The first photo that I uploaded to Flickr was from the first WordPress meetup I ever attended, which took place on January 22, 2005 in San Francisco. WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg had recently moved to San Francisco and I was looking forward to meeting him since I had just launched the Laughing Squid blog on January 1, 2005 and we had been supporting it through our web hosting services for a while. Along with Matt, the photo includes Ryan King who is now an engineer at Twitter, GigaOm founder Om Malik and Nicole Lee who is currently a a producer on the TWiT Network.

As of February 4, Hippie Gap started providing a new service for Bay Area, California citizens: Whipped Cream Supply Delivery. Yes, that means those little nitrous oxide chargers used to make fresh whipped cream (and other delights). As far as I can tell, this is a first of its kind service for any city.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We do NOT condone any miss use of our products!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

via Daniel Terdiman

photo by Roxane Williams

A few weeks ago, I started a beginner’s stand up comedy class at San Francisco Comedy College and learned that comedian Will Franken has taken on a teaching gig there. I also learned that he will be starring in Meme & Pepe = Bebe, his new one man show that happens one-night only on Friday February 17, 2012 at the Purple Onion in San Francisco’s North Beach. Tickets are available now. Comedian Shane Koon opens the show.

Entirely brand-new material with bits ranging from “The Memorial Service For Joy Has Been Cancelled Because Joy Came Back From The Dead” to “The Laziest Drag Queen In The World” to the Oprah Winfrey-produced, Jodie Foster-directed, Oxygen Network Satire: “Cassie’s Story”.

What will you say when your grandchildren ask you, “Where were you in the big Will Franken finally returns to the Purple Onion show on February 17th, 2012?”

Hopefully you’ll be able to respond honestly with, “I was there, grandson or granddaughter — I can’t tell what your gender is, cause it’s so far in the future that everybody’s wearing gray unitards — but, yes, grandson or granddaughter, I was there at the Purple Onion that night.”

“Gee, grandfather or grandmother — I can’t tell what your gender is either cause it’s so far in the future, our eyes are hazed over with this slick Vaseline like substance — but was it really true that Will Franken hadn’t returned to the Purple Onion since September 10th the year prior?…

Will Franken is a favorite here at Laughing Squid and he has previously performed at our events including our 8 1/2 Year Anniversary Party and our 10th Anniversary Party.

Here’s Mr. and Mrs. Mistermissus, a short film that Franken and Koon created to promote Meme & Pepe = Bebe:

photo by Lisa Miyako

The Haight-Ashbury Museum of Psychedelic Art and History is a proposed permanent museum that will focus on psychedelic art and Haight-Ashbury’s role in the psychedelia movement of the 1960s (video). Museum supporters are raising funds for the project on IndieGoGo.

The Haight-Ashbury movement left an undeniable impact upon the world and the reverberations of the psychedelic sixties are still being felt today. Strangely there is no museum dedicated to keeping the history alive and relevant for the millions of visitors who come to San Francisco searching for inspiration and authenticity. A non-profit community supported museum will permanently cement San Francisco as the home of psychedelia. Our intention is for the museum to become an attraction in and of itself that will educate and inspire visitors for generations to come to reinvent the world according to how they want to live.

via The Art of the Prank

Mark Pauline, founder of Survival Research Labs (SRL), has reported that the group has been banned from performing in San Francisco, California by the San Francisco Fire Department. SRL, known for their full-scale robotic and machine shows, were to be participating in I am Crime: Art on the Edge of the Law, a December 2011 outdoor group exhibition at SOMarts. After the ban went into effect, the show had to be cancelled. Read the entire story over at the SRL blog.

The city of SF approved the street closure, but the SFFD, citing an SRL show from 1989, Illusions of Shameless Abundance stated that SRL would no longer be allowed to perform in San Francisco.

photo by Scott Beale

Sarah Filley and Alfonso Dominguez cofounded popuphood, a new urban small business revitalization project in Oakland, California that offered retail stores six months of free rent to occupy vacant storefronts in the historic Old Oakland neighborhood. The hope, of course, is that the chosen small businesses will be able to secure long term leases after the trial period. The project has been quite successful thus far and is serving as an example for other cities. Filmmaker Eva Kolenko created Popuphood, a short film that gives an up close look on the project.

