Author Archive
February 13, 2016 by tomdalzell
Connected to Natural Forces: 680 Peralta
Quirk is not monolithic. Not cookie cutter. Not one-size-fits-all. It comes in many shapes, colors, sizes, and with varying degrees of production values. Mark Haggitt says that his Peralta Avenue front yard and sidewalk strip are an expression of his psyche, manifestations of a psychological exploration. He has lived in this home since 1989. His […]
February 7, 2016 by tomdalzell
Painted Bulwinkle Walls
In early 2012 I was launching a new life after an almost death in December 2011. Part of that New Life has been Quirky Berkeley. I talked with Sally Woodbridge, a mentor to me, about my ideas for the project. When I described my thoughts about Quirky Berkeley, her first words were “Mark Bulwinkle.” Sally is usually right. She […]
February 7, 2016 by tomdalzell
My Friend’s Twin
Something truly out of the ordinary has happened. Unexpected. Something with life-transforming or at the very least paradigm-shifting potential. I got an e-mail in Quirky Berkeley e-mail from someone purporting to be my friend’s twin brother. This was a shocker to me. I have heard many stories over the years from my friend about his […]
January 30, 2016 by tomdalzell
Mike Nagamoto – Welder (and artist) at Work on Marin
If Quirky Berkeley were to grant Quirky Landmark Status, the rusting steel skeleton playing a saxophone in front of 2219 Marin would be an early and unanimous choice of the QLS Commission. It is prominent, quirky, and because to is on a well-traveled street it is known by many. The sax-playing skeleton, the rusting […]
January 24, 2016 by tomdalzell
Berkeley Rocks!
I was extremely proud of myself when the title for this post – Berkeley Rocks – came to me. Noun and verb! So clever! No telling where I could have gone with that – Berkeley swings! Like a pendulum do – hippies on bicycles, two by two. Berkeley rules! Berkeley wails! And that […]
January 24, 2016 by tomdalzell
What a trip!
My friend says “WHAT A TRIP” a lot. Gabby knows this, and so over the years he has acquired anything saying “what a trip.” Late in December he sent the collection to my friend. It shows the different senses of trip. In my slang lexicography work, I have worked hard on the word “trip” […]
January 17, 2016 by tomdalzell
Will Squier’s Sufficiently Strange Kitsch Central
Scroll down for a May 2016 update to the original post. There are two ways that we can do this. We can convene a Quirky Berkeley Constitutional Convention and debate a change in the rules about my subject matter having to be visible from the street, path, or alley. Or we can let me function […]
January 10, 2016 by tomdalzell
OMG – 2233 McKinley
McKinley is a block west of Martin Luther King Jr. Way. It runs four blocks south from Addison to Dwight. Washington School backs onto McKinley. Just north on McKinley from Washington School is the home of Howie Gordon. He has been adorning the outside of the house for about 20 years. Gordon first came to the […]
January 3, 2016 by tomdalzell
Dixon Farm Labor Camp
I mention the Dixon Farm Labor Camp and the Yolo County tomato strike of 1974. Cesar’s cousin Manuel Chavez mobilized a series of strikes in 1974, starting with asparagus in Calexico in January and ending with lemons in Yuma in December. In the summer, he hit Stockton and pulled off a large, sustained […]
January 2, 2016 by tomdalzell