Mission Mission

Our friend Joe spotted this hip little eatery, which has just established itself right next to Revolution Cafe. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m a little burnt out on all of these new restaurants opening up in the neighborhood.

No . . . fake tragedy made out of tape.

A dear reader writes in with a harrowing tale from last week:

i was on my motorcycle, riding south down guerrero toward 22nd st. when a white SUV pulled a u-turn from the right lane in front of me.  I braked, but slammed into his left side with the right side of my body, and then it drove off.  this was right in front of The Liberties (and one of their staff, a woman with long blonde hair, was one of the first people at my side) around 10pm on Tuesday night.

I am writing this for two reasons:

one — to see if anyone has seen a white Jeep Cherokee with damage on its left side?  if the other driver is not found, then i am out of pocket for all expenses for my health and to fix my moto, and i do not have much in my pockets.

two — to thank the people who stopped to help me, the staff member from the liberties, the police and EMTs who took care of me on the scene, and the nurses, x-ray techs, and doctors at SF General’s ER who were so kind, calm, and helpful.  they made a very scary situation bearable, and i appreciate all of their skill and wish to thank them from the bottom of my heart.  these are the real heros of the city.

Glad to hear she’s alive and well, but hopefully someone will be able to provide more information that brings the driver to justice because this is a really sucky situation.  Anyone who has more info should reply in the comments and she will get back to you.

The suspect is described as an Asian or Hispanic male, 25 years of age, 5’10”, 160lbs, with a buzz haircut and slight beard growth. He was wearing a dark hooded shirt and dark pants.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact San Francisco Police anonymously at (415) 575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD typed in at the beginning of the message.

[via SFPD facebook]

First of all, the Red Poppy on 23rd and Folsom is one of my favorite places to see shows in the city. There are not a lot of venues where you can recline on a bed of fluffy pillows while taking in the sounds of a local musician’s electro-jazz interpretations of Radiohead or a modern Turkish and Balkan folk ensemble. Noisy, crowded 500-seat rock shows with $6 beers served out of plastic cups are swell, but these shows are small, intimate, and raw. The Poppy’s calendar is diverse and always interesting. The audience is always enthusiastic and engaged. The shows wrap up at 10pm so they don’t tie up your night.

On top of all this, they pay musicians really well… like 70% of the door well. As a musician, I have consistently made more from a performance at the Red Poppy than at any other music venue in the city and had a better time performing for the smaller and more enthusiastic crowds there. At those rates, musicians could, I don’t know, maybe make a living doing their good work. It makes you wonder: why aren’t there more places like this?

Last year, the city of San Francisco passed legislation for Limited Live Performance Permit which allows small venues to host live performances for a one time fee of $385, without paying the exorbitant cabaret license that is meant for larger concert halls, which costs in the thousands. The Red Poppy is applying for this permit and there will be a hearing about it tomorrow at City Hall. This hearing will be a large factor in determining whether or not they will be able to continue their programming.

The staff expects some opposition from the neighbors, but request that supporters can be respectful and non-combative about their concerns. So if you’re a fan of the Poppy, like I am, consider showing your support at City Hall tomorrow at 5:30pm. There will be a debrief at the Red Poppy 3-4pm. More details on facebook.

Last night, there was a march for solidarity in response to the rape attempt reported on January 8. Participants marched to 24th St. BART at 5:30pm and stopped to let volunteers speak and share their thoughts.

While some of the speakers talked about ways for potential victims to stay safe, such taking self defense classes, carrying mace, and not walking home alone, I was moved by some of the more idealogical issues about the surrounding community that were discussed. Some of my takeaways of that kind were:

• If someone says she was sexually assaulted, believe her.
• Don’t ignore cries for help.
• Get to know everyone in your neighborhood.
• Don’t blame the victim.
• Don’t joke about rape.

The reason these things hit home for me is because I, like many of you, read comments on this blog. I know that a few commenters fall under these categories when we post about these incidents.

If your first reaction to sensational reports that don’t show up on the news first is to think that they are a hoax, then please consider that some rapes go unreported because victims are afraid they won’t be taken seriously and that they will be shamed in their communities. In fact, I just heard about someone who still thought that the recently-convicted Mission rapist of last year was an “internet hoax”!

