How Much Money Do You Have To Earn In Order To Rent An Apartment In A New Building In Berkeley?

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Mark

As I said last month, Parker Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue is now open and renting apartments. It is 4 blocks from my house. This place is huge. It covers a whole block and half of the next block. 2 bedroom apartments at Parker Berkeley rent for $4,500 a month. Parking and utilities are extra. The rent is even higher if you have a cat. (You know, I have been a landlord for a long time, and it seems to me that if a landlord is getting $4,500 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment, he can afford to let a tenant have a cat for free.)

So – how much do you have to earn in order to rent one of these apartments? By my calculations, you would need to make at least $200,000 a year. You see, a person making $200,000 a year is only going to take home $100,000 after withholding. He is going to spend 33% of his income on federal income tax, plus 10% for California state income tax, plus 6% for Social Security. That leaves this guy with $100,000 a year or $8,300 a month in take-home pay. Landlords don’t like to rent apartments to people who are going to be spending over half their take-home pay in rent. So – what kind of people are going to live in this building or any of the other pricey new apartment houses going up in Berkeley? How many people in Berkeley make $200,000 a year? A lot more apartment houses like Parker Berkeley are going up. Many are already under construction. I think this a bubble, and I think it will end badly. The thing that I especially dislike like about these new apartment houses in Berkeley and San Francisco is that they only contain housing for the rich, the poor, and the elderly. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is being built for normal working people.

British vs. American English

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Mark

QUITE. What does the word ‘quite’ mean? Suppose somebody said to you: “The play was quite enjoyable”. What would that mean to you? If you were an Englishman, that would mean that the play was slightly or mildly enjoyable. On the other hand, if you were an American, it would mean that the play was very enjoyable. In England, ‘quite’ means ‘a little.’ In the U.S., it means ‘a lot.’ There is a long list of words that have opposite meanings in the U.S. than they do in the U.K.

HOMELY. Another word that has opposite meanings in the U.K. and the U.S. is ‘homely’. In England, it is a compliment to say that a woman is homely. In the U.S., it is an insult. In Britain, a homely woman is welcoming, practical, and down to earth. In the U.S., a homely woman is ugly. In Britain, a homely house is comfortable and charming. In the U.S., a homely house is unattractive. I think that a book listing words like these would sell quite well. By that, I mean I think the book would sell very well. I speak American English.

Why Do Germans Speak American English?

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Mark

English is taught everywhere in Germany and is, by far, the most widely-spoken foreign language in the country. Students are taught British English everywhere in Germany. And not just Germany. In Europe, people tend to think of British English as ‘standard English.’ However, most German adults speak American English and use American definitions of words, like ‘quite’. For example, when a German tells a waitress in a restaurant that he wants “a sandwich with chips”, he expects to get a sandwich with potato chips (American English) rather than french fries (British English). Germans use American rather than British definitions of words. Germans don’t call flashlights ‘torches.’ They don’t call elevators ‘lifts.’ Why is that? Since Germans are taught British English in school, why do they speak American English? I don’t know the answer to that, but I suspect it is effect of American popular culture on German children while they are growing up. Germans see far more American movies and TV shows than British movies and TV shows. For example, ‘Die Simpsons’ is the most popular animated TV show in Germany and has been for 20 years. And Donald Duck is as familiar to German children as he is to American children. This is only a guess on my part. The next time you see an English-speaking German government official being interviewed on television, listen to the way he is pronouncing and defining words. It’s invariably American English. If anybody knows why this is, let me know.

Denmark. As I said, this isn’t just in Germany. There are many other European countries where students are also taught British English in school but speak American English. I recently heard a speech by Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen on TV. They teach British English in Danish schools as well, but Rasmussen was clearly speaking American English. He used the word ‘schedule.’ That’s one of the words that Americans and Englishmen pronounce very differently. In England, it’s pronounced ‘SHED-ual’, but Rasmussen said ‘SKED-ual’, the American way. That’s what started me thinking about this. (P.S. – You don’t have to tell me that there are more important things in the world to ponder over than why Germans and Danes say SKED-ual instead of SHED-ual. I know that.)

The Mystery of Donald Duck in Germany.

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Mark

Here is my second big mystery about Germany. Donald Duck is extremely popular in Germany. Over 250,000 Donald Duck comic books are sold in Germany every week; however, Donald Duck in Germany is very, very different from the Donald Duck we know in the United States. In the U.S., Donald Duck is foolish, hot-headed, and dim-witted; but in Germany, Donald Duck is just the opposite. In Germany, Donald Duck is sophisticated, articulate, cultured, and well-read. Donald discusses philosophy, science, and literature with intelligence. He also frequently discusses politics and is sometimes quoted by German politicians. So – how did Donald Duck in Germany become so different from the American Donald Duck? Can you imagine our American Donald Duck discussing Viking mythology and Wagner’s operas with his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie?

DONALD DUCK IN EAST GERMANY.

Surprisingly, Donald Duck comics were both legal and widely-read in East Germany, but that was because the communist government in East Berlin saw Donald Duck as a critique of capitalism. Children in East German schools were told that Dagobert (Scrooge McDuck) was the ‘arch-prototype of capitalist greed and exploitation’. Well, that was true. Uncle Scrooge was both very rich and very greedy. Donald Duck symbolized the ‘downtrodden proletariat’ and his nephews Tick, Trick, and Tack (Huey, Dewey and Louie) were ‘socialist youth’ learning to become ‘good communists.’ I wonder what Walt Disney thought of this. He was notoriously and fiercely anti-communist.

Is There a Word for ‘Government by the Dead’?

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Mark

North Korea has a unique form of government. Most people would say that North Korea is a dictatorship or an autocracy, but those words do not accurately describe North Korea’s kind of government. North Korea is governed by the dead. Kim Jong-un is the absolute ruler of North Korea. He is Chairman of the Worker’s Party and holds several other titles. However, the President of North Korea is Kim Il-sung, even though he has been dead for over 20 years. His title is ‘Eternal President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.’ That means that the title of President of North Korea will never again be held by a living person. (See photo below of the current president of North Korea.) The head of the North Korean armed forces is also dead. Kim Jong-il is the ‘Eternal Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army.’ Kim Jong-il died in 2011, but he is still the head of the North Korean military. So – this means that the President of North Korea is dead and the supreme commander of North Korea’s armed forces is also dead. I teach history, and frankly, I can’t think of another country in the history of the world that was ruled by the dead. I have asked some other history teachers about this, and none of them could think of another country that was ruled by dead men, nor could any of them think of a word to describe this form of government. Is there a word for this? If there is, let me know. I am curious. I like odd words. I picked that up from my Uncle Maurice. What do you call ‘government by the dead’?

Where Will The Middle Class Live?

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Mark

Parker Berkeley is the newest apartment house in town. This place is huge! Parker Berkeley covers a whole block plus part of the block across the street. It is not on a spiffy section of Shattuck Avenue, and it is a long way from campus, but it is walking distance to the Ashby BART station. My guess is that the owners of this building are planning to rent to commuters who work in San Francisco. The rental office is now open and here are the rents:

Studio $2,900.

One bedroom $3,400

Two bedroom $4,500

Three bedroom $6,300
Parking is extra, plus the rent is higher if you have a cat or a dog.

If these rents seem high to you, remember that rents for similar apartments in downtown San Francisco are much higher than this. Like all new apartment houses in Berkeley and San Francisco, Parker Berkeley has inclusionary apartments for the poor, but all the other apartments are rented at market rate. So here is my question. If all the new apartment houses in town only have apartments in them for the rich and the poor, then where will the middle class live? I have been asking that question for 30 years. Consider a schoolteacher who makes $70,000 a year. This teacher doesn’t make enough money to rent a market rate apartment at Parker Berkeley but makes far too much money to qualify for an inclusionary apartment. So where will this schoolteacher live? Certainly not at Parker Berkeley or any of the new apartment houses going up in Berkeley or San Francisco. America has long been a middle class society, but we are building no housing here for the middle class. None at all. Zero. Zip. What kind of society are we going to live in if we only build housing for the rich and the poor? I never, never hear local politicians talking about this issue, the complete lack of new housing for the working middle class. It never comes up. I wonder why.

Why Do Clocks And Watches With Roman Numerals On Them Use IIII Instead of IV For 4?

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Mark

Every schoolchild knows (or should know) that the number 4 in Roman numerals is IV. So why do clocks and watches that show the time in Roman numerals almost always use IIII for 4? (Take a look at the photo below of the clock tower atop the Ferry Building in San Francisco.) All the other numbers are shown correctly in Roman numerals. Only 4 is wrong, and it is wrong on most clocks and watches. It doesn’t seem to matter when or where the clock or watch was made. This has been going on for a long time. European clock makers have been using IIII for 4 for centuries. We don’t know who started this practice or when. There are a lot of theories about this, including conspiracy theories involving the Freemasons, the Illuminati, King Louis XIV of France, and the Pope. (There are a lot of wacky conspiracy theories floating around on the internet about the Freemasons, the Illuminati, and the Pope, but not many about Louis XIV.) One theory that has a lot of internet followers right now is that the Romans started putting IIII on clocks instead of IV as a way of honoring Jupiter (the god, not the planet). The problem with this theory is that mechanical clocks weren’t invented until centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire. However, the Romans made sundials with Roman numerals on them, so I suppose it is possible that the Romans started this practice themselves. I don’t know what the Romans put on their sundials for the number 4.

So what is the explanation? I have always been a firm believer in Occam’s Razor which states that the most obvious solution to any problem is usually the correct one. The most obvious explanation here is that clock makers started putting IIII on clock faces simply to avoid confusion. It is very easy to confuse IV with VI, or 4 for 6 on a clock face. The number 6 on a clock face is at the bottom and therefore upside down. By writing the number 4 as IIII, it can’t be confused for another number.

A lot of what people think they know about ancient Rome isn’t true. That all comes from Hollywood of course. Many of the most expensive and memorable movies ever made were about Rome. While movies about gladiators and deranged emperors are fun to watch, they are usually extremely inaccurate. One of the first movies I ever saw was about gladiators. It was a Saturday matinee at the Forest Theater in Baltimore. The movie scared me, which is why I remembered it. The gladiators in this movie were fighting dinosaurs in the Colosseum. Even though I was only about 8 years old at the time, I recall that I had serious doubts about the historic accuracy of this movie. Hollywood studios put dinosaurs into all sorts of movies back in those days. Remember Godzilla? Westerns were very popular in the 1950s, so Hollywood sometimes put dinosaurs in them too. My favorite dinosaur Western was ‘The Valley of Gwangi’ in which cowboys on horseback chased down really big dinosaurs and then lassoed and hogtied them. I don’t remember why they were doing that. Below is a still shot from this movie. In this scene, the cowboys are taking a lassoed dinosaur off to market.

As I often tell my students – it is important to remember when you are watching movies about real historic people and historic times that Hollywood is in the entertainment business, not the education business.

P.S. – I am pretty sure that Roman gladiators did not fight with dinosaurs, but I will try to get confirmation of that from my Latin-teaching cousins in Cincinnati.

Bringing Stuff To U.C. Berkeley Football Games.

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Mark

Because of the increased number of terrorist attacks in the U.S., U.C. Berkeley has further restricted its bag policy for fans coming to football games at Memorial Stadium. Backpacks and gym bags have been banned for years, but until this year fans could bring opaque bags up to 14 inches wide to games. Under the new policy, which is now in effect, fans can only bring 1 gallon clear plastic zip-lok bags or clear plastic bags up to 12 inches by 12 inches by 6 inches. The new bag policy will also be enforced at games at Haas Pavilion. Medical necessity bags will be excepted. By requiring that fans bring things in clear plastic bags, the university expects that this will also speed up the time it takes fans to get through security lines. Just within the last few months, U.C. Berkeley students were killed in terrorist attacks in Nice, France on Bastille Day and in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

How To Make A Hard Chocolate Shell For Ice Cream.

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Mark

This recipe only contains 2 ingredients and takes 5 minutes to make. If you want an excellent chocolate sauce that instantly hardens into a shell when poured over ice cream, here’s the secret: coconut oil. At room temperature, coconut oil is solid but spoonable; however, it becomes hard and brittle at colder temperatures, like the temperature of ice cream. You can buy coconut oil at many supermarkets and Trader Joe’s. To make a really good hard chocolate ice cream topping, place in a microwaveable bowl 1/3 cup (2.5 ounces) of coconut oil and 1 cup (6 ounces) of semisweet chocolate. Microwave at 50 percent power in 30 second intervals, stirring the mixture between the intervals until the mixture is thoroughly combined. That’s all there is to it! You can store your chocolate topping at room temperature and spoon or pour it over ice cream. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more coconut oil or microwave it slightly to warn it up. You can also use this mixture to make chocolate covered frozen bananas on a stick and other frozen desserts. (A jar of this stuff also makes a very nice Christmas gift from your kitchen!)

This chocolate topping tastes much better than the bottled chocolate ‘magic shell’ toppings sold in supermarkets. This recipe is made with real chocolate. Nearly all of the commercially made products you find in supermarkets are made with inferior ingredients like palm oil. It’s cheaper to make this stuff that way, but predictably, it doesn’t taste as good. At the bottom of the pile, there are chocolate shell products sold at dollar stores that are made out of something called ‘natural chocolate flavor.’ I don’t know what it is, but isn’t made from cocoa beans.

The Protestant Reformation.

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Mark

Here’s another gem from my collection of badly written history homework assignments by junior high school students.

“In 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theocrats to a church door in Germany. That started the Protestant Reformation. After that, Protestants exploded all over Germany. Protestants also exploded in Denmark, Holland, and England. The Pope excommunicated Martin Luther King, but even that didn’t stop the Protestants from exploding, so the Pope gave up and threw in the towel.”

Hmmm. As I said a few months ago, I know a Catholic priest who teaches at the Graduate Theological Union here in Berkeley. I’ll check with him about this the next time I see him. I wonder what he knows about Martin Luther nailing theocrats to a church door and exploding Protestants.