A man was fatally shot near Top Dog hot dog dining establishment in Berkeley last night. According to the Oakland Tribune, "[t]he name of the man in his late 20s was not immediately available from police, who said he is not a UC Berkeley student." (Well, thank God. Because that would have been upsetting.) It seems that the victim and the shooter were having a heated debated just before the murder. Then after getting......

In a continued effort to fetishize the "game of chess" that is Palestinian/Israeli relations, UC Berkeley students staged a harrowing--harrowing!--border checkpoint commemorating the anniversary of the Nakba (i.e., "Arabic for "Catastrophe," the Palestinian name for the founding of Israel in May of 1948").The fake security checkpoint happened on campus at Sather Gate yesterday.on May 7, 2008. But in all seriousness: good job, kids. This almost makes us miss our days at old the ala mater.......

Hey, did you know that most gunfire in SF (and everywhere else, we assume) goes unreported? It does. At least according to the Examiner, it doesn't. They report that ShotSpotter--that magic recording device that can pinpoint the locations of discharged gunfire in San Francisco's most at-risk neighborhoods--hears gunfire that city residents should be reporting. Via. Two men were shot and killed in SF on Saturday night. First, just outside the Japan center in Japantown......

An unidentified man killed himself this morning after running his car into parked cars at 80 mph at Yolo and the Alameda. Just before the fatal wreck, it seems, he was sitting in his car in North Berkeley and in the process of taking his own life, via a tube coming out of the car's exhaust pipe. A homeless man noticed what was going on, removed the tube. The homeless gent then flagged down......

You know that movie we're not talking about whose marketing campaign sucks? And the fine folks of SF parodied on 24th Street? That we reported on over a week or so ago? Well, now, in addition to Fametracker and Hollywood Elsewhere, Berkeley is getting in on the act. And in typical fashion, a week later. ...

Yes, yes -- most of you are so over the whole flash mob thing. But for those of you who aren't jaded and bitter old turds, check out today's flash mob froze over in Berkeley at Upper Sproul Plaza as the Campanile struck 1 p.m. today. We've only seen pictures of frozen flash mobs -- which could have been any photo of any large gathering, really -- so this video is kind of nifty.......

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......

In case you missed The Daily Show last night-- not that any member of the self-respecting Bay Area intelligentsia would dare to admit missing a second of sparkling political satire -- check out Berkeley and its Marine corps nonsense getting skewered last night care of Jon Stewart's clan. It's chock full of funny. (Except the overt and cruel hippie-hating part, which we find not only a played out but a bit dangerous; there's nothing......

For your viewing pleasure, more Pelli Clarke Pelli Transit Bay Terminal renderings -- now with birdies! [Curbed]More Milk memories. [WhatImSeeing]Alt-Weekly Death Watch explains it all. Also: ouch. [AWDW]Cyclists mourned. [SFGate]Technical difficulties: Burger Joint opens, then closes...temporarily. [Eater]Lemons have loads of disease-causing bacteria? We feel more like Julianne Moore in Safe each day. [SFoodie]More blasted Berkeley tree tomfoolery. [Daily Clog] Porn thespian Michael Lucas labeled "NeoCon Kingpin of gay porn" by New Republic. So, so......

Bay Area filmmakers Arne Johnson and Shane King present Girls Rock! The Movie, a highly moving documentary about Portland's Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, a place for girls ages eight to eighteen to learn an instrument, form their own bands, write songs, make friends, and then perform in front of 700 people -- all in a week's time. The film is opening in seven cities today -- San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland, New York,......

Kicking it at the Days-Inn on Lombard. [Butter Retriever]Twitter explained in plain English. [Laughing Squid]The very hot Tyler Florence to take over the very gay Plush Room. Intriguing. [Eater]More on Prop. 22. [BAR]Moth alarmism? [SFBG]UC Berkeley gets restraining order against animal rights activists. [EBX]The best drama on television? Intervention The Wire. Of course. [SFGate]......

*FILM: The 5th Annual San Francisco Irish Film Festival kicks things off with Garage by director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O’Halloran. This is followed by a reception with the Consul General of Ireland, Emer Deane. According to LS, "other highlights include Speed Dating, a romantic comedy about a lovelorn amnesiac; the award winning Irish-language feature film Kings, and finally The Undertaking, a documentary about Irish American undertaker and poet Thomas Lynch, who is......

An unidentified person was shot and killed on the 1600 block of Russell in Berkeley last night, brining the city's murder tally to three. (The much larger city of San Francisco, BTW, is at 14.) The Chron goes on to report: The slaying comes a little more than a week after Brandon Terrell Jones, 29, of Berkeley was shot and killed on the 1500 block of Harmon Street, about seven blocks away. No arrests......

Did you hear? Matt Gonzalez was in the news today. [SFBG]Which seawall lot plan do you like best? [Curbed]Set in SF, ABC's Eli Stone uses faux cable cars. The nerve! [SFGate]Frozen yogurt is back, and it's getting ugly. [Eater]Innocent trees exploited for UC Berkeley's numerous political agendas. [Daily Clog]Hooligans take yoga, stress relieved. [Oakland Tribune] Image credit: Capobianco Gallery......

