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Anarchist Study Group

Tuesdays, 8-10 p.m.
510-540-0751
May Day means many things to many people. On May 1, Celtic pagans celebrated the spring feast of Beltane. Medieval German Christians believed witches consorted with the devil on Walpurgisnacht. And the English tradition of dancing around the Maypole signaled love and rejuvenation. But things got a bit more worldly in the late 19th century. The Haymarket Riots in Chicago -- a major Industrial Age focus point for anarchists and socialists and their deadly clashes with police in that era's violent labor struggles -- started on May 1, 1886, and the first of May evolved into the international Labor Day of marches and rallies, despite US government attempts to defuse workers' movements by moving the holiday to September and renaming May 1 as Law Day. The Berkeley Anarchist Students of Theory, Research, and Development (BASTARD) know better. They're holding their regular Tuesday night Anarchist Study Group from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Long Haul Infoshop. Think of it as a way to stick it to your boss. Find out more by visiting TheLongHaul.org
free
Long Haul 3124 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley (map)

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Critics' Pick Staff Pick
brOakland Poetry Slam

Third and First Friday of every month, 7:30 p.m.
510-839-0055
brOakland Poetry Slam
We're habituated to think of the stereotypical male poet as like, you know, a sensitive girlymon - because guys who write poetry also read Bitch magazine and cry during Bambi, and generally aren't afraid to look soft in front of their podnas. Not so, says local slam mistress Nazelah Jamison, who helms the brOakland Poetry Slam every first and third Friday at Oakland's Cafe Axe. Naz contends that the Oakland spoken-word scene actually suffers from a dearth of female poets. "A slam is a competition," she says, "and men tend to gravitate to competitive sports." For dudes, even poetry about cunnilingus or women's underwear is, like, a sporting affair.

But female poets are different. Naz finds that even in this feminist, empowered world, there aren't that many women who write really empowered poetry. Rather, they favor connection over conquest. They always want to "express their tender feelings." They write about the men who done them wrong, including - in the words of one enterprising East Bay poet - the "feminist" ex-boyfriend who wouldn't go down to get down to be down. Women get intimidated by the judging process in slam poetry, she says, because they often think they're being judged on their feelings and their story, instead of their performance and their poetry.

Granted, the judging process can be pretty ruthless. Naz picks random judges for each of her slams, and tells them to give each poet a score between one and ten. One means the person sucks and should never read poetry again. Ten means she should be voted poet laureate of the United States. "My favorite judges of all are the ones who say ‘I don't really like poetry. You sure you want me to judge?'" the slam mistress admits. "Then you're gonna give the most perfect score because you hate everybody and you probably don't have no friends." Naz says that every slam has a mean judge who just came to be cynical - either a poet who's seen so much that she's jaded, or someone who's just hella ignorant and hates poetry. The mean judge balances out the nice, guilty judge who wants to give everyone a ten.

So the South Carolina-raised poet is all about dishing it out. But will she let people cast judgment on her own work? Of course, Naz says, insisting that she's totally down with constructive criticism. "You can get tens, and that's cool. I've seen really good poets get tens for a while, and think they're still the shit. As soon as you think you're good, girl? That's when you start going downhill. Then you don't move anymore."

Watch local poets get beat down at this Friday's edition of brOakland Poetry Slam, featuring Naz, cohost Dahled, DJ Agana, and special guest poet Billy Tuggles. The event kicks off with an open-mic signup at 7:45 p.m. and costs $5. MySpace.com/oaklandslam
$3-$5

Cafe Axe Cultural Center 1525 Webster St., Oakland (map)

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Critics' Pick Staff Pick
Dream-Interpretation Workshop

First Saturday of every month, 2 p.m.
510-670-6280

You were climbing Mount Everest with Jet Li and Jesse Jackson when a cloud of fluorescent butterflies descended upon you, exuding an odor of French fries and myrrh. Jesse recited the Lord's Prayer in Esperanto as Jet sprouted rabbit ears. Then you woke up. At the Castro Valley Library (20055 Redwood Rd., Castro Valley), Steve Klitzing hosts two-hour dream-interpretation workshops on the first Saturday of every month. At 2 p.m. on Jan. 5, bring one dream or dream fragment that you would like to understand, interpret, and analyze. ACLibrary.


free
Castro Valley Library 20055 Redwood Rd., Castro Valley (map)

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Critics' Pick Staff Pick
El Sabor de Fruitvale

