Taken at the Civic Center station, this (bloodied) gentleman came off an inbound train early this morning and collapsed. Anyone know what happened? Is he OK? Poor guy.......

What a soothing thing for a Muni bus driver to announce. What are we talking about? This: Civic Center Blog has a first-hand account a benign bomb threat that happened Wednesday at--where else?--the Civic Center. CCB was riding the 5-Fulton when it came to a stop and the non-explosive drama ensued. But the best part? The nifty little robot that checked the area for any potential ka-booms. This little guy is checking out a......

Source: the ever-brilliant Jim Herd at the Anime Costume Parade.......

Matier & Ross were all over this nugget of news today: bronze plaques will be placed in locations where the city's homeless have died. The "memorials" will be placed in Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi's districts, which include the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Haight-Ashbury and Western Addition. Each will be 2 feet by 2 feet "human-shaped plaques" and "[inscribed] with details of the deceased's lives and the circumstances of their deaths," according to the Chron. Let's......

The 12th Annual Tết Festival Ceremony occurred yesterday all around Little Saigon in San Francisco...

Tomorrow is BART Rider Appreciation / Thank You Day, and you, dear BART riders, will reap the benefits. The people at TransFair USA will give away 50,000 coupons for a shot of fair trade espresso from Tully's Coffee. Perfect for getting a move on in the morning and getting things moving, you know, down there. And remember, folks: That's tomorrow, January 31, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the more heavily-footed stations, like Civic......

Come volunteer to give away free espresso to support fair trade...

-- Those rectangular glassy lofts on Folsom and Fourth Streets are, in fact, award-winning rectangular glassy lofts. Also, love the windows. [Curbed] -- What to do in SF when it pours. [Gridskipper] -- Democrats having a spine? What a novel idea! [BeyondChron] -- Behold! Tinkerman's top 10 musical experiences and releases of 2007. [SFBG] -- Matt Gonzalez caught shopping at Community Thrift on Valencia. Dude, we also l-o-v-e Community Thrift! Why, it's where we......

We interrupt your holiday frivolity, wild binge drinking, and high stress levels to bring you the following event: Tomorrow night the annual Homeless Death Memorial March takes place. A Day of the Dead, if you will, for those of us who passed away this year without having a place to call home. You want more info? Here you go: Please join us to commemorate homeless people—our friends, relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, and even some who......

Photo of an alleged Chistmas Tree in San Francisco's Civic Center...

The current run of Madama Butterfly had deja vu written all over it again: same set; same soprano; Patricia Racette in the role of Cio-cio-san, the Japanese wife betrayed by the American officer; same Suzuki (Zheng Cao), Cio-cio-san's maid. We had seen the show a year and a half ago, and the only thing missing in the current run was the simulcast on the Civic Center plaza. Practice makes perfect though: everything ran smoothly, and......

Today's Chron Bay Area section takes a break from covering the plight of lungless salamanders in Korea (why is this in the Bay Area section? Yes, yes, we know, it's because Cal researchers are researching them -- we're asking the question in a more philosophical sense.) to report that: oh no! Ed Jew's state criminal trial has been postponed again, to at least April 08. To justify the request for a further delay, Ed Jew's......

-- Built in 1911, the Tower Theater is up for sale. Again. [Curbed SF] -- Fatal Bayview fire still under investigation. [SF Examiner] -- Jew's attorney asks, "More time, please?" Look, the only kind of time that will help Ed's case is a time machine. Thank you, good night! [SFGate] -- The new Mint. (Also, a museum? Yawn.) [Transbay Blog] -- Milk vs. The Mayor of Castro Street. Me-ow! [ASD] -- Hit-and-run suspect snagged.......

-- Bonds' final, fatal backlash continues. (I wonder how he spent his day today? Ugh.) [SFGate, SF Examiner, FCJ , SFBG, The Snitch]...

A large, youthful, and enthusiastic crowd welcomed Senator Obama to San Francisco's Civic Center last night. To finish off a busy day down south at Google and also Steve Westly's house, Barack Obama came to visit and take a few jabs at fellow senator Clinton. More after the jump.......

Hi, guys. What's up? Great. So...huh, how do we put this delicately without hurting anyone's feelings? Ahem, the next time there's a truck in the middle of Civic Center selling nothing but delicious waffles, and no one mentions it to us before said truck sells out of said waffles? We will go Carrie on all of you. (With you in the Betty Buckley role, of course, because you are the most caring readers.) Why,......

Why aren't you hiding under the covers yet? The city doesn't want to so much as hear you breathe come tomorrow. So, start upending those floorboards and crawling into that dank attic, or Gavin and Bevan will be coming to get you, Barbara. "We are praying for a peaceful evening, but are preparing for the worst," says Newsom. No, he's not talking about election night (heh, eh), but Halloween night. Which brings us to your......

-- 177 Townsend's promise of public art delivered, raised. [Curbed SF] -- Grace Cathedral almost burned down last night via an infamous Burner. [CBS5] -- Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner: thin, pretty. [BeyondChron] -- Gavin Newsom's address. [SFGov -- ETA for video of the speech...?] -- Fog City Notes on NextBus. Also: the handsome South Asian chef speaks! [FCN] -- Gap Inc.'s rigorous employment program for youths. [SFGate] -- "Fog City Journal, without h., is getting......

With a cool $5.4 million in new state bond money, according to the Chronicle, "BART will upgrade and expand its security camera system" to the likes of which you've never seen before! Dangerous sounding "smart cameras" will litter BART cars, stations, parking lots, and even inside of the Transbay Tube. The new surveillance system will be "helpful in preventing crime, improving emergency response and helping police identify suspects," according to BART General Manager Dorothy......

Antiwar march and rally in SF today...

In addition to the "Thriller" dance record-breaking attempt at Dolores Park, Saturday's Antiwar march, starting at Civic Center at 11 a.m., will end up smack-dab at the same recreational area. Once there, the "Fall Out Against the War" marchers (another worldwide event happening on the same day) will stage a (symbolic) die-in "to bring home the 2 million Iraqis who have died, the 500,000 who are now refugees, and the nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers who have died for an occupation that only benefits weapons manufacturers and oil corporations." ...

This past Wednesday was New-Yorker night in Civic Center: the classical music critic, Alex Ross was promoting his new book at Herbst theater, and we attended the production of the Magic Flute designed by Gerald Scarfe, who regularly illustrates the magazine. Scarfe toned down his usually acidic satirical pen (see the sample from his website that we put after the jump) to cook up sets that are humorous, and respectful of Mozart’s intent. The set,......

-- Behold! The Infinity apartment! [Curbed SF] -- Welcome Wikipedia to SF with a slew of wacky neighbors and a joint taped to their door, won't you? [Examiner] -- Missing cyclist, James Bronstein, found dead. [SFGate] -- BART wants you to save Darfur. [Civic Center Blog] -- UC Berkeley searching for a hooded man in connection with recent arson activity. [SFGate] -- The Gov signs into action a bill forbidding you to light up......

Seeing as how the Summer of Love was the single most important event in the history of time and space, we thought it would be delightful of us to review a smattering of Summer of Love anniversary reviews for you. In no particular order, discover the music, elderly genitalia, and abundance of ATMs you missed. -- Beyond Chron: Goes into detail about that guy who sang that anti-Vietnam war song prefaced by a spelling lesson......

Maybe it was the heat. There were four serious attacks in SF last night, one of which were fatal. Here's the time line, from CBS 5/Bay City News. --around 9:20 p.m.: shooting at Taylor and Market in the Loin. One victim hit in the arm. --around 10:00 p.m.: shots fired in Sunnydale (can Dede Wilsey help with that?). Victim found with four gunshot wounds, one in each arm and two in the chest. Injuries considered......

Photo of a woman trying to get in the Federal Building despite the presence Code Pink protesters...

Now that there will be no city sanctioned Halloween debauchery in the Castro, Civic Center, or anywhere else, it'll be exciting to see the police state that's sure to erupt come 10/31. Even though, as Wyatt Buchanan reports in the Chronicle, "officials are still trying to prevent any festivities in the Castro" and that "Bevan Dufty sent a letter to 110 owners of bars, restaurants and stores in the Castro, asking them to close shop......

A photo of a raptor on top of City Hall guarding against pigeons. ...

Segway scooters on S.F. sidewalks...

-- Guns-for-gift card trade today at Civic Center. [Chron] -- How will Giants' owner Peter Magowan celebrate the moment Bonds makes the hit? [Examiner] -- Rebecca Schaeffer's stalker cum murderer stabbed 11 times in prison. Ouch. [Chron, Examiner, via AP] -- SJ hit-and-run suspect still at large. [KPIX] -- Lawrence Livermore Labs plan for more uranium blasts. Yikes! [IndyBay] -- Free Wi-Fi in SF? [The Register]......