Check out this remarkable footage of 2,459 photos of an Air France flight from San Francisco to Paris, featuring the northern lights. According to Gizmodo, the film was "shot using a Canon 5D mk II with 16mm - 35mm lens attached to a tripod, and controlled with a timelapse controller." What's more, "its creator was using the Korg iMS20 iPad app throughout the flight to mix the score live." more ›

Somehow we overlooked this last week, but local porn-ish blog, the Sword, captured images of San Francisco's openly bent politicos Supervisor/personality Bevan Dufty and city treasurer Jose Cisneros kicking it together at Sydney's Gay Mardi Gras. And it looked downright outrageous. more ›

Though this may amuse a smattering of transplants who neither want this city to grow nor evolve into the world-class city it secretly is, a new global Monopoly board is coming and San Francisco is not a part of it. You see, people of the earth get to vote to see which of the 68 world cities will make the final 22 on the global board game. San Francisco, it seems, is not on the list. In fact, California gets a pithy single nomination (Los Angeles) while France receives a shocking two (Paris Lyon). more ›

Today Gavin Newsom announced that "a series of public hearings on the fatal Christmas Day tiger attack" that resulted in the killing of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. will start as soon as this Friday. After these hearings, the Recreation and Parks Department Commission will "make a set of recommendations to improve the agreement that allows a nonprofit to run the public zoo." Or something like that. Although it's an attempt to appease the mayor who would like "'to know how this incident happened and what measures are needed to prevent this type of incident from occurring ever again,'" it sure sounds like a lot of busywork for the sake of busywork. Anyway, according to the Gate, Marisa Lagos deftly explains how the zoo is run,similar to a broken home. more ›

News from the non-Nancy Pelosi side of the San Francisco House of Representatives delegation -- Tom Lantos, the fourteen-term representative for the Sunset, along with northern San Mateo County, has announced that he will not be seeking reelection, because he's been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Jackie "Jonestown survivor" Speier is considered the early favorite to fill Lantos's seat, and reliable object of fun Leland Yee is reported to be considering a run as well. more ›

One of the greatest misunderstandings in the history of US cinema -- oh please, as far as repeated viewings go, Ordinary People is a superior and more devastating film than Raging Bull -- is the genius of Sophia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette. A fantastic flick, really. It's gorgeous, laced with a few Bay Area inside jokes, oddly nerve-wrecking to watch, and the ending is perfect. Brilliant. In every way. more ›

Sorry for the day late post, but it was a hectic weekend, and we just couldn't bear having to recount the tragedy that was this week's "Project Runway" without at least one good night's sleep behind us. more ›

Although her contract ends in 2009, former SF Mayoral candidate and current San Francisco Public Utilities Commission chief Susan Leal might get the ax, according to Cecilia M. Vega over at the Chronicle. Her removal could kickoff a bloodbath of staff cuts by Newsom. And although her dismissal would need approval by committee, this seems like a done deal. According to the article: Leal received a telephone call Friday evening from Newsom's chief of... more ›

While the pairing seems unlikely (despite San Francisco being the "Paris of the West"), the Legion of Honor has received the, uh, honor of hosting the Marie-Antoinette exhibit. The show specifically focuses on Petit Trianon—Marie-Antoinette's personal retreat in Versailles—as well as the life and times of the lady herself. Paintings, furniture and anything else not bolted down in her house have been flown over here for display while the "cottage" (ahem) is being renovated. more ›

It’s early on a Saturday afternoon, and we’ve somehow found our way to Paris. OK, we’re not in Paris. Rather, we’re poking around mellow South Park between 2nd, 3rd, Brannan, and Bryant Sts., where arrondissement 94107’s narrow ellipse of green space merely feels a bit Parisian. The scene in the park is, for the most part, typical and ephemeral: young parents with their kids at the playground, couples chatting on benches or picnicking at tables, dogs and their attendant humans. Falling leaves pepper the ground with muted autumn color. South Park’s twist on the familiar neighborhood park theme, however, is the regular presence of down-and-out’ers at its west end. Nobody seems to demonize the two or three unshowered men hanging about, and while we’re not interested in joining them for a game of checkers or anything, it seems to be a case of no harm, no foul – at least on this afternoon. more ›

