test.
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000773.html";s:2:"dc";a:2:{s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2006-08-10T07:53:45-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:8:"test....";s:12:"atom_content";s:12:"test.
";}i:1;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000768.html";s:5:"title";s:19:"Berkeley Food Co-op";s:11:"description";s:249:"From the mailbag: Bay Area Residents Launch a Food Co-op in Berkeley Fledgling Grocery Pledges Quality Goods at Affordable Prices Berkeley, CA (August 1, 2006) - A group of local Berkeley and Oakland residents is launching a food cooperative, the...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:3873:"From the mailbag:
Bay Area Residents Launch a Food Co-op in Berkeley Fledgling Grocery Pledges Quality Goods at Affordable Prices";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000768.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:8:"Berkeley";s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2006-08-04T13:03:44-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:249:"From the mailbag: Bay Area Residents Launch a Food Co-op in Berkeley Fledgling Grocery Pledges Quality Goods at Affordable Prices Berkeley, CA (August 1, 2006) - A group of local Berkeley and Oakland residents is launching a food cooperative, the...";s:12:"atom_content";s:3873:"Berkeley, CA (August 1, 2006) - A group of local Berkeley and Oakland residents is launching a food cooperative, the Berkeley Cooperative Grocery (the CoG), in early 2007. The CoG's mission is to serve residents of the Bay Area by offering reasonably priced food and products that are sustainably sourced.
Quality and affordability are the two main tenets of the CoG. Its founding members state that "The CoG believes that every person has the right to affordable food and goods that are healthy and sustainably sourced." Further, they proclaim that such food and products "should not be the choice of a few, but an affordable standard for every individual."
The average for-profit grocery routinely marks up organic items as much as 100% above wholesale. As a nonprofit, the CoG plans to sell the same high-quality brands as other health- and environmentally minded stores at a much reduced markup (only enough to cover operating expenses).
How can it afford to do this? Traditional groceries spend about 70% of their revenue on labor. At the CoG, every member will be required to work approximately 2 1/2 hours a month in areas such as purchasing, stocking, child care, marketing, and Web maintenance. This keeps payroll expenses to a minimum and permits the co-op to offer products at a substantial savings. The goal is to have at least 75% of the co-op be run by members, with a staff comprising no more than 25%. The CoG also plans to accept food stamps and offer low-income membership investments once the store is up and running.
Requiring members to work not only keeps payroll expenses to a minimum, it also reflects a democratic system. In a true co-op each member gets one vote on every major decision, so it stands to reason that the workload be shared equally as well. In addition, says board member Shannon Kelly, "A sense of community and cooperation is gained from each member contributing to the co-op. Members take pride in the cleanliness of the co-op, get involved in suggesting new products, and feel as though their contributions are actually making a difference in their store and in their community."
Members must also pay a one-time $25 fee and make a $100 investment to the co-op, which is refundable if the member chooses to leave the co-op (the investment may be paid in monthly installments). These charges cover overhead, administrative costs, supplies, and facilities.
The model for the CoG is based loosely on the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, NY, where several CoG founders were once members. One of the oldest co-ops in the U.S., it opened its doors in 1973 and today has more than 13,000 members. It is now the largest wholly member-owned co-op in the country.
The CoG is currently making contact with local suppliers, raising awareness in the community, and seeking at least 100 pioneering individuals to become founding members before September 1, in order to be eligible for a matching $10,000 grant through the Food Co-op 500 Program ( www.foodcoop500.coop). This program is designed specifically to help young co-ops get off the ground.
In its first year, the CoG intends to be open as an online shop, with at least two pickup times per week at a central location in Berkeley. Within the first few years, the co-op plans to open a full-service retail store.
The CoG welcomes interested community members at its weekly meetings and answers questions via e-mail. To contact the board or to join the Berkeley CoG, go to www.berkeleycog.org .
***
For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Elisa Edwards at 510-684-8041 or info@berkeleycog.org.
From the mailbag:
Bay Area Residents Launch a Food Co-op in Berkeley Fledgling Grocery Pledges Quality Goods at Affordable Prices";}i:2;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000739.html";s:5:"title";s:17:"A Waste of Effort";s:11:"description";s:220:"The Chronicle reports on the City of Berkeley's plans to clean up Telegraph Ave. The finger is pointed at the street urchins and derelicts who inhabit the street, but, as someone who lived a block away 16 years ago, I...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:1042:"Berkeley, CA (August 1, 2006) - A group of local Berkeley and Oakland residents is launching a food cooperative, the Berkeley Cooperative Grocery (the CoG), in early 2007. The CoG's mission is to serve residents of the Bay Area by offering reasonably priced food and products that are sustainably sourced.
Quality and affordability are the two main tenets of the CoG. Its founding members state that "The CoG believes that every person has the right to affordable food and goods that are healthy and sustainably sourced." Further, they proclaim that such food and products "should not be the choice of a few, but an affordable standard for every individual."
The average for-profit grocery routinely marks up organic items as much as 100% above wholesale. As a nonprofit, the CoG plans to sell the same high-quality brands as other health- and environmentally minded stores at a much reduced markup (only enough to cover operating expenses).
