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.
Posted
By Chris Roberts
on Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 11:22 AM
The above is video footage captured in Dolores Park this morning, in the not-too-distant, post-Pride present, in a reality where humans have abdicated their responsibilities and where trash is the dominant life form.
Instead of green space, there is green and white and brown and glass and trash space, as far as the eye can see, in a new world order populated by beer boxes, plastic bags, and other remnants of late capitalism.
As the early morning sun lights the collection of discarded human ephemera known as trash, the only signs of life are the seagulls, who dance with delight at the bounty before them.
What's most impressive about the stupendous amount of waste left behind in Dolores Park is that it's only one day's work. Supposedly, the park was mostly clean as of Sunday morning.
The best bit? "There are almost 30 trash cans a mere 20 yards away from this," according to the individual who shot the video.
Posted
By Chris Roberts
on Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 3:05 PM
SF Examiner file photo
Pride weekend is here, and it's secure: Metal detectors will greet visitors to Pride's main stages at Civic Center on Sunday and all festivities will include a heightened police presence, measures taken following the June 12 slaughter of 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Pride's official theme this year is Racial and Economic Justice, a marked step away from corporate partying towards the gay rights' radical social justice roots. To that end, groups representing marginalized people of color — including Black Lives Matter and TGI Justice, which advocates for black trans people — were given prominent placement in the Pride Parade.
Posted
By Max DeNike
on Wed, Jun 22, 2016 at 2:49 PM
SF Examiner file photo
This weekend’s Pride Parade and other related festivities in San Francisco will take on a different tone — as in the beep of a metal detector. Unprecedented security measures are planned following the horrific mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub on June 12.
However, at least one familiar ritual, missing for a few years, has been revived.
“Pink Saturday Unchained” is being held in place of the widely popular street party that had been a fixture of Pride weekend since the early 1990s, according to the SF Examiner.
Posted
By Max DeNike
on Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 10:25 AM
Mitch Altman/Flickr
Pink Saturday June 27, 2015
Pink Saturday, the raucous street party held the night before Pride, has been canceled this year due to lack of sponsorship, according to the Bay Area Reporter. The event had been a quintessential part of San Francisco’s annual LGBT celebration since the mid-1990s, and was nearly canceled last year before a last-minute intervention.
With the Super Bowl and its thousands of revelers in town, there’s no better time to garner attention for good old-fashioned hate speech. A group infamous for staging homophobic protests plans to do just that.
As Hoodline first noted, the Westboro Baptist Church—the late Fred Phelps’ small but media-savvy family clan, best known for picketing the funerals of Iraq war veterans, and for carrying protest signs emblazoned with “God hates fags”—WBC has tweeted their intention to make a scene on game day.
At least 21 trans people have been murdered in the U.S. this year
A headline on Mother Jones today is depressing but not particularly surprising: “More Transgender People Have Been Killed in 2015 Than Any Other Year on Record.” It’s a poignant reminder on the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance that much legal and social legwork remains to be done — even in notoriously liberal California.
Just this week, a 25-year-old transwoman in San Francisco was assaulted for the second time since January. According to the Chronicle, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission says that 79 percent of transgender people the agency surveyed last year reported being the victims of violence in the city, and 88 percent reported being harassed.
The Galeria de la Raza's mural celebrating LGBT Latinos was set on fire last night, the San Francisco Examiner reports. It was the third act of vandalism targeting the mural at 24th and Bryant Streets since its unveiling in early June.
The mural has twice been tagged with spray paint, and has elicited homophobic responses on social media. Last night, it was set on fire with "some kind of fuel," according to the police. The fire was extinguished by a neighbor. According to the Examiner, the fire will be investigated by the arson unit, while the two previous incidents will be investigated as hate crimes.
The marriage ruling is twofold, saying the Fourteenth Amendment requires states issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and that states must recognize same-sex marriage licenses from other states.
The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Obergefell v. Hodges today ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. The court ruled, by a 5-4 vote, that states do not have the right to ban same-sex marriage.
Obergefell v. Hodges arose out of battles against four states’ marriage bans: Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan. Those states’ bans against same-sex marriage now run afoul of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of marriage law.
A celebration is being planned for 6:00 p.m. this evening in the Castro, according to Hoodline. The revelry will likely stretch throughout a packed weekend of Pride events.
BART police have adopted sweeping new policy guidelines around interactions with transgender people. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, it is among the first such policies adopted by a major law enforcement agency.
Junior Mayema came to San Francisco in November 2014, hoping to flee the racism and homophobia he’d experienced in South Africa. Being both gay and gender nonconforming, he was an easy target for police assault (his wrist was broken), and in Congo, his birthplace, “everything was impossible” because of his identity.
Journalist Brian Rinker (a former intern at SF Weekly) began documenting Junior’s story in April. At that point, Junior was a regular at Cafe Flore in the Castro and living in transitional housing near Divisadero. He received almost $300 per month in government benefits but was having a hard time surviving in San Francisco.
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.'"
