Kicking it at the Days-Inn on Lombard. [Butter Retriever]Twitter explained in plain English. [Laughing Squid]The very hot Tyler Florence to take over the very gay Plush Room. Intriguing. [Eater]More on Prop. 22. [BAR]Moth alarmism? [SFBG]UC Berkeley gets restraining order against animal rights activists. [EBX]The best drama on television? Intervention The Wire. Of course. [SFGate]......

*FILM: The 5th Annual San Francisco Irish Film Festival kicks things off with Garage by director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O’Halloran. This is followed by a reception with the Consul General of Ireland, Emer Deane. According to LS, "other highlights include Speed Dating, a romantic comedy about a lovelorn amnesiac; the award winning Irish-language feature film Kings, and finally The Undertaking, a documentary about Irish American undertaker and poet Thomas Lynch, who is......

Did you hear? Matt Gonzalez was in the news today. [SFBG]Which seawall lot plan do you like best? [Curbed]Set in SF, ABC's Eli Stone uses faux cable cars. The nerve! [SFGate]Frozen yogurt is back, and it's getting ugly. [Eater]Innocent trees exploited for UC Berkeley's numerous political agendas. [Daily Clog]Hooligans take yoga, stress relieved. [Oakland Tribune] Image credit: Capobianco Gallery......

Deep breath. Wow. Jesus. Okay, here we go: Well, it seems that Greanpeace and UC Berkeley student organizers will host an, um, "Toilet-Trees" event on Sproul Plaza on the UCB campus tomorrow, Thursday, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Why? To alert the student body of the clear-cutting practices of Kleenex Brand's parent company, Kimberly-Clark. What is a "toilet-trees" event? We....oh God, is it what we think it is? The press release, which you......

Fascist Imperial Dogs 1 - Tree Loving Hippies 0- After all that protesting and dancing and carrot juice drinking, the Berkeley City Council chickened out and said they erred in passing that January resolution that disinvited a Marine recruiting station and called them "unwelcome intruders." In that resolution, they also allowed Code Pink permission to blast all sorts of things at the station, gave them a designated parking space in front of it, and permission to protest on Wednesdays from noon to 4 p.m. Why Wednesday? Because it’s Hump Day! They did, however, refuse to issue an apology and used part of their mea culpa to lash out at the Bush administration and the war. This didn't satisfy some conservatives as Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina introduced the "Semper Fi Act" which would redirect money to UC Berkeley and give it to the Southern Heritage Coalition so they can sew more flags with the Confederate flag in them....

Anti-war fans, pro-war zealots, '60s fetishists, barely-legal Marines, the unshowered, and young college students trying to impress their boyfriends will be out in full force on the other side of the Bay later this evening. Why? Because after receiving loads of national criticism, as well as a few death threats, the Berkeley City Council will decide tonight whether or not to "revoke a letter it approved two weeks ago telling the Marines they are 'unwelcome......

Jorge Liderman, 50, music theory and composition professor at UC Berkeley, died on Sunday after being hit by a BART car at El Cerrito Plaza. At around 9:30 a.m., it seems, the BART train operator claims that as the car was about four or five feet from the station, Liderman hurled himself in front of it, killing him instantly. And although the word "suicide" is being tossed about, his cause of death is still......

Our friends over at CurbedSF brought to our attention that Hayes Valley will soon be getting a new makeover, via the redevelopment of 55 Laguna. The proposals for the "mixed-use" of the former UC Berkeley extension -- which was relocated four years ago -- has recently been approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission. So what can we look forward to at 55 Laguna? Plans for the property include a community center, retail space (specifically......

Rejoice, space believers! For there is finally - yes, finally! - someplace you can go on l'Internet to read about such sci-fi-ness (excuse us, "science fiction-ness" for all of you purists) ranging from Samuel R. Delany to Joss Whedon to Small Wonder. Io9, a Bay Area-based blog care of Gawker, launched yesterday, and we couldn't be more thrilled. That is, until we read about their editor, Annalee Newitz. Newitz seems like a fantastic piece......