How can it afford to do this? Traditional groceries spend about 70% of their revenue on labor. At the CoG, every member will be required to work approximately 2 1/2 hours a month in areas such as purchasing, stocking, child care, marketing, and Web maintenance. This keeps payroll expenses to a minimum and permits the co-op to offer products at a substantial savings. The goal is to have at least 75% of the co-op be run by members, with a staff comprising no more than 25%. The CoG also plans to accept food stamps and offer low-income membership investments once the store is up and running.
Requiring members to work not only keeps payroll expenses to a minimum, it also reflects a democratic system. In a true co-op each member gets one vote on every major decision, so it stands to reason that the workload be shared equally as well. In addition, says board member Shannon Kelly, "A sense of community and cooperation is gained from each member contributing to the co-op. Members take pride in the cleanliness of the co-op, get involved in suggesting new products, and feel as though their contributions are actually making a difference in their store and in their community."
Members must also pay a one-time $25 fee and make a $100 investment to the co-op, which is refundable if the member chooses to leave the co-op (the investment may be paid in monthly installments). These charges cover overhead, administrative costs, supplies, and facilities.
The model for the CoG is based loosely on the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, NY, where several CoG founders were once members. One of the oldest co-ops in the U.S., it opened its doors in 1973 and today has more than 13,000 members. It is now the largest wholly member-owned co-op in the country.
The CoG is currently making contact with local suppliers, raising awareness in the community, and seeking at least 100 pioneering individuals to become founding members before September 1, in order to be eligible for a matching $10,000 grant through the Food Co-op 500 Program ( www.foodcoop500.coop). This program is designed specifically to help young co-ops get off the ground.
In its first year, the CoG intends to be open as an online shop, with at least two pickup times per week at a central location in Berkeley. Within the first few years, the co-op plans to open a full-service retail store.
The CoG welcomes interested community members at its weekly meetings and answers questions via e-mail. To contact the board or to join the Berkeley CoG, go to www.berkeleycog.org .
***
For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Elisa Edwards at 510-684-8041 or info@berkeleycog.org.
The Chronicle reports on the City of Berkeley's plans to clean up Telegraph Ave. The finger is pointed at the street urchins and derelicts who inhabit the street, but, as someone who lived a block away 16 years ago, I can say they've always been there.
All the patrols, facade improvement grants, and public cleaning crews won't address two fundamental factors. One is acknowledged -- internet retail is gutting the media retail that once thrived along Telegraph (books and music particularly).
But Telegraph is also the street that serves university students, and the demographic of those students is changing. The stores that are doing well are those that appeal to the increasing Asian and Asian-American population. You can throw a stone and hit five places that serve bubble tea. The challenge for businesses is to figure out how to serve this market, a market that seems distinct in its retail habits when compared to others.
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000739.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:17:"Berkeley - Campus";s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2006-05-24T09:45:26-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:220:"The Chronicle reports on the City of Berkeley's plans to clean up Telegraph Ave. The finger is pointed at the street urchins and derelicts who inhabit the street, but, as someone who lived a block away 16 years ago, I...";s:12:"atom_content";s:1042:"The Chronicle reports on the City of Berkeley's plans to clean up Telegraph Ave. The finger is pointed at the street urchins and derelicts who inhabit the street, but, as someone who lived a block away 16 years ago, I can say they've always been there.
All the patrols, facade improvement grants, and public cleaning crews won't address two fundamental factors. One is acknowledged -- internet retail is gutting the media retail that once thrived along Telegraph (books and music particularly).
But Telegraph is also the street that serves university students, and the demographic of those students is changing. The stores that are doing well are those that appeal to the increasing Asian and Asian-American population. You can throw a stone and hit five places that serve bubble tea. The challenge for businesses is to figure out how to serve this market, a market that seems distinct in its retail habits when compared to others.
";}i:3;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000720.html";s:5:"title";s:15:"chile rellenos!";s:11:"description";s:208:"i am a huge fan of chile rellenos (you know, the mexican stuffed peppers that are dredged in an egg batter and cooked, then served in a sauce with tortillas?). but there are so many bad ones out there. too...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:1032:"i am a huge fan of chile rellenos (you know, the mexican stuffed peppers that are dredged in an egg batter and cooked, then served in a sauce with tortillas?). but there are so many bad ones out there. too old, too bland, over battered, over cooked.
but today i wandered into Tacubaya, the taqueria started by the folks who own Doña Tomas in Oakland.
i plunked down $10 (plus tip) for the chile relleno & the fresh homemade horchata. While you only get one pepper, it was large & stuffed to the gills. and not just cheese, but cheese (several kinds), fresh corn, and more. the sauce was not a traditional ranchera sauce, but a verde (tomatillo) sauce, topped with fresh cream and cilantro. YUM!
it was easily the BEST relleno i've ever had.
Tacubaya:
1788 4th St.
