A public meeting will be held to explain the proposal and hear comments on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) proposal to sell and relocate the Berkeley Main Post Office, 2000 Allston Way Berkeley, CA 94704. The public meeting will be held Thursday, September 13, 2012, 11:00 a.m., at the City Hall chambers, 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley CA. 

The USPS is proposing the relocation of the Berkeley Main Post Office retail and Post Office Box service to a yet-to-be-determined location, as close to the current site as possible. If the move is approved, the ZIP Code will remain the same and our goal is to retain all PO Box numbers. 

Plans include moving letter carrier delivery operations to the nearby Berkeley delivery unit. The move of delivery operations will be transparent to customers and will not affect mail delivery to Berkeley businesses and residents. 

The reason behind this proposal is the need to realign USPS infrastructure due to a 20-percent drop in total mail volume over the past few years, which has been caused by a combination of economic conditions and the diversion to electronic communication and business transactions. 

The Postal Service finds itself in a very serious financial situation and is facing possible insolvency. Every opportunity to reduce expenses and generate revenue is being considered in order to maintain universal service to our customers. If the relocation is approved, USPS anticipates selling the Berkeley Main Post Office building and leasing a smaller facility for retail services. 

Written comments are also being accepted until September 28, 2012. Please submit written comments to: 

Diana Alvarado Pacific Facilities Service Office U.S. Postal Service 1300 Evans Ave. Ste. 200 San Francisco CA 94188-8200 # # # A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute. Follow the Postal Service on Twitter @USPS_PR and at Facebook.com/usps

Some other towns came to town Sunday to stroll Solano Avenue, a guesstimated mob, the population of Berkeley, Albany, and Richmond joined. 

They came by bike and bus, and some played nail-a-parking-space with Berkeley-Albany natives, who live in the vast urban grid defined by twenty block-long Solano Avenue. 

The top of the stroll, at Solano and The Alameda led off with a small ferris wheel and the bottom, near San Pablo Avenue, finished with state-fair midway fare. 

There were bikes galore, enough cops to quell a riot, causes from save the rabbits to adopt-a-bird to save the world. Politicians campaigning, kids complaining, cops schmoozing, a little cafe-boozing, stirring music, classy jewelry and…. 

The food, plenteous, and diverse. In a typical snack-attack we call midway appetite ™ we staunched ours with deep-fried in coconut oil Calamari. And that was just the two-hundred food stalls. Solano restaurants threw open their doors, or served from their front window (Chicago Pizza), or buffet tables. 

Berkeley Police manned a community relations booth, gave away post-its sporting a police pitch. Berkeley fire trotted out a nag with a fire hat and a police sticker affixed to its tired old haunch (risking becoming the butt of horses' ass jokes). BPD rolled out its mobile command vehicle, a quarter block long police station on wheels. 

Interviewed the day before, some Solano merchants said they would stay home. "The stroll's just a place to eat," said one. "It kills our business." Not all Solano businesses agreed, and those were rewarded with customers. 

Although Solano sales revenues are down, reportedly, the lengthy lane is still a "good business neighborhood" said several small-businessmen a day before the event. The avenue is lined with quaint local businesses, some dating back to the forties, or in the case of Andronicos, the twenties. 

Although snacks averaged from seven to ten dollars a chomp, Andronicos suspended its usual high prices to offer free chilled milk (courtesy Clover Dairies), and 25-cent watermelon slices. 

Even Solano businesses, which were critical of the event praised it for its clean-up. 

"When I come to the shop, Monday, I won't even notice the event was held," one said. 

The clean-up fits well with the theme of environmental-preservation, shared by many info booths. 

At 6:20 p.m. an Albany squad car, its flashing lights ablaze, announced that the event was over (it officially ended at 6 p.m., but continued on for thirty minutes)…"Clear the street." 

"The streets are ours," yelled a bystander. 

And indeed they were from 10 a.m. to 6. Three towns gathered in a mile and a half? 

The cops and I grappled with that notion and the 250, 000 attendance figure, cherished by the event's organizers. 

Suspiciously, that number never varies. 

"if that many showed up, we'd have pandemonium," said one cop. 

Another noted that "we don't count heads but we plan ahead for all contingencies." 

Bottom-line, said a cop, "it was a lot of people." And a lot of cops expecting them. 

Lots of fairs claim to be big, but Solano delivers. 

_________________________________________________________________ 

Gertrude Stein's observation, "There is no straight line in nature," has prompted critics to supply a long list of nature's linear rebuttals—the path of a falling acorn on a windless day, the flat membrane that forms at the merging of two soap-bubbles, the hexagonal walls of a honeycomb, the edge of a crystal, a stand of bamboo. 

But now we have evidence, right here in Berkeley, that there also are "right angles" in nature. 

At least there are when the natural world rubs up against the walls of a city building. 

In late August, workers atop a large structure due east of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center on Dwight Way in downtown Berkeley, hacked away at some vines that had gained a perch on the building's rooftop. 

The pruning job resulted in a strange and unsettling sight. 

The massive wall of vegetation that had covered the building for decades suddenly lost its grip and tore away from the long, brick wall. It was as if the building had decided to shrug off its winter coat. 

The next day, many curious passersby (not knowing about the role of the workers on the rooftop) speculated darkly that the collapse of the ancient cloak could be linked to climate change and global warming. (August did rack up a string of punishingly molten days, and it did look as if the vine wall might have simply fainted from the heat.) 

But what was left behind was a marvel to behold. After years of quietly and invisibly insinuating its growing branches into the rigid rectilinear niches of the building's wall, the unsecured vines had peeled back to reveal an exact, mirror-image of the structure — like Jello popped from a mold. 

Alas, the mighty vines were wrenched from the soil and removed within a matter of days. But the photos remain as added proof that Gertrude Stein underestimated the powerful agility of nature. 

Yes, Gertrude, not only are there straight lines, there is a right angle there.

The Berkeley Citizens Action Candidate Endorsement Convention will be held on Sunday, Sept 16 from 1:30-5pm at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis Street at Ashby Avenue. 

Berkeley Citizens Action has played a unique and essential role in progressive politics for the past 45+ years. Select the best office seekers for local, state and national office 

Meet the candidates and hear their ideas, vote to determine who will receive the BCA endorsement. All are welcome. Must be a paid 2012 member to vote, membership payment accepted at the door ($35 annual membership, $10 low income.) 

