Just Call it The Beer Line

On Sunday, AC Transit debuts its new line 80. The line runs between El Cerrito Plaza BART station and the Claremont Hotel in the Berkeley Hills. For me, what makes this line interesting is the number of breweries and tap rooms this line services.

1. elevation-66 - on San Pablo between Central and Fairmount, it's less than one block from the Central/San Pablo stop (southbound stop 52544, northbound stop 52066 .)
2. Gilman Brewing Company - on Gilman between 7th and 8th, it's less than one block from the 8th/Gilman stop (southbound stop 51613, northbound stop 51791) or Gilman/7th stop (northbound stop 50404, no southbound stop)
3. Fieldwork Brewing Co - at 6th St and Harrison, it's just over one block north from the 6th/Gilman stop (southbound stop 59688, no northbound stop) or two blocks (one block west and one block north) from the Gilman/7th stop (northbound stop 50404, no southbound stop)
4. Trumer Brauerei - at 4th and Camelia, it's three blocks (one block north, two blocks west) from the 6th/Page stop (southbound stop 52310, northbound stop 56465). Until Trumer's rumored tasting room opens, you'll need to RSVP for a tour (offered weekdays at 3:15.)
5. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room - on 4th between Addison and University, it's just over one block south from the 4th/University stop (southbound stop 52626, northbound stop 55146.)
6. The Rare Barrel - on Parker between 8th and 9th St., it's one and a half blocks East from the 7th/Parker stop (southbound stop 55807, northbound stop 55738.)
7. Novel Brewing - on San Pablo Ave between 66th and 65th St, it's four and a half blocks South from the Ashby/San Pablo stop (southbound stop 52300, northbound stop 52599.)
8. Moxy Beer Garden - at Sacramento and 66th St, it's about three blocks south from the Ashby/Sacramento stop (southbound stop 52662, northbound stop 55919.)
9. Hoi Polloi Brewing - on Alcatraz between Adeline and Ellis, it's five blocks south and less than one block west of the Ashby/Martin Luther King, Jr. Way stop (southbound stop 51171, northbound stop 55765.)

What's really nice about the line is that service runs until midnight seven days a week. So, if you're a beer drinker, this would be an interesting "crawl." Conveniently for me, I live within two blocks of a stop on line 80. I know I'll be taking advantage of this new line.

Celebrating SF Beer Week in Berkeley

(Banner courtesy of the San Francisco Brewers Guild)

It's SF Beer Week!

Berkeley breweries, taprooms and restaurants all have events going on. Here are the venues (please note that many are within walking distance of BART and that the others are reachable via AC Transit):

• Bobby G's Pizzeria has 7 events including an IPA competition, 5 guest brewery nights and 1 keg of Pliny the Younger.
• Brennan's Restaurant and Sports Bar will be hosting a tap take-over by Drake's Brewing Company throughout all of Beer Week.
• Fieldwork Brewing Company has 3 days of special canned beer releases (2 canned beers per day) over the opening weekend. They've added more releases for the 2nd weekend.
• Free House is hosting a beer brunch (with Sierra Nevada) and a tap take-over (with Magnolia Brewing and Ex Novo Brewing.)
• Jupiter is hosting Sour Sunday (one of the most popular events of the week.)
• Mission: Heirloom is hosting a special tasting of gluten-free beers from Portland's Ground Breaker Brewery.
• Moxy Beer Garden is hosting a game night with Sierra Nevada and Games of Berkeley.
• Pacific Standard Taproom (by Half Moon Brewing) has 5 events including 2 events that used to be held at Barclay's -- IPA Challenge and Baby Brewery Night -- plus a collaboration release day, a bottle release night, and Beer and Comedy Night.
• Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room has 6 events including 4 days of special flights/pairings, a Beer Yoga Class, and Beer and Science Night.
• The Rare Barrel has 7 events including 2 days of collaboration releases, 3 days of tap take-overs, and 1 cellar re-release.
• Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse has 5 events including 4 special releases and Sour Sunday (co-hosted with Jupiter.)
• Trumer Brauerie hosts Celebrator Beer News' 29th Anniversary Bash.
• Whole Foods Market Gilman hosts a cheese and beer tasting with Fieldwork Brewing Company.

And here's the schedule:

All Week Long (Friday 2/10 - Sunday 2/19):

• Brennan's Restaurant and Sports Bar is hosting the Drake's Tap Takeover Extravaganza featuring $6 pints of 5 Drake's Brewing Co drafts and $7 10 oz pours of Hopocalypse Green Label Double IPA.

Friday 2/10

• 9 AM, Fieldwork Brewing Company releases cans of 2017 Viking's Lament (Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Porter) and King Citra Double IPA (limit 8 cans per person for each.) They will also be tapping a keg each of both the 2017 and 2016 Viking's Lament.