(Cross street: Delaware)
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-525-5160
Daily Hours: 10 AM-9 PM
i am a huge fan of chile rellenos (you know, the mexican stuffed peppers that are dredged in an egg batter and cooked, then served in a sauce with tortillas?). but there are so many bad ones out there. too old, too bland, over battered, over cooked.
but today i wandered into Tacubaya, the taqueria started by the folks who own Doña Tomas in Oakland.
i plunked down $10 (plus tip) for the chile relleno & the fresh homemade horchata. While you only get one pepper, it was large & stuffed to the gills. and not just cheese, but cheese (several kinds), fresh corn, and more. the sauce was not a traditional ranchera sauce, but a verde (tomatillo) sauce, topped with fresh cream and cilantro. YUM!
it was easily the BEST relleno i've ever had.
Tacubaya:
1788 4th St.
(Cross street: Delaware)
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-525-5160
Daily Hours: 10 AM-9 PM
Local Berkeley author (and dear friend) Madeleine Kahn's new book, Why Are We Reading Ovid's Handbook on Rape? Teaching and Learning at a Women's College, is finally out in paperback. You can buy it at Amazon, directly from the publisher, or from Berkeley's own Cody's Books. I've created a web site for Madeleine Kahn (the author), where you can read reviews of the book, see where her book tour will take her next, or peek at some of the essays she has been working on since she wrote Why Are We Reading Ovid's Handbook on Rape? Teaching and Learning at a Women's College.
Susan Ito, a former student of Madeleine's, put on a great book party as part of her Shepherd's Canyon Writers series to celebrate the paperback publication. I was there, and managed to get a few pictures of Madeleine Kahn giving her book talk. There are more pictures available to family members at TheBishop.Net photogallery.
Congratulations Madeleine!
Cross posted from The Berkeley Blog
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000646.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:13:"Media - Books";s:7:"creator";s:3:"tim";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-11-24T00:09:34-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:241:"Local Berkeley author (and dear friend) Madeleine Kahn's new book, Why Are We Reading Ovid's Handbook on Rape? Teaching and Learning at a Women's College, is finally out in paperback. You can buy it at Amazon, directly from the publisher,...";s:12:"atom_content";s:1922:"Local Berkeley author (and dear friend) Madeleine Kahn's new book, Why Are We Reading Ovid's Handbook on Rape? Teaching and Learning at a Women's College, is finally out in paperback. You can buy it at Amazon, directly from the publisher, or from Berkeley's own Cody's Books. I've created a web site for Madeleine Kahn (the author), where you can read reviews of the book, see where her book tour will take her next, or peek at some of the essays she has been working on since she wrote Why Are We Reading Ovid's Handbook on Rape? Teaching and Learning at a Women's College.
Susan Ito, a former student of Madeleine's, put on a great book party as part of her Shepherd's Canyon Writers series to celebrate the paperback publication. I was there, and managed to get a few pictures of Madeleine Kahn giving her book talk. There are more pictures available to family members at TheBishop.Net photogallery.
Congratulations Madeleine!
Cross posted from The Berkeley Blog
";}i:5;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000608.html";s:5:"title";s:44:"Chocolate tasting and culture at UC Berkeley";s:11:"description";s:169:"Sunday, October 9, at 1pm sees "The Culture of Chocolate: Tracing the Mystique and Worldwide Journey of Cacao", and event put on at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology....";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:240:"Sunday, October 9, at 1pm sees "The Culture of Chocolate: Tracing the Mystique and Worldwide Journey of Cacao", and event put on at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology.
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000608.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:17:"Berkeley - Campus";s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-09-26T12:35:14-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:169:"Sunday, October 9, at 1pm sees "The Culture of Chocolate: Tracing the Mystique and Worldwide Journey of Cacao", and event put on at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology....";s:12:"atom_content";s:240:"Sunday, October 9, at 1pm sees "The Culture of Chocolate: Tracing the Mystique and Worldwide Journey of Cacao", and event put on at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology.
";}i:6;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000603.html";s:5:"title";s:46:"Berkeley J-School Events - Including one TODAY";s:11:"description";s:246:"Sorry for the late notice. Today the J-School presents Charles Mann talking about his latest book "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus." 6pm-8pm, September 21. If this isn't enough notice (and I only just found out about it),...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:480:"Sorry for the late notice.
Today the J-School presents Charles Mann talking about his latest book "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus."
6pm-8pm, September 21.
If this isn't enough notice (and I only just found out about it), well, I suggest subscribing to their RSS feed or getting on their mailing list.
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000603.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:17:"Berkeley - Campus";s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-09-21T06:44:01-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:246:"Sorry for the late notice. Today the J-School presents Charles Mann talking about his latest book "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus." 6pm-8pm, September 21. If this isn't enough notice (and I only just found out about it),...";s:12:"atom_content";s:480:"Sorry for the late notice.
Today the J-School presents Charles Mann talking about his latest book "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus."
6pm-8pm, September 21.
If this isn't enough notice (and I only just found out about it), well, I suggest subscribing to their RSS feed or getting on their mailing list.
