Spike in Berkeley burglaries puts residents on edge [Berkeley Voice]
Cal ponders swapping state funds for federal ones [SF Biz Times]
Berkeley’s Five Star Video: last man standing [Patch]
Riverbed: From Berkeley coffee shop to SOMA lease [SF Biz Times]
Alice Waters to start edible schoolyard in Sacramento [Sac Bee]
Cooking up Indian bitter melons from Berkeley Bowl [YumSugar]
Andy Warhol “Polaroids” at Berkeley Art Museum … Continue reading »]]>

Spike in Berkeley burglaries puts residents on edge [Berkeley Voice]
Cal ponders swapping state funds for federal ones [SF Biz Times]
Berkeley’s Five Star Video: last man standing [Patch]
Riverbed: From Berkeley coffee shop to SOMA lease [SF Biz Times]
Alice Waters to start edible schoolyard in Sacramento [Sac Bee]
Cooking up Indian bitter melons from Berkeley Bowl [YumSugar]
Andy Warhol “Polaroids” at Berkeley Art Museum [HuffPo]
Getting hands on cookbook collection of Jeremiah Tower [Inside Scoop]
Bay Citizen on track to merge with Berkeley’s CIR [CIR]

Photo: Farms in Berkeley? by sisterfish8/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 3 comments |
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If you consider that exposure too brief, however, this year’s Animated and Live Action nominees … Continue reading »]]>

A chicken rules the roost in "A Morning Stroll"

It’s still a little hard to believe that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to eliminate the short subject categories back in 1992, arguing that the awards had “long ceased to reflect the realities of theatrical motion picture exhibition.” The ensuing outcry compelled the Academy to reverse course, and today short films continue to garner well-deserved, if brief, exposure on Oscar night.

If you consider that exposure too brief, however, this year’s Animated and Live Action nominees will be screening at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas beginning this Friday, February 10th.

2011’s nominees for animated short subject are a particularly impressive bunch. Best of show is Grant Orchard’s A Morning Stroll, a hyper-stylized blend of computer and hand-drawn animation that, in seven minutes, travels through a hundred years of New York City social history, the only constant being a chicken completely at ease on the sidewalks of Manhattan — even when confronted by zombies (break-dancing and otherwise).(...)

Read the rest of Big Screen Berkeley: Academy Award-nominated shorts (659 words)

By John Seal. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: A Morning Stroll, Raju, Shattuck Cinemas, Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue hit by hard times, needs a makeover [NYT]
When Berkeley’s Home Street was a street of homes [Patch]
Lost passport in Paris connects student to ’49 UC Berkeley alumna [UCB]
Future funding for city’s childcare programs under threat [Daily Cal]
The making of a Cal feature film: high art and rubber duckies [UCB]
Les Waters bids Berkeley Rep adieu with “Red” [Stark Insider]
Berkeley … Continue reading »]]>

Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue hit by hard times, needs a makeover [NYT]
When Berkeley’s Home Street was a street of homes [Patch]
Lost passport in Paris connects student to ’49 UC Berkeley alumna [UCB]
Future funding for city’s childcare programs under threat [Daily Cal]
The making of a Cal feature film: high art and rubber duckies [UCB]
Les Waters bids Berkeley Rep adieu with “Red” [Stark Insider]
Berkeley rapper Lil B pays homage to East Bay skateboarder [Patch]

Photo: Get to the point, Dance, by 2812 photography/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | No comment |
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We open with feminist professor Phyllis (Amy Resnick) on the podium addressing an imaginary, as well as the real, audience. The academic is orchestrating “Body Awareness Week” on a small Vermont college campus. She and her partner Joyce … Continue reading »]]>

Jeri Lynn Cohen and Howard Swain in "Body Awareness" at the Aurora Theatre. Photo: courtesy Aurora Theatre

Annie Baker tackles heavyweight and potentially sensitive subjects in “Body Awareness”, which premiered at the Aurora Theatre last Friday. The sharply written, tightly wound play manages to be at once entertaining, funny and thought-provoking, which is testament to the skills of the 28-year-old playwright.

We open with feminist professor Phyllis (Amy Resnick) on the podium addressing an imaginary, as well as the real, audience. The academic is orchestrating “Body Awareness Week” on a small Vermont college campus. She and her partner Joyce (Jeri Lynn Cohen) are hosting Frank, a guest artist (Howard Swain) who specializes in taking nude photographs of women. Also in the household is Joyce’s 21-year-old son Jared (Patrick Russell), who, the couple believe, has Asperger’s Syndrome.

The family dynamic, already troubled, reaches breaking point after the arrival of Frank who swaggers through every scene sporting a permanent Cheshire cat grin, managing to be likable and vaguely creepy at the same time.(...)

Read the rest of Family dynamic unravels in Aurora’s “Body Awareness” (178 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Aurora Theatre Company, Body Awareness

Three famous Berkeley boys send $250,000 to Berkeley schools The Berkeley school district was taken aback to say the least when Berkeleyside called to tell them that The Lonely Island trio — Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone (above), who were all at Willard Middle School together — had enabled the largest-ever single donation to BUSD through a Super Bowl contest for Doritos.

18-year-old Tyler De Martini dies after skateboarding accident The Berkeley resident, who was passionate … Continue reading »]]>

Three famous Berkeley boys send $250,000 to Berkeley schools The Berkeley school district was taken aback to say the least when Berkeleyside called to tell them that The Lonely Island trio — Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone (above), who were all at Willard Middle School together — had enabled the largest-ever single donation to BUSD through a Super Bowl contest for Doritos.

18-year-old Tyler De Martini dies after skateboarding accident The Berkeley resident, who was passionate about skateboarding and had “a heart of gold”, collided with a car on Monday evening on Marin Avenue, and died on Wednesday. Concerns over the safety of the intersection where the accident took place were raised.

Rare works from Serendipity Books to be auctioned The vast collection the late Peter Howard, owner of one of Berkeley’s most cherished bookstores, will be sold by Bonhams at six different auctions. Look for original John Steinbeck manuscripts, antiquarian books, first editions, as well as Carl Sandburg’s guitar.

Berkeley files suit against owner of blighted Telegraph lot The City Council finally took action on a lot, on a major commercial thoroughfare, that has stood vacant for more than 20 years.

If you think Berkeleyside has made your life a little richer, and enhanced your knowledge of this vibrant city, please consider helping up sustain the site by becoming a subscriber. And, don’t forget, you can be first on the news by following us on Twitter and becoming a fan on Facebook.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | No comment |
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Berkeley People’s Park tree sitter is convicted [SFGate]
Berkeley woman helps clients resolve intimacy issues [Daily Cal]
Musical titans to meet for Berkeley performance [Coco Times]
Berkeley architect wraps up William Wurster book [SFGate]
Former Cal student accuses sorority of beating, hazing her [SFWeekly]
Berkeley’s CIR and Bay Citizen in possible merger [NYT]
Berkeley City Council passes resolution to stand up for Tibet [Indy Bay]
… Continue reading »]]>

Berkeley People’s Park tree sitter is convicted [SFGate]
Berkeley woman helps clients resolve intimacy issues [Daily Cal]
Musical titans to meet for Berkeley performance [Coco Times]
Berkeley architect wraps up William Wurster book [SFGate]
Former Cal student accuses sorority of beating, hazing her [SFWeekly]
Berkeley’s CIR and Bay Citizen in possible merger [NYT]
Berkeley City Council passes resolution to stand up for Tibet [Indy Bay]
Review: Aurora Theatre’s “Body Awareness” [Mercury News]

Photo: To bring you my love, by angela marlaud/Berkeleyside Flickr pool.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | No comment |
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See also BPD’s weekly calls for service and the San Francisco Chronicle’s regularly published list of arrests in Berkeley. For other sources of information on crime in Berkeley see Community CrimeView and Crimemapping.com.

January 30th:

Drunk in Public Arrest – 1800 Block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way – #2012-5525
On Monday, January 30, 2012 at about … Continue reading »]]> This is a partial list of recent crimes in Berkeley based on information from the Berkeley Police Department and the UC Berkeley Police Department.

See also BPD’s weekly calls for service and the San Francisco Chronicle’s regularly published list of arrests in Berkeley. For other sources of information on crime in Berkeley see Community CrimeView and Crimemapping.com.

January 30th:

Drunk in Public Arrest – 1800 Block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way – #2012-5525
On Monday, January 30, 2012 at about 11:51 p.m., a female community member called to report someone knocking on her door in the 1800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and creating a disturbance. BPD officers responded and found a man, later identified as a 30-year-old Berkeley resident. The handling officer immediately noted that the man displayed objective signs of alcohol beverage intoxication, including bloodshot watery eyes, unstable gait, slurred speech, flushed face, and had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. The officer determined based on these factors that the subject could not care for his own welfare. BPD arrested the subject for violation of PC647(F) – Drunk in Public with a request that the Jail staff give him a citation and release him when he is sober.(...)

Read the rest of Police blotter: Recent crime in Berkeley (1,618 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: Berkeley crime, Berkeley Police Department