Mission Mission

Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins begin their four-night residency at the Make-Out Room tonight. The club gave Mission Mission a small block of tickets to give away to readers, and we decided to do it contest-style. Tonight’s winner is Joel, and here is his entry:

Probably by most accounts I don’t deserve to go to this show. I’ve never knowingly heard Jonathan Richman. However!–at a formative time in my life (late high school), Craig Mitchell’s MyBoot.com and its flagship unfinished novella, My Girlfriend Hates My Futon, firmly impressed upon me how incredibly worthwhile one of his concerts would be. For the last 9 years or so I haven’t had the chance to find out for myself, but this seems like perfect serendipity. This is that chance. Now is the time.

For reference, or on the off chance that you have no idea what I’m talking about, said novella is only available on the internet archive. I’ve gone to great trouble to find the pertinent chapter for you: [link]. While you’re at it, try giving the rest of the story a read and just see if it’s not the sort of thing that would have given high-school-aged you some ideas about music.

Well we have kind of a short attention span right now, so we’ll get back to you about the novella, but we certainly like the idea of reminiscing about high-school aged us, and we like serendipity. Congrats, Joel!

Photo of Jonathan and Tommy at Rockaway Records by pneyu.

Seconds after we mentioned some street art at Bowery and Houston in New York City, Jeff from Muni Diaries wrote in with a tip about a business whose New York City location is just a few blocks southwest near Centre and Grand:

just noticed a pretty cool NYC designer is opening a store in the mission: built by wendy.

pix attached. maybe this means the gentrification of the mission some have been waiting for

Well readers, is that what it means? Thanks, Jeff!

Please excuse this quick detour from the Mission to the Bowery, but Animal just published this beauty and we thought you’d like to see it. Link.

Previously on Mission Mission:

Matt Gonzalez T-Shirt Drew No Ire

When It Rains It Pours

Katie met Erica Ginelle at an art thing in Pacific Heights. They bonded briefly because they were by far the two youngest people there. Plus, Erica has a gallery in the Mission, and Katie has a blog about the Mission.

Anyhow, Ginelle’s and Erica’s gallery (which is called Iceberger) is having an opening for a new exhibition by Richard T. Walker Saturday from 7-9pm:

Walker utilizes spoken dialogue, text and original music compositions to generate video and photographic works that explore complex relationships between language, the environment and the human condition.

This means, among other things, big pictures of epic landscapes made richer by the addition of thought-provoking little pieces of text. (Click above picture to make it big enough to be able to read the text.)

Previously on Mission Mission:

Little Star’s ‘I Assure You — We’re Open’ Sign Celebrated in Techy Web-Writing Circles

tehjoyof just published this funny photo of a puppy all tarted up for Carnaval. Link.

Better than any haiku I’ve heard all year:

“Look at this homie here

He gave you his beer

Even though you fucked up his face”

Previously on Mission Mission:

Overheard on the 14X

Chillaxin’ at the Nice Lady Store

Mission Mission pal Norm invites us to tonight’s screening of What Would It Mean to Win? at ATA:

Filmed on the blockades at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany in June 2007. In their first collaborative film Zanny Begg and Oliver Ressler focus on the current state of the counter-globalisation movement in a project which grows out of both artists’ preoccupation with globalisation and its discontents. The film, which combines documentary footage, interviews, and animation sequences, is structured around three questions pertinent to the movement: Who are we? What is our power? What would it mean to win?

Find out tonight. Only $6. Link.

Photo of riot police at Heiligendamm last year by paper_riot.

Over at WHAT IM SEEING dot com, Plug1′s put up a nice little essay about Mitchell’s Ice Cream. Tip: 11:30am is a great time to go. The neighborhood’s just getting to hot as blazes, and there’s no line! Link.

Okay, these dudes aren’t coming here exactly, but they’ve opened a training facility in San Diego, and that just might be the first step toward the death of democracy in California. Say an earthquake or terrorist act plunges the city into chaos. Blackwater could land an invasion force in a matter of hours, herd us into camps, torture us — accountable to no one in particular. Bummer!

Or so says Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He appears Thursday at 7pm at Modern Times Bookstore to talk about his book and these new developments down south. I’ll be there, and I might ask him if he likes The Unit.

(via funcheapSF and Courage Campaign)

Photo of Blackwater personnel in Iraq by James Gordon.

Elizabeth S. at The Ladder Herald alerts us to the sad news of Osento impending closure:

I am bereft and heartbroken. Osento is, to me, the essence of the Mission. Original, funky, secret, brilliant, humanitarian, spiritual…they let any woman over 70 years old in free.

Where else is bounce house with slide there truly women-only space?

Where else can we get soak for $12? Not some fancy, intimidating spa, but an everyday place, like the bathhouses of old. Public, friendly, non-judgmental.

Where else can women go to transcend (and don’t say the Lex, which is great, but merely fun).

Grab a soak while you still can. Link.

Link to the Lex.

Photo of Osento’s front door by lorelei.