A Good Omen for this A's Fan!

Regular season is FINALLY here! Life Has Meaning Again!

Yes, the Oakland A's had a good spring, yes they beat the World Champion Giants two out of three in last weekend's Bay Bridge series, but the real omen for their success in 2013 was found unexpectedly in a Walmart in San Leandro where yours truly and his girlfriend went for a new A's hat.

As my relatives, friends, clients, and fellow denizens of coffeehouses & saloons will find, that prominent symbol of white, gold and green will be evident every day for the next six (and hopefully seven!) months through this season. So spotting a bright adjustable hat in Walmart for $14.97 (maybe twenty bucks less than at the Coliseum) was a pretty good sign. And when it went through the register for $3.28 (!!), that was definitely an omen of great tidings. No questions, just a smile and "good luck" from the register girl.

Yes, after last year's amazing season, we've said goodbye to Johnny Gomes and Brandon McCarthy, and seen the backs of Cliff Pennington, Brandon Inge and Chris Carter, but our team is hitting Opening Night against the Mariners in high gear. The Cactus League saw the A's win 17 and lose 13. While that is normally pretty meaningless, it's worth noting what the A's did in their last 10 games - they won 8, tied one and lost one, including playing three games in front of 113,000 fans at the Giants AT&T Park (where they won 7-3 and lost 3-1) and at our dusky old Coliseum, where Yeonis Cespedes hit another tremendous home run for a 4-3 victory.

Tough to see Jemile Weeks go down to Triple-A, glad newcomer Hiro Nakijima has time to recover from his sprained hamstring, and a Big welcome to -- Jed Lowrie, Chris Young, John Jaso, Chris Respo and Nate Freiman -- may you be infused with the spirit of Moneyball!

Play Ball! See if you can get one of these A's hats for $3.28 - what a way to start the season!

In Praise of an Older Man (Leonard Cohen @ Oakland's Paramount)

Leonard Cohen is 78 years old and still giving everything he's got.

I was learning how to ask a girl out for a date in high school when this unkempt Canadian with a gravelly voice was strumming a guitar and singing about Suzanne.

If you said Leonard Cohen wasn't the coolest man alive, I'd say you were wrong.

Cohen gave two shows this weekend before two sell-out crowds at Oakland's priceless art-deco Paramount Theatre, treating 3,000 fans each night to more than three hours of his gracious, intimate and inspiring poetry and music. He was here in 2010 for a series of concerts at the same venue.

By all accounts, he is even more energized and more gracious. In the intervening two years, of course, he had to testify against his former manager, Kelley Lynch, before she was jailed for stealing more than $5 million from his accounts while he was in a Zen monastery.

That's him there, on the left, I think.

So this is a singer, entertainer and cult icon who is back to work on a 19-city tour with nine musicians and a big back-up team, and he is gracious, tender and generous in giving himself to his audience in marathon performances such as the two he gave in Oakland this past weekend.

He opened Sunday night's concert with a tilt towards his mortality and an affirmation of his state of mind: "I don't know, friends, when we’ll ever meet again – no one can know that – but tonight we'll give you everything we've got."

If you have a chance, between now and April 21, Cohen will appear at 17 venues across North America.

We in Oakland have been so fortunate to be on his radar. Rolling Stone pretty much has got it right in its write-up of Leonard Cohen singing here in Oakland.

Oakland Enlists Community to Make First Friday Safe

First Friday resumed peacefully last weekend with appeals to end violence in Oakland and moments of silence to commemorate the the fatal shooting of Kiante Campbell, an 18-year-old Oakland high school student at February's street fest.

I like the straightforward tone set by newly-elected Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, who stood on a stage and called out: "If you love Oakland, thrown your peace signs up."

Oaklanders, including Mayor Jean Quan, wore green and white shirts that read "Respect Our City". The street festival, which draws thousands to its mix of food, music and arts and crafts, resumed in a smaller area with a shortened time format after the shooting that left one dead and three wounded last month.

Some elected officials still ask if Oakland is focusing its limited police resources at the right issues - directing traffic around the First Friday crowds in Uptown rather keeping the peace in some of Oakland's more crime-ridden neighborhoods.

It's not an easy question to answer. First Friday and the Art Murmur movement that organized the monthly open houses for galleries and clothing stores between Broadway and Telegraph Avenues from 19th to 25th Streets had grown from strength to strength, drawing Oaklanders and visitors from around the Bay.

The shooting erupted nearly an hour after the Feb. 1 street fest ended. An account in the Feb. 27 Chronicle still cannot pinpoint who shot Campbell, but he was one of three partiers who drew guns at each other at 20th and Telegraph, a few feet away from one of First Friday's most popular dessert vans that straddles that intersection.

For last week's First Friday, authorities shrank the area of the street fest to five blocks along Broadway and Telegraph,. curtailed the festivities to close by 9 pm, one hour earlier, and strictly enforced laws against drinking in the street.

"After what happened last month, we knew that we needed to change," a First Fridays spokesman said. "We had to look at how we were addressing this and recognize the gravity of it."

The Chronicle quoted a third generation East Oaklander, Lukas Brekke-Miesner, as saying, "We're not involved because violence happened at First Friday. We;re involved because this city has a violence problem."

Where First Fridays go remains to be seen. I want them to work, I want to take more friends to disabuse them of their bias about violence-prone Oakland. I guess it's up to all of us to make this effort.

Do You Need To Carry A Gun Around In Your House To Feel Safe?

I'm not judging. I'm just asking.

I was at an Open House last weekend when someone from San Francisco asked if living in Oakland was as bad as everyone says. I live a couple blocks away in the low hills of Oakland and I said, no. I felt safe, it was a great neighborhood. I didn't mention the body of a 31-year-old Stockton man found dumped a quarter-mile from my house on a Friday in January when there were four shootings in the city.

I was thinking of the two years I have lived in Oakland since I've been back, and how much I enjoy the daily pleasures of a good-sized city with nice neighborhoods, clean streets and positive vibes. Oakland is this city, but it's also a place where, sadly, in other neighborhoods, people have resorted to fight crime with their own street patrols because they feel they cannot rely on police to help stem a wave of burglaries in their homes.

A television news team recently followed a half dozen residents in the East Oakland neighborhood of Arcadia Park, about eight miles from where I live, who are fighting crime with their own street patrols rather than calling on police.

They've been hit with 25 burglaries in the past two months, and a KPIX news team found neighbors taking matters into their own hands. "You have to walk around your house with a gun to feel safe here," is how Alaska Tarvins of the Arcadia Park Board of Directors described his situation.

It's an esoteric reference...but if you've seen the movie, you'll see where I'm going with this.

One home had been burglarized twice in 24 hours, and "wanted posters" of photographs of young men have appeared on lamp posts in connection with the robberies.

Citywide, Oakland burglaries are up 40 percent - roughly 33 every single day in 2012, according to a KGO news story. I still love this city, and I admire the guts of neighbors who will take steps to make their neighborhoods safer, like they are in Arcadia Park.

I'm not the sort of person who wants to have a gun around the house, nor am I of the opinion that if I had a gun, I (or anyone around me) would be much safer than they are now. I'm not against responsible people owning guns, but...having lots of guns hanging around gives me the willies. It's just not for me. That said - I'm starting to wonder how living here, or how living in Arcadia Park, might changes one's viewpoints on gun ownership. They certainly seem to think it's in their best interest.

What do you think?

Do you keep or carry a gun? Is it a necessary accoutrement (how's that for a big word?) for living safely in the city these days?

Mayor Quan Promotes a Class For Adults - On How To Pick Locks. Really?

This one defies belief.

In a city where the murder rate is high, burglaries are soaring and neighbors are forming vigilante street patrols (more on that bit tomorrow!), Oakland Mayor Jean Quan was out there this week promoting a class that teaches people how to pick locks? Come on, Oakland, we can do a bit better than this!

Yes, she has apologized, and yes, the class she promoted is geared towards people who misplace their keys and are locked out. But really, such blundering only inflames the city's public image and is easy fodder for all the Bay Area news outlets and the eWallStreeter.

No, really, officer - I totally lost my keys. I'm a total klutz like that. That's why I always make sure NEVER to misplace my lockpicking set.

Personally, I like the SF Weekly blog's take, and headline: WTF? Mayor Jean Quan Promotes Lock-Picking Classes, Gives Young Burglars a Chance to Suceed

Also take time to read the comments that followed the SF Weekly entry. Priceless.

Good Golfing in The Oakland Area is NOT an Oxymoron, Thank You Very Much

I detest this quote attributed to Mark Twain: "Golf is a good walk spoiled."

In fact, some dispute if he ever said that. As one who caddied for my dad when I was a 10, golf is a lifetime joy. I spent more quality time with my dad playing golf than anywhere else, and he would have loved the choice and access to good, basic golf in and around Oakland.

The public courses are well maintained, relatively cheap, and often bask in the East Bay sunshine, whether along the coast or up in the hills. None of these courses is more than $60 on weekends (I think Tilden is $65 with cart), and the bonhomie is real and welcoming - no snobs, just good folk. I've played with stroke victims who cherish every moment outdoors, I've introduced friends to Carlotta's grilled hotdogs at the 12th in Lake Chabot. I've shared twilight fairways with deer and turkey buzzards.

I've made friends at Lake Chabot, where on a clear day, the view from the 15th fairway to Oakland, Bay Bridge, San Francisco, Golden Gate and Marin is just astonishing.

The best practice area is at Oakland Metropolitan, by Oakland Airport, where the natural turf is more forgiving that plastic mats. Just north of the airport are two courses at the Chuck Corica golf complex in Alameda. You can always find a game here.

I wonder about the private course at Sequoyah, which this year celebrates its centennial, and while I love the views from Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Berkeley, I haven't played yet at Tilden Park. I just keep hearing you have to allow up to 6 hours to play on weekends, and that just is too much.

I will be playing soon at Monarch Bay in San Leandro just south of Oakland airport and will report back soon.

What's your favorite course?

Should Oakland Downsize First Friday?

First Friday & Art Murmur are good. Shootings are bad. When those two issues collide...

I watched several Oakland City Councilmembers the other week debate whether to cut back on First Friday street fairs (also known as Art Murmur) after a young man was fatally shot and three others wounded on February 1 at the end of what had been another crowded and busy monthly downtown festival.

Councilmembers Larry Reid and Desley Brooks said the street fair should be scaled back to the art walk it once was for neighborhood galleries, and that Oakland can't afford to shift 30 officers from their regular neighborhood beats to provide beefed up security for the monthly event. Lynette Gibson McElhaney defended the First Friday, pointing out the positive publicity it has brought Oakland and warning councilmembers not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

These monthly events bring thousands of people to the city's uptown and downtown districts - the music, the food, the dancing and street theater - and the economic activity is vibrant and spreading. The Trib reports that the next First Friday event will be smaller - but I hope the city's reaction will be moderate. I always have time for Robert Gammon at the East Bay Express, who says no one called for an end to football at Candlestick Park when two fans were shot in 2011. He believes it would be a mistake for Oakland to downsize or eliminate First Fridays, and I agree with him.

What do you think? Should we downsize First Friday in the name of preventing crime and other mishaps?

Sex Positivity.

Why bother with a longer headline? If the words "sex positivity" don't set the hook, what will?

Okay. It's Valentine's Day, and I thought taking my girlfriend to a fancy romantic restaurant in San Rafael would be a nice night out. A little traditional, maybe a little conservative. Staid, even. But that's pretty much the kind of person I am. I put on my "try to be a little more exciting" hat and cast around looking for some ideas other than the standard dinner out, just to see what else might be worth doing. I took a look at Oaklandlocal.com and what do I find -- a whole feature promoting "sex positivity" for women through adult boutiques in Oakland.

I know I've been away for a while, but where did this come from, when did this start, and is it basically just for women?

First stop: wikipedia. I need answers. Is this some sort of strange New Hedonism movement? A throwback to the Summer of Love? What in the heck is sex positivity? I was ready to be all weirded out. Of course, after a little research, it turns out it's a pretty normal, healthy idea, just with a strange name. Although, around here, it seems to be heavily female focused...which seemed a little strange.

The headline says Oakland is "home to several sex-positive businesses that offer more than retail". You see some adult boutiques in Oakland and Alameda that offer sex toys and tips and advice, they only mention women. Then there is this outreach to your home that sounds like a 21st century version of Tupperware or Avon Calling, where someone shows up on your doorstep with a bunch of sex toys for a passion party - but again, for women-only.

A friend of mine in Chicago started a website called Get Lusty and that has some contributions from men, but it seems like that might be an isolated example.

Sex positivity ought to reach out to everyone... I think. Right? Equal...positivity? I think this bears some further investigation, and discussion. Interesting concept and idea, and who's not for a more open, enlightened understanding of human sexuality? But if we're going to be open, and enlightened, and allow for a better understanding of this among everyone, shouldn't men be involved?

Anyway, it all sounded interesting, enticing, and possibly educational...but we ended up going out to dinner. And I'll just stop the story there ; )

Oakland Schools Praised for Green Gloves Food Waste Composting Program

Image Source: OaklandNorth.net

Whenever I hear the words "waste" and "Oakland," I think of illegal trash dumped on our city streets.

Critics often point to dumping waste as part of that "broken-window" syndrome that drags down Oakland neighborhoods with low self-esteem, as families and kids get used to piles of garbage thrown out of cars and trucks.

So it was good to read that Oakland kids were praised last month for a unique school food waste composting program by a national waste industry magazine, Waste Age. Green Gloves has been teaching children, parents and custodians to separate out food scraps at lunchtime for composting in nearly half the city's schools.

It may be only a small lesson, but the Green Gloves/Sustainability Initiatives gives our kids a better image than illegal dumping, even if that still goes on outside the schools. Waste Management, the Houston-based contractor that holds Oakland's garbage contract, worked with about 20 schools to start the composting program three or four years ago.

Things really took off after Waste Management, the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the school district custodians director concluded that school custodians should be more involved to make the program a success - and that means changing the mindset of 230 permanent custodians and 75 substitutes.

There are several lessons here: progressive program, environmental awareness, involving kids and their schools and parents, and finally, getting the custodians themselves to lead the change.

Oakland North wrote in more detail about the program at one elementary school. Good vibes all around.

Fanfest Re-ignites A's Fans' Fervor

Politics & social justice are important...but today, I'm talking about baseball!

Sunday morning in late January is not when you expect to find thousands of baseball fans getting together, but think again when the town is Oakland! Two months before the season opener against Seattle Mariners at the Coliseum, 10,000 fans turned up for this year's Oakland A's sellout Fan Fest.

Roaring cheers welcomed the 2013 team in the Oracle Arena and echoed their farewell standing ovation after last October's Game 5 AL playoff loss to the Detroit Tigers at the Coliseum. Chanting "Let's Go Oakland!", fans welcomed Billy Beane, AL executive of the year, Bob Melvin, AL manager of the year, along with mascot Stomper, and many of last year's stars -- including Yeonis Cespedes, Josh Reddick (whose beard may soon rival that Brian Wilson's across the Bay at AT&T Park), Coco Crisp (catch his retro Afro), and a dozen or more players to the opening chapter of the 2013 season.

Melvin said the Fanfest recaptured the deep faith the A's felt from fans whose cheers kept them on the field even as the Tigers celebrated their victory at the first base dugout.

The right field bleacher veterans greeted newcomers Chris Young (centerfielder acquired from the Diamondbacks) and shortstop Hiro Nakajima to the team. Young drew the most questions, including a fan's request to dance the Bernie (which he did with Reddick), and what flavor pie he liked best (Young nervously glanced at Reddick and behind a curtain for the walk-off ritual that hopefully awaits him this year).

Comcast commentators Shooty Babbitt and Casey Pratt fed questions to a panel including Melvin, Beane, Reddick and Young. Melvin said Young, whom he had coached in Phoenix, knows how to push all his buttons. And Beane diplomatically said Young was his choice of any baseball player in either league that he wanted to join the team off-season.

One serious question to Beane and Melvin focused on second base - where Scott Sizemore, Jemile Weeks and Adam Rosales will duke it out in spring training to replace traded Cliff Pennington. The GM and manager said that was still a question mark, but they felt good about the choices already on the team.

Go A's!

Women start "pop-up" stores in vacant Oakland storefronts

A group of inspired women, part of a Women's Initiative for Self Employment Program, has opened fledgling businesses, called "pop-up stores", in empty store fronts in Oakland and nurtured them far enough along to sign leases in these tough economic times.

In the lobby of the Paramount Theater where community groups manned stalls before the Jan. 19 tribute to Martin Luther King Jr, one flyer promoted several new stores in the Downtown and Uptown that began as "pop-ups" and now have become successful enough to sign leases.

There are so many positive initiatives to highlight here - uptown and downtown - and I hope to put a spotlight (or flashlight) on some of it to spread the word.

Shoe Groupie Boutique at 1621 Broadway bills itself as a hub for free thinkers, creativity and footwear - where founders Dion Bullock and Candice Littlefield espouse a belief in self-expression through footwear. Check out this feature about them in Oakland Local.

Betti Ono Gallery - "pop-up goes permanent" - has reopened its flagship art gallery at 1427 Broadway with support from local artists, residents and property owner Andrew Brog. Anyka Barber, gallery director and founder, says opening a business in Oakland "has been about showing what is possible, rolling up our sleeves and doing the work to help this city become a place where we can all thrive."

OwlnWood at 45 Grand Avenue is the brainchild of owner Rachel Konte to offer international brands, vintage products and local design influenced by Rachel's Afro-Scandinavian heritage. Stop by, shop local and spread the word!

Foot-Stomping Gospel in Oakland Honors MLK Jr.

Gospel music often conjures up images of Southern Baptist churches like West Hunter Street in Atlanta, not necessarily downtown Oakland and the hallowed art deco hall that is its massive Paramount Theater.

Foot-stomping, hand-clapping, soaring gospel music made an evening of sharing the dream for the exuberant crowd that filled 3,000 seats at the Paramount to celebrate and honor Martin Luther King Jr with a tribute aptly called, "In the Name of Love".

Jennifer Holliday headlined the evening on January 19 - the 11th year that Oakland and Living Jazz have given a musical tribute to MLK Jr. Her passion was steamy and the performance electrifying. Holliday is a Grammy Award winner best known for her Broadway hit Dreamgirls, and to its credit Oakland produced an ad hoc group of local musicians - two back-up singers, three brass horns, drummer, pianist, two guitarists and a synthesizer - to rock the Paramount with a world-class singer like Holliday. The musicians had one three-hour rehearsal with her, and together it was an amazing event.

Holliday capped an evening with Terrance Kelley leading the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and the Oakland Children's Community Choir. A special treat was the veteran jazz duo of Tuck and Patti, her velvet voice and his mellow guitar closing out the first half of the program and setting the stage for Holliday.

For those of you who were staying in to prepare for the NFL conference playoffs, or those who just felt it was not worth making the trip downtown, it's your big, big loss. A wonderful and amazing, uplifting evening for Oakland and everyone who could share the dream.

Can We Stop Shooting Each Other, Please?

There's crime in the big city. Then, there's our big city...

Image Source: StopHoustonGangs.org

When I moved back here a couple years ago, I knew there were a lot of murders in Oakland, but I figured (perhaps naively) that they were mostly gang-related. A recent outbreak of shootings in Oakland, less than a month after the Newtown, CT elementary school shootings, bring the issue of gun violence closer to home and impossible to ignore.

I was driving home on Friday afternoon last week when I came across a police roadblock in Glenview, Oakland. Police had roped off the corner at Canon and Wellington where earlier that afternoon, the body of a young man had apparently been dumped by the roadside. His name was Larry Lovett, he was 31 from Stockton and formerly of Oakland - no apparent ties to the neighborhood in the lower hills of Oakland, just dumped there. That was only the beginning. Within a few hours three other murders were recorded in Oakland, and by the end of the weekend, there had been 15 shootings, all in one city - ours!

Theories abound about the firearms rampage that left four dead in one day. Was it rival gangs duking it out? Apparently the same type of AR-15 assault rifles outfitted with high-capacity drum magazines (what was used in two of these four shootings) have been used in what the East Bay Express says is an ongoing feud between the Case Gang and Money Team.

A few weeks earlier, in the same neighborhood of Park Boulevard, 27-year-old Clifford Snead was shot dead after getting off a bus. He was the father of a young son. No other explanation. It doesn't make sense.

A new coalition called SAVE, which stands for Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere, is holding local rallies at murder sites around Oakland to raise awareness.

Zachary Carey, pastor of the True Vine Ministries, is working with SAVE to pray at these sites. "When you hear about violence in America on the news, the tagline associated with it is gang-related,” Carey said. “Then if you're living in Montclair, Piedmont, Walnut Creek then you're like, ‘I'm not involved in a gang, that'll never happen to me.’ But the reality is people that are being murdered now are not gang-related, they're innocent bystanders, they're collateral damage. So if they can be collateral damage, guess what, so can you and I.”

Carey's words are pretty chilling...if that doesn't make you think it's time to get involved, what does?

Causa Justa - Because Unity *is* Power

When I was in school, a teacher taught me that the world divides into the haves and the have nots, and that economic self-sufficiency is security for those who have managed to climb into and remain within the circle of haves.

One uplifting and positive energy aspect of living in the Bay area is the attention and political will often focused on the have nots, of which there are many: those who have no home, who have no job, who have no legal right to remain in the USA, who face mortgage foreclosures and who suffer from slum landlords.

Just Causes is a group that works in East Oakland, West Oakland and the Mission District of San Francisco to put the spotlight on the plights of these have nots. A merger in 2010 of St Peter's Housing Committee and Just Cause Oakland brought about this multi-racial grassroots organization which describes its purpose as "building community leadership to achieve justice for low-income San Francisco and Oakland residents."

Take a look at their website and look for their bilingual occasional newspaper, "Just Cause|Causa Justa." If nothing else, its headlines tell armchair liberal haves that someone out there is fighting for justice - spelling out how the Dream Act can help children of illegal immigrants to qualify for Deferred Action to achieve lawful immigration status, or how to fight the national housing crisis that claims homes from hard-working families facing foreclosure.

Just Causes is full of the plights of have nots, and it shines a light on issues that can respond to good will and positive energy that are trademarks of the Bay Area.

Southern With A Twist

A few blocks north of Broadway from Oakland's Paramount Theater is a restaurant, bar and lounge called Pican.

The lounge area has a "quiet" sports bar / after-work feel with sports channel TVs, soft cushions and low lighting to make you peer at beautiful people sipping drinks and sharing late-night desserts.

The bar has a rich and eclectic shelf of whiskeys - with dozens of bourbons - and other spirits to test your palate. Most notable for me is the surprise appearance of Martin Miller's Gin (I mean, where else in Oakland, never mind the entire Bay Area, can I find my favorite gin - only here, so far).

In the words of a friend, "Calling this 'crab soup' would be like describing the QEII as 'a pretty big boat' - words don't do it justice, you gotta eat it to believe it."

The plush interior of the restaurant bills itself "A Taste of the South". The menu is worth lingering contemplation - I have wolfed down the succulent southern fried chicken with its light, crunchy skin, a spicy root vegetable etouffee for those who avoid meat, and a list of mouth-watering offers from the Louisiana delta: cast iron catfish with oyster and artichoke cornbread dressing, lobster and Louisiana blue crab thermidor, crawfish mac 'n cheese, shrimp and grits. Someone stop me.

My girlfriend, bless her heart, avoids meat, but she does like a good drink. Give her a particular Pican cocktail she calls her best drink ever - namely the Lavender Lemon Drop (Sobieski Vodka, Stirrings triple sec, fresh lemon juice and housemade lavender syrup) - and it's slam dunk time, let me tell you.

This place is definitely worth a check-out. Entrees run about $20-$40, and there's usually a prix fixe option for between $50-$75 per person.

