"Paypal mafia" tech billionaire and Facebook board member Peter Thiel was awfully secretive about funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against the media company Gawker (over, it would appear, an article drawing attention to Thiel's seemingly open-secret sexuality). By contrast, Thiel has made much less of a secret of his support of Donald Trump, for whom he is a pledged delegate. Now, Gawker asks, has Thiel once again attempted to silence their news outlet, now on his favorite subject? Could this be his latest act of so-called "philanthropy?" Read on.

In a devastating and lengthy investigation that published the same day as news of Thiel's involvement in the suit against Gawker broke, Ashley Feinberg, a writer for Gawker, asked perspicaciously: "Is Donald Trump’s Hair a $60,000 Weave?" Well, is it? In the piece, she points (very convincingly, if I may say so) to the idea that Trump's strange coiffure is "a little-known, patented hair restoration treatment called a 'microcylinder intervention.'" Her main piece of evidence is circumstantial but persuasive: The fact that a company performing the procedure operated from the "private floor reserved for Donald Trump’s own office."

Allegations that Trump's hairdo is, in fact a “cotton candy hairspray labyrinth" led to backlash from none other than Thiel's lawyer in the Hogan case against Gawker, Charles J. Harder. Of that, Gawker writes that "Harder’s demands included the immediate removal of the story from Gawker, a public apology, the preservation of 'all physical and electronic documents, materials and data in your possession related' to the story, and, notably, that we reveal our sources."

Gawker points out that Thiel's fingerprints aren't necessarily on this case, and this, they write, is part of the issue. It's "a savvy strategy for a publicity-averse billionaire. By refusing to disclose which other lawsuits his money has touched, Thiel is able to publicly embrace PR victories (such as the Hogan case ) while distancing himself from litigation that would expose him to criticism."

Data wizard and future forecaster Nate Silver's prediction? This stinks. Previously, he's implied Facebook should drop Thiel from its board.

Previously: Will Peter Thiel's Secret Funding Of Gawker Lawsuit Jeopardize His Facebook Board Seat?
Silicon Valley Billionaire Peter Thiel Secretly Funded Hulk Hogan V. Gawker Suit
Peter Thiel Calls Funding Hulk Hogan v. Gawker Lawsuit 'Philanthropic'

It's not every day a star is born, and yet two-and-a-half months ago right here in the Bay Area we were blessed with just such a moment. That is the day that little Isabelle Kaplan was brought into this world — and the child's full and lush head of hair, present on day one, has made the infant an internet celebrity.

According to Good Morning America, which, yes, covered the story and interviewed baby Izzy's parents, the photo was first posted to reddit and "sparked a social media frenzy [and] several memes" comparing her to a newscaster.

"We were just happy to see her," Izzy's dad told the ABC anchorwoman. "She was two weeks late already," he added, before noting that the baby "just woke up that way."

We should all be so lucky.

Related: Comb Your Hair Like Gavin Newsom Day, 10/9

Following God's law that all beautiful people must procreate as often as humanely possible, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newson and his wife, thespian filmmaker/SFist commenter Jennifer Siebel Newsom have produced their fourth offspring.

Dutch William Siebel Newsom was born Friday afternoon in San Francisco, clocking in at a healthy 8 pounds and 12 ounces and 20-and-a-half inches.

Welcome to the world Dutch. We love you. Dutch William Siebel Newsom 8 pounds 12 oz 20 1/2 inches

A photo posted by Gavin Newsom (@gavinnewsom) on Feb 26, 2016 at 6:44pm PST

The Newsoms already have 57 (excuse me, 3) children. Montana is 6, Hunter is 4, and Brooklyn is 2. Dutch was named after Dutch Flats, California, a "semi-ghost town" where young Gavin spent many happy days at his father's home. "Dutch" is the title of a 1991 family comedy about a sassy kid on Thanksgiving. And Double Dutch is a San Francisco bar that the Newsoms would never go to because it's in the Mission.

Welcome to the world, Dutch!

