Thursday, May 17, 2012
List compiled by Amazon finds city sandwiched between Cambridge and Ann Arbor. At the top: Alexandria, Va.
Berkeley: city of intellectuals. But premier city of readers? Apparently not. More bookworms live in Alexandria, Va., according to a new list compiled by Amazon. The Seattle-based online retailer has drawn up a list of the 20 most literate cities with populations of more than 100,000 using sales data on books, magazine and newspaper and eBooks, the Christian Science Monitor reports. If Alexandria is a city of romantics, and Cambridge a city of entrepreneurs who favor books on business and investing, Berkeley is the land of wanderlust: Residents here bought more travel books than readers in other cities. At No. 3, Berkeley ranked higher than Ann Arbor, Mich. but was edged out by Cambridge, Mass., two other university towns. What was the …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Ag Institute invites the community to visit seven area farms June 9.
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Wednesday, May 16
When we started the Institute of Urban Homesteading in 2008, urban agriculture was a marginal activity practiced by a handful of intrepid individuals. Now stories of urban chickens and bees abound, average citizens boast front yard vegetable gardens, urban sustainability projects and glossy urban farming magazines are popping up at every turn. Urban agriculture has been in the news as cities around the Bay Area create new policy to reflect the need and desire to “grow your own.” Nobody cares about a couple tomato plants, but what about livestock in the city? Should people be allowed to sell the food they grow? What about eggs and meat? Isn’t all that a health hazard? San Francisco very quickly offered a comprehensive and generous go-ahead…
Friday, May 11, 2012
Free activities abound for Berkeley residents of all ages.
11th Annual Pagan Festival and Parade. With a theme of “Paradigm Shift,” the celebration includes Druid storytelling, altars to the beloved dead, a “Temple of Change,” public rituals, music and dance performances, and a disaster preparedness pavilion. Prizes will be given for best float, and best costume in both youth and adult categories. Interfaith Procession starts at noon. Information is available on the Facebook page. From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Civic Center Park, 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Schoolhouse Creek Common seeks volunteers to weed, prune, and build a new path community-created park. All ages are welcome and snacks and drinks are on the house. Participants are asked to bring gloves if possible. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Clive Matson honored; local artists participate with Art in the Atrium.
The weekend in Berkeley features a cultural double helix: the 10th annual Berkeley Poetry Festival and its offshoot, the Art in the Atrium Festival. The poetry festival, which includes community poets who read throughout the Bay Area -- and even a brief open mic for burgeoning if unscheduled talent -- runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 5 in the auditorium of Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. The sixth Lifetime Achievement Award in Poetry goes to Clive Matson for his 45-year commitment to the educational and literary community of the Bay Area. Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts features Daniel Yaryan, Marc Olmsted and Suzi Kaplan Olmsted in a performance blending music and poetry and, it is promised, “spectacle, magic, the mystery revealed…
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Performance completed a picture-perfect day.
It may still be spring, but last Sunday epitomized an ideal summer day in the Bay Area as UC Berkeley hosted its annual Cal Day. One of the day's highlights was a performance by Steve Taylor-Ramirez on the steps of the International House (its Spring Fest is part of Cal Day). The singer-songwriterhas been gathering accolades for his socially conscious repertoire delivered in Spanish and English. The loud fraternity party right across the street posed some tough competition, but his set was as refreshing as a cold glass of water in the 90-degree weather that graced the Bay. The Columbia University-educated journalist-turned musician has garnered praise from music critic Joel Selvin. He was an East Bay Express Critic's Pick, the paper citing…
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Earth Island Institute's Streets Alive! aims to transform the streetscape.
Berkeley’s visual quality of life has jumped several notches this week, courtesy of the Earth Island Institute. The organization’s Streets Alive! initiative targeted one of the drabbest components of the urban streetscape – the ubiquitous gray metal utility box – transforming them into public canvases with the help of local artists and a $20,000 grant from the University of California Berkeley’s Chancellor Community Partnership Fund. The public enjoyed a seven-site art opening at boxes along the edge of the campus Tuesday. Streets Alive! aims to bring art and greenery to urban streets. Artists, all of whom have some link to the university, were asked to submit designs on the theme of sustainability. “The project is really wonderful and is …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Mikhail Baryshnikov is going to be in a play at Berkeley Rep and they say tickets are selling out.
The play opens next Wednesday. It's called In Paris . The Berkeley Rep's website says "Legendary performer Mikhail Baryshnikov takes the stage with Anna Sinyakina and a talented ensemble." The Berkeley Rep website also has this quote from the San Francisco Chronicle: “Baryshnikov plies his trade with wonder, grace and more than a touch of genius…Beyond this there is poetry, beyond this there is heart.” The price range is $45-$65 on the low range, and the premium tickets are $115-$125. It's cheaper during the week, but weekday tickets are selling out faster.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Rev. Rabia, a Bay Area musician, chats with Patch about her new trajectory.
Name: Rev. Rabia, 53 Occupation: Singer, guitarist Where do you play around the Bay Area? I play every week at Café Mediterraneum. It’s in Berkeley on Telegraph—that’s kind of a famous place. A lot of people know me—sorta. I played at the San Francisco Blues Festival years ago. I’ve toured Italy. What are you studying? I’m at Holy Names (University). My major is creative arts and cultural studies: I self-designed it. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of work. Then I’m getting ready to get into grad school (laughs). Why stop now? This is my husband (next to me) and partner in crime, Keizo Yamazawa. He’s a famous photographer. Keizo Yamazawa: Used to be! Rev. Rabia: Infamous, too. He’s from Japan, but he’s been here many years. What kind of…
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Lil B Lecture at NYU satiated his fans, but was it anything more than hype?
Lil B’s lecture at NYU Wednesday night was rumored to be on social networking, as near as anyone could tell. It’s never clear with Lil B just what he’s going to say or do. And in keeping with his carefully crafted persona of inscrutability and mystery, he left the unscripted night open. Reading what’s been written about the NYU talk, it doesn't seem like a lecture on social networking took place. But whatever it was that actually happened Wednesday night, fans seemed to feel it lived up to the hype. Pitchfork wrote about the event: "It felt like something positive and rare and totally bizarre was happening." And after weeks leading up to the talk, with Lil B’s voracious stream of Tweets, and a new mixed tape, (The Basedprint 2), “the …
Friday, March 30, 2012
Bond funds pay for expansion, new features and preservation of historic architectural detail.
The North Branch served the community well for 75 years, and library officials say now that a renovation has added new rooms, landscaping, outdoor features, original art and sensitive preservation of historical details, it will continue to serve them for at least that long. On Saturday, April 7, the expanded library at 1170 The Alameda throws open its doors to the community for a 1 p.m. celebration with music and refreshments. “The lead designer Cathleen Malmstrom has extensive experience preserving historic buildings while bringing them up to current standards,” said library director Donna Corbeil in a statement. “The branch has been beautifully restored and is now seismically safe, functional and a model of environmental sustainability, …
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Berkeley Public Library - North Branch
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Sarah Siddell
9:14 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Where in the world is Adam David Miller? How can you hold a Berkeley Poetry Festival without him????? more ›