SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s Look: Abbey, Dolores Park
Tell us about your look: “I feel kinda over dressed today. It was super cold in my neighborhood this morning so I’m wearing a lot of color to counter balance the gray sky.”
By Juliette Tang
Queer Arts Fest
The Sex Worker Fest
This is definitely a good month for worthwhile local festivals. The 6th San Francisco Sex Worker Film, Art, & Music Festival officially kicked off this past weekend and promises to be a thrill for both the intellect and the libido. Smart, kinky, and fun, the Sex Worker Fest is a positive and educational week-long extravaganza that occurs in tandem with the ongoing 12th Annual Queer Arts Festival, a whopping month-long festival featuring over 400 artists in over 100 performances taking place in 18 venues all over San Francisco. The only question at this point is how you’re possibly going to fit everything into your schedule.
Michelle Tea
On Saturday, the Sex Worker Fest launched with a benefit at a. Muse Gallery (614 Alabama St) to support Radar Lab, a free queer writers retreat looking to accommodate 12 outstanding queer artists by this summer. Hosted by Ali Liebegott, whose IHOP Papers performs the feat of being at once witty and charming and a poignant lesbian coming-of-age novel, and Michelle Tea, prolific author and Guardian contributor whose novel Valencia joins rank with Michael Ondaatje’s Divisadero in being good books named after famous San Francisco streets, the benefit featured appearances by literary luminaries Dorothy Allison, ZZ Packer, and Eileen Myles.
Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.
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NEW OPENINGS
Grand Tavern dining room. Photo by Virginia Miller
The Grand Tavern opens in Oakland
Take a turn-of-the-century house on Grand Ave (near Camino) and turn it into The Grand Tavern, making use of each room (dining room with fireplace, lounge areas with chairs from Mission vintage shops, a dark wood bar, and patio)… add a menu cooked by Kay Eskind, aka "Mom", put the entire operation in the capable hands of her son, Temoor Noor, who has, with care and saavy, thought out each detail, from craft beer selection to beautiful artisanal cocktails (I’m ready to go back for the Absinthe Gimlet!), and you’re starting to get an idea of what kind of appealing hang out this tavern is.
With a $5-18 menu featuring rib-eye steak, Cornish hen with ginger and onions, and roasted squash with chili, onions and garlic sour cream sauce, it’s comforting gastropub fare, paired with an Affligem Blonde on tap or Devil’s Whiskers cocktail. The Kold Draft machine means they’re serious about perfect temperature and quality in their drinks, and the welcoming ease of staff and owner mean you can sip or sup in any room or move between them as you wish. They’re in soft opening phase right now but don’t let that stop you (in the first week along, I had a pretty seamless experience). Mi casa su casa.
3601 Grand Avenue, Oakland
510-444-4644
www.grandtavern.net
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EVENTS
6/1 – Supperclub 4-course Dinner with Jamie Lauren and Jennie Lorenzo
Dinner in bed? You’ll want to splurge for this one-of-a-kind night at Netherlands-based Supperclub’s one US location. Waited on hand-and-foot while lounging in Roman-style beds as you’re surrounded by opera singers, contortionists dangling from colorful fabric above you, even flaming sword-carrying belly dancers… who knows what might appear? Don’t worry, it’s not merely style sans substance. Launched in February, Supperclub’s “Uber Dinner” series started with a one-night-only dinner cooked by three Michelin-rated chefs from Europe and our own Elizabeth Falkner. Not bad, eh? Tonight it’s another rare gig… come and be surprised by an undisclosed four-course meal, paired with cocktails and wine (all included in the price). Highlighting Great Chefs of San Francisco, “Uber Dinner II”‘s guest chefs are Jennie Lorenzo, Exec Chef of Michelin-rated Fifth Floor, and Jamie Lauren, Exec Chef at Absinthe, and recently of, well, you already know… Top Chef. A night of exotic and sensuous feasting, this is one those meals engaging all your senses.