Saturday 2/11

• 10 AM, Fieldwork Brewing Company releases cans of 2017 Barrel Aged Eliza (New Orleans Iced Coffee Imperial Milk Stout) and Tundra Triple IPA (limit 8 cans per person for each.) They will also be tapping one keg of  2017 Barrel Aged Eliza.
  
• 11:30 AM, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse releases 2017 Mister Stout (Imperial Stout.) The release includes flights featuring the 2017 release, a blend of the 2016 and 2017 releases, and barrel aged versions of the 2016 and 2015 releases. In addition, they're re-releasing their 30th Anniversary Black Rock (a barrel-aged imperial version of their Black Rock porter.)
• Noon, Pacific Standard Taproom releases I Need a Miracle DIPA (a collaboration between Half Moon Bay Brewing and Peter Hoey of BSG Craft Brewing) and taps other collaborations between Half Moon Bay Brewing with Benoit-Casper Brewing, E. J. Phair, Hop Dogma, Sacrilege Brewery, Moylan's Brewing, and Bartlett Hall.
• 1 PM, The Rare Barrel hosts their 3rd Annual Reunion with The Bruery and Societe Brewing Company. This is a reunion because Patrick Rue (from The Bruery,) Doug Constantiner (from Societe,) and Jay Goodwin (from The Rare Barrel) once worked at The Bruery together. They'll be here for this event. Each brewery will have 5 of their beers on tap. Inside, they will have 2 additional bars set-up so that you won't have a long wait to sample. In the parking lot, Real Smoked BBQ will be providing smoked meat goodness.
• 7 PM, Pacific Standard Taproom hosts its Bottle Release Party featuring Half Moon Bay's Flanders Red Sour, aged with cherries and Papa Juice Old Ale, aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels

Sunday 2/12

• 10 AM, Fieldwork Brewing Company releases cans of PULP IPA (limit 8) and Cocoanut German Chocolate Cake Imperial Stout (limit 4.)
• 10 AM, Free House hosts Sierra Nevada Acoustic Sunrise, a beer brunch featuring 8 beers from Sierra Nevada Brewing.
• 11 AM, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room hosts the Poses to Pints yoga class -- a one-hour yoga class, followed by a pint in the tasting room. Tickets ($15) available here.
• Noon, Jupiter and Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse host Sour Sunday featuring over 60 sour and barrel-aged brews. Click the link for details. Advanced tickets start at $30 and are available here.
• 1 PM, The Rare Barrel releases 3 collaborations with Cellarmaker: Tangerang! (a golden sour beer aged in oak barrels and dry-hopped with Citra and Motueka,) Smashin’ Fruit (a blend of a hoppy pale ale and a golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with passion fruit,) and Wagon Trix (a blend of Cellarmaker porter with The Rare Barrel golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with blackberries.) As part of the event, The Rare Barrel will be selling fills of 32 and 64 growlers of the collaborations. You must provide a clean logo-free (or at least taped-over) growler with a closable lid in order to purchase a fill. In the parking lot, Real Smoked BBQ will be providing smoked meat goodness.
• 5 PM, Bobby G's Pizzeria hosts the People’s Choice IPA Competition featuing IPAs from Berryessa, Barebottle, Calicraft, and Triple Voodoo. Your votes choose the winner. Poll closes at 8 PM.

Monday 2/13

• 11:30 AM, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse hosts its annual Blue Plate Brewers Lunch with brewers from Faction Brewing and Drake's Brewing Co. The meal includes a soup, salad and sandwich, paired with a flight of Faction's Hop Soup, Triple Rock's Hop Salad and Drake's Hop Sandwich IPAs.
• 6 PM, Bobby G's Pizzeria hosts Watch the Warriors with Calicraft. Watch the Golden State Warriors take on the Denver Nuggets while enjoying brews from Calicraft Brewing. 
• 7 PM, Pacific Standard Taproom takes over for (the currently dislocated) Barclay's and hosts Baby Brewery Night featuring breweries that are some of the newest in the Bay Area.

Tuesday 2/14

• Noon, Bobby G's Pizzeria hosts “Find Your Angel” Valentine’s Day Special with Angel City Brewing, a special date night deal of two special Angel City beers, a small margherita pizza, and a unique “Lover’s Quarrel” dessert pizza for $40.
• 4 PM, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room offers a Beer + Chocolate Flight. $20 gets you a prescribed pairing of four 4 oz beers and 4 chocolates from Blues Chocolates.
• 5 PM, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse releases Dimmer Switch Chocolate Milk Stout which you can pair with a "death by chocolate" dessert.

Wednesday 2/15

• 4 PM, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room offers a Beer + Jerky Flight. For just $15 per flight you'll experience a flight of 4 very unique Righteous Felon jerky and paired with four 4 oz beers.
• 5 PM, Moxy Beer Garden hosts Game Night with Sierra Nevada and Games of Berkeley. Games of Berkeley will provide board games, Frisbee Golf, and a scavenger hunt. Sierra Nevada will provide 4 beers on tap: 2017 Beer Camp Golden IPA, Otra Vez Gose-Style Ale, Tropical Torpedo IPA, and Hop Hunter IPA.
• 7 PM, Bobby G's Pizzeria holds Pizza Port Trivia Night. Pizza Port Brewing will host this installment of Bobby G's weekly trivia night. Food includes 2 pizzas specially designed to pair with 2 special Pizza Port beers. You can gave it all with a 2 slice 2 beer combo.
• 7:30 PM, The Rare Barrel hosts a Jester King Brewing Guest Tap Takeover. Austin's Jester King Brewery will be in house for a guest tap takeover featuring farmhouse ales and sours. Brewers Jeffrey Stuffings and Averie Swanson will also be hanging out for a bit to chat about their philosophy behind producing mixed culture and spontaneous beer. Javi’s Cooking will be in the parking lot serving Argentine empanadas.

Thursday 2/16

• 11 AM, Fieldwork Brewing Company releases cans of Galaxy Juice IPA (limit 12 cans per person.)
• Noon, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room offers a Vertical Bigfoot Flight. They'll be serving flights of various vintages of Bigfoot Barleywine as well as vintage Bigfoot growler fills.
• 3 PM, Mission: Heirloom hosts a Ground Breaker Beer Tasting. They'll be serving 7 gluten-free beers from Portland's Ground Breaker Brewery along with a menu of delicious beer garden specials. Beer tasting tickets are $10 and are available in advance or at the door.
  
• 4 PM, The Rare Barrel hosts a Trillium Brewing Company Guest Tap Takeover. It will feature 6 different Trillium beers on the guest taps.  In addition, The Lumpia Company will be in the parking lot.
• 5:30 PM, Whole Foods Market Gilman hosts the Fieldwork Beer and Bite Pairing. 3 beers from Fieldwork Brewing Company will each be paired with a delicious cheese bite. Whole Foods' expert cheese and beer specialists will talk about how best to pair your favorite beer with whatever you're dishing up. All participants will also receive a can of the 2017 Collaboration Beer. Tickets are $10 and available here.
• 7 PM, Bobby G's Pizzeria hosts Dr Jekyll Talks Nano-encapsulation. Along with a tap take-over, Dr Jekyll’s Brewery will showcase their unique process of adding super food nutrients to their organic beer using nano-encapsulation.
• 8 PM, Pacific Standard Taproom hosts Beer and Comedy Night featuring local comics, beer, and bar bites. No cover charge.

Friday 2/17

• 11 AM, Fieldwork Brewing Company releases cans of Party Cove Tropical Sour Ale (limit 6 cans per person) and Coconut Milk Double IPA (limit 12 cans per person.)
• Noon, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room hosts a Barrel-Aged Night. The Torpedo Room set aside 5 gallons of each Barrel-Aged Beer they've put on draft for the last year. All 16 taps will be a Barrel-Aged Beer for the day.
• 3 PM, Bobby G's Pizzeria serves Pliny The Younger. They'll have 1 keg of the elusive triple IPA from Russian River Brewing Company. You must purchase your 10 oz pour in advance at the restaurant. Tickets for one pour are $9 each.
• 4 PM, The Rare Barrel releases a collaboration funky sour with Wicked Weed Brewing -- Happy Blending, a barrel-aged American sour ale fermented with plum and nectarine. Enjoy Happy Blending on draft as well as in bottle for on-site consumption only. Other Wicked Weed beers will be available on the guest taps. Tacos El Rey will be in the parking lot from 5 - 9 PM dishing up tacos, burritos, and tortas.
• 4:30 PM, Free House hosts a Magnolia Brewing and Ex Novo Brewing Tap Takeover.
• 6 PM, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse hosts Beards + Fruity Beer. The Beards portion is a facial hair competition in the categories of mustache, beard and full beard, and awards (judged by last year's winner and experts from People’s Barber & Shop) in design, thickness, upkeep and Best In Show. To partiticipate in the contest, register here (or sign-up at the door.) Judging commences at 7 PM. The Fruity Beer portion is a release of 5 fruity brews -- 2 from Triple Rock, 2 from Sierra Nevada, and 1 collaboration cask-conditioned ale "filled with as much fruit as these brave brewers can possibly imagine."
• 7 PM, Pacific Standard Taproom takes over for (the currently dislocated) Barclay's and hosts the Bay Area IPA Challenge. This is a "blind challenge" in which you purchase a flight tasters and choose your favorite without knowing which IPA it is.

Saturday 2/18

• 11 AM, Fieldwork Brewing Company hosts a second-chance release of cans of 2017 Barrel Aged Eliza (New Orleans Iced Coffee Imperial Milk Stout,) 2017 Viking's Lament (Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Porter,) and King Citra Double IPA (limit 4 cans per person for each.)
• 1 PM, The Rare Barrel hosts The Rare Barrel Cellar Day. The Rare Barrel is bringing back a few past releases for this one day. They'll have 18 sours on tap and 7 bottles to try in house. Some of the cellar releases include Dubious Nights, Afterlight, Feed The Monster, and Apropos of Nothing. In addition, they will offer a limited amount of flights of 3 barrel samples. These barrel samples will showcase the variety of beer that they are aging in their barrel cellar. Each barrel sample is served uncarbonated and at room temperature, just like how their blenders taste through barrels in production. Barrel sample flights include a tasting glass and a poster.
• 3:30 PM, Bobby G's Pizzeria hosts Beer and Sake Night. Coedo Brewery from Saitama, Japan, will present a haiku and movie night with delicious Japanese craft beer and sake. Haiku read off begins at 8pm.
• 4 PM, Trumer Brauerie hosts the Celebrator Beer News 29th Anniversary Party (a fundraiser for the California Craft Brewers Association.) Advanced tickets are $60 and include food and the opportunity to sample beers from over 30 breweries. They'll have shuttles from North Berkeley BART stating at 3:30 PM.
• 7:30 PM, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Room hosts Beer Science Night. Anders MacCarthy, Sierra Nevada's Ingredients Specialist, will discuss the process of hop selection and new product recipe design. He’ll even deconstruct how Sierra Nevada developed their Tropical Torpedo recipe. Plus, they’ll showcase three small batch beers (available only at this event): a Mosaic single hop, a Comet single hop, and a malt-focused ale. Tickets are $25 and are available here.

Sunday 2/19

• 1 PM, The Rare Barrel hosts The Afterparty. Missed one of The Rare Barrel's SF Beer Week events? Enjoyed some special beer that you'd like to enjoy again? Here's your chance as they'll be serving beers from throughout the week all day.

Goals for The New Year

I don't call them "Resolutions" because once you fail to achieve a resolution, that's it. These are goals. I will strive to achieve them.

1. Write more often. I used to write a lot more often... and it wasn't just because it was part of my job. I will be posting more often. Many posts will likely be short, but some may be longer. How they divide up will be up to time.
   
2. Run. In 2016 I did a fare share of walking. It's time I picked up the pace to see how far I can run. I won't run every day (in fact, I'm not running today) but I will run some days.
   
3. Cook from scratch more often. I already started on this in the morning by making the traditional New Year's Day "good luck" meal of collard greens and black-eyed peas from scratch. I did a simple stir-fry with onions and garlic for the collard greens and a variation of Hoppin' John with bacon, onions and brown rice for the black-eyed peas.
   
4. Get rid of stuff I don't use. I know that I have too many items. I already have one small box of clothing that is too big for me. I have a storage locker full of many things that I have not used since we moved. There's no reason to keep it all. Time to start donating and selling.
   
5. Go places I've never been. These can range from bars, brew pubs, restaurants, festivals, parks, cities, etc. There are three restaurants all within a short walk of home that I've not visited; Those may be a good start.
   
6. Find time to get away from technology. That means putting away the iPhone/iPad, stepping away from the computer, turning off the TV and doing something else (and sleeping doesn't count.)

Six seems like a good number of goals.

Voodoo and EARTHQUAKE! Chips

Yesterday, I stopped in at Grocery Outlet on 4th St. in Berkeley. Grocery Outlet is a regional chain of closeout/overstock grocery items. If you grew up in the Bay Area, you may recall them as the "dented can" store. Odd things can show up at Grocery Outlet. For example, it's the only place in the western US where I've seen both Dreyer's and Edy's ice cream sold side-by-side. Anyway, much to my surprise, I found they had Zapp's Potato Chips. Zapp's are originally from Louisiana and don't usually show up in California. In fact, until yesterday, the only stores in California where I have found Zapp's were Cost Plus and Big Lots.

When I let friends know that I had found Zapp's chips at Grocery Outlet, one commented about their Voodoo flavor. The Voodoo flavor is a mash-up of several different flavors that (according to the description) was the result of an accident where an an employee spilled a pallet of spices, someone tasted the result, and liked it. It's one of my favorite chip flavors.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Childs

This made recall a similar flavor that I found when I was living in Los Angeles -- California Chips' "EARTHQUAKE!" (yes, all caps with the exclamation point.)

Photo courtesy of Fuzzy Gerdes

On the bag it said that the flavor was the result of a 6.3 earthquake near their production facility (in Oxnard) and that "When we came in the following morning all of our spices had fallen into the same mixing vat. We thought we had a loss on our hands but then when we tasted what we had, we loved it!" (I love the story; unfortunately, the chronological list of Southern California earthquakes shows that it's just a story.) When my wife and I first tried the EARTHQUAKE! chips, we both thought that they tasted like Zapp's Voodoo chips.

