Mission Mission

There you have it! Hard-hitting media criticism!

I’ve long wondered why the incredible Groger’s Western Store near 26th and Valencia has stood empty and abandoned for all this time. Today, we may be closer to an answer.

Apparently, these wild robots are a bit of a problem in these parts.

[Last photo via potentialpast]

This was the grisly scene from 24th St. BART this morning. Do bike thieves carry high-powered lasers or something?

Exhibit A: The mighty U-lock

Exhibit B: The security cable you use to lock your wheels

I prefer to think of bicycles being on temporary loan from the universe, so I guess I won’t be too bummed when someone collects on my $25 rusted Murray.

A few weeks ago, reader Lily tipped us to a new mural-in-progress in Balmy Alley. Today, she writes in again with an update:

That new mural is now getting some paint on it. Looks like the riot police are kicking Adam and Eve (didn’t fit in picture) out of Eden. Also, those monkeys got some color!

Looks like the Hurricane Katrina mural is getting some updates as well:

From talking with the artist, she was adding more glued on artifacts (the picture glued across the hurricane damage are photographs the artist took of actual artifacts leftover after the destruction) as well as adding some lines, which:

1. will eventually have leaves and be vines/ivy to represent the vines/ivy that grew out of the rubble, and
2. will show the diaspora or displacement of New Orleans natives to other cities and areas of the country.

How’s that for a local art history lesson of the day? Thanks Lily!

The Napper Tandy on 24th S. Van Ness launched their new look last Friday. The exterior has been overhauled and lit with extra-bright fog lights. The interior has been completely redone to match their discerning, classy clientele of football fans (no, not “American football”).

What, you don’t hang out at the Napper Tandy? I’ll have you know that Irish Public Houses are part of a rich, worldwide tradition of capitalizing on Ireland’s drinking culture, and providing a safe haven for English visitors who too squeamish to socialize in unfamiliar countries. Take part in that rich tradition this weekend, won’t you?

Not only that, the Napper Tandy one of the few Mission purveyors of the full Irish Breakfast, which basically two of every animal you can think of. This “noah’s ark” diet is excellent fuel for a mid-day nap. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why “Napper” is in the bar’s name.

Pig and Pie, the restaurant poised to take over the ex-Discolandia space, made a showing at 24th St. First Fridays last week. Hog and Rocks, now Pig and Pie? What’s next, Swine and Sushi?

During the event, they were selling some tasty-looking bratwurst and pickles. Unfortunately, I was too stuffed with tacos to partake. Sorry, but you try walking down half of 24th without gorging every two blocks.

The restaurant is scheduled to open in a couple of weeks, pending city paperwork approval. The fellow above confirmed that the “DISCOLANDIA” sign will stay to satiate whiny bloggers such as myself, but the hanging sign which currently reads “RECORDS” will be replaced with one that reads “SAUSAGES”. I guess that’s cool, since sausages are actually one of the few things I like as much as records.

You can scope the hand-drawn menu in the pics, or head over to their site for their predictably not-too-vegetarian-friendly full menu.

The talented ladies from Rice Paper Scissors are back this Saturday with another popup dinner straight from Saigon, and this time they’re bringing you the Vietnamese answer to fried chicken. Com Ga is the name of the game, a treat which Katie and Valerie first stumbled upon in a garage in Saigon where they witnessed folks cooking this  in a vertical drip fryer which basically cooks the heck out the chicken by streaming hot oil all over it. The perfect pre-Mother’s Day meal!

Check out all the details here, and full menu after the jump.

(I don’t actually know if they inventing anything. Tried googling them to find out what they were reporting on exactly, but “Bile 5″ returned no relevant results. Cool name though.)

[via staysickturnblue]

World’s biggest indie band Death Cab for Cutie tapped local talent for their current U.S. tour, which wraps up next week. We had a chance to talk with Death Cab’s Jason McGerr about their upcoming swing through town and working with the Magik*Magik Orchestra, a local group of classical musicians led by conductor Minna Choi that have been collaborating with acts like John Vanderslice and The Walkmen since 2008.

To win a pair of tickets to the Thursday, May 10, show, give us your best reason you deserve to go in the comments section. Winner will be chosen based on merit. Contest ends at 4 P.M. on Tuesday.

MM: You guys are playing the Fox Theater. Have you played there before? We’re very proud of it.

JM: No, I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about the Fox and the way it sounds. We really lucked out on this tour. Because we’re playing with Magik*Magik Orchestra we haven’t done as many general admission rock venues as we have big beautiful classic theaters that are designed with acoustics in mind. It’s been a real treat to be out here and hear music differently. It’s a whole new experience.

MM: How did you get introduced to the Magik*Magik Orchestra?

JM: Minna Choi did the arrangements for a few of the songs on our new record. Before that, I think in the history of the band we’ve had maybe one cellist on one song, but having more full string arrangements sounded so much more full and beautiful. Afterwards we invited Minna and four string players down to an event we were playing and had them perform, not only the two songs on our new record that they played on but also some back catalog songs that hadn’t had strings before and it was such and amazing experience that it was like, alright, make a note of that, this is what it feels like to play with strings. So that planted the seed.

MM: Tell us about the tour. How has the collaboration changed the dynamic on stage?

JM: Before the tour, Minna worked on arrangements and just kind of emailed back and forth with Chris [Walla]. They [Magik*Magik] were super professional – they had their charts and were all ready to go.  Honestly the first time we played with them was like two days before the tour, and already it’s been incredible. They bring a ton to the table. They make me use my ears more. Playing in your standard four piece rock band, I know where everyone is, but sometimes I don’t really hear it, you know? So it’s a heightened sense of awareness to have these people on stage with really incredible dynamics. I feel like I just got accepted into Julliard.

Death Cab plays the Fox Theater on May 8, 9, and 10. They plan to hit up Cancun and drop by Tiny Telephone to hang out when they don’t have to work. After the tour wraps up, they head to Europe and Japan. Sounds pretty fun.

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