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8-Bit Mission

If you nerds haven't already heard, Google's big April Fool's joke was to make their maps all 8-bit NES like.  And they totally pranked me; I woke up this morning terrified I entered into some sort of Hot Tub Time Machine situation after attending a questionable hot tub party at Jello Biafra's condo.

Turns out everything is cool—good on you Google (and bad on you, Jello Biafra—everyone agreed the “you”-themed Jell-O shots were in bad taste!).  Even Google's directions still work:

So if you need me, my bros and I will be at my house trading Pogs.

You Don't get to 500 Million Friends Without Standing in Line for the Bathroom

Who wasn't in the park this weekend?  Even the billionaire boy-king of the internet turned up this weekend, presumably to reconnect with the masses and spend his fortunes on a lifetime supply of truffles and SpongeBob popsicles. And while this registers as a “meh” on the celebrity-sighting scale, he is pretty much the most famous person to ever squander a beautiful afternoon in the best 14 acres of grass this city has to offer.

UPDATE: Proof, via SFist:

[Twitter]

Zeitgeist Joins Twitter, Tweets Photos INSIDE Bar

The final taboo of Mission drinking has been broken:

It remains to be seen whether this a classic case of “do as I say, not as I do” or, in fact, proof that Zeitgeist is finally abandoning their ironic “no photos” policy so the bartenders can tweet out pics of their tats.  No matter, this whole “social media” push, coupled with their removal of the disgustingly endearing portapotties last summer, leaves me worried that the Zeitgeist I once knew is hanging up the sleeveless jean jacket and getting a desk job.

Your Very Own Mission Beauty Salon Portrait

If you have $20 to burn and have always wanted your portrait done up in the classic Mission beauty salon style we all know and love, VinCent M. on Yardsale will take his index fingers and paint you a digital portrait on his iPhone for you to cherish always.

Twenty bucks!

The Mission Gets a New Heliport

Okay, not really; but Google Maps seems to think the neighborhood has one down some sketch alley off of 25th.

(To Google's credit, there actually appears to be a “China Basin Heliport” somewhere in SF (airport code JCC), but it's most definitely not sandwiched between Capp and Cypress.)

(But seriously, how rad would it be to chopper in like Rambo for a round of bloodies at Phone Booth?)

[h/t @cowperthwait]

Is this the Facebook Profile of Suspected Mission Rapist Fred Dozier?

As you might have heard, SFPD released the name (Frederick A. Dozier, 32) and mugshot of the suspected Mission Rapist, who is responsible for three notoriously violent sexual assaults that took place along 24th streets in June, November and December.

So is Fred Dozier, employee of the San Francisco Unified School District, obsessive “Crime City” gamer, 49ers fan, and emotional status updater the same man from the released mug shot?

They certainly appear to be one in the same.  This is what Facebook's Fred Dozier posted just hours before the November assault at 24th and Potrero:

And a few days after:

There were also some extremely strange remarks following and prior to the December assault at 24th and Fair Oaks:

In general, his profile is filled with “Crime City” game updates and comments about the Niners (sorted randomly):

If you'd like to help the victims of these assaults, The Fair Oaks Community Coalition is raising money to assist the victims with medical bills and living expenses until they return to work.

Donations can be made to:

24th Street Survivors Fund”
c/o Sterling Bank and Trust
3800-24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114

[Facebook]

3D Mission

Shawn Ray Harris has been making 3D art in San Francisco for decades, but only just started exploring “drawtography” over the past few years.  It works like this: you slap on a pair of retro red/blue glasses and everyone's favorite San Francisco and Mission District scenes jump right off the canvas.

Shawn explains the inspiration behind the works:

3D photography can be so many different things. Traditionally it's defined as any imaging process capable of recording three-dimensional information giving the illusion of depth. To me, 3D photography includes old vintage photographs paired up and printed side by side on a card, then viewed in an antique stereoscope. The View-Master used the same concepts and was for many of us, our first introduction to 3D. The process that holds the greatest interest to me though, is the anaglyph. Typically, 3D processes used cameras with two lenses spaced eye width apart, shooting onto one piece of film. The anaglyph is different in that one image is being assigned a red value and the other image is assigned a blue value, then both images are overlaid and the illusion of depth is created when viewed with the red/blue glasses. To me, one attraction to the anaglyphs is the use of these old-school glasses. These glasses were such a novelty as a kid. There were times I remember putting them on to look at a huge 3D drawing of Spiderman. It was as if I had witnessed some sort of mad sorcery, Spiderman was leaping off the page. The challenges of blurring mediums from photography to illustration made the anaglyph process an intriguing one. Such a low tech process with a look that is so unique, I find it difficult to compare it to anything else. The impact of those 3D comic illustrations were early inspirations.

If you have an itch to deck your walls in 3D street scenes, or just check out these crazy pieces in real life, head over to Artillery on Mission (between 23rd and 24th) before they're all snatched up.

You've Had a Long Day, SF, Take Your Shoes Off, Load Up Your Weed Bong and Listen to the Police Dispatch

The weight of your messanger bag is off your shoulder and the fog is settling in. Your day was as long as it could have possibly been. But that's all behind you now, it's time to relax. It's time to listen to smooth sounds of the SF police dispatch.

In an insane leap of the mind, Eric Eberhadt decided to combine ambient music with the police scanner and it all works out surprisingly well.

iVigil Held in Dolores Park

The New York Times has the story:

Most of the mourners, almost all men, were quiet, holding iPhones and a couple of iPads. Most seemed to be reading on their phones, but a few waved them in the air, with Apple’s home page, showing simply a photo of Steve Jobs and the dates 1955-2011, filling the screen. Later they broke into groups, mostly talking about why they were upset, the legacy Mr. Jobs left and the way he and his products changed their lives.

Dave Black, 43, founder of Thingsly, a Web site for making connections between things, worked at Apple for 11 years until last January, first as an engineer and then in education marketing. He said: “I’m still scared to talk to the press after 11 years of indoctrination.”

[Photo by Denise Collier]

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