";}i:7;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000580.html";s:5:"title";s:40:"Oakland Red Cross Volunteers for Katrina";s:11:"description";s:226:"From Gwen, a Beast Blog reader:I went to a training session at the Red Cross today and wanted to share some information, in case readers are interested in volunteering: The Red Cross needs all the volunteers they can get to...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:2911:"From Gwen, a Beast Blog reader:
I went to a training session at the Red Cross today and wanted to share some information, in case readers are interested in volunteering:";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000580.html";s:2:"dc";a:2:{s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-09-06T05:22:30-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:226:"From Gwen, a Beast Blog reader:I went to a training session at the Red Cross today and wanted to share some information, in case readers are interested in volunteering: The Red Cross needs all the volunteers they can get to...";s:12:"atom_content";s:2911:"The Red Cross needs all the volunteers they can get to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. They will continue to need help at least through the beginning of 2006. Even if you can only come in a couple hours a month, that's a couple less hours they need to fill.
** They have extended hours and are open seven days a week due to the crisis.
Most of the work requires minimal skills (if you are able to view this on your computer, you are skilled enough).Oakland in particular needs help, as they're one of the eleven call centers in the country that field calls to the national toll-free number from people affected by the hurricane who need assistance finding water, food, shelter, medicine, etc.
General volunteer intake is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; times for phone training sessions for local and national response are also offered in the evening and listed below.
You DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER to attend a training session, just show up.
The Oakland Red Cross offices are at 3901 Broadway @ 40th Street in Oakland, near MacArthur BART station and on the 51 line.
1. Response center training (fielding calls to the national toll-free number from clients in the south who need immediate referrals to ground support) is daily at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m.
** There is special need for volunteers who are fluent in Spanish or French.2. Local phone bank training (answering calls from locals who want to make donations or volunteer) is daily at 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m.
3. They also need help around the office -- data entry and standard administrative work, copying and whatever else needs doing -- to fill in for the regular staff and volunteers who've gone down south. There is currently no training or organized intake for this; I was told that the best way to help with this is to go down there and make yourself useful.
4. If you are interested in on-site work in the affected regions, more information about conditions and a self-assessment are available at:
http://www.bayarea-redcross.org/topnav/vol/volkatrina.htm
[scroll down to 'Disaster Assignment work']Elsewhere: there are 10 chapters within the SF Bay Area chapter alone [mostly central/east Bay Area] and from what I understand, all chapters nation-wide need help with their local phone banks and office work, contact them directly:
SF Bay Area chapter
http://www.bayarea-redcross.org/topnav/about/offices.htmChapters throughout US:
http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.asp
[Many of these comprise several member chapters, find the location closest to you, then click 'About Us' then 'Locations']
From Gwen, a Beast Blog reader:
I went to a training session at the Red Cross today and wanted to share some information, in case readers are interested in volunteering:";}i:8;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000569.html";s:5:"title";s:32:"The Cleveland Cascade Needs You!";s:11:"description";s:231:"In a recent update sent to the Cleveland Cascade mailing list, Jim Ratliff writes: save this date: evening of Monday, September 26. We will hold a public Open House at the Lakeview Branch Library to hear from the community their...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:666:"The Red Cross needs all the volunteers they can get to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. They will continue to need help at least through the beginning of 2006. Even if you can only come in a couple hours a month, that's a couple less hours they need to fill.
** They have extended hours and are open seven days a week due to the crisis.
Most of the work requires minimal skills (if you are able to view this on your computer, you are skilled enough).Oakland in particular needs help, as they're one of the eleven call centers in the country that field calls to the national toll-free number from people affected by the hurricane who need assistance finding water, food, shelter, medicine, etc.
General volunteer intake is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; times for phone training sessions for local and national response are also offered in the evening and listed below.
You DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER to attend a training session, just show up.
The Oakland Red Cross offices are at 3901 Broadway @ 40th Street in Oakland, near MacArthur BART station and on the 51 line.
1. Response center training (fielding calls to the national toll-free number from clients in the south who need immediate referrals to ground support) is daily at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m.
** There is special need for volunteers who are fluent in Spanish or French.2. Local phone bank training (answering calls from locals who want to make donations or volunteer) is daily at 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m.
3. They also need help around the office -- data entry and standard administrative work, copying and whatever else needs doing -- to fill in for the regular staff and volunteers who've gone down south. There is currently no training or organized intake for this; I was told that the best way to help with this is to go down there and make yourself useful.
4. If you are interested in on-site work in the affected regions, more information about conditions and a self-assessment are available at:
http://www.bayarea-redcross.org/topnav/vol/volkatrina.htm
[scroll down to 'Disaster Assignment work']Elsewhere: there are 10 chapters within the SF Bay Area chapter alone [mostly central/east Bay Area] and from what I understand, all chapters nation-wide need help with their local phone banks and office work, contact them directly:
SF Bay Area chapter
http://www.bayarea-redcross.org/topnav/about/offices.htmChapters throughout US:
http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.asp
[Many of these comprise several member chapters, find the location closest to you, then click 'About Us' then 'Locations']
In a recent update sent to the Cleveland Cascade mailing list, Jim Ratliff writes:
save this date: evening of Monday, September 26. We will hold a public Open House at the Lakeview Branch Library to hear from the community their hopes, desires, and ideas for the restoration of the Cleveland Cascade. (Time is currently TBA, probably 6-ish.) This is a crucial part of the design process. Please come, bring your neighbors and all those good ideas you've had!
