Mission Mission

[via Corntard Almighty]

Spotted this kindly monster at Valencia at 20th, peddling his wares (mostly, jewelry made of animal horn) on a sunny afternoon.

Formerly called “The Untitled Michael Lannan Project”, HBO’s new series about a few gay men who design video games and hang out in Mission bars is now casting for background extras. They have a “constant need for 20s-30s Hipsters/Mission Neighborhood types & LGBT Community”. And you “must be able to pull off Hipster vibe with your own clothes or style”. Make of that what you will.

[random Mission file photo by me]

Quit waiting around for the Real World narcissists to come to your neighborhood bar and get out there and get on this show! Then send us back some reports from the set!

UPDATE: Doc Pop notices that they’re shooting at Doc’s Clock today.

@eviloars looks like they are shooting at Doc's Clock today. pic.twitter.com/Kdcod5ihJF

— Doctor Popular (@DocPop) September 17, 2013

Did you know that there are only 16 shower stalls for 3,000+ men, women, and children who makes the streets of SF their home?  Don’t worry, I didn’t either, but fortunately there are some dedicated individuals seeking to ameliorate this imbalance by utilizing everyone’s favorite form of transportation:

The buses will be gutted and retrofitted with two showers — each with its own private changing area — and two toilets. The bus will be driven by volunteer bus drivers and will traverse the city making stops at partner organizations serving the homeless. Our goal is to provide 100 – 125 showers per bus per day. In our third year, we’ll have a total of 4 buses providing 400 – 500 showers every day

Check out the Indiegogo campaign if you feel like helping out!

Now if we could only get the actual buses we ride on to take a shower too…

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Media Relations Manager, Paul Rose, wrote in regarding our post about the utility box holding mural artist Mona Caron’s artwork being replaced and then later found in a lot. He writes:

Hi,

I saw your post on this issue and wanted to pass this info on:
The controller box was replaced after the completion of the Church & Duboce Rail Replacement project, as part of a system-wide upgrade of various electrical sectionalized switches and associated controller boxes. The urgency of replacing the switches was made apparent after the nine day shutdown at Church and Duboce, when one of the switches failed shortly after it was re-energized. To upgrade the switch at Church & Duboce, the associated painted box also had to be replaced. We are working to have the box re-painted by the artist. We anticipate this process will be complete within the next 3 months.

Paul
SFMTA

So, you know, if they hadn’t done this quickly, maybe there would have been a major Muni meltdown and we would all complain about that instead. Let’s hope we get another piece from Caron on the new box.

[Market St. Railway Mural by Mona Caron]

I just want to clarify for a moment, my feelings on public art (I wasn’t aware that anyone cared!). Of course I understand the temporary nature of these kinds of pieces. Everything everywhere is temporary. That doesn’t mean we won’t mourn the loss of something that we enjoyed. Am I going to hold a vigil? No, but I’ll post about it. Public art is also important as a way to get artwork out of galleries and let it live among the people. Caron’s work, specifically, is great at doing many things at once, telling stories, offering visions of a hopeful future for urban life, challenging us to look at everyday surroundings in new ways, etc. Oh, and also they’re beautiful. I appreciate her views and that she shares them freely with the rest of us. I want it to be around us as we move about our days. I also want the SFMTA to be efficient and effective in getting us all where we need to go. Let’s hope both parties are willing and able to continue to bring us pieces like MANIFESTATION STATION.

UPDATE: Here’s Mona Caron’s response (updated for MM readers) –

Hey San Francisco friends, I GOT THE STORY! …It’s long.
As a preface, I wanna say I’m amazed and moved by all you people appreciating the artwork and caring about it. I’m feeling truly blessed and re-invigorated about the work I do – THANK YOU <3 .

Now, about this incident:
There's no malice, and no stupid people involved in this. I still love MUNI . Even the folks who removed the box (which they left in the yard of the MTA traction power station at 2502 Alameda Street) who refused to believe this isn't illegal graffiti, are holding that belief for a pretty good reason: they simply cannot believe MTA would have artwork put on a box that has been slated for replacement for a long time. Makes total sense to me. So the goof-up goes further back, and if anything, this story is showing me that there is a reason for the lengthy bureaucratic process when the entity has as many hands at work simultaneously as MTA, and attempting to shortcut it can feel empowering in the moment, but leads to the proverbial left hand undoing what right hand just did.

-- So, for those San Franciscans who care about the minutiae, here is what happened, as I understand it:

MTA needed to install 2 new boxes as part of Church and Duboce Track improvement project of 2012. The community complained of additional sidewalk clutter. Under pressure, MTA softened the pill by agreeing to beautify the 2 new boxes with art, wrote that into the budget. Cool.
THEN, another neighborhood group, (Wigg party?) wiggle and bicycle enthusiasts, put further pressure, asking for a pre-existing old box to be included in the beautification project. This was a last minute addition, pushed for by well-meaning, community-oriented people, and nice people at MTA shooed that in. I repeatedly asked about the projected longevity of that old box, and was reassured. *That* is where the goof lies.
That 3rd box became the Manifestation Station. The head of the department in charge of its contents, about to retire, apparently gave the green light.
Now, the contents of that box needed to be replaced so badly, that a while back a sectionalizing switch inside it actually blew up, and caused a 9-day mess at that corner affecting J and N train service. I remember seeing the white smoke sediments beneath the box's vents.

The new, modern switches apparently come with taller-format boards, requiring, alas, this new, narrower but much taller box.
Violà.
Yeah they could still have given me a heads up at least, but that no longer matters now. In the scheme of things, a well-functioning, not prone to explosions public transit seems more important to me than my painting.
The box they removed was site-specific to the extreme, down to the 1/4 inch, so once it is moved, near of far, it looses its whole point to me. So I don't actually want it back in the street in some random place that doesn't make sense.
But hey, maybe if you tell MTA you really want it, they could have me paint the new one?

Our pal Lauren found out the hard way:

Forgetting where I was, I mindlessly ordered a “double mocha” at Philz because it felt like November today. The barista scoffed, looked me up and down and said, “Ashley. Sweetie. You’ve never been here before, have you?” And then everyone behind the counter laughed at me.

And then a bucket of pig’s blood fell on my head.

And that’s why you shouldn’t drink coffee.

[Photo by Hae Eun]

A dude on mission street sporting a real cap' american shield… pic.twitter.com/TPypZ9UxVw

— The Secret Alley (@TheSecretAlley) September 14, 2013

Maybe it’s a sign of the times that dog owners and new parents are outspent by “techies” and “hipsters”.

I guess it makes sense for the coolest shop in Noe Valley. Unless they just keep the AC on blast all the time. Then maybe it’s ’cause dogs and babies might get too chilly in there. I dunno.

Thanks, Jesse!

Time to get our guac on! Here’s the deal:

It’s time for another celebration of the almighty avocado. That’s right, the Annual Indian Summer Guac-off is back and set to be held this Sunday, the 15th of September.

What is a Guac-off? Well, It’s a competition showcasing the best guacamole’s that the City has to offer. It’s also a party where the fine people of San Francisco get to decide who has the best guacamole in town. The winner of this esteemed competition will receive the Guacamole Glory Trophy, bragging rights until the next Indian Summer, the title of “Official Guacamole of San Francisco” as well as a secret mystery prize.

The event will be held at 230 Guerrero St, from 1pm – until the last chip is eaten. Competing guacamoles must use at least 5 avocados. Entry into the competition is free to all. Attendees who do not bringing guacamole are encouraged to bring discerning palettes and good vibes.

More info here.

The current piece:

Caron’s work:

Let’s hope she is able to do something new here, and that her amazing piece that was there has been somehow salvaged.

[both photos via Mona Caron's Facebook page]

UPDATE: Uptown Almanac noticed that Hugh D’Andrade found the original work held captive in a Muni yard, it’s future uncertain.