Mission Mission

(2009)
Once again the fine residents of Fair Oaks Street open up their garages and heap their valuables upon the sidewalks. It’s been going on for more than 20 years, but if you haven’t been yet all you need to know is that the whole street from 21st to 26th becomes a neighborhood flea market. You can find collectibles (old Army medals, old comic books), personal items (old yearbooks, old clothes), household stuff (old glassware, old kitchen appliances), and new stuff. Also! Cute little kids will probably be selling baked goods, families will probably be selling tamales and bros will probably be selling sausages.

It’s fun, grab a friend and check it out.

Since the beerdolero haiku contest is ending today, we’re throwing another one out there for our faithful readers.

In anticipation of the Jewish holiday of hanging out, Shavuot, the Cal Academy of Sciences is collaborating with Reboot and Tablet magazine to host DAWN 2010, a late-night kaleidoscope of cultural arts and such.  Check out this awesome lineup:

• Sandra Bernhard, a one-woman comedic force of nature
• Gary Shteyngart, author of internationally acclaimed novels The Russian Debutante’s Handbook and Absurdistan
• Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) & master mixologist Bryan Ranere (of Laszlo fame) mixing up a special round of drinks
• Fool’s Gold performing their unique blend of African dance rhythms

Of course, there will also be DJs and art installations all over the place, giving you ample opportunity to wander through the Living Roof, Technicolor aquarium, and other fascinating science exhibits at your leisure.

The party is going down on Saturday, May 15th from 7:30pm-Midnight at the Cal Academy of Sciences, but tickets are on sale now!  As luck would have it, however, Mission Mission has happened upon a pair of tickets that can be yours (if you’re good enough).

We’re calling out all the nerds for this one with . . . an essay!  In 200 words or less, write a story comment about how science has changed your life.  If it hasn’t, well, then you really have no business being in the Cal Academy in the first place.  You have until 5pm this Thursday, so get cracking!    And remember, no futzing with the margins!

PS. Let’s meet up at the eel garden!

UPDATE!!! This show is FREE, so pick up your FREE TICKETS from that place I told you about during those times that I mentioned.  Hopefully they’re not all gone yet!

@Noisepopfest has the scoop on a little show that is happening right here in the Mission at the good ol’ Victoria Theater, starring 7×7 faves the Dodos.  If you’re like me, you haven’t been to that place since you saw a smashing rendition of The Who’s Tommy, complete with onstage band playing all the hits.

Even if their popcorn isn’t necessarily as scrumptious as the stuff from the Roxie, it’s still pretty damn classy inside.  Get your tickets from 9am-2pm beginning Thursday and through Saturday here:

[Latte Photo by Premshree Pillai]

Previously:

Popcorn Party

Tomorrow night (Saturday) McSweeney’s new book The Clock Without A Face will be released into the wild! Come to The Secret Alley at 7pm to catch authors Eli Horowitz and Mac Barnett present the book and the accompanying nation-wide treasure hunt. Exclusive clues to the whereabouts of the 12 emeralds will probably slip out.

Stick around for the magic of Christian Cagigal and the acoustic music of Hod Hulphers, Chris Klippel, The Gilded Rooks and Champion McConnell.

All this for the price of nothing! Free as the beautiful air around you!

More info about the amazing book can be found here.

The Secret Alley is at 180 Capp Street, between 16th and 17th, right near BART!

(disclosure: I am one of the bozos from The Secret Alley)

Judging from this promotional video, Planet Booty is going to be putting on an epic show this Friday at the Blue Macaw. These self-produced ironic disco funksters were featured as one of Chicago Tribune’s 50 Worst Album Covers, with this masterpiece:

The Germick bros (who combine to form Germart) are a talented bunch of musicians, producers, and artists. I was lured in by the ridiculously cute girl working their booth at Alternative Press Expo a couple of years ago and they keep popping up on my radar. Nice hustle, guys!

More info on the show at Germart.

The Makeout Room has become the go-to location for folks who want a little bit of personal sharing with their whiskey, and tonight will be no different as it hosts the latest incarnation of Muni Diaries Live.  The fun starts at 7:30 TONIGHT and goes until 9:30pm, and it’s free!  Check out this line up:

Comedian Will Franken
Fun(ny) guy Johnny FunCheap
BART operator Kelly Beardsley
Vero Majano of Mission Media Archives
The delightful music of McPuzo and Trotsky
And last but not least, the Cock-Ts will return to … get us all in the mood.

