To say Richmond has been a mainstay would be an understatement. We've lived here for years and we can't really remember a time when Richmond wasn't on TV. We also can't remember a time when people didn't look at the redness in his eyes and wonder if he was stoned all the time. Richmond, who is 65 (!) has been with KTVU for forty years and has anchored the 10 o'clock news since 1976.

Dennis was a rare TV news anchor in that he was actually good. He was serious and treated the news seriously-- we can't ever remember him cracking a joke let alone a smile and he never did all that cheesy happy talk that mars too many a newscast. He just sat there and read the news. In fact, you could kind of say he was kind of boring, but in a good way. As a result KTVU was a bit of a throwback news show, kind of the way newscasts are supposed to be, or were supposed to, or what have you.

Good luck, Dennis--things won't be the same without ya!

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

Jerry Seinfeld was in town the other day, presumably to promote his upcoming film (why on a cable car, though? Is there an SF theme? You know we'll watch anything with an SF theme!) -- and our favorite photographer Drew Altizer was there on the scene.

Thanks for passing the pictures along, Drew! We're hoping these end up in US Weekly's "Celebrities, they're just like us" page, with the caption: "they take those fake cable cars that are actually motorized trolleys!" The movie comes out in November, or so we see on the Internet.

More of Drew's pictures after the jump.

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.

Bostonist plans to bring the right tunes for a July 4th backyard barbecue. Side one of the Bostonist Chock-Full-o-Freedom Summer Soundtrack comes courtesy of the Ryan Montbleau Band. Side two is a mix from Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. If the barbecue is really ragin', they'll bring new singles from Mitt Romney's dog called "Station Wagon From Hell" and new Celtic Ray Allen's cover of "Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number."

As neither American (they have their own birthday to worry about) nor interested in Paris Hilton in any capacity whatsoever, Torontoist freely covered what it knows best – its local beat. They compared notes on what the city's greatest albums of all time were, watched some sweet-ass rock balancing, and continued covering the sale of one of its favourite CD stores, Sam the Record Man, with a report from its merchandise auction. They freely checked out the smallest bar in town, then told their readers to go beat the shit out of a car. When emergency vehicles were ordered to "Support Our Troops," they debated the issue and watched as a street artist, Posterchild, mocked it (and then re-published his manifesto a few days later).

SFist had freedom to love covered, with coverage of the city's famous annual gay pride parade. And of course, they covered the freedom to rock, with an interview of local American air guitar champion Hot Lixx Houlihan. The commenters were free to complain about the terrible parking situation in San Francisco, in not one, not two, but three posts this week. What San Francisco's not free to do, though? Throw away garbage – the city's taken away over 300 of our city trash cans!

Overseas, Londonist was politely pretending not to be aware of Independence Day, but everyone was keeping busy with a variety of big, outdoor events, all washed out by ceaseless rain, as is traditional for all of London's "summer" shenanigans. As everyone limbered up for a slightly confused Canada Day, the whole of London was suddenly unnerved by a major bomb scare - news still coming in so watch that link. Despite the troubling situation, Londoners are still embracing their freedom and are marching and partying for London Pride, Europe's biggest gay and lesbian festival. And with the famously stoic and bravest of faces only Londoners know how to produce in troubled times, chins are up and voices are soaring for the week-long London-wide Sing London event. Let's hope the stiff upper lips are relaxed a little for the big finale next weekend.

For those who say they don't like LA, filmmaker Werner Herzog says this: "Los Angeles is raw, uncouth, and bizarre, but it's a place of substance." Therefore, LAist has been celebrating film, day by day, this past week by following the Los Angeles Film Festival. (But let's not forget about the erotic stuff, okay?) Angelenos are also savoring their last year of using cell phones while driving – was that why all those UCLA students were running around in their underwear? And with such freedom of mobility in their car culture (okay, the traffic doesn't help much), why not host an art exhibition called The Parking Lot Show?