The following candidates have confirmed their attendance: 

Berkeley Mayor: Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi (Likely), Jacquelyn McCormick (Yes), Kriss Worthington (Yes) Berkeley City Council District 2: Adolfo Cabral (Yes), Denisha DeLane (Yes) Berkeley City Council District 3: Maxwell Anderson (Yes) Berkeley City Council District 5: Laurie Capetelli (Possible), Sophie Hahn (Yes) Berkeley School Board: Judy Appel (Yes), Beatriz Leyva-Cutler (Yes), Norma Harrison (Yes), Tracy Hollander (Yes) California State Senate District 9: Mary McILroy (Yes) California State Assembly District 15: Eugene Ruyle (Yes) AC Transit At-Large: Dolene Jones (Yes), H. E. Chris Peeples (Yes) AC Transit Ward 1: Yelda Bartlett (Yes) BART District 3: Fred Wright Lopez (Yes), Anthony Pegram (Yes), Rebecca Saltzman (Yes) BART District 7: Maria Alegria (Yes), Margaret Gordon (Yes), Zakhary Mallett (Yes) 

The BCA Measures and Propositions endorsement meeting will be held two weeks later, Sunday Sept 30 at the North Berkeley Senior Center from 1:30-5. Join us to discuss the measures and propositions on the ballot for the November election and identify the legislation to be endorsed by BCA.

Here are previous Planet articles with information and opinion about Berkeley’s November election:

ENDORSEMENT SPECIAL: Berkeley Mayor and City Council 09-05-2012

Berkeley Heats Up For the Fall Election Season 08-29-2012

Press Release: Bates and Berkeley Council Violated Brown Act in Measure S Process, Says ACLU in Letter From Bob Offer-Westort, Berkeley Standing Up for the Right to Sit Down; Michael T. Risher, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Northern California: 415 621 2493 09-06-2012

There's Something About Tom Bates (News Analysis) By Ted Friedman 09-01-2012

New: Berkeley Election News in Other Media 09-04-2012

Profiles of the Candidates for Berkeley Office in the November Election From the Berkeley City Clerk 08-28-2012

Berkeley Mayoral Candidates Forum on Sept 26th By Margot Smith 08-29-2012

Election Information: 2012 Berkeley Ballot Measures 08-29-2012

Berkeley's General Election Calendar From the Berkeley City Clerk 08-29-2012

Jacquelyn McCormick for Mayor (Opinion) By Martha Nicoloff 08-29-2012

Dan O'Neill

The Berkeley Municipal Code requires that all terms and conditions of agreements with law enforcement agencies must be presented to the City Council in writing and copies of these agreements be made available to the public at least 10 days before the public hearing. THE HEARING IS SCHEDULED FOR THE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2012, 7pm CITY COUNCIL MEETING UNDER ITEM 10a. 

THE QUESTION IS: ARE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AGREEMENTS IN WRITING OR NOT? 

Of particular concern are the agreements with the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) coordinated with the FBI Bay Area Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) a Homeland Security urban warfare training and equipment program. 

Chief Meehan and City Manager Daniel (CM) in their May 15, 2012 memo to the City Council stated that the “relationship with NCRIC is a general understanding, meaning there is no express agreement, but rather an ongoing relationship”. In their current memo for the upcoming September 18, 2012 Council meeting they have stated “the understanding with NCRIC was reduced to writing in the 2011 MOU Binder…”. 

In their May 15, 2012 memo, the Police Chief and CM state “the Police Department’s relationship with…(UASI) is a general understanding.” But in the memo for the September 18, 2012 meeting it states “the Police Department’s general understanding with UASI was reduced to writing in the 2011 MOU Binder…”. 

The 2011 writings referred to by the Police Chief and CM are one page summaries that leave out important elements of the NCRIC and UASI programs; e.g., the page on NCRIC fails to use the term Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) the core of NCRIC. The Chief’s and CM’s memo for 9/18/12 refers to the NCRIC summary as that of a “general understanding”. Are they not aware that the NCRIC MOU Binder page was revised February 14, 2012 and states it is a Summary of a “Written Policy”? Also, that the UASI 2011 page states it is a Summary of a “Written Agreement”? 

Since the NCRIC and UASI agreements are already in writing these actual signed agreements are what is required to be submitted to the City Council. They don’t need to be “reduced to writing”. They are already written. Meaningful summaries that reveal the purposes and necessity of FBI coordinated Suspicious Activity Reporting and Homeland Security Urban Warfare training and equipment and the actual operational procedures for achieving their purposes must only be submitted IN ADDITION to the agreements themselves. 

Are the Police Chief and City Manager oblivious, or devious, in not acknowledging that NCRIC and UASI programs are written agreements? There are 71 pages of UASI agreements signed by the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Management, the fiscal agent for UASI grant funds, and by Berkeley’s City Manager. These agreements, the last included expired November 30, 2010, are in a Public Viewing Binder for the 9/18/12 agenda item 10a in the City Clerk’s office. Most UASI agreements appear to have been approved retroactively by the City Council. 

Regarding NCRIC, in the Berkeley Police Department’s attachment 3 to the Chief’s and CM’s 9/18/12 memo, “Subject: Suspicious Activity Reporting…”, we are informed there are guidelines for SARs developed through the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan and NSI (Findings and Recommendations of the Suspicious Activity Reporting) and that further guidelines have been established for reporting, tracking and assessing terrorism-related SARs by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, the ISE-SAR (Information Sharing Environment Suspicious Activity Reporting Functional Standard). Called for are terrorism-related suspicious activity to be routed through designated fusion centers for appropriate vetting and review before sharing nationwide. 

Considering all these profusive Federal guidelines governing SARs, can you imagine the City’s Police Department’s relationship to the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center coordinated by the FBI’s Bay Area Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is a “General Understanding” and not a written agreement signed by representatives of all the agencies involved? 

Berkeley PD now has three sworn Terrorism Liaison Officers (TLO), up from two in 2011. These officers forward SARs to a TLO Coordinator for review who in turn submits it to the Operations Division Commander. Are the latter positions located at NCRIC, the Regional Data Fusion Center for Northern California coordinated with the FBI’s JTTF? 

The ACLU did a Freedom of Information Act request for San Francisco’s written agreement with the FBI regarding JTTF and received an MOU which indicated their TLO’s are only answerable to their FBI supervisors and may not inform their local PD supervisor of program information without approval of their FBI supervisor. It would seem that Berkeley would have such a written MOU governing its TLOs since the NCRIC coordinated by FBI’s Bay Area JTTF is a regional program. 

Attend the Berkeley City Council meeting 9/18/12, 7pm, Old City Hall, and ask the City Council to NOT APPROVE the NCRIC and UASI programs. Further the City Council must amend its’ Municipal Code so that any future Police Department agreements with such entities be presented IN THEIR ENTIRETY in writing before consideration. 

The four of us are here on sabbatical, the girls having just started school at St. Stephen's yesterday. Just before we left in August Gray Brechin brought our firm and the National Trust together to knock heads on the Berkeley Post Office threat. But rather than litigation, section 106 review, and the like, perhaps our Italian cousins offer a better solution. 

