*CRAFT: Knitters and crocheters come together in harmony tonight over at the (newly remodeled!) Three Dollar Bill Cafe. Don't know how? No worries. Someone will be there to teach you. Happens every Monday. Q&A: Ask Dr. Hal is back. One time fixture over Chicken John's the Odeon (RIP), you can now find Hal over at 12 Galaxies. So head on down to Mission Street to ask him whatever pressing questions are on you mind......

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. Standouts: British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?: We were first introduced to British Sea Power when we were checking out the bands that are coming to the Noise Pop Festival (which we remind you is in two weeks). It's being heralded as the "...first contender for Album of 2008." Not bad, for this indie-rock band from Brighton,......

Under the impression that SFist is a bastardized form of Ask Jeeves, a readers writes in to ask: What should I do tonight? This town sucks. Hangout at a Marina sports bar? Snort some fluffy white caterpillars? Go to your mother's? Seeing as how you told us nothing about yourself, we have no idea what you should do in this "town." But in lieu of our regularly scheduled SFist Tonight, can anyone tell this......

It's the new year so it's a new Ask a Muni Security Guy question. This one was inspired by seeing some lady eat chinese food on BART while also reading a magazine.... How do you handle food on MUNI? Technically it's not allowed but everyone kind of does it....

Paul Auster: Sure, metafictionist Auster wrote the screenplays to Smoke, Blue in the Face, and The Brooklyn Follies, but he also penned the phenomenal collection of PoMo detective-fiction tales, The New York Trilogy, his best work to date. Auster appears live with San Francisco International Film Festival Director Graham Leggat after a screening of his latest film, The Inner Life of Martin Frost. Witness him in action at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community......

New feature alert, folks! Ever want to know more about your local library? Or anything about libraries of the world. The art of receiving a masters in library sciences? Or why people use the Main Library bathroom as their own personal, um, spa? Well, send us your bibliotech-y questions. We've got a real-life librarian who will answer your many queries about documentation, fact-finding, library culture, annals, stacks, record-keeping, donations, cruising, Internet usage etiquette at......

Hey, look, it's back! It's "Ask a Muni Driver!" But we need help from you-- we need questions. So, if you got any, let us know at jon@sfist.com. ...

-- Golem: Sadly, this has nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings' heroin addict creature. Joyously, this has everything to do with the fact that this is a mist rocking six-piece Eastern European/NYC folk-punk band. Come hear them along with the Trifles, bran(...)pos, DJ Snuffy the Talking Fire Engine starting at 9 p.m. at 12 Galaxies; $12-15. -- Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977): Wow, okay, like this is just like totally the......

Prints + good tunes = the Pipettes -- The Pipettes: This all-female, British, Phil-Spector-sounding band gains more and more popularity by the day. See them tonight so that by next year when they're too big for SF venues, you can say you saw them when. They perform with Social Studies and Monster Bobby (read our interview with him here!) -- the Ladybug Transistor, who were scheduled to go on, will not be appearing -- tonight......

The seaward stretch of Balboa between 37th and 38th Avenues conjures a variety of images, from some of the thickest summer fog around to the Balboa Theater’s weathered sign. The block’s numerous Asian restaurants also merit consideration. Add hockey to the list, sort of. More on that in a bit. Unless you’re an Outer Richmond local and buy your nuts and washers at Crown Hardware on Balboa’s south side, odds are strong that you know this block best for the Balboa Theater, where the scent of butter-slathered popcorn wafts outside day and night. The circa-1926, moving picture house endures as the only one of its kind remaining in this part of town, and it seems to do well showing new releases. One reason for its success may be the fact that, as its sidewalk sandwich board announces, No private picnics (are) allowed in the auditorium. Ask anyone on this side of town what killed the Alexandria or the Coronet in recent years, and they’ll surely tell you: private picnics in the auditorium....

-- Avenue Q: This tee hee-inducing musical features un-Seaseme Street-like puppets (e.g., a closeted homosexual republican, for starters) and an ode to racism. What's more, the indie production won a surprise Tony Award for best musical, as well as best score and book, beating out Disney's Wicked. It opens tonight at 7 p.m at the Orpheum Theater, 1192 Market; $25-$90. -- Ask a Scientist: Are you none too bright? We sure are. Which is......

In this week's Ask a Muni Security Guy, we wonder just who is that bald security dude? The answer will surprise you. And as always, we have answers to last weeks questions. Remember, if you have a question that you want answered, either email us at editor@sfist.com or post it in the comment thread....

Hey folks, we're back again with our favorites amongst the comments and opinions you, the readership, made about SFist's stories that ran the week of July 1. Despite the weird holiday schedule, there was plenty of excellent conversation. ...

This week, we're going to do a Very Special Edition of "Ask a Muni Driver" as our driver is going to give us his list of "Things That Annoy the Crap Out of a Driver." He's also asking submissions from SFist readers to list their "Things That Annoy the Crap Out of Muni Drivers." We've probably beaten that into the ground by now, but either post a comment in the comment section or e-mail me at jon@sfist.com and we'll put together a list for next week. Anyways, back to the show. ...

Okay, okay, okay, okay -- we hear you about Laughing Squid's scoop that Chicken John running for mayor, folks! We were totally slammed at work today, that's why we're getting this up late. Who's Chicken John? He's a local countercultural legend! He's a Burning Man guy, the former owner of the Odeon Bar, and he hosts Ask Dr. Hal on Pirate Cat Radio. We had absolutely no idea! (Steve Jones at the Guardian knew,......