Summer in the city has been heating up for Gothamist. The Big Apple had a forty-eight-minute blackout that freaked everyone out. Even still, there were people celebrating their freedom to camp out for iPhones, which arrived in NYC with possibly more media and spectators than people on line. A fight broke out between two cozy seafood restaurants over claims of intellectual property theft (the Caesar salad, the wainscotting, and the marble counters, for starters) and some people got upset at vehicles violating no-car rules in a Brooklyn park. Luckily, there is Matt Allen, who has been handing out free frozen treats across the country, and is now in NYC. And the Splasher, the strange figure who's been splashing street art, sent us a 16-page manifesto.

And in Philadelphia, where that whole Fourth of July thing got started, Phillyist was celebrating freedom left and right: freedom to act for twenty-four hours straight, freedom to shop and drink at the same time, freedom to make Seinfeld references and the mayor's freedom to get his iPhone on. They were happy to see their local transit corporation feels free to ask people to keep it quiet, that kittens are free from cheesesteak restaurants, and that The Nightwatchman is still all about a different kind of freedom. On a completely different note, they educated their readers about pulmonary embolism, which took the life of their beloved editor, Star "Sarcasmo" Foster, in December.

Compiled and edited by Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey.

Top image by Flickr user 37°C, via SFist. Middle image by Flickr user NYCViaRachel . Bottom image by Michael Femia at Bostonist.

At issue is the fact that a building that's been abandoned since the early 70's and was usually a source of much controversy whenever somebody sniffed around to develop it could be sold so quickly without much in the way of forewarning. If we remember our SF history, there was a raging fight during the dot.com days when some company tried to develop it into office space, with lots of protests accompanying it. In fact, it was one of the reasons for the founding of the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition. Ahh...good times....good times....

So last night, a meeting was held with the Mission Merchants Association. In attendance was the founder of Kink.com who tried to allay everyone's fears. He basically said he'd fix up the building, add enough security to make everyone happy and he can do whatever he wants to the building as he signed the contract. Which seemed to work.

Since we hear at SFist like to believe ourselves a place that offers solutions, we have one-- Kink.com open houses.

If proved true, none of this is any good. It could lead to civil and in some cases criminal penalties.

In the blogging world, there's something called a "Keith Hernandez" moment. This refers to a scene in Seinfeld where Keith Hernandez, ex-star of the '86 World Champion Mets, did something a little screwy but just pawned it off with the line "I'm Keith Hernandez." Meaning, of course, he could do whatever the hell he wants because he's Keith Hernandez. So if true, consider this Jobs' "Keith Hernandez" moment. After all, he's Steve Jobs.

Apple is once again claiming that there's nothing really to it and they've conducted their own investigation into the matter and came up with nothing. Or at least if there was something, it was the boo-boo of a couple of other people (damn temps). And we all know companies who conduct their own internal investigation never, ever cover things up.

But between this and the other investigation, we have a feeling this story isn't going to go away for awhile.

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 really can't call this a review, because we went to a preview, and a first preview at that. The only thing we knew about the show was something about an "African American man's musical search for authenticity." Most musicals in this vein are about as authentic as acrylic nails. (Anyone see the last touring production of Rent?) But Passing Strange made this cynical, 10-year local theater veteran a believer. Penned and narrated by the charismatic Stew, the musical features his band and a group of superb actors. Youth--the main character--escapes the confines of his catty Baptist church in plastic LA for a tour of Amsterdam and Berlin, meeting potheads and performance artists who force him to confront his own self-delusions. Sounds rather typical, but Stew infuses this story with gut-punching songs, some of which don't let the audience off easy like those chirpy Broadway tunes do. Put simply, Passing Strange is authentic to itself. If more new musicals looked like this, we might yet see a revitalization of Broadway.
Playing through December 3

Adam Pascal Live at Post Street Theatre
Ah, Adam, you're not sore about that little dig we made at Rent, are you? We meant the touring production, not the original. (Well, we didn't see the original, nor did we see the movie, but we're sure you were great in them.) And you're not just some musical theater geek, but write modern rock songs, too? (Modern rock?) Baby, you are so gonna steal this show.
Playing October 27 & 28

