Reviewed: ‘Some Kind of Heaven’, ‘Acasa My Home’, and ‘I Blame Society’
A documentary about āAmericaās Friendliest Hometown’ and one about a family of hunter-gatherers living next to a major European metropolis. Plus: a dash of black comedy.
Arts
Top Stories
The Sit List: 5 events in Berkeley to end the week
Laugh with comedians, drink wine with the novelist Jonathan Lethem, learn about Berkeley’s food history, declutter your closet, watch a documentary about maternal mental health.
The Sit List: 5 virtual events to uplift you this week
This week, look through a virtual telescope, party at a digital nightclub, practice gentle yoga, go to a poetry dive, and listen to a podcast about places in Berkeley.
Books
Book review: From Aya de Leon, a brilliant thriller that exposes the FBIās illegal tactics
Set in the East Bay, a young Black FBI lawyer is told to investigate a small group of eco-activist teens led by a charismatic Black man. Is the group really dangerous?
Book review: ‘Driven’ traces development of self-driving cars, saga of the Berkeley man who stole industry secrets
Anthony Levandowski will serve 18 months in prison for stealing files from Google for his own autonomous car company.
New book, ‘Island Visions,’ offers some California wonder while we’re all staying close to home
This beautiful, dynamic āuntextbookā about the California Channel Islands was spearheaded by the two founders of Berkeley’s Pedal Born Pictures.
What were the best books of 2020? 3 Berkeleyside contributors share their favorites
President Barack Obama’s memoir made the cut but so did a quiet novel, ‘Looking for Eliza’ by Leaf Arbuthnot.
Theater
Josh Kornbluth’s ‘Citizen Brain’ from Shotgun Players is engaging and enlightening
The solo-performer tells a fascinating story about how his beloved stepfather’s Alzheimer diagnosis and the election of Donald Trump changed his life in surprisingly positive ways.
Aurora Theatreās world premiere audio play āThe Flatsā is ingenious
The three-part audio dramaĀ is a prime example of how to create an engaging theatrical experience despite the limits imposed by our Covid-ridden world.
TheatreFirstās new season creatively presents new episodic theater
The Berkeley theatre group, known for its creativity and progressive philosophy, has crafted a virtual season consisting of six world premiere plays and visual essays.
Music
Hot jazz from Berkeley’s Cal Performances with the very cool trumpeter Bria Skonberg
She delivers jazz standards, vintage pop songs, finely wrought originals, and alchemical jazz renditions of songs by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Queen.
Guitarist Robbie Basho, a rare bird in Berkeley
A new Robbie Basho box set offers a window into the music of a brilliant and troubled artist. Plus: Catch a livestream of soul singer Destini Wolf tonight.
Movies
Small Screen Berkeley: Favorite Films of 2020 and ‘Through the Night’
Here are the films that made the greatest impression on Berkeleyside movie writer John Seal in a year when cinema provided a much-needed distraction.
Small Screen Berkeley: Another Hole in the Head Film Festival and ‘Crock of Gold’
Several festival recommendations, including an excellent 21st-century spin of ‘The Turn of the Screw’ and “Murder Bury Win’ which was shot in Berkeley, El Cerrito and Mendocino.
Small Screen Berkeley: ‘Zappa’ and ‘Flowers of Shanghai’
Watch a documentary about Frank Zappa produced by his son or a Taiwanese period piece that feels like soaking in a warm bubble bath.
Visual arts
Berkeley bids adieu to the controversial Big People statues
The statues stood on the pedestrian bridge over I-80 for 12 years. It will take 3 days to remove them.
Berkeley has started removing the Big People statues on the I-80 pedestrian bridge
The ‘”love-em” or “hate-em” art pieces will be gone by Tuesday.
Recent stories
Do you have a favorite Berkeley place or memory? We’d like to hear from you
Please send us 100 words about a place in Berkeley or a favorite memory.
Berkeley Rep launches ‘Place/Settings,’ 10 audio stories set in Berkeley
Ten artists have recorded fictional and true stories about a place they love in Berkeley. The public can submit their own pieces.
Art project or statement? Statue of pioneering Black Berkeley legislator briefly defaced
Someone put a white skeleton mask and some graffiti on the statue of William Byron Rumford on Sacramento Street.
The Sit List: 5 ways to kick off the new year
Happy New Year, Berkeleyside readers! This week weāve found ways to elevate your mind and body: dance, make music, watch and discuss films, discover the wonderful world of science.
Distance learning canāt defeat Berkeley High Jazz
Not being able to play music together this year has proved tough, but lockdown has also left BHS’s young musicians more deeply versed in jazz than perhaps any previous class.
Stimulus bill includes funds for arts venues. Which Berkeley ones will be eligible?
The Save Our Stages act makes about $15 billion available to independent music venues, theaters and cultural organizations.
The Sit List: 5 virtual events to help you close out 2020
Join an ugly sweater and pants dance party, train your little ones to make healthy food, learn the basics of creating comics with Black Comics Matter ā and more!
The Sit List: 5 ways to start enjoying the holiday season
Watch 2 very different versions of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ take a family-fun workshop aboutĀ ‘The Hard Nut,’ shop a holiday pottery market or take a COVID-19-friendly photo with Santa.
The Sit List: 5 ways to shop, play and learn online in Berkeley and beyond
Shop local art, immerse yourself in 1960s Berkeley, travel back to Israel in the Iron Age, be seduced by ‘radical love and healing’ or fall in love with California, again.
