• No categories

Pixel Vision

Appetite: Cocktailing the East Bay

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
-
0
Appetite: Cocktailing the East Bay

In this week’s paper we poured out our thoughts on two delicious new additions to the East Bay bar scene, Honor Bar and the New Easy. Below, we glass up some other exciting East Bay drink destinations we think are worth your swizzle:

Oakland boasts the biggest concentration and range for East Bay cocktails, some of its consistent best at Adesso, casual drinks with bocce ball at Make Westing, elegant classic-style at Flora, pizza with cocktails at Marzano and Boot & Shoe Service, Miel for tequila/mezcal drinks, Conga Lounge and divey Kona Club for tiki kitsch. Berkeley keeps it real with organic drinks at Gather, and artisanal cocktails at Revival Bar & Kitchen. The little island of Alameda hosts the beloved tiki gem, Forbidden Island, launched in part by tiki/rum expert Martin Cate who went on to open SF’s Smuggler’s Cove. Here, cheesy B-movie tribute nights and stmulating live music flow along with Banana Mamacows. As mentioned above, Emeryville now has two destination-worthy bars for cocktail lovers: Prizefighter and Honor Bar.

 

Albany is blessed with three old school classics merely blocks from each other along San Pablo Ave.: the musty, tiki vibe of Club Mallard, the mid-century, retro swank of Kingman’s Ivy Room, and the edgy comfortability of Hotsy Totsy Club. Though none of these three are exactly craft cocktail bars, Hotsy Totsy comes closest, with house cocktail sodas, gracious bar manager Jessica Maria, and stellar guest bartenders like Scott Baird of The Bon Vivants, who bartends here weekly. They’ve kept on longtime bartender Chet, in his 70’s, who has been tending there the better part of a couple decades. Their gorgeous, restored Wurlitzer jukebox is a treasure of rare and popular 45s, which you can play for free to your hearts content. Hotsy Totsy encourages lingering with friends under pressed tin ceilings, rocking out to excellent tunes hand-selected by staff. Funky ’70’s garage sale paintings line the walls and hilariously creepy movies (like For Your Height Only starring Weng Weng) play silently on the flat screen, add to the edgy, blissfully divey, convivial spirit.

Winter looks: Welcome Stranger is warm on the range

Andrew Lam
-
0
Winter looks: Welcome Stranger is warm on the range

For this week’s Winter Looks issue, we rounded up some of the Bay’s hautest dressers to show us how to step out right when the weather’s wrong

We’ve been big fans of Hayes Valley boutique Welcome Stranger for awhile now. There’s something crisp, yet real comfortable about the shop’s selection of flannels, jeans, and leather bags — this is the place for San Francisco’s urban cowboys. Store manager Justin Hagar was good enough to pose for us in the store’s winter best.

“The jacket makes sense for rainy weather because it’s waxed,” he told us at the Guardian cover shoot. Well-dressed and smart? 

Welcome Stranger “Waxed Safari Jacket,” Life After Denim “Lineage Crew” sweater in Flax/Midnight, Gant “New Haven Chambray Button Down Shirt” in Chambray, General Assembly “Original Pant” in Navy (all available at Welcome Stranger)

 

Norse Projects “Anton Wool Shirt,” Barbour “Down Wax Gilet Vest,” Velour “Adan Chino,” Eastland “Sherman Boots,” Miansai “Beacon Leather Bracelet,” thrift store corduroy hat (all available at Welcome Stranger)

Winter looks: Erin Hagstrom’s rain styles

Andrew Lam
-
0
Winter looks: Erin Hagstrom’s rain styles

For this week’s Winter Looks issue, we rounded up some of the Bay’s hautest dressers to show us how to step out right when the weather’s wrong

Erin Hagstrom has a cuter closet than you. The East Bay resident specializes in cobbling together sweet, retro-styled ‘fits from new and used clothing, often hitting up Bay Area flea markets. The fruits of her shop-’til-you-drop labors are on display at Calivintage, her impeccably photographed fashion blog.

 

Clear vinyl raincoat from Storets.com, Mini dress by Family Affairs, Vintage Salvatore Ferragamo Vara Flats, Vintage wicker umbrella purse, Vintage hat (Mars Vintage)

 

Trovata coat, Kitty pocket dress by Rachel Antonoff (ModCloth.com), Hansel from Basel Tights, Vintage L.L.Bean Duck Boots, purchased at Thrift Town for $10

Winter looks: Leah Perloff’s lush layers

Andrew Lam
-
1
Winter looks: Leah Perloff’s lush layers

For this week’s Winter Looks issue, we rounded up some of the Bay’s hautest dressers to show us how to step out right when the weather’s wrong

Stylist Leah Perloff is a woman that can’t let chilly winds keep her at home. In addition to her stylist gigs, Perloff moonlights as DJ Rapid Fire, booty-bouncer at the monthly queer throwdown Stay Gold. When asked how she chose the layered looks she sported in photographer Matthew Reamer’s studio for our shoot, Perloff sassed back: “Winter is so whatever in San Francisco that you can even integrate things you would wear during the summer.” 

Tardy Platform Boot by Jeffery Campbell (Shoe Biz), Groupie Flare Jeans by BDG, Zach Godiva Tee by All Saints, Twisted Yarn Cardigan by Zara, Vintage Denim Jacket by Levi’s, ROZI Hooded Infinity Scarf by Ryan DeBonville Knitwear (Mission Statement), Basenji Clutch by Aldo, Earrings, Rings, and Necklaces by Babe Alert Jewelry (Stone Pony)

 

Crisson Ankle Bootie by Aldo, pants by Ever, Dune Tee by Eighteenth (Mira Mira), LEAH Oversized Infinity Scarf by Ryan DeBonville Knitwear (Mission Statement), jewelry by Babe Alert (Stone Pony)

Trash Lit: The commies of Agent 6

Zelda Bronstein
-
2

Agent 6

By Tom Rob Smith

Grand Central Publishing, 467 pages, $25.99

I get it: Life in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Krushchev was pretty bad. Food was sometimes scarce, spies were everywhere, people got locked up in jail for disloyalty to the State … I know all that. I read The Gulag Archipelago when I was in High School. It made me more wary of powerful governments than it did of Communism, but whatever — I’ll stipulate that the Soviet Union of that era was not exactly the great workers paradise it was supposed to be. (We had a few problems with repression here at home, too.)

But Child 44, Tom Rob Smith’s bestselling 2008 thriller about Leo Demidov, an idealistic Soviet security officer, is still hard to read. Every single person in the Soviet government is corrupt and evil. Every aspect of life is absolutely miserable. There is no hope, just bleakness; the only way anyone can do any good at all is either by mistake or by subversion. Child 44 just drips of the sort of anti-Communist propaganda I was fed in grade school, and while it’s a brilliantly constructed crime mystery, I had to put it down every few pages and say:

Really?

