TUESDAY, JAN. 29 

Community Meeting on Pacific Steel and West Berkeley Air Quality Monitoring Learn about air monitoring results in West Berkeley and what toxics have been found in the air at 7 p.m. at West Berkeley Senior Center, 1900 6th St., at Hearst. Sponsored by Greenaction, Global Community Monitor, West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs, and the Ecology Center. 415-248-5010. 

“The Eleventh Hour” A documentary by Leonardo DiCaprio on the state of the global environment, and practical solutions for restoring the planet’s ecosystems at 5 p.m. at Boalt Hall, Room 110, UC Campus. Sponsored by the California Center for Environmental Law and Policy. 642-6774. 

“Navigating the Mekong” A film by Mic O’Shea on his solo kayak adventure from Tibet to the South China Sea at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Alameda Women’s Commission “Community Conversation” to gain support for CEDAW (The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) at 5:30 p.m. at the Alameda Library, 1550 Oak St., Alameda. Free, but reservations requested. 259-3871. 

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

“The TV show House and the Experience of Socialist Society So Far” Discussion taking off from an excerpt of “Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity” by Bob Avakian at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30 

Proposed Spraying to Combat Apple Moth in Alameda County A community meeting on the spray will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Environmental Health, 528 61st St., Oakland. 594-9864. 

Rally Outside the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley at 10 a.m. for the launching of the Military Recruiting Zoning Ordinance Initiative to refine the zoning regulations of military recruiting. 524-2776. info (at) bayareacodepink (dot) org 

Pools for Berkeley meets at 7 p.m. at the City of Berkeley Corporation Yard, 1326 Allston Way. www.poolsforberkeley.org 

“Paradise Now” A film about Palestinian recruits for a major operation in Tel Aviv, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.Humanist Hall.org 

“Understanding Children’s Temperament” with Rona Renner, R.N., at 6:30 p.m. at Windrush School, Multipurpose Room, 1800 Elm St., El Cerrito. 970-7580. 

Cash for College Workshop at 6:30 p.m. at Albany High School, 603 Key Route Blvd. or Oakland High School Theater and Library, 1023 Macarthur Blvd. For details see www.calgrants.org 

“Women’s Hormone Balance: PMS, Infertility, and Menopause” at 7:30 p.m. at Rockridge Curves, 5665 College Ave., Suite 1, Oakland. Free. Foundation for Wellness Professionals. 849-1176. 

Pacific Boychoir Auditions for boys ages 5-9 at 410 Alcatraz in Oakland. Please call for an audition appointment. 652-4722.  

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

Teen Chess Club from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the North Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6133. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART station. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Morning Meditation Every Mon., Wed., and Fri. at 7:45 a.m. at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way at 6th. 486-8700. 

After-School Program Homework help, drama and music for children ages 8 to 18, every Wed. from 4 to 7:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Cost is $5 per week. 845-6830. 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, JAN. 31 

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

World of Plants Tours at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755.  

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Stress Reduction Free intro class at 7 p.m. at 1672 University Ave. 524-8833. 

FRIDAY, FEB. 1 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Andrew Stern, Emeritus Journalism School Professor, UCB, on “Photojournalism Today: Including Photos from Pamplona, Running of the Bulls.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

“King: A Man of Peace in a Time of War” A documentary of Martin Luther King Jr. with rare footage from the Mike Douglas Show and his views on the Vietnam War, at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Church, Sacramento at Cedar St. 684-9303. 

“The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream” A documentary on how “peak oil” affects life as we know it at 3 p.m. at Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. Followed by discussion with Berkeley Oil Independence Task Force. www.relocalize.net/groups/oilindependentberkeley  

“The Story of Stuff” A documentary on the underside of our production and consumption patterns at 7 p.m. at Center for Urban Peace, 2584 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. 549-3733. ext. 6. 

Friday Films for Teens at 3:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd flr., 2090 Kittredge St. For details call 981-6121. 

