Mission Mission

We stopped by the grand opening party of Photobooth yesterday, and were surprised to see the storefront (which some of you may remember as a two-story acupuncture clinic) transformed into a vast, high-ceilinged space resembling an Apple Store. Photobooth is a portrait studio, gallery, retail store, and a new addition to the Mission arts scene, run by local photographers Michael Shindler and Vince Donovan.

Shindler and Donovan, who specialize in Civil War-era tintypes and Polaroids respectively, run a live portrait studio in the storefront during open hours offering two modes of instant gratification ($20 for Polaroid, $40 for tintype). The retail portion is stocked with retro camera gear, including refurbished Polaroid cameras, the entire Lomography toy camera line, and Polaroid film from the Impossible Project. The space will also feature local photographers, host events and openings, and hold alternative photography classes.

Previously:

• Say cheese

Remember Beautiful Swear Words? Fucktard. Vajayjay. FUUUUUUUUUCK. All your favorite curses illustrated by hand. We saw the T-shirt potential and the call has been answered.

Each shirt will be available for one week. The first? “SHIIIT“.

A note to our young readers: you probably can’t wear these at school. Once my friend Cameron wore his “Green Day: Dookie” T-shirt and our science teacher sent him to the principals office! He said the shirt was “drug related”. Whatever, old dude.

Heads up, climbers: for the next two days, the bouldering area at Mission Cliffs will be closed as new foam floors are installed. Meanwhile, new problems have been set on the main floor. And there’s always Valencia Cliffs…

Check out the installation’s progress on Mission Cliffs’ Facebook page.

Previously:

• Jane ‘Sue Sylvester’ Lynch is at Mission Cliffs right now
• Stink Danger at Mission Cliffs!

From our pal Anna:

I was having an excellent 29th birthday celebration, hanging and drinking and singing with friends at Jack’s for Thursday karaoke night. I had my purse tucked away with my friends’ various jackets on the bench in the corner, along with a bottle of wine in a gift bag that a friend brought for me. When we got ready to leave the bar around midnight, we found that the bottle of wine was there but my purse was gone. It was a purple cloth purse, with a long strap. This sort of ruined what was proving to be a really awesome birthday celebration. I’m hoping that someone picked it up by mistake, and/or took it on purpose but would now kindly like to return it to me.

And a similar thing happened to another friend of ours at Slow Jams at the Make-Out Room on Tuesday. (It’s like they’ve targeted all the best parties in the neighborhood — careful at Diary this weekend!) The thieves grabbed her purse off a hook under the bar while it was inches away from her, and then they identity thieved her mom! Keep an eye on your stuff, girls and European guys.

The first because it features work by Carina Johnson. We use Carina’s photography so much here on the blog that we should really just have her on the payroll at this point.

The second because it’s nothin’ but Jihaari. You might remember Jihaari Terry from the Q&A we did with him last month all about common courtesies and working in the service industry.

I was walking from Potrero to the Mission yesterday and came across an empty car seat, facing out toward my neighborhood and I wondered, is it true? Are babies coming to the Mission? It’s a neighborhood that is no stranger to change. The Irish settled here to raise families, as did the Latin Americans, but the newer wave of artsy-hip kids mostly came on their own, leaving the idea of parenthood back home with their parents. But now, as their random hookups start moving in and they can stave off adulthood no more, will they decide to start their families here, or move out to the suburbs to make way for the next group?

What oh what does it taste like? (And would RayRay get pissed if I ordered one?)

[via Sexpigeon, who is currently on holiday in Norway]