So I opened the sequel, Agent 6, with some hesitation. These books are long and thick, and some of the references are obscure, so you have to pay attention. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to wade through another 467 pages of Commie Plot Nightmare.

But Agent 6 is a pleasant surprise. It’s much lower on the bleakness scale and much more of a serious international novel of intrigue, with realistic characters, some good action and (of course) not much sex. I guess they don’t do that in Russia. Maybe it’s too cold.

The plot actually stretches from the Cold War to the present, but the heart of the matter occurs in 1965, when out hero Demidov (dismissed from the security service in some sort of disgrace, downgraded to a minor plant manager with a crummy apartment) discovers that his schoolteacher wife, Raisa, has been asked to take her students on a friendship tour of the United States. Of course, the couple’s two teenage daughters will be going along — but not poor Leo. He’s been such a bad boy that he can’t leave the country.

Then there’s an African American singer who was a huge star — and an outspoken commie — in the U.S. in the 30s and 40s, but has since been blacklisted and driven to poverty by the American version of Soviet repression. He, like Leo, has a shitty apartment in a slum. But the singer, Jesse Austin, gets invited by some shady crew that may be part Soviet propaganda machine and may be part FBI/CIA op, to sing at the friendship event — except that he’s not really officially invited, so he stands outside on a box — and winds up dead. One of Leo’s daughters is arrested for the murder, Leo’s wife is killed along the way — and the former Soviet cop spends the rest of his life trying to figure out what happened (and for his efforts is exiled to Soviet-occupied Afghanistan).

What happened is a good tale. The parallels between the way the Americans treated a one-time commie and the commies treated a one-time cop make this a lot more intellectually interesting than the first book. The scenes (and lessons) from the Soviet disaster in Afghanistan are a good real, and relevant to anyone who thinks it’s every possible for a foreign nation to invade that country. The depressing ending is about what you’d expect from a writer who makes his living describing depressing conditions and sad people, but it works.

I’m changing my mind about Tom Rob Smith. And while this is being sold as the last one, I suspect he’s got another Leo Demidov story in him somewhere.

How to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the Bay

Andrew Lam
-
0

Use your national day of service wisely —  jump in one of of the day’s volunteering fairs, take in a black history flick, catch some awe-inspiring youth spoken word, learn about colleges 

“In the Name of Love” MLK musical tribute

Mavis Staples, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Youth Speaks (that group’s going to be busy! See below), and Oakland’s Children’s Community Choir occupy the deco wonderland of the Paramount for this stirring tribute to the great man’s work. Hyped as the only non-denominational musical tribute to MLK Jr. in Oakland, the program also features the presentation of humanitarian awards. 

Sun/15 7 p.m., $18 

Paramount Theatre

2025 Broadway, Oakl.

www.livingjazz.org


Freedom Trains

Planning on spending your MLK Day in the city? Every year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara sponsors the Freedom Trains so that everyone can afford to make it to the celebrations. Instead of paying $17.50 for a round-trip ticket on Caltrain, today it’s just $10 – and you’ll be treated to in-route presentations on the importance of the civil rights movement in our lives. 

Mon/16, $10

Departs San Jose 9:30 a.m., arrives in San Francisco 10:55 a.m. (see website for stops in-between)

Rod Diridon train station

65 Cahill, San Jose

www.scvmlk.org

 

“Renewing the Dream” MLK Jr. birthday celebration

A health fair, a civil rights film festival, children’s reading celebration, interfaith commemoration, special presentations, and free entry to the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora, and Children’s Creativity Museum give you and yours plenty to do if you feel like spending your Monday in San Francisco’s (greener, sorry Union Square) living room. Down to attend? Check your local transportation agency for possible discounts to the event.

Mon/16 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free

Yerba Buena Gardens

Mission between Third and Fourth Sts., SF

www.norcalmlk.com

 

“What is Your Dream?” MLK Jr. day of service

Soak in the spirit of the day by spending it at MoAD. The regular museum offerings (currently featuring “Collected: Stories of Acquisition and Reclamation,” about the contributions of people of African descent to the American zeitgeist) will be free to the public, there will be screenings of MLK films and a documentary on a barber who turned into a civil rights leader during the 2008 elections, chalk drawings outside on the sidewalk, and vision boarding galore. But the day’s not just for remembering and dreaming – the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fair will be providing concrete information on education for tomorrow’s march-leaders and soul-freers. 

Mon/16 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free

Museum of the African Diaspora

685 Mission, SF

(415) 358-7200

www.moadsf.org


Parks Conservancy’s MLK Jr. day of service

Let the Parks Conservancy plug you into a wildlife restoration project – you’re too late to sign up for restoring the gardens on Alcatraz, but there’s still time to help out at Crissy Field, Fort Baker, Muir Woods, Ocean Beach, and the Presidio. Contact volunteer@parksconservancy.org to reserve your spot. 

Mon/16 various times, free

Various locations, SF

(415) 561-3077

www.parksconservancy.org


MLK Jr. Day service fair

Spend your day off work (if you have it off work) with your family making a difference in the Bay Area. Organizers of this event have made it easy for you: choose from over 25 different projects from serving food at shelters, planting trees – even making toys and biscuits for homeless puppies and kitties. All ages welcome. 

Mon/16 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., free

Oshman Family Jewish Community Center

3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto

www.paloaltojcc.org


Piedmont’s annual MLK Jr. Day celebration

First: eating. All comers are invited to bring a dish that reflects their own cultural heritage to this lunchtime potluck at the Piedmont Community Center. Once those pressing matters have been tended: music. Oaktown Jazz will provide some lilting melodies, and Piedmont students will make presentations on the significance of the day. Capping off the festivities, the 1993 movie At the River I Stand, which revolves around the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike and concurrent assasination of King. 

Mon/16 noon-3 p.m.

Piedmont Community Center

777 Highland, Piedmont

(510) 420-1534

loiscorrin@gmail.com


“Bringing the Noise for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” 

If you haven’t been to a Youth Speaks spoken word event, pack tissues and your future-seeing 3-D goggles – the young people that the organization gives an opportunity to perform are the truth. On no other day of the year should this be more evident, because these kids are all about having a dream. Today’s event brings performers to the stage who have worked up pieces on what they’d like the future to bring, imbued as ever with the fire of Youth Speaks performances. Could there be a more relevant forum to attend on today’s holiday?

Mon/16 7 p.m., $16

Herbst Theatre

401 Van Ness, SF

(415) 621-6600

www.youthspeaks.org

 

“Martin Luther King Jr. Day Double Feature”

“All of us have something to say, but some are never heard” — Richard Pryor, Wattstax (1973). MLK Jr. Day calls into question how we remember the past. The Wattstax concert is sometimes recalled derivatively as “the black Woodstock.” But while soul music may have been the response, the event was put on by Stax Records to commemorate and come to terms with the seventh anniversary of the Watts Riots in LA, which challenged the limits of MLK Jr.’s nonviolent philosophy. As a double feature the Wattstax documentary will be shown with The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011), a revelatory look at a movement’s era that sadly took the distance of continent and a few decades to make. 

Wattstax 3, 7p.m.; The Black Power Mixtape 4:55, 8:55 p.m., $7.50–$10

Castro Theatre

429 Castro, SF

(415) 621-6120

www.castrotheatre.com


Martin Luther

It’s the second coming! Not really, no relation actually. But this R&B-funk crooner spins out tunes appropriately uplifting for this day of rememberance and looking forward. Bliss out, eyes closed, mind on the change you want to make, at this smoothed-out groovefest. 

Mon/16 8-9:30 p.m., $15

Yoshi’s

510 Embarcadero, Oakl.

(510) 238-9200

www.yoshis.com

Style Paige: Caplet cute

Andrew Lam
-
0
Style Paige: Caplet cute

While walking down Valencia Street towards 19th Street, I stopped Erica because she was just too caplet cute. Her camel colored jacket paired with a black long-sleeve top (and how could you miss those worn in brown vintage boots) was a picture-worthy outfit.

Erica’s jacket, with a pleated upper cape design, defined her waist and was accented with gold snap buttons. I especially loved how she accessorized her outfit with a round top hat that drew attention to her baby doll bob haircut. You don’t see too many women sporting the caplet jacket, but its unique shape and batwing sleeves can be flattering on all body types. From Michael Kors to Forever 21, you can find a wool-blend caplet jacket for a reasonable price. If you’re looking for a unique winter jacket – especially if your closet is full of simple leather coats and trench coats – the caplet look is the perfect addition to your winter wardrobe. You’ll look high fashion and deliciously seasonal, and maybe even feel a bit British. 

 

 

Trash Lit: Too much love for Stephanie Plum

Zelda Bronstein
-
1
Trash Lit: Too much love for Stephanie Plum

Janet Evanovich was a moderately successful writer of romance novels before she became the funniest thriller writer in the world, and I figured at some point that side of her would come out. It’s taken 17 books before the glorious madness that is the life of Stephanie Plum would start to take a turn toward the mundane normality of New Jersey polyamory, but that’s where the series is these days. In Smokin’ Seventeen and Explosive Eighteen, written and published less than 12 months apart, there’s a lot less insanity and a lot more about Plum’s love life.

At least she gets laid, a lot, once the grandmother of her sometimes boyfriend Morelli puts some type of evil-eye curse on her that makes her really, really horny. She goes back and forth between fucking Morelli, the Trenton cop, and fucking Ranger, the dangerous Cuban man of mystery (sounds like a romance novel, right?) — and she spends a fair amount of time (way too much) trying to figure it all out.

Seventeen is all about sex and dead bodies, the ones that appear in the empty lot near the trailer where her cousin Vinny’s bail-bonds business is temporarily located now that his old office was blown up. Although neither of these books is as funny as the others in the series, they both still have the Evanovich charm: In Seventeen, there’s the Gonna Gork Meter, a 72-year-old guy who thinks he’s a vampire and keeps biting women on the neck and an FTA who meets Plum and her pal Lula like this:

Merlin answered the door at the second knock. He was naked again, and he had a boner.
Lula checked Merlin out. “Must be that time of day.”

Eighteen has a really dumb theme about Plum taking a dream vacation in Hawaii with one of the two men but we don’t know which one, a gimmick that doesn’t really work. (Note to My Favorite Funny Writer Ever: The romance thing didn’t work out well, remember? Stick to gorking and vampires.) There’s a missing picture that half the crooks in Jersey seem to want to kill someone over and they think Plum has it. It’s actually a little more of a continuing plot line than a lot of the other books, and there’s still some excellent moments featuring Grandma Mazur, who loves to attend funerals and remains one of the best characters in modern American literature:

“It got better after you left,” she said. “Melvin Shupe came through the line and cut the cheese right when he got up to the casket. He said he was sorry but the widow made a big fuss over it. And then the funeral director came with air freshener and when he sprayed it around, Louis Belman got an asthma attack and they had to cart her out the back door to get some air. Earl Krizinski was sitting behand me, and he said he saw Louisa’s underpants when they picked her up, and he said he got a stiffy.”

Let’s face it: If you’re an Evanovich fan, and millions of us are, you’re going to read both of these books anyway, and you’ll enjoy them just fine. But if you haven’t been introduced to the world of this particular Jersey girl, I’d start with another selection.

The Performant: The Great Leap Forward

-
0
The Performant: The Great Leap Forward

A year on the city’s wilder side, and looking ahead to more fine times

End-of-the-year roundups are all well and good, allowing us the opportunity to celebrate one last time the innovations of the past. But I’ve always preferred to look ahead into the future, so in that spirit here’s a shortlist of some of my fave Performant coverage from 2011 of ongoing and perennial events that you can still look forward to checking out in 2012—and beyond!


Sea Chantey Sing: The monthly Sea Chantey sing <www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/chantey-sing.htm> at Hyde Street pier just turned thirty, but it feels utterly timeless, and is guaranteed the most fun you’ll ever have sober on a Saturday night, no contest. The multi-generational turnout always includes salty old pros benignly rubbing elbows with landlubbers who think the Pogues wrote “South Australia,” and just as no-one is turned away for lack of funds (it’s a free event), no-one is turned away from participating, even if “participating” means sitting in gap-mouthed awe of the regulars whose encyclopedic recall of dozens of Chanteys would make Alan Lomax weak at the knees.

Home Theatre Festival: It’s almost embarrassing how I can’t stop gushing about the homegrown phenomenon that is The Home Theatre Festival. Seriously, it’s like I’m a pre-pubescent girl at the Gymkhana, swooning over the stallions. But it’s hard not to be enamored of an event that took a devastatingly simple concept (hey artists, make art at home for fun and profit!) and turned it into a branded, annual festival whose participants span the globe and whose influence just keeps spreading. Don’t think art made at home is “legit”? You’re on the wrong side of history, friend.

Hoodslam: Real-life superhero training or reckless mayhem? This monthly amateur-wrestling tournament, currently located at the Oakland Metro Operahouse, is a rough-and-tumble turf war between spandex-clad Zombies, dubious family dynasties, videogame-inspired villains, mobsters, gimps, dark overlords, and carnivorous werewolves. Further cranking the sensory overload to eleven with acerbic commentators, an aggro-metal house band, fire-eating babes, a seven-foot tall Pink Panther referee, and the uber-suave ring announcer Ike Emilio Burner, whose booming introduction of each match rolls across the room like a tsunami of too cool, Hoodslam taps into an almost primal gladiatorial urge with an unmistakably Oakland swagger.

The Lost Church: Neither lost, nor a church, this hidden temple of tunesmiths and troubadours worships at the altar of Americana with offerings of the dirty blues, Appalachian-style folk, and alt-rock in a retro jewel-box theatre space. And speaking of theatre, they do that too on an occasional basis, and an evening at The Lost Church might turn out to be a combination of all of the above—an intriguing alchemy.

American Tripps: Spreading the gospel of Berlin-style Ping-pong since August 2011, American Tripps has attracted a cult following of sporty young things in sweatbands who gather every couple of weeks around a single ping-pong table for a rousing evening of rundlauf. Another deceptively simple concept just waiting for someone to come forward and run with it (in this instance, Allan Hough of Mission Mission) American Tripps is a perfect balance between being challenging enough to attract good players and easy enough to keep the uncoordinated masses in the game, whether it’s the first round, or the thirtieth.

Give The Performant a reason to Twit. Follow @enkohl for of-the-minute updates from the underground.

Hey kittens! Cat show this weekend in San Jose

Andrew Lam
-
6
Hey kittens! Cat show this weekend in San Jose

Surely the most exciting news to penetrate your post-holiday malaise this morn: on Fri/7 and Sat/8 you will have the chance to attend a bonafide cat show. Fancy beasts, silky coats, whisker wars? You bet.

The Tails and No Tails Cat Club is hosting the two-day extravaganza at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. The club is a member of the Cat Fanciers’ Association, the world’s largest pedigreed cat registry that was established back in 1906 to the plaintive meows of a nation of four-legged felines awaiting their dry kibble (or oatmeal and milk-drenched bread, as the case may have been).

Here is what you will find upon your arrival at the show. Furry friends will be competing for best in show honors, from the ear-tufted, behemoth Maine coon to the – here, quoting from the press release – “mysterious Birman cat.” You will have the chance to chop it up with breeders, asking them questions that may well lead them landing your vote for the vaunted Spectator’s Choice award. 

Any feline frenzy that the event evokes in your brand-new 2012 self can be cemented with an on-site adoption from a local agency, and door proceeds will be donated to local cat advocates, like the no-kill shelter Town Cats of Morgan Hill.

How will you make it to Friday with your holiday cheer intact? Taking a look at this history of cat food commercials, perhaps?

 

Tails and No Tails Cat Show

Sat/7 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun/8 9 a.m.-5 p.m., $8

Santa Clara County Fairgrounds

Gateway Hall, 344 Tully, San Jose 

www.tailsandnotails.com

 

Period Piece: Palou Avenue

Andrew Lam
-
3
Period Piece: Palou Avenue

Guardian history writer Lucy Schiller is exploring the city street-by-street in the slow week inter-holiday weekends. Today, learn about Junipero Serra’s right-hand man who now has a Bayview street named after him. Click here for yesterday’s installment on Laguna and McAllister Streets.

 

Palou Avenue

Named for Fray Francisco Palou, Franciscan padre, explorer, biographer

Francisco Palou (1723-1789) was an agent of Spanish colonialism and the right-hand man of Junipero Serra, another San Francisco street namesake. At one point, Palou singlehandedly controlled the operations of all the Baja California missions. After a few years he moved northward with his teacher and mentor Serra. Palou was also responsible for baptizing the first Ohlone Indian, founding Mission Dolores, and establishing the Presidio. His recounting of the Franciscans’ travels throughout California is regarded as a crucial primary source. The street named for Palou runs from Hunter’s Point to the Western reaches of Bayview. 

 

The Performant: Tripp hop nation

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
-
1

Going balls out for Berlin-style ping-pong with American Tripps

The only thing lacking is a haze of cigarette smoke curling over the lone ping-pong table bogarting the cosy dance floor of Project One. A polite jostle of players, perhaps 25 strong, rings the table, shoulder to shoulder. Each one clutches a paddle in one hand, and, more than a few, a drink in the other. The game is “Berlin-style” ping-pong (also known as rundlauf)—a participatory style of play in which every participant gets a turn serving or receiving as the circle shuffles one spot at a time, counter-clockwise around the crowded table.

And despite the resolutely smoke-free Californian air and the proliferance of decidedly un-Germanic striped sweatbands worn by the regulars, it’s easy to imagine the scene in general transplanted to a basement in Prenzlauer Berg, right down to The Fine Young Cannibals on the sound-system. Welcome to American Tripps.
 
Trust the Germans to come up with a group variation on an ostensibly individualistic pastime. And trust a San Franciscan enamored of the practice (Allan Hough) to be the one to transport it overseas and invite the neighbors, in this case the faithful readers of his Mission Mission blog, to play a few rounds. And then a few more. Now nearing its six-month anniversary, American Tripps has attracted a core group of loyal followers and a slew of curious first-timers to each of its nomadic ping-pong parties, held in a variety of bars and art spaces in and around the Southerly neighborhoods.

Although the general demographic is skewed heavily (about 3-to-1) towards “dude-ness,” the testosterone in the room is far from frothing over. Clearly at the end of each round there will be a winner, and a table’s worth of losers, but this statistic seems of little concern to the people patiently standing in line, waiting to be eventually eliminated. At American Tripps it’s very much about playing the game, not so much about whether or not you make it to the final round. At least that’s what I tell myself each time I miss the ball (almost every time), or volley it into the DJ booth at the back of the room (once). Achtung, baby!

Thankfully there are better players, and at each tournament a half-dozen or so wind up dominating most of the final rounds, which are played at frenetic top speeds in contrast to the leisurely strolling that defines the first part of the game. For instance, at Lower Haight’s D-Structure store the week before, the unassuming-looking Tim Walsh (the drummer for neo-psychedelic ensemble the Stepkids) rose to the top more than a few times, while the genial Peter Allen (whom I secretly dubbed “The Mayor of the Lower Haight”) maintained a decent game through almost every round while greeting close to every single person who entered the room, dancing ecstatically to Jimmy Cliff, and coordinating his sweatbands to his Wing Wings t-shirt.

