Author Archive
April 21, 2018 by tomdalzell
Pal Joey: Sinatra in Berkeley!
Frank Sinatra in Berkeley! Who knew? Pal Joey is a 1957 American Technicolor musical film, loosely adapted from the musical play of the same name. It stars Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Jo Ann Greer sang for Hayworth, Trudy Stevens sang for Novak. Sinatra didn’t get top billing, Hayworth did. Sinatra was gracious, acknowledging her long history with Columbia. As Columbia’s […]
April 14, 2018 by tomdalzell
Maybeck Murals
As Berkeley questioned existing values and mores, challenged the dominant paradigm, and raged against the machine in the 1960s and 1970s, we explored alternative education with alternative learning and teaching styles. A. S. Neil’s Summerhill was widely read and his free-range approach to education was the golden standard of the counterculture. Berkeley High opened the Community High School as […]
April 7, 2018 by tomdalzell
Wavy Gravy – The Road to Berkeley
Wavy Gravy, shown here in his all-star clown suit, is to Berkeley as soup is to sandwich – try to separate them, it’s an illusion. You can’t have one without the other. He has been a defining element of Berkeley for 40+ years. Wavy turns 82 this year. Not bad for a guy who didn’t think […]
March 31, 2018 by tomdalzell
Alt.Albany @ 714 B
I have dabbled in Albany before, most notably with my post on the stunningly beautiful home and garden of Keeyla Meadows. I will one day publish a post on the Albany Bulb, home to creative art, homeless struggles, and resistance to developers. By returning to Albany today, I am not launching anything approaching a new […]
March 24, 2018 by tomdalzell
1624 Virginia Street: Not Just a Pretty Face
Stunning, no? I knew this house, and thought I had posted a photo of the sun in a long-ago post on suns. Wrong – I didn’t. Continuing a really good trend, a Quirky Berkeley aficionado suggested I look at the house again. I did. The path to the front porch. Stunning, no? On the […]
March 17, 2018 by tomdalzell
Bulletin Board Time Travel/Time Capsule
This is a lesson in the value of trusting your crazy ideas. An undisclosed follower of Quirky Berkeley found this bulletin board at an undisclosed location in Berkeley. And borrowed it. I have published on Berkeley’s community bulletin boards before. Even the National Guard dug our bulletin boards in 1969 when they occupied Berkeley. But, […]
March 17, 2018 by tomdalzell
Bulletin Boards – Unabridged
I included in my Bulletin Board post only a small fraction of the flyers that were rescued from the grip of rusty staples. A complete, unabridged collection is not for the faint of heart. It is not everybody’s cup of tea. It is not for the weak of spirit. It is not for the casual […]
March 11, 2018 by tomdalzell
Quirky Steps and Risers
What can possibly be quirky about steps and risers? In Berkeley, the answer is – lots. Writing this, the title “Quirky Steps and Risers” didn’t come immediately but when it came – it came! Sometimes you don’t know that there is even question but when you experience the answer you know that there was a […]
March 3, 2018 by tomdalzell
Theresa Lipton’s Small World on Ada
Back to the core mission today – quirky stuff in yards. A few recent walks remind me of the treasures to be seen and the joy of just walking and looking – and patting extroverted cats of Berkeley along the way. It has been a while since I blogged about what I call “small worlds.” By […]
February 24, 2018 by tomdalzell