Here in Rome today we filed our application for a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno). The largest share (Euro 107.50 for each of us for six months) of the taxes and fees was for our health insurance. It took me four trips to the post office to get this right, and all four of us had to be present while they processed this most undigitally. 

But here is the beauty of it. The post office keeps people working and historic buildings occupied by selling national health insurance! Let's do as the Romans do and solve two pressing national problems at once. 

P.S. Do the math: US$135 per person for six months' health insurance. 

The U.S. Postal Service, through its designated real estate agent CBRE, is conducting a fire sale of America’s historic and architecturally distinguished post offices. Built to the highest standards and with the finest materials, those buildings and the New Deal artworks they often contain are the anchor for many U.S. cities and towns. They were designed to educate those who used them and to inspire pride in a universal public service honestly and efficiently conducted, and they are often beloved community landmarks. Many are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

This year, Benjamin Franklin’s successor as U.S. Postmaster Patrick R. Donahoe proposed selling 3700 post offices in order to briefly forestall a fiscal crisis largely manufactured by Congress in order to privatize a vital public service while stripping the public of invaluable assets. 

Without holding any public meetings or consultation with business owners, the USPS announced in June that Berkeley’s century old downtown post office would soon be on the market. The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to oppose the sale and formed a committee to consider options and to seek further information. 

That committee will meet at 11 AM on Thursday, September 13 in the City Hall Council Chambers (2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.) The public will have its first opportunity to ask questions of a USPS representative who will be present. 

“We are watching an epic public land theft in the 21st century like those in the 19th. But now the land is in the heart of America’s cities and towns, and it’s worth a fortune to those who can get it. As in the last Gilded Age, the public is the loser once again.” — Dr. Gray Brechin, Project Scholar of the Living New Deal Project 

Contact Harvey Smith @510-684-0414 or Gray Brechin @ 510-204-9607 

11 AM meeting, September 13 

City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way

It is to be expected that PG&E and Southern Cal Edison would collectively oppose SB843 and AB1990 -- two promising renewable energy bills ("Big utilities fight solar legislation," August 28, 2012). Proponents argue that expanding the state's use of clean, unlimited solar power could generate 2 gigawatts of electricity or "roughly the equivalent of two nuclear reactors." 

In response, PG&E's Aaron Johnson contends there's no need for the extra power since California's energy demand is "essential flat in load and has been for several years." 

Johnson's assessment actually provides two compelling arguments for a shift to renewables. (1) It establishes that there is no need to restart the twin San Onofre nuclear reactors (currently offline due to damaged and leaking steam generators) and (2) the 2 GW of new, "unneeded" electricity would allow the state to retire the last two reactors still operating at the quake-prone Diablo Canyon facility. 

Passing AB1990 and SB843 would not only render the Sunshine State more sustainable, it would also foreclose the possibility of California experiencing a future Fukushima -- by becoming "nuke free."

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available.

You can view it absolutely free of charge by clicking here . You can print it out to give to your friends.

Grace Underpressure has been producing it for many years now, even before the Berkeley Daily Planet started distributing it, most of the time without being paid, and now we'd like you to show your appreciation by using the button below to send her money.  

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! 

Republican convention time and what did I find at a yard sale, a campaign button for a group as extinct as the dinosaurs. A large red, white and blue, stars and strips button with NATIONAL REPUBLICAN COALITION FOR CHOICE on it. 

What an eye opener! There were actually Republican women and men at one time who believed a woman has the right to choose for herself, what to do with her own body; without the interference of anti-abortion zealots looking over her shoulders or Republican males dictating what a woman could or couldn't do. 

Now in the Dark Ages of Anti Abortion Republicanism it would be hard to find a pro-choice Republican woman except in a closet. 

And it isn't going to get any better. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and VP candidate Paul Ryan are both anti-abortionists to the max. 

If Mitt and Paul and their Republican posse get into the White House, Roe vs. Wade, stem cell research, contraception for women, and four decades of women's rights progress will be at the mercy of Republican politicians who have passed the anti-abortion litmus test.

Bill Gates, Eli Broad—what do they have in common? Two things: money and arrogance. The very idea that because a person has so much money they should be permitted by any rational society to meddle in the education system is laughable and dumb. Mr. Gates never finished college and is relative uneducated in a formal sense. Mr Broad... well I don't know. But what I do know is that these 'uberrich' have little expertise or knowledge to improve our schools.  

By the way, despite all the naysayers I have found the public schools to be excellent. All my children have advanced degrees and went to public schools K-12. I have met many if not all their teachers and found them to be dedicated and knowledgeable. I have several advanced degrees and went to public schools. The best public schools and best teachers are found in Finland, a country that adores teachers, pays them well and allows them to use their knowledge and expertise in ways that put us in the US to shame.  

Meanwhile, let's get the billionaires out of our schools and back to their businesses where they apparently are successfully making money. No reason they couldn't put some money into upgrading the school libraries, computer systems or other accessory areas but hands off the teachers, curriculum and wacko ideas about improving teaching and learning. Lastly, let us not have arrogance interfering in the education of our children

Can you include in your work the need for Berkeley to continue its historical, renowned identification of our problems, not as the personal interest of the local big pooh-bahs, but as the structure of the system that controls what's done, now almost everywhere; enforcement of the power and profit system controlled by our Owners, the people who move the armies around the world to conquer lands and peoples?. These are not only the electeds. These are the people we don't see or know, our aristocracy, now internationally based. 

Imperialism enforces capitalism onto places; weaponized or with treaties, through coercion, through dictatorships - called democracies - throughout the world.  

We cannot overcome their calculated destruction of populations' lives without addressing and converting this structure. Addressing it is telling the truth. Ignoring it is permitting the lie, telling the lie. 

Letting the screamers say we can't talk about forces outside Berkeley is just letting that level of subservience continue gleaning our Owners' leavings, meanwhile starving and killing masses of people everywhere, and leaving Berkeley unable to care well for us all, here. 

At the start of the Democratic Convention, polls showed Barack Obama tied with Mitt Romney. That’s surprising because many Americans do not look favorably on the Obama Administration; they hold the President responsible for high unemployment and trust Romney to fix the problem. Nonetheless, voters expect Obama to win, because he’s more popular. 

The most reliable political prognosticator, Nate Silver, expects Obama to get 50.9 percent of the vote (he received 52.9 percent in 2008) and 305.5 electoral votes (365 in 208). Silver says Obama has a 73.1 percent chance of winning. 

If the President does prevail in November, it won’t be because of the economy. The US is experiencing a weak recovery from the devastating 2008 recession (GDP growth is a tepid 1.7 percent) and unemployment is high (8.3 percent). Even though America’s growth rate is greater than that of Europe (but less than that of China and India), citizens are not satisfied. consumer confidenceis low and recent polls show 62 percent of respondents believe that the US is “on the wrong track.” Not surprisingly, 52 percent of poll respondents believe that Mitt Romney “would do a better job handling the economy and unemployment.” 

Romney hasn’t done a good job articulating his vision for the next four years. In his acceptance speech he presented his minimalist five-step plan to create “12 million jobs”: open all of America to fossil-fuel excavation; initiate an education voucher system; forge new trade agreements; cut the deficit; and reduce business taxes and regulations. 

Fortunately for the President, Americans continue to blame George W. Bush rather than Barack Obama for the bad economy – but the gap is narrowing; more citizens blame Obama now than they did in 2009. Most voters probably agree with San Francisco Chronicle business columnist Andrew Ross, who summarized the reasons the weak economy makes the President vulnerable: the Administration underestimated the depth of the recession and the systemic nature of job loss; the 2009 stimulus package wasn’t big enough; and Obama lost focus on the economy when he shifted his attention to health care. 

Given that the economy is languishing, many Americans place at least some of the blame on the current occupants of the White House, and Republicans are spending millions of dollars dinging Obama, it’s surprising that the President is doing as well as he is. That’s because voters like Barack Obama more than Mitt Romney. 

Although polls differ, most draw the same conclusion as the Pew Research poll that found Romney’s unfavorable rating (52 percent) far exceeded his favorable (37 percent) – Obama’s unfavorable rating (42 percent) was less than his favorable (50 percent). A recent American Enterprise Institute poll helped explain these findings: Americans like Obama because of his character and the perception he “cares about people;” they like Romney because of his business background and the fact he’s “not Obama.” Barack has empathy; he believes in the people. Mitt has a resume; he believes in corporations. 

The candidate that voters liked the most has won the last five Presidential elections. In 1992, this was Bill Clinton (vs. George H.W. Bush), in 1996 Clinton again (vs. Bob Dole), in 2000 George W. Bush (vs. Al Gore); in 2004 Bush again (vs. John Kerry); and in 2008 Barack Obama (vs. John McCain).  

If he is going to prevail on November 6th, Romney has to accomplish two tasks. He has to tell voters what he would do differently than Obama to create meaningful jobs. And, he has to make voters like him. Romney didn’t do either at the Republican convention. He had his chance in prime time to boost his standing but got no bounce from his Tampa convention speech. 

In October, Romney will debate Obama on three occasions. The first debate, on October 3rd, will be devoted to domestic policy. That’s probably Romney’s best chance to convince voters that he is more likable than Obama and has a real plan to create jobs.  

Meanwhile, Republicans will inundate swing voters with an unprecedented media campaign blasting the President. That’s unlikely to convince Independents to vote for Romney but it may disgust them enough to keep them away from the polls (the major thrust of the GOP 2012 campaign seems to be to discourage voters from exercising their franchise). 

Democrats had a successful convention, capped off by Obama’s stirring speech – “I am hopeful because of you.” Next he has to do well in the debates. Finally, on November 6th, Democrats must do a good job getting out the vote. 

Romney can win, but he has his work cut out for him because Obama is more likable. Of the two, Obama is the one Americans would rather sit next to on a plane. Obama’s the candidate with empathy; the one offering a positive vision for the next four years. 

Psychosis is sometimes believed to be an opposite of depression. It is not happiness, but it is sometimes marked by an excessive level of energy, where depression is known for slowness. Medications used to treat psychosis sometimes create depression, and that could be related to why they work. 

In some cases a person's depression is so severe that it creates a "fight or flight" response, and triggers psychosis. When excessively depressed, a person's nervous system starts to regard this as a threat, and this triggers an extreme reaction that opposes the depression, namely a fight or flight reaction and also psychosis. 

On the other hand, sometimes a person's psychosis is negative enough (consists of too many negative thoughts) that it can produce a type of depression. This is one reason why a drug called "abilify" was recently marketed as useful to combat depression. Abilify is an antipsychotic drug, and by cutting down on aberrant, negative thoughts, it may sometimes relieve depression. This is a different approach to dealing with depression than strictly using an antidepressant. Depression is sometimes caused by a lack of neurotransmitters, or sometimes, it is caused by an excess of them. 

For psychotically depressed people, either psychosis or depression can come first and activate the other. Either way, a person is dealing with something that is hard to treat. Their brain is producing symptoms that are at opposite ends of the scale. 

Psychotic depression is miserable to experience. It is a very bad thing that seems to often happen to good people. You may feel hyper and agitated and yet the outlook is gloomy, and everything seems awful. In some instances, you have a lot of energy accompanied by negative thoughts. Yet this high energy doesn't translate into doing work or getting anything useful accomplished-you feel restless like you can't settle down, but doing work is out of the question. If this weren't so, I would say that there was something positive about psychotic depression. The only positive thing I can list about this particular ailment is that it is a good thing once you get out of it. 

(Obsessive compulsive people, a group I don't know much about, seem to be the ones that often get a lot of work done due to their symptoms. I have met two or three small business owners, who are workaholics, who told me that they were obsessive-compulsive.) 

When one comes out of a phase of psychotic depression, one feels more relaxed and at the same time, there is more usable energy to get things done. The good thing about depression is that sooner or later, it usually lets up. The good thing about psychosis is that with treatment, it can subside. 

People with psychotic depression are more prone to suicide than are some others. This is because it contains misery along with high energy. It means that you are miserable enough (and erroneously feel hopeless enough) to make suicide plans, and you have enough energy to carry them out. 

At certain points in my past, I have experienced psychosis and depression at the same time. And I do know, firsthand, that it is an awful type of suffering, one that can't be easily solved. 

If you think you or someone you know has psychotic depression, get that person some help. A doctor can prescribe an antidepressant and an antipsychotic to treat it, or may just prescribe one or the other. Regardless, there is no reason to suffer unnecessarily.

* * *

Just a reminder that my books are for sale on Amazon. They can be located by using the search box in the Amazon website. Or, if you would like, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jack+bragen

Several serious ‘months’ are designated in September. Healthy Aging Month, for example. World Alzheimer’s Day on the twenty first. Forty-six states celebrate the 5th annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day on Sept. 22. Grandparents Day is September 9. National Senior Center Month will again be celebrated in some communities. Thirty-eight percent of Berkeley’s 112,580 population are seniors, elders or boomers (2010 Census). The boomer demographic consists of persons born in the postwar years, generally considered in the USA and other Allied nations between 1945 and the early 1960s, when there was an increase in the birth rate following the return of World War II service personnel. 

Some senior centers are now being referred to as “community senior centers” and “multipurpose senior centers.” Seems oxymoronic, but there it is. If a new label lends itself to renting out facilities, it’s an OK thing, but expanding senior center labels while decreasing services is unacceptable and catching: subsidized senior/disabled housing projects’ recreation rooms have become community rooms. 

“Life Long Learning Program Classes Designed for Adults 55+” once mostly taught in senior centers, usually by credentialed instructors, are fewer and now cost $35.00 per class per term. This includes the Frail Elders and the Adults with Disabilities Programs. At a neighbor city’s senior center, there’s a $1.00 “drop in” charge. At another, there’s an annual membership fee. 

Years ago, gerontologist Erdman Ballagh Palmore (born 1930) wrote that “Age-segregated facilities, such as senior centers, discriminate against younger people and therefore are a form of ageism…. It is a kind of positive ageism in that it discriminates in favor of older people. From the standpoint of younger people who are not admitted and who pay most of the taxes that support the centers, senior centers are a negative kind of ageism, or reverse ageism.”  

John Krout, in his “Senior Center Evaluation: A Technical Assistance Guide for Providers of Services to the Aging” (1993), also expressed some unreasonable reasoning. “… several problems exist with the policy of restricting senior centers to seniors: … They waste community resources by providing duplicate facilities for different age groups, which could be served by one facility-- a community center for all ages. They are based largely on the old stereotype that most seniors are frail or disabled, senile, poor, or otherwise in need of special programs. Activities or programs that require older persons to define themselves as ‘old’ or in any way incapable or inferior, are unattractive to most seniors.”  

Such pronouncements serve only as grist for the mill of thoughtful discussion.  

Recognized by the Older Americans Act (OAA) as a community focal point, senior centers have become one of older adults’ most widely used resources because they are designated for delivery of OAA services that allow participants to access multiple services in one place. Compared with their peers, senior center participants have higher levels of health, social interaction and life satisfaction, and lower levels of income. Participants’ average age is 75. Most visit their center 1-3 times per week and spend an average of 3.3 hours per visit. Today in the United States, nearly 11,000 senior centers daily serve 1 million older adults. 

The Alameda County Area Agency on Aging describes a multipurpose senior center as a facility that provides a broad spectrum of services including, but not limited to, health, social, nutritional, educational services and recreational activities for older adults. Most are staffed and open multiple days during the week. There are also senior centers in communities which may operate one day a week or as part of a local church or recreation center program.  

Senior centers offer a variety of programs which may include exercise classes, ballroom dancing, health screenings, legal services, financial planning sessions, 55 Alive Driving classes, computer and other adult education classes, travel trips, and help with applying for benefits and programs available to elders in Alameda County. Some centers have also hosted meetings of such advocacy groups as Gray Panthers, Congress of California Seniors, and Save Section 8. Senior Centers depend on volunteers to augment paid staff, and may offer excellent opportunities to those seeking meaningful volunteer assignments. 

For information, call the AC AAA Senior Information and Assistance program at 1-800-510-2020 or 510-577-3530. If you live outside of Alameda County, contact your local Area Agency on Aging to identify a senior center near you. 

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In December 2011, the San Francisco Chronicle published a photo, “Disabled and seniors gathered to mourn, holding a ‘funeral’ for Berkeley's warm-water pool. The much-beloved pool is set to 92 degrees and is used by hundreds of disabled and seniors for water exercises. The pool is scheduled to be demolished.” Since the 1980s, the pool was used by disabled people, seniors and parents with infants through exercise classes offered by the city and Berkeley City College.  

The warm water pool has long been an issue in which Berkeley’s Commission on Disability has been actively involved. For the last 5 years, there has been an ongoing struggle to reconstruct the “warm pool.” Just how much influence Berkeley commissions have is questionable. Some less, some more than others. It would seem that the Commissions on Aging (COA) and on Disability COD) would be of particular relevance to senior citizens. There appear to be three COD vacancies (of eight)—potential appointees of Councilmembers Capitelli, Moore and Worthington. (The Commission roster was last updated on August 28, 2012.)  

The warm water has a soothing effect for people with muscle and joint disorders, and provides a comfortable environment for aquatic exercises -- a critical part of rehabilitation and overall health for people with limited mobility. A warm-water pool is good fibromyalgia therapy because cold water can make muscles tense up. It is especially important in FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome) because many people with the condition cannot tolerate cold. A warm-water pool is kept around 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), which is several degrees warmer than most heated pools. (92 degrees has also been mentioned.) 

In June 2012 the City Council unanimously approved two measures for Berkeley's November election: a $19.4 million bond measure and $604,000 parcel tax measure on the November ballot that would fund construction and renovation of the city’s swimming pools, to rebuild the Warm and Willard pools and to make needed repairs at King and West Campus pools; and a parcel tax to provide $605,000 annually for operating Warm and Willard pools (which currently have no budget. If passed by voters, the measure would build a new warm water pool to replace the one that closed down in December 2011 at Berkeley High School, renovate the pool at Willard Middle School, and improve locker rooms at King Pool in North Berkeley.  

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NEWS 

Is fibromyalgia hereditary? Fibromyalgia is not passed directly from parents to children as are such diseases as cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s, and hemophilia. But family studies have found that the odds of having fibromyalgia are several times greater in the immediate families of people with fibromyalgia than in families in which no one has fibromyalgia. These observations suggest that heredity is indeed a factor in causing fibromyalgia. In fact, studies of DNA from family members of people with fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndromes have turned up a number of genes that could help explain why these disorders seem to run in families. Each of these genes plays a role in the nervous system's response to things that hurt, such as pressure and heat. Some of the same genes are also associated with depression and anxiety, which may be the reason why certain antidepressant medications help reduce fibromyalgia symptoms. 

News reports of low-income San Francisco seniors’ struggles, especially in housing, are increasing. For example, "Low-income seniors struggle in S.F.," by Kevin Fagan (San Francisco Chronicle, August 26, 2012). Elsewhere, "Thousands of deficiencies [are being] reported at Louisiana nursing homes," by Alison Bath and Mary Nash-Wood (Alexandria Town Talk, August 27, 2012). 

A new study suggests a link between the month of your birth and your longevity. Persons born between September and November in the years 1880-1895 had about a 40% higher chance of living to 100 than those born in March, researchers from the University of Chicago Center on Aging found. These findings do not prove a cause-and-effect link, simply an association. But they do point to the importance of the environments in which a child is conceived and grows. "Childhood living conditions may have long-lasting consequences for health in later life and longevity,” they say. Why might the month of birth -- or month of conception – have affected how long someone lived at that time? One possibility is that seasonal diseases played a role. 

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An invitation. Candidates for election are welcome to share statements of their accomplishments and plans vis a vis senior citizens and elders. Please email them to me at pen136@dslextreme.com.  