$125
7-10pm
657 Harrison Street
415-348-0900
www.supperclub.com
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s Look: Jared, Pier 14
Tell us about your look: “I just got these pants from the Goodwill, and I’m eating chicken and rice from Chinatown.”
… via the lovely and very British singer Lily Allen:
Bonus! The original “Big Fat Gay Collab” video the above takes off from:
Can young people hurry up and take over the world already? Yeesh.
By Johnny Ray Huston
CONNIE CONVERSE
How Sad, How Lovely
(Lau derette)
Irwin Swirnoff sang the praises of How Sad, How Lovely in the Guardiana few weeks back, but I’ve got to harmonize with him like an echo in a lonely canyon. This is the rare kind of "lost" music that truly deserves to be found, voiced by a bookish valedictorian and lover of poetry (one fave: Jacques Prévert) who knows how spin a tale and make it sing. Elizabeth "Connie" Converse vanished from society around the time of the Nixon resignation, but her spirit lives on in these recordings. Simply put, they’re a treasure.
Connie Converse, “One by One”
By Juliette Tang
There are a number of questions you might ask yourself before spreading something on your genitals, the most relevant being, “Is this edible?” Because, if you wouldn’t eat a tube of KY, you might want to think twice before using it on your southern hemisphere.
Many people have no health problems associated with synthetic personal lubricants, but others find that using lubricants with propylene glycol, parabens, phenoxyethanol, and silicone increases their susceptibility to irritation and infection. For some, synthetic lubricants have been found to increase the chances of yeast infection and UTI. For those with allergies and sensitivities, certain chemicals found in lubes can cause pain and discomfort during sex, and not in the good way. And, most frighteningly of all, the chemical nonoxynol-9, a spermicidal contraceptive, has been found to actually raise a person’s susceptibility to HIV.
Fortunately for the health-conscious, we live in a city that has the natural, eco-friendly alternative to almost any health and body product on the market, including personal lubricants. Not only are these products gentler on the body, but they are also gentler on the environment, as they use natural ingredients that can be sustainably harvested (and most have recycled, or at the very least, recyclable packaging). Each of these lubricants are different. Some are water-based, some are oil-based, and some contain plant-derived glycerin (which helps lube last longer). Here are 7 of our favorite natural lubricants, what makes them unique, and where you can get them.
All Natural, Glycerin Free
Firefly Organics is a 100% natural lube available online only. It contains shea and cocoa butter, but because of its oil-based formula, this lubricant is not safe for use with latex condoms. Firefly is the most natural lubricant on the market, with no preservatives and completely glycerin free, and because of this, it has somewhat of an abbreviated shelf-life. In a completely unrelated note, Firefly was recently voted the #1 personal lubricant by PlayBoy Magazine.
Mostly Natural, Glycerin Free
Sliquid Organics makes some great organic lubricants in water, cream, and gel form. Their most natural formula is water based, glycerin free, containing organic plant extracts like hibiscus, flax, sunflower seed, and green tea. For anal play, use the thicker, slicker gel formula. You can find Sliquid at Good Vibrations (603 Valencia). Safe with latex condoms.
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s Look: Liz, Market and Montgomery
Tell us about your look: “My boyfriend’s mom got me this dress at the thrift store in Paris.”
Text and photos by Ariel Soto
I remember the first time I watched Flight of the Conchords on TV. I was at my friend’s house, people were drinking beer and a pet rat was running back and forth across the wood floor. The Conchords’ humor is weird, dry and their New Zealand accents just add to the hilarity. Now the band members, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, are beyond famous, with hordes of adoring fans, some of which were lucky enough to cram into the Berkeley Community Theater on Monday, May 25th, 2009, to see the last show of their US tour. Comedian Arj Barker started the evening off with some great laughs that covered everything from the weakness of Blue Shield’s health insurance to the exorbitant price of crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Then, clad in ridiculous carboard and tinfoil space costumes, the Conchords started the concert with the iconic “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor” that had the audience in a state of hysteria. There’s something genuine about the Conchords’ lyrics like “Business Time” where they sing about getting it on once a week after sorting the recycling, to pieces that raise awareness about epileptic dogs. But then again, Bret and Jermaine are superstars now and every girl (and probably some dudes too) just couldn’t seem to take their eyes off the Conchords’ two sets of sugarlumps.
Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.
Oh yes, there shall be chef: SF Chef. Food. Wine. period.
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EVENTS
August 6-9: SF Chefs.Food.Wine (calling food, wine and spirits lovers)
Start saving pennies, mark your calendar and buy your tickets now for an unparalleled event coming up in August I’m quite excited about, the first of its kind in our fair city. SF Chefs.Food.Wine is going to be a Pebble Beach/Aspen Food and Wine Classic- reminiscent event but right in an urban city center at a fraction of the price (though you’ll still shell out $150 for a one-day pass). Union Square will be turned into a sea of tents housing not only Bay Area food, wine, beer, and spirits vendors offering day-long tastings (beer garden, cocktail samplings, wine tasting, food), but each day offers over 20 sessions/panels/classes appealing to food, wine and spirits cognoscenti and uninitiated appreciators alike.
An example of just a few sessions over three days:
FOOD – "Haute vs. Bistro" cooking demo from Hubert Keller (Fleur de Lys) and Roland Passot (La Folie); "Heirloom Tomatoes" with Gary Danko and Joanne Weir; interviews with cooking luminaries and authors like Martin Yan, Joyce Goldstein, Georgeanne Brennan; a cooking competition between Jamie Lauren (Top Chef/Absinthe) and Chris Cosentino (Incanto/Iron Chef America).
SPIRITS/COCKTAILS – "Green Cocktails" with Scott Beattie (author of Artisanal Cocktails), H. Joseph Ehrmann (Elixir) and Thad Vogler (Bar Agricole); "Agave Academy" with Rebecca Chapa (Tannin Management) and Julio Bermejo (Tommy’s).
WINE – "Raid the Cellar" with Rajat Parr (Michael Mina restaurants) and Larry Stone MS (Rubicon Estate); "Sparkling Personality" with sparkling wine masters from Schramsberg Vineyards, Domaine Carneros and Roederer Estate.
These are just a few examples… there are sessions on chocolate, sushi, oysters, cheese, eggs, making the perfect coffee, beer brewing, trends in wine and spirits, marketing, design and service, food reviewing and everything of interest to those who love food and drink.
Board President David Chiu and Sup. Sophie Maxwell joined their more conservative colleagues–Sups.Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, Bevan Dufty an Sean Elsbernd–today in voting not to reject the Municipal Transportation Authority’s 2009-10 budget.
As a result, proposed fare increases and service cuts To MUNI will go ahead. And so far there are only verbal promises from MTA executive director Nat Ford that his agency will examine the feasibility of extending parking meter hours in the city’s downtown core, even though the MTA is facing 10 million to $15 million deficit-thanks to the state’s ongoing budget mess and as yet unresolved union negotiations,
Here’s hoping the progressives on the Board find a way to keep it together during the upcoming battle over the Mayor’s budget, which is due next Monday, June 1.
By Ariel Soto. Check out more Guardian Carnaval pics here.
Carnaval is traditionally the last chance to get down and dirty before Lent, but in San Francisco it seems more like a major dance party running amok through the streets of the Mission District. This past Sunday, May 24th, 2009, the Grand Carnaval Parade boogied down Mission Street under a think, heavy and freezing blanket of fog that gave all the scantly clothed dancers serious goosebumps. I have to say, the best part of the parade were all the beautiful school kids, showing off their hip-hop moves and snazzy style. And then there were the Sunset Scavengers who danced and ran with their big metal trash cans. It was beyond goofy, but also impressive considering how heavy those bins were. In all, I loved all the feathers, the glitter and glam, and, of course, the awesome samba beats.
By Juliette Tang
From
Steamfuck.me
Since 2004, we’ve had the solar powered vibrator. In 1999, someone took out a patent on a water-powered vibrating device (and, dude-who-holds-that-patent, we’re still waiting to see what you’ve got). There are vibrators activated by cell phones, by iPods, vibrators with rechargeable batteries. There are even, for horny hippies, wind-up vibrators powered by your wrist. It’s no surprise, in this age of alternatively-powered vibrators, we’re returning once again to the age of steam.
This stainless steel steam-powered vibe was created by Ani Niow, a Bay Area engineering student. Her vibrator is doubtless beautiful, incorporating aspects of vibrators of yore. The first vibrator ever invented was actually steam-powered, and known as the “Manipulator” (that pun has got to be intentional), appeared in 1870 in England. The Manipulator more or less looked like this:
Niow’s steampunk vibe is much, much more streamlined and elegant than the closet-sized Manipulator, with a brass adapter for a steam hose and an insertable body. Inside the engine housing is a tiny Tesla turbine powered by compressed air.
The fact that this vibe looks like a medieval torture device surely works in its favor. While not the safest or most environmentally sound vibrator, this vibe has clean-lined aesthetics and the self-explanatory fetish element going for it. Niow’s toy has been blowing up the blogosphere these past few weeks, and her idea and execution are so novel that I can see why. There is definitely a market for some at-home machine fucking for the ladies and machine fucking for the dudes.
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s look: Adri from Costa Rica, Mission and 18th
Tell us about your look: “I make my own clothes.”
By Ben Richardson
BIG BUSINESS
Mind the Drift
(Hydrahead)
Big Business: an irresistible concoction of infectious, heavy, and bizarre. Drummer Coady Willis and bassist/singer Jared Warren are joined by guitarist Toshi Kasai. The band tempers its sludgier excesses with dynamic and compositional progress, plus plenty of weirdo headbanger hooks.
Big Business
10pm, $12
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com
Contrary to rumor, this is not legendary activist Cleve Jones
Today’s Supreme Court decision to uphold Prop 8 — but keep valid those same-sex marriages performed before its passage — was met with dismay and protests at City Hall. Photos by Charles Russo
Same-sex couple Stuart Gaffney (left) and John Lewis appeared optimistic as they waited for the California Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8
Sister Mary Timothy Simplicity of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence engages supporters of Proposition 8 outside of the California Supreme Court Building
Opposing sides on the issue of Proposition 8 debated the matter just moments before the California Supreme Court announced their ruling to uphold the law banning same-sex marriage in the state
A wave of discontent spread through the largely anti-Prop. 8 crowd …
… as the ruling was announced that the California Supreme Court would uphold the measure
By Ariel Soto
When someone is a master of their art, it means they can make the simplest things genius. Think of Alice Waters: she’s one of the most famous chefs in the world and her dishes are based on totally minimal ingredients. B.B. King (http://www.bbking.com/) is the master of blues guitar. On May 21, King played to an ecstatic audience at the Fillmore Theater. King plays like no other musician I’ve ever seen, lingering on the silences, or playing only one exquisite note that lasts for over a minute and sounds like an orchestra of complexity. King is also an incredible storyteller, relating tales about his life as an 83 year old guitarist traveling the world to play music and even about discovering Viagra, with constant accompaniment from his band to gives his stories even more umph. He also has quite an appreciation for all the ladies and had everyone sing “You are my sunshine” followed by a required kiss between any lovers in the audience. The artist made sure the house lights were raised … he just loved watching the ladies get smooched! King is beyond comfortable and charismatic on stage, and with over 15,000 concerts under his belt, I’m sure this master has quite a few more tunes to share with many more audiences around the world.
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s look: Janice, Market and O’Farrell
Tell us about your look: “I’m a student from Macau and all these clothes came from there.”
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s look: Nikki, 24th Street Bart Station
Tell us about your look: “I turned these overalls into a skirt and put some patches on it that my friends made.”
Reports are sketchy, but it looks as if San Francisco got hit by a new crop of subvertisements last night, this time parodying Chevron’s latest ad campaign, which critics have panned as a bunch of greenwashing.
Viewed up close and personal, the above ad that some hot glue artists slapped onto Sandra Bullocks’ buttocks reads, “I will try not to get cancer,”as it targets Chevron’s refinery in Richmond and encourages the curious to visit truecostofchevron.com.
Also targeted are Chevron’s activities in Burma, Ecuador, Kazakhastan, Iraq and Nigeria. The action appears aimed at Chevron’s upcoming May 27 shareholder meeting and you can read an “alternative” report at the truecostofchevron.com.
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s look: Maria, 24th and Castro
Tell us about your look: “These are just some random pieces I found at thrift stores.”
Round three of the battle between Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board over the Municipal Transportation Agency’s budget saw Sup. John Avalos, throw a powerful one-two punch at the Mayor’s Office, with the backing of Board President David Chiu and Sups. David Campos, Chris Daly, Eric Mar, Sophie Maxwell and Ross Mirkarimi.
Last week, as Avalos observed, the Board did not have the votes needed to reject the MTA budget, but today
they had enough to delay decisions on the MTA budget until at least next week: a special meeting was set for noon, May 27, to discuss the details in an alternative, transit-first budget that Avalos is calling the “Transit Justice Package.”
Under Avalos’ proposal, the MTA 2009-10 budget would roll-back proposed fare increases for seniors, youth and lifeline uers, restore bus lines to public housing, while increasing parking fees in the city’s downtown core on Sundays and evenings, and eliminating public subsidies in city parking garages.
“Given our grave economic crisis , we owe it to seniors, youth and other low-income MUNI riders to come up with a better budget that ensures MUNI accessibility and accountability, “ Avalos said, while his progressive colleagues noted that transit advocates are concerned that the under the budget that Newsom has been pushing, MUNI riders would pay four times more than drivers of private vehicles.
And then Avalos ntroduced a charter amendment to reform the MTA Board composition. Currently, the mayor appoints all seven members of the MTA Board and all the supervisors can do is confirm or reject these nominations.
Avalos’s charter amendment, which will be on the November ballot, proposes to split these appointments, so that the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors each get to nominate three commissioners, and the seventh is elected by the voters of San Francisco.
“The new MTA Board composition will create greater checks and balances and also ensure that the MTA director is not solely accountable to one person, but a Board that is more representative of the City and County of San Francisco,” Avalos said.
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.
Today’s look: Lauren, Market and Grant
Tell us about your look:“I shop the sales racks.”
By Juliette Tang
A mix between an acid trip and a wet dream, Surrender Dorothy is a San Francisco version of the Wizard of Oz, except gayer and more fabulous. In this adaptation, a yellow brick road climbs up Bernal Hill to a portal that transports oversexed bacchanal partiers to the fictional world of Oz. If the sight of 40 comely, glistening queer bodies mounting Bernal – decked in gold, no less – is of any interest to you, this is a movie you surely won’t want to miss. This film promises to shock and scintillate, and includes a medley of performances ranging from BDSM pornography to choreographed dance (because really, the two aren’t that different).
Described as “a constellation of performances reconfiguring themes of surrender, transcendence, sensuality, spectacle, queerness, quest, decadence, endurance, and safety,” the film explores these motifs through a reading of Oz that is at once campy and, in its unique way, meaningful. Surrender Dorothy is currently shooting in San Francisco, and the cast will be at the Make Out Room this Friday for a party to benefit the film. Tickets are $7 and the benefit features live performances by Amass, Oblio, and Heticide, as well as DJs J9, Bunnystyle, and the appetizingly dubbed ‘DJ Scabby Dagger’. At midnight, the film’s trailer will be screened, which will include three oz-lings engaging in an oral shower scene. Bring your friends, and your pretty little dog too.
