Mission Mission

Reader Chris was on a cellphone safari when he peeped this.

I wanted to get closer, but was afraid of crossing the event horizon and falling in.

ZING!

Mission Mistaken filled us in a couple of days ago about the latest in Mission gentrification:

I would like to take this opportunity (opportunity in this case taking the tepid form of yet another genuflecting photo-fest to wheat paste) to pass along my experience last night at what might be charitably referred to as the topsy-turvy Alice in Wonderland opening party for the former Bryan Square, then former Coach House lofts and Bryant Commons…  now Union, at Bryant and 20th Streets.

7×7 certainly did their homework [7x7, oddly, co-hosted the opening party - Kevin], if by homework one is referring to attracting the most vapid, frazzled and unfriendly looking group of Marina moms one could imagine.  There were two DJ’s forlornly spinning to an empty room, servers trying to convince the uuber-skinny to try uuber-tiny snack foods, and some of the most ghastly staging imaginable.

So in order to get approval to build what are certainly better-than-average and more expensive than average condo’s in the hallowed ground that birthed the howling mobs of MAC, the builders agreed to a family friendly approach, meaning little in terms of smaller units for gay couples, singles and hipsters.  Instead there are lots of bathrooms and lots of (tiny) bedrooms.

But the units are nice.

But the upper floor with view units were not open for inspection.

But I only live a few blocks away so I plan on inspecting those shortly.

I came away with this sense of dread, that this corner of the Mission is about to go from being genuinely hip, to “Marina chick notions of hip” in short order.

I noticed lots of blow references in the Uptown bathroom last night.  Delirium, sure.  But the Uptown?  Is there some sort of invisible cocaine/yuppie problem there that I’m not hip to?

See Also: Coke Party, Coke Party, Coke Party, COKE PARTY by “The Yuppie Pricks”

Personal friend and awesome artist Jonn Herschend will be flying art over The Mission today.

Here’s how he puts it:

If you are in San Francisco’s Mission district… or in close proximity, look up in the sky from 4:30-5:30PM on Sat the 17th. I’ll have a public piece flying over the city as part of Southern Exposure’s Bellwether exhibition. It’s an open ended narrative being pulled by a small airplane for everyone to experience at the same time.

And if you are on the ground, a good place to view it will be at Southern Exposure’s (see www.soex.org) Inaugural Exhibition from 4:00-10:00PM. The exhibition, Bellwether, features the work of Ant Farm, Renée Gertler, Liz Glynn, Jonn Herschend, Whitney Lynn, Jay Nelson, Nonchalance, Lordy Rodriguez, Christine Wong Yap and SoEx’s Youth Advisory Board.

You may know Jonn from such things as THE THING.

The first issue of THE THING by Miranda July.

Bellwether on Southern Exposure’s website.

Spotted in the Doc’s Clock men’s room.  I think I’m more impressed someone was willing to put their hands near that toilet.

Being a man and all, I’ve never been in the powder room at Bender’s, so I sent a covert op into the bathroom armed with a camera so I could see the graff:

Irazu Costa Rican Restaurant in Chicago seems to have sussed out the right tone. No defacements whatsoever.

Great gallo pinto too!

(Special thanks to Agnes and Jaime!)

Previously:

Little Star Bathroom Note

Rite Spot Cafe is one of those dives that I really like but somehow never manage to go to.  By some force beyond my comprehension, I ended up there on Friday after a few rounds at Bender’s and had to visit the bathroom.  Turns out that Rite Spot is not just home to cheap drinks and food but some great bathroom tags.

(photo by pagedesign at the Altered Barbie Exhibit)