Mission Mission

An opening tonight in the Mission:

The exhibition Children explores the unique behaviors within two separate art practices.  Much like behavioral studies developed through observations of a child’s growth, the exhibition exposes the unique approaches within Ito and Lux’s practices which have been sculpted through their individual development as artists.  Both artists translate appropriated imagery, materials and ideas in their independent ways, which constitute the autonomous vernaculars seen in their work.  Ito uses readymade objects and images as preexisting structures in his practice for starting points of new work, while Lux uses his own stylized images and objects as preexisting structures for the formation of new work.

Sounds excellent to me.

[via Shimshang]

It sounds like a real good deal, but in 1855 prices it was actually a lot more outrageous than a $16 burger in 2014. I mean, you could have some perfectly good “Fried Mush” for only 12 cents!

Spend some time with this menu from an SF restaurant in the 1850s:

Burrito Justice has more on the chicken:

IMPORTANT INFLATIONARY UPDATE:

2014 Roast chicken has just breached peak-1855:

$84 at Tosca
$48 at Zuni’s.

So I guess we’re doing alright. Read on for more analysis by Mr. Justice, as well as Anthony Myint’s official review of this place (based on the menu).

Our pal Andy, who was probably the best customer the Attic ever had, snapped this heartbreaking photo and talked to one of the folks involved who told him that a new bar will be replacing the demolished dive.  As our other pal Inna notes:

I love how the Chinese lanterns are still there!

Damn, remember when the only thing threatening the Attic used to be that music-hating NIMBY neighbor?

Make a donation to the Coalition on Homelessness already!

[via Brenna]

That’s right: IT’S CRAB SEASON, KID!

[via Emily]

Zara, a Portuguese contributor to a travel blog called Backpack Me, LOVES the Mission. Here’s what she has to say…

Comparing it to other SF neighborhoods:

I leave behind elegantly manicured neighborhoods, to enter what I’d already dare to call Latin America.

Comparing it to Noe Valley in particular:

Baby strollers rolling into bagel shops was the world up the hill. Down here, I see brunette ladies with overloaded bags full of groceries. Cafes have been replaced by fresh fruit and vegetable stores, that display heaps of aromatic cilantro, tomatoes, varieties of potatoes and, of course, corn products in all shapes and sizes.

She tries a little experiment:

Walking around Mission, I decide to do a little experiment and see if I’d go by the entire afternoon without speaking a word of English. Absolutely no problem!

She enjoys a little flirting:

I buy a bag of tomatoes and receive a “You’re welcome, Preciosa” as an answer. I like that! I got used to a little flirting while shopping at the market in Santiago de Chile… and now a simple self check-out at the bigger supermarkets doesn’t cut it for me anymore.

She does allow that there’ve been some changes in the neighborhood in recent years, but it’s no big deal:

If it wasn’t for the hipster influx that The Mission has been receiving in recent years (and who can blame them, really… this place rocks!) I could almost forget I am in the USA.

On Mission residents:

Residents exchange words in Spanglish. They tend to be loud and laugh a lot. Like just back home.

On Starbucks:

You don’t see Starbucks around here. But you do see a church in almost every street.

Phewf! Maybe the Mission’s still got it after all! Read on for lots more pics and commentary.

Jason from local band Maus Haus wrote in to tell us about a new solo project:

i just finished a “solo” album of sorts, called Rent Control, essentially documenting my life in the mission district circa 2013 (when i wrote all the songs), shortly before relocating to west oakland.

i lived on harrison and 24th from 2003 to 2013, from age 21 to 31, and saw the neighborhood change drastically.

the record goes on personal tangents, but there are definitely some subjects of interest that your readers can relate to:

track 2 “retro city” kind of takes a look at the reinvented garage rock bandwagoneer

track 5 “life on the other side” daydreams about moving to oakland, albeit with fear

track 6 “ice cream” is about how resentful my friends and i were that humphrey slocombe moved in, bringing all these lame-os, but then we ourselves can’t resist the treats either

track 7 “in jets” quite literally tells the story of the neighborhood changing overnight, millionaires moving in, without you even realizing it, and then it’s too late.

track 8 “reasons” is an ironic spoken word meets guitar noise tirade against the new neighbors

Let’s listen:

UPDATE: They’re playing a show this weekend in the Mission! Here’s the deal…

This Sunday November 23:
J. Kick & Rent Control
(plus 3 secret bands)
AMNESIA (Valencia @ 20th)
7pm doors
FREE
FREE
FREE

[Photo by Justin, via It's Always Sunny in San Francisco]

3D City is a year long stereoscopic photography project by Doctor Popular

Walk around photographing the city long enough and you’ll end up with plenty of photos of stairs. I was building up quite a collection and thought they deserved their own post.

“I like a escalator, man, ’cause an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs.” – Mitch Hedberg

(more…)

Former local blogger Ramona takes a look at lateness:

The thing about making someone wait for you is that it communicates to them that you don’t care if they hate you. This is fine if you’re a boss or a doctor or a host at any restaurant in New York. But you’re not a host at any restaurant in New York, and you’re definitely not the boss of me. You’re my friend, or you were until you sent me a text saying that you were running a little late when you had already pushed the meeting time back an hour. You can only stretch the meaning of “a little” so far before it becomes tomorrow. Or stretch the meaning of “meeting” so far before it becomes “cancelled meeting.” (Maybe one reason my friends balk at meeting me on time is that I refer to grabbing drinks as “a meeting,” and “a binding legal agreement.”)

Why do people make plans linked to times when they’re going to act like they don’t exist? Why do they wait until ten minutes before their plans start to finally get around to looking for that winter hat that they lost in their closet last year? Why not stop making plans altogether and just say “I’ll see you sometime” and then walk around Union Square until they run into someone they know or die of a broken heart?

Read on for Ramona’s startling conclusion.

[Photo by Honey Jets]