The Witch - Alamo Drafhouse and the AMC Theaters

The Witch is a tough sell. While it has both the creepiest and most beautiful imagery I've seen in a horror movie in many years, it's also pretty slow, and filled with dialogue I could only understand maybe half the time. This isn't the kind of movie most horror fans are going to flock to.

The story centers on a family of 17th century Puritans in New England who are banished from their village and forced to live alone on their own farm, right outside an imposing woods. When their newborn baby disappears right before the eyes of eldest daughter, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), the logical conclusion is he was kidnapped by a witch.

The film takes place several years before any of the Salem Witch Trials took place, and director Robert Eggers presents the idea of witchcraft as it was viewed by those early Puritan settlers. To them, witches were as real as the elements, and as real as God. Evil was not to be doubted. What was to be doubted was the innocence of those accused of it.

What happens to the family is like a mini-version of the later witch trials, as accusations are tossed around, and the family begins to turn on each other, convinced the real witch is among them. And therein lies the real horror: The rejection of family and the safety of home.

Much of the dialogue in the film is taken from actual journals and writings from the era. This, along with impeccable costuming, and the dead on-look of a sad and dilapidated farmstead, gives the film some admirable authenticity. But combining that dialogue and its unfamiliar sentence structure with the thick English accents of the cast meant I spent a lot of the movie wishing it had a subtitle option. (This will definitely be getting a second viewing come its video release.)

If we are to take the presentation of the witch in the movie to be as real as the characters believe it to be, (and the movie does leave this a bit ambiguous), then we might also have to accept that said witches were evil, and the subsequent witch trials were completely justified. On the other hand, to see the abject misery the women in this family are subjected to, well, who the hell wouldn't want to leave all that to go dance naked in the woods and fly across the sky on a broomstick?

Race - Everywhere

Sports biopic stars Stephen James as Jesse Owens, the black Olympian who won four gold medals during the 1936 Olympics, which were held in Germany at the height of Hitler's reign. Take THAT "Aryan supremacy"! Jason Sudekis co-stars as his college coach, Larry Snyder.

Risen - Everywhere

Jesus rises a little early in the cinemas this year in this drama starring Joseph Fiennes as skeptical Centurion Clavius, sent by Pontius Pilate to search for the missing body of Jesus and investigate the so-called resurrection of a Jewish messiah. Think of it as Law & Order: Holy Land.

Touched With Fire - AMC Van Ness

Drama stars Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby as two bipolar poets who meet in a mental health facility where they are both undergoing treatment. They fall in love and must figure how and if they can balance a relationship, their own creativity, and their illnesses, or if they will ultimately have to make some sacrifices.

SF IndieFest - Roxie and Alamo Drafthouse

IndieFest continues through February 25th with enough docs, pseudo-docs, dramas, horror, and foreign flicks to keep any cinephile pretty occupied. Check out the full schedule here.

The self-described "only African-American in [engineering] leadership" at Twitter, Leslie Miley, has left the company. As he told the Chronicle this week, Miley's leave-taking was negotiated in September and stemmed from the Apple and Google veteran tech worker's frustrations with the company and its inability to create a diverse and inclusive workforce — one to match not just the outside world but its own product's user base. A saddened Miley writes that "with my departure, Twitter no longer has any managers, directors, or VP’s of color in engineering or product management."

TechCrunch clarifies that Miley was technically laid off along with 239 others in San Francisco when the company downsized by 8 percent, but that he passed up a severance package of $60,000 that would have silenced him in order to express his thoughts, some of them hopeful and quite positive, others fairly damning, in a Medium essay.

My time at Twitter is over. And I end it very conflicted. Twitter as a platform has empowered underserved and underrepresented people. It has fomented social movements and brought to the forefront of American media and politics issues that impact me personally and professionally. During my time at Twitter I experienced the pride and sense of purpose on seeing #Ferguson and #blacklivesmatter on the most prominent wall at Twitter HQ. This is something I will never forget.

However, there were times, as there had been for Mark S. Luckie — another black former Twitter employee whom SFist interviewed in September and whom Miley quotes in his piece — when Miley took issue with the company's attitudes and policies.

