[diggrz: an SVW tag for arts, culture, trends, and events in and around Silicon Valley- new from SVW]

By Maria Mouk for Silicon Valley Watcher

Twas the weekend of costumes and all through the city, techs and geeks went parading through the bars, talking witty. Fearing Vista (for windows) more than Castro with riot, armed with Silicon Valley Kultur Watch in their mind.

And much to do, indeed! If you're even half as enthused as I am about the closest thing to fall the Bay area grants, then throw on your garb (or your "this is my costume" t-shirt) and go do "social" this weekend.

Friday Annie Leibovitz, a portrait photographer with a 10 year history at RollingStone magazine and Vanity Fair, has a book signing and talk at the Jewish Community Center, 3200 California Street, SF. Her new book, 'A Photographer's Life: 1990 - 2005', is well worth buying.

Afterward, gear up for the Critical Mass costumed bike ride and ride into the Castro Theatre's Halloween Horror Film Festival, playing triple feature old school horror classics for only 10 bucks.

If you're feeling extravagant, the Old federal Reserve Bank Bulding(301 Battery St) presents its 1st annual Spider Ball, with performances by Om Records' Collette, Dj Smoove, Tamo, and Cherry Bomb. This event will include a hosted bar, fortune tellers, and a voodoo lounge. VIP table with bottle service is optional.

Friday also brings forward the infamous Exotic/Erotic Ball (in its 27th year) at the Cow Palace. Think DJ's, porn stars, go go dancers, and wild wild costuming (or lack thereof). Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Saturday start the night out with Berkeley's Mobile Movie Mob (much like Flashmob). Their weekend mission entails creating a true Guerilla Drive-in experience. The mob forms around a vechicle with a projector and an FM transmitter, projecting movies onto a specified warehouse wall. Participants drive up and tune in. This weekend screens "The House on Haunted Hill"at 7 and "Nosferatu (1922)" at 8:45PM. Visit the site for directions.

Mighty(at 119 Utah) celebrates Halloween weekend with well known dj/producer Bassnectar headlining along with the Bassbin Twins.

I'm headed south to Santa Cruz on Saturday for the Freakers Ball, an epic evening of costumes and musical performance. This year hosts too many musical talents to mention, but a quick glance points to Freq Nasty, Bassnectar (before his set in SF), SPORQUE (Ooah and ZILLA), Random Rab, Lil John, and Brother. Circus freaks, aerial performances, live drumming and costume contests all included.


And if you're determined to impress with your costume but haven't even thought of what to pull together, call the A.C.T (American Conservatory Theatre). They have beautiful costume theatre apparrel for rent, with accessories and a fitting for $125.

A Glorious weekend to you!

Tag: diggrz

[diggrz refers to the nomadic lifestyle offered by mobile digital technologies and gadgets - creating a "nomadig" culture. The diggrz name is also a tip-of-the-hat to some of the ideas of the Diggers, a democratic group that arose in 1649, out of the English revolution .

The Diggers were a radical group that cultivated and protected common lands, and sought to create egalitarian, self-sustaining communities. The Diggers would have found  kindred spirits in today's software engineer culture,  and the focus on creating  commonly owned technologies through egalitarian open source community projects. - Tom Foremski]

Tag: diggrz