The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend

FIGHTING DIABETES WITH POETRY Type 2 diabetes, caused by eating the wrong food and a sedentary lifestyle, is on the rise. It’s also preventable. Now Youth Speaks and the Center for Vulnerable Populations have come together to form The Bigger Picture Campaign, a novel way to get word out about the disease. Tonight, eight young poets will be premiering their poetry about the disease from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at The David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way. “This is poetry of provocation, witness, and social justice. We want all like-minded health warriors to be present.”

SCIENCE BOTH COOL AND EEK INDUCING East Bay science writer Mary Roach has a most unusual mind. Fascinated by human bodily functions, she has written books on the human digestive system, our sexual appetites, and how we die, among others. For her latest book, “Grunt,” Roach has turned her attention to humans at war. If anyone can make that grim topic amusing, Roach can. The Berkeley Public Library and The Bone Room are hosting Roach Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. The event is free but reservations are required. The Pace Trust is helping pay for the evening.

ARTISTRY AT WORK The Sonoma County Museum is hosting a tour of the studio of Berkeley visual artist Tom Holland at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Holland’s work is known for its “juxtaposition of geometric planes of fiberglass and aluminum and lustrously applied paint,” according to the Berggruen Gallery. Holland has had numerous solo and group shows, is displayed in the NY Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the San Francisco Museum of Art and is the recipient of a Guggenheim, Fulbright and National Endowment for the Arts grant. “Holland will discuss and demonstrate some of his technique using fiberglass and aluminum, making pieces of color which hang on the wall like stiff tapestry, the thin edges allowing his paintings to become a part of the space occupied,” according to the museum.

MELODIC DANCING Watch Polynesian dancing, a “Dancing with ‘our Stars,’ “ knock-off and listen to doo-wop and choirs at the Pacific Islander and Asian American Music Festival on Saturday. Organized by the Pacific Islander & Asian American Ministries of the Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, the music festival will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion and will serve as the launch of the seminary’s 150th-anniversary celebration. The seminary is at 1798 Scenic Avenue. Tickets are $5.

LITTLE KNOWN ISRAELI ATTACK ON US SHIP On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israeli fighter jets and torpedo ships bombed the USS Liberty, a technical research ship. Thirty-four servicemen died and 174 servicemen were injured in the attack. Israel later apologized; stating that it thought the Liberty was an Egyptian ship. Don Pageler, who was on the ship, will give a first-hand account of the attack at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar Street. Pageler said the U.S. government has tried to cover-up and minimize the U.S. planes that responded to the distress call, “saying he didn’t care if they all died, he did not want to embarrass an ally.”

Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:

Big Screen Berkeley: Therapy for a Vampire
Big Screen Berkeley: Framline40 in the East Bay
Shotgun Players: The Village Bike
Berkeley Rep: Treasure Island

To find out what is going on in Berkeley and nearby, be sure to check out Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. And submit your own events: it’s self-serve and free.