Economic Downturn Good For Karaoke?

Karaoke aficionado Megan checked out the scene at Amnesia last night and had this to say:

Just occurred to me: rampant unemployment = longer waiting lists at weeknite karaoke. Wack.

Link.

Saw The Light

Evening reflections at 16th and Mission by eviloars. Do click it to enlarge.

Scrap Metal Mischief

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I get up for one second, and everybody’s screwing around with the latest additions to my scrap metal collection. I like it though. Scratching the surface of its potential.

“It always comes down to this” (huh?)

BART Swing Installed

bart-swing

BART Swing is a reality! Photo by neiltron, from the Flickr pool BART Swings 2009.

Thanks, Rick!

Previously:

BART Swing (in Theory)

Speed Racer

This week on I Heart Street Art, we look at a badass car parked in an alley. Link.

Brittney Lives Here

Brittney of Eye on Blogs is the subject of i live here SF today, and in her shoot she’s posed in front of no less than three epic Mission walls, including the late, great Suriya Thai’s garage door elephant (above), the mustachioed Ben Davis sign at Arik’s, and Charlie Callahan’s Orange Alley sea urchin.

See the whole shoot, and Brittney’s SF story here.

Previously:

Suriya Thai No More

Ben Davis No More

Orange Alley Here To Stay

Fire at Evergreen Market

On Mission between 21st and 22nd. MSF wrote in to alert us, saying, “it seems pretty big.”

This Twitter search confirms it.

Update: Epic pic by @essday

capp-fire

San Francisco Should Have Paid the Bratts to Make This Film

There’s nothing better than a movie review that reads nothing like a movie review. Phil Bronstein on La Mission:

Although “Milk” gave SF its overdue due about an important time, an historical figure and a movement, “La Mission” is essentially an ongoing narrative of real and profound life, mostly in the neighborhood noted in the title, but with powerful vistas and street corners of other parts of our geography. Culturally and literally, it fills in the color that we should be celebrating and feeling more.

The Bratts’ “La Mission” shows there are two tales to this city…

Building Bridges, From Neighborhood to Neighborhood, via Cinema

la-mission

Thursday night I got to go to the SFIFF premiere of La Mission at the Castro. First I’ll say it was the best opening three seconds of a movie in recent memory, possibly ever. And the rest was great too.

Before it started, when the lights first went down, somebody ran down an aisle and shouted an exuberant, “VIVA LA RAZA!” To which the dorky society folk sitting all around me clutching their gift bags responded, “What?” “Huh?” “Oh, my.”  “What does that mean?” “What did he say?”

This exchange presaged what would be the theme of the evening. The film itself is pretty well wholly devoted to the divides between San Francisco’s neighborhoods (and the divides within them), and in the Q&A after, Bratt Brother Benjamin made a point of expressing his hope that La Mission inspires viewers to start building bridges.

Also during the Q&A, we heard from H.O.M.E.Y. Executive Director (and freshly minted movie star) Rene Quiñonez (who you might remember from that community meeting in the wake of last fall’s spate of shootings). He thanked the Brothers Bratt for providing him and his organization with a new tool, saying he’d use screenings of La Mission as a way to kickstart discussion with neighborhood youths about hot topics like homophobia and gentrification.

Then we all went over to the after party behind Bruno’s, where everyone was showered with complimentary Stella and tartlets, and interviewed by Beth Spotswood and her camera crew.

Photo by eviloars.

Rhythms From The Depths

kdvs-octopus

If you know me, you know that even though I don’t even have the slightest idea where Davis is, I could wear a different KDVS shirt every day for a month and probably still have a couple left over. (My little sister is the publicity director — AND THEY HAVE RAD SHIRTS.)

Well, tonight is the final night of the station’s 2009 fundraiser, so you’ve got until midnight to pledge for this GNARLY ROCKTOPUS, one of the raddest they’ve ever produced. (Also, like a million other premiums and other shirt designs and prize packs.)

Listen live here, and visit the fundraiser page here.

Previously:

Support Handmade Radio

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