Yikes. The City of Berkeley is shutting down the pool at Berkeley High School after some water polo players began reporting some strange symptoms likely connected with the chemical levels in the pool, including the disappearance of body hair.

As Berkeleyside reports, the pool had an "exponentially high" pH level of 8.5 due to a busted CO2 tank, and nothing would have been done had a couple of parents not delivered a letter to Principal Pasquale Scuderi on Tuesday. Also, chloramine levels were found to be at 1.0, where 0.1 is the acceptable limit.

In the letter, the parents expressed concern that "students on the water polo team were displaying alarming symptoms, including burning eyes, bleached hair, and, in some cases, the disappearance of body hair." The city then tested the pool on Wednesday, and decided to close it.

They're hoping to reopen the pool by Monday.

[Berkeleyside]

Photo by Mike D Thorn.

Photo by Erik Wilson.

In California, the local deer population is experiencing a problem most commonly associated with kindergartners: a mysterious scourge of exotic lice from Europe and Asia have been found on deer and elk from the San Francisco peninsula to the Sierra foothills, giving the animals haggard coats or causing them to go almost completely bald.

Researchers have sampled over 600 scruffy-pelted deer across the state and attributed the hair loss problem to Bovicola tibialis — a species of bloodsuckers that normally feeds on fallow deer in Europe and Asia. The Chronicle reports:

It's a lousy situation for the besieged deer, [Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist Greg] Gerstenberg said. The bloodthirsty insects multiply in the winter and reach their peak population in the spring, right about now. Deer normally have fewer than two dozen native lice on them, but Gerstenberg has been finding thousands of lice on the deer in Tuolumne.

"In places on the body you almost can't see the skin, there are so many," he said. "That's part of why we are concerned. These are biting lice. There are behavioral changes with an infection like that. The deer are biting and scratching, which is why we think it might be resulting in the hair loss."

Embarrassing hair loss aside, the lice are tearing through the deer populations by spreading internal parasites and causing a host of other health issues. The usually alert and doey-eyed creatures are less attentive when they become scratchy and feverish, making them easy targets for cougars and coyotes.

As for how the foreign lice made its way to the Sierra, researchers say that's still a mystery. Another type of lice migrated down from Alaskan mule deer to local deer in Mendocino and Humboldt counties in Northern California, but the current scourge must have come from elsewhere. In the past fallow deer that have been known to carry the lice were introduced in California for game hunting, but they have been all but eradicated in recent years.

For a closer look, the local Sacramento Fox affiliate has video, literally going over the deer with a fine tooth comb.

[Chronicle]
[AP/Mercury News]

In other S.F. sports star style news, Tim Lincecum has formally debuted his new short 'do at today's Giants FanFest. We've known for a while that Timmy sheared his luscious locks for the 2013 season, but haven't gotten a really good look at him until now.

And he looks ... hmmm. How should we put this. If possible, Lincecum's new look makes him appear even more like a nerdy high school freshman than his Dazed and Confused-inspired former look. He still looks like Timmy, but some part of us kinda misses the old look, slouchy beanie and all. This version of Tim kind of looks like he would rat out the old Tim for smoking weed under the bleachers. Although after Lincecum's disappointing performance in the 2012 season, maybe a more businesslike look might be just the change the two-time Cy Young award-winner needs.

If we had our druthers, we'd opt for a time-honored pitcher's haircut: the mullet. Just picture it: the business of getting the 2013 season on track in front, and the party after another World Series win in back. How about it, Timmy?

Photo by Travis Jensen.

In what could be the love-it or hate-it item of 2012 (we fall into the former category), two-time Cy Young Award-winner Tim Lincecum cut his love locks of hair earlier this month. Jake Gravbrot, a hairstylist in Lincecum's hometown of Seattle tweeted the news way back on December 9.

Lincecum cut off all his hair. Side part. #Giants @hankschulman @productiveouts

— Jake Gravbrot (@hxchairstylist) December 9, 2012

The images above, via Yahoo Sports, show the World Series champion keeping a low profile with his new do on the left and right, and his hair during the 2012 season.

Sorry, Lincecum purists, but he looks miles above better than he did with long hair. Men look good with shorter hair, period. And we get that, more or less, the shoulder length bob was a trademark. But Tim is all about moving forward, not getting stuck in the past. This is the biggest thing to happen to hair since Linda Evagelista famously -- famously! -- cut her hair in 1988.

And for those of you who believe that Lincecum's powers come from his raven locks of hair, breathe a sigh of relief: Tim has enough time to grow back his hair and thus regenerate his profound pitching powers if needed.

[Yahoo, McCovey]

During the fifth inning of Game 1 on Wednesday, we got off our couch, turned off the TV, and begrudgingly arrived (tipsy) to the 2013 Michelin Guide party when the discussion of the Giants surprisingly sprang up. (Shocking given that food media types rarely talk about anything other than restaurants, themselves, or which PR person is on their shit list.) Specifically, the conversation devolved to the players' sexual desirability. Now, we try not to get into these kinds of conversations since a) we're gay and it can come across as affected shtick, and b) it's just not nice. Most of our baseball appreciation and fandom comes from our father. To the best of our knowledge, dad never once brought up Reggie Jackson's ass while we watched games together at Anaheim Stadium back in the '80s.

But why not discuss their signature looks? After all, the Giants are branding themselves accordingly, especially with postseason victories. And didn't the media spill much ink over Gabby Douglas' hair this summer? They did. They certainly did. And with that, we want to talk about your San Francisco Giants hairdos. We begin with Hunter Pence...

A brewery in Oregon is brewing a beer using wild yeast harvested from the brewmaster's beard. What a dude thing to do, beer world. Gross. Or is it? The facial hair beer comes to you care of Newport, Oregon-based Rogue Ales. "34 years, I never shaved it," explained brewmaster John Maier, human purveyor of said yeast sample.

The beard beer's curious brew came about after the ale company tried to harvest new yeast strains from their hop yard, but nothing developed. What started out as a joke became a reality when their lab guy found a suitable sample inside Maier's old salt-and-pepper facial hair, and then used it for the company's New Crustacean brew.

Rogue Ales president Brett Joyce explained to local FOX affiliate KPTV, "We do things that we think are fun, tonge in cheek," going on to add, "Why not look for a different place that might have some magic yeast in it?" We can only hope this leads to a new trend in beer brewing using yeast culled from various body parts. Vagina beer, we fear, is not far behind.

All your Radiohead-fan friends hoofed it to San Jose last night to see Radiohead, and we hear it was a good set, heavy on material from last year's King of Limbs but with plenty of older favorites thrown in. Also, Thom Yorke has a ponytail now, and a certain critic over at NBC seems to believe that Joshua Tree was a Radiohead album.

Yorke was "po-going through '15 Step,' ponytail (!) flapping back and forth from his Joshua-Tree-era vest to his familiar stubble..." according to NBC Bay Area scribe Scott Budman, and so it would appear that Budman has confused Yorke with Bono, or something.

Reportedly, Yorke introduced "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" (from the Amnesiac era) by saying to the sold-out San Jose Arena crowd, "This is a song about when banks started investing in bullshit. Silicon Valley bullllshit." Everyone cheered.

Meanwhile, Jim Harrington of the Oakland Tribune says the band "came up a bit short" with last night's show. But we think he's just being a snarky bitch for the sake of it, since he calls their 2008 Outside Lands set "majestic" and all we can remember about it was that the sound cut out four or five times.

The Guardian's Charles Russo, a devoted fan, says it was "a high-energy performance from an eclectic setlist that was at once a gem for fanatics and a thrill for the casual fans that they dragged along."

And Ian S. Port at the Weekly says it was "a pretty great concert even as far as Radiohead shows go" and writes, "After the general loathing of the OK Computer era, and the isolated gloom of Kid A and Amnesiac, Yorke (and the band) seem to have found their footing in The Beat."

[NBC]
[Tribune]
[SF Weekly]
[SFBG]