Many of us who call this expensive city home spend nearly all of our income on rent. This leaves us with little cash leftover, besides a few bucks for essentials, like food (and beer). And if you’re like many in San Francisco who are concerned about the food they consume, then you might... More >>

Recognizing that the noble pursuits of geekery and nerd culture are alive and well in San Francisco, The Avengers of Comedy have arrived to celebrate and skewer the culture of flamboyant intelligence that thrives in this region. Tonight’s installment is the sequel to an idea local... More >>

Stand-up comedy is an all-or-nothing game, economically speaking. All comics -- including some of the best we know -- basically have to do it for free unless and until they get "discovered," which roughly translates to "move to L.A. or New York in order to make a living." Which brings us to our... More >>

San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in North America and the largest Chinese community outside of Asia. It’s also one of the densest neighborhoods in the country, with over 75,000 people per square mile. Chinatown attracts more tourists than the Golden Gate Bridge, yet most... More >>

Mel Ramos makes the kind of paintings you're embarrassed to encounter while strolling through SFMOMA with your family. Currently one of the elder statesmen of California art, his technical chops and his ability to represent the human figure cannot be contested. It's just that penchant of his... More >>

In ancient Rome, the god of fertility was honored in February, with ceremonial love lotteries and mock-floggings with a bloody goatskin. Even those are a pale reflection of truly bizarre courtships that unfold in the natural world. For example, the common garden snail is a hermaphrodite that... More >>

Eric Kipp may be brilliant. Without a doubt, the spirit of San Francisco itself pulses quickly in his veins, because he is the creator of Hiking Yoga. It's exactly what it sounds like; you follow the charge up one of our butt-bustin' hills, and once you're up there, the organizer/sherpas hand... More >>

During the last Summer Olympics, nearly 70 million Americans watched Shanghai’s opening ceremony -- it was an impressive if somewhat eerie phantasm (a gymnast ran on air, the weather was controlled by scientists, and a little girl was given a “suitable” face to match her... More >>

As a self-described "logical extension of a free public library," our local free walking-tour company is, like most libraries, a fascinating mash of nerdy and white-hot rad. The San Francisco City Guides walking tours happen every day (except major holidays), are free, and follow in the... More >>

Comedy shows in bars can be an odd mix, especially when a birthday or bachelorette party means lots of stiff drinks and dildos strapped to the heads of the women tearing it up in their final hours before marriage. These giggling “dickheads” can be a comedian’s worst nightmare, as... More >>

Politicians and news outlets have started using the term "WPA" again — have you noticed? The Works Progress Administration, of course, put people to work during and after the Great Depression. Even artists were paid to work; the WPA encompassed projects that employed actors, painters, and... More >>

You like to have your butt thoroughly kicked, do you not? You may have already kicked your own butt with dance class, yoga class, brutal hikes, standard gym visits, athletic sex, or what have you, but have you done it on a trampoline? At Air Conditioning classes, use the power of bouncing to... More >>

This might shock you, but San Francisco has a debaucherous past. Once home to less than 500 people, as soon as James Marshall found gold in them thar hills, the population began to double every 10 days, creating a Boomtown full of saloons, sailors, slummers, and sinners. This was an era where... More >>

Would you call modern day California rural? Lisa M. Hamilton does, and she’s spent years visiting “places where the culture and the economy are defined by the direct use of natural resources.” For San Franciscans, the farmers markets, CSAs, and the Artichoke Festival in... More >>

You know what ensures that children’s books stay in good condition? Keeping them away from children. That’s why Mr. George M. Fox’s collection, which contains more than 2,000 early British and American children’s books, looks so pristine. Donated to the S.F. Public... More >>

Comic strips have been around since the early 1800s, and some strips have been in circulation almost that long as well. (“The Katzenjammer Kids” has been running since 1897!). The Bay Area has been at the center of groundbreaking comic art since the 1960s when the underground comix... More >>

Did you know that when the Golden Gate Bridge gets hot, it sits low in the saddle? Course you didn’t: You don’t have a Bridge Thermometer, which looks like one of those scenic coin-op binoculars crossed with a first-person shooter. Peer into it (no coin needed!) and it shows the... More >>

We hate to state the obvious, but the world really doesn't seem like such a peaceful place right now. Shootings in our cities and in our schools, a prison system intent on perpetuating cycles of poverty and crime, never-ending unrest in the Middle East -- It's enough to make any sane person... More >>

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... More >>

In a short three year span, the first AIDS epidemic crashed into the Castro and completely disrupted the culture. Gay San Franciscans, and especially residents of the Castro, thought they had found the geographical answer to their struggle, but the crisis changed a safe space into one full of... More >>

Radical social and political upheaval in 18th century France came at a cost, and you know who suffered the most? Decorative arts enthusiasts. Aristocratic and religious privilege was replaced by Enlightenment principles, which were disastrous for collectors of diamond-and-gem snuffboxes. The... More >>

Anyone who has neglected to visit the California Academy of Sciences is severely missing out, and not even because of the famous undulating grassy roof. One of the first sights to greet visitors is also one of the best: the Mangrove Lagoon holds those vicious angels, the stingrays and the... More >>