Egads.

A man fell to his death yesterday at Monster Park after falling 20 feet from the upper concourse area of the stadium to the concrete mezzanine below. Scary. And sad. According to the Chronicle, the 31-year-old sports fan "went to the concession area between sections 5 and 7 to hang out during halftime about 2:20 p.m. and fell over a wall to the floor below."

After two other accidents that happened in the mid 1980s -- one hijink-related, the other similar to the one that happened yesterday -- this brings the stadiums' fatalities to three.

As of today, SFPD have yet to release the name of the victim's identity.

Update: Le Weekly says that the victim's name is Torrey Kretschman. And that he's from Roseville. So... there you go.

The hallow'ed New York Times seems to think that no souls, not even "costumeless outsiders", will show up for "Nightmare on Castro Street." Mmmm. Well then, where else is there to go?

The City of San Francisco offers tons of alternatives for you. How about the Hillsdale Shopping Center Monster Bash in neighboring San Mateo County? That's on the list of official alternatives, so it must be good. What about Polk Street? Anything going to happen there? Or maybe you're just going to stay home? Please let us know. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

-- 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 at 8 p.m. at Bimbo's; $15-17.

-- Ask Dr. Hal (final one of the season): Before he takes a much-needed sojourn elsewhere, catch Dr. Hal answering the questions on San Francisco's mind. What began at the Odeon way back when remains one of the city's most popular nightclub acts. (Fear not as he'll return in the spring! Or so we hear.) He starts at 9 p.m. at 12 Galaxies; $8.

-- Will Self: British scribe, "satirist, onetime junkie, and dedicated long-distance walker" over at The Independent will read from his latest effort, Psychogeography, a collection based off popular column he writes with Ralph Steadman. He goes on tonight at 7 p.m. at City Lights; free.

-- Haunted Haight Walking Tour: Let's face it: the Haight is one scary place in and of itself. Compound the historic neighborhood with the other side, and you have one hell of a scary Monday night. Perfect for those of you wanting to catch some Halloween-y spirit! Begins at 7 p.m. at Coffee To The People; $20.

Occasionally we are reminded that San Francisco is not the very center of the world. Rare occasions, true, but still, when an interviewee points out that they may not have an encyclopedic knowledge of bands from the area, we’re forced to say fair enough. Such is the case with Bobby of Monster Bobby. Sure, he may be the creative force behind SFist fav, the Pipettes, and sure he knows about all kinds of other kinds of music but he’s not all up on our local bands. He’s willing to learn, though, and hey, given how much we like his music (check it out here), that’s enough for us. For now.

You can check out Monster Bobby along with the Pipettes tonight at Bimbo’s—show starts at tonight at 8 p.m.

What should people expect from your live show?
You should expect me and the dr sample, my little electronic colleague, playing a series of curious little ditties, recalling the English music hall and German elektronische Musik (with a dash of Rick James).

Where are the best fans at?
I suppose that depends how you define 'best'. The kids in Japan are probably the most enthusiastic, and perhaps the most polite as well, hich is quite a unique and charming combination. German crowds perhaps the loudest and most vocally appreciative in our experience and Swedish generally the quickest to get into stuff, the first to spot something cool and let you know about it. but, y'know, really the best "fans" are in London and Brighton cos that's where most of my friends live.

We were flipping through the channels over the weekend and caught a few minutes of a National Geographic show on Sea Monsters. So we stopped to watch-- we're big fans of Nessie. Towards the end of the show, a segment came up about something we hadn't heard before, that San Francisco has its very own Sea Monster right here in the Bay.

Or so claim two twins, the Clark Brothers. They first spied the thing in 1985 while sitting in their truck. The thing popped out of the ocean after chasing a few sea lions around and stared right at them. The brothers described the beastie as "large, black, snake-like.”

For the next twenty years, the brothers have been obsessed in proving that what they saw was indeed a sea monster, without much in the way of success. Then, in 2004, they caught on video, (a very grainy video-- see image above) what looks like could possibly be the monster's humps (it's humps, it's humps, it's lovely lady humps) as it swam through the Bay or maybe possibly a group of them.

If you’re hoping to get into the competitive side of air guitar, or just prove to your partner that your moves really are totally solid, you should check out “Air Guitar Nation”, a new documentary (though, hey, we do prefer the word ROCK-umentary) directed by Alexandra Lipsitz. Think of watching the film as being akin to viewing tapes of the opponents so you can crib their best moves, sound tracks, and style (kind of like the plot of Stomp the Yard except that all things Air Guitar rock way, way harder). In order to give SFist readers a decided edge over all other comers, Alexandra Lipsitz was kind enough to give us a connoisseur and insider scoop on the air guitar scene. In addition to air guitar tips, Lipsitz reminds us that the hippies that remain in SF are so much lamer than those of yesteryear. Excellent!

Wanna become part of ? We've got passes, good for any day Monday through Thursday of next week.

Air Guitar Nation opens May 11 at the Sundance Cinemas Kabuki in San Francisco.

What inspired "Air Guitar Nation?"
The love of Music, of acting out and becoming a rock god, Cedric Devitt and Kriston Rucker's genius, The Wall St Journal, Finland, men who stuff there pants and are not ashamed to do so on camera, Bjorn Turoque and C-diddy, Brian May, Groupies and what they will do for love, making something out of nothing etc. etc.

Have you ever rocked an air guitar or other air instrument?
I am a purist on the air guitar - I rock, I love duets and dueling banjos is one of my favorite tracks to air to at weekend aireoke.