Chicago at the Orpheum Theatre
As far as we're concerned, the latest film version of the musical practically trumps all revivals. But, the only reason we’re mentioning this is because it stars Huey Lewis in the role of Billy Flynn. We'll give you a moment to let this sink in. Huey Lewis. Wait, it gets better. John O'Hurley also performs two performances only (run kids, get tickets now). Yes, as in Family Feud. What the short press release fails to mention is his other notable TV appearances in, wait for it, Dancing with the Stars. And the Ms. America Pageant. OK, OK, he was in several Seinfeld episodes. But what a star lineup! Really, the reviews can go either way. Place your bets now.
Playing October 24 through November 5

Hamlet: Blood in the Brain at Intersection for the Arts
OK, seriously. Settle down now, because this show is not to be missed. Now, the last thing we expect from Campo Santo is Shakespeare. So, this isn't your typical Shakespeare. The company has hooked up with California Shakespeare Theater (artistic director Jonathan Moscone directs) and playwright Naomi Iizuka to reimagine the Bard's most famous play in the context of 1980s Oakland, complete with the drugs and the poverty. Remember, like with Stew, authenticity is key. Iizuka and company ran numerous workshops for about three years with the community's residents to create the story of a young man who confronts neighborhood violence and his own familial obligations. Now, this isn't simply Hamlet plopped down in a modern time period, but a new play that merges traditional theater with real vernacular and marginalized genres. In other words, it looks more like a gritty Campo Santo play than a stuffy Shakespeare piece.
Playing October 26 through November 20

Photo of Stew in Passing Strange taken by Kevin Berne.

For more stage options, check out the listings at the Guardian, the Express, the SF Weekly, and the calendar on Theatre Bay Area's website.

There's no question that getting fired, canned, axed, rif'ed, or booted SUCKS. We were back at one of our favorite SF theaters, the Roxie, for the SF debut of Annabelle Gurwitch's at Docfest on Friday night. It turns out that there were so many eager sympathizers, a second show had to be added. We stood in line near Gurwitch, and Robert Reich, former Clinton Labor Secretary, who has a cameo in the film and whom one of our friends kindly pointed out to us, while we waited somewhat anxiously for San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi to wrap up the Q&A in his recent documentary, The Slanted Screen (it seemed like it took forever).

Fired! was inspired by Gurwitch’s (who you may remember her from Seinfeld and/or TBS’s Dinner and a Movie) experience getting laid off from a Woody Allen play. The first half of the film was the most entertaining, watching plucky, sarcastic Gurwitch interview other Hollywood celebs about their experiences getting canned. Anyone who’s had a job in retail or the food service industry can clearly relate. We also loved Gurwitch’s numerous reminders that Woody canned her because she was “retarded.” (We still find it amusing even after learning at the post-film Q&A that Gurwitch’s firing scene was staged and that she was really canned by a friend of hers and member of Woody’s staff).

The second half of the film, in which Gurwitch immerses herself among blue collar auto workers in Michigan, didn’t quite work for us. It was like Gurwitch changed focus midstream, and the obvious disconnect between a celeb fired from a play and the folks in Michigan whose livelihoods depend on their jobs in the auto industry, was never quite bridged by Gurwitch’s humor or her more serious attempts to make a point regarding the current threats faced by the American workforce.

SFist Wendy, contributing.

It looks like Bud Selig's Barry Bonds voodoo doll is working as last night, before the Giants 2-0 victory over the Brewers, Barry was bonked on the head by a foul ball in batting practice. After all, having Barry hit 715 in the Home of Bud would be the worst possible PR debacle, not to mention total karma. The ball was hit by rookie Kevin Fransden, already making a name for himself with his bone-headed base-running blunders and propensity for being hit by pitches, who joked that he was expecting his locker to be cleared out after batting practice was over. The whole thing was so weird and out-of-nowhere that nobody reacted or did anything until Barry went down on the ground and was treated by the Giants' trainers.