POPUPHOOD retailers include: Manifesto Bicycles, Marion and Rose’s Workshop, Sticks + Stones, Piper + John General Goods, Turtle and Hare, and Crown Nine.

popuphood’s cofounders Sarah Filley and Alfonso Dominguez

via Curiosity Counts

image via popuphood

Yes, it was inevitable, here’s Shit Silicon Valley Says by Kate Imbach and Tom Conrad.

via Eric Eldon

The 10th SF MusicTech Summit is less than a month away. Held twice a year in San Francisco, the Summit is a connection point for the traditional music industry and the cutting edge of music technologists. Online music services, performing artists, instrument makers, music journalists, record labels big and small, and everyone in between come together to talk about the state of the art and business of music.

The folks who run the conference have generously offered a special discount code for Laughing Squid readers to get tickets at 20% off. Just use the code promolaughingsquid.

On February 13th at San Francisco’s Hotel Kabuki, the SF MusicTech Summit will bring together 1000+ visionaries in the music/technology space, the best and brightest developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. This one-day conference, which has been called “the best music and technology conference” by Mashable’s CEO and founder, Pete Cashmore, features 75+ prominent speakers, new technology demonstrations, great networking opportunities, and packed cocktail parties.

The long list of speakers for the February show includes representatives of companies like Spotify, BitTorrent, and Topspin, and such musicians as David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker), Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, Killing Joke), and the band Pomplamoose.

Below are sounds and images from the last Summit in September of last year. Including an interview with Joe Satriani(!)

photo by Brian Zisk

California-based print-maker and ceramics artist Kristina Ayala of Pufferfish Press creates all kinds of great art pieces featuring squids. Her squid artwork will be shown starting on January 29, 2012 at women-owned tattoo studio and gallery, Mermaids Tattoo in San Francisco, California. Also check out her Etsy shop, Pufferfish Press.

San Francisco-based DJ Toph One, aka Christopher Evans, was seriously injured in a hit-and-run bicycle accident this past weekend. According to The Examiner, he has been recovering in the Intensive Care Unit at San Francisco General Hospital with a broken pelvis.

Online donations are being gathered by his friends to help him with recovery expenses. In addition, two fundraising benefits are planned in San Francisco. The first benefit show takes place on January 20, 2012 at The Public Works SF at 9 PM and features sets by J Boogie, Jimmy Love, B Cause and more. The other benefit happens on January 22, 2012 at 8 PM at Som Bar and features “an all-star DJ lineup” with Sake One, DJ Stef, and more.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411

image via DJ Toph One’s Facebook page

Muralist and graffiti artist David Choe has extensively tagged the walls and furniture of the new Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California at the request of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. You might remember in 2007 when we posted images of David’s mural work from the Palo Alto Facebook offices. Upper Playground has photos of Zuckerberg giving Choe a tour of the new campus and creating the giant murals.

Choe even secretly decorated Zuckerberg’s laptop while he was away at lunch:

images via Upper Playground, David Choe and hunterzpointz

Games of Nonchalance offshoot, The Elsewhere Philatelic Society (EPS), is participating in ArtGameLab, a new participatory game experiment at the Koret Visitor Education Center at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). EPS, the “subterranean stamp society”, will present The Peculiar Scholarship of Dr. Bedcannon for their role in the experiment. ArtGameLab opens at SFMOMA on January 15, 2012 and will run through August 12, 2012.