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: September, October and November 2012. Be sure to confirm. Readers are welcome to share by email news of future events and deadlines that may interest boomers, seniors and elders. Daytime, free, and Bay Area events preferred. pen136@dslextreme.com.  

Monday, Sept. 10. 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Albany YMCA/Albany Library Brown Bag Lunch Speaker's Forum: Dr. Joel Parrott of the Oakland Zoo & President, CEO and Staff Veterinarian of the The Oakland Zoo: a presentation for adults -- with Animals. The forum is co-sponsored by the Albany YMCA and the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free. Contact: Ronnie Davis. 510-526-3720 x16  

Monday, Sept. 10. 7 P.M. Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. As part of the California Reads program, Delphine Hirasuna, author of The Art of the Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946, will speak about her book and the experience of Japanese-Americans during World War II, when they were forcibly removed from their homes and interned in remote locations. Gaman is a Japanese word that has no exact English equivalent-- endurance, patience, persistence, forbearance and dignity in the face of pain, frustration and adversity. 510-524-3043.  

Mondays, Sept. 10, 17 and 24. Evening Computer Class. Central Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. Free. 510-981-6241.  

Wednesday, Sept. 12. 12:15 – 1 P.M. UC,B Noon Concert Series. Hertz Concert Hall.  

Mosa Tsay, cello; Miles Graber, piano. Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99. Emily Frey, voice; Tony Lin, piano. Grieg: Haugtussa, Op. 67. Free. 510-642-4864 

Wednesdays, Sept. 12 and 26. 1:30 P.M. Union City Library, 34007 Alvarado-Niles Road. 510-745-1464. Fremont Main library, 2400 Stevenson Blvd. 510-745-1401. HEALTHY EATING FOR OLDER ADULTS: My Neighbor's Kitchen Table. Nutritionists Mary Collett, MPH and RD, Mary Louise Zernicke, MS, MPH, RD, CSG will discuss the special nutritional needs of seniors, including how traditional foods can fit into a healthy eating plan, taking supplements and more. Free. 510-795-2627. For information about other Alameda County libraries’ Older Adult Services, contact Patricia Ruscher at 510-745-1491.  

Thursdays, Sept. 13, 20 and 27. 10 A.M. Computers for beginners. Central Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge Free. 510-981-6241 

Thursday, Sept. 13. 7 P.M. “Effects of the Evacuation Order.” A panel of local residents will present personal stories documenting the unique and diverse impacts of Executive Order 9066 issued in 1942 requiring all persons of Japanese ancestry to evacuate the West Coast. El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Avenue. Free. 510-526-7512. E-Mail: swoodbur@ccclib.org 

Thursdays, Sept. 13, 20 and 27. 6 P.M. Lawyers in the Library. Central Berkeley Public Library , 2090 Kittredge. Free. 510-981-6241.  

Friday, September 14, 12:10-1 P.M. UC,B Elkus Room, 125 Morrison Hall. Musicians and dancers featured at the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention demonstrate their art and speak about their experiences. Guests include cloggers Thomas Maupin and Daniel Rothwell, and father-daughter duo Rafe & Clelia Stefanini. Moderated by Professor Ben Brinner. Jamming under the oak tree on faculty glade follows. Free. 510-642-4864 

Saturday, Sept. 15. 1-3:30 P.M. Making Sense of the American Civil War. Central Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. Guest lecturer Professor Ari Kelman of UC Davis will speak on the legacy of the American Civil War and emancipation, and lead one of three simultaneous book discussions scheduled to start immediately after the lecture. Free. 510-981-6241. 

Saturdays, Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15. 1 P.M. Oakland Public Library Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. Free. Writers’ Support & Critique Group. 510-597-5017 

Wednesday, Sept. 19. 6:30-7:30 P.M. Author Talk. North branch, Berkeley Public Library, 1170 The Alameda. Author Mani Feniger talks about her book The Woman in the Photograph: The Search for My Mother's Past. Free. 510-981-6250 

Thursday, Sept. 20. 7 P.M. A screening of the documentary film, "Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story," with speakers Karen Korematsu and Ling Liu. Fred 

Korematsu was one of the few Japanese Americans to defy the evacuation order; his arrest led to a Supreme Court case. El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Avenue. Free. 510-526-7512. E-Mail: swoodbur@ccclib.org 

Thursdays, Sept. 20 and 27. 12 Noon. Literacy Reading Club with Katherine Gee. Practice English conversation at the Literacy Reading Club. Meet other adults, build confidence in your speaking and discuss a good book! Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free. 510-745-1480. 

Thursdays, Sept. 20 and 27. 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM Literacy Reading Club with Lisa Wenzel. Practice English conversation at the Literacy Reading Club. Meet other adults, build confidence in your speaking and discuss a good book! Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free. 510-745-1480.  

Monday, Sept. 24. 7 P.M. Kensington Library Book Club: The Legend of the Fire Horse Woman by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. Three generations of Japanese women are told through the eyes of Sayo, the family's matriarch. Her story takes place both in 1942, at the Manzanar camp, and back in 1902, when she came to America as a bride. Houston vividly re-creates the limitations and loneliness of life in the Manzanar camp. Each meeting starts with a poem selected and read by a member with a brief discussion following the reading. New members welcome. 61 Arlington Av. Free. 510-524-3043. 

Tuesdays, Sept. 25, Oct. 23, and Nov. 27. 3-4 P.M. "Read & Share" Book Club (formerly "Tea and Cookies") Central Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. Free. 510-981-6100. 

Wednesday, Sept. 26. 1:30-2:30P.M. Great Books discussion group. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Rosalie Gonzales, group facilitator. Free. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. 510-526-3720. Come to one meeting, or all meetings. Books are available at the Library.  

Wednesday, Sept. 26. 1:30 P.M. Meet the candidates for Berkeley Mayor at a forum at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst, corner of MLK. Moderated by George Lippman of the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, the candidates will present their positions and discuss their visions for Berkeley. Sponsored by the Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers. Free. Note: This information is derived from the Planet’s Election Section, i.e. it is not included in the NBSC September newsletter calendar. Contact: Margot Smith Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers, 2539 Telegraph Ave, Suite B, Berkeley, CA 94704. 510-548-9696 or 510-486-8010 or GrayPanthersBerk@aol.com.  

Sunday, September 30. 12 Noon, 2 and 3 P.M. UC,B Dept. of Music Performances at Cal Fall Free for All. 12 Noon: Morrison Hall. 2<sup>nd</sup> floor loft: Javanese Gamelan under the direction of Midiyanto previews music for the November 7 shadow play; 1 P.M. : Hertz Hall: Davitt Moroney, harpsichord; 2 P.M.: Sather Tower (Campanile): University carillonist Jeff Davis plays the 61-bell carillon; 3 P.M. : Hertz Hall: Marika Kuzma leads the University Chorus and Chamber Chorus. Free. 510-642-4864 

Tuesdays, Oct. 2, Nov. 6 and Dec. 4. 5 P.M. 5366 College Ave. Oakland Public Library Rockridge Branch. Lawyers in the library. Free. 510-597-5017.
 

