In The Mix

Mr. Cranky Pants:

   Not so cranky after all

by Vera H-C Chan

Fashion secret, revealed: Cranky pants are Adidas sweats.
That or Levi's. Either comprise the working uniform of Mr. CrankyPants, aka San Francisco Chronicle TV columnist Tim Goodman. Curmudgeonly moniker aside, the Rockridge resident bears his lot in life with cheery aplomb.
"My job is to sort of take the bullet so [the viewers] don't have to,"  he says. Eighty percent of shows fail, which means Goodman regularly squanders neurons on "truly awful stuff." Fortunately, he's blessed. "I have a great capacity to forget the really terrible things I've seen." Homeboys from Outer Space? Gone.  _
Sheer output might explain the purge. Mr. CrankyPants cranks out three to five columns a week, blogs daily and interviews on KFOG weekly. This flurry doesn't include time spent viewing programs (15 to 30 hours each week), shepherding kids Zoey, 5, and Finnegan, 2, to and from pre-school and tending to his lovely wife, Jane.
Etiquette also dictates that he reply to numerous e-mails, most of which run positive. "If someone says something really nice to you and you don't respond," he says, "you look like a jerk."
In all, Goodman is, well, a good fellow. Not that he holds back when an episode of According to Jim calls for it. Fueled with Diet Coke and large cups from nearby Cole Coffee, Goodman lavishes praise and lashes vitriol with equal energy. He doesn't waste time spoon-feeding tepid observations-not with three TiVos running, an insistent pile of DVDs and neighbors clamoring for advance Sopranos episodes.
Besides his dress, Mr. CrankyPants harbors other disquieting secrets: He never sits on a couch for his job (he watches from his desk or stands). He works mostly out of his home, so he knows most of his co-workers by name only (though Market Hall is a virtual bureau since Rockridge doubles as a Chronicle ghetto). He wears Giants gear (loyalty from living in SF).
Goodman's secret shame (as if the Giants thing weren't enough)? "I never liked television before I did it," he confesses. A former Contra Costa Times features reporter and music critic, he developed the TV beat from scratch after Knight Ridder purchased the suburban paper. "I ended up loving it," he says now of his boob tube dedication.
But given today's fractured television landscape and deflated newspaper business, is a TV critic still relevant? Goodman says yes, and not because his job depends on it. Television, he avers, is "still the most powerful and popular medium on the planet." He sees no shame with small screen pleasures. "Frankly," he says, "there's better stuff on television than in the movies."
Mr. CrankyPants has spoken.

Oakland Raiders: 2006 Preview

by Amanda Cherrin

THE PAST THREE YEARS HAVEN'T BEEN EASY for the Raider Nation. Since being crowned AFC champs in 2003, the Raiders have won a total of 13 games-but things are looking up in the Black Hole after a series of key offseason acquisitions, including the rehiring of former head coach Art Shell. Here's a look at a few playmakers who could help the silver and black get back on track in 2006:
AARON BROOKS (Quarterback)
After spending the bulk of his career in New Orleans-where he became the only quarterback in Saints' history to throw for 3,500 yards and 20 touchdowns in four straight years-Brooks found a new team (and star receiver Randy Moss) last March when he signed with Oakland.





ROBERT GALLERY (Tackle)
The No. 2 overall selection in the 2004 draft, Gallery spent his first two years in Oakland starting at right tackle to accommodate veteran Barry Sims. This year, Gallery moves to left tackle where he won the Outland Trophy (awarded to the nation's best interior lineman) in college.





MICHAEL HUFF (Defensive Back)
"He has to be one of the best cover safeties in the league right now-without even playing a game," defensive back Jarrod Cooper has said of the team's 2006 first-round draft pick, who fills the hole left by the departed Charles Woodsen.





RANDY MOSS (Wide Receiver)
Racking up 634 receptions for 10,147 yards and 98 touchdowns in eight seasons, Moss is one of the best receivers in NFL history. After seven record-setting seasons with Minnesota, the five-time Pro Bowl player made his debut in silver and black last year.





WARREN SAPP (Defensive Tackle)
Before tearing his rotator cuff in November 2005, the 11-year veteran was having his best season since joining the Raiders in 2003. The seven-time Pro Bowler returns for a 12th season this year, ready to pick right up where he left off.

 

Celebrating 40 Years of Caffeination

by Erin Rech

AS ANY ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT COFFEE DRINKER is sure to tell you, Peet's Coffee and Tea is the place to find high-quality café without giving in to the java giants of corporate America. And it's been that way since founder Alfred Peet opened the Berkeley flagship on the corner of  Walnut and Vine 40 years ago, creating a caffeinated mainstay for Bay Area residents.
Unlike some of its competitors, Peet's works hard to uphold a familial bond with its customers. As a result, a loyal group of followers, dubbed "Peetniks," has evolved so diehard fans can enjoy membership benefits such as surprise gifts, shipping dividend returns and previews of new blends. This community began in Berkeley and now includes customers from around the nation.
In the spring, Peet's unveiled its Anniversary Blend coffee and tea to celebrate four decades of service to the Bay Area and beyond. Commemorative merchandise (for all you eBay collectors out there), including T-shirts, anniversary posters and travel mugs, is available online at www.peets.com or by calling (800) 999-2132.

ZZA's Uncorks an Enoteca

by Megan Long

FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS, ZZA's Trattoria has been the go-to place for fun, friendly family dining. This fall, the popular Lake Merritt Italian eatery is revamping its image, swapping crayons for Cabernet at an adjacent Grand Avenue wine bar, ZZA's Enoteca.
Owners Regina Passalaqua and Lewis Canyon envision the enoteca as a place where colleagues can gather after work, dates can linger and wine aficionados can sample various varietals and vintages-
without children whizzing by on roller skates.
"We're known for being a huge family spot, and I think that sometimes may deter people [from coming to ZZA's] who don't want to hear screaming kids," says Passalaqua, 38, a Straits Restaurant group alum, who purchased ZZA's last December with Canyon, 36.
In addition to providing a more adult atmosphere, ZZA's Enoteca will also offer a more adult menu. While the trattoria currently serves only Italian vino, its next-door neighbor will pull from a wider geographic range, with flights that allow for comparison between countries. The enoteca will also feature food offerings, including cheeses, appetizers, pizzas and desserts.
The enoteca's debut comes at a time when the opportunity is ripe to tap into the growing interest in wine among consumers of all ages. It's a trend that has led to a slew of wine bars opening in San Francisco in recent months, but ZZA's owners hope that the new Oakland enoteca will keep customers on this side of the bay.
"I believe in Oakland," says Canyon. "A lot of people venture over to San Francisco because they don't know what they have in their backyard."
ZZA's Enoteca, 550 Grand Ave., (510) 839-9124.

Living History

FRUITVALE'S PERALTA HACIENDA HISTORICAL PARK is moving into the modern era. Thanks to Measure I and K bonds and numerous donations, the Oakland Public Works Agency in collaboration with Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park recently completed the first phase of a $10 million project to upgrade the six-acre historic site.
New elements for the park include a play area with grizzly bear- and redwood tree-shaped climbing structures, a fruit tree promenade lined with community stories, a native plant garden and outdoor alcoves where you can see, touch and hear the hidden history of the land. "This is the site of the first non-indigenous settlement in California," says executive director Holly Alonse of the site-formerly a 44,800-acre ranch-which the Spanish government gifted to Sergeant Luís María Peralta in 1820. "There is nothing else like this in Oakland."
The park is celebrating the $3 million upgrade with a free Indigenous People's Day event on Oct. 15. The celebration, which runs from noon to 5 p.m., will include Native-American ceremonies and dance, multicultural cuisine, children's crafts and a community tile project to decorate the new massive adobe wall.
The Peralta Hacienda Historical Park is at 2465 34th Ave. For more information, call (510) 532-9142 or visit www.peraltahacienda.org.

OAKLAND MADE

Carrot & Stick Press

by Ellen Keohane

WHEN SUSIE GELBRON AND JULIE WALKER launched their Oakland-based letterpress company in 2000, they named the company Carrot & Stick Press to reflect their contrasting working styles. "Julie was the one who always said, 'We really have a lot to do; we need to meet tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.,'_" says Gelbron, who would then respond, "Why are we meeting that early?"
Walker (the Stick) and Gelbron (the Carrot) first met at the California College of Arts and Crafts, where they both earned a master's degree in fine arts.  After graduating, the two decided to start a printing business with an old letterpress that a former professor let them use until they could afford their own. Six years later, the two women have five presses, their own studio and four part-time employees.
At first, Gelborn and Walker focused on custom invitations, primarily for weddings. "In a way, the business has grown with people," Gelborn says. From weddings to birthdays to babies, clients kept coming back as they reached new milestones. Later, Carrot & Stick added a stationery line. Their business is now about 60 percent custom printing and 40 percent stationery sales-totaling upward of 9,000 cards each month.
Their stationery comes in a variety of bright and fun everyday and holiday designs, including hearts, cherries, bamboo, martini glasses, daisies, candy canes, bows and flamingos. A skull and crossbones pattern-one of their newest designs-is also a bestseller, Gelborn says.
A pack of eight folded notes and envelopes is $16. Wedding invitations start at $16 a set. You can find Carrot & Stick Press at 6020-A Adeline St., Suite C, by calling (510) 595-5353 or online at www.carrotandstickpress.com.

