This new "Day in the Life of San Francisco" can serve as a kind of counterpoint to this 1955 city travelogue we showed you. It's the work of the city tourism bureau, and yes, it's hard to make this town look bad in any light, but this is a particularly blue-skied example. Doesn't much look like this today! more ›

You've probably thought you could see dogs smile before. Well, this one literally can! Like you can see his little lips rise! And he can go crosseyed on command and and and... he can look suddenly alarmed. On command. It's insane. Also, it's a British dog, so it figures. Watch it now. [via WOW] more ›

We really, really thought this meme would die a quick death, like, before the new year. Then it didn't. Then we got sick of it. Then you had clever kids in New York and L.A. chime in with their favorite clichés. And we were almost satisfied to to let this 'Shit Baristas Say' thing suffice for the S.F. voice (it was shot at Four Barrel). But now, because we're all stoned, preoccupied, and (stereotypically) unambitious, San Francisco chimes in several weeks late with this very appropriate and bandwagon-y entry. ‎"Now that you're 40, you should start thinking about a career." Oh, San Francisco. We love you. Now just shut up and watch. more ›

Meet Adam (left) and his pal Allan (right). They're Marines. Allan seems to know that his friend is a screamer. They are aboard the Giant Slingshot in Orlando, and yes, when there is no countdown warning him of the takeoff, Adam screams and screams. Also, he says he'd rather be back in Afghanistan than on this ride. We believe him. [via WOW] more ›

We only just today discovered that the talent of being able to sneeze with one's eyes open is actually a minor YouTube phenom. Yes. Please appreciate this soft-spoken young lady who appears to morph into the devil's spawn as she performs her trick. Below, a couple more examples. more ›

The great Etta James has died, ladies and gentlemen, at the age of 73. She was a tough, loud, dirty old broad who brought some much needed sex into the sounds of the early 60s with songs like "Something's Got a Hold on Me," "I Just Want to Make Love to You," and "I'd Rather Go Blind." Her signature song, "At Last," has become a wedding standard. And now she has passed on. more ›

This video is just too surreal and intense (and long) and the music to electro and washed out to serve as a proper afternoon palate cleanser, so we bring it to you now, as you unwind from your day. The song is called "Pleasure Palaces" (album preview here), and it's by Scottish band Errors. more ›

It's like The View, circa 1977! Listen to Annette Funicello, Margot Kidder, Loni Anderson, and Phyliss Diller talk frankly about their first sex experiences with Dinah Shore on Dinah!. more ›

Maybe you've seen this already, but we hadn't, and it's dern catchy! The song is by Livia Scott and you can find it on iTunes here. more ›

As you know, LCD Soundsystem exists no more. This made many people, both hipster and not, quite sad. The band, led by James Murphy, went out with a huge bang at a final concert at Madison Square Garden last April, an event that New York magazine called "a marvel of pure craft." The show is already the stuff of modern legend, and a new documentary by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace hopes to solidify that legend. It's called Shut Up and Play the Hits. more ›

Please enjoy this little afternoon dance break courtesy of The Breakfast Club Dancers... more ›

We live in an age when a news story can become the stuff of legend — and fodder for balladeers — within days. And yes, the story of the wily burglar of Telegraph Hill, who we thought had for sure screwed himself by getting stuck on a cliff and subsequently surrounded by cops, but who managed to slip away into the night just as soon as police packed up their stuff and gave up their stakeout, has already become a ballad by local musicians Taylor Brown and Brian Bergeron. And it's pretty catchy! more ›

Behold, this newly rediscovered bit of film, a Cinemascope look at San Francisco in 1955 by filmmaker and inventor Tullio Pellegrini. It's part of the Prelinger Archives, and it contains some characteristically dry, 50s-style narration. We begin with views of the city as you approached it by car from the south, east, and north. One surprise, at least to us, the population at the time, 775,000, wasn't much lower than it is now—a lot of people fled in the 60s and 70s. more ›

We know. There are at least ten of you out there who are SO OVER this you could die and you've just lost some modicum of respect for us. But chances are we've lost your respect hundreds of times in the last year, so what's one more time? It's a new year! Besides, there's something about this 'Shit ____s Say' meme that lends itself particularly well to Bay Area clichés, and since it's just not quite dead yet (despite our earlier prediction), we bring you these latest updates. more ›

The brilliant Jennifer Saunders (Ab Fab) and Dawn French (French and Saunders) have done us a little "reading from literature," in this case the translated transcript of an interview done by a Hungarian newspaper in 1995 with Madonna, while she was there filming Evita. The interview was conducted in Hungarian, with the questions translated for Madonna, and then Madonna's responses were translated into Hungarian. Sometime thereafter, USA Today requested a copy of the interview, with Madonna's responses translated back into English. French and Saunders read this amazingness, for your amusement. [Dangerous Minds via WOW] more ›

Time, man. You think you get it. And then you realize that the Ancient Greeks and Romans were so calendar-challenged that they had to insert random months every few years to make sure the seasons lined up properly. Then you have the Gregorian calendar, and the day in 1752 when England the U.S. decided to adopt it, effectively losing 11 days all at once. It's kind of insane. (You may have also heard that Samoa just decided to switch time zones, and Samoans didn't get a Friday. Like today didn't exist for them, at all.) more ›

In case you needed any further evidence that cats are adorable yet cold-hearted bitches, watch this. more ›

Wow. That was fast. No sooner was Epic Beard Man a modest viral sensation, after beating the crap out of a young African American man aboard an AC Transit bus last year, but some budding screenwriter apparently thought his story needed to immediately turned into a movie. The movie's called Bad Ass, and as Uptown Almanac shows us it stars Danny Trejo as a Vietnam vet who goes around what looks like L.A. kicking peoples' asses. Now, many of the details here are oddly familiar, including the fanny pack and what looks like a t-shirt that says "I Am a Motherf**ker," but we're guessing that poor, homeless Tom Bruso isn't going to see a dime from this straight-to-DVD clunker. more ›

We mentioned last week that this meme didn't seem quite yet ready to die, and alas, here it is again, this time poking fun at vegans! But of course, the lad responsible for this (HuffPo contributor Ari Solomon) is himself vegan, so we're laughing with him. (And yeah, we still don't know who Kathy Freston is.) more ›

As we have for several years running, here's the annual, always incredible mash-up of the year's pop hits by SF-based DJ, DJ Earworm. He released it just in time for Xmas, and it's even better than the last few we remember. He writes, "2011 gave us songs of regret and anger, pride and perseverance, and lots of fire." Go here for more info, and download link. Adele fans please don't be alarmed — she makes her first appearance around 2:25. Below, the many tracks you'll hear mashed. more ›

As many of you know, we here at the ists love a good meme. And for the past couple of weeks the webs have been ablaze with video variations all stemming from "S**t Girls Say," a clever and mercifully short video by Toronto-based comedy duo Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard. Not all the variations on the theme — collections of phrases, mannerisms, and commonly heard complaints attributable to a particular group — have been as clever or brief, but some have won us over. Because what is America if not a place where we can all laugh uproariously at what clichés we all are? more ›

Sexy sexy Jewess Chevonne brings us this instant holiday classic, "My Menorah," in honor of the first night of Chanukah. It's full of totally ridiculous double entrendres, and we adore it. As Chevonne puts it, "Mazeltov, world." more ›

It's been a while since we had a simple, pet-related palate cleanser. And this dog expresses an emotion we experience every hour on the hour. Cheers, pooch. After-work drinks on us. more ›

Serious Business is a Portland-based duo (Jason Mampel and Danny Diana-Peebles), one gay, one straight, with a fun, electro-rap thing going on. Their debut single "Hot Damn" features Jason and Danny each talking about what they find hot (the gay one likes his dudes with a little beer belly, the straight one likes his girls a little nasty). Reserve your "hipster alert" comments please, and try for something a little less obvious. And you can download their brand new, and free, debut album here. [via WOW] more ›

“Light” is a semi-creepy short film directed by David Parker, and as Sunday-Paper.com tells us, it "initially began as a project intended to bring awareness to energy waste ... [but] the film also grew into a poetic statement about a world run amok and the human tendency to exploit that which we hold dear." more ›

Yay! SNL's Digital Shorts are often the only reason to watch the show, and this weekend's episode included one that's not exception. It's a holiday-themed ditty called "Best Friends" featuring Katy Perry and Andy Samberg along with special surprise guests Matt Damon and Val Kilmer, and a few baggies of meth! Because nothing says Christmas like some meth, a bag of Depends, and a game of Russian roulette. [NBC] more ›

You know Cable Car City Pub & Café? It opened a month or so ago? Near the Powell Station? Next to where that guy sells stolen iPhones? Yes, right there in charming Hallidie Plaza. Anyway, via Grub Street, they released a basic cable-esque video for the new diner/sports bar, which, among other things, tells you all about their all-day happy hour, mozzarella sticks, bottles of Miller Lite, the Brainstormer Pub Quiz, outdoor seating (best/most jarring people watching) and other comfiness that some artisan Baghdad by the Bay denizens eschew. Enjoy: more ›

Can you do the tequila boom-boom? [Everything is Terrible] more ›

Every lesbian's dream girlfriend is back with a new Christmas video, and it's for a funk-i-fied version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Also, this means the steampunk aesthetic has officially, once and for all, jumped the shark. [via WOW] more ›

It's World AIDS Day everyone! Therefore you should be putting on a condom right now and/or trying to combat HIV in the streets or the laboratory! In lieu of that, you may watch this trailer for We Were Here, the very moving documentary released earlier this year about the early days of AIDS in San Francisco. And we should give three cheers for director David Weissman and co-director Bill Weber because this week the film was shortlisted for consideration in this year's Oscar category for Best Documentary. more ›