Mission Mission

Alex writes in with this epic piece of summer solstice news:

A renegade art piece was installed this morning in Dolores Park to commemorate summer solstice. Not long after it was built, however, it was evicted by the Parks and Rec department. So this was the briefest ephemeral art project on record… The artist is Rob Bell. You may recognize it as the temple in the Dia De Los Muertos installation at Garfield Park last year and its numerous showings at burningman.

Previously:

• Street Shark
• So you wish Burning Man would go on all year?

I love a good lovers’ quarrel as much as the next guy, but in light of all this heat, we’d better all be extra careful not to lose control. SF Appeal tells us about one couple (not pictured) that just couldn’t hack it:

A man was hospitalized after a woman allegedly pushed him out of a second-story apartment window during an argument in San Francisco’s Mission District early this morning, police said.

The guy’s probably gonna be okay, but seriously, people, keep it together. Read on.

[Photo by Carina]

Not doing anything tonight? Why not celebrate Tamale Lady’s birthday and help save KUSF, all within the comfort of Zeitgeist’s beer garden? There will be jug band tunes, movie screenings, and a $10 donation gets you all-you-can-drink beer, birthday cake, and Tamale Lady’s homemade chicken mole and pasta salad.

Anyone with the idea to take advantage of one of the nicest evenings of the year by enjoying a relaxing margarita on the Latin American Club patio was in for quite the surprise last night, as a pop up fried pickle party was already in full effect, filling the sidewalk with festive pickled revelers.  At the center of it all was this beige Vanagon (stocked with the most charming mobile kitchen you can imagine) from which exceedingly enticing aromas wafted.

Curious to discover what the fuss was all about, I soon learned that the young woman in charge was offering tempura fried pickles (!!!), so naturally I had to indulge.  Served with spicy garlic aoili and spicy soy sauce (served in a cute little fish bottle), the soft tempura crunch on the outside mingled perfectly with the soft, hot, zesty pickle within.  Garnished with some thin seaweed strips, it made for the perfect snack on a rare warm mid-summer night.

Previously:

Grilled cheese Vanagon on Valencia

We wrote all about its previous incarnation (in Pabst colors) a few years back. This new one is looking pretty good — if Corona is your jam. Here’s the promotional video:

View the product page here.

I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here, but to the naked eye it appears that an interstitial parklet is in the midst of completion.  Now, this isn’t your normal parklet that replaces a public street parking spot, but rather a couple of narrower planter boxes that cover the small swath of red curb between driveways.  Notice how the planter also contains very similar plants to those on the sidewalk and you get an idea of the consistency planned.  Technically, the space directly in front of the driveway should be usable at the discretion of the homeowner, and if he or she wants to have a personal parklet and incorporate any nearby red area where parking would already be prohibited, it seems like the city is on board.

I may be mistaken, but I have a feeling this is in front of Deep’s house (the guy with the speaker bicycle), and this project would seem to resonate perfectly with his DIY ethos.  I wonder if this will start off a trend where homeowners on Valencia all decide to turn their driveways into parklets!

Previously:

Another parklet coming to Valencia!

Yet another parklet nears completion on Valencia

No U-lock, no problem.

Previously:

• Cart Security
• I lock, U-Lock, we all lock
• It’s a really nice mug

Riding on Brooks saddles could result in handsome butt problems.

I mean, its only $5 (or $3 if you go early), but nevertheless, you can win free tickets too. And there are two ways to win! Either send us (or link us to) a picture of you in your best gold outfit, OR write in below with your best hella gay anecdote. We’ll choose a winner by 4pm on Tuesday based on merit and that winner will win two tickets to the party.

RSVP and invite your friends here.

Some of you were underwhelmed by the clumsily shot concert footage we posted a couple weeks back. Lucky for you, Dirty Cupcakes just released a gorgeous new music video with special guest stars and good photography and a storyline and everything. And it’s sexy, and reeks of summer fun. Watch if you dare:

(Oh, and the song is, I guess, forever dedicated to me.)