Festishizing that "authentic, old-school New York experience," Adam Fisher moved to NYC to frolic with hipsters, sing selections from Rent, or snap his fingers to the jazzy beats along with the other bohemian artists when he moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn. Unfortunately, his time there was a bit too real. Severely beaten and mugged of $28 while at the Morgan Avenue L subway station, Fisher hightails it back to his hometown, San Francisco. In his......

-- So it has come to this: Barry Manilow, Brian Boitano, AT&T Park, and ice. [Examiner] -- The fuzz busts cannabis-sweets fusion culinary artists. [Oakland Tribune] -- Arrested Berkeley Rent Board member enters a not guilty plea. [Chron] -- Booze and breast cancer link. Nooooo! [Oakland Tribune] -- Progressive pubs bash MoveOn? (Did they notice every tree? Understand the light?) [BeyondChron] -- Rich bitch Possible Academy of Art student giving the finger. [Curbed SF]......

Not to be outdone by San Francisco's own zip code fibbing person of the people, Green Party follower and Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board member Chris Kavanagh, according to today's Matier and Ross, "was hauled out of an Oakland coffee shop [Cole's Coffee Shop] in handcuffs today" and thrown in the clink on fraud charges for lying about his Berkeley residence. It seems that he actually lived on 63rd Street in Oakland, where he was......

Alarmists of SF: We just received an word via AlertSF that: 6th Street between Market and Mission closed to all traffic due to police activity. Do NOT call 911 for information regarding this event. Sounds scary. Like, worse than when they closed that same strip to film that God-awful Rent. We hear it's a bomb threat, possibly at the Seneca Hotel Desmond Hotel. Any news? Deborah blames a paranoid tweaker. Let us know if......

The Merc is reporting that starting today, Avis Rent A Car is offering Wi-Fi service with cars rented from its SFO location. At a mere $10.95 a day (which seems pricey, but we suppose is better than, say, renting by the hour at many cyber-cafes or whatnot), the enabling device can come with you into meetings, making this a pretty interesting option for the business traveller....

At next TuesdayFriday's MTA meeting (March 20, 2pm, Room 400, City Hall), they'll be moving to pay off five claims. Most are unlitigated, so we can't look up the details; the other two are vehicle-property-damage cases that are pretty standard-issue, at least for Muni. One, Evelyn Bravos versus SF, involves a $3,000 fender-bender in the Richmond; the other, San Francisco Food Bank versus SF, involves a bus crash that did about $18,000 in damage.......

A passel of literary events tonight: LitPAC & Laughing Liberally Lab-SF Present a benefit for Slain Iraqi Comedian Walid Hassan featuring renowned writers Daniel Handler of Lemony Snicket, Andrew Sean Greer of Confessions of Max Tivoli, Michelle Tea of Valencia and Rent Girl, plus comedians, Joe Klocek, Sal Calanni of sketch group Tossing Alice, Ali Mafi of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, Samantha Chanse, Kurt Weitzmann and more. The benefit will be hosted......

Tonight at Biscuits and Blues (401 Mason St.), legendary New Orleans pianist, Henry Butler performs solo piano, combining the classical and jazz elements he absorbed at Louisiana School for the Blind and Southern University with the gospel, blues and R&B sounds he heard growing up in New Orleans. (8pm & 10pm shows) Saturday Grab a boombox and head on over to Mission Dolores Park (18th and Dolores) for Unsilent Night 2006, composer Phil Kline’s annual......

After vetoing Mirkarimi's foot patrol proposal on Friday, Gavin Newsom skipped on over to the Red Tie Gala at Neiman-Marcus, to benefit St. Anne's Home for the elderly poor in the Lake District, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Hope those Sisters don't need foot patrols! And sad news for young Brittanie Mountz -- Gavin's got a new plus-one on his arm. Our source identifies her as actress Jennifer Siebel. According to......

Okay, so you're a dad. It's Sunday and for whatever reason, it's your turn with the kids. Deep down, all you want to do that day is watch some football and go see "The Departed, " but, unfortunately, you have the kids. So, do you: a)Rent a DVD and watch something at home with the kids and see the movie later without the kids b)Go to another movie instead and see the movie later without the kids c)Find a baby sitter and see the movie without the kids or d)Say what the hell and take the kiddies to the movie anyways. After all, it's only a Scorsese flick about gangsters, how bad could it be? So, do you: a)Rent a dvd and watch something at home with the kids and see the movie later without the kids b)Go to another movie instead and see the movie later without the kids c)Find a baby sitter and see the movie without the kids or d)Say what the hell and take the kiddies to the movie anyways. It's only a Scorcese flick about gangsters, how adult could it be?...

Special treat this week, kids: a review. Oh, yeah, and the usual previews too. Passing Strange at Berekley Repertory Theatre The best theater experiences happen when you go in not knowing what to expect, and then the show blows you away. If you agree, then stop reading right now and buy tickets to Passing Strange before it heads to New York. If you need more convincing--or just love your Stage Fog--read on. Now, we......

There's a line in the musical Rent, towards the end, when it looks like all these young hopelessly Romantic hipsters will be cast apart into the cold world, and one of the main characters (I think it's Roger) sings/speaks, "I'll call. I hate the fall." That line has always struck as false. Maybe it's because we love the fall--and even if it doesn't automatically translate into good memories of returning to school for you,......

We're inundated with the hottest variety of shows you could ever hope for. ...

