San Francisco Chronicle Arts & Entertainment - Spoken Edition

I know this space gets nauseatingly nostalgic sometimes, so I apologize in advance for doing it again. I’ll just come right out and say it — I miss Flipper. Anyone older than 60 knows what I’m talking about.

Seven years after the disappearance of KUSF, the pioneering college station, a rockin’ semblance of it has materialized. It’s KXSF-LP (Low Power), which is planned to debut this month at 102.5 FM with the intention of bringing back the kind of indie music and community radio that KUSF, based at the University of San Francisco, provided for three decades before the university sold the station’s frequency to the owner of classical KDFC early in 2011.

With brooding ‘80s hits like “The Ghost in You” and “Love My Way,” the Psychedelic Furs were one of the most influential British acts of the postpunk era. The band left a mark on everyone from the Killers to Tame Impala. But frontman Richard Butler says he recoiled when the Furs went mainstream via “Pretty in Pink,” the song that inspired the John Hughes film of the same name.

In 1950, Nurse Vivian gave birth to Brother Not X, nine months and 11 days after her wedding. Her mother-in-law, Grandma Sadie, counted each and every one of those last 11 days to make sure that her grandson was legitimate. They named him Harold, after his father. Two years later, Nurse Vivian gave birth to Brother X. For most of the ’50s the family thrived in South Ozone Park, except for the fact that Nurse Vivian still wanted a baby girl.

“Oh, Grandfather, such a beautiful room, all marble and gold!” “Hush, son. This is the Senate Chamber. We must talk in whispers to show our veneration for the majesty of this great institution.” “And those men, they look so important. Are they the Senators, Grandfather?” “Yes, son. It is a great honor to be a Senator.

It was the Fourth of July, and I was at a traditional barbecue with some people, most of whom I knew, and a few I didn’t. It was supposed to be festive, but because of politics it became depressive. The guy came out of nowhere. I had never met him before, but he seemed like a nice person. He was my age and of similar background. We were introduced by a mutual friend and immediately began talking about similar interests, like family and sports.

It’s 5:15 p.m. at Orson’s Belly in the Richmond District. A 40-something wearing a septum ring says hello to Cigdem Onat-Salur, who runs the cafe with her husband, Cem Salur. She pivots between the shiny La Marzocco espresso machine and the wooden four-seat bar next to it. “How are you?” asks Onat-Salur, her wide smile and sparkling eyes framed by stylish dark bangs. “The ushe? Four?” The customer nods assent; Onat-Salur pulls the espresso shots into a ceramic mug.

S Event AIDS Walk San Francisco Support AIDS research, programs and services while walking 6.2 miles through Golden Gate Park. Give through donations at registration, join a team or other fundraising activities. Visit website for schedule, including pre- and post-walk activities. Registration: 8:30 a.m. Opening ceremony: 9:30 a.m. Sunday, July 15. Robin Williams Meadow, 320 Bowling Green Dr., San Francisco. Donations. 415-615-9255.

The year of the dog and the dog days mean that I, Bandit Banjo Fisher-Paulson, get to howl: a dispatch from Dogpatch. There are lots of celestial bodies, but the biggest is Sirius, the dog star, and the 20 days before and the 20 days after its heliacal rising are called the dog days. Heliacal. That’s a big word for a 15-pound Pekingese. I can barely bark it, let alone spell it. So let me explain it for the humans.

The internet was down at our house, and I couldn’t figure out why. I had just finished reading a complicated story about sea level rise and global warming. My cell phone kept inexplicably butt-dialing friends, who were getting irritated, as was I. “I need to simplify my life,” I cried to my wife. “Let’s go to the Marin County Fair.” She gave me her usual incredulous look.

Kim Gordon and Bill Nace are doing the last of their scheduled press interviews for the day. Gordon is calling in from Los Angeles; Nace from Philadelphia. They’re supposed to be talking up their experimental band, Body/Head, their new album, “The Switch,” and the fact they’ll be coming to San Francisco to play at the Lab on Saturday, July 14. But they get a little sidetracked remembering how they met for the first time 15 years ago.

For days, volcanic smog hung over the skies off the coast — a reminder that on the other side of the Big Island, Kilauea was erupting violently and magnificently. On the third morning on our family vacation, the island of Maui appeared, a dark mass looming on the horizon, and we suddenly understood how much had been missing from our view. Even the stars had been blanked out by the haze until then.

Two hundred forty-two years ago Wednesday, revolutionaries signed a document stating: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …” In most places, the pursuit of happiness on the Fourth of July involves picnics and barbecues, but if there is any downside to living in the outer, outer, outer, outer Excelsior, it is that the fog in early July makes outdoor dining less than optimal. Here there are only...

Like many sport-loving Americans, I’m a little embarrassed about our country. We failed to qualify for the World Cup tournament of soccer, which happens every four years. Iceland (population 334,000) qualified. Uruguay (population 3.5 million) qualified, Croatia and Costa Rica (population 4 million each) qualified.

Steven Winn, a former San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who wrote a book about his comically tumultuous relationship with the family mutt, Como, sits with the dog in the yard at home in 2009. Como, whom they adopted in 2003, died three months ago. less Steven Winn, a former San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who wrote a book about his comically tumultuous relationship with the family mutt, Como, sits with the dog in the yard at home in 2009. Como, whom they .