Oh Lord. Is this for real? From the SFist inbox this morning we received alarming news that Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel, like, totally hate Africans, or something like that. After the New Year's Eve announcement that the two were to enter holy matrimony, one concerned reader called "Mayor Newsom's Communication Office," wondering if the "rock he bought for his fiancee was not a blood diamond." After talking to an "incompetent" Newsom staff member......

Here's todays sports news...

It seems the world of dating has moved beyond breaking up on post-its into the new world of breaking up via Facebook status. That's rough. Breakups are hard enough to go through without spreading the news in front of all your virtual friends. The update from Boinkology paints an even uglier picture: the dumper placed it on Digg, too. While the dumper reasons out why a face-to-face breakup wasn't deserved, we can't help but......

Like the bad ass she is, occasional San Francisco resident and current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has written to the "Homeland Security Department's inspector general requesting an investigation of preparation for and response to last month's oil spill in San Francisco Bay," according to CBS 5. In a wordy missive to Inspector General Skinner, she fired off over a dozen issues she wants taken care of right-quick. A couple of points she needs to......

Update: Sen. Barack Obama's campaign office in Rochester and John Edwards' offices have also been evacuated. Our sister site, Bostonist is live-blogging the situation right now. Apparently, a man wants to "speak to Hillary Clinton. He has two hostages (maybe more) and [allegedly has] a bomb strapped to his chest ... police have asked the media not to take live shots of the building." Yikes. A little bit of breaking news well outside of......

-- Why, it's our very own SFist Rita kicking it in the comfy confines (and breaking down the latest season of Project Runway) over at SFGate. Awesome. [Culture Blog] -- Japantown's J-Pop Center, well, pops. [Curbed SF] -- And look! It's your editor interviewed by SF Weekly. We don't come off as mildly-retarded as we did during the interview. Woo hoo! [The Snitch] -- Which '80s night is the best night? [Gridskipper] -- Yoshi's......

Audet & Partners, LLP filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of commercial fishers and crab-based (?) businesses in San Francisco on November 20. Today on their site they claim the following, "Breaking News: Cosco Busan Vessel Arrested." Which? Okay then. We have yet to see footage of the vessel getting cuffed by the fuzz with its shirt off, and we can't imagine it heard its Miranda rights being read, but seeing as how......

Choose your allusion-- the sword of Damocles finally striking, the chickens coming home to roost, karma being an ill-tempered bitch-- but Barry Lamar is now up against it for breaking the law, breaking the law. Personally, we were a bit stunned that it happened coming as it did years after the actual case, but we're cavemen-- we fell on some ice and was later thawed by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses us! ...

-- Comedy, Darling: Sleepover!: Mary Van Note hosts a new monthly underground talk and comedy show, where the stand-up is done in pajamas. Cute! Breaking the hymen of this monthly party is gangbang of hardcore comedic talent, featuring Brent Weinbach, Richard Kiss, Candy Churilla, Chris Garcia, and musical guest Jethro Jeremiah. The funny startsd at 8 p.m. at Edinburgh Castle; $8. -- M.I.A.: "Get crackin' get get crackin'/Get crackin' get get crackin'" [horny horns].......

Photo of the today's State of the City address....

Ta-da. whatimseeing.com has the images and video you've been waiting for: the Thrill the World Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance-off (as well as choice images of today's protest, by the way). We hope it broke the record so we don't have to do this again for at least another year. All in all, a pretty good routine. Sure, someone is calling out the steps during the routine, and the moves could've been a bit tighter; but......

-- Carmen Jones: Based off of Georges Bizet's famous French opera Carmen, the adaptation was made into a successful Broadway musical, and then a '50s film staring Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and Pearl Bailey. Now, see it again on stage right here in SF. The curtain goes up tonight at the African-American Art & Culture Complex (762 Fulton); $15. -- The Halloween Friday Night Skate: Rollerskate (or blade) in your Halloween costume without breaking......

In addition to the "Thriller" dance record-breaking attempt at Dolores Park, Saturday's Antiwar march, starting at Civic Center at 11 a.m., will end up smack-dab at the same recreational area. Once there, the "Fall Out Against the War" marchers (another worldwide event happening on the same day) will stage a (symbolic) die-in "to bring home the 2 million Iraqis who have died, the 500,000 who are now refugees, and the nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers who have died for an occupation that only benefits weapons manufacturers and oil corporations." ...

If you fell in love with Sia when you were bawling your eyes out about the Fisher family then Thursday's night concert is for you. Sia, our favorite Australian pop singer, is coming to the Fillmore this Thursday. We recently downloaded her newest EP, Lady Crossiant - a live recording from New York's Bowery Ballroom. There is also one new track, Pictures, that is worth listening to as well. Breaking News Update: This tour......

The city of Belmont -- a most magical place somewhere along this place called the Peninsula -- banned smoking in "multiunit dwellings" yesterday. Breaking the law could result in a $1,000 fine. This seems a bit extreme. Getting fined inside of your own home. Then again, so is murdering God's innocent children with your vile second-hand smoke, right? RIGHT?......

