July-August 2012, Volume 9, Number 4

Pixar Proud

by Erika Mailman(Photography by Mitch Tobias)

Behold a short list of the topics that came up in a recent interview with two Pixar employees largely responsible for Brave.

Moms Unite

by Erika Mailman

Hooking up with a mom’s group is pretty much de rigueur for any new mom.

A Life Well Spent

by Julia Park Tracey

acob Battersby, 36, is better known in the hip-hop world as Celsius 7 and also performs as part of Psychokinetics; he recently released his second solo album, Life Well Spent.

Picture This

by Christopher Danzig(Photography by Chris Duffey)

Anita Eblé bought her Dutch colonial home in Berkeley’s Claremont district in 1968. When her husband, Henri, saw the Oakvale Avenue house for the first time, he exclaimed, “Oh, God! It’s my...

Glen Echo Creek’s Parks

by Erika Mailman(Photography by Chris Duffey)

Long ago, creeks flowed down Oakland’s hills in a gushing roar. Profuse and many-branched, these enthusiastic waterways now do their work largely unseen, as the majority of them have been...

The Six Questions

by Candace Murphy (Photography by Al Wright)

Donna Fong, 45, barbecue pitmaster and molecular biologist

Media Shelf

by Judith M. Gallman

Books from the Bay Area

Res Ipsa Speaks for Itself

by Michael Singman-Aste

Res ipsa loquitur is Latin legalese meaning “the thing speaks for itself.” And at Res Ipsa, one of Oakland Art Murmur’s newest galleries — run by two attorneys — the art does speak for...

Say Cheese, Please

by Kyrsten Bean(Photography by Susan Burdick)

Walking into Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market is refreshing: a tasteful layout, a refrigerator stocked full of artisan soda pop and pleasant, accommodating employees.

Media Shelf - Music

by Derk Richardson

From a basic lineup of two electric guitars melodically entwining over bass and drums, all in support of female lead and harmony vocals that are both earthily grounded and ethereally gauzy, the...

Real Estate Wrap Up

by Elise Proulx(Photography by Chris Duffey)

When Jennifer moved to the Bay Area from San Diego in 1999, she had what she assumed would be a nice nest egg to place as a down payment on a new home.

Over the Moon

by Kyrsten Bean(Photography by Susan Burdick)

What do vintage swimsuits, pillowcases, doilies, silk linings, leather cords and coffee grounds have in common?

Quick History Lesson

by Judith M. Gallman

Lest Oaklanders forget, Pentecostal evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson [“God’s Office Girl,” November 2011] was not the only woman from a faith-based perspective who made a substantial...

Serious Swimmers

by Marcus Thompson II(Photography by Chris Duffey)

Jason Jefferson has found another way to provide an outlet for underprivileged youth. And at the same time, he’s tackling a little-known issue in the inner-city community.

Have Pig Roaster,

by Anna Mindess(Photography by Susan Burdick)

Got a hankerin’ to invite the gang over for a plate of succulent roast pork, but don’t wanna dig a pit in your backyard to bury the beast?

The Little Drummer Boy

by Erika Mailman(Photography by Courtesy of Hundley Family Collection)

She is now buried under a redstone marker near Millionaire Row in Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery, but Annie Glud lived a very colorful life. According to her, anyway.

The Bay Area’s Other Museums

by Ann Leslie Davis(Photography by Jan Stürmann )

Tucked away in unlikely locations around the Bay is a treasure trove of institutions dedicated to the preservation of iconic oddities.

Dude Ranch Dreaming

by Ginny Prior(Photography by Courtesy of the Ranch At Rock Creek)

Montana’s mare-tailed sky stretches across the horizon like a Charles Russell painting, and the cowboys wear flannel like a second skin

Rooting for the Ayyads

by Anna Mindess(Photography by Jan Stürmann)

When I’m handed the menu in Zaki Kabob House, a cozy Middle Eastern restaurant on the Berkeley-Albany border, its pages of photographs, resembling a family scrapbook, pique my interest.

Industrial Wasteland Paradise — With Beer!

by Ric Mitchell(Photography by Julie Goonan)

You’re going to need a strong foundation for a day of beer and bicycling, so I recommend starting off with a hearty breakfast at the Oakland Grill at Third and Franklin.

Out on the Town

by Matthew Craggs

July/August Calendar

Ask the Chef

by Candace Murphy(Photography by Mitch Tobias)

What may be most interesting about Tanya Holland, chef and owner of Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen and B-Side BBQ