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, it’s a good core workout. If you’re 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.
Nothing caps off a nice day at the beach like a mouthful of sand — especially if the grit in your teeth is the reward for the grit required to splay flat-out on your stomach, for the prize of a plastic disc in your hand, and all the glory that comes along with it.
Lady Gaga's Performance at the Academy Awards Made Us Weep — For All The Wrong Reasons
Posted
By Rae Alexandra
on Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 9:11 AM
YouTube / "The Lady is a Tramp"
Remember when Lady Gaga was a dirty temptress, rolling around, all oily and raunchy, in good shades and hot bikinis, like a feral club kid who somehow snuck into the pop mainstream when no one was looking? We do. And after her performance at last night's Academy Awards, we miss the arrive-in-an-egg Lady Gaga of old, rather desperately.
In case you missed it (and honestly, we kind of hope that you did), the freshly-engaged Ms. Germanotta took to the stage for a "special tribute performance" that had been hyped all night. Secretly, we were hoping for some sort of LSD-laced reinvention of The Wizard of Oz — preferably with an errant scarecrow at the back, pulling a Left Shark. If anything was going to spice up this stuffy evening of back-slapping, it was going to be Gaga, and we couldn't wait.
Then it happened. She arrived on stage, resplendent in a beautiful, floor-length white gown, surrounded by tree trunks and a small orchestra. And then to our horror, she launched into... oh, you've GOT to be fucking joking... a medley of songs from 'The Sound of (bastard) Music', because 50 year anniversary, blah, blah, blah. The urge to change channel was overwhelming, but we decided to struggle through this to see if she could spice it up. With anything. Anything at all.
She didn't. Not one dude in lederhosen. Not one change in original melody. Just Stefani Germanotta singing some old, annoying songs, beautifully and pitch perfect, in front of some bits of tree.
She might as well have been Adele Nazim Idina Menzel.
Here's the thing. We understand Lady Gaga's desire to stretch herself creatively. We totally get the ongoing Tony Bennett collaboration. It allows people to see her differently — to see her raw talent, free of nudity-related distractions and complex dance routines; to take her more seriously; to enable her to reach a more mature audience. And she's done all of that with her and Bennett's Cheek to Cheek album.
Last night just made us sad though. Sad that Lady Gaga didn't present herself more creatively; with more pizzazz; more Gaga va-va-voom. And though we tried momentarily, we can't even blame it all on the limited parameters of what one is allowed to do at the Academy Awards — Tegan & Sara's batshit performance of "Everything Is Awesome" with The Lonely Island, Questlove, Batman, a possum, a stuffed dog, dudes in hard hats and crash helmets doing backflips and lego Oscar statues was proof that crazy shit is possible on this stage if you're just willing to throw yourself and a massive troupe of prop-wielding dancers at it.
Can someone please tell Gaga that she doesn't have to be boring to be taken seriously? The Lady is at her finest when she's pushing artistic and visual boundaries, while making social statements in the form of excellent dance-pop hits. There are multiple stage actresses who can do a solid Julie Andrews impersonation. But there's only one human who can be Lady Gaga — and right now, she's refusing to do it.
Vau de Vire Society presents The Soiled Dove – an immersive, circus-infused dinner theater set in the reincarnation of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast red light district. Friday and Saturday, July 15th & 16th. From the co-creators of the Edwardian, New Bohemia NYE, Lagunitas Beer Circus…comes an event that’ll titillate your every sense. Set amidst a thematic backdrop inspired by SF’s notorious gold rush era, guests can expect an engaging evening filled with danger, decadence, world-renowned performance and an innovative culinary extravaganza worthy of royalty. Guests are encouraged to submerge themselves in the revelry by putting a little (or a lot) of effort into their attire—styles that cover Victorian, Edwardian, 49er, Harlots, Crimps or their most stylish period couture. Circus and theatrics by Vau de Vire Society. Interactive gourmet dinner by Work of Art. Music by Jazz Mafia/Realistic Orchestra. Taking place under Italy’s Tortorna Big Top on Point Alameda. Ages 21 +. TheSoiledDove.com or facebook.com/vaudeviresociety
