I just got an email from the Court saying the Petition denied, I think.  It is long and confusing  Reading it NOW.  Linky!

Help figuring this out, people

Ok, I'm trying to figure this out quickly off the top of my head here.  It says the Writ of Supercedes is denied, which is good.  This appears to be because Volker filed the Motion For New Trial in the Trial Court.  This is good, I figure.

But it also says this:

The Order after Hearing also provides that "[t]he preliminary injunction will be dissolved when the judgment takes effect . . . ." (Exh. 13 at 220.) Ordinarily, an order dissolving an injunction is independently appealable. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 904.1, subd. (a)(6).) In this case, however, the companion Judgment never took effect, and, hence, the preliminary injunction is not yet dissolved. Rather, it remains in place, subject to future modification by the trial court, as appropriate.

I don't understand if that means Volker can appeal again to get 20 more days after the Judgement takes effect.  The preliminary injunction, it says, is not yet dissolved.  But it is subject to future modification by the trial court.  Judge Miller has made clear her view that it should have dissolved last week.  So, I don't know what this means, exactly. 

This seems good, but leaves me with more questions about what the timeline is going forward.  Any help?

Stephan Volker is not a man for reasonable discourse.  He is a man of bluster and histrionics.  After Cal received the favorable ruling, he had this to say:

Volker said he is confident of eventual victory. "I have prosecuted over 100 appeals, and prevailed in about 85 percent of them," he said.

Hmmm.  Sounds impressive.  100 appeals.  85% success rate.  Maybe this isn't just bluster, maybe he's an appeals God.  Maybe UC student Matthew Taylor was correct at the Council Meeting the other day.  Maybe Volker, going at it alone, will dominate Cal at the appeals level and then we'll have to start over.  And the sacred trees will have already been cut down, insulting Native Americans and WWI Veterans everywhere.  And then we'll all cry.

So, to see if this dark, dark eventuality might hit, let's take a look at Volker's experience at the Appeals level.  Can he pull this off?

via www.volkerlaw.com

"I'm trying to save Cal from itself!"

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In the second part of my heroic battle against government corruption, corporate interests (who do you think is supplying the tree-sitters with all this food?   Big Oak, that's who!  also, local grandmothers). and DiRs, I attended the public comment session at the Berkeley City Council last Thursday.  Far from the rational, soothing voice of Laurie Capitelli, I was greeted by raucous, primal cheers as I approached the steps of Old City Hall.  I knew the tree folk would be out in full force; it was no hippie music festival, but sanctimonious speech making is pretty high on the list of hippie turn-ons (others hippie aphrodisiacs?  hummus, patchouli, fucking up the 2000 election, and bark - I heard a rumor this weekend that DumpyMuff came down because she had a bun in the oven.  Twist, your boys can swim!).  I had to fight back.

CBKWit pleads with the COB

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Life is generally not much like a Kevin Costner movie (well, like his movies, life often sucks, but the details are different - I have never battled Dennis Hopper on a futuristic gunboat, for one), but last Thursday was no ordinary day.  After two failed attempts, I had the opportunity to play Jimmy Stewart and cast my swing vote with the Berkeley City Council on two separate occasions.

The first meeting was with Councilman Laurie Capitelli and the noble group Berkeleyans for Cal.  The meeting was very interesting and practically perfect, with one notable exception.  Let's call this exception "Douchebag in Red".  I took this meeting as a great opportunity to explain our side to Councilman Capitelli and hear his thoughts on the matter, in the hopes of coming to an agreeable consensus.  DiR apparently took the meeting as a chance to browbeat Capitelli and come off as a huge douchebag, while wearing a red shirt.  Mission accomplished, sir!

Kevin Costner addresses the WaterWorld City Council, sans red shirt

via www.filminfocus.com

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City Hall Meeting Today at 5.  I just spoke with CBKWit and he said the meeting with Councilmember Capitelli went well.  However, this process is not over yet.  Everybody's presence is more important than ever!    As noted in the DBD, Volker really filed some sort of appeal. If he gets the Council on board, this could be BAD!

If you cannot make it at 5, do not worry.  It was emphasized at the meeting that everybody who wants a chance to speak will get that chance.  So, if you can come at 5:30 or even 6 or hell even 6:30.  I predict it will be an insane circus and the public session will go for a while.  Make your voices heard!

Democracy In Action!

These are busy times, my friends.  Busy, important times.  And we have to do what we can as concerned citizens to help Cal in its time of need.  They can achieve much, but let's not forget that so can we.

You might be asking yourself, "But Twist, didn't your award winning letter to the editor singlehandedly sway all minds and hearts?"  To which I would, of course, answer "Hey, what part of 'shut up and take out my trash, hydrotech' is so confusing to you?"

Also, you are partially right.  That letter swayed minds and hearts.  But some.  Only some.  So, we need your help to achieve all of our goals.  I know that you are all planning on going to the City Council meeting tomorrow at 5 PM. 

But what if I were to tell you you could have a face to face meeting with an actual Councilmember tomorrow at 2 PM in Berkeley?  Well, you can!  Let's learn more about Laurie Capitalli!

via www.cityofberkeley.info

"My mind is open and ready to be filled with information!"

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"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." - Matthew 6:1

"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men." - Matthew 6:2

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:5-6

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. -Matthew 6:16-18

You don't have to be Christian (which I'm not) to see the underlying theme here.  Either Jesus was a very shy person who hated trumpets or those who make endless pronouncements of their unbelievable awesomeness at being totally awesome aren't always the most awesome. 

Ok, yes, I could use some help on my Biblical interpretation.  But I still think that there is a key secular relevance to all these phrases from the Sermont on the Mount and our "Sacred Grove" Kabuki Theatre.  And it ain't "wash your face, hippies," because we all know that ain't happening!

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via www.puppiesandflowers.com

Dear San Francisco Chronicle,

This is an open letter from just a single reader who goes by the name of TwistNHook on an unimportant blog you've probably never heard of.  I can only speak for myself.  This is what I want to say.

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(Ed Note:  More media from the Grove when CBKWit was up there last Wednesday, i.e. D-Day.  Enjoy!)

If we here at CGB have learned anything this week, it's that Cal football fans love hippies.  Our visit and comment numbers have been fine since we moved to SBN, especially for the dead summer period, but it took a bunch of hippie warriors with vaguely sexual aliases to really bring some traffic to our site.  It's the Jennie Finch/Allison Stokke phenomenon, but apparently you readers are more attracted to the earthier type.  2 days of 1,000 plus visits?  4 threads with more than 100 comments?  Thank you hippies!  (But if you don't think half of these numbers are Twist hitting F5 every 10 seconds, you're crazy).

More eye candy for you perverted bastards.

Well, I'm pretty sure this post is going to shatter our previous records.  Not only will it have lots of hot hippie pics, but we've got 4 totally uncensored videos with only the hottest, naughtiest hippies!

To answer your question: Yes, that is indeed our favorite long bo, being waved with a pair of pants (?) attached as some sort of display of solidarity/surrender.  The evolution of the use of this single bamboo staff is, to me, one of the most compelling stories of this entire ordeal.  It's gone from a hypothetical defensive tool to a walking stick to a sad display of hippie pride.  And yes, it will become something else entirely, in a video to follow.

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via www.scicomp.ucsd.edu

"Wait, what?  The Alameda County Court website is working slightly slower than usual?  Ok, everybody click on it right now, this could mean something!  But, I'm going to lay here a little longer.  I'm tired."

Oh, the week that was.  Honestly, this week has been so crazy I can't remember a time before it began.  I have heard of a before before time when, in the hazy mist of the past, we discussed our thoughts on UCLA.  But I can't get verification on that.

On Saturday, CBKWit and I went deep undercover into the heart of darkness.  I ended up doing Dane Cook shtick and I felt so dirty afterwards.  But the dirt just isn't coming off!  We met our dear friend with the long bo, Martial Art Mask Maker.  He's like Donatello, but he probably doesn't have Half-Shell Turtle Power.  Lord knows I do!

Then, nothing happened on Sunday.  LAME!  I hate Sunday SO much right now!

On Monday, Ryan Anderson broke all of our hearts by following about his rational self-interest.  Why must you live your dream, Ryan?  What about my dreams, Ryan?  What about them?

On Tuesday (aka XMas Eve), the "Storm Troops" "raided" the "sacred" "grove."  We were first introduced to our love-interest, Dumpster Muffin.  Our man was on the scene, describing in extreme detail just how dreamy Ms. Muffin truly is.  Uh, maybe that detail was a bit too extreme.  She has been living in a tree for the last unknown amount of time, afterall.

Then, Wednesday.  It was like the JFK assassination and moon landing all wrapped up into one day.  Except not fake.  You'll be able to tell your grandkids years from now where you were when you first heard the media irresponsibly reporting on the Judge's ruling.  "Yes, sonny boy, I remember that each network was worse than the last.  I just broke my hip!" 

It got sort of wack-tastic that day.  And that twenty minute time span when all looked lost, that was the sort of shared experience that never goes away.  It'll haunt us to the end of our days.  We all asked ourselves, "Could GreyBear really have been so wrong?  Could everything we'd heard really been so off?"  

The answer, thankfully, was no.  OakTownMario and Danzig led us through an in depth legal analysis of the 128 page ruling.  If only Buzz Bissinger were still alive today to read it.  "A blog?", he might say, "Producing in depth legal analysis?  But the Chronicle inserted the word "sacred" into a supposedly objective caption!??!   That's the newspaper way!  That's the way it should be""

Then, on Thursday, we were back through the rabbit hole.  Ayr gave a press conference.  As compared to Air, which continues to tour France, supplying those cheese-eating surrender monkeys with sweet, sweet jazz music.

It was the week that gave us Dumpster Muffin.  It was the week that gave us "Save The Oaks:  Overthrow Capitalism."  It was the week that gave us "Carolyn Jones," not to be confused with Carolyn Jones. 

Finally, a hearty thank you to the Judge for releasing the Order at 6 PM on Wednesday, ensuring that hundreds and hundreds of people checked the site repeatedly all hour, every hour, well into the evening.  Our advertisers thank you greatly!  Except for NewsMax.  They would never thank a bunch of crazy Berkeley hippies, like us!

Oh and can't forget Brent Musburger.  I know I never will.  GO BEARS!