It seems that NBC 11 caught Bill O'Reilley's film crew taking in the (non)X-rated partying that went on at last Saturday's Erotic Exotic Ball. This week he'll devoted an entire segment to the annual "sexy" Halloween fete, and even have the ball’s founder, Perry Mann, on as a guest. ...

Here's todays sports news...

-- John officially wants SF throne. So does Josh. [Laughing Squid, JW] -- Dublin-Pleasanton BART station closure times, dates. (Our apologies for posting this unforgivably late.) [BART, Chron] -- Pirates beat Giants. Arrr, indeed. [Examiner] -- Fish sandwiches and bean pies: what could have been but never was. [Chron] -- 12 shootings in 24 hours in the city of Richmond. [ABC 7] -- Friday's gunfire in SF threatens the lives of two. [Chron] --......

Here's todays sports news...

--Gavin Newsom had another Project Homeless Connect event. Reader Elihuh2001 sends along this picture, along with the note that Gavin refused the free coffee provided, in favor of a more corporate flair. --A Pirates of the Caribbean ship sails through Oakland. --San Francisco comic artist Justin Hall gives a superhero lecture at ToonFetish, a conference in Hollywood which SFist MattyMatt assures us is about exactly what it sounds like it's about. --Gay bomb, gay bomb,......

This week's Big Movie: Ocean's Thirteen! It’s a real surprise how divided the critics are about this one! Sure it’s franchising, sure it’s full of top shelf men in designer clothes and high-end accoutrement, but we thought it was all kicks and giggles. Groucho Reviews's Peter Cavanese however, says, “the plot of Thirteen is old, old news.” Many, like Roger Ebert, expressed their exhaustion with this trope -- Scott Floundas of the Village Voice......

The big reality shows have ended their TV seasons, which means we're left with the really crappy summer reality TV fare. And since reality TV tends to set the bar pretty low to begin with, you know the stuff they shove at us during he summer has to be really prime. Like "Pirate Master" for instance! This show screams executive pitch: "It's 'Survivor' meets Pirates of the Caribbean!" But being that we're only (semi)......

SFist Sara surveys the local view of Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Who knew it had a trenchant analysis of constitutional law? The current contribution to the mass spoon-feeding that is the summer blockbuster schedule is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Not as strong as the first film and far stronger than the second (which stunk like dead kraken), World’s End is 168 minutes of pee-inducing ocean battles. Don’t think we’re hacking it;......

SFist Jessie takes the 1960s to ancient times at the East Bay theater. If you've ever wondered what the Weather Underground and The Book of Jeremiah could have in common, then check out the innovative new production I Have Loved Strangers from Berkeley-based theater company, Just Theater. We don't claim to know a whole lot about theater (although, yes, we did have a solo line in the Pirates of Penzance in the 7th grade), but......

The last of our slightly less-than-timely coverage of the Alternative Press Expo, which took place last weekend, focuses on folks telling their sequential art stories in a longer form. Which, as much as we love the other stuff, is really what we dig the most. We focus on Ted Naifeh, Dave Dwonch, Joseph Costirlos, Von Allan, Jaimel M. Hemphill, and Javier Gonzalez....

Let's get everyone ready for tonight's big Warriors Game. ...

Here's a piece on the A's Dan Haren...

Happy New Year everyone! What We Did On Our Christmas Vacation After having our plans to fly to Denver thwarted by a sinister snowstorm, we headed straight to Texas. We spent most of the time in Houston with our family and managed to type out our top 10 albums of '06 while our nephews watched "Pirates of the Carribbean" for the nth time. One night was spent in Austin with one of our favorite people......

Almost exactly a year ago, we reviewed "Less Than Hero," by local artists Jason McNamara and Tony Talbert. They've got a new book out now, and it's called "Continuity," possibly because it seems to continue and continue and continue. Why oh why is this book an estimated five thousand pages long? Brevity, people. We'll have a few more words to say about it in a minute, but first we want to get in some......

No, not Air America -- David Barsamian, the host of the Alternative Radio show on KALW, is hosting an evening of high-falutin' discourse at the Brava Theater with New Left Review commentator Tariq Ali (the author of Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope, on Hugo Chavez and Latin America), and music by the Kronos Quartet. The event is a benefit for the Media Alliance, which is celebrating 30 years of responsible left-wing media representation.......

