sfbg Archives — Page 41 of 59 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

Shout-out to 50 hot local fashion designers

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March 25, 2009

By Juliette Tang and Laura Peach

San Francisco’s fashion scene is vibrantly alive. In our city, you can find almost any garment you want, whether it be a new pair of yoga pants or some crushed velvet medieval slippers, straight out of the studio of a local designer. We love supporting local culture, and we love that there are so many talented designers out there contributing to the melting pot that is San Francisco style.

Besides those we featured in this week’s Spring Fashion Issue, we want to give some shout outs to 50 designers who’ve been on our radar lately. These individuals each have a unique approach to fashion, but together, they contribute to the vast diversity and uniqueness of our distinctly San Franciscan fashion culture.

Distilled Clothing

MEN
1. Printed playful hoodies: Gama-Go
2. Fashionable urban dandywear: Nice Collective
3. Hip-hop flavored urban streetwear: Upper Playground
4. Sexy undies for men: Diane Kirkland of DMK
5. Clothes for art/fashion rockstars: Shotwell
6. Loud and colorful nu rave hoods: Official Tourist
7. Casual daytime menswear: Artificial Flavor
8. Tongue-in-cheek geek chic: Distilled

SCENE: Kalri$$ian comes on to your sister

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March 25, 2009

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Taken from SCENE: The Guardian Guide to Nightlife and Glamour — on stands in the Guardian now. Interview by Marke B. Photo by Matthew Reamer. Art Direction by Mirissa Neff. Crotch-buffing by Kalri$$ian. Location: Shattuck Downlow

kalri$$ian0309a.jpg

In these trying economic times, does the Bay really need a motor-mouthed, drug-snorting, pussy-obsessed playboy hip-hop collective — one that shouts out Eric Estrada, acid house, and Optimus Prime while bragging about using paper bags for condoms and instructing someone to "juggle balls in your mouth like a circus act"? Well, yes, actually. Hilariously quick-witted San Francisco-based beastly boys Kalri$$ian certainly bring the sparkling regression to match the recession — by channeling naughty spirits from rap’s past like Kool Keith, Shock G, and Prince Paul, and literally melting themselves to audio gaga as they "lick Cool Whip off your flatmate." The bouncy braggadocio of Kalri$$ian’s new album, Tales from the Velvet Pocket (Psychokinetics) and over-the-top flashback image somehow seem perfectly refreshing right now.

Experienced Bay nightlifers will recognize some long-time scenesters among the Kal’s colorful cast. No need to fret over missing all the in-jokes, though — Kalri$$ian’s got a million of ’em, and most involve doing lines off your girlfriends’ ass. Check them out live at the release party for Daly City cool kid Mochipet’s new Bunnies & Muffins platter:

KALRI$$IAN

April 4, 9 p.m.– 5 a.m., all ages
The Ranch
1433 Van Dyke, SF
www.kalrissianbaby.com

SFBG You sure got a lot of people — it’s like you’re a super group or something. Tell me about who’s all involved …

"UNCLE" TONY HIGHRISE (producer) You’re goddamn right this group is super! I’ll tell you what — I wouldn’t have left Miami unless it was for something really, really super. I came up on the scene in Delaware back in the day. I was a freelance hype man for a while with my cousin Wicked Awesome J, rest his soul. After the accident, I drifted south and started wearing polyester. It just seemed like the thing to do. Polyester was tough in Miami — it’s not that breathable, you know. But I was committed.

KEYLO VENEZUELA (producer) We ARE super group. We make fantastic sound music and tell our stories to everybody. The music is the passion that covers the world.

SMOOTH RICK CHOSEN (vocalist) I’m an ex-Barbazon School of Modeling student who got hooked on pills and realized he had a gift, in his pants.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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March 25, 2009

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Aisha, Civic Center

Tell us about your look: “I made this dress from material I bought in Ghana. This is an everyday sort of dress they would wear in Ghana.”

