Cover Stories
Zombie Apocalypse
Philip Anderson didn’t look too far gone. Blood was dripping from his mouth, his shirtsleeve was torn, he was pale and his eyes were slightly sunken. But his demeanor was positively chipper. Anderson was happily teaching the living how to survive the zombie apocalypse. This was back in October during the Zombie Invasion of…
The Signs and Wonders
The closer the date came, the harder they were to miss. Signs and wonders. The natural order upended. These were the signs that the End Times were near: Laughing over the general plan and enjoying Old Town, Rex Bohn and Mark Lovelace shared an eerily blossoming friendship. At Humboldt State University, administrators took a voluntary,…
The Four Bigfoots of the Apocalypse
Over the last couple of weeks, eyewitnesses in the Willow Creek area have reportedly spotted several loping, bipedal mammals which they believe to be harbingers of End Times. Many locals, noting similarities to Biblical prophecies, have concluded that the mysterious creatures must be the Four Bigfoots of the Apocalypse. “Oh, they’re definitely ‘squatches,” said local…
One Little Doomsday and How It Grew
It was an obscure dating system of a long-dead civilization. Then one paragraph in a 1966 book. Then a foreign film. A U.S. television special. More books and a flurry of magazines. A worldwide harmonic convergence. And in retrospect, that was the small stuff. After the Internet hit, and social networks showed how quickly panic…
The World Ends Every Day
Deep under a hill in Petrolia, in a 20-by-400-foot tube of concrete and steel, the Church of Spiritual Technology — Scientology’s archival arm — has squirreled away the words of the religious group’s founder, L.Ron Hubbard. Some are preserved in gold and enveloped in clouds of argon, an inert gas. The church has spent tens…
What You Clicked: A 2012 Humboldt Year In Review
Yes, it’s obligatory end o’ the year list time. No media outlet can resist. Thus, in this week’s Journal print edition, once again we’ve imposed on you, our reader, what we think are the Top 10 most important local events and issues of the year — ‘cuz we think we’re really smart, and stuff. So…
Pot and Pain
A study conducted by University of Oxford researchers indicates that cannabis — specifically THC — works as a pain reliever in some people not by reducing the pain, but by distracting the user from the pain, reports the University of Oxford: “We have revealed new information about the neural basis of cannabis-induced pain relief,” says…
‘Die Die Die,’ Says Man Drenched in Gasoline
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office: On 12-23-2012, approximately 6:00 p.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a man on top of the Shop Smart Grocery Store, 3430 Redwood Drive, in Redway. The caller said the man was pouring gasoline on himself and was attempting to light himself on fire. Deputies, California…
Paying for Redevelopment’s Funeral
All three of the Humboldt county cities that once had redevelopment agencies have been tussling with the state over how much money they should have to hand over and when, with millions of dollars at stake. Arcata was told it owes $2.4 million, and it has only paid a little over $300,000, the Arcata Eye…
NCJ intern’s gun story in The Atlantic online
Former NCJ intern and all-around stand-up guy Zach St. George wrote a cowboys-and-guns article and now it’s been picked up by The Atlantic online. St. George, originally from Alaska, left Humboldt earlier this year after graduating from Humboldt State University. He’s now in graduate school at U.C. Berkeley. The Atlantic piece, “What No One Wants…
One Big Billing Dispute
The city of Arcata is being dunned for just over $2 million by the state of California for improperly winding down its redevelopment agency, the Arcata Eye is reporting. The city has made a preliminary payment of $300,000 and is looking into ways of dealing with the rest, with Mayor Shane Brinton arguing the city…
Apocalypse Now?
