Arts & Events

FRIDAY, FEB. 1 -more-

The Oakland Magic Circle, the oldest independent magic club in the United States west of the Mississippi, is hosting its annual Installation Banquet and Show this coming Tuesday at the Bjornson Hall at 2258 MacArthur Blvd. -more-

Some 10 years ago I was out in my backyard pulling up ivy. My next door neighbor was doing the same. As we both neared the fence he muttered, “Gardening in California—it’s all about killing things.” He was right. -more-

Speaking truth to power is all very well. Sometimes, though, I just lose my temper and feel the need to speak truth to cockamamie. -more-

Murphy must be in the contracting business. You know, the one who wrote that famous law: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. He (or she, we’ve never met in the flesh, although I’ve fallen victim to his/her epistemology a time or two) was either a contractor or the client of one for enough time to codify the law and its corollaries. -more-

FRIDAY, FEB. 1 -more-

TUESDAY, JAN. 29 -more-

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. -more-

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!” -more-

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. -more-

Not that I miss them, but I haven’t found any Argentine ants in the house this winter. I hesitate to consider this a permanent victory, though. They’re out there somewhere, biding their time. -more-

TUESDAY, JAN. 29 -more-