New “Bernal Heights Architectural Coloring Book” Celebrates 2014 Bernal Outdoor Cinema Festival

August 28, 2014August 28, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Neighbor Mason Kirby is an architect who lives on Mullen and works from a cute little office on Bocana just off Cortland. A few years ago, Neighbor Mason created a fabulously clever Bernal Heights Architectural Coloring Book, which he generously shared with Bernalwood readers.

Now, just in time for the 2014 Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival that gets underway next week, Neighbor Mason shares a new edition of his Bernal Heights Architectural Coloring Book for wannabe Bernal architects of all ages:

We’ve created a second, collectors, edition of our Bernal Heights Architectural Coloring Book. Download away! In this new edition, we didn’t need to include any houses from Noe Valley (……hisssss……hooray!). Also, we included a moon-like reminder about the Precita Park screening of Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema (which we are helping sponsor) that will happen on Saturday September 6th at 6:30.

Download your copy of the 2014 Bernal Heights Architectural Coloring Book right here!!

Don’t have a printer? No problem! Neighbor Anne tells us where you can pick up a hard copy:

The coloring books are available at Precita Park Café, Charlie’s Café, Precita Valley Center, and the Bernal Library. In addition, we will have a stack of them at the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema information table at Precita Park on Saturday, September 6.

Got that, kids? Sharpen your colored pencils, line up your crayons, try and stay within the lines, and don’t forget that all your pictures must conform with the Bernal Heights East Slope Design Review Guidelines. (Just kidding about that last part. Sort of.)

And meanwhile, get ready for Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema 2014, which kicks off with a gala Opening Night Party at El Rio on Thursday night, Sept. 4.

Today at Noon: Listen to Bernalwood on Burrito Justice Radio

August 27, 2014August 27, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Yes yes, we know… the idea of Bernalwood participating on Burrito Justice Radio is sort of like General Douglas McArthur agreeing to appear as a studio guest with Tokyo Rose. But stranger things have happened…

Today from noon to 2 pm, tune your Internet dial to Bff.fm as La Lengua’s chief agitator Burrito Justice hosts your Bernalwood editor for a mix of talk, music, local history, and seething geo-political rivalry. As Burrito Justice says, “It’s like Twitter on the radio!” (We don’t know what that means either.)

Bernalwood has been granted full diplomatic immunity to participate in the radio show, along with assurances regarding safe passage to and from the BFF.fm studios in the Mission. Just in case, I’ve also gotten a tetanus shot and purchased a Speak Conversational La Lenguan phrasebook.

Listen in today at noon on BFF.fm, and share your questions and snarky comments on the Twitter.

PS: If you’ve never heard Burrito Justice’s exclusive celebrity interview with @KarltheFog, then stop what you’re doing right now and pop it in your earholes. Guaranteed, you will never look at a fog bank rolling over Twin Peaks the same way ever again.

Tonight: Free Concert by the Bernal Jazz Quartet at the Library

August 13, 2014August 13, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Hey cats…

Bernal neighbor and jazz daddy-o Michael Gold is spreading the word about a concert by the Bernal Jazz Quartet happening TONIGHT at 6:30 at the always-hip Bernal Heights Library:

The monthly jazz series at the Bernal Heights Library is firing back up this week.

After a two-month hiatus, the Bernal Jazz Quartet will be back in the acoustically comfy community room on Wednesday, August 12 from 6:30 to 8:30pm, performing the music of seminal jazz bassist Charlie Haden.

Charlie, who passed away last month, helped chart the course of jazz over many decades, collaborating with other giants such as Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett, leading his own bands large and small, and developing a distinctive, irresistible voice on the bass. His playing and his compositions are deep, honest, nostalgic, resonant, and centered on uncomplicated, engaging melodies.

To celebrate his memory, we’ll be playing two sets of all Charlie Haden.

No cover, as always. FYI, we’re at the library most second Wednesdays of the month. And this month, the Bernal Jazz Quartet consists of Michael Gold (sax), Bruno Pelletier (guitar), Chuck Bennett (bass), and Tom Hassett (drums). Tom and I are Bernal residents; Chuck and Bruno are close enough — Noe Valley.

New Bernal Journal Goes on Hiatus, as Neighbor Tim Redmond Hatches Plan to Revive It

July 29, 2014July 28, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

Regular readers might have noticed something odd on the front page of the most recent (April/May) issue of the New Bernal Journal, the bimonthly print newspaper published by the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.

Below the fold, a small item explained that the New Bernal Journal planned to temporarily cease publication:

What??? Why? What does this mean? And what’s the plan?

Bernalwood reached out to BHNC executive director Rachel Ebora for insight, and she explained that producing New Bernal Journal had become difficult in its current form, and that there was a desire to make the newspaper “more community driven vs. completely staffed by BHNC.”

She also said Bernal neighbor and veteran progressive journalist Tim Redmond had expressed in interest in overseeing the New Bernal Journal’s revival.

This was an innnnteresting potential development, so Bernalwood asked Neighbor Tim Redmond for comment as well. Via email, Neighbor Tim tells us:

Yes: We want to bring back the New Bernal Journal. The staff at BHNC doesn’t have the time to do it anymore, and besides, they would like it to be more than a BHNC publication and more of a neighborhood pub.

So I have volunteered to put together a group of local editors and writers (and as you know, the hill is full of editors and writers) to create some sort of editing committee that would assign out, write, and edit the copy for a bimonthly NBJ. We want it to reflect all of Bernal.

And yes, I am very much looking for volunteers who want to be part of this collective effort to recreate and rebuild the NBJ. Please let Bernalwood readers know that they can contact me at this email <timredmondsf AT gmail DOTCOM> if they want to help out.

PHOTOS: by Telstar Logistics

Tonight: Bernal’s Own Emperor Norton Will Be on TV

July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

As you may recall, the (in)famous Emperor Norton, self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States, lives in Bernal Heights. Or, his modern-day doppleganger does. That is, when he’s not taking tourists on San Francisco walking tours.

Now, he also rules the small screen, because tonight our own Emperor Norton will appear on the Travel Channel’s “Monumental Mysteries” show:

Don Wildman inspects a bizarre acorn-shaped sculpture that commemorates an otherworldly event; explores the world’s smallest skyscraper that was once at the center of an outrageous scam; and investigates an engineering wonder inspired by an eccentric figure.

HINT: That “eccentric figure” is Emperor Norton, and the engineering wonder is the Bay Bridge.

Tune in tonight at 9 pm to watch Neighbor Emperor Norton tell the tale.

PHOTO: Emperor Norton, during a recent sighting at 331 Cortland. By Telstar Logistics

You’ll Be Shocked — Shocked! — by KRON4’s Investigation of Precita Park

June 24, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 107 Comments

KRON-4 reporter Stanley Roberts investigated Precita Park in Bernal Heights recently. His reporting yielded conclusive proof that there are many off-leash dogs in Precita Park (despite what the sign says), and that visitors to Precita Park should watch out for poop. Journalism!

For more detail, lets go to KRON’s exclusive report. Over to you in Precita Park, Stanley:

http://youtu.be/tysSKd7B3TA

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

UPDATED With Audio: Bernalwood Talks About Bernalwood on KALW Public Radio 91.7

June 16, 2014June 16, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Tonight on KALW public radio 91.7, your Bernalwood editor will be on the air for the City Visions show along with several other glamorous San Francisco neighborhood bloggers to talk about What It All Means:

Is hyperlocal journalism here to stay? [Bernal neighbor] David Onek speaks with some of San Francisco’s citizen journalists about the stories they’re breaking, the financial challenges they face, and life on the neighborhood beat. Join the conversation by calling 415.841.4134 during the show, email us at cityvisions@kalw.org or post a comment here anytime. Monday at 7 pm.

Guests:

-Todd Lappin, founder and editor, Bernalwood

-Rose Garrett, managing editor, Hoodline

-Kevin Montgomery, founder and editor, Uptown Almanac

-Roy McKenzie, founder and managing editor, The Castro Biscuit

Listen in, and if you decide to join the conversation, please do reveal yourself as a Citizen of Bernalwood! Extra credit to any and all who identify themselves on-air as the Bikini Jogger.

UPDATE, 9 pm, 16 June

Well, that was fun.

Your Bernalwood editor snapped this glamorous photo of KALW City Visions host (and celebrity Bernal Neighbor) David Onek during our on-air conversation earlier tonight. The whole thing is now online, so you can listen as we discussed how the sausage gets made at Bernalwood and several of the City’s other esteemed neighborhood blogs. Crazy bonus thanks to Neighbor Margaret, for the terrific phone call.

In New “Murder in the First” TV Show, Hollywood Cops Live in Real Bernal Heights

June 11, 2014June 11, 2014 / Jobius (Joe Thomas) / 10 Comments

Last year around this time, Hollywood came to Bernalwood to shoot a new TV show. It finally premiered Monday night on TNT, and it’s called Murder in the First. It’s produced by Steven Bochco (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Brooklyn South, City of Angels, LA Law, Philly, and of course, Cop Rock), so of course it’s about cops.