For more information about this cool historic landscape structure, or to get involved, go to the Cleveland Cascade website
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000569.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:20:"Oakland - Grand Lake";s:7:"creator";s:6:"StacyK";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-08-21T20:45:42-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:231:"In a recent update sent to the Cleveland Cascade mailing list, Jim Ratliff writes: save this date: evening of Monday, September 26. We will hold a public Open House at the Lakeview Branch Library to hear from the community their...";s:12:"atom_content";s:666:"In a recent update sent to the Cleveland Cascade mailing list, Jim Ratliff writes:
save this date: evening of Monday, September 26. We will hold a public Open House at the Lakeview Branch Library to hear from the community their hopes, desires, and ideas for the restoration of the Cleveland Cascade. (Time is currently TBA, probably 6-ish.) This is a crucial part of the design process. Please come, bring your neighbors and all those good ideas you've had!
For more information about this cool historic landscape structure, or to get involved, go to the Cleveland Cascade website
";}i:9;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000568.html";s:5:"title";s:97:"Shotgun Players puts on a fantastic Cyrano de Bergerac in Berkeley's John Hinkel Park this August";s:11:"description";s:213:"My experience of theater in Berkeley is that like the food in Costa Rica, it defies the laws of economics. The less you pay, the better it is, and vice versa. Several years ago I was given an expensive season's...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:3139:"My experience of theater in Berkeley is that like the food in Costa Rica, it defies the laws of economics. The less you pay, the better it is, and vice versa. Several years ago I was given an expensive season's subscription to the Berkeley Rep, and to my great disappointment, almost all the shows turned out to be dreck, Overacted melodramas with gratuitous female nudity. Who needs a faux "Épater le Bourgeois" sensibility in a town that features The Explicit Players as regular naked street performers? If I wanted to watch Sex and the City, I could always go find someone who has a TV and watch it. Then I found a local community theater that puts on plays 3 blocks from my house, The Actor's Ensemble of Berkeley. They do a fantastic job. The performance of Long Day's Journey into Night they did was as good as the Broadway version I saw 20 years ago. Tickets for the Actor's Ensemble shows are only ten bucks, and well worth the price. The next show is Six Degrees of Seperation in October.
I have been on the mailing list for another of Berkeley's theater ensembles, the Shotgun Players, for a while, but had never seen a performance, but I got inspired this weekend to go see their production of Edmund Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. What a fantastic show! The setting is the open air amphitheater at John Hinckel Park in Berkeley (the original home of the California Shakespeare festival). The play is set in 17th century France, and the soldiers and swordsmen in their costumes look right at home in the park, appearing out of the trees or running down the aisles, swords flashing. Language is both a subject of the play and celebrated by the play, and The Shotgun Players picked a great translation of Rostand's play, and found someone able to do justice to the beautiful language and the part of Cyrano, Clive Worsley, who delivers a great performance. There are lots of memorable characters, from the pastry-chef poet to the lady-in-waiting with the swooping voice, and there is something for everyone in the family (over 8) to like: Musketeers, fancy dresses and swordplay for the pre-teens, star-crossed romance for the teens, great language for the adults, and wit for all to enjoy. And the cost? Up to you -- it is pass the hat donations at the end of the show. I was generous, because it is great to be able to support so much great inexpensive theater in Berkeley.
Cyrano de Bergerac is playing through Labor Day, and I highly recommend it for anyone over 8 years old. Bring warm clothes and a jacket, because it gets cold in the shade, especially if the fog comes in, and arrive 15 or 20 minutes early if you want to sit close to the center of the action.
Cross posted at The Berkeley Blog
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000568.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:14:"Arts - Theater";s:7:"creator";s:3:"tim";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-08-21T16:25:16-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:213:"My experience of theater in Berkeley is that like the food in Costa Rica, it defies the laws of economics. The less you pay, the better it is, and vice versa. Several years ago I was given an expensive season's...";s:12:"atom_content";s:3139:"My experience of theater in Berkeley is that like the food in Costa Rica, it defies the laws of economics. The less you pay, the better it is, and vice versa. Several years ago I was given an expensive season's subscription to the Berkeley Rep, and to my great disappointment, almost all the shows turned out to be dreck, Overacted melodramas with gratuitous female nudity. Who needs a faux "Épater le Bourgeois" sensibility in a town that features The Explicit Players as regular naked street performers? If I wanted to watch Sex and the City, I could always go find someone who has a TV and watch it. Then I found a local community theater that puts on plays 3 blocks from my house, The Actor's Ensemble of Berkeley. They do a fantastic job. The performance of Long Day's Journey into Night they did was as good as the Broadway version I saw 20 years ago. Tickets for the Actor's Ensemble shows are only ten bucks, and well worth the price. The next show is Six Degrees of Seperation in October.
