Shakedown Street

-
0
Shakedown Street

01.21.09

Visitors are forgiven for indulging in a quiet chuckle while driving through the large, arced sign above Monte Rio’s main intersection conferring “Vacation Wonderland” status on the once-hopping but now tiny and still hamlet of West Sonoma County. Come through town on a Thursday night, however, and Monte Rio becomes a vacation wonderland of an entirely different color—or colors—as a weekly band packs the venerable Pink Elephant bar to assist partygoers on their own internal trip.

Tribal Hippie UnderGround Zone, more commonly known as the Thugz, have packed in everyone from hippies to farmers to chefs to real estate agents to the local Sheriff at their Thursday-night engagement at the Pink Elephant, and they’ve responded with “Monte Rio Town,” an ode to the city’s colorful culture where all walks of life, by choice or necessity, come together. “It seems like there’s more of an appreciation for music out there, in certain ways,” says guitarist Andre de Channes. “It’s a very friendly crowd, and for us, it’s like having a paid rehearsal every week.”

There’s a common misconception that the Thugz are a Grateful Dead cover band, and though they do play a wide selection of the Dead’s catalogue, a cursory glance of their set lists, posted on their website, reveal covers of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Leonard Cohen and Gillian Welch—in other words, the music that de Channes plays on the radio at his day job on KRSH-FM. (Some of the Thugz’ covers are Jerry Garcia standbys, too: “How Sweet It Is,” “Blue Yodel #9,” “Dancing in the Streets.”)

Founded by Mike Campbell, who moved to the area in the days when the Dead would play the Rio Nido dance hall, the Thugz have a smattering of original songs woven into their 150-song repertoire. “It’s almost like a jazz band, since there’s such a high level of musicianship and improvisation to make it our own,” says de Channes. “With the Grateful Dead stuff, we tend to stay pretty close to the arrangements. None of us sound or play like Jerry; it’s more of getting the feeling of it than mimicking what they were doing.”

The Thugz have a new album of all-original songs due in the summertime, and have increased their out-of-town presence; this week, they play a noontime concert on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Russian River Brewing Company (725 Fourth St., Santa Rosa; 12pm; Free; 707.545.2337) and on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Smiley’s (41 Wharf Rd., Bolinas; 9pm; Free; 415.868.1311). They continue to play every Thursday night at the Pink Elephant, 9895 Main St., Monte Rio. 8pm. Free. 707.865.0500.


Earth and Water

-
0
Earth and Water

01.21.09

In 2007, California passed legislation barring energy companies from doing business with the state if they were also pursuing new coal contracts. O, pure, clean California! Not exactly. While we do not produce coal or have any coal-fired power plants, Californians still use coal to generate electricity and, according to the coal industry itself, the Golden State benefits from some $14 billion of economic swell either directly or indirectly from that black lumpen stuff that comes from the ground.

Pure, clean California, therefore, needn’t truck with such as having whole mountain tops sliced off, completely extracted of fuel and then replaced, generally 7,000 feet shorter than before and “landscaped” back to a faux-natural state by truckers whose aesthetic sensibility was evidently honed at Costco. West Virginia, on the other hand, is not so lucky, so pure or so clean. While only 1 percent of California’s electricity is generated by coal, a full 99 percent of West Virginia’s electricity is powered right from the ground beneath them, and the ancient Appalachian forests—not to mention the state’s citizenry—are paying a heavy price.

Screening Jan. 24 as part of the Sonoma Environmental Film Festival, writer-director David Novack’s authoritative documentary Burning the Future: Coal in America, shows exactly how heavy that price is by centering on accidental activist Maria Gunnoe. A waitress and mother of two, Gunnoe and her family have lived in the same “holler” for generations. She shows the camera how to peel poke limbs and describes their celery-like disposition when added to salad. She reminisces about spending her childhood in the creek that cuts through her large lot and foraging daily in the forest for the family’s dinner table.