Deep breath. Wow. Jesus. Okay, here we go: Well, it seems that Greanpeace and UC Berkeley student organizers will host an, um, "Toilet-Trees" event on Sproul Plaza on the UCB campus tomorrow, Thursday, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Why? To alert the student body of the clear-cutting practices of Kleenex Brand's parent company, Kimberly-Clark. What is a "toilet-trees" event? We....oh God, is it what we think it is? The press release, which you......

What a care- and crime-free life SF is living right now,right? And we don't believe any of it. According to local media outlets, SF is safe and sound. But according to a few SFist tipsters: - "Okay, that sure sounded like three gunshots at Alamo Square park, at the northwest corner, around 9:21pm. Anyone concur?" - "Heard four more gunshot-like explosions at 10:49 in the same area. Saw four cops heading east on Fulton......

Over at The Snitch, we came across this fury-inducing commercial conceived by heart-warming conservative group Move America Forward. (You know, the one chaired by KSFO 560 AM's Melanie Morgan?) Anyway, in it moms and members of the Marines corp throw a patriotic temper tantrum, slam the Berkeley City Council for not apologizing to a bald eagle, want people to sign some sort of ineffective petition, or something like that. They plan to air the......

Beaut pic Delights and Prejudices; hey, thanks! Our votes for the best food blogs this week are.... Best reason to visit Tiburon: to taste the cauliflower soup, octopus or tripe at Cottage Eatery. Bunrab's Gutenberg's got the goods. Or if you feel like hitting Berkeley instead, Cooking with Amy's post on an upcoming "global journey of tea" event may tempt.......

We admit having never seen that word before: sackbut. It sounds full of promise, definitely. Turns out it's a medieval trombone, and it will be heard this coming weekend at a few choice concerts. ...

Marine Corps mom with American flag eyes at the Berkeley Marines' protest/rally by Zombietime Awesome. (Also, a few Crest White Strips will go a long way, people. Just saying.)......

According to the fine folks over at The Sword (NSFW), the GayVNs (NSFW) will be held here on Saturday -- you know, those homosexual pornography achievement awards, which led to Mayor Gavin Newsom getting all Berkeley City Council on us after he declared Feb. 23 to be Colt Studio Day last year? -- coinciding with that hairy-large-gay-appreciation festival thing happening. Anyway, last year the GayVNs had comedienne and social critic Kathy Griffin hosting the......

Here's todays sports news...

Fascist Imperial Dogs 1 - Tree Loving Hippies 0- After all that protesting and dancing and carrot juice drinking, the Berkeley City Council chickened out and said they erred in passing that January resolution that disinvited a Marine recruiting station and called them "unwelcome intruders." In that resolution, they also allowed Code Pink permission to blast all sorts of things at the station, gave them a designated parking space in front of it, and permission to protest on Wednesdays from noon to 4 p.m. Why Wednesday? Because it’s Hump Day! They did, however, refuse to issue an apology and used part of their mea culpa to lash out at the Bush administration and the war. This didn't satisfy some conservatives as Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina introduced the "Semper Fi Act" which would redirect money to UC Berkeley and give it to the Southern Heritage Coalition so they can sew more flags with the Confederate flag in them....

"After the demonstration dissolved, and everyone packed up their stuff and left, a crew-cutted employee came out of the Marine Corps office with a hose and washed away all evidence of the protest." Berkeley marine corps recruiting center melee as seen through the eyes of Zombietime.......

Arf. SF's coyote population has doubled over the past year. [Examiner]With their garish tents removed, Americano declares wintertime over. [Eater]And the best Bay Area whore is...a redhead. [Gridskipper]RIP, Bush. [Nature abhors a vacuum]Three arrests in Berkeley protest. [SFGate]How you can help save California state parks. [71Miles] Image credit: K. Fletcher......

Anti-war fans, pro-war zealots, '60s fetishists, barely-legal Marines, the unshowered, and young college students trying to impress their boyfriends will be out in full force on the other side of the Bay later this evening. Why? Because after receiving loads of national criticism, as well as a few death threats, the Berkeley City Council will decide tonight whether or not to "revoke a letter it approved two weeks ago telling the Marines they are 'unwelcome......

Police believe that a Santa Rosa man, who recently stabbed himself with a homemade spear just seconds before the fuzz burst through his front door early Sunday morning, is possibly connected to last Thursday's carjacking and rape incident involving a 29-year-old mother. According to the Gate, "Aristotle Quadra, 30, faces charges of carjacking, kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted murder. He is being held at a Santa Rosa hospital while being treated for self-inflicted stab......

It's almost Academy Awards® time and whether or not the writers will still be on strike, it seems that each year the movies are less and less relevant to the show itself. Between the Valentino dresses, Armani suits and pregger rumors, we feel Oscar® (or at least media coverage) has lost its focus. Enter Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International and their Indie Movie-loving glory: they're teaming to showcase this year's Academy Award nominated short......

Bay Area locals prove that some birds can chirp with their tails....

Republican (it goes without saying) Assemblyman Guy Houston of San Ramon wants to slice off more than $3 million in state funding from Berkeley for their stance against Marine recruiting. He will introduce legislation to "withhold state transportation money until Berkeley rescinds its 'war on the U.S. Marine Corps.'" Jesus. In a move that will ideally hurt his political career -- since it's a waste of time, a symbolic prick move, and has little......