Until today, I had never looked into whether or not there was a connection between the two. The first thing I found was that California Chips no longer exists. The most recent update on the Internet Archive is from two years ago. An older version includes a news site that states that EARTHQUAKE! chips came out in 2005. Note from the archived "about us" page that California Chips' founder was Kevin Holden.

Two items of note from the Wikipedia entry for Zapp's:

• In 2006 Zapp's acquired the California Chip Company in Oxnard, CA
• Zapp's most popular flavor is "Voodoo" which was created in 2008 by Kevin Holden, General Manager and a shareholder of the company.

Would that be the same Kevin Holden who founded California Chips? Ah ha! So it's not that they tasted like each other, it's that they are the same.

AMC Best Picture Showcase 2016 - Day 2

One week later and it was time for the second day of AMC's Best Picture Showcase. If you haven't already done so, read about the first day here.

My journey to The City had an interesting beginning. Recently, BART has rolled out some prototype cars to accommodate more passengers. During peak commute hours, BART trains have been overcrowded. These Test Cars have fewer seats so that one can squeeze in more standing room passengers. When I saw that one of the cars in my train to The City was a test car, I knew that I had to give it a shot.

BART Test Car

Most BART cars have 2x2 seating; the test car has 2x1. With fewer seats, the aisle is over twice as wide as before. This allows the car to hold a significant number of extra passengers and should ease feelings of claustrophobia. I think it's worth the loss of seats.

Once in The City, I took a slightly different walking route to the theater. During my walk, I came across a construction wall mural.

Construction Wall on 600 Block of O'Farrell

From checking Google Street View, the wall went up sometime in 2013. The mural was added between October 2013 and February 2014. I'm surprised it's been up this long.

Once at the theater, I was given my lanyard for the second day's films, picked up some popcorn and soda, and settled into my seat.

All set for more movies

Brooklyn

This was a nice film about a young woman's transformation from being Irish to becoming American. It's something I would watch on a rainy day at home. Is it one of the best pictures of the year? Absolutely not. This is the film that the #OscarsSoWhite folks should be pointing at as an example.

Spotlight

I found myself thoroughly engaged in the story even though I knew how it would end. It was a great showcase of how investigative reporters are given an assignment and then work their butts off to see it through. What further impressed me was how close the filmmakers stuck with the story. Unlike some of the other nominees based upon real events, this had no contrived dramatic situations. I wouldn't be surprised if this wins Best Picture.

 The Martian

I was looking forward to seeing "The Martian." I'm sure folks are surprised that I had not already seen it, since science fiction is my favorite genre. Reading everyone's reactions to it gave me high expectations. I was very pleased that it delivered. I enjoyed it completely. While I would be very surprised if it won Best Picture, it was my favorite of all of the nominees.

As with the first day, we had a longer break before the last film of the day. As I had written in the post for the first day, I decided to have dinner at the brick-and-morter location for The Chairman.

Interior of The Chairman (at 670 Larkin)

I've been to their food truck a few times. The restaurant has the same offerings: pork buns, rice/veggie/noodle bowls, and other appetizers. I had a Chairman Rice bowl with Coca-Cola Braised Pork. The bowl included the selected meat along with pickled vegetables and sauce on top of the Chairman Rice (a mixture of black beans and wild rice.) It was filling and hit the spot.

I got back to the theater in time for trivia. This time I chose to play, and I won! I was asked, "In what countries was 'The Revenant' filmed?" I correctly answered "The U.S., Canada, and Argentina." After trivia, it was time for the last film.

My prize (actually there are two passes)

The Revenant

This was another film I was looking forward to watching. Unfortunately for me, it did not live up to all of the hype its received. I enjoyed the movie, but once it got going, I had a strong feeling about how the film would end and it took quite a while to get there. Make no mistake, I think this film will deservedly rack up a lot of awards, it just wasn't as good as it was hyped.

All in all, I enjoyed all of the Best Picture nominees. I got to watch 8 good films for a total of $65. I had $5 of concession credit each day which went towards soda and popcorn.  I won two free passes. If I have the opportunity to do this next year, I will.

One bonus... While walking back to BART, I was rewarded with a view of a lovely neon sign.

Nite Cap neon (Corner of O'Farrell and Hyde)

Thanks for reading.

AMC Best Picture Showcase 2016 - Day 1

This year marks the 10th year that the AMC movie theater chain has presented a "marathon" showing of the films nominated for Academy Award for Best Motion Picture Feature Presentation. Called the Best Picture Showcase, the event has all eight of this year's nominees shown over the two Saturdays before the Academy Awards (There are also seven locations showing all eight in one day.)

I've attended three previous presentations (one in Orange, one in Emeryville and one in San Francisco.) This year (like last) the closest location was at the AMC 1000 Van Ness. While not the best location (I would have preferred The Metreon since it's closer to BART and has more dining options) it still works.