Today, Gunnoe’s children cannot even shower in the water piped into their home, let alone roam the nearby forest or risk a dunk in the creek. When the mountaintop above their holler was surface-mined, everything changed. With the mountain’s vegetation gone, a regular rainstorm turned into a flood that devastated Gunnoe’s property and home, prompting her to quit her restaurant job and become a full-time activist, the Erin Brokovich of big coal. Let’s hope that a big-time Hollywood star like Julia Roberts decides to make her plight public, because as Burning the Future so aptly shows, there ain’t nothing clean about coal.

Burning the Future is just one of some 30 films showing this year at the SEFF that explore the various planetary woes mankind has conjured. Like a skewed Chinese medicine chart, the films divide fairly neatly between earth and water, closing with the acclaimed documentary Dirt! coming clean off the Sundance Film Fest circuit.

Troubled Water, a product of Arkansas public television screening Jan. 23, looks at what happens to a state so wet that rice is a primary crop when population and industry grow to unsustainable heights. As one artisan sitting at an unvisited table selling duck calls at a local fair explains, when the streams are pumped down, the fish go. When the fish go, the birds go. When the birds go, the hunters go. When the hunters go, he’s done for. All of which is where Arkansas is currently going.

Much happier fare is filmed close to home with Hidden Bounty of Marin: Family Farms in Transition screening on opening night, Jan. 22, with a special oyster and cheese and wine reception. Hidden Bounty centers on West Marin’s pioneering farm and ranch families, nearly all of them familiar names to local foodies. Dairy is a $36 million economic annual engine in Marin, with some 28 ranches providing primarily organic milk to niche markets.

In fact, “niche” is the magic word for the 52 family farms in Marin; the county has not only managed its open space brilliantly but has managed its brand with even more agility, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust reportedly being the oldest and most successful organization of its kind in the nation. Standing amid the reliable pleasures of his stunning Bolinas pasture, Star Route Farms owner Warren Weber beams into the camera. “I’m farming,” he says, “because I can’t help myself.” If only all the films at the SEFF were so organically optimistic.

 The Sonoma Environmental Film Festival runs Thursday&–Sunday, Jan. 22&–25, at the Sonoma Valley Women’s Club. Look for postfilm discussions and special panels. Lilith Lynn Rogers performs her one-woman show, ‘Rachel Carson Returns,’ on Jan. 23. 574 First St. E., Sonoma. $8&–$10; $85 for the whole festival. For details, go to www.seff.us or call 707.935.3456.


New and upcoming film releases.

Browse all movie reviews.

The Royal Scam

-
0
The Royal Scam

01.21.09

LET’S RIDE: No, wait, let’s walk or ride or. . . wha?

This is honest-to-God the dumbest product I’ve ever seen advertised.

—Customer review of the Treadmill Bike on BikeForest.com

We’ve all been to garage sales where stray pieces of forgotten and largely unused fitness equipment are offered, still in the battered box. We’ve all seen late-night infomercials about the latest running or weightlifting or yoga gadget that’ll trim up your abs and tighten your butt for one low payment of $19.95. We’ve all witnessed absurd fitness trends in their various thighmaster-y forms, and the altogether desperate ways in which shyster entrepreneurs attempt to separate overnourished Americans from their money.

And now we have a winner. The height—or depth—of absurd fitness accessories has been reached. It truly does not get any more ridiculous than the Treadmill Bike, developed in Canada. It’s just what it sounds like—a treadmill connected to wheels. When you run on the treadmill, the wheels propel you forward. Down the street.

Yes. Just like jogging.

The Treadmill Bike’s product description contains plenty of flowery marketing terms. “Have you ever wished you could get a quality treadmill workout without paying expensive gym prices?” it asks. “Look no further than the Treadmill Bike by the Bicycle Forest. The Treadmill Bike offers the same fat-burning benefits of a conventional treadmill, without the membership fees!”

Naturally, it’s been illuminated as the invention of morons by numerous websites, by a handful of cable television shows and, of course, by comments on the bike’s incredible YouTube ad. “This is absolutely stupid,” writes a typical reviewer. “It’s totally useless. Why would anyone buy this ridiculous thing? If one wants to run outside, he doesn’t need anything else but his legs!”

And that’s exactly the kind of reaction Brent Curry, inventor of the Treadmill Bike, hoped for.

