On Friday nights, square dancing locals gather amidst vintage union posters and shelves of Socialist literature. This unusual dance hall is the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist library, which plays host to the bi-monthly North Oakland Square Dance. Its well scuffed dance floor comes alive with old-time music by the Squirrelly String Band, playing “scratchy old mountain music” on fiddle, guitar, banjo, and wash-tub bass.

Fiddle player David Murray says the square dance started as a way for the band to play more old-time music together. It has since become wildly successful, with numbers swelling to 80 or more in recent months. For this lively, all-ages crowd, the dress code leans toward plaid shirts and cowboy boots but is by no means de rigueur. On a recent Friday evening, I found myself swinging skinny jean-wearing hipsters, a beer-bellied man in a Hawaiian shirt, and a girl in a black tutu. A handful of mohawked punks even burst in and enthusiastically square-moshpitted for half a tune.

Even if you don’t know do-re-mi from do-si-do, square dancing is first-timer friendly. The first dances of the night begin with the basics. For example, caller Jordan Ruyle breaks down the Allemande into two steps: first join left hands in “arm wrestling” position and then walk around in a tight circle with your partner. As the evening progresses, Jordan adds new moves to get you dancing in elegant patterns — or giggling tangles, depending on how many left feet you own.

Another common square dance call is the promenade — crossing hands and traveling side-by-side with your partner. While you can promenade within your square, the fun comes when you break away to “promenade all around the room.” You then join up to form a new square, dancing the pattern you just learned with new couples. The genius of course is if you are partnered with a cute boy or girl, you take them with you to the next square — whereupon you meet other cute boys and girls to dance with in the next tune.

The band ends the evening with a waltz. As charming couples glide around the room, the rest of us pair up to execute the side-to-side slow dance shuffle fondly remembered from middle school. Afterwards, everyone stays to chat, pick up empty cans of Tecate, and take down Christmas lights. As the little Marxist library shuts its doors for the night, the squaredancers put on their coats and get back to being students, architects, teachers, gardeners and, well, old-time musicians. Still, you can hear a faint a whoop and a holler as they walk or bike home down Telegraph Avenue. We’re all looking forward to the next dance, just two weeks away.

North Oakland Squaredance
$5-10 Donation
8-10pm First and Third Fridays
Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library
6501 Telegraph Avenue

SQUIRRELLY STRINGBAND | scratchy old mountain music
More information at: http://www.squirrellystringband.com/

Guest blogger Ginger Jui is a graduate student in Integrative Biology. She also blogs at www.flamingbike.wordpress.com.

This past Saturday, I rose early donned my best work clothes and boots to join eight of my fellow graduate students and two rangers in a morning event that could best be described as “trashy.”

The rangers, from the East Bay Regional Parks District, spent three long hours in the warm morning sunshine recovering trash from the Emervyille Crescent Shoreline, which is a part of the Eastshore State Park network.

This special shoreline cleanup event was organized by the new Community Outdoor Cleanup and Outreach (COCO) project, funded and sponsored by the Graduate Assembly (GA) of UC Berkeley.

The new COCO project is the culmination of a year’s worth of effort on the part of concerned graduate student Dillon Niederhut, the GA delegate from Anthropology, and the GA Community Outreach Workgroup that he was pivotal in founding. This cleanup was COCO’s first event, largely organized by Christopher Klein, the GA delegate from Astronomy.

We cautiously invaded the marshy tidal wetland site under park ranger supervision. We only covered a fraction of the full shoreline — but we also extracted an entire truckload of trash in the process. The majority of the trash was plastic and styrofoam fragments, which are sufficiently low-density to float in the bay water. When tides recede, these fragments become caught in the shore area plants, and over time, massive amounts of trash accumulate. The L-shape of the Emeryville Crescent Shoreline compounds the effect, making the spot particularly adept at catching both bay and storm sewer runoff trash.