To get to the theater, I was able to hop on BART and then walk. It was a beautiful morning and the walk from Powell Street station allowed me to see some things I had not noticed before.

Mural at Daldas Grocery

Mural at Putnam Service Subaru

Golden Bear Ornamentation at 755 O'Farrell

 
Upon arrival at the theater, I was directed to a special check-in desk where attendees exchanged their tickets for the Day One lanyard. With the lanyard, I had in-and-out privileges. They also had a commemorative program guide and poster. My next stop was the concession stand. As an AMC Stubs member, I was given $5 in concession credit (for use only on that day) which I cashed in for a large soda (free refills all day) and popcorn (again, free refills all day.) Since the theater has Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, soda refills were easy to obtain.

With snack and soda in hand, I snagged a seat in theater number 4.  Prior to the first film, the theater manager introduced himself and reviewed how the day would proceed. Breaks between each of the first three films would last between 20 and 25 minutes -- enough time to stretch your legs, use the restroom, refill your soda and get a snack. The last break would be just over an hour, which would allow you to get something more substantial to eat. He also reminded everyone to tag social media posts with #amcbps and that trivia (with prizes) would take place before the last feature of the day.

Me and my Lanyard

With that it was time to watch the films...

Bridge of Spies

I enjoyed Stephen Spielberg's historically inspired film. While I knew that Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for a Soviet spy, I was not familiar with the story of how that spy was captured, his trial, the story of Frederic Pryor and what was involved in getting the exchange to take place. The film kept me engaged and made me draw parallels with events of today such as the rights of accused non-US nationals and the desire of some to build a wall to "protect" the USA. The film is worth watching at home. Be aware that like all historical dramas, not everything on screen is factual.

Room

I knew very little about Lenny Abrahamson's film going in. The subject matter -- how a mother and daughter deal with being held captive in a shed and how they are affected after escaping -- is by no means pleasant. That said, the film hit me with the gamut of emotions. There were a couple of times that I was wondering where the story would go, but during those times I thought about the characters that I was watching and that in their story, they wouldn't know where they were going. This is a film worth seeing, but just be prepared.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Of the four films for the day, this was the one I was looking forward to seeing on the big screen. George Miller delivered with two hours of adrenaline-filled fun. There were times where I was wondering, "OK, when's the action going to slow down?" There were some points where that did happen, but for most of the film, the gas pedal was pressed to the floor. Interesting side note, after the film a few attendees brought up #OscarsSoWhite and mentioned how this film was literally the "most white" of the Best Picture nominees.

Before the last film of the day, I took advantage of the break to get some real food. Green Apple Market on the corner of Polk and Post won the day with a hot chicken sandwich for $6.99. It hit the spot. (This coming Saturday I may opt to go to The Chairman since I like their truck.)

The Moon over Geary

Green Apple Market

I got back in time for the trivia contest. I liked how the contest was run; the manager asked the audience, "Who wants to play?" He then selected someone and asked a question that was related to one of the day's films, and if the person got it right, he or she had a choice of prizes ranging from a movie pass, a tee shirt, and some other random items. If the person got it wrong, he gave other audience members the opportunity to answer it correctly. I didn't play. Maybe if they have better prizes next time.

Trivia Time

That led us to the last film of the day.

The Big Short

The day started with a historical drama and ended with a historical drama. I was already somewhat familiar with the cause of the 2008 financial crisis and some who foresaw it. This covered what most would consider to be a boring subject in a pretty entertaining way. Yes, it plays a bit loose with some of the details, but even that gets acknowledged. I enjoyed it!

With the first four films done, I won't make any predictions. I'm looking forward to Saturday and the remaining four films: Spotlight, Brooklyn, The Martian, and The Revenant.

Preparing For the Fall Election

The Fall 2014 election is three weeks from today. Here are a few resources to prepare:

To look up your ballot, poling place, candidate information, etc, go to Voters Edge (The MapLight Voter Guide)

If you're an Alameda County voter, the County Registrar of Voters site has links to:
Verify your registration status
Get information about early voting (it's a long ballot, and you may not have time on November 4)
Request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot (again, it's a long ballot)
Learn about Ranked Choice Voting

Election Season Starts

On this first full day of Autumn, it's time to look toward November 4 - Election Day. Television is already bombarding us with ads for and (mostly) against a couple of the statewide initiatives. We've already received mailers and flyers on a couple of Berkeley initiatives (most notably the beverage tax). Last night, the Halcyon and Bateman Neighborhood Associations hosted a candidates forum for our city council member. All of Bateman and the east portion of Halcyon will be voting for district 8. The candidates are (names link to their respective web sites):

George Beier
Mike Alvarez Cohen
Lori Droste
Jacquelyn McCormick

My goal in attending the forum was to get an impression of who these people were. It's always nice to vote for a person rather than just a name. I was pleased that all four candidates were present at last night's forum.

So, what impressions did each candidate leave?