(If it's "Breaking News" on SFGate, it's good enough for us!) Some fantastic news! It's going to rain! One of the two topics we remotely even care about (the other being our hair) is the possibility of rain. Baptismal, cleansing rain! San Francisco seems to have skipped a harsh Indian Summer, more or less, this year. And that? Tickles us ever so. Now we're in the sweet spot: the chilly weeks between now and......

" it comes as no surprise / we're destabilized " * Seattle vs. San Francisco Sunday, September 30, 2007. 1:00 PM, PST. Week 04 The Surpriseless Battle This is it, the game that will tell whether the 49ers can seize the lead in the NFC West by taking down the Seahawks. * Photo of Frank Gore breaking away via the Chron. SF swept the series last year, even as SEA won the division, so you......

Charles Hurth, city attorney for the tiny town of New Haven, Mo., is one of the main men behind the push to make California Electoral College votes more Republican-y, a confusing ploy that would split the votes by congressional districts. But Hurth also has another claim to fame: Charles "Chep" Hurth III was best known for a headline-grabbing incident a decade ago in which he bit a young female law student on the butt in......

Ahhh, crap. During this week’s practice, 49er OLB Manny Lawson tore an ACL and will be out for the 2007 season. This is a mighty blow to the nascent Niner defense, who had been counting on the former first-round pick to lend his 6’5” frame and sprinter’s speed to the linebacking corps this year....

Labor Day may mark the end of summer for most, but for TV fans, it's the beginning of the Fall TV season that really signals the end of summer and its often crappy TV offerings. Instead, we've got the return of OLD crappy shows and new (possibly) crappy shows to look forward to. Like tonight, when Fox jumps the gun on all the other networks with its Fall season premieres of "Prison Break" and......

We'll confess to having never really listened to Wolf Parade; maybe we got them confused with Mice Parade, and we've always though Wolfmother sounded pretty derivative, so they just fell through the cracks for us. But one of the two lead songwriters in Wolf Parade, Dan Boeckner, has a band with his wife Alexei Perry called Handsome Furs which we're really liking. It's a little dark and dire while still being melodic and engaging; we......

So hey, remember that shooting that Ross Mirkarimi helped solve? According to the Chron, the cops are saying it was a vigilante father-son duo, out for revenge after the victim stole a gold chain from the son. Whoa! The son was walking to school when a group of young men held him up and took his gold chain. The son then called his father, who drove to the scene with his wife. People heard gunfire,......

Photo of a sign in Golden Gate Park altered to show that drumming is allowed...

There's big legal news concerning the Barry, none of which involves Curt Schilling or Grand Juries. Oh no. Barry has just been slapped with a lawsuit by an inmate in a South Carolina prison, Jonathan Lee Riches (aka "the White Suge Knight), for fraud. No, not for breaking the record while on the juice, but for perpetuating a "Fraud Against Mankind," which Lee Riches calls "Batman and Identity Robbin." The Smoking Gun has the details, but from a quick perusal here are some of the claims made: ...

We're about a week late to this, but our All Star panel of SFist judges (consisting of David Hasslehoff, Allan Colmes, and the Drama Prairie Dog from YouTube fame) have come up with a winner of our "Rename Dodger Stadium Contest"—Brooklyn, by arblatt. This was actually a hard decision because “guest” posted two of our favorite entries, “Chavez Latrine” and “Hell” and as we don't know whom "guest" is, we can't give them anything. So congrats, arblatt, for not just your spiffy answer, but for actually following the rules ...

And now for another big city's mildly retarded view of San Francisco: Too much ink has been spilled and too much bandwidth used to praise/bury Critical Mass in length. Now the LA Times gets in on the action. We'd love to break it down for you, but it's a long article and we don't bike or drive; more or less, it's stuff you've heard before. So, we present to you some choice quotes from......

-- Writers With Drinks: Tonight Robert Mailer Anderson, writer and game designer Austin Grossman, Sheng Wang, Darieck Scott, and Dom Brassey read. 7 p.m. at the Make-Out Room, 3225 - 22nd; $3-$5. -- Deep Fried Murder: A play about the world of competitive eating, veganism, and breaking up. Curtain rises at 8 p.m. at the Climate Theatre, 285 - 9th Street; $12. -- Altered Barbie Show: Fifth annual doll/art show has over 75 designers......

Looks like the helmet Barry Bonds' wore when hitting his record-tying and record-breaking home runs (755 and 756 if you're counting) is being displayed at the National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame. May we make a suggestion? Let people try it on. ...

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly: What? MORE letters about Rainbow? Matt Smith threatens to derail Newsom's gubernatorial campaign if he doesn't do something about parking. Rape awareness campaigns in the Castro. Cover article: a man who went through the SF court program designed to assist the mentally ill homeless. Ha! We like the headline "Fresno? Fres Yes!" A locally-written musical about San Francisco life. This picture of the dancing Starbucks baristas is excellent. Meredith......

Although you might’ve already read about it on Valleywag, yesterday’s consecutive outages did not, in fact, cause some of your favorite blog, review, and sex ad sites (e.g., LiveJournal, Vox, Craigslist, Yelp) to collapse temporarily. Over at datacenter 365 Main, it seems that maybe someone or some (clearly as of today, former) employee "'came in shitfaced drunk, got angry, went berserk, and fucked up a lot of stuff. There's an outage on 40 or......