Local Artist of the Week: Todd Sanchioni

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March 24, 2009

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LOCAL ARTIST Todd Sanchioni

TITLE Laos Rockers

THE STORY Sanchioni traveled throughout Laos recording musicians and taking portraits with a Mamiya 6 by 7 and a 35mm camera. Visitors can listen to a portable CD player or download and listen to a podcast while at the resulting show of work.

SHOW "The Changing Face of Laos Through its Music," through April 18. Call for an appointment to guarantee viewing. Reception: Thurs/26, 6–10 p.m. Artists’ Television Access, 992 Valenica, S.F. 415- 824-3890. www.atasite.org.

WEB www.fotosanchioni.com

The Blender: What we’ve been eating

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March 24, 2009

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By the peckish Guardian staff

(1) Michelle Obama’s creamless creamed spinach

(2) Sonoma duck breast and ginger milk caramel ice cream, bushi-tei, SF

(3) 2005 Chateau La Paws Cote du Bone Roan

(4) Power lunch, Luce, SF

(5) Mint tea, SF Zen Center

alt.sex.column: A third in the hand

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March 24, 2009

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By Andrea Nemerson. Read more alt.sex here

Dear Andrea:

I’ve always wanted to have a threesome and my wife is willing, but she would prefer to do it with her first boyfriend. At first I was all for it, but I’m getting more concerned that it might rekindle an old flame. Otherwise, I wouldn’t care if she had sex with a different guy every week, as long as she was safe and came home to me. I’m not jealous. I have a very high sex drive and could still have sex five or six times a day if time allowed. I love my wife and I know people are going to say if that was true, why would I let her have sex with another man? I say, variety! Spice of life!

It seems that her ex and I are similar as far as sex goes. She has only been with four partners in 20 years, including me. She has always believed in being dedicated to one person, and until I asked her about this, she never thought of straying.

She feels that if she were to do the threesome, she would prefer to do it with her ex. They didn’t part on bad terms, just grew apart with careers and family. She said she would contact him if I wanted, but I’m starting to worry. She says I’m her soulmate, but I’m not sure I should put our relationship on the line for a fantasy.

Love,

Wanting, but Worried

Dear W:

The best way to avoid having people say stupid things about your private life is to actually have a private life. People do talk, and most of what they say is pretty stupid.

I do admit to feeling a bit uneasy about partners who profess no feelings of jealousy whatsoever — do they actually, um, care? — but there’s a lot of variation in people’s baseline territoriality levels. I won’t think ill of you as a husband unless you let on that really you don’t give a damn what she’s up to, or whether she’s (re)developing feelings for the ex, or what her intentions are toward you. At that point, you get demoted from husband to acquaintance with benefits, and you lose your right to vote on what she does with anyone. Since you’re plenty engaged and plenty involved and plenty affectionate, though, I have nothing mean to say to you.

Ok, so I liked “Twilight.” So what?

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March 24, 2009

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By Natalie Gregory

Editor’s note: Twilight is now available On Demand and on DVD. Even if you haven’t read the books, and even if you avoided the theatrical release, you might still be powerless. Read on…

I’m just going to come out and say it. I liked Twilight (2008). I liked it so much I can’t wait to go home and watch it again before it expires in my On Demand. I have come to the conclusion that I must be a 14-year-old girl. I was consumed by the whole lusty, breathy, forbidden teenage love affair of the century. So he’s a vampire. And he wants nothing more than to suck her dry. The very first moment she enters the room, he looks like he is going to vomit with lust. They don’t really explain the attraction between the two, except that she is delicate and reflective, he is beautiful and powerful, and he can’t read her mind like he does everyone else. No matter. They are drawn to one another. This is probably explanation enough. The actors are so good-looking you forget to ask questions. Why ruin it?

As far as sexual tension goes….nailed it! The scene that really did it for me (and probably millions of my fellow mental and literal 14-year-olds) is when he attempts to kiss her. He instructs her to be very still. He moves in ever so slowly. They kiss. But the excitement forces him back against the wall in restraint. Right then it hit me: they are only going to be able to keep this abstinence thing going for so long. The audience will consummate for them if they can’t do the job. Congratulations Summit Entertainment. I am now invested in the fate of the Twilight series. Hats off to the casting directors.

