We take a break from SF coverage to report to you the following incident, one which proves that nothing good comes out of Orange County. Ever. Without a doubt. For reals.

While the Bay Area struggles at keeping birds oil-free and alive, fisherman Hai Nguyen, 24, of Garden Grove tries to murder marine mammals. While fishing off the end of a Newport Beach pier, Nguyen used a steak knife to stab a sea lion who innocuously swiped his bait. According to AP, "the animal was taken to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, where staff found the knife had pierced the sea lion's heart... [i]t was later euthanized." Nguyen faces up to one year in prison and a fine of $20,000for violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. And for being a cruel dick.

Why, this reminds me of the time when fishermen in Dana Point sliced off the beaks of brown pelicans who were noshing on their catch. Which happened around the same time as our future high school's flag post -- i.e., your editor's high school's flag post, that is -- was adorned with a freshly dead dolphin. It was tied to the post by a rival high school in the name of good old fashion football rivalry. Anyway, that's all of the sweeping generalization fodder we've got for you today. Sorry, but the lack of NorCal vs. SoCal rivalry as of late is unnerving. Back to your regularly scheduled Bay Area-related programming...

John Vanderslice may well own the hearts of the San Francisco crowds he plays to, at least it seems that way. Taking the stage at 9:20 (SFist isn’t at all ashamed to admit that they’ve been enjoying the earlier show times at Noise Pop this year), Vanderslice and crew played a tight 35 minute set. In addition to saying hi to his mom, Vanderslice reminisced about his first ever show, which was opening for The Mountain Goats and Bob Mould at a Noise Pop show a few years back. Vanderslice also demonstrated that he really is one of the tightest writers in pop music, both in terms of his jazz-ish compositions and interesting lyrical twists and turns. The only disappointment was that he didn’t play more from Pixel Revolt, but the performance overall was anything but disappointing.

Leslie Feist has a voice that makes you wonder if she’s made a deal with a devil. In recordings, here voice is amazing, but live it induces awe. The range, control, huskiness and beauty of it make you think of smoky jazz clubs in the 1940’s and maybe Billy Holiday and Cat Power singing a duet. Known for improvising and looping her own vocals during live performances, Feist added new twists to her older songs and played several new songs from her upcoming album, much to the delight of the crowd. She also brought out Kevin Drew from her former band, Broken Social Scene to perform a song.

Feist proved that she may be the best musical sports ever. Midway through her set, Bimbo’s sound board blew. Only one “1964 mike” that was running through the guitar amp, and Feist’s own guitar could be heard. Undaunted, Feist said she didn’t “want to leave yet” and proceeded to perform a couple of songs in Lo-Fi. Sound techs (SFist never knew they could move that fast) managed to fix the sound for the end of the set, but it blew again a song into the encore. Although it was frustrating to not be able to really hear some of the songs, Feist forever endeared herself to SFist and the rest of the crowd with her good natured attitude about the problem and because she kept playing throughout.

Photo by Julie Schuchard

The thing is, our TiVos and VCRs can only do so much, and we haven't mastered the art of watching one show while also watching another show in that tiny screen-within-a-screen set-up our TV has. Of course we watch some of these Thursday shows purely out of habit (::cough:: ER ::cough::), and we're also hoping some new shows will turn out to be total duds, so that we (or the networks themselves) can just kiss them good-bye (it looks like "Reunion" may be the first to suffer that fate).

For now, we'll just have to do our best to keep up, starting with "Everybody Hates Chris" at 8 p.m. on UPN. The pilot episode is another show we actually got to see in advance, and we are happy to say, it was very funny! For those of you who haven't heard the premise (or seen the billboards, or signs on the sides of buses, or print ads, or TV commercials) the half-hour show is a slightly fictional take on Chris Rock's childhood as a 12-year-old kid in Bed-Stuy New York, with Rock lending narration to each episode. While the kid who plays Chris (Tyler James Williams) relies a little too much on the bug-eyed reaction shot, Rock's funny voice-overs and the talent of the rest of the cast (especially Tichina Arnold and Terry Crews as his parents) makes up for it. We especially liked some of the show's smaller details, like how one of Dad's uniforms reveals that he works at the Overlook Hotel. We really hope the network decides to move it to another night, and not just cancel it if it has a hard time in its difficult time-slot.

Approval levels in the 36 percent range -- are we talking about Bush or the California governor? What's the SchwarzenWatcher got cooking today?

The governor's veto-happy! It's not just gay marriage, either -- he also just vetoed the bill that was going to double fines for traffic violators on 19th Avenue. Activists with relatives killed on 19th Avenue are furious, especially since Mr. Governor gave no reason for the veto except saying that we needed more traffic safety awareness in general. Personally, we're also impressed with the Examiner's headline on this article: "GOVERNOR STEPS IN FRONT OF HIGHER 19TH AVE. FINES."

Now, we've been saying for some time, what kind of guy decides he's going to pick a fight with teachers, nurses, and firefighters in the first place? (you know, "People like me.") Aren't these the most beloved people in the world? Why not just take a stance against puppies too while you're at it? Well, ask and ye shall receive -- Schwarzenegger has announced that he will be vetoing a bill aimed at stopping the sale of puppies that are too young to leave their mothers by the puppy mill industry. (Because nothing helps the CA economy like selling puppies whose eyes haven't opened yet!) We are so excited for protests featuring adorable of-age puppies with signs around their neck that say "ARF! for Angelides!"

Grrrrrr, you say! What can be done? Well -- as SFist MattyMatt says, there's a protest tonight about gay marriage at the state building at 455 Golden Gate (between Larkin and Polk) from 4:30-7. If you're more of a uniony type, Alliance For a Better California is organizing a precinct walk about the special election on Saturday. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the African-American Art and Cultural Complex at 762 Fulton Street.

Picture from the OC Register