This morning, as in 12/21/12, the Mayan’s last day, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s office posted this photo of a cataclysmic rending of asphalt on Covelo Road, aka Highway 162, described by friend of the Journal Mike Wilson as, “Kind of like every scene in the movie 2012, only a much much smaller version.” Is this…
False Gun Report Tempts Fortuna High Students to Bring Guns to School
Class was canceled at Fortuna High School yesterday after the Fortuna Police Department received a report that a student planned to bring a weapon to campus and possibly “engage in acts of violence.” The report turned out to be false, but as the press release below reports, some Fortuna High students reacted by suggesting they…
The End (or Whatever)
The end of the world Friday? I doubt it, but who knows? Maybe those ancient Mayans knew something we don’t. Or maybe they simply created a calendar that tracked the passing of time, the changing seasons. Friday is also the solstice: We officially shift from autumn to winter, a traditional time to gather together to…
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.
Mordor? More Like Bored-or!
Reviews THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. My paperback copy of The Hobbit, circa 1989, runs to 304 pages all told. This movie (part one of three!) clocks in at an astonishing, almost unbelievably protracted 169 minutes. Right: just shy of three hours, and we don’t even get to the dragon or the giant spiders.…
End of the World (Again)
Look on the bright side. When the world ends again this week, there’ll be no more fiscal cliff, no more prurient tales from the CIA/FBI/Army, no more global warming, no more wars in Iraq/Afghanistan/you-name-it, no more obesity epidemic — the pluses are endless. I’m not optimistic, however. When the world ended before, the problems didn’t…
Aboard the Stephanie
Editor: Go Cody Hills! (“Backyard of Boats,” Dec. 6.) Not only are you honoring the Lazio and Alioto families’ legacies by restoring Stephanie, you are also carrying on for the Machis and Shelter Cove. My grandfather, Pop Machi (1877-1969) was born and raised in St. Elia, Sicily, and as a young man emigrated to…
Early Letters Deadline
It’s almost time for Christmas. And New Year’s. And all sorts of other holidays that keep editors and page designers out of offices and printers out of print shops. Whee! I mean, the Journal regrets to inform you that we will have early deadlines for the next two weeks. Please email us your letters no…
Omens
Omens
Plaza Prophecies
OK. You’ve heard what the “experts” have to say about how the world will end on Dec. 21. But we wanted to go to the source of real liberated wisdom in Humboldt County, the Arcata Plaza, and see what the amateur eschatologers there envisioned for the demise of our world. We did not take “I…
The End of the World on DVD
The end of the world isn’t all zombie plagues and alien invasions (although sometimes it’s both — see Night of the Comets). We’ll skip the disaster-porn of Roland Emmerich’s 2012. Instead, the following list rounds up some lesser-known cinema to aid in mustering up appropriate dread for our impending doom. In the pre-apocalypse genre,…
Crab a la Kayak
It was a perfect winter day in Trinidad — blue skies, bright sun and ocean breezes. Just right for hauling crab pots around on a kayak. Yes, a kayak. While they may not be the most conventional crabbing vessels around, kayaks have a growing fan base, according to Greg Mounton, who helps coordinate the…
Break out the Crab Pots
For newbies: For those looking to learn the sport of kayak crabbing, Mouton offers free classes through Pacific Outfitters. Class schedules are posted at the Eureka store and on the LCKA Facebook page. He also organizes several species-specific charity tournaments a year. The Trinidad Rock Fish Wars in October draws 70-100 participants and raises…
Will’s Final “To Do” List
So Humboldtian, you’re trolling the ol’ NCJ calendar lookin’ for something to do before the world ends this Friday? That’s cute. But if you really want to maximize your bliss in Humboldt’s final hours, y’all should mount up with me. Here’s our itinerary, if yer savvy: 4:30 a.m. – Rise. Shine. 5 a.m. – Purchase…
Green Party
The crowd jostles for position around an octagonal glass case that glows in the dim light, peering in as if it held precious jewels. The case holds a couple of hundred green marijuana buds, entries in what’s billed as “the world’s only outdoor organic cannabis competition,” the annual Emerald Cup. Here in the Grower’s Pavilion…
Bond Fiasco
The recent “expose” of school bonds (“The Big Borrow,” Dec. 6) in quite a few local school districts begs a few questions. How is it that a school board composed of well-meaning community volunteers is given the responsibility to make such far-reaching financial decisions without any mandated oversight? Are there not any laws in…