No, we aren’t seasoned reporters, but we are members of this community and if we don’t take it seriously, how do we expect anyone else to? It starts here, folks.

We live in a crazy neighborhood where wild stuff happens all the time. We can get numb to it. But we should never turn a blind eye to people in danger. There are so many different people living in the Mission who are invisible to one another. Stopping and getting to know your neighbors can go a long way in knowing when something isn’t right.

Stay safe everybody, but also keep others safe.

[Top photo via Adrian Arias]

If you’re vegan or doing a vegan month like I am, and you miss waffles and all manners of sweet breakfasty foods that usually contain eggs and/or dairy, the Way Out Cafe (at Mission and Valencia) is throwing a vegan waffle party tomorrow, 10am-1pm.

Here’s the deal:

In the glorious, annual tradition of the hot rod pin-up girl calendar, AUTOCULT, a new magazine that preserves and promotes the American custom automotive culture, put together twelve  months of a few of the most iconic custom cars with beautiful women in front of some of the most talented photographers of our generation.

To celebrate the launch, AUTOCULT is hosting a release party at the Pretty Pretty Collective on Saturday, Jan. 12 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., complete with $2 PBRs, records spun by Dirty  Donny and Big Nate, San Francisco’s original Derby Jackets for sale, hot rods parked out front and a few of the hot girls featured in the calendar inside. Calendars will be available for  purchase at a show-only price of $20 during the event only (regularly $30, shipped).

And here’s a making-of video (for further “info”):

In response to the recent assault and attempted rape this week, there will be an organized march for solidarity this afternoon starting at 4pm at 16th St. BART. It is being organized by Rupa Marya, doctor and bandleader of Rupa and the April Fishes.

Judging from the facebook invite with over 500 participants, it’s gonna be big. Here are the details:

Last Saturday January 5th, a young woman was assaulted in an attempted rape on 23rd and San Jose streets in the Mission–the first reported attack of this nature in our neighborhood in 2013. She narrowly escaped by fighting off her attacker.

We are joining together in an act of SOLIDARITY, women and men in the Mission district of SF, to alert the neighborhood of what has happened and to promote increased VIGILANCE by ALL for ALL so that these crimes do not continue on our streets.

Last year, several women were brutally raped on the streets of the Mission, some with broken necks. We must ensure that our sisters, our mothers, our daughters are safe on these streets.

Please bring any signs stating a clear message of NO MORE SEXUAL VIOLENCE ON OUR STREETS and MISSION SOLIDARITY TO KEEP STREETS SAFE. Please bring a drum or a pot and a wooden spoon to drum. Please bring puppets if you have them.

We will have bilingual flyers to distribute in the neighborhood, to post in every store front, to hand out to every household stating that WE ARE WATCHING–ESTAMOS ATENTOS so that no more people are assaulted and raped in our streets.

Meet up Friday January 11th–PROPOSED SCHEDULE

4pm Meet up Mission and 16th BART Station
430pm walk down 16th to Valencia, down Valencia across to 24th and Mission Bart
515pm Meet up MIssion and 24th BART Station
530pm walk up Mission back to 16th and Valencia

Read on for a copy of the bi-lingual flyer and manifesto that will be distributed.

(more…)

The newly formed Bay Area Coffee Community (BACC) is hosting its first conference, Barista Nation, in the Women’s Building on Saturday January 19.  The event is aimed largely at specialty coffee baristas looking to learn more about the cafe side of the business and sustaining a career in this area.  Talks by roasters Equator, Counter Culture, and Verve as well as several SCAA representatives and other coffee professionals are included in the agenda.

Don’t work in the industry but still want to nerd out with baristas? You’re in luck! The organization is launching a monthly series of Thursday night throwdowns (i.e., latte art competitions) from January 19* through June 13.  The final throwdown will be held right here in the neighborhood at Coffee Bar. Entry is free to the public and there will be food, drinks, and of course some very creatively manipulated steamed milk. See the attached flyer for details.

*The first competition is not on a Thursday.

[via Sprudge]

-Jason Laska