New York
By Erica Mu on Dec 7 2011 - 5:49pm
Long before Beyonce decided to redefine “diva” for pop culture, the term was associated with high culture. Nevertheless, divas of then and now have maintained a reputation, as late comedian Anna Russell explains, “…you would need to be a glorious-voiced, independently wealthy, sexy, politically...
By Will Durst on Nov 21 2011 - 9:37am
It's almost Thanksgiving... and comedian Will Durst has something to say about it. In this week's commentary, he offers up a list of things he's grateful for.
* * *
WILL DURST: Let me be among the first 40-foot helium-filled balloons to kick-start our...
By Molly Samuel on Nov 11 2011 - 8:10am
The Jewish Theatre in San Francisco is closing at the end of its current season. In its 34 years, the company has produced original plays and reproductions ranging from works inspired by Yiddish poetry and Biblical traditions, to plays about the experiences of German Jews between the world wars,...
By Steven Short on Nov 10 2011 - 3:37pm
As we watch social unrest spread around the Bay Area, we remember San Francisco in the 1960s. It was a melting pot of ideas, in politics, lifestyle choices, and in music.
This was especially true for Latin musicians. It was a mix of rhythms and styles coming together … a whole generation of artists...
By Ben Trefny on Nov 8 2011 - 5:39pm
Early in his college education, Dale Stephens had a radical idea: drop out. Okay, maybe not so radical – except Stephens is extremely interested in the concept of education. He simply thought he could educate himself better outside of the hallowed halls of Arkansas' Hendrix College. That’s where...
By Seth and Molly Samuel on Oct 31 2011 - 4:29pm
HARRY HOUDINI: Ladies and gentlemen: introducing my original invention, the water torture cell...
That’s Harry Houdini, in 1914, describing the water torture cell, in which he emerges from an upside-down dunk tank imprisonment. A new exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco...
By Brian Pelletier on Oct 27 2011 - 6:24pm
The Bay Area’s Occupy movement continues, today, with tents set up in San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza and protesters in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza. Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen, who became a rallying figure after being critically injured by a projectile Tuesday night in Oakland, has been...
By Julie Caine on Oct 26 2011 - 5:24pm
For many of us, the time we spend riding BART or Muni can be one of the least inspiring parts of the day. It’s a time out of time, spent mostly waiting to be somewhere else. Commuters with headphones snake headphones from ear to ear, eyes focused on smartphones and iPads, or on the pages of books...
By Alexandra Muller on Oct 11 2011 - 11:11am
Earlier this summer, after six years of life in the fast lane, solo hybrid drivers were demoted from the carpool lane – and they aren't the only ones protesting. UC Berkeley researchers claim that revoking carpool lane privileges led to increased congestion in regular lanes, which had the...
By Julie Caine on Oct 10 2011 - 7:37pm
In local artist Brett Amory’s “Waiting” series of paintings, isolated figures inhabit washed out, spare landscapes—solitary people waiting at bus stops and crosswalks, on BART platforms or at the airport. It’s an ongoing series, focused on themes of anticipation, distraction, and the culture of...
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