Apparently the only way for the economy to pick up is for us all to shop more. True, economists *may* dispute this fuzzy logic, but hey, why not participate in a little personal economic recovery? DIY and crafty royalty (yes, there is such a thing) will all be converging on Fort Mason this weekend for the Renegade Craft Fair’s first SF appearance. Worse case you can check out the hipsters to see what you’ll......

The sudden appearance of a Smart in our neighborhood got us thinking: perhaps this parking solution will bring an end to our car-free lifestyle. We conducted a quick feasibility study in our neighborhood, with the following discouraging results: Number of Smart-friendly sub-9' parking spaces: 5 Number of these not already occupied by a 13' car: 0 Undaunted, we stopped by SmartCenterSanFrancisco, in the Mercedes dealership at 8th and Bryant (running words together seems to......

On Friday night at around 11:30 p.m., the intersection of Leavenworth and O'Farrell played host to a shooting. It seems that shots were fired from one car into another, leaving two males seriously injured. No deaths, no arrests. Not to be outdone, Hyde and Turk set the stage for a stabbing on Sunday, 2:20 a.m. The victim was rushed to SFGH. Again: no death, no arrests.San Mateo saw its first homicide since 2006. A......

-- Those rectangular glassy lofts on Folsom and Fourth Streets are, in fact, award-winning rectangular glassy lofts. Also, love the windows. [Curbed] -- What to do in SF when it pours. [Gridskipper] -- Democrats having a spine? What a novel idea! [BeyondChron] -- Behold! Tinkerman's top 10 musical experiences and releases of 2007. [SFBG] -- Matt Gonzalez caught shopping at Community Thrift on Valencia. Dude, we also l-o-v-e Community Thrift! Why, it's where we......

They're here - the shiny, rectangular all-access passes to your favorite indie-rock festival, Noise Pop. According to their press release, these badges will "...grant access to all general admission Noise Pop shows, film screenings, happy hours and other happenings during the festival." Yes. We want one. Don't delay; Noise Pop is offering a ticket to one of two already sold out Magnetic Fields shows with the purchase of the Noise Pop Badge. Apparently this show......

They must. Otherwise the store would go out of business. [Sorry to go all Noe Valley on you lovely readers, but yes, one more SFist writer is knocked up and ready to rant.] A Pea in a Pod near Union Square was on the list of dreaded maternity-clothes-shopping destinations when we realized that we could no longer button our jeans. Mistake. Big mistake. APIAP's non-designer jeans (We are not spending $130 on elastic-banded 7 For......

No, not Frank Chu -- although a Gav versus a crazy would be most fascinating, indeed -- Carmen Chu. Let's back up a bit here: In her first hickory-bold move since taking over for he who shall remain nameless, Chu decided to chip away at the homeless problem in the Sunset. Chu, according to the Examiner, "publicly demanded that several city departments come up with a specific plan to address her west side district’s homeless......

This was the scene the other day on everybody's favorite piece of landfill, San Francisco's Marina District. Larger version here Of course SUPER-visor Chris Daly took action to keep Segways off of our sidewalks about a half decade ago, but our law doesn't appear to stop folks from just driving around in bike lanes. (It doesn't seem to stop people from riding on sidewalks either, but oh well.) Anyway, you'll be seeing these things in......

In case you missed the packed ReadyMade party last night or were too distracted by all the cute people and free drinks to actually get any holiday shopping done here are some more events where you can spend some money and get your buzz on. Tonight Post-Postcard 11th Annual Small Format Art Sale The LAB 2948 16th Street @ Capp 1-7pm Free Originally starting out as a postcard show, the LAB now invites artists to......

The DIY cool kids are having their holiday bash tonight, and you, yes you, can get in on the action. We like ReadyMade parties because of all the style tips we get by gawking at all the hipness that surrounds us. The holiday party is especially great because local merchants, makers, and creative people hock their wares for the first two hours. It's the perfect place to pick up a unique and cool present.......

Here's todays sports news...

SFist interviews the Reverend Billy of "what would jesus buy?"...

Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, the day where big retail shoppers traditionally break even for the year! Traditionally considered the biggest shopping day of the year! Is it retail therapy? ....Or is it kowtowing to the gods of capitalism and binding the workers who long to be free? Well, if you're heading out to Union Square today but feel kind of guilty about it, you can at least make yourself feel a little better......

Blah blah blah soup kitchens blah blah fun-runs blah holiday schedules. All that stuff's fascinating, of course, but here's what we really want to know: Muni, where can we find all the hottest Xmas shopping deals? Aside from Dress Barn, of course. Fear not, shoppers, for Muni's assembled a guide to holiday buying, starting on the day after Thanksgiving and extending to late December. Thanks to the MTA, you are now fully prepared to......

How the church appeared on November 13. This Friday -- Black Friday -- Michaela Alioto-Pier's little neighborhood that thrives on ridicule will become a little more ridicule-less. At 9 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, on the day of November twenty-third, two thousand and seven, the store at 2125 Chestnut will open its doors. And at that moment? Apple will welcome in its third San Francisco store, completing the trilogy started by its flagship location on......