, First Thursday of every month, 5-8 p.m.
510-534-6900
El Sabor de Fruitvale

Whether or not you're partial to rock en español bands, gooey churros, colorful votive candles, or seven dollar lemonade daiquiris (complete with a decorative twisty straw), there's little debate that Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood puts on the best Día de los Muertoscelebration in the EastBay. It's so fantastic, in fact, that the Fruitvale-based Unity Council couldn't wait for Día de los Muertosto actually roll around. This Thursday, October 4, the council will hold a free outdoor mini-festival as a preview of coming attractions. Presented in conjunction with the "El Sabor" Thursday farmers' market, it will feature bilingual storytelling with puppets, face painting, books for children from the "Lee y Serás" literacy caravan, the Latin funk group Mystique, and live reptiles and amphibians. It goes down on Thursday, October 4 from 3-7 p.m. at 3411 E. 12th Street in Oakland. Call 510-535-6900 or visit UnityCouncil.org for more info.


free
Fruitvale Village 3401 E. 12th St. (at Fruitvale BART), Oakland (map)

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Critics' Pick Staff Pick
Philosophical Roundtable

Third Sunday of every month, 12-2 p.m.
925-686-4835
Is God dead? Is life nasty, brutish, and short? Plow through your Plato, your Descartes, your Wittgenstein -- even your Berkeley -- and join the new monthly Philosophical Roundtable at Borders Pleasant Hill. It's on the third Sunday of every month, and you can get your Sartre on for two whole hours every time. Noon.
Borders 120 Crescent Dr., Pleasant Hill (map)

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Critics' Pick Staff Pick
Readers Anonymous Club

Fourth Tuesday of every month, 7 p.m.
510-526-7512
A sleuth with Tourette's tangles with Zen masters and mobsters while trying to solve a bloody murder in Motherless Brooklyn, by ex-Berkeley novelist (and ex-Moe's Books clerk) Jonathan Lethem. Join the Readers Anonymous club - which meets at El Cerrito Library the fourth Tuesday of every month - to discuss this book, soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Buscemi. Copies are available beforehand at the checkout desk. 7 p.m.
free
El Cerrito Library 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito (map)

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Afro-Cuban Cajón and Master Dance Class

Saturdays, 2-4 p.m.
510-849-2568
Learn to play, dance, and sing festejos, valses, landos, and zamacuecas with rotating instructors Lalo Izquierdo, Gabriela Shiroma, and Pedro Rosales. $10
La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley (map)

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Albany Library Evening Book Group

Third Wednesday of every month, 7-8 p.m.
510-526-3720
Rosalie Gonzales facilitates this group, which features novels based on "the American experience." free
Albany Library 1249 Marin Ave., Albany (map)

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Bay Area Poets Coalition Open Reading

First Saturday of every month, 3-5 p.m.
510-841-8330
free
Strawberry Creek Lodge 1320 Addison St., Berkeley (map)

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Bay Street Stroller Strides

Fridays, 9:30 a.m.
Fitness program for moms to incorporate power walking, jogging, body toning, and strength and flexibility training into their baby strolls. Info: 800-655-6395, or StrollerStrides.net/eastbay. first class is free; $120 for a 10-class pass
Old Navy 5625 Bay St., Emeryville (map)

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Club
Beach Blanket Babylon

, Fridays, 8 p.m., Saturdays, 7 & 10 p.m., Sundays, 2 & 5 p.m., Wednesdays, 8 p.m. and Thursdays, 8 p.m.
415-421-4222
musical revue and spoof of pop-culture figures in which Snow White travels around the world in search of Prince Charming $25-$77
Club Fugazi 678 Green St., San Francisco (map)

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Beautiful Garden with Waterwise Plants Tour

Third Thursday of every month, 1:30 p.m.
510-643-2755
$1, $3, $5
UC Berkeley Botanical Garden 200 Centennial Dr., Berkeley (map)

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Breast Cancer Support Group for Spanish-Speaking Women

Third and First Monday of every month, 4-6 p.m.
510-869-8833
Registration required; call 510-869-8213. free
Markstein Cancer Education and Prevention Center 450 30th St., Room 2810, Oakland (map)

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CodePINK Meet, Eat, & Greet

, Third Monday of every month, 6 p.m.
510-524-2776
Chance to meet fellow activists and eat organic or vegan food.
CodePINK 1248 Solano Ave., Albany (map)

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Cuban Salsa Classes

Tuesdays, Thursdays, 6-7:30 p.m.
With Manuel Suarez.
The Works 2566 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley (map)

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