The Elsewhere Philatelic Society is proud to announce the unveiling of “The Peculiar Scholarship of Dr. Bedcannon”, #7 in the Psychedelic Philatelic Adventure Series (collect them all!). In conjunction with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Koret Visitor Education Center, the EPS cordially invites you to experience the galleries of SFMOMA as Dr. Bedcannon INTENDED THEM TO BE EXPERIENCED. Have you ever wanted to question an institution’s extant reality? Dr. Ytterbium G. Bedcannon has! You’ll follow in his footsteps as he recontextualizes every object within the museum to match his whimsical and questionable views…

The Elsewhere Philatelic Society (est. 1895) is an interactive fiction project set in various locations throughout San Francisco and the East Bay, and is inspired by the Games of Nonchalance project. It endeavors to engage players in an on-going adventure storyline, to encourage them to observe and produce street art, and to explore urban areas in new and unusual ways.

A huge two-day celebration is planned for May 2012 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. According to Leah Garchik of San Francisco Chronicle, part of the celebration will include former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart creating the “sonification” of the iconic bridge into what he calls a “giant wind harp”.

Hart will use “wave forms,” the sounds of the bridge moving, as captured with devices posted all over the span, inside its structures and out, as the basis for music. Drummers will play along in “musical conversation” with those sounds.

via SFist and Leah Garchik

photo by Todd Sipes

a.Muse Gallery in San Francisco presents “Primo”, featuring the stunning artwork of cousins David D’Andrade and Hugh D’Andrade from January 7th – February 18th. Hugh is an occasional guest blogger here on Laughing Squid. More info about the show can be found here at a.Muse Gallery’s website.

Thomas Bruso, aka Epic Beard Man, first gained notoriety from a video that went viral about him getting into a fight on an AC Transit Bus in Oakland, California. Later a mini-documentary was made about him titled I Am A Motherfucker. Now, a feature film titled Bad Ass has been made and is set to release in April 2012 starring Danny Trejo with the tagline: “They messed with the wrong senior citizen”.

A Decorated Vietnam hero Frank Vega returns home only to get shunned by society leaving him without a job or his high school sweetheart. It’s not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus (where he protects an elderly black man from a pair of skin heads) makes him a local hero where he’s suddenly celebrated once again. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend Klondike is murdered and the police aren’t doing anything about it.

The original video:

via /Film

Last night a group of prankster-activists installed miniature Occupy protest encampments around San Francisco. The encampments were made up of soft camping tent stress toys imprinted with the words “Support Your 99%,” and tiny cartoon protesters carrying miniature placards.

Thanks to Burstein! for the tip.

Photos 1, 2, 4 by Burstein!, photos 3, 5, and 6 by Colinaut

KQED Arts followed Chicken John Rinaldi as he hosted a massive The Book of the IS fundraising art event to save Chez Poulet, his San Francisco-based art warehouse. The Art of Doing It Yourself is the resulting mini-documentary that celebrates the San Francisco underground art scene and “reveals the Bay Area as a haven for quirky, rebellious and visionary artists”. In the film, we are also introduced to “painter Ani Thompkins, circus aerialist Miriam Telles, and fire sculptor Charles Gadeken“. The documentary airs December 16, 2011 at approximately 11 PM and is part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival.

…The Art of Doing It Yourself…tells the story of an eclectic band of do-it-yourself artists mobilizing to help one of their own, “Chicken” John Rinaldi whose warehouse, a combination artist hostel, performance space and community center, is imperiled. Along the way, we’re introduced to three artists, painter Ani Thompkins, circus aerialist Miriam Telles, and fire sculptor Charles Gadeken, who represent a San Francisco arts community that historically has focused more on artistic freedom than commercial reward.

The “world’s Premier Jewish Surf Music Band”, Meshugga Beach Party, recently released their instrumental surf Hanukkah-themed album titled Hot Rod Hanukkah. The track “Shleppin’ and Kvetchin’” features legendary guitarist Duane Eddy (a Yiddish interpretation of Eddy’s 1958 hit, “Movin’ and Groovin’”). Enjoy their high-concept schtick but don’t be fooled by it, these California-based “meshuggeners” really know their surf rock.

