I'm sitting at a window overlooking the old Brooklyn area of Oakland. It isn't a glamorous view, although if you squint you can see the mountains on the other side of the SF bay. I am fond of the jumble of eclectic architecture , interesting color choices, and the Parkway Theater sign.

I may live in L.A. most of the time, but Oakland is home. I cooked breakfast for one of my sons this morning before he had to go to class, and one of the main projects for the next month is to make this little condo into more of a home, and less of a storage bin. Mostly that involves throwing out boxes of stuff that I have not needed in two years (if I'd needed it, I'd have unpacked it.)

I am scheduled for a weekend at Etz Chaim in Merced, CA, and for a lifecycle event this month, and I have a bunch of studying to do. It's going to be a busy, quiet month.

There are so many movies out that I want to see: Control Room, Fahrenheit 9/11, Saved!, Spiderman 2, and some others I don't recall right now. Some things I am just as happy to see on video, but others I want to see on the big screen.

I want to see Fahrenheit 9/11 at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. Allen Michaan, the owner of the theater, is an opinionated East Bay guy who likes to use the theater marquee as a medium for ranting about the misbehavior of the Bush Administration. I cannot think of anywhere in the world I'd rather see that movie. It's a grand old moviehouse, too, and one with lots of good memories for me: I've been going to movies there since 1986.

Lots to do. I'm going to do an hour of grammar, and then clean out the bedroom!