Posts Tagged ‘halloween’
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Well here’s something new under the sun. It’s the Vandal cargo pack for cyclists from the Mission Workshop.
See? It expands, thusly:
So you can carry a pony keg of delicious, if warm, Sierra Nevada on your back, or, indeed, an entire bike:
Their video shows you how it works. (Try not to yell out “co-option, co-option” as you see two tandem riders participating in Halloween Critical Mass 2009.)
Mission Workshop is just getting started, so they don’t yet have a retail store. But they do have a full-on corporate-style media campaign. Here it is, enjoy:
“Introducing Mission Workshop and Their First Expandable Cargo Backpack ‘The Vandal’
Mission Workshop is a San Francisco based company located in the heart of the Mission District. The company was born from over 15 years experience designing and manufacturing messenger bags and clothing. The founders of the bag company Chrome opened Mission Workshop in October of 2009 and just released their first backpack called “the Vandal.”
The Vandal is a weatherproof backpack designed for cyclists and anyone else that relies on their bag to get them through the day. It’s big enough to handle your daily gear and expands for additional cargo when needed. The Vandal’s expansion system gets bigger without using extra fabric and seals flat to disappear when not needed.
According to co-founder Bart Kyzar, “Most people prefer as small of a pack as possible but regularly need extra carrying capacity. Even with a full load, the Vandal can expand to accommodate an additional bag of groceries or a case of your favorite brew. It easily turns from 1200 cubic inches into 2200 cubic inches on the fly.”
The pack incorporates three built in compartments. The main roll top compartment is large and has RF welded seams making it completely waterproof. The middle compartment is perfect for a laptop and the smaller compartment is designed for personal organization. In addition to these, the expandable area is always ready for use when needed.
The Vandal has also stepped up the design on the backpack harness by integrating a frame sheet and fiberglass rods for support and comfort. This makes the Vandal much more comfortable than other cycling packs and has given it enhanced stability under heavy loads. The Vandal is PVC free and only uses fabrics coated with urethane. In addition to the environmental benefits, urethane coatings are much tougher than PVC and better retain their waterproof capabilities.
Specs:
– Weatherproof Capacity: 1200 cubic inches
– External Cargo Expander 1000 cubic inches
– Materials: Urethane Coated Nylon (PVC free)
– Load Suspension: LDPE Frame Sheet with Fiberglass Stays
– Removable waist strap with optional load bearing waist belt
Retail Price: $225 Made in the USA with a Life Time Warranty
Mission Workshop Products are sold online at http://www.missionworkshop.com/ and through select retailers nationwide.
Tags: 2009, backpack, bag, Bart Kyzar, beer, Cargo, chrome, company, critical mass, district, Expandable, founders, halloween, keg, mission, Mission Workshop, pony, Sierra Nevada, the Vandal, Vandal, workshop
Posted in bikes | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Word comes today from Anna Bloom of the NewYork Timeseses‘ Bay Area Blog about how production of NBC’s horrible Trauma TV series will shut down tonight.
Certainly, Trauma has been traumatic for NBC, but what about San Francisco? Would we have been better off without subsidizing this inchoate production? Did we really pay SFPD officers to just hang out around the set for the filming of twelve episodes instead of having the cops do their regular jobs?
Duboce Park as seen by Troy McClure SF. Click to expand:
How does the Scene in San Francisco scheme work? The TV people pay for the cops but then we turn around and give the TV people all the money back?
“What costs are eligible for refund?
- Fees paid to City Departments for the use or rental of City property, equipment or employees including: Port, MUNI, SPFD [SFPD?], SFFD, DPT, DPW, Treasure Island, Recreation and Parks, and all City buildings
- All daily use fees paid to the San Francisco Film Commission
- All payroll taxes paid to the City and County of San Francisco.”
So after Unfortunate, Innocent-Looking Whore In Tube Top and Flip Flops #5 cashes her minimum-wage paycheck for two days of temping (no benefits obviously) and we pay the cops full salary (or full salary plus?) to not do their jobs, what are we left with?
Certainly, Trauma was good for certain people in San Francisco, but was it good for San Francisco and San Franciscans overall? Is this the kind of thing we want to do again? Are there any Lessons to be Learned here?
Mmmmm….
