We've said before that Bucky Sinister holds a room by the balls. And he does. To see him read is to feel his hope in leaving a small town and arriving in San Francisco. To revel in his intense friendships and heady adventures. To endure the addictions, the sickness, the despair, the deaths. And then, with him, you survive and reflect. Sound heavy? It most certainly is. But it's also interspersed with lines so funny you're laughing out loud before you even really know what you've heard. Sinister's latest book is Still Standing. In one story, he and a friend witness a man shoplifting alcohol. The shoplifter, rather than stealing something really high-end, chooses Royal Gate vodka — a brand so low-grade it comes in a plastic bottle. As the man is led away by security, Sinister shouts, "Of all the liquor in the store, why'd you steal the Royal Gate?" The reply? "Because it was on sale!" That Sinister makes us laugh is not a surprise — he's also a comedian. Once a week he's at the Dark Room Theater doing sketch comedy at The Business with three other very funny men.