Blogs

Jury still out in Guardian v. Weekly suit

By Andy Van De Voorde

After deliberating for five hours Friday, the jury in the Bay Guardian's predatory pricing lawsuit against the Weekly knocked off without a verdict. The panel will take the weekend off and will take up the case against Monday morning at 8:30 at the courthouse on McAllister Street.

Under the law, the Guardian needs nine votes from the twelve-member panel to win a verdict. The Weekly needs nine to receive a verdict in favor of the defense. Anything in between represents a hung jury, meaning the Guardian would not win, but could in theory ask the judge to allow it to refile the case.

A new Microsoft patent surfaced yesterday that will make it easier for users of online dating sites to immediately judge and discard potential dates by their appearance. The patent is for something called Image-Based Face Search, which does exactly what it sounds like. Say you have a hankering to go out with somebody who looks likes Danny Devito. Using Microsoft's handy app you could upload a picture of Danny which would then be compared to millions of photos, filtering them for the closest matches. Users would also be able to rate the pictures returned to them, down to their liking of individual facial features such as eyes and lips to refine their searches. Just when you thought dating couldn't get any more clinical or calculated: Microsoft! -Andy Wright

In 2006 scientists unearthed a 150 million-year-old, 50 foot long sea reptile affectionately nicknamed 'The Monster', which was speculated to be the largest of it's kind ever found. BBC News reported yesterday that speculations have been laid to rest and scientists have confirmed that the pliosaur is, in fact, the largest on record. The creature is 20 percent bigger than the biggest of its kind previously discovered, is "awesomely powerful" and "built for biting." But here comes my favorite part of the We-Found-A-New-Dinosaur article -- the part where they speculate about what it can fit in it's mouth. In this case, it's a small car. I would like to add a few other things to the List of Things that The Monster Might Be Able to Fit In It's Mouth: (click 'more')

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The Snitch survives courthouse encounter, awaits further thrashing.

By Andy Van De Voorde

While covering the Guardian’s lawsuit against the Weekly, your faithful courthouse correspondent has noticed a pattern:

Though Bruce Brugmann’s paper enjoys slagging people in print — take, for instance, its hysterical 2005 stories blasting the Clear Channel concert promotion firm as “evil” because the company had the audacity to take its business to the Weekly — the publication gets a mite snippy when subjected to scrutiny itself.

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The New York Times ran an article yesterday about the Pew Charitable Trust report that says one out of 100 U.S. citizens is in the clink. Where does California figure into the picture? Well, at one time we were number one in imprisonment, but due to a dip in prison population, that honor goes to Texas. But don't think we've been ignored by the good people at Pew. We received our own section in the report entitled California: $8.8 Billion and Growing. Sounds promising. We're the "undisputed" leader in prison funding. Suck on that, Texas! That's a 216 percent increase over what we were spending 20 years ago. Always the overachiever, Schwarzenegger just signed a bill promising another $7.9 billion and 53,000 beds. There's room for all of us! Texas is a "distant second in spending." Humbling, isn't it? (click 'more' for Fun Facts!)

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Wired recently put up a drool-worthy photo compendium of cutting edge eco gadgets. Most of the inventions seem promising, except for an offering from Intrago that would create electronic vehicle stations throughout a given city where residents can rent and drive from point to point. While I have no beef with scooters and bikes, the Boulder, Co. company's $5 million dollar plan includes Segways in the San Francisco prototype. I, for one, have yet to meet the person who can escape looking like a douchebag on a Segway, and would prefer not to see several examples of this rule zipping around SF streets. -Andy Wright