Plastic materials are relatively resistant to degradation, and when they wash up on a shoreline, they can remain there for years, often becoming incorporated into the local ecosystem. Many of the items we recovered, however, exhibited some indications of environmental degradation,
such as bleaching or embrittlement. Other items, like aluminized Capri Sun drink pouches or chip bags, had scarcely broken down despite years of exposure.

The Emeryville Crescent Shoreline is home to a variety of animal and plant species, some native and some invasive. Ice plant, in particular, has disastrously invaded not only this shoreline but many California parks to the detriment of local flora. As we worked, geese, gulls, and other shoreline birds happily fed in the low-tide muds, seemingly oblivious to the expanse of anthropogenic pollution that has invaded their home.

Interested in volunteering with the East Bay Regional Parks District? More information can be found here. The East Bay Regional Parks District takes part in the annual Shoreline Cleanup, which is scheduled for September 15 this year. Thousands of Bay Area residents participate in this annual event to help protect our bay shores. Volunteers can also participate in Berkeley’s Adopt-A-Shoreline program in which they devote time to shoreline cleanup on two or more days per year. Alternatively, groups interested in volunteering can do what COCO did and schedule a special shoreline cleanup date with the District. Special cleanup dates are escorted by rangers, who participate side-by-side and make sure the collected waste is removed at the end of the day.

Interested students can subscribe to the project’s listserv here. Keep an eye out for more COCO events next academic year.

The first is Regal United Artists Emery Bay 10 in Emeryville, reachable by AC Transit’s 51B bus line, which is free to Cal students. The other theatre, which sometimes has more Bollywood offerings, is Big Cinemas Fremont 7, just a couple blocks from the Fremont BART station. Formerly known as the Naz 8, this theatre is known for its $5 Tuesdays. (For an unofficial listing of its Hindi movie showings visit http://mycity.sulekha.com/movies_in-and-near_berkeley-ca).

If you’ve never been to a Bollywood movie, there are three things you should know: First, Bollywood movies are long, not your typical 72-minute fare. They tend to run along the lines of three hours, so be conscious of that when you make plans.

Second, at the risk of stating the obvious, most Bollywood movies are not in English. The original Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali or Marathi will be subtitled in these theatres, though, so you won’t have to do much mime interpretation.

Third, Bollywood movies tend to boast (melo)dramatic storylines, beautifully vivid costumes, dashing heroes and heroines, and unforgettable musical numbers. It’s why they’re so well loved and why they’re fun to watch on the big screen.

So the next time you hear about a Bollywood movie that’s taken Mumbai by storm, gather your friends and come out to a theatre near you.

UA Emery Bay Stadium 10
6330 Christie Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 420-0107

Big Cinemas Fremont 7
39160 Paseo Padre Pkwy
(between Capitol Ave & Walnut Ave)
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 795-1096

You’ve probably walked past this landmark – or on it – without realizing.

On Addison Street between Shattuck and Milvia, Berkeley’s Poetry Walk is a collection of some 120 cast-iron poetry panels. Each of the poems laid in 55-pounds of cast-iron was selected by UC Berkeley professor, Pulitzer-prize winner and U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass.

Poetry Walk, which was installed in 2003, features poems that live and breathe the history and atmosphere of Berkeley itself. Among the authors whose work appears on these two-by-two foot panels are Allen Ginsberg, Shakespeare, Thorton Wilder, Gertrude Stein, Jack London and Alice Walker. Included, too, are pieces by classical Chinese poet Li Po and Ohlone Indians who once inhabited the Berkeley area.

Interspersed among the poems are artistic imprints. One, for example, says “Make art” in a dozen languages and has ears of concrete, as if even the ground were listening for voices, for expression through art.

The Addison St. Anthology, an anthology of the poems featured in Berkeley’s Poetry Walk, was also published in 2004. The volume was edited by Drs. Robert Hass and Jessica Fisher, a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.

So the next time you can afford to stop and smell the roses, stop and read the poetry. These pieces were unearthed and intended for your very satisfaction.

