Mission Mission

 I get woken up by a monsoon outside my window at 4am, but by the time I’m leaving for work at around 8am, the sun is shining.  So I mutter a quick ”WTF SF?” and diligently forego BART to get on my bicycle.  Nearing Civic Center (Yay for Wednesday Farmer’s Market!) on Market St, I notice the Muni buses are beginning to pile up again, which can pretty much only mean one thing.

this doesn't look good

I approach an officer and ask what’s going on, and he just kind of shakes his head and more or less says (ridiculous paraphrase warning):

Well sir, a cyclist was trying to squeeze between some cars and a bus, and she slipped on those white circular raised bumps (in sweeping arrow formation) that attempt to separate the Muni and car lanes.  So she loses balance on her bike and thuds against the side of a bus, and then to add insult to injury Muni rolls over her bike.

I couldn’t talk to the “victim” because she (deduced from officer’s pronoun usage) was in an ambulance, but she didn’t appear to have any life-threatening injuries, and luckily Muni rolled over her bike instead of her leg or face.  Totally could have been much worse.

the culprit

Fellow cyclists!  We are very aware of how dangerous and slippery Muni rails can be in inclement weather, but there is another enemy in our midst!  Don’t let these unsuspecting lumps ruin your day!

More pics of the damage (and UPDATE) after the jump . . .

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Local sketch comedy troupe Kasper Hauser was commissioned to do an [adultswim] commercial for Cartoon Network.

True to their roots, the commercial features some iconic San Francisco scenes: the F line coming up Market St., a dude fixing his expensive bike (with tape on his face), and a construction worker squeezing out the contents of a burrito onto the floor. Indeed, it’s a proud day for San Franciscans!

Check it out:

We’ve all seen the blue bears. Then I saw Troy’s pictures and a great interview on Mission Local and I had to check out Sirron Norris’s new gallery for myself. It’s a pretty cool setup. He’s got all kinds of work, paintings, toys, stickers, shirts, even a video game.

My favorite was the lineup of the neighborhood buildings, done on wood blocks, a couple of inches tall.

The gallery is at 1406 B Valencia Street, near 25th. Check out the stuff, talk to the guy himself and sign up yourself or a teenager in your life for one of the cartoon classes.

Although their styles are very different, just like Will Eisner’s city stories, he has an amazing way of bringing out the city’s character.

Travis Grathwell reports from the front lines of Saturday’s massive power outage:

The power was out for about fifteen minutes in Mission Cliffs, knocking out the lights, the music and the fans. I was scared if it went on too much longer the place would get stinkier than normal.

Stink danger!

(link)

Photo by Shelleth.

People, please, if you only have one restroom in your apartment and it’s occupied by one of your housemates, do your neighbors and your dignity a  favor and just walk down to the nearest cafe.  Buy a scone or a cheap coffee if necessary, because it’s really better than the alternative, sent to us by an anonymous reader:

Short story:  I heard exceptionally loud “gurgling” noises from my 2nd floor window on Sun. afternoon.  I looked out the window and saw my fat Hispanic upstairs neighbor squatting and shitting onto the side of the building like a dog.  More accurately, she was blowing out a stream of diarrhea that looked like mustard sludge. I was totally blown away and yelled “what are you crazy!!??”  She looked up, made eye contact (I snapped the first pic at that moment), lowered her skirt, turned around, picked up her bag and just walked out like nothing happened!!!!  Even crackheads have more dignity and wipe afterwards!!!

NSFW pics after the jump . . .

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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

I so wish this had been taken in the Mission.

Taken by Jesse / Beer & Nosh down in San Jose del Cabo, Baja California.

Something happens in Duc Loi Supermarket at night. When we humans go home to watch old episodes of NewsRadio on Hulu; heat up leftovers for our hungry children; go out to bars to meet up with an old girlfriend we’re thinking of getting back together with; or wander the streets with a camera, looking for weird little things to take pictures of, the piñatas at Duc Loi experience something very different.

I happened to catch a glimpse of their secret world the other night, and I’ll tell you, I have no idea what they’re up to in there. Here are some guesses as to what this could be about:

• Piñata Fight Club – The fight doesn’t stop when candy is spilled. It’s just another clean up on aisle three.

• Prayer Service – The Great One, a holy piñata in the form of a star with seven points appears in a blinding light and cleanses the spirits of the doomed beasts.

• Rock Concert – Big Bird and the Bats rock the house. Big Bird heads up the three piece jam band on vocals, Laa-Laa coos in the background on bass and Monkey-With-A-Donkey-Head keeps the beat on drums.

For now, all I have are guesses. Next step: Infiltration.

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.

Pretty! Reader Eric D. tells us they come courtesy of Friends of the Urban Forest. Thanks, all!