Be that guy, the guy that loves his neighborhood

The other day I got thoroughly bummed out by, and then posted about, some video footage of the May 1st “Valencia Street” riot. It put me in a bad mood, and my takeaway was basically, “Wow, look at how fearlessly they attack this cop car — this is scary.” The first seven minutes of unchecked carnage were enough to blind me to the one ray of hope in the footage (which begins around the 7:25 mark). And my mood got worse as the comments flooded in. Until this one:

I was still living in San Francisco during the Giants non-sense and watched a woman drive through the mob and get her car jumped on which seemed to completely render the trunk usable as well I’m sure plenty of damage I didn’t witness. In retrospect, I wish I’d been the guy in the video who ran up shouting “Hey! hey! hey!” Instead I pulled out my iPhone and took a picture which I’m pretty ashamed of. At least the story the video tells, lots of spectators doing nothing, and one guy running up to defend the neighborhood. If you’re looking for something to take from this video, be that guy who runs up in front of the window being smashed or the car about to be spray painted. And when they start swearing at you, don’t introduce violence because that changes the game, but just say you love your neighborhood and this isn’t what you want. [link]

So there are two silver linings here. 1.) This one citizen standing up to the mob means there’s still good in the world, and 2.) This one commenter bringing some positivity to the discussion means there’s still good in the Mission Mission comments section.

Happy Friday, everybody. Love your neighborhood!

A look back at Lookout! Records

Remember Lookout! Records, from Berkeley? It’s where Green Day started, they had Operation Ivy, it was probably your favorite label when you were 15? Remember? Spin does, and it recently asked Mr T. Experience frontman Dr. Frank to take a look back and make a list of the top 20 Lookout! Records tracks. It’s pretty good. Here’s a taste:

16. The Groovie Ghoulies “The Highwayman” (from Travels with My Amp, 2000)
The Sacramento-based Groovie Ghoulies were the touring-est band I ever met, and if anyone knew their highways, it was them. Still, I thought the world didn’t need another “life on the road” song before I heard this classic tune from the awesomely titled Travels with My Amp LP. So, yeah, I was wrong, but that’s the last one, seriously — no more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPQ-e3FMxYc

Read on.

[via Pavla]

UPDATE: P.S. Sewer Trout!

My favorite thing to come of Rihanna’s visit to Zeitgeist

This exchange:

[via KimiYuki]

Knapkin knews

One of my favorite things to do is stay in and watch Damages on Netflix Instant and get delivery from Escape from New York. Their online ordering system is just a breeze, and I love it — especially now that I know you can order knapkins:

You can also get up to eight “Party Packs” for $0.00 each, but I’ll save finding out what that means for next time.

The Tulip

Have you guys tried this thing? It’s basically a tiny, one-person, off-kilter merry-go-round that looks like a tulip, and it goes real fast — and if you’re like me, it will fuck you up.

What’s worse, it’s located in the playground right next to Pop’s, so please don’t go getting any ideas. Don’t get faded at Pop’s off Hamm’s and Jaegers and then sneak over and try this thing. You will make a mess. Don’t do it. (I dare you not to do it.)

[via Meesha]

Trapped in an elevator

Our pal Brittney had a serious scare, and lived to tell about it:

Then the elevator moved, but then it stopped. Then the display began FLASHING. Then nothing. No movement. No opening of doors. Just the silent flashing of the following:

_ _

After about 30 seconds I began to jab wildly at the Open Doors button, even though I’ve been told by numerous know-it-alls that that button is impotent and does nothing. Still I stabbed at it like a frenzied murderer.

Then the elevator began to ascend, maybe descend, it was hard to  tell, because the elevator began to move while still FLASHING the ominous:

_ _

“Are we moving?!” The young man hand both palms flat against the side of the elevator walls and his eyes bulged from his face.

“I don’t knowwwwhatthefuckisgoingon?!?!?,” was my approximate reaction.

The quickness with which I began to lose my shit was astounding. I immediately had trouble breathing and when I realized I might be stuck inside that elevator I knew I couldn’t do it. I knew my whole body would shut right down.

Yikes! Read on for the dramatic conclusion.

[GIF via Honey Jets]

Rihanna might be at Zeitgeist right now

First she came up with the idea for coconut water (as you can see in the “Man Down” video below), and now she’s hanging at Zeitgeist. Rihanna is cool.

UPDATE: I think it’s true, based on how badly this guy wants us to think it’s not.

Maybe this is what becomes of all our stolen bikes

So posits WBTC, whose dad saw this scene in Turkey. [link]

On the other hand, SFPD just found a similar cache just across the bay in Oakland (and posted pics of all their finds), so maybe there’s hope after all.

Unicyclist just unicycling

No big deal.

New video shows Valencia Street rioters repeatedly attacking a police car with police officers in it

First this guy runs at it and punches it:

Then it gets hit with more paint bombs, and then this guy sneaks up behind it with a flare:

The flare guy makes them decide to drive away, and a guy throws a recycling bin at them as they flee:

The video shows a lot of other stuff too, most of which is similarly disconcerting. Watch the whole thing here, if you must, but it will probably just put you in a bad mood:

Bully for them that they’re so proud of their work I guess.

[via SFist]