I've always wondered what MacArthur Fellows were like --you know, the winners of the "genius" grants. Whenever I read about the awardees in the paper, I marvel at their achievements (and sometimes at how they were discovered, since their work can be so esoteric and not-even-on-the-radar).

I can report that they--or at least the genius I encountered--look like any ordinary persons on the street. Lateefah Simon, a native San Franciscan and MacArthur genius, has braces on her teeth and could be mistaken for a gangly college kid. Once she steps up and speaks, she has the air of one dedicated to a cause.

Her cause is to help the poor, the down-trodden and the discriminated-against, particularly women. It began as a personal one at age 15; now she's spent half her lifetime on it, educated herself in how to manage and lead, and is the first non-lawyer executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

But Simon, honored Sunday afternoon by the Democratic Women's Forum of San Francisco, was humble; she re-directed the praise to Angela Alioto, who'd lent her home for the soiree. Growing up, when she'd had school assignments to write about her hero, Simon said, she'd picked Alioto. So it was a "dream" to now be in Alioto's Pacific Heights house.

Emily Murase, executive director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, and Betty Yee of the California Board of Equalization, were also honored by the Democratic women's group.

Alioto's house was dressed for the holidays inside and out. The parlor held a fragrant, fat, ceiling-tall tree decked with doves and red and gold bows.

Night owls, early birds and shopping pros: Last week, you could tell everyone that Black Friday deals were your reason to be up-and-at-'em at 4 a.m. This week's reason, for you and for any San Franciscans seeking a milli-second of fame: Good Morning America 's live broadcast from Union Square.

For the televising on Thursday from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., ABC and the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau are hoping for a live, big crowd. They figure that the chance of 4.5 million TV viewers seeing you wave "hi" to mom is enough to lure you to Union Square in the dark.

Just in case, they also promise free Ghirardelli hot chocolate, weatherman Sam Champion and a holiday lighting ceremony, according to their press release. And a performance by the Beach Blanket Babylon crew that showcases the 11-foot-tall San Francisco Skyline Hat, which has a moving cable car, the Golden Gate Bridge, SFMOMA and other SF icons.

Thursday morning, head to the giant Christmas tree and ice rink. Bring an extra coat--it'll be chilly at 4 a.m. Before you leave, you can leave the coat for Good Morning America's coat drive.

Then dash home, tune in to the show from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and perhaps you'll get to watch yourself.

You've no doubt glimpsed the SFMOMA banner ads around town, but tomorrow is your last chance to view the Richard Avedon photos as they deserve to be seen: up close and slowly.

Our Museum of Modern Art is the only U.S. spot to host the spectacular retrospective of Avedon's pioneering art. Shooting fashion spreads in Paris in the 1950s, Avedon went on to photograph rock stars, actors, politicians, civil rights movement icons and manual laborers. Using a still camera, black-and-white film and a plain, usually white backdrop, his portraits were full of movement, expression, emotion and character.

Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin, Bjork and Twiggy are here. A wall of mugshots became a "Name That 1960s-70s Politico" game for me and my friend: "Wow, Henry Kissinger!... George Wallace!... Uh, Shirley Chisholm?"

My favorite part was the life-size portraits of a wizened African-American former slave, a no-nonsense teen-ager who skins rattlesnakes, a sinewy coal miner and other ordinary people.

The exhibit mentions that Avedon and his life were references for the movie Funny Face, starring Fred Astaire as a fashion photog and Audrey Hepburn as a bookseller-turned-model in Paris. So after SFMOMA, I rented the movie and at home, enjoyed some gorgeous Avedon images of Audrey Hepburn.

Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004 closes tomorrow at 5:45 p.m. SFMOMA is on Third Street near Mission.

Tonight--all night--is your chance to see the movies and the 210-foot Coit Tower in ways you've never seen them before: the former on the latter.

Tomorrow you'll get a second chance, and it'll be a memorable antidote to Thanksgiving football TV.

The mega-movie marathon is a marvel of high technology and physics, ultra-long telephoto lenses and hefty projectors, choreographed by two San Francisco Art Institute graduates and blessed by the Rec and Parks Department. Using three projectors hauled onto Telegraph Hill rooftops that circle Coit and are 120 degrees apart from each other, the towering cylinder is transformed into a 360-degree set of movie screens, according to masterminds David Mark and Ben Wood. The Coit screen is visible as far as three miles away, or about as far as Russian Hill or the Ferry Building.

The special screening, honoring the 40th anniversary of Native Americans' occupation of Alcatraz, is of a collection of short films about the demonstration and about the local Ohlone Indians. On November 20, 1969, about 80 people landed on the island and demanded ownership so as to establish an Indian-focused university and cultural center. The stand-off ended in June 1971 after the government cut off power on Alcatraz and removed the last 15 demonstrators.

Showtime is dusk, around 6 p.m. Tune into KPOO (love those call letters!), 89.5 FM, for the accompanying audio broadcast. If you miss the first showing, no worries--the series of films will be repeated until dawn. And it'll rev up again tomorrow, from sundown to sun up.

WHAT: Shorts about Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island.
WHEN: Nov. 25 & 26, dusk til dawn.
WHERE: Recommended viewing sites are Telegraph Hill, Pier 31, Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach.

For more information about the projection's mechanics, check Wood and Mark's website.