6/24/08

WOW!

I'm featured on Scrambled Eggs!

son nikos, a steve smith photo

 

Potter Creek definitions of popular acronyms

WEBIAC: a small furry creature of Bolivia.

WBBA: a web-footed animal of South America, not unlike the platipus.

 

Our Kevin "The Chef" is chef at The Monk's Kettle. See his menu and more here.

Kevin and his lovely wife are residents of our Brick Yard Lofts.

 

Our Acme addition now has power.

The new building houses two new ovens, proofing boxes, a moulding area, a large diswasher for trays, pans and bowls, and a loading area. Well, Ok then!

Owner, Steve Sullivan was interviewed for a recent History Channel feature, The History of Bread. He talked about their Levain.

 

The old NEXUS building did not sell and has been taken off the market.

 

The Regan designed and built condo on Pardee has not sold. It's asking price is $849,000.

 

There is a God and she loves us: Parker Street is being resurfaced.

 

 

"George Carlin, provocateur for the ages" writes Steven Winn, of the Chronicle.

"Some time in the early 1970s, when my parents were living in Cleveland, they bought tickets to a George Carlin performance. They'd always liked his offbeat stand-up routines and genial guest-hosting gigs on "The Tonight Show" and figured they'd enjoy him live. I can still hear the shell-shocked sound of my mother's voice when she reported on their night out. 'You wouldn't believe the things he said,' she told me. 'We must have been the oldest people there.'

Carlin, who died Sunday of heart failure at age 71 in Santa Monica, left his indelible mark by trampling conventions, making everyone from middle-aged couples to Supreme Court justices squirm. For half a century, he battered away at hypocrisy with the unfettered glee of a clever teenager and the verbal mastery of a modern-day Jonathan Swift. He was a '60s-style rebel whose subversiveness was never a matter of passing subject or style."

 

 

"A group of tree-sitters' 18-month-long standoff with UC Berkeley intensified Monday, as the city of Berkeley demanded the protesters be allowed food and water" reports the Chronicle.

"UC's treetop standoff reaches volatile heights" opines the Chronicle's Charles Burress.
 "The 18-month-long battle of the trees next to Cal's football stadium has reached a critical phase. An intensified UC Berkeley crackdown is colliding with continued resistance by defiant tree-sitters, and no one seems sure which side will give way."

"Donna Sachet, super volunteer in drag" reports the Chronicle's Reyhan Harmanci.

"Fundraiser and drag-queen hostess Donna Sachet has been called many things in her life.
She was crowned Miss Gay San Francisco in 1993, has been national spokesmodel for Smirnoff Twist Vodka and hosted the Queen Mary II's gay-themed transatlantic crossing. Deemed a patron saint by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Sachet is an empress twice over - first as the 30th elected Empress of San Francisco in 1995, and then Leather Empress in 2002.

The list of accolades goes on from there - as does Sachet's busy schedule. She writes a biweekly column for the Bay Area Reporter, performs weekly at Harry Denton's Starlight Room and is a perennial charity event host. She'll be one-third of the KRON-TV anchor team covering the Pride Parade next Sunday, and she's hosting Saturday's Pride Brunch, an event she and Gary Virginia began 10 years ago."

 

 

Cracker jack Planet reporter Judith Scherr writes

"As bibliophiles are mourning the loss of Cody's Books, which shut its doors for the last time last Thursday, the Planet has learned that Black Oak Books on Shattuck Avenue is also closing. But it will reopen with a new owner.
Black Oak Books has been sold to a buyer from Connecticut, according to building owner David Ruegg. The store will re-open under the same lease that it had with Ruegg.

The idenity of the new owner was not immediately available today (Monday).
Sources say that Bob Brown, a partner in the former Black Oak Books, will stay on during a transition period, but that has not been confirmed. At its height, Black Oak had three stores-two in San Francisco and one in Berkeley.

The store in Berkeley is the last to be sold.

The re-opening date is unclear-Ruegg said it could be tomorrow (Tuesday) or in a month.
The closing of Black Oak coincides with the closure of two more shops in the North Shattuck neighborhood, adjacent to the bookstore: Lobelia Clothing, the storefront just to the north of Black Oak, is now closed and the last day of operations for the paper store Papyrus, next to Lobelia, will be this Friday.

Asked why Papyrus was closing, an employee who answered the phone and identified herself only as Sylvia, told the Planet: "'We don't get enough business here.'

David Ruegg does not own the property where Lobelia and Papyrus are located.

The bookstore, which has operated for about 24 years, was closed today (Monday). A sign was taped to the door stating that the store would reopen for business at 5 p.m. At around 3 p.m., however, the sign was changed to state that the store would not reopen Monday. As staff met inside, a man changed the locks on the doors. "

 

"Cody's, landmark Berkeley bookstore, closes" reports Michael Taylor of the Chronicle.

"Cody's Books, the legendary Berkeley bookstore that catered to literati nationwide for more than half a century and was firebombed in the 1980s because of its support of the First Amendment, has closed its doors, the victim of lagging sales."

"Calif. Unemployment Climbs To 6.8 Percent" reports CHANNEL 11 NBC NEWS.

"State officials say California posted a net loss of 10,900 payroll jobs last month and its unemployment rate went up. The Employment Development Department says May figures released Friday show the state jobless rate was 6.8 percent, up from 6.2 percent in April."

 

And bummer, "Bay Area home prices continue steep fall" reports the Chronicle's James Temple.

"Regional home prices continued to fall at an accelerating pace in April, establishing yet another record low, according to a closely watched real estate market analysis.

The price of a typical single-family home in the San Francisco area plunged 22.1 percent compared with a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index. The study, published by New York credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, defines the region as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties."

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/26/08

Our Eva emails

Hi Ron:
 
I have to say WOW after attending my first Berkeley City Council meeting last night. When I rented an apartment in  Elmwood I thought Berkeley was so cool - all the resolutions that were passed about which the rest of the state and country made fun of did not bother me - it was all just funny.

Then we bought a little cottage and moved to West Berkeley which I had frequently visited and considered a changing but very interesting area (more interesting than Elmwood because it is so multicultural), and within a year and a half our street was taken over by drug dealers and gang members that were invited in by tenants (and absentee landlords) living in 2-3 apartment building on our block. For the last 4-5 months we and other neighbors have tried to work with police, the city manger's office, and our city council member to end the drug sales, noise, trash, graffiti, obstruction of the street by 8-15 drug dealers/gangs who will not let your car pass and tell you to back up . . .

Oh I forgot that even a shot was fired one night and an automatic rifle was recovered in the dumpster of one of the problem buildings. 
 
And I could go on and on about the various problems and challenges West Berkeley faces from potholes, to sewer flooding, to crime, to development . . .
 
Our Officer Frankel, former West Berkeley Area Coordinator, received an honorable mention at yesterday's meeting, so Jarad and I decided to attend to show our support. We stayed on for another hour to witness City Hall being taken over by tree-supporters - for some reason 4 out of the 5 commentaries on non-agenda items came from them - the names are supposed to be drawn from a lottery. They managed to convince the majority of the city council (I believe the convincing must have come before the meeting) that the tree sitters are facing an emergency, that their lives are endangered, and that this constitutes a Public Health Emergency in the City of Berkeley (this received a majority vote). The whole hour was a spectacle - a circus setting - I was wondering where are the regular people that live in Berkeley. I understood well for the first time how resolutions get passed that threaten the removal of federal support - after watching this one hour, I really understood. 
 
I would like to say that I am not against civil disobedience, and I love trees BUT I think the City of Berkeley has some huge problems that need to be addressed - how about dealing with gangs, drugs, infrastructure and all the issues that ones hope the City Council would address to help provide quality of life and community. I am pretty certain I have been a liberal all of my life but what is happening here is a farce, and can probably turn one into a conservative.
 
Eva
10th Street

 

excerpts from Jarad's email

Ron,
 
As Eva's husband, I . . . second her opinion. . . .
 
We have REAL problems in this city that the City Council should be spending time and my property tax dollars on including:

Gangs selling drugs in West & South Berkeley

1. Gangs with semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons in West and South Berkeley that they use on occasion
2. Crime against property (ever notice how much broken automotive glass there is in some neighborhoods?)
3. Crime against persons (rape and attempted rape).
4. Armed robberies in broad daylight....yes, we continue to have a problem with that.
5. Storm drain upgrades in the areas of West Berkeley that flood each winter.
6. Determining how developers will help pay for infrastructure upgrades when they build high density housing.
7. Figuring out what do to to improve traffic flow on the major throughfares such as Ashby, San Pablo, University.
8. Addressing the issue of gangs in the public school system.
9. Completing the bike path between Berkeley and Emeryville......etc, etc, etc.

You've been in Berkeley for a long time, so you should have an opinion. Where are the common sense people in our city and why don't we see more of them elected to the City Council?
 
Jarad -- 10th Street

 

Our Gene emails

Bravo, Eva. You got it right. Hope this letter resonates with the powers to be. Gene Agress CEO Berkeley Mills. Resident 9th. St.

 

"Two more leave trees at UC Berkeley oak grove" reports Kristin Bender of the Tribune.

"Two more tree sitters came down from their perches at the university oak grove late Wednesday and university officials said the move is a sign that their strategy of not allowing additional food and water into the trees is working. University of California, Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said Bradley Costello, 20, and Mathew Marks, 24, both came down voluntarily late Wednesday.

Costello, who has gone by the name Squirtle, said he came down because he wanted to smoke a cigarette, Mogulof said. Down from the trees, he was given a cigarette and food and water, Mogulof said.

Marks said he came down because he wanted to give a statement and a bag of his personal belongings to tree-sit supporters. He was allowed to do both, Mogulof said. Both were arrested for trespassing and for violating a judge's court order that makes it illegal to be in the trees.

They were taken to Berkeley City Jail."

 

"'WALL-E' - I, lonely robot" is a movie review by Mick LaSalle of the Chronicle.

"What we have with 'WALL-E' is 45 minutes of a masterpiece and another 50-odd minutes of dithering - there as a concession that you can't market a 45-minute movie.

This means that the experience of 'WALL-E' is a little different from what audiences will take away from it. In the moment, it's intermittently transcendent, heartrending and beautiful ... and busy, repetitious and boring. But in memory, 'WALL-E' should grow, because the weaker parts will drop out of mind, while the moments of sheer brilliance, which are one-of-a-kind, will gain in importance.

Philosophically and emotionally, this is probably the most profound animated film ever made or attempted. In terms of subject, it's not unlike the never-filmed screenplay that James Agee wrote for Charlie Chaplin in the 1950s, in which the Little Tramp is the last survivor of a nuclear blast. It's a mark of the Pixar team's artistry, which goes way beyond technical expertise, that within minutes of meeting WALL-E, a wordless, trash-compacting robot, we are persuaded to invest in him much of the feeling that we'd attach to a Chaplin character.

Think about that for a second."

 

 

"DeLauer's Super Newsstand saved from closing" reports Angela Woodall of the Tribune.

"Say it isn't so!

This was the cry heard around town when word spread Tuesday that DeLauer's Super Newsstand would close its doors for good.

Wednesday, the century-old institution at 1301 Broadway was saved by the bell, or rather by a coalition of city officials and private individuals.

The neon sign that hangs outside the store reminds all that DeLauer's has been 'Open 24 hours a day, every day,' 'Since 1907.'
"An overwhelming outpouring of customer support, curiosity and demand, has made it necessary to postpone indefinitely," said David Glover, executive director for Oakland Citizens Committee on Urban Renewal." 

 

from our Angela Gallegos-Castillo
To all SouthWest Berkeley Allies,  please forward to others as appropriate - residents and/or organizations alike..
South Berkeley will be having a community walk/BBQ on Saturday, June 28,2008 sponsored by Brothers Supporting Brothas, The South/West Berkeley Community Action Team, and the City of Berkeley Health and Human Services Department and Neighborhood Services Division of the City Manager's Office. The "Creating Safe Communities" walk  aims to build community and social networks for South Berkeley residents.    
Please join in!

 

 

"Two home auctions on Sunday" reports our Times'Barbara E. Hernandez.

