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Size Does Matter: Transbay Terminal Is So Big

Brock Keeling — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:22:32 GMT

The Library Tower (AKA the U.S. Bank Tower) in Los Angeles could soon be the second tallest building west of the Mississippi thanks to San Francisco's proposed Transbay Terminal. While the Library Tower, located in downtown Los Angeles, stands at an alluring 1,018-feet tall, the Transbay Terminal is primed to win the measuring contest at 1,200-feet.

You know, we're just saying. Not to brag or anything. Anyway, our tallest skyscrapers so far are as follows: 1, Transamerica Pyramid; 2, 555 California Street; 3, 345 California Center; 4, Millennium Tower (under construction); 5, One Rincon Hill South Tower; 6, 50 Fremont Center & 101 California Street (tie); 8, Chevron Tower; 9, Four Embarcadero Center; and 10, One Embarcadero Center. For a complete list, check out SF's tallest skyscraper page here.

An aside: regarding San Francisco's ~~superiority~~ girth, LA Met Blogs cleverly retaliates by say that people in San Francisco "commonly wear socks and sandals." The nerve! We're not Berkeley. And while SFist simply adores Southern California -- because without LA and San Diego we might as we be Portland part II, and no one in their right mind wants that. No one -- people in the Bay Area tend to dress better because we have more options. LA is just a one-layer kind of town.

Governor Gavin Newsom?

Brock Keeling — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:37:38 GMT

It looks like Mayor Gavin Newsom will take a stab at running for Governor of California in 2010. In addition to the gaggle of Democratic hopefuls looking to succeed Gov. Schwarzenegger after his reign comes to an end -- which include former governor Jerry Brown, former state controller Steve Westley, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, just to name a few -- San Francisco's very own mayor wants the title as well.

And seeing as how any serious contender "would need to raise anywhere from $30 to $40 million to mount a serious campaign," our wealthy mayor has a pretty good shot. According to CBS 5, Newsom "has been meeting privately with Democratic campaign strategists" about making the move from SF to Sacramento. CBS 5 goes on to say that "it's premature to talk about it in the open...we'll see what happens in the next few months."

Girls Rock! The Movie Premieres Tonight at Embarcadero

Leanne Maxwell — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:15:43 GMT

The film also opens at Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley today, with a grand opening event tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m., featuring performances by campers As Ifs and Shattuck Cinemas' band Kitties, followed by a 12:30 p.m. screening of the film. Advance tickets to the 12:30 p.m. showing are recommended -- fathers take your daughters!

Meet some of the campers:

Laura, an articulate, adopted Korean girl obsessed with death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth-addiction, homelessness and gang activity; Palace, a sweet-seeming 8-year-old with a heavy metal sneer; and Amelia, who's writing a 14-song cycle about her dog Pippi.

Image Credit: girlsrockmovie.com

See the trailer after the jump!

Super Smashing Tourney

SFist_Dianne — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:10:00 GMT

Tournaments will be held in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, with the winners of each city going to finals in New York. San Francisco's chance at playing will be on February 23 at 1015 Folsom, starting at 2 PM. The first 256 people at the door will get a chance to play, along with $10 Best Buy cards. While that's a lot of people to battle, the prizes are very sweet. According to Nintendo:

The grand prize winner will receive a crystal-coated Wii with a design from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a home theater system from Best Buy and a copy of the game. The second-place finisher will receive one Wii system and Wii Remote, one copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a $1,000 Best Buy gift card. The third-place finisher will receive a Wii and Wii Remote, a copy of the game and a $500 Best Buy gift card. The fourth-place finisher will receive a Wii, an extra Wii Remote, a copy of the game and a $250 Best Buy gift card.

Awesome. We'll see you there.

Week Around the -ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:42:44 GMT

Gothamist was amazed after the Giants won the Super Bowl, the city went wild, and it witnessed a ticker-tape parade.
Barack Obama drew 20,000+ ahead of Seattle’s Saturday caucus.
Londonist had Super Tuesday too.
Elusive guerrilla street artist Banksy revisits Los Angeles.
After the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and came this close to making history, Bostonist spent much of the week consoling itself and trying to think about baseball.
Toronto has been experiencing a ton of snow lately, so they tried to make the best of it by photographing a big, organized snowball fight.
SFist partook in some hipster bashing.
Shanghaiist uncovered all the sordid details of Hong Kong's biggest celebrity sex scandal ever.
DCist was concerned about a new reality TV show in the works that might make people who live in Washington look like privileged jerks.
Phillyist wants a pet baby more than anything in the world.
Chicagoist had a time honored motorists vs. cyclists debate.
Austinist reported on seven-time Tour de France champ and crybaby Lance Armstrong's hissy fit at a local venue.

