This post on Mission Loc@l deserves to be read at the site and in its entirety: Open the Garage Door, It’s a Store.

Not only is the whole concept of garage stores cool, but the guy featured does it very much as a service to the nabe, selling brand-name soccer equipment to kids near cost. Totally the opposite of the globalized brand-filled big-box neighborhood-killing stores.

A friend visited the Emeryville branch of Borders Books and found it half-empty. Must be a little rough in Emeryville these days, considering that the big Circuit City there closed when that chain went down.

Also today, I was in Noe Valley and saw employees of the AAA storefront there literally carrying equipment out the door. A sign posted in the window said the branch was closing that day.

Meanwhile, the Chronicle carried an unintentionally funny story about how something called the Bay Area Council Economic Institute is meeting to split up funds from federal stimulus bills. Great quote:

“If we all work together in the next 66 days and get a great plan, we win,” said John Grubb, spokesman…

Yeah, that’ll definitely happen.

I was perusing the latest @sfmetblogs followers on Twitter and found some really interesting businesses and news sources that are active and interesting. Consider checking them out!

@abc7newsBayArea
News and notes directly from the ABC7 newsroom in San Francisco.

@BayAreaCheap
Twittering great stuff to see and do “on the cheap” in the (not so cheap) San Francisco Bay Area.

@bunsandchou
Buns and Chou Chou are rabbits who host their own TV show: Rabbit Bites.

@CheapandEasySF
Because San Francisco’s Not Just for Rich People

@CityofSF
CityofSF is a Twitter service to update people on current events and happenings in San Francisco

@CurbedSF
Curbed SF, the San Francisco nabe and real estate blog. We like architecture and planning, too.

@GhirardelliSQ
More than just the best chocolate! Wine tasting, great food and fun shopping

@INGB2Breakers
I’m Amy @ ING Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. Sharing race updates, costume ideas, fun giveaways, etc.

@munidiaries
Muni Diaries – a place to share and read rider tales

@NinersNation
49ers Blogger for SB Nation

@odcsf
ODC is a groundbreaking contemporary arts institution with longstanding roots in SF and home to our Dance Company, ODC School/Rhythm & Motion & ODC Theater

@sanfranfeed
San Francisco – News Feed

@SFBRAVOCLUB
San Francisco Opera’s BRAVO! CLUB is a group of young adults, aged 21-40, dedicated to building a new audience for San Francisco Opera.

@SFBusinessTimes
Covering businesses headquartered in San Francisco, Oakland, East Bay and Marin

@SFChron_alert
Get breaking news alerts on the Bay Area’s biggest stories from the San Francisco Chronicle.

@SFstandup
Guide to comedy in the San Francisco Bay Area

@Shopping_SF
Follow me for all the freebies, cheap events, and funtastic events..from SF’s hit Shopping! The Musical..Now in its fourth hit year!

@SJMetblogs
San José Metblogs is part of a worldwide network of city-specific blogs, where authors write stories about life in their city from a personal, local perspective

@tskifeed
Tahoe Ski Feed

The obscurity never really dawned on me until now, but you can buy a saddle for a horse at OK Corral Western & Work Wear right smack in the middle of the Mission. Is there a stable nearby that I don’t know about?

Don’t get me wrong, I like fun surprises like this. I am genuinely curious as to how many saddles they sell, who buys them, and where the horses are that wear them.

A story in yesterday’s Times of India profiles Rubin Moses, a famous Jewish cobbler who moved from San Francisco to Bangalore following the 1906 earthquake, married an Indian woman, and established a shop on Bangalore’s Commercial Street — the city’s main shopping street — that lasted until 1985.

Made me think — how many people who fled San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake spread something of San Francisco’s cosmopolitan culture elsewhere?

This is my small world: kind of oddly upset that Gap gave me clothes in a plastic bag, and that none of the retail workers knew what the f** I was talking about- SF’s plastic bag ban. Heck, even Walgreens is giving me stuff in a paper bag (when I can’t cram it in my purse). This was Gap Kids in Union Square.

Being one of those crazy bike riders (of the fixed gear variety) I was pretty damn psyched to hear about the new Chrome store in SoMa. (yes I know you If you used to be able to swing by their warehouse and buy stuff before but this is like a store store for real and shit) If haven’t heard about it yet that’s because when I say new, I mean BRAND NEW – as in the grand opening is next week! We stopped by yesterday but unfortunately too late and they were already closed, hopefully today we’ll be more lucky. I’m only in town for a few days so I’m going to miss it, but for people who live here and ride bikes, or who live here and enjoy awesomely designed bags I highly recommend blocking off some time next Thursday (July 31) and swinging by the new store at 4th and Brannan and partaking in the festivities.

I always get a little nervous when I see San Francisco listed on the front page of the Sunday New York Times travel section. A haute restaurant here, a travel deal there: frequently their writing about places outside of the greater New York area seems to have an air of superiority. When I was in Chicago they ran a piece about Wicker Park that seemed condescending (to the effect of “Look at these funky people who live here! How quaint.”)

Yesterday’s piece on Valencia Street, “Hipster Hunting Ground,” wasn’t quite as offensive, but it still seemed to view the Corridor through a Brooklyn lens. The Curiosity Shoppe, Paxton Gate, Spork, and Ritual Roasters were all featured, and fairly. I was surprised, however, that Dosa was featured while Range didn’t get a mention; the same for Little Star (maybe I’m just a sucker for the jukebox and heirloom tomatoes). The piece, while limited in length, doesn’t capture the neighborhood’s character and even gets lazy toward the end: “Like the street itself, [Amnesia's] lineup is full of surprises.”

This Sunday in the Mission, a designer co-op (the Mission Statement) hosts a block party in the Mission- local businesses show their clothes & beats & breakdancing. Sounds very cool. Beforehand trot over to Fabric8 on 22nd and check out the mural done by Brian Barneclo, and he’s also doing live painting.

Briefly: Sunday, from 3-7PM, The Mission Statement celebrates its opening with their First Annual Fashion Show & Block Party on Lexington Street between 18th and 19th Streets.

Lengthily: It’s a fashion show featuring clothing and jewelry by local designers such as Yugala (formerly of AMS and Saffron), Minnie Wilde, Zoe Bikini, and Honey McMoney (formerly Phobos & Deimos and University of Fuck). There will also be a performance by SFC Double Dutch, spoken word by Anthem Salgado & Kentura, and music by local DJs.
details after ze jump

I’ve been very curious to find out what was going to happen at 1746 Post since it’s been torn apart… and I’ve discovered quite some news!

Anime, Manga and overall Japanese culture fans will be ecstatic to hear that Viz Pictures (an offshoot of local Anime and Manga publisher Viz Media) is a partner in building a “J-Pop Center” in Japantown! The Center will include a theatre for showing releases from Viz Pictures, Anime and other Japanese features. Also expected are a branch of the already popular Kinokuniya Bookstore, a cafe and some Japanese clothing shops… a one-stop J-Pop shop!

The website for the Viz Cinema does not show a lot of information at the moment, but it does state that it is slated to open in Winter of this year.