Yup, "the Paris of the West". It's a phrase that's been liberally applied to our fair city, perhaps most notably when the mayor of the Paris of, um, "France", arrived in San Francisco last November to commemorate the 10th anniversary of our "Sister Cities" agreement. more ›

We’ll start with the token blue-collar business. Down toward the Laguna end of this block of Union, a red banner plastered on the home of plumbing/heating/appliance specialists A. Valente & Sons defiantly announces, We’re Here 100 Years – Get Used To It. One of its signature ramshackle red Ford pickups sits across the street, and the stubborn survival of such an unsophisticated enterprise along this, the Yankee Stadium of big-league boutiquery, gets us wondering: Will women’s fashion retailers BCBG Maxazria or Pavillion de Paris still be making sales here early in the 22nd century? Can Marc Jacobs handbags and Lennox heating systems forever co-exist on Union St.? more ›

No longer just for cute Aryan stoners, Albert Fert of the Scientific Research National Center in Paris -- who just received the Nobel Prize for physics alongside Peter Gruenberg for their massive brainpower to help shrink hard drives so that they fit into your iPods, or whatever -- is a Dell user. We'll go one step further by suggesting that Fert has dabbled in Linux use when he was young, too. more ›

The dogumentary does an admirable job of setting up the history, the controversies, the doggie (and human) drama and provides lots of interesting tidbits (after WWI, dachshunds were the "freedom fries" of their day and had to be called "liberty pups" so they wouldn't be murdered due to all the anti-German sentiment in the country). more ›

Bless you, Drew Altizer, for your always-fun pictures of the local celebs in town! We wish we were Vegasist, so you'd have some pictures of Britney Spears's flabtastic performance at the VMAs last night. (aaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!) more ›

We feel way dirty for posting this, but maybe someone cares. According to what is supposedly actually Paris Hilton's blog via some youth-oriented contraption called "MySpace," the omnipresent socialite is going to be at Macy's Union Square tomorrow at 3 p.m. to launch her clothing line. more ›

We can't really get ourselves too worked up about the billboards or campaign finance allegations that Mark Leno's tossing around about his rival for the State Senate seat, Carole Migden (sorry) -- but we certainly do pay attention to her reckless-driving woes! The Solano County DA has decided to charge Migden with a misdemeanor based on her wild lane-changing and fender-bending ways from earlier this year. Like Paris Hilton, only without the DUI or the wonky eye! more ›

Here's todays sports news more ›

We headed to the Castro on Sunday evening for the SFJFF's , featuring four women, some single, some married, some divorced, but all Jewish and all uniquely Parisienne. more ›

Yay, more film festivals! We love it. Next up: the SF Jewish Film Festival, which runs from July 19 to July 26 (with some additional screenings around the area through August 6). more ›

A hearing at City Hall on Monday, 7/9/07 regarding Octavia Blvd. more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. more ›

Look! Just like we promised -- to celebrate the Frameline GLBT film fest, we're giving away free passes throughout the festival (running June 14-24). more ›

10:30 p.m.: We went out to dinner and missed Ed Jew's surrender to the authorities.... in Burlingame!!! Awesome. Hey, that way he could just go straight home afterwards. Jew posted bail and was released on his own recognizance. His first court appearance is scheduled for July 16. more ›

The entries are coming in fast and furious on the Photoshop Frank Chu's Sign challenge! Here's our top two so far -- send yours in too! 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 ›

Did anything happen at all in the San Francisco Bay Area today? All we've been doing is monitoring the Paris Hilton back to jail news! MOOOOOOM!!!!! more ›

Photo of car with a CHP 11-99 Foundation license plate holder more ›

SFist interviews Laura Veirs more ›

Greg Novoa of San Francisco was the 45 millionth visitor to Seattle's Space Needle. 45 million is the key number because the ol' needle just turned 45 years old. It's great news for Mr. Novoa -- he's been awarded five days and four nights in Paris, France for being in the right place at the right time. Nice! more ›