Posts Tagged ‘potrero’

From Mission Mission Comes the UPTOWN ALMANAC, San Francisco’s Newest Group Blog

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Some people behind San Francisco’s beloved Mission Mission blog are now branching out to cover the entire City of San Francisco plus the Sunset District – it’s called UPTOWN ALMANAC and it looks great.

Here are the deets from Kevin Montgomery.

So why not subscribe now? It’s free.

Bon Courage Uptown Almanac!   

“The blog is made up of a few pendejos (who mostly live in the Mission but whatever):

  • Bailey Genine: Lived in a broke-ass Tahoe house for three years.  Watched a toilet bowl freeze in her house and has puked off of ski-lifts.  ’nuff said.  Tumblr + Twitter.
  • Brizz: The mind behind The Tens.  He also spends too much time in L.A.
  • Jim Chaney: Author of a generally decent tumbleblog and twitter account.  Hails from the alright state of Ohio.
  • Kate Horton: Enjoys Urkel-Os cereal.  If that isn’t enough qualification, I don’t know what is. Twitter + Tumblr.
  • Kevin Montgomery: Some guy that used to write most of the entries for Mission Mission in late 2009.  He thinks he’s funny, but he’s not.  Twitter + Tumblr.
  • Laura Beck: This girl writes for so many publications that there is no way in hell you’d have the attention span to read about them all.  Most notably, she’s the lead for Vegansaurus!, which is basically a Grocery Eats for white people.  Twitter.
  • Serg: He’s been writing Beer and Rap before most of us lived in the Mission District.  He also writes Grocery Eats, which is basically a vegansaurus! for meat-eaters/people who hate white-people’s cooking.  Twitter.

Mirant’s Potrero Generating Plant is Always With Us – When Will It Go Away?

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

See the tower of the Potrero Generating Plant down Seventh Street on a recent rainy day?

Will it be here a year from now?

Who knows. But, on it goes, day in and day out:

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Click to expand

Bug Dancers Take Over Union Square to Promote OVO from Cirque du Soleil

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

See? This was the warm-up to show folks how to do the hottest(?) dance since the Macarena. If you were able to imitate these critters well enough, you could have won yourself free tickets yesterday, or something.

See?

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The name of the song is “Banquete” and the singing is in Portuguese. The translation is “Feast”

People have been practicing for weeks, as we see, in the Castro:

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Here’s more of the action from yesterday.

Congratulations to all the winners!

OVO from Cirque du Soleil is Fantastic – A Must-See

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Don’t miss your chance to see OVO from Cirque du Soleil down at the Le Grand Chapiteau tent in the parking lot of AT&T Park. Hurry, the whole shebang is heading down to San Hoser next month. 

OVO is fantastic.

Here are a bunch of photos from Adam Lau, but it’s hard to show what the show is like without video. And even then, you still don’t get the sense of how close you are to the action. 

OVO’s been going been going for a week or so, but people were calling yesterday’s performance Opening Night – the food was free for some reason and there were a lot of San Francisco Swells and/or People You’d Recognize in the crowd, including Olympic Gold Medal-winning Kristi Yamaguchi - she’s now Twittering about how she was in “constant awe“ last night.

Myself, I liked the suspended rope bit from Maxim Kozlov and Inna Mayorova best but the whole show was great.

The kiwi ants were memorable…

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…and the very flexible spider was off the hook:

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All the fun ends January 24th, 2010

See you there!

Cirque du Soleil’s OVO at AT&T Park Wins a Good Review from The Critic

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Well, The Review from Robert Hurwitt is in, and it’s good. O.K. then.

But don’t pay the scalpers to see OVO, just get your ticks at the box office, or discounted at the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy(!?)

Here are the crickets, up to something or other. Click to expand:

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See you there!

Brace Yourselves – OVO From Cirque du Solei is Opening on Black Friday

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Oh no, it’s OVO! The latest production from Cirque du Soleil is buzzing our way down at the Great AT&T Park Parking Lot south of SoMA in the “emerging” Mission Bay part of town.

Looks like the opener at 8:00 PM on November 27th is sold out, but seats are available for shows a few days later. 

An team of athletic insects got the word out around town last Friday:

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Click to expand

It’s going to be mega!

