Mentally-estranged dreamboat Paul Addis -- you know, the guy who performed last year's premature ignition at Burning Man and most recently tried to burn down Courteney Cox-Arquette and David Arquette's chapel of love? -- pleaded guilty to (presumably) arson, winning himself a cool 12-48 month in federal prison. According to Curbed (via Twitter): Burning Man successful arsonist and Grace Cathedral would-be arsonist Paul Addis plead guilty in Federal court (to which counts, exactly, we......

Photo by Dave Schumaker/Flickr Until they open up a Four Seasons on the Playa, or move the journey to Yerba Buena Park, we won't be going anytime soon. But for those of you rapscallions who are? More power to you. And if you haven't purchased your tickets yet, do it now.......

It's that time of the year for all the big papers to weigh in on their choice for President and yesterday, the Chron weighed in and announced that they are going to support the guy who gives pretty, pretty speeches. You know, the Muslim dude who doesn't pledge allegiance to the flag, and just might be on the downlow: Barry Hussein Obama. And, yes, we know most of that stuff comes for a vicious, nasty email smear that's been going around and isn't in any way true, but come on, you gotta let us have some fun....

Because they are. "$210 and $225 tickets are sold out," we're told. But with the income you're pulling in from that tech job, you should be able to afford the pricer admission fee, right? Right. Go here to buy yourselves some dusty bliss. We're not sure how this year's prom in the desert will top last year's What with a suicide mistaken for art and the hysterical premature ignition, you burners will have to......

Last night a little before midnight, Paul David Addis was arrested outside of Grace Cathedral, suspected of trying to burn down the historic church down. It seems that his neighbor called the police last night after overhearing him say something to the effect of "the cathedral wasn’t going to be there anymore." Yikes....

SFist Wendy goes off the grid, and then comes back to the land of electricity to tell us all about it! We welcomed the return of DocFest, your local indie documentary festival, last night with Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa. It wasn’t clear we were actually going to make it in to the theater until about two minutes before it began. There was a long line for the film, which was showing in......

It looks like Black Rock City visitors now have an actual tragedy on their hands. One for them to eventually personalize, of course. Today, sadly, someone hanged himself to death at Burning Man. His dangling body -- which was viewable to partygoers for about two hours inside of a two-story tent, according the Justin Berton -- went unnoticed by many. Passersby and friends, it seems, thought the dead body was an artistic statement of......

Yum! Did you smell something nasty in downtown SF yesterday? Some people described it like raw sewage, and others like rotting meat. Turns out it was from the sewage holding system, which was ripening in the sun faster than it was getting flushed into the system. Apparently we have a system where waste gets shunted into holding boxes located throughout the city, which periodically get flushed out with water -- but not periodically enough......

Last week's winner, the Bay Guardian. We should totally put needle disposal boxes in Golden Gate Park. Also, C.W. Nevius says that Newsom called him and yelled at him for 45 minutes after he wrote his first article on the issue. We'd put that call on mute. Gentrification is destroying Polk Street. City contractors still use sweatshop labor. Annalee Newitz has mice. Sonic Reducer's still at the Guardian. Cover article: Local bands to watch. You've......

Some very sad news. According to Bay City News, "[t]wo men among the midday shoppers" smashed the storefront window at Gucci (Union Square) and stole an undisclosed amount of jewelry. No one has yet to be arrested for the luxury-store violation. During midday? Really? Wow. Were they super villains? Because how else did they evade capture in the afternoon light? Someone at Burning Man is found and arrested for flicking their Bic during a......

During last night's total lunar eclipse in Black Rock City, Nevada, someone set the Burning Man figure ablaze prematurely. Chortle. Hey, maybe that was their art? Their statement? Their message? Or their coke pipe exploded? Still, not cool according to Black Rock City firefighters, eclipse fans, and festival organizers. Police swiftly arrested the arson suspect. No reports of any injuries, serious or otherwise. Except, of course, the apparently indescribable vibe on the Playa, which......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

While Hannah Watson's found tent camping to be just fine at Burning Man over the past several years, this year she had a vision -- an art instillation of her own that would "not only be beautiful but provide (her) with comfort and a home while out the desert." She found an old Oregon transit bus for sale on craigslist and, since last April, has spent every weekend getting the old girl ready to fly to Burning Man. We got to check out the bus this past weekend....

-- Large Lake Tahoe fire under control. [Oakland Tribune, via AP] -- Small Presidio fire controlled, injures no one. [Examiner, via BCN] -- Two SF hit-and-runs kill two. [Chron] -- Carlos Cruz, 25, shot and killed in the Excelsior. [Chron] -- How green is their Valley? [SJ Merc] -- Steven T. Jones' good call on the Chronicle's Burning Man article. [SFBG]......

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take......

-- Fil Lorenz & the Collective West Jazz Orchestra: Check out this choice 12-piece jazz band tonight at 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. at Jazz at Pearl's, 256 Columbus; $10-$15. -- Tomo, Caribbean, Change!: Experimental indie pop and plinky sounds abound  tonight at 9:30 p.m. at Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk; $5. --  The S.F. International Festival of Short Films: For people like us who suffer from drug-company-created disorder ADHD, this film festival, featuring 60+ short films,......