Of course being a good player doesn’t guarantee you’ll get far in any given game—pitting oneself against an entire room full of strangers is a great leveler. And so leveled, you might discover the best parts of the evening don’t even involve the game at all, except as an excellent ice-breaker, or as Allan Hough puts it, “the grand prize is that everybody had an epic time all night.”

I’m sold. Now where do I find a set of sweatbands?

Period Piece: Laguna and McAllister Streets sense

Andrew Lam
-
0

Guardian history writer Lucy Schiller is exploring the city street-by-street in the slow week inter-holiday weekends. Today, learn about the laundry pool of Laguna Street and the bravery of Matthew Hall McAllister. Click here for yesterday’s installment on Green and Gilbert Streets.

 

Laguna Street

Named for Washerwoman’s Lagoon

A little south of Fort Mason a big old body of water once lay where San Franciscans took their (likely filthy) laundry once and a while. Enterprising citizens soaked and scrubbed their long johns, underthings, and the like ’til they resembled clean clothing, then laid them out to dry. The whole thing sounds rather idyllic -– yet an 1879 Chronicle article refers to the place as “that horribly-smelling and disease-producing pool,” a description that likely had some basis in reality. Our modern day Laguna Street stems from the site of the old quagmire. 


McAllister Street

Named for Matthew Hall McAllister, lawyer, judge

Southern lawyer Matthew Hall McAllister (1800-1865) first began practicing law at the sprightly age of 20 and ended up tackling a fearsome foe: the Hounds, a militantly nativist band of civilians bent on wreaking havoc throughout San Francisco. The Hounds peaked in 1849, robbing, murdering, and terrorizing Hispanic citizens in broad daylight. McAllister prosecuted 19 Hounds successfully, though no official sentences seem to have been enforced (several Hounds were later hung by a mob of angry miners). Fittingly, McAllister Street helps border the Civic Center; it stretches from Arguello to Market Streets. 

 

Period Piece: Green and Gilbert Streets sense

Andrew Lam
-
0

Guardian history writer Lucy Schiller is exploring the city street-by-street in the slow week inter-holiday weekends. Today, learn about a newspaper editor that died in a duel and a ghost from Philadelphia. Click here for yesterday’s installment on Brannan Street and Geary Boulevard.

Gilbert Street

Named for Edward Gilbert, newspaper editor, congressman

Like many a valiant man before him, Edward Gilbert died in a duel. The newspaperman exercised editorial control over The Alta California, which in 1848 was San Francisco’s only newspaper, and he made his positions on political matters clear as day. He served a single term in the U.S. Congress before returning to his post at the Alta and attacking General James Denver for mismanaging supplies meant for stranded, West-moving immigrants. Gilbert was 33 at the time of his death by Denver’s hand in a duel near Sacramento. His incongruously tiny street runs a block between Sixth and Seventh Streets in SoMa. 

 

Green Street

Named for Talbot Green, fraudulent businessman

Like any early pioneer to San Francisco, businessman Talbot Green left a lot behind back east. In his case, though, it was an entire identity along with a family and some pretty massive debt. No one in San Francisco knew of his checkered past and Green rose to prominence as a successful civic leader, which ultimately got him recognized by a ghost from his previous Pennsylvanian life. Green denied the serious charges – that he was operating under a fake name, that he had abandoned his family, that he embezzled large amounts of money. But he disappeared the day after accusations were made and his reputation never recovered, though he attempted to return to San Francisco years later. A major artery in North Beach, Green Street runs from the Presidio to the Embarcadero.

 

Gifted: The Poor Bastard’s SF Almanac

Andrew Lam
-
0

Hey, Slingshot Organizer gang. Yeah youse, the well-planned anarchists in the corner. Stephen Kovacic would like you folks to know you are no longer the only alt-dayplanner game in town. 

Kovacic — inspired, he says, by his experience working the front desk at the LGBT Community Center — has pulled off the impressive feat of assembling a one-stop guide to sustainable brokeness in this fair city of ours. Not only is The Poor Bastard’s SF Almanac a calendar, but it is also is packed with supervisoral district maps, last-BART-of-the-night times, guides to where to find fair trade coffee, free museum and zoo visits, eight (!) $1 oyster happy hours, and San Francisco pools. The result is delightfully scrappy, delightfully useful package of wisdom. In an email interview with the Guardian, Kovacic admitted to ordering far, far too many of the things from the print shop, so in addition to being able to cop the planners for $12 in local bookstores (we even spotted them at Scarlet Sage Herb Company), you can order them from his website at prices as low as five for $35.

The thing even comes with a mix CD of local artists, from the Dents to Rin Tin Tiger (listen to it for free here). So, maybe New Year’s Day gifts are the new, hot holiday present? Here’s what Kovacic had to say about his labor of love. 

 

SFBG: Tell us a little about yourself.

SK: My name is Stephen Kovacic, I’m a 28-year old male, I’ve lived in San Francisco for nine years. I went to SFSU and CCSF. I like chemistry, and turtles, and Rubix cubes, and the people in my life. I like making systems work better.

 

SFBG: What inspired you to put together this dayplanner?

SK: I was working for three years as the front desk info and referral person at the LGBT Community Center, compiling info for visitors or people off the street who needed referrals to services. I noticed immediately that there were a ton of services and fun things and things to know about the city, but no really good compendium of up-to-date information. Websites on the subject are woefully out of date.   

When budget issues dissolved that job I was gainfully unemployed for a while, living very cheap, going to free things, writing things that were useful into my Slingshot Organizer. I wrote in free zoo and museum days, and I drew guitar chords and such in the back pages. It seemed like a logical progression to make my own organizer and fill it with as many useful things as possible, like supervisor contact info, or last BART times, or when to register to vote, or your rights at work, or a list of anti-gay companies to boycott. Things that empower people to be who they want to get around to being. And to entice people to carry it around all the time, i put games and trivia and interesting days in SF history, free days, zodiacs, SF celebrity births, guitar chords, fun stuff. 

 

SFBG: What’s your favorite feature in its pages?

SK: The history probably. I spent a long time finding things that happened in this city 100 years ago, and there’s a ton of them. I put the most compressible, interesting stories in there. I encourage people to look them up because there’s a lot more to each story than i had room to put in. At the same time, the CD is the thing i’m least tired of seeing. It’s really good.

 

SFBG: Who were the artists that helped you out with it?

SK: The folks on the CD are all local San Franciscan bands. Mostly talented friends of mine that I’ve been collecting. People can listen to the whole CD for free at www.SFalmanac.org. Sometimes compilations are crappy, but this one turned out really good. Mostly because I took songs that were already my favorites and begged their SF writers to let me use them. Everybody was really supportive of the idea. There’s even some gems on there [that are] previously unreleased.