The Rich NIMBYs of “Neighbors of SFGH” have a Grand Party on Potrero Hill

Monday, November 16th, 2009

If you can tell the difference between the helipad-hating “Neighbors of SFGH” vs. the Stop the Helipad haters, well, then you’re one up on me. What they are, they’re a bunch of NIMBYs on a hill who don’t care how many people have died, and how many more will die, due to the lack of a helipad at San Francisco General Hospital. Anyway…

These hill-folk richers just had a party to raise money for their fight. [Oh, man, I've just discovered that writer Sajid Farooq yesterday posted "$100 Dinner Could Ground Pesky Lifesaving Helicopters*" over at NBC Bay Area, saving me the trouble of crafting a more complete post. Thanks, MSM! Click on over there for the deets.]

An artist’s conception of the “Neighbors” of San Francisco General Hospital having their high-rent lifestyles impinged upon by EMS flights buzzing about:

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Lovey and Winston are not happy. 

Read on to see the fruits of the labors of the Stop the Helipad people:

A head-on collision on the Golden Gate Bridge in May threw the evening commute into chaos and drew immediate cries for new safety measures. Lost in the flurry of traffic reports and debate about possible barriers, however, was the aftermath of the crash for the most seriously hurt victim. Dr. Grace M. Dammann had to be transported by helicopter about 25 miles to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek because San Francisco General Hospital lacks a helipad for its acclaimed Level 1 Trauma Center.”

Mmmm. According to an American College of Surgeons Consultation Survey of San Francisco General Hospital’s Trauma Program:

The lack of a helipad and helicopter service is a major deficiency in providing optimal trauma care for San Francisco General Hospital and San Francisco. It is difficult to understand why a city the size of San Francisco does not have any medical air transport. The congested roads and bridges with the surrounding water make helicopter service an essential medical support service.”

Oh well, here’s another artist’s conception of what the next Neighbors of SFGH fun-raiser might look like, maybe down by the chopper-free Warm Water Cove off of 24th. I think Gilligan is the webmaster:

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(Note Mary Ann in pigtails and high heels, you don’t see that look much these days.)

Obviously, NIMBYs are people too, and their concerns should be amplified and paid ‘tention to. But they go to far when they tell doctors how to save lives. We’re getting a pad at UCSF Mission Bay and we’ll, eventually, get another pad at the new and improved, earthquake-safe SFGH.

How many will die unecessarily until then?  

*”Pesky Lifesaving Helicopters” – Pwned! I’m still laughing.

OMG, OVO! Fantastic New Cirque du Soleil Show Opens November 27th at AT&T Park

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Get your tickets now for OVO, the new insect-themed show from Cirque du Soleil. Now I know what you’re thinking about the prices but you don’t need to get  the best seats in the house – they aren’t four times better than the worst, so try to focus on that if you get a little sticker shock during our Great Recession.

Conversely, contact your sugar daddy now if you want to get ticks in the Tapis Rouge Categorie Prestige Premium Level, where even 2-year-olds have to pay $175 per. I mean, why even have a sugar daddy if s/he can’t come through with $500 for the two of you when the Biggest Show Ever to Hit San Francisco hits San Francisco November 27th through January 24th, 2010?

Me, I’ve never seen a CdS show myself but the video previews look fantastic.

Benoit Fontaine © 2009 Cirque du Soleil Inc. Click to expand:

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A bug’s life:

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This looks a little hard:

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So, even if you’re in the cheap seats paying $42+ as a child, student or senior or even $60 as a regular adult, you’ll be getting a good deal, a spectacle of live entertainment.   

I guarantee it!

See you there!

Cirque du Soleil will hold the U.S. premiere of its latest big top touring production Ovo in San Francisco on Friday, November 27, 2009 and on Thursday, February 4, 2010 in San Jose. Presented by iShares®, Ovo will perform for a limited engagement under the trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) at the AT&T Park in San Francisco (corner of Third St. and Terry A. Francois Blvd) and at the Taylor Street Bridge in San Jose (corner of Taylor Street & Highway 87).www.cirquedusoleil.com. Membership is free and registration is quick and simple. Cirque Club members receive advance access to the best seats under the Grand Chapiteau, ticket upgrades, partner promotions and insider information on the world of Cirque du Soleil.Cirque du Soleil.Cirque du Soleil. This act is the most difficult in the world to execute in terms of the distance between stations. It combines many circus disciplines: banquine, Russian swing and swinging chair. The finale features 20 artists running; jumping and leaping straight up an 8m vertical wall.