Last night's innovative Chicken John/Josh Wolf Mayoral debate brought in "a dozen or so citizens," artists, and political fetishists. Even though it was on a Sunday night, anyone who cares about politics, SF, and progressiveness shouldn't have missed it. Naturally, we couldn't make it. Big Brother was on, and we're concerned about Jen and the near-physically/sexually-violent way that men in the Big Brother house have been treating her. Also, it was nomination night. But......

We arrived at 9 p.m., parked at the West Oakland BART station and walked the block or so to the Fire Arts Festival. A gathering of local neighbors stood just outside the fence, watching. Giant hand-wrought metal sculptures — spiders, dragons, machines from the future/past — viewable from that distance, and from the BART trains passing by above, thumped and shook and spewed balls of fire high into the air. We passed the LONG......

--Apple iPhone madness begins! That's a picture of the line in SF yesterday night by photo genius Steve Rhodes, who reported around 60 people in line by midnight. We're hoping to have more pictures of the madness starting at 6 p.m. today by tomorrow! [Steve's Flickr picture; Justin.tv video footage; Gizmodo; the Chron; the Merc News; the Trib; CBS 5.] --No one will say who bought Carole Migden her billboards. [SFBG Politics Blog.] --Hey, not......

Okay, okay, okay, okay -- we hear you about Laughing Squid's scoop that Chicken John running for mayor, folks! We were totally slammed at work today, that's why we're getting this up late. Who's Chicken John? He's a local countercultural legend! He's a Burning Man guy, the former owner of the Odeon Bar, and he hosts Ask Dr. Hal on Pirate Cat Radio. We had absolutely no idea! (Steve Jones at the Guardian knew,......

Last week's winner, as picked by SFist Sarah -- the Bay Guardian! Steven T. Jones takes over the opening editorial from Tim Redmond this week. It does not mention Burning Man! Recalls go too far. Club 6 -- still open. Why can't the Chron make money? Now serving at Cafe Gratitude: "I Am....Sued." San Francisco water may be causing rashes. Thank goodness Ed Jew doesn't have to worry about that! (okay, to be fair, we're......

Ever misplaced a grocery or to-do list? Your lost note could appear in Lost and Found in the Mission, a play based on true stories salvaged from scraps of papers found around the Mission District. The production, by Boathouse & Co., includes songs, dancing, beat-boxing and mass hallucinations. Tickets are available on a sliding scale ($15-$25), here, show starts at 8pm. Mama Calizo's Voice Factory in the Jon Sims Center for Performing Arts, 1519......

On time this week! Last week's winner: the East Bay Express. All pro-Wiccan letters except for one, which says witchcraft is not a religion. That's right -- it's a sandwich store! The mayors of Alameda and Oakland suck. Skating in the East Bay. Cover article: a local Burning Man DJ is popular, wants to get into hip-hop. That new movie by the Shawn of the Dead guys is pretty funny. Is payola coming back for......

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly: Gosh, the Chron seems awfully enthralled with that Zodiac movie, doesn't it? Also, more on the Leno/Migden throwdown, quoting Paul Hogarth from Beyond Chron (who now supports Leno). Cover article: An awesome piece about mentally ill dogs. Who knew bordie collies got OCD? Meredith goes to the Presidio Social Club; SFist Ced gruffly concedes maybe she's been doing a good job lately. Let's Get Killed laments the new boring......

Ah yes, the weekend. Finally! It's been a hectic week-- earthquakes, landslides, the whole Kenneth Eng fiasco, those purple latex gloves-- where will it all end? We don't know but we could sure use a drink and a good old fashioned shindig-- too bad that most of the Noise Pop shows have sold out. We've put together a list of runner-ups for the weekend in the city. Sure, its not Ted Leo, Cake or The Donnas, but you can get just as drunk for half the price. Here's a rundown of the haps:...

We have no illusions anyone's going to read this column today what with all this news about Gavin Newsom's affair with his campaign manager's wife -- but we soldier on nonetheless. Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. Matt Smith rails about some kind of corruption at SFO. No, not an affair with your campaign manager's wife. The Apologist is leaving the Weekly -- oh no! The final Apologist -- are you an Apologist for the......

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express: Well, this is interesting! Bottom Feeder Will Harper is leaving the EBX to become the executive editor of the SF Weekly. We're sorry to see Harper leave, but we're excited to see what he does at the sister SF publication! Plus, this collection of Bottom Feeder's greatest hits is pretty exciting. We may not be making as much money off stem cells as everyone says we will --......

Last week's winner, the Bay Guardian. What do Carter and Bush have in common? Problems with Schwarzenegger's health insurance plan. Someone missed the sarcasm in Tim Redmond's column about wifi. Steven T. Jones is working hard this week, covering not only Fake Question Time on the blog but also the trademark fight over Burning Man. Cover article: There's only six quail in the Presidio now, and they're all male. Is the Presidio like the Castro......

Sorry, we've become so obsessed with the upcoming Fake Question Time and those Yalie a capella singers that got beaten up that we totally didn't cover any of the other city news from today! So here you go: While we were distracted with all the RSVP shenanigans for Saturday's event, we almost forgot to tell you that the Board of Supes once again overrode Gavin Newsom's second veto of Ross Mirkarimi's foot patrols with an......

When we last left the bonfire debate at Ocean Beach, it was looking like there was going to be a crack down. Considering we have friends who went down to the beach over the weekend to burn some Christmas trees, we don't think anything has happened as of yet. Well, it looks like a compromise is set to take place as officials are in talks with "bonfire advocates" to build about twenty fire rings where bonfires could be held. ...