The pilot opens in Bernal Heights, where SFPD inspector Hildy Mulligan (Kathleen Robertson) lives in a cute little house near the top of Alabama St. with her adorable moppet of a daughter. Robertson has been in a ton of things, going back to the original Beverly Hills 90210 and earlier as a child star in Canada. Bonus Canadian content for Burrito Justice: she played Mrs. Hockey (Colleen Howe) in 2013’s “Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story.”

Neighbor Hildy, the hot blonde cop/mom (try saying it; it’s fun), is partnered with Terry (Taye Diggs), whose wife is dying from cancer. It’s pretty heavy. They’re called to a crime scene that’s meant to be a Tenderloin SRO hotel, but if you zoom and enhance, the place turns out to be regularly and frequently patrolled by the Los Angeles Police Department. Watch:

The pair do visit some real San Francisco locations as they run down leads on who killed the unsavory character in the hotel. Erich Blunt, a cartoonishly evil tech zillionaire played by Draco Malfoy with an American accent, quickly emerges as a person of interest. He is the CEO of “<APPLSN>,” which has a big campus right next to AT&T Park, and he says things like “Our apps are more than games. They are destinations where users go to get lost in alternate utopian realities.”

He also has enough money to hire one of the pilots from Wings to fly his entourage around on his private jet. But he’s probably too young to get that reference.

Meanwhile, the SFPD office where Hildy and Terry work looks like it hasn’t been painted since Harry Callahan worked there. Damn those tech company tax-break giveaways!

I won’t spoil the plot; it’s a police procedural at heart, though apparently they’re going to be spending the whole season solving one murder. (Or two, I guess. Another body does turn up by the end of the first show.) I wasn’t blown away by Murder In the First, but I’ll give it another chance next week. The ratings were pretty good, no doubt because of all the Bernal Heights cameos.

The pilot airs a few more times this week if you want to catch it on the DVR, and it’s free on iTunes. I’ll leave you with one more glimpse of the lovely view from Alabama at Ripley. Enjoy.

Of course, real Bernal Heights moms are more savvy about their footwear:

@MelJohnson6527 wasn't easy in heeled boots walking down a San Francisco hill–26 times!!! #MurderintheFirst

— kathleen robertson (@kathleenrobert7) June 10, 2014

Bernal Heights Featured on Cover of Aspirational Fitness Magazine

June 10, 2014June 10, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 25 Comments

Well, isn’t this rather stylish?

Neighbor Travis just got his July 2014 issue of Runner’s World, and — wouldn’t you know it! — the cover shot shows some buff-looking dude standing astride our very own scenic-looking Bernal Hill.

Run Strong! Stay Cool! Avoid Dog Poop!

Meanwhile, if you want to know what a homegrown Bernal Hill running superstar looks like, ignore the guy shown above, and instead look for this fleet-footed guy cruising around the neighborhood.

Deadline Approaching for 2014 Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Submissions

May 22, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Attention, glamtastic Bernal Heights filmmakers and cinephiles!

The 2014 Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema season is coming up, and NOW is the time to submit your films for inclusion in the series:

Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema seeks short films or videos in which local residents participated in any aspect of production or distribution for presentation at the 11th annual summer series of free screenings in our local parks, playgrounds and open spaces.

Your submission confirms that you own the rights or have permission from the rights owner to share this work.

Submission deadline: June 1, 2014

Screening dates: September 4 – 6, 2014

To submit a film for consideration, use this entry form. For additional details, email info@bhoutdoorcine.

PHOTO: Top, BHOC at Precita Park, 2012 by Telstar Logistics

Meet the Sneaky Bernal Kid Who Earned a Cameo in the Famous “Bullitt” Car Chase Scene

May 21, 2014May 21, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Our glamorous neighborhood’s most famous Hollywood moment took place in 1968, when Bernal Heights served as the gritty starting point for the classic Steve McQueen car chase sequence in the movie Bullitt.

Writing for the SF Weekly, Joe Eskenazi tells a sweet “Where are they now?” story about a Bernal kid who scored some cameo screen time during the first moments of the famous Bullitt car chase (at about the 0:24 mark in the video below):

http://youtu.be/-Lbs_nYW3-o

Joe writes:

It all starts with that turn off of Cesar Chavez and a slow cruise up York. And — blink and you’ll miss it — a pair of kids runs across the street where York meets Peralta.