Cirque du Soleil:
Guy Laliberté / Artistic Guide
Gilles Ste-Croix / Artistic Guide
Deborah Colker / Writer, Director and Choreographer
Chantal Tremblay / Director of Creation
Gringo Cardia / Set and props Designer
Liz Vandal / Costume Designer
Berna Ceppas / Composer and Musical Director
Éric Champoux / Lighting Designer
Jonathan Deans / Sound Designer
Fred Gérard / Acrobatic Equipment & Rigging Designer
Philippe Aubertin / Acrobatic Performance Designer
Julie Bégin / Makeup Designer

American Express are the official sponsors. Cirque du Soleil is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009. From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque is now a major Quebec-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has more than 4,000 employees from over 40 different countries, including 1,000 performing artists.Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to almost 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents. In 2009, Cirque du Soleilwill present 20 shows simultaneously throughout the world. The company has received such prestigious awards as the Emmy, Drama Desk, Bambi, ACE, Gémeaux, Félix and the Rose d’Or de Montreux. Cirque du Soleil’s International Headquarters are in Montreal, Canada.Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.
To find out more about the One Drop Foundation, visit
www.onedrop.org.

The name Ovomeans “egg” in Portuguese. This timeless symbol of the life cycle and birth of numerous insects represents the underlying thread of the show. Graphically, Ovo hides an insect in its name: The two letter “Os” represent the eyes while the letter “V” forms the nose.

Ovois a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming withlife, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives.

It’s love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

Ovo is overflowing with contrasts. The hidden, secret world at our feet is revealed as tender and torrid, noisy and quiet, peaceful and chaotic. And as the sun rises on a bright new day the vibrant cycle of insect life begins anew.

Cal-ISO Meets This Morning to Determine Fate of Mirant Power Plant – Watch It Live

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Get up to speed here on the issue of San Francisco’s 362 MW Potrero Power Plant and then watch live the Cal-ISO meeting that will help determine our future. Deets below.

See that big tower at the end of the street? That’s the natural gas-fired Mirant generation plant in San Francisco:

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STATE REGULATORS MEET TODAY TO FINALIZE 2010 PLANS FOR SAN FRANCISCO POWER PLANT
 
WHAT:          The California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) will finalize their recommendation to keep some or all of San Francisco’s dirty Potrero Power Plant running through the end of 2010.
 
                        San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Supervisors, environmentalists and community leaders have unanimously called for the power plant to shut down in its entirety when the new Trans Bay Cableplugs into San Francisco early next year.  In August, City Attorney Herrera announced an agreement between the city and power plant operator Mirant to shut down the entire facility upon receiving the blessing of the Cal-ISO.
 
At the September 11 Cal-ISO meeting, ISO staff said that they would negotiate a terms with Mirant to shut down most of the power plant when the cable comes online, and that contract is expected to be presented today.  On Monday, community and environmental groups Brightline Defense Project, Greenaction, SF Community Power, and the S.F. Green Party asked ISO CEO Yakout Mansour to confirm during today’s meeting that the entire plant will shut down when the cable becomes operational.
 
WHO:             Cal-ISO CEO Yakout Mansour, the Cal-ISO Board of Governors, representatives of the San Francisco elected family(expected), community and environmental groups including Brightline and Greenaction
 
WHERE:       Cal-ISO Headquarters, 151 Blue Ravine Rd., Folsom, California
Hearing will be streamed online at
http://65.197.1.15/att/confcast- use Conference ID # 968776 and leave “Passcode” blank
 
WHEN:          Thursday, October 29, 2009. Hearing starts at 11:00 a.m., power plants are Item 6, full agenda online at
http://www.caiso.com/244e/244e8eae13040.html

It’s Here! Neighborhood Free Days at the California Academy of Sciences!

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

You know what makes you better than all those melon farmers out there? It’s the fact that you hang your hat every night in the City and County of San Francisco. That makes you special. To celebrate you, the California Academy of Sciences is offering free admission for you (and your neighbors). Just match up your zip code with the handy chart below, gather up the necessary proof of where you reside, and head on over to Golden Gate Park.

And the nice thing about this free admission program is that it probably won’t be as crowded as it sometimes gets on the third Wednesday of the month, when everyone gets in sans tariff.

Celebrated Missionites getting a little camera time in front of the green screen before entering the Cal Academy yesterday. Bide your time, your free day is coming:

Read the fine print. Click to expand:

Thanks, Bank of America.