Bernal Rhymes With Colonel

I've moved again. This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. Growing up a military brat seems to have generated a perpetual motion machine in me, not that I always wish it were so. I was loathe to leave North Beach, but the day had come when those temporary digs were retired and I migrated south to my new home on Bernal Hill.

I had a moment of psychogeographic epiphany when I made the analogy that moving from North Beach to Bernal Hill was akin to another famous migration of artists from Montmartre to Montparnasse in another century. North Beach had had its day long before I dwelt there, but I was invigorated by it as a newish stomping ground, discovering nooks and crannies that I never knew were there as a casual passer-by.

Bernal Hill, though, feels more contemporary in its way, more My Tribe kind of people down here, although I have to admit, I'm really struggling with the steepness of the hill. On the map, it looks like those 3 or 4 blocks from Mission are a cinch, but the grade is intense. I've actually hailed a cab at the end of a long evening because I can't face the challenge. Just give me a skateboard and a tow-rope!! Why can't we explore the idea of a funicular or something. Well, I feel like I live up in the clouds when I do finally make it home.
My place is in the bottom left area of this photo. The neighborhood doesn't have the Big Urban Buzz of North Beach, but I'm discovering its more subtle charms. The nearby strip of Mission Street is terrific, hosting a few great bars like El Rio:
http://www.elriosf.com/
and The Knockout Room: http://www.theknockoutsf.com/
as well as a dizzying variety of ethnic restaurants from the obvious Mexican and Salvadoran spots to the city's only Cambodian eatery:
http://www.cambodiankitchen.com/Menu.htm
plus very hip Spaghetti Shack at Virginia Street and Mission with crowds lining up.

Prague Rawk Summer

Obtained tix to Fiery Furnaces at The Fillmore this Thursday and have, in the meantime, been obsessed with them. It's such a fresh vibe they're putting out there.
I had another prog rock attack as I passed Aquarius Records http://www.aquariusrecords.org/ on Valencia. In case you haven't heard, Aquarius is one of San Francisco's best music shops with amazingly detailed reviews pasted onto the CD's and LP's. They also seem to curate special areas of music, like New Zealand pop about ten years ago and these days have a thriving trade in Japanese noise bands and the like. The shop use to be in Noe Valley, but migrated to The Mission in the 1990's as The Mission boomed and Noe Valley got, um, all breedery and even more sedate. Well, I was certain they'd have VdGG in stock and I had a major jones to hear their 1969 song, "Refugees." Turns out they had a deep stock of VdGG. Incidentally, I happened to see in the store two of the most casually elegant drag queens I've seen in some time. One seemed inspired by Diana Ross and the other more like Nina Hagen on a day off. Ah, SF. In any case, I was pleased as punch with my purchase. That's Van der Graaf Generator looking very '69 in the photo here.