Mission Mission

Now that we’ve got a kickass bowling alley in our neighborhood, we’d better start looking the part.

[via Cool Bitch]

Ariel was pretty happy that it did NOT rain yesterday, as was I since I did not get absolutely soaked on my bike ride home from work like I did the previous evening.  However, is it just me or were any of you woken up at around 4am this morning by the LOUDEST rain storm (sans thunder) that you’ve ever heard?  Seriously, it was a deluge out there–it sounded like there was a waterfall outside of my window!

Please tell me that I’m not crazy.

[Photo by land of entrapment]

At least not where I was. It was mostly supposed to. Nobody’s complaining though. Except dehydrated people/things.

Supposed to rain tomorrow, we may even get a thunderstorm, they say.

Does anyone know any site or app that accurately tracks/predicts the weather in San Francisco’s microclimates? Hyperlocal weather blogs? Neighborhood soothsayers? (weather specific)

As I walked around this evening the sky had a really nice glow to it.

You could be the next Puck! (And hopefully not the next Judd!)

Here’s all you need to know:

UPDATE: Oh maybe I read that wrong. Still unclear where the next season is set. SORRY!

[link via Mission Local]

En route to Minako, my friend warned me about the service. “The woman who runs the place is really friendly,” he said. “Cool,” I replied blandly.

“No, but almost too friendly. She talks to you the way your mom might. She sorta crosses a line sometimes.” This turned out to be unassailably true; the proprietor has a distinct personality that establishes itself early in conversation and makes its mark on every nook and cranny of the physical space as well. I like distinct personalities, so I dug this place, though it might not be for everyone. In fact, one of the things that drew me to Minako is the extremely polarized love/ hate reviews it gets on Yelp. Differing opinions? Sign me up.

Minako is unique, and so is the woman who runs the front of the house. There’s no doubt about that. But what the restaurant lacks in convention, it makes up for with delicious soup broth, homemade umeboshi, and clearly labeled vegan and vegetarian options. (When something is vegetarian but not vegan at Minako, it’s labeled “Ovo-Lacto.” WIN.) It also has lots of things for your omnivore friends, so you can take them there when they get sick of you suggesting dinner at Cha-Ya… again.

My soup had lots of seaweed and pickled plums; the latter were prepared by the proprietor’s mom 12 years ago, while I was driving around my hometown in a beat-up old Jetta listening to Weezer.

The twice-cooked eggplant had a beautiful texture – crunchy on the outside, mouth-melty on the inside, like a savory M&M – and came with a little pile of minced ginger, which was a perfect foil for the salty, fried dish.

We also got free agar dessert, which my friend thought was white grape and I thought was aloe. It wasn’t great, but it was free, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Drawback: it’s pricey, so save it for a night when you’re a) flush and b) willing to look past it.

You may know of THE THING Quarterly, a project by local artists Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan. It’s a quarterly art . . . thing that is designed by a different guest artist every time and sent out to the subscribers.

In between the official THE THINGs they produce a side art project, taking place purely in the realm of snail mail, or what we used to call “the mail”, called SASE. They explain:

SASE is an ongoing project of THE THING where we commission individuals to produce a limited edition project that must fit within a standard envelope and is free and available to anyone who sends us a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). SASE #3 is the third in a series of four SASE projects commissioned by THE THING Quarterly.  Past contributors include San Francisco-based graphic designers MacFadden & Thorpe and visual artist Suzanne Husky.

SASE #3 will be released in Summer 2012 as an edition of about 200.  A $500 honorarium will be awarded to the selected contributor.  THE THING will cover production costs.  Those submitting should be prepared to work with us on developing their proposal so that it can be printed within our budget.

Anyone is welcome to apply.

Further details and project guidelines are on their site. I dig it. Let’s find new things to mail and try to keep the post office alive! If we don’t need to send letters or bills, what else can we be sending?

I never ate at this restaurant, and now it’s closed.

Vaya con Dios.

UPDATE: Oh and it’s going to be a Burma Superstar, nbd.

I’ve known no other shoe my whole lifelong. What’s a boy to do?

[via Everyday Photos]

Two showings on Wednesday night, two showings on Thursday night. DO NOT MISS THIS. Whether you’re a fan of his music or a fan of AWESOME MOVIES, or both, you will love it.

Advance tickets and more info are available here.

Is that standard issue?

UPDATE: Yep. Say wha?

[via The Fog Bender]