Physician | Journalist
When Mikhail Avrekh, a recent transplant to Connecticut from the Bay Area, wants to find a kindred spirit, he simply looks for the spiral logo. To the Cal alum and Yale comp-lit graduate student, the Timbuk2 messenger bag that bears it has proven the equivalent of a secret Northern California handshake.
Somewhere in the miasma of 2000s pop-punk, Jacksonville’s Yellowcardshot to fame. When the band played UC Berkeley on Saturday, it showed it has no intention of dismounting the rocket. With a combination of anthemic lyrics, a charismatic frontman, and a violinist(!) who is more like a stealth secret weapon, Yellowcard delighted its small audience of mostly Asian Cal students.
Every year on the third Monday in March, medical school deans across the nation warn their senior students to stay alert for a pager call. Worse than a late-night code blue, that ring, if it comes, portends terrible news.
Will Bernard has the kind of local boy sensibility that keeps his graying but enthusiastic fan base coming out to his gigs, which feel like a reunion of sorts. Bernanrd, a Berkeley High and Cal alum, counts everything from the Beatles to A Tribe Called Quest among his influences and spins sonic voodoo from bits of funk, classical, blues, and everything in between.
Cynthia Royer stared up the face of a mountain that was threatening to end her marriage. Every muscle in her body was reprimanding her for spending twelve hours going uphill on a mountain bike in 104-degree weather.
Monya De, MD MPH 