For those of you itching to get those taxes done (yes, all two of you): ’tis the season. This year, the due date is April 17th. You get a few extra days since the traditional April 15th deadline falls on a Sunday.

The Graduate Support Services Project recently held a tax workshop for graduate students hosted by the local H&R Block office right here in Berkeley. For those of you who couldn’t make it out here are a few quick pointers on how to get the most bang for your buck this tax season.

First of all, there are 5 different kinds of taxes taken out: Federal, State, Medicare, Social Security, and state disability insurance. For the purposes of filing taxes, state and federal taxes are the main concern. There are a few resources online that the government provides to help you navigate the mysterious world of income taxation. On the state end, California has the State Franchise Tax Board website (www.ftb.ca.gov). Information on federal taxes can be found with the IRS (www.irs.gov).

The process of filing your taxes can be broken down into two steps: 1) calculating your income and 2) reducing your tax.

For graduate students, taxable income will come in the form of scholarships, fellowships, grants, or regular wages for the GSI/GSRs out there. Though it may surprising that scholarships are considered income, fear not for you can make special deductions (i.e. tuition) that make the bulk of scholarships exempt from taxation. If you do have a special situation where your grants and scholarships exceed the cost of tuition, congratulations, but you may have to pay some tax. There are other exemptions that may apply, but that will require more expertise than this post can provide.

If you do have special circumstances or income that make your tax filing situation a bit on the tricky side, you may want to enlist some experts. H&R Block provides free advise and will answer any questions you may have about your peculiar tax situation. If you really don’t want to deal with taxes this year, just bring any tax forms you’ve received in the mail and your taxes from last year, and they will file your taxes for you (for a charge). Call for an appointment or just to ask a few questions.

Here’s the info for the 2 local H&R Block chapters:

Berkeley: 1900 University Ave (and MLK) // 510.548.1395 // Naomi Smith
Oakland (Temescal): 4937  Telegraph Ave. // 510.652.0297

If you have a car and a restless spirit, drive up to Grizzly Peak. On a clear day, the view from this summit is stunning. At night, the campus glitters like stars fallen on the ground, the water shimmers and San Francisco sparkles in the distance. Streets and bridges are like silver necklaces draped throughout. Yes, Grizzly Peak is the kind of place where you can capture the beauty of city from above, cap off an unforgettable a date night, or find a quiet place of reflection. Also, for the photography hobbyist, the panoramic view of the Bay Area from here is a must-see.

You’ll be well advised, though, to dress warmly if you come at night and, if on a sunny day, to bring sunglasses, as the light reflection from the water and buildings can be glaring.

The spot is near the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, along Grizzly Peak Boulevard in the Oakland Hills. On a regular day or night, parking is free and readily available near the viewing point. You should be mindful, though, that Grizzly Peak is not readily accessible to pedestrians, and cyclists should expect a torturous uphill climb.

Still, the next time you think “Yes” to Southwest Airlines’ “Wanna get away?” commercials, remember that you can get a delightful aerial view from Grizzly Peak, without the security checkpoints or the airfare.

In the Night at the Museum movies starring Ben Stiller, exhibits literally come to life. Though collectionsat the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive do not come galloping out of their frames, onecould easily argue that the works capture much about life and living.

The recently opened State of Mind: New California Art circa 1970 exhibit is particularly timely. Displaysare sectioned off by theme: the street, the body, politics, private/public space and language/wordplay.Amidst Occupy protests and national debates about the legality of contraception, the State of Mindcollection seems to transcend time, dialoguing with and addressing the present state of our union.

Another fascinating temporary BAM/PFA project is The Reading Room. When you walk into this room,you’ll find that, not only are you invited to read, but also the room itself reads to you. Concurrent poetryrecordings play you move among the shelves. But that’s not where your interaction with The ReadingRoom ends; the curators invite you to take home a free book and, in turn, to replace it with one fromyour library. The original set of books in The Reading Room were drawn from the overstock collectionsof several East Bay small presses, but, by virtue of the book exchange, the collection is expected to be inconstant flux – a fact that makes the prospect of more regular visits titillating.
Whether you’re schmoozing at one of the museum’s L@TE: Friday nights or lying on the rolling orangewaves of Thom Faulder’s BAMscape, accessing free Wi-Fi, you might find that you have become part andparcel of the museum’s art. After all, the jutting concrete balconies of BAM/PFA beg visitors to admirethe collections from multiple angles. From these vantage points, you’d be hard-pressed to deny that the exhibits are very much alive.