I have been on the mailing list for another of Berkeley's theater ensembles, the Shotgun Players, for a while, but had never seen a performance, but I got inspired this weekend to go see their production of Edmund Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. What a fantastic show! The setting is the open air amphitheater at John Hinckel Park in Berkeley (the original home of the California Shakespeare festival). The play is set in 17th century France, and the soldiers and swordsmen in their costumes look right at home in the park, appearing out of the trees or running down the aisles, swords flashing. Language is both a subject of the play and celebrated by the play, and The Shotgun Players picked a great translation of Rostand's play, and found someone able to do justice to the beautiful language and the part of Cyrano, Clive Worsley, who delivers a great performance. There are lots of memorable characters, from the pastry-chef poet to the lady-in-waiting with the swooping voice, and there is something for everyone in the family (over 8) to like: Musketeers, fancy dresses and swordplay for the pre-teens, star-crossed romance for the teens, great language for the adults, and wit for all to enjoy. And the cost? Up to you -- it is pass the hat donations at the end of the show. I was generous, because it is great to be able to support so much great inexpensive theater in Berkeley.
Cyrano de Bergerac is playing through Labor Day, and I highly recommend it for anyone over 8 years old. Bring warm clothes and a jacket, because it gets cold in the shade, especially if the fog comes in, and arrive 15 or 20 minutes early if you want to sit close to the center of the action.
Cross posted at The Berkeley Blog
";}i:10;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000552.html";s:5:"title";s:26:"Crimes in Berkeley? Where?";s:11:"description";s:267:" I'm a long-time devotee of Richard Brenneman of the Berkeley Daily Planet's controversial but always entertaining Police Blotter, and oft quoted Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Joe "just the facts" Okies, but I am often curious about exactly...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:1958:"
I'm a long-time devotee of Richard Brenneman of the Berkeley Daily Planet's controversial but always entertaining Police Blotter, and oft quoted Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Joe "just the facts" Okies, but I am often curious about exactly where the crimes reported upon took place. The city of Berkeley used to publish great crime maps, but gave up updating them in 2003, for reasons that aren't clear to me. Now all they publish is a daily list of "Police Bulletins", as individual PDF files, the least accessible format imaginable.
To the rescue come Scott Brodsky and Google. In a brilliant mashup, Scott has automated a process for getting the data from the Berkeley police bulletins, and used the Google Maps API to layer the locations of the reported crimes on a Google map of Berkeley on his site, Incidentlog.com.
Check out the screenshot I took. Looks to me like Ashby between 80 and Telegraph has had a bit of a crime problem in the last month. You can even click on a marker, and get details of the crime. RSS feeds to come, writes Scott. Check the site out, fellow police blotter junkies.
Cross-posted from the Berkeley Blog
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000552.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:5:"Crime";s:7:"creator";s:3:"tim";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-08-02T23:34:42-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:267:" I'm a long-time devotee of Richard Brenneman of the Berkeley Daily Planet's controversial but always entertaining Police Blotter, and oft quoted Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Joe "just the facts" Okies, but I am often curious about exactly...";s:12:"atom_content";s:1958:"
I'm a long-time devotee of Richard Brenneman of the Berkeley Daily Planet's controversial but always entertaining Police Blotter, and oft quoted Berkeley Police Department Public Information Officer Joe "just the facts" Okies, but I am often curious about exactly where the crimes reported upon took place. The city of Berkeley used to publish great crime maps, but gave up updating them in 2003, for reasons that aren't clear to me. Now all they publish is a daily list of "Police Bulletins", as individual PDF files, the least accessible format imaginable.
To the rescue come Scott Brodsky and Google. In a brilliant mashup, Scott has automated a process for getting the data from the Berkeley police bulletins, and used the Google Maps API to layer the locations of the reported crimes on a Google map of Berkeley on his site, Incidentlog.com.
Check out the screenshot I took. Looks to me like Ashby between 80 and Telegraph has had a bit of a crime problem in the last month. You can even click on a marker, and get details of the crime. RSS feeds to come, writes Scott. Check the site out, fellow police blotter junkies.
Cross-posted from the Berkeley Blog
";}i:11;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000538.html";s:5:"title";s:16:"Great New Bakery";s:11:"description";s:220:"Sweet Adeline: 3350 Adeline Street, Berkeley Sweet Adeline is a new (a mere 3 months old) bakery near the intersection of Adeline, Stanford & MLK. It's good! i stopped in this AM for the first time & was pleased. they...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:950:"Sweet Adeline: 3350 Adeline Street, Berkeley
Sweet Adeline is a new (a mere 3 months old) bakery near the intersection of Adeline, Stanford & MLK. It's good!
i stopped in this AM for the first time & was pleased. they serve organic coffee, have raw sugar as an option, and the pastry? excellent!
those that know me well know that i'm a pastry snob (i moved to the bay area to be a pastry chef, and apprenticed at the Mark Hopkins in SF). so i can be very critical about basked goods. but sweet adeline delivers.
they offer savory pastries, sweet pastries, and breads. all was fresh and made with top quailty ingredients. a worker (possibly an owner) answered questions from the person ahead of me about what apples she uses in the turnovers. "right now, granny smith. in the fall we use graventstien, grown in sepastopol." good answer!
i'll be going back!