Torontoist discovered their city's most ridiculous holiday lights setup, with 80,000 lights and two––two!––synchronized music routines. Naturally, they snagged a video. Chicago tragically loses one of its most recognizable neighborhood icons, the pigeon man of Lincoln Square. LAPD leaves body in car at crash scene, then tows it. Massachusetts plus mullet equals PR mayhem. Londonist sleeps in a Haunted plague pit. UC Berkeley students strip naked and race through campus, NSFW floppiness ensues. Phillyist......

Not to be outdone by their wicked step-sister, UCLA, who all too tastefully/boringly galloped about in their panties on the streets of LA, UC Berkeley also had its traditional end-of-semester streak last week. But they did it in the raw. Hee. The Daily Clog's Christine Borden captured the free-spirited perversity on film. And then had it taken down by the mustache-twirling puritans over at by YouTube. (!) It seems that last week's footage was......

Saturday is what is known around these here parts as "the Big Game," a kinda cute nickname for a game usually not of any importance to anyone other to us NorCal folks. This game, in particular, doesn't have much going for it as Stanford, with the exception of the 'SC upset, hasn't been very good and Cal has been more disappointing than Fred Thompson's candidacy. Nevertheless, the game is always pretty exciting and full of tradition-- all the things that makes college football what it is. ...

(Barry Bonds is on SFGate's Crime page. Ha!) -- A 19-year-old woman was shot -- "in the back today...at 5:39 p.m." Huh?-- during an attempted street robbery in SF's Visitacion Valley. Attacked at Velasco Avenue and Santos Street, she is currently at SFGH and listed in stable condition. And the two suspects? Are still at large. -- UC Berkeley journalism student Kevin Jones, 27, "pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular......

-- Golem: Sadly, this has nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings' heroin addict creature. Joyously, this has everything to do with the fact that this is a mist rocking six-piece Eastern European/NYC folk-punk band. Come hear them along with the Trifles, bran(...)pos, DJ Snuffy the Talking Fire Engine starting at 9 p.m. at 12 Galaxies; $12-15. -- Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977): Wow, okay, like this is just like totally the......

Last night 24-year-old Memorial Oak Grove tree-sitter Nate Hill fell on his tushie after plummeting 40 feet out of the tree. He suffered both a broken wrist and ankle, but is in fine, fighting, camera-ready condition. He was trying to get out of the tree, via a traverse line, to visit his poppa waiting down below. But it seems that he was not, in fact, on the line, and then took a nasty fall......

After a 10-month protest atop an oak grove next to Memorial Stadium, a judge ruled on Monday that UC Berkeley can now start removing up-in-a-tree protesters, as well as their ground support, even if police can't identify the protesters by name. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller amended his ruling from a month ago. At that time, his decree gave authorities the power to strip the environmental activists off of the UC-owned land,......

Eastern SOMA's budding, unfortunately named condo "community" BLŪ, on Folsom and Second Streets, is about ready to bloom in all of its steel and glass glory. Problem is, we don't see any lottery for affordable housing on their site. Has the lottery already happened? Or are they planning on having some sort of learning annex or UC Berkeley extension, a la The Paramount, to skirt those types? We can't seem to get anyone over......

-- Behold! The Infinity apartment! [Curbed SF] -- Welcome Wikipedia to SF with a slew of wacky neighbors and a joint taped to their door, won't you? [Examiner] -- Missing cyclist, James Bronstein, found dead. [SFGate] -- BART wants you to save Darfur. [Civic Center Blog] -- UC Berkeley searching for a hooded man in connection with recent arson activity. [SFGate] -- The Gov signs into action a bill forbidding you to light up......

