Air Sex Championships @ The Independent - Tonight!

Okay, this is totally random and last minute, but I just heard about the Air Sex Championships tonight at the Independent and thought it looked very interesting. Think Air Guitar, but with fake sex instead of a fake guitar ;-) Tickets are $15. Anyhow, let me know if you'd like to join me....

Goldfinger at Dolores Park - Saturday, June 20th

Film Night in the Park is starting up again... yay! The first film, Goldfinger, is this Saturday night at Dolores Park. Showtime is 8:00. Bring a picnic. Let me know if you'd like to join me!

Hangar One Open House - Saturday, June 20th

Hangar One/St. George Spirits in Alamada is having it's annual open house coming up on Saturday, June 20th. Here's what they say about it:

Summer is upon us again and you know what that means… Time for St. George Spirits Summer Open House! Come celebrate the seasonal release of that favorite summer spirit, Hangar One’s Fraser River Raspberry Vodka.

For those of you who’ve never made it out to one of our open houses, we open up the hangar doors, fire up the stills and let you get a close up look at the distillation process in action. Your entry includes 3 cocktail tasters, food, live music, shuttle service, and a few cool surprises.
Also included is tastings of most of our spirits: Aqua Perfecta eaux-de-vie and liqueurs, St. George Single Malt Whiskey, Hangar One Vodkas, Qi spirits, and the St. George Absinthe Verte! Agua Azul tastings are $10 for all 3.

Tickets will be available in the distillery store starting today, Wednesday June 3rd and by phone for $35 (during tasting room hours). Call us at 510.864.0635, Wednesday to Saturday noon-7pm, Sundays noon-6pm to order your tickets.

Tickets will be $45 at the door. Cash only at the door.

June 20th, 2009 - 1pm to 6pm

I've noticed that in years past they have sold out ahead of time, so don't count on getting your tix at the door. I'm calling in this afternoon to get my ticket, so if you chime in ASAP I'm happy to order one for you too when I call.

Singing Flash Mob @ Union Square - Thursday, June 11th

Here's what they say about it on Squid List:

Singing Flash Mob @ Union Square

Yes, San Francisco's had flash mob pillow fights, zombie attacks, santa parades and more, but it's time we had some music! What: 'With a Little Help from My Friends' (first note Ab, just like the Beatles recording) Why: Because SF needs more communal silliness. No. Really. The City takes itself way too damn seriously. Suggestions: - Bring a walkman, mp3 player or something with the Beatles version of the song to listen to. This will help you keep on key if you're concerned about that sort of thing, but you shouldn't be. We promise not to stand up and walk out on you. - Bring some friends--you'll get by with some help from them.

Thursday, 11 June, 2009
06:00 PM - 06:05 PM

Wanna join me?

John Oliver @ Cobbs Comedy Club - Thursday, May 28th

Hilarious John Oliver of the Daily Show is performing at Cobbs Comedy Club on Thursday night. Anyone wanna join me?

Big Wheel Race - Sunday, April 12th @ 4:00

I went to the Big Wheel Race a couple years ago at Lombard Street, it was amazing!!! It's moved to Potrero Hill and the police are threatening to shut it down, but I think it's worth checking out. Let me know if you'd like to join me!

Afternoon at the Horse Races @ Golden Gate Fields - Saturday, April 4

I just got this invite from SFSU Alumni Association to attend their Afternoon at the Horse Races, and it sounds like fun (that is if, like me, you love betting on the ponies). Here's all the info:

You’re invited to spend an afternoon at Golden Gate Fields with the
San Francisco State Alumni Association. Relax in our reserved area in the
Turf Club overlooking the racetrack, where you can enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet,
drinks, and the company of fellow Gators while you watch the horses race by.
Plus, there will be nine or so races and private betting
stalls available for all you wild at heart!

Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009
Time: 12:00 noon (First race beings at 12:45)
Place: Golden Gate Fields, 1100 Eastshore Hwy, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $25/person, includes valet parking, entry and all-you-can-eat buffet
R.S.V.P. Deadline: Friday, March 27, 2009

Seems like a good deal for the Turf Club and buffet included. Let me know if you'd like to join me and I'll get tix.

This American Life Live Simulcast - Thursday, April 23rd

On Thursday, April 23rd host Ira Glass will bring the wildly popular radio show This American Life to the big screen for a one-night only live event.

Ira Glass will host an actual episode of the radio program, performed onstage by some of our favorite contributors. Dan Savage, Starlee Kine, and Mike Birbiglia will tell stories. David Rakoff and Dave Hill will conduct a ‘special investigation.’ Plus a new cartoon by Chris Ware, additional visuals by Arthur Jones, and a very special appearance by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! The performance will last around two hours. We’re going to capture the whole thing with a bunch of HD cameras, and send it live* to movie theatres all over the country.