Taking Root

by Ginny Prior

IF GARDENING IS A LABOR OF LOVE, then Peter Bowyer must be the happiest guy in town, not to mention the busiest. As the man who designed the new Oakland Garden in Fukuoka, Japan, Oakland's sister city, he has logged more than 1,100 volunteer hours in 15 months-on top of his real job as a landscape contractor. "It was joyous, and it was painful at times," admits Bowyer, who took on the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association project in 2004.
And then there was the time crunch. "I worked 18 to 20 hours a day for two weeks straight," he recalls, "then fell ill for a week." A month after accepting the job, Bowyer boarded a plane for Japan and a series of meetings and social engagements. He'd learned enough Japanese to get by, but handling the sake was another matter.
"They have a ritual of sharing your glass with a newfound friend, each filling it with sake for the other to drink. I was so excited speaking Japanese and making new friends that, at first, I didn't realize I was outnumbered 20 to one exchanging drinks," Bowyer laughs.
He emerged unscathed, and, after multiple trips back to Japan, the garden was finally completed this year, on a 1,000-acre site that includes gardens from Fukuoka's other sister cities. Oakland's plot is a mini Bay Area, with a little Bay Bridge, a port, a scattering of oak trees and a redwood forest made of bonsais. Murals depict San Francisco and other Bay Area scenes.
Bowyer hopes the garden will symbolize more than just a gift from Oakland. "We are blessed with a beautiful land, a strategic place in the world economy and a cosmopolitan society," he says. "May understanding dawn and inspire us to realize Oakland's potential."

ABOUT AN ACTIVIST

Poster Project

by Evelyn C. White

THINK IT. DO IT. DONE. That's the philosophy of Oakland activist Aliona Gibson who, after a stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa, produced a poster that honors black South Africans.
Gibson is the energetic author of, among other works, Nappy: Growing up Black and Female in America (Writers & Readers Publishing, 2000). She says she was inspired to create the poster after a transformative event in a rural village, outside of Johannesburg, where she taught school from 1999-2001.
A friend from the United States asked her to send postage stamps that featured solo images of black South Africans. Although Nelson Mandela had by then won a Nobel Peace Prize and become president of the country, Gibson was dismayed to discover that no such stamps could be found. Moreover, "most of the monuments, statues, parks, bridges and streets were named after whites in South Africa," she recalled. "It drove me nuts!"
Jumping to action, Gibson culled information she found in local newspapers and magazines to compile a list of prominent black South Africans. Upon her return to Oakland, she solicited the aid of a Peace Corps colleague who helped her design and print, at her own expense, a vibrant poster that celebrates figures such as Miriam Makeba, Steven Biko and Desmond Tutu. Her poster will soon grace the walls of the school where Gibson taught and will be distributed throughout South Africa.
For more information on Gibson and her poster, check out www.alionagibson.com.

Documenting Mexico's Maquilapolis

by Katy St. Clair

THESE DAYS THE MOST POWERFUL DOCUMENTARIES combine an artistic eye with realism, with the understanding that film should be engaging enough to hold the audience's interest, yet not stray from the basic tenets of honest journalism. Maquilapolis [City of Factories], a documentary that chronicles the lives of several women living and working in and around the factories of Tijuana, is such a film. Using footage taken by the women themselves and combining it with an auteur's eye to cinema, two East Bay filmmakers have created a powerfully moving documentary about the working conditions in Mexico in the wake of NAFTA.
"We were determined to make this film a collaboration between the workers and the filmmakers," says Oaklander Sergio De La Torre, a Tijuana native, who, along with his Vallejo-based partner, Vicky Funari, co-produced and directed Maquilapolis.
The film, which received special recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, gives audiences a glimpse into the practices of several multinational companies, like Sanyo and Panasonic, that, since the 1960s, have built giant factories in Tijuana, capitalizing on the tax loopholes and cheap labor that Mexico affords them. The working conditions are hazardous, the hours long, and at the end of the day, most of the employees must still live in the shadow and sludge of their polluting employers. The women of Maquilapolis use video cameras to document their lives, ultimately capturing their move to activism and an eventual small victory in what they deemed their "David and Goliath" struggle against the effects of globalization.
Maquilapolis makes its broadcast premiere at 10 p.m. on Sept. 26 as part of PBS's P.O.V. series. Bay Area audiences can also catch the documentary at venues in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco during the MadCat Women's International Film Festival (www.madcatfilmfestival.org) from Sept. 13-29.