On the phone with Curry, it quickly becomes apparent that he created the Treadmill Bike as an artistic statement on the ludicrous nature of fitness gadgets. By pushing, in his words, to “the extremes of ridiculousness,” Curry has artfully advocated basic exercise over expensive gadgetry. The fact that people take the Treadmill Bike seriously—or rather, think that he takes it seriously—only reinforces the success of his art.

Burry is an affable thirty-something Canadian who’s conceived and built numerous art-bikes to accent his bike-rental business in Ottowa; he also rents the Hula Bike, with an offset rear hub, the Family Truckster, with room for four, and the Couch Bike, which is exactly what it sounds like—a bicycle pedaled by two riders while loafing on a large couch. (Curry completed a 140-mile journey through Maritime Canada on the Couch Bike in 2002.)

The Treadmill Bike isn’t a joke, Curry insists. It’s for sale, although no one’s bought one yet, and it does help people to get fit. “There’s definitely a lot more resistance in the Treadmill Bike than if you’re simply running,” he states, “so it’s a much harder workout.”

The angry reactions his invention inspires are surprising to Curry, since the YouTube ad is marked by such spoof hallmarks as stifled laughter, improbable situations and improper use of hip-hop slang. “I don’t think the video production quality was all that high, but people seem to be totally taken in that it’s this completely serious commercial product,” he says. “I guess when I get responses like that it makes me all that much more glad that I made the bike as a bit of a statement.”

Not everyone lured by the marketing of the Treadmill Bike thinks it’s altogether useless. A television show in Germany gave it a serious evaluation, monitoring the aerobic intensity and increased heart rate of its use. And the Japanese love it. “They seem to have a mix of fascination and confusion about the whole thing,” he says.

Curry, himself a triathlete, has no problems with the overblown fitness industry per se. He understands the need for products that are primarily aimed at fitness and not any practical purpose. But personally, Curry hopes that his message gets across every time people come across his Treadmill Bike and think that it’s silly.

“It’s silly that people drive their cars to the gym just to run on a treadmill!” he retorts. “There’s lots of other ways to get your exercise.”

 See the Treadmill Bike, and all of its video demonstrations, at [ http:-/www.bikeforest.com- ]www.bikeforest.com.


The Day Duke Ellington Came to Santa Rosa

-
3

I’ve retold this story numerous times to friends and always found it funny. Today, I look at it with deeper meaning. Duke Ellington came to Santa Rosa and no one knew who he was. This, to me, is a sad part of our history, that we denied the most famous composer in a predominantly black art form even the dignity of recognition.
Think about this story, and then think about the exemplary man recognized, elevated and inaugurated as our President this morning.
—–
From Duke Ellington’s 1973 autobiography, Music is My Mistress:
Half the time on our trips Harry Carney and I arrive at the city or town where we are going to play that night thinking the other knows the place where the gig is, or has an itinerary in his pocket. Every now and then it appears that neither of us knows nor has an itinerary with him. “No sweat, baby!” I say, and we drive into a gas station, where Harry says, “Fill it up.” After I’ve stretched my limbs, I ask the attendant, “Do you know where Duke Ellington is playing tonight?” Usually the man answers, “Oh, over at the auditorium, three blocks down this way to the red light, turn left, then first right, and straight ahead—you can’t miss it.” So we just go and follow the directions, and we’re cool, but feeling it was a good thing we picked that gas station for information. We had been doing this sort of thing with good results down though the years until one night, a couple of years ago, we arrived in, I think it was, Santa Rosa, California. We pulled into the gas station with the same routine up to, “Where’s Duke Ellington playing tonight?” The cat with the gas hose turned and said “Who? Who’s he?” When we explained, he said, “I don’t know anything about a dance or a concert here tonight.” And there we were, standing there, feathers peeling off one at a time.
“Oh, no,” Harry said, “you don’t suppose we goofed on the name of the town?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said. “Call Ruth or Cress Courtney.” So I went to the telephone to call my sister in New York.
All this time, cars were coming and going, and as they stopped for gas we’d ask them the same question: “Where’s Duke Ellington playing tonight?” Most of their responses were something like, “Duke Ellington? I didn’t know he was playing here tonight.” Then Ruth answered the telephone and we got the directions. So I turned to the cat at the gas station and said, “We’re playing at the Fairgrounds.” “Oh, that’s it, is it?” he said. “Right catty-corner across the street.” What a relief!
But the Fairgrounds were very dark—no lights in sight. After finally finding an entrance gate, we drove in, and around, and around, and around. Nobody, but nothing, until eventually we were about to pass another car going in the opposite direction. Both cars honked their horns, stopped, let their windows down.
“Do you know where. . . ?” Harry began.
“That’s what we want to know, Harry,” the other driver interrupted. It was Ralph Gleason, of the San Francisco Chronicle at that time. We laughed, turned around, and both cars continued their search until suddenly—there it was!
Duke Ellington? Who’s he? Duke who?