New Global Monopoly Game Leaves Its Heart Elsewhere

Brock Keeling — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:25:00 GMT

Though this may amuse a smattering of transplants who neither want this city to grow nor evolve into the world-class city it secretly is, a new global Monopoly board is coming and San Francisco is not a part of it. You see, people of the earth get to vote to see which of the 68 world cities will make the final 22 on the global board game. San Francisco, it seems, is not on the list. In fact, California gets a pithy single nomination (Los Angeles) while France receives a shocking two (Paris Lyon).

Naturally, we are sick to our stomach over this slight. With geographical locations whose existence we question, like "Buenos Aires, Argentina;" "Shanghai, China;" "Caracas, Venezuela;" and "Canada," we're both saddened and surprised not to find Baghdad by the Bay among the list. Hrumph, indeed.

Fear not, San Franciscans--or Oaklanders, Athertonians, or Orindaians, or whatever--there is a write-in wildcard category where you can vote up to 10 times per day for which city not in the nomination bunch will become one the properties on the board. The downside? You have to register. Alas. Anyway, you can vote here.

Gavin, this seems like your kind of issue, yes? Let's get on it, stallion.

and

Contest: Melee @ Slim's 01/18/08

Spencer Williams — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Until June, from sunny Phoenix, traveled to Los Angeles in hopes of a record deal. Obviously, at first, they got lost in the mix, but promised themselves that if they didn't have a record deal by June, then they would forget about their rock star dreams. Lucky for them, just as time was about to run out, they got their golden ticket and officially became, Until June.

Matt White, from New York via New Jersey, is ready to be a household name. Several of his songs have been featured on TV shows, most notably "One Tree Hill." He has a dream of collaborating with Bruce Springsteen and earned a Political Science degree. He couldn't give up his passion for music so he continued playing as a street performer in NYC. Finally, he was "found" and now he has a record deal and debut album under his belt.

Melee, pictured above, opened for Matt Nathanson back in November. Their music ventures into rock but it still has a strong pop sensibility to it. A Warped Tour favorite, these O.C. natives have become a huge hit, even in Japan! Make sure you are on time and ready to go when the doors open at 7:30pm (that's a much earlier time than last week's popscene event). The show starts at 8:30pm. If you don't win tickets, they are only $13.00 - only $4.33 for each band - not a bad deal!

Contest will run until Friday morning, when one person will win two spots on the guest list to Friday night's concert. Be sure to check your email Friday morning. Good luck!

Image taken by author

R.I.P.: Brad Renfro

Brock Keeling — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:22:58 GMT

Troubled star of one of our (well, you editor's) favorite movies, Apt Pupil, died today. According to the godly folks over at TMZ:

The 25-year-old actor was found dead at his Los Angeles home this morning. The cause of death has not been determined, however, Renfro has had a history of drug abuse.
Sources tell us Renfro, who had starring roles in and Apt Pupil had been working valiantly to stay clean, especially since this summer. Renfro had been convicted of several drug offenses, including attempted heroin possession.

Renfro just wrapped up filming The Informers with Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton.

RIP, Todd Bowden. You will be missed.

The Client

SFist Finds: Vintage Muni Transfer

Leanne Maxwell — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:46:00 GMT

I spent the holidays with my mother in Los Angeles, who collects rare first-edition books. While I was visiting, she opened "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" (circa 1930) and an old San Francisco MUNI transfer fell out. We don't know whose it was, or how long it was in that book. We're not even certain how old this ticket is, but google tells us that John M. Woods was general manager of MUNI in 1972, so it's probably from that era.

Reading a rare, first-edition copy of Sherlock Holmes on the bus sounds like a very San Francisco thing to do -- no matter what decade.

Submit your Bay Area finds to found [at] sfist [dot] com, or tag them sfist and found on Flickr! Let us know where/when you found the item and any other helpful info.

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:09:59 GMT

LAist listed a top ten list of sorts: things they hope not to see in Los Angeles in 2008. (one example, pictured above).
Shanghaiist was surprised to learn that "godless," "atheist," and "commie" China is soon going to be the world's largest supplier of Bibles!
Torontoist picked some of their favorite photos of 2007.
Londonist was relieved to hear the fire at the Royal Marsden hospital didn't harm any of the patients even though it was a pretty big blaze.
Phillyist resolves to be better in 2008.
Gothamist marveled at a lawsuit from a nightclub patron who was beaten up by bouncers over a questionable bill.
Bostonist has a word of advice for all ballplayers--look up the name of the drink in Urban Dictionary before you endorse it, OK? Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis has signed up to market an energy drink entitled the "SlumpBuster."
Austinist has your SXSW 2008 news and rumor updates.
Chicagoist breathed easier after smoking was banned from any and all indoor spaces in 2008.
SFist witnessed a mighty storm - well, mighty for Californians, that is - blow through the Bay Area.
Seattlest saw controversy about Starbuck's new Skinny Latte grow even wider.
Houstonist chats with a College Cheerleader of the Year candidate.
DCist reads about Ruben Castaneda, a crack addict and Post Metro correspondent.