A "particularly low moment was having my question about what specific steps Twitter engineering was taking to increase diversity answered by the Sr. VP of Eng at the quarterly Engineering Leadership meeting. When he responded with “diversity is important, but we can’t lower the bar," Miley realized he was the sole Black employee in an engineering leadership position.

Later, when the company neglected to invite its internal group of African-American employees to a meeting of Twitter shareholders at which Jesse Jackson was speaking, Miley was nonplussed. Had his blackness been forgotten or was his assimilation being forced, he wondered, asking "Is a prerequisite to working in tech as a minority that one is expected to, in the eyes of the majority, sublimate your racial identity to ensure a cultural fit?"

Relatedly, USA Today writes that Reverend Jackson today called on Twitter to release information regarding the company's layoff.

"Twitter already has an appallingly low number and percentage of African Americans and Latinos working at the company, around 60 total in the workforce and zero in your boardroom and c-suite leadership," Jackson reportedly wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. "We are concerned that a disproportionate number and percentage of Blacks and Latinos were adversely affected in your recent layoffs."

In a statement related to Miley's departure, Twitter underscored that “We’re committed to making substantive progress in making Twitter more diverse and inclusive. This commitment includes the expansion of our inclusion and diversity programs, diversity recruiting, employee development, and resource group-led initiatives.”

The technology platform's slowing growth and struggling stock are not, writes Miley, reason to ignore issues of plurality in its workplace. Quite the opposite, he explains:

Twitter’s issues with growth and engagement and the issues with internal diversity are somewhat related. The over-reliance on a limited number of schools and workplaces for talent has caused a type of group think to dominate. Any change would be approved by people who all think alike. There was very little diversity in thought and almost no diversity in action.

Miley is nonetheless hopeful that Dorsey's leadership and vision can reroute the company. "The return of Jack Dorsey has the potential to change the diversity trajectory for Twitter," he adds.

Dorsey recently gave back the equivalent of $200 million in stock to employees in a show of both conciliation and good faith in his trimmed team.

Related: 'Blackbird': One Former Twitter Employee's Perspective On Race And Tech

San Francisco’s large community of “medical” marijuana users now has its own 5K footrace — except it’s not a 5K race, it’s a 4.20-mile race. The buzz is building for Saturday morning’s 420 Games, the grandaddy-purp of all athletic events geared to cannabis users. The high point of SF’s 420 Games is the San Francisco 4.20 Mile Fun Run, a Saturday morning footrace through the trees of Golden Gate Park that will be followed by a post-race beer tasting, concert in the park and a roster of well-known speakers making blunt points about the efficacy and benefits of medical marijuana in an exercise regimen.

Expect to see blazing speeds attained by the cannabis enthusiasts running in the race, because there’s $500 worth of free weed being awarded to the first place finisher. Delivery service Eaze is offering a $500 credit for the race’s winner, plus a $250 credit to the second place finisher and a $100 credit for third place. And yes, every race bib is assigned the number ‘420’. Heh heh heh! But do people really get high on marijuana before running nearly four and a half miles?

“Some do, some don't,” 420 Games founder and organizer Jim McIlpine told SFist.

“We ask people to obey the laws of the park and not smoke at the event. It is about earning respect so we make sure to follow the rules. The vibe is healthy and family-friendly cannabis users, the opposite of a smoke-in or a ‘stoner-y’ event.” To that end, the organizers ask that you blaze up in the privacy of your car beforehand, or consume only edible or topical cannabis products in Golden Gate Park.

The early morning start time is sure to weed out the stoners from the true athletes. Bib pickup starts at 7 a.m. Saturday, and the 4.20-mile Fun Run begins at 8:30 at the Music Concourse (a.k.a. the bandshell between the De Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences). Once you and your buds are finished racing, you get a live concert from reggae star Pato Banton, a series of booths, exhibitors and speakers and (if you’re 21 or over) an all-you-can-drink two-hour beer tasting. “It is Lagunitas beer so it is good!,” McIlmore noted.