"Looking to cut your commute? Ken Stevens hopes so.
His company, Accelerated Marketing Partners in Danville, will be auctioning 32 San Leandro condominiums within walking distance to the Bay Fair BART station and near a new shopping center 6 p.m. Sunday at the San Mateo Marriott."

 

"Latinos fall behind growing digital divide" writes Matt O'Brien in the Times.

"More and more Californians are shopping, chatting, reading news and finding critical health, employment and government information online, but a report published today says Latinos and low-income residents are falling behind, widening the digital divide.

A telephone survey conducted this month by the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California found that just four in 10 Latinos have Internet access at home, compared with 77 percent of Asian-Americans, 76 percent of whites and 70 percent of blacks."

 

"US court overturns DC handgun ban" reports BBC NEWS.

"A ban on handguns in Washington DC has been ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.
In a 5-4 decision, the justices upheld a lower court ruling striking down the ban. They said individuals had a right to keep handguns for lawful purposes.

It is the first such case considered by the court in decades and is expected to have effects on gun laws across the US." 

 

 

And BBC NEWS reports "Internet overhaul wins approval.

A complete overhaul of the way in which people navigate the internet has been given the go-ahead in Paris.
The net's regulator, Icann, voted unanimously to relax the strict rules on so-called "top-level" domain names, such as .com or .uk.

The decision means that companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.
A second proposal, to introduce domain names written in Asian, Arabic or other scripts, was also approved.

'We are opening up a new world and I think this cannot be underestimated,' said Roberto Gaetano, a member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann)."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/27/08

900 GRAYSON was named in the Express as the best place for comfort-food in the East Bay.

 

Quote of the week "He's as sharp as a circle."

 

The Euro-Cup Final between Germany and Spain will be broadcast by ABC CHANNEL 7, Sunday at 11:30 AM. This is a live feed.

 

 

Our Ryan Lau emails

Another set of important announcements

3rd Annual Berkeley International Food Festival
The Berkeley International Food Festival hosts its culinary extravaganza from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. this Sunday, June 29th.  The public is invited to savor the myriad of culinary delights that West Berkeley's International Marketplace has to offer.  Take a culinary trip to experience the aromas and tastes of worldwide cuisines ­ the foods of India, Spain, Pakistan, Thailand, Jamaica, Hawaii, Mexico and Central America. The festival's title sponsor is Bayer HealthCare, based in West Berkeley with research, manufacturing, and sales offices throughout the world.
The Berkeley International Food Festival showcases West Berkeley's International Marketplace restaurants, specialty food markets and unique import shops, and features live music and cultural events.  The International Marketplace is home to family-owned specialty food stores, cultural centers, restaurants, gift shops and more.   It's the place to go for authentic ethnic cooking ingredients, gifts and specialty items.  You'll be pressed to find this wide of a variety of cooking ingredients within walking distance in any Bay Area city. These offerings strengthen Berkeley's reputation as a national culinary mecca.
The main attraction this year is the Kitchen on Fire cooking stage, hosted by celebrity Chef Mike C. from the acclaimed hands-on North Berkeley Kitchen on Fire cooking school. Take a seat and watch guest chefs prepare dishes from around the world utilizing ingredients from the International Marketplace specialty food stores, and then sample them.  Treat yourself to demonstrations, including the 5,000 year-old art of tortilla making by Picante Cocina Mexicana.
For information about the Berkeley International Food Festival, call 510 845-4106 

Southwest Berkeley Community Walk and BBQ
South Berkeley will be having a Community Walk and BBQ on Saturday, June 28,2008 at 1pm sponsored by Brothers Supporting Brothas, The South/West Berkeley Community Action Team, and the City of Berkeley Health and Human Services Department and Neighborhood Services Division of the City Manager's Office. The "Creating Safe Communities" walk aims to build community and social networks for South Berkeley residents. Come out and eat as we celebrate the work that our men are doing to help sustain a healthy Berkeley community. We will walk from 63rd Street Mini-Park (1615 63rd St) to San Pablo Park (2800 Park St). Carpools will be available to transport people back after the BBQ. All community members are welcome.  For more information, please see the attached flyer.

National Night Out 2008
The City of Berkeley is once again participating in National Night Out, an event that was founded around the idea of crime prevention through strong communities and neighborhoods.  National Night Out is on Tuesday, August 5th, and we are working to help neighborhoods get their street parties organized.  Everyone is welcome to organize a National Night Out party, but we are encouraging neighbors to organize around crime and emergency preparedness. 

 

 

"Kermit Lynch's neighborhood favorites" are listed by Aidin Vaziri in the Chronicle.

'Kermit Lynch, the Berkeley wine merchant who has inspired a cultlike following with his ability to curate an incredible selection of obscure imported bottles, had a brief disclaimer about his favorite places to eat, shop and drink.

'I really believe in supporting neighborhood businesses,' he said. 'I hate this mall world where everybody drives all over the place to buy office supplies. I like to stay close to home. I don't get on the freeway much at all. If I want to go out to dinner, it's very rare that I drive somewhere.'

 

"Berkeley venues from art to jazz" from Jesse Hamlin, Rob Hurwitt, Joshua Kosman, and Joel Selvin of the Chronicle.

 

"East Bay's Tilden Park is first and best" enthuses Tom Stienstra of the Chronicle.

"A hilltop with a stunning lookout of San Francisco Bay, the best family bike ride in the East Bay hills and the best group picnic sites in the Bay Area make Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley hills the No. 1 getaway in the area."

 

 

"Dome in desert is a magical place" reports Scott Gold of the Los Angeles Times.

"Landers, San Bernardino County--If you set off one morning and drive into the desert, past swirling dust devils and Wile E. Coyote rock formations, and then you drive some more, all the way until the paved road ends, you might find yourself at the Karl sisters' place, where time travel might, or might not, be possible.

Here's Joanne Karl, at 53, the eldest of the trio, striding across the compound. Today, she's all desert flower - billowing dresses and sun-bleached tresses.

The sisters grew up in the New York suburbs. Their father worked in plastics; Saturday meant the country club and

Sundays meant church. They also had a whimsical mother who, at 79, has yet to acknowledge that questions have been raised about the existence of Santa Claus."

"Discouraging driving crucial in warming battle" writes James Temple of the Chronicle.

"A sweeping plan to carry out California's landmark law to fight global warming, made public Thursday by the state's air board, addresses a problem that planning groups say has been overlooked in most federal legislation: suburban sprawl.

The draft plan, which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the state by 30 percent by 2020, encourages local governments to create land-use and transportation plans that help them meet reduction targets.

The idea is to discourage driving by concentrating development in urban areas near transit, jobs and retail or by laying out suburbs more efficiently.

For decades, Northern California's growth hasn't followed this dense, urban model. Most development has occurred outside the nine-county Bay Area, according to a report by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association."

 

 

"Short seller sees trouble for the economy" writes Kathleen Pender.

"Billionaire short seller James Chanos has closed his positions in home builder stocks, thinking the worst is over for that sector. But he still sees trouble for the economy.

'We are in a recession, there is not any doubt,' he said in an interview following a speech to corporate directors at Stanford Law School on Tuesday."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/29/08

Natalie, Ben and friends' fresh-fruit-and-lemonade-stand last Wednesday.

I believe that's Byron, and Milo partaking.

 

 

 

"Eighteen months in, Berkeley, California, tree-sitters still hanging on; hope to save grove" reports the AP in their world-wide-circulated story.

"In December 2006, protesters angry about campus expansion plans clambered into the branches of a threatened
oak grove at the University of California, Berkeley.

Since then, Democrats have chosen their first black presidential candidate, the housing market has taken a dive and gasoline prices have skyrocketed."

The tree-sitters are still there."

Could I have my town back, please? I just don't remember inviting a dozen professional tree-sitters OR five-hundred bikers.

 

 

"A Simple Life of Noah Dearborn."

A silly little movie about an strange old man? Well, . . . it's required viewing for grad-students of the Mary Poppins Institude for Behavioral Research. With Sidney Poitier and Mary-Louise Parker in lead roles, do check it out!

 

 

A Berkeley, 21st Century, Kattskill standup is alive and well.

Bob Kubik emails

Carol and I saw Josh Kornbluth at the Shotgun Players
on Ashby. It was great! He is the wittiest
guy on earth.

 

Ginsberg's "Sunfower Sutra"

A poem about west-Berkeley-past?

 

 

Amazon.com emails

As someone who has shown an interest in
Kindle, you might be excited to know we
recently reduced the price to $359.
We've also expanded our selection to include
over 130,000 books, blogs, newspapers,
and magazines. Plus, all New York Times
bestsellers are $9.99 or less.

 

 

 

"Power to the people" declares the St Petersburg Times.

"A six-hour telethon about the future of St. Petersburg broadcast this week was an unusual chance for citizens to be heard.

The new Stock Exchange building violates town planning rules by being too tall. The building may have to be
altered after a public outcry. That's what preservationist Alexander Makarov said on television, famously suppressed and censored in president-turned-premier Vladimir Putin's
Russia.

And the channel on which it was said belongs to ever-loyal Oleg Rudnov, who is reputed to be a good friend of Putin and had backed Putin-ally Matviyenko's gubernatorial bid in 2003. Has something changed? Is a new period of glasnost (openness) dawning?"

 

And the St Petersburg Times reports "State Role in Economy to Diminish.

Medvedev denied during the interview with Reuters that the Kremlin was seeking a stake in TNK-BP for a state energy firm.

President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview that he wanted to reduce the state's role in the economy and curb government spending to combat rising inflation.Medvedev rejected any idea of a state energy giant buying into TNK-BP and said Russia would not gamble its vast sovereign oil wealth on risky equity investments."

 

 

 

"Smoke advisory to last through weekend" reports Denis Cuff in the West County Times.

"Another health advisory for the public to limit outdoor exercise has been issued for today and Sunday for much of the East Bay, Benicia, and the Santa Clara Valley because of wildfire smoke.

But for the first time in a week, forecasters see some hope for smoke relief arriving late Sunday and Monday. Westerly winds from the ocean are expected to begin cleaning out the haze that has blanketed the region since last weekend when lightning started hundreds of wildfires in Northern California."

 

Eternally useful links

You can find more information about our current weather conditions than is good for you at www.wunderground.com

Want to see weather coming in, going out, beautiful sunsets, and much, much more? Check out http://sv.berkeley.edu/view/ This very hip site was in an email from reader and contributor, Tony Almeida. Read Tony's Jimi Hendrix story on the only page that routinely gets more hits than Scrambled Eggs.

 

Best gas prices in 94710, as well as all of US and Canada, are here at gasbuddy.com

Kimar finds Costco routinely has the lowest price.

 

Richmond Ramblers' motorcycle club member, Cliff Miller emails a very

useful link

If you ever need to get a human being on the phone at a credit card company or bank, etc., this site tells you how to defeat their automated system and get you to a human being within a few seconds.

http://gethuman.com/

 

Markets is not just a reference for Berkeley-Hills radicals with 1.5 mil homes and considerable portfolios.

 

Our City of Berkeley Boards and Commissions page is here--redone and friendly.

 

Our Berkeley PD Site with crime statistics and more is here.

Crime Log for 94710 is here

This site is NOT affiliated with Berkeley PD.
Take time to report crime!

All reports of crime-in-progress should first go to Berkeley PD dispatch--911 or non-emergency, 981-5900. THEN make sure you notify EACH of these City people.

The contacts are below:

Our new Area Coordinator is Officer Karen Buckheit, Berkeley PD - 981-5774 kbuckheit@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Angela Gallegos-Castillo, City Mgr Off - 981-2491 agallegos-castillo@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Ryan Lau, aid to Darryl Moore - 981-7120 rlau@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Darryl Moore, City Councilman dmoore@ci.berkeley.ca.us

 

More Scrambled Eggs & Lox, here

and

Stories about Berkeley and stories about recorded-music

are at

Journal of Recorded Music 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

 

ronpenndorf@earthlink.net

The original owner of all scanned material retains copyright. The material is used only to illustrate