The [visual] art is about one-third mine, the rest is my friends’, people that supported the concept. If it’s going to happen next year I’ll need a whole bunch more contributing artists. The real star player is Justine Lucas, she did the cover and a whole bunch of other pages too. She’s been the most supportive and encouraging person there could be, it would never have happened without her support and advice and skill.

Period Piece: Brannan Street sense (and Geary Boulevard, too)

Andrew Lam
-
0
Period Piece: Brannan Street sense (and Geary Boulevard, too)

Guardian history writer Lucy Schiller is exploring the city street-by-street in the slow week inter-holiday weekends. Today, learn about Samuel Brannan’s shipment of Mormons to San Francisco and John Geary side jobs (which include governor of Philadelphia). Click here for yesterday’s installment on Baker Street.

Brannan Street 

Named for Samuel Brannan, Mormon, ex-Mormon, journalist, Gold Rush instigator

Samuel Brannan (1819-1889) brought 240 Mormons to San Francisco on a ship along with a printing press, effectively tripling the tiny town’s population. And though he himself steered clear of panning for gold, Brannan was the first man to capitalize on the Gold Rush. And capitalize he did, publishing news of California’s gleaming bounty in his newspaper The California Star, while simultaneously selling mining supplies out of a well-placed general store. Brannan quickly became a millionaire, and with his notoriety, his character displayed itself. After being expelled from the church for some pretty questionable tithe diversions, Brannan became an integral member of San Francisco’s notorious citizen police force, the Vigilance Committee. Brannan Street runs in a fittingly prominent path parallel to Market.

Geary Boulevard

Named for John Geary, postmaster, mayor, governor

Just like the street named in his honor, John Geary (1819-1873) was a bustling behemoth, standing around six and a half feet tall and holding the dubious honor of more than 10 war wounds. He also managed to hold an impressive array of titles throughout his violent life, working as San Francisco’s first postmaster, last alcade (premier authority during Mexican rule), first mayor, military general, governor of Kansas, and governor of Pennsylvania. Geary levied the first taxes on San Franciscans, established the first jail (a stinking, unsanitary mess on the ship Euphemia), and ensured that both Washington Square and Union Square remain public spaces.  

 

Elbo Room benefit to raise funds for fire victim

Andrew Lam
-
0
Elbo Room benefit to raise funds for fire victim

Longtime Gamescaper, Larkin Street social worker, local hip hop emcee, walking comic book encyclopedia, and all-around dear friend Robert Strawder was severely injured in an early morning apartment fire at 24th Street and Valencia on December 1. After nearly a month of intensive care treatment and frequent surgeries, Strawder remains in a medically-induced coma on a long road to recovery. Friends, family, and co-worders are holding a benefit for him today, Tue/26 at the Elbo Room to raise funds for his rehabilitation.

The event will boast a top-notch silent art auction (featuring the likes of Jeremy Fish, Nate VanDyke, and Alex Pardee) as well as a full evening of musical performances (Bigga, Edison, 41FUNK).

Any and all donations and contributions will be welcomed and appreciated. 

 

Tue/26 8 p.m., donations suggested 

Elbo Room 

647 Valencia, SF

(415) 552-7788

www.robstrawder.org

 

Period Piece: Baker Street sense

Andrew Lam
-
1

Guardian history writer Lucy A. Schiller is examining SF’s history corner by corner this week — in this piece, the murder in Baker Street’s torrid past

It should come as no surprise that many of San Francisco’s streets are named for old white men. After all, many financially successful California pioneers were just that (occasionally minus the “old”). But the figures referenced by San Franciscan alleys, thoroughfares, boulevards, and avenues do hold some insight into the city’s past. The picture of 19th century San Francisco painted by its street names is a wildly weird one. Common themes: lawlessness, violence, sometimes ugly individualism, and the occasional progressive value.

Baker Street

Named for Edward Dickinson Baker, orator, senator, friend of Abe Lincoln

Edward D. Baker (1811-1861) holds a distinct honor in American history as the only sitting senator to have been killed in the Civil War. The British-born, Free Soil politician traveled in his youth throughout the Midwest (including a stint at a cotton mill in a failed utopian community) before moving to San Francisco and quickly making his mark as a lawyer and public speaker. A sort of Californian Abraham Lincoln (the President was a close friend and named his second son after Baker), the senator was renowned for his oratorical skills. Attorney general George Williams later called Baker “the most eloquent man I ever heard speak.” Baker was killed in Virginia at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff. The silvertongued politician’s eponymous street stretches from Buena Vista Park to the Marina. 

 

Style Paige: Retrofit Republic’s vintage flair

Andrew Lam
-
0
Style Paige: Retrofit Republic’s vintage flair

Wedged between two clothing stores in San Francisco, a narrow alley leads to the home of Jenny Ton and Julie Rhee, a.k.a. the alternative vintage boutique Retrofit Republic. Inside on a recent visit, I felt like a kid in a candy store – except there was no candy. Instead, bowls of earrings, necklaces, and pendants were neatly displayed on a table. Here, a stunning sequin clutch with colorful roses. There, four racks of vintage men’s and women’s clothing, with shoes on display wherever they could fit. Wearing the perfect gold holiday dress, a mannequin peeking around the corner told me to look around, stay awhile.

It didn’t feel as though I was standing in an apartment at all. With a floral curtain hiding the kitchen and bedrooms on the far side of their apartment, the place felt like a quaint little vintage shop. 

“I feel like I have a relationship with every piece in here,” said Ton, who along with Rhee owns the store. The two handpick every item that now decorates their living room. A sustainable vintage seller with a social impact,  Retrofit Republic offers styling to individuals, changemakers, and brands. Its slogan: Look good. Do good. Make an appointment and you can enter the home for a free private session of custom styling, or to buy signature vintage pieces.

Julie Rhee [left] and Jenny Ton [right]: Owners of Retrofit Republic, stylists extraordinaire. 

Old tennis rackets were stacked in front of luggage pieces, handbags hung on a coat rack with a grey hat resting on the top, and a vintage clock reading the wrong time sat in front of a framed photo of the duo’s company name. Each piece had incredible details, embroidery, and structure, like the off-white brocade coat with gold buttons and the men’s herringbone blazers with brown elbow patches. I wanted to slip away with one of the many fur coats, or perhaps the pair of Salvatore Ferragamo flats. 

To schedule a private shopping appointment, you must fill out a styling profile on Retrofit Republic’s website. The 26 questions include queries regarding your signature style and favorite accessories, as well as your shoe, pant, and dress sizes. Based on your profile, Ton and Rhee will pull together head-to-toe outfits that fit your style and personality.