Slots in the race are filling up fast for this second annual event, so you’re encouraged to register today if you want to run in Saturday morning’s race.

“So many people have supported this event and come out, and they’re the right people, too,” McIlpine told SFist.

“I was a little bit worried at our first event that people would misconstrue this and it would be ‘Stoner-fest’. But the support that we’ve gotten, and the clarity and understanding of the people who come out to support us, has been truly amazing. From the police department down through people I would have thought would have never supported cannabis and the right of people who use it. I’ve had literally nothing but support from 99% of the world. It’s just been amazing to see how many people are behind what I’m doing.”

If you can’t make it to tomorrow morning’s 420 Fun Run, the 420 Games is also holding a San Jose 420 Golf Tournament on August 29 and a Lake Tahoe 420 Stand Up Paddleboard Race on September 26. Additional 420 Games events will be held in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, with Colorado, Oregon and Washington events being scheduled for 2016.

The San Francisco 4.20 Mile Fun Run is Saturday, August 15 at 8 a.m. in Golden Gate Park. You can register for the race online, or just sign up for the 420 Games t-shirt.

EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Dolezal's parents reveal baby photo, details of daughter's birth http://t.co/cVNTclzhaq pic.twitter.com/r1leA4uczf

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) June 18, 2015

By now you likely know more about Rachel Dolezal, the perplexing figure of public debate regarding her birth race vs the race as which she identifies, than you do about people you actually know. And now you're going to learn a little more, as her parents are taking us back to the day she was born.

The former Spokane NAACP President was born to a man and a woman of German and Czech heritage, those two people — her parents Larry and Ruthanne Dolezal — assert. But after Dolezal suggested that that might not be the case, telling NBC that "I haven't had a DNA test. There's been no biological proof that Larry and Ruthanne are my biological parents," [Side note: how many of us have? Yeah, that's what I thought.] Larry and Ruthanne struck back, releasing family photos and describing the day of Rachel's birth in vivid detail.

"It was like one non-stop contraction for two and a half hours. I was like, 'This is a threshold I do not want to cross again.' It was very intense," Ruthanne told the New York Daily News.

"It was special...But we were pretty worn out after the birth." Ruthanne said.

Her parents also told the strange story of Rachel's maternal uncles, apparently hunters who killed "their first bull elk" the day she was born.

"They did a shoulder mount and stored the elk in our house, naming him Augustus. We always looked at Gus as a fond reminder of Rachel's birth," Larry told the Daily News.

"She was a beautiful little baby and so healthy. We were very thankful everything was okay," Rachel's grandmother Peggy said.

But it's clear that the family no longer believes that Rachel is healthy, or that everything is okay. "I know she is ill, I want her to get help," Ruthanne told the Daily News.

"If she has become so ill that she doesn't know who her real parents are, that's extremely concerning... I prayed this morning that someone will connect with her and reach her on a level that helps her. She'll be happiest when she's her true self."

See all of SFist's Rachel Dolezal coverage here

Already this week, Rachel Dolezal has stepped down from her position as a vice president of the NAACP in Spokane, Washington, and given a major interview to the Today Show in which she identified herself as "black." There's been a flurry of activity since then, including allegations of molestation within her family and another interview in which she says Caitlyn Jenner's story "resonated" with her.

Dolezal, who was thrust into the center of a national discussion about race when her white fundamentalist parents outed her as Caucasian, said of Jenner: "I cried. Because I resonated with some of the themes of isolation, of being misunderstood — to not know if you have a conversation with somebody, will that relationship then end because they have seen you as one way," she said in an interview with Savannah Guthrie.

In the same interview, Dolezal doubled down on what she told Matt Lauer earlier this week: "I definitely am not white. Nothing about being white describes who I am," she told Guthrie. "I'm more black than I am white. That's the accurate answer from my truth." When asked whether she lied to people (and the media) about her race, she shied away from apologizing: "I really feel like there have been moments of some level of creative nonfiction. I have kind of had to explain or justify some of the timeline and logistics of my life in a way that made sense to others," she said.

Also in that interview, Dolezal was asked about some of her previous public statements, like that she had lived in South Africa or was beaten by her parents with "baboon whips." "That is definitely a misrepresentation that I will own," she said. "Yes, I have never been to South Africa. And yeah, I wasn't whipped. But I was physically abused."

Dolezal's parents have denied all abuse charges, but there's a whole other set of allegations that have been filed against Dolezal's brother, and may have been the thing that caused her parents to turn on her in public.

According to the Denver Post, Dolezal's biological brother, 39-year-old Iowa Central College professor Joshua Dolezal, was arrested last year in Colorado and charged with four counts of child sex assault for allegedly molesting a six-year-old girl with whom he was “in a position of trust.”.

According to the arrest affidavit, the victim (who is believed to be Dolezal's younger sister Esther) told police that Joshua also molested Rachel.

The Denver Post writes:

The Daily News in New York City, which broke news of the Colorado connection, on Sunday reported Rachel Dolezal has been supporting her brother's alleged victim. In an interview last week with The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Rachel Dolezal said she was suspicious of her parents' timing in discussing her ancestry since it came as her brother faces a "key juncture" in a Colorado legal case.

"That is all a malicious false lie,” Ruthanne Dolzeal, Rachel's biological mother, told People. "[Rachel] is the one who initiated it. We know it is not true."

She argues that her other daughter suffers from "reactive attachment disorder," a condition in which a child can’t bond with a parent or caregiver, and "seeks to cause trouble in the family." Ruthanne also blames Rachel for encouraging her sister to file the lawsuit.

Dolezal apparently isn't fully convinced that Ruthanne is even her mom: “Up to this point, I know who raised me," Dolezal told Guthrie in that MSNBC interview. "I haven’t had a DNA test. There’s been no biological proof that Larry and Ruthanne are my biological parents.”

“I’m not necessarily saying that I can prove they’re not,” replied Dolezal, “but I don’t know that I can actually prove they are. I mean the birth certificate was issued a month and a half after I’m born. Certainly there were no medical witnesses to my birth. It was in the woods.”

Guthrie also asked Dolezal about the 2002 lawsuit she filed against Howard University, claiming the predominantly black university discriminated against her because she is white. If she filed that lawsuit, how can she now say that she identifies solely as black? Dolezal responded:

The lawsuit was "based on the perception of the individual who terminated my scholarship and teaching position." But she also didn't the inconsistency it raised. After it was pointed out that the lawsuit claimed she was being discriminated because she was white, Dolezal said: "Or is it? Or is it saying I'm being treated as white? I'm being seen as white."

A few more Dolezal-related stories that have come up just in the last 24 hours:

• TMZ reports that Dolezal "was a loyal customer at Palm Beach Tan in Spokane, Washington. We're told she was a fan of Mystic Tan ... a brand of spray tan."


• Mediaite reports that she called for a boycott of 2014's Exodus: Gods and Men over the casting of white actors to play ancient Egyptians.


• The NY Post says that Dolezal "masqueraded" as a model, whatever that means. They are also very interested in her hair care treatment.


• The Daily Mail claims Dolezal once accused her ex-husband of forcing her to take part in a homemade sex tape.


• And finally, The New Republic has a good article about differentiating between Dolezal and Jenner: "The primary difference between expressing gender and expressing a specific cultural identity is that everyone lives life through the lens of gender."

See all SFist coverage of Rachel Dolezal here.

The video confrontation that started it all.

Apparent white woman and national punchline Rachel Dolezal issued a statement as promised today that is not so much an explanation, admission of guilt, or apology as it is a simple resignation from the presidency of the Spokane NAACP. As Dolezal writes on the chapter's Facebook page, "It is with complete allegiance to the cause of racial and social justice and the N.A.A.C.P. that I step aside from the presidency and pass the baton to my vice president, Naima Quarles-Burnley."

She writes further that despite national issues of "Police brutality, biased curriculum in schools, economic disenfranchisement, health inequities, and a lack of pro-justice political... the dialogue has unexpectedly shifted internationally to my personal identity in the context of defining race and ethnicity." She does not explain the genesis of that firestorm, nor does she address the comments made by her estranged parents, who told the media last week that their daughter was born to two Caucasian parents, and is not mixed race as she has claimed to be for a number of years.

