Bernal Celebrity Explains Why You Should Absolutely Definitely Buy Tickets to the Next Pop-Up Magazine, TODAY!

April 3, 2012April 3, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Pop Up Magazine is an innovative event that gives interesting writers, artists, and creative-types the opportunity to tell magazine-style stories in front of a live theater audience. Picture a well-curated collection of TED Talks, but shorter, less formulaic, and vastly more fun.

Pop Up Magazine started at the tiny Brava Theater on 24th Street in 2009, but just three years later it’s already so wildly popular that it’s now held at Davies Symphony Hall. The sixth installment happens on April 25th, 2012, and tickets go on sale today at noon.

Bernal resident and New York Times contributing writer Jon Mooallem will give one of the presentations on the 25th, and he emailed us a nice explanation of what the whole Pop Up Magazine thing is all about:

Pop Up commandments prevent me from saying anything about what I’ll be doing on April 25th, and I’m not allowed to reveal who else is contributing either. I can say that I’ve been part of all five issues so far, and they’ve always been an absolute hoot — enthralling, entertaining, and moving in the most surprising ways. And I’m always stunned and cripplingly intimidated by the cast of talented writers, photographers, filmmakers and radio folks that Pop Up manages to pull together — including, not coincidentally, many Bernal-ites.

At past issues, I’ve talked about the Billy Possum, a short-lived rival to the Teddy Bear; lost wallets that are found decades later; UPS, FedEX and the nature of Buddhism; and a long-ago congressional plan to jumpstart a hippopotamus-ranching industry in America that was infiltrated by spies. I think that’s a pretty good representation of the range of topics overall.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 12 noon. For your convenience, emergency sirens around the city will blare to remind you.

Clever touch, that well-timed Tuesday siren.

Run, don’t walk, to your Internet terminal when tickets go on sale today at noon. Buy your tix immediately, because if the past is any guide, this issue of Pop Up Magazine will sell out very quickly.

Test Drive an Electric Bike on the Fearsome Folsom Challenge

March 30, 2012March 31, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

The New Wheel, that newfangled shop on Cortland that sells those newfangled electric bikes, is having their grand opening celebration this weekend.

There’s a party in the store at 420 Cortland on Sunday night from 6 to 9 pm, but before that, from 5 to 6 pm on Sunday, the New Wheel is offering everyone in the neighborhood the opportunity to test drive an electric bike on the (fearsome) Folsom Street Challenge.

Yes, that’s right. The New Wheel has picked up the gauntlet Bernalwood threw down last January by making a few of their electric bikes available for you to take straight up that crazy-steep part of Folsom Street:

Let’s take a more technical look, courtesy of Strava:

Store owner Brett Thurber is confident his machines are up to the challenge, and if you know any fixie-loving hipsters who want to go head-to-head with an electric bike in a John Henry-style race to the top, by all means bring them along too. (TIP: Don’t tell said hipsters how the story ended badly for John Henry.)

To participate, meet up at the corner of Precita and Folsom beginning at 5 pm on Sunday, and hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Paint-A-Tile Fundraiser for the Bernal Library, Saturday

March 30, 2012March 29, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Neighbor Demece from Precita Valley Neighbors sends along this announcement about a craft-based fundraiser for the Bernal Library mural facade:

Precita Valley Neighbors invites you, your family, your dogs to the…

Paint-A-Tile Fundraiser at Precita Mural Eyes!

Who: Fundraiser for the Precita Mural Eyes’ Mural Facade on the Bernal Library! Donations of $100 per tile are 100% tax deductible. All materials supplied. Limited tiles available.

What: You can paint a tile and be a part of history!

Where: Precita Mural Eyes at 348 Precita

When: Studio sessions are 10-noon and 1-3pm this Saturday March 31st only

RSVP: precitavalleyneighbors at yahoo dot com or Precita Mural Eyes 285-2287. Please
reserve a studio session if you prefer the 10-noon or 1-3pm.

Bernal Dads Make Their Bizarre Race Car Even More Strange

March 22, 2012March 22, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

If you happened to look out your window at just the right moment last Saturday, you might have seen a bizarre spectacle streaking through Bernal Heights. It was a red(ish) automobile adorned with an ill-fitting Volvo body, “Bernalwood” emblazoned on the hood, and no license plates. It was moving swiftly, so if you blinked, you might have missed it entirely.

Actually, that was part of the plan. The vehicle was The Molvo, the mutant Mazda Miata-Volvo 240 hybrid fabricated by those diabolical dads from the Bernal Dads Racing Team. Saturday’s dash across Bernal Heights was a ferry run to move the Molvo from it’s top secret storage space to the Dads’s top secret garage workshop. You see, there’s a big car race at Infinion Raceway in Sonoma this weekend, and the Bernal Dads needed to make sure the Molvo was ready for competition.

But in the case of The Molvo, “ready for competition” doesn’t mean tuning the engine or tweaking the suspension. All that stuff is great, because within the Molvo’s mangled Volvo body shell lies a fully intact Mazda Miata, and the Miata is a fine race car even without any significant modification.

