Mission Mission

Yeah, the “Jack Off” movement. You know, to stop Fifth & Pacific’s upscale menswear chain, not the other kind of jack, how dare you think I was making a lewd inference in order to get you to read yet another article about this company. Both Ammiano and former President of the Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez support a new appeal. The two are authors of the formula retail ordinance, and believe that the company has acted in bad faith, not holding a hearing and muscling their way in through technicalities.

But they love our gentrification!

Andy Blue sends in the press release, describing the next steps to keep the shop out of the Mission. Full text after the jump:

JACK SPADE OPPONENTS RETURN FIGHT TO CITY HALL
WITH EXPANDING SUPPORT FROM POLS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS

Author of formula retail ballot measure, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano:
“Jack Spade has operated in bad faith”


Matt Gonzalez, Aaron Peskin; Supes Campos, Avalos,
and Mar support the appeal.

SAN FRANCISCO –– Backed by the original drafters of San Francisco’s formula retail ordinance, the coalition fighting to stop designer menswear line, Jack Spade, from opening a new store in the Mission District, heads to City Hall this Wednesday, October 9 (City Hall, Room 416, 5:00pm) to request a rehearing before the Board of Appeals.

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For this installment of the good old drama talk with Katie & Brittany, the duo went to see the 12th Annual Bay One Acts Festival – Program 1. Here’s their report.

When we heard that there was a festival going on that brings together local artists and many different theater companies we were really excited to check it out. So, this past Sunday night we headed to the Tides Theater in Nob Hill for the 12th Annual Bay One Acts Festival to see 6 different short form plays. Since there are so many pieces we decided to break it down a little differently than usual, just giving you our first thoughts on each of the plays. Jump to the verdict if you don’t care about our initial reactions to the specific plays.

#1: Modernizing the Afterlife – A dead Google developer gets recruited by St. Peter’s nephew to optimize their afterlife processing.

Katie: It made me think of the time I went on an online date with a guy that developed apps for a living . . . and just like this piece I left that date slightly intrigued, slightly confused and wanting more.

#2: Desiree – A woman copes with the aftermath of ten years in captivity.

K: One word – Awkward. All I could do was compare it to the Cleveland woman tragedy. It was the one piece that no one knew when it ended.

Brittany: There were a number of pieces that fell short because of the acting, this one fell short because of the writing more than anything else.

#3: Write Dirty to Me – Dead writers operate literary phone sex lines.

B: This show is what an english major, who is crazy nerdy, thinks is funny. But if you are not deep into english major land you have no fucking clue was is going on.

K: Which was me.

B: This show also reminds me of the time I saw the Vagina monologues during high school and afterwards we said “cunt” over and over again because we thought it was funny. Dirty words just aren’t that funny when you’re an adult.

Intermission

#4: Love Song of Aflred J. Prufrock – A T.S. Eliot poem set to movement.

B: This show made me think of the time I was at a bar when I was 21 and a 50 year old hit on me.

K: Awkward.

B: Yeah.

#5: Red All Over – In the wake of a school shooting tragedy, new relationships begin.

B: Remember that thing we said last time about story arcs . . . there wasn’t one.

K: There wasn’t even a story . . . to be arced.

B: Also, why does a lesbian romance have to happen at a child murder scene…I don’t get that.

#6: Last Couples Therapy Session on Earth – The Zombie Apocalypse has happened, but that doesn’t mean that this couple is done working through their problems.

B: Well written, cute, vignette. It was the best piece in the series.

K: It would have been hilariously bizarre, Modern Familyish, if not for The Walking Dead.

[pic of The Royal Tug Yacht Club by Rose Garrett for Eater SF]

The Verdict: We really, really, really wanted to love this festival. It’s a great idea executed in a really cool space. We wanted to walk away feeling like we saw some fresh, innovative, well developed, entertaining theater, unfortunately we did not. We did only see Program One, so we can’t speak to the festival as a whole, but if Program One was any indication of what Program Two will be like, this festival is best left for an audience of friends of the artists and/or other artists that want to learn from watching artists, the general public might be disappointed.

