The Blog

We're stoked that May 16 is just a week away. That evening marks the third annual ArtPadSF event which happens at the Phoenix Hotel. The iconic Tenderloin hotel has a lot to offer (including the amazing bar and restaurant Chambers Eat+Drink and, wait for it, a pool. Yes, a pool in San Francisco), but once a year ArtPadSF takes it up a notch by hosting an epic arty party. 

Each of the hotel's 40 rooms will be taken over by a prominent gallery, featuring art by emerging and contemporary artists. In addition to the exhibits in the rooms, the Phoenix's courtyard will be bangin' with performances by synth-pop band Altars, followed by a DJ set from Altars member Bertie Pearson. Sadly, the pool will not be available to attendees, but it'll be in use by the Tsunami Synchro Swim Club, who'll be performing synchronized swim routines to all kinds of tunes, from beatbox to vocal a capella. And Bay Area artist Andrew Benson will be projecting a digital mural on the adjacent six story building. 

Galleries participating in this year's ArtPadSF include:

Beta Pictoris, Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Johansson Projects, Walter Maciel Gallery, Gregory Lind Gallery, Marx & Zavattero, New Image Art, Steven Wolf Fine Arts, The Luggage Store and Unspeakable Projects, Blythe Projects, Charlie James Gallery, and many more.

The opening night preview and ceremony will support the SFMOMA's Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art (SECA) Award. The SFMOMA and SECA have been biannually presenting this award to Bay Area artists since 1967. 

Tickets and more information can be found here. Check out our photos from ArtPadSF 2011.

Your weekly roundup of things you should really know about if you live in the Bay. 

Calling all bike nerds – a new series of Bike + Design lectures hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America and California College of the Arts just launched yesterday. If you’re into the history of bike culture, innovation of bike design, or bike brand building, you might want to check out these lectures by some of the biggest names in the Bay Area bike world. 

I got a chance to attend the first lecture in this three-part series, which was on the history and legacy of mountain biking. Now many of you may already know these things, but here are the three most interesting points I learned.

1. Mountain biking was invented in the Bay Area. 

I had no idea that mountain biking actually originated in Marin on Mount Tam. I didn’t realize that Northern California was responsible for so much of the transformation of mountain bike design all through the '70s and '80s. Even the lightweight Giro-style helmet was created in Santa Cruz.

2. The spirit of craftsmanship is alive and well. 

Now with all the mass-produced bike giants, it’s good to hear that the handbuilt frames from boutique shops are still going strong. The speakers from Rock Lobster, SyCip, and Retrotec bikes mentioned that a lot of people turn to custom bikes because they want a product created from someone they can meet. There has also been a boom with the tech crowd who are more willing to pay for specialized bikes for leisure or aesthetics. 

3. Many custom bike frame companies are still one-man shops.  

I was surprised to find out that several of these custom bike shops were still run by one person with just a few assistants. These builders truly care for their craft and try to cut out other middlemen in the production line. They are the ones running the process from measuring you for you bike to welding the frame together. 

It was inspiring to hear about to the trial and error process the speakers went through to perfect their designs and how they continue to live up to the ethic of always creating personal fit and performance on a bike. 

The next Bike + Design lecture is in June and you can check it out here. 

Foursquare seems to be coming to terms with how little people care about being mayor of their local Waffle House. Starting today, Foursquare is making it easier to share the encouragement that pops up after a check in. But I for one think post check-in commentary could use a little more real talk. Here are some examples of Foursquare insights that actually tell it like it is.

You might’ve noticed that shortly after your morning cup of joe, nature comes a-calling. And yes, we’re talking call #2. Coffee’s gastrointestinal effects are stronger in some folks than others, but it’s not unusual for coffee drinkers to use their brew as a way to keep regular.

So why does coffee make you poop? One Medical’s primary care doctors answer a question that you may have wondered but were too shy to ask.

How Does It Work?

Researchers believe that the bowel-stimulating quality of coffee comes from caffeine and/or other substances contained within the coffee brew. Although there have been no large-scale studies on this subject, what we do know is that drinking coffee can stimulate movement of the colonic muscles, thus promoting peristalsis (the coordinated contraction and relaxation of intestinal muscles that causes bowel movements). One study noted that the magnitude of this peristaltic effect of caffeinated coffee is similar to one induced by eating a meal. It’s also 60 percent stronger than the effect induced by drinking water, and 23 percent stronger than the effect due to drinking decaffeinated coffee.

Aside from promoting bowel movements, coffee can also cause looser stools because increased peristalsis leaves less time for the colon to perform one of its key functions –reabsorbing water from fecal matter to produce well-formed stools. Be aware, however, that other common accompaniments to coffee can be culprits in this matter. Dairy products, excess sugar, even “sugarless” sweeteners like sorbitol (a well-known substance used as a laxative) can cause diarrhea.

Read on for more on how, exactly, coffee makes you poop.

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