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Coffins are not carpetedThere not for standingLinoleum is uselessAs the imagined dreams,some believe they’ll be havingThe padding is for comfortto

Remembering Julia Vinograd: the Bubble Lady

The beloved poet died in early December, leaving behind a legacy of poems that capture a bygone Berkeley. Julia Vinograd—resistance icon, the Bubble Lady, Berkeley’s very own bard—died on December 4 after a long battle with colon cancer. She was 74. Vinograd has been a staple of Telegraph Avenue since the late 60’s, selling poetry books, blowing bubbles, and watching the world go by.

The homeless Christmas day

It looks as though we’re closing in on Christmas again, folks. That’s bad news in my book, and (I daresay) in the corporal book of homeless people everywhere. Take my holiday experience several years ago, for example. I spent Christmas Day stuck out in the rain, with services closed for those of my ilk, not to mention the usual five-in-the-morning “indoor resources” being closed (Starbucks, McDonald’s, etc.).