THE STARLING. Fans of Melissa McCarthy will know that she does both comedy and drama. The Starling (on Netflix) is the latter, so if you were expecting to see her do things along the lines of talking through a mouthful of food, belly-flopping or adopting six dogs all at once, you’ll want to check out […]
Kristin Kirby
Kristin Kirby is a freelance journalist living in Arcata.
Posted inArts + Scene
The Forest for the Happy Little Trees
“Bob Ross, 52, Dies; Was Painter on TV.” That was the caption in the July 13, 1995 New York Times obituary section. No headline, no picture. Just a blurb. Yes, that Bob Ross. The white guy with the Afro and the soft voice who painted landscapes inconceivably quickly and beautifully for the PBS show The […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Lady in Waiting
Review OPHELIA. As the title character of Ophelia tells us at the outset, “It is high time I should tell you my story myself.” So begins this re-telling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, one that adds dimension and depth to its characters. Shakespeare fans will appreciate Ophelia but so will non-fans. It’s a story of empowerment and […]
Posted inArts + Scene
The Filmore to Hunter’s Point
Reviews The Last Black Man in San Francisco. The movie opens on a school-aged African American girl skipping happily down a street next to the bay. Inches away, be-hazmatted workers gingerly remove debris from the area around her feet. The scene is Hunter’s Point, a rarely talked about neighborhood of San Francisco where the U.S. […]
Posted inNews
Static at KHSU
The July meeting of the KHSU Community Advisory Board (CAB) went an hour overtime. It was the third such meeting since the sudden firing of longtime KHSU Program and Operations Director Katie Whiteside. Normally meetings no one attends except the CAB members themselves, the three since Whiteside’s dismissal have been so full that the CAB […]
Posted inNews
Concerned Community Members Flood Meeting to Discuss Firing of Woman who ‘Put the K in KHSU’
The KHSU Community Advisory Board held its monthly open meeting Wednesday evening in Humboldt State University’s Gist Hall to address community concerns over the handling of issues regarding staffing and station procedures — specifically, the sudden firing of longtime program and operations director Katie Whiteside by KHSU General Manager Peter Fretwell. Fretwell, who was brought […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Little Shop’s Creepy Charm
With the changing weather and darkening skies, October in Humboldt is well suited to those who relish turning their attention to gruesome subjects, culminating in the finale on Oct. 31, a last gasp of frolicking about before those other holidays start in earnest. If that’s you, enjoy yourself while you can and go see The […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
The Old-Fashioned Way
The Back Porch 1380 Ninth St., Arcata Open Friday and Saturday, 10 am–5 pm or by appointment. Locals remember when you could go down to the old recycling center in Arcata and get a door, or an old sink, or some random wood for a project you dreamed up that morning. Well you can again, […]
Posted inShopping
The Old-Fashioned Way
They don’t make ’em like they used to. Except when they do. These shops and their hands-on craftspeople take us back to the beauty of reclaimed wood and metal, paper and ink. The Back Porch Locals remember when you could go down to the old recycling center in Arcata and get a door, or an […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Lightning Round
Reviews OSCAR ANIMATED SHORTS. Aliens, seabirds, alcoholics and the headless can be seen among the eight animated short films nominated for this year’s Oscars, films that range from delightful to disturbing. The program opens with Borrowed Time, a beautifully animated 3-D movie by two Pixar animators about a suicidal sheriff with a painful past, and […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Partners
Reviews HELL OR HIGH WATER opens on a panorama of desolate, dusty West Texas-ness to narrow in on graffiti scrawled on cement: “3 tours in Iraq but no bailout for people like us.” The story is about two brothers whose family home is being foreclosed on by a corrupt bank that sold their now-deceased mother […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Bros in Arms
Reviews WAR DOGS. War, as we know, is profitable — in fact, it’s a whole economy, as War Dogs makes sure to tell us right at the beginning. The film, directed by Todd Phillips, is based on a 2011 Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson about two 20-somethings who sell weapons to the Pentagon. And […]