Here are some musical notes to ponder, along with a bit of "Frank talk."

When you think of holidays associated with our community, you probably think of Halloween, or perhaps Pride Day or the Folsom Street Fair. It's unlikely that Christmas is the first that springs to mind, but perhaps it should.

Out There spent several happy days last week immersed in reading "Little Failure," the acclaimed memoir by author Gary Shteyngart (Random House) now out in a cute little paperback ($16).

Out There already has plans to attend Brava Theater Center's New Year's Eve Comedy Fiesta. We wouldn't miss sarcastic sin verguenza Marga Gomez!

We emceed the lighting of the Castro holiday tree a few days ago and if the enthusiastic crowd is any indication, this neighborhood is in for a record-breaking holiday season of sales.

We already knew about Gray Whale Cove and "Taco Bell beach." But a weekend spent in its embrace convinced us there's more to Pacifica than we imagined.

Exactly how wild was the Wild West in San Francisco? One thing which seems clear from paintings and drawings of the 19th century is that there was a lot of same-sex dancing going on.

"High Maintenance" is a web series that follows the adventures of a pot home-delivery man, unnamed and referred to only as "My Guy," played by series co-creator Ben Sinclair, on his rounds through NYC.

We've never subscribed to the new/old American puritanism. We think there are a lot worse things to be addicted to than a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

The 13th San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, North America's first and the world's longest-running transgender film fest, is coming up Nov. 7-9 at the Roxie Theater.

The ease of taking two-day getaways is one of the Bay Area's great perks, with so much natural beauty and wonder only a short drive from the pulse and frenetic energy of the city.

Recently found in the arts pages of The New York Times: "The honor of the week's best film [at the New York Film Festival] belongs to Mike Leigh's 'Mr. Turner.' Its artistic title character is magnificently embodied by Timothy Spall."

As we've no doubt told you before, Out There is a most promiscuous reader. We're slutty for words on paper, preferably between hard covers. Here's a little of what we've had in our hot little hands lately.

San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood has a colorful history and was once the center of gay life in San Francisco.