Mission Mission

You knew it was only a matter of time before the whimsical fun squad struck back against both the city and the fun-hating grinches determined to keep Valencia Street free from pendulum tyranny.  And this time they’ve done it in grand festive style, with glorious streamers to accentuate the riders’ flight as they glide through the air (while respectfully watching out for pedestrians, of course).  Furthermore, eagle-eyed readers may notice that the cord on this new swing matches the orange and black braiding of the original swing before it was hacked down by misinformed neighborhood vigilante Carmen Castillo, suggesting that this may be the work of the originators!

We can only wonder how long this incarnation lasts before the anti-fun police have their way, but for now both the young and young-at-heart have a new toy with which to play.

Previously:

• Fun-hating grinch cuts down Valencia swing
• Valencia swing memorial eulogizes the death of fun
• Site of former Valencia swing commemorated by hanging dog toy
• Valencia swing is back, with steel cables this time
• Valencia swing cut down again, this time by a city official

MM reader Genea recently spotted this informative bathroom PSA and adds:

As we all know, shit gets stolen at bars in our neighborhood. Let’s start a new campaign that might end with a few less girls crying about their lost iPhones at the end of the night….

And if dancing with your purse is too annoying, don’t forget that there’s always brockets!

Previously:

• Rash of purse thefts at Mission dive bars
• Purse/identity thefts at Mission bars continue

They opened their doors for one last time yesterday to auction off equipment and stuff. Look at it. It’s really gone. Truly never again will I enjoy their spam-and-eggs-over-rice plate with a side of cheese fries

(On the other hand, Mission Bowling Club is just a few blocks away from home and Chef Anthony Myint’s menus are waaay the fuck better than spam and eggs over rice.)

[via KWANtemplation]

It’s called Hit So Hard, and when it premieres this weekend at the Roxie, Schemel and Hole bandmate Eric Erlandson (and the filmmakers) will be on hand to introduce it and and answer questions. And who knows, maybe Courtney will crash the party and turn it into a first-class shitshow! Girl power!

Ticket info here.

New York City the other day released a cavalcade of historic photos, and it appears that some 7200 of them were taken by Stanley Kubrick. What’s more, the Museum of the City of New York pulled a batch taken on the subway – and they’re all eerily reminiscent of the work Sexpigeon does so diligently today. (Though Sexpigeon’s are of course bolstered by unforgettable captioning.)

If only Kubrick and Sexpigeon could’ve collaborated on something.

[via kottke.org]

I was so excited for this monumental joining of tip-top hip hop and SF’s most popular ping pong party, but my excitement, and yours, will just have to wait, due to a scheduling misunderstanding or something.

The event has been tentatively rescheduled for late May at a venue TBA. Keep an eye on the official invite for updates.

And if you need a ping pong fix this weekend, there’s always Saturday Afternoon Ping Pong at Dear Mom:

Tomorrow night at The Women’s Building, our blog-neighbor, Mission Local, is presenting their first ever film festival. All of the short pieces are either about the Mission or made by people who live in the neighborhood.

Sounds like some interesting stuff:

A silent dance film, a story about a romantic puppet who gets dumped by his human girlfriend, a profile of a Mission DJ who works at one of SF’s independent radio stations, a look at the conflict between the Mission’s gangs and much more. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Check it out! Support local film so that us local filmmakers don’t have to move to LA!

Saturday, 4/28 at 7pm at The Women’s Building, 3543 18th Street, $5 suggested donation.

Link.

Over the last month, an unusual amount of the food reporting in the Wall Street Journal has centered around the Mission’s most loved/hyped restaurants.

Today it was a feature on Wo Hing General Store, the new Charles Phan restaurant opened in the original Slanted Door space on Valencia. A couple weeks ago Bi-Rite and Humphry Slocombe were somewhat awkwardly portrayed as rivals in a cookbook review in the national lifestyle section.

The previous week, Mission Chinese Food’s ribs were one of four dishes featured in an article about lamb. A few days before that, the front page of the lifestyle section was devoted to an article on these newfangled “pop-ups” that led with a lengthy profile of Wise Sons, the brand new Jewish deli on 24^th.

Maybe 2012 is the year of the WSJ discovering the Mission, like how the NYT discovered Brooklyn in 2010:

[photo by Sexpigeon]

Hot (and saucy) new look for spring!

[via Summer Is Rad]

One of our favorite bands to ever come out of the city is finally ready for you to hear all the songs they’ve been writing for the past year on a brand new full length LP, and they could definitely use your help!  And the rewards for this Kickstarter are pretty rad too.  I mean, imagine Social Studies coming out to play your house!  Check out all the details here!

If you’ve never heard Social Studies, they’re kind of impossible to describe, so just settle down and listen for a second:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRIG-TAC_30

Previously:

• Social Studies on Backseat Beat