I like fun. I am an expert in fun. I’ve practically got a PHD in Fun-ology. And SF? Its not always as fun as NYC or HK, or other places I’ve had the chance to get stupid in. I don’t konw why that is. Maybe more people have their politically correct hats on, or their poopy-whiny pants on. (thats the technical term)

But if you really like to have fun — I mean REAAAAALY like to dance and drink, and be merry, and meet other nice, fun people — you have GOT to come to my friend Greg’s monthly party, Fallout.

The music is great — a mix of 17 gazillion genres, some unknowns, some classics, but all of it is wayyy-offf-theeee-charts danceable. But the best part is this: Everyone in Greg’s circle of friends is really hot, really friendly, single, brilliant, and really awesome! Ok, not everyone is single, but that doesn’t matter — I love these people!

Come, please, but bring a costume. This halloween, Fallout’s going with a haunted prom theme.
Fallout
Halloween Costume Party
Saturday Oct 30th
The Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell St. (at Van Ness)

Isn’t She lovely; Isn’t she Woooonderful!
For years, I’ve been hearing my stevie-wonder-phile friends in NYC brag about DJ bobbito (AKA Cucumber Slice) incredible Stevie Wonder tribute parties while I’ve had to settle for the mix tapes. This Friday, Bobbito’s bringing the party to SF, and I’m not going ot miss it for the world.
Ask anyone I work with — all I freakin do is listen to Stevie (and lionel richie, but thats a different story.) I’m serious – I have no idea what the musical landscape looks like these days.

Wonder-Full
Friday Night
Mighty
119 Utah St.
San Francisco

This Saturday, Super Seven in J-town is having an art show celebrating the 50th anniversary of the big G’s bday. Forty artists cram their homage into SS’s tiny little space. Should be grand (as long as Mothra doesn’t crash the party)

Super7 Store

The San Francisco Bay Area is really quite a hotbed of publishing wonders, what with ReadyMade Magazine (a fab DIY zine from Berkeley), Bitch Magazine (feminist response to pop-culture from Oakland), the ever-popular Wired Magazine, etc., with some obviously more popular than others. Well now there’s a new kid in town: Chow Magazine, a magazine that promises to combine pop-culture with food (plus helpful tips and tricks). Its tagline is “Food. Drink. Fun.” and yearns to provide an alternative to hoity toity gourmet-style food magazines that take the fun away from food enjoyment.

The founder is Jane Goldman, who was once an editor at the Industry Standard, so you know there’s a pretty solid team behind this. The magazine launched two days ago and has already been written up in the New York Times (registration required, or you could use Bugmenot). I’ve actually already been recruited as an intern (unpaid naturally, but it’s excellent learning experience), and I’m really looking forward to this.

It should be out on newsstands now. Give it a shot, folks!

Hey, Hallowinners: Think you’re too fancy to stand in the middle of the Castro wearing devil horns and six-inch platforms? Fine. Try the San Francisco Opera’s production of Le Grand Macabre this Friday night. I won’t bore you with a lame synopsis of my own, when the official Web site says it so well:

The Spark: In 1974 Ligeti set out to write an “anti-opera” but found himself reinventing operatic traditions in his depiction of a land on the verge of an apocalypse.

The Story: Nekrotzar ascends from the graveyard in the form of the Grim Reaper and along with the drunkard and the astrologer proceeds to the court of Prince Go-Go. A series of disjointed scenes raises the question of whether they have witnessed the apocalypse or whether it has all been a great farce.

The Stage: Hailing from Copenhagen, this vibrantly colorful staging, set in a contemporary city by designer Steffen Aarfing, artfully and provocatively shows that sometimes the only way to grapple with the fear of death is by using the absurd.

The Score: Encompassing a collage of sonorities ranging from an ensemble of urban sounds to snippets of manipulated Beethoven, Rossini and Verdi, Ligeti takes listening to the next level.

Don’t fear the Reaper, folks. Especially when he’s singing.

I’m in love with the Bi-Rite Market.

Two blocks from my apartment, it’s not a chain and it has all the silly, specific things I love, including:
Taylor’s of Harrogate Earl Grey tea
double Gloucester cheese
balsamic mustard (actually, I’d never heard of this before, but balsamic vinegar=good, mustard=good. What’s not to like?)
cornichons (very tiny dill pickles)
Breyer’s ice cream (a second to Mitchell’s, obviously, but walkable)
peanut butter Puffins
a full-service deli counter
a million fruits and veggies
wines o’ plenty

It’s like they read my mind. Now I can kick it all Euro-style, go a couple times a week, pick up fresh goods, bring ’em back to the pad and pretend to cook.

I read on Engadget earlier yesterday that Mayor Newsom apparently wants to make San Francisco the world’s biggest free hotspot. The Yahoo! article on the news mentioned the currently free WiFi spots at Union Square and at SBC Park, and how Newsom plans to have more free WiFi spots around other sections of the city like City Hall.

It’s certainly an ambitious proposition, and makes a nerd like me quite happy, but I’m wondering if there isn’t some ulterior motive to all this. Not to mention if we even have the money for this kind of thing. Interesting news, all the same.

This weekend marks the end of a month of artists opening their studios up to the public as part of the Artspan SF Open Studios. This weekend’s location is Hunters Point and the Hunters Point Shipyard. Studios are open 11:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The map includes artist names, location, and primary medium; you may also search for artists by medium by using the SF Open Studios website‘s “find artist” search tool.

The blog seemed a little sparse of late, so I thought I’d chime in on something cool I found. My closet has been literally bursting of late, and I was looking around for places where I could donate some of my old clothing. Aside from the local Goodwill and Salvation Army drop-offs, I also found this cool group of stores called the Out Of The Closet Thrift Stores. You can donate anything from furniture to clothing (They won’t accept mattresses and water beds though), and all proceeds from the sales go to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

The process seems quite easy. You can either drop off clothes or smaller items at one of their many Bay Area locations (They also have Los Angeles locations), or arrange a free pick-up for larger items. You may also get a tax deduction, which is nice. Several stores even provide free HIV testing.

Here’s the list of store locations and here’s a list of items you can donate. I’m definitely looking into this, and will probably look into donating my clothing here.

Since I’m a new resident of San Francisco as well as a new SF Metblogger, I thought I’d start out slow with a shout-out to my new NPR affiliate, KQED.

While I am more than a bit bereft to have moved outside the signal area of Los Angeles’s own KCRW, I’ve managed to dive right into KQED’s morning and evening programming during my commute on the lovely Junipero Serra freeway (otherwise known as 280).

That’s why I can safely say that KQED’s Election 2004 coverage should be a must-listen…and a must-participate. See, KQED wants you to contribute:

Participate in our special series of four, live, one-hour specials airing on TV, radio and the Web. Host Cynthia Gorney will explore four key presidential election issues — and how they will affect the lives of Northern Californians.

Something to say? Send us your presidential election comments and questions vis-à-vis Security, the Economy, Healthcare, and/or the Environment. We’ll put select questions to the experts live, on the air. Click here.

In semi-related news, I registered to vote at my new address two weeks ago. I filled out a form in the P.O., but the thing wouldn’t stay sealed, no matter how much spit I applied (ew). Anyway, I pointed this out to the desk representative, at which point she taped it shut. “But it says ‘DO NOT TAPE’,” I protested. “Everybody does it,” she replied. I wanted to ask her if everybody gets their voter registration cards, too.

Now I’m all worried.