George Beier - "community member." He always emphasized the community whenever he spoke. He spoke about how he has rallied the community around zoning issues, neighborhood problems, Willard Pool, Telegraph, etc. He also used the least amount of jargon. For example, other candidates used the acronym "ADU." He was the only one who actually said what it means (Accessory Dwelling Units, which are structures that can be built in backyards as supplemental housing.)

Mike Alvarez Cohen - "current guard." He talked about being chair of the Zoning Adjustments Board, and his endorsement by Tom Bates. However, he also came across as a bit flakey. When asked about zoning adjustments for a few recent approvals that were met with neighborhood disapproval, he dodged the question saying that either he was not present (Starbucks) or couldn't recall (Telegraph Commons height/parking.) When meeting with a neighborhood you should have been prepared to respond to questions about the ZAB's decisions that most impacted the neighborhood.

Lori Droste - "old guard." She talked about her endorsements, involvement with city commissions, working with the different city organizations. I got the feeling that I would agree with her the most out of the four candidates, but I didn't get an impression of how she would represent me or my neighborhood.

Jacquelyn McCormick - "passionate." She gave the most passionate responses to the questions asked of the candidates. She talked about how the city council needs to change, how she attends council meetings and makes her voice heard. She was also, surprisingly, the only candidate to bring up the city's fiscal issues. I already know that I do not agree with some of her opinions on city measures, but she left the biggest impression on me out of the four candidates.

I'm not close to deciding who will receive my vote, but at least I have some idea about the people running.

Comparing BART Airport Surcharges

Coliseum BART - Oakland Airport Connector construction on 6/8/2014

Ever since construction finally started on BART's Oakland Airport Connector, I've been following with anticipation. Yesterday BART finally announced the one-way fare for the connector will be $6. At first I thought, "that seems rather expensive." But then I wondered how does this compare to the surcharge to travel to SFO:

The fare from Downtown Berkeley to SFO is $9.25.
The fare from Downtown Berkeley to San Bruno (one stop before SFO) is $4.75.
The fare from Downtown Berkeley to Millbrae (one stop after SFO) is $5.10.
Using the before and after stations my guess is that if SFO was just a regular station, the fare would be $4.90 or $4.95, which puts the SFO surcharge between $4.30 and $4.35.

Given the extra distance between Coliseum BART and Oakland Airport, the $6 fare seems in-line compared with the SFO surcharge.

By the way, if you want to pay less, you will still be able to exit the Coliseum BART station, cross San Leandro Blvd and take the AC Transit 73 to Oakland Airport for around $2 (remember AC Transit fares and fare policies change on July 1.)

See the Ring of Fire! Next Sunday.

Image courtesy of Bart Benjamin

On Sunday, May 20, folks in the right spot will see the Sun become a ring of fire. While not as spectacular as a total solar eclipse, an annular solar eclipse is still a sight to behold. The upcoming eclipse will be visible on the east coast of China, east coast of Japan, and parts of Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

In the Bay Area, the solar eclipse will be partial. If you drive two and a half hours in the right direction, you'll get a short view of the ring of fire. A little over three hours, and you'll see up to 4 minutes. If you drive about four hours, and you'll see almost 5 minutes.

So, where will Pam and I go to watch the eclipse? The Chico Community Observatory is hosting an eclipse viewing at their location in Chico's Bidwell Park. The observatory will have additional solar telescopes provided by the Sierra Star Gazers and docents on hand to answer questions. You don't need a telescope to enjoy the eclipse; all you need is proper protection for your eyes. The observatory will be selling safe solar viewing glasses for $3.00 each or four for $10.00. (All proceeds go to the observatory’s operating fund.) Before the event, UC Berkeley Astronomy Professor Alex Filipenko will give a free lecture entitled, "Today's Annular Solar Eclipse, the June 5 Transit of Venus, and the Search for Transiting Exoplanets." Professor Filipenko will also be watching the eclipse from the observatory. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for us.


As if a good viewing opportunity wasn't enough, Chico is also home to Sierra Nevada Brewing. So the plan is to have a lunch at the taproom and then head over to the park to watch the eclipse. The Moon will start appearing to "take a bite out of the Sun" at 5:13. The ring of fire (which will last for 3 1/2 minutes) starts at 6:28. The eclipse ends at 7:37. Sunset is at 8:19 PM.


So, who's up for joining us?

Part of My View for a Year, on TV!

