Mark Malicki of De Havilland is on a roll. Chef of the new Petaluma pop-up restaurant that appears at the Tea Room on weekend evenings, he is living his dream just about more than anyone.
“The owners of the Tea Room were at the [Casino] Bar, and they’re like, ‘Hey, would you ever consider doing something at the Tea Room?’” he recalled.
Malicki has a record of making great food in dishes attuned to the needs of the kitchen in which he’s working. At Casino Bar in Bodega, he remembered working with “just the two burners behind the stove.”
After more than 13 years of cooking in that kitchen, and now at the Tea Room, Malicki has many more tools for homey cross-cultural dishes.
“There’s two kitchens,” marveled Malicki. “There’s a bakery kitchen and a regular, like full-on kitchen with stoves and broilers and a refrigerator, all the normal things.”
While Malicki prepared only four or so dishes for the menu per night at the Casino Bar, in the new kitchen he is able to double that and more, with dishes he calls “opportunities.”
From the first contact with the host who takes orders at the counter in fast casual style to the server who brings and takes dishes with a smile and few words, the experience at De Havilland is one of unassuming service. The chef and staff opened this joint to serve good, welcoming food.
Dishes like the fried rice and oyster in broth aren’t always Instagrammable, but neither are my yiayia’s stuffed tomatoes, and they will heal the soul.
From potato rolls covered in hickory smoked sable butter to pineapple quince upside-down cake, the dishes are fun, familiar and new. For dessert, the cake was a clever new twist, which my partner approved of very much, while the butterscotch pudding was pitch-perfect to my taste—this coming from notoriously disgruntled eaters of sweets. So often, they let the meal down. Not here.
The hardiness of the delicata squash fried rice with black truffle egg might even convince someone that they are at a home away from home. It’s stick-to-the-guts food like Ma made, fuel for the day-to-day grind. And just like the platonic mom’s always open kitchen, De Havilland is a perfect place to sit together and be nourished by great ingredients prepared with love.
The Tea Room perfectly suits its new evening use, at least to this attentive customer’s eye.
“[It’s] a very manageable-sized space, 40 to 45 seats max,” said Malicki. “[If] we turn that dining room once a night, it’d be perfect.” Consider that a call, Petaluma; seats are waiting.
Only open for three weeks at the time of publication, De Havilland is already a way of life for Malicki.
“My menus are pretty much structured around me just driving to farms,” he said. “Pretty much the only thing that ever gets delivered to me is fish.”
Creating a new experience in a locally loved space is a dream opportunity in the Petaluma food scene, of which Malicki is a fan.
“I had a cheeseburger at Luma, which was really, really, really good,” he said. “I went back the next day and got another one.”
Unlike Sebastopol, where Malicki had lived until he recently moved to Petaluma, his adopted town “[feels] more like, where I grew up … more of a blue-collar town.”
Malicki and his staff can see Bill and Jay’s Garage across the street from the restaurant. With some love from the foodie community and a little luck, De Havilland can become another worthy local landmark like Bill and Jay’s and the Tea Room.
De Havilland is open every Thursday through Saturday at the Tea Room Cafe, 316 Western Ave., Petaluma. Counter service, blackboard menu, no reservations. Cash and Venmo only.
Ridley Scott, the filmmaker behind Napoleon, is a European. Of course, the veteran producer-director, a native of South Shields, in the Tyne and Wear district of northeast England, is as English as it is possible to be. But for all that, the indefatigable 85-year-old Scott has something in common with all the Celts, Saxons, Angles, Jutes, Picts, Vikings, Normans and innumerable other ethnic groups who made England, and the present-day United Kingdom, their home—they’re all at least nominally European. Numerous wars have been fought over the issue.
That’s where Napoleon comes in. Scott’s 56th directorial effort tells the story of another European, a 19th-century Corsican French warrior-monarch whose name still resonates in world history two centuries later, for better or worse.
Scott’s Napoleon is a rousing, red-blooded experience, an old-fashioned—and emotionally relatively uncomplicated—historical epic outfitted with modern production techniques and filled to overflowing with battles, intrigues and the scandalous relationship between former artillery officer Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) and his restless wife, Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).