Along with providing private shopping sessions to those who first fill out the 26-question style interview, Retrofit Republic styles photoshoots, bridal parties, and – perhaps its most popular service – does home wardrobe assessments. 

The hour-long assessment (particularly for those who are looking to revamp their wardrobe) includes getting rid of not-so-flattering garments. The duo teaches customers how to pick clothes that are more flattering but still compliment their lifestyle and personality. Ton says the service is perfect for people who are tired of their work wardrobe. “And it helps that we’re a good time,” Rhee added.

The shop’s mission is to prove that being fashionable and socially responsible can go hand-in-hand. Fusing passions for fashion, thrifting, and sustainability gave birth to Retrofit Republic. Ton and Rhee got started at an all-weekend yard sale they set up to clear out stuff before moving to another apartment. 

Their endeavor has been going strong for almost a year. Both Ton and Rhee came from non–profit backgrounds, so it is fitting that Retrofit Republic is a community- and consumer-conscious company.

So many shiny things, so little time: the sea of accesories at Retrofit Republic 

And although the duo has styled CEOs, political candidates, and music artists they stay mindful of their local community. Retrofit Republic works with every budget and markets to low-income people of color and the LGBT community by collaborating with various community organizations. The shop has also donated styling services to non-profits in the Bay Area like the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and the Lyon-Martin Clinic, and never requires a purchase to enter the store.

Ton and Rhee find vintage pieces anywhere and everywhere. They hit up local thrift stores, yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, and accept donations. They have traveled as far as Europe, South America, and Asia to find unique vintage goods. The two can tell you about each piece’s journey to the shop – on each hang tag, printed opposite the shop’s logo there is the line “Where I’m from?” Below that, a handwritten answer brings to life thrift stories. 

Browsing the amazing finds, I found myself wondering how the two were able to say goodbye to some of the items when it was time to sell. 

“I found these amazing, amazing vintage boots at a street market in Argentina and I’m kicking myself because I sold them,” Rhee said laughing. “They were so amazing.”

Only they said they don’t get attached. They’re constantly shopping, so there’s a strong probability that they’ll find those amazing boots over and over again.

Besides, “it’s the thrill of the hunt,” said Ton. 

Set up an appointment to check out Retrofit Republic at www.retrofitrepublic.com

Gifted: Double your pleasure with a matched-funds donation to the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society

Andrew Lam
-
0
Gifted: Double your pleasure with a matched-funds donation to the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society

Consider the cat signal illuminated — the pet protectors have stepped in to save the day. Pawesome, a formidably cute website dedicated to the wellbeing of our faithful animal companions, has announced a dollar-for-dollar campaign to help a shelter still reeling from fire damage. Still struggling to think of a gift for your cat-enthused father? You’ve found it, furry friend.

Since 1927, when it was called the “Animal Rescue Haven” and operated out of an old pool hall, the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society has worked to find shelter for more than 40,000 homeless animals. But a disastrous May 2010 fire in the building’s adoption center took a heavy toll.  More than a year and a half later, the shelter struggles to raise money to rebuild their haven for the feline and canine homeless.

Pawesome is able to contribute 500 dollars, meaning a total of $1,000 could be raised to provide the sweet beasts of the bay with an actual roof over their heads. Donations can be made online through the “Shelter Fire Relief Fund”, just remember to then forward your receipt to pawesomehelps@pawesome.net. 

 

10 places to eat and drink on Christmas Day

Andrew Lam
-
1
10 places to eat and drink on Christmas Day

Because you and yours might be itching for something other than ham, sweet potatoes, and intense family time, we here present a list of restaurants that will be open Christmas Day providing non-holiday-oriented dinners and desserts. Relish in the savory bite-sized flavors of dim sum, or skip the solid food entirely and head to a downtown lounge for a cocktail with friends or solo.

 

Chouchou

Now this French restaurant is just plain cute. Perfect for dinner, or if you just want to grab a glass of wine and a chocolate pear tart while everyone else is doing the presents thing. Start off with an organic salad of mixed greens, red chard, tomatoes, goat cheese, apples, and pistachios. Then, enjoy the spot’s infamous homemade French onion soup. Still hungry? Request the Camembert apple tart, caramelized with honey.

Open Sun/25 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

400 Dewey, SF

(415) 242-0960

www.chouchoubistro.com


Mangia Tutti Ristorante

For over a decade Mangia Tutti Ristorante has been a local favorite offering a comfortable, casual atmosphere for inexpensive homestyle Italian food. Located in the Financial District, Mangia Tutti Ristorante serves garlic pastas with Italian sausage and prawns, homemade ravioli, and spaghetti. Even the bread is too good for words. And of course there are a wide variety of red wines to choose from — how else are you suppose to enjoy Italian food?

Open Sun/25 5:00-9:30 p.m.

635 Clay, SF

(415) 788-2088

www.mangiatuttisf.com


PPQ Dungeness Island

Although its often very busy for dinner, the cuisine here is worth the wait. Garlic noodles, peppercorn crab, and crab-fried rice are just a few of this Vietnamese restaurant’s mouth-watering selections. Its prices are very reasonable, and after all that holiday shopping you did it will be nice to eat on a budget.

Open Sun/25 1:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

2332 Clement, SF

(415) 386-8266


Top of the Mark

Feeling fancy? Feeling romantic? Take your love to Top of the Mark for that breathtaking view and fawning service. Top of the Mark has been a San Francisco landmark since the late 1930s, when the 19th floor penthouse apartment of the Mark Hopkins Hotel was converted into a cocktail lounge. With over 100 cocktails to choose from you can get a little holiday buzz and wonder at the gorgeous views of downtown San Francisco.

Open Sun/25 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Mark Hopkins San Francisco

1 Nob Hill, SF

(415) 616-6916

www.topofthemark.com


Boboquivari’s

Yes, there is a restaurant in the city where there is free valet service. After handing over your keys you can bite into a savory steak and a twice-baked baked potato. Boboquivari’s has been mentioned in over a dozen “top restaurants in San Francisco” lists, so you should definitely treat yourself to a wonderful Christmas Day dinner. Wash down your filet mignon with its Basil Hayden’s bourbon martini, the “bohattan,” because an unconventional Christmas meal calls for a cocktail. 

Open Sun/25 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

1450 Lombard, SF.

(415) 441-8880

www.boboquivaris.com


M’s Café

It’s Christmas Day and you’re in a pickle. You shouldn’t have taken those last shots of tequila the night before at the Christmas Eve party and now you’re in desperate need of a cure-my-hangover-quick breakfast before heading to Mom and Dad’s house. When it comes to breakfast and brunch, M’s Café has got you covered. Try its corned beef hash (to die for!), its French toast (amazing!), and its black and white pudding (yum!). Mom will never know of the debauchery that took place the night before.

Open Sun/25 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

1376 Ninth Ave., SF

(415) 665-1821


Chabaa Thai Cuisine

Celebrate Christmas Day with the rich flavors of the Far East. Its colorful curries and Thai spices make its feasts succulent and tender. You have the option of spicy or veggie dishes, red, yellow, and green curry, and of course panaeng. This Outer Sunset restaurant will even deliver to your home, so if you really can’t step away from that basketball or football game before halftime, no worries, just order online.

Open Sun/25 11:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m.

2123 Irving, SF

(415) 753-3347

420 Geary, SF

(415) 346-3121

www.chabaathaicuisine.com 


Great Eastern Restaurant

What’s better than dim sum on a Sunday? Dim sum on Christmas Day. Located in the heart of Chinatown, this Chinese restaurant’s food will make you want to return every Christmas just for their Peking spareribs, clams with black bean sauce, and variety of dumplings. Invite the gang to a filling and tasty meal (for cheap).

Open Sun/25 9:00 a.m.-nidnight

649 Jackson, SF

(415) 986-2500


Waterfront Restaurant

Pier 7 houses an elegant seafood restaurant perfect for groups on this holiday. With dishes like crab mashed potatoes and lobster risotto, everyone’s tastebuds will be pleased. If you have relatives visiting from out-of-town they will love the beautiful view of the Bay Bridge through the restaurant windows. For dessert, order the sticky pudding with caramel ice cream that has a perfect cake-to-ice cream ratio.

Open Sun/25 11:30 a.m.-10: 00 p.m.

Pier 7, SF

(415) 391-2696

www.waterfrontsf.com


Aslam’s Rasoi

Probably one of the best Pakistani and Indian restaurants in the city, Aslam’s is open every day, every holiday. This Mission spot has a staff that is friendly and engaging, so don’t be afraid to ask questions or for recommendations. Its most popular dishes are the goat cheese naan, lamb korma, and chicken tikka masala. With a broad palette of Pakistani flavors, the chef and owner — Aslam himself — blends cuisines for a healthy dining meal.

Open Sun/25 5-11 p.m.

1037 Valencia, SF

(415) 695-0599

www.aslamsrasoi.com

The Performant: Tradition! Tradition!

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
-
0

Golden Girls, Kung Pao Kosher, Merry Forking Christmas … the holidays are coming whether you like it or not.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the holidays just keep on coming around. And unless you plan on hibernating the entire month of December away, sooner or later someone is going to force you into an ugly sweater and drag you to some seasonal entertainment designed to fill you with goodwill towards all humankind — or some such optimistic twaddle. Even so, there’s certainly no reason you have to subject yourself to endless renditions of Tchaikovsky’s famous suite or stale Bing Crosby carols in order to fulfill your holiday spirit quota. Alternatives abound here in Babylon-by-the-Bay, and you’re sure to stumble across a few that speak to your own imitable tastes.


Call it nostalgia, or call it an abiding love for the dubious fashions of the late 80’s, but whatever the attraction, this year’s edition of Trannyshack’s “The Golden Girls Christmas Episodes,” (through Dec. 23) has been packing the house at the Victoria Theatre with its irreverent rendition of the iconic television show. The four Tranny Grannies — Heklina, Cookie Dough, Pollo del Mar, and Matthew Martin — embody their characters with real affection, as their enthusiastic audiences sing along to the retro jingles of old Dr. Pepper commercials while cat-calling each spectacular costume change.

Another tradition-in-the-making, Pianofight’s third annual production of “A Merry Forking Christmas,” (through Dec. 30) is also packing the house with a good mix of PianoFight first-timers and old “Forking” initiates who are easily identified by their crumpled brown paper BYOB bags. The concept of “Forking” is both deceptively simple and yet infinitely clever — a choose-your-own-adventure story which “forks” off in several, audience-mandated directions, mostly determined by chaotic bursts of applause. Set in that oppressive microcosm otherwise known as “The Mall,” the play follows a handful of characters battling the stress and hopelessness of Christmas Eve either engaged in last minute selling, buying, security guarding, or Santa Claus-ing as the “true meaning” of the holiday in question eludes each.

Since nothing can make one feel more self-consciously Jewish than a month full of Christmas cheer, it’s good to know that Lisa Geduldig’s Kung Pao Kosher Comedy event (Dec. 23-25) has been stuffing holiday orphans of all faiths full of potstickers and potshots for nineteen years. This year’s headliner is Elayne Boosler, and if you go for the dinner show your ticket includes a seven-course feast, which sounds like my kind of Christmas. Or it would if it didn’t compete with the First Satanic Church’s annual Black X Mass (Sun/25) at the Elbo Room. Basically an excuse to throw a high-voltage rock show on the quietest night of the year, Black X Mass consistently boasts some of the most eclectic line-ups imaginable, combining costumed concept bands with “abstract metal” ensembles, mean-tempered go-go devils, various permutations of Mongoloid and Graves Bros. Deluxe, and a black-clad specialist in a rarified musical field — “Theremin Wizard Barney.” It’s a season’s greeting more reminiscent of “The Shining” than “It’s a Wonderful Life” but let’s face it, sometimes that’s exactly the kind of tradition we like best.

Style Paige: Shot in shearling

Andrew Lam
-
0
Style Paige: Shot in shearling

Question: can you wear too much shearling? Those that are non-plussed over the material might say yes after seeing this man I snapped a photo of on 16th and Mission Streets who was dressed in a leather coat lined with shearling, topped off with a green hat. But on that chilly day, I was struck by the outfit — it was exuding warm and fashionable.

Talk of shearling has been churning the blogosphere for weeks. Louis Vuitton’s monogram handbag with shearling trim has been responsible for much of it, as have polls on the materials aesthetic merits. Just yesterday, photos of Nicki Minaj were posted on the Web in which she wore wore Fendi shearling cuffed booties.

It’s a vintage-inspired style that both men and women can replicate from celebrities and runway looks. Check out 3.1 Phillip Lim or Calvin Klein then head to a Bay Area thrift store and find your own one-of-a-kind coats and hats. I see nothing wrong with a shearling overload because you can never have too much of a good thing. Well maybe some things, but definitely not shearling.

 

1...343536...133Page 35 of 133

48hills.org is the official publication of the non-profit San Francisco Progressive Media Center.
Contact us: info@48hills.org