“Enlivening the Chakras” with Anodea Judith at noon at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200.  

Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance Open House from 6 to 9 p.m. at 729 Heinz Ave. 845-2605. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253.  

SATURDAY, FEB. 2 

“Education is Everybody’s Business” Latino Education Summit with information on applying to college, financial aid, with workshops in both English and Spanish. From 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CA State Univ. East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd. Free, but registration required. 885-3516.  

Save the Bay Trash Removal Technology Tour at Lake Merritt from 10 a.m. to 1 pm. Cost is $25, free for Save the Bay members. Call for details 452-9261, ext. 119. 

Masked Bandits Learn about clever racoons through a craft and a nature walk, for ages 6+ at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Grounhog Day Children’s events from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Storytelling at noon at Habitot Children’s Museum, 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111.  

“Where Have All the Rosies Gone?” with Betty Reid Soskin of the Rosie the Riveter/Home Front National Park at 2 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. 

Politcal Affairs Readers Group meets to discuss”Africa Today” by Libero Della Piana and “The Eagle Flies Over Africa” by Vijay Prashad at 10 a.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Sponsored by the Communist Party (Oakland Berkeley). 595-7417.  

Preschool Storytime, for ages 3-5, at 11 a.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Oakland Artisans Marketplace Sat. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jack London Square. 238-4948. 

SUNDAY, FEB. 3 

Lunar New Year Celebration with activities for the whole family from noon to 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, Oak and 10th St., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2002. 

Toddler Nature Walk, for 2-3 year olds, to look for salamanders at 10:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

An Amphibian Amble A walk to look for newts, ensatinas and salamanders in local puddles, ponds and under logs, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Alan Rinzler’s Writer’s Workshop on “Getting Published” at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. Other sessions on March 9 and April 6. 559-9500. 

“The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America” with Jim Wallis at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500.  

“Radical Fatherhood and Political Parenting” Reading and discussion with Tomas Moniz and Rahula Janowski at 5 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Berkeley Rep’s Family Series Monthly theater workshop for the entire family at 11 a.m. at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, Nevo Education Center, 2071 Addison St. Free, but bring a book to donate to the library at John Muir Elementary School. 647-2973. 

Old Time Radio East Bay collectors and listeners gather to enjoy shows together at 5 p.m. at a private home in Berkeley. For more information email DavidinBerkeley at Yahoo.com. 

Kensington Farmers’ Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 303 Arlington Ave. at Amherst, Kensington. 525-6155. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Sun. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Steve Randall on “A New Way of Inquiry” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000 www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 5 to 9 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Cost is $3 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

MONDAY, FEB. 4  

Golden Gate Audubon Society Field Trip “Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland” with Bob Lewis. Meet at 9:30 a.m. From 880, exit at Hegenberger, and head west. Turn right on Pardee and then left on Swan and right into the park. 843-2222. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from noon to 1 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Free Boatbuilding Classes for Youth Mon.-Wed. from 3 to 7 p.m. at Berkeley Boathouse, 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577.  

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. 548-0425. 

Dragonboating Year round classes at the Berkeley Marina, Dock M. Meets Mon, Wed., Thurs. at 6 p.m. Sat. at 10:30 a.m. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Jan. 29 , at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www. 

ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

ONGOING 

E-Waste Recycling St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County accepts electronic waste including computers, dvd players, cell phones, fax machines and many other ewaste products for disposal free of charge at many of its locations throughout Alameda County. Free bulk pick-up available. 638-7600. www.svdp-alameda.org 

Help a Newt Cross the Road Every year newts migrate across Hillside Drive to reach their breeding pools in Castro Creek. Volunteers prevent many of these creatures from being crushed by cars. We need volunteers every evening during January and February in El Sobrante. The newts are most active on rainy nights. annabelle11_3@yahoo.com 

Free Tax Help If your 2007 household income was less than $42,000, you are eligible for free tax preparation from United Way's Earn it! Keep It! Save It! Sites are open now through April 15 in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. To find a site near you, call 800-358-8832. www.EarnItKeepItSaveIt.org 

Donate the Excess Fruit from Your Fruit Trees I’ll gladly pick and deliver your fruit to community programs that feed school kids, the elderly, and the hungry. The fruit trees should be located in Berkeley and organic (no pesticides). This is a free volunteer/ 

grassroots thing so join in!! To scehdule and appointment call or email 812-3369. northberkeleyharvest@gmail.com http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu

TUESDAY, JAN. 29 

FILM 

Experimental Documentaries “we will live to see these things, or, five pictures of what may come to pass” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Beth Lisick reads from “One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus, and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Louise Dunlap describes “Undoing the Silence: Six tools for Social Change Writing” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Del Sol String Quartet “Rhythms and Sounds from Around the World” with clarinetist Jeffrey Anderle at 8 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $20. 525-5211. 

Singers’ Open Mic with Kelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Randy Craig Trio, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Bandworks at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. 

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $35-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30 

EXHIBITIONS 

Youth Arts Festival Artwork from Berkeley K-12 public school students. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Berkeley art Center. 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893. 

“Awakening” Hand-drawn mandalas by Maia Apalonia, opens at NoneSuch Space, 2865 Broadway, Upper Floor, Oakland, and runs through March 1. 625-1600.  

Works by Sunhee Kim opens at Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“From the Cinema of Abstractions to Narrative Illusionism” with Prof. Marilyn Fabe at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

The Believer Magazine Pizza Party at 7:30 p.m. at Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Andrés Reséndez describes “A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey to Cabeza de Vaca” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert “Schubert and Beethovan in Vienna” at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Chuck Brodsky at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Michael Zilber Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Gator Beat at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Orquestra Bakan at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Pacific Manouche at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

THURSDAY, JAN. 31 

FILM 

Jean-Pierre Léaud “Two English Girls” at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jennie Wang reads from “The Iron Curtain of Language: Maxine Hong Kingston and American Orientalism” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585.  

Lashonda Barnett describes “I Got Thunder: Black Women Songwriters on Their Craft” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Richard Friar discusses “The Keepers: Part 1: WWIII” the first book in “The Keepers” trilogy and the battle machines he has included in the novel at 6:30 p.m. at El Sobrante Library, 4191 Appian Way, El Sobrante. 374-3991. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Change the Beat” Benefit for Educate, Ugandan and Rwandan refugees, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Berkeley Symphony with the US premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s “Lotus under the moonlight” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20-$60. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Jim Malcolm at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Bob Kenmotsu Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Houston Jones at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Ben Benkert and the Burnouts, Raya Nova at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Joe Reilly, singer-songwriter, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Phantom Family, La Otracina, rock, heavy metal, at 9 p.m. at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th St., Oakland. Cost is $7. 839-6169. 

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $35-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, FEB. 1 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Barefoot in the Park” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Feb. 16. Tickets are $10-$12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Wait Until Dark” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Feb. 16. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Satellites” at 8 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. through March 2. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Black Repertory Group Theatre “A Raisin In The Sun” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St. Tickets are $5-$25. 652-2120. blackrepertorygroup.com 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “The Cocoanuts” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., some Sun. matinees at 2 p.m., at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through March 2. Tickets are $15-$24. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

foolsFURY Theater “Monster in the Dark” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 5 p.m., through Feb. 17, at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Tickets are $12-$30. 800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Angel Street” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. through Feb. 23 at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Tilden Odyssey” Textured paintings, collages, and monotypes by Sheila Sondick on display at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park, through Feb. 28. 525-2233. 

“Double Vision: Artist Partners” Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, 25 Grand Ave., upper level, Oakland. Exhibition runs to March 15. www.chandracerrito.com 

“Yea We Said It, And No We’re Not Sorry” works by Malik and Milton Bowens for Black History Month. Opening reception at 5:30 p.m. at Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St., Oakland. Exhibit runs to Feb. 29. 465-8928. 

Huey P. Newton Photography Exhibit Celebrating the achievements and influence of the founder of the co-founder of the Black Panther Party at the West Oakland Branch of the Oakland Public Libray, 1801 Adeline St., through Feb. 29. 238-7352.  

“Heart Attack: The Ying & Yandg of Love” Group art show opens at Eclectix, 7523 Fairmunt Ave., El Cerrito. 364-7261. www.eclectixgallery.com 

FILM 

The Medieval Remake “Lancelot of the Lake” at 7 p.m. and “The Knithgt” at 8:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kelly Corrigan reads form “The Middle Place” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500.  

MUSIC AND DANCE  

Noon Concert, with Kai Chou, cello and Wiggin Wi, piano at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. 

Zydeco Flames in a celebration of Black History Month at 5 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2002. 

Andrea Prichett & Friends of Carol Denney, Funky Nixons, Phoenix, After Buffalo, MC Che X in a fundraiser for Carol Denney & Berkeley Liberation Radio at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $12-$15 sliding scale. 849-2568. 

Dwight Tribble & Muzuki Roberson Quintet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

Soja, Rebellion, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054.  

Palm Wine Boys at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Darryl Henriques at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Andrew Sammons and Friends, jazz, swing, at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Trick Kernan Combo, rock, jazz, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. 

Dave Matthews Blues Band at 8 p.m. at The Warehouse Bar & Grill, 402 Webster St., Oakland. 451-3161. 

The Connie Lim Band, Tara Tinsley, Rabbitmotaei at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Kevin Seconds, Ryan Stark, Eric Core and others at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

3rd Date at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Greg Scott, R&B, pop, at 9 p.m. at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th St., Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. 839-6169. 

SATURDAY, FEB. 2 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Joe Reilly singing environmental songs at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568.  

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Little Women” Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m., through Feb. 3, at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $14-$18. 925-798-1300.  

African Tales with storyteller Kirk Waller Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellvue Ave., Oakland.  

FILM 

Screenagers: Bay Area High School Film Festival at 1 and 3:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

Human Rights Watch Film Festival “Everything’s Cool” at 6 p.m. and “The Unforeseen” at 8 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

18th Annual African American Celebration through Poetry from 1 to 4 p.m. at the West Oakland Branch of the Oakland Public Library, 1801 Adeline St. 238-7352.  

David Rieff reads from his memoir and tribute to his mother “Swimming in a Sea of Death” at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading from 3 to 5 p.m., at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street, not in Lodge parking lot. 527-9905.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Arts Festival with Sarah Cahill, pianist, premieres new music at 8 p.m. at 2213 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 665-9496. 

The Laurel Ensemble, “French Romance and American Modernism” at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. www. 

trinitychamberconcerts.com 

La Richie & Co. “Indoor Fireworks: The Pyrotechnics of Handel and his London Oboists” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College at Garber. Tickets are $10-$25. 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

Ethiopian Arts Forum: Either/Orchestra, led by Russ Gershon, with special guest Mulatu Astatke at 9:30 p.m. at Historic Sweet‚s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets, available at the door, are $20, $30 for VIP area. 501-3413.  

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $12-$15. 849-9776. 

Winds Across the Bay “Winds Goes to the Movies” with music from Star Wars, The Aviator, Henry V, Lord of the Rings, Fiddler on the Roof, King Kong, and more, at 2 p.m. at the Hilltop Community Church, 3118 Shane Drive, Richmond. Tickets are $5-$10. 243-0514. www.windsacrossthebay.org 

Mardi Gras Countdown with Chelle and Friends at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Eric Swinderman Quintet “In Pursuit of the Sound” at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Mardi Gras with Hot Pink Feathers and Blue Bone Express at Café Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. Cost is $10.  

Creole Belles with Andrew Carriere and Suzy Thompson at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Rodney Brillante, Lily Virginia, guitar, ukulele, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Jim Post “Mark Twain and the Laughing River” at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Brian Pardo Group at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Caroline Chung Trio, jazz, at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Apple Pie Hopes, The Hobo Gobbelins and Jonathan Beast & the Bathroom Floors at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Tera Mellos, Planets, Car at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, FEB. 3 

EXHIBITIONS 

California Society of Printmakers Valentine Show from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Chamber Arts, 2924 Ashby Ave. between College and Claremont. art@lilahands.com 

Watercolors by Emily Weil Opening reception at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

FILM 

The Medieval Remake “The Seventh Seal” at 2 p.m. and “the Virgin Spring” at 4 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rumi: and 800th Birthday Party with Coleman Barks and musicians Stephen Kent, Geoffrey Gordon, Sukhawat Ali Khan and Kris Yenny at 8 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $15-$20 at Cody’s and at www.kpfa.org 

Jim Wallis on “The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Suggested donation $10. 559-9500.  

“Radical Fatherhood and Political Parenting” Reading and discussion with Tomas Moniz and Rahula Janowski at 5 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert at 3 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $12-$15. 849-9776. 

Live Oak Concert Solo Violin with Donna Lerew at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., near Eunice. TIckets are $10-$15. 644-6893.  

Angela Kraft-Cross, organ concert at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

Mamak Khadem Ensemble, Middle Eastern fusion, at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $25. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Plays Monk at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Ana Nitmar at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. 

Grupo Falso Baiano at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Az Samad, Shelley Leong at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Jesse Evans, Swann Danger, Otto Nervous at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, FEB. 4 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Real or Surreal” Art by Mari Kearney opens at Cafe Diem, 2224 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Art, Technology and Culture Colloquium “Giant Robot Architecture” with Greg Lynn and Angewandte at 7:30 p.m. at 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. 643-9565.  

“The Adventures of a Wildlife Photographer” with Eleanor Bricetti at 12:30 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

David Lance Goines will present an illustrated lecture on the process of making posters at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Club. 

Actors Reading Writers “Transformational Romance” stories by N.M. Kelby and Jonathan Lethem at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 932-0214. 

Aurora Theatre “Our Dad is in Atlantis” reading followed by discussion at 7:30 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. 843-4822.  

Poetry Express with Cherise Wyneken at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Quake City at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100.  

Trovatore, traditional Italian music, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

SF Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival with Town Mountain, Spring Creek and Homespun Rowdy at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Larry Coryell with Bombay Jazz at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

In a Victorian parlor, a querulous wife (Michelle Pond as Bella Manningham) feels things are slipping away from her grasp, though she’s unable to explain how or why, while her prepossessing husband (David Shirk as Jack Manningham), in quiet, gentle tones or with impatience, treats her as a child, whether a naughty one or a child unaware of the import of what she’s doing. 

Bella’s fear is that she—like her late mother—is losing her mind. And her husband supplies the proof of it: household items squirreled away which Bella has no memory of moving out of their accustomed place.  

The maidservants are the witnesses. Jack even calls them in to testify—loyal Elizabeth (Jean Rose) with supportive words, saucy young Nancy (Heather Morrison) with condescension and a smirk. 

But while the master of the house is out, an eccentric stranger comes calling. Introducing himself as Rough (Norman Macleod), a neighbor, the gentleman declares to Bella that the trouble isn’t in her mind, but in what he knows happened, a long time ago, in the house. 

Like a moth between two candles, Bella orbits between two stories, as the plot thickens when the gaslight goes low. 

“Gaslight,” that lurid brightness at night before electricity, is the title the Masquers production of Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street is best known by. Alfred Hitchcock’s film of that name took that popular potboiler beyond the constraints of theatrical runs and word-of-mouth, to an enduring recognition. And the gaslights in the parlor themselves signal the changes in this hypnotic duel of wills that does seem to be a battle of darkness with light. 

Michelle Pond, longtime Masquer, who just played flirtacious Nancy Twinkle in that farce to end all light opera, Little Miss Sunshine, fulfills the vow set down in her program bio, giving up “hamming it up” in musicals to “simply let this fabulous script take me on this sad, frightening and hopeful journey each night.” She takes the audience along with her, truly the subject in every sense. 

David Shirk plays Jack less with an air of mystery than as a man self-assured to the point of complete self-absorption, difficult to read until he plays his hand—an admirable characterization in this kind of melodrama. 

And Norman Macleod brings an analytical seriousness to what becomes, as he describes it, a labrynthine predicament. It’s a bit lightened by his whimsicality, the only levity in Bella’s grim dilemma. 

Patricia Inabnet’s direction sets the tone from which the drama evolves. Rob Bradshaw’s sober, matter-of-fact set provides grounding along with Debbi Sandmann’s lights and Jerry Telfer’s sound design. Jo Lusk’s costumes, so important to establish period, class and character, seem impeccable. 

When players greet the audience in the lobby after the show, the mood lifts, and it’s like waking from a dream. An old-time entertainment has done its work; the Masquers have conducted their visitors on a seance through Victorian shadows. 

Angel Street 

Masquers Playhouse 

105 Park Place, Richmond 

Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2:30 p.m. 

through Feb. 23 

Tickets $18 

www.masquers.org, 232-4031

McSweeney’s, the San Francisco Mission District publishing concern founded by author Dave Eggers, is coming to Berkeley with a pizza party (they will provide the pizza) at Moe’s Books at 2476 Telegraph Ave. to celebrate the 50th issue of their monthly magazine, The Believer, on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Moe’s is one of 20 stores nationally where McSweeney’s is planning a celebration this week. “Any magazine today producing 50 issues is remarkable,” said Owen Hill of Moe’s. “McSweeney’s has a list of young, clever writers. The Believer is a good, open-ended interview/review magazine. We’ve hosted a pizza party before for their video magazine, and they're good at getting enough veggies for the vegetarians, enough meat for the carnivores!” 

A pair of Oakland writers have offered a compelling blueprint for the world’s energy ministers as they debate how best to address global warming and replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012. 

In Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility, Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, longtime writers and organizers for a variety of environmental groups, argue that countries that want to get serious about combating global warming will have to start doing more than just finding better ways to limit carbon emissions—they will have to find new ways to create and invest in clean energy. 

In fact, Nordhaus and Shellenberger write, the “the politics of limits,” which they see as defining the environmental movement, have failed to address the challenges posed by global warming. What is needed, they say, is a new approach built on investment in technological innovation and financial security, not on limiting economic potential and talking about the coming ecological apocalypse. 

According to Nordhaus and Shellenberger, we must find a way forward rather than concentrating only on how to reverse our path. The authors have expanded on the theme of their 2004 article “The Death of Environmentalism,” which raised quite a few eyebrows at the time for criticizing the accepted gospel of how to best protect the environment. 

The authors point out that only a few of the countries that signed on to Kyoto will reduce their emissions at all by the deadline. Most will meet the required 5 percent reduction by buying carbon reduction credits from developing countries. The authors express little hope that the Kyoto limits-based approach is the answer to reducing real emissions as the global demand for energy is expected to grow more than half by 2030 and carbon dioxide emissions are projected to rise 55 percent in that time unless cleaner energy sources are discovered.  

Nordhaus and Shellenberger propose a combination of investments in technology and economic development to drive the quest for these sources. “We argue for a pro-growth agenda that defines the kind of prosperity we believe is necessary to improve the quality of life and to overcome ecological crisis,” they write. “One of the places where this politics of possibility takes concrete form is at the intersection of investment and innovation.” They say a pro-growth agenda can help stabilize the climate. Environmentalists can’t solve the ecological crisis, they contend, because only those who put prosperity first have the ability to push for such a revolution in our politics to prepare for and address global warming. 