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000538.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:15:"Dining - Bakery";s:7:"creator";s:8:"daniland";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-07-08T21:38:06-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:220:"Sweet Adeline: 3350 Adeline Street, Berkeley Sweet Adeline is a new (a mere 3 months old) bakery near the intersection of Adeline, Stanford & MLK. It's good! i stopped in this AM for the first time & was pleased. they...";s:12:"atom_content";s:950:"Sweet Adeline: 3350 Adeline Street, Berkeley
Sweet Adeline is a new (a mere 3 months old) bakery near the intersection of Adeline, Stanford & MLK. It's good!
i stopped in this AM for the first time & was pleased. they serve organic coffee, have raw sugar as an option, and the pastry? excellent!
those that know me well know that i'm a pastry snob (i moved to the bay area to be a pastry chef, and apprenticed at the Mark Hopkins in SF). so i can be very critical about basked goods. but sweet adeline delivers.
they offer savory pastries, sweet pastries, and breads. all was fresh and made with top quailty ingredients. a worker (possibly an owner) answered questions from the person ahead of me about what apples she uses in the turnovers. "right now, granny smith. in the fall we use graventstien, grown in sepastopol." good answer!
i'll be going back!
";}i:12;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000537.html";s:5:"title";s:27:"Great East Bay Book Stores!";s:11:"description";s:220:"bookstores are wonderful places, and independent book stores are even more so! the east bay has plenty of great indie bookstores. my four fave books stores in the East Bay are: 1. A Great Good Place For Books, 6120 La...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:1640:"bookstores are wonderful places, and independent book stores are even more so! the east bay has plenty of great indie bookstores.
my four fave books stores in the East Bay are:
1. A Great Good Place For Books, 6120 La Salle Avenue, Montclair District.
when i first walked in, i was greeted by the owner. she was one of those people that was helpful without being pushy. she asked about my lit preferences, and was able to recommend some great titles that i hadn't read based on who i liked. she is also one of the people working on "West Coast Live" (a public radio program), so she gets great authors coming through the area to read there.
2. Pegasus/Pendragon Books:
(3 East Bay Locations)-
2349 Shattuck Avenue, (Berkeley, Downtown)
5560 College Avenue, (Oakland, Rockridge)
1855 Solano Avenue, (Albany, Solano Stroll)
i love this independent mini-chain for several reasons: knowledgable staff, excellent recommendations, cheap book tables (great gift store!), and their annial calendar sale. (wait til Jan 1st to get the new year's calendar & you'll save save save! it's an east bay tradition to shop for calendars on Jan 1st here!)
3.
5433 College Avenue, Oakland (Rockridge)
the sections are comprehensive, the recommendations superb, and the store is spacious. i have seen so many great authors pass through here on their tours- Sherman Alexie was a fave.
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000537.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:11:"Book stores";s:7:"creator";s:8:"daniland";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-07-08T21:10:04-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:220:"bookstores are wonderful places, and independent book stores are even more so! the east bay has plenty of great indie bookstores. my four fave books stores in the East Bay are: 1. A Great Good Place For Books, 6120 La...";s:12:"atom_content";s:1640:"bookstores are wonderful places, and independent book stores are even more so! the east bay has plenty of great indie bookstores.
my four fave books stores in the East Bay are:
1. A Great Good Place For Books, 6120 La Salle Avenue, Montclair District.
when i first walked in, i was greeted by the owner. she was one of those people that was helpful without being pushy. she asked about my lit preferences, and was able to recommend some great titles that i hadn't read based on who i liked. she is also one of the people working on "West Coast Live" (a public radio program), so she gets great authors coming through the area to read there.
2. Pegasus/Pendragon Books:
(3 East Bay Locations)-
2349 Shattuck Avenue, (Berkeley, Downtown)
5560 College Avenue, (Oakland, Rockridge)
1855 Solano Avenue, (Albany, Solano Stroll)
i love this independent mini-chain for several reasons: knowledgable staff, excellent recommendations, cheap book tables (great gift store!), and their annial calendar sale. (wait til Jan 1st to get the new year's calendar & you'll save save save! it's an east bay tradition to shop for calendars on Jan 1st here!)
3.
5433 College Avenue, Oakland (Rockridge)
the sections are comprehensive, the recommendations superb, and the store is spacious. i have seen so many great authors pass through here on their tours- Sherman Alexie was a fave.