In Scott’s film, with a screenplay by frequent collaborator David Scarpa (All the Money in the World, The Man in the High Castle), Napoleon works his way up from an army captain in league with the French Revolution, luridly depicted in the film’s opening scene, to the rank of brigadier general—and eventually, Emperor of France—thanks to his seemingly unquenchable thirst for bloody warfare. Toulon, the corridors of Paris during the Reign of Terror, Egypt, Italy, the Austrian Empire, Russia—Napoleon and his troops subjugate the population everywhere they march, up until that nasty business in Waterloo. CGI soldiers’ heads and horses’ necks explode under mortar fire, and regimes go up in flames.
Meanwhile, the conqueror falls in love with Joséphine de Beauharnais (Kirby), the young widow of a guillotined aristocrat. She’s a post-revolutionary party girl not entirely smitten by the coarse Corsican and his battering-ram style of sexual intercourse, but willing to overlook some matters while living in some of the continent’s most lavish houses. Director Scott digs down deep into his bag of extravagant European settings here. Even in the wake of House of Gucci, All the Money in the World, Hannibal and The Duellists, he apparently hasn’t yet exhausted the supply. Despite centuries of destruction, Europe is still remarkably well equipped with fancy real estate.
Phoenix may not be every moviegoer’s first choice for the title role, especially for those who winced at his performance as the cruel Roman emperor, Commodus, in Gladiator. And yet the actor who starred in Joker and Two Lovers arguably deserves the role of a violent megalomaniac, so all is forgiven. Never mind that a few of his line readings are stiff, and that Napoleon’s childish friskiness in one or two scenes seems odd. Let’s just say that Phoenix cuts a fine figure in the saddle, waving a saber, and let it go at that.
Kirby’s impersonation of Joséphine is another matter entirely. From the very first glimpse of her as the merry widow at a cocktail party, she’s a beguiling combination of the bewildered coquette and the poule de luxe every time Darusz Wolski’s camera swings her way. Joséphine looks as authentic in her empire-waist gowns as Phoenix does in his cockade-bedecked uniforms. Kudos likewise to Paul Rhys, as diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, and Edouard Philipponat, as Alexander, Tsar of Russia, a pair of dealmakers in the Age of Enlightenment.
Volumes have been written about Scott and the lasting effect his visual sense has had on contemporary big-screen entertainment. Napoleon belongs in the front rank of his creations, alongside such landmarks as Blade Runner, Alien and Black Hawk Down. For its thrilling battle scenes, its ironic characterizations of the revolutionaries who became their own special brand of aristocracy and for the essential European-ness of the project itself, this glittering, sweaty panorama of antique world history should be essential viewing.
Playing at Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol and streaming on Apple TV+.
On Oct. 7, a pineapple farmer opened his door to Avigail Idan, a three-year-old girl covered in blood. Quickly, he ushered the little girl, his wife and their own three children into the home’s safe room.
With his family and their young charge locked indoors, the farmer, Avichai Brodutch, who is training to be a nurse, left his home to determine what was happening outside and to try to help.
Unbeknownst to Avichai, Hamas terrorists had invaded Kibbutz Kfar Aza, extinguishing the peaceful existence of the farming community where he lived with his family. The kibbutz, located in southern Israel, is just four miles from Gaza.
The village massacre left approximately 52 to 60 people dead, including tiny Avigail Idan’s mother and father. Tragically, she was present when Hamas murdered her parents during the early morning rampage.
About 17 others from Kibbutz Kfar Aza were kidnapped by Hamas, transported to Gaza, held as hostages and then used as human bargaining chips.
By the time the terrorists withdrew, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, once home to about 765 residents, was left in ruins.
Avichai, 42, the patriarch of the Brodutch family, survived the brutal attack on his village, although he sustained an injury from shrapnel. Sadly, by the time he returned home, it became apparent that his wife, three children and Avigail, the bloodied little girl who had hidden with them, had fared far worse. They were among those kidnapped.
Many know Avigail Idan’s name. President Joe Biden has recently spoken of the young child, who is also called Abigail Edan, as she holds dual American and Israeli citizenship. But other hostages aren’t as well-known to the public.
One person who grew up in Marin, however, is very familiar with Avichai Brodutch and his family—wife, Hagar, 40; daughter, Ofri, 10; and sons Yuval, 8, and Oriya, 4. The Brodutches have kin from Marin.
The local family member, an Israeli-American, fears revealing their identity due to the chaos of the conflict. We will call them “Ariel.”
About a week after the Hamas attack, Ariel, who was living in Israel, relocated temporarily to the North Bay with their children. Ariel’s spouse remains in Israel.
“Everything shut down in the entire country,” Ariel said. “Schools stopped. We went into emergency mode, with only supermarkets and medical facilities open. We wanted to shelter our children.”
However, Ariel and their spouse can’t shield themselves from the news of the Israel-Hamas war. During the last seven weeks, the couple has quietly suffered, feeling constant terror over the fate of their kidnapped family members, stolen away from the kibbutz where they’d lived for years. Avichai, the pineapple farmer, is their cousin.
In October, after Hamas kidnapped his family, Avichai and his dog, Rodney, sat outside Israel’s Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv to draw attention to his family’s plight, according to Ariel. At first, Avichai sat alone in a plastic chair, dog at his side, but soon many others came to support him with signs and chants, telling the Israeli government to bring the hostages home.
Finally, on Sunday, Ariel learned that their four relatives were among the 17 hostages released earlier in the day. Avichai was reunited with the rest of his family, who were flown by helicopter to Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel. The hospital is equipped to deal with the immediate physical, mental and emotional needs of the former hostages.
Physically, the Brodutch family members who were held hostage appear to be in good condition, Ariel said. But the emotional trauma that will haunt the kidnap victims remains unknown, and the scars may never disappear.
“One can only imagine what they are going through,” Ariel said. “But they are all now surrounded by loving family and communities who will rally to do everything possible to care for them. But who really knows what to do? There is no playbook for child hostages. Nothing prepares you for this.”
Some of the children’s life milestones passed while they were in captivity. Avigail turned four years old without her family to make her birthday wishes come true. She also missed her parents’ funerals.
The day after being kidnapped, Ofri had her 10th birthday. The Brodutch family had planned a special celebration lasting more than a day.
“They were supposed to start celebrating [Ofri’s birthday] the morning of Oct. 7, but instead they were kidnapped by Hamas,” Ariel said. “Her birthday cake and candles were later found by soldiers, who broke down crying when they opened the refrigerator and saw her cake.”
The impact of the attack will continue to weigh on civilians and soldiers. Israel is small enough, according to Ariel, that most everyone either knows someone who was killed or held hostage—or they are acquainted with someone who does.
For the Brodutch family and others who lived on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the egalitarian, agrarian lifestyle they endeavored to live is gone—at least for now and the foreseeable future.
“They’re not going home because their homes were destroyed,” Ariel said. “The villagers have been displaced. People can’t go back. Each village is temporarily housed elsewhere. But we will do everything we can to help them recover and rebuild. The people in this farming community really lived peacefully with the neighbors across the border.”
The current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has helped bring home some of the hostages, who are being traded for Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel. While the ceasefire is scheduled to end Wednesday, negotiators working with both Israel and Hamas say they hope it will be extended to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages.
Clearly, there are too many variables to predict whether the ceasefire will continue and for how long.
“You can’t go down the slope of your fears because these feelings are just too much,” Ariel said. “Life was suspended. It still feels like that. There is a sense of helplessness. No one really knows what to do. Of course, we’re relieved our family has been released, but we can’t be happy, because there are so many people still being held hostage.”
Just aside the Bohemian Highway on the outskirts of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hamlet of Monte Rio sits the Russian River Hall.
For 15 years, it’s hosted the productions of Curtain Call Theatre, a company comprising a dedicated group of local volunteers who bring live theater to West County.
The productions usually feature small casts with a mixture of veteran actors and newcomers, a true hallmark of the welcoming nature of community theater. While technical effects are minimal, which is the norm for intimate venues like the Hall, they always seem to make really effective use of the space with a nicely detailed set.
All these elements are at play in Curtain Call’s season-ending production of Light Sensitive. The Avilynn Pwyll-directed production of Jim Geoghan’s bittersweet romantic comedy runs through Dec 2.
The three-character piece is set in a disheveled tenement apartment in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Its tenant, Tom (Dan Vanek), is a former taxi driver blinded in an accident. His only friend/caretaker, Lou (Jake Hamlin), drops by on Christmas Eve to inform him that he’s moving out of the area and has arranged for a volunteer from a support services for the blind organization to assist him. Tom is less than thrilled with the proposition and even less so with the abrupt arrival of Edna (Lisa Posternak).
The battle is on as Edna refuses to leave despite Tom’s repeated demands that she vacate the premises. Tom is Edna’s first client and she has no intent in failing in her—and her father’s—eyes. Threats are made, negotiations are held over a bottle of booze, stories are told. In a week’s time, significant changes are apparent in Tom and Edna’s relationship.
