WED 10
The title of Ken Fandell’s photo show is closer to a short story: More Oscillations Between Infinity and Proximity (girlfriends, sneakers, basketball, pizza, martinis, the sky, inspiring and my place in the cosmos). Thank you for sharing, Ken. The Chicago artist specializes in manipulated photographs, one of which, the 5′ x 9′ The Sky Above My Home (10/8/2002-6/14/2003), is a montage of views of the sky, shot from the exact same spot over a series of months. Fandell’s series of snapshots, (I Think Everything Is Really Important), including a medium-close-up view of a green-tiled lavatory floor and sneakers (with jeans and belt, in pants-down position, peeking out of the bottom of the frame), is also part of the show. “More Oscillations” is now up and running at Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St., Berkeley, and is highly recommended. 510-527-1214 or Traywick.com — Kelly Vance
THU 11
It’s not the most exhaustive investigation of the carpet of lies and half-truths surrounding 9/11, but Guerrilla News Network’s AfterMath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11 is at least a pretty good start in the right direction. Narrated by rapper Paris and including expert testimony from a variety of inquisitive skeptics (including publisher Mike Ruppert and retired UCB prof Peter Dale Scott), the documentary digs up enough disturbing talking points to turn the most mildly interested viewer into an instant conspiracy nut. Sample questions: “To what extent should the airlines have been prepared for 9/11?” and “What ties, if any, did the US government and intelligence agencies have with the terrorists or their supporters?” We may never know the full answers, but we deserve to. Stephen Marshall and Ian Inaba, the film’s director and producer, are appearing in person this evening (6:30 p.m.) at the Parkway Theater to lead a Q&A after the screening. $5. 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. PicturePubPizza.com — Kelly Vance
FRI 12
From her outpost deep in the desert, our own rockscribe Stefanie Kalem describes Weed Patch and its latest CD, Maybe the Brakes Will Fail, as “Wilco-ish, with more rock tones and Stipe-ish vocals.” Which signifies good news for Wilco and REM fans, no doubt. The Stipe-ish vocals are handled by Neal Weiss, who also plays guitar, coproduces, and writes the songs. When he’s not doing all that, he writes freelance music features for this publication. Baseball fans, take note — Weiss’ tribute to Sandy Koufax, legendary former Dodgers pitcher and captain of the mythical Jewish all-star team, is one of the disc’s best cuts. Come wander through the Weed Patch at the Ivy Room (858 San Pablo Ave., Albany) tonight. 510-524-9220. — Kelly Vance
SAT 13
Once, before all this wondrous concrete was poured, before the freeways came, before there was even a Mickey D’s or a Tilden Park, Oakland was land. Just land. It must have been gorgeous. Sustainable Agriculture Education and its second annual AgriCultural Roots Fair want you to remember that and to keep your connection to the land — so they’re throwing an all-day celebration at the Oakland Museum today. In addition to the customary ethnic food and drinks, kids’ activities, live traditional music, and a seasonal produce tasting, there’ll be backyard harvest competition, a farmers’ market, and agrarian crafts. The fair is free and open to the public, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Want to know more? Log on to SageCenter.org — Kelly Vance
SUN 14
A fifteen-year-old child is injured in a drive-by shooting, a young girl is hurt in a family dispute, and a homeless man comes to a realization. It all happens in The Waiting Room, a gospel-musical stage drama presented by Oakland’s Zohar Christian Theatre Troupe, which calls itself a drama ministry. The play features a cast of 22 under the direction of Velfrancis Dillard and gospel music by Phillip Ferrell, Ken Jordan, and Nick Dillard. This “life-changing tale of hope, healing, and forgiveness” concludes its debut run today and Monday at Shiloh Christian Fellowship, 3295 School St., Oakland. Today’s curtain is at 5 p.m. For more information, visit ZoharTheatre.com or phone 866-964-2728. — Kelly Vance
MON 14
Have you ever wanted to get up in front of a large audience of strangers and dazzle them with your sparkling wit while leaping acrobatically across the stage? Yes? Then you have the acting bug, and should proceed immediately to Shotgun Players’ Movement Workshop. Subtitled “How to Waltz, Fly, and Die Convincingly, and Other Secrets of Stage Movement,” the ten-week course taught by Shotgun’s Andrea Weber covers such technical skills as period dancing, trips and falls, bows and curtsies, dying, tumbling, etc., and draws from such disciplines as action theater, modern dance, and Chinese martial arts. Just think — when you’ve completed this class, you can at last realize your lifelong dream of playing Peter Pan. The class meets Monday evenings, from 7:30 to 9:30, at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. Hurry and sign up: JuliaMorgan.org or 510-845-8542 x378. — Kelly Vance
TUE 15
Poet Debra Khattab has been published online and in print, including in the 9/11 anthology, An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind. She has run her own poetry series, and is now in the process of reinstituting the Word Beat series at Berkeley’s Caffe Mediterraneum. But that’s not why we’re telling you about her. Before she does anything else, Berkeley resident Khattab, who writes science fiction and horror stories as well as folksongs, stops by Chokwadi and Mark G’s Poetry Diversified — the East Bay’s mother of all spoken-word nights — tonight for the bimonthly session. Open mic sign-up is at 7:15 p.m., performances begin at 7:30, at the World Ground Café, 3726 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 510-482-2933 or www.WorldGrounds.com/events.html — Kelly Vance