The Drama Talk: Bay One Acts is a great platform for local directors, writers, and actors to collaborate, but when it comes down to it people are paying $15 to be entertained and moved and we just really weren’t. We want to bring new audiences to the theatre, not just support art just for the sake of supporting art. We don’t think a new audience would be that impressed by what should be some of the best new works in the SF theatre scene. At least for Program One, the writing itself is really what fell short for us.

The Drinks: We heard of a new bar that opened a couple months back just a few blocks from the theatre. The Royal Tug Yacht Club was the perfect place to discuss the evening, a small, almost empty, interestingly decorated (there’s a huge octopus on the ceiling, what is better than that) dive bar with great, strong cocktails. Brittany had the “Seek and Destroy”, which was what she was hoping this festival was going to do (you know, just “kill it”) and Katie got the “Washed Up”, which was what she felt she was after seeing this show.

Bay One Acts Festival

Hey guys, here’s the latest installment of our feature where two local theater lovers, Katie Cruz & Brittany Janis, go see a live performance and discuss it over drinks:

Serial killers, family drama, and demon sex, oh my! Last Thursday we climbed the stairs to The Magic Theatre to see their latest and last show of the season, Terminus by Mark O’Rowe, directed by Jon Tracy. Entering into the haze filled theatre, little did we know we were going to be taken on a lyrical journey from heaven to hell and back again (although Magic’s description should have clued us in). This play has so much drama, we sure needed the drinks.

Katie: I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but I struggled a bit. I don’t know if it’s just that I wasn’t in the mindset for this sort of a play, or maybe I was just too tired. That much time without much physical interaction between the characters, who are just reciting monologues, isn’t my favorite sort of play. It felt like I was watching a book being read out loud at me.

Brittany: See, I enjoyed it, but I can see where you’re coming from. I really loved the script and the language of the play, but about an hour in I was hoping for an intermission too. Also, the accents got to me.

K: Yes! I am always a big believer that if you can’t do the accent really well, and can’t keep it throughout the play, please don’t do it at all!

B: Despite the accents though, I really loved the actress who played the mother (Stacy Ross). She was so engaging, every one of her monologues drew me in, she made me care about her story. The guy (Carl Lumby) was great too, although towards the end he got a little yelly for me, which is also when his accent disappeared. Overall, I thought it was well done.

K: The sound design was great. That rumble at the beginning . . . really the best way to start a show I think I’ve ever experienced. It totally set the tone for the dark things that were to come. The set was impressive too, that gravel void with the stark lighting made for some really dramatic stage pictures. Something that Jon Tracy has always been really amazing at creating.

B: This is a great show for someone who is into theatre and poetry. There’s a lot of beautiful language, the play has great theatricality, and has an interesting form. I don’t think I would take one of my friends who isn’t into theater to see this, though. An hour-forty-five of monologues without an intermission can be rough.

The Verdict: Take your artsy friends! Don’t take your kids (the content is mature, to say the least) or your friends who prefer kids movies. This play is a dark, but beautiful, piece of theatre.

The Drama Talk: Put on your artsy pants, wear black, don’t go tired, and be prepared to hear some pretty disturbing things described beautifully. This play is not for the faint of heart, but just get in the mood for something dark and different and you’ll have a great time. There are $20 tickets for those under 30 available on the Magic Theatre website. Also at the moment, there are some tickets for sale on Goldstar, but don’t be surprised if they sell out fast, this play is going to generate some serious buzz.

The Drinks: We decided to hit up a place that we could sit in a chill, low lit, dramatic setting to discuss this intense play, so we chose the Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley. Brittany had a Deschutes Black Butte Porter (to match the darkness of the show) and Katie had a glass of Rose (the color of demon blood!).

Terminus runs through June 16th, at The Magic Theatre in Fort Mason.

“The Comedy” is premiering in San Francisco at the Mission’s very own Roxie theater this Friday, November 23rd, and you’re in for a treat: Tim Heidecker will be hosting a Q&A after the screenings on both Friday and Saturday. It is playing at the Roxie until the end of the month.

You probably know Tim Heidecker as one-half of the comedy duo Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Well, if you’re expecting that kind of thing with his new movie, “The Comedy“, be prepared for a lot of brutal darkness.

