Miscellaneous: October 2009 Archives

"Beretta bowls" by The Inadvertent Gardener.

On Halloween night of the first year that the Halloween kibosh began in the Castro, 2007, KRON 4 provided this coverage from the scene. There is an amusing bit with a very drunk woman face-down in the street, as well one indignant nun who would like everyone to know (perhaps including the police) that "this is our neighborhood!" (meaning the gays'). For more on what went down in 2006, see this article here.

"Israeli flag" by kapshure.

NBC Bay Area has a cute gallery of a number of extremely involved and expensive Halloween costumes, including those guys who constructed two functioning, human-sized iPhones, and a guy who made a working, life-size Gameboy costume as well. What they call "supremely awesome" we call "trying too hard," but then again for Halloween we're fans of just drenching ourselves in the $11 bottle of theatrical blood we bought three years ago. Our only annual expense is the shirt we're wearing, which must be thrown away afterward, but yes we know lots of other people spend LOTS of money preparing for this holiday, and cheers to them. (And yes, the working iPhones are quite impressive.)

Like this.

"4x2=8" by Darwin Bell.

Tired of attending conference after conference in which attendees were regaled with unblemished successes, Cassie Phillipps was inspired to organize FailCon, which went down yesterday at the Kabuki Hotel and which featured panel discussions with startup CEOs and former CEOs talking about their errors and grand failures. Panel members included Max Levchin talking about early failures and missteps with PayPal and Slide, Mark Pinkus talking about the troubles with Tribe.net, and former Friendster CEO Dan Olsen, who now heads YourVersion.com -- a site that finds you new web content tailored to your interests and frequent search terms -- which, for better or worse, won the prize for audience favorite at FailCon.

Wait, you need us to explain this to you? No amount of text could do this cardio performance of a lifetime justice. This clip is, in a word, genius. Watch members of the San Francisco Bay Club give it their all at the 1986 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship.

"Barack & John, Taking Bong Rips" by Troy Holden.

Jeff Altman of Chicago discovered this beautiful old film reel of his grandfather's, entitled "Alameda 1958." Altman's grandfather, who is pictured in front of the camera and behind the scenes, had traveled to San Francisco via a navy aircraft. Altman also has a reel documenting his grandfather's voyage to SF, which he will be posting on Vimeo soon. (Background music by Air -- "Alone In Kyoto.")

"Minna" by eb78/Flickr.

As we all know, San Francisco nightlife has been under fire quite a bit lately. In addition to the ongoing saga of the Alcoholic Beverage Control's enforcement of arbitrary rules they've set for all-ages music clubs, a group of conservatives have been showing up at hearings at City Hall claiming that night-time entertainment is the cause of "violent crime, murder, prostitution, public urination and defecation and any host of problems that the city has been facing for decades."

A new sign outside a 16th & Mission business appears to be prohibiting flatulence on or near the premises. The provenance for the sign, or the recent need for such prohibitions in the vicinity, are unclear, and it seems to have residents confused -- nay, outraged! As Mission Mission puts it, "Farts basically act as a perfume at 16th and Mission, so don't hate."

"You Are Not Allowed To Take Photos Here!!" by Troy Holden.

              

Imagine if Cherie Currie and Suzi Quatro decided to move into together. Now, imagine if they had ti make ends meet by opening up their closets to the public, which also included the floor scores of past boyfriends, roadies, and late-night randoms who they’ve partied with throughout the years. Sprinkle in a pinch of Fleetwood Mac, smoke a little pot -- and you have CC Rider SF. A bad-ass bohemian treasure chest chock-full of vintage dresses, leather jackets, and feathered jewelry and accessories - items Stevie Nicks would have worn as a badge of honor.

Here it is people: the Trauma episode we've been waiting for. On Monday night, the Halloween episode of the SF-based helicopter drama will be airing, and all the drag queens in town who responded to the drag queen casting call a couple months back will be watching the show at a viewing party hosted by Heklina at The Lookout (Noe & Market). We gather that Lady Bear had her own trailer and some actual lines, and maybe Heckles did too? The video above leaves a little to the imagination insofar as the drag queen/nightclub scene that was shot at Great American Music Hall, but hopefully that $3 million-per-episode budget is at least going to yield some good gay television.

As much as we try not to do 'caption this!' posts, we couldn't resist this one.

SF Zoo chimpanzee licks Jello off a pumpkin, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 at the San Francisco Zoo. Starting Oct. 24th and 25th, visitors can watch zookeepers give the animals Halloween-themed treats. Check it out. (AP Photo/George Nikitin, San Francisco Zoo)

"If I had not one friend I would be gone..." by Travis Jensen SF.

"After storm" by MarshaMod.

Why aren't there more of these around SF?

It's time to haul out those handy, dandy slop buckets, boys and girls. Starting tomorrow all residents and businesses in San Francisco will be required to start composting or face fines for improperly sorted garbage. Keep an eye open for the arrival of green bins alongside your blue and black bins in which you can dump "anything that used to be alive" along with coffee filters, greasy old pizza boxes, yard trimmings, and a plethora of other fine compostables that will be rotted down into "nutrient-rich soil that helps produce the organic food and wine that San Francisco is famous for." Blessed be!

