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, its a good core workout. If youre 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.
The queer group Gay Shame was the bane of DPW workers everywhere this past year, using "wheatpaste" (wheat + water = irritatingly hard-to-remove glue concoction) to post flyers targeting everyone from astroturfing pro-development group SFBARF to its capitalist benefactor, Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman (lest ye forget his epic response to now-fired Yelp staffer Talia Jane's Medium post complaining about the cost of living in SF: "Move to Phoenix!").
You know you've found the perfect store to outfit your dog when you go to their website and find that they have not one, but seven different clothing categories — including formalwear and raincoats.
Ramirez had murdered four people and attacked four others in July 1985. He started off August by attacking a couple in Northridge on August 6. He then killed Elyas Abowath, 31, and repeatedly sodomized Sakina Abowath, 27, in the couples' Diamond Bar home two days later. Fearing that the Southern California media had raised too much awareness of him, Ramirez struck north in search of new hunting grounds.
"The people we get here I would call third-class types," Bristol Hotel manager Alex Melnikov told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1985. "About 70 percent are on dope. I don't ask a lot of questions."
Ramirez left his room smelling like skunk and drew a pentagram on the bathroom door that police later removed as evidence.
On August 15, Ramirez burgled some jewelry out of a house on Baker Street in the Marina. No one was home in the main house that night, but Ramirez also tried to enter the house's in-law unit where Rose Marie Ovian, 22, slept.
"He tried to get in my sliding glass door, because the screen was moved," Ovian, a relative of the burglary victim, later told the Chron.
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Richard Ramirez.
Three days later, the serial killer spread the terror to the Lake Merced area when he broke into the home of Peter Pan, 69, and his wife, Barbara Pan, 64. Ramirez shot Peter in the head, killing him, and then shot Barbara and beat her savagely, leaving her for dead.
The couple's son, David Pan, found his parents the next day after stopping by for a morning visit. The son had to force the door open to gain entry.
On Aug. 20, 1985, the Chron reported that the Pans might have been mistaken for the winners of a $1 million jackpot from playing slots in Tahoe. Two days later, Bay Area residents realized that the attack on the Pans was no ordinary botched robbery when the SFPD issued a statement saying that the same killer who'd been prowling the LA exurbs was also a suspect in the Pan murder.
The statement read, "Because of certain similarities between a murder case in this city and the recent serial murders in the Los Angeles area, investigators from both jurisdictions had a meeting to determine if the cases were related.''
The statement want on to mention that police patrols had been "increased in certain San Francisco areas.''
After Ramirez's San Francisco homicide, the ever-sensational scribes at the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner decided that calling this then-unknown criminal "The Valley Intruder" just wasn't going to cut it anymore. The killer had gone statewide.
After nixing names based on his preferred mode of entry such as "The Screen-door Intruder," the Herald Examiner's editorial board decided to dub him "The Night Stalker" even though there was no evidence that Ramirez actually stalked his human prey. Although easy-entry into homes appeared to be how the suspect selected his victims, the paper called him "The Night Stalker" in its very next edition, and the moniker stuck.
The Night Stalker was born.
To be continued: Next week, learn how Dianne Feinstein almost ruined the Night Stalker investigation.
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.'"