Mission Mission

For years I’ve been trying to come up with a carrot juice-based brunch drink. The tomato juice-based Bloody Mary is one of the most famous and beloved drinks of all time, so why not something with carrot, right? About a decade ago I tried something involving a ton of carrot juice and a ton of Ketel One, and a whole banana as garnish. It was a waste of a ton of carrot juice and a ton of Ketel One and a whole banana.

Now, I’m not saying the El-ahrairah is gonna join the Bloody Mary in the cocktail hall of fame, but it is damn good. The ginger helps mellow the carrot, and the dark rum stands up to all of it better than Ketel One would.

And it goes great with Barrelhead Brewhouse‘s BRUNCH POUTINE.

“So do you think you can hurry up and move along, buddy?  Just trying to get home over here.”

This one’s got everything: politics, magic, and video games.  It takes all of your heroes and combines them in one striking fashion statement.

Harry Potter, Obama, and Sonic the Hedgehog (and maybe the Rose Parade?).  What does it mean?  What doesn’t it mean!  Hopefully Josh Yule picked it up after taking the most important photo so far of 2014.

Update: I’m an idiot and should have googled “sonic obama backpack” before posting this.

3D City is a year long stereoscopic photography project by Doctor Popular

For the night is dark and full of glowy things… sorry, I’m still in character from that Game of Thrones prom thing at the Armory on Saturday. I’ve been bringing my Lumix 3D camera out on rainy nights and capturing neon signs and fire spinners around the city.

A few more shots after the bump.
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Brittany & Katie went to a show at Z-Below, and they seemed to have appreciated it, though not quite to the point of actual enjoyment . . .

Pictured left to right: Tamar Cohn as Kay, Craig Souza as Carpenter, Donald Currie as Auden, Justin Lucas as Stuart, Kathryn Wood as George, and John Fisher as Britten in The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett, directed by John Fisher, a Theatre Rhinoceros production at Z Below
Photo by Kent Taylor.

Theater Rhinoceros, the (self-proclaimed) oldest queer theater in America, has a mission to “produce works of theatre that enlighten, enrich, and explore both the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of our queer community.” Although the description of Allen Bennett’s play The Habit of Art about British poet, W. H. Auden, and British composer Benjamin Britten, didn’t have us rushing to the box office, we were intrigued to see if the playwright who brought us The History Boys had an equally witty and enlightening take on what could be a very dry topic. So we returned to one of our favorite mission theater venues, Z-Below, to see what Theater Rhino had in store.

Brittany: It was very arty. The whole play within a play thing was interesting, but despite some strong actors, I don’t think they made the play within a play thing work. Some of my favorite moments were when they pulled back to the focus on the rehearsal, so I enjoyed it as a device, but they didn’t real nail it for me.

Katie: I really struggled through the first act, especially when they were acting like actors that didn’t know their lines and standing up there with scripts. I think the actors did the best with what they were given, but sometimes they would go in and out of their English accents and that was a little distracting to me. Jumping in and out of the play to the “rehearsal” gave me whiplash.

B: I think the other thing that’s hard is that the play they were rehearsing wasn’t a very good play, at least in my opinion. I really liked the woman who played the stage manager though (Tamar Cohn), she was great and her monologue at the end was really touching.

K: I wouldn’t say it was a bad production, I just feel that this show is for a theater person. If I sent my non-theater-going friends to this show they would never trust me again.

B: Yeah, some of the most charming jokes or scenes were the ones that were so specific that non-theater people wouldn’t get them. Definitely not a show for everyone.

The Verdict: If you’re a theater person, you’ll probably find the play within a play element of this show intriguing, and you’ll get all the rehearsal related jokes. If you’re familiar with W.H. Auden or Benjamin Britten, you’ll probably find this insight into their relationship, and their personal lives, interesting. Otherwise, skip it, this probably is not the show for you.

The Drama Talk: The play within the play is full of poetry, music and theatricality. An interesting story about two aging artists, no longer in their prime, and the young men who helped feed their artistic temperament (AKA male prostitutes and pre-pubescent choir boys). Jumping between the story found in the play, and the rehearsal of that play, made the emotional through line fall short (as Katie said, whiplash inducing). The rehearsal elements of the show, however, are some of the most endearing and are definitely where the humor is found. Despite some strong actors, and a well designed set that makes the sometimes cramped theater feel much bigger, this piece falls into the category of only-for-the-artsy-types.

The Drinks: We went to nearby Benders for their free afternoon Sunday BBQ. Brittany got a dirty martini (since they were drinking martinis during the show) and Katie got her usual rum and coke. What better way to unpack an highbrow play than with some lowbrow BBQ.

Tickets can be purchased here.

[via Lindsey Lyons]

Every now and then, photographer Joshua Cobos shoots a roll of film just for us, picks his 13 favorites, and we publish them here and it’s called “Bad Blood.” It used to be weekly but it’s become more sporadic since Joshua’s move to Los Angeles a few months back. He still comes back to SF every chance he gets (which is great for all of us) but regardless of where he shoots his rolls, it’s always a joy to get a peek inside his process with every new edition. Here’s what Joshua has to say about this week’s edition:

This Sears camera I bought for $20 at Glass Key on Haight St. has been good to me. There’s no meter though and since it’s a rangefinder I’m constantly fighting parallax. In this set I’ve included a picture of my old house on bartlett st inspired by a series my friend Diana (http://instagram.com/dirtydiana) is doing. I went to Pops for it’s last hurrah but the photobooth was already out of commission. How much more of the SF I knew will be gone when I’m there next? Please visit the booth at the Musee Mechanique for me and send me random photostrips. 1416 N. Gardner St #4 90046

Thanks, Joshua! Be sure to follow him on Instagram and on Twitter. Ten more shots after the jump:

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[via Meesha]

Beth Knight is her name, and this kaiju corgi action is just the tip of the iceberg. Check her Instagram for tons of fun.

[via @jaime_lou]

I can’t wait to rip up a Wes Burger and dip it in a carton of Blue Bottle New Orleans Iced. (Remember like in elementary school if you wanted to dip an Oreo in your milk at lunch, you’d have to open up the carton all the way?)

[via Corntard]