No, the problem with The Molvo is that it carries around about 800 pounds of unwieldy extra weight — in the form of all that goofy Volvo station wagon bodywork. So a plan was hatched to put The Molvo on a revolutionary weight-loss program:

So what does it look like now? Suffice to say, after all the sparks stopped flying, the Dads surveyed their handiwork and began calling their mutated mutant race car “The Molvochero.”

Tomorrow morning, The Bernal Dads will load The Molvochero and the team’s other race car, The Whale, onto trailers for an ad hoc parade down Cortland. From there they will head north, to Infineon Raceway, to set up camp in preparation for this weekend’s 24 Hours of LeMons “Sears Pointless 2012” race on Saturday and Sunday. I’ll tweet updates from the Bernalwood Twitter account, and Car and Driver magazine will provide coverage on their special LeMons website.

Wish the Bernal Dads luck (because they’ll need it).

PHOTOS: Top two, Telstar Logistics. Bottom, David Spector

Donkey Will Co-Star at Rock Bar Grand Opening Party, Tonight

March 21, 2012March 21, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

The Rock Bar, the new drinkery on 29th Street at Tiffany, is having a grand opening party tonight, beginning at 7 pm. There will be drinks, food, and a very special guest star: a donkey. Check out the full details:

Wednesday March 21st 7pm till 2am

Rock Bar 80 29th Street (between Mission and San Jose)
Across from The Front Porch

Specials ALL NIGHT
Donkey Punch
Donkey Rides
Donkey Games

Rock Bar is a neighborhood bar building great cocktails, serving cold beer and pouring fine wine. Our bartenders take pride in their craft and their knowledge of product placed behind our bar.

Rock Bar offers specials on a daily basis. We offer free pool Thursday through Monday until 8pm. Dollar off draft beers and well cocktails each night from 5pm-7:30pm and again from Midnight to close. Every evening, every hour we feature a special cocktail for $5. The Front Porch is in the process of creating complimentary bar snacks for happy hour and other edibles to purchase later in the evening. You are also encouraged to order a bucket of fried chicken from the kitchen across the street and eat it here.

Walk (or Sing) Among the Wildflowers on Bernal Hill, Saturday

March 16, 2012March 16, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

Spring has sprung, Bernal Hill is alive with the sound of music, and in conjunction with the Bernal History Project, Neighbor Rachel is leading a wildflower walk tomorrow morning:

Wildflower Walk this Saturday, March 17th at 11:30 AM, Bernal Hill

Join us for a wildflower walk on the Hill. We’ll look at early wildflowers, including a locally rare population of star lilies (Zigadenus fremontii). Other current blooms include footsteps-of-spring, lomatium, shooting star, blue eyed grass, and checkerbloom.

Terry Milne will talk about some history on the hill and ways to conserve this grassland and the wildlife it supports.

We’ll meet at 11:30AM at the Ellsworth steps (intersection of Ellsworth and Bernal Heights Blvd).

This walk follows the monthly volunteer work party with Rec and Park, which begins at 10AM in the same location on the 3rd Saturday of every month.

Showers ok, steady rain cancels.

For more information you can email rachel.kesel [AT] sfgov [DOT] org or call 415-831-6332.

PHOTOS: Top, Telstar Logistics. Wildflowers, Rachel Kesel

Dig It: Bernal Jazz Quintet at the Bernal Library, Tomorrow

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

Hey cool cats, Michael Gold let loose an announcement about a Bernal Jazz Quintet gig happening tomorrow night at the Bernal branch library. Dig it:

The Bernal Jazz Quintet returns to the neighborhood library with music to get your toe tapping and your hat size expanding. We’ll be playing familiar standards as well as some not so likely suspects–including compositions by jazz artists Carla Bley, Charles Lloyd, and Jessica Williams.

Two sets, no cover.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

The BJQ is:
Jim Zimmerman – Vibes
Michael Gold – Saxes
Paul Mindrup – Keyboard
Ken Lenga – Bass
Tom Hassett – Drums

PHOTO: Susan West

Bernal Spoken Word Artist Hosts Open Mike Event, Tomorrow

February 28, 2012February 28, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

Bernal Neighbor Ned Buskirk is hosting the latest edition of his open mike series for poetry, prose, and music called You’re Going to Die, tomorrow night, Feb 29, at 8 pm at Viracocha (on Valencia at 21st):

There will be a set list of performers [guaranteed lovelies] to take up part of the night… signup will also be that night for anyone else.

When there are 20 total performers for the night, you’re outta luck.
The list fills up quick, so if you want to perform, you’d better get there early…

If you’re going to read, keep it under 5 MINUTES long. That’s right: 5 MINUTES. WE WILL TIME YOU. And we will hug you when we have to stop you [just to make it easier on you (or harder – depending on your propensity for intimacy).

As far as reading goes, you can bring anything you want to read.
It doesn’t have to be poetry. It doesn’t have to be yours.

Full details about the event on the Facebook. Bonus: Here’s a Bay Citizen write-up about last month’s issue of “You’re Going to Die,” for the curious.

