Time, man. You think you get it. And then you realize that the Ancient Greeks and Romans were so calendar-challenged that they had to insert random months every few years to make sure the seasons lined up properly. Then you have the Gregorian calendar, and the day in 1752 when England the U.S. decided to adopt it, effectively losing 11 days all at once. It's kind of insane. (You may have also heard that Samoa just decided to switch time zones, and Samoans didn't get a Friday. Like today didn't exist for them, at all.) more ›

A two-alarm fire broke out in a North Beach apartment building early New Year's Day, displacing 48 residents, two-thirds of whom only speak Cantonese and many of them low-income. The fire was reported just before 1:30 a.m., after one of the residents found her bathroom on fire. The blaze spread quickly, and residents had to flee with few belongings. 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 ›

Wow, it feels like just yesterday that we posted something about the Symphony's Chinese New Year's concert for last year's Year of the Pig! Well, it's now the Year of the Rat, and the orchestra's raring to go! Last year's 14 year old solo pianist, Peng Peng, is now 15 and this year, he'll be playing a Mozart piano duet with 13-year-old up and comer Conrad Tao. The orchestra will again be helmed by Carolyn Kuan and we expect it'll be a sold out show. more ›

Oh Lord. Is this for real? more ›

Violence at SF nightclubs has been all the rage this year - all nine days, that is - and now a summit is being held this month in order to curb the violent tomfoolery. A few choice incidences to refresh your memory: Marcus Pepper, 26, was killed on New Year's Day outside a Ninth Street warehouse SOMA party; Clarence Corbin 34, was shot outside Jelly's Dance Cafe in Mission Bay; Club Vessel was, well, Club Vessel; and much to no one's surprise, two women were attacked by two male Antiochians outside 715 Harrison this past Sunday. more ›

In our continuing Orwellian coverage, we present to you a BART fight captured on tape, which happened after midnight on New Year's Eve. Really now. We expect this kind of behavior on the 24-Divis or the 38-Geary, but not on BART. (It's classy and carpeted, for Christ's sake.) more ›

Photo of fireworks for New Year's Eve more ›

So, it's the eleventh hour and you've decided against crushing up a couple of Ambiens into a mug of fume blanc and calling it a year. Instead, you've turned that frown upside down, choosing to see what's happening tonight on New Year's Eve 2008. Good for you. And to help you out, here are some last-minute events for each neighborhood in the San Francisco. Just follow links for more info; they will provide you with more in-depth details. more ›

If you haven't decided what you are doing to celebrate the New Year, it's okay - it seems that limited tickets are still available to tonight's biggest shows. We have a feeling they will go quick. If you don't like crowds, you can check out Radiohead's New Year's Eve bash on your couch with a bottle of booze. For the partiers, there are several options ranging from $8 at Hotel Utah to $100 at Cafe du Nord - something for everyone. We put the Radiohead broadcast on tivo and are headed out to the rockin' party at Bottom of the Hill where San Francisco's own, Scissors for Lefty will be headlining. If you want to dance, instead of rock, then check out popscene's dance party featuring Blaqk Audio. Where will you be tonight? more ›

Moby must be sick with envy over this one. Tonight the "unconventional young network," Emmy Award-winning Current TV, will air a taped, private, hour-long Radiohead concert on New Year's Eve (and on New Year's day on broadcast Current TV.) Thom Yorke and his merry band of croonies will perform each track off of their top-listed 2007 effort, In Rainbows. more ›

Free Rides on New Years Eve! more ›

• SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others.
• Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list.
• Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island.

Mayor Gavin Newsom says that one of his "top priorities is to ensure that every San Franciscan has a safe and happy New Year. Riding Muni is a smart and green way to ring in the new year." (Thanks, Gavin!) And with a firm flick of his wrist, this New Year's Eve, starting at 8 p.m., Muni will be free all night, which is about what it's worth. The free rides come to a screeching halt at 6 a.m., Tuesday, January 1. more ›

The last time we saw Sandra Bernhard, which was at Bimbo's earlier this year, we almost walked into her as we were leaving the ladies room and she was making her entrance from the back of the theater, crooning "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." After a stagehand or security guy or au pair grabbed and shook the holy hell out of us, preventing us from colliding with Ms. Sandra, we went back to our seat, shamefaced. Naturally, out of fear, we can never ever see her again. Ever. But you sure can. In fact, you can catch her during her annual New Year's Eve stint here in glorious San Francisco. more ›

Gearing up for the big New Year's Eve bash, several artists are playing mini-residencies (two or three night stays) this weekend including: Cracker, The Radiators and ALO. If you schedule correctly, you could probably see everything that you want. Though New Year's Eve has some rocking concerts, we are going to cover those shows later in the week. more ›

Kids, it's time to get rocking. (Especially before the "Private Party" dry spell that is coming on. Yikes.) This week, the San Francisco music gods are offering a vast array of newbies and veterans - something that we will graciously partake of any day of the week. Now that the bets are in (okay, so no one really cast any bets - how boring is that?), you can go to Cafe du Nord, tonight,... more ›

My Morning Jacket's newest live recording entitled The 2006-2007 New Year’s Eve Skit Picture Disc Skit (Could they pick a longer title?) is available now through the band's website. The recording is from their New Year's Eve performance at the Fillmore last year. If you were there, you would know that it was a "Oregon Trail"-themed performance. (OMG, how cool is that!) But we're curious, how do you pull off an "Oregon Trail"-themed party?... more ›

Our security guy returns this week with a post about the measure taken before a big event as well as some more answers to recently posed questions. more ›

We enjoy visiting Charles Hogkins' web site, Burritoeater. Not necessarily for the opinions within his numerous reviews of taquerias, more because we just like his writing. He's got a funny, quirky style that, in our opinion, trenscends simple food reviews. He obviously enjoys doing it, but doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. And, hey, his ratings system is based on 10 mustaches. That's just funny, as are the use of terms like "burstage abatement," and his description of Papalote's burritos as "rendered with such mechanical consistency, some have wondered if there’s a mustachioed robot assembling them in an unseen corner of their tiny kitchen." We chatted briefly with Charles about his favorite food and another hobby of his, hiking. more ›

Did you know that Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days? The last day, March 4, 2007, is the Lantern Festival. So, we're not too late in getting this crucial holiday food news to you: Your celebratory moon cakes could be a danger to your health. more ›

In today's Chron, there's a big story about the events that occurred on New Year's Eve. To do so, they interviewed a whole bunch of witnesses (most of whom are anonymous) and put it together into a cohesive whole. And guess what? Everybody corroborates the story of the Baker's Dozen choral group. Everybody. Which makes you wonder why nobody's been charged yet or what's up with Ken Garcia and why is Heather Fong lying but that's neither here nor there right now. more ›

Starting next Wednesday, we're wishing the Rickshaw Stop a very Happy 3rd Anniversary! In the last three years the venue has presented shows with everyone from Jonathan Richman to Silversun Pickups and has hosted all manner of wacky special events. Our favorite memory was an early show by Phosphorescent, and a pretty fun time on New Year's Eve in '05. They're celebrating their anniversary with a three day festival featuring a different style of music each night, from singer-songwriter folk to pop to clubby dance-rock-electro. more ›

Last week's winner, the Bay Guardian. What do Carter and Bush have in common? Problems with Schwarzenegger's health insurance plan. Someone missed the sarcasm in Tim Redmond's column about wifi. Steven T. Jones is working hard this week, covering not only Fake Question Time on the blog but also the trademark fight over Burning Man. Cover article: There's only six quail in the Presidio now, and they're all male. Is the Presidio like the Castro for quail? Sonic Reducer on the careerism in pop. Hey, Pee Wee Herman's coming to Amoeba on the 21st for a DVD signing. New fancy restaurant in the Presidio. Is quail on the menu? And David Cross's horoscope: He's reached the end of a wicked stressful cycle! We hope we didn't contribute to that. more ›

We don't know about you, but it's friggin cold out there. Well, not for some of you. It seems as though places that are supposed to be cold are warm and places that are supposed to be warm are cold. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, we're freezing. more ›

SFist interviews Andrew Kerwin, guitarist of Trainwreck Riders more ›

As expected, the beating up of members of the Bakers Dozen acapella group is now a full blown story with all the breathless reporting and graphics that comes with it. It's even gone national with Drudge reporting that the singers were beaten up "after singing the Star Spangled Banner" as if we here in San Francisco are so anti-American that we'll beat anyone up who sings the National Anthem. more ›

Two more murders in San Francisco on early Sunday morning, within 8 blocks and 40 minutes of each other: one at 13th and Folsom and another at 17th and Mission. By our count, that brings the murder total up to 5 for 2007 so far. In other Mission district crime news, there was a stabbing around 10 p.m. at the Burger King at 16th and Mission last night too. Would those proposed cameras at the corner have helped? more ›

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. more ›

-Oakland's New Year's Resolution? Less homicides. -The Governator has to miss parts of his own party due to his broken leg. more ›