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Feature

Griftin' on the Dock of the Bay

How waterfront developer Carl Ernst fished for political influence to help his struggling Pier 38 project

By Peter Byrne

Published: November 20, 2002

Carl Ernst Jr. is a man of great height and girth. At first, he seems to be a gentle giant, intelligent and slightly self-mocking. But behind the twinkle in his eyes lie wells of bitterness. In...

Night Crawler

Toy Boy

Attaboy of the Yumfactory is one seriously off-center toy designer

By Silke Tudor

Published: November 20, 2002

Trumpet-nosed fish and mustache bugs, maniacal monkeys and sneezing slugs, snaggletoothed cats and worried turtles, skull-faced birds and candy girdles, moping vultures and bunny-dogs, burp-filled...

Bay View

Laborer Pains

The San Francisco Day Labor Program loses city funding amid a labyrinthine dispute between its political supporters and the Mayor's Office

By George B. Sanchez

Published: November 20, 2002

For the first time since its founding 12 years ago, the San Francisco Day Labor Program, which serves as a hiring center for laborers seeking day-by-day work, is operating without city financial...

Dog Bites

Sketchy Job

Clay Seibert's done 7,000 cute little sketches of houses listed for sale on real estate fliers. Yeah, 7000.

By Lessley Anderson

Published: November 20, 2002

Last weekend, we were curious to look at the mansion for sale down the block. We are not currently in the market for a mansion, but you never know. We learned that besides its rose chintz...

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Week of November 20, 2002

Published: November 20, 2002

Mr. Bush Goes to War Thanks for the mo' better anti-war coverage: I was pleasantly surprised to read your feature "Not Your Mother's Peace Movement" [Nov. 6]. You approached the topic with...

Music

Smooth Operator

Goapele wants to be a soul star, without all the major-label headaches

By Darren Keast

Published: November 20, 2002

At a recent show at the Fillmore, Goapele found herself part of a tiny minority. Looking out on the crowd, she realized that it "was 99 percent high school boys." Even her band, the Heat, was...

Reviewed

Johnny Cash|Various Artists

At Madison Square Garden|American IV: The Man Comes Around|Dressed in Black|Kindred Spirits

By Lawrence Kay

Published: November 20, 2002

Perhaps more than any other living country singer, Johnny Cash is a veritable American icon. Like Willie Nelson, Cash bridged the hippie-era generation gap by admitting he was a druggie (in his...

Reviewed

Beck

Sea Change

By Ajax Green

Published: November 20, 2002

Beck has always been surprising. Ever since his 1994 slacker manifesto "Loser," he has confounded listeners with abstract lyrics, abrupt stylistic shifts, and wacky studio tricks. Each new Beck...

Reviewed

Sigur Rós

( )

By Nancy Einhart

Published: November 20, 2002

In the Oct. 3 issue of Rolling Stone , Coldplay frontman Chris Martin named Sigur Rós' 1999 effort, Ágætis Byrjún , to his current top 10 album list, summing up the...

Pop Philosophy

Black Is the New Black:

With a new EP and an '80s vibe, Evening becomes eclectic

By Dan Strachota

Published: November 20, 2002

Some enchanted evening On several occasions last week, I tried to convince friends to go see a local band called Evening. "What does it sound like?" they asked. I hemmed and hawed, then...

House of Tudor

House of Tudor

Auditory cataclysms, TV theme-song hell, and a Grimm opera

By Silke Tudor

Published: November 20, 2002

I can think of better-suited names for the Invisible Tour -- say, the Auditory Cataclysm Tour or Sonic Tohubohu (drawing on the Hebrew word for primal chaos) or, better yet, Sansculottic...

Hear This

Hear This

Morr Music's bands carve out the territory between indie rock and techno

By Philip Sherburne

Published: November 20, 2002

For years, techno culture ran counter to pop music. Instrumental, synthetic, and largely devoid of melody, electronica's output was anything but radio-ready. Recently, however, the artists on...

Eat

Burritoless Bliss

Chava's

By Lou Romano

Published: November 20, 2002

Last July, when a fire closed Chava's, a home-style Mexican restaurant at 18th Street and Shotwell, its clientele of Latino families and in-the-know gringo bohos all but went into mourning. The...

Film

Like Father, Like Hell

Mexican priests make it hurt so good in El crimen del Padre Amaro

By Gregory Weinkauf

Published: November 20, 2002

Christ is sexy. There, got your attention. But honestly, think about it: nice guy, pretty hair, carpentry skills, puts loaves (and fishes) on the table. Plus all that doing miracles and rising...

Reel World

Deep Westurn

Carpenter, high school teacher, painter, filmmaker: the experimental movies of Robert Nelson

By Michael Fox

Published: November 20, 2002

Born in San Francisco to Swedish immigrants, Robert Nelson worked as a carpenter and taught high school before pursuing painting at the California School of Fine Arts (now the S.F. Art Institute)...

Reps Etc.

Reps Etc.

Published: November 20, 2002

Commentary by Gregg Rickman ( greggr1@mindspring.com ). Times compiled from information available Tuesday; it's always advisable to call for confirmation. Price given is standard adult...

Night&Day;

Jam On It

S.F.'s Hip Hop DanceFest -- where "young" doesn't equal "novice" -- is bigger and better this year

By Heather Wisner

Published: November 20, 2002

The San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest , now in its fourth year, has always been a rowdy talent showcase: It's one of the few dance events where audience members give the performers shout-outs. That...

Night&Day;

Seconds, Anyone?

Talkin' turkey with "The Man Who Ate Everything," food critic Jeffrey Steingarten

By Lisa Hom

Published: November 20, 2002

To most gluttons, the life of a food critic seems charmed. We assume that the gourmand's biggest worry, while wining and dining at four-star restaurants on the company tab, is whether to order a...

Stage

The Color Blue

This autobiographical one-man show -- with blues guitar accompaniment -- is a sly charmer

By Michael Scott Moore

Published: November 20, 2002

Ruben Santiago-Hudson fancies himself a griot -- a storyteller in the African tradition who fosters the history of his village or tribe, reviving old episodes and characters to maintain a link...

Stage

Show Ho

A circus clown who studied with Camille Paglia. Is it any wonder Sara Moore's fucked up?

By Michael Scott Moore

Published: November 20, 2002

Sara Moore is not just a former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus clown; she's also a one-time student of Camille Paglia, at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. You'd expect someone...