Bad Weed
Or is it? The case for not yanking out every invasive plant in our dunes
Cover Story
Bad Weed
The prevailing wind flows over the ocean, pushing water across its surface. As it sweeps ashore, the wind crosses the wet slope then hits the beige edge of dry sand, lofting millions of grains and urging them southeastward. The papery sound of the sand grains as they tumble plays high counterpoint to the low splashy…
Jager, With a Bud Chaser
Breaking news this morning from the Eureka Chamber of Commerce: Today at noon, in a “special presentation” sure to rival the Royal Wedding in pomp, circumstance and elegant textiles, Eureka Mayor Frank Jager will be presented with “a commemorative Clydesdale horseshoe” in honor of the historic attendance of Budweiser’s corporate mascots at Saturday’s Rhody Parade.…
Ode to a Beached Cow
Forlorn cow cast upon the rocks Dampness and death have polished your hide How did you get here, ‘neath the boardwalk? Did you never learn to watch for high tide? Pallid lips curl over square teeth An effortless grimace emitting no sound Cloven hooves point out toward the sea How long did they flounder there…
Illegal Diversions
A California Department of Fish and Game program permitting ranchers to divert water from two major tributaries to the Klamath River has been deemed illegal by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith, reports Klamath Riverkeeper in a news release this afternoon. For years, diversions from the Scott and Shasta rivers were unregulated and, says…
Wicked Bugs Invade Fresh Air
Bestselling author, Eureka Books co-owner and North Coast Journal contributor Amy Stewart was on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air this afternoon, chatting with guest host Dave Davies about the “creepy-crawlies” that inhabit her latest book, Wicked Bugs. With her customary cheerful aplomb, Stewart tells of such nasty insects as the Asian giant hornet (pictured above),…
The Late American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books
Over the last few years there’s been much hue and cry about the death, or at least the radical transformation, of the printed word. The insatiable digital maw has swallowed music and film, and books are next up on the plate, or so it seems. C. Max Magee, founder of The Millions, one of the…
Face to Face
Arbitrary, perhaps, but since the 1970s April has been recognized as National Autism Awareness Month. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are on the rise and now affect about one in 110 children in the United States. Those raw numbers barely begin to reflect the…
You Are Here
Owner Denise Daskal leans against the front counter of Orange Cup Coral Salon and Spa in Arcata and looks out the window. Her salon is wedged between Industrial Electrical Services and Earth’s Store, an exotic imports retailer, on a particularly drab stretch of Samoa Boulevard. The white leather chairs, circular mirrors, and slick IKEA shelving…
Not Old Time
The bass player from the opening act was drinking whiskey from a flask backstage as The Devil Makes Three rocked the house at a packed warehouse show somewhere in Arcata. “That’s not real old time music,” he complained, asserting that his old time band was actually more authentic. “It’s the beat,” he explained, getting more…
Apocalypse
Shortly after the U.S. Civil War, many of the war photographers employed by Matthew Brady turned their focus to the torn country’s wide-open spaces. Photographers such as Timothy O’Sullivan, who witnessed the carnage and suffering first-hand, turned their cameras on undeveloped, untouched landscapes with human existence almost nonexistent in the frames. Their photographs illustrate a…
Measuring Shtick
Editor: In agreement with Media Maven’s “Apple a Day” article (“Media Maven,” March 31): How stupid do the “truth spinners” think we are? The lies keep coming from TV, radio and print. Here are my favorites: 1. Waging three wars is not causing the deficit to rise. The military budget is untouchable, because we are…
April 21-27
April 21. Sunset 8:03 p.m. The Lyrids meteor shower will peak tonight or tomorrow night, showing at best 20 meteors per hour. Seek clear skies away from the lights of the city. This is good advice generally but particularly when viewing meteor showers. April 22. We are always surprised to learn that there are still…
Conservative Estimates
Editor: “Wealth Care” (April 14) was the best article I have ever seen in the Journal. Kudos. The info in it is so important that I hope people are passing the article around to others. Next on my wish list is an article on the costs of wars and the real reasons for the wars…
Is it Passover again?
Yes, Passover started at sundown on Monday. For a Jewish girl like me it’s Pesach and time for Elijah’s cup. For most of you it just means you’ll see a display with matzoh at the grocery store, probably not far from the Easter candy. I always thought once I lived in Brooklyn I’d eat a lot of…
Defying and Defining Gravity
When the director of dance studies, Sharon Butcher, says the HSU Dance Department is “moving forward with great momentum and a powerhouse of new, extremely talented dancers,” she isn’t kidding. Gravity Defined, HSU’s Spring Dance Concert at the Van Duzer, boasts 46 dancers in 10 new works choreographed by students and faculty. All good. Major…
Slime Ball
“Once fastened, servile, now you’re getting sharp Moving oh so swiftly with such disarm I pulled the covers over him Should have pulled the alarm Turned to my nemesis, a fool not a (radio edit) god Please, don’t go on me … Don’t go on me” — Lyrical excerpt from Pearl Jam’s “Go.” I know…
Egg cetera
‘Tis that time of year again! Time to partake in everybody’s favorite symbolically Pagan tradition somehow co-opted into a Christian holiday; the hunt for brightly colored byproducts of the chicken reproductive system. Easter is precious. Now you could hide eggs at your own house solely for your own children to find. But if we’ve learned…
MoM2011
MoM 2011
Quiz Me
So, like, you know how you’ve got that friend whose brain is full of useless facts and dominates every time you’re foolish enough to challenge him to a game of Trivial Pursuit. Dude, I’m totally that guy. Green wedge, pink wedge, orange wedge — it don’t matter. I complete my pie so fast I should…
Black and White
Cover up the end of this column before reading on! 1. A friend has one black and two white balls. First, she puts one ball into a bag, not letting you see the color. Then she puts a white ball in, so now the bag contains either one black and one white ball, or two white…
Art for Art’s Sake
Ambrose Akinmusire is a busy man. The 28-year-old trumpet player from Oakland released his first album for Blue Note Records, When The Heart Emerges Glistening, the first week in April, to great acclaim. Last weekend he and his quintet rolled it out with a residency at the Jazz Standard in New York City, his home…
Flood
I thought: it’s only brown water, a hand,…
Fourth Time, No Charm
Reviews SCRE4M. You might ask, when confronted with another Scream sequel, all these years later, what’s left to say? What new, original take on the formula could there possibly be? Is there a motive beyond profit for producing such a movie? You would be right to ask these questions, to which the answers are: nothing, none,…
