger told KGO in November 2014.
“Next thing I know, I wake up in the limo with his hands on me,” she recalled. “I wake up in my own bed the next morning, all my clothes off, except for my underwear, and I know I have been sexually assaulted.”
Motsinger was one of 12 women willing to testify in the 2005 lawsuit that Cosby settled out of court without admitting guilt. Excerpts from Cosby’s deposition in this case where he admits to procuring Quaaludes to help him have sex with women were published by The New York Times on July 18.
The Circle Star Theatre closed in 1993 and met the wrecking ball in 1997. Two glass-fronted office buildings housing Sprint and SoftBank are in its place now as you cruise down 101. Its oversized digital marquee is the only thing that remains of the building, except now it serves as a billboard for Ant-Man and something called the “Rolex Reunion” instead of announcing future concerts by Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
And now, I can’t help but wonder how many other women were drugged by the Cos on the way to the Circle Star, or the Paramount in Oakland, or Harvey’s in Tahoe, where he always seemed to be performing if my memory of the back page of the Chronicle’s pink section is at all accurate.
Cosby even filmed his now deep-sixed Netflix special at the San Francisco Jazz Center on July 12, 2014, his 77th birthday. Cosby chose the venue to honor Enrico Banducci, founder of the hungry i, the North Beach nightspot that launched Cosby’s standup career (and his later reign of terror).
“I had a fun time in North Beach,” Cosby says in a statement on his website.
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.'"
