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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Middletown Art Center
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Art Center will host “Open Hearts, Open Minds," the fourth annual Juneteenth event on Wednesday, June 19, from 5 to 9 p.m.
This evening of reflection, dialogue, and celebration will feature a distinguished panel discussion, live music, and more.
The event will begin with a panel discussion from 5 to 6 p.m., with doors opening at 4 p.m.
The panel features Aqeela Markowski, host of KPFZ radio's "Women's Voices"; Delores Farrell; Randall Cole, substance abuse counselor, member of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission, and author of "Felonies Before Birth"; Kamelle Leggette, a volunteer at Coletrain Transformation Station and author of "How to Survive When the **it Hits the Fan"; and Voris Brumfield, pastor at Middletown Community United Methodist Church.
"Open Hearts, Open Minds" will use this Juneteenth gathering to reflect on and remember the history of African Americans, emphasizing recognition, respect, reflection and hope. The themes will be explored through personal stories and discussions on why this history matters to all of us. The event aims to foster a deeper understanding and commitment to social justice.
The event will feature a recorded introduction by Clovice Lewis, a highly respected Unitarian Universalist minister, social activist, and musician. Lewis, who was instrumental in the first Juneteenth Celebration at MAC, is known for his unwavering commitment to social justice, racial equality and inclusive spirituality. His words will set the tone for a meaningful and thought-provoking evening of celebration and remembrance.
Starting at 6:30 p.m., Gloria Scott will perform a short selection of soulful songs, followed by music and dancing with Howard Reggie Dockens, providing a celebratory atmosphere to mark the spirit of Juneteenth. Delicious food by Goddess of the Mountain will be available for purchase, along with beverages to enhance the evening's enjoyment.
Tickets for "Open Hearts, Open Minds" will be sold at the door with a suggested donation of $10, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds. This event is an excellent opportunity for community members to come together to learn and to celebrate. Whether you are drawn to the panel discussion, the music, or the food, "Open Hearts, Open Minds" promises an evening of enrichment and connection.
The Middletown Art Center is a vibrant cultural hub dedicated to promoting artistic expression, fostering dialogue, and cross cultural connections.
Learn more about the MAC and ways to support their vital work at https://www.middletownartcenter.org.
The MAC is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in Middletown. Call 707-809-8118 or email
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- Written by: Tim Riley
‘CLIPPED’ ON FX NETWORK
Donald Sterling, if remembered at all, was at the center of scandal that gripped the NBA when TMZ released the tape of a conversation between the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers and his mistress/assistant V. Stiviano.
Despite Stiviano being part African-American herself, Sterling was recorded on a racist rant against black people when he’s quoted asking her why she was associating with minorities.
FX Network’s miniseries “Clipped” takes one back to 2014 when the private chat went viral, and the NBA, under the leadership of commissioner Adam Silver, banned Sterling from the league for life on top of a $2.5 million fine.
An entire series season could be devoted solely to the legal battles that Sterling had not just with the NBA but even with his wife Shelly, when in her position as a co-owner of the Clippers, tried to sell the team after the NBA-imposed ban.
Starting his career as an independent lawyer, Sterling soon became a real estate mogul buying up apartment buildings, before acquiring the San Diego Clippers in 1979 and then moving them to Los Angeles two years later.
Beyond the business squabbles, Sterling was subject to sexual harassment lawsuits from women who had worked in one capacity or another in property management for his apartment buildings. It’s obvious that Sterling was not exactly a person of “sterling” character.
More interesting in “Clipped” than Sterling (Ed O’Neill), an erratic miser and a bully, is the role of legendary coach Doc Rivers (Laurence Fishburne) taking the helm of the Clippers team with the notion of turning perennial losers into champions.
Abrasive and driven, Rivers arrives as the coach knowing that he has the building blocks to win the franchise’s first title, even if he knows that Sterling may be an impediment due in no small measure to his being oblivious to boundaries.
Knowing he’s dealing with a dysfunctional organization as well as even less functional marriage in which Sterling’s wife (Jacki Weaver) throws in her two cents, Rivers feels he can rise above the toxic environment until V Stiviano (Cleopatra Coleman) tosses the racist stink bomb.
For her part, Coleman’s V is somewhat enigmatic. How does she tolerate a boss who texts “Don’t Bring Black People to My Games?” When the scandal breaks, she seems to relish the attention, as if she strives to be an ersatz Kardashian.
What should be a short-hand description of “Clipped?” A sports drama rooting for an underdog team to succeed in the playoffs as a vindication for Doc Rivers? Yes, partially. Is it a grand soap opera of sleaze and duplicity? There’s that too.
Gina Welch, writer and executive producer, may have nailed it at the winter press tour, observing that the essence of the show is the “sort of costs of living and working and trying to thrive under the power of a racist incompetent buffoon who’s abusing the power.”
“Clipped” is a campy melodrama of deviation from societal norms, sometimes humorous and other times sordid.
MORE LIFETIME CRIME MOVIES FOR END OF JUNE
Premiering on June 23rd, in the “Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story” ex-convict Larry Ray (Billy Zane) unexpectedly moves into his daughter’s (Tedra Rogers) dorm, enthralling her friends with talk of promises to help them with personal transformations by preying on their insecurities and fears.
Under Ray’s influence, the students recover false memories of childhood trauma that Ray uses to further alienate them from their families. As the students continue to fall under Ray’s control, he begins to target their friends and family.
Extending his reach of emotional, financial, sexual abuse and mental persuasion, Ray becomes increasingly manipulative. As the students get pulled deeper into the cult, Ray’s control moves form emotional and mental to sexual as well, creating a web of lies and deceit.
Interestingly, the story of Larry Ray was previously told by the Law & Crime Network in “Devil in the Dorm,” which chronicled the criminal’s sway over college girls at the prestigious Sarah Lawrence College.
“The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story,” premiering on the last Saturday in June, is a truly bizarre case that occurred in Wichita, Kansas during the infamous BTK Strangler killing spree gripped with city with sheer sense of foreboding.
Middle-aged Ruth (Teri Hatcher) and her husband Ed (Tahmoh Penikett) found their tranquil life suddenly turned upside down when Ed suffered a heart attack. As Ed fights for his life in the hospital, Ruth starts to receive mysterious threats, leaving her in a state of panic.
With the city held hostage by the BTK killer’s reign of terror, Ruth finds herself enveloped in paranoia, convinced she will be the next victim, as the menacing phone calls escalate into chilling letters.
Amidst the frenzy of police pursuit of BTK, Ruth is abducted, sending shockwaves through the community. Yet her sudden reappearance leaves investigators baffled and scrambling for answers.
As suspicion mounts and new evidence comes to light, the authorities entertain the unsettling notion that the perpetrator may be someone intimately connected to Ruth.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Middletown Art Center
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Art Center will hold the opening reception of its latest exhibit, “The Space Between” on Saturday, June 15.
The reception will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
This evocative group show brings together a diverse array of regional artists, both familiar and new, to explore and express their unique spiritual journeys through a variety of artistic mediums.
Each of us is nurtured by creative, magnetic and biodiverse energies. This shared connection serves as the foundation of the exhibit, while the expression of our spirituality and spiritual journeys is as varied as our individual paths.
“The Space Between” features a captivating collection of artworks in a variety of media including clay and found objects, redwood, large scale pigmented prints, and Tendai shodo scrolls.
Each piece serves as a testament to the artists' personal path, providing a profound glimpse into the myriad ways spirituality and creativity intertwine.
Free to the public, “The Space Between” will be on view through Sept. 8, Thursday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
Middletown Art Center is a nonprofit dedicated to engaging the public in art making, art education, and art appreciation and providing a platform for diverse voices and perspectives, striving to create an inclusive and accessible space for all.
The MAC is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in Middletown.
To find out more about MAC’s programs, events, and ways to support their efforts to weave the arts and culture into the fabric of life in Lake County, visit https://www.middletownartcenter.org/index.html or call 707-809-8118.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
The Lifetime cable channel regularly churns out crime movies that are “Ripped from the Headlines,” and the month of June will feature more movies than normally, with the biggest star being Teri Hatcher in “The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story.”
