Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2013

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Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2013

Polka Is King!

I feel fortunate my parents chose Sonoma County to raise their family. My siblings and I were able to live in a modest home in the Montgomery Village area in Santa Rosa.

Mom and Dad hailed from Milwaukee, Wis., where polka is king. As a family of six children, we would pack ourselves into the station wagon and make the drive into the Valley of the Moon to spend the day at Little Switzerland. I have such fond memories of these family outings with the music, dancing, good food and fun activities for children.

Now, as a grown woman with daughters and granddaughters, I can no longer create new memories at Little Switzerland. I am glad every so often that I can drive to the Moose Lodge on Broadway in Sonoma and get a good workout on a Sunday night trying to keep up with the polka masters out on the dance floor there.

My point is this: the only thing I am certain of in life is change. Sonoma and its outlying communities are changing, much like other areas throughout Sonoma County. Who among us old-timers could truly have envisioned gaming casinos gracing our rural landscape, much less the “friendly city” of Rohnert Park?

Please keep the conversations going among yourselves in Sonoma regarding your community and growing pains. Some of us even remember when there was a swimming pool at the Sonoma Valley High School, which was a wonderful asset to the most important part of any town: its children and youth.

—Theresa M. Shulz

Glen Ellen

Spread the Word

I have pledged $100 to Native Songbird Care & Conservation to help Veronica Bowers, her staff, and her mission (“Bird Call,” April 24). I have signed the petition to remove the nets on the NSCC website. I have shared this horrible problem with over a hundred conservationists. If you can, please help. Please sign the petition at www.nativesongbirdcare.org, and please spread the word.

—Larry Broderick

West County Hawk Watch

What Do We Have to Do?

Thank you Moss Henry, you said it all (Letters to the Editor, April 24). I couldn’t have said it better, and I’m only wanting to know what actions could change this course of events that has us playing bully to the world. Of course we are now targeted. Of course we are hated. When will the psyche of the United States realize that its role in the world has changed from great defender to self-righteous oppressor? How many more lives anywhere have to be sacrificed in the name of what Moss aptly calls “unwinnable madness”?

So in reality, we have an out-of-our-control government, out-of-our-control lobbyists (read: bribers), domestic (read: gun control) and international policies that no longer serve the common good (read: peace at home and peace in the world). And this is the light of democracy? More like its shadow side.

What do we have to do?

—Laurie Lippin

Guerneville

Privacy Matters

Great Open Mic by Pieter S. Myers (“Rights Left Behind,” May 1). The slow erosion of civil liberties has surely reached a tipping point. Manufacturing consent, as Noam Chomsky puts it, is done slowly, deliberately and with great specific intent every day with relentless fear messaging via mainstream media.

If you choose to have fear in your life (and I am not recommending it), let it not be for the occasional crackpot radical—they have, and always will be around (born inside this country or not). It should be for the legions of government agencies (19 in total, apparently, in Boston—BTW, where are they every weekend in Oakland?) that are growing every year on your tax dollar and devoted to broadening every manner of surveillance into our lives.

This all to keep the tired, slaving (and voting and taxpaying) masses staying terrorized of terrorists!

Public safety? Yeah, right.

Just like the war on drugs, this is another misguided government policy justified in order to keep large corporate shareholders happy, and for us to silently comply with increasing illegal intrusions into our daily life. And we are lucky: at least the drones aren’t shooting us in this country. Yet.

—Michael Hogan

Sebastopol

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Ain’t No Bull

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Ain’t No Bull

Kristen Throop still has a photo of herself at the age of three, standing at a wooden easel. But despite painting continuously for over 40 years, the Santa Rosa artist had never staged a solo show of her work—until this week, when “Rumination,” a collection of 8-by-10-inch gouache paintings, is celebrated with a reception at Backstreet Gallery.

