You may have loudly professed your love for food trucks. You may tweet with the utmost convincing gravitas about Occupy SF. You may like to gnaw on a sourdough loaf while taking a tour of urban-tinged street art. You may be a bottle of Fernet. You may even be Herb Caen reincarnate. But you are not a true San Franciscan until you've sat through multiple screenings of The Joy Luck Club. With much respect for Amy Tan's book—an excellent read, by the way—the film version of her acclaimed novel about relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers is quite possibly one of the best pieces of entertainment ever made. more ›

Sexy sexy Jewess Chevonne brings us this instant holiday classic, "My Menorah," in honor of the first night of Chanukah. It's full of totally ridiculous double entrendres, and we adore it. As Chevonne puts it, "Mazeltov, world." more ›

One-of-a-kind gifts at Project One Gallery, Holiday Lights Bike Ride through town and a potluck at a secret locale, and The Mother Hips, Kelley Stoltz, and Acacia at Great American. more ›

We've got an audio cleanser for you today: "Whiskey Christmas," a song off the 2007 album Christmas Songs for Drunken Atheists by Irish folk-punk band Darby O'Gill and the Little People. San Francisco ought to like this one, right? more ›

On Thursday night, a crowd of more than 500 checked out the second annual Drag Queens on Ice at the ice rink in Union Square. Performances from Mutha Chucka, Anna Conda, and Lil Miss Hot Mess warmed the chilly night. Here are some photos of the ladies working the crisp stage. more ›

"One thing I could count on every Thanksgiving, and you could bank on it, was at the beginning of the meal my mother saying, 'Larry and I like the dark meat.' It's the one thing we had in common. Dark meat." [Funny or Die via ISSF] more ›

Because it is the holiday season (and also because the city is broke), Mayor Ed Lee and City Treasurer Jose Cisneros have announced Give2SF.org, a site where the city will gladly accept your seasonal donations to help save city programs that are in danger of disappearing due to budget cuts. more ›

Instead of cutting and hauling a typical Christmas tree to your living room (you murderer), why not get a living tree to decorate with care for the holidays? San Francisco's Department of the Environment and Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) will offer just that with their "Dreaming of a Green Christmas" program. And after the holidays end, your tree will be planted as a neighborhood street tree. more ›

Macy's and SF SPCA unveiled their 25th annual holiday window display on Friday evening, featuring the traditional daily rotation of adorable and adoptable kittens and puppies. This year, they're streaming the furry frolickers live via six different cameras. Not all the cams have visible action at the same time, but this morning we've had luck with cameras #4 and #5, and sometimes #1. more ›

On Friday, November 18, the public and the fine folks at LEGO will help construct a 12-foot tall by 10-foot wide Santa Yoda made out of lego bricks, right next to the ice skating rink in Union Square. It promises to be one of the greatest lego creations of all time. (Ha, kidding! The greatest ones, of course, are made with space legos, the raddest blocks in the history of toys. But still, this Santa Yoda statue will be a sight to behold.) more ›

Set to ruin your Thanksgiving cheer (is that a thing? it should really be thing), the Denny's on Mission Street erected a Christmas tree... on November 8th. Premature, yes? yes. Esteemed Inside Scoop editor Paolo Lucchesi found the early bird XMas tree and asked if "it’s supposed to go with the Christmas Cookie Pancakes for Kids, now on the Denny’s menu." more ›

Yes, you read that correctly. Halloween is barely over, and the Christmas frenzy has begun. In just five days, you can skate in a winter wonderland in the middle of Union Square when the Holiday Ice Rink opens for the season. more ›

Featuring Damiana Garcia and Tammie Brown from Rupaul's Drag Race Season 1. more ›

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. If you don't have anyone with whom to celebrate the annual ode to love and intimacy, you are, presumably, worthless. If you do have someone with whom to celebrate the annual ode to love and intimacy, but would rather proudly declare that you and your paramour are simply too punk-rock to honor such a day, you are, most definitely, annoying and cruel. more ›

Oh, SoCal, you know not what you do. A Laguna Beach surf shop has issued an apology saying they "meant no harm" in their Martin Luther King Day promotional material, advertising a 20% off sale on "all black items." The poster featured an image of Dr. King in a wetsuit, and many a Facebook fan told them they found this a little crass, and/or misguided. Thalia Surf Shop has removed the offending ad from their website and said that in future they'll "be more careful in our selection of promotions." more ›

Today, Jan. 5th, is National Bird Day. Chirp. In honor of National Bird Day, SFMOMA made a little video using a Felix Gonzalez-Torres' poster. Delightful. more ›

During last weekend's tribute to Christ's birth, many people were pinched for driving while smashed. BCN (via SF Appeal) reports: "In the period spanning from 6 p.m. Dec. 24 through midnight on Dec. 26, Bay Area CHP officers made 115 DUI arrests, down from 195 for the same period last year." Around the state, officers arrested 658 drivers for driving while blotto, "a drop from the 1104 arrests for the same period in 2009." [Appeal] more ›

BART will extend its service until 3 a.m. on New Year's Day to accommodate the large number of people attending the New Year's Eve fireworks show along Embarcadero. Trains will be running once every 20 minutes after the event with additional trains to handle the crowd. more ›

On Christmas Eve, Lefty O'Doul's collected 15,000 toys for the annual Firefighters Toy Program, and many more toys were dropped off at local fire stations or picked up and delivered for free by Luxor Cab throughout December. more ›

Your SFist editorial team (back to front: Leanne Maxwell, Andrew Dalton, Jay Barmann, and Brock Keeling) reminds you that the best holiday gifts are homemade. ("Pew pew" noises not included.) That said, please enjoy this rare (we know GIFs are tacky, but we've made an exception today) yet festive GIF before somebody defaces it with bull heads. more ›

There are countless stories to tell in San Francisco, but sometimes a picture says so much more that mere words. Each Tuesday, we present to you 7 Reasons. (Our sister site LAist does the same thing, which we found too inspiring to resist.) Much like Photo du Jour highlighting a nifty image shot by readers, 7 Reasons will feature photos from the SFist pool on Flickr showcasing the uniqueness of San Francisco. Here are 7 reason why the holiday season in S.F. is, for lack of a better word, merry. more ›

The chimps at the Oakland Zoo got to open their Christmas presents early this year, and even though this is just a baldfaced publicity stunt, we really want to see them get in that plastic car and drive around. [ABC 7] more ›

The quiet enclave of Foster City is shocked to find that some ne'er-do-wells are going around stealing packages from doorsteps. Foster City police have identified one possible suspect in at least two cases of alleged theft of holiday gifts, which were left by UPS or FedEx outside homes. more ›

Raise your hand if you still have some gifts to buy, and you've run out of time to shop locally. (Raises hand.) FunCheapSF via The Frugal Find to the rescue! Head over to Amazon for free one-day shipping on select, larger ticket items, today only. You'll also save some cash in the process. more ›