Cruising Craigslist: 420 sex

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March 24, 2009

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Each week, Justin Juul combs the SF Craigslist Personals and Missed Connections for true gems that prove there’s enough love for everyone. View his last installment here.

Have you ever had one of those super intense orgasms that makes your jaw go slack and your whole body tingle? Awesome stuff, right? Well, have you ever had an orgasm like that…on weed? If you live in San Francisco, the answer is obviously yes and you can probably see what I’m getting at: sex on pot is better than sex when you’re sober, so why waste your time with anything else? It’s pretty much a citywide sentiment, but if you have enough one-night stands around here, you’re bound to run into at least a couple human bummers who hate weed. Never again! If you can’t stand the thought of getting naked without getting high first, just do a little Craigslist cruising and relax. Here’s a start. [Ed. Note — er, the one asking for “NO baggage around the middle” is a bit rich, eh?]

420 smoke out!!!!! – m4w – 21 (san jose downtown)
Reply to: [redacted]
Date: 2009-03-17, 7:57PM PDT

Not looking for anything in particular, just a hot chic to smoke and chill with. I’m an outgoing guy with a crazy personality, I’m into really different things, not in a scary way, but an interesting way. I’m a stoner at heart and I love other real stoners, I don’t like posers who smoke weed cause it’s cool, personally I don’t think there is anything very “cool” about the act of smoking pot. If you understand what I mean by that, then we’ll prolly get along, even if you don’t agree. I’m not looking for a FWB or a one-nighter thing, I’m looking for real people who like to have fun, that doesn’t mean sex as soon as we meet. If it happens great, if not…great, lets just get fucked up! but it would be cool if you let me go down on ya, I love going down and I love getting all the practice I can so I can get better! but again, not required. If you’re interested in a chill smoke out, then tell me a bit about yourself, don’t just ask me if I’m real or write half assed just so I’ll reply with my pic, put some effort into it and tell me just a little about yourself. BTW, I do have pics and I WILL send them on my first email, you don’t even have to ask, and just to let you know I’m in good shape with NO extra baggage around the middle. If you wanna send a pic great, if you don’t at least give me the basics, race, height, hair color, eye color, that sorta stuff.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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March 24, 2009

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Wallace, Laguna and Hayes

Tell us about your look: “Wallace Berman is my fashion inspiration.”

The Larder: Willy Wonka and the (raw) chocolate factory

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March 23, 2009

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Diana Dunkelberger gets the scoop on yummy local edibles. View her last installment here.

I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting the 20-something pastry chefs who left Café Gratitude to found Coracao Confections, a raw chocolate company based in Emeryville. But I imagine, based on their bubblingly exuberant website, that Matthew Rogers and Daniel Korson are a little bit like younger, hipper versions of Willy Wonka, the twinkly-eyed chocolatier from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“We LOVE good food and good chocolate!” Matthew and Daniel exclaim in the secret section of their site, where they chronicle their long love affair with all foods raw. “We became inspired to eat more RAW, MINERAL RICH foods after experiencing the clarity and energy it brought us first-hand,” they explain. “After about five years of working in the raw food industry, reading books, taking classes, teaching classes, going to cutting edge, raw superfood seminars, and TONS of experimenting we finally hit the JACKPOT and developed our line of signature chocolates.”

Replay: Lapdancing with Good Vibes

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March 23, 2009

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We’ve had several requests to repost Ariel Soto’s Good Vibes interview/lapdancing class video slideshow that was previously on our front page. Enjoy!

Come aboard, they’re expecting you

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March 23, 2009

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By Natalie Gregory

Cruise Inc: Big Money on the High Seas — CNBC’s new documentary about the $30 billion cruise industry — certainly illustrates how arduous it can be to make people drink constantly. Cruise ships are like floating consumption carriers. From what I understand, they offer decent deals on the rooms. Then you enter the ship, and they bombard you with casinos, shops, and overpriced restaurants because you’re trapped. It’s like being in an airport with a pool and more children getting in your way.

