The Pros and Cons of Leaving the Mission

Rick here has lived in the Mission for two years, and now he’s moving on, to some intersection called 17th and Clayton, and he’s made a list of the pros and cons of leaving the Mission behind. Here are the cons:

Things I’ll Miss About Living in the Mission (specifically 24th and Shotwell):

  • The 3 minute walk to BART
  • The 40 Taquerias (Papalote and Vallarta, in particular) and the number of dive bars (Mission Bar, Nap’s 3) within walking distance.
  • The $3 Four Lokos I can conveniently purchase at the corner.
  • The quick shot up to the top of Bernal Hill.
  • St. Francis Fountain down the street
  • The relative flatness of the Mission in general and being able to get anywhere in the area on my bike faster than a car.

Read on for the pros section, though you should know it begins with a Bébé’s Kids reference.

Victorian Sidewalk Stencils

Even better than the real thing? Because there is only one busload of tourists photographing them instead of three busloads? Am I right?

[Photo by Frickety Fresh]

Why Are Girls Rad?

Sexpigeon knows:

Girls are rad because they think about things like…

Read on.

Carjacking-Style Bikejackings in Chicago

Sure, we here in San Francisco think we have it bad, what with bad drivers and menace-level cab drivers and Muni malpractice, but cyclists in Chicago have to deal with ROVING GANGS OF ARMED BIKEJACKERS:

His swing missed thanks to a tight swerve and when he threw the chair, it went wild over and behind me.  Turning up Damen, I saw another guy running toward me.  There was no way I’d get past him, so I cocked my leg for a kick and gave him my best.  I don’t know if I connected.  His elbow went right into my chest and stopped the bike hard.  A couple other guys came up from behind and waled on my back until I hit the ground, my head bouncing off the pavement.

As any cornered animal will tell you, adrenaline’s a hell of a thing.  While a few guys kicked me in the chest and back, two other guys tried to steal the bike, and I wasn’t letting go.

It’s like a Cormac McCarthy novel or something! Read on.

[via Sea of Static]

[Photo by swade]

Tartine Bread Is Getting Its Own Storefront

The Feast breaks the news:

What was recently a Japanese luggage store adjacent to Bar Tartine will soon transform into a bake shop devoted to bread. Tartine’s loaves, fresh out of the oven daily at 5 P.M., already have a cult following and they’ll soon be way more available. “This is the first time I’m designing a bake shop and want to have the perfect little bread atelier,” explains Chad Robertson, who owns the Tartine empire with wife Elisabeth Prueitt. “It’s going to be a simple, elemental shop in an urban setting.”

Read on.

So we can get breads and other treats to go without waiting in one of those soul-crushing lines at Tartine #1? Or will this place just draw huge crowds too?

[via Eater SF]

[Photo by Shelley P.]

Previously:

Why Can’t All Bread Be Tartine Bread

Now Here's a Great Bike Lock

And the video is great too — an ideal length. No online video should be much longer than this, unless it’s epicly gnarly.

[via Urban Velo]

Sky on Fire

Like, are Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey going to soar out of that blaze on the backs of a couple of flying dragons being chased by more flying dragons and they all rain fire down upon the city? Because that’s what it looks like is going to happen.

[Photo by myarea]

Previously:

Lagoon in the Sky

These Sunsets

New York Times Profiles Outer Sunset, Dubs it 'Driftwood Alley'

It’s a few pictures and little blurbs about the neighborhood’s “arty shops and cafes.” Check it out.

[via A Beautiful Life]

Previously:

Journey to the Center of the Outer Sunset

Hey What Does 'California' Mean Anyway?

Wikipedia knows:

The name California is most commonly believed to have derived from a fictional paradise peopled by Black Amazons and ruled by a Queen Califia. The myth of Califia is recorded in a 1510 work The Exploits of Esplandian, written as a sequel to Amadís de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.[8][9][10] The kingdom of Queen Califia or Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a remote land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts and rich in gold.

Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island named California, very close to that part of the terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women, without a single man among them, and that they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. Their weapons were all made of gold. The island everywhere abounds with gold and precious stones, and upon it no other metal was found.[11][verification needed]

Whoa! Griffins! Read on.

Previously:

Let’s All Sink With California When It Falls Into the Sea

Free Experimental Hot Cocktails at El Rio Tonight!

Follow El Rio on Facebook here, so’s you don’t have to rely on us for tasty updates like this one.

Allan Hough

Posts: 7810

Email: allanhough@gmail

Website: http://allanhough.bandcamp.com

Biographical Info:

"I joked that living in the Mission would be the end of me. And there were nights where it felt like the case.

One night I went out with my friend Allan to the bar that no one goes to on 16th Street, where I lost half my drink and money on the dance floor. Later we skated down 16th to Evelyn Lee, where I fell off my board and landed on my head as the 22 bus sped past behind me. A sobering moment. At the bar, I sulked and nursed my wounds until Allan put on Amy Winehouse’s 'Valerie.' We danced, he dipped me, and I felt better."

— My pal Valerie, writing about life in the Mission