Wednesdays, Oct. 3, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. 6-8 P.M. Lawyer in the Library. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free 15 minute consultation with an attorney who will clarify your situation, advise you of your options, get you started with a solution, and make a referral when needed. Sign up in person at the Reference desk or call 510-526-3720 ext. 5 during library hours. 

Wednesdays, Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 and Nov. 7, 14, 21 and 28. 12 Noon. Playreaders at Central Berkeley Public Library. 2090 Kittredge. Free. 510-981-6100.  

Wednesdays, Oct. 3, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. 6-8 P.M. Lawyer in the Library. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free 15 minute consultation with an attorney who will clarify your situation, advise you of your options, get you started with a solution, and make a referral when needed. Sign up in person at the Reference desk or call 510-526-3720 ext. 5 during library hours. 

Fridays, Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26. 3 P.M. Super Cinema. Central Berkeley Public Library. 2090 Kittredge. Free. 510-981-6100.  

Thursdays, Oct. 11 and Nov. 8. 7-8:45 P.M. Cafe Literario Berkeley Public Library north branch, 1170 The Alameda. Facilitated book discussions in Spanish. October title: Carlos Fuentes’ La muerte de Artemio Cruz. November title: Marcela Serrano’s Diez Mujeres. 510-981-6250 

Wednesday, October 24. 1:30-2:30P.M. Great Books discussion group. Troth, by Gregor von Rezzori. Rosalie Gonzales, group facilitator. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. 510-526-3720.  

Wednesdays, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. 6-8 P.M. Lawyer in the Library. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free 15 minute consultation with an attorney who will clarify your situation, advise you of your options, get you started with a solution, and make a referral when needed. Sign up in person at the Reference desk or call 510-526-3720 ext. 5 during library hours.  

Wednesday, November 28. 1:30-2:30P.M. Great Books discussion group. Sunday Morning, by Wallace Stevens. Rosalie Gonzales, group facilitator. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. 510-526-3720.  

Wednesday, Dec. 5. 6-8 P.M. Lawyer in the Library. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free 15 minute consultation with an attorney who will clarify your situation, advise you of your options, get you started with a solution, and make a referral when needed. Sign up in person at the Reference desk or call 510-526-3720 ext. 5 during library hours. 

If you love either early 20<sup>th</sup> century art or the California out-of-doors, you have just one more week to enjoy a delightful exhibit at St. Mary’s College Museum of Art, just a couple of stops through the Tunnel in Moraga. “The Nature of Collecting: the Early 20<sup>th</sup> Century Fine Art Collection of Roger Epperson” showcases works collected by an East Bay Regional Park ranger between 1984 and his untimely accidental death at the age of 54 in 2008.  

The genesis of his hands-on quest for works created primarily in California in the first third of the past century was Asian-influenced color woodcuts, with especially fine examples of artists like Bertha Lum, William Rice and Berkeley’s own Chiura Obata, whose Telegraph Avenue studio is a Berkeley landmark now threatened by development. 

California plein air painting, landscapes which show the majestic outdoor scenes characteristic of the state’s wide open spaces as well as intimate views of natural settings, form another featured category. An essay by Robert Taylor in the beautiful exhibit catalogue quotes longtime friend Bob Doyle, now general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District saying that Epperson’s “joy in being outdoors” informed his art acquisitions. 

Images of some of the works on exhibit can be seen here 

The museum is open Wednesday through Sundays from 11:00am to 4:30pm. The last day of the exhibit is a week from Sunday, September 16. 

Saint Mary's College of California: 

1928 Saint Mary's Road Moraga, CA 94556, 

(925) 631–4000. 

'Daughter of the Red Tsar' 

When the lights at The Thick House on Potrero Hill go up—or rather, when they dim to dreamlike blues—for the final night of 'Daughter of the Red Tsar,' a girlish form is writhing as though fraught by nightmare on a bed center stage, with figures draped in shawls, heads covered, almost shrouded, kneeling downstage ... Down the aisle through the audience another figure in bridal gown processes, and at the head of the bed bursts into exquisite—almost exquisitely painful—high notes ... The young woman on the bed awakes: "I thought I heard my mother's voice," she sings. It's Crystal Philippi as Svetlana, daughter to Joseph Stalin, telling her Nurse (Maria Mikheyenko) about the ghostly appearance of her dead mother Nadya (Valentina Osinski) that troubles her sleep—and much of Lisa Scola Prosek's remarkable—and compact (80 minutes)—new opera about the first meeting of Stalin and Churchill in Moscow, 'Daughter of the Red Tsar.' 

Churchill, the notorious anti-communist—played and sung with gruff ebullience and sly charisma by that ever-adventuresome tenor, John Duykers, is secretly flown to the invasion-beleaguered Soviet Union by a chorus of sopranos, their voices and gestures rising and dipping like wing elevators, to meet the formidable Red Tsar himself, admirably presented by bass/baritone Scott Graff as laconic, pricklish ... Their meeting is heralded by both and on both sides by hesitation, old bitterness—both express their nations' resentments at "going it alone"—suspicion and foreboding. ("I do not like this thing I have to do ... I do not think it will go down well!") Much hinges on whether the Western allies—Britain and the freshly-involved U. S.—will open up a Second Front, taking the onus off the Soviets. (Thomas Prosek's imposing set, dominated by Stalin's massive desk, backed by a huge wall map of Eurasia and the Mediterranean, is the overriding image of the production, with Alexis Lane Jensen's costumes filling out the stage Prosek's design defines.) 

Stalin, too, is haunted by his late wife's specter, which he fends off brusquely. And Svetlana's in love, dallying with Alexei Kapler, a Jewish writer—bass/baritone Philip Skinner singing lushly, with broad romantic gestures—who jokes about the doom of poets in Russia, pantomiming Pushkin's death in a duel while Svetlana giggles. Meanwhile, the kulaks sing of their attachment to their leader—Graff standing on a stool, peering stolidly through a picture frame, dusted by Mikheyenko—who brought them "prosperity, electricity"—and Churchill, first slipping out a mickey of scotch from his dressing gown, wallows in a hotel bath, the shower head held aloft like a microphone by splendid mime Roham Shaikhani as ever-present NKVD chief Beria, appropriately silent—and often drunk, weaving and dancing—throughout. Churchill's approached for the preliminaries by Molotov (Wayne Dexter Wong), a diplomatic wrangle over who will be nice, and the mistake of treating the other "roughly." 

