Author Archive
August 4, 2019 by tomdalzell
Mysterious Medallions
These days, just everybody – tout le monde – is talking about the mysterious medallions that are appearing in Berkeley’s sidewalks. You read about them in Berkeleyside, you see them on Twitter, your hip friends are talking about them. “Plaque” might be a better word for what these are, but medallion gives us alliteration with mysterious. Colleen Neff […]
July 23, 2019 by tomdalzell
Alan Cohen – Rhinos and oh so much more
I have rarely been overcome by a quirky scene. I confess that I was overcome when I first visited the home of the late Alan Cohen, a clinical psychotherapist who died in May, 2019. I rest my case. Cohen collected for decades, buying from flea markets and garage sales and antique stores and junk stores. […]
July 21, 2019 by tomdalzell
Ancient Berkeley & Wonders of the World
I have struggled with the central organizing theme of this post. I started with the wonders of the world, in large part because it gave me an excuse to link to the song Venus in Blue Jeans with “They say there’re seven wonders in the world/ But what they say is out of date / There’s more […]
July 14, 2019 by tomdalzell
R. Crumb and Berkeley
The other evening, I was talking with Doris Moskowtiz of Moe’s about Quirky Berkeley. She reached for her phone and showed me photos of Robert Crumb’s Mr. Natuaral painted on a City trash can at Bancroft and Telegraph. She told me of getting Crumb’s permission to use Mr. Natural. And with that – it was […]
July 7, 2019 by tomdalzell
Jon Balderston’s Sketch Books
In the fall of 2016 I posted about Jon Balderston, whom I called “Quirky Berkelety Royalty.” In the fall of 2017, I posted about a visit to the Alameda Point Flea Market Maracia Donahue and Jon Balderston walked me around. Those, my dear friend, are two absolute quirky powerhouses. Jon has been through the wringer with […]
July 1, 2019 by tomdalzell
Emmanuel Catarino Montoya
When I set out to meet Julia Vinograd, I met Dorrit Geshuri who manages the apartment house were Julia lived. I wrote about Julia and then I wrote about Dorrit. And then Dorrit introduced me to Emmanuel Catarino Montoya. He is an inspiring artist and beyond that a powerful cultural force. Montoya was born and lived […]
June 29, 2019 by tomdalzell
Ira Marlowe’s Monkey House
This is one of the pieces of monkey art displayed outside the Monkey House. This is the sign in the door. Sorry about the glare. There is a stylized monkey silhouette above the door. And a knocker – singular – to die for. Behind glass (sorry about the glare) is monkey art. A couple […]
June 22, 2019 by tomdalzell
Big Bill Miller and the Berkeley Provos
The Berkeley Provo Movement was small, short-lived (late 1966 until 1968), and important in a way that was completely disproportionate to its size or lifespan. Its de facto leader, Big Bill Miller, was a bigger-than-life, prominent figure in countercultural Berkeley for five years and then disappeared. The Berkeley Provo Movement was loosely based on the Dutch Provo movement, […]
June 19, 2019 by tomdalzell
Mini-Post: Liane Chu
Let’s try this out for a few weeks and see how it goes. The idea is – a mid-week tiny taste of Quirky Berkeley. My thought is a single photo, maybe two. This might be bettered suited for Instagram – we’ll see. In the fall of 2017, I published a post called “Liane Chu […]
June 15, 2019 by tomdalzell