Oakland's Art Murmur Goes From Strength to Strength

Surely but steadily the word has spread about Art Murmur, that food, art, clothing and music street festival that invades a strip of downtown Oakland on the first Friday evening of every month.

I went there last June when the side streets between Broadway and Telegraph Avenue, from 25th Street down to 21st Street, filled with lively crowds walking through art galleries and trendy vintage clothing boutiques that would otherwise be closed that time of night. Some 21 galleries and nine other mixed venues are the primary sponsors, but so much more is now making the event a regular street festival.

When a friend from London who fancies herself a foodie visited me this week to do some stories about the final week before the presidential election, I thought we'd take a look at Art Murmur as a new way to disabuse her of various negative stereotypes about Oakland. What a great idea! And how Art Murmur has grown! Now it stretches from West Grand Avenue down to 18th Street. Telegraph Avenue is completely closed to traffic and offers itself as a broad boulevard through which enormous crowds now wander - winding through an exotic blend of international food stalls and trucks, live bands, street dancers and open deck tour buses on which people dance to the music.

Food trucks drew long lines of customers (in November!) wafting with aromas from Italy, India, Mexico,Poland, Germany, Southeast Asia, pastries dripping with chocolate and raspberries and cream, soups and potato latkes, spinach knishes, burritos and stir fries - it just kept on going for blocks and blocks!

On the sidewalks were more food vendors, jewelry stands, eclectic T-shirt and leather goods. This is not just one block but changes from street to street along Telegraph. The side streets, too, are filled with cavernous indoor galleries where more artists, sculptors, clothing vendors, musicians and foodies gather. Even an auto body shop has opened its doors, with welders sipping beer in deck chairs while visitors look at classic cars and old wrecks ready for rebuilds.

Around 21st street, we stumbled upon a grove of old Detroit monster beauties - the kind of cars I grew up with that you almost never see around these days. An enormous white 1961 Continental convertible with gleaming whitewalls staked out one corner, its hard-top roof down and trunk lid open. I swear a sofa and table could sit inside that trunk. Nearby and similarly strutting their wares were 1960s examples of a Pontiac GTO, Camaro, Corvette and Cadillac convertible. On the next block, not to be outdone, was a corral of big motorcycles, Harleys, Ducatis and more.

What we thought would be a quick one-hour stroll lasted hours. Our last purchase, from two young women sitting on the sidewalk, was a small bag of chocolate truffles, dipped in rum and other obscenely sweet liqueurs. My friend was speechless - someone who knows New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Berlin has seen it all. But seeing it all in Oakland, on a Friday night, was more than she ever expected. Well done, Art Murmur!

Al Fresco vs. El Stinko

Hey, Ivan...what's that stench? Is that part of the ambiance?

So, there we were walking through barren Jack London Square one night to choose a restaurant for me, my girlfriend and a chum visiting Oakland from Boston.

"Yeah, Oakland has got some surprising places to eat," I told my friend. We peeked into some of my favorites down there: Scott's Seafood and stopped by Kincaid's, checking menus, prices, and through the windows, saw most places were pretty empty. I didn't know why - it's not like Sunday is a totally dead day downtown, and Jack London is a pretty fun area. We strolled past Bocanova's (which I also love) quite busy outdoor seating to check out Il Pescatore across the way. But an ungodly stench blocked our path to the Italian fish restaurant - the public toilets on that given night emitted an unspeakable olfactory assault that literally drove us away.

What an incredible smell you've discovered! ...Let's get out of here.

Fortunately, Bocanova, was upwind... and after a hasty retreat from the miasma, we were rewarded with an exceptional and memorable dinner of Pan-American cuisine. We sat outdoors enjoying moonlight, sailboats bobbing in the breeze, and real excitement jumping out from the menu. My friend from Boston wants his wife to emulate the roasted beets with feta, pistachio, chile and herbs, while I remember the chorizo-crusted sole and sweet potato chipotle gratin. None of us has ever experienced anything like the warm chocolate croissant bread pudding.

As we got up slowly to waddle back to the Square, the wind shifted and blew a whiff from El Stinko in farewell. Thanks, Jack London Square, for the memories...