Arts & Events

TUESDAY, NOV. 7 -more-

SCIENTIST-AUTHOR TELLS US “WE ARE THE TRUTH” -more-

Cedar Walton may not be a household name to everyone, but in his half-century as a professional jazz pianist, Walton’s talents have been called upon by almost every major jazz musician. -more-

“It’s my childhood, all over again!” one playgoer gushed, as the canned strains of a Blood, Sweat & Tears number came over the sound system at the Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond, followed by other pop radio tunes circa 1970, before the curtain went up on Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company. -more-

Only about an hour’s travel southwest of Berkeley, there’s a little piece of bayside nature where you can view some seldom-seen native treasures, learn about the Bay Area’s natural environment, and appreciate the ongoing struggle to save it. -more-

Another season has come and gone, and I still have not connected with the tarantulas of the East Bay Hills. Mount Diablo in October was supposed to be a sure thing. So I hiked about a mile up Mitchell Canyon at dusk, scanning the trail ahead for dark objects that might be wandering male tarantulas. (Dusk and dawn are when the questing males are most active, and dawn was not in the cards.) But all the dark objects turned out to be pinecones or piles of horsecrap. -more-

TUESDAY, NOV. 7 -more-

FRIDAY, NOV. 3 -more-

50 YEARS OF GREAT ARTHOUSE CINEMA -more-

Oakland director Stanley Nelson will attend screenings tonight (Friday) at Shattuck Cinemas for his new film, Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple. -more-

Quentin Tarantino once reminisced about the strange compliment that old master of maverick filmmaking, Sam Fuller, gave his heist film, Reservoir Dogs at an early screening. “So, you made that film about morons? That’s good; it’s been awhile since anyone’s made a film about morons.” -more-

The Del Sol String Quartet will present ‘Premieres Without Borders,’ pieces by the late Marc Blitzstein (famous for The Cradle Will Rock), New Zealander Jack Body, Persian-American Reza Vali and West Coast native Eric Lindsay, at 8 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 7 at the Ashby Stage. -more-

The First Annual Buriel Clay Playwrights’ Festival will play all next week, Monday through Saturday evenings, Nov. 6-11 (Mon. at 7:30 p.m., Tues.-Sat. at 8 p.m.), at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. (at Webster) in San Francisco, featuring the work of local playwrights, as well as participants from Sacramento, Los Angeles and New York. -more-

During the first 75 years of the 20th century, West Berkeley was the location of many manufacturing plants that produced diverse products from vegetable oil to ink, and from huge hydraulic pumps to tanned hides. -more-

I was working with a couple of young volunteers from UC’s redoubtable Habitat for Humanity group last weekend when one of them exclaimed, “Yuck! I found a worm.” -more-

There’s an old saying ... “Da Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.” No, denial is alive and well right here in the Bay Area. -more-

The construction world is in love with novelty. Every year, trade shows display the latest inventions and materials with promises of low cost, easy installation and life-long service. Of course, these things never turn out to be as true as presented and the buyer must always beware. -more-

FRIDAY, NOV. 3 -more-