—
While admission is free to Berkeley students, there’s also Free First Thursdays for the public. The Stateof Mind: New California Art circa 1970 exhibit and The Reading Room project will be open through June17, 2012.

You’re a graduate student so, more likely than not, you read for a living. You’re also at Cal, which means you have an ungodly number of books at your disposal. Still, sometimes the only refuge from books is with books. For those occasions, City Lights in San Francisco is the place to be.

City Lights is an independent bookstore and publisher that prides itself on its collection of world literature and books on the arts and progressive politics.

It’s a historical landmark that gained notoriety in the 1950s when the store’s founder and owner, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, published Allen Ginsberg’s controversial Howl and Other Poems. In a headline-grabbing case that drew national attention, Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that publication of Howl was protected under the First Amendment. Only Ferlinghetti was tried, as Ginsberg was overseas, but for decades thereafter, Ginsberg published poetry with City Lights.

In homage to San Francisco’s literary renaissance and the Beat Poets who gave the bookstore its name, Ferlinghetti himself among them, the store has a wall dedicated to the Beat Generation.

The ground floor of City Lights is dedicated to fiction. Where another store might have just one book by Naguib Mahfouz, here, you’ll find ten. There’s also a shelf devoted strictly to new volumes published by City Lights. Upstairs is a cozy poetry room and downstairs you’ll find their non-fiction collection.

There are seats everywhere and signs on the walls invite bibliophiles to get cozy with a book. You’ll see some patrons reading silently and still others seated, deep into conversations about Auden or Marx.

City Lights is a place to visit and revisit. So the next time you get lost in the City, find your way to City Lights and lose yourself in a book.

City Lights Booksellers and Publishers
261 Columbus Avenue.
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 362-8193

Parking is a bit sparse in North Beach, so if you’re coming from Berkeley, the best way is via BART. You can walk to the bookstore from the Montgomery BART station. It’s also nestled in the Little Italy, so enjoy a delicious meal while you’re in the neighborhood.

Volunteers are no longer needed, but be sure to register for this wonderful event. It’s free for students, and the deadline for registration is tonight at midnight: https://ewocc.wordpress.com/

We’re kicking off a new series here on the TBG: The Berkeley Bucket List (BBL).

The theme is pretty self-explanatory. Each week, we’ll be suggesting events/places/general shenanigans that every Berkeley grad student should experience before leaving the beautiful Bay Area.

This week we’re starting off with the Botanical Gardens. We’re having an Indian Summer this year, so why not go and enjoy the beautiful weather with a stroll through our local botanical gardens. The Gardens are organized by geography, allowing you to visit Southern Africa and Asia within fifteen minutes (map). There are a few highlights keep in mind when you make your trip up there. Currently, there are newts being featured in the Japanese Pool in the Asia part of the park. These laid back amphibians are as adorable as they are lazy, so take a step back from the grad school grind and take a glimpse of what life is like for a newt. Other interesting stops include the Arid House, featuring hundreds of species of cacti, and the Greenhouse, which has its very own bee hive. Or if plants aren’t really your thing, the Gardens are nestled in the hills, so you get a great glimpse of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The gardens are free for all current Cal students and $9 for non-Cal adults. Hours are 9-5pm daily and entry stops at 4:30. It’s just past the Fire trail, behind the Coliseum. There’s a parking lot across from the Gardens and a gift store if you want to bring a piece of the Gardens home. Beware though, there are strict rules against handling or picking any of the plants; be a good Samaritan and refrain from eating your way through Gardens… More info here.