Tags: $28, 'Mercy, (AMTC), 2009, 22, 28th, Aimee Garcia, Air Medical Transport Conference, Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC), all's fair, alley, amy chozick, Anastasia Griffith, angela bromstad, Anna Bloom, backlash, bad day at work, Bay Area blog, beaucoup explosions, big bang, Billy Lush, blogger, Boone, bowl, broadway, cancelled, CAS, Cast, casting, choppers, chuck, Cliff Curtis, commission, community, concourse, craigslist, Credits, Dario Scardapane, death watch, deathwatch, debut, Derek Luke, district, divisidero, doctors, Dr. Joe, drinking, dunnes, earthquake, emt, emts, episode, executive, Executive Producer, extras, filbert, film, Film 44, film commission, filming, financial, fresno, Friday Night Lights, gala, game, gigs, golden gate park, green, halloween, helicopters, hollywood, horrible, hospital, hulu, idiot box, idiot panel, Jamey Sheridan, jay leno, Jeff Reiner, july, just horrible, justin herman, Kevin Rankin, LLC, Marissa, music concourse, nancy, nbc, new york times, north beach, open 4 business, open 4 business productions, open for business, open4business, pacific, pacific heights, parks and recreation, party, Peter Berg, pilot, plaza, plot, police, police department, Polk, Producers, Productions, rabbit, ratings, sam, San Francisco, san jose, Sarah Aubrey, Scene in San Francisco, scenes, september, set, SFPD, southland, street, stuck, studio, suck. ems, sucks, taping, technology, television show, trauma, TV, twirlypopper, Tyler, union, Universal Media Studios, viewing, watching, Writer
Posted in TV | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Who knows how many fatwas were issued last week against New York Times reporter Scott James - no matter. But now it seems that the cops of the SFPD are getting picky about how cars handle the now-famous intersection of Steiner and Duboce, start of The Wiggle bike route.
This aging Land Cruiser (with tiny 15-inch wheels – a 1993 model?) will never die, but it will get its fair share of tickets on the Streets of San Francisco, for both parking and, as here, yesterday night, moving violations. Oh well.
Click to expand
Will this controversy result in a safer Wiggle?
Only Time Will Tell.
Tags: 2009, backlash, bay area, blog, critical mass, department, dept., duboce, halloween, intersection, land cruiser, new york times, November, nyt, police, route 30, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, scott james, SF, sfbc, SFPD, steiner, street, toyota, webster, wiggle, Writer
Posted in cars | Comments Off
Monday, November 9th, 2009
Now, I’m not up to speed here – is Glenn the gay guy that just came out? Anyway, find out tonight on Channel 3.
“Glenn’s attempt to follow his heart puts his career — and safety — on the line. Meanwhile, Marisa gets a surprise visit from an old friend. Elsewhere, Rabbit helps a patient deal with his devastating loss.”
And guess what? Ratings are up a bit lately. If only certain judgmental people hadn’t been so negative, and if it didn’t cost millions and millions to film old-school, episodic, Hill Street Blues-style television in pricey San Francisco, well who knows, maybe Trauma could have gone a full season.
See this “delicious young lady doctor” tonight:
Click to expand
And see Aimee Garcia whenever you want, right here. (You know, some people were able to walk off the Hindenburg without a scratch - maybe A.G. will similarly escape Trauma without injury)
Read about the five reasons Trauma got axed here before you tune in tonight.
Set your Tivo for 9:00 PM.
Tags: $28, 'Mercy, (AMTC), 2009, 22, 28th, Aimee Garcia, Air Medical Transport Conference, Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC), all's fair, alley, amy chozick, Anastasia Griffith, angela bromstad, backlash, bad day at work, beaucoup explosions, big bang, Billy Lush, blogger, Boone, bowl, broadway, cancelled, Cast, casting, choppers, chuck, Cliff Curtis, commission, community, concourse, craigslist, Credits, Dario Scardapane, death watch, deathwatch, debut, Derek Luke, district, divisidero, doctors, Dr. Joe, drinking, dunnes, earthquake, emt, emts, episode, executive, Executive Producer, extras, filbert, film, Film 44, filming, financial, fresno, Friday Night Lights, gala, game, gigs, golden gate park, green, halloween, helicopters, hollywood, horrible, hospital, hulu, idiot box, idiot panel, Jamey Sheridan, jay leno, Jeff Reiner, july, just horrible, justin herman, Kevin Rankin, LLC, Marissa, music concourse, nancy, nbc, north beach, open 4 business, open 4 business productions, open for business, open4business, pacific, pacific heights, parks and recreation, party, Peter Berg, pilot, plaza, plot, police, police department, Polk, Producers, Productions, rabbit, ratings, sam, San Francisco, san jose, Sarah Aubrey, scenes, september, set, SFPD, southland, street, stuck, studio, suck. ems, sucks, taping, technology, television show, trauma, TV, twirlypopper, Tyler, union, Universal Media Studios, viewing, wall street journal, watching, Writer
Posted in TV | Comments Off
Friday, November 6th, 2009
Scott James has a tiger by the tail with “San Francisco’s Cyclists Facing Backlash for Flouting Rules of the Road.” You see, he doesn’t just talk about cyclists blowing stop signs at speed, he goes and documents it, all judgmental like. Then he posts it on the YouTube for tout le monde to see. That’s going to rub some peoples’ fur the wrong way.
