Who was celebrating what: Dede Wilsey's sanity-shattering Gone With the Wind-cum-Goth dress. Oh, and Saturday night at the de Young Museum for the opening-night gala of the Balenciaga and Spain exhibition, curated by Vogue European Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles and Fine Arts Museums' curator Jill D'Alessandro. more ›

"The Seer's Tower" by Justin Beck. more ›

The painting officially known as "Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother" (1871) by James MacNeill Whistler, which is the fourth most recognizable painted image in the world, landed in SF at the DeYoung Museum yesterday. It's one of about 100 paintings from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris which are going on display in a couple of weeks as part of the DeYoung's show The Birth of Impressionism. The d'Orsay is undergoing some renovations, and basically their entire collection is coming to our fair city for this exhibition. more ›

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. 2263 Mission (x 18th), 8 p.m., $5. more ›

We weep tears of gratitude every time Drew Altizer sends along his pictures -- they're always so good, and he's always having such a fun time in the city! Last Saturday, Drew was at the Vivienne Westwood fashion show, celebrating the opening of her fashion retrospective at the DeYoung Museum and passes along these images. more ›

Yesterday, the Board of Supes approved by a 7-4 vote a measure to close off part of Kennedy Drive on Saturdays just as it is on Sundays. Well, for a "six-month" trail run at least. The measure was passed without rancor, with serious intellectual debate, and a strict adherence to democratic principles. Nah, not really. It actually involved dueling rallies, people shouting each other down with bullhorns and the use of fresh-faced children and decrepit old people in wheel chairs as props. more ›

And, no, we're not slagging on 7x7 again. This time we're talking about Travel + Leisure's 2006 Design Awards. While the less charitable among us might see these awards as a cheap excuse to send out a press release, T+L E-I-C Nancy Novogrod claims that they actually act as "inspiration for the readers of T+L, who are always looking for new places--and new products to make their travels easier and more stylish." more ›

Wednesday, you're doing a heck of a job! Tonight: Satisfy your craving for Germanic food and drink at Schroeder's, while also learning more about the development plans for Piers 27-31 with San Francisco for Democracy, a spinoff group from the 2004 Howard Dean campaign. The local Sierra Club and a rep for an anti-development citizens' group will speak; the corporation trying to develop the property cancelled at the last minute. Mmmm, sauerkraut. Thursday: Events listing fave Michelle Tea is at it again -- she's hosting a reading of underground and emerging writers in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Center at the Public Library. Authors Regie Cabico, Kaui Hemings, Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz, and Horehound Stillpoint will be reading. 5-8 pm in the Latino/Hispanic Room at the Main Library. In the same area, Cindy Sheehan is reading too, at Clean Well-Lighted at 7 p.m. and Friday: The DeYoung Museum sponsors events on Friday nights! This week, Egyptian belly dancing performances! The dancers of the Al Masri Restaurant on Balboa and 42nd will perform a dance history of the raqs sharki dance from antiquity to today. 6:45 and 7:45, free with museum admission. The Egyptian Consul General will be present as well. more ›