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Week 3

06.07.13 - 12:35 pm | Johnny Angel Wendell |
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Week three is in the books for JAW at the SFBG. Almost a month here and while I'd like to say this is a fresh and brand new situation, Internet-speaking, it really isn't.Read more »

True tales, Shakespeare, interns, and more: new movies (plus DocFest)!

06.07.13 - 10:40 am | Cheryl Eddy and Guardian Staff Writers |
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The 12th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival kicked off last night with a screening of Spark: A Burning Man Story (even if you missed the opening event, you can check out Steven T. Jones' story about the film and changes underway at the Burning Man organization here). It continues through June 23 at venues in San Francisco (mostly the Roxie), Palo Alto, and Oakland; check out my article on the fest here and DocFest's official website for a full slate of films and ticket information.

Also in this week's paper: Dennis Harvey's round-up of "The Vortex Phenomena," the SOMA venue's monthlong series of conspiracy-theory films of the 1970s (Bermuda Triangle! Fog monsters! Yeti!)

And of course, we got all your first-run intel right here. This week's feast includes the reteaming of tight bros from way back Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, playing Google noobs in The Internship; Joss Whedon's detour from superheroes to Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing; and Wish You Were Here, an Aussie thriller about a vacation gone awry starring a very good (and very freaked-out) Joel Edgerton. Plus more, all after the jump.

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It's only to keep you safe, why worry?

06.07.13 - 9:46 am | Johnny Angel Wendell |
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As the story of the government data mining Verizon's customers gains (and loses) momentum, the various responses (all predictable) are rolling out. "It's Obama's fault", "Bush did it, too", "I don't care as long as it keeps me safe", "they're going after patriotic Americans", blah. blah, blah. My favorite take on this is "well, I've done nothing wrong, so I don't worry--if you haven't done anything wrong, what are you worried about?"Read more »

Double standard and then some

06.06.13 - 7:19 pm | Johnny Angel Wendell |
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"Let's see. I was a reporter for the AP in Washington. I'm a Verizon customer in America. Way to go, govt. You have my phone records covered."

Ben Feller, writer, today.

"For an unpopular guy on his way out of his office, President Bush still has some juice.Read more »

Larkin Street Youth Services employees unionize

06.06.13 - 4:55 pm | Steven T. Jones |
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After a contested organizing effort that raised questions about the tactics and resources being used by management at Larkin Street Youth Services, a nonprofit social service provider funded with government grants, the National Labor Relations Board today tallied the votes, which union sources say was 67-17 in favor of organizing.Read more »

NSA spying extends to Internet companies, reports say

06.06.13 - 3:11 pm | Rebecca Bowe |
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As if a top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand telephone records over to the National Security Agency weren't enough, the UK Guardian is now reporting that the federal government's spying program extends to online communications, through a program granting the NSA "direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US Internet giants." The program is called PRISM, and details about it were provided in Read more »

New NIN sounds like old NIN, and it's coming to Outside Lands

06.06.13 - 2:54 pm | Emily Savage |
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Admit it, there was a time when a Nine Inch Nails album was the hardest music in your CD collection. You slipped your Downward Spiral disc in to drown out -- or perhaps embolden -- the bitter angst seething within. That was likely in the 1990s and you got way more hardcore following elementary school. Read more »

The Chron's token conservative on tech hegemony

06.06.13 - 2:08 pm | Tim Redmond |
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It's always fun when things are so screwy in town that the leading conservative writer at the Chron starts to agree (even just a little) with the crazy commie at this blog.

Debra Saunders is unhappy with the way the Apple store is moving into Union Square. Not because she hates Apple; she's a Republican who loves all business. Not because she wants to save the fountain or thinks the urban design is ugly; she's all for new development.Read more »

Eat your Oates at the Castro's amazing double-feature tonight

06.06.13 - 12:48 pm | Cheryl Eddy |
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Not even sure if "amazing" is a strong enough word, but the Castro Theatre is screening a pair of cool-ass movies on 35mm tonight. Frankly, I don't think you have anything better to do, because there isn't anything better than a WARREN OATES movie except maybe a WARREN OATES DOUBLE FEATURE.

Kicking things off at 7pm, it's Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). Oates plays a perpetually rumpled bartender whose determination to collect a huge bounty (the prize: see title) leads him into some mighty surreal adventures in Mexico's sinister outback. Co-stars include Kris Kristofferson (in particularly kreepy mode).

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Cheap date alert: Get paid to go watch 'Dexter' at a pop-up drive-in

06.06.13 - 12:11 pm | Caitlin Donohue |
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Happy 80th birthday to the drive-in movie theater! We <3 you as much as Danny Zuko. And now that we're on the subject -- and not to be a total commercial or anything -- but this promo deal from ZipCar hyping Dexter via drive-in actually looks like fair compensation for becoming part of a network television hype machine if you have a gore-oriented date on your hands. 

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