Woven through actual letters, diary entries and haiku poetry, “From A Silk Cocoon” is an award winning documentary about the true story of a young couple whose shattered dreams and forsaken loyalties lead them to renounce their American citizenship while held in separate prison camps during World War 2. They struggle to prove their innocence and fight deportation during a time of wartime hysteria and racial profiling. Followed by Q&A with filmmaker and psychotherapist Satsuke Ina.

Psychoactives…the name itself conjures up hundreds of images: hippies at Woodstock, those “well acted” anti-drug PSAs, even Colombian drug cartels. One thing is for sure, human history and psychoactive use are intertwined.

The term psychoactive covers a wide range of compounds…ranging from caffeine & alcohol to heroin & meth. Within that range, there again exists a wide range of use…historical use, cultural use, recreational use, and abuse.

But what do psychoactives reveal about our brain and its neural mechanisms? the connection between our mind & body? our spirituality?

These questions & more will be answered by our panel this month. Dr. David Presti is Professor of Neurobiology at UC Berkeley. Fire & Earth are founders of the member supported site Erowid, delivering access to information about psychoactives. (more…)

One of America’s top political satirists, Will Durst, will discuss his new book, The All-American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing: Common Sense Rantings from a Raging Moderate, an equal-opportunity offender swats both partisan political pinatas from both sides of the spectrum upside their heads.

With its huge production-ready sound library, advanced KoreSoundВ® Browser, highly flexible Sound Matrix and analog-style controller, KORE 2 offers practically endless creative music making potential. The interactive workshops are aimed at boosting your workflow and deepening your knowledge of the Super Instrument. True to the motto “Find, Play & Tweak”, NI’s knowledgeable experts will be taking you inside KORE 2 and answering your questions on any of its powerful and groundbreaking features.

Topics to be covered:
the KoreSoundВ® Browser, the controller, morphing, effects sound design features advanced browser features KORE in a sequencer: management, host automation KORE as a live host: creating and organizing performances.

The Berkeley World Music Festival presents Cambodian-American psychedelic rock band Dengue Fever live at Amoeba Berkeley. Dengue Fever blends the rhythms of 60s Cambodian pop - heavily influenced by American surf, rock and early psychedelic garage bands - with their own eclectic mix of American and international styles.