LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council will host its First Friday Fling of the new year on Jan. 4.
The fun event to introduce the community to local artists will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main St., Lakeport.
The Linda Carpenter Gallery in January will feature art by clients of People Services.
Join the arts council for an evening of art, wine and music.
For more information contact the Lake County Arts Council, 707-263-6658, or visit the arts council online at www.lakecountyartscouncil.com .
The first winter my wife and I lived in the country, I brought a wild juniper tree in from our pasture and prepared to decorate it for Christmas.
As it began to warm up, it started to smell as if a coyote, in fact a number of coyotes, had stopped to mark it, and it was soon banished to the yard.
Jeffrey Harrison, a poet who lives in Massachusetts, had a much better experience with nature.
Nest
It wasn’t until we got the Christmas tree into the house and up on the stand that our daughter discovered a small bird’s nest tucked among its needled branches.
Amazing, that the nest had made it all the way from Nova Scotia on a truck mashed together with hundreds of other trees without being dislodged or crushed.
And now it made the tree feel wilder, a balsam fir growing in our living room, as though at any moment a bird might flutter through the house and return to the nest.
And yet, because we’d brought the tree indoors, we’d turned the nest into the first ornament. So we wound the tree with strings of lights, draped it with strands of red beads,
and added the other ornaments, then dropped two small brass bells into the nest, like eggs containing music, and hung a painted goldfinch from the branch above, as if to keep them warm.
If it weren’t for the “Mission Impossible” movies, Tom Cruise probably would not have yet established his bona fides as an action figure. “Jack Reacher” should eliminate any lingering doubts.
Readers, though, of British thriller writer Lee Child’s novels may quarrel with the selection of the diminutive Cruise for the role belonging to a physically imposing person tall enough to be an NBA player.
“Jack Reacher” may be a reach, at least with respect to the protagonist’s stature, but not for the end result of the gritty, emotionless realism that Cruise delivers with skillful intensity.
Cruise’s Jack Reacher, the film’s titular character, is an old-school operative, fascinating for his ability to live off the grid. He’s a drifter who only travels by bus and doesn’t have a cell phone or credit cards.
Having served in the U.S. Army with distinction as a military policeman, Reacher is now a loner who would prefer to forget about his past experiences, including his service during the Iraq War.
But the past rears its ugly head when former military sniper James Barr (Joseph Sikora) is the apparent shooter who picks off five people strolling along the riverfront walk outside of Pittsburgh’s baseball stadium.
When the shooter is arrested, based on a trail of evidence that seems all-too-convenient, his first request is scrawled on a piece of paper: “Get Jack Reacher.”
The mysterious Reacher, already a legendary figure, is not one who can be found. Oddly enough, when he is needed, Reacher materializes as if summoned during a séance.
The drifter has a history with the alleged shooter, but it’s not a favorable one. The case against the prime suspect looks to be solid, right down to the fingerprint obtained from a quarter deposited in a parking meter at the crime scene.
Brilliant in math, logic and the power of deductive reasoning, Reacher sets out on an investigative search to solve the case, regardless of where the evidence points to guilt or innocence.
The suspect is represented by Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), an able big-firm lawyer who just happens to be the daughter of District Attorney Rodin (Richard Jenkins).
Thus, the case is complicated by the personal and professional conflicts between the DA and the defense attorney. Add to the mix Detective Emerson’s (David Oyelowo) lack of enthusiasm for Reacher’s involvement.
Always a step ahead of everyone else, Reacher advises Helen to find out more about each of the victims. He’s also puzzled that an expert sniper needed six shots to kill the five so-called random victims.
As Reacher starts turning over rocks, suspicious characters just happen to show up in strange circumstances. Shadowy figures are increasingly nervous that Reacher’s probing will uncover some problematic facts.
A misunderstanding with a pretty girl (Alexia Fast) causes five guys to challenge Reacher to a fight outside a bar. Not a good move, since the ex-Army cop dispatches these guys with relative ease.
Of course, this won’t be the last time that Reacher is required to use his impressive physical skills for some intense hand-to-hand combat with mysterious assailants.
None of these encounters happens to be arbitrary confrontations with ordinary street thugs. Except to the authorities, it’s obvious that nefarious things are occurring to cover up the truth.
How come a creepy guy who looks very much like director Werner Herzog (well, actually it is him), a Russian villain with missing fingers and a glassy eye, is manipulating a bunch of trigger-happy bad guys so as to keep James Barr as the only suspect?
A nice touch to stir up a great action scene is a muscle-car chase in which Reacher’s pursuit of bad guys in a borrowed vintage Chevy Chevelle careens through the concrete canyons of Pittsburgh in the dangerous high-speed spirit of “The French Connection.”
Arriving late to the party is Robert Duvall’s gun-range owner, who unknowingly has evidence of a key person on the proxy grassy knoll and becomes an ally for the final showdown at a rock quarry.
Having not read Lee Child’s “One Shot,” the novel on which the storyline is based, I suspect that essential plot points are missing or distorted, causing fans of the “Jack Reacher” literary franchise a fair amount of dismay.
As a cinematic enterprise, the Christopher McQuarrie-directed “Jack Reacher” delivers the basic pleasures of an action film with enough vigilante justice, fights and car chases to satisfy the indispensable formula.
And so what if Tom Cruise comes up a little short for the size of the hero? If the “Mission Impossible” days are over, “Jack Reacher” is the answer for an aging action hero’s quest to stay in the game.
TELEVISION UPDATE
As a writer, director, producer and actor, veteran funnyman Mel Brooks is getting some well-deserved recognition for his canon of work.
