Mission Mission

Remember those good ol’ days when Woody Allen was in the Mission making a movie? The film opens next month and is called Blue Jasmine, and the first trailer is out, in which Cate Blanchett refers to an apartment nicer than yours as “homey” and another guy refers to the neighborhood as a “big comedown” from what rich people are used to.

SF DocFest, SF Indie’s 12th annual documentary festival, starts today and runs through the 23rd. The festival kicks off tonight with the west coast premiere of Spark: A Burning Man Story at the Roxie Theater.

Notable and relevant film screenings include:

• Petey and Ginger, featuring Petey Dammit of Thee Oh Sees and a local band-filled soundtrack
• Gut Renovation, about Williamsburg and all of our readers’ favorite topic ever, gentrification!
• These documentary shorts by local filmmakers
• Edible City, about the Bay Area Good Food movement
• This one about Pussy Riot
• This one about Bettie Page
• This one about The Pirate Bay

And there’s plenty more, so be sure to check out the full schedule (or just The Roxie’s schedule, if you don’t want to leave the neighborhood).

What an outfit, right? Primo is such a FUN GUY!

(And his cat art show, currently up at Four Barrel, is just as excellent.)

On Friday evening, a man tried to steal my phone on the 14, ripped it out of my hands and ran off the bus. In some fit of animal instinct, I ran after him off the bus, fought him, and got it back. I will spare you most of the details here, but if you want to read my full account of it, redirect yourself here.

Here some quick thoughts:

• Be vigilant, obviously. Keep aware of your surroundings, and avoid using your smartphone or tablet on public transportation, especially if you’re sitting near a door. I know that this is a big fat DOY but it’s also easy to forget.
• If you must use your device, look around you and take note of who is around you. I am not asking you to profile anyone. Just be aware and remember faces.
• If you see a person in distress, do something. I understand the impulse to ignore what is going on and not be nosy, to stay safe. But I am a 26-year-old woman barely over 100 pounds and I was screaming and fighting a man twice my size who had struck me in the face and thrown me to the ground, and between the 20 or so witnesses on the sidewalk and nearby, none intervened until it was over. Apparently, several people thought it was a domestic dispute, and thought, “wow, what an odd couple.” No.
• I am not implying that what I did was the smartest or best thing to do, but I had no time to think and adrenaline is one hell of a drug. This worked out in my favor, but it could have gone terribly wrong.
• If you are a victim of a crime, file a police report. If you are hurt, tell the paramedics and police everything. Shock can delay physical pain until later, and later might be too late for anyone to be held accountable. I was tempted to just get on with my day and get to whatever I was trying to go to, but I’m so glad I didn’t.
• I don’t care how much you resent the new “techies” moving into the neighborhood, but this kind of crime (or any other kind of crime) is not justified. I do not work at a startup or tech company (and it really shouldn’t matter if I did), and I certainly don’t have the paycheck or means to justify buying a new phone if mine was stolen.
• It is easy to forget that this neighborhood can still be a rough one, despite the price tag and all of the big white shuttles. Carry pepper spray, choose well-trafficked paths, don’t walk alone at night, etc. etc.

I don’t know what became of the mugger, and I’d like to think that my altercation with taught him a lesson and scared him enough to lay low for awhile (or, optimistically, to retire from mugging!), but the reality is that he is still out there and he may strike again. Stay safe, everyone.

Fair Oaks is one of the prettiest streets in the Mission, and it has hosted the Fair Oaks Street Fair every spring for the past 37 years — just look at those rad ’70s spring outfits from one of the first ones! As per usual, it’ll be five blocks (21st to 26th) of neighborhood garage sales and food stands from 9am to 5pm, all benefiting local nonprofits (Jamestown Community Center’s youth programs, and the Fair Oaks Community Coalition’s alley project).

Read on for more information and more cool old photos.

Our friend Joe spotted this hip little eatery, which has just established itself right next to Revolution Cafe. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m a little burnt out on all of these new restaurants opening up in the neighborhood.

If you’re vegan or doing a vegan month like I am, and you miss waffles and all manners of sweet breakfasty foods that usually contain eggs and/or dairy, the Way Out Cafe (at Mission and Valencia) is throwing a vegan waffle party tomorrow, 10am-1pm.

Our pal Lizzy spotted this delightful-sounding, bitterly cool treat all the way over in Ferndale, Michigan (where apparently nobody knows what Fernet is)! And just earlier this week, Eater reported that new neighborhood bar Trick Dog is serving up Fernet ice cream. I’m expecting that Humphrey Slocombe will roll out a Fernet and Froot Loops-flavored popsicle any day now.

We received the following email this evening, which has been circulating in a few neighborhood email lists. The original message was written by a female Mission resident who was attacked on Saturday evening. The assailant is still on the loose. Please stay safe and be cautious and vigilant if you are walking home alone late at night.

Update: According to Mission Local, “authorities described the suspect as an 5’8-tall Asian man who weighs approximately 160 pounds, between the ages of 20 and 30. He has a buzzcut and a slight beard and was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.”

Hello -

If your getting this email its because you are a female friend in my circles, live in my neighborhood-ish, or have a large circle of women friends. I wanted to spread the word of what happened to me so hopefully you and your circles can be more aware, street smart and vigilant about your personal safety.

On Saturday evening I was walking home from a friends potluck through the mission when I was attacked – an attempted rape. I was actually being quite conscious of those around me due to the fact that I’m heading to Nairobi in several weeks and personal safety has been on my mind. As I turned up 23rd street, I noticed a man walking to me that ‘zero-ed’ in on my presence, locking eyes on me. There was no side street to turn down, and I didn’t want to turn around, exposing my back to him, so I kept walking. As we neared each other, I tried to walk around a tree quite close to the curb, before I could do so he lunged at me.

(more…)

There’s a familiar local restaurant (that is, its NYC counterpart) reference in Elizabeth Wurtzel’s latest polarizing spew of unhappy humblebrag:

But I don’t think I really want to be going to the new P. T. Anderson movie and Mission Chinese with someone new when I’m 85. And I don’t think anyone will want to be doing that with me.

I sure hope P.T. Anderson is still making movies when Elizabeth is 85.