Throop might have kept painting in relative quietude had it not been for a recent health scare. “I just got really clear that if I was gone tomorrow, I’d be really disappointed that I hadn’t given it my all with painting,” she remembers thinking after returning home from the hospital. In a period of recuperation and self-reflection, she adds, “I spent four months sitting around thinking, ‘Is that all there is?'”

Cows, calves and bulls are the subjects of the paintings in “Rumination”—subjects that initially came to Throop in a dream. Citing humankind’s long bond with cows and the cultural imprint they bear, Throop was inspired to complete 108 paintings, 48 of which are in the show. “All the cows are kind of self-portraits, in a way,” she explains. “They’re not bucolic cows out in the pasture—there’s a certain emotional or psychological component to all of the pieces.”

“Rumination” opens with a reception on Saturday, May 11, at Backstreet Gallery. Entrance on Art Alley (off of South A Street), Santa Rosa. 5–8pm. Free. 707.478.4739.

Fight of Our Lives

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Fight of Our Lives

The Oscar-nominated How to Survive a Plague, the definitive story of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s, is the perfect example of what’s meant by the phrase “history so recent that it’s been forgotten.” The newly diagnosed and their supporters, as we see, had plenty to fight against. New York City’s municipal government, led by closeted mayor Ed Koch, accused them of using fascist tactics, and, meanwhile, federal agencies dawdled, despite the emergency.

The urgent, rapidly edited documentary styles itself as an underground TV broadcast. Much of it was snatched off the street and from the podiums at ACT-UP rallies, though there are important reminiscences from such figures as Larry Kramer and Dr. Barbara Starrett. Some of those shown who make the most impression are anonymous, such as the man seen in a homemade instructional video inserting a shunt into his own chest to deliver his medicine. (One always wonders about the lives the internet might have saved if it had been around a decade or two earlier.)

Many are aware of the historical value of what they were doing. “You’re going to have a story to tell in the future,” a nurse tells a strapped-in patient undergoing an experimental drug regimen. The afflicted imported their drugs from overseas, and became their own guinea pigs: AZT, the first drug commercially available to combat AIDS, was laden with bad side effects, and was murderously expensive at $10,000 a year in 1980s dollars.

How to Survive a Plague emphasizes the anger and desperation of those days, rather than the tragedy itself. We know how the story ended and how this horrific syndrome was finally slowed, at least in the First World and Europe. There’s always the question, however, of what we can do with history once we’ve learned from it. And here’s another question: What if an ACT-UP-like vanguard emerged to lead the millions at large currently being bilked and bled by the health insurance industries and Big Pharma?

‘How to Survive a Plague’ screens Tuesday, May 14, at the Sweetwater Music Hall. 7pm. $6–$10. 415.388.3850.

Gamba Vineyards & Winery

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Gamba Vineyards & Winery

Agostino Gamba may be a sixth-generation grape grower, tending an irreplaceable, century-old vineyard, but he’s clearly no sentimentalist. See what he’s done to his 27-acre vineyard, planted in 1900 by Cesare Barbieri. The silhouette of “old vine Zin” is typically squat, thick-trunked, with gnarled arms flailing wildly—if ever so slowly—in all directions. That’s mostly dead wood, says Gamba, who whittled the “goblet” shaped vines down to their bare essentials, and trained them up on stakes. Not because he wanted to bump up the crop: Gamba’s vines put out a paltry half-ton per acre.

That was nothing to boast about when this vineyard was young, nor when Agostino Luigi Gamba Sr. settled down here in the late 1940s. In fact, the vines can do a little better, but Gamba thins the crop even then, in order to coax the oldsters into producing the big Zin flavors that he wants. And they do.

Gamba only opens the doors by appointment, so, besides low-flying airport traffic, it’s fairly quiet at this little cellar on Woolsey Road. The winery was built in 2007 with FSC certified wood and fly ash concrete, and kept cool by insulation and, on Sundays, tasting room manager Mike Adair’s collection of vintage vinyl. The 2011 “Family Ranches” Russian River Valley Zinfandel ($45) is all toasty, woody and mocha-y; it’s all-American oak for Gamba, who worked for Viansa Winery and Dick Arrowood before creating this “roll out of bed and walk to work” gig for himself 2000.

The “Starr Road Ranch” Zinfandel, aka Moratto Vineyard, has nearly upstaged the home vineyard, after the 2007 inspired a call from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. He wanted to feature it with Mario Batali’s “Pork Loin in the Style of Porchetta with Fennel” at Wine Spectator’s celebrity chef event in New York. So there’s that. But it’s the 2010’s ($45) enticing raspberry-and-flowers perfume, graham cracker spice and plush, rich plum fruit flavor that gets my attention. It doesn’t feel hot, but at 16.2 percent alcohol, this isn’t one for the jelly jars.

While the vineyard that Gus grew up in has survived for a hundred years (and likely improved), the corporate-owned vineyard that surrounds it has been replanted three times since he can remember. The “Centuria” dessert Zinfandel is composed of 10 vintages, reserved in the same barrel year after year. It’s fortified, with a refined, sherried nuttiness and smooth, creamy palate, and, to a soundtrack of Ella Fitzgerald on Verve, the talk gets a bit sentimental around here, after all.

Gamba Vineyards & Winery, 2912 Woolsey Road, Windsor. By appointment only. 707.542.5892.

Taking Plagiarism Out of Journalism, One Story at a Time

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Taking Plagiarism Out of Journalism, One Story at a Time

sunlightfoundationlogo.jpg

This is pretty freaking brilliant.

In newsrooms all over, reporters get press releases by the bushel. There are services like PRWeb and PR Newswire that reporters can use to find story ideas. They can even subscribe to get e-blasts on specific topics, such as healthcare or banking. Or media ethics. Press releases provide a way for the government, businesses, labor unions and anyone who has something to say to get in front of a reporter. In of itself, this is not a bad thing. It is a useful tool.

But… sometimes… a story that comes out sounds a whole lot like the release it comes from. Sometimes it’s word for word. (Which kind of, but sometimes not exactly, could be called a free advertorial. Just sayin’.) Other times, direct quotes, or sections of the release, are copied and pasted into the story. Sure, copying a quote from a press release means the quote will be exact—yet often they’re taken out of context.

Churnalism is a product launched last week by the Sunlight Foundation that enables media consumers to conduct a side-by-side comparison of news stories in American media and press releases they (may) come from. The project is modeled after a similar British product that came out a couple of years ago.

One thing I think is exceptionally cool about this is that in addition to press releases from a variety of places, it also compares the articles to Wikipedia. As a reporter, I have no problem looking at a Wiki site to get source IDEAS, but copying and pasting from Wikipedia? Sorry kids, that is just plain ol’ plagiarism. And will very possibly be wrong.

Check out the tutorial by the Sunlight Foundation to see how it works. Too bad this wasn’t around in the days of Jayson Blair—it could have saved the New York Times a lot of embarrassment.

BottleRock Kickoff: ‘Sound City’ with Dave Grohl

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BottleRock Kickoff: ‘Sound City’ with Dave Grohl

