Review: The Mission District, Ontario

Quick, where’s the last place you’d expect a mission tribute band to come from? Concord was my first guess too… but my second was Ontario, Canada. Well it turns out that second guess was spot on!

Sure, be a snob and nitpick the liberal use of autotune and that premature Lady Gaga cover. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that these guys are genuine mission. First of all, have a look at those jeans. Skinny, right? Next, take a listen to the track “Just Don’t Feel The Same”. What at first appears to be a song about lost love soon brilliantly reveals itself as a lament about a first visit to the Blue Macaw. “So Over You” is a subtle jab at Bi-Rite Market’s inflated prices. And of course the title track of their EP says it all: “Cryin’ because My Burrito Fell Out Of My Timbuk2 Bag Somewhere Between 19th and 16th.”

In short: if you like the neighborhood, you’ll love the band. Personally, I think they are just ok. Their sound is basically a rehash of Limahl’s groundbreaking work in the fall of ‘84.

Oh snap, I’d better watch it. They probably read this.

Hi Hater!

This shot taken by Photo-John in the Mission.  Would love to meet this automobile’s owner.

A Deluge of Winter Coats, Complaining, and Bad Vibes is Upon Us

Muni Flips the Script

I picked up the dreamy 12 Folsom on 24th/Valencia yesterday and found a reverse bus stop shelter (i.e. not facing the street) at its stop.  I sat in there for a while, until I started feeling too much like I was in a shitty horse-drawn carriage without any horses.

Construction mistake Muni was too lazy to fix?  Or is the new shelter position meant to serve as a convenient splash guard?  I’m cool either way.

Blood on the Wall

I was strolling down an alleyway that’s familiar to many but new to me and thought this lo-fi mural was pretty special.

Not sure I get this part but then again, I don’t get a lot of things:

One Million to Kill Paris Hilton

I felt like kicking it old school this morning by putting something in the mail.  Turns out there was some easter egg sticker art in there paying homage to my favorite sticker artist.

Cool Face

On Capp St., where else?

The Latest Development in Bicycle Frame Pump Technology

Warning: Bike geekery via painter’s tape.  On Mission at 23rd.  Ask the folks at Valencia Cycles to show you how it’s done.

Bike Beacon

17th and Capp.

Real Life Burrito Justice

If I was a real journalist, I’d probably do a little research behind how these started popping up around the Mission.  Oh well.

Meerow?

Found in Berkeley but too awesome to ignore.

Gentrification Watch: “an up-and-coming neighborhood”

I’ve been watching Union SF building project lately because it seems like this building in particular attracts people that don’t get the neighborhood.  Reader Mission Mistaken once described prospective buyers as “the most vapid, frazzled and unfriendly looking group of Marina moms one could imagine.”  Well, looks like she was right.  On Friday, Curbed SF mentioned that 29 “homes” units have been sold over the last 3 weeks.  Best of all, one buyer said they moved in because it’s the “right location in an up-and-coming neighborhood.” Really?  Didn’t the Mission up-and-come years ago?

While on the subject of Temescal…

Pack your bags kids, cool has left the neighborhood.

LEOS in the MISSION

Has this existed for months?  I’ve never noticed.  Today was the first time I came across LEOS HOTDOGS, an enterprise of CESAR ASCARRUNZ’s, in front of 24th St. BART.  Brand new? Has anyone tried this shit?

This situation, plus the  incoming Rosamunde situation, means many tubes of meat in the Mission come 2k10.  Prepare yourselves for the thrill ride of your lives.

Temescal: “Oakland’s answer to San Francisco’s Mission District”

The Wall Street Journal actually produced an interesting piece on how “yupsters” and capitalists made a shitty part of Oakland cool and profitable.  Choice quotes:

Over the past five years, Temescal has become Oakland’s answer to San Francisco’s Mission District and the city of Berkeley, drawing a mix of yuppies and plaid-wearing hipsters. The changing demographics and new businesses have brought results: From fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2008, the latest year for which data are available, Oakland’s sales-tax receipts from the Temescal area rose 18% from $294,735 to $348,917, said Keira Williams, retail specialist for the city of Oakland.

The neighborhood still has its lingering troubles. On a recent evening, as young couples parked their strollers outside the Lanesplitter Pub to wait for a table, a panhandler stumbled by, muttering about heroin. Residents say they must be especially wary around Lower Temescal, near 40th Street and the BART station, where empty storefronts and vacant lots dot the avenue.

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(photo by unaesthetic)

Valencia Hotel: 1906

A not very subtle follow up to the last post.

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Valencia n’ 18th: This Looks Like Hell

One of the things I love about Valencia is how it accidentally became the best street in the city.  It was a 4 lane highway with narrow sidewalks until 1999, yet commerce and culture still happened.  15 ft sidewalks with trees were not required.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not down on trees or outdoor seating, but I wonder if ditching the the grungy newspaper boxes and shitty sidewalks covered in stencil art will lead to more blight like this building.  Valencia was always the little street that could.  I cannot help but feel that city planners are over-engineering a great thing.

(photo sfhaps)

Boot Party

Ben sent us the above photo – a scene outside the Latino Culinary Academy on Florida/19th.  Four pairs of boots in all.  Three contracted black lung in the coal mines and died.

500 Clubbin’

Ooh!  Pic from everyday photos:

500 Club claims it opens at 6 a.m., but it’s not true.  Don’t try.

This photo makes me feel like I’m in a community swimming pool at 8 a.m. Wow.  Well done.

I went to Doc’s Clock tonight and there was some serious B&T action going on.  What’s the story with that place?  I’ve always loved it, but tonight, it seemed as though everyone had on tank tops and jeans and no one was drinking.  Buzzkill.

26 Valencia: An Homage

On my way home from work today, I caught what is sure to be my last glimpse of a dying beast: the 26 Valencia.  It totally made that mraaawwwghhhh sound that dinosaurs make when you shoot ‘em as it lunged away from its stop.

Unlike KevMo, I’m a longtime Muni lover, Fast Pass collector, and old lady seat offerer, so am sad to see this piece of shit bus go.  I think it only proper I write up an homage of my own to add to Kevin’s post (I’m the nice one, he’s the mean one, haven’t you been paying attention?).

Riding the 26 always made me feel like I was taking public transit in Santa Barbara.  I saw it referred to as the “rich man’s 14″  somewhere online today, which I thought appropriate.  One time I was on the 26 and a Norwegian woman started telling me about how certain types of  hamburger meat paralyzes you for life and also that I have really good skin.  Yes, this bus is totally useless, but how awesome was it to conveniently bump into it and ride the 4 blocks down Valencia you were planning on walking?

RIP, 26 Valencia.  There will be tears in my beer and on my Fast Pass tonight.