The day started out just as any other day — breakfast, a quick glance at my readings and one final scan of my organizer — but the choppers I could hear thudding overhead told me this day would be anything but normal. Sure enough, on that Wednesday morning of Nov. Read More…
Hello, beautiful Berkeley. Because of the swell of interest in my recent column promoting the bulk dispersal of our overachieving genes, I thought it would be a good idea to help get the balls rolling, as they say. I initiated the process and have done some of the work (but Read More…
The International House chess crowd tends to be an eclectic and eccentric group. At first it seems a cross-section of escaped asylum patients: frazzled gray hair, too-big military jackets and crooked mustaches abound. But they know their chess. And they certainly know the best places to play, including I-House, which Read More…
I managed to track down León Ritz-Barr, who has been occupying Oakland for the last couple of weeks. At least that is what he claims — I was unsure because he does not appear to be a delinquent, homeless anarchist — the type I have been led to believe the movement is Read More…
Endorsement videos for presidential candidates and even city officials are taking a strange turn — not only are they going viral on the Internet but they seem to be produced for the sole purpose of going viral. There are YouTube sensations born out of happenstance and there are those that Read More…
The witch, the ghost, the Nixon mask — Halloween costumes can be classic but a bit stereotypical. For instance, look at what people searched this year on the Internet: some of the top Googled Halloween costumes were Nicki Minaj, Charlie Sheen and Angry Birds. These fan favorites are aligned to Read More…
I was in the middle of a rehearsal for a play when what I thought was the second of the day’s small earthquakes hit. The floor shook. I screamed. Everyone else shrugged and continued to perform — I know the show must go on, but even during an earthquake, I Read More…
In another round of what has already been a heated semester between the two groups, Berkeley’s partisan clubs politically sparred on Tuesday night at the Undergraduate Political Science Association’s “Great Debate” over the national debt. On the left was Cal Berkeley Democrats’ Tom Hughes and Matthew Symonds, hitting with “hope” Read More…
“I might stay in and study tonight,” remarked a friend of mine recently. “But I’ll probably end up with FOMO and just go out anyway.” FOMO? Is this some kind of new martial art, I wondered? FOMO, as I learned, stands for “Fear Of Missing Out,” and it has become Read More…
When our country gears up for election season, it is fraught with cultural currency — a time where there is a focused discussion on our American identity and what that actually means in a turning socio-economic time. We can banter or have small talk about the latest headlines and join Read More…