Bruce Jenkins' writes that with Barry two behind the Babe, the Curse of the Bambino is rearing it's ugly head again. Deadspin, meanwhile, goes with the obvious "Seinfeld" reference and jokes that it's further proof that Barry's got a big head. We tried looking for the video of it, but couldn't find one. KTVU, however, does have the entire thing in freeze-frame style.

While Milwaukee fans have been rather mellow in their Bonds hating, up next is Philadelphia, a place that makes the Lion's Den seem like a quant little tea party. There's an actual internet campaign brewing in Philly to have fans head for the concession stands every time Barry is at bat. We'd like to see that actually, as we all know deep down, everybody wants to see the dude hit. Besides, having been to the stadium in Philly, we know that most of the concession stands, or at least the super-important one's (read super yummy Rick's Cheese Steaks) is so close to the field of play that people in line occasionally have to dart out of the way of home run balls. We're not sure if heading to those concession stands would count.

Don't get us wrong. We totally dug "The Sopranos," but we must have suffered from some severe, Uncle Junior-level memory loss in the two years since the last season ended. We were...confused, to say the least. Anyone prepared to give us a complete history of all the characters that appeared in last night's season premiere, please, do so in the comments.

Two years is a long time, people. Wasn't "Seinfeld" still on back then? Maybe not, but haven't you missed Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Huh? Just us? Well, we're fans. As a matter of fact, we were big fans of her previous post-"Seinfeld" sitcom, "Watching Ellie," a show that was way ahead of its time, and therefore a major flop. To wit: It utilized a single-camera filming format, ala "Arrested Development," a "real-time" story structure, ala "24," and Steve Carrel as a creep, ala "The Office." Alas, no one watched it, and another entry into the "Seinfeld" curse was born.

So Dreyfus is back with a slightly less innovative sitcom, "The New Adventures of Old Christine", in which she plays a single mom, who, while friendly with her ex-husband, finds her life jarred a bit when he starts a serious relationship with a younger woman, also named Christine--hence the "new" and "old" Christines. We admit we're tuning in purely based on the presence of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, because everything else about the show screams "Stale!"; laugh-track, cute, precocious child, and Comedy Jokes (our term for sitcom one-liners that are said because they're funny, and not because it's actual dialogue a character would say because she's funny).

But, we'll give it a chance, and hopefully the "Seinfeld" curse will remain on the shoulders of Jason Alexander (and let's face it, he kind of deserves it). It premieres tonight at 8:30 p.m. on CBS. Another episode airs at 9:30 p.m., which is the show's actual timeslot.

Image of Old Christine from CBS.

Doing some damage control, Gerardo wrote an editorial in Monday's Chron trying to explain what he meant when he said he didn't think we needed a military. What he wanted to say is that before WW II we had a bunch of citizen soldiers and we went on to win WW II. Say what you will about his point (one could argue, for instance that a lot of lives might not have been lost if we didn't take a few years to have to build an army from scratch, or Hitler and the Japanese might not have attacked if the Allies were more prepared), but he has a thought out philosophy about it. Still, there's a George and the Jerk Store element to it and we wonder if Gerardo is furiously calling Fox bookers for a chance to appear again with a plate of shrimp.

When that didn't go over so well, he posted an article on Beyond Chron defending his decision to go on Fox news, saying he did so in an attempt to blow people's minds. We wonder if in Sandoval's mind, he saw Bubba and Bubba Sue Six-Pack suddenly getting so blown away by what Sandoval said that they start reassessing everything they've ever thought of and immediately join ANSWER. Anyways, Sandoval goes on not to blame himself for causing the big deal, but for the Chron for making it a big deal out of it and says that the Chron seems to have it in for him.

Finally, Jon Carroll weighed in on the whole subject and came to Sandoval's defense. Caroll, who we always picture writing his columns in some Buddhist Chinese garden with his cats climbing all over him, says that he can understand what happened to Sandoval because he's been on those kind of shows before and that it's way too easy to get discombobulated by the bright lights.

So please, Gerardo, stay away from the bright lights.