There’s got to be a morning after…

In the doc, Peter Greenberg investigates the business model specifically on the Norwegian Pearl of Norwegian Cruise Line. He examines day-to-day operations and tries to hone in on the cost of both consumer and cruise line. The overall point Greenberg is after is whether or not this type of vacation is more economically viable during a recession. That, or whether the industry is headed for disaster because of economic downturns. While cruise lines sell on the idea of consumer choice, at the end of the day, you’re stuck on a boat. Sure you get off at ports. But then they herd you off to spend more money on local tours. But that’s just me. Either way, Cruise Inc. offers an interesting look at the travel industry and the billions of dollars at stake in it.

Cruise Inc. airs Tues/24 at 9 p.m. on CNBC.

Check CNBC’s website for repeats.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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March 23, 2009

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Andrea, McAllister and Van Ness

Tell us about your look: “I always buy cheap clothes, but I try to make sure they’re unique.”

Appetite: Hookahs on Mission, gnocchi deals, Midi in FiDi, and more

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March 23, 2009

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By Virginia Miller

A delicious-looking dish at Midi. See “Openings” below.

As long-time San Francisco resident and writer, I’m passionate about this city and obsessed with exploring its best food-and-drink spots, deals, events and news, in every neighborhood and cuisine type. I have my own personalized itinerary service and monthly food/drink/travel newsletter, The Perfect Spot, and am thrilled to share up-to-the minute news with you from the endless goings-on in our fair city each week on SFBG. View the last Appetite installment here.

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NEW RESTAURANT AND BAR OPENINGS

Whew! There are a slew of openings this week. Here’s a rundown of four and stay tuned for many more …

Missionites’ new all-day cafe-wine bar-resto combo: The Corner
Weird Fish, the Mission’s quirky, sustainable seafood joint, debuted a sister spot next door last week, The Corner, which should begin all day hours this week. Seeking to be all things to all people, it’s a cafe with wifi and Four Barrel coffee in the am, BLT Paninis at lunch, and at night, DJs, unique wines by the glass and dishes like duck and medjool dates or fennel-crusted pork chops.
2199 Mission, SF.
415-932-6939

Mission take two: Morak Lounge, a new Moroccan hookah bar
Sixteenth and Valencia has no lack of global eating options, all within a couple block radius. What it hasn’t had up till now is a chic, Marrakech-style lounge where you can smoke a double-apple flavored hookah while sampling Middle Eastern bites (the usual: hummus, baba ghanoush, skewers) or Cardamom-infused martinis. Enter Morak Lounge. Behind bronze doors, bright curtains and comfy cushions equal a sultry space to linger and puff away long into the night (open until big city hours of 3am on weekends).
3126 16th St., SF
415-626-5523

Midi: FiDi’s new French Asian restaurant
Joie de Vivre luxury hotels debuted a new restaurant this past weekend, open for lunch and dinner with a downstairs bar open all day for the Financial District set. Midi, with Chef Michelle Mah of Ponzu at the helm, has been in the works for two years but is finally open in the former Perry’s space. The French Asian fare reinvents classics like duck leg confit with a ginger-rhubarb jus, with Euro-Asian offerings from Hawaiian kampachi crudo to pork rillettes with Dijon mustard. It all goes down nicely post-work (or during a lunch break) with a Lavender French 75 cocktail or with one of seven craft beers or 15 wines by the glass.
185 Sutter Street
415-835-6400
www.midisanfrancisco.com

Pics: Peace march marks six years of Iraq occupation

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March 23, 2009

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Photos and text by Ariel Soto

This weekend, March 21st, marked the sixth year of the US occupation of Iraq. Hundreds took to the street, despite the rain and cold winds, to sing, drum and dance for peace. Even though the new administration has picked a withdrawal date, many protesters believe it really isn’t soon enough if there is an honest effort to end the mass killings in Iraq. There was also a strong voice at the march against the violence in Gaza.

