Mission Mission

Sirron Norris brings us these curious digits over the Mission:

Is this a new song (perhaps a follow-up to Jenny)? Or is it the next SF police chief’s salary? Maybe Craigslist’s new Missed Connections format?

None of the above – it’s π!

An artistic presentation of sky calligraphy, called Pi in the Sky, the world’s largest ephemeral art installation, will occur on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 between 11:45am and 1:30pm PT (weather permitting). At 10,000 feet above the skies of the San Francisco Bay Area, five synchronized skywriting planes will draw the first 1000 digits of the infinite sequence of pi (π) – the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. The event is a community-building civic art experience, yet it also underscores the importance of math and science in our lives.

Now I’m hungry, and Pi Bar doesn’t open until 3:14, dammit.

Had a schwell time at @missionbowling in SF last night. Some great Belgian beers, not enough strikes

— gotye (@gotye) September 12, 2012

I apologize equally for the horrible pun and for the song stuck in your head again.

Right? Just think about it.

[via Mid West Coast]

Last week our pal Brittney wrote about being phonejacked on the bus. This week, as if Brittney were a Lars von Trier heroine, shit got way worse:

I pulled the cord to signal that I wanted off when the bus was due to stop again at 5th and Market.

I stood a few seconds before the bus came to a halt, a clear indiction that I was getting out and off the bus. When the bus stopped the man to my right swiveled his legs around rather than stand, so I took a wide step to get around him and as I did he grabbed me between my legs.

Without thinking I turned and swung my heavy purse containing a server’s book, a hardback journal and loose, sharp pens at his head, but barely connected. I think the purse grazed his face. I screamed FUCK YOU, also without thinking, and fled off the bus.

Read on.

SF Comedy & Burrito Festival??? Comedy and burritos?? Makes sense kind of, I guess. But we asked festival co-founder Ameen Belbahri to explain for real:

As a San Francisco native and burrito aficionado I had always wondered why there were no events celebrating what I think is our greatest culinary contribution. I had thrown around the idea of having such a festival, but it just seemed too difficult logistically. At the time I was working at a comedy club part-time and was trying to figure out how to make a career out of it. Someone suggested I put together a comedy festival and somehow the two ideas merged in my brain. I told friends about it, usually under the guise of a “silly idea I had” until eventually their enthusiasm for the project convinced me that it was viable. [Co-founder] Jeff [Cleary] had also been tinkering with the idea of a comedy festival so we joined forces and thus the festival was born.

Hurray! And get this: early-bird tickets are available at early-bird prices for just another couple days, so best get on it! (They come with burrito vouchers, and after this week they go from $55 to $75. Events take place at various venues around the neighborhood.)

There’s been a whole bunch of guac talk on this blog lately, and for very good reason:  we live in the land of delicious 25 cent avocados!  Got a killer guacamole recipe you’ve just been dying to unleash on the public?  Well, now’s your chance to pit it against all other contenders in a battle to the death (death for the avocados only, since they will be eaten) at the First Annual Indian Summer Guac Off going off this Saturday:

A party that will be showcasing the best Guacamoles that the city has to offer.  The winner to be crowned with the guacamole glory trophy, bragging rights until next Indian Summer, the title of official “Guacamole of San Francisco”, and a secret mystery prize.

You can talk all the talk you want, but can you actually walk the guac?  See if you have what it takes and check out all the details here.

Previously:

• Guacamole is good on anything
• How to make guacamole

Whenever I see a cool car around the neighborhood, I take pictures and send them to my pal Eric up in Portland who runs Other People’s Things, my favorite car blog. He responds with some knowledge and we post the results here and it’s called “Car Beat.” Here’s what Eric has to say about this lovely vintage Volvo:

This is a Volvo Amazon, known in the States as the 122S (1956-70, though this is a ’65-66).  The 122S, much like the BMW 2002 is the car that cemented the company’s popularity with the American consumer.

The 1965-66 model year is one of the most relevant, with a brand new ergonomic seat design in fancy leatherette (aka PVC).  It also featured what was a Volvo innovation that would soon become the standard for all auto manufacturers- the three-point safety belt.

One thing they didn’t figure out just yet was that beautiful but frustrating rear filler cap.  One rear end collision and you can’t put gas in it.

Thanks, Eric! More pics (including a closeup of the rear filler cap) after the jump:

(more…)

If you’ve never gone on a Midnight Mystery Ride, you’re missing out on one of the most magical free adventures this city has to offer. The mystery route varies each time depending on who hosts it, but the ride always promises to take you through beautiful undiscovered nooks and crannies of the city in the dark before ending in a secret party.

To give you an idea of what’s in store for you, here’s a video that Mission Bicycle produced, of a ride they hosted back in December. (P.S. I’m in this video, nbd.)

Mission Bicycle is hosting another Midnight Mystery Ride this Saturday, September 15, and their general manager Jefferson has promised that it will be “very interesting.” Remember to check back on the Midnight Mystery Ride website later in the week to find out where the secret meetup spot is!

Local filmmaker Jay Francisco Lopez recently completed his first feature, Sin Padre, which premieres this Friday at the opening night of the San Francisco Latino Film Festival.

I first met Jay on the set of Peter and Benjamin Bratt’s 2009 film, La Mission. He was a background actor and I was doing the behind-the-scenes. Since then he starred in a short feature that I co-wrote at BAYCAT, The Invisible City, about a group of friends in Hunters Point. After that he raised funds himself to write, produce and direct his own feature film about a Honduran teenager getting by in the Mission, where Jay himself was born to Honduran immigrants.

Jay’s film screens at The Victoria Theater (on 16th at Capp) on 9/14. The show is sold out, but according to Sin Padre’s Facebook page:

Due to popular demand and the high ticket sales Just added a 2nd screening of SIN PADRE this Sunday Sept 16 5:15pm at the Opera Plaza Cinema Theater 601 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102 you can buy tickets at http://sinpadre2.bpt.me/

Before Sunday screening there well be a meet and greet with the director and the cast from 2pm to 4pm at the Verizon Wireless store [at] 2654 Mission St.

Jay’s film looks good, check it out when you can.

P.S. I also have a film in the SF Latino Film Festival, Miles Away, a short I co-directed with Jose Alfaro, will be screening at the Opera Plaza Theater this Saturday at 1:00pm.

Maybe I should eat one before the Hot Chip show tonight?

[via MonkeyBrains]