Mission Mission

Just ask yourself:

As we reported back in December, Rite Spot has been shut up since November. That’s a long time, man. But apparently they’re gonna reopen soonish. An Eater SF tipster has the scoop:

It was all in tumult, furniture stacked in huge piles, sanding equipment and miscellaneous junk everywhere. I talked to one of the guys who said they are undergoing renovations and Rite Spot will be back up and running within a month.

Can’t wait!

[Photo by Google Maps]

Our pal Eli Horowitz, co-author of the renowned ping pong tome Everything You Know Is Pong, spotted something curious on the back cover of his New Yorker the other day:

Hello Allan.  I have a (non-pong-related) tip for you — almost entirely irrelevant, but it’s Mission-centric and has been on my mind. Have you seen this new iPhone ad set in the Mission?  It’s on the back cover of the New Yorker and Rolling Stone and probably elsewhere.  It says “I could use a latte” and then has a photo of the phone, which shows four listings: Ritual, .1 miles; La Taza, .3 miles, Starbucks (at Mariposa), .4 miles, Grand Coffee, .7 miles.”  So first of all, ha ha, that’s mildly interesting.  But then I was wondering where this phone-holder was standing, and I guessed 21st and Valencia — which might work for Ritual and La Taza, but .7 miles to Grand?  And then I realized there’s NO spot that fits all the data, and so Apple must have messed with the distances — maybe in order to include Starbucks on the list?!  Isn’t that interesting?!?!  No, not really, but still.  Citizen journalism!

It’s interesting! Maybe it’s like how I take every opportunity to mention ping pong, Apple takes every opportunity to mention Starbucks?

(Disclosure: I was not paid to plug Eli’s book, but seriously, Eli, if you have any more of those kickass Everything You Know Is Pong-branded paddles left, the one I won is getting pretty worn and having a backup would really set my mind at ease. Also, April is Starbucks’ Global Month of Service! Join them in making a difference in your community this month!)

[via Mid West Coast]

Blogger Zoë Stagg (not pictured) overheard the ultimate exchange:

DUDE:
What do you mean “Hipster?” What’s that?
BRAH:
You KNOW. They’re the ones who wear tiny sweaters.

Tiny sweaters! That’s the key! Thanks for clearing that up, Zoë! [link]

Now that Instagram isn’t cool anymore (I mean, as if it was cool before, shyah, as if!) I thought I’d feel free to share the ultimate uncool photo with you all. Latte art.

I don’t usually go to Muddy Waters, even though they’re right around the corner from my house. I don’t know why. I grew up in a college town and maybe they have too much of that college town feel for my liking. Anyway, I got over myself one day (well, really only for about an hour) and stopped in for a soy latte and a regular latte for my special girl. Now, I’ve been around the Mission a bit and I’ve seen all the hearts, leaves and spinal columns, etc. that baristas are arting into the foam atop my drinks. Not so easily impressed.

Well, here I am. Impressed.

And in a good mood before I even take a sip. Sometimes all you need is some empty positive reinforcement.

This type of thing has really been happening a lot recently, so everyone be sure to take extra care when walking around alone late at night.  This time the intended victim was San Francisco’s premier fashion blogger, The Fog Bender:

Walked my bike up Clarion alley and was confronted by 3 kids who couldn’t have been older than 18.  They ran up to me and started throwing punches and actually knocked me down and kicked me in the head a few times before i got up and started scrapping with them.  I picked up my bike and started swinging it at them saying “you wanna fuck with me?”  One of them threw a half empty plastic bottle of Coke at me.

Read the harrowing conclusion here.

On the heels of last week’s bike theft news, an anonymous reader wrote in with these photos of bike thieves caught on camera from recent thefts at 2125 Bryant (click to see them full size). These images are from about a month ago, but these thieves are still on the loose.

Here’s what you should do if you recognize them:

Please call 911 if you see them. If you have any more info you can contact Police report # 120/171/670 Officer J Lopez #373 Officer J Felix #2027 Mission Station 415-558-5400 415-601-4145 cell.

Aunt Bill’s “Stuff” on Valencia is one of my favorite boxes filled with junk in the Mission (and there are a lot of boxes filled with junk in the Mission). On recent visits, their stock included vintage poison bottles, purple fur coats, a R2D2-shaped beer cooler, this Jacksons record, and half a dozen Eames chairs.

They’ve just opened up a second floor of stuff, and with it, a sparkly disco ball to entertain you while you poop.