Known for her television roles, Hatcher portrayed Lois Lane in the series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” followed later in the role of Susan Mayer in the long-running “Desperate Housewives” series. She was also Paris Carver in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
A Lifetime movie will debut every Friday and Saturday in June beginning with “The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Katch Story” on Friday, June 8th. Tanya (Jordyn Ashley Olsen) was fourteen and at risk, struggling with an unhappy home life and a victim of bullying at her new school.
Feeling isolated and lonely, she is befriended by Tom Hose (Robert Baker), the school’s security guard, who manages to lure Tanya to his home, where he held her captive and sexually abused her for over a decade.
Convinced he had Tanya brainwashed and that she would never attempt an escape, Tom eventually allows her to take on a part-time job. Out from under Tom’s watchful eye, Tanya finally finds the courage to take a dangerous step toward freedom.
Following the premiere, Lifetime will debut “Beyond the Headlines: The Tanya Kach Story with Elizabeth Smart.” The documentary follows executive producer Elizabeth Smart as she meets the real-life Tanya Kach, who had vanished from a Pittsburgh suburb at such a young age.
Debuting the next day, “Gaslit by My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story,” based on a true story, follows Morgan (Jana Kramer) and Rodney Metzer (Austin Nichols), who were childhood sweethearts and married by the time Morgan was just 21 years old.
The couple loses their first child shortly after birth but are overjoyed when they have twins a year later. Tensions begin to rise when Rodney loses his job and goes into debt. He blames their fights on Morgan’s drinking and convinces his wife that she pushed him down the stairs in a blackout rage.
The couple finally separates and Morgan’s life turns around, until Rodney gets diagnosed with cancer. Not long after, a masked intruder breaks into Morgan’s home and assaults her.
Rodney suspiciously shows up only minutes after the intruder is gone. When authorities question him, Rodney’s story doesn’t seem to be adding up. Does Rodney really have cancer and is he the hero he claims to be, or has he been gaslighting Morgan for decades?
On June 15, “Yoga Teacher Killer: The Kaitlin Armstrong Story” is based on the true events of a deadly love triangle that led authorities on an international manhunt.
When pro-cyclist Moriah Wilson (Larissa Dias) is found dead after a short-lived affair with fellow professional Colin Strickland (Kyle Schmid), all signs point to Texan yoga teacher and Strickland’s on-and-off girlfriend Kaitlin Armstrong (Caity Lotz).
After being accused of allegedly killing Wilson in a jealous rage, Armstrong disappears into thin air. On the run, Armstrong alters her looks in attempts to elude the authorities as they work to track her down, leading them to places that they never expected to find her.
“Danger in the Dorm,” premiering on June 16, is inspired by one of Ann Rule’s earliest true crime works, which tells the story of Kathleen (Clara Alexandrova) after the tragic murder of her childhood best friend.
Kathleen must shed her rebellious youthful spirit in order to catch a killer who’s preying on young girls around campus, even as her mother Joanne (Bethenny Frankel), tries to protect her daughter from suffering the same fate as her friend.
Launching on June 22nd, “The Bad Orphan” is a psychological drama centered on Jessica (Betsy Brandt) and Karl (Mark Taylor), loving parents of Rhiannon (Eve Edwards), who after years of trying to add to their family are elated to adopt Gabby (Chloe Coco Chapman).
The girl is an 8-year-old orphan born with personal challenges. The idea of a perfect family comes into question when the parents discover that Gabby is a troubled little girl, and the family begins to believe things aren’t what they seem.
As the unsettling behavior of the orphan child worsens and lies are uncovered, cracks in the family dynamic form with Jessica becoming increasingly concerned that Gabby is a threat to their family.
Lifetime has had a track record of delivering powerful films based on true stories. “Prosecuting Casey Anthony,” starring Rob Lowe as the prosecutor in the famous murder trial, was particularly stunning for what led to the controversial verdict.
“Natalee Holloway,” based on her mother’s book “Loving Natalee,” was a truly heartbreaking story about the disappearance of the 18-year-old while on vacation in Aruba.
Part of next week’s column will conclude with the two remaining original Lifetime crime movies, ending most notably with Teri Hatcher’s as the titular character in “The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story.”
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.