Independence Day in San Francisco Is Rad

So proves this joy-saturated love letter of a music video by filmmaker Daniel Jarvis and Sierra Frost of local band The Downer Party. It contains the above two images, and LOTS MORE. Says Jarvis:

Shot on the Canon HV-30 aka “The Cowboy Cam” at Mission Dolores Park, 24th and Harrison, The Uptown, The Phone booth, Bernal Heights (courtesy of Loren Risker) and all over the roads of San Francisco!

Here it is:

(By the way, isn’t that band name kind of a redundant play on words, seeing as how the Donner Party were a pack of total downers anyway?)

Hella Old BART Logo

1958! Dang!

Imagine how all our lives would be different were we walking around talking about “RT” all these years! “RT Boner” certainly doesn’t have the same ring to it as < a href=”/2008/10/19/passing-under-24th-street/”>BART Boner.

But that emblem sure looks speedy. I dig it.

Historian Eric Fischer published the image, and BART Diaries hipped us to it.

P.S. Everybody should read this item about the new Girl Scouts branding.

Previously:

<a href=”/2010/06/09/19-year-old-muni-fast-pass/”>19-Year-Old Muni Fast Pass

<a href=”/2010/06/04/29-year-old-muni-fast-pass/”>29-Year-Old Muni Fast Pass

What's on Your Vanity Plate?

Oh, so this is your perpetually late, underfunded, mismanaged, stinky and universally despised municipal railway? Cool.

Photo by rulenumberone2.

What Do You Think About the Levi's Workshop on Valencia?

People seem to have a lot to say about the new Levi’s Workshop that recently opened on Valencia between 16th and 17th Street in the future location of a Charles Phan restaurant.  Some residents find it a little ironic:

You find it odd that the hood went nuts when AA tried to move in but they had very little issue with Levi’s opening a pop-up which is a company 5000 times the size?
Have you seen all the vandalism all over the front of the Levi’s store?
They hit the store two nights in a row and completely destroyed the front of the shop, took 15 people 2 days to clean it up and still can’t get parts off.

The graffiti in question may or may not be the work of some anarchist chick that Kevmo ran into.  Whatever the case, the incident seems to have prompted the hiring of a full-time private security guard to patrol the block in an attempt to stem the vandalism, as MM reader Elle points out:

guess what? starting yesterday evening and throughout the entire summer, there is a security guard on duty 24-7 on the block of Valencia between 16th and 17th.  this is private ‘police’ monitoring your activity in public space. they don’t stop people from being robbed or killed, they are just there to watch the stuff.

For their part, Levi’s says the workshop is good for the neighborhood:

Each workshop is designed to focus on a specific craft including printmaking and photography, and will feature forums where local pioneers in design, sports, technology, sustainability, and other interests can engage and collaborate

So, what do you guys think about it?

[Photo courtesy of Uptown Almanac]

Previously:

American Apparel Comes to the Mission

Details on the American Apparel Hearing (NSFW)

American Apparel Says Peace

Dolores Park Tree Tour This Sunday

Once a girl asked me to meet her under the “pepper tree” in Dolores Park. This sounded like a solid plan, compared to my usual method of sending a million vague texts back and forth on arrival.

Once I got to the park, I realized there were a lot of trees in the park and I didn’t have the faintest idea what a “pepper tree” looks like. Hell, I didn’t even know pepper came from trees. Then I leaned against a palm tree in frustration and wondered, “is a palm tree really a tree or is it just an oversized monocot?”

It turned out that the pepper tree is located near the tracks on fruit shelf section of the park. I was late, and by then my date had found another guy to hang out with who had an adorable dog. My fate was sealed.

On the bright side, if you take this bi-lingual tree tour put on by Friends of the Urban Forest, you’ll never have to go through what I did:

Join us on Sunday July 11 for a free two-hour tour of the beautiful trees in and around Dolores Park.  Chris Ingram, owner of Mr. Prune Tree Care, will lead this bilingual (English/Spanish) tour.  Chris is an ISA Certified Arborist as well as a pruning and horticulture instructor throughout the Bay Area.  Meet at the J Muni stop at the lower corner of the park at Church and 18th streets.  The tour starts at 11:00 a.m.

[thanks Alexis for the tip, photo by Noah Berger]

Mission Chinese Food Is Open!

The first MCF review is in, from YMFY. It cuts to the chase pretty quick, but along with the above picture it seems good enough for me:

Really spicy, really tasty.

Read on.

UPDATE: Looks like Doc Pop delivered the first review, well earlier, and with the same pic no less. Those two must be buds. (Thanks for the tip, Kevin!)

Previously:

Mission Chinese Food Unveils Menu

Hummingbird Headshot

I mean, when was the last time you saw a closeup of a hummingbird?

Photo by sfgundertaker. And here’s another.

Previously:

I’m No Birder

Be Gas Free

Every Friday in July, SF Bike Coalition is setting up “Fuel-Up” stations at various locations around SF to encourage gas users to bike for a day instead.

See here for location map and other details.

New Graffiti Trend: Tagging Old Dudes

This smells like turf war to me. Watch your backs!

Photo by $$tackin Ca$$h.

Mission Garage Sales

Did you guys realize we have this widget in the sidebar, on the homepage? Vic launched it a month ago, so hopefully it’s hipped scores of folks to scores of bargains.

Be sure to make use of it while salin’ season is going strong!