Mission Mission

Just a reminder: the big debate is tonight at the Victoria Theatre at 7:30. It’s open to the public, all the candidates will be there, and the moderator is local media luminary Melissa Griffin. Complete details are at District 9 Debate 2008, including sponsor list and question submission form (and the above graphic).

P.S. Dude, Tom Valtin looks like he belongs in Gogol Bordello! Badass!

On the eve of the big debate amongst his possible successors as District 9 Supervisor, Tom Ammiano asked the city for half a mil to help combat violence here in the Mission. SF Gate has the scoop:

The Board of Supervisors is considering spending an extra $500,000 to reduce violence in the Mission District, which has faced a wave of violence this year. But Mayor Gavin Newsom wants the supervisors to first work with his office to decide whether the money already spent in the neighborhood needs to be redeployed on more effective measures.

More effective measures? Sounds prudent, but can it be done? Link.

Photo by rondd5.

Interesting tidbit on the MAC SF blog, from a post about a recent land use hearing:

Also in the audience was local developer/entrepreneur Gus Murad, owner of Giant Value & the New Mission Theater, keeping a close eye on the Supes so they don’t thwart his 100+ units of market-rate condo w/ monster club (think Medjools but bigger) proposal.

Great! Tapas and porno AND market-rate condominiums! I just hope they don’t mess with the signage. Link. (Thanks, zinzin!)

Photo by lomokev.

Previously on Mission Mission:

Medjool Something Something Douche

Eastern Neighborhoods Plan

TK spotted this on Craigslist and wrote in to say, “Figures they’d come for the Mission first.” Full text:

UFOs Over San Francisco TODAY – 22 (mission district)

Hey guys. Today was amazing.

I can’t really write too much about it for I have been talking about it all day, and into the night with folks. Some shit is going down.

I don’t know whether this is preliminary surveilance or I don;t know, The Galactic Federation of Light scoping the scene pre-October 14th, but a good friend of mine and I were at the park today and saw several unidentified flying objects. They looked exactly like the white lights in the day sky over Guadalajara from 2004. They formed a perfect isosceles triangle over Dolores Park, and many appeared afterwards.

Later on, I guess about two hours ago, they came back. The same friend I was with earlier in the day called to tell me they were out in the sky again, I ran up to my roof and saw them as well. This time at night. She saw what had to have been a thousand in a fleet over near Potrero Hill. And I saw around 10 near the mission from my roof. They move together, and fast, but they will pause and cease to travel if you stare at them for a long enough time. There was a huge streak unlike that of a shooting star or burning up space debris(I know what that looks like), and they all disappeared.

This is no joke, no lie, no delusion. I have seen it along with my friend. On TWO SEPERATE OCCASIONS TODAY. THESE ARE NOT BALLOONS. NOT SATELLITES.

I guess why I am sharing this is because I don’t know what to do with what has happened today, nor do I feel like I can openly talk about it with strangers even though I really would love to.

Anyone else in San Francisco see this?

In the coming weeks, keep thems eyes on the skies.

-k

p.s. please email me if you saw anything and/or know someone that did!

Link (or click thumbnail to view screenshot). Thanks, TK!

Sangroncito found this guerilla PSA on a Bartlett Street wall: “I never knew what I had until it was gone.” It’s a dramatic piece of work, but I can’t help but feel like in a way it’s out of place in our neighborhood. Just by virtue of our collective choice to spend our time in a place like the Mission, we demonstrate that we are keenly aware of what we’ve got. Right? Link.

Oh, you’re just going into Little Star for a minute? Oh, okay, bro.

Oakland’s Ryan Christopher Parks is playing some music as part of a reading at Cafe La Boheme tonight. The theme of the show is “Revolution 1968.” Says Ryan:

In preparation I’ve decided to rename some of my songs with titles like, “Hippies didn’t end the Vietnam War, I did”, “When the revolution comes I’m coming to your house with a crowbar”, and “Meat, tits, and guns”.

I can’t wait.

Update: P.S. It’s an early show, like 6ish.

By simon:

great gringo salsa
tastily unauthentic
i go twice a week

Papalote in a nutshell.

Photo by yvan h.

SF Gate just published a little examination of the District 9 supervisor race:

The front-runners to replace Supervisor Tom Ammiano are all well-known Latino men in their late 30s to mid-40s who have solid records, strong endorsements and similarly far-left political beliefs.

Police Commissioner and attorney David Campos, neighborhood activist Eric Quezada and school board President Mark Sanchez have nearly indistinguishable platforms.

Is it true? Are fortyish, revolutionary Latino dudes the rich old white dudes of the Mission? More importantly, will this be a real race? Link.

Anybody not following Plug1 and Plug2 and their adventures in Spain is seriously missing out. I especially like this shot of two crusty old Spaniards relaxing in front of a spray-painted Scissor Sisters reference in an alley in Granada. The pic at top is Valencia. (Click either to enlarge.)

Plug1′s Flickr photostream is here. WHATIMSEEING is here.