Mission Mission

Hey look at all these professionals walking down Market Street around Van Ness and Civic Center!  It’s finally turning into that mainstream walkable avenue the city was looking for when it closed Market to private vehicular transportation.  That was quick!  All hail our European transformation!

Oh, what’s that?  This is just the epic procession of passengers forced to go above ground due to the latest Muni Fail?  Ah, I should have guessed from the body language of the woman front and center.  You can almost hear her wailing, “Why Muni?  Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?????”  I’m not the only one who’s thinking it’s times like this when I’m happy I ride a bike to work!

Every time I ride BART, I’ve always noticed the sign at the bottom of the escalator that forcefully commands, “No Bikes on Escalator,” and have wondered why that is the case.  A periodic loudspeaker announcement clarifies that it’s for our own safety and that of our fellow BART riders, but this has always seemed like a cop-out to me.

I really can’t tell what’s so dangerous about holding a bike on an escalator while it’s moving upwards.  Surely, you don’t need to monopolize the whole escalator like the person above is doing; there is plenty of space to fit both you and your bicycle while also keeping an avenue open on the left side for others who want to pass.  Moreover, doesn’t it seem even more dangerous for a smallish individual to attempt to lug his or her bicycle up that daunting BART staircase?

Some quick research reveals that while some people are completely against the idea, certain situations sometimes make it a necessity.  So, how do YOU feel about bikes on escalators?  Can anyone provide a cogent reason for why this is a forbidden practice?

[Photo by tinka516]

What’s that? You’ve never taken Dolores Street all the way south to where it terminates into San Jose Avenue? It’s a fun journey, palm-lined the whole way, like a skinny, epicly hilly, miles-long extension of Dolores Park itself. AND, according to the San Jose/Guerrero Neighborhood website, that extension might get a nice little (really little) parklet-like public space at the end.

Dolores Park South, here we come!

See here if you want to know what all those letters mean.

Gifted kindergartner David Enos has produced a stunning animated history of the Doors. The narration, as you can see, is straightforward but haunting, and the depictions of Jim and the gang (and the supernatural oddities they encounter) will leave you breathless.

Watch it below now, or wait and see it on the big screen at next week’s San Francisco International Animation Festival.

(more…)

This is yet another still from that video we mentioned a minute ago. We felt it deserving of its own post.

Fear the bearded Vader! Fear the bearded Vader!

VADER BEARD!

Previously:

Girl Parts Vader

They seem to have some trouble keeping the camera in focus, but maybe that’s the price you pay for such professional-looking video. Reader Jason S. tells us his personal sob story:

i used to work for the SF Giants in the marketing dept. from 05-08, a time when the giants sucked and employee morale about the team was really low. and now that i’ve left, the giants are world champs!… anyway, my colleague torin made this incredible parade video using the canon 7d.

Bummer for you, Suss! Thanks for the tip though!

The video is indeed pretty good, and includes appearances by SF celebrities nobody really cares about…

And SF celebrities everybody LOVES:

And, we have 50% confirmation Tim Lincecum is down with Redweiser!

Watch the whole video here:

Tough crowd for one 24th st. busker.

[photo and title by Marty Your Friend]

But how is this enforced? Who makes the call? Definitions of “hipster” seem to waver so!

Photo and post title by TGS.

Or wait, maybe they love a girl named Marina.

Or maybe this is some kind of very subtle anti-Marina reverse psychology or something?

Ugh, so complex!

Photo by Carl Says.

Aww, look how good it looks! I look at this picture by Shelley P. (and do blow it up so’s you can see the rest of the loaf) and I ache for this bread to be in my mouth.

The other day I was at Rhea’s and ordered an avocado-and-cheese sandwich on Tartine bread (that’s right, Rhea’s stocks Tartine bread so’s you don’t have to stand in line at Tartine to enjoy Tartine bread), but they were all out! I was so bummed! The other bread was good too, but it was no Tartine bread.

Tartine bread.