Last week, your humble narrator’s cellphone rang. “This is Angel Sanchez Jr.” said the voice at the other end.

He was one of those kids. [ … ]

A movie like Bullitt offers the chance to look through the window and see an entire city we will never see again.

Sanchez, the boy who ran across the street in front of the movie villains’ Dodge Charger, will be 54 next week. His cameo in city lore was not scripted. Loren Janes, the stuntman who, in reality, drove like Steve McQueen, recently recalled how tightly choreographed the seemingly chaotic scenes were. The repetitious Volkswagen was, in fact, driven by a stuntman (or stuntmen). So was every car on the street, even the cable cars on Filbert. Film crews kept an eye out for vehicles backing out of garages and intervened to prevent pedestrians from becoming hood ornaments. But no one lifted a finger to stop those Bernal Heights kids from running across the street every time the director shouted “action.”

“He’d yell ‘Cut! Cut!’ But, finally, to hell with it. He left it in there,” recalls Sanchez. “We must have run across the street three, four times. We didn’t know any better.”

Sanchez didn’t even realize he was in a movie until many years later. And, by that time, both he — and the neighborhood — had changed.

There’s lots more goodness where this came from, so take a moment to enjoy all of Joe’s article — and the (somewhat melancholy) picture it paints of life in Bernal Heights during the closing years of the postwar era.

Finished Starbucks Commercial Makes Bernal Life Look Rather Aspirational

April 25, 2014April 25, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 26 Comments

Remember when Starbucks filmed that commercial on Bernal Hill a few weeks back? Well the commercial is now live, and we can see our role in it.

The video is a montage that celebrates the simple pleasures of an enlightened urban lifestyle flush with fashionable friends, a well-curated collection of accessories, vintage 4×4 vehicles, warm beverages, ample amounts of leisure time and… lots of colorful boxes on Bernal Hill:

UPDATED: Paulie’s Pickling on KQED’s “Check Please, Bay Area” Tonight

April 24, 2014April 24, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

It’s showtime! Cortland’s Paulie’s Pickling, which may be Best Jewish Deli in San Francisco, will be the focus of tonight’s exciting episode of KQED’s Check Please, Bay Area.

Neighbors Paul and Liz, the soft-spoken proprietors of Paulie’s Pickling, didn’t give us the heads-up about this. No, we heard it from the street, in the Jweekly:

CHECK, PLEASE: A “Check, Please! Bay Area” episode featuring Paulie’s Pickling will debut at 7:30 p.m. April 24 on KQED-Channel 9, with many replays to come. Also, the show will air on KQED radio (88.5 FM) at 6:30 p.m. April 27.

“Check, Please!” features three Bay Area residents giving their opinions after sampling three local restaurants (each recommended by one of the participants). Paulie’s Pickling, a Jewish-style deli counter in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights, will be the first segment.

“I have no idea who nominated us,” said Paulie’s co-owner Liz Ashby, who was raised Orthodox in Newton, Mass. “But when the producers called and asked if we wanted to be on the show, I said, ‘Of course!’ Who would say no?”

Over a two-month period, the “mystery diners” came in to eat, and on two occasions, the KQED crew came by to do some filming and interview Liz and the other owner, her husband, Paul.

Neighbor Liz is right. Who would say no?

One quick P.S. about the whole “Best Jewish Deli in San Francisco” thing. There’s this. And there’s also this:

For Passover earlier this month, your Bernalwood editor had two actual Jewish grandmothers over for dinner. One Jewish grandmother was raised in Brooklyn; the other in Jersey City. With two actual Jewish grandmothers at the table, your Bernalwood editor did not want to run the risk of screwing up the traditional Passover brisket. So I asked Neighbor Liz from Paulie’s if I could order a few pounds of her rather amazing brisket instead, to serve to two actual Jewish grandmothers. Neighbor Liz said no problem, and it came with some wonderful gravy, and I heated it all up, and dayenu it was incredible. But you don’t have to believe me when I say it was dayenu incredible. Two actual Jewish grandmothers at our Passover table certified that the brisket from Paulie’s Pickling was dayenu incredible. They were very impressed.

So there you go.

Keep that in mind as you listen to whatever the mystery diners have to say on “Check Please, Bay Area” tonight. In your Bernalwood editor’s house, Paulie’s Pickling is Jewish Grandmother Tested and Jewish Grandmother Approved.

UPDATE: It’s live!