Since moving to downtown Los Angeles, I've had a lot of fun playing "Where was that shot?" Sometimes you know of such things in advance, such as when CSI: NY staged a St. Patrick's Day parade on W 4th. St (between S. Spring & S Main). Other times, you just say "Hey! I know where that is." Such was the case when seeing the VW "Punch Dub" ad for the Tiguan. Both Pam and I instantly recognized this shot (click the photo to access other sizes):

Why? Because it was part of the view we had from our bedroom window when we lived in the Hellman Building. The building in the shot is The Canadian. You might recognize it as the location of Tom's apartment in "(500) Days of Summer." For us, it's the home of:

• Blossom Vietnamese Restaurant (which occupies the corner & the adjacent space to the right with the awning)
  
• Stella Dottir (next to the tree)
  
• Raw Materials (you can almost make out their sign)
  
• An empty space for lease that used to house Main St. Tattoos (which tells us that this was shot within the past two months)
  
• Metropolis Books

So, was this shot from our old apartment? I highly doubt that. It's either shot from the roof of the Old Bank District Garage or the roof the Hellman Building. Still, it's fun recognizing your neighborhood.

New Streetlamp on Main Street

A few weeks ago, some of the old streetlamps on Main Street were replaced with cobra style streetlamps like this one:



When I tweeted about this, I received a response suggesting that this was a temporary move. On Monday, this was confirmed.

First, they installed a new base:



Then, the mid-section:



Then, the retro style top:



Screw in the actual lamps:



And voila! New streetlamp



And whadda ya know? It works!



To see more photos of the installation, go here.

Sunday Sunset on Main

While watching the Vikings-Saints game, I spied on this view out the window:



More here

Luminosity at The Continental Gallery

Tonight was the last night reception for Sean Sobczak's Luminosity at the Continental Gallery:









For the rest of the photos, go here

You Tube gets in the Logo Act

YouTube follows its owner's lead and wishes everyone a Happy Solstice:



Meanwhile Google wishes everyone "Happy Holidays" with promises of more logos to come:

A Few Sesame Street Clips

In honor of Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary, here are a few clips:

Patrick Stewart helps out Count Von Count
Kermit Reports News on Sleeping Beauty
Marilyn Horne Sings C Is For Cookie
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Grover And A Fly In My Soup
Drawing Bert's Face
What's The Name Of That Song?
REM and The Muppets Furry Happy Monsters Shiny Happy People
Monsterpiece Theatre: Me Claudius
Super Grover - Telephone Booth

Thanks to ZannaLand for the inspiration.

20 Years of Germany Now in One Piece

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall, Google in Germany has this logo:

Google Honors Two Anniversaries Today

If you visit Google today, you will see this image:



Happy 40th Anniversary! Sesame Street

But that's not all.

If you visit Google in the UK today, you will see this:



Happy 20th Anniversary! Wallace and Gromit

Addendum
More Google country sites are also honoring Sesame Street:

India:


Indonesia:


Isreal:


Mexico:


The Netherlands:


South Africa:


After checking the list of Google foreign language servers, that appears to be all of the different logos. Some country sites don't have a special logo, others use one of the above Sesame Street logos, and still others have the Wallace & Gromit logo.

Addendum:

Later logos:

Thursday 11/5:


Friday 11/6:


Saturday 11/7 & Sunday 11/8:


Monday 11/9:


Monday 11/9 evening:

Lookie at what was lit tonight

Looking Ahead to the LA Times Festival of Books

The LA Times Festival of Books takes place every year on the UCLA campus over the last weekend of April. The event features discussion panels, author interviews, book signings, author readings, poetry, live performances, and many book vendors/publishers. I highly recommend that you attend. Here are some of the panels I'm considering attending:

Saturday 4/25 --

12:30 PM
PANEL 1122 Ackerman Grand Ballroom
Science Fiction: The Grand Masters

• Moderator: Mr. Scott Timberg
  
• Mr. Joe Haldeman
  
• Mr. Harry Harrison
  
• Mr. Robert Silverberg

2:00 PM
PANEL 1053 Broad 2160
Clive Barker in Conversation with Gina McIntyre

• Interviewer: Ms. Gina McIntyre
  
• Mr. Clive Barker

3:30 PM
PANEL 1044 Haines 39
History: Unknown Los Angeles

• Moderator: Mr. William Deverell
  
• Ms. Frances Dinkelspiel
  
• Mr. Chip Jacobs
  
• Mr. D.J. Waldie

4:30 PM
PANEL 1124 Ackerman Grand Ballroom
Ray Bradbury with an Introduction by M.G. Lord

• Introducer: Ms. M.G. Lord
  
• Mr. Ray Bradbury

Sunday 4/26 --

10:30 AM
PANEL 2121 Ackerman Grand Ballroom
Michael J. Fox in Conversation with Mary McNamara

• Interviewer: Ms. Mary McNamara
  
• Mr. Michael J. Fox

12:30 PM
PANEL 2052 Broad 2160
James Ellroy with an Introduction by Patt Morrison

• Introducer: Ms. Patt Morrison
  
• Mr. James Ellroy

2:00 PM
PANEL 2043 Haines 39
History: The Underbelly of California

• Moderator: Mr. Miles Corwin
  
• Mr. Larry Harnisch
  
• Mr. Richard Rayner
  
• Mr. David Ward