Okay, so we're a day late on this, but this post is still well worth it. Before we start, we'd like to issue this reminder-- if you got any questions for our driver, drop us a line at editor@sfist.com. We'd also like to say that next week we got a Very Special Ask a Muni Driver and we hear at SFist are pretty darn excited about it. Anyways, here we go, yo... ...

In the first past of our Very Special Ask a Muni Driver, our driver discussed what driving the lines are like. Today, we discuss two issues that always makes us wonder-- what do drivers do if they need to go the bathroom and just how boring is it to constantly drive the same route everyday for eight hours? ...

Phil Bronstein is the Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Mr. Bronstein agreed to answer a few questions for us. His responses directly address issues brought up by SFist and SFist's readers a short time ago. Notably, you'll see from his answers below that he'd appreciate more of the same. Here's a chance hear and be heard from one of the most important drivers behind news coverage in our area. See what he had to say to us below -- and let him know what you think....

Geek out! At Ask a Scientist SF, a monthly lecture slash happy hour with a guest speaker on some sciencey topic. This month's meet-up touches on everything you ever wanted to know about terra incognita, Antarctica, with Kurt Cuffey, a UC Berkeley professor of geography. Get there by 7pm to snag a beer and a seat. Axis Cafe, 1208 Eighth St., SF. If Le Tigre and The Shangri-Las had a British love child, it......

We thought Ed Jew's lawyer told him to zip it! But no! Despite the stern mandate the cash-accepting, alleged-bubble-tea-shaking-down Supervisor received from his counsel, Ed Jew's still chatting up the Chron. His latest defense? That whole thing where his house didn't have water? Jew's response: "Ask yourself this: When it comes down to government run operations, do they ever make mistakes?" It is no good when the elected official's excuse is that government screws up.......

Yes, folks, we here at SFist are proud to announce that "Ask a Muni Driver" has returned and will run every Monday for as long as we have our new Muni Driver around to answer all your Muni related questions. And, hell, maybe even a few others-- he could be great at all of your relationship questions too. So let's start in with today's question, about our new drivers' thoughts on what's good and what's bad about Muni. ...

In today's installment of "Ask a Muni Security Guy" our security guy answers questions that commenters asked last time around. He will also discuss this week's Muni news about budget cuts and their impact on Muni security. And before we go to the post, we'd like to formally announce that "Ask a Muni Driver" will be returning next Monday as we have another driver willing to answer all your questions. As always, if you have......

The SFIFF is winding down - only two more days to cram in as much international film as you can! Or are you ready for a quick breather before diving back in? Then take a night off and head out to one of these happenin' events. Not exactly a face-off (these guys play for the same league), but bound to be just as interesting. Marion Nestle and Michael Pollan give a talk tonight on food......

Our beloved Muni Driver may have stopped writing for us, but that doesn't mean we can't get another part of Muni to take their chances posting for us. So without further ado, we'd like to start our new feature, Ask a Muni Security Guy. And standard rules apply-- we're really lucky to have this feature and our Muni Security Guy is not a writer, so be nice in the comment section....

Butoh dance is a post WWII form of modern Japanese performance art seen as a combination of dance, traditional Japanese theater, and mime, and which is described as provocative and shocking. Sounds like fun! The local Japanese dance group Theater of Yugen presents an evening of Butoh dance tonight, featuring nature-themed performances, along with music by new music ensemble the Nanos Operetta. 2840 Mariposa (between Florida and Alabama, near Project Artaud), 8 p.m., $15. Other......

We are sorry to say that one of our favorite features, "Ask a Muni Driver" has come to a close. We'd like to give a sincere thanks to our driver for not only sticking his neck out to try and answer people's questions, but for sticking his neck out in general. After all, the Muni Union does not want their drivers speaking out at all. Our driver could have gotten into some serious trouble if he was found out. ...

It's never just me, myself, and I when you've got SFist Jenna on your side! Ask the Cube Expat!: Are you plotting ways to escape yet another dreary staff meeting right this minute? Dragging out your coffee breaks? Itching to ditch your day job but don't know where to start? Then you should make the trek over to Sausalito tonight and check out freelance writer and editor Michelle Goodman as she lays down a blueprint......

As we've already explained at tedious length, the bay area's old 511 service is basically useful to nobody (aside from the military contractor who we're paying $11,000,000 to maintain it for the next four years). But good news! There is finally a phone number you can call to get all your transportation questions answered: San Francisco's new 311. That's right -- 311 is doing the work that 511 promised but never delivered. Five-eleven still......

We have a Very Special Edition of "Ask a MUNI Driver" today as our driver answers probably the biggest question we could ask of him, mainly what he'd do to fix the system. And remember folks, you too can ask questions. Just drop us a line at editor@sfist.com. ...

It's all about the numbers at tonight's Ask a Scientist: The World's Most Fascinating Numbers event. Ask any burning math (from pi to irrational, imaginary, familiar, and beyond) question to Keith Devlin, who is NPR's "Math Guy," as well as a prof and author. There will also be food, drinks, socializing, and chat about "the universe's most fascinating mysteries!" 7 to 9 p.m. Canvas Gallery, 1200 9th Avenue, SF 94122. If greed and scandal,......