Daily Archives: January 8, 2013
The Berkeley Wire: 01.08.13
Amanita Muscaria. Photo: ‘fathomfive
Haas finance professor Malmendier receives 2013 Fischer Black Prize (UCB)
BHS graduate’s video of afternoon spent with son goes viral (YouTube)
Berkeley Lab considers stepping stone to exascale supercomputer (HPC Wire)
Cal cornerback Steve Williams enters NFL draft (BANG)
After 38 years in Berkeley, baker resurfaces in Paso Robles (Paso Robles Press)
New Bay Bridge span: 2 minutes, 3 years of building
After 11 years of construction, and 23 years after the Loma Prieta earthquake took part of it out, the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge is nearly done. Caltrans plans to open the bridge to traffic this September. While we wait for the opening, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has released a fascinating 2-minute timelapse video of construction since 2009, put together from EarthCam‘s webcam footage. It makes it look so easy.
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Shop Talk: The ins and outs of Berkeley businesses
NEW AMSTERDAM COFFEESHOP New Amsterdam Coffeeshop has closed after three years at 1952 University Ave. Its owners sent out a letter to customers and posted a sign on the door explaining they wanted to “spend more time with their boys.” “We never imagined that our little homemade restaurant would be so busy or popular or loved,” they wrote. “But as we grew busier and busier the focus on business and lack of sleep and the intensity that we put into it began to take away from our family. We never had enough time for ourselves, or our kids, and we were unhappy.” … Continue reading »
Big Screen Berkeley: Hitchcock’s “Sabotage” still shocks
According to the unattributed dictionary definition that prefaces Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage, the word sabotage means ‘wilful destruction of buildings or machinery with the object of alarming a group of persons or inspiring public uneasiness ‘. It’s an apt description of the effect the film must have had on 1936 cinemagoers, who surely weren’t prepared for Sabotage’s gut-wrenching denouement — a scene still likely to jar viewers today.
Based on Joseph Conrad’s novel ‘Secret Agent’, Sabotage (screening at Pacific Film Archive at 8:45 p.m. on Friday Jan. 11 as part of the series ‘Alfred Hitchcock: The Shape of Suspense’) is an overlooked highlight of the filmmaker’s career. Produced prior to Hitchcock’s arrival in Hollywood, it’s since been overshadowed by such US-made heavyweights as Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho. Familiarity with those films, however, has long since leeched them of their ability to shock and surprise — something that can’t be said of Sabotage. … Continue reading »
At Hopscotch, classic cocktails with new twists
Seeking shelter from recent storms, we bustled into the cozy comfort of Hopscotch Restaurant and Bar in Oakland’s Uptown. Hopscotch has the familiar feel of a re-imagined diner, with its traditional chrome accents; light fixtures with a vintage look; checkerboard floor; and L-shaped counter lined with red barstools. A relative newcomer to Uptown, Hopscotch seems as though it’s always been here.
In an unprecedented move, we visited Hopscotch twice in one week. … Continue reading »
Berkeley Mayor’s Chief of Staff leaves post after one year
Judith Iglehart, who was appointed Chief of Staff to Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates in January 2012, has left her post to pursue a job opportunity in the private sector.
Mayor Bates said he was sorry to see Iglehart go as she had done good work in helping the office analyze opportunities for economic development in the city, in particular for new-business startups.
“She leaves as a friend,” he said, citing the former staffer’s valuable work on the “nitty gritty” of how to get businesses started. “I am really pleased to have been offered an understanding of what we can do in that area,” he said on Monday Jan. 7.
Iglehart, who had not returned calls at press time, is believed to be starting a new company with a friend.
Before being employed by the City of Berkeley, Iglehart worked for the Keiretsu Forum, a network of angel investors. … Continue reading »