Not sure if anything has changed in San Francisco lately as far as a “backlash” is concerned. If there were some big new enforcement action these days, we would have heard of it by now. Oh well. One new thing Scott mentions is a Critical Mass website that recently popped up, but those kinds of things have popped up before only to earn derision from the “leaderless” corkers on the street. Oh well.
The SFPD will tolerate “California stops” from car drivers if they’re done “correctly” (you know, slowly enough under the circumstances) and they don’t seem to mind cyclists doing the equivalent, which in this town means blowing through a red light or a stop without losing any speed at all. All bets are off if there’s an enforcement action going on. In that case, the cops will want you to stop and put a foot down before proceeding.
The Scott Street part of San Francisco’s Route 30 Wiggle – the route so nice they paved it twice.
Anyway, writer Scotty has people looking out for him:
“Just try to talk about obeying traffic laws, and suddenly the loveliest ecofriendly riders are instantly transformed into venom-spewing bike bullies. I was warned several times not to write about this or risk being publicly vilified as an enemy of the bike world.”
I’d say yes, let’s count down how long it takes for the writer to be “publicly vilified as an enemy of the bike world” due to today’s article. It’s probably happening already.
Oh well.
Tags: 2009, backlash, bay area, blog, critical mass, department, dept., duboce, halloween, new york times, nyt, police, route 30, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, scott james, SF, sfbc, SFPD, steiner, street, wiggle, Writer
Posted in bikes | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
This is the scene at Fell and Broderick, right across the street from the makeshift shrine of fallen pedestrian Melissa Dennison. It seems the Bank of America Buena Vista Branch #0269 suffered a Halloween night attack from people dressed in black who broke numerous large windows and an ATM.
Apparently, the assault was designed to send a message to the “money-wielding fucks” and “little Eichmanns” who work inside. Deets below.
All cleaned up and waiting for repair:
Click to expand
The scene on Halloween night. The IndyBay kids would like to foreclose on BofA:
(Leave the hammer, take the cannoli from the nearby Falletti’s Market)
EveryBlock has this and somebody posted something on CNN iReport and there’s this shot on Flickr. And here’s a “trip report” post on IndyBay:
“SF Bank of Amercia trashed/redecorated
“SF Bank of America trashed on Halloween night!!!
“On Halloween night some people dressed in black at the corner of Fell and Broderick in San Francisco redecorated a Bank of America, trashing the ATM, smashed about 15 windows, and posted a banner reading “FORECLOSED“. We felt the dark creatures that dwell inside from 9 to 5 could use some more privacy, and at least for a couple days experience a more “cave like” home while they put families out on the street for problems that banks started. The boarded windows fit quite nicely (see pictures). This building will hopefully in the future be used for something more useful like a food co-op house, a clinic, or at least a place for people to sleep when it gets cold outside. Until then these money-wielding fucks will just have to take the harassment.”
The bank branch itself is open for business, as well the ATMs at the back near Faletti’s – they escaped the wrath of the Men in Black.
On It Goes…
Tags: 1, 1275, 31, 31st, anarchists, atm, attack, bank of america, black, black block, bloque negro, Boarded, BofA, Buena Vista, crime, department, dept., fell, foreclosed, halloween, hammer, hammers, indybay, little Eichmanns, Mayhem, money wielding fucks, NOPA, November, october, panhandle, police, SFPD, sign, street, vandalism, vandals, western addition, windows
Posted in crime | 3 Comments »
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum was packed last night, owing to the Ghoulish Gala.
Let’s take a look.
The Diane and Alfred Wilsey Court, bathed in purple and blue. Click to expand:
And here’s the band in the cafe, doing a decent Duran Duran cover:
Dancing Gogo Mummies uncaged - stage left…
…and right, avec Red State Trucker:
Of course, Fake Michael Schumacher was there:
All the food you could eat and booze you could drink. Plus, free palm readings. Bonus!