In SF it's going to be playing at the Century 9 San Francisco Centre. Let me know if you'd like to join me and I'll get tix.

Pillow Fight @ Justin Herman Plaza - Valentine's Day

It time again for the annual Valentine's Day Pillow Fight. If you've never been before, you have to go. According to Facebook it starts at 4:00, but on Upcoming it starts at 6:00. I'll update if I hear more news as it gets closer, but I'm thinking that 6:00 is the right time.

Let me know if you want to come along... all you need is a pillow!

UPDATE: Here's the latest info on the Pillow Fight. Looks like it's definitely starting at 6:00. And here are the rules:

1) Tell everyone you know about PILLOW FIGHT!!!
2) Wait for the Ferry Building clock to strike 6:00pm
3) Don’t hit anyone with out a pillow (unless they want it)
4) Don’t hit anyone with a camera
5) HAVE FUN!!! (Rain plan: put your pillow in a plastic bag, see Rules 1 - 5)

Zoetrope All Story Release Party - Tuesday, January 27th

Cafe Zoetrope is hosting a free party for the Zoetrope: All Story Release, here's what they say about it:

We write with excellent news. Zoetrope: All-Story has just been honored with two GOOD DESIGN awards. With the Lou Reed-designed winter edition now landing on newsstands, we have at least a few great reasons to celebrate.

Please join us at San Francisco’s Cafe Zoetrope on Tuesday, January 27, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. for gratis wine pours and passed plates, as well as one of our favorite bands: Ramshackle Romeos, whose two-man review includes a musical saw, toy pianos, and a theremin. The Café is located at 916 Kearny Street, at Columbus. Admission is free.

The two issues recognized with GOOD DESIGN awards are Summer 2007, which includes incendiary photographs and design by Marilyn Minter, and Fall 2007, a special double-issue to commemorate the release of Francis Coppola’s most recent film, Youth Without Youth, with design by Tim Roth. Both editions remain for sale at the website.

Free drinks, food, and music! Let me know if you'd like to join me.

(Source: http://www.all-story.com/)

Mixology Contest @ Jardiniere - Tuesday, January 13th

Nirvino is putting on another Mixology contest. That means free drinks! Wanna join me?

No Pants on Muni - Saturday, January 10th

The 8th Annual No Pants! Subway Ride will take place on Saturday, January 10th in San Francisco. I did this last year and it was so much fun, we got so many strange looks from the innocent bystanders. Let me know if you'd like to join me for the madness!

Michael Chabon in Berkeley - Monday, January 5th

Jon Carroll in Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist Michael Chabon - Jan. 5, 2009 at the Berkeley Repertory Theater - Thrust Stage. Here's what they say about him:

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon is "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation." His first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988), was published when Chabon was 25 and catapulted him to literary celebrity. He followed it with a second novel, Wonder Boys (1995), and two short- story collections. In 2000, Chabon published The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a critically acclaimed novel that The New York Review of Books called his magnum opus; it received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. His most recent novel, The Yiddish Policemen's Union, an alternate history mystery novel, was published in 2007 to enthusiastic reviews and won the Hugo, Sidewise, and Nebula awards.

Let me know if you'd like to join me.

Josh Kornbluth at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, January 2009

Josh Kornbluth is doing a new show on Andy Warhol's '10 Jews' exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum on January 10, 11, 17, and 18. Here's what Josh says about the show:

In 1980 Andy Warhol -- then at a low ebb in his storied career -- was commissioned to do portraits of 10 famous Jews of the 20th century. As a mnemonic device, I have grouped these 10 into pairs (regardless of whether they actually belong together):

Rhapsody in Lou: George Gershwin & Louis Brandeis.
Acting Out: Sigmund Freud & Sarah Bernhardt.
I & Thou & Thou & Thou: Martin Buber & The Marx Brothers.
Ein/Stein: Gertrude Stein & Albert Einstein.
Metameirphosis: Golda Meir & Franz Kafka.

When the portraits originally were shown, they were greeted (for the most part) with great disdain by the critics and with great joy by the people who flocked to see them at various Jewish institutions. One of the things that is so fascinating about the "Warhol's Jews" installation at the CJM is that it is really an exhibit not only of the artworks themselves, but also of how they were conceived and received. It also raises the question of what it means to be showing them again now, 28 years later, when Martin Buber's masterwork "I and Thou" (for example) may no longer be in the forefront of everyone's consciousness. (He certainly wasn't in mine, until I started working on this piece. Now it's all Buber, all the time!)

And who was Andy Warhol? And why did this practicing Catholic choose to do portraits of 10 famous Jews? And why these Jews? And why is a Jew ending this paragraph with yet another question?

I'll tell you why: I don't yet know the answers. I keep returning to the CJM, revisiting "Warhol's Jews" (and their other fine exhibits), and sipping a meditative matzoh-ball soup in the museum café as I ponder Warholosity, Jewishness, and 10-ism. I can't promise to have solved every conundrum by the time my piece opens on Jan. 10 -- or even by the last performance, on Jan. 18 -- but I can promise that the presentation will look and sound fantastic, as I am working with some of my favorite collaborators: designer Alex Nichols, composer Marco d'Ambrosio, director David Dower, and producer Jonny Reinis. I can also promise that your attendance will warm the heart of my brand-new company, Quixotic Projects; this piece is our first commissioned work!
If you're in the Bay Area, I hope you can catch one of these performances -- each of which will be followed by me interviewing a terrific expert on one of the portrait subjects. Your ticket will also get you into the museum, where you can wander, observe, slurp, and kibbitz in their spectacular new building. I look forward to seeing you there!

Let me know if you want to join me and I'll get tix!

Dr. Katz - TOMORROW NIGHT!

I'm supposed to go to the 'Dr. Katz Professional Therapist' show tomorrow (Monday) night at the Herbst Theatre, but my friend who I'm supposed to go with can't make it. So there is a free ticket if anyone wants to join me.... let me know if you're interested.

Bazaar Bizarre - Sunday, November 30th

Looks to be a cool indie craft fair, just in time for holiday shopping. It goes from 10 to 5 at the SF County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. Admission is $1 (50% of Proceeds go to charity)

Let me know if you'd like to join me.

St. George Spirits Holiday Open House, Sat, Nov. 11th

St. George Spirits (home of Hangar One vodka) is having a Holiday Open House. Here's what they say about it:

After months of hard work in our holiday workshop, we have found the solution for this year's holiday shopping gloom: a Holiday Open House! Seriously, shopping while eating and drinking is a lot more fun than waiting outside in the cold for a department store to open.
Like always, the stills will be running most of the day, allowing you a rare opportunity to see the process up close with a live distillation. Entrance will include 3 lil' cocktails, our spirits (including the new Hangar One Spiced Pear Vodka release), and the iced vodka luges. Music and food will be supplied throughout the day to keep everyone upright.

To make the shopping even easier (and tastier), our friends, who just happen to run some of the best specialty food companies around, will be there to sample and sell their wares: Recchiuti Confections with truffles and chocolates; June Taylor Jams, with amazing jams, preserves, and syrups; Boccalone with salumi, cured meats, and all things pork; and La Cocina, with a variety of sweet treats made with organic ingredients.

All of our delicious spirits and holiday gift packs will be available for sampling and sale, naturally, including the St. George Absinthe Verte and the Hangar One Spiced Pear Vodka.
Finally, we are once again providing shuttle service between the West Oakland BART station and the Alameda Main street ferry building to and from the distillery. Yes, it's free --- just get on!

BART Shuttle service begins at 12:30pm and continues at 1:30pm, 2:30pm, 3:30pm with the last pick-up at 4:30pm. From the ferry at 1:45pm and 4:15pm.
Will-call tickets will be available in the distillery store starting today and by phone for $30. Call us at 510.864.0635 to reserve your spot. We sold out last time so don't wait!

Tasting tickets to try both the Absinthe Verte and De Profundis (20-year aged Pear Brandy) are $10.

Entry, if not sold out, will be $40 at the door.
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 from 1pm to 6pmSt. George Spirits/Hangar One DistilleryEntry Fee is $30 in advance, $40 at the door.This is a 21 and over event. Please bring your picture ID!

Sounds great, doesn't it? Let me know if you'd like to join me!

Nirvino Mixology Contest - Thursday, November 13th

Sounds like a fun event, here's what Nirvino has to say about it:

"This month Nirvino and SF City Dish are joining forces to bring you an exclusive evening of cocktails, music, and good company.
• Featuring - Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur
• Mixology Contest - Five of San Francisco's hottest bartenders
• Mobile Judging - Bring your iPhone, Treo, or Blackberry. We'll be reviewing the drinks live at the event to select the winner of the mixology contest
• Limited Space - This is a private event exclusively for our active Nirvino members
• Your Mission - Rate each of the cocktails from your mobile phone and choose the best drink of the evening"

The event is at Level III in the JW Marriott Hotel at 500 Post Street (at Mason).

I've already RSVP'd for me and 1 guest (that's all they'd allow), so let me know if you'd like to join me.

You Bazaar in Golden Gate Park - Sunday, November 2nd

It's time for another cool indie craft fair. You Bazaar is at the SF County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park (at 9th & Lincoln Ave.) this Sunday... and it's free too. Let me know if you'd like to join me.

Sarah Vowell @ Stacey's Bookstore - Friday, October 17th @ 12:30

For all of my fellow downtown workers, Sarah Vowell will be doing a lunchtime reading and book signing at Stacey's Bookstore this Friday at 12:30. She'll be supporting her new book "The Wordy Shipmates". I'm sure it will be another great book. Let me know if you'd like to join me!