A promised public statement that Dolezal was set to make at the Spokane NAACP's monthly membership meeting today has been put off, with Dolezal telling the public on Sunday that the meeting had been postponed "due to the need to continue discussion with regional and national NAACP leaders."

As the New York Times notes, it remains unclear whether Dolezal will be continuing to keep a part-time teaching position in African-American studies at Eastern Washington University.

The debate about whether Dolezal could be "trans-racial" raged on over the weekend, and Gothamist quoted NYU professor Ann Morning, who's sympathetic to this concept, saying, "We’re getting more and more used to the idea that people’s racial affiliation and identity and sense of belonging can change, or can vary, with different circumstances." But thousands more people have leapt to tear apart that term, especially given how wildly different an adopted racial identity/sympathy is from being transgender.

And while saying that we live in a "ridiculous" world where "There's a white lady posing as a black lady," comedian Dave Chappelle also came to Dolezal's defense, via the Washington Post, saying sympathetically, "There’s a lot of feelings that are going to come out behind what’s happening with this lady. And she’s just a person, no matter how we feel about her."

In closing her online statement Monday morning, which may still be followed by a more complete explanation for why she said she has a black father, Dolezal says, "Please know I will never stop fighting for human rights and will do everything in my power to help and assist, whether it means stepping up or stepping down, because this is not about me. It's about justice."

But, of course, the jokes aren't going to stop anytime soon.

Previously: NYU Professor Weighs In On Rachel Dolezal "Trans-Racial" Controversy

SFist wants to give you plenty of advance warning before Bay to Breakers, the city's annual alcoholic marathon spiraling out of control, takes place this Sunday. A few very important notes:

- The southern portion of Alamo Square will be closed during the race. This is a first. "Due to its location at the crest of the Hayes Street hill, Alamo Square has served as a natural stopping point for weary runners (and walkers, and stumblers) in past races," reports Hoodline. "With the park closed, there's no telling where those folks will head instead. "

- Have fun with whatever you and your entourage dream up, costume-wise. SFist's Andrew Dalton says, "I saw something on Facebook about people being a deck of Cards Against Humanity." That sounds glorious. Also, anyone dressed as Solange at the Met Gala should automatically win the race.

- Here's last year's liquor store map, care of Joe Kukura of Exercising While Intoxicated.

- Be careful while partying. Last year, if you recall, 28-year-old David Hamzeh died after falling off the roof of a four-story building on Fell. Police will also be out in full force.

- Don't fight. You could kill someone.

- "Please note that no alcohol and no wheeled devices (including floats) will be allowed on the race course during Bay to Breakers. Violators will be removed from the race course immediately and will not be issued a refund." Chortle.

- Register for Bay to Breakers here.

- Brace.

Every Easter Sunday, scads of daredevils sporting wacky attire gear up to take part in the annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race, barreling down seven sharp turns on Vermont Street, the crookedest in the world.

The race dates back to the halcyon days of 2000, when BYOBW founder Jon Brumit happened across a big wheel and "had the vision of riding his newly found plastic toy down Lombard Street." After distributing hundreds of fliers, with only 13 spectators showing up to cheer him on, Jon careened down Lombard and history was made. By 2006, an estimated thirty riders joined him. Behold:

By 2007, he had hundreds coming along for the ride with around one thousand gawkers.

Now, since unbridled fun is kryptonite to tony Lomabrd Street residents, Brumit was forced to move the race to Vermont Street (designed by the same architect as Lombard, only more crooked) in Potrero Hill where it's stayed since 2008, scraping the knees and elbows of participants while winning winces and gasps from onlookers.

Want to know what it's like to be in the race? Joseph Phillips strapped a camera to his helmet during yesterday's race and filmed his journey. Behold:

And here are a gaggle of racers smashing into one another:

Delightful.

As for the winners, that's not really the point. Yes, there are handmade trophies for participants, but, as Brumit points out, "Winning isn't the goal here — survival is."