Let’s follow the Joker, Fletch and Sexy Nurse over to…
…Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine, opening today:
Now, let’s creep past The Brain That Wouldn’t Die…
…and out the front, where Balloon Mom Mayumi, avec UFO balloon, was seen looking for her son, Balloon Boy Falcon:
All in all, a great event.
See you next year?
Tags: Balloon Boy, Balloon Mom, band, Brain That Wouldn't Die, dancing, Diane and Alfred Wilsey Court, Duran Duran, fake, falcon, Fletch, ghoulish gala, Gogo, halloween, joker, legion, legion of honor, Mayumi, Michael Schumacher, mummies, Mummies and Medicine, nurse, palm readings, party, photographs, photos, pics, pictures, Red State Trucker, San Francisco, sexy, Very Postmortem, Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine
Posted in events | Comments Off
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
San Francisco’s monthly semi-unauthorized bicycle parade was well-attended and exceptionally ugly last night. Did your bike suffer any property damage (“let’s fucking beat up his car!”)? For whatever reason, Halloween Critical Mass 2009 had lots of gaps so that led to confrontations at every intersection – confused car drivers were tempted to just push through to end their lengthy waits. And the SFPD seemed less pro-bike than I’m used to seeing. Oh well.
Now, grab your parasol, pack your marshmallows, count the choppers, put on your PJs, and raise your fixie. Let’s take a gander.
Just look at the stalled MUNI buses and trolleys (trollies?) stretching from Mid-Market all the way back to the Ferry Building last night:
Click to expand
The riders could only just sit and stare:
Stare at this, a car-free Market Street:
via geekstinkbreath
Now let’s take it to the streets. Ichiro was there. He started going on about how there’s “sexiness in the infield.” OK fine:
About an hour or so after the six-ish P.M. starting time, the stalled buses started to pile up:
A happy corker vs. an unhappy corkee at the intersection of 8th and Market Streets.
After a while, car drivers start getting into this rolling Rorschach test. Some sit on their cars…
…while others, like this SUV driver, get out to fruitlessly confront the madding crowd:
IMO, parolees display the least tolerance for CM. Oh well. They just can’t handle it.
A stalled driver gets freaked out by Pumpkinhead:
Thank Gaia the cops were there:
Oops, here there are, pushing along the stragglers on Market:
And then an error – the main body of riders hung a right and headed up Van Ness. That’s not the way to cork MUNI, which got back to normal on Market Street round about 7:30 PM. Oh well. Van Ness from Hayes looking north up to California – the whole thing was entirely filled with bikes:
So there’s your Halloween Critical Mass 2009. See you next year.
Tags: 2009, 30, 30th, biclcye, bike, bus, confrontation, cops, cork, corked, costumed, costumes, critical, critical mass, cyclists, delay, department, dept., friday, fridays, halloween, intersection, last, market, mass, month, monthly, parade, police, San Francisco, sexy, SFPD, stalled, tacoed, transit, trolley, Wheel
Posted in bikes | 4 Comments »
Friday, October 30th, 2009
You know what you want to see? How about photos from the press preview for Very Postmortem: Mummies & Medicine, opening Saturday, October 31, 2009 at the Legion of Honor.
(And don’t forget about tonight’s ArtPoint Ghoulish Gala starting at 8:00 PM)
All photos, captions: Andrew Fox, ©FAMSF
Overview of the gallery, click to expand:
The coffin and mummy of Irethorrou. He’s the star of the show, if you will.
Forensic reconstruction of the head of Irethorrou’s father Ankhwenefer, whose mummy is currently housed in the collection of the Washington State Historical Society
Tasty mummy cookies were served to the press.
Organist Robert Gurney plays seasonal tunes on the Legion’s 1924 Skinner organ. Selections included the themes from Dr. Who and the Addams Family, as well as Bach’s famous Prelude (minus the fugue) in D-minor.
Halloween decor at the Legion of Honor, courtesy of the creative minds of the flower committee
All right, see you there!
Tags: 2009, 30th, 31st, andrew fox, ghoulish gala, halloween, legion of honor, mummies, Mummies and Medicine, museum, october, tickets, Very Postmortem, Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine, Washington State Historical Society
Posted in museums | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 30th, 2009
“Om nom nom nom“ by KayVee.INC
FTW:
Click to expand
Tags: 1645, 2009, death, halloween, jack o lantern, kayvee.inc, pumpkin, San Francisco
Posted in art | Comments Off
