Stumped
President Bill Clinton captivated the throng but why were so many left in the cold?
Cover Story
Stumped
When President Bill Clinton first decided to come to town early last week, the news spread instantaneously throughout the county and left a good percentage of the population buzzing with excitement. For a very large segment of Humboldt County — the politically active, left-leaning segment — the news was like the call of a spring…
Wynton, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and socks
John Chapman’s photos from Monday night’s show at the Van Duzer almost say it all: Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra were smooth, cool, swingin’ in that sophisticated old style that some folks in the audience likely were lucky enough to experience first-hand and in-time — that is, back in the traditional jazz…
Retired Judge James Warren presides
Retired Judge James Warren presided over two days of testimony in the Reggae lawsuit, Mateel v People Productions LLC & Tom Dimmick today and yesterday. So far only Dimmick has testified, and he’s not done yet. While on a break, Warren mentioned some of the significant cases he worked on while on the bench in…
Fire Contained at Humboldt State
A fire broke out earlier today in Old Music Building 8A on the Humboldt State University campus. The cause of the fire is still unknown. At 1:30 p.m. HSU faculty noticed smoke coming from a locked custodial closet in the music building, according to HSU spokesman Paul Mann. After the fire alarm was pulled, university…
How Do We Miss These Things?
It looks like The Marching Lumberjacks posted this Kabuki interpretation of the (Alleged) Great Arkley Shove way back in October. But it flew right past us until a sharp-eyed loyal reader brought it to our attention a few minutes ago. The pertinent routine begins at minute mark 4:30. Deeply unfair to everyone involved, no doubt.
Your 9-5 No Longer 215 Compatible
In a 5-2 decision Thursday, the California Supreme Court ruled that the 1996 initiative, Proposition 215, which exempts medical marijuana patients and their caregivers from state prosecution, does not limit an employer’s authority to fire workers for violating federal drug laws. ( SF Chronicle article here ). “We have no reason to conclude the voters…
Andre Nickatina
Live performance Jan. 18 at the Mateel Community Center Andre Nickatina, formerly known as Dre Dog, graced SoHum with his presence this past Friday, Jan. 18. That’s right, the Bay Area rap artist, along with a slew of other hyphy rap acts, played to a sold-out crowd at the Mateel as part of the Urban…
Lost: Season Three
On DVD from Buena Vista Home Entertainment It’s winter. Hibernating is perfectly natural, and for those who need justification for such activities as lying on the couch, allow me to encourage TV on DVD. No commercials, pause option and if you pick something like the Lost series, be ready for hours of uninterrupted top-notch entertainment…
Raiding the Airwaves Volume One
by Various Artists. Humboldt Free Radio Alliance. Take a look behind any local music scene and you’ll usually find a handful of dedicated people working hard to keep music alive and accessible. Fortunately for those of us behind the Redwood Curtain, there exist a number of individuals and organizations that selflessly commit themselves to this…
Reasons to Call New York
(Trinidad, 2006) Pumpkin shell finally rotted I made…
The Cane Mutiny
Difficult, thorny, seemingly impossible pruning jobs don’t happen by accident. You have to really be dedicated to neglecting your garden in order for it to get so overgrown that you’re afraid to even approach it. I have been just this dedicated to my raspberry and blackberry bushes, and now I have the scars to prove…
Dammed if you do …
Early last week, stakeholders in the Klamath settlement talks went public with a water deal that was immediately hailed as "historic" and a "breakthrough" in the press. That deal, the product of three years of closed-door meetings between myriad interests including environmental groups, farmers, commercial fishermen and tribes, comes with a $1 billion price tag…
Watts in Coffee, Pot and Brakes?
I am reading a full page ad in our local newspaper: "… miracle idea … heating bills hit rock bottom … miracle heater is a work of engineering genius … so advanced, you simply plug it into any wall outlet. It uses less energy than it takes to run a coffee maker. Yet it produces…
I Have Seen Cloverfield
Previews There’s more blood, a spoof, a never-say die Stallone and Diane Lane versus a serial killer coming up this Friday, Jan. 25. The Oscar multiple-nominated There Will Be Blood stars Daniel Day Lewis as a turn-of-the-century oil baron who brooks no competition. The film is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia) from a script…
Marat Magnificent at NCRT
Presenting Marat/Sade this season at North Coast Repertory Theatre was an inspired decision. As directed by Peter Brook in 1964, this play by Peter Weiss was an international sensation. I recall listening spellbound in my college campus coffee shop to a young professor’s description of the 1965 Broadway production. But though it was revolutionary and…
Shredding, Wrapping, Knotting
It seems to me that there are generalists and there are specialists. I’ve always been a generalist — I’m interested in so many things that I’ve never taken the time to get really good at anything. My life is a litany of unfinished projects and grandiose dreams that never come to fruition. It’s frustrating at…
More in Sadness
It’s no great pleasure to pop someone else’s balloon. Over the last couple of weeks, the North Coast Journal — and your correspondent, in particular — has found itself involved in painful correspondence with old friends, and with strangers with whom we would otherwise have no beef. The subject of these recriminating conversations is the…
Native American Foods
For nine weeks during the summer of 1962 I was in northern New Mexico, on a fellowship to the Santa Fe Opera. In Santa Fe I was introduced to a new kind of Mexican-American food; it was the first since my childhood in Southern Arizona, which had been limited to the tapatio cuisine of Sonora.…
Always Going Somewhere
Unless you’re up to date on the world of contemporary jazz, the names Myra Melford and Marty Ehrilch may not mean much to you. New Yorker magazine included the duo’s 2007 release, Spark!, on a short list of the best of the year. Pianist Melford has also earned acclaim for her work with Trio M,…
