East Bay Express

Meat-Free Mingling at Saturn Cafe

Cassie Harwood — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Veg Speed Dating connects vegans and vegetarians with like-minded herbivores. by Cassie Harwood Brian Grupe is an affable, sharp-looking, single 27-year-old. He's also vegan.…

Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional

Robert Gammon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

However, the Ninth Circuit's decision on gay marriage only applies to California. by Robert Gammon When Berkeley residents Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier sued in federal court to overturn Proposition 8, there was strong hope that the case would ultimately lead to same-sex couples being allowed to marry in all fifty states. After all, one of Perry and Stier's main attorneys was conservative scholar Theodore Olson, who had served as the US solicitor general in the Bush administration.…

Roundabouts

DeWitt Cheng — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Three shows worth circumnavigating at Studio Quercus, Garage Gallery, and Swarm Gallery. by DeWitt Cheng In the Ring features boxing memorabilia from the collection of Sacramento boxer Duke Cahill (1920-2003, who inherited a previous collection started by Sacramento fight promoter Fred Lazzari). Cahill was also a merchant seaman, art collector, restaurateur, contractor, folk artist — and maybe gambler.…

Dating in the Post-Grindr World

Ellen Cushing — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

How the iPhone app has changed sex and dating in the gay community. by Ellen Cushing When the gay social-networking iPhone app Grindr — which allows men to use GPS data to find, chat with, and ideally meet up with other men — was first released in March 2009, no one quite knew what it would become. This was, after all, when location-based technology was still relatively new and when flip-phones were the norm.…

Ruthie Foster

Lee Hildebrand — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Let It Burn by Lee Hildebrand The self-penned "Lord Remember Me" is the only church song on Ruthie Foster's Let It Burn, but gospel music is never far from the surface of the dozen other performances on the Texas vocalist's most eclectic release to date. The presence of the Blind Boys of Alabama, whose quartet harmonies buoy Foster's resonant contralto on that and three more numbers, especially helps bring that element to the fore, of course.…

Letters for the Week of February 8

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Readers sound off on The Prizefighter, Occupy Oakland, and the new school lunch guidelines. "From Brown to Green," Feature, 1/25 It's Not About the Money…

Worst Slow Jams

Kathleen Richards — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Our staff picks the best music to kill a mood. by Kathleen Richards, Ellen Cushing, Rachel Swan and Will Butler Slip Slidin' Away Full disclosure: I've never felt the desire to put on music whilst getting it on.…

The 18th Assembly District: This Year's Most Competitive Race

Steven Tavares — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

The contest to replace Swanson features four candidates — Rob Bonta, Abel Guillen, Joel Young, and Kathy Neal — who each have a legitimate shot at winning. by Steven Tavares The 16th Assembly district has long been known as a "black seat" in the state legislature because the demographics of the district had historically tilted toward African-American voters living in East Oakland. For the past six years, the seat has been held by Sandré Swanson, one of the most prominent African-American politicians in the Bay Area.…

Local Licks

Rachel Swan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

This week we review Bart Davenport, Lila Rose, Saint James Society, and Con Brio. by Rachel Swan Bart Davenport, Someone2Dance Bart Davenport has mastered the art of repackaging nostalgia.…

Alameda Gives Green Light to Mobile Food

Jesse Hirsch — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Plus the status of Jack London Square Market. by Jesse Hirsch Last week the City of Alameda quietly passed one of the Bay Area's most permissive mobile food ordinances, opening up virtually every city street to food trucks. The only major restrictions are a ban on parking 25 feet from crosswalks, 50 feet from driveways, or on the same block as elementary or middle schools while in session.…

Listening in the Dark

Stefanie Kalem — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Adam Johnson imagines life in North Korea. by Stefanie Kalem The protagonist of the first half of Adam Johnson's novel The Orphan Master's Son specializes in fighting (and therefore seeing) in the dark, an apt voice to open a tale set in North Korea, a nation closed off to the rest of the world. "While the book is a big, imaginative take on trying to find the humanity of people who are out of our gaze, I tried to keep a lot of the facts true," said Johnson, a writing professor at Stanford.…

One-Night Stands

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Repertory film listings for February 9-15, 2012. Thursday, February 9 Markopoulos: The Early Films (116 min.…

Ye Olde Hut: Half Dive, Half Ski Lodge, All Good

Ellen Cushing — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

A visit to Rockridge's best-kept secret. by Ellen Cushing This is not a glowing review of Ye Olde Hut. That would be in explicit violation of the promise I made to the friend who took me there, Ellie, a UC Berkeley grad student who'd waxed wide-eyed about it so many times I had to see it for myself.…

Could BMI Live Help Local Musicians Get Paid?

Kathleen Richards — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

The service aims to pay musicians royalties for playing live, but could it be too good to be true? by Kathleen Richards A year ago, the music licensing giant BMI launched a new endeavor called BMI Live, which allows songwriters to register for free and get paid royalties for their live performance (as far back as six months prior). Yet few musicians seem to know about the program.…

Use Cannabis? There's an App for That

David Downs — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

There's been an explosive growth in smartphone app usage, despite federal finger-wagging over marijuana. by David Downs Medical cannabis patients are increasingly turning to their smartphones to easily find deals of the day, scan dispensary menus, and even schedule some dispensary-provided yoga. A tour of the Apple App Store and the Android Market reveals a rapidly advancing world of weed apps amid the crackdown by the US Department of Justice.…

Yes, I'm a Dominatrix

Rachel Swan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Not only do dungeons thrive in the East Bay; they're also largely above ground. by Rachel Swan In the old days — "old" meaning pre-Internet — members of the BDSM community had to find one another in newspaper personal ads, using heavily coded language. A hypothetical example: "Leggy blond trapped in body of middle-aged secretary.…

How to Survive a Brazilian Meat Party

Jesse Hirsch — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Drink plenty of water and pace yourself at Pikanha's. by Jesse Hirsch A short list of topics to avoid over a meal at Pikanha's steakhouse: Paula Deen, heart disease, factory farming, the obesity epidemic. More than the cognitive dissonance these issues could foster, I'd hate to see you lose any appetite — you're going to need it.…

Hotel Trysts and Catholic Guilt

Dan Savage — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Plus coming out with Grindr and making out with regrets. by Dan Savage I'm a 21-year-old gay male. My friend "Marcelo" is friends with "Chad."…

Trevor Dunn Without Amplification

Rachel Swan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Ex-Mr. Bungle bassist returned to Oakland last week for another intense underplay. by Rachel Swan A warehouse or gallery show is a huge underplay for bassist Trevor Dunn, who is known for his work with John Zorn and the experimental band Mr. Bungle. But that's the type of venue he prefers when touring the Bay Area.…

The Woman in Black

Kelly Vance — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Gothic renaissance. by Kelly Vance Beyond being yet another example of the new year's fine crop of genre items, James Watkins' unrelentingly spooky The Woman in Black satisfies a moviegoer's curiosity about two conspicuous brand names. The first is actor Daniel Radcliffe, known perhaps unfairly throughout the world as Harry Potter for the past eleven years, and presumably anxious to break away from the gilded chains of that franchise to establish himself post-Harry.…

Sex, Advertising, and the East Bay Express

Jody Colley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Our position. by Jody Colley and Jay Youngdahl From time to time we are asked about our paper's attitude toward sex and advertisements in our paper. This is a good question that deserves an answer in our Sex Issue.…

New Erotic Film Festival Debuts in the East Bay

Cassie Harwood — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

The Express' BRIEFS promises an evening of titillating adult cinema. by Cassie Harwood The efficacy of any porn film depends upon the proclivities of the viewer. That probably explains why there are more varieties of adult movies than any one person could conceivably consume in his or her lifetime.…

Corrections for the Week of February 8

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Elizabeth August's position and The Prizefighter's drinks. Our January 25 letters section incorrectly identified letter-writer Elizabeth August as "formerly of Guerilla Grub." She is, in fact, still with the company.…

Jerry Brown Targets the 99 Percent

Robert Gammon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

The governor ballot measure would impact low- and middle-income families. No wonder wealthy interests are bankrolling it. Plus, the Jean Quan recall campaign is already in debt. by Robert Gammon Governor Jerry Brown is hoping that the tax-the-rich fever sweeping the nation will propel his ballot measure to victory this November. But a closer look at his plan reveals that it doesn't just target the One Percent.…

Breaking Out LGBT Inmates

Toshio Meronek — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Two new books examine how queer and transgender prisoners get the hard end of the warden's stick. by Toshio Meronek People who are queer and transgender, especially youth, are disproportionately represented behind bars. Eric Stanley, editor of the new anthology Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex (published by Oakland's AK Press), has an answer as to why: "Trans and queer people, and even more so those of color and/or low-income, experience enormous barriers to formalized education and employment."…