The film is about Swanson, an aging, Williamsburg-living, PBR-swigging hipster-type on the cusp of inheriting his wealthy father’s estate. In his boredom, disconnection with the real world, and subliminal grief, he and his buddies engage in some truly awful behavior at the expense of a world presenting him with endless options. Hmm entitled, trust-funded, society leeches hiding behind a cloud of irony? We wouldn’t know anything about that around these parts, now would we?

I recently got an opportunity to chat with writer/director Rick Alverson and actor Tim Heidecker about the film’s mixed reception, how scripted dialogue is so passé, experiencing the end of comedy (9/11-unrelated), and about PBR as a cost-cutting production technique.

Read on:

Mission Mission: I understand some other SF publications declined the interview after seeing the film and that it had the most walk-outs at Sundance. Were you expecting such a polarized reaction?

Rick Alverson: I suppose we knew it was possible. It’s sort of designed in some way and we kind of embraced it. It’s a little confusing from the get-go and maybe provocative because of some of that confusion. But you know, it’s definitely uh… hell, I don’t know.

Tim Heidecker: Yeah, first of all I think the notion of “the most walk outs in Sundance” is a bit of an exaggeration. I don’t know if anyone was standing out the door with a clicker. We had tremendous screenings at Sundance and SXSW and the reaction for the film certainly isn’t unanimously positive, but amongst a certain demographic it’s very positive. It’s a film that appeals to a generation that can dial in to not only the humor that’s in the film, but the underlying subliminal quality that the film has. And frankly, there’s an older establishment out there that’s incapable of embracing some of the themes in the film. But I’ve had plenty of conversations with people that I respect and come to watching films from an open-minded place and nobody that I know has a problem with it and considers it a successful film. So if you’re somehow angered by this film or offended or anything… you’re probably gonna be a person that I don’t want to know.

MM: Yeah, I think it’s very similar to the Tim and Eric show in that there’s a sort of person that will get this and someone who would probably walk out after getting the eyeful on the opening scene. It certainly wasn’t what I expected. I think I was expecting something more Tim and Eric-y but instead I got something that was funny but also incredibly dark.

RA: Yeah.

TH: Yeah, it’s dark.

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[photo by Doc Pop]

Here in the Bay Area many of us are probably feeling good about last night’s main election result. Obama won. (Spoiler?)

I think it was an exciting night for our country. Especially that it was decided and not dragged out and brought through various legal möbius strips. Personally though, I’m feeling dismayed by the overall results of the state propositions. We really want to keep the death penalty? We don’t think that consumers should be able to have questions about what’s in their food answered? Well, at least 30 passed and it’s not all on George Lucas’s shoulders to save education.

Yet I’m excited overall that our country generally seems energized to head in a direction that I think is best. It was a good night for LGBT rights, people overcame voter suppression and intimidation to get their voice heard, and we re-elected a president who best represents the majority of the people in this country, not just the most privileged. If this sounds like very careful, faint praise, it is. In last night’s acceptance speech, President Obama once again set the standards perhaps impossibly high for what we’d like to expect from his presidency. He mentioned really taking care of our returning veterans, LGBT equality, a lot of feel good things that I really wanted to hear. Does he believe in those ideals? I think he does. But how much will he actually do? How much can he do?

[November 3rd, 2008]

Four years ago our neighborhood exploded with joy and celebration when Barack Obama won the first time. This time around, not as much. While I think most of us are grateful that we didn’t see the chaos that followed the recent World Series win, maybe we were still a little underwhelmed by the relative quiet. The Castro partied. And why not. But the HOPE and CHANGE that we felt four years ago feels a bit more like PERSIST and SUSTAIN at this point.

And keep hoping.

Anyway, the rest of the internet has much better election breakdowns than you should expect to find here. I’m just rambling. Elections are big and broad and complicated and it’s all still sinking in for me. Feel free to ramble on in the comments. If you haven’t yet, check out Mission Local’s great coverage of our neighborhood’s experience of voting day.

For now I’m hanging on to the little things, the things immediately around me. Things like the picture at the top of this post, taken this morning. Doc explains:

It was an extra gloomy walk down Market Street this morning until I reached this Muni stop full of schoolkids cheering along every cyclist that came their way. Perfectly lined up along the bike path, the kids started reaching out their palms for some extreme high five action. Even the most serious bikers popped a smile at the scene. Perhaps in a post election world, this is a sign of pedestrians and bicyclists finally coming together .

