Author Archive
October 24, 2013 by tomdalzell
Tiki
I have a special place in my heart for the 1950s. There was a lot more going on in the 50s than we think. Somebody could/should write a book about the disruptive 1950s. One thing that was going on – Tiki. Tiki in the 1950s referred to fanciful design that drew upon Polynesian themes. Tiki originally […]
October 23, 2013 by tomdalzell
Latest Postings
It is a fair question. What have I done for you lately? From most recent posts backwards, here are the latest posts: 2023 2020 Ken Stein – Menorah and Lamps Adding to Ken Stein’s super Quirky Berkeley resume are […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Mail Boxes #4 – Little Houses
Well, if there is one pattern in Berkeley mailboxes it would seem to be this: if we are going to get quirky with our mail box, many of us just can’t resist turning our mail box into a little house, pink and otherwise. I learned the word “ubiquitous” in an urban archaeology class I took […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Major Quirky #17 – 1320 Talbot – Colours and More
At the 2:24 mark in Little Stevie Wonder’s 1963 “Fingertips Part 2,” electric bass player Larry Moses, who was on stage thinking that Wonder’s set was over and that Mary Wells (for whom he played) was going to start up, didn’t catch the key change in an improvisation, is heard calling out “What key? WHAT […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Lions of Berkeley
In my second year of college I lived on Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia, across the street from Clark Park with the only statue of Charles Dickens in the United States. Young Emily and her mother Tavia lived only a block away. I read like a fiend all year. That fall I discovered C.S. Lewis […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Another Small World – 2828 Russell (Going / Going / Gone)
The small worlds that are scattered throughout Berkeley invite play, re-arranging, audience participation. They never look the same two days in a row, or even morning to night. They change. Children change them. They change themselves at night, especially full moon nights, and most especially on blue moon nights. Here is what 2828 Russell […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Birds #2 – Painted Birds
The popular culture allusion here, I suppose, could be: But there is something oh-so-much better. Put a bird on it! I mention this not simply as a cultural allusion, although it is a good one. Portland will come to play a role in later Quirky Berkeley postings. You see, there is a QB partisan with […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Shutter Ma #2 – Flowers and heavenly bodies
Back to shutter ma. I don’t think that there is any need to review the story of shutter ma. This was Cathy’s idea, one of the earliest common ancestors of the Quirky Berkeley Project. Rick doesn’t think that I am using the word “ma” correctly. Blah, blah blah. Shutter ma is an industry – lots […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell
Graf #2 – Railroad Tracks
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Darryl McCray covered every conceivable surface in Philadelphia, stationary and moving, with his nickname “Cornbread.” Sometimes McCray worked with a compatriot known as Cool Earl, often he proclaimed his love for Cynthia, and always his name featured a crown over the letter B. He was the John Baptist […]
October 20, 2013 by tomdalzell