Then Lou returns.
Geoghan’s tale of damaged individuals finding solace in each other is a sweet one. Vanek has played the role of Tom before and does well with the physicality of a sightless person. Hamlin provides good support (though a shaky accent) as Lou. Posternak also does well with the physicality of her character and the sense of desperation and longing that envelops her.
The set (by Hamlin) is like a fourth character in the show. It undergoes as much a transformation as the protagonists, and its window effect in particular adds depth to the surroundings.
Light Sensitive has become a holiday staple at some theaters across the country. While set between Christmas and New Year’s, its story of the late-in-life search for human connections is timeless.
‘Light Sensitive’ runs through Dec. 2 at the Russian River Hall, 20347 Hwy 116, Monte Rio. Fri & Sat, 8pm. $25–$75. 707.387.5072. russianriverhall.com.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): As a child, I loved to go to a meadow and whirl around in spirals until I got so dizzy, I fell. As I lay on the ground, the Earth, sky and sun reeled madly, and I was no longer just a pinpoint of awareness lodged inside my body, but was an ecstatically undulating swirl in the kaleidoscopic web of life. Now, years later, I’ve discovered many of us love spinning. Scientists postulate humans have a desire for the intoxicating vertigo it brings. I would never recommend you do what I did as a kid; it could be dangerous for some of you. But if it’s safe and the spirit moves you, do it! Or at least imagine yourself doing it. Do you know about the Sufi Whirling Dervishes who use spinning as a meditation? Read here: tinyurl.com/JoyOfWhirling and tinyurl.com/SufiSpinning.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your power creature in the coming weeks will not be an eagle, wolf, bear or salmon. I don’t advise you to dream of being a wild horse, tiger or crocodile. Instead, I invite you to cultivate a deep bond with the mushroom family. Why? Now is a favorable time to be like the mushrooms that keep the Earth fresh. In wooded areas, they eat away dead trees and leaves, preventing larger and larger heaps of compost from piling up. They keep the soil healthy and make nutrients available for growing things. Be like those mushrooms, Taurus. Steadily and relentlessly rid your world of the defunct and decaying parts—thereby stimulating fertility.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini novelist Geraldine McCaughrean wrote, “Maybe courage is like memory—a muscle that needs exercise to get strong. So I decided that maybe if I started in a small way, I could gradually work my way up to being brave.” That is an excellent prescription for you: the slow, incremental approach to becoming bolder and pluckier. For best results, begin practicing on mild risks and mellow adventures. Week by week, month by month, increase the audacious beauty of your schemes and the intensity of your spunk and fortitude. By mid-2024, you will be ready to launch a daring project.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian neurologist and author Oliver Sacks worked with people who had unusual neurological issues. His surprising conclusion: “Defects, disorders, and diseases can play a paradoxical role, by bringing out latent powers, developments, and evolutions that might never be seen in their absence.” In not all cases, but more often than seemed reasonable, he found that disorders could be regarded as creative—”for if they destroy particular paths, particular ways of doing things, they may force unexpected growth.” Your assignment is to meditate on how the events of your life might exemplify the principle Sacks marvels at: apparent limitations leading to breakthroughs and bonanzas.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I am falling in love with how deeply you are falling in love with new ways of seeing and understanding yourself. My heart sings as I listen to your heart singing in response to new attractions. Keep it up, Leo! You are having an excellent influence on me. My dormant potentials and drowsy passions are stirring as I behold you waking up and coaxing out your dormant potentials and drowsy passions. Thank you, dear!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo journalist Sydney J. Harris offered advice I suggest you meditate on. He wrote, “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” I bring this to your attention because now is a favorable time to take action on things you have not yet done—and should do. If you put definitive plans in motion soon, you will ensure that regret won’t come calling in five years. (P.S.: Amazingly, it’s also an excellent time to dissolve regret you feel for an iffy move you made in the past.)
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In contrast to false stereotypes, Medieval Europeans were not dirty and unhygienic. They made soap and loved to bathe. Another bogus myth says the people of the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat. But the truth was that most educated folks knew it was round. And it’s questionable to refer to this historical period as backward, since it brought innovations like mechanical timekeepers, moveable type, accurate maps, the heavy plow and illuminated manuscripts. In this spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to strip away misconceptions and celebrate actual facts in your own sphere. Be a scrupulous revealer, a conscientious and meticulous truth-teller.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet John Berryman said, “To grow, we must travel in the direction of our fears.” Yikes! I personally wouldn’t want to do that kind of growth all the time. I prefer traveling cheerfully in the direction of my hopes and dreams. But then I’m not a Scorpio. Maybe Berryman’s strategy for fulfilling one’s best destiny is a Scorpio superpower. What do you think? One thing I know for sure is that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to re-evaluate and reinvent your relationship with your fears. I suggest you approach the subject with a beginner’s mind. Empty yourself of all your previous ideas and be open to healing new revelations.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian poet Nina Cassian said, “I promise to make you so alive that the fall of dust on furniture will deafen you.” I think she meant she would fully awaken the senses of her readers. She would boost our capacity for enchantment and entice us to feel interesting emotions we had never experienced. As we communed with her beautiful self-expression, we might even reconfigure our understanding of who we are and what life is about. I am pleased to tell you, Sagittarius, that even if you’re not a writer, you now have an enhanced ability to perform these same services—both for yourself and for others.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Sometimes I get lonesome for a storm,” says Capricorn singer-songwriter Joan Baez. “A full-blown storm where everything changes.” That approach has worked well for her. At age 82, she has released 30 albums and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has recorded songs in eight languages and has been honored by Amnesty International for her work on behalf of human rights. If you’re feeling resilient—which I think you are—I recommend that you, too, get lonesome for a storm. Your life could use some rearrangement. If you’re not feeling wildly bold and strong, maybe ask the gods for a mild squall.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson tells us that water molecules we drink have “passed through the kidneys of Socrates, Genghis Khan, and Joan of Arc.” The same prodigious truth applies to the air we breathe: It has “passed through the lungs of Napoleon, Beethoven, and Abraham Lincoln.” Tyson would have also been accurate if he said we have shared water and air that has been inside the bodies of virtually every creature who has ever lived. I bring these facts to your attention, Aquarius, in the hope of inspiring you to deepen your sense of connectedness to other beings. Now is an excellent time to intensify your feelings of kinship with the web of life. Here’s the practical value of doing that: You will attract more help and support into your life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I am saying a prayer for you. I pray to the Fates that you will not accept lazy or careless efforts from others. You won’t allow their politeness to be a cover-up for manipulativeness. I also pray that you will cultivate high expectations for yourself. You won’t be an obsessive perfectionist, but will be devoted to excellence. All your actions will be infused with high integrity. You will conscientiously attend to every detail with the faith that you are planting seeds that will bloom beautifully in the future.
Making movies is hard. Making movies that make money is even harder. Perhaps hardest of all is facing the stark realities of the American Film Market.
I attended AFM a few weeks ago as part of the frontline marketing efforts for our second feature film, Werewolf Serenade. (And, yes, that’s the title—you voted, and that’s the winner—an instant cult classic.)
I was at the Market to collect business cards of sales agents. Got a stack. I also got a front-row seat to the kind of cinema selling in the hot-house environs of Le Méridien Delfina Santa Monica, where AFM took place with picketing hotel workers blaring vuvuzelas outside.
How was it? As H.L. Mencken aptly said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.”
I offer, for your viewing pleasure…
Meth Gator, the spiritual heir to Cocaine Bear but without the “true story” bona fides (one hopes). Its tagline also works as the public service announcement we didn’t know we needed: “Don’t Flush Your Meth.”
Zombie Plane, in which an airborne airliner chock-a-block with the undead is spared arriving in Los Angeles by some buxom flight attendants and, naturally, ’90s rapper Vanilla Ice. I gleaned all this from its poster (and I believe it because Hollywood marketing never lies).
Feral. Two words—killer pigs.
Granted, I was at AFM peddling a werewolf film, so who am I to judge…?
…Daedalus F-ing Howell—that’s who. And judge, I will. It’s my responsibility as one of the few remaining suppliers of campy, screwball comedies that namecheck Herman Hesse and Carl Jung, the former being my cinematic M.O. (and, in the case of AFM, that doesn’t stand for Market Opportunity, more like Moral Obligation).
Where are all the grown-up, art-house comedies of yore? They’re coming back to the theaters in dribs and drabs. Consider Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, which is right in the pocket. Big on story, small on star power and a humongous flag in the ground for non-franchise, non-IP-driven filmmaking. Bravo.
If movies were math, my tastes and talent land nowhere near the lowest common denominator—it’s all “weird numbers” (starting with the budget). I couldn’t sell out if I tried—and trust me, I’ve tried. I’m an accidental auteur, and my sincere hope for cinema is that more filmmakers with their defaults set like mine continue to emerge.
Sure, our mico-budget art flicks may be a mere drop in an ocean of multiplexes lousy with meth gators and Vanilla Icebergs—but we’re lone werewolves anyway, dog-paddling to some distant shore on a lost horizon, hoping you’re there too, mixing margaritas and metaphors, waiting for the show to begin.
Daedalus Howell moves into movie-making at dhowell.com(where this was originally published).
As Frank Kendall, the U.S. secretary of the Air Force, opined, “These machines will eventually need to have the power to take lethal action on their own while remaining under human oversight in how they are deployed. “
This fascinating quotation about the military potential of A.I. is deeply revealing of how an obsolete way of thinking works. The statement allows a direct stare into the heart of evil, not the evil of malign intent, but of the blind futility of violence accelerated by technological “progress.” It foretells a perverse refusal of possibilities other than dehumanizing our adversaries so completely that we are willing to kill them with machines that are already frighteningly lethal, even without the capacity to make their own decisions.
Also implicit in the secretary’s old thinking is that sacred cow of establishment thinking, deterrence. As long as we have more of the latest, fastest, most intelligent and most destructive weapons, we will not need to use them because that will be sufficient to make our enemy think twice before taking us on. But contemporary asymmetric warfare, let alone the likelihood of either human or A.I. error, effectively undermines deterrence theory.
Conventional war doesn’t resolve the underlying conflict that initiated it. Nuclear war even less so (think nuclear winter). Variations on nuclear or chemical or biological war with the added dimension of A.I. will become doubly, triply world-destructive—in other words, obsolete.
Because everyone’s security and survival is a shared problem, we need to re-humanize our adversaries—to perceive the “me-semblance” of the other, even if they seem hateful to us and toward us.
We need our military people on all sides to gather and peer together down the time-stream at a future that holds only two possibilities: Either adversaries spend infinite treasure and resources to arrive at a stalemate on a new, even more hair-trigger level—or we destroy ourselves.
When we agree that these will be the outcomes unless we change, we can work together to apply A.I. to common challenges, including the prevention of wars no one can win.
Winslow Myers is the author of ‘Living Beyond War: A Citizen’s Guide.’
Donald Trump was hit with a gag order, which is under review. The restrictions prevented Trump from verbally attacking court staff, prosecutors or potential witnesses—the same for social media. This is true, because these are private citizens whose position and involvement are part of their jobs or duties.
But the order didn’t stop him from venting about the judge, the Justice Department, the case more generally or his potential general election foe, President Joe Biden. This is also true, but these persons have public positions and resources that ordinary individuals do not have. The judiciary must retain the gag order, providing guidelines for future abusers.
Gary Sciford
Santa Rosa
Hoodwinked
Who knew? Whatever happened to peripheral vision? Hoodies—the cool dude look has eliminated peripheral anything. Skateboarders, bicyclists and anyone who drives—the hooded dude look prevails. Monks and hoods—maybe, but not all that safe when driving. Or is it another sign of my old age and “out of it” take on peripheral vision? Driverless cars are missing a basic rule of the road. And don’t tell me it’s all covered by computers in cars. Baa-hum-bug.
Neil Davis
Sebastopol
Editor’s Note: In a ‘Pacific Sun’ piece entitled ‘Dharmashire’ (Oct. 30, 2023), the term ‘gender transition’ was inadvertently used instead of ‘generational transition.’ We regret the error.
The sun disappears behind the ocean horizon. The sky turns vanilla, and the wind stiffens. Twilight’s slow transformation into darkness reveals a million subtle shades along the way.
Those who have ever spent an evening on the Sonoma or Marin coast know exactly what I’m writing about. It’s one of the many North Bay ties that bind. There are plenty of others, ones that make us who we are, ones we share gladly with those who visit. The beaches, the farms, the bigger cities and small towns…
But what if I said there was another place, one far away, but one where someone might feel just as at home?
I’m happy to write that such a place exists. It shares our rocky coasts, rich soil and enviable scenic beauty. But most of the people there don’t look out over the Pacific to view the sunset.
They do so to watch the sunrise.
Welcome to Hokkaido, Japan.
Another City by the Bay
As San Francisco is the gateway to the North Bay, Hakodate fills the same role in Hokkaido. Imagine the peninsula flipped upside down, and instead of the Presidio, a mini mountain with excellent views from the summit. And, yes, expect to burn some calories walking up steep hills.
The connection between the two cities runs much deeper than similar geography. The Old Public Hall, built in 1910, features Japanese, Chinese, French and English architectural influences. Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches gaze out over the bay, along with scores of preserved homes that look better suited to Victorian England than Japan. Every culture that has come through Japan’s City by the Bay left a permanent mark.
All that’s missing is the Golden Gate.
And like in San Francisco, Hakodate’s seafood can’t be beat. Thankfully for visitors, the morning seafood market exists just steps from the central train station. Big spenders can put down about $400 for a whole king crab or $80 for a modest-sized rice bowl adorned with tongue-sized pieces of golden sea urchin.
First-timers will wish they’d packed a second stomach before taking the nearly four-hour train ride north to Hokkaido’s Santa Rosa, Sapporo.
Two Cities, One Heart
Sapporo is a sprawling metropolis with convenient access to Hokkaido’s natural beauty. Go west to see the ocean. Go east to find sprawling farms. Go south to encounter wilderness saved for future generations.
Sound familiar?
And as with Santa Rosa, in the center of Sapporo exists a testament to the botanist who preserved his city’s natural beauty. Sapporo’s Luther Burbank was Kingo Miyabe (1860-1950), a Harvard graduate who founded the city’s first botanical garden. Thirty-three acres just five blocks from Sapporo Station host old-growth forests and provide sanctuary to over 4,000 plant species. A modest museum in the style of a Maine farmhouse displays Miyabe’s writings, including an 1888 letter to an American colleague:
“It is my dream and hope that someday during my lifetime to lay a solid foundation of a model garden botanique in Sapporo for the instruction and refinement of the generations to come.”
After seeing it all firsthand, the author must write that Miyabe succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
On to food. Santa Rosa may be famous for beer, but Sapporo has the city beat with its 19th-century brewery, now a German-style beer garden and museum. This red brick structure, one that could easily stand in for the Wonka factory, attracts beer lovers ready to pair more than a few Sapporo Classic lagers with servings of grilled lamb, pork and seafood.
Just don’t overdo it on the all-you-can-drink package. “Gentlemen, excuse me if I should stumble,” the author overheard a visitor say to his friends before shuffling off to the restroom.
From Sapporo, explorers wanting a North Bay experience have two options—one much, much farther away than the other.
Familiar Coastline, Surprising View
The trip up Highway 1 through Marin and Sonoma offers some of the best North Bay views. The slow drive and scenery let locals and visitors alike reconnect with nature and themselves.
Hokkaido’s Highway 1 (National Route 238) begins in Wakkanai, the most northern city in Japan and five hours by train from Sapporo. From there, a bus takes travelers the 20 miles around Tomales Bay’s long-lost cousin—Soya Bay. Fishing shacks, some new, some ancient, dot the narrow, pebbly beaches.
The final destination, Cape Soya, is a pleasant rest area much like the one at The Tides Wharf and Restaurant in Bodega Bay. A monument jutting out into the sea marks Japan’s most northern point. And on a clear day, visitors can see “it” while looking out over the ocean. In this case, it is not a pod of humpbacks or seals, but Russian Sakhalin’s rugged coast.
Turning around reveals hundreds of square miles of dairy farms that would in no way look out of place in Sonoma County. The half-a-million cows spread throughout northern Hokkaido produce everything from the butter found in Tokyo grocery stores to the rich ice cream people flock to Hokkaido just to eat, even for breakfast.
Happy cows live in California, but their Hokkaido counterparts ain’t doing so bad. They just need to spend winter nights indoors.
In fact, the only tell that Wakkanai and Cape Soya aren’t on the Sonoma or Marin coast is the smell, or, better put, lack of one. There is no odor of seaweed along the shore, no whiff of iodine in the air. The wind blowing between the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk carries only the faintest hint of salt.
It’s time to head back south, where other familiar yet new sights await.
Worlds Converge
Like the many small towns in western Sonoma and Marin, Otaru is Hokkaido’s weekend getaway destination. Only 40 minutes from Sapporo by train, this coastal city lets tourists explore preserved buildings, imagine themselves in a simpler time and have a good meal. And if visitors should get hungry for seafood, Otaru has it and then some. The city’s restaurants offer up some of the best crab in Japan, especially during the cold winter months.
Wine lovers find themselves with the same bounty of choices in the summer and fall. Rolling hills to Otaru’s west feature vineyards producing Japan’s finest pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot gris. The dark volcanic soil helps the fragile vines thrive in the area’s frigid winters and hot, humid summers.
Otaru has one more surprise for the North Bay traveler. Along the main shopping street is SNOOPY Village, a modern store dedicated to everything Peanuts. The merchandise inside ranges from stuffed toys to stained glass. And in the entryway, a small café serves up piping-hot sweet bean buns decorated with the faces of Snoopy, Lucy and good ol’ Charlie Brown.
But all good things must come to an end. The trip feels over too soon as one last train ride starts the journey home.
PEANUTS The Snoopy Cha-ya in Otaru, Hokkaido, has a familiar vibe.
A Home for Everyone
The sun disappears behind the rolling hills. The Hokuto’s (Big Dipper) seven train cars seem to glide over the crashing waves just beyond the window. In the distance, the placid sea shimmers like mercury. Viewing such a splendid yet surreal sight, it’s bittersweet to think that Hokkaido, like the North Bay, is a place where so many people can visit but so few can live.
That feeling doesn’t inspire melancholy but a desire to return. The same pull that brings people back to Hokkaido again and again brings others to the North Bay again and again. These two places, separated by a vast ocean, accept visitors with open arms and let all who pass through feel at home during their stay, no matter how long or how short.
So North Bay readers may consider Hokkaido for a next international adventure. And they may return to see their home in a brand-new light.
Santa gets local with his annual visit to Nick’s Cove via water sleigh (aka, a boat). A converted boat house and tons of decorations make the perfect photo op for junior while the folks grab a seasonal cocktail and meal from the restaurant. Santa’s workshop will have cookies, hot cocoa and more for good little children. With a view of Tomales Bay and good food and drink, no wonder the big red guy comes back every year. Santa visits from 3pm to 5pm, Sunday, Dec. 3. Nick’s Cove Restaurant, 23240 CA-1, Marshall.
Mill Valley
Studio Party
The Studio yoga space in Mill Valley invites all to gather for the holiday season “in the spirit of joy, relaxation and community” at a hosted event featuring food and drink. Participants will experience “rejuvenating 20-minute” mini-classes on topics like “You-ometry” and “Yoga Nidra” and meet local vendors “offering wellness products, yoga essentials and handmade treasures,” according to publicity. If those are one’s thing, this is the place. 2pm to 6pm, Saturday, Dec. 9. The Studio, 650 E. Blithedale Ave., Mill Valley.
Napa
Old Friends
Talking Heads guitarist Jerry Harrison and contributor Adrian Belew have banded together to perform classic songs from the band’s catalog, often digging most deeply into material from Remain in Light. Earlier this year, they played the Mill Valley Music Festival to an ecstatic reception. Good money that the duo will repeat that almost spiritual connection with the crowd at the New Year’s Eve show in a more intimate environment at JaM Cellars Ballroom. Want more intimacy? For VIP ticket holders, there is a meet and greet with the musicians, who will share stories behind the songs. Doors 8pm, show 9pm, Sunday, Dec. 31. JaM Cellars Ballroom, 1030 Main St., Napa. General admission. Ages 8 and up. Ticket prices vary. $99 general admission, $199 VIP.
Santa Rosa
Tiny Works
If all the big news and big expectations of the holidays feels overwhelming right now, a totally different tact is to see the “Small Works: Sense of Humor” exhibition at the Santa Rosa Arts Center, which is the annual Small Works Show. The year’s theme is on display in dozens of miniscule works by local artists whose approach, according to organizers, is “whimsical, oddball, surreal, playful, fun, off-color or just mixed-up.” 11am–2pm Wednesday and Sunday, 11am–3pm Friday and Saturday until Dec. 31, Santa Rosa Arts Center, 312 South A St., Santa Rosa.
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Gag Me
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The sun disappears behind the ocean horizon. The sky turns vanilla, and the wind stiffens. Twilight’s slow transformation into darkness reveals a million subtle shades along the way.
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Marshall
Santa’s Back
Santa gets local with his annual visit to Nick’s Cove via water sleigh (aka, a boat). A converted boat house and tons of decorations make the perfect photo op for junior while the folks grab a seasonal cocktail and meal from the restaurant. Santa’s workshop will have cookies, hot cocoa and more for good little children. With a...
