Pirate booty, that is! Today, "tall ships" of the pirate variety are sailing into San Francisco. Billed as the Festival of Sail, these ships will be available for tours, a ride on the bay, rides during the pararde and black-tie dinners to the tune of cheap, expensive, expensiver and fuhgedaboudit. As Steve Rubenstein notes (one of the best writers at La Chronicle, btw), looking at the boats from shore is free. If you head... [continue]

No shit: Attorneys know how to work a Facebook. Hide your pics now! [Valleywag] You aren't a douchebag? Prove it. [Yelp] Gun-sniffing dogs brought to Pinole Valley High School. Someone hates summer school? [SFGate] Keak Da Sneak is arrested. [SF Weekly] What happens when you fake a mountain lion attack? Nothing. [CBS5] Pic by Flickr/m e l t... [continue]

Being amongst friends here at SFist, I'm going to drop the "we" and let you in on some news: I am moving to Los Angeles in a month for graduate school (Feel free to send hate mail to UC Berkeley Department of Journalism -- I have). I wouldn't normally post about this very boring, non-piece of news, but I thought that this would be a perfect time to turn to readers and ask: What piece... [continue]

Although we guffaw over Berkeley news items sometimes (we know: pot calling kettle black blah blah blah), a recent turn of events makes us wish for more news of oak grove protesters, not ultra. serious. news. Seems that some guy (or different dudes?) have performed a couple of home invasions, resulting in burglary and sexual assault. With the weather being hot and bother-y, residents are advised not to leave windows open and to keep doors... [continue]

We're not sure if you've noticed, but as of yesterday, the new cell phone law has gone into effect. That's right: no more talky while driving, unless you've got a hands-free device for your phone. Yesterday, while we were out, law breakers were being pulled over left and right. It's a great way for the CHP to fill up those ticket quotas. Sure, the law makes car driving "safer" but, really? Driving's boring now.... [continue]

Sometimes you read news items, and it reminds you of the old cartoon feature, "Good Idea, Bad Idea." Remember those? Well, our friends in Sacramento have their own version of what qualifies as a bad idea: a 26-year-old man, his girlfriend, and his brother decided (read: drunkenly agreed) to walk around in the underground tunnels in Sacramento. When surfacing from their little excursion, the male lifted up a storm drain and was promptly hit by... [continue]

Levi's may go Oakland. [Curbed]Pamper your ass, after kicking some. [SFBG]Bitterness goes online. [Valleywag]You can get laid on Craigslist? [East Bay Express]David Beckham in three questions. We didn't exfoliate for him, either. [SF Chronicle] Photo by Flickr/jurek d.... [continue]

The Examiner is reporting that morale is low over at the San Francisco Zoo: low attendance, a year's worth of the maintenance budget squandered in two months on necessary upgrades to the zoo (whose figure apparently "doesn’t include a $1.8 million bond released by the Recreation and Park Department to pay for upgrades at the tiger grotto"). Following the infamous tiger attack on Christmas Day, the zoo is plagued by numerous problems that its... [continue]

While we totally think Self-Help/How-To's are getting out of hand (Hello. We've run out of shelf space here), when we were perusing our RSS feeds -- also known as blogger crack -- we ran into this little gem from The Boston Globe, via Gawker. A picture/article on how to figure out whether you're a day-person or night-person, how long naps should take, and (wait for it..) how to take a nap. The Gawker comments are... [continue]

Gus Van Sant has always held a warm and fuzzy spot in our hearts since My Own Private Idaho (Helloooo Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix!) but Van Sant has won us all over again with the shooting of Milk, which we stalked covered while shooting was happening. Now, Van Sant is set to be speaking at the Milk Club dinner on June 17th. Today's the last day to purchase tickets, so head over to the... [continue]

The fight over the Presidio may come down to fisticuffs: Gap founder Don Fisher is trying to build a museum near the main post of the Presidio, while many San Franciscans aren't too happy about that. According to the Chron, besides the museum, a "119-room hotel, which also will include meeting space, a restaurant and a bar, expansion of the old Army movie theater [into]... two new theaters, a bar and lobby; and the creation... [continue]

Our bankrupt neighbors to our north (northeast?), Vallejo, are looking to add in some revenue to the city. How? Well, after the neighborhood ousted mega-chain Wal-Mart, Vallejo is looking into luring other grocer businesses to town. While Vallejo isn't allowed to tax foodstuffs, they can tax alcoholic beverage sales. Enter: Fresh & Easy and Beverages & More. Part of the Tesco chain of grocery stores (currently in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada), Fresh & Easy... [continue]

Heal the Bay just released its list of most polluted beaches in California and guess what! All the beaches are located in Southern California -- well, except for two: Campbell Cove State Park Beach in Sonoma and Clam Beach County Park in Humboldt County. But, still. Ha! Sure, our water is colder and we've spilled a ton of oil and garbage around here but despite this all we have the cleanest beaches in California. What... [continue]

When it's a slow local news day, it's a slow local news day; and that's when the fun begins! These are the days when you get to see the true colors of your local news source at work. So, forgive us when we yawned at the cheap ploy of discussing marijuana on the Gate. For instance, did you know that maybe, probably, most likely, it seems that the next president, whomever it may be will... [continue]

What we love most about watching films at SFIFF is being able to experience something different than your own life. Take for instance, Just Like Home. How else can one know what it's like to live in a small Danish town consumed by the mystery of whom, exactly, is wandering the streets naked? That is the central premise of Just Like Home. A man is seen walking around at night nude and the repercussions this... [continue]

M&R of La Chron has put out another great piece on the gripe-vine: those $100 fines for leaving garbage bins out past 6 p.m. on garbage days. Yes, DPW is actually going around and issuing these tickets -- we barely missed getting one four months ago when we received a "warning" but not a fine. Last month, 189 people were fined, which comes out to (according to our mad super blogger math skillz known as... [continue]

Federal alcohol regulators are asking Vaune Dillmann of Mount Shasta Brewing Company to stop producing bottle caps for his beer with the slogan "Try Legal Weed." See, apparently these alcohol regulators think that Dillmann is referencing the illegal marijuana (technically, it's still illegal, people -- let's not get in a snit) but really, oh my goodness, he's not! Dillmann says the Mary Jane reference is to the town where the brewery is located: Weed, California.... [continue]

There's nothing like outsiders pointing out what's wrong with your city in their news publication. Today's "Reasons Why San Francisco Sucks" article is brought to you by the LA Times: Last call for many classic S.F. Bars. In the article, they talk about the closures of many SF faves, such as John Barleycorn, Bobby's Owl Tree, Moose's and Washington Square Bar & Grill among others. Really, just reading the article made us depressed. Some were... [continue]

Our friends over at Eater SF pointed out this item in the New York Times: an article pointing out several of the ways in which San Francisco is making an impact on our everyday lives, from the plastic bag ban to fines for businesses who leave their lights on overnight. The laws -- both proposed and passed -- that are highlighted in the article point out the possibility that San Franciscans are being overlegislated... [continue]

Since you've already figured out your plans for tomorrow night, what about during the day? It is Earth Day tomorrow and everyone is displacing their guilt celebrating by participating in cleanups and events around the bay. Upcoming and Going listed some of the Earth Day events and we're helpfully listing them here in hopes that we'll encourage you to get off your couch and do something useful. Cleanup Events: Ocean BeachMount TamalpaisAngel IslandContra Loma Regional... [continue]