Mission Mission

Mission photographer ::novocainated:: recently sat down a bunch of random strangers above the 24th Street BART stop and took their portraits.

Were you one of them?

Also, apparently the guy above was merely off to a party and doesn’t wear a kilt all the time.  Too bad!

Previously: Cops are Good Listeners

Our pal Annie learned something last week on her way to 16th and Valencia. Here’s how it starts:

I was walking quickly on 16th Street, keenly aware of the six minutes that remained before I’d be late — and I hate being late — when I heard a man call out to a woman. “Excuse me! Miss?” he said. I kept walking. He kept calling. Then I turned and realized he was talking to me.

I am ashamed to admit that when a strange man approaches me in the city, my first instinct is to wonder if he wants money or to sexually harass me. Because of this response, I am always a little guarded. I looked at the man slowly.

Read on.

An offer too good to be true?

We’ve got individual rooms for rent!—think college dorm-style, a long hallway down the middle with rooms on either side, shared bathrooms, shared toilets. Below, Zeitgeist is a vibrant bar with a sunny beer garden for SF summers. We’re looking for a few good additions to our tenant base who can appreciate the bustly setting below while also respecting the solitude of their fellow hotel mates above the bar. Two rooms are available this month, two more next, each approximately 10′ x 10′. Electrical, water, and free Internet access are all included. We require a $600 security deposit, a $50 key deposit, and first month’s rent at lease signing. Here’s another cool thing: drugs are absolutely not tolerated, but well-behaved pets are. We’re dog and cat friendly. Background checks and credit checks will be run on all applicants, if only because the harmony of our living space is important to us. Interested? Please come by the bar and fill out an application or, better yet, make an appointment by contacting out resident property manager at: timeghost11@gmail.com.

I love the part about how “drugs are absolutely not tolerated.”  I’ll remember that the next time a coked-out bartender yells at me for only ordering two bloody marys.  On the other hand, you’ll be in perfect position to observe what I call the “Zeitgeist Paradox,” which postulates that on nice and sunny SF days when it seems as though it would be perfect to hang out at Zeitgeist, in actuality you don’t want to go anywhere near Zeitgeist because it’s packed to hell in there.

Zeitgeist Paradox Null-Hypothesis

And of course, if the city has their way, you won’t have to worry about smoke wafting up from the courtyard anymore either!  Burger fumes are another story, but only Vegansaurus would have a problem with that.  I also want to put on record that I really really wish my email address was timeghost11.  Totally fucked that one up.

Oh, and are you wondering how I shot all these pictures in the Zeitgeist courtyard without getting tossed?

(more…)

Shitty Kitty is back from Morocco!

“As always, Telephone and Soup will bring the comic-making supplies, you bring your friends and shittiest ideas.”

Shotwells (@20th), Tonight (Thursday the 18th), 6pm til late night burrito time

The same on February 14th, 2010 (above) as it was on February 14th, 2009. (below)

I was sleepily strolling along Mission Street last Sunday and realized at some point that I was in Thrift Town. I went upstairs with no plan in mind and stumbled upon my new workout spot. I did a full circuit, some AbSwing, some Xtreme, some lift-and-pull thing, some other thing that I think I did backwards, then went around for a second cycle. At one point a girl looking around even joined in for a few reps.

Not bad for a free membership.

Details are constantly emerging regarding new legislation the city is considering that would expand the current ban on indoor smoking to include anywhere within 15 feet of entrances and exits to ALL buildings in San Francisco.  This verdict would ostensibly include enclosed smoking patios, such as that within everyone’s favorite place to get yelled at by barbacks (although a final decision on this specific point has been stalled and will be revisited in 2 weeks). 

Assuming that this zany legislation somehow passes despite its detrimental impact on businesses already weakened by the recession, what will this mean for Zeitgeist?  Do people just go there because they can smoke in the backyard?  Or is it all about the mass appeal of a sunny outdoor space for drinkers (especially since lately this seems to be an endangered species)? 

Furthermore, what will this mean for non-tobacco-smokers who exploit the freedoms of Democracy by blending in with smokers (and carrying identical implements) only as a guise to stealthily engage in, um, other activities?

UPDATE!  Commenter dave has the answer:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the only thing that can save that place is a highly publicized stabbing.

[photo (and somehow not getting kicked out of the place) by gweedo]

Snapped this up on 20th/Guerrero this morning.  It’s as if the Mystery Machine was shrunken down and decided to park too close to a DeLorean.  They are both interested in leaving present day. 

Or it’s just a wacky meter maid chillin’ by a clunker.  Either way, a mystery is afoot!

Every night, another woman.  We’ve all had him.  His gaze alone will knock you off your feet, leave you headless, sever your arms.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when it first arrived in the mail.  Being a neighbor living within 500 feet of the new proposal, I received a letter from owner Jeff Segal about his ambitious plans to open a wine bar just around the corner, right next door to my landlord’s laundry place (damn–I knew there was  a reason why there’s no washer or dryer in my building!).

It was full of well-intentioned statements like (paraphrasing) “I live in the Mission, and I saw a really big need in the community for a place that brought wine and food to a place that makes it accessible,” and “I’ve been waiting my whole life to start a wine bar and restaurant like this.”  My roommates and I each rolled our collective eyes and thought “here we go again . . .“  Who needs another douche-and-yuppie magnet on Valencia Street?

Well, it’s finally here.  Furthermore, I think I might actually go check it out.  Perhaps Rosumunde and Pi Bar have softened me up to the idea of the casual eat-and-drink spot, but I find myself kind of rooting for this place a little bit.  The collaberation with Kitchenette might explain some of that, since so far every time I’ve biked out to the Dogpatch to try them out for lunch I’ve been greeted by an hour-long line.  Now maybe I’ll finally get to taste one of their beef & pork polpette sandwiches with amatriciana sauce (tomato, fatted calf bacon, chile flakes) and parmesan cheese or their sautéed chinese broccoli leaf and roasted butternut squash side salads with sultana raisins, slivered almond, chili oil.  They really know how to title entrees.

And it doesn’t look that bad in there!  I don’t know.  Am I misguided?  Do we really need a place like this on Valencia?  I do know one thing however:  the fact that co-op Arizmendi Bakery (whose mission is basically to bake delicious bread while training its staff how to own and operate their own bakery) is also opening a location right next door is a damn good thing for Valencia.

UPDATE:  MissionMission reader Mike Z. saw it go down:

i got a burrito at papalote yesterday and the crew that were putting up the sign on that place were punk/metalheads.  they had just finished and were drinking beers out of bags.  outside the wine bar.

[exterior photo from SFoodie]

[interior photo from Judy Parker]