Stone Soup Improv - local. organic. funny.
Saturday, February 4, 8  to 10 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. 

Live Improv in Berkeley! Improv is live theater at its best and most unpredictable! Each show is different, created on-the-spot using suggestions from YOU, the audience! Stone Soup Improv cast members have performed with many local improvisational groups, including East Bay Improv, BATS (Bay Area Theater Sports), and Pan Theater as well as some less local groups including Comedy Sportz, Liquid Fun, SpinProv, PANTS, The Laughing Stocks and Seven Foot Baby.

Admission at the door is cash only - $10 ($7 Students/Seniors), or purchase tickets online.
 

Is Population Growth Inevitable? - How Slowing Growth Leads to Prosperity
Thursday, February 9, 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. 

HowMany.org is pleased to welcome speakers Malcolm Potts and Martha Campbell of UC Berkeley's Bixby Center for Population, Health & Sustainability. Dr. Potts is a Cambridge trained obstetrician and reproductive scientist, and Bixby professor at the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley. Dr. Campbell, also lecturer in global health at UC Berkeley, is a political scientist, health policy specialist and president of Berkeley-based Venture Strategies for Health and Development. Both Dr. Potts and Dr. Campbell spend time each year conducting field research in the developing world.
Drs. Potts and Campbell will engage the audience on what can be done to slow population growth as we confront global issues of economic hardship, threats to basic reproductive health care and fragile ecosystems  disappearing at record rates. While there are many numbers and arguments for the Earth's maximum sustainable human population, they all hinge on the question: In what manner shall the Earth's species live?

Berkeley Fellowship Open Mic featuring Randy Berge
Friday, February 10, 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. 

Berkeley guitarist Randy Berge has been writing & playing since the 70s. His experiences began with R&B and jazz influenced rock and jam-bands in the 70s & 80s. He first took up acoustic music in the early 80s in the heyday of La Val's Subterranean. A break in performing in the 90s resulted in hosting a weekly jazz radio program in Madison, WI. He's been performing regularly with Hali Hammer since 1999. Tonight he'll be featuring mostly original material including recent new songs & instrumentals.

Musician/Performer sign-up begins at 6:30. This month's host is Hali Hammer.
Berkeley Open Mic happens the 2nd Friday of every month. For more info, go to bfuu.org/events/open-mic.
Suggested Donation is $5 - 10. No one turned away for lack of funds.

The Death Penalty and the Framing of Kevin Cooper
Saturday, February 11, 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. 

Guest speaker, J. Patrick O'Connor, is the author of the new book, SCAPEGOAT: The Chino Hills Murders and the Framing of Kevin Cooper. Cooper was convicted of the brutal murders of a Chino Hills, California family and a young houseguest in 1985 and has been on death row at San Quentin since then. SCAPEGOAT shows how the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office of San Bernardino County framed Cooper for these horrific murders and how the justice system has failed him at almost every turn in his long, drawn-out appeal process. If it were not for a court-ordered moratorium on executions in California over the lethal injection controversy, Cooper – with no appeals remaining – would have been executed by now. It is expected the moratorium will be lifted in early 2012.

SCAPEGOAT provides a rare direct examination of the broken justice system in the United States where homicide detectives and district attorneys all too often become blinded by their goal of winning convictions rather than searching for justice for both the victims and the accused.

O'Connor is also the author of The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal. This will be part of a 12-stop-tour to focus on the death penalty. Co-sponsored by The Mobilization to Free Mumia & United National Anti-War Coalition.
Suggested Donation is $5 - 10. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Move to Amend: Creating Democracy & Challenging Corporate Rule
Sunday, February 12, 7-9 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. 

The recent U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending on elections.David Cobb, an attorney and organizer for the Move to Amend coalition, is touring California to help local residents understand the history behind the recent decision and how they can work to abolish "Corporate Personhood" and establish a government of, by, and for the people by joining the Move to Amend campaign.
David is fiery speaker, and his talk is part history lesson and part heart-felt call-to-action!
Move to Amendis a coalition of over 155,000 people and organizations whose goal is to amend the United States Constitution to end corporate rule and legalize democracy.

Suggested Donation is $5 - 10. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Lama Mark will kindly and directly illuminate for us the most essential points of the art and science of meditation within the Buddhist tradition. And he frequently uses results from neuroscience research to show how meditation works and what we need to do to make it effective. Questions are most welcome. For more information contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Community Acupressure Clinic
Wednesday, February 15, 6-9 pm in the Connie Barbour Room — 1606 Bonita Ave.

Come experience the ancient and profound healing art of acupressure in a quiet community setting. We practice Tui Na, an active style of Chinese Qi Gong meridian massage; Jin Shin, a quiet style of acupressure flows; Shiatsu; Craniosacral; and Reiki.  Sliding scale: $20-$40 for a half-hour session, $40-$70 for an hour session.

Please e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  to reserve a 1/2 hour or hour-long session. Drop-ins will be taken if practitioners are available. For more information, see communityacupressure.org.

Soulful Sundown
Friday, February 17, 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. 

BFUU’s Young Adult group is partnering with young adults from around the Bay Area to present a night of inspiration, connection, movement, song, and celebration. Sometimes called contemporary worship, this evening in the UU "circle worship" tradition is geared towards all who identify as young adults (approximately 18-35).

Conscientious Projector's "Films for the 99%": Journey of Man
Tuesday, February 21, 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall — 1924 Cedar St. (6 pm Potluck) 

How did the human race populate the world? A group of geneticists have worked on the question for a decade, arriving at a startling conclusion: the "global family tree" can be traced to one African man who lived 60,000 years ago. Dr. Spencer Wells hosts this innovative documentary, featuring commentary by expert scientists, historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists.