MONDAY, JUNE 30 

“Can Israel be Redeemed?” with Jeff Halper at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace. 465-1777. http://bayarea.jvp.org 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group, for people 60 years and over, meets at 9:45 a.m. at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave, Albany. Cost is $3.  

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 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 

Free Boatbuilding Classes for Youth Mon.-Wed. from 3 to 7 p.m. at Berkeley Boathouse, 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Classes cover woodworking, boatbuilding, and boat repair. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

TUESDAY, JULY 1 

Tuesdays for the Birds Tranquil bird walks in local parklands, led by Bethany Facendini, from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Today we will visit the Tilden Nature Area. Call if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

“East Bay Regional Parks Wildlife: Past and Present” Photographs by Jeff Robinson. Reception and slide show at 9:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Tilden Mini-Rangers Hiking, conservation and nature-based activities for ages 8-12. Dress to ramble and get dirty. From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Backpacking 101 A review of the necessities for a weekend backcountry trip at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

DRUMMM Community drumming, instruments provided, at11 a.m. at the West Side Library, 135 Washington Avenue, Richmond, and 2 p.m. at the Bayview Library, 5100 Hartnett Avenue, Richmond. www.richmondlibrary.org  

Creating Your Dream Job an interactive session from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharm, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

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 

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

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. www.ecologycenter.org 

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. 

Sing-A-Long Group from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic. Ave., Albany. 524-9122. 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 

Kensington Treasures Walk Explore Kensington’s historic Sunset View Cemetery, UC Berkeley’s Blake Gardens Estate, and little-known El Cerrito paths on a vigorous walk with great views. Meet at 10 a.m. at the entrance to Sunset View Cemetery, Colusa at Fairmount. AC Transit 79. 848-9358. 

Priority Africa Network Dialogue on Zimbabwe with Phillip Machingura at 6 p.m. at the Niebyl Proctor Library, 6100 Telegraph Ave. www.marxistlibr.org 

“What the Second Amendment Means Today” with Stephen Halbrook and Don Kates, featuring the new book “The Founders’ Second Amendment” at 7 p.m., reception at 6:30 p.m., at The Independent Institute Conference Center, 100 Swan Way, Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. RSVP to 632-1366. www.independent.org 

“Atheist Alliance International Convention“ A film by Richard Dawkins at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.Humanist Hall.org 

Summer Board Game Days from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Alta Bates Hospital Auditorium, 2450 Ashby Ave.. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

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

Theraputic Recreation at the Berkeley Warm Pool, Wed. at 3:30 p.m. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley Warm Pool, 2245 Milvia St. Cost is $4-$5. Bring a towel. 632-9369. 

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. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. 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. 

Berkeley CopWatch Drop-in office hours from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

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

THURSDAY, JULY 3 

“The Carbon-Free Home” Learn how to green your home with authors Rebekah and Stephen Hren at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 223. 

Healing Yoga for Weight Management from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharm, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Teen Book Cub meets to discuss childhood favorites at 4 p.m. at the Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue at Ashby. 981-6107.  

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

World of Plants Tours Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

FRIDAY, JULY 4 

Fourth of July at the Berkeley Marina from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with food, activities for children, arts and crafts, and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Tela de la Vida/Fabric of Life A bilingual nature program for the whole family from noon to 5 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, TIlden PArk. 525-2233. 

People’s World Weekly Barbeque with Shahram Agahmir, activist from Iran and food, music, flea market and discussions, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 2232 Derby St., Between Fulton and Ellsworth. Donation $10, no one turned away. 548-8764. 

El Cerrito Fourth of July Fair with games for children, food, arts and crafts, and live entertainment, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cerrito Vista Park and Portola Middle School blacktop, Moseser Lane at Pomona. 559-7000. www.el-cerrito.org 

One World Festival with music by Ashwin Batish, Laca Blaco, Ryan Maontbleau, Phoenix and After Bufflao and many others from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Cerrito Vista Park, El Cerrito. 233-0611. 

SATURDAY, JULY 5 

Corridor Connections A seven mile hike from Tilden to Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve and back. Bring sunsceen, water and a lunch. Meet at 10 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center. 525-2233. 

Saturday Stories “Dream Weaver” by Jonathan London, story and crafts at 1 p.m. at The Museum of Children’s Art, 538 9th St., Oakland. 465-8770. www.mocha.org 

Knucklehead the Clown for ages 3 and up at 2 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

Social Action Forum with Patricia Ellsberg on “Cultural Creativity” at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensigton. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

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, JULY 6 

Flutter By Butterflies Learn about butterfly life-cycles and the plants that attract them at 10 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Sprouts Gardening Project for children to learn about what it takes to make plants grow, at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Yoga & Meditation at 9:15 and 10:30 a.m. at Elephant Pharm, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

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

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 

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

Tibetan Buddhism with Rosalyn White on “Tibetan Sacred Painting” 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 4 to 8 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Fri. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

ONGOING 

Summer Lunch For Kids & Teens from June 16 to August 15 Meal sites are located at various schools and community centers throughout Oakland and Alameda County. For information call 800-870-3663 for a meal site near you or visit www.summerlunch.org To make a donation see www.accfb.org  

CITY MEETINGS 

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., June 26, at 6:30 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5213.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., June 26, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7410.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Thurs., July 3, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7419.  

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., July 3 , at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7461.  

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., July 3, at 7 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400.

MONDAY, JUNE 30 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Express open theme night on “ends” at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

The Blind Boys of Alabama at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $30. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, JULY 1 

CHILDREN 

P & T Puppets “Grasshopper and the Ant” “The Tortise and the Hare” and others, with puppeteer Peter Brizzi at 6:30 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Legends: The Blues Photography of Samuel Ribitch” on display at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

“East Bay Regional Parks Wildlife: Past and Present” Photographs by Jeff Robinson. Reception and slide show at 9:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Swamp Coolers at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Mary Fettig at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Together and Apart” Individual and collaborative works by Peggy Forman and Jan Schachter on display in the Collector’s Galery, Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

Oakbook Photography Competition Works by the winning photographers Emmanuel Canteras, Russ Osterweil and Christian Ericksen on display through Aug. 31 at Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Summer Sounds at Oakland City Center with Zydeco Flames at noon at 12th and Broadway, Oakland.  

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

Whiskey Brothers, old time and bluegrass, at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Rumbache at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

International Mandolin Night with Mike Marshall, Dudu Maia & Danilo Brito, Caterina Lichtenberg, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Albino at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, JULY 3 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Inner Expressions” Clausen House Art Collaborative Latest works. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at the Lakeview Mural Gallery, 450 Santa Clara Ave., Oakland. The show runs through Aug. 1. 839-1114. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sekouba Bambino Diabate at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

The Whiskey Richards, Little Sister Country, The Poplollys at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Diablo’s Dust at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Kenny Lattimore at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $35-$40. 238-9200.  

FRIDAY, JULY 4 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “The Busy World is Hushed” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through July 20. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. auoratheatre.org 

Citizen Josh with Josh Kornbluth Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. Sun. 5 p.m., at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. through July 20. Tickets are $20-$25. 841-6500, ext. 303. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Kiss Me Kate” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through Aug. 3. Tickets are $15-$24. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Masquers Playhouse “The Full Monty” Fri. and Sat. at 8, selected Sun. matinees at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond through July 5. Tickets are $20. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Waste Not” Sculpture using materials found in the natural world by Deborah Yaffe. Reception at 7 p.m. at Oakopolis, 447 25th St., Oakland. Open Sat. from 2 to 5 p.m. to Aug. 9 663-6920. 

“Myths and Dreams” Recent work by Calixto Robles, Alexandra Blum and Ana Hurk. Reception at 7 p.m. at Front Gallery, 35 Grand Ave. Oakland. Gallery hours are Fri. 1 to 6 p.m., and Sat. 1 to 4 p.m. 735-7295. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Municipal Band “All Sparkling Red, White & Blue” at 1 p.m. at the Lakeside Park Bandstand. Bring your beach chair and picnic. 339-2818. 

Terry Disley Experience at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Ajuana Black, Red the Black Blonde, PamPam at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Black Cobra, Times of Desperation at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

U-Roy, Cornell Campbell, Sister I Live, roots reggae, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $18-$22. 548-1159.  

SATURDAY, JULY 5 

CHILDREN  

Puppet Show “Pinocchio” Sat. and Sun. at 11 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

FILM 

United Artists: 90 Years “Some Like It Hot” at 6:30 p.m. and “Dr. No” at 8:50 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Elameno Quintet, jazz, Arabic, flamenco and more at 7:30 p.m. at 383 61st St., Oakland. Not wheelchair accessible. Donation $15-$20. RSVP requested. 655-2771. 

Gateswingers Jazz Band at 8 p.m. at 33 Revolutions Record Shop and Cafe, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 558-7375. 

Yanice Taylor & Vibraphone Summit at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Lakay, Fogo Na Roupa, Eleksa, Cha Cha Dimon at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Kompa dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Sotaque Baiano, Brazilian, at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

The Bobs at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Trevor Childs and The Beholders, Hoe, The Other Pluckers at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Die Young, Sabertooth Zomie, Lie in Wait at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

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

SUNDAY, JULY 6 

FILM 

United Artists: 90 Years “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” at 5 p.m. and “Scarface” at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Twang Cafe with The Earl Brothers, Tippy Canoe & The Paddlemen, at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $10. 644-2204.  

Don’t Look Back at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Troublemakers Union at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Flamenco with Yaelisa at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Danny Lubin-Laden Quintet “New York Sounds and Visions” at 4:30 p.m. and Mariel Austin Group at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10 for each show. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Limp Wrist, Lebenden Toten, Godstomper at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Beneath stained glass windows, among piles of books in a study (Eric Sinkkonen’s set), an Episcopal clergywoman (Anne Darragh as Hannah) is interviewing a young writer (Chad Deverman as Brandt) amid the scholarly clutter, showing him a photocopy of an ancient manuscript, which she thinks may be the earliest, most historically authentic gospel quoting Jesus’ words. 

She’s beginning a book about the apocryphal gospel, and needs a writer who’ll ghost it from her directives. In the midst of this, her “x-treme” son (James Wagner as Thomas) blows in, stuck with porcupine quills after a wild hitchhike and trek into the mountains, a part of his game with himself, playing Get Lost. Brandt plucks the quills from Thomas, whom he’s definitely noticed.  

Thomas seems attached to, but rebellious towards, his mother and her expressed religiosity, which Hannah in turn keeps trying to sever from its polite image in stained glass, “like Gabriel came down to have tea with the Princess of Monaco.” And Brandt reveals he hasn’t attended church much since Confirmation, alienated from it as a gay man. But with his father dying, he’s looking for something, some kind of commitment. “One thing I know about life,” he half-jokes, “it has a habit of intervening.” 

So the players—and a few of the ground-rules of the game, more like Lost & Found—are introduced in Aurora’s production of Keith Bunin’s The Busy World is Hushed, directed by Robin Stanton.  

It’s not exactly three-hand poker, but there’s a certain amount of bluffing, as well as laying of cards on the table. And some of the bluffing seems to be one or another of the characters, bluffing themself. What each wants, for self or others, becomes increasingly tangled and volatile as they climb or descend the rungs of religious dispute, an often uneasy metaphor for their self-contradictory passions. 

As Brandt confesses his doubts about religion and his anguish over his dying father, the hidden concerns of mother and son come out. Did Hannah’s husband die in an accident during her pregnancy with Thomas, or was it suicide? What can Thomas learn from the underlining and annotations in his father’s old Bible he has found? 

Bunin’s play touches on many provocative themes: faith (and its absence) and the relevance (and popularity) of rediscovered pre- (or anti-) Nicene Creed documents to religious and social discourse in a rapidly changing world; the roles of women and homosexuals in a communion which has historically been dismissive of them; gay men seeking their fathers or fleeing (and returning to) their mothers ... 

“You can’t serve two masters; I’m pretty sure that’s the appropriate verse.” The trio of actors playing the unwieldy triangle of The Busy World are pretty well cast, yet seem to be struggling in varying degrees with a script that’s neither completely worked out in dramatic terms nor fleshed out in dialogue and dramatic action which can embody and resolve its concerns. 

The playwright has said, “It’s not designed to leave you anywhere,” something of a cliche concerning “problem plays” going back to the “well-wrought” originals written in the wake of Somerset Maughm’s great successes, satirically skewered by Stephen Leacock in his mock review, “Behind the Beyond.” 

This genre of “problem play” is really melodrama, more or less standard issue, emphasizing wavering uncertainty in romance, family relations, belief, etc. It’s the same old three-act potboiler, but with an inverted formula: Mother loses Boy, Boy finds Other Boy (with Mother’s veiled blessing), Boy loses Boy, but Other Boy finds Mother and/or God. 

Like too many plays today, generated from old formulas shaped around media events, The Busy World breaks down into a soap opera that brings up interesting things, but substitutes, for theatricality, expository metaphors, cute recitations and canned arguments through which the performers must maneuver—and which often maneuver them into a corner, or leave them half-cowed. On opening night, James Wagner, a recent ACT MFA, came off the best, partly due to his own energy and partly due to his role being the only dynamic one, allowing some opportunity for expression.  

As the snippets of discussion of the apocryphal gospel recede, after it’s served its thinly veiled metaphoric purpose in the play, the ending tries to pick up the pieces with a vaguely hopeful, noncommital simile. 

“Just another voice crying in the wilderness ...” Everything is very tentative, yet very conventional, like a parody of Clifford Odet’s late plays of existential anguish. It’s a throwback to the days of fashionable talk of the death of god or of the theater, or of relationships and commitment.

From playing the ’60s Berkeley coffee house scene and the Fillmore and Avalon in San Francisco to Fritz Perls’ Big Sur seminars; from trading off “quiet” sets with Country Joe & The Fish’s “dance” sets at Pauley Ballroom and performing at the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park, to being featured as the hippie band in a Hollywood mock-up of the Be-In (The Love-In, 1967), The New Age played a new kind of acoustic music, with roots in folk, flamenco and the blues, Indian ragas, Middle Eastern, Japanese, gamelan, European classical and improvised music. 

They created a stir at concerts and in the music industry, until the untimely death of its founder, Pat Kilroy, on Christmas Day of 1967, when Warner Bros. shelved the group’s second album. 

Remarkably, over the past six months, CDs of a re-release of the group’s 1966 Elektra LP, Pat Kilroy—The Light of Day (Collectors Choice) and a first release of material meant for the canceled 1967 Warner’s album, The New Age: All Around, with additional tracks from a live KPFA recording (Raymond Dumont, Switz. May, ’08), with a re-release of Habibiyya: If Man But Knew, a ’72 Island Music album, inspired by a Moroccan sufi poet, with Kilroy’s collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Susan Graubard Archuletta (Sunbeam, UK, Dec. ‘07) have appeared and are available locally at Down Home Music in El Cerrito and Aquarius Records in San Francisco. 

“The Fish weren’t just friends of ‘The New Age,’ they were fans,” said Barry Melton of Country Joe & The Fish. “It was a gentle, wafting acoustic sound Pat [Kilroy] was after, very much a stark contrast to the electric music all around us.” 

The name of the band is now very much an anachronism.  

“It had nothing to do with what people think of now as New Age or New Age music,” said Archuletta, now a Berkeley third-grade teacher. “I cringe to think of it! Patrick was possessed by his own visions.” 

Archuletta went to Cal, where she played at vespers on the Campanile carillon, played viola in the university symphony, and participated in the Free Speech Movement. 

In December 1965, Pat Kilroy, with whom she’d shared long conversations about music, but had never played with arrived from Big Sur “and in a very matter-of-fact way said he’d been looking for me, and asked me to come with him to New York to make a record together, then travel around the world, meeting indigenous musicians.” 

Six weeks later, after finishing finals, Archuletta joined Kilroy in New York with her flute. Then “everything happened all at once,” she said. 

After recording The Light of Day, and traveling to Europe and Morocco, they returned California, where they were joined by percussionist Jeffrey Stewart. Archuletta later met poet Daniel Moore and joined the Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company in Berkeley, as well, which reunited her with her college friend, poet and musician Louise Landes Levi.  

While performing at Berkeley’s Jabberwock cafe, they met Country Joe, who jumped up on stage at the Human Be-In in January 1967 to join in on their signature tune, “When I Walk Through the Trees.”  

The New Age played the Sunset Strip and began recording for Elektra, who “saw us as Peter, Paul and Mary for the new zeitgeist.” But Kilroy was diagnosed with terminal Hodgkin’s Disease. With his death came the end of the dream. 

Archuletta collaborated with others, including Christopher Tree and Don Buchla, then raised her family in Mendocino. On returning to the Berkeley area to teach 11 years ago (she’s taught at Albany and Longfellow Middle Schools and Jefferson and Oxford Elementary Schools) she’s confined her public playing to the Albany Jazz Band. But a reunion and possible CD with Christopher Tree is in the works, and now that the music she helped create years ago is available again, “I hope I can live my two lives together, in Berkeley!”

I moved to Berkeley five years ago next month in part because of the promise of job with a regular paycheck just a dozen or so blocks from Cody’s Books. 

I’m not merely an avid reader. I’m a biblioholic, enamored of the printed page. 

For me, there’s something almost erotic about a book. The look, the heft, the smell, the glory of great typography and the feel of the page—ranging from the heavy slick gloss of an art book to the fibrous texture of the heavy stock used by publishers proud of the words they printed. 

All that plus new worlds to explore! 

I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love books. 

At age 7 or 8, I convinced the crew at the Abilene, Kan., public library to give me that most precious of possessions, a card that let me check out books from the adult section upstairs. 

And whenever I went anywhere with my parents, I invariably insisted on stops at two establishments: museums and bookstores. 

Everywhere I’ve lived on my own since, from Alamosa, Col., to Las Vegas and L.A., the first thing I’ve always done on arriving in a new town is to scope out the local bookstores, quickly mastering the terrains of the history, science and mystery sections, along with occasional expeditions into art, architecture, philosophy and whatever else was the passion du jour. 

Moving to Sacramento late in 1983, I quickly discovered that while River City had some decent independent booksellers (chains I visit mostly to scope out the remainders), it had nothing like the long-vanished Book City and the other great stores I’d found in L.A. 

So I headed west to Berkeley, knowing from my brief days as a street artist a decade earlier that only Telegraph Avenue would sate my as-yet unrequited passion for fulfillment between the covers. 

And it was always Cody’s that drew me in first—in the earliest years with my son, then later with my two daughters. 

Sure, we went to Moe’s and Shakespeare’s, but it was always Cody’s, with its unparalleled array of new titles stacked to unreachable heights, that proved the most powerful magnet, and I never left the place with my wallet less than $100 lighter. 

The vibrant street life of the Avenue was an added bonus, most memorably when we took a rather strait-laced family from New Hampshire to see the sites and shelves and they were rewarded—though that’s not the word they would’ve used—by the naked bodies of Debbie Moore and the Xplicit Players before the City Council got all prudish. 

The shock on the faces of those dowdy Northeasterners is something my daughters and I still recall with relish, and their sons with glee. 

Over the years, I calculated recently, I dropped well over $20,000 into the coffers of the Codys and Andy Ross, their successor as owner, enriching myself, my children and my friends with a colorful profusion of ideas and images. 

Dennett, Dawkins, Pinker, Zinn, Kershaw, James Carroll, Hobsbawm, Hiassen, Chandler, McDonald, Macdonald and countless others all moved from Cody’s shelves to mine. So much so that I’ve literally been buried in books, after an earthquake rattled my Napa home and momentarily entombed me beneath hundreds of hardbacks; I remember briefly thinking, “Well, not a bad way to go.” 

When Cody’s was departing from Telegraph, I made one final purchase, a wonderfully executed one-volume collection of Raymond Chandler’s Collected Stories, a constant source of inspiration for a writer in search of a clean, incisive prose style. 

I went to the Fourth Street store only twice, finding it sadly unlike the original and all too much like a chain in its array of titles and manner of display. 

I visited the Shattuck Avenue store only once, three weeks before the closing, along with Samantha, my youngest. We found it a rather dolorous place, a pale simulacrum of the original. 

Still, when I sent her an e-mail to notify her of the closing, she responded, “ :( and on my birthday. . .” 

How odd that a city like Berkeley, which houses perhaps the most literate and highly educated populace in the Bay Area, finds itself unable to support a first-class bookstore. 

Sure, there’s always the Internet, but buying online isn’t the same. I can’t flip through the pages, search the author’s acknowledgments, get a feel for the quality of the print, the touch of the paper or the fidelity of the color plates. 

Instead, buying a book has too often become something like buying toothpaste, where we are forced to disregard that old maxim about judging by covers and to settle for terse online descriptions and scanty images, along with reader reviews that are often little more than the rants of deranged ideologues. 

So it’s Moe’s and Pegasus for me from now on, along with the occasional excursion into the World Wide Web when all else fails.  

But there’ll always be a large, unrequited ache for the place that was once filled by Cody’s. 

Besides writing for the Daily Planet, the writer has also written two nonfiction works under his own name. One, Fuller’s Earth: A Day with Buckminster Fuller and the Kids, is being reprinted by New Press in October as part of its Classics in Progressive Education series.