(Photos: Bhautik Joshi)

PornHub has been crunching a lot of numbers lately on their Insights blog, figuring out what users search for most, and just how many red states have a hankering for gay porn (Hint: A higher percentage of people in Mississippi are looking for man-on-man porn than in California). And now they've broken down the most popular search terms by major city. Guess what, San Francisco? A lot of you are into Asians.

Much like Honolulu, where there's also a significant Asian-American population, San Francisco's most popular porn search term is "Asian," followed by the widely popular and ever so vanilla, "massage," and "Japanese."

The most popular porn star in San Franciscans' searches? Asian American beauty Alina Li.

"Ebony," "lesbian" and "milf" are popular terms elsewhere in the country, but in S.F., we're more interested in "college" girls and guys, and, naturally, "casting."

Hilariously, if you look at porn-watchers in Portland, "yoga" makes it into the top 5 searches.

And for some odd reason, people in Anchorage and Jacksonville want to see "smoking" in their porn.

[PornHub Insights]

In light of Sunday's news that a Giants fan allegedly threw a banana at Orioles' center fielder Adam Jones, who is black, the franchise made a formal apology to both the player and the team.

In a statement issued Monday morning, the Giants mea culpa'd:

We were extremely disappointed to learn about the incident involving Adam Jones at AT&T Park yesterday. The Giants have a zero tolerance policy against this type of behavior, which results in immediate ejection from the ballpark. While we have been investigating the matter since we learned of the situation, unfortunately we have been unable to identify the person responsible. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to Adam and the entire Orioles organization for this unfortunate incident. The inappropriate actions of this individual in no way reflect the values of our organization and our fans.

After Baltimore swept the series, Jones tweeted about the incident, saying, "I want to thank whatever slapdick threw that banana towards my direction in CF in the last inning. Way to show ur class u jackass."

Ne later found temporary solace in a plate of delicious tamales.

UPDATE: In a dramatic twist, someone has stepped forward claiming to be the banana-tosser. Longtime fan Alexander Poulides, 42, talked to Mercury News, saying that he threw the banana, yes; but he threw the peel in disgust at the Giants, not Jones or the color of his skin. "Oh, my god,'' Poulides tells Mercury News. "I threw a banana on my way out."

Poulides reportedly "grabbed a banana off a catering cart and hurled it toward the field in disgust at the Giants near the end of a 10-2 loss at AT&T Park on Sunday." The banana, according to Poulides, "sailed toward Jones," who in turn tweeted about it.

[MLB]
[SF Appeal]

35-year-old Francois Lhuissier, a native of France and a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York, was the first-place finisher in the San Francisco Marathon this morning, and in first place among the women was 28-year-old Anna Bretan of Berkeley, who also won the 2012 Oakland marathon.

Bretan's unofficial race time was 2 hours 42 minutes and 25 seconds, a new course record for the ladies, while Lhuissier completed the race in 2 hours and 25 minutes.

The course took runners around the Embarcadero, over the Golden Gate Bridge and back again, around the Presidio and through Golden Gate Park, down Haight Street, and finally down 16th Street to Dogpatch and back along the waterfront to finish at Rincon Hill. More than 25,000 runners participated this year.

And in over-achievement news, another runner, 28-year-old Nadia Ruiz set a Guinness record with this race, being the youngest person ever to complete 100 marathons. Settle down, Nadia!

[KTVU]
[CBS]

Sunday marks the annual San Francisco Marathon. The entire run will take your 26.75 miles if you do the complete marathon run. For those less inclined to race the entire run, there's a 5K run. There's also a kid run for wee ones looking to get their cross-country training on.

Course map below:

If you want to feel as if you're running along with participants (while lying at home with donut powder on your lips and a hangover beating in your head), you can followed along with this pretty cool fly-over map.

Full marathon starts at 5:30 a.m. at Embarcadero and Mission.
Second half marathon begins at 8:30 at JFK Drive and Chain of Lakes Drive in Golden Gate Park.

Traffic in the surrounding areas, if not in most of San Francisco, will be a veritable nightmare. Until noon. Please be advised.