On Wednesday we relished reading Matier and Ross's column about a brouhaha involving the San Francisco Film Commission. Seems that while shooting days in The City are up, all is not well between the commissioners and the executive director, Stefanie Coyote -- whom loyal SFist readers will remember from her previous brouhaha with deposed Treasure Island impresario Tony Hall over the Rent production. So Stefanie gets in a fight with former deputy director Michael Billington......

A trailer for Rent has hit the Internets, and that amazes us, as it seems like only yesterday we were watching them film in South Park, perpetratin' like it was Tompkins Square in New York. We tried to watch the trailer closely, looking for signs of our fair City, but if there are some SF-in-disguise shots in there, we have to commend them for doing a bang-up job of camouflage. Of course the video......

It's been an exciting week so far in the sleepy, overpriced oasis that is South Park: local resident and Hollywood bigshot Chris Columbus has moved in a crew to shoot a few exterior scenes for "Rent." Some minor tweaks were necessary to complete the illusion that we were back east: extra graffiti was installed, as well as some broken fences, dinged-up taxis, an oddly cinematic hobo encampment, a non-functional hot dog cart, and a......

[Ed. Note: Okay, we'll retire that joke now.] So our friends at Beau Bonneau Casting are at it again. This time they're not looking for skinny hipsters, but for 'drag queens.' There are few casting calls that SFist would really want to go to, and that sure as hell would be one of them. The thought of a mass of fame-w**ring, star-f**king San Fran super-divas in size thirteen heels cat-fighting over roles as extras......

So Dan Strachota, one of the music writers for the San Francisco Weekly, forwarded a note from Beau Bonneau casting to the SF Indie yahoo group mailing list. Looks like the Rent production is looking for air guitarists: COOL, HIP, & IN-SHAPE MALE ROCK MUSICIANS 18 – 35 years old, to work as featured extras in a rock band. You must be a minimum of 18 years old and preferably be in, or have......

SFist would like to point out that if you haven't had a chance to give for the Tsunami effort, you still can. We know it's hard in the weeks following Christmas, what with your budget probably blown to bits. This is the last time we ask, we promise. That doesn't mean we won't highlight other ways you can help in the future, like HiMY SYeD's Global Vigil for January 26th. We're not perfect. Couldn't......

If this blog entry suddenly disappears, you'll know why -- P.J. Corkery of the Examiner reports that after his column gently mocking Tony Hall and P.J.'s friend Frank Gallagher as "the Laurel and Hardy" of San Francisco over the Rent shenanigans ran, he received an angry, rambly voice mail from Mr. Hall himself. After defending himself at great length, Hall then said, "PJ, this is personal. When you get personal, I don't like that. Because that means it's a fight -- a two-way street. And we have our own ways of going about things." Um, yikes! Mr. Hall, we hope you don't read this website -- we're not very good at fighting. We never meant any of those things we said about you, honest! And please don't run over Mr. Corkery in your SUV that city taxpayers are paying $948 a month for! It's so hard to find entertaining political columnists these days! ...

The ongoing landlord-tenant dispute known as the Rent movie negotiations flared up once again, with Chris Columbus's production team claiming they were promised free use of the facilities on Treasure Island, and the City claiming they needed to fork over a security deposit and other niceties. Please do note the irony of squatting in a film studio to film Rent -- okay, thanks. Please also note the irony of Tony Hall claiming that Rent is misusing city funds when he's having the city pay for a new SUV and his Christmas party. (obligatory libel CYA: those may actually be legitimate city expenditures.) Thanks again. So after tears, recriminations, and threats to move back to New York, Rent will be coughing up $12,500/month for studio space, plus utilities, and the rent goes up in July to $20,000. And you thought $1800 for a one-bedroom was too high. Local filming is scheduled to start soon, though it's unclear whether star Idina Menzel's Wicked injury will affect the schedule. ...

[Ed. Note: This is maybe too personal, but anyone looking for a room in a share, east Mission?] Oh man, it's already started to look like some kind of boozed-up, stuffed to the gills, Xanax and Percocet inducing kind of holiday season -- and we love it! Nothing like depressants in pill form and drinking on an empty stomach to ward off that ten pound weight gain. Contact your doctor. On the other hand, however......

First we had to deal with the drama of New Yorkers whining over Rent interiors being filmed on Treasure Island, prompting Revolution Studios to assure Gothamist that exteriors would be shot in NYC. Now we have to deal with former Supervisor and current Treasure Island Development Association director Tony Hall whining over Rent interiors being filmed on Treasure Island. No, Tony isn't nostalgic for the East Village of the early nineties -- he's more......

We're just blamelessly living our idyllic lives out here: blue skies, a Democratic mayor, a modern art museum that doesn't cost $20 to get into, a panda bear coming to Oakland..... when suddenly, out of the blue -- this! A fresh cuppa New York hate because they're filming part of Rent out here! ...

Filming has started for the upcoming Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo romantic comedy "If Only It Were True," based on an adaptation of local novelist Marc Levy's 2000 novel of the same name. If you don't recognize the location, it's 16th and Valencia - photoblogger Bill of Mermaniac tells us the bookstore location has been renamed is "Abandoned Planet". It seems there's already been a sighting of Ms. Witherspoon at Dolores Park over the......

Avoiding messy spills for yet another week....

In what seems to SFist to be welcome news, the City has recently begun an aggressive rat control campaign, focusing initially on Chinatown. The article has some fascinating information, including that there are approximately 800,000 rats in San Francisco, at a proportion of approximately one rat per person; that the first rat entered the City some 120 years ago off a ship; there are primarily two species of rats in San Francisco, one of......