HBO is currently running a special program entitled “Mel Brooks Strikes Back!,” a conversation between Brooks and Alan Yentob, creative director for the BBC.
“Mel Brooks Strikes Back!” features clips from some of his classic movies and TV work, including “Your Show of Shows,” featuring Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner.
In the conversation with Alan Yentob, Brooks discusses his family and upbringing, his experiences during World War II and background stories about his films.
Brooks is one of the few artists who have received an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy and a Tony. These awards attest to a career of comedy greatness.
Coincidentally, Shout Factory recently released the DVD/CD box set “The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy.”
This DVD/CD combo includes his memorable short film “The Critic” which won the 1963 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Animated). To my knowledge, this short has never been released before.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport’s Soper-Reese Community Theatre provided a jam-packed venue for this year’s Christmas concert of the Lake County Symphony, presented by Clear Lake Performing Arts.
The event took place on Sunday, Dec. 16, and also featured vocal performances by a number of local artists.
The concert opened with a tongue-in-cheek rendition of the late Burl Ives’ hit “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” sung by four artists dubbing themselves The Men of Soper-Reese.
The group included Mike Adams, Wally Fuller, Nick Jeremiah French and Doug Rhoades, backed by Nick Biondo on mini-cymbals, Tom Aiken at the piano and 5-year-old Taylor Parkinson, granddaughter of symphony Conductor John Parkinson. At the song’s conclusion she graciously presented each of the singers with a flower bouquet.
The 15 members of the Clear Lake Performing Arts Youth Orchestra then took the stage, under the direction of Susan Condit.
They delivered an impressive presentation of “Believe,” the theme from the movie “Polar Express,” and a special salute to the holiday season called “December Fanfare,” written by contemporary composer Andrew Dabczynski as a demonstration of fusing elements of classical music with old-time fiddle playing. The youngsters delivered a highly professional job on both pieces.
The more serious side of the concert then took place, with a symphony string section (which includes a harpsichord played by Tom Aiken) launching into Arcangelo Corelli’s classic Christmas Concerto, Op 6, No. 8. I.
Corelli wrote the piece shortly after the invention of the violin, and since he was an acknowledged master of this instrument his composition was arranged almost exclusively for strings, in this case 36 players.
A hallmark of Corelli’s work is “The Concertino,” a trio of musicians whose soaring notes both contrast with and blend into, the full orchestra. These parts were played ably by violinists Andi Skelton and Eleanor Cook, and cellist John Weeks.
At the conclusion of the Corelli work, the balance of the musicians filed in to bring the orchestra up to its full strength of some 65 members, including brass, woodwind and percussion players.
Parkinson then led the group through a series of popular Christmas favorites including “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and others, ending with the familiar strains of Victor Herbert’s “March of the Toys.” with outstanding solo support from Catherine Hall on piccolo and drummer Scott Wise.
During intermission Doug Rhoades assisted Kim DeAlba, representing the CLPA Auxiliary – the fund-raising arm of the organization – in auctioning off a hand-decorated violin, painted by local artist Jay Jackson. Richard Birk submitted the winning bid.
The concert’s second half was opened by featured vocalist Shelly Trumbo-Mascari, who delivered jazz versions of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time is Here,” “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow! And “Santa Claus is coming to Town.” Dressed as she was in a sleek, raspberry-colored gown, Mascari won extended applause.
Showing that music is often a family affair, Mascari’s father Walt Trumbo then sang Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” backed by the soaring trumpet of Gary Miller, and also won enthusiastic audience support when he shifted from baritone to an upper register for a big finish to the traditional Bing Crosby favorite.
Tenor Carl Stewart next delivered a flawless presentation of “O Holy Night,” followed by Sarah Cunningham singing Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” and a scat version of “Jingle Bells” where she was expertly backed by her husband Cory Cunningham on trombone, Tom Aiken on piano and David Ferrario on electric bass.
Next was the popular vocal group EarReverence, made up of Bill Bordissso, Valerie Reid, Nick Reid and standing in for ailing Carol Cole Lewis, Bonnie Trumbo (Shelly’s mom).
This time they were joined by Carl Stewart, and they then took over in leading the audience through a medley of sing-along favorites, ending with Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” where most of the orchestra members donned traditional Santa hats, except for Conductor Parkinson, who sported a fur-trimmed black version labeled “Bah, Humbug.”
As has been a tradition almost from the symphony’s founding in 1977, the Christmas Celebration finale was the singing of George Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” this time led by all the singers.
The next performance of the symphony will take place on May 18, 2013, when Clear Lake Performing Arts presents the annual Mothers Day concert.
Among the most ancient uses for language are descriptions of places, when a person has experienced something he or she wants to tell somebody else about.
Some of these get condensed and transformed into poetry, and here’s a good example, by Susan Kolodny, a poet from the Bay Area of California.
Koi Pond, Oakland Museum
Our shadows bring them from the shadows: a yolk-yellow one with a navy pattern like a Japanese woodblock print of fish scales. A fat 18-karat one splashed with gaudy purple and a patch of gray. One with a gold head, a body skim-milk-white, trailing ventral fins like half-folded fans of lace. A poppy-red, faintly disheveled one, and one, compact, all indigo in faint green water. They wear comical whiskers and gather beneath us as we lean on the cement railing in indecisive late-December light, and because we do not feed them, they pass, then they loop and circle back. Loop and circle. Loop. “Look,” you say, “beneath them.” Beneath them, like a subplot or a motive, is a school of uniformly dark ones, smaller, unadorned, perhaps another species, living in the shadow of the gold, purple, yellow, indigo, and white, seeking the mired roots and dusky grasses, unliveried, the quieter beneath the quiet.
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