Despite the growing ubiquity of green merchandise, media coverage, and talk among politicians about ending global warming, Nordhaus and Shellenberger point out that the environment remains a low priority and is actually decreasing in importance among most voters. The environmental movement as we have known it in this country for the past 40 years has stalled, they argue. It has become a partisan issue and worse than that one that doesn’t effectively motivate voters on the left. Environmental groups have become just another special interest group, the authors argue, focused on a sole issue, often to the detriment of competing progressive causes. Sure, most people say they favor protecting wetlands, improving the air and reducing global warming, but when it comes to priorities, jobs, crime and health care are justifiably higher concerns for almost everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike. 

Nordhaus and Shellenberger point out that only with rising affluence do people turn their attention to certain quality of life issues such as environmentalism. In this way, economic security is the basis for ecological concern. Americans have become more affluent and less secure at the same time, they write. With growing job insecurity, greater economic disparity, rising health care costs and growing debt, Americans in general feel less in control of their lives than they did a generation ago when sympathy with environmental causes was stronger. “It is only when people are feeling in control, secure and free to create their lives that they behave expansively and generously toward the collective,” Nordhaus and Shellenberger write.  

The authors propose that progressives stop feeding this insecurity by telling horror stories about the coming ecological collapse, such as Al Gore did in An Inconvenient Truth, and instead look for ways to create more secure and healthier communities where people feel able to seek quality-of-life issues that include ecological concerns. Nordhaus and Shellenberger propose that new environmentalists look at how successful evangelical Christians have been in such community building, paying attention to the needs and values of how people live and creating new ways for them to belong and feel fulfilled. 

On the international level, they argue for debt elimination for countries like Brazil and a new understanding that certain countries, such as ours, can no longer leverage their own economic national interests against the world’s ecological needs. The authors devote a chapter to the economic and ecological challenges facing Brazil, explaining how the country’s crippling debt payments are responsible for exacerbating the deforestation of the Amazon and preventing the country from addressing the material needs of its citizens, denying the society any possibility of striving toward the prosperity that is needed to elevate ecological concerns among its citizens. They write: “Until the world’s wealthiest countries seriously support Brazil’s goals for itself, the colossus of the south will have neither the means nor the motives to save the Amazon.” 

In this way, they argue, environmentalists must stop seeing new prosperity in countries like China and India as a threat to ecological stability and understand that along with the obvious dangers and challenges there also exist opportunities to create new environmental values there. And likewise, in the Unites States, the answer for a more efficient way of living is to increase urban density. Nordhaus and Shellenberger ask why some should have the right to privilege their neighborhood (or their county) over others. “In the name of opposing development that is ‘out of scale with the neighborhood,’ they end up blocking the transformation of American communities into vibrant, creative, and high-density cities,” the authors write. Nordhaus and Shellenberger tell us that we have to prepare for climate change, that the reality of global warming is here and that means that we have to learn how to live differently.  

They give credit to veteran environmentalists who fought for limits effectively in winning the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, but the fight against global warming is a different beast, they say, and it’s time for the old leaders to step aside. According to Nordhaus and Shellenberger the old strategies of pushing for caps on emissions, reductions on manufacturing and bans on chemicals are inadequate to address such a complex problem as global warming. Without any vision for forward motion, speaking only about limits and what we can’t or shouldn’t do, the authors conclude that environmentalists have become the naysayers of the nation, the killjoys in the conversation about how to move forward.  

Nordhaus and Shellenberger have been part of crafting a new Apollo project on clean energy, calling for the investment of $300 billion in energy markets over the next decade to help propel technological breakthroughs in wind, solar, mass transit, carbon sequestration, hydrogen and other energy sources. “A new Apollo project tells an overarching story about America,” Nordhaus and Shellenberger write. “It begins by acknowledging what America is great at: imagining, experimenting, and inventing the future.” 

BREAK THROUGH: FROM THE DEATH OF ENVIRONMENTALISM TO THE POLITICS OF POSSIBILITY 

By Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger.  

Houghton Mifflin Company. 2007. $25.