I’m also excited by the prospect of Silvi from the Poetry Store hammering away on a good old-fashioned typewriter in the corner, chronicling the moments of the evening with a dash of poetic whimsy.

Come on out and prove that Muni riders can do a lot more than just complain about crazy delays caused by the horrific accident yesterday at Castro station that resulted in a person on the tracks being struck and killed by a Muni train, which tragically occured just one day after another unfortunate man died after being run over and then pinned underneath a bus.

[Photo by Rumnose via Muni Diaries]

Filmmaker Joshua Grannell (sometimes known as Peaches Christ) sat down with me to talk a little about one of his favorite Mission haunts, The Victoria Theatre.

Joshua’s feature film, a dark comedy shot in our very neighborhood, All About Evil, premieres as part of the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival on May 1st at the Castro Theater. It will be a wild, live extravaganza that sounds basically like the mother of all Midnight Masses. Get tickets here and get them fast! This thing is hot!

Watch a clip of the movie here.

Part one of two.

UPDATE: Jason says that advance tickets have been gone for a minute. I may have old info. In any case, look for other live shows at The Victoria in the near future, and in the meantime you can go to the pre-party on April 30th at The Stud Bar.

Everybody loves parades.  The Rose Parade, Dykes on Bikes; hell, Disneyland has a parade every single day.  And street festivals are all about revolution, taking back the pavement from automobiles and the insidious forces that promote their ubiquitous role in society.  Predictably then, the Cesar Chavez Parade and Festival was an obvious hit, marrying both concepts into a union that even the Mormons would have a difficult time de-legitimizing.

This fellow was particularly enthused to be part of the action.  Since they apparently wouldn’t let him be part of the lo rider escort team, rolling with the mobile mariachi unit was the next logical choice.  Oh, but you don’t have to litter, guys!

The unions also got to strut their stuff, which was probably the whole point when this celebration was initially conceived.  It was educational, too, since I previously had no idea that there was in fact a linoleum union.

As expected, the postal union continued their stagnant march ahead, blissfully unaware that the Post Office will probably be bankrupt in two years, having chosen to subsidize environment-wrecking mass catalog distribution and junk mail companies by resorting to steadily increasing the cost of postage for you and me to send simple letters, rather than attempting to creatively integrate the internet age into operations.

It’s unfortunate that it costs 44 cents for us to send a simple one-page letter in the mail, but Ikea (or pick whatever corporation you want) gets to clog your box with massive tomes that you will probably just forward directly to the recycling bin, and they only have to pay a mere penny or two to send each one.  Trees get chopped to supply all the paper, much of which often finds its final resting place in landfills.  All the while the USPS keeps hemorrhaging money without knowing why.  But arguing about snail mail on the internet is a tired affair, and I digress.  Plus, we’ve still got to get to the street festival!

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New-on-the-scene Guerrero Gallery will be hosting their second Group Opening this Saturday, which should make for a great place to check out a bunch of local artists (around 20 or so in fact).  Group openings are neat because they feature a ton of variety and you usually get a bunch of artistically-minded people all in the same place.  Throw in the fact that there will be free beer and a taco truck outside, and there’s a good chance that you’ll see me there zoning out in front of this piece by James Marshall waiting for the Magic-Eye sailboat to pop out.

The fun starts at around 7pm this Saturday at 2700 BRYANT Street.  Not on Guerrero!  That’s just the dude’s name!  Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Last Wednesday at Michael Abraham Jazz Session, this Kora player showed up! Anyone know him? Check out this video of him doing his thing in glorious iPhonevision:

It sounds like there are angels in that gourd. The Kora is probably my favorite African harp/lute instrument that is fashioned out of a calabash. What’s yours?

Mike Abraham is also probably one of the baddest guitarists I’ve ever seen in any style. You never know who will pop in at his jam. Head over to Amnesia tomorrow at 10pm to check it out. I’ve got my fingers crossed that a jazz hand-farter will show up.