Delightful.

I worked at Fayes Video on 18th Street from the late 90′s into the mid 00′s. The woman who set herself on fire on Dorland Street last weekend, later passing away at a burn center, was a regular customer during that time.

You can read a bit about what happened as well as reflections by members of her family (in the comments) at Mission Local. After the jump, the co-owners of Fayes and I each share a few thoughts about Colleen.

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As an update to my post from yesterday, homicide detectives just came to my door to ask if I had any information about the homicide that apparently happened around 2:30 AM Sunday morning. A man was beaten to death and was calling for help, but nobody came to his rescue. 

If you know anything about it, the SFPD flyer has the following information:

On Sunday morning 02/19/12, sometime between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. a man was robbed and then murdered in front of 125 Jullian, [sic] between 15th st, and 16th st . We ask anyone in the area of this street and the blocks surrounding it who saw or heard anything to contact S.F.P.D. YOU CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS: TIP LINE 415-575-4444

Anyone with information regarding the circumstances surrounding this incident is asked to call Inspector John Cagney of the SFPD Homicide Detail direct at (415) 734-3181 or during business hours (415) 553-1145 (Weekdays from 9AM-5PM) you can also call after hours the SFPD Operations Center at (415) 553-1071, or the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444

Refer to Case #: 120139612

UPDATE: Mission Local has more about the stabbing death and the people who heard the victim’s cries for help and did nothing. It’s a complicated scenario, when people become used to walking past others in various forms of distress at all hours of the day. A commenter on ML brings up the famous Kitty Genovese case, which this obviously resembles. A man is beaten and stabbed, cries out for someone to call the police, and dies a slow death on a heavily trafficked sidewalk, where his body remains for maybe nine hours.

I’ve lived in the Mission for a long time and seen a lot of people in pain. It’s often not clear if there is anything I could do to help them. I’ve intervened a few times, and I’d like to think when I specifically hear the words “help” or “police” I’d take action. But at the same time, there’s so much drama every day. Two weeks ago on Capp Street a man was yelling at the top of his lungs for someone to call the cops. When I ran outside I found two men who knew each other and were arguing over something petty. They both seemed like they were high, and neither seemed to be in any danger. I was pissed that they tried to involve me in their dispute and yelled at them and they dispersed. Nevertheless, the fact is that one man was calling for help for probably five minutes before I got out there and nobody did anything.

It’s very sad that this man wasn’t able to be saved, and the reasons why, no matter what anyone says, are very complicated.

UPDATE 2: Mission Local now reports that the cause of death is now unknown. He has been identified as Richard Sprague, 47 of San Francisco.

To celebrate the release of the Mission Street Food book, City Lights and McSweeney’s have partnered to bring MSF back for one night only, at Cookhouse in North Beach on August 10th. And what’s more, it’s billed as “An evening of conversation and dining with Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz.” Kickass! Tickets are available here.

Full press release after the jump includes ticket info, menu and more.

[Photo by Jesse]

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A group of teens just spent the last 14 weeks answering this very question, and the fruits of their labors will be on display at a gala opening tonight at the Lab:

Work by Brienne Hong, Shaye Hong, Anthony Truong, Kim Daniel-Richardson, Brendan Conklin, Glenda Maxine Zhu, Sloan Zhu, and Tatiana Ariza.

Music provided by DJ 50Cal

Please join us for the one-night exhibition/arcade, potluck, and celebration of “My Life The Video Game.”

“My Life The Video Game,” is a 14-week workshop where teens design, program, and produce video games, based on goals, challenges, and rules in their real lives. The workshop was developed and facilitated by Marijke Jorritsma in collaboration with the Lab and San Francisco Art Institute’s City Studios program.

RSVP and invite your friends here.

Artist bios and game descriptions after the jump:

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Just so you know, no matter how friendly this thing is said to be, my gut reaction would be to kill it with fire and run very fast in the other direction.  It may look cute on paper, but imagine it as a real creature. You’d do the same thing too.

Check out more Swampy here.  Just as “friendly” as the guard dog.