";}i:13;a:8:{s:5:"about";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000536.html";s:5:"title";s:18:"WiFi on AC Transit";s:11:"description";s:228:"To a mailing list I'm on, this AP article was sent: An East Bay transit agency plans to install free wireless Internet service on select buses beginning this fall. AC Transit expects to equip half its fleet of transbay buses,...";s:7:"content";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";s:1464:"To a mailing list I'm on, this AP article was sent:
An East Bay transit agency plans to install free wireless Internet
service on select buses beginning this fall.AC Transit expects to equip half its fleet of transbay buses, about 40
that focus on commuters and rush-hour riders, with WiFi access, said
agency spokesman Clarence Thomas.The push came from the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency's
East Bay Smart Corridors program, which coordinates with 25 agencies
to improve transit systems."We want professionals, those with laptops, traveling through the bay
to have better use of their time, rather than looking at traffic,"
said Cyrus Minoofar, the program's project manager.Under the plan, the buses would be equipped with small boxes that
convert existing cellular phone networks into WiFi that riders can
access with their laptops, as if they were sitting at a desk.Users could read e-mail and browse the Internet.
A proposed three-year grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management
District would pay for the service, expected to cost between $60 to
$75 per bus per month. The grant has yet to be finalized.The agency runs 27 lines that cross the bay, with services connecting
Oakland to San Francisco, Hayward and San Mateo, and Fremont and Palo
Alto.
To a mailing list I'm on, this AP article was sent:
An East Bay transit agency plans to install free wireless Internet
service on select buses beginning this fall.AC Transit expects to equip half its fleet of transbay buses, about 40
that focus on commuters and rush-hour riders, with WiFi access, said
agency spokesman Clarence Thomas.The push came from the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency's
East Bay Smart Corridors program, which coordinates with 25 agencies
to improve transit systems."We want professionals, those with laptops, traveling through the bay
to have better use of their time, rather than looking at traffic,"
said Cyrus Minoofar, the program's project manager.Under the plan, the buses would be equipped with small boxes that
convert existing cellular phone networks into WiFi that riders can
access with their laptops, as if they were sitting at a desk.Users could read e-mail and browse the Internet.
A proposed three-year grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management
District would pay for the service, expected to cost between $60 to
$75 per bus per month. The grant has yet to be finalized.The agency runs 27 lines that cross the bay, with services connecting
Oakland to San Francisco, Hayward and San Mateo, and Fremont and Palo
Alto.
18 months ago, I wrote about Truly Mediterranean, my favorite SF shawarma joint, opening a branch in Berkeley. About 6 weeks ago, Truly Med turned into The Mediterranean.
It has pretty much the same menu, though there have definitely been changes in the recipes.
My old standby, the lamb shawarma, was much saucier than back in the Truly Med days. It was almost like eating a stew in a lavash, whereas Truly Med was simply about seasonings. That said, it was still quite good, and definitely filling.
";}s:4:"link";s:45:"http://www.beastblog.com/archives/000530.html";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:7:"subject";s:22:"Dining - Mediterranean";s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2005-06-19T03:38:55-08:00";}s:7:"summary";s:241:"18 months ago, I wrote about Truly Mediterranean, my favorite SF shawarma joint, opening a branch in Berkeley. About 6 weeks ago, Truly Med turned into The Mediterranean. It has pretty much the same menu, though there have definitely been...";s:12:"atom_content";s:734:"18 months ago, I wrote about Truly Mediterranean, my favorite SF shawarma joint, opening a branch in Berkeley. About 6 weeks ago, Truly Med turned into The Mediterranean.
It has pretty much the same menu, though there have definitely been changes in the recipes.
My old standby, the lamb shawarma, was much saucier than back in the Truly Med days. It was almost like eating a stew in a lavash, whereas Truly Med was simply about seasonings. That said, it was still quite good, and definitely filling.
";}}s:7:"channel";a:8:{s:5:"title";s:10:"Beast Blog";s:4:"link";s:25:"http://www.beastblog.com/";s:11:"description";s:40:"Because East Bay is Pig Latin for Beast.";s:2:"dc";a:3:{s:8:"language";s:5:"en-us";s:7:"creator";s:7:"peterme";s:4:"date";s:25:"2006-08-10T07:53:45-08:00";}s:2:"sy";a:3:{s:12:"updateperiod";s:6:"hourly";s:15:"updatefrequency";s:1:"1";s:10:"updatebase";s:22:"2000-01-01T12:00+00:00";}s:5:"items";s:12:" ";s:9:"items_seq";s:143:" ";s:7:"tagline";s:40:"Because East Bay is Pig Latin for Beast.";}s:9:"textinput";a:0:{}s:5:"image";a:0:{}s:9:"feed_type";s:3:"RSS";s:12:"feed_version";s:3:"1.0";s:5:"stack";a:0:{}s:9:"inchannel";b:0;s:6:"initem";b:0;s:9:"incontent";b:0;s:11:"intextinput";b:0;s:7:"inimage";b:0;s:13:"current_field";s:0:"";s:17:"current_namespace";b:0;s:5:"ERROR";s:0:"";s:19:"_CONTENT_CONSTRUCTS";a:6:{i:0;s:7:"content";i:1;s:7:"summary";i:2;s:4:"info";i:3;s:5:"title";i:4;s:7:"tagline";i:5;s:9:"copyright";}s:13:"last_modified";s:31:"Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:55:12 GMT ";s:4:"etag";s:25:""4631b60-8397-44db48d0" ";}