Will Oldham in Santa Rosa March 29; Tickets Go On Sale This Wednesday!

-
2

Will Oldham has a penchant for playing out-of-the-way places around these parts. In 2002, he played at Pegasus Hall in Monte Rio; in 2003, he dropped in at the Old Western Saloon in Point Reyes Station.
As previously reported, everyone’s lovable scruffy indie-folk hero Will Oldham, a.k.a. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, is adding Santa Rosa as one of his out-of-the-way-stops on his upcoming tour. I’ve been given the green light to spill the details about the show, and most importantly, about how to get tickets.
Will Oldham will play on Sunday, March 29 at the Orchard Spotlight, the best little church-turned-house in Santa Rosa. The venue is very beautiful and very small, holding just over 100 people. Tickets, at $28.50 each, go on sale this Wednesday, Jan. 21, at noon. 100 tickets will be available at www.folkyeah.com, while a scant 25 tickets will be available in-person at the Last Record Store in Santa Rosa.
You can either take your chances with the rest of the Internet-connected world online, or if I were you, I’d start lining up outside the Last Record Store on Mendocino Avenue at 9am. There’s a two-ticket limit; cash only. Needless to say, it’ll basically sell out immediately.

Songsmith: F’Real? No, really. F’Real?

-
4

I’ll never buy a PC, but if there’s one thing that bugs me about Macs is how supremely pompous the company is about their alleged ability to replicate human creativity. I used to think that the “Genius” feature on iTunes was the most egregious example of this, but now Microsoft has taken back the prize. Behold: Songsmith. Its commercial wins in some other category, too, though I’m not sure which. Horrible? Comically absurd? Scariest thing to watch while on LSD?

[display_podcast]

The key problem with this dumb-in-the-first-place idea is that one still needs to come up with an engaging melody, which, as Jimmy Van Heusen or Johnny Mercer could tell you, is the entire game. And even then, it’d be interesting to sing “Caravan” into Songsmith and see what sort of bullshitty crap comes out—probably, if the above commercial is any indicator, it’d be no different than pushing the “Demo” button on a Casio in 1986.
All of this reminds me of those just-add-water foam dinosaurs, where you add something pure and natural to something synthetic and get something overblown and gaudy.
—
Update, thanks to Eric: This is the fucking most awesome cohesion of blog memes in the universe. David Lee Roth’s acapella track run through the Songsmith. Listen and weep.
Oh Shit: This One’s Even Better.

Jeremiah Chass: Attention and Outrage

-
0

An impromptu memorial arose in Sebastopol Plaza after Jeremiah Chass’ March 2007 death. Photo by Michael Amsler.

The tragedy of Jeremiah’s Chass’ murder by two Sonoma County sheriff deputies comes to an uneasy close with the news today that the Chass family has settled out of court with the county of Sonoma for $1.75 million. A good portion of that will go to fund their youngest son’s college costs; a good portion of course to attorney Pat Emery; none of it will bring 16-year-old Jeremiah back to life.

On March 12, 2007, Jeremiah’s parents knew that their 127-pound son, the product of a black father and white mother, was having an episode of mental decompensation. They had tried to find mental health help for him the night before to no avail. That Monday morning, they tried the old-fashioned method of getting their son some help. They called the fire department. Which routed it to the police department. Which routed the call to the sheriff’s department. Which officers shot their son 11 times, beat him around the head, neck and buttocks, killed him, and then handcuffed him, put electronic paddles to his heart and attempted to restart his breathing by inserting a tube down his throat. They then stripped him nude and transported him to the hospital, dead dead dead. His autopsy and my thoughts prompted by it are here.

Continue

Triangulated Presidency

-
0

01.14.09

The mosaic of Barack Obama’s cabinet picks and top White House staff now gives us an overview of what the president-elect sees as political symmetry for his administration. While it may be too early to gauge specific policies of the Obama presidency, it’s not too soon to understand that “triangulation” is back.

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton was adept at placing himself midway between the base of his own party and Republican leaders. As he triangulated from the Oval Office—often polarizing with liberal Democrats on such issues as free trade, deregulation, welfare reform and military spending—Clinton did well for himself. But not for his party.

During Clinton’s presidency, with his repeated accommodations to corporate agendas, the progressive base became frustrated and demobilized. Democrats lost majorities in the House and Senate after just two years and didn’t get them back. Along Pennsylvania Avenue, numerous liberal causes fell by the wayside, victims of a Democratic president’s too-clever-by-half triangulation.

Now, looking at Obama’s choices for key posts, many progressive activists who went all-out for months to get him elected are disappointed. The foreign-policy team, dominated by strong backers of the Iraq invasion, hardly seems oriented toward implementing Obama’s 2008 campaign pledge to “end the mindset that got us into war.” On the domestic side, big-business ties and Wall Street sensibilities are most of the baseline. Overall, it’s hard to argue that the glass is half full when so much is missing.

The progressives who remain eager to project their worldviews onto Obama are at high risk for hazy credulity. Such projection is a chronic hazard of Obamania. Biographer David Mendell aptly describes Obama as “an exceptionally gifted politician who, throughout his life, has been able to make people of wildly divergent vantage points see in him exactly what they want to see.”

But in the long run, an unduly lofty pedestal sets the stage for a fall from grace. The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place.

There’s little point in progressives’ faulting Obama, because so much of their vital work remains undone at the grassroots. A longtime Chicago-based activist on the left, Carl Davidson made the point well when he wrote after the November election that “one is not likely to win at the top what one has not consolidated and won at the base.”

With 2009 underway, disappointed progressives shouldn’t blame Barack Obama for their own projection or naiveté. He is a highly pragmatic leader who seeks and occupies the center of political gravity. Those who don’t like where he’s standing will need to move the center in their direction.

Obama has often said that his presidential quest isn’t about him nearly as much as it is about us, the people yearning for real change and willing to work for it. If there’s ever a time to take Obama up on his word, this is it.

Crucial issues must be reframed. The healthcare reform debate, for instance, still lacks the clarity to distinguish between guaranteeing healthcare for all and mandating loophole-ridden insurance coverage for all.

With the exception of Rep. John Conyers’ single-payer bill to provide “enhanced Medicare” for everyone in the United States, each major congressional proposal keeps the for-profit insurance industry at the core of the country’s medical-care system.

As for foreign policy, the paradigm of a “war on terror,” more than seven years on, remains nearly sacrosanct. Among its most stultifying effects is the widely held assumption that many more U.S. troops should go to Afghanistan. Rhetoric to the contrary, Obama’s policy focus appears to be fixated on finding a military solution for an Afghan conflict that cannot be resolved by military means. The escalation is set for a centrist disaster.

During his race for the White House, ironically, Obama was fond of quoting Martin Luther King Jr. about “the fierce urgency of now.” But King uttered the phrase in the context of what he called “the madness of militarism,” a mindset that Obama has yet to clearly reject.

Barack Obama never promised progressives a rose garden. His campaign inspired tens of millions of Americans, raised the level of public discourse and ousted the right wing from the White House. And he has pledged to encourage civic engagement and respectful debate. The rest is up to us.

Norman Solomon was elected as an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the Sixth Congressional District in Sonoma and Marin counties. He is the author of ‘War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death’ and co-chair of the national Healthcare Not Warfare campaign.Open Mic is now a weekly feature in the Bohemian. We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 700 words considered for publication, write op*****@******an.com.

 


Winter? Wine!

-
0
Winter? Wine!

01.14.09

One of only five wineries in the state to also possess a restaurant license, the Russian River Vineyards did for two years boast chef Greg Hallihan’s Stella’s Cafe on its property. Stella’s closed last summer as the property prepared to sell, Hallihan concentrating on his western Sonoma County steakhouse, Elmo’s, in the interim. Now Hallihan and new winery co-owner Art “the Pasta King” Ibleto prepare to reopen the house as Corks at Russian River Vineyards on Friday, Jan. 16, just in time for Winter Wineland. Hallihan will helm the kitchen with his California-centric cuisine Thursday&–Sunday while Ibleto will reign on Wednesday nights with a $10 pasta buffet. Look for an opening weekend four-course prix fixe special for just $29.95. 5700 Hwy. 116 N., Forestville. 707.887.3344.

Speaking of Winter Wineland, slated this year for Saturday&–Sunday Jan. 17&–18, the event is in its 17th year and has some 112 wineries participating this month, including many that are normally appointment-only. Many of the wineries are pairing their wines with food, and this is always a merry weekend. The WineRoad.com website lists each of the wineries, whether they accept large groups or not and what special they may have planned for the day. No children under 12 are allowed, including babes-in-arms, and no dogs, please. 10am to 4pm. $30&–$40; designated drivers, $10.

Quick dining snapshots by Bohemian staffers.

Winery news and reviews.

Food-related comings and goings, openings and closings, and other essays for those who love the kitchen and what it produces.

Recipes for food that you can actually make.

Cautious Optimism

-
0
Cautious Optimism

01.14.09

OUT WITH THE OLD: The president-elect and Mrs. Obama met with President and Mrs. Bush on Nov. 10 to get their first look at their new digs.

When Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America, he does so in the role of steward to the millions of hopes of a fractured nation. The Bohemian asked a wide swath of people in the North Bay, from community leaders to bluecollar workers to the homeless, the same question: What are your expectations for Barack Obama as president?

The Rev. James Coffee, Community Baptist Church “My greatest hope would be that he will be able to be different and unique, and listen to more of the common man, the people he represents. Not just the powerful people. I expect him to bring this war, at least in Iraq, to a close. And my hope is that he’d be able to work on a universal basis to the universal problems, like the disinherited people in every country, especially with jobs, and the way people are one paycheck away from being homeless. These are the things he ran on, and what the people voted him for. And I hope he’d be inclusive, bring more diversity into the government. Especially including women.”

John Ash, chef “With so many issues on the table, the economic one being the most pressing, my hope for his presidency in the near term is that he and his team can prioritize their activities and not get caught up in trying to be and do all things for all people. I’d love to see a ‘hit list’ of issues published right after he takes office. We’ll then be able to measure progress and it could help him to focus.”

Jill Techel, mayor of Napa “As mayor, my hope is that he continues to support and, in fact, invest more in infrastructure projects for our community, and that we see the funding for the flood-control project increased so we can get it completed.”

Bruno Ferrandis, conductor, Santa Rosa Symphony “From an artist’s point of view, Barack Obama will have to prove that he is interested in arts emancipation in the U.S., starting with music education at school and in the near future study the European approach about art. Finally, the great majority of Europeans (like me) wanted to see a change in American politics; now a vast majority of Europeans want to see it in the arts.”

Rick Dean, executive director, Face to Face “Working in the public healthcare system for the past 20 years, I’m hopeful that the new administration will generate real change in the way we treat people who are sick, without health insurance and isolated from quality care. This includes the 1.1 million men, women and children living with HIV-AIDS across the nation.”

Ky Boyd, owner, Rialto Cinemas “I hope that thoughtful, compassionate leadership will bring about change that benefits Americans at every level and in every part of our great nation. Change that puts people, food, shelter, education, affordable healthcare and the arts ahead of corporate profits and pork barrel politics. Change that restores our country’s reputation around the world. . . . And as a gay American, I hope that President Obama will stand up for the rights of all minorities, including LGBT Americans, by ending policies such as ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and take a leadership role on the issue of gay marriage. Change is in the incremental steps forward. I don’t expect a miracle, but I hope for progress as we journey forward as a nation.”

Joseph Von Mertam, homeless “I’m expecting all the money he’s got. If he wants to send me over a bunch of money, that’s cool with me. I know damn well he’s gonna change things for the better. And then he can give me a hunk of money.”

Charlie Musselwhite, blues musician “I feel like Obama will restore America’s dignity. He’ll put America back on track, back on the high and honorable road. The eight years of Bush have been like a return to the Dark Ages, and now somebody has opened a window and let in the light and fresh air. I hope that with the coming light of the Obama presidency, the people that need to will wake up and realize how they were bamboozled by Bush and learn from what happened to them.”

Shawn McConlogue, barber, the Barber Shop “I expect it’s gonna get worse before it gets better. He’s got a big hill to climb, but so far he’s picked a lot of smart people. He seems like a very smart, competent guy, so if there’s anyone to help us out if it, it’s him. I think we’re definitely gonna see a shift from Iraq to Afghanistan, and I think we’re gonna see something very similar to FDR’s Public Works program.”

Old Man, getting his hair cut, interjecting “That’s what we need! All these young people out of work with no direction, put ’em in the CCC. I’m a child of the Depression, and it worked for us then. It’s what we need now. He can’t be any worse than the last eight years.”

Man, nearby, waiting in a chair “I think he’s gonna get all different races working together like never before.”

F. Scott Chilcott, MD “It certainly would be nice to see if we could be incredibly more efficient in our dispensing of medical care in this country, because we do a terrible job. There’s so much wastefulness going on here, and one of the very big factors is the legal profession making everybody so antsy. You end up getting an awful lot of unnecessary and redundant things that are expensive and sometimes hazardous only so you won’t get sued. The lawyers have an incredible influence on how medicine gets practiced. So I would expect him to help, but in terms of saying that I’m going to be frantically, disastrously angry and think he’s an evil rotten SOB if he doesn’t do it, again, I find myself being very careful about my expectations.”

Robert Pixton, air tanker pilot, Cal Fire “I didn’t vote for him, so maybe I’m not the right person to ask. Obama’s got a tiger by the tail, there’s no doubt about it. Especially with the latest escalation, the war over in the Gaza Strip—it’s not going to be an easy one. But every president, when they first take over, they have some major crisis they have to deal with. I always think, ‘OK, how would somebody else have handled it?’ You know? We’ll see.”

 

Tom Gaffey, house manager, Phoenix Theater “You know, it’s not what I expect of Barack Obama, but what I expect from the American people, to give this man a chance to do the job. But, oh man, do I expect he’s going to come and solve the economic problems? How could I possibly expect that? I hope he can. Do I expect he’ll have the right answers in Afghanistan and Iraq? I can’t expect that. But I hope he does. It’s just a lot of hope and very few expectations, and such a huge hope for a third party. I will vote for any third party that looks like they have a chance.”

Joe Carr, refrigerator repairman, A-1 Refrigeration “If nothing else, at least the rest of the world knows that we see them. Most of the people in the world are of color; many of the people in the world are Muslim. And we elect a man named Barack Hussein Obama? To let the rest of the world know that we don’t have this single-minded, ‘we’re right’ attitude, with our middle-aged white leaders all the time—that alone is going to speak volumes about who we are.” 


Shakedown Street

01.21.09Visitors are forgiven for indulging in a quiet chuckle while driving through the large, arced sign above Monte Rio's main intersection conferring "Vacation Wonderland" status on the once-hopping but now tiny and still hamlet of West Sonoma County. Come through town on a Thursday night, however, and Monte Rio becomes a vacation wonderland of an entirely different color—or colors—as...
Read more

Earth and Water

01.21.09In 2007, California passed legislation barring energy companies from doing business with the state if they were also pursuing new coal contracts. O, pure, clean California! Not exactly. While we do not produce coal or have any coal-fired power plants, Californians still use coal to generate electricity and, according to the coal industry itself, the Golden State benefits from...
Read more

The Royal Scam

01.21.09 LET'S RIDE: No, wait, let's walk or ride or. . . wha? This is honest-to-God the dumbest product I've ever seen advertised.—Customer review of the Treadmill Bike on BikeForest.comWe've all been to garage sales where stray pieces of forgotten and largely unused fitness equipment are offered, still in the battered box. We've all seen late-night infomercials about the latest running...
Read more

The Day Duke Ellington Came to Santa Rosa

I’ve retold this story numerous times to friends and always found it funny. Today, I look at it with deeper meaning. Duke Ellington came to Santa Rosa and no one knew who he was. This, to me, is a sad part of our history, that we denied the most famous composer in a predominantly black art form even the...
Read more

Will Oldham in Santa Rosa March 29; Tickets Go On Sale This Wednesday!

Will Oldham has a penchant for playing out-of-the-way places around these parts. In 2002, he played at Pegasus Hall in Monte Rio; in 2003, he dropped in at the Old Western Saloon in Point Reyes Station. As previously reported, everyone's lovable scruffy indie-folk hero Will Oldham, a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is adding Santa Rosa as one of his out-of-the-way-stops on...
Read more

Songsmith: F’Real? No, really. F’Real?

I’ll never buy a PC, but if there’s one thing that bugs me about Macs is how supremely pompous the company is about their alleged ability to replicate human creativity. I used to think that the “Genius” feature on iTunes was the most egregious example of this, but now Microsoft has taken back the prize. Behold: Songsmith. Its commercial...
Read more

Jeremiah Chass: Attention and Outrage

An impromptu memorial arose in Sebastopol Plaza after Jeremiah Chass' March 2007 death. Photo by Michael Amsler.The tragedy of Jeremiah's Chass' murder by two Sonoma County sheriff deputies comes to an uneasy close with the news today that the Chass family has settled out of court with the county of Sonoma for $1.75 million. A good portion of that...
Read more

Triangulated Presidency

01.14.09The mosaic of Barack Obama's cabinet picks and top White House staff now gives us an overview of what the president-elect sees as political symmetry for his administration. While it may be too early to gauge specific policies of the Obama presidency, it's not too soon to understand that "triangulation" is back.In the 1990s, Bill Clinton was adept at...
Read more

Winter? Wine!

01.14.09One of only five wineries in the state to also possess a restaurant license, the Russian River Vineyards did for two years boast chef Greg Hallihan's Stella's Cafe on its property. Stella's closed last summer as the property prepared to sell, Hallihan concentrating on his western Sonoma County steakhouse, Elmo's, in the interim. Now Hallihan and new winery co-owner...
Read more

Cautious Optimism

01.14.09 OUT WITH THE OLD: The president-elect and Mrs. Obama met with President and Mrs. Bush on Nov. 10 to get their first look at their new digs. When Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America, he does so in the role of steward to the millions of hopes of a fractured nation. The...
Read more
1...9989991,000Page 1,492 of 1,000
11,084FansLike
4,606FollowersFollow
6,928FollowersFollow
north bay bohemian newspaper sonoma napa county logo
CURRENT ISSUE & ARCHIVES
East Bay Express cover
East Bay Express cover
CURRENT ISSUE & ARCHIVES
Newsletters Subscribe Advertise About Us Contact Us Letter to the Editor Press Release Obituaries Writing an Obituary Archives Find a Paper Distribute Bohemian Vote for Best Of Plaques & Banners
win free stuff
Features Local News News
Arts Books & Literature Crush Culture Movies Music Spotlight Theater
Astrology Look Media Opinion Letters To The Editor Open Mic Press Pass Rolling Papers
Dining Restaurants Small Bites
Readers' Picks 2025 Arts & Culture Beer, Wine & Spirits Beauty, Health & Wellness Cannabis Everyday Services Family & Pets Home Improvement Recreation Restaurants Romance Shopping
All Upcoming Events Today's Events Submit an Event Promote Your Event
weeklys california local media group logo

FOLLOW US

Copyright © Weeklys All rights reserved.

Our Publications

ADVERTISING Advertise Legal Submit an Obituary Legal NoticesFictitious Business Name (FBN) StatementsDoing Business As (DBA) NoticesTrustee Sale Notices

COMPANY INFO Job Opportunities Journalism Awards Privacy Policy Terms of Service

Support Local Journalism