Mission Mission

Yeah we get it, snow is a magical gift of nature that looks pretty, makes passable forts, and can be sledded upon. Then you live in it and within days you realize it’s a pain in the ass. It’s cold. It gets slushy. Your face hurts and you start ducking into random stores on the street just so you can warm up enough to walk further.

Need further convincing?  Check out these luxuries we get to enjoy in our temperate neighborhood microclimate.

Riding bikes

I don’t care how “connected to the road” you feel on a fixed gear ride, nothing is “connecting” you to a thick layer of ice. Check out what those less fortunate cyclists in Seattle have to do:

Yup, those are zip tie tire chains. The innovator Fritz Rice says:

I can accelerate, brake, and corner with aplomb, even on the vile snowpack/sheet ice mix the plows leave in the bike lanes. The zip ties dig nicely into the hardest packed surfaces, but they’re thin enough not to bounce the bike around at low speed or on short pavement sections.

Bragging about being able to accelerate, brake, and corner in the winter? And here we are complaining that our butts get wet because of some puddles. By the way, if you don’t have a fender, we have our own little innovation. Bungee a folded up copy of the Examiner to your rear rack. Works great.

[Dutch Bike Co. via lifehacker]

Native Burritos

If we want a burrito, the process is simple: walk a block (or two if you want the better one), buy a burrito, and enjoy.

Apparently, this is not so easy in ski towns like Mammoth Mountain. Burritos must be imported to you on monstrosities such as this:

Think of the carbon footprint on that sucker. I feel like if I don’t comply with a valid order within 20 seconds, a machine gun turret will open up on the side and lay me to waste. I’ll bet the burritos stink, too.

[Thrillist via Laughing Squid]

Youtube user nico1001nico made a nice short documentary about Mission gentrification from the perspective of the small business owners. For the most part, they don’t really seem to mind the changes happening. There’s less crime, better business, and more diversity.

Micah from Black & Blue delivers the most scathing line, when asked what she’d like to see changed: “More low income housing, more services available to the poor, and less trust fund babies moving into the neighborhood.”

The most baffling quote comes from Connie, the Latina business owner, describing her dream of 24th becoming the next Noe Valley. For serious?

Previously:

Dregs One on Gentrification

Update: Video removed by the creator. Probably pissed off too many trust fund babies.

Update 2: Aaand it’s back. Not sure what’s changed:

Now you can show everyone what you think is the best pizza in San Francisco when you wear your new Arinell hat and t-shirt with pride!  Trucker hats are only six dollars!  Rumor has it that Steve Jobs already has one . . .

Also, can we finally put that whole “Arinell’s” nonsense to rest?  There’s no apostrophe, folks.  Recognize.

Previously:

Kink.com at Arinell (NSFW)

Sometimes it’s best to just let the baby decide where you’re going.  Of course, the downside is that you could always end up at a Gymboree outlet.  Or, God forbid, babyGap.

Previously:

Precocious Parallel Parker

On the side of an apartment building. Or is it a firework?

Dude, CRAB BUNS.

In case you ever do find yourself in SF’s Chinatown, Golden Gate Bakery is where it’s at. Not only do they make adorable baked goods such as this, they are known for the best egg tarts in the bay. Follow the long line of Cantonese ladies.

[via calwong]

Yeah, so I guess that whole universal health care thing didn’t really work out. Nobody wants to be a communist, after all. So what are your options now?

Rupa Marya is a local medical doctor. She also happens to be the leader of the world-traveling band Rupa and the April Fishes. That makes her a pretty darn good authority on health care and how low-income folks with no insurance (most musicians and artists, for example) can access it. She is helping organize a free presentation on health care options in San Francisco this Saturday, January 8 from 2-3:30pm in the Mission. All are welcome.

Here are the details:

++CMF–Accessing Health Care for Artists in SF++

The Community Music Forum brings you another chapter. . .A FREE presentation of how to access services available at low cost (or no cost) in SF. This session is OPEN TO ALL—not just artists but will highlight health issues that tend to be more prevalent in SF’s art scene.

We will have a representative from SF’s HEALTHY SF there to demystify the enrollment process and answer any questions you have about HEALTHY SF–if you qualify for it (you probably do), what medications and services are covered, what is not covered and how you get set up.

We will also have a list of providers available from other healing traditions who provide sliding scale services. And if you have any random health questions, there will be a handful of doctors in the house.

COME ON BY! and RSVP so we can get a headcount and make enough chai.

The Porto Franco Art Parlor is the venue for this, and it’s located at 953 Valencia Street.

[photo by kapshure]

Taken at the corner of Folsom and 17th at City Cremation. Not everyone can afford a fancy urn.

[photo and title by reader Joel G.]

Jumping at the window of opportunity afforded by the break in rain the other day, my buddy and I each grabbed our bikes, picked up a Korean Steak sandwich from Rhea’s Deli, and headed over to Heron’s Head Park for some reclaimed wetlands picnicking.  Despite the windy, arctic weather, we were enjoying our walk through the swamp until we came across this.

In the unlikely event that this avian creature perished naturally in the most ironic spot possible, then bravo nature, job well done.  However, judging by the marks on the bird’s neck and body, this is instead looks to be merely one of the most tasteless jokes ever.  If you can’t tell from the photo, the dead fellow has been placed on a sign reading, “Wildlife Area Keep Out” (amid other signs displaying “Wildlife Reclamation in Progress”).  Maybe it’s meant to enhance the warning, but it comes across in poor taste.

And if the perpetrators were also somehow behind the death of this graceful beast?  Well, then that’s frightening.

While not everyone has been in favor of the new parklets and in-street bicycle parking going up in recent months around Valencia, furious that treasured automobile parking spaces are lost as a result, this is the first case of bicycle rack rage that I’ve seen so far.  Obviously, any bike parked here would have been obliterated.  Hopefully this violence won’t begin to extend towards cyclists as well!

Oh, too late.