The two titanic national figures finally meet at midnight, Stalin's desk becoming a banquet table—drinks abound ... Meanwhile, Svetlana's beau is "disappeared," interrogated and tortured by the NKVD, his love letters to Stalin's girl (who's next seen gushing over them, sitting on her bed) read aloud and derided. 

The meeting between the two leaders breaks down, from servile toasts to sweeping generalities, thinly-veiled allusions to appeasement ("If they feed the crocodile, the crocodile will eat them last"), cryptic remarks ("a riddle wrapped up in a mystery") and finally caustic reproaches of cowardice and "the Nazis should finish them off; it might be better," all mediated by the two interpreters (who serve also as chorus throughout, picking up the background roles), sung by Natalie S. Moran and Kira Dills DeSura, with rolling eyes as they translate in the ear of each leader, grimacing in turn. 

Abruptly, the two turn away from each other—then Duykers as Churchill equivocates and patronizes: "When I think of all that oil ... We should really start again!" Suddenly, all is charm, compliments, smiles—Svetlana is presented to an admiring Churchill by her proud father, while the emaciated figure of her doomed beau intones from the wings—and the meeting—and opera—end in mutual duplicity, not crocodile tears for all swept away in the storm that sweeps over the world. 

The cast—particularly Duykers, Philippi and Graff, as well as the non-singing but gesturally tuneful Shaikhani—sing and play with elan. Melissa Weaver—who greeted the audience before curtain as a snippy Slavic bureaucratic functionary—has brilliantly stage directed a genuine opera, Scola Prosek's orchestration (steadfastly conducted by Martha Stoddard, chamber orchestra of Emmanuela Nikiforovna, Michel Taddei, Ariella Hyman, Joel Davel, Jerry Kramer and Lisa Sylvester on violin, double bass, cello, percussion, accordion and piano), vocal lines, lyrics and dramatic continuity provide the antithesis and counterpoint, combining in a complex but unified image—what opera is, by definition. 'Daughter of the Red Tsar' marks another—big—step forward for this gifted composer-librettist, whose (now) seven operas mark progress in the operatic form, a crucial element in the development of today's theater. We're lucky to be able to see these premieres locally—and look forward to seeing her next project, again at the Thick House, next year—and undoubtedly seeing 'Daughter of the Red Tsar' again. 

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity' at the Aurora 

"Seriously, they give me a pair of bongos ... " Macedonio "The Mace" Guerra, lifelong Big Time Wrestling fan turned pro himself, leads the audience through the current incarnation of the hybrid sport-as-scripted-spectacle, a natch for theatrical consumption—and incidentally his own "sentimental education" in a bastardized art form and the business deals behind it which essentially require that he keep his mouth shut, as well as his own personal and ethnic bowdlerization ... in Aurora's entertaining Bay Area premiere of Kristoffer Diaz's 'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.' 

The three-sided audience at the Aurora is treated to a ringside view of the overblown festivities, the actual ring dead-center, backed by twin video screens, the whole theater festooned with flashing lights (Nina Ball's set design). When the spectators (no better word for those of us onlookers) file in, we're greeted by a little warm-up, some preacting by wrestler (and fight director) Dave Maier, who tells us when—and what—to chant and cheer, inviting us to join him for a little fun in the ring ... 

Tony Sancho, in a splendid Bay Area debut as Guerra, handles a sometimes awkward role with grace and affability. The play, though pretty well put together and paced, is essentially a monologue by Guerra, phasing more and more in and out of brief vignettes, jockeying for position with his boss (a feisty, blustering Ron Gnapp as Everett "EKO" Olson, creator of THE Wrestling), the champ and prima donna (a solid Beethoven Oden in the gilded title—and hair—role)—and Guerra's own discovery, Indo-American muslim street hipster Vigneshwar "VP" Paduar (an affable, funny Nasser Khan), who morphs into The Fundamentalist, with Guerra burlesquing his Alfonso Bedoya-inspired bandito-guerilla sidekick, with a compound name evoking Che and Fidel, among others ... finally evolving into the series of fights with the wordless antagonists The Bad Guy, Billy Heartland and crusty vet Old Glory (all played by Maier), to set up The Fundamentalist as the challenger-fall guy for the further apotheosis of Chad Deity. There's a nice light touch—and switch of narrator, from Guerra to VP, in the denouement. 

The play—it somehow manages, more than most spectacles-as-theater to show off a certain amount of dramaturgy—gets to discuss, sometimes act out, questions of race, identity, the image of society in a nation of consumers ... but at moments a spectator has to pause and wonder why, if the modified thrust stage of the Aurora's to become a ring, with the audience its bleachers cheering section, why not something tougher, like Brecht/Weill's 'Mahagonny,' or more "normal" in terms of celebrated play ('Chad Deity' was nominated for a Pulitzer), 'The Grea White Hope'? 

Nonetheless, the Aurora team—including director Jon Tracy, designers Nina Ball, Maggie Whittaker, Cliff Caruthers, Kurt Landisman, Jim Gross—and consultant Dan "Helfyre" (who got in the ring with Maier before the show opening night) and Elizabeth Cadd (THE dancing girl, whose multiple image, whether in bikini top or bhurka, dances acroos the big video screens)—combine to give it their all, acquitting the production well. 

It's an often engaging evening, but—theatrically speaking—I'd call it a draw. 

At the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison (near Shattuck),Tuesdays through Sundays at various times, through September 30. $32-$60. 843-4822; auroratheatre.org

A Hindu flight attendant, a wealthy New York social matron, two aging former seminarians, a dance instructor ...

Some plays are character studies, some plays take a situation and play it out--James Keller writes the rare play that does both. A prolific playwright, who was long associated with the Magic Theatre as well as other venues in the Bay Area, around The States and in Britain, Keller has been producing his own plays and adaptations locally for the last few years with his company, Poor Players, resulting in some of the most engaging theatrical events here in recent memory. Two programs of his short plays, Men Only, directed by Martha Luehrman (an Actors Ensemble of Berkeley member, who has acted in Keller's productions) and Women Alone, directed by Keller, will play in repertory at Live Oak Theater, with a rare appearance by Keller himself, soloing onstage in his one-man adaptation of James Joyce's 'Ulysses'--a great opportunity to experience the wit and perception of one of our truly accomplished writers for the stage. 

With Elinor Bell, Janice Fuller Leone, Susannah Wood, Michael Fleming, Bruce Kaplan, Paul Mercelin, Rish Sanghvi. 

Men Only: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 11, 14, 15 & 16, all at 7:30; Women Alone, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, Spetember 12 (7:30), 15 (2 p. m.), 16 (2 p. m.)--and 'Ulysses' Thursday, September 13 at 7:30 (also at 142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley, Sunday, September 9 at 2), Live Oak theater, 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman). Tickets: $20, or all three for $45. (925) 473-1363