Phillyist prepared to party by doing the hustle, lighting the lights, shopping up a storm, and... visiting Khrushchev? LAist continues to cover the Hollywood Writers Strike with visiting guest "strikers" such as KT Tunstall and Presidential candidate John Edwards. To celebrate Veteran's Day, they visited a Civil War reenactment and to celebrate Geography Week, they asked all the Los Angeles City Councilmembers about the districts they represent finding that LA's 180+ official neighborhoods are......

On a recent cab ride to the airport, we picked up the November issue of TODO: Little Guide. Big Town. for kicks. After scanning the restaurant, bar, and shopping guides, we came across a map of San Francisco. We thought we must be a little behind on all the new neighborhood names, but after scouring the internet for some proof, we were unable to find any other map of the city that designates a neighborhood......

If you missed the great piece on decor stores that also act as galleries in yesterdays SF Chron be sure to check it out here. Anh-Minh Le does a great job of profiling some unique shops that support local artists and crafters. And as if shopping in these stores wasn't enough, this weekend presents itself with some great excuses to visit. Folklore: Drawings and Paintings by Diana Fayt Tonight! 6:30-8:30pm Candy Store - 3153......

Photo from last year's Halloween in the Castro...

According to the Scarborough Research -- an institute that measures the lifestyles, shopping patterns, media behaviors, and demographics of unholy, evil American consumers -- San Francisco was ranked as one of the top markets for people who read or contribute to blogs. Yay. And, duh....

We were riding the M line yesterday, thumbing through the Guardian's 41st anniversary special, when G.W. Schultz's lead for the his anti-Muni-privatization article caught our eye: There's a money room in the basement of 1 South Van Ness, where the Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni, is headquartered. Workers literally count by hand bags of cash and coins taken in as fares from passengers throughout the day. After we finished bashing our heads against......

Boss's day interview with Hillary Mendelsohn...

What would Batman and Robin think? With its chic industrial/gothic design, the new “market hall” style Whole Foods that opened recently near Lake Merritt in Oakland certainly could be used for a set on the next Batman flick. (Note: we won’t be defending or condemning the corporation itself here. We instead refer you to Mark Morford’s sharp analysis of the friendly giant.) We wish we’d known about the opening day festivities, what with an......

A man in a black leather jacket carefully backs his Yamaha into one of the six motorcycle spaces on Haight at the corner of Shrader. He's here to see Pinback's in-store performance at Amoeba Music across the street later in the evening, but he's also pulled his bike into a world where the warm early evening air is alternately punctured by the scent of patchouli, McChickens, pee, and smoke from silly cigarettes. Plenty of off-street fee parking and reminders of the 1960s glory days are also available. Certain parts of Haight between Shrader and Stanyan have seen better commercial days – specifically, the shuttered and boarded Cala supermarket at its west end, and on a much lesser scale, the former home of taco/burrito retailer Chabela's at 1805 (dormant since the mid-'00s) – and there's no escaping the persistently suffocating sense of flower power and "revolution" around here anytime soon. (Kind bud?) The vibe on the block's sidewalks can be construed as seamy or circus-like (or perhaps both), depending upon one's tolerance for American Youth in Very Big Pants, or for politely deranged men pushing shopping carts and singing "COME TO AFRICA!!" at the top of their high-pitched lungs. But regardless of one's frame of reference, there's always a lot to take in down here in Amoeba Gulch....

Photo of six kids in a huge stroller in Civic Center...

How to stop the some of the ads appearing in your mailbox...

San Franciscans have already had a year to enjoy the Green Zebra Guide coupon book. We here in the East Bay wouldn’t know about that, since we’ve never seen that book ourselves, although we’ve heard tell of its exploits. However, when we found out that a coupon book specifically for East Bay eco-minded businesses, organic food, restaurants, sustainable living services, and entertainment was on its way to our little forgotten corner of the bay, we......

We love documentaries -- they're like reality TV, with a popcorn stand! So you know we're totally psyched for SF Indiefest's sixth annual Docfest, which starts up tomorrow and goes through next week! Friday's big opening movie is "What Would Jesus Buy?", about the much-beloved street activist Reverend Billy and his Church Of Stop Shopping. Rev. Billy will be there in person with his message against overconsumption -- which we're sure is well worth spending......

So many characteristics contribute to Pacific Heights’ identity: affluence on eager display, giant square parks, commanding views, boutique shopping, dogs! dogs! dogs! But, one element up here is continually overlooked. Of course, we’re talking about portable latrines on sidewalks. With home construction such a constant in this district, and with so many laborers needing to “tend to personal business” throughout the long workday, it’s no wonder Pacific Heights walkways are lined with blue or turquoise fiberglass toilets. Jackson St. between Pierce and Scott, where three of the nine buildings on the block are currently undergoing some sort of makeover, and where each construction site features its own port-o-let, demonstrates our point as well as any in the area....

The Poop is getting literal. Well, almost. Yesterday, Aidin Vaziri brought up Poo&Pee, the delightful abjection characters for kids. See, one is a hunk of adorable excrement and the other a darling volume of urine. Ick, sure. But seeing as how we have serious body and bodily function issues -- unicorns and Smurfs shoot out of our ass as far as everyone else is concerned -- we surprised ourselves last year when we bought......