If you want to stand outside a club between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., Gavin Newsom would like you to take up smoking. The Chronicle reported yesterday on new legislation that would make it illegal to stand within 10 feet of a club for more than three minutes -- unless smoking a cigarette or waiting for a bus or taxi. Smokers, they get all the breaks! The new legislation would also require club promoters who hold two or more events in a year to obtain a special permit, and would grant emergency powers to the director of the city Entertainment Commission to revoke said permits for safety and noise violations. Permits can also be revoked unilaterally. For instance, if the Heaven and Hell party on Friday night gets out of hand, the Sluts and Virgins party might get canceled on Saturday. Four homicides took place outside nightclubs in 2007 and "fifteen percent of all assaults in the city take place in or around nightclubs, the mayors office said." I know that when I get within ten feet of Ruby Skye, I always feel like killing someone. -Andy Wright

Reuters reported yesterday that a recent poll about who should be the top role model for British children found Richard Branson was preferred to Jesus. Branson ranked number two on the list, with Jesus trailing in third. In first place was the vague "Family Member." The billionaire entrepreneur also beat out Nelson Mandela and Princess Diana. –Andy Wright

The Neighbors Project is looking for a few good volunteers to take pictures of local corner stores and/or bodegas. It's part of their Food & Liquor project, which plans to release a handy shopping resource this spring: "The Bodega Party in a Box: Everything you need to throw a dinner party using ingredients from your local corner store."

It's a cool idea, but I'm not sure kicking it with Cool Ranch Doritos and a dusty, overpriced can of refried beans is the best way to get down when Safeway is within spitting distance. I'm just sayin'. (via Curbed SF)

Image courtesy/Sean94110 on Flickr

If you like naked people and comedy (and who doesn't?) you'll want to check out the local weekly stand-up comedy showcase known as Scantily Clad Comedy (ranked number one on Yelp Nightlife) tonight at the San Francisco Comedy College Clubhouse (414 Mason #705). Tonight's headliner is local fav Sammy Wegent, followed by a whole slew of other funny-makers including Ali Mafi, Joe Nguyen and Adam McLaughlin (the dude's got the word 'laugh' in his name, so you know it's got to be good). And look at it this way, it's a BYOB show, so if it's not funny at least you can get drunk and make an ass out of yourself without breaking the bank. Show starts at 9:00 p.m.; $7 at the door; $5 online with the password "uncheap." Full disclosure: I don't think there's actually naked, or even scantily clad, people involved. Sorry pervs.

Happy Birthday, Leap Year babies Byron, Richard Ramirez, and Ja Rule! You're....11 now, or something. -Andy Wright

Guardian’s closing ranges from the assassination of JFK to Alice in Wonderland.

By Andy Van De Voorde

In long-awaited closing arguments Thursday, the Bay Guardian told jurors in its predatory pricing case against the Weekly that it will go out of business if it doesn’t receive a favorable verdict.

“If this continues, it’s inevitable,” said Guardian attorney Ralph C. Alldredge, who referred to his client as “a shadow of the company it formerly was.”

The mild-mannered Alldredge began his argument by telling jurors not to expect “Obama-level eloquence.”

But if his argument lacked fire, it didn’t lack for melodrama.

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The Billboard Liberation Front has targeted AT&T billboards in the San Francisco area, according to a press release issued on their Web site yesterday:

The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.

The Chronicle reports today the Ralph Nader has named former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his partner in his bid for the presidency. Gonzalez narrowly lost the 2003 mayoral election to Gavin Newsom. -Andy Wright

Science Daily reports today on the ominous, not at all alarmist warnings of one Noel Sharkey, robotics expert and sometimes TV personality. In an address to the Royal United Services Institute, whose Web site bills itself as the "leading forum in the UK for national and international Defence and Security", Sharkey predicted that "it may not be long before robots become a standard terrorist weapon to replace the suicide bomber." The US currently employs 4,000 robots in Iraq, and countries in Europe and other allied countries such as Canada, South Korea, and Israel are racing to create robotic combat vehicles. The general consensus was that the Canadian robot will not be that scary. Sharkey went on to warn that while now there is a human component involved in the decision to use robots for lethal force, newer models will operate independently. In other news, robots want to make sweet love to you and then take over your menial job.-Andy Wright