Mission Mission

I always used to think of Thursdays as the “local’s Friday” in the Mission, since on actual Friday the neighborhood is inundated with revelers from other parts of the city and Bay area vomiting on sidewalks.  Of course, that was also back when Jack’s would host karaoke regularly on Thursdays, and just by walking around the Mission you would run into a friend who was on their way to a dance party or something and invited you along for the fun.

Thankfully, there’s a few places that have managed to retain their Friday magic, and the Knockout is definitely one of them.  Speaking of which, if you need me tonight, I’ll be swigging whiskey and sweating to the oldies on the dance floor.

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…

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]

If anyone can provide some perspective on all the changes that have been occurring in the Mission as of late, it’s Michelle Tea, a local author who’s been around to witness the progression since at least the ’90s.  Her refreshingly honest writing on everything from drugs to gentrification strikes a personal nerve in anyone who’s lived in this neighborhood for a while (as does her tales of adventures at the Albion before it became Delerium) .

Anyway, tonight’s your chance to meet her!

Published in 2000, Valencia brought fame and critical acclaim to local writer Michelle Tea. This autobiographical slice of life of the late 90s Mission explores topics like queer culture, kinky sex, and obsession. Recently, chapters of Valencia have been made into a series of short films known as The Valencia: Movie/s

Join Adobe Books and Michelle Tea for this love letter to Mission subcultures! The reception will begin at 6:30pm; screening at 8pm. Michelle Tea will be in attendance and introduce the film.

Snacks provided Rainbow Grocery, beer donated by Speakeasy.

Tickets available at the door, and more details here.

Not the Puck one, but the new one who lives over off Polk by the Hemlock. Jaime Jams ran into one of them the other day and had this exchange:

I just walked down to the Real World House, and I met one of the girls, Jamie, who’s on the show. And she says “Yeah, totally we’ll bring the whole gang down” to Debaser. “TV cameras and all.” Haha.

Whether or not they actually show up, tonight’s Debaser should be a blast either way.

[Photo]

That’s one of the claims made by Eileen Hassi, co-founder of Ritual, in the above video.  I know that most my fellow San Franciscans take their coffee ultra-seriously, almost to the point that it can be considered something that goes as religion in this atheist town, but that’s quite a statement.  Now, I don’t understand you people, as I don’t drink the stuff myself; and personally, I think you’re all a little crazy, but I’m crazy too in other ways, so I’m not here to poo-poo in your cup (although I’m certain you’d be ecstatic if a certain weasel did).

Anyway, these CAFFEINATION guys are travelling around the nation searching for the best coffee with which to burn their tongues, and naturally their first stop is to our fair city, where one of them ends of drinking seventeen (17!!!) cups of coffee in two days from a myriad of spots.  What, don’t believe me?  Check it out yourself.

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One of the latest from Jeff Diehl, who’s also responsible for Spots Unknown, which has featured all sorts of cool, nostalgic posts like this and this.

Damn.  Now I want some ice cream.

Have you had a chance to check out the new Adobe Books location on 24th Street yet?  If not, tonight’s the perfect excuse to visit and hang for a rad book reading and movie viewing:

• The evening will begin with a reception at 7pm.
• Then Jeremy and Matt will be skyping in to read certain passages of their book, Still Dots, from 8-8:30.
• This will be followed by a rare screening of Carol Reed’s The Third Man starting at 8:30pm, starring Orson Welles.

Details here!

Also, now would be a good time to look back on the recent history of Adobe, courtesy of Andrew McKinley, the owner of the former 16th Street location, in this deeply personal account that he wrote on notebook paper:

Blame it on the Internet; it is so easy but oh, so true. The number of bookstores diminished quickly. The content and knowledge in them was available elsewhere. When we opened, we were one of five street-accessible shops within one block of 16th Street and Valencia Street. Now there will be none.

Read on.

Welcome to the Mission.

To be fair, that furniture store was outrageously expensive, unless of course you were in the market for a $2500 couch.

Everyone’s making a big deal about Miley Cyrus’ performance at the VMAs last night, but they probably would have completely lost their shit had they been at the El Rio Pride party last month. Luckily, Courtney Trouble has managed to capture all of the excitement from the party in one amazing (NSFW) video, so do yourself a favor and check it out!