When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
In the past 30 years, light artists have reimagined an art form that has always had the ability to turn the night sky, or a simple window, into luminescence. Last fall, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts turned its southern glass wall into a parade of sound-sensing lights, Lightswarm, that changes with the movements of nearby people and things. Future Cities Lab, the San Francisco design company behind Lightswarm, has originated another notable light sculpture. Located by the YBCA's steps at 701 Mission, Murmur Wall will light up in arresting ways as it incorporates local trending search engine results and social media postings. Onlookers can offer their own contributions, which will feed into the Murmur Wall's data stream and light up the sculpture. What's trending in San Francisco? If you're walking by the YBCA, you can see firsthand — at least through light patterns that reflect the city's volatile internet habits.
Murmur Wall debuts Thursday at 6 p.m. and continues through May 31, 2017, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St., S.F. Free; 415-978-2700 or ybca.org. More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
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Let’s face it, San Francisco is the kind of place where smokers get yelled at by health nuts for attempting to light up on the street.
The San Francisco police officers who shot and killed Alejandro "Alex" Nieto at Bernal Hill Park in March 2014 did not use excessive force, a federal jury ruled Thursday. Nieto, 28, a city native and a security guard atMore >>
With our current fractious political environment, the Executive Director for the Center for Asian American Media Steven Gong says festivals like CAAMFest offer the hope of people embracing otherness through food, music and movies. “They have the power toMore >>
Plus Blackwater Station throws an homage to staff meals, Fly Bar turns 16 with a party, and some West Virginia legislators get sick after drinking raw milk to celebrate the state's legalization of raw milk. [jump] Humphry Slocombe (Finally!)More >>
Replacing the unlamented Grand Pu Bah, Saap Ver is a sight. Just as the name — which translates to “overly delicious” — is a deliberate departure from the thousands of restaurants out there with names that use the word “Thai”More >>
The adult film company of James Deen — the porn star ex of Kink.com fame, let loose from the Mission District fetish empire's stable of studs last year after allegations of rape from his former partner and other co-stars — hasMore >>
It's been three years since the Oakland indie-rock band Rogue Wave released their album. Recently, the band announced that they'd be dropping their sixth album, Delusions of Grand Fur, on April 29, and today they've graced us with theMore >>
It’s not easy to find an employer who “gets” you. Most bosses are working for the company employing you and the boss, and that means the company comes first. But what’s good for the company is not always goodMore >>
By mid-August 1985, Richard Ramirez had murdered 14 people and raped several others in the Los Angeles suburbs. (A first victim, 9-year-old Mei Lung, found murdered and raped in the basement of a Tenderloin hotel in 1984, was connectedMore >>
With over 25 years of acclaimed production and DJ experience in the dub and roots reggae genres, it’s surprising that it’s taken so long for U.K. artist Andy Scholes to make his way over to this side of the pondMore >>
It is the age of the vape. On our streets and in (some) of our buildings, bros and girls of all ages are pulling on propylene-glycol-powered tubes, and in Washington, clouds of vapor are replacing the proverbial smoke-filled room. LastMore >>
"Orbiting," "signaling," and "accenting" sound like the names of charms taught in Professor Flitwick's class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but Emma Watson — the actress who brought the wizarding world's most beloved feminist icon, Hermione Granger, toMore >>
Twenty-eight-year-old Enon Gaines is sitting behind a white desk in a peach-colored cubicle at the San Rafael headquarters of software firm SafetyChain. Eleven other cubicles dot the room, which Gaines refers to as "a mini cube farm," and light reflectingMore >>
Every Thursday evening, a few dozen people file into Immaculate Conception Chapel, a small Catholic church on the steep slope of Folsom Street on Bernal Hill's north face, carrying bottles of water, tubs of protein powder, small bottles of booze,More >>
Known for his old-school beats and quick flow, Andre Nickatina is one of the oldest rappers in the Bay Area scene. At 45, the Fillmore-born MC has dropped at least 17 albums (as well as seven collaboration albums and threeMore >>
This Kingston, Jamaica quintet formed in 2006 after the members met while attending a musical college in the Caribbean. They released their debut album, Judgement Day, in 2011 and are anticipating the release of their third album, Everlasting, on MayMore >>
Since the 7.3 billion humans on this planet seem almost certain to blow well past the two-degree rise in temperature we are told will lead to a world without polar bears, coral, or guacamole, a little cheer couldn't hurt. TheMore >>
So you form a band, hole upin a studio, and record your debut album. It's released to rave reviews and accolades from fans and critics alike. You play some shows, maybe even go on tour. Then you head back toMore >>
After 44 years of regular service, San Francisco's last jitney has sat idly on a SoMa street corner for weeks. Every day since the Nixon Administration, Jess Losa drove from the Caltrain station on Fourth Street to downtown in theMore >>
When Vanity Fair dispatched Kevin Sessums to profile Courtney Love in the '90s, longtime editor Graydon Carter gave him some advice: "Say 'fuck' a lot and act like that's what you want to do to her." It worked well enoughMore >>
Canadian electronic pop group Junior Boys gave fellow Canadian Jessy Lanza one of her first big breaks when they offered her the chance to sing the backup vocals on the 2011 album, It's All True. In exchange, the group gaveMore >>
Although the regenerative effects of alcohol have been debated around the world for generations, the French have long made it clear where they stand. In their native tongue, spirits are known as "eau de vie," which translates as "water ofMore >>
If ever there was living proof that some of the finest DJs in the world are the DJs you've never heard of, Mick Wills is it. The hardworking German artist has been lurking in the shadows since the early '90s.More >>
After 31 traffic-related deaths on San Francisco's streets in 2014, Mayor Ed Lee set an ambitious goal of reducing traffic fatalities to zero by 2020. To do that, city transit planners are reducing the width of streets, widening sidewalks, andMore >>
Sally Field does not care to dress like a hipster. As the title character in Hello, My Name Is Doris, she plays a mildly eccentric mouse of a woman who lives alone on Staten Island, commutes by ferry to aMore >>
There's potential for a fun horror movie with Phil Wurtzel's A Haunting in Cawdor, but the end result is as uninspired as its title. Vivian (Shelby Young) is a young convict who's sent to a work-release program at the BarnMore >>
If you've never heard of "hookup music," listen to xxyyxx and you'll know what it is. Marcel Everett (the dude behind the project) is an Orlando, FL. native who mixes and records all of his music in the comfort ofMore >>