September-October 2011, Volume 8, Number 5

The Other Kind of Tweet

by Anneli Rufus

Unemployed? You can afford a house in Berkeley. Craftsman cottage? A-frame? Fourplex? Faux chalet? It’s yours — for under $200. OK, they’re birdhouses. You knew there had to be a catch.

Do-gooders

by Christopher Danzig(Photography by Chris Duffy)

Almost 10 years ago, when Randy Roth was still senior pastor at Oakland’s First Covenant Church, the superintendent of the Oakland schools called together various members of the city’s faith...

The Real Big Screen

by Anneli Rufus

Cyclists race. Paris glitters. A fast-motion man chases a bus. Cartoon lips kiss — and it’s all 100 feet by 100 feet, gliding and jerking across a massive outdoor wall on the first Friday night...

Looks Good Enough to Eat

by Anna Mindess

When is a beet not just a homely vegetable? When it is transformed into a translucent, curvaceous, crimson container by Oakland artist Margaret Dorfman.

Where It’s At

by Kimberly Chun

East Oakland native Kreayshawn doesn’t need a designer label to declare her arrival: It’s clear she’s the female rapper of the moment.

Media Shelf

by Janelle Bitker

New Books from the Bay Area

Picture This

by Christopher Danzig (Photo James Addison)

The huge, humanoid sculptures would be impossible to miss, except for the fact that they reside on an empty lot on a West Oakland side street.

Keen for the Trampoline

by Karen T. Hartline (Photo by Lori Eanes)

We all need to get our butts off the couch — that much is for sure. But finding the activity that is going to motivate one to exercise regularly can be the difference between getting in shape and...

Secret Eats

by Kimberly Chun (Photo by Lori Eanes)(Photography by Lori Eanes)

Haunts and Hangs

The Six Questions

by Ginny Prior(Photography by Lori Eanes)

He’s a 6-foot-8,270-pound former bouncer and rock band security guard who runs a dog walking and doggy day care business in Oakland.

Go Jump in a Lake

by Kathy Hrastar

It’s hot outside. Really hot. Finally. So today you’re going to try something different. You’re going to jump in a lake.

Real Estate Wrap Up

by Elise Proulx (Photo by Chris Duffey)

When my husband, Eric, and I bought a house in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights in 2004, we were overjoyed at having our own 850-square-foot living space.

History Lesson

by Ann Leslie Davis

The term desegregation conjures images of the ’60s South — National Guard troops escorting frightened black students past jeering white crowds, a defiant Alabama governor standing on school...

Wordsmiths

by Erika Mailman(Photography by Lori Eanes)

Chris Baty wants to be your muse. He’ll drape himself in Grecian linen and hand-feed you from a grape cluster dangling from his gracefully-curved hand.

Exhibits

by Keith Gleason (photo by Chris Duffey)

Brian McDonald and Dewey St. Germaine love to collect sports memorabilia.

Taste of the Town

by Derk Richardson (photo by Lori Eanes)

Taste the Soul of Thai Street Food at Hawker Fare

Out on the Town

by Linda Leonard

What's going on in the months of September and October!