Mission Mission

Reader David Gallagher of the Western Neighborhoods Project sent us these 1985 videos of a young Mr. Lucky interviewing some inebriated patrons of  Original McCarthy’s, which you may now know as Cha Cha Cha. Original McCarthy’s opened on Mission street in June of 1933.

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

Nothing too exciting in the videos, but it’s an interesting snapshot of the era. Before the Mission was known as a Mexican neighborhood, it was largely populated by German and Irish immigrants until the ’60s. McCarthy’s was one of the last original Irish bars in the Mission. Even at the time of filming this, McCarthy himself remarks, “I’m close to 70. It’s about time to clock out.”

The interviewer, Mr. Lucky, still croons around town with his retro-jazz group the Cocktail Party. You can catch him at the Lucky Horseshoe in early August.

[thanks David!]

Our pal Chris Garcia, soon to be ex-local comedian, stars in this new short as the titular bass instructor giving an . . . interesting lesson to a young musician. Really nice chemistry between these two. Shot in Secret Studios.

Chris is leaving us to move to some other place in California that supposedly has a better film scene, or whatever. His final show up here before moving is July 23rd at The Punchline. I’ve seen him live a couple times, check him out if you haven’t.

Our pal Mills captured this video last night, of a MUNI driver fearlessly steering around a neighborhood fireworks show. The video also features dogs barking, Mills screaming, and a healthy amount of pyrotechnics. Woo America!

Remember when we saw man-sized ketchup and ranch bottles duking it out in the new Dolores Park playground last month? Well I’m not sure how we missed this, but the full-length commercial that they turned out to be filming came out a month ago and it shows these condiments duking it out all over San Francisco. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj5Aa–TytI

Not sure who to call the winner. Looks like at least dogs prefer ketchup.

By the way, I know we just posted a commercial, but don’t think we’re on the take. It’s just a funny commercial.

That being said, I can tell you from personal, unbiased experience that Hidden Valley® brand ranch dressing truly is the world’s finest condiment for fries, steaks, and sushi. In fact, independent studies have shown that it can increase the intelligence in newborn babies if rubbed on the belly daily during pregnancy. Why don’t you live a little and make your dinner tonight a ranch-drizzled dinner? Hidden Valley® makes everything taste better™.

At Saturday’s Believer/Tumblr event at the Makeout Room, there were more than a couple of stories about encountering crazy people on the streets of SF. Turtle-enthusiast/multiple-dog-owner Mills Baker read this entertaining piece about an aspiring religious musical songwriter and future mother of quintuplets:

Now that I think about it, everyone I know who lives in or has visited the city has a favorite crazy person story. I guess that’s one good thing that came from the Reagan administration.

Perhaps you’ve heard of DESCENDENTS, who are only one of the most influential punk rock bands ever.  Apparently, they’re also one of the most under-documented bands around, and two filmakers aimed to change that 2 years ago with a feature-length documentary!  40 interviews later, they’re almost ready to release FILMAGE: The Story of DESCENDENTS/ALL.

Check out the trailer above to get a taste for what’s in store, and stay posted on any updates to this rad project here.

Or do they prefer “chef”?  Either way, it’s probably best not to call them a retard, even if you’re a tough gangster dude, because you never know when they may secrete blades from their tattoos and slice up your whole party.  Do yourself a favor and watch this rad video from the folks over at Sunday Paper.

(Thanks Laurie! Via Mission Local)

Previously:

• Faces of Lung Shan
• Danny Bowien shows Martha Stewart how he slaps his noodle

Protip to bands:  One great way to get folks around here to notice your music is to film a great video with a bunch of scenes from San Francisco and, in particular, the Mission (such as my favorite pedestrian overpass, for instance).  Bonus points if the song is actually kind of good!

On that note, enjoy some dreamy melodies from local band Evil Eyes while you enjoy the beautiful weather on your unexpected day off!

Link.

Lost Weekend Video has had no shortage of awesome original tees, and the latest is no exception. Check out their recreation of the pivotal Spock vs. Noisy Punk Rocker on MUNI scene from Star Trek IV:

Here is that scene, in case you’re not nerdy enough to know what I’m talking about:

Local filmmaker Kate Imbach just completed a short film about local modernist classical composer Christopher Fulkerson, who’s made his living driving a cab ever since work for composers dried up a couple decades back. He talks about how PCs vs. Macs (and pencils vs. computer programs) and the fall of the Soviet Union impacted his profession, and also drives the camera all around the Mission. See for yourself: