Before There Was Bernalwood, There Was Bernaltown

September 6, 2011August 25, 2011 / David Gallagher / 5 Comments

Yes, that’s right: Before there was Bernalwood, there was Bernaltown.

Bernaltown was a 1997 film project by Gregory Gavin, starring neighborhood kids and a variety of locals. It premiered in early June 1997, in an outside screening at the Bernal Heights Playground behind the library. 500 people showed up.

A narrative neighborhood film project structured around the Powerbuilders, a foursome of pre-teen superheroes who resist an evil scheme to build a gigantic casino on top of the community’s sacred resource – Bernal Hill. Instead of fighting evil with guns the kids build fantastic crime fighting gadgets in a secret underground workshop from which they also launch their homemade soap box cars through secret tunnels into the narrow streets of Bernaltown.

VHS copies of the movie are — or were — available at the Bernal Heights Library and 4-Star video. You can watch some excerpts from it on Gavin’s website.

So, find a hat like mine, and you get instant street cred.

Full Disclosure: The Pest Report

August 31, 2011August 25, 2011 / David Gallagher / 3 Comments

The house next door has been for sale for months — you can check it out right here. Trouble is, squatters have already moved in…

The Argument for the Eugenia Funicular

August 26, 2011August 25, 2011 / David Gallagher / 14 Comments

Call me a complainer, but how about replacing Eugenia Street with a chairlift that runs from Mission to Winfield? A proposal like that would even get me to vote for Leland Yee.

Putting Off Summer: Sometimes Cloudy Is OK

May 31, 2011May 31, 2011 / David Gallagher

Warm weather isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, rain in May can stave off a tragedy. Here’s a cautionary tale from a time in the recent (ok, distant) past.

Banks at Jarboe 1925: Some Things Don’t Change

May 18, 2011May 18, 2011 / David Gallagher

This view of Banks Street south of Jarboe (right across from the Paul Revere playground and down the block from the Coca-Cola billboard) is virtually the same now as it was 86 years ago.

Well, except that you’re not really allowed to park sideways across the street anymore.

Bernalwood’s Bounty: A Spring Harvest

May 5, 2011 / David Gallagher

It’s that time of year, when you break out the rake and shovel (or whatever it’s called) and bring in the crops you worked so hard to grow during the last few months.

How to Flee From Door-to-Door Canvassers Without Pants

April 28, 2011April 28, 2011 / David Gallagher

I have a big window in my front door, and I’ll admit to using it to my advantage when it comes to canvassers… it only shows the top half of me, so… it might be to their advantage too.

Bernalwood’s Wild Kingdom, or How To Deal With Unwanted Guests

April 4, 2011April 5, 2011 / David Gallagher / 6 Comments

We’ve had mice, we’ve had rats, we’ve had raccoons living between the house and the neighbor’s house, we’ve had a falcon standing on our back deck, we’ve had friends who just hang around too long at the end of a party… but maybe I’ve said too much.

Here’s our latest run-in with a frequent visitor to our backyard who likes us so much he’s taken up residence in our crap-filled garage. I hope you can learn something from this.

Spring is Here

March 31, 2011March 31, 2011 / David Gallagher

Did anybody notice how the temperature rose 10 degrees on Wednesday afternoon?

One minute, I’m sitting in the shade at the Giants’ game thinking that I should put my jacket on, then suddenly there’s a warm wind blowing in my face. (No, I wasn’t at the hot dog stand.) Anyway… that, and other signs, can only mean one thing.

Is This Bernal’s (Second) Most Dangerous Intersection?

March 17, 2011March 16, 2011 / David Gallagher / 12 Comments

Does Mission and Ceasar Chavez (still Army street to me) count as Bernal Heights? Technically, yes, and that’s a very treacherous place to cross the street. So where’s the second- most dangerous intersection? Suprise: Cortland Avenue (that’s what it’s called, btw) and Anderson. Yup that’s right.

Where Have All Bernal’s Barbers Gone?

March 9, 2011March 8, 2011 / David Gallagher / 10 Comments

A reminiscence on barbers, and streetcars, and how both of these things don’t exist in Bernal Heights anymore, even though some people really need them.

Wondering in the Neighborhood for a Parakeet Who Doesn’t Walk Too Much

March 1, 2011February 28, 2011 / David Gallagher / 2 Comments

We’re not sure, but we think Lupito is still missing. Please let us know.

Has Proof of Intelligent Alien Life Been Discovered in Holly Park?

February 25, 2011February 25, 2011 / David Gallagher / 2 Comments

We recently discovered some unnerving evidence of UMO’s to Holly Park. What could these markings mean for little-leaguers and kickballers on the Hill?