Author Archive
June 9, 2018 by tomdalzell
Odds and Ends
Dig the body parts! I call this post odds and ends. The phrase “Odds and ends” is a dialectal corruption of “ords” [Old English – point, spear-point, spear, source, beginning, front, vanguard] and ends” – beginnings and ends. Who knew? I include here updates, one-offs, and miscellaneous joyous quirk, like the body parts above – leavings, crumbs, […]
June 2, 2018 by tomdalzell
Angel Jesus Perez – Berkeley Art and Culture Hero
Angel Jesus Perez is a young Berkeley mural champion. He is the senior artist and print tech for Youth Spirits Art Works. His prints are amazing. His murals soar. His dedication to community and youth and at-risk youth and poor youth and homeless youth inspires. He is a cultural warrior, an artist, a teacher, a community […]
May 28, 2018 by tomdalzell
Memorial Day Field Trip: Time Not Distance
As Mr. Peabody used to say to Sherman on the “Peabody’s Improbable History” segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, “Set the Wayback Machine to 1969!” Today is a holiday which means that it’s time for a Quirky Berkeley notional field trip. Instead of a trip through space and place, today we will time-travel to 1969. It is, […]
May 26, 2018 by tomdalzell
Sam’s 58 Club – Part 2 – Blue Collar Culture
In the 70s and 80s and 90s, Sam’s took on a strong working class character. I Berkeley’s manufacturing and industrial sector had yet to collapse. Workers from Emerald Packing, Macy’s Movers, Jacuzzi Pump, Consolidated Printers, Palmolive, and other plants came, drank, and went home. Like the song says, the bar was open Monday to Friday, 8:00 to […]
May 26, 2018 by tomdalzell
Sam’s 58 Club News Letters
For the serious student / true fanatic / dedicated follower – here are copies of the Heinz Street Journal: The Unofficial Newsletter of Sam’s 58 Club. Gary “G. Lee” Robinson gave them to me. High production values! Happy-making inside jokes and digs and references.
May 19, 2018 by tomdalzell
Sam’s 58 Club – Part One – Rediscovered & The Black and White Years
I knew the ghost sign on the building at 1035 Heinz, but it really all started with a song by Michael McNevin about a Berkeley bar that closed in the late 1990s. It became a story about everything. Berkeley. Life. Friendship. Family. Hustle and loyalty, community and work. Trusting your crazy ideas. The sentiment that […]
May 12, 2018 by tomdalzell
Wavy Gravy – Some of His Stuff
Part Three on Wavy Gravy has to do with his stuff. Wavy spends a good part of the year in Berkeley, with the summer months spent in Laytonville at Camp Winnarainbow. He says, “Our scene is up north. Mrs. Gravy and I are in Berkeley with second and third generation Hog Farmers.” In the Berkeley […]
May 5, 2018 by tomdalzell
Wavy Gravy in Berkeley
Wavy Gravy had visited Berkeley before moving here in 1975. Several visits were noteworthy. In the mid 1960s, Wavy/Romney appeared at the Cabale with members of the improvisational comedy ensemble The Committee – Alan Myerson, Larry Hankin, Hamilton Camp, John Brent, and Del Close. The Cabale, at 2504 San Pablo Avenue (at Dwight), was a folk club […]
April 28, 2018 by tomdalzell
Virginia Bakery – Nothing Gold Can Stay
In sixth grade I chose “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost to memorize. It is a short poem, but poignant. We had three poems to choose from. I chose Frost because it was shorter than Emily Dickinson’s “These Are The Days That Birds Come Back” and because it didn’t require Middle English as a Chaucer […]
April 21, 2018 by tomdalzell