In a final tip of the hat that sums up this year's (disappointing) election, Gavin Watch has celebrity candidate Chicken John's surprise Saturday night debate with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Not the real mayor, mind you, but Gavin in puppet form. (Kudos to those who created the puppet, though we would've have liked to have seen Newsom sporting a signature cold-blue tie. We digress.) It's a humorous bit, one that stretches on and......

-- Shadow Circus Vaudeville Theatre: (In)famous night of underground "circus arts, burlesque, music, and puppetry" begins at 9 p.m. at Fat City; $10. -- Rogue Wave: Oakland indie-rock band performs with Port O'Brien at 9 p.m. at Bimbo's; $15. -- Oslo, A Modern Machine, Desole: LA-based Oslo has got serous buzz right now. Which means the place will get crowded with hungry hungry hipsters, so get there early. Music starts at 8:30 p.m. at......

Based on a Brothers Grimm tale,The Robber Bridegroom is a musical fable is full of puppetry, murder and curses. Put on by the Stars and Garters Theatre Co., the show runs through the 15th at the Voice Factory. 1519 Mission St. Tickets are available on a sliding scale, from $12-$20. Show starts at 8pm. Considered to be the largest underground hip-hop event in America, Scribble Jam kicks off at 9pm at Slim's. Come check......

It's that time of the year again for San Francisco magazine's Best of the Bay party. The annual bash features lots of eats, drinks and chances to win prizes. Be prepared to fork over nearly a bill for your ticket here -- but as an added bonus it will also get you into the afterparty at Slide. San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th St. Come watch contenders for the Air Guitar championship title......

If the prospect of watching a gay pride parade on television thrills you, you'd better have cable -- because KRON, which has previously broadcast the parade over the air on channel 4, is this year bumping their coverage all the way up to Comcast's channel 99. KRON's broadcast license is up for renewal, see, and the chance of losing it over something unexpected during the parade is just too great. (You can read a......

At some point in 2003, we were at a meeting of the local puppetry guild (because that's the kind of rough crowd with which we roll) and someone mentioned that they'd done some concept art for Pixar involving rodentia. That's four years ago that those poor saps were playing with rats, tweaking every twitch and crumb day after day. And now, finally, Pixar's finally ready to say "okay, done" to Ratatouille. Upcoming Pixar reports......

Some people cross dress, and some artists cross genres. ...

Theater isn't just theater anymore. Throw in some dance, circus, puppetry and even a bit of some horror and comic books, and you've come a long way since, say, Neil Simon....