Tara Shabazz, Moby, and Leland Yee at Thursday's rally for funding for domestic violence shelters on the steps of SF City Hall.

Please forgive us once again if you're totally over AutoTune masters The Gregory Brothers. We're still not. And we love the little world music moment they add to the United Nations summit of a couple weeks back. Also, angry gorilla!

Photo by Troy Holden.

Want to see MGMT's sold-out show at the Independent tonight? Well, this Craigslist ad, which came to us via SFist's contribute page, might help:

Update: Thanks to Sarafina for the update on the hearing's schedule change from next Monday to the following Monday, October 26th at 1 p.m. at City Hall, Room 263. That gives you all more time to spread the word and write those letters!

     

Obama, who is currently in town for a Democratic National Convention fundraiser at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, was met with protesters from both the left and right sides this evening, the majority of which vocalized their stance on Obama's health care reform plan.

                 

Two years ago, we happened on this rare downtown standout called Shotwell. Our first visit made us (literally) squee with joy, because not only did they have fantastic vintage pieces, but also carried a bevy of local designers, like Rebecca Beeson and Gytha Mander. Bag Lady hearts local designers, very much so.

"Randawg" by mikedthorn.

The first previously unknown work by Leonardo Da Vinci to be discovered in a hundred years, a 13-by-10-inch chalk, ink and pencil drawing being called "La Bella Principessa," has been identified via fingerprint evidence. Using forensic technology, a Montreal-based forensic art expert has matched a fingerprint and palm print on the work to that of Leonardo Da Vinci, who apparently left fingerprints on many of his art works. The unsigned drawing had previously been attributed to a 19th Century German artist, until a collector purchased it on suspicion that it looked older than that and that it looked like Da Vinci's work. Experts now believe it is a portrait of the daughter of a 15th Century Milanese duke, and it was basically being used to pimp her out to prospective suitors -- not unlike profile pictures people use today to sell themselves on internet dating sites.

A daunting Twin Peaks by kapshure.

What a fun concept. Red Union Hair Salon has launched its 2nd Annual Severed Head Contest, in which students and stylists from participating beauty schools and salons transform mannequin heads into fabulous pieces displaying their talent for creating amazing hair and make-up. Anything goes, from outright stunning, funny, and thought provoking, to scary and ghoulish.

"The reflection of her surprise" by Super G/Flickr.

Hey guess what! It's raining! So here's a little palate cleanser today that could be considered the progressive-house antithesis to yesterday's "Storms" by Stevie Nicks. It's called "San Francisco Rain" and it's by Italian house music artist Marco Lys, featuring vocals by Mooli. Download the track from iTunes here.

Eric Fisher has a great batch of old timey maps and hypothetical San Franciscos. Take, for example, the above GE ad, which shows what BART could've been like if people didn't, well, suck. ("Um, yeah, technically, Brock, the reason why BART was never able to..." Whatever, we're blaming people. Hrumph.)

In honor of typhoon Melor and the impending five inches of rain with which she'll blanket the Bay Area starting tonight, we present to you a demo of Stevie Nicks' "Storms," one of the greatest songs about a storm (and yet so much more) ever written.

"Neon Family Values" by Darwin Bell. (Yes, we know that we've mentioned the Union Square Louis Vuitton window once before. But, really, it's such a boss window display, so it deserves a second look.)

    

...It gets cleaned up in 30 minutes flat.

"[Insert Gunshots Here]" by Plug 1.

by Amy Crocker

In honor (or disgust) at the Blue Angels arrival in Baghdad by the Bay, please enjoy this clip of the Blue Angels set to Van Halen's "Dreams," off of 5150.

Speaking of republicans, here's Mayor Gavin Newom posing with Bush disaster #1 and some golfers at yesterday's Presidents Cup. Some sort of golf humor is going on here, but... it's completely lost on those of us who don't relish the joy that is golf.

The same video artist, Ben Wiggins, who brought you the time-lapse video of summer in San Francisco has also created this time-lapse video shot at Burning Man 2009.

"All-American Hero" by Plug1. (Image from the Russian River Beer Festival.)

This man us standing close enough to the bus stop that everyone -- including some kids -- cam smell him. If he reeked of garbage or beets, it would be considered rude, and he'd be embarrassed to know that everyone is edging away so they don't have to breathe him in. Smokers? Not so much.

"Two faces" by Darwin Bell.

Adam Jackson shot the above video that shows scores and scores of youthful types heading to Saturday's SF LovEvolution/Love Parade bash at Civic Center. We don't know how they crammed their lithe bodies into that train; in fact, we don't want to know. We just thank the Lord we weren't on this inbound train at Civic Center. Shudder.

After succumbing to the joy of a perfectly cut and shared cheeseburger, two men hypothesize the homosexual lifestyle, telling each other what they would do to the other if they were bent. Funny stuff. (Note: Dirty words are featured heavily, so this is very much NSFW. Use headphones in case the boss walks by your cubicle.)

"Redwoods" by Benzadrine.

"The message is still clear" by Travis Jensen.

Another view after the jump.

On viscous news days such as today, we reach into our inbox to see what readers have on their minds. Here's something: