Mission Mission

Just in time for winter, SFist has compiled a list of SF bars with fireplaces. The Mission’s own Homestead made the cut:

While the Homestead’s heat source is actually a cast iron stove, it’ll cure your winter chill just as effectively as anything else on the list. With free peanuts that you’re free to toss on the floor and buxom nude portraits adorning the walls, the place hasn’t changed much in more than 110 years of operation.

Read on for lots more fireplace.

Longtime Mission fixture Isaac Fitzgerald is leaving SF! Like in a couple days! To mark the occasion, local band The Yellow Dress has released a track from their upcoming album, a track called “Isaac Fitzgerald.” And it rules:

There are a bunch of cool timelapses out there on the web of Sutro fog, downtown days becoming night and all around the city. Local filmmaker and photographer Matt Maniego just released one that he’s been working on for the past year and it’s as amazing as any I’ve seen. Great shots, great editing. Make it full screen and check it out.

And so you take a picture of these two accessories and post them on your blog.

This map, by unbear, is called “fixed it,” so it’s probably based on some other map. Anyway, it’s pretty good but SO MUCH URINE WTF

[via baby ghost]

UPDATE: It’s a Bold Italic map!

That strip of parkland between Mission Street and South Van Ness was gonna be called “Mission Arcade.” And the one running east-west was “Mission Parkway.” And how helpful would those diagonals be when biking from Dear Mom to El Rio??

Bernalwood dug this up; here’s the story:

A few weeks ago, I took Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter to visit the new Exploratorium. While we were there, we wandered down a long hallway and into the Bay Observatory Gallery at the northeast corner of the museum. And in the Bay Observatory Gallery, we found a very cool collection of maps [...]

[T]he Cub Reporter was fascinated with a map visualization created by the amazing Eric Fischer (which quite speaks well of her).

Simultaneously, your Bernalwood editor was intrigued by a map of an ambitious redevelopment plan that envisioned San Francisco as a kind of Paris by the Bay, with grand boulevards and ornate gardens slicing through our familiar street grid.

Read on for a bunch more maps and history.

Now let’s rock out:

Brittany and Katie are on a roll, seeing some really great theater around town. Here’s their review of Porgy and Bess:

http://youtu.be/14ZD4OsCJXA

After speed dating the cast and creatives of the touring cast of Porgy and Bess, now playing at SHN’s Golden Gate Theater, we were excited to see them in action. Donning our Julia-Roberts-in-Pretty-Women opera wear, we headed to the theater for some Drama Talk and Drinks.

Katie: I liked it (laughs) . . . I mean opera isn’t my favorite, but I really enjoyed this story. Everyone was really talented and I cared a lot about the characters. I was moved by this play.

Brittany: I think what was remarkable about this production is that they did such a good job of making the opera really raw. They brought a slightly more contemporary way of singing to some songs, which I liked, but it still honored the opera tradition. If you are a purist, some of these numbers may not sound like you remember, but I think it translates well for a new musical theater audience. The way they brought the wailing and the opera together. Their crying was singing, and their singing was crying, and I loved that.

K: Yeah, The music was beautiful. The struggle really spoke to me. The love between Porgy and Bess – I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a closeted hopeless romantic – that story kept me engaged. All I can say is it was passionate and beautiful, everything I think an opera wants to be.

B: It was a beautiful production. The costumes were beautiful. ESosa created clothing that made the actors look great. The lighting was my favorite part. I thought it was perfectly done, and did such a good job of directing your attention in subtle ways. I thought every single one of the actors had a deep and awesome backstory, and it was great to see those develop throughout the show.

The Verdict: This is a beautiful revival. If you aren’t an opera person, this could be a good way to get your feet wet. It has the operatic qualities, but also falls back on the Gershwins’ jazz influences throughout the production. If you’re a Porgy and Bess purist be warned, this production moves a lot faster than the original opera, which may not be a welcome change (it wasn’t for the Porgy and Bess superfan we went with, although he still enjoyed the show). If you really can’t stand opera, Porgy and Bess probably isn’t for you no matter how good or short the production. The folks we chatted up at Mr. Smith’s after the show were admittedly not opera people, and haven’t been to a musical in years. They were significantly less impressed than we were.

The Drama Talk: Porgy and Bess started as a book that explored the Gullah culture and the lives of African American fisherman on “Catfish Row” in South Carolina. The story was first turned into a play, then Gershwin turned it into an American folk opera in 1935. Many opera companies were uncomfortable staging it because Gershwin insisted it be played by black performers, so it was first performed as a musical. This revival honors that history, from it’s Gullah roots to its civil rights undertones, rounding out with 1930s jazz influences. In doing so it creates a layered and beautiful production of this classic American opera.

The Drinks: Mr. Smith’s is right around the corner from SHN’s Golden Gate theater, on the corner of 7th and Market. But despite it’s convenient location, the trek through Mid-Market is evidently too much for many theater goers, because they were empty and about to close when we arrived after the show. The bouncer, Jerry, and bartender, Mike, were true gems, and invited us in for a final drink. We had delicious craft made cocktails, Brittany got the Marmalade Sour and Katie got the 7th Street Gimlet, and we had a great conversation with a few fellow audience members about the show and theater in San Francisco. That’s what’s great about mixing theater and drinking, it brings strangers together.

Porgy and Bess runs through December 8th at SHN’s Golden Gate Theater. All tickets are subject to dynamic pricing based on demand, but prices seem to range from $40 – $210, and are available through the SHN website.

The condo construction chaos at the New Mission Theater site is displacing the Mission Community Market for a while, but it might be for the best since they get to move over to 22nd Street between Mission and Valencia, which gets a hell of a lot more foot traffic and just generally has a lot more going on than Bartlett between 21st and 22nd, where the market usually happens. Mission Local reports:

Hasel Vasquez, who runs the perfume stand in Anita’s Beauty Salon on 22nd echoed the overall sentiment: “Not only will it help the market – it will help us,” she said referring to the new foot traffic.

Vasquez said the market’s location on Bartlett is “too tucked away” and the move closer to Mission Street will give Latinos “better access.”

Read on.

['gram by @malenarose]

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[via Mission Local]

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(Thanks, Allie!)