Good news for students of the struggle of the proletariat: even if you don't have time to read Marx, there are alternatives. Like Paul Krugman, Harpers, Howard Zin, Noam Chomsky, the Guardian of London -- and even our very own home-grown SF Bay Guardian. This reading list is the result of a conversation that started innocently enough on the SFBG's blogs, in a post about homelessness in Golden Gate Park and, tangentially, the Spanish......

Okay, okay, okay, okay -- we hear you about Laughing Squid's scoop that Chicken John running for mayor, folks! We were totally slammed at work today, that's why we're getting this up late. Who's Chicken John? He's a local countercultural legend! He's a Burning Man guy, the former owner of the Odeon Bar, and he hosts Ask Dr. Hal on Pirate Cat Radio. We had absolutely no idea! (Steve Jones at the Guardian knew,......

We were very busy running errands dowtown this morning, when we spotted a silver fox coming our way. "Damn, who that?" we said to ourselves, "Thank gawd we're wearing our cute new purple dress, and that our haircut is lookin' all sorts of fierce." ...

It's another installment of.... Who's! Attacking! Newsom! Now! Where we compile all the negative things people are saying about the San Francisco mayor and report it in bullet form! We'll run a Who's Defending Newsom Now post next, as soon as we find someone defending Newsom, besides Peter Ragone. So here's the list! --Sean Elsbernd!: Newsom's erstwhile ally on the Board of Supes in District 7, Elsbernd is irritated that Newsom's new "let's fix the......

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. Matt Smith tries to solve a murder from 2003. The Apologist on the new mall. Paper City folds. Cover article: discrimination against mothers in the workplace. The Brutal Sound Effects Festival -- sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Meredith Brody goes to Front Porch with Hiya Swanhuyser. Everyone seems to like Hiya at the Weekly! SFist Ced has nothing bad to say about the review, but is now taking bets on......

Torontoist throws down the gauntlet and challenges all comers: pillow fight, bitch. They also stand up for a fellow blogger taking heat from the TTC and welcome city-wide WiFi. SFist can finally admit it: It's possible that Bary Bonds juiced. Is Bay Area artist (tempted to put quotes around that) Thomas Kinkaid "kinda crappy" or "explosively crappy" or does he just like marking territory? SFist wonders. Technology comes in the form of new Mac goodness......

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. What, no Apologist this week? We have a confession to make -- we've been writing an "Are you an Apologist for SFist?" column in our head for ages! ("Do you think she really reads the Weeklies every week? a) With the number of comments they get, they should rename it "WHO reads We Read The Weeklies." b) Sure -- why else would you brag about staying informed about the latest public power issues? c) Hey, at least when she's writing that, she's not putting up those asinine Animal Reports."). Harmon Leon goes to Amber Frey's Learning Annex class. Cover article: anti-Muslim discrimination in local schools. OK Then interviews local music blogger Matt Ness. And Liz Phair, self-hating. TheGuardian: Tim Redmond on (you guessed it) public power! A.C. Thompson: did you know parolees are required to live in the county where they got arrested when they get out? Why? Annalee Newitz cracks open some fantasy novels. Cover: SFist Interview alum Steve Jones on his Burning Man project with the Flaming Lotus Girls. The sex columnist on cutting off that strip that holds your tongue in (the frenulum). And Sonic Reducer goes to Ozzfest. After the jump, the EBX and the pick of the week. (Apologist answer d: "I picked something this week; wanna see?")Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. What, no Apologist this week? We have a confession to make -- we've been writing an "Are you an Apologist for SFist?" column in our head for ages! ("Do you think she really reads the Weeklies every week? a) With the number of comments they get, they should rename it "WHO reads We Read The Weeklies." b) Sure -- why else would you brag about staying informed about the latest public power issues? c) Hey, at least when she's writing that, she's not putting up those asinine Animal Reports."). Harmon Leon goes to Amber Frey's Learning Annex class. Cover article: anti-Muslim discrimination in local schools. OK Then interviews local music blogger Matt Ness. And Liz Phair, self-hating. TheGuardian: Tim Redmond on (you guessed it) public power! A.C. Thompson: did you know parolees are required to live in the county where they got arrested when they get out? Why? Annalee Newitz cracks open some fantasy novels. Cover: SFist Interview alum Steve Jones on his Burning Man project with the Flaming Lotus Girls. The sex columnist on cutting off that strip that holds your tongue in (the frenulum). And Sonic Reducer goes to Ozzfest. After the jump, the EBX and the pick of the week. (Apologist answer d: "I picked something this week; wanna see?")...

SFist Mary-Lynn gives us all the lowdown on Blogher, and SFist Rain gets the 'get' with Paula Kamen. There are places you can go for unverified rumors, anonymous vitriol and mysteriously funded local political news -- but only SFist offers you the vain popularity contests that you crave! Speaking of cravings, SFist Derrick shows us that money can't buy you good taste. The Office of the Ombudsman is closed until fall, but he leaves......

SFist interviews Steve Jones, city editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian...