Randy's Guide CCXV (225)

Historic milestones: 6 years since the first direct commercial flights between China and Taiwan since 1949; 7 years since the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident; 21 years since the first McDonald's in the Soviet Union (Moscow); 53 years since the Lego brick patents; 98 years since the opening of NYC's Grand Central Terminal; 125 years since the gas automobile patents (Karl Benz); 133 years since the first U.S. daily college newspaper (Yale Daily News); 164 years since the renaming of Yerba Buena for San Francisco; and 226 years since the first U.S. public university (University of Georgia).


Deal of the Week
Free Museum Days next week! On Tuesday, check out SFMOMA, Cartoon Art Museum, de Young Museum, YBCA Gallery, Museum of Craft and Folk Art, Legion of Honor, or Conservatory of Flowers. On Wednesday, take in the Exploratorium, SF Zoo, or Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito.


Local News
The ongoing saga between the environmentalists and the chicken sellers continues. Now two animal-rights activists, as filed by attorney Matt Gonzalez, have started a lawsuit against Raymond Young Poultry and the Heart of the City Farmers' Market for human rights violations and negligence. www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=81841


Change for Change
Charity: La Cocina. Low-income food entrepreneurs, particularly female minorities or immigrants, now have an outlet for their talents. Some products you may have seen at local farmers' markets or Rainbow Grocery include Kika's Treats or Clairesquares. www.lacocinasf.org

Previous organizations Randy's Guide has spotlighted and donated: Common Ground Relief, LYRIC, Aldea Inc., Glide Memorial, City CarShare, Maitri, Loaves and Fishes, Friends of the Urban Forest, Farm Sanctuary, Bay Area Community Services, Blue Energy, My New Red Shoes, College Track, Foundation for the People of Burma, Vital Life Services, Little Angel Fund, San Francisco Health Services Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Bay Localize, San Francisco Women Against Rape, Sustainable Conservation, Ashoka, Old Skool Cafe, Darfur Sister Schools, Rebuilding Together San Francisco, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Urban Solutions, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Shanti, Curry Without Worry, and SF Neighborhood Theater Foundation.


Bay Area Weekend Weather
After two weeks of above-normal temperatures, we'll cool off starting this weekend, with a chance of rain starting Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Highs: near 60
Lows: upper-30s (inland); low-40s (coast-bay); mid-40s (SF)


Movies {domestic revenues for January 21-23}
This year's holiday weekend had the lowest attendance since 1992. In first is the Ashton Kutcher-Natalie Portman romantic comedy "No Strings Attached," with $19.7 million [3018 theatres; $6.512 per theatre]. The other new release, "The Way Back," stumbled into 15th with $1.2 million [678 theatres; $1,792 per theatre]. "The Green Hornet," in second, became the highest-grossing live-action superhero comedy, while "The Chronicles of Narnia" crossed the $100 million mark.

Mainstream films:
- The Mechanic (R): Action; co-starring Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland, and Ben Foster
- The Rite (PG-13): Suspense

Art-house films:
- Biutiful (R): Drama; co-starring Javier Bardem; directed by Alejandro Inarritu (Amores Perros; Babel)
- Ip Man 2 (R): Action
- Lemmy (NR): Documentary
- Nenette (NR): Documentary

DVD pick: Son of Rambow (PG-13): This delightful comedy had me chuckling throughout, as we watch a young British boy with a creative mind befriend a bully during the process of making an action film. Domestic box office: $1.8 million; foreign: $9.1 million (including $8.3 million in the UK).


Free Weekend Activities
Peace Corps exhibit [Fri 5-7pm]: Featuring Peace Corp photos and artifacts. At the Ferry Building's Grand Hall (SF). www.peacecorps.gov

Critical Mass [Fri 5:30pm]: Drivers and pedestrians, be forewarned. Starts at Justin Herman Plaza (SF). www.sfcriticalmass.org

Opera Night at the Museum [Fri 6-9pm]: Featuring excerpts by Ensemble Paraliele and an art class for making opera masks. At the de Young (SF). www.famsf.org

Chinese Flower Market Fair [Sat 10a-10pm, Sun 9am-6pm]: Featuring ribbon-cutting ceremony, lion dancing, Chinese opera, martial artists, citrus fruits, and live plants. Along Grant, Pacific, and Jackson (SF). www.chineseparade.com

Living History Day [Sat 10a-5p]: Featuring Civil War music, uniforms, reenactments, and drills. At Fort Point National Historic Site (SF). www.parksconservancy.org

A Sea Change documentary [Sat 2pm]: This documentary explores the changes in the our oceans. At the Main Library Koret Auditorium (SF). www.sfpl.org

Tet Festival [Sun 9:30am-6pm]: 15th annual. Featuring Vietnamese performances, cultural entertainment, food, andm ore. Between Ellis and Larkin, Polk and Hyde (SF). www.vietccsf.org

Winter Concert [Sun 1pm]: Featuring the San Francisco Civic Symphony, the oldest community orchestra on the West Coast. At the Sir Francis Drake's Empire Ballroom (SF). www.sfcivicsymphony.com

Rainbow Symphony Concert [Sun 5pm]: Featuring the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony with tenor Brian Thorsett. All proceeds go to Larkin Street Youth Services and BARS Drum Drive. At Calvary Presbyterian Church (SF). www.bars-sf.org

TCHO Gourmet Chocolate Factory Tour [10am/2pm daily through Monday]: It's like Whole Foods meets Willy Wonka. At Pier 17 (SF). www.brownpapertickets.com/event/141024

Our Soldiers' Stories exhibit [through April 22]: Featuring a photo exhibition by Maria Hohn and Martin Klimke focused on African-American GIs during the WWII era. At the African American Art & Culture Complex (SF). www.aaacc.org