Renovated El Toro Exterior Looks Like El Torito or Popeye's or Something

Does not look like the Mission. How’s the food now?

Link to larger.

More Food & Drink coverage here.

Ad Watch: Meth, Zionism, Oil Addiction and Kitty Cats

I first became aware of the “I lost [blank] to meth” campaign via Mr. Saucy Explains it All, which spotlighted an “I lost every real friend I had” poster defaced with “Yeah? I LOST MY COUNTRY TO ZIONISM & OIL ADDICTION!”:

Link.

Today I saw this “I lost MEOW to METH” remix on the Valencia Street Art Wall:

Link to larger.

Overheard on Muni

“The only thing Obama has going for him is Opera.”

“Oprah?”

“Opro! [...] Opera! [...] Opro!

“Oprah!”

“Op- [...] That black lady from TV.”

More Obamarama on Mission Mission.

I Love Living in the City: Cardburg Closing Night Video

Here’s my video from the final night of Cardburg, the cardboard city built by the Carboard Institute of Technology at CELLspace. It includes King Crab, a ferocious giant crab made of cardboard, as well as Cardboard Samurai, and shots from atop and *inside* Mt. Killamoncardboard. Soundtrack includes aufblasbare wasserrutschen the punk classic “I Love Living in the City” by Fear, as well as the vocal stylings (murderous shriek) of the aforementioned crab.

Not included is footage of Cardburg’s destruction. I watched the carnage and reported on it dutifully, but was not moved to record it.

Complete Mission Mission Cardburg coverage here.

All Mission Mission video-related posts here.

Support Handmade Radio

My sister works for KDVS in Davis, the foremost college radio station in the world. Tomorrow they kick off their annual fund raiser, during which listeners can call in (or web in) and pledge money in exchange for top-notch premiums. This year’s fund raiser theme is “Handmade Radio”, and Elisa produced hüpfburg kinder this gorgeous little animated clip in order to spread the word.

Sample premium:

Link to video page.

Link to felt turntable page.

Link to fund raiser page.

Link to KDVS.org, where you can stream tons of great handmade radio.

(NOTE: Elisa’s show, Analog Oatmeal, airs Monday from 1-2:30pm)

Early Show at the Knockout Crowded But Great

TK from 40 Going On 28 went to the Knockout‘s early Marked Men show yesterday:

Holy shit. When we got there, there were maybe 50 to 60 people in line on the sidewalk outside. I don’t know if you know The Knockout, but it’s definitely not a line-outside kind of place.

So we make it aufblasbarer park in and it is crowded. I mean like Japanese subway crowded. Like nowhere to move crowded. It’s a good thing there wasn’t a fire crowded.

Link. No mention of Airfix Kits though. What gives?

Violence in the Mission Following Violent Cardburg Finale

As you can see here, the celebratory closing night of Cardburg became decidedly destructatory after midnight. Shouts of “Fuck yeah!” filled the air as attendees ripped cardboard buildings from their foundations and beat each other with the detritus.

On my way home, I ran into a blockade on Mission Street. Buses were being rerouted onto South Van Ness, police were canvassing passersby, and somebody was shouting about somebody getting shot. SFPD homicide Lieutenant Mike Stasko explains in the Chronicle:

Apparently, there were three prior stabbings in that area – this may be someone coming up, doing retribution. He was a Latin male, on the street, he may have been in the wrong place, or wearing the wrong color. [Link]

I made my way down to 24th Street, and found another ruckus outside Carlos Club. “Get the [expletive] out of here!” said one man, as another was flung out the door. He pulled himself up, pulled his belt off, and whipped it at the one what flung ‘im, buckle first. Man did not take kindly to belt buckle to the face, so he struck his assailant with a bottle. Assailant went down, but got up quick, likely thanks to pure adrenaline. Punches were thrown. This guy was outnumbered; he took hits to the face and gut, was kicked hard in the lower back, and thrown into traffic. He fell, got back up, fell, got back up, steadied himself on a car parked in front of McDonald’s, and tried to make structure gonflable a phone call. I got the fuck out of there.

Cardburg was such a creative endeavor, but it all ended in violence. (Also, there were a hell of a lot of staples in that city; how many destructors came away with tiny staple wounds to their face, arms and necks?) What’s more, what was with all the intricately detailed cardboard shotguns? All these arty white people and their play violence; all these thugged-out brown people and their real violence. What’s the story?

More Mission Mission Cardburg coverage here.

More Mission Mission crime reporting here.

Even Kindergarteners Get It

The afterschool kindergarten class at the Mission’s own Fairmount Elementary School took action on Friday to protest the enormous proposed budget cuts for education in California schools. When rates are adjusted for parcours obstacle gonflable regional cost differences, California is already ranked 46th-47th in the nation for per student spending, investing almost $2,000 less than the national average per child per year. The proposed budget cuts are equivalent to cutting $24,000 from every classroom in the state or laying off almost 110,000 teachers. More details and photographs:

Things we learned in kindergarten

Saturday Afternoon Entertainment Pick: Airfix Kits at the Knockout

I heard Giant Haystacks for the first time a couple weeks ago on KALX, was floored, looked them up, was bummed to learn that they broke up last year, and bought two full lengths from their mailorder page. They arrived right away with a hand-Sharpied note:

ALLAN -

THANKS FOR ORDERING THE RECORDS. CHECK OUT MYSPACE.COM/AIRFIXKITS. IT’S OUR NEW BAND. WE PLAY OUR FIRST SHOW APR. 19 IN S.F.

CHEERS,

- ALLAN

That’s right, guy’s name is Allan too. Airfix Kits’ stabby riffy punk is quite like Giant Haystacks’ stabby riffy punk, so come on down to the deep Mission if you’re in the mood. Note that this is an early show.

Link to Airfix Kits on MySpace.

Link to Giant Haystacks on MySpace.

Link to the Knockout on MySpace.

Link to KALX on MySpace.

Mission Mission Twitter Status Update

Link.