Students and teachers at Berkeley's Maybeck High School are wearing skirts today in solidarity with a senior at the school who was severely burned while on an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus earlier this week. -more-

A 16-year-old boy suspected of lighting another teen on fire on an AC Transit bus on Monday evening is being charged as an adult, Alameda County prosecutors announced today. -more-

Here we go again. Determined to scuttle US efforts to broker a peace accord with the Palestinians and just ahead of John Kerry’s visit, Israel announced plans to build another 1,800 homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem. This is in addition to its plans to expel 80,000 Bedouins living in the Negev desert who are Israeli citizens, who serve in the Israeli army but are denied electricity, access to water and public services because they are not Jewish. Max Blumenthal exposes current Israeli policies of aggressively expropriating Palestinian land in his new book, ‘Goliath Life and Loathing in Greater Israel.’ -more-

Edward Samuel Fredericks, of Oakland, CA, passed away at home on Wednesday, November 6, 2013, at the age of 69, after a long and courageous battle with complex cancers, resulting in fatal leukemia. Named Edward, after his maternal grandfather, and Samuel, after his paternal grandfather, Mr. Fredericks was born on February 20, 1944, in Springfield, MA. He was the second of five children of Mildred and Henry (Harry) Fredericks. Called “Eddie” by close friends and family, he was playfully nicknamed “Teacup” by a childhood friend; this name stuck with him among his close companions. -more-

Binge drinking at UC Berkeley strains EMS system -more-

Is Israel really planning to attack Iran, or are declarations about the possibility of a pre-emptive strike at Teheran’s nuclear program simply bombast? Does President Obama’s “we have your back” comment about Israel mean the U.S. will join an assault? What happens if the attack doesn’t accomplish its goals, an outcome predicted by virtually every military analyst? In that case, might the Israelis, facing a long, drawn out war, resort to the unthinkable: nuclear weapons? -more-

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) recently wrote an Op-Ed,, "NSA's call-records program is prudence -- not prying," that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle defending the National Security Agency's programs. In her Op-Ed, Senator Feinstein disingenuously assures us that the NSA does not conduct surveillance, but rather it merely collects information contained on the average telephone bill, not the content of the messages. -more-

Most people believe in the truism that you should trust your instincts--and ordinarily this is a good idea. However, when someone is experiencing symptoms of psychosis, especially of the delusional type, instincts can not be relied upon. When someone is in an acute stage of psychosis, nothing in the person's consciousness is operating correctly. -more-

November’s Senior Power columns are about Dementia, Alzheimer’s (a form of dementia), their caregivers, and the dementia-hearing relationship.

November is National Alzheimer’s Month, also referred to as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Caregiver Month. In recent years, scientists have ramped up efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. One in 8 aged 65+ persons suffer from AD; one in 2 senior citizens has AD by age 85. -more-

In dozens, if not hundreds, of communities worldwide, including Berkeley, THURSDAY November 14 will be commemorated as a kind of “Proust Day.” It marks the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the first volume, “Swann’s Way,” in Proust’s monumental 3,000 page epoch, “In Search of Lost Time.”

Proust had been writing what would eventually, after his death, be a seven-volume work of fiction for four years when he decided he had something publishable. Publishers did not agree. Frustrated, Proust, who came from a wealthy family, self-published, paying for a print run of about 2,000 copies himself.

The book was a modest success, and Proust had hoped to publish parts that he had to cut out (“Swann’s Way” was 527 pages…) in two more volumes immediately. But the outbreak of the First World War meant that resources used in printing – including the printers themselves – were largely diverted elsewhere. And it would be more than five years until “In Search of Lost Time’s” publication started again, with “Within a Budding Grove.” That book won France’s most prestigious literary award, the Prix Goncourt, and Proust’s worldwide renown was on its way.

In the years since, Proust (who died in 1922; the last three books were published posthumously) has become one of western fiction’s most iconic figures. The nature of memory, the effect of art on consciousness, the strengths and vanities of society, the conflicts among and between people and nations, are among the themes for which Proust is a point of reference.

Proust’s pages are interlaced with references to other arts –painting, architecture, writing – especially to music.

It is therefore especially fitting that we remember and commemorate Proust by presenting samples of the music he knew and loved – as well as a modern piece whose inspiration and structure he would have appreciated.

The Northern California Proust celebration will take place Thursday, November 14 at St.John’s Presbyterian Church , 2727 College Avenue, 7 p.m. Featured music includes pieces by Debussy, Faure, Saint-Saens, Chopin, and Schubert, as well as a modern piece by Eliot Carter, inspired by Proust. There will be blilingual readings from various Proust texts. Tickets at Mrs. Dalloway’s or University Press books, $10.

And, yes, there WILL be madeleines at the end! -more-

A lot of wonderful things happen at the Hillside Club. But every four or five years something truly out-of-ordinary happens. This weekend is one of those events. There will be a poster show with 8 poster artists, all showing their work. It will be an opportunity to see the "state of the art" of the poster and meet the artists. Posters tell us a lot about who we are as a people. They refect values and our natural history. The exhibit is free. I hope you will come and reflect. -more-

Berkeley Chamber Performances will present the Sonic Escape Trio--Shawn Wyckoff, flute; Maria Millar, violin and Nan-Cheng Chen, cello--this Monday evening, 8 p. m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, near Dana, performing Ghost Ship by Maria Millar, Sounds of Scandinavia (traditional tunes, arranged by Millar & Wyckoff), a Japanese Folk Tune Medley, Millar's "take" on Bach (set in Ireland!), Bach's Air on the G String, Haydn's Divertissement No. 2 in G Major and Traditional American Tunes arranged by Millar. Sonic Escape Trio is "committed to devouring new sounds and pushing boundaries." A complimentary wine and cheese reception with the layers will follow the concert. $25, high school students free, post-high school students $12.50. 525-5211; berkeleychamberperform.org -more-

Something truly rare: Yakshagana Bay Area has announced a joint production, one day only, November 10 at 4-7 pm, Spangenberg Theatre, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto, of a Yakshagana troupe, musicians and actors, from South India. This exhilarating ancient theatrical form, which bears resemblance to Kathakali in its use of music, dramatic and acrobatic dance and lavish costumes and make-up to tell epic mythic stories of gods and heroes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana (though in Yakshagana the actors improvise dialogue), has seldom been seen here--I've been to two excellent shows of different styles of it, one (at Mills College, dancer Martha Ashton involved with the production) was over thirty years ago, the other, also produced by Yagshagana Bay Area, was just last year in Woodside. -more-