On Sunday in the New York Times, there was a Op-Ed piece by Justin Cronin titled “Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner.” My spouse sent the article to me because for several years there has been a household debate about firearms & she realized that it mirrored my views very closely.
Unlike Justin, I grew up in a typical American household that had firearms and I was introduced to target practice and basic safety with a .38 snub nose revolver and .12 gauge shotgun at the age of 12.
An interesting aspect of living in Berkeley is learning what issues will get people riled up vs. the issues that provoke a collective yawn. The most recent example of this was when a cannabis dispensary announced plans to open in my neighborhood and a few months later a 7-Eleven announced plans to move into the neighborhood as well. The difference in neighborhood reaction was stunning. Read the rest of this entry »
2012 was a good year with fulfilling professional projects that allowed me to unplug from the weirdness of Bezerkeley for a while. It also seemed as if the roar of local absurdity had been dialed down a notch or two. Of course, the infamous “Republic of Berkeley” behavior hadn’t subsided, I just wasn’t paying attention.
In the tradition of giving, December brought the aerial drones over Berkeley debate and news of a taxpayer funded* boondoggle that sent Mayor Bates to Cuba.
The inaugural meeting of the commentary section was a success although a small meeting. We had a great time and then went to dinner at La Mission on University Avenue. Read the rest of this entry »
It occurred to me that my posts on Berkeleyside have only led me to meet two people face-to-face: Read the rest of this entry »
By showing up, all agree to common social courtesies including: Read the rest of this entry »
You can vote for one, or you can vote for all 3 if each time/day works for you, but you should only vote in the poll once (please). This poll is open for 1 week only Read the rest of this entry »
Lynn Yu has a well defined funny bone Read the rest of this entry »
Name your cause and there’s usually a local/vocal chapter of it here in Berkeley and the same applies for the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Read the rest of this entry »
Is there anything more American than PB&J, Apple Pie, and Baseball? If you are an American living in Berkeley, California the answer is “yes” and that thing happens to be nut-jobs and their whacked out conspiracy theories.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?
— The Mad Hatter” Read the rest of this entry »
Before getting into the reason for this post, I need to provide a brief background that goes along with the latest Joel Hodge cartoon. Read the rest of this entry »