What is the MONEY move in an AG competition?
I think throwing an air guitar up in the air is hot, but if you find a way to hang upside down and air guitar- evoke some danger somehow- like rushing the judges or falling off a stack of amps- that rocks- maybe some ripping off of clothes but most importantly you have to have good facial expressions at the ready. Bjorn Turoque is famous for the "I can’t believe how much I rock "face

What should one wear to an AG competition?
Whatever suits your persona. I have seen everything from a diaper to a full body stocking to a fuzzy suit, but Cdiddy mastered it with the Hello Kitty Breast Plate!

Who are the best AG'ers out there?
Zac "the magnet" Monro, Cdiddy, Miri "Sonyk Rok" Park, Bjorn Turoque, Oshi ( the reigning world champ) The destroyer, Stan Kreich, William Ocean, Rockness Monster, Mother Rucker, Hott Lixx Hullihan, Chi Chi Rodriquez, Power...I can go on for hours. It all comes down to a moment in time anyone can have a good day. But the champions have many more good days than us normal folk.

What's the best song to AG to?
Motorhead's Ace of Spades is one of the best- I like Shook me all night long, California Uber Alles, Joker and the Thief by Wolfmother, Bohemian Rhapsody, Song #2, Take me Out, Cannonball, Stop, Hot For Teacher, Welcome to the Jungle, a 12 minute live version of Freebird can be amazing if you get 35 sweaty tired folks together in a bar at 2am after a good night of air guitaring

Can you hear that? That distant sound? As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced?

Holy nerd alert, Batman! WonderCon is coming!

Yes, this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Moscone Center will host the hundreds, nay, of nerds, dorks, fanboys and fangirls who are too lazy and/or poor to make the trip down south for ComiCon in July. And we will proudly be amongst them. After the somewhat lackluster experience that was last year's WonderCon we have higher hopes for this one.

This year's Hollywood guests "scheduled" to appear include...well, no one that exciting. Hilary Swank? Mmmmkay. Sure. Whatever. We've got our fingers crossed for a surprise Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi Spider-Man 3 panel, and will admit to being totally jazzed to listen to former Apollo/current Tom Zarek Richard Hatch talk about "Battlestar Galacticas" past and present. (In previous years he was stuck in "autograph alley" with the original Boomer who, incidentally, will be there again this year.) Finally, Patton Oswalt, who is always hilarious, will be there with folks from Pixar talking Ratatouille. We can't wait to hear him rip into the nerds, (of which he is most definitely a huge one).

To learn more about the numerous panels, check out the schedules for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We recommend pre-registering online or at your local comic book store; there's always the chance it could sell out, and there's nothing sadder than standing outside the Moscone Center in your Ghost Rider costume with nowhere to go.

Image of Robot Monster getting his press pass at last year's WonderCon, by the author.

So what's the deal? On January 2, the city had just patted itself on the back for reducing the murder rate in 2006 by 11% over 2005. Well, in today's Examiner, local Republican Art Bruzzone pens a commentary noting that the city has experienced a spike in aggravated assault and robbery-type crimes, and calls for an increased police presence in the city. And, as a commenter on the local chatboard SF Junto points out that while the murder rate may have dropped in 2006 compared to 2005, the murder rate is up 36% since 2003.

Will the mandatory foot patrols help? Let's hope.

We gobble the various food sections up each Wednesday. We feel especially in touch with our inner Cookie Monster after all that reading, and you'll see why. These are our favorite tidbits from today's offerings:

SF Chronicle Amanda Gold recommends using seasonal spices in baked desserts, including cookies. We really want to try the dreamy looking and sounding lemon layer cake with cranberry lemon curd, ooh la la!. Gold is also all about the (vegetable) oil rather than the fried foods cooked in said oil. Kids of all ages, look to that oil for true Hanukkah meaning. Olivia Wu welcomes back Chilean Sea Bass, sort of. Watch it! The Monterey Bay Aquarium's gives the controversial fish a big fat "avoid", since it may not be truly sustainable, just yet. That designation is under review by the Aquarium, with new results by February.

Okay, before we all start screaming and shouting, it's more for the Golden Gate District than it is for the bridge as the district is about $87 million in debt. And even they seem to be aware that they're about to commit mass sacrilege.

So far, possible ideas might mean signs at the beginning or end of the bridge or some other type of low-key advertising. The idea they say is to get sponsors that fit into what the Golden Gate Bridge represents. We're guessing that means we won't see the Bud Light Golden Gate Bridge or the Levitra Golden Gate Bridge of Fremont. We should also mention that they've only so far hired a consultant to look into it as opposed to put the sucker in bidding.

But still.

The type of program they're looking for has been used so far with National Parks, a plan called ""Proud Partners Program" which has raised over $100 million for the national parks. And we should say that as much as the idea stinks, that's over $100 million dollars that the parks wouldn't have without the sponsorships. And it's either this or maybe raise fees on the bridge again.

But still....

Take Sasquatch for example. Perpetually bashful, unashamedly fuzzy, Bigfoot has been a major source of bar banter since his first sighting in 1811. While the wayward biped may just be a big hairy guy named Mel, we'll still relate what thousands of Pacific Northwesterners and Seattle Supersonics fans have known for decades.

Anyway, myths are easier to believe when you're lit up like a firecracker. Which is why we took our fascination with the giant fuzzball, gathered up our David Lynch movies, unfurled our flannel long johns and moseyed down to the Bigfoot Lodge at 1750 Polk St for a little Yeti-power.