And by "van-burners," we don't mean the variety that park by Ocean Beach in their VW van toking while watching the sunset. Or maybe we do… Authorities think a UC Berkeley campus security van torching that happened in the wee hours of the morning might be related to a citation and an arrest made earlier in the evening. The torched van was discovered at 6 a.m. this morning. The vandalism occurred after two tree-sitters, or......

You know we usually try to hoard up all the crime-type news for the Tuesday and Friday blotters, but there was enough vaguely unsettling news this weekend to warrant a post a little early, we thought. To wit: --Fernando Gonzalez, an 18-year-old Redwood City man, died after he fell into a vat of sulfuric acid. Gonzalez was working the early-morning shift at Coastal Circuits Factory this weekend, without a protective face mask, when he appeared......

-- After 11 shootings and 3 deaths since yesterday -- since yesterday -- a Richmond gang war results in SWAT teams hitting the streets. [Chron, CBS5] -- Man breaks into Haight home after a meth binge. You know, just to kick it. If you read the B.A.R.'s crime blotter -- a most fascinating read -- this occurs almost hourly in the Castro. [Examiner] -- Submit: UC Berkeley tree sitters accepting more and more members. [Oakland......

Do you have any information? A Fremont family is trying to get some answers about the circumstances of their father's mysterious death. The father suffered a heart attack at Van Ness and Market on June 5, and died five days later without ever regaining consciousness. The mystery is that they cannot find the car their father drove into the city that day. They have a garage parking ticket they found in his pocket, but it......

SFist interviews Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan, creators of The Thing, subscription art project. ...

From the SFist Tips line: yet another daytime shooting yesterday, this time at 23rd and South Van Ness around 1:45 p.m, by the post office, and fatal. In a particularly brazen act, the shooters then drove by the SFPD Ingleside Station to drop off the body about an hour and a half later. You'll all be pleased to hear that the cops did at least manage to catch the person driving the car. Those activists......

Isn't it awesome to live in this city? It's a beautiful summer, all our political news is extremely entertaining, and we have tons of amazing film festivals all the freaking time! So many, in fact, that you've got not one but TWO to pick from this weekend! At the Castro this weekend, the organists are warming up -- it's time for the Silent Movie Festival. This year's lineup features a series of Hal Roach comedies,......

Geek out! At Ask a Scientist SF, a monthly lecture slash happy hour with a guest speaker on some sciencey topic. This month's meet-up touches on everything you ever wanted to know about terra incognita, Antarctica, with Kurt Cuffey, a UC Berkeley professor of geography. Get there by 7pm to snag a beer and a seat. Axis Cafe, 1208 Eighth St., SF. If Le Tigre and The Shangri-Las had a British love child, it......

--Ha! The guy to your right ran for mayor of Barcelona, and doesn't he look like Matt Gonzalez? By copatbark from the SFist Flickr stream. --John Edwards was in town at Google. So was Hillary Clinton. --Yau-Man's back at work and gives the lowdown on the Survivor season to the UC Berkeley web newsletter. --Oh no, Ed Jew! Bevan Dufty's not living in his district right now either! (it's all okay, though, at least for......

Robert Cole, who's been in charge of Cal Performances on the UC Berkeley campus since 1986, announced that he's leaving at the end of the 2008/2009 season. ...

More mysterious criminal events in Fremont! This time, someone dropped a five-foot tall safe off a truck in the middle of the road. The safe had been pried open, revealing...... a collection of about 70 Star Wars action figures, still in their original packaging. Somewhere, a broken-hearted fan weeps. The yutz alert is on high after the horrific Virginia Tech tragedy: the UC Berkeley law student who posted a fake threat on a blog that......

Our favorite Bay Area foodie starchild, and Omnivore’s Dilemma author, Michael Pollan, was at it again Wednesday night. He moderated a panel to discuss the 2007 Farm Bill on the UC Berkeley campus. The Farm Bill -– which gets reviewed about every five years – has been under the spotlight this year. ...