Gabe Meyers, co-founder of BottleRock, stood in front of the crowd at the Uptown Theatre last night and asked “Did you ever think this would happen in… Napa?”
He was referencing the four-day music festival, the largest thing to hit the sleepy city since, well, ever. He received thunderous applause from the crowd awaiting an on-stage appearance by Dave Grohl, lead singer and guitarist of the Foo Fighters and drummer of Nirvana, in town last night for a screening of his documentary, Sound City. Meyers then reminded the everyone in the one-third–full venue that tickets were still available for most days of the festival. “Sometimes it feels like a bit of a surf break secret, like you don’t want to tell anybody,” he said. “But we really need people to know about it.”
The attendance for Grohl’s film was affected by the last-minute booking—it was finalized less than a week prior—and because it was a benefit for autism causes, tickets were $100. But the movie is fantastic, especially for audio nerds like myself (I even wore an Onkyo shirt to the screening). Sound City is about the recording console at a fucked up, nasty studio in Los Angeles that recorded some of the best rock albums of all time. It’s captivating for even the non-audio engineer thanks in large part to the vast swath of famous producers, musicians and engineers interviewed for the movie.
“Originally the idea was just to make a short film and it kind of just exploded into this idea,” said Grohl before the screening. “We wanted to inspire the next generation of musicians to fall in love with music as much as we did.” After much applause, he continued, “We decided early on we wanted to make this completely independent of any major studio or any Hollywood shit, we just wanted to make our own movie. It cost a fuckin’ fortune, just so you know.” Cue more applause.
Grohl’s interest in making Sound City was piqued when he learned the studio was closing and selling all of its gear. The band that made him famous, Nirvana, had recorded the album that made them famous, Nevermind, at the studio. Nothing sounds like a recording made at this studio on this board, one of only four like it ever produced by engineer Rupert Neve (it cost twice as much as a house in the area at the time). “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for this board,” says Grohl in the movie. So he bought it and installed it in his own studio. The documentary chronicles the history of the board, and of Sound City Studios, and highlights the beauty of analog recording using consoles like this and two-inch tape instead of computers to capture sound.
“I have to honestly say that this is probably the thing that I am most proud of that I have ever done creatively in my life,” said Grohl, “because it’s not for me, its for you.”
There were may cheers from the audience during both the movie and the 45-minute Q&A session between Meyers and Grohl afterward. Music in the movie, all of which was recorded on the console, was blared loud and often, which made the atmosphere less like a movie theater and more like a rock concert. Beer and wine helped, too. Some had too much, like the girl who tried valiantly to remain upright during the autograph session following the Q&A session, trying to get something signed.
All in all, it was a rock concert of a movie, and a smart and fun way to kick off BottleRock.

BottleRock Countdown: Joan Jett

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She is known as the Queen of Rock n’ Roll. Rolling Stone Magazine called her one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. She’s hot, she’s vegan and she runs her own NYC-based record label Blackheart Records. Viva La Glam Rock!
“I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” was originally by the Arrows but Jett’s version hit the stratosphere of classic rock anthems (Billboard number 1 in 1982). If she doesn’t win this year’s Rock And Rock Hall Of Fame nomination, you’ll be stoked you saw her before she becomes embossed in rock and roll gold.

BottleRock Countdown: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

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If you avoid Top-40 on the radio and don’t tune into what’s left of MTV, you probably haven’t seen the music video for “Thrift Shop” by Seattle hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Well here it is, and it’s good – its got nearly 300 million YouTube views for crying out loud.
“One man’s trash is another man’s come up”: they strut grandpa’s coats, jump racks of old blue jeans, and mock everyone in the club with matching $50 t-shirts. It’s an ode to the working class and a big overdue fuck you to capitalism. For all the materialistic lust of the early 2000’s, in post-recession times what else is there to do but hype the thrift shops?
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis perform the official opening night of BottleRock. If you already have a 3- or 4-day pass you can go for free, but you need to fill out the RSVP form to guarantee a ticket. They are asking for donations as little as $1 are requested to benefit Autism Chords and The City of Napa Parks and Recreation.  And if you didn’t buy festival passes, tickets are only $40 (purchase them here) – definitely the most affordable show on the BottleRock bill.

BottleRock Countdown: Café Tacvba

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From inside the dark, dingy dives of century-old buildings to the roof-top pool bars of boutique hotels, Mexican rockers Café Tacvba are played at least once every hour, of every day, somewhere in Mexico City. They are by far one of the most prolific bands of the “Spanish Rock” movement of the 1990’s. And with the same original members since starting in 1989, their sound is perfected experimental rock. If that makes any sense.
Five years after the release of their last album Sino, which won two Grammys for Latin song of the year, the band just came out with El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco (The Object Once Called An Album). The record is a pretty good look at the band’s sound over the last decade, including their classic mix of alt-rock with ska, electronica, and varieties of indigenous folk music of the Americas – you can hear the entire album here.
The New York Times once called Cafe Tacvba “one of the most important bands in the hemisphere. A smart, cosmopolitan band with a broad streak of lighthearted surrealism.”

Among many great tracks, one of their more famous songs is “Eres“, but this video of “Olita de Altamar” (2013) shows the eccentricity and spirit you can probably expect on stage at BottleRock.

Live Review: Jason Moran and Live Skateboarding at SFJAZZ Center

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Live Review: Jason Moran and Live Skateboarding at SFJAZZ Center


At first, the only sensible reaction was giddy laughter that it was even happening at all. At the SFJAZZ Center last night, Jason Moran’s jazz quartet led a jam session on stage—while in the audience, with the first five rows of seats removed, eight skateboarders held a different kind of jam session on a specially built miniramp. Pretty funny, right?
But a few songs into this amusing pairing, conceived by Moran himself, the serious corollaries between the two art forms of jazz and skateboarding began to make perfect sense. As the band onstage improvised in real time, so did the skateboarders, trying trick after trick. As the band was beholden to rhythm and tempo, so were the skateboarders, slaves to that next transition in the ramp, always approaching. As the musicians played off each other’s ideas, so did the skaters, by positioning their boards on the platform for the more daring of the bunch to use as extensions of the ramp.
The results were nothing short of thrilling.
Moran, wearing a T-shirt from the East Bay hip-hop group Souls of Mischief, compared modern-day skateboarding to the early days of modern jazz at Minton’s Playhouse, “when Diz and Bird and all them were trading ideas and the language was changing so quick.”

Continue

Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2013

Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2013
Read more

Ain’t No Bull

Kristen Throop's debut show at Backstreet Gallery
Read more

Fight of Our Lives

'How to Survive a Plague' the most important film on battling the AIDS crisis yet
Read more

Gamba Vineyards & Winery

At 113 years old, long in the toothsome Zin
Read more

Taking Plagiarism Out of Journalism, One Story at a Time

The Sunlight Foundation creates tools to keep the media on their toes.
Read more

BottleRock Kickoff: ‘Sound City’ with Dave Grohl

Gabe Meyers, co-founder of BottleRock, stood in front of the crowd at the Uptown Theatre last night and asked “Did you ever think this would happen in… Napa?” He was referencing the four-day music festival, the largest thing to hit the sleepy city since, well, ever. He received thunderous applause from the crowd awaiting an on-stage appearance by Dave Grohl,...
Read more

BottleRock Countdown: Joan Jett

She is known as the Queen of Rock n' Roll. Rolling Stone Magazine called her one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. She's hot, she's vegan and she runs her own NYC-based record label Blackheart Records. Viva La Glam Rock! "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" was originally by the Arrows but Jett's version hit the stratosphere of classic...
Read more

BottleRock Countdown: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

If you avoid Top-40 on the radio and don't tune into what's left of MTV, you probably haven't seen the music video for "Thrift Shop" by Seattle hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Well here it is, and it's good - its got nearly 300 million YouTube views for crying out loud. "One man's trash is another man's come...
Read more

BottleRock Countdown: Café Tacvba

From inside the dark, dingy dives of century-old buildings to the roof-top pool bars of boutique hotels, Mexican rockers Café Tacvba are played at least once every hour, of every day, somewhere in Mexico City. They are by far one of the most prolific bands of the "Spanish Rock" movement of the 1990's. And with the same original members...
Read more

Live Review: Jason Moran and Live Skateboarding at SFJAZZ Center

At first, the only sensible reaction was giddy laughter that it was even happening at all. At the SFJAZZ Center last night, Jason Moran's jazz quartet led a jam session on stage—while in the audience, with the first five rows of seats removed, eight skateboarders held a different kind of jam session on a specially built miniramp. Pretty funny,...
Read more
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