Yesterday evening we had another little punk show at the 16th Mission Bart stop. Unlike many previous shows, this one was right in the middle of things; not much buffer zone between the audience and the band.
I wasn’t there when they finished up, but I hear that things ended quite early.
The Ed Lee for mayor campaign has to be one of the strangest campaigns in recent history. The guy hasn’t entered the race, and has plainly stated that he won’t run. Which means this mayoral campaign isn’t run by Lee himself, but by fans attempting to pressure him into the mayor’s race. It’s a clear case of life imitating The Onion.
As for this campaign sign; the whimsical drawing is fun, the “Run Ed Run” slogan brings light to the fact Lee doesn’t want to run in the first place, but the URL? RuneDrun.org? Is that some kind of Gnostic thing or… oh. I get it. (Capitalization, folks — learn to use it properly.)
Let’s face it, Lee makes a better mayor than a politician. And that’s why we like him. So keep it up with the quirky, confusingly-capitalized campaign signs if you wish, but let’s not take Lee’s “campaign” too seriously.
Hong Kong Express Cafe, also known as the absurdly cheap restaurant filled with hobos and pigeons, finally closed its doors to make room for Southpaw BBQ.
However, not everyone is pleased with this change, as indicated with the above photos of protests from Sharpie owners. And while it’s easy to discount their protests as the price of a Sharpie is greater than the cost of a plate of food at Hong Kong Express, it’s true that the number of affordable dining options around 16th and Mission has decreased dramatically in recent years.
These film production trailers showed up at 15th and Mission recently. But what for, you may ask? A new TV thriller? An exciting action-packed movie?
Well according to the lady I asked, they’re shooting a commercial is for Best Foods mayonnaise. Man, how… not exciting. Oh well.
I’m sure this conversation happens all the time:
“Meet me at City Lights.”
“Oh, the bookstore in North Beach?”
“No, the light bulb store in SOMA!”
A Quinn-Martin production!
Wait… what? This is some kind of cheesy Muni ad for buying a Muni Passport and visiting Ghirardelli Square. It has nothing to do with Karl Malden and/or Michael Douglas.
A while back, one of my co-workers brought in a 1985 edition of Soviet Life magazine. If you’re not familiar with it, Soviet Life was a propaganda magazine produced in association with the USSR for readers in the United States. As part of an agreement, a similar propaganda magazine was produced by the USA for sale in the USSR.
Amusingly, this issue goes into the wonders of digital television, an idea that didn’t become available outside of the lab until a decade after the Soviet Union broke up.
See the rest of the photos of this issue here.
While trapped at the Market St. Safeway during the rainstorm today, I made a shocking discovery: Safeway carries not one, but THREE brands of frozen chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs.
Does this alarm anyone else?
Why do we need to make food shaped like extinct animals? Are there children out there somewhere who refuse to eat nuggets not shaped like dinosaurs? “No mom, I can’t eat this, it’s not shaped like a dinosaur.” Clearly, such a child needs to be loaded with ADHD medication and spanked repeatedly, not indulged in his absurd food preferences.
Sure, Safeway has four isle-long freezers, but there has to be a better way to fill them than this.
What do you think, has Safeway gone too far this time?
Martin’s Emporium, aka the weird skull store on 16th and Dolores, now has a closing date: July 31st. Now that may sound like it gives you a lot of time to get your skull figurines, crystal skull necklaces, and skull watches for your goth friend’s birthday. But no! Martin’s has sporadic and limited hours. If you want to go, go now! But call first, because they’re probably not open.
And with the closing of this store, the number of vacant retail spots on this street increases to three: Martin’s, Il Cantuccio, and Bangkok 16.
Travel, movies, comedy, tech, and whatever I find on the streets of San Francisco.
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Contact: mrericsir “at” gmail.com
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