Don’t Toss the Coin
Making heads or tails out of the Eureka and Arcata City Council races – third of a three part series
Cover Story
E Pluribus Eureka
Parents gathered on the rock-hard bleachers at Eureka High, cheering their linebacker sons and cheerleader daughters, live in a different Eureka than the one inhabited by the tattooed women over at the Shanty, downing PBRs and flaunting their bruises after a gloriously brutal Roller Derby match. The Eureka of art patrons sipping wine at the…
A love story
Thanks to Slate (via BoingBoing ) for pointing out this TV ad for a bank, with what Humboldters will recognize as a familiar story, at least until the ending. As Slate’s John Swansburg points out, Joanna Newsom provides the soundtrack song. I can’t say I understand what it all has to do with banking, but…
Periodical lemming
From the mouthpiece of liberal elitism (or is it elitist liberalism?), The New York Times, comes this story about the imminent demise of The Christian Science Monitor’s daily print edition. The cost-cutting measure makes The Monitor the first national newspaper to largely give up on print. And so it begins. The nonprofit, church-financed fish-wrap won…
Why Programmers Suck at CSS Design
Why Programmers Suck at CSS Design: Stefano Mazzocchi is
Hotcha Papa!
Starkewolf: Naughty Just in from the Sac Bee’s Capitol Alert! Breathy GOP robo-call says Thompson’s been a ‘bad boy’ Voters across California’s first congressional district picked up the phone this weekend to hear a breathy woman intone that “Mike Thompson’s been a bad boy.” With a seductive voice more suited to an escort service than…
Journal Kills at CNPA
Booyakasha! Six first-place, two second-place awards — the latter only in categories where we were competing against ourselves. We beat the San Francisco Business Times in business reporting. Our production team got first place for layout and design, and that was in a category without circulation classes. In other words, this year we are officially…
Journal Kills at CNPA
found.Journal Kills at CNPA: Booyakasha! Six first place, two second place awards — the latter only in categories where we were competing against ourselves. We beat the San Francisco Business Times in business reporting. Our production team got first place for layout and design, and that was in a category without circulation classes. In other…
Searching for Robert Johnson
war.Searching for Robert Johnson: Vanity Fair piece on the discovery of what seems to be a photo of bluesman Robert Johnson, one of only three photos of the music legend ever
October
October: It’s nine days before the election. Here’s an idea — let’s start another
Twitter: Terrrorism Tool
month.Twitter: Terrrorism Tool: U.S. Army researchers theorize that the “microblogging” site may have an audience beyond the weapons-grade bores who make up its current core user base.
Arcata Pre-Election Poll
When we hazarded a guess on who might take a seat in the Arcata City Council election, it was admittedly based solely on guesswork. Now, thanks to Prof. Mark Larson from Humboldt State University’s Journalism & Mass Communication Dept. some polling has been done. Here are the results: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: A recent poll of…
caption correction
Not sure how it happened, but the caption on the photo in the Journal this week illustrating the piece on the Arcata City Council race had the names in the wrong order with Jason Grow incorrectly identified as Gernonimo Garcia. To alleviate any confusion, here’s who’s who: Jason Grow Geronimo Garcia
Bono, NYT Columnist
farmers.Bono, NYT Columnist: The NYT unveils its newest addition to the Op-Ed page. “No, really,” the Guardian assures. He’ll average about a column a
Australia bans word ‘drought’
Politico.Australia bans word ‘drought’: … because it upsets
Sarah P. Steps Out
China.Sarah P. Steps Out: The Arctic fembot is getting a little too mavericky, reports
The War Over War
Editor: Measures F (Arcata) and J (Eureka) and bad. Bad for young adults, bad for our communities, and bad for our nation. The proponents of the “Child Protection Act” just don’t know what they are talking about. Some claim recruiters want to send our children to war. How ridiculous can you get. I can’t imagine…
There is No Poetry on the Moon
The silent poet silent Night silent dewdrop Gravity…
Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!
In 1978, a little known cartoonist named Art Spiegelman published a collection of his best short strips up to that point, many of which appeared in various obscure underground comics throughout the 1970s. Breakdowns had very limited distribution, and was a commercial anomaly — there was no market for such books at the time. (Will…
Offend Maggie
The San Francisco-based group Deerhoof can be a polarizing band. Naysayers can’t stand the cacophony, or bassist Satomi Matsuzaki’s high waif-like falsetto vocals, often mixing Japanese and English lyrics together, creating abstract nonsense. Their songs constantly contain different parts lending to an angular, at times, fragmented sound. Fans love their music for all these reasons.…
The Death of Pork
Once upon a time there was a pork chop: nearly two inches thick, moist with tiny interior seams of fat, seared in butter in a heavy copper skillet; then a splash of Calvados deglazed the pan, and it gently braised until it was the color of burnished cherrywood. It arrived on the plate attended by…
Wave Power
Our corner of the world is on the verge of becoming famous in a new and unprecedented way. The State of California has adopted the most aggressive goals in the country for developing renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here in Humboldt County, plans are underway to make us a leading player in one…
On Noises Off
Michael Frayn is an unusual playwright. He began as a reporter and columnist, and has written several novels and books of philosophy, such as the nearly 500-page tome, The Human Touch, which I’ve actually read (encouraged by the San Francisco Chronicle, which paid me to do so.) Probably his most famous play is Copenhagen, a…
Money, Dope and Potholes
Arcata is known as a progressive city. In fact, it’s notoriously progressive. The City Council reflects that, and so does the array of six candidates running for three seats in the coming election — every one of them is left-of-center in varying degrees. Some are familiar faces, some not so much so. There’s a landlord…
Wow, What a Washout
Previews Opening Friday, Oct. 24, just in time for Halloween, is the fifth installment in the beloved (?) torture-porn franchise, Saw V. This go-round finds forensics expert Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) using his cop training to hide his identity as the latest disciple of the demented sicko Jigsaw. Rated R. 88m. At the Broadway, Mill…
Gutless Wonders
Though we may have a trick or two up our sleeves next week, this issue pretty much marks the end of our wall-to-wall local election coverage. Three issues, and we actually got a pretty big bite of the thing. We regret that we didn’t get to some interesting and/or important races. Once again, and to…
Go Fish
Back in 1965, when musicians in San Francisco were just starting to invent psychedelic rock, an equally psychedelic folk/rock band called Country Joe and The Fish formed across the Bay in Berkeley, initially to serve as opening act at a campus performance by The Fugs and the poet Allen Ginsberg. In the beginning, the band…
