--What with all the excitement about the arrest warrant for Ed Jew, we didn't get a chance to tell you about how just about 50 miles away, the Santa Clara DA's office had to drop the charges they brought against the now-former mayor of San Jose. (Overzealous.) --GASP!!! The Oakland Zoo's about to get two pandas!!!! --Sex for grades? --John McCain, Bill Richardson, and Barack Obama were in the area today. --Hybrids aren't clogging......

Chronicle book review editor (and proud member of the SFist Gentlemen's Auxiliary) Oscar Villalon is the reigning three-time thumb-wrestling champ at 826 Valencia. In his honor, the fey letterpressers who bring you McSweeney's publications have released his "The Way Of The Thumb," a slim 16-page how-to manual which demonstrates yet another reason why opposable digits separate us from the animals. We're pleased to see that such a triumph does not go unnoticed at a man's......

Tonight: We're running just down the street to Borders Books and Music (200 King Street at 3rd) for Making It: Writers on the Verge. Brought to us by our pals at Friends of the SF Public Library this event features Beth Lisick, Michelle Tea, and Stephen Elliott with moderator Oscar Villalon (SF Chronicle book editor) discussing how they started out and how they sustain their work. And it's free! Saturday: We're headed down to......