Photo Credit: Malingering

SFist Tonight

Brock Keeling — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:32:14 GMT

No Single Left Behind: Depressed at the thought of being single for the rest of your life? Then, go get a cat or eight. Sheesh. Or, better yet, attend this seminar where,according to the SFBG, "Rich Gosse, the keynote speaker at this gathering of nervous ex-spinsters-to-be, guarantees you'll get married in 2008 after hearing his pithy spouse-harpooning tips." What's more, the event's press release informs us that Mr. Gosse will touch upon the following key points: "give up your fantasy life," "play the numbers game," and "don't fall in love with the wrong person." Wow. This depresses us. Now, just where did we put our pills?
The inspiration of a house to call a home starts at 7:30 p.m. at Westin St. Francis; $20

Dubalicious v. Freeform: It's a fight to the aural finish at SOMA's Shine. DJs Raydeus (Pronoia), Iyad (Freeform), Floorcraft (Freeform), and Jonboy (Dubalicious) have a heated spin-off to see which genre comes out the victor.
The sublime and chemically-enhanced beats begin at 10 p.m. at Shine; $5 (after 11 p.m.)
X: Early '80s punk sounds, LA-style. This legendary band joins San Francisco-based The Hooks for a night of unabashed Los Angeles and SF sounds seamlessly colliding.
The icons go on at 9 p.m. (tonight and tomorrow night) at Slim's; $20.
(2007): Phenomenal - that's right, phenomenal - documentary about our good friend, the Helvetica font. The film takes a fascinating look into typography, graphic design, and global visual culture centered around the beautiful and oft-used sans-serif typeface created in 1957.
Screens tonight at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Roxie.

Helvetica

Deposit Your Unwanted Newborn Here on Howard Street

Jim — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 02:07:57 GMT

Most states have similar rules. The slogan: "no shame, no blame, no names • sin pena, sin culpa, sin peligro."

Our CA law has had its ups and downs over the years. This might give you some idea of how some people would like to increase the age of a newborn that could be given up.

It's easy to see how the program is working in Los Angeles County. Take a look here and see if you find evidence of cause and effect.

L.A. is the place where a former USC architecture student Holly Ashcraft is being accused of murder for placing her newborn in a dumpster on campus in 2005. Part of the defense is that there is no evidence that proves she knew she was pregnant (although a similar set of circumstances appears to have existed in 2004 as well). Needless to say, this whole affair remains controversial.

But it serves to illustrate that you might know somebody who might benefit from the knowledge of the existence of this statewide funded mandate. Just saying.

Photo of Holly Ashcraft: Jeffrey Long, Daily Trojan

And the Winner Is....

Brock Keeling — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:02:28 GMT

The South Bay gets it.

California's High Speed Rail Authority picked the Pacheco Pass as the future route for the 200-mph train that will help you get from SF to LA in record time. According to SFGate, "without a vote, the authority accepted its staff's recommendation last month to run trains from the San Joaquin Valley to the Bay Area over Pacheco Pass, east of Gilroy." Well then.

After a four-hour meeting with Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who both "pleaded for the route over Pacheco Pass," the decision was made. Newsom also recommended "campaigning for a November bond measure that would raise $10 billion to start building a high-speed rail" that goes from the nifty yet always controversial Transbay Terminal to Union Station in Los Angeles.

And now? We wait. Any guesses as to when this already-11-year-long process will result in us zipping down to LA ever so fast?

Painting, Exercising, and Blending Drinks With a Stripper Burlesque Dancer

Brock Keeling — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:19:17 GMT

And then things like this make us fall in like-like with Los Angeles all over again.

This brings up a good point, what happened to intriguing public access shows in San Francisco? Although we must admit that while "Farrakhan Speaks," "Combat Mortal," and "Diva TV" look promising, we've never seen them. Are they any good? Are there any interesting locally produced cable access shows like the one above? Preferably ones with poop/hurtful humor? And by "interesting" we mean anything lacking political discourse, tech talk, or -- ugh -- dialoguing.

Week Around the -Ists

Brock Keeling — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:06:52 GMT

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits to his then-mistress (now wife) were billed to obscure city agencies - and how his wife used the NYPD like a taxi service. And on a final note, the New York Public Library faced some people (mostly Republicans) upset over an exhibit that includes mugshots of George Bush and his administration.

Big announcement for LAist this week: Editor Tony Pierce will be moving over to the LA Times to run all their blogs. Congratulations Mr. Pierce -- the -ist community is so proud! Other big news in Los Angeles came in the form of the unfortunate shooting of Rodney King (he's okay though). In books, dog whisperer Cesar Millan presented his book by signing only, disappointing some fans waiting to hear what he had to say and in the fine arts, they saw the most offensive Christmas show. They also found that Hollywood industry parties are a bust, that sex is safer in a Nevada brothel than on a Valley porn set and that G4TV's Olivia Munn is as wicked cool as we all hoped she would be. And what's December without the Best of 2007 lists? DJs from KCRW start it off.

Phillyist got some family dirt but survived it with the aid of a little wine. They also checked out a great model train display, saw green, and brightened some kids' holiday seasons.