Join the meshuggeners as they cruise around town like a bunch of wild wisenheimers – we’ll be the envy of all the boychiks and maydeles, rollin’ down the main drag on our way to Hershel’s Delicatessen for some corned beef sandwiches and egg creams…

On December 16, 2011 at 9 PM, Meshugga Beach Party will be sharing the stage with burlesque dancers at the Hubba Hubba Revue Christmas Hanukkah Spectacular at the DNA Lounge in San Franciso, California.

San Francisco-based illustrator Bill Robinson created Palace of Fine Squids in appreciation of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Prints of this friendly pink squid are available at Bill’s Etsy shop, Flimflammery.

The Imaginary BART Map by Jake Coolidge is a rendering of what the Bay Area Rapid Transit system might look like if it actually served the entire San Francisco Bay Area, instead of just 4 out of 9 Bay Area counties. It is based in part on the original 1957 plan for BART (see below).

And here is the current BART system map:

Thanks to Nico Crisafulli of 10 Times One for the tip!

In matters of Christmas security, Santa’s Defense Forces rely on a homegrown candy cane-based weapon system. The heart of the system is the Candy Cane Carbine (C3), a modular candy small arm that can be adapted for a variety of roles, from close-ranged gifting to long range bah-humbug suppression. And for gravely naughty or armor-plated threats to Christmas and Santa, there is the candy cane of last resort—the Mark 12 Tenenbaum Launcher—which fires a ballistic christmas tree.

The candy canes and Santa’s Little Secret Service/Santa’s Defense Forces will be deployed at this year’s San Francisco Santacon on December 10. For more of my ballistic art, see the Playing Card Uzi.

photos 1-4 by EDW Lynch, photo 5 by Zack Lara

Last night the MythBusters team accidentally fired a 6 inch diameter cannonball into Dublin, California, striking two homes and a minivan (video via CBS San Francisco). The cannonball flew wide during an experiment at the Alameda County Sheriff’s bomb disposal range, traveling 700 yards before passing through the front door of a house, ping-ponging through the house, and exiting through the second story bedroom wall (right over the heads of a sleeping family.) The cannonball then crossed the street, bounced off the roof of a second house, and landed in the front seat of a minivan. Nobody was hurt.

Photos 1 and 2 by Michael Short, photo 3 via AP / SL

Artist Joe Wilson created wonderful illustrations for the new 21st Amendment Brewery packaging. TBD designed the new packaging, which includes beer in cans(!), for the San Francisco-based craft brewery. The line of canned craft beers includes Brew Free! or Die IPA, Bitter American Session Ale, Back in Black IPA, Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer, Monk’s Blood Belgian Dark Ale, Fireside Chat Winter Spiced Ale and more.

via Lovely Package

images via Début Art and Joe Wilson

“The History of 3D in Games” is the opening exhibition of The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, a new museum in Oakland that is dedicated to video games and other interactive art. The exhibition will feature nearly 20 3D video games from 1982-1996, and all will be available for play (video preview). “The History of 3D in Games” opens Saturday, December 3 from 10am to 5pm. Entrance is free with donations accepted at the door.

Since we first wrote about the museum back in April, it has progressed from a Kickstarter project to a physical space and collection in Oakland. The museum is currently only open for events, but regular visiting hours are planned for 2012.

On December 27 Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are kicking off a six city tour based on their hilarious IFC televison show Portlandia, including stops in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) and Carrie Brownstein (Wild Flag, Sleater kinney) from
IFC’s hit original comedy Portlandia are embarking on a unique six city tour bringing
the romanticized and dreamy rendering of Portland, OR to life for fans across the country.
“Portlandia: The Tour” will feature Armisen and Brownstein, the co-creators, writers and stars of Portlandia,
performing live music, presenting sneak-peek clips from the show’s second season and sharing personal
anecdotes about the creation and inspiration of Portlandia and its variety of eccentric characters.
“Portlandia: The Tour” begins in Portland, OR, on Tuesday, December 27, 2011.

The second season of Portlandia begins on January 6.