You may have heard about some flyers flying around campus lately, so you might know that serious sh*t is supposed to go down in the next three days. To that end, the Clog’s got a calendar of events, a “schedule” if you will, that will (hopefully) clear things up a bit.

(Note: What follows is a straight copy+paste. Kind of text heavy. Peruse at your own risk.)

UC BERKELEY Strike Week: November 17th through 20th
Schedule of Events for the Solidarity Strike and Open University
ucstrike.com / ucsolidarity.org / solidarityalliance.ucb@gmail.com

STRIKE TO PROTEST UC REGENTS MEETING IN UCLA 11/17 TO 11/19

Tuesday, November 17th
Strike Kick Off Event
Cifford Odets’ “Waiting for Lefty”
A staged reading directed by Peter Glazer
Featuring UC Berkeley faculty, students and staff
8:00 pm, Booth Auditorium in Boalt Law School

Wednesday, November 18th
Day 1 of the Strike: WALK OUT
5:00 am. UPTE Picket lines start at construction sites
7:15 am. Main Picket lines begin at all campus entrances
8:00 am. Student sit-in on the steps of Dwinelle
11:00 am. Begin gathering on Sproul Plaza for the Rally
Noon. Strike Rally sponsored by the Solidarity Alliance
Speakers include (list and order subject to change)
Ananya Roy, UC Berkeley Professor and Solidarity Alliance
Solidarity Coalition at UC Davis: Catherine Fung (Grad Student), Joshua Clover (Professor) and Jeff Bergamini (UPTE)
Berkeley UCUC: Nancy Reiko Kato (UPTE), Joe Pulido (AFSCME), Juan Garcia (CUE),
Annie McClanahan (UAW), Mary Kelsy (UC-AFT)
Faculty Organizing Group at UCSC: Barbara Epstein (Professor)
Bob Hass, UCB Professor and Former Poet Laureate of the US
UCB Students: Noah Stern, Viola Tang, Sohir Albgal, Marika Goodrich, and others
Kathryn Lybarger, AFSCME and Solidarity Alliance

1:30 pm. Send off of activists taking the bus to UCLA
1:30 – 3:30 pm. March led by the Strike Committee of the General Assembly
4:00 pm. First Strike Meeting: What’s Next?

7:00 pm. Film Screening and Discussion of Salt of the Earth (1954)
ASUC Senate Chambers, Eshelman Hall

9:00 pm on. Solidarity Booty Shake in the Bear’s Lair Food Court. Late night chill-out in 370-371 Dwinelle (Fourth floor). Bring food, music, a blanket, relax.

Thursday, November 19th.
Day 2 of the Strike: OPEN THE UNIVERSITY / SHUT DOWN THE REGENTS
5:00 am. UPTE Picket lines start at construction sites
8:00 am. UPTE Picket lines at UCOP in Oakland
7:15 am. Main Picket lines begin at campus entrances
8:00 am. Sit-in on the steps of Dwinelle
9:00 am – 10:00 pm. Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of The Black Scholar
Lipman Room, 7th floor of Barrows, Born of the SF State Strike, all TBS events are in Solidarity
9:00 am – 3:00 pm. The Open University Lectures in the Bear’s Lair Food Court
9:00 – 10:00. Welcome to the Open University / International Skype Connection
10:00 – 11:00. Gray Brechin, “It doesnt have to be this way: Higher Ed in the New Deal”
11:00 – 12:00. Daniel Graham on “The Coup in Honduras”
12:00 – 1:00. Ananya Roy on “The Financialization of Everything”
1:00 – 2:00. Michael Cohen and Kathryn Lybarger on “The IWW and American Labor Radicalism”
2:00 – 3:00. TJ Clark on “From Print Capitalism to Screen Capitalism”

9:30 am – 3:00 pm. The Open University Workshops on Sproul Plaza
9:30 – 10:30. Field Trip and Experiential Learning Tour with AFSCME 3299
10:00 – 11:00. “This is what Berkeley did for me” a photo workshop
12:00 – 1:00. “What is Public? A participatory event in search of the public”
12:00 – 1:00. “Utopias at Work”
12:00 – 1:00. “Ladies and no-gentlemen: How to Avoid Sexism in Organizational Situations”
12:00 – 1:30. Capoeira on the Picket Lines: Demonstration and workshop at Bancroft and Telegraph
1:00 – 2:00. Race and Racism on Campus and In America
1:00 – 2:00. Katherine Lee, “Academic Labor: A Workshop for Students and Workers”
2:00 – 3:00. Annie McClanahan & West Hays: “Prisons and Education: Teaching in CA Prisons”
2:00 – 3:00. Gray Brechin & Peter Byrne, “UC Inc. Workshop on Researching the Regents”
MORE AS WANTED, NEEDED and ABLE
Noon. Striking Workers March from Bancroft and Telegraph
3:10 pm. Dump your trash at California Hall, Sponsored by ASFCME
Bring your campus trash and rally at the east entrance of California Hall.
4:00 pm. Second Strike Meeting: What’s Next?
7:00 pm. Film Screening: “Alcatraz is not an Island” 102 Krober Hall
40th Anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz & American Indian Heritage Month
8:00 pm. Musical performance by John Handy Quartet, Lipman Room, Barrows
Part of The Black Scholar Celebration
9:00 pm. Film Screening and Discussion of The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
ASUC Senate Chambers, Eshelman Hall
9: 30 pm onwards: Nuit du cinema at 370-371 Dwinelle. Bring dinner, a pillow and a blanket, chill-out.
Friday, November 20th
Day 3 of the Strike: ESCALATE
11:00 -12:00 am. Bridges Recruitment & Retention Center Rally on Sproul
Noon. Mass Gathering at California Hall
9:00 – 1:30 Celebration of The Black Scholar’s 40th Anniversary, Lipman Rm, Barrows
2:00 – 5:30 pm: Poetry Reading sponsored by The Black Scholar
10:00am – 5:00pm: 40th Anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz, Bancroft Hotel
Speakers include original occupiers Dr. Lehman Brightman, Dr. LaNada War Jack and Ilka Hartmann as well as student presentations.

Ah yes. The coup in Honduras, Harvey Milk, sexism … it all ties neatly together with the regents’ meeting. Wait, what?

Also note: Chancellor Birgeneau is at UCLA for the duration of the meeting, so, uh … dumping trash in front of California Hall won’t do much.

Image Source: Jon Bradley Photography under Creative Commons
Schedule Courtesy Zhivka Valiavicharska
Earlier: (Belly)dance the Night Away

Tomorrow at the International House, you will have the opportunity to enjoy traditional Egyptian bellydancing during a ritual dinner.

Who knows, you could pick up some inspiration for your Halloween costume, pick up some ideas for your next bellydancing recital or just enjoy the food.

Image Source: eleda 1 under Creative Commons
Egyptian Ritual Dinner [UC Berkeley Events Calendar]
Earlier: Scare the Living Sh*t Out of Yourself, Potentially Others

Probably less likely is that you actually feel that your time spent zoning out while pretending to do homework is actually accomplishing anything. But oh, how wrong you are.

Recent research on attention has found out what most college students already knew—that a wandering mind is a very common affliction. However, somewhat more surprisingly, researchers found that the lapses in attention might be playing a crucial role in helping us work through difficult problems.

So next time you’re working on your homework and are seized by an uncontrollable desire to start planning out your weekend or stare at your wall, do not be alarmed. It seems we’re entirely incapable of devoting our attention entirely to even the most simple task or line of thought for more than a few minutes at a time.

However, before you all start zoning out at every conceivable opportunity, the researchers were careful to note that it makes us “more likely to make mistakes, fail to encode memories, or miss a connection.”

Again, something we probably knew already.

Image Source: Jennerally under Creative Commons
Stop Paying Attention: Zoning Out is a Crucial Mental State [Discovery]
Earlier: Avoid Food Poisoning

If you’re at all like us, you’ll have spent countless frustrating hours minutes seconds in pent-up rage trying to figure out how your socks get wet even though you specifically take pains to ensure they don’t. Well, worry over your pretty little shoes no longer, because the best and brightest of the world’s physicists have solved this most terrifying of dilemmas.

As it turns out, the secret is to

make shoes like car tires, with treads that push water out and away from the direction of the step

Or, you know, walk slower.

Image Source: faungg under Creative Commons
Sidewalk Science: How Water Splashes Atop Your Shoes [LiveScience]
Earlier: Have the Best Business Card EVER

So the Clog heard from a dude who heard from another dude that there may have been someone wearing a backpack with frickin’ solar panels on the frickin’ back. Hell. Yes.

We know a few people who could use something like this. Hint: your cell phone isn’t supposed to die when it gets called. For what it’s worth, ‘packs like that would also help out with unexpected laptop battery failure syndrome.

Browsing the Website where they’re sold, though … well, they look kind of expensive. But on the other hand, the internet is the cheapest drug there is …

Image Source: mahlness under Creative Commons
Voltaic Systems [Website]
Earlier: Sheet Mulch!

Whatever that means. Throughout March, the “grounds department” (never heard of ‘em) will be offering seminars and workshops on how to sheet mulch.

For the unconverted, sheet mulching is

a sustainable alternative to pesticides/herbicides for weed control, using cardboard and mulch to suppress unwanted plants. It can be used for native-plant restoration, as well as for gardening or converting a lawn to a different use.

Fascinating! Know what’s more fascinating? A free lunch that comes afterward. The three sessions will be held on consecutive Saturdays starting on March 14. They all begin at 10 a.m. Check out the site for locations.

Image Source: Carly & Art under Creative Commons
Sheet mulching seminars, free to the public, offered in March [NewsCenter]
Earlier: Spice Up Your Spring With Some Good-For-Nothing Classes

Reuse Stuff

Grab a Klean Kanteen–we’ve heard tell they’re the safest and most durable water bottle on the market, though that’s up for debate. Sure, it’s kinda costly for a water-holder, but imagine all the moola you’re saving by saying buh-bye to plastic. Oh, and it’s, like, good for trees or something.

Get some reusable shopping bags (canvas works well), and if you shop at Trader Joe’s, you get the chance to win a discount on groceries. If you shop at Whole Foods (though that’s not really saving money, but OK), you can get an automatic credit on that day’s purchase.

Sell Your Books

No, not to the student store or even Ned’s. Sell directly to other students through ComeGetUsed.com or set up shop through Amazon.com. Not only will you give fellow students a better deal than the big textbook store, but you’ll get more of your money back than either Ned’s or the campus could ever cough up.

More Food Cheapies

Meatloving apartment dweller? Buy a whole chicken, not piece by piece. The whole is actually less than the sum of its parts. Or, board at a nearby co-op and have full access to its fridges and home-cooked meals prepared for you. You can even negotiate under the table for a lower price if the official rate is too much for you.

Make your own coffee. Save yourself that daily $3. You’d be surprised how much your caffeine addiction can add up.

Buy Secondhand Clothes

We swear, not everything at Buffalo Exchange is gross and polyester. You’ll find the best deals here as well as Crossroads Trading Co. If you’re into a hunt, Jeremy’s on College Avenue occasionally reveals great buys during its weekend sales.

Image Source: torugatoru under Creative Commons
Top 10 Ways to Save Money in a Recession [Lifehacker]
Earlier: Find a Gender-Neutral Restroom

We know you don’t want to think about it yet, but after Thanksgiving, we’re all going to hell in a handbasket. Just a week and smidge and then finals come to attack our sanity and happiness.

First, don’t panic–we’ve got you covered. Here’s a compacted version of some professor-approved tips.

* Go to all of your remaining classes.
* Do the important reading–don’t try to play catch-up on texts the professor never talked about much anyway.
* Focus on the big goals: your final exams or your papers.
* Hello, GSI whatsyername!
* Be healthy: sleep, don’t drink too much, try not to develop too much of a caffeine habit (too late).

The main thing is, though, do what you know will work best for you. Some may advise to keep away from busy work (like copying class notes or replaying podcasts) but if that’s what will get the material in your head, do it.

Oh, and have a happy Thanksgiving break. Ha!

Image Source: massdistraction under Creative Commons
How to Ace the Last Month of the Semester [Professors' Guide]
Earlier: Avoid Douchy Bars in the City

So you’re drinking age now and you think you can hang with the big boys in San Francisco. Not so fast, bucko. You’ve got to know where to go, and you’ve got to know what to avoid.

Eater SF debuted its continuously expanding map of douchiest bars in the city, so now you can thank your lucky stars you’ll be spared holier-than-thou hipsters and suits with hair gel up the wazoo.

Medjool and Matrix top (bottom?) the blacklist, but really there’s enough douche to go around a few more bars. Go on, stand up for your right to drink in a fine establishment.

Image Source: joeywan under Creative Commons
Eater Map: Your Guide to San Francisco’s Douchiest Bars [SF Eater]
Earlier: Make a Poo That’ll Make You Proud

We’re afraid to even guesstimate how much time we spend and waste on our computer, but if you need to go fascist on yourself, this might be for you. JournalLive is a free Windows-only download that will monitor your time spent on the computer and show you how much time you take to write your paper in Word versus all that e-stalking on Facebook.

Sure, you could also snoop on your partner’s computer with this, but that’s an added bonus for only the most obsessive. The first step is admitting you have a problem, and it’s hard to hide from your funny cats YouTube obsession when the hours logged are staring at you in the face.

Image Source: dougwoods under Creative Commons
JournalLive Automatically Tracks Your Time [Lifehacker]
Earlier: Find Your Polling Place and Your Personal Ballot