God, we're so sick of Snakes on a Plane that we want to kill anyone and everyone that makes a "something on a something" joke. But then we realized that there was no way we could ever win this fight, and, hell, if you can't beat them, we might as well join them. And with that, you have the theme of this weeks' Gothamist network post. Austinist makes it easy for us, with Candidate on......

So with the passing of the trade deadline, we have the answer to this weekends' big Giants' question-- wave the white flag or go for it. We're going for it. Unfortunately, we're going for it with the same team that is currently enjoying an eight-game losing streak. So unless Sabaen can somehow pull off a Benitez for A-Rod trade (Sabes?) , the question out there is what if anything can the Giants do to get off the schneid? Well, here's something to ponder, something that for whatever reason isn't really being discussed even though it should, and here it is; Fire Felipe. Like right now before it's too late. ...

This week's comic reviews could easily just be a long, happy, satisfied sigh. Our recommenders at Isotope Comics have been handing us some fairly heavy titles lately, and so to make up for that, they've given us three delights. A collection of Polly and the Pirates! A brand new ultra-cute Bumperboy! Issue One of the sharp fantasy series Castle Waiting, which has experienced an on-again-off-again publishing for the last 10 years. To those all......

We went away for a long weekend last week, all happy and satisfied over the state of les Noir et L'Orange. They had just taken two from the Fish with the Pirates coming into town for a four-game weekend series. Hello, Big Giants Run. Then we came back from Tahoe only to discover that the Giants wound up losing three out of four games to the Pirates. As in the last place, cellar dwelling Pirates. As in the well recognized worst franchise in the National League Pirates. At home. And suddenly a home series looking as easy as Lindsey Lohan at a party at Koi turned into one of those nightmare type weekends that make you want to never leave your apartment. ...

Before we get to this week's comic books, we must first point out that Issue 2 of Kevin McShane's Toupydoops has, as the kids say, hit the stands. (We reviewed Issue 1 a few weeks ago.) This latest installment sees our heros standing in line to get into a club where, it turns out, everybody sucks. Poseurs and floozies and five dollar beers deflate their enthusiasm for Los Angeles, but just when all seems......

"Pah" we say to those jaded, been-around-the-block hipsters who say that pirates are all played out. You haven't picked up "Polly and the Pirates," by Ted Naifeh, which is the sort of swashbuckling adventure that made you love pirates in the first place. Set in the sort of folksy Elizabethan quasi-Europe metropolis that you might find in a "Final Fantasy," it's the story of a grizzled hoarde of pirates and a young girl whom......

SFist reviews the world premiere of "Pirates of the Great Salt Lake" at the Roxie in San Francisco...

A gradual recollection of the previous night's 'activities', peppered liberally with 'Scene Missing' cards and set to calliope music. Ok, not really, it's actually just a once-weekly bar review column submitted for your scorn and disagreement by barrespondent Drew. We loves the darkness. Not only the British retro-hair band, but also the absence of light. We've heard that some people enjoy the beginning of summer because they get depressed during the winter when there's......

Let's just come right out and say it: the Giants, now 8-10, had a crappy week. They went two-and-five against teams that, even without Barry Bonds (whose return is still shrouded in steroid-enhanced mystery) and Moises Alou (who returned to action on Friday night and hit his first homerun as a Giant on Sunday), they should have won at least four games. Until this point, the Giants' offense had been the bright spot of the......

It should be noted that the Giants, as indicated yesterday, have indeed locked up Armando Benitez to a three year deal. Also, the A's recieved catcher Jason Kendall in a trade with the Pirates. While SFist is an avowed Giants fan (insert Athletics supporter joke here), it must be admitted that picking up Kendall is a pretty cool move and that the A's will be better and more interesting because of it. Next year's shaping......

For a trial that's supposed to be leak proof, this whole BALCO mess is leaking all over the place. In response to charges of misconduct brought on by details of the investigation leaking, , the court leaked documents on Friday detailing an interview Federal Agents had with Barry Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson ("Barry Bonds' Personal Trainer Gary Anderson", of course, pretty much being his new name). In the report, Anderson named several Giants' players......

Having successfully leaned on ace Jason Schmidt in the face of utter despair once again, this time turning to him to save them from from the ignominy of a season sweep by the lowly Pirates, the Giants are staying on in the Keystone State for their next series, heading east to face the Team of Brotherly Love in their cosy new ballpark for the first time tonight....