Mission Mission

Damn right! Happy holidays, everybody!

[Thanks, Aaron!]

We mentioned the possibility last month.

Today, the Examiner explains why some NIMPS are seeking to block the the endeavor:

Neighbors’ main complaint is the loss of parking spaces. The project outside Ritual Roasters, for example, would take up two spaces on the street.

Other people, however, worried that the seating areas would attract homeless people and drug use after business hours, and others were concerned that the areas are too close to traffic.

Laura Marcic, who lives next to Ritual Coffee Roasters, said she worries that the increased seating area will attract a crowd after hours, which will lead to more noise and trash.

“It’s a gamble,” she said. “I’m not all for it, but I’m a single mother and I can’t take off work to protest at a hearing.”

Read on.

[via NBC Bay Area] [fun new acronym by SocketSite]

It’s always nice when you find out who “that guy” is is. Today, “that guy” is the jolly Indian dude with the bumpin’ speaker-loaded trike. You’ve probably seen him riding around Dolores Park or Sunday Streets and said to yourself, “that guy RULES”.

Well, that guy introduced himself today on our Introduce Yourself page:

Hi folks -

My name is Amandeep but everyone calls me ‘Deep. I’ve lived in the Mission since I discovered it in ’96.

I’m all about making urban spaces the most vibrant, enjoyable and human places possible, and I love our particular slice o’ the planet. I’m doing my best to give back all the awesomeness that is the Mission & SF.

I’m involved in a lot of of SF stuff (SF League of Conservation Voters, SF Bicycle Coalition), local stuff (Dolores Park Movie Night) and my own crazy activities (my flash mob dance parties: flashdance.org) and my roving tricycle sound system – which you’ve probably heard blasting around our ‘hood and Dolores Park (http://www.facebook.com/trikeasaurus)

Rock On Mission Mission!

- ‘deep

Facebook him if you want, and next time you see him say, “What’s up, ‘deep!”

[photo by Velo Vogue]

Sure, we’ve had our fill of crazy tenants, but what about crazy landlords?

Dylan writes:

a friend of mine lives in an apartment in the mission and he receives some of the most insane letters form his landlord you’ve ever seen. He started a blog about it….

Check out these choice bits:

• “You are not my slaves and you can leave this building, to rent at another property or purchase real estate, where you are able to. I am not your slave either, but, I am your victim.”
• “I remember a story, a few year’s ago, in the Mission District. There was a man who fell off of a balcony, at 4:00 am in the morning; from someone’s backyard balcony. He died. It was a party.”
  
• “If you are having sex within my building, I prefer that you be in a heterosexual wedlock with whomever you are having sex with. I am expressing my personal belief and Catholic Christian faith to you.“
• “I am not cursing you, and I do not hope for your destruction, I am just quoting a scripture that might get you to stop bothering us.”
• “I prayed and asked my God, for another company, who would be more affordable. God helped me to find Faith Roofing Company, who helped me to re-roof the roof for $8,500.00.”

The full letters are up at Letters From Judy. Enjoy them in all their low-res glory before Judy finds out and finally evicts this tenant for all the extra-martial sex he’s allegedly been having.

David Prowler walked along 16th Street between Mission and Market identifying different fonts (or should I say typefaces) of business names and other signs with an app on his iPhone.

Mission Dolores Church is identified as Minimala-Medium Italic, for example.

Check it out. (found at Curbed SF)

This certainly goes against the Zeitgeist. Instead of following the trend of a new pizza place opening every other month, Papa Potrero has closed its doors for good.

Surprising, sure, but at the same time I suppose that unlike this place, no one has ever been gunned down at Delfina.  But they sure came close!

If you were in high school band, you know that a “Coda” refers to the musical passage that brings a song to it’s conclusion. Now it looks like the Mission jazz venue Coda Supper Club will come to it’s own conclusion on January 1st, unless they get some miraculous financial help.

There were some truly epic moments there, including the night Stevie Wonder sat in with the band in September of last year and the Nico tribute show, featuring Liz Phair. One thing about Coda that I appreciated over Yoshi’s (which receives city tax subsidies to stay afloat, by the way) is that they predominantly featured local musicians.

Local venue closings are always a bummer. Drop them a line if you’re an angel investor willing to help, or stop by in the next couple of weeks to enjoy the club before it’s gone.

While we here at MM may not have the most professional photography equipment in the blogoshpere, we nonetheless must be constantly prepared to take advantage of whatever visual gold this captivating neighborhood throws our way.  To that end, it helps to have instant access to whichever device we feel would most appropriately capture the moment.  At the same time, it’s not always prudent to carry around an obvious camera bag, not so much because of the possibility of theft (albeit still an issue) but more so to not be all, “Oh hey, camera guy over here, smile, no don’t stop what you’re doing, wait come back!”  Worse yet, you might be mistaken for . . . a tourist!

Enter the Snoop Camera Messenger Bag from Timbuk2, which the local Mission company was gracious enough to allow us to field test in our own unique way.  As you can see, this versatile bag offers near limitless customization options, with a padded liner featuring several modular compartments to fit all the different shapes and sizes of your lenses and similar gadgets (or RAZR camera phones).  It’s rather entertaining to play a tactile Tetris mini-game before heading out on your bike (don’t forget, it’s a messenger bag too) for an all-day photography exploration adventure.  Also, if you don’t want to worry about your gear and just need a bag for something, the whole liner is completely removable, transforming the Snoop into a sturdy, dependable transport companion.

If you’re the real deal, like the tens for instance (who might be needing a new name in a few weeks if he wants to stay current), this bag will definitely be able to handle all your stuff.  On the other end of the spectrum, it can also hold THE ENTIRE PHOTOGRAPHIC CAPABILITY OF MISSION MISSION, so we decided to take a brief excursion.  Of course, every adventure requires sustenance, and once again the Snoop did not disappoint:

Check that out!  The modular compartments also allow for optimal sandwich protection in addition to banana crushing and apple bruising prevention.  Truly a worthwhile and reliable necessity for the modern Mission photog (and it makes a great Christmas present too)!

Last week we told you all about this new collaboration by two beloved local companies. You go into the shop, pick custom colors for pretty much every panel and piece of trim on the bag, and then you pick your map. They don’t have every street in the neighborhood (sorry, San Carlos), but they have most of the best ones. You can map your favorite intersection, or series of intersections, or have some parallels, or some parallels and some intersections. And then, you align them on a grid (diagonal or horizontal), and you’ve got your very own personalized map emblazoned on the back of your deluxe, locally fabricated messenger bag! And all for less than $100! Only at Mission Bicycle!

Or TOTALLY FREE if you win the following contest:

In the comments section below, tell us what colors and streets you’d customize your bag with and how and why. Get creative! Get emotional! The raddest plan (as judged by Mission Mission and maybe Mission Bicycle) wins a free bag.

This contest ends at 8pm on Wednesday so we can notify a winner by Thursday morning so that maybe they can stop by the shop that day, officially put their order in, and maybe pick up one of those colorful Mission Bicycle t-shirts as a placeholder Christmas present for whomever they’re maybe eventually going to give their customized bag to.

Somebody strung a shit-ton of floss between a pole and a tree or something at 19th and Valencia on Saturday. And they strung it tight, too. You could throw yourself into it and you’d bounce right off.

Moreover, that installation supported the weight of two full-grown adult humans! They climbed it! A bunch of floss! They climbed a bunch of floss — and chilled out for a while when they got to the top!

I love epic Saturdays in the Mission.

UPDATE: Climbers climbing!