In this our modern age where Gen X and Gen Y fight over aesthetic and street credibility (hint: Gen Y wins, but only because they have youth on their side), fixed gear bicycles have typically signified the presence of a hipster during this war. What is a fixed gear bike, you ask? Well, a "fixe" will only allow a cyclist to ride using a single gear and the only way to brake the bike is to pedal backwards to skid the bike to a stop. They're also more pleasing to the eye than, say, a Schwinn ten-speed—is that still a thing?—which could be the main reason why so many young chic freaks enjoy riding the dangerous yet unfairly maligned bike. more ›

In the sleepy beach town of Seal Beach, six people were killed today at Salon Meritage, a beauty salon in the 500 block of Pacific Coast Highway, after a person opened fire. According to AP, Police arrested a man in a traffic stop a half-mile from the shooting scene and he was taken into custody" and "[M]ultiple weapons were seized." more ›

A video posted yesterday to YouTube shows footage from a February, 13th protest in Yorba Linda, held outside a fundraising event held by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), with a goal of aiding women's shelters, and fighting homelessness and hunger in the US. The protesters were there to speak out against "what they called the group’s agenda to impose Sharia (Islamic law) on American society," explains the Jewish Journal. "They were particularly upset with the event’s keynote speakers, New York cleric Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Amir Abdel Malik Ali, whom they said hold anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic views." more ›

Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose -- an elected official who blasted friends and colleagues with this racist email -- has resigned today. The "No Easter egg hunt this year" email, followed by a White House adorned with watermelon groves, peeved some of the recipients. more ›

Oh, Orange County. We do miss you sometimes. more ›

God, sometimes we love Orange County. It's such a parody of itself at times, which we admire. Especially when it comes to brilliance like the following found over at Laughing Squid. You see, the city of Santa Ana (oy) wants to help parents determine, via the graphic above, whether or not their child is a rat bastard tagger. The city of Santa Ana's site explains their accusatory and unfair image, along with the final word as to what is and is not art, thusly: more ›

Since the advent of the digital camera, we haven't stepped foot inside a Costco. Now we have a reason to return. Today's Hot Stuff ("Catering by Costco") in the Merc rates the appetizers found in the frozen food section of everyone's favorite warehouse store. Some of their top picks are the Full Circle Torta Stella, Cuisine Adventures' spanakopita, Clear Springs' smoked rainbow trout (smoked trout is phenomenal, folks -- miles above smoked salmon), and Jeremiah's Fine Foods shrimp and scallop cakes. To the best of our knowledge, we haven't tasted any one of these fine food products, but anything branded "Cuisine Adventures" can't be half bad, can it? more ›

Did you hear? Surfer, skateboarder, artist, and occasional Paul Frank designer Thomas Campbell has a new show. This one, it seems, highlights his brand-spanking new work, which he describes as "surf-centric doodles, sculpture, photos, and sewn stuff." Raised as an Orange County "punk," he started out on the scene as part of the "bicoastal movement of street-smart artists who take their cues from underground culture." His rustically genuine work isn't featured here in SF... more ›

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. more ›

We'll do the partying and/or dying, so you don't have to. Homebound denizens of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and the world at large. Our editor, Brock, will be coming at you live from the Castro all night. We'll bring you live reportage of the costumes, "unsanctioned gaiety," Dachau-like police state, public urination, and/or absolutely nothing happening at all whatsoever. Stay tuned. 10:45 Update: That's it. We're done here, folks. If there's a shooting... more ›

We caught Phil Setzer, the violinist for the Emerson String Quartet, being driven down between performances in Santa Barbara and Orange County. We hope it was in a stretch limo, as these guys have won eight Grammy awards and critical acclaim everywhere they go. They are the only chamber music group to ever win a best classical album grammy, and they even got two. So they better travel like the rock stars they are. They'll be up here on Sunday for a performance at Herbst Theater presented by SF Performances. They'll play the integral of Brahms string quartets, or, as we like to say, tunes from their latest CD. more ›

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. more ›

Gasp! more ›

-- Wing: With album titles like Wing Sings Elvis, Wing Sings AC/DC, Dancing Queen by Wing, and Beatles Classics by Wing, it's easy to see why she shot to cult-icon status and became a favorite of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who ended up using her in South Park. See her tonight along with comedian Lisa Geduling at 8:30 p.m. at Cafe Du Nord, Market and Sanchez Streets; $12. more ›

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. more ›

>Theatrical Releases April 13th, 2007 Of the major releases, we think the most interesting is Mike White’s directorial debut: Year of the Dog. White continues with his tradition of dealing with sexual/social awkwardness (a la Chuck and Buck), humor about the bizarreness of development (Freaks and Geeks, School of Rock) and the conflict of “where we come from” (Orange County and Nacho Libre). It’s well put together and worth the time. This film proves itself to be one in a long career: White will certainly direct again. 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 ›

For those who haven't heard, BARRY HAS ARRIVED IN TRAINING CAMP! We repeat, BARRY HAS ARRIVED IN TRAINING CAMP! A day late, however, something that drew a raised eyebrow from some ("oh my God, Barry did something on his own again"). Like last year, Barry met the press to give his annual State of Barry Address, but this time didn't do it press-conference style, instead he just answered few informal questions from the dugout. Probably a smart move as last year's infamous press conference, the one where he spent most of the time berating the press, could only have been a worse P.R. move if he would have given the entire thing while Jose Canseco injected steroids in his ass. Nothing terribly exciting was said, but to sum up: will decide about retiring at the end of the season, wants to spend more time with his family, doesn't want to play for another team, and wants to retire as a Giant. Since we've long since learned not to believe anything the Barry has to say, we take his comments with a grain of salt and wouldn't be surprised to see him wearing a L.A. Angels of Anaheim in Orange County Right Off of the Imperial Highway uniform next season. more ›

You know how after the Very Special Election Governor Arnie was saying he got the message loud and clear and was going back to being a centrist and ixnaying the hard-core conservatism? It looks like he's actually doing it. It's all out with the old and in with the new. This week he got rid of his previous Chief of Staff, a Republican, and brought in one of Gray Davis' old aides, Susan Kennedy. The move has gotten conservative's panties all in a bunch. Not necessarily because Kennedy is an old Davis aide, but because she's been actively involved in abortion rights causes. And is lesbian who married her longtime partner. Yep, the Governor just put his administration in the hands of an abortion-loving lesbian and we know how much the Republican Party loves them. more ›

Several months ago, when Schwarzenegger was getting killed in the polls, his flacks kept on telling supporters to relax, that everything will be fine and that once the Governor and his huge war chest get into campaign mode, the battle will be joined. Consider the battle joined. This week, after much brain-wracking, the Governor's campaign people unveiled their big campaign weapon: 70's parties! Or, as the Join Arnold says, "It’s a 70’s Party-- Featuring the best of the 70’s." What? Swingers parties, blow, and Skynard? more ›

Funny, we didn't see this in the Examiner, Chron or Sacramento Bee. Yesterday, the state's Senate Judiciary Committee passed Assembly Bill 849, the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act," by a vote of five to two. While it's still to early to shout, "Yay for the Gays," it's a big tactical victory for assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who gutted a languishing agriculture bill to get this reviewed before the Assembly takes recess on Friday. The bill was sponsored by EQCA. more ›

C'mon, Star Trek 4 is all about cops in SF! Yesterday's bomb scare at City Hall was traced to a kook who went up to the security desk on the Van Ness side around 3:30 p.m., put his cell phone down, and said, "I put a bomb in here." After evacuating the building, the po-po shot a water cannon at the phone and determined it was explosives-free. SFist Jackson has an airtight alibi (item 4, around 1:00:00. Thanks for sticking up for the bloggers!) Yet more wacky weed news! Firefighters in El Cerrito that were inspecting a house that had been flooded by a water main break last Friday morning "noticed grow lights, hydroponic equipment and the strong smell of marijuana." Suspicious, they called the cops, who found about 100 plants and a pound of processed pot, and promptly booked the residents. Bummer to get busted at 3 in the morning while your house is flooding. "....No, man! I gotta get the Galactic bootlegs out of the basement!" And South Asian families in the Valley are concerned that they're being targeted by thieves who know that they tend to have expensive gold jewelry in their homes. Fourteen families have been robbed on weekends since December. This reminds us of that spate of burglaries in the Orange County Asian-American community (.pdf), where they figured out the burglars were targeting houses where there were a lot of shoes outside the front door. more ›