Amateur Hour
Melodic, obscure or just plain painful — anyone can grab the spotlight at open mic
Cover Stories
Take It to The Bridge
Come on in! Stringed instruments, white Christmas lights and eager musicians line the walls in The Bridge’s tucked away “Pickin’ Parlor.” I’d just finished bangin’ out the I-IV-V chords to Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House” on the Fernbridge restaurant’s old corner wall piano, while tall, lanky George helmed the lead vocal/guitar duties. Unlike the famous…
Speak It
There’s a man down inside Robert Goodman Wines. It’s hot in here. Steamy. And standing-room only. Plates and glasses clink gently behind the bar where the bartender, her persimmon dress a bright shimmer in the dim light, prepares food and pours wine. Otherwise, it’s caught-breath quiet. An orange glow bounces off full, round glasses and…
An Old Town Melody
Late spring sunlight melts golden across one wall of Old Town Coffee & Chocolates, the milk steamer hisses its soft “screeeee,” and Jacob Wakeland edges into the side room with his guitar. It’s early May, and Wakeland has been talking himself into this for the last month. He’s so nervous he looks like he…
Amateur Hour
There you are again, noodling on your guitar in the dark of your own tired little home. Singing sweetly, so sweetly. You know you’re good. But these walls have heard it before, give you the same old feeble bounce-back from their moldy plaster. If only … if only … Meanwhile, two houses over, there’s that…
A Joke Walks into a Bar
Stand-up comedy must take some serious nerve. I say “must” because I’m far too chickenshit to test this hypothesis. But for anyone with even a shred of self-doubt, stand-up must rival stripping as the scariest thing you can do onstage. With a few exceptions (most of ‘em god-awful), comedians have no instrument to hide behind,…
Could Clendenen and/or Solomon Still Win?
Clif Clendenen and Norman Solomon are not ready to admit defeat. Local election night results (pdf) showed Estelle Fennell edging out incumbent Clif Clendenen for the 2nd District Board of Supervisors seat by a margin of about four percent — 47.76 percent for Clendenen to 51.81 percent for Fennell. The gap between the two stands…
Marine Protected Areas Adopted
Do rockfish breathe sighs of relief? No? How about shorebirds? Or sea lions? Perhaps razor clams? (How do those things even breathe?) Okay, well, whether or not they know it, marine life on the North Coast will now enjoy protection in a new network of underwater parks. Yesterday, in a conference room at the Eureka Red…
Humboldt County Election Night Shindig Photos
(Note to NCJ Facebook “like”ers: We told you!) Last night, Journal eyes and ears went gallivanting around the county to chronicle the agonies and defeats of 2012’s June primary election. Wanna see what we saw? We’ve gathered photos from every election night soiree that would let us in the door (Bohn, Lovelace, Fennell, Clendenen and…
Election Results!
With 130 of 130 precincts reporting and 25,414 of 76,197 potential votes (33.35%) cast, this primary is history. Los resultados: Humboldt County Supervisor, District 1: Rex Bohn: 64.14% / 3,872 votes Cheryl Seidner: 28.38% / 1,713 Annette De Modena: 7.12% / 430 Humboldt County Supervisor, District 2: Estelle Fennell: 51.81% / 2,827 votes Clif Clendenen:…
Votes coming in and …
Mail in voters so far like Rex Bohn, Mark Lovelace and Estelle Fennell for supervisor. The early report is on the county election’s office website. This batch of voters includes everyone whose ballot reached the county by Saturday, June 2. In recent elections, the Humboldt vote by mail turnout has been significant — around 70…
Picking a Bohn
Today, the Journal was made aware of numerous mailers that have reportedly been sent over the past week to residents of Humboldt County’s 1st District. All the mailers claim to have been paid for, at least in part, by Rex Bohn’s campaign for a seat on the Board of Supervisors. Taken together, they offer decidedly…
Follow the Sea Dragon
UPDATE: You can record marine debris you suspect is from the Japan tsunami with the mobile device Marine Debris Tracker. Use your discretion, NOAA requests — don’t report everything in sight, only stuff that seems very probably from the event. While we here on land, including on Humboldt’s coastline, await with dread and curiosity the…
Andy Caffrey Must Be High
Two pieces of evidence to support the headline: 1. His latest campaign ad (below) shows him smoking marijuana. (The bong burbling sound at the end is a nice touch.) 2. On his Facebook page — the same place where he predicted earning 16 percent of the vote next Tuesday — he said this about the…
Sticky Jared
Last night I moved into my buddy’s place, where I’ll be staying for the summer. He works for 2nd District congressional candidate Jared Huffman. So there I am, brushing my teeth like I do most every night, and I spot a note on the counter: Sweet. Seems like a nice guy. Good penmanship too. But why…
Wild Grandmother
My Grandmother is not your usual silent film. The somewhat obscure 1929 Soviet political comedy mixes live action on wildly exaggerated expressionistic sets with puppetry, animation and stop motion photography to offer a scathing critique of bureaucratic excess. And the 21st century soundtrack, to be performed live Saturday night at the Arcata Playhouse by composer…
Peoplemover to SF!
Editor: I agree with east-west railroad proponent Bill Barnum (“Choo-Choo Fantasies,” May 24). To heck with the naysayers; we men of action should dream big. Personally, I’m into those moving sidewalks like they have at airports. So it would be really nice if Dave Tyson would rent a car and drive down to Ukiah, Santa…
Old Town Moon
In twilight Old Town, above the end of…
Cue the Filthy Muppets
Avenue Q, a much-praised 2003 musical that’s still running in Manhattan, is currently onstage at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Eureka with a superior production. The individual singing and acting is flawless. The group singing, thanks to musical director Molly Severdia, is excellent. Kudos as well to director, costume, video and puppet designer Rae Robison,…
A Stream Full of Crabs
Somebody pinch us! ‘Tis once again the time of year when Humboldt finally gets to scratch that Crab itch that’s been driving us crazy all year. Yes, this week, the Humboldt boys of summer begin their 68th annual infestation down at the Arcata Ballpark. Pull that hoodie out of the closet. Dust off your adorable…
Back to the Landscape
Ask longtime Humboldt residents why they live here, and chances are they’ll mention the beauty of this place, the forests, farmlands and beaches, the streams and rivers running from the mountains to the sea. That love of nature is reflected in our vibrant art scene. You’ll see it full force this weekend if you take…
Black ‘n’ Sassy
MEN IN BLACK III. Ever since Independence Day (1996), Will Smith has been the go-to sci-fi guy, and the Men in Black franchise has been a nice breather from watching him and everyone else in the genre frown through bleak, post-apocalyptic wastelands or high-tech moral dilemmas. MIB movies are slick, wholesome odes to B-movies and…
Beat Geeks
The name Lazer Sword might make you think of Star Wars light sabers, but that’s not what the electronica duo Antaeus Roy and Bryant Rutledge had in mind when they formed their musical partnership back in 2006. “It is a geeky thing, but it has nothing to do with Star Wars,” said Roy, skyping in…
Transit of Venus: This Tuesday (or 2117)
How far away is the sun? Over a period of several hundred years, the answer to this seemingly simple question was one of the Holy Grails of astronomy, and for good reason: The mean sun-Earth distance, known as the astronomical unit, or AU, is our fundamental datum for the size of the universe. It’s the…
Beware of Cows
Editor: The Astronomers of Humboldt would like to thank all those who joined us at the Kneeland Airport on May 20 and supported the annular eclipse viewing event (“Ring of Fire,” May 17). We had no idea that so many people in the area had such an interest in astronomical events. The club especially appreciated…
Card Game
Earlier this month, an outfit called Coast2Coast Rx announced that Humboldt County residents “saved over $800,000 on prescription medications” in a two-year period using the free discount prescription card issued by the company and endorsed by Humboldt County. To boot, for every prescription filled with the discount card, the county received a small royalty. Fantastic!…
Go, Women!
Editor: Since the Journal has a new woman editor this election cycle, as referenced in “My Bully Pulpit” by Judy Hodgson (May 17), I find it interesting that no one has mentioned how many women are running for office this time around. My small sample ballot has 13 women running for offices, which seems like…
Tide Pool Mysteries Revealed
“Tide pools contain mysterious worlds, where all the beauty of the sea is subtly suggested and portrayed in miniature.” — Rachel Carson Thanks to the summer solstice and the full moon, the sea will reveal often-hidden secrets in early June, with a string of nine “minus tides” that include the lowest tides of the year.…
For Supervisor …
Editor: I was extremely disappointed by the way Zach St. George covered Annette De Modena, candidate for 1st District supervisor (“District Soup,” May 10). As a teacher and a person, she was trivialized and her candidacy minimized. This is an intelligent woman who has served her community well as a teacher at Zane Junior High…
And for Congress…
Editor: The residents of the newly fashioned 2nd Congressional District have the uncommon opportunity to send a truly brilliant candidate to Washington, D.C. (“Go Solomon!” May 17). Norman Solomon brings to the table a rich history of policy analysis, innovative leadership and coalition building. He is an independent progressive Democrat, beholden to neither party agenda nor…
E.C. Segar’s Eureka
E.C. Segar’s Eureka
Kinetic Politics
Will reveals his “Hail Mary” attempt at winning that seat on Capitol Hill.
