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In the spring of 2006, I worked with UC Berkeley students on a "Stem Cell Research and Public Policy" project (www.barglow.com/scrapp). Then in the election in November, stem cells, bless their hearts, played a perhaps decisive role in several close contests. I'm continuing to work with other advocates to educate politicians and the public about the healing promise of this research. See: www.stemcellaction.org and www.stemblog.net. For entertainment, see: BioChem 101

I've written a theater piece about the life and times of my mother Hildegard, who was an actress on the German stage before emigrating to this country in the late 30s. In the summer of 2005, we held a reading at my brother Peter's house, a few blocks away from where I live in Berkeley. Then in 2006 we shipped the play (along with my brother and his wife Margret, Pam, co-author Joanne, and myself) over to Dresden Germany where the play was read twice at the Synagogue there. See: www.wandertheater.org. Both in Berkeley and Dresden, these performances went pretty well, combining words and music, meaning and enjoyment.

Dresden has a much richer and more complicated history than I had ever imagined. I would like to make a film, about 40 minutes long, introducing the city to tourists and other visitors. I would select from existing historical footage and add a voice over. This is a (politically as well as technically) complex and challenging project, and I am only now beginning to discuss it with people in Dresden. The city was governed by a very progressive regime between 1918 and 1923, and it seemed for a while that democratic socialism could lead Saxony (where Dresden is located) -- and for that matter, the rest of Europe -- into a more humane and peaceful future. The revolution during those years affected life at all levels, cultural and personal as well as economic and political. Hellerau, a garden community, in Dresden, realized progressive ideals in education and in the arts. This part of Dresden's past has been eclipsed in the popular imagination by the war history thereafter, but I found it inspiring.

On another note: After decades of relentless radicalism, I've embraced liberalism -- less utopian but more effective. I belong to a local Democratic Party club, the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and am finding that rewarding. It seems to me that it is within the Democratic Party that we progressives have the best chance of communicating with all Americans and building a better world.

On yet another note,	My new friend is Photoshop, and together we've made posters such as these:
	Click on poster to view larger version