Blog Love: Every single holiday a lunch in a box

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March 19, 2009

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Juliette Tang shouts out to local bloggers. Read her last installment here.

I die. This is so cute that I’m literally having a heart attack on the floor right now. Someone call an ambulance.

The confection you see above is called a bento, which Wikipedia defines as “home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine… Bento can be very elaborately arranged… often decorated to look like people, animals, or characters and items such as flowers and plants.” It’s also the handiwork of Biggie, a San Francisco work-at-home mother to a 4-year-old pre-schooler, the envy-inducing devourer of her beautiful bento lunches.

Biggie writes about her adventures in bento boxing on the blog, Lunch in a Box, which has caused me to question the extent of my own mother’s devotion to me during my childhood years, as my lunches consisted of a brown-bagged cheese sandwich and a bag of Wise chips. What Biggie’s son gets, instead, are heart-shaped onigiri (rice balls flavored with salt) dyed with Hula Hana Ebi shrimp powder and decorated with little hearts made out of soy wrappers and nori seaweed. Biggie reveals on her FAQ page that her son is attending a Japanese immersion school here in San Francisco, where beautiful bento boxes are the norm. I have a word of advice to Biggie: keep your son in Japanese immersion programs for the rest of his life, or he’ll hit the 5th grade and realize he wants to be just like everyone else, demanding a ham sandwich, some Ritz crackers, and a packet of Gushers, washed down with a Capri-Sun, because Peter the culturally insensitive ADHD creature from Health called him a bad name for eating his mom’s lovely edible hearts. Avoid the untimely and callous intrusion of a mainstream culture taught to distrust the poignant cuteness in things!

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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March 19, 2009

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Anna (and Kona), 20th Street and Valencia

Tell us about your look: “I always dress to be comfortable and by my mood. Sometimes it’s jeans, sometimes it’s a mini skirt … and some days it’s a clown suit.”

Deadstock deals on cool-kid kicks

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March 18, 2009

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By Laura Peach

Harputs has been keeping San Franciscans sneakered for three decades, and they are celebrating their anniversary (while doing quite the spring cleaning project) by selling off most of the store’s stock for $30. Yes, three 10-dollar bills can get you a pair of cherry red Adidas Powerphase high tops, sky blue Superstar shelltoes, or my favorite pair in the store: emerald green suede tennis classics.

Several of the pairs in the shop are one of a kind and hard to find. The top shelves of Harputs are lined with priceless vintage sneaks—not for sale. Glass cases keep the most prized (and pricey!) kicks from harm. The cased sneakers can cost upwards of $8000, like the ones that superstar designer Jeremy Scott teamed up with Adidas to create. If designer faux animal print and glitter are not your footwear fetish, though, the rainbow of bright colors that define several of the styles will add a happy splash of lighthearted fun to your winter wardrobe and skip you right into spring. Classic styles will let you set your right foot forward.

Naked kiss: Curt McDowell paints the town

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March 17, 2009

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By Johnny Ray Huston

Curt McDowell, from Buzzy’s Adventures (Zip-A-Tone), ca. 1968-70. Courtesy estate of Curt McDowell

One of the things that I appreciate most about Curt McDowell’s art is its shamelessness. It is shameless in a lively, funny, righteous, even virtuous manner that should embarrass prudish American moralists. “An uneven dozen broken hearts,” a show of the late filmmaker’s paintings and drawings, is a revelatory pleasure because of how directly it conveys McDowell’s lust for and love of simple revelry. A scrapbook of photos and drawings attests to McDowell’s appetite for asses and fascination with faces, but ultimately, it’s a testimonial to a sexuality that shirked labels as it stripped off clothing. A collaged wall of comics and portraits brings one in close contact with McDowell’s rich sense of community — one that blurred love and friendship, and mixed family members with figures of imagination.

McDowell’s untamed and uncensored spirit couldn’t be more refreshing today, when pornography (whether commodified or autobiographical) is endlessly subcategorized. But while McDowell’s big heart and healthy libido make for predictable discoveries, his serious talent as a painter comes as a surprise. As a filmmaker, McDowell blazed his own path with short works such as 1971’s self-explanatory yet unexpectedly rich Confessions and 1980’s equally direct Loads. (In 1972’s Ronnie, he merges porn and biographical portraiture with unmatched potency.) His most famous work is the two-and-a-half hour pornographic epic Thundercrack! (1975). It turns out he was just as fierce and skillful with a paintbrush or a set of Magic Markers as he was with a camera.

One of the show’s centerpieces is Untitled (the Beatles in autopsy), a nearly life-size oil-on-canvas naked and dead portrait of the Fab Four from 1968 that deserves a spot in the rich museum of cryptic Beatles iconography and perhaps even within the hall of pop art classics.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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March 17, 2009

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Kenya, 19th Street and Guerrero

Tell us about your look: “No comment.”

The Blender: What we’ve been eating

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March 17, 2009

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By the ravenous Guardian Staff

(1) Chicken noodle pho, Sunflower, SF

(2) Kshocolat Little Black Boxes: dark chocolate mintettes and milk chocolate black currants

(3) Fish tacos with mango salsa

(4) Lamb stew, salad, and injera, Club Waziema, SF

(5) Pumpkin pancakes, Fat Apple’s, Berk.

Local Artist of the Week: Renee Gertler

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March 17, 2009

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LOCAL ARTIST Renée Gertler

TITLE Instability collapses (gold leaf, acrylic paint, expandable foam, bass wood; 17 by 11 inches)

THE STORY "Modality Room" muses on the magnitude of nothingness, black holes, wormholes, and outer space. Building from the impossibility of fully understanding such complex concepts, Gertler constructs a domestic setting as the environment in which to explore these mysteries.

BIO Gertler was born in Santa Barbara and currently lives and works in San Francisco. She received her MFA from California College of the Arts in 2007. She is participating in upcoming group shows at Ping Pong Gallery and Southern Exposure.

SHOW "Modality Room," Sat/21 (reception Sat/21, 7–10pm) through April 17. Sat.–Mon., noon–5 p.m.; first Fridays, 7–10 p.m. Blank Space, 2208 San Pablo, Oakl. (510) 547-6608. www.blankspacegallery.com.

WEB www.web.mac.com/reneegertler

Ladita: Sweet as an organic gluten-free cupcake

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March 17, 2009

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Quaintly nestled in San Francisco’s dreamy Bernal Heights district at 827 Cortland Avenue, Ladita is a darling little eco-boutique in that could be described as “similar to Anthropologie, but much better for the environment.” Even for someone whose overtly girly side is as repressed as mine, it will prove impossible to resist Ladita’s quiet charm. On my visit, scented (soy) candles bouqueted the store with the abstract but pleasant aroma of wildflowers, the soft, fuzzy sound of old folk LPs purred on the vintage record player and, in an almost suspiciously perfect touch, a lazy cat (the owner’s pet) napped under the cash register in a swath of warm afternoon sun. If a shopping experience could be distilled to a soothing cup of tea, this would be it.

There is no shortage of the lovely and the whimsical at Ladita, but Christine, the owner, is also a practical businesswoman, and her store is stocked with crowd-pleasing brands like James Jeans and Ella Moss, which complement more specific, eco-oriented labels like Stewart + Brown, Taxi CDC, and Sworn Virgins. Ladita offers a comprehensive and well-edited baby department, which includes Kicky Pants and Speecees, both favorites with eco-leaning moms and dads, as well as Erbaviva, a wonderful line of bath and body products for babies and moms-to-be.

Street Threads: Look of the Day

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March 17, 2009

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SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today’s Look: Charlotte, 18th Street and Valencia

Tell us about your look: “My friends call me a trendsetter.”