Walter Tabayoyong

Emo Philips

There are at least four big comedy shows in San Francisco tonight and the good news is that you can't go wrong no matter which one you pick. Greg Proops -- San Francisco native and star of Whose Line is It, Anyway? -- returns for an evening of astute, vocabulary-expanding riffs on politics, culture, and hypocrisy ($23.50). Proops also recorded an episode of his hit podcast, The Smartest Man in the World, on Dec. 30).

See also:

SF Sketchfest Announces 2013 Lineup: A Feast of Comedy Like No Other

Q&A with Comedian Greg Proops: On the Best S.F. Haunts and Fuckin' Kindles

Writers aren't known for being sociable, and lawyers aren't known for being nice. But on NYE, this writer is going to break his habit of hiding in the Outer Sunset, and Berg Injury Lawyers is gonna do us all a solid with its free cab ride home program. Berg Injury Lawyers' tradition is motivated by William Berg's first-hand knowledge of the pain and anguish caused when families lose a loved one in an alcohol fueled crash. Or maybe by the desire for some kick-ass P.R., but who's counting when there's a free cab ride on the table?

See also:

Keep It Classy New Year's Eve with these Hot Events

Maya Kabat Exhibit in SFMOMA Cafe Distracts from Downtown Holiday Madness

Stephen Kelly Photography/Flickr

You can only Peter Pan your way through the most festive night of the year so many times before you realize there might be perks to actually making plans -- free champagne, for instance, or a place to finally wear that designer gown you scored at the thrift store. If one of your resolutions for 2013 is to start acting like a grown-up, there's no better place to start than NYE.

See also:

Our calendar section for more events

Trends that need to die in 2013

The Magnes Museum

Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley's "Christmas Parties" album contains 201 photographs taken inside the Haas Lilienthal House at 2007 Franklin Street, San Francisco, between 1954 and 1971.

The Haas-Lilienthal House was donated to the San Francisco Architectural Heritage in 1974, but every December 24, descendants of William and Bertha Haas take out the one set of keys they kept and unlock the front door to 2007 Franklin Street. Since 1886, the Haas-Lilienthal family has gathered every Christmas Eve, a tradition Joshua Plaut used as an anecdotal opening in his new book, Kosher Christmas.

"That was never a term we used," said John Rothmann, the great-grandson of the Haas family. His mother, Frances Bransten Rothmann, simply called it Christmas in her book, The Haas Sisters of Franklin Street: A Look Back With Love. "When I hand my children, now in their 20s, the keys to the front door of their great-great grandparents' house, it's continuity, generation to generation."

See also:

Two-story dollhouse Isn't Child's Play

Haas-Lilienthal House Declare a "National Treasure"

The holidays are upon us, and that means millions of Americans are shuffling dejectedly into winged metal tubes and flinging themselves across the country. The recipe for air travel is well-known to anyone who has flown in the last decade: Take your shoes off at security, leave your eyeglasses repair kit (weapon!) and your medium-sized hand lotion (bomb!) at home, and of course, the chiding to "Please turn off your electronic devices" at takeoff and landing. 

Upon hearing this chiding, many have pondered how exactly it is that reading I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus on Kindle might cause the plane to fall out of the sky. If you too have had this thought, you're not alone. But it's not just the New York Times and Alec Baldwin (our go-to sources for all things) who think the rule is silly: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently wrote a letter urging the FAA to update its rules on gadget use.

See also:

Instagram Parody of Nickelback's "Photograph" Is Hilarious and True (Video)

Pollo Del Mar (Rose), Matthew Martin (Blanche), Cookie Dough (Sophia) and Heklina (Dorothy) both seated in The Golden Girls: The Christmas Episodes

Jose Guzman Colon

There are few things that can console us during the cold, dark malaise known as winter. We often resort to hunkering down in bed, drinking whiskey out of a measuring cup, and reading depressing Russian novels. This year, however, Santa has come early, and his name is not Jack Daniels.

See also:

This Instagram Parody of Nickelback's "Photograph" Is Hilarious and True

The Faux Queen Pageant: For Drag Queens Trapped in Women's Bodies

Hanna Quevado

New York City might be home to the big houses, but this scrappy city just happens to be the epicenter of publishing on the Best Coast. Join Alexis Coe every Wednesday for Read Local, a series focused on books published in the Bay Area.

San Francisco boasts a delightful array of eclectic bookstores, from indies to worker collectives. One may drastically differ from another in character and focus, but they all have something in common: They love books, so who better to turn to than booksellers for holiday gift recommendations? 10 local bookstores share their picks below.

See also:

Downtown San Francisco's Top 10 Secret Spaces and Hidden Oases

This Is Why Your Used Bookstore Clerk Hates You

Postcard of the ballerina Olga Preobrajenskaya (1871-1962) as the Sugarplum Fairy and Nikolai Legat (1869-1937) as Prince Coqueluche in the Imperial Ballet's original production of the choreographers Marius Petipa (1818-1910) and Lev Ivanov (1834-1901) & the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) 1892

December has officially arrived, and nothing announces the holidays quite like The Nutcracker. Head to the Palace of Fine Arts for a traditional rendition by the City Ballet School starting December 6, but this year San Francisco has many other Nutcracker options for you to think outside the bun.

See also:

Read Local: An Air Guitar User's Guide and Desmond Tutu Crowdsources Humanity

Recent Acquisitions: Meet Louise Boyd, the Bad-Ass Bay Area Explorer You've Never Heard of

Hanna Quevedo

The election is over, Black Friday is behind us, and the holiday season is in full swing. Shoppers are out and about, we're all frantically trying to get caught up on work before our vacations, Macy's Holiday Tree is lit and brightening up Union Square and -- wait a minute -- Macy's tree is lit? Yep, it's true. Once again, we have missed the holiday tree lighting in Union Square. But don't despair if you're reading this with a similar panicked reaction; we've found a couple more tree lightings to round out the holidays for all you procrastinators.

See also:

Maya Kabat Exhibit in SFMOMA Cafe Distracts from Downtown Holiday Madness

Black Friday: SF Weekly Takes Masochism to a New Level, Spends 24 Hours at Walmart

Margo Moritz

The conceit of toys with rich internal lives has entertained generations from Pinocchio to Toy Story, but none as beautifully as The Velveteen Rabbit. Seemingly written for dance, this 1922 children's story is overflowing with tender, lyrical wistfulness and dynamic transformation: A humble stuffed rabbit, surrounded by superior mechanical toys "full of modern ideas," is taught about the power of love by a rickety old toy horse. Does it hurt? Sometimes. Does it happen all at once? By the time you are real, explains the ever-truthful Skin Horse, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.

See also:

Video of the Day: Greatest Tap Dance on Film

Cute Overload: SPCA Pet Adoption Holiday Windows and 3D Light Show with Nutcracker Dancers