Glenn Burke 

On the heel of World Series fever here in San Francisco, a different look at the game is being screened tonight in the Castro Theatre. Out: The Glenn Burke Story is a film about a man who made two major marks on major league baseball history  way back in 1977. At the end of the season in '77, after former Giants coach and then teammate Dusty Baker hit a homerun, Burke gave Baker a high-five. Later when Burke hit his first homerun, Baker returned the high-five favor, cementing Burke as the creator of the now universal sign of recognition, triumph, and comradery— the high-five. Also in 1977 (1977 people!) Burke became the first openly gay baseball player in MLB history when he disclosed to teammates and the managerial staff at the Los Angeles Dodgers that he was a homosexual.  At the time, one of the most conservative teams in baseball, the Dodgers went so far as to offer Burke a bonus to get married to a woman to keep his homosexuality a secret, which he declined. He later dated Dodgers Manager Tony Lasorda's estranged gay son before being traded to the Oakland Athletics, despite helping the Dodgers make it to the World Series. As if we needed another reason to hate the Dodgers…

To this day, Burke is the only openly gay baseball player in MLB history. Go see his story tonight.

More Info: Movie trailer.  Order tickets.

David Wojnarowicz (1954 — 1992), Untitled (One Day This Kid…), 1990

Before you read any of this, stop. Read the text surrounding the little boy in the image above. Great, thanks.

On October 28th, Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes wrote that the artist David Wojnarowicz seems important right now. Green authored this post about Wojnarowicz, the New York artist who gained notoriety in the East Village art scene of the 1980s, in wake of hearing about the rise of anti-gay bullying and the gay teenage suicide epidemic sweeping our nation. Wojnarowicz's work was created 20 years ago, but as we have seen so recently, his words are still very relevant. I'm also pretty sure that any person growing up LGBT or questioning can attest, anti-gay bullying is nothing new to the community. But finally, there's some major action going on to spread the word that It Get's Better.

In his post Green called for the Museums that have Wojnarowicz's Untitled (One Day This Kid…) in their permanent collection to place the piece on display immediately in order to engage the public with this honest depiction of growing up gay in America. Apparently, none of the five museums Green listed have placed this work on view yet. However, the amazing people at P.P.O.W. Gallery who represent Wojnarowicz's estate are doing their part to use the power of art to effect change in our communities. The above piece Untitled (One Day This Kid…) is now available for download through this site. As Wojnarowicz's said in his book Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration, “bottom line, if people don't say what they believe, those ideas and feelings get lost. If they are lost often enough, those ideas and feelings never return.” So read it, print it, post it, share it. Because sharing is caring, and in this case it might just help save some lives.

Smut Capital (The Hungry Hole) from Michael Stabile on Vimeo.

I know SFist already posted about this upcoming documentary a month ago, but director Michael Stabile keeps posting these fantastic shorts from the film.  Of course, if you want to know why San Francisco was known as “the smut capital of america” or how you can help finance the film, go check out their kickstarter.

WILL FUCK 4 BIG MAC

THIS IS WHY I LOVE THE SF WEEKLY.  Up until last week, I had no idea that the sit-lie law was going to ruin dating and vegan eating in the Haight:

An author named Spencer Walker has written a new guidebook with a section apparently devoted to the San Francisco dating landscape. Titled “Hippie Harlots,” the section claims to be a primer on the Haight Ashbury dating scene — a scene that just may die if visitors aren't allowed to sit or lie down in public anymore.

According to Cook to Bang, the aforementioned primer on home-cooked meals prepared to entice potential dates, Hippie Harlots are found in San Francisco, at ultimate frisbee games, and at Burning Man. And they respond well to fried tofu, writes the author, who admits to “occasionally trolling Haight Ashbury for bohemian booty.”

…

Should [Police Chief George Gascon's sit-lie law] pass, the resulting hostility and infringement of civil liberties may make the neighborhood a glum place for hippie hookups. And we might see a decline in Walker's style of cuisine.

So for the sake of everything that's organic and tasty, can't our top cop just leave the Haight be? (LINK)

Spenc sounds like a terrific dude.  Cooks to get laid, trolls the homeless for sex.  A real casanova.  Also, why the hell is sit/lie being morphed into a foodie issue?

(photo by Brant Ward / The Chronicle)