A Meetup for Artists Atop Bernal Hill, Saturday

February 24, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Pack up your charcoals and watercolors, because Reader Laurie brings news of a gathering for visual artists happening this weekend on Bernal Hill:

The just-formed Meetup group for San Francisco Urban Sketchers is having it’s first meeting this Saturday at 2:00, and it’s on Bernal Hill.

Here’s a description of the meetup:

Bernal Hill has great city views to sketch, but also plants, dogs and people. Find me near the bulletin board on the south side of the hill (near the parking area). I’ll wear a red jacket but you can probably spot me by the sketchbook I’ll have out.

I’ll wait around until 2:30 to see who shows up, then will head off sketching. We’ll meet up afterwards at the Progressive Grounds Cafe (corner of Cortland and Bennington) to see how it went. Showing your sketches is optional.

If it’s raining we’ll meet at the Progressive Grounds to sketch people drinking coffee and writing emails, and maybe the odd lonely dog waiting outside.

The Meetup group is open to anyone, but I’m also always looking for sketching buddies to join me for a few quick sketches up the Hill.

IMAGE: View east from Bernal Hill, by Reader Laurie

“Cut Hair, Not School Budgets” A Benefit for Flynn School

February 23, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

Feeling a little shaggy? Here’s a way to keep yourself looking glamorous while also benefitting the students at Leonard Flynn School at Precita Park. Neigbor Sarah, who has a kid at Flynn, writes

Cut Hair, Not School Budgets!

2nd Annual Flynn Cut-a-Thon
Great haircuts from top Ginger Rubio and Zindagi stylists
Haircuts $50, Blowouts $30
All proceeds benefit Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School PTA

When: February 26th, 9am-4pm
Where: Zindagi Salon, 55 Grant Ave., San Francisco
To schedule appointments contact:
Amy Armas amydevlinarmas@gmail.com, 415-609-9091

Hearing Scheduled to Save Bernal’s Historic Coke Sign

February 21, 2012February 21, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

The effort to save the historic Coca-Cola sign that survives on the side of Richard Modolo’s home in Bernal Heights has been long, dramatic, and (thus far) mostly successful. But it is not over yet.

There’s a hearing scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 to consider the conditional use permit required to allow the sign to remain, and Richard Modolo needs all the support he can get during the hearing. In an email to Bernalwood, he writes:

It has almost been a full year since we started the effort to Save the Vintage Coke sign. One might have thought it was over by now, but that is not the case — though we are close. A few months back I was allowed to pull a Conditional Use permit which will allow me the keep and maintain this vintage sign. The final process in the permit is the public hearing with the Planning Department, and that has now been scheduled for Thursday, February 23, at 12 noon in room 400 of City Hall. The hous has been posted with two very big signs informing the public of the hearing. It could be a very interesting hearing, and I may need all the support I can get.

If you can attend the hearing to support the historic sign, Richard would be very grateful for your time and effort.

BONUS! Richard also sent Bernalwood this photo, circa 1991, which shows what his building looked like shortly after the asbestos siding was removed — revealing the vintage sign that had been hidden underneath. As you can see, the photo shows not only the Coca-Cola “ghost sign,” but also a sign from Amoroso Grocery, the corner market that used to occupy the structure. Very cool:

PHOTOS: Richard Modolo

Meet to Make the Bernal Cut More Charming, Saturday

February 17, 2012February 16, 2012 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Neighbor Sandy is leading the charge to make the Bernal Cut more beautiful, and she would welcome your assistance:

Since learning about the SF Street Parks program (by way of Bernalwood’s reporting on the Vista Pointe Street Park), I have volunteered to steward the North East portion of The Bernal Cut hillside (San Jose Ave from Randall Street to Highland) with the hope of addressing the pollution, crime, and general sense of hopelessness surrounding the Bernal Cut path, bridges, staircases, and hillside.

Our first community-planning meeting will be held at the Bernal Heights Library Meeting Room on Saturday, February 18 from 2pm to 4pm. We’d love it if other Bernalwood readers would join us for the discussion.

PHOTO: Peter Ehrlich

“The Golden Age of Soul,” at the Bernal Library, Tomorrow

February 7, 2012February 6, 2012 / Todd_Lappin

Carlos Santana once lived in Bernal. But James Brown? Alas, no. Ray Charles? Sorry. Aretha Franklin? Err, not so much.

Regardless, there’s a terrific program about “The Golden Age of Soul” on the calendar tomorrow night at the Bernal Heights Branch Library:

When: Wed, 2/08/2012, 6:30 – 8:30

Richie Unterberger will present “The Golden Age of Soul Vol. 3” in honor of African-American history month. This is a presentation of rare soul music film clips from the 1960s and early 1970s. This is *not* the same program as the two soul music programs he has previously done at the Bernal Heights branch. This features entirely different clips, including footage of performers such as Mary Wells, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett, Ray Charles, the Four Tops, Jackie Wilson, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, and Aretha Franklin.

Sounds fantastic. As a preview bonus, we are proud to present this exclusive footage of James Brown’s 1965 performance at the Ski Bernalwood Summit Lodge, for your viewing enjoyment: