Filmmaker Kaleo La Belle's Beyond This Place, which was screened last night at the Castro Theatre with a live musical score by Sufjan Stevens and Ray Raposa of Castanets, is an affecting portrayal of a broken relationship between father and son, an intimate family portrait that also acts as a microcosm into the consequences of that not-so-distant psychedelic age when acid was still revolutionary and children fled to communes to live without rules. more ›

Although this SFist contributor couldn't make it to the little bluegrass concert in the park last weekend, we kept hearing mention of lots of hippies saturating the event. To echo that sentiment, friend of SFist and Outer Sunset resident Kevin McCracken snapped the above photo... more ›

In addition to having the filthiest streets in the nation, San Francisco has just been anointed the greenest city in the United States and Canada, according to a study by Siemens. The report assessed and compared "27 major U.S. and Canadian cities on environmental performance and policies across nine categories - CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance." more ›

The controversial Sit/Lie law, a.k.a. Prop L, won't be enforced until mid-February, but it already has had a chilling/gloriously cleansing effect on Haight Street, depending on how you see it. Haight Street merchants saw an immediate effect after the law passed in November, even though it didn't take effect until December 17 and still hasn't seen any enforcement from the ever vigilant Upper Haight-based police. more ›

Ticklefight found this irie license place in Marin County. (Thanks goes out to Allan Hough for sending this our way.) more ›

Once again it's time for an installment of this mildly confusing feature, in which we ask those ensconced too cozily in your SF bubbles to take a step back, summon your inner C.W. Nevius, and try to understand why some in this great country of ours (certainly not us!) might look askance at the way we do things here — if for nothing else than to enjoy an ironic chuckle at our own expense. If all of this seems too difficult, please refer to our other recurring feature, 7 Reasons to Love San Francisco, and be on your merry way. more ›

Via C.L.: "just had a guy in a van ram my car while parking in front if me, make out with his girlfriend in the front seat, get out and now they're doing handstands on the sidewalk. She's wearing polka dot undies, btw. Sometimes I'm un-charmed by SF hippies." more ›

Humboldt County hippie and author, Lierre Keith, was spattered with delicious cream pies Saturday afternoon as she was speaking at the 15th Annual Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair down at the Cow Palace (or someplace). Apparently, the recovering vegan and author of The Vegetarian Myth, a book that supposedly suggests that all agriculture should be eliminated and every human on this planet should take up hunting and gathering (because, you know, that's practical), was giving a talk and had only managed to utter a denouncement of factory farmed meat before being attacked by black clad, pro-life hippies screaming, "Go Vegan." The attack reportedly prompted some cheers from the audience as well as a flurry of anti-war/no war for oil/pro-DC statehood/liberate Palestine/stop animal testing leafleting. Apparently, as if smacking someone in the face with a pie weren't bad enough, the cream filling was laced with chili peppers to prompt maximum discomfort. Mean! more ›

[via Mission Mission] more ›

We could get all up in Bill O'Reilly face, as well as the plum visage of "Factor" produce and liar Jesse Watter, for throwing shade at SF. They claim that San Francisco is, inarguably, one big "Grateful Dead concert;" that North Beach is our tenderloin district; and that we are rife with neighborhood-specific dark underbellies. But we won't. Because they're spot-on when they say that SF parks are terrifying at night. Just thinking about Dolores Park at dusk gives us the heebie-jeebies. Anyway, watch the pseudo-documentary O'Reilly produced. It's the feel-good movie of the day. But you'll have to go here to watch it. (Do not fear the embedded code, MSM. It is your friend.) more ›

More time is being wasted over in Berkeley over those damn oak trees. This time the Berkeley City Council voted last night that they it "will not seek a stay of a judge's order allowing UC Berkeley's athletic center project to proceed," according to CBS 5. Good. Also, many of the protesters, who awesomely are starting to view themselves as Christ-like figures as of late, held a small rally outside Berkeley City Hall last night. And this is our favorite quote from one of the pro-oak grovists: more ›

While not nearly as exciting as Anonymous' cheeky Scientology protests, this little BofA rally managed to voice its distress with the banking company's lack of environmental consciousness. It seems BofA is, like, using coal to run their ATM machines. Or something like that. Who knows. But you can go here and here to find out more about yesterday's skirmish in front of a downtown SF Bank of America. more ›

We live just up the street from Haight and Stanyan, and the other day someone dropped off a flyer about how Whole Foods is eager to transform the former Cala Foods (now a vacant lot and boarded-up deathtrap) into a pleasant, overpriced gourmet food store with apartments on top. The design of the flyer reminded us of some incomprehensible posters that appeared briefly in the neighborhood two years ago -- could D.B.H. be back? (Hint: Probably not.) more ›

While police have tried to starve and cutoff supplies to the few remaining protesters up in the UCB oak grove, another tree-sitter was arrested yesterday afternoon at around 5 p.m. Performing yoga exercises on the median strip on Piedmont Avenue in front of the grove of trees, it seems, police arrested someone going by the moniker "Redwood." According to university spokesperson Dan Mogulof, the protester came along "very quietly." more ›

UCB's plans to mow down an oak grove and put up a sports training facility were put on hold. It seems a judge halted the plans until "the university can prove the project would not violate state earthquake-safety laws, a judge ruled Wednesday," says the Gate. The university, though, thinks it's a rule in their favor, keeping "their plan alive, arguing that the center would not violate state law because it would not touch any fault lines." more ›

The battle to save an oak grove on the UC-Berkeley campus turned even uglier yesterday. Protesters sang bizarre Native American-ish sounding songs (seriously, check this out) and threw buckets of urine at police and arborists (where "an acrid tang hung in the air afterward." Ew.) more ›

SFist commenter jacksevanroo's facetious reference to buying a geodesic dome in response to Larry Ellison's questionable tax break on his "functionally obsolete" compound, reminded us about this Silicon Valley geodesic dome home ("Brigadome") that went up for sale last month. If we could buy it, we would -- hippie stigma be damned! (Buckminster Fuller was the most under-rated genius of the 20th century, as far as we're concerned.) more ›

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. more ›