We really love these guys, and you should love them too! The Del Sol Quartet performs works by 20th and 21st century women composers in Berkeley tonight (and one male composer too) in their "Umbilical Chords: Women Composers and the Creative Process" program. And in interesting modern music trivia, one of the women composers (Ruth Crawford) is folk singer Pete Seeger's mother. Del Sol plays at the Ashby Stage (1901 Ashby, x MLK, right across......

If it’s as beautiful and warm as everyone says it will be this Sunday, then we’re headed to the Thai Buddhist Temple in Berkeley for the Sunday brunch. We haven’t been in awhile, and we’ve been craving that Mango Sticky Rice. Brunch in general is not usually our thing -- the long wait to get seated for an over-priced generic egg scramble usually makes our tender hangovers worse and not better. But the brunch at Wat Mongkolratanaram in Berkeley does not disappoint. It’s a weekly fundraiser for the temple. For around $5, you can get a tasty and pretty authentic Thai meal, including their delicious mango sticky rice for dessert. ...

A devoted VW van owner and dedicated "VW Heads" managed to find the owner's prized avocado-green 1971 bus (valued between $16,000 and $20,000) after it was stolen from the Ashby BART station last Friday. The owner had passed out flyers all over Oakland and Berkeley asking for information, and other VW devotees got in touch with him to let him know they'd seen the van in the area. After some sleuthing all day Wednesday, they......

Tonight at Biscuits and Blues (401 Mason St.), legendary New Orleans pianist, Henry Butler performs solo piano, combining the classical and jazz elements he absorbed at Louisiana School for the Blind and Southern University with the gospel, blues and R&B sounds he heard growing up in New Orleans. (8pm & 10pm shows) Saturday Grab a boombox and head on over to Mission Dolores Park (18th and Dolores) for Unsilent Night 2006, composer Phil Kline’s annual......

Wow, there's a whole lot of benefits for worthy causes going on this weekend, as well as a head-spinning amount of other stuff to do: Friday that's tonight, and it's the kick-off for Creativity Explored's (3245 16th St. at Guerrero) Annual Holiday Art Sale, a bargain hunter’s paradise of original artwork by artists with developmental disabilities. And it’s all on sale for rock bottom prices – many items as low as $5. Creativity Explored......

Hang up those K signs -- looks like we might be having a BART strike next week. Hey, at least it's not happening the Friday before July 4. So how you getting to work? For those of you in the East Bay, everyone says the Transbay AC Transit bus is remarkably easy, a beautiful ride over the Bay Bridge, and even more conveniently located near University Avenue than, say, the Ashby BART. And, as SFist Jackson noted yesterday, there's always casual commute, though we can't imagine it's going to be pleasant in any kind of car in the middle of the maze that day. Don't forget the ferries either! For those of you who BART within San Francisco, you probably live somewhere near the 14 Mission or 26 Valencia MUNI buses, or can trudge up- or downhill to a J (steep!). And for those of you who take BART to the Millbrae Caltrain, you can take the N, the 10, the 15, the 30, the 45, or the 47 bus to the 4th Street station, or, for those of you near 24th Street, you can take the 48 to the 22nd Street stop. Did we miss anything? Is anyone hitchhiking? ...