LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council is accepting any painted glass appropriate for serving wine, olive oil, or beverages and cuisine as part of a fall fundraiser.

The glass is to be painted or decorated and donated for the silent auction to be held at the First Friday Fling in December.

Artists may begin bringing their glass art anytime as they will be on display during October and November for viewing.

For more information contact the Lake County Arts Council, 707-263-6658.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council will host its next First Friday Fling on Oct. 5.

The fling will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main St., Lakeport.

The First Friday Fling will introduce the work of Ray Farrow, Ruth Morgan, Xian Yegan, Bobbie Bridges, “Cha-Cha” Thomas, Sherry Harris and Jill Taylor.

Currently showing at the gallery are Carmon Brittain, Judy Cardinale, John Hart, Bruce Vandraiss, Lois Freon and Carol Yanagitsubo.

Michael Barrish and Scott Summer will provide music and Vigilance Winery will pour its vintages. Finger food also will be offered.

This month the Linda Carpenter Gallery will feature an exhibition of art from Cobb Mountain schools.

For more information contact the Lake County Arts Council, 707-263-6658.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Live! Returned to the Soper-Reese Community Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 30, for its ninth show, featuring Lake County artists, humor and a live audience that laughed and applauded throughout the show.

Originating in the local theater, the production features local talent, both musical and humorous, with songs, skits and lots of fun as enjoyed by all in attendance, both in the theater and on the air.

The show is performed live on stage, and broadcast live on local Lake County Community Radio KPFZ 88.1 FM, and streamed live on the Internet at www.kpfz.org .

September’s show featured musical guests the Hip Replacements, including Jim Williams, Jon Hopkins, Tom Aiken and Larry “Mojo” Platz, performing a variety of blues inspired songs.  

Also performing were Dale Billester, Dave Hagberg and Larry “Mojo” Platz as “The Konocti Mountain Boys.”  

Surrounding the musical events, Richard Smith, Nick Reid and Doug Rhoades provided humor and a few trips into the absurd, but funny worlds of deer hunters and fishermen.  

A recurring feature, “Ladies of the Lake” also returned, featuring the adventures of Lake County housewives, featuring Kris Andre, Pamela Bradley and Vicky Parish Smith.

In the audience for the show were more than 100 people, who showed their appreciation with laughter, applause and even dancing during the musical interludes.  

The show is supported by the Soper-Reese Theatre, KPFZ and Lake County News.  

The show will be rebroadcast on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. on 88.1 FM, KPFZ.

“Tonight’s continued to provide wonderful entertainment for our local audience, by providing great entertainment from Lake County performers,” said show’s creator Doug Rhoades.  

The next show will be live in the theater and on the air on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m.

Tickets are available for the next show at the theater box office, open Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and from the Travel Center, 1265 S. Main in Lakeport.

Tickets also may be found online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

Lake County Live! had its first performance in January of this year, and has become an instant hit amount local supporters.  

The show is presented on the last Sunday of each month at the theater at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.  

Information on the show is available at www.facebook.com/lakecountylive or www.lakecountylive.com .

It’s the time of the year for school supplies, and here’s a poem by Daniel J. Langton about just one of the items you’ll need to pick up. Langton lives in San Francisco.

School

I was sent home the first day
with a note: Danny needs a ruler.
My father nodded, nothing seemed so apt.
School is for rules, countries need rulers,
graphs need graphing, the world is straight ahead.

It had metrics one side, inches the other.
You could see where it started
and why it stopped, a foot along,
how it ruled the flighty pen,
which petered out sideways when you dreamt.

I could have learned a lot,
understood latitude, or the border with Canada,
so stern compared to the South
and its unruly river with two names.
But that first day, meandering home, I dropped it.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2011 by Daniel J. Langton, whose most recent book of poems, During Our Walks, is forthcoming from Blue Light Press. Poem reprinted from New Letters, Vol. 77, nos. 3&4, by permission of Daniel J. Langton and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2012 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE (Rated PG-13)

Whether in the position of actor or director, Clint Eastwood, an octogenarian, remains one of the very best in the business of making films.

Longevity has served this iconic legend extremely well. In recent years, with some notable exceptions, Eastwood has been working behind the camera.

In his last film, “Gran Torino,” Eastwood’s starring role was directed by none other than himself. But for “Trouble With the Curve,” the directing reins were turned over to longtime associate Robert Lorenz.

Playing the role of a crusty, aging baseball scout, Eastwood probably required little direction. He could walk through the part half-asleep and ad lib most of the dialogue on the fly.

Indeed, Eastwood is in fine form as baseball veteran Gus Lobel, a scout who uses his old-school instincts and intuition to assess the potential of young players laboring for obscure minor league teams.

Gus’ contract with the Atlanta Braves is due to expire, and though his boss and friend Pete Klein (John Goodman) wants him to stay on, an obnoxious front office hotshot (Matthew Lillard) is looking for any excuse to dump the old-timer.

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Old age and treachery beat youth and skill every time.” I think this fits the storyline fairly well, except that Gus is more adept at cunning and guile than outright deceit.

But first, Gus has some major hurdles to clear. His eyesight is beginning to fail, causing him no end of distress and anxiety. Still, he needs to hit the road to assess a minor leaguer hailed as the next big thing.

Meanwhile, Pete asks the old man’s daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to help out on what could be Gus’ last road trip. Mickey grew up around baseball but has been estranged from her dad for years.

What’s more, Mickey is bucking for partnership at her law firm and is embroiled in a big case that just might be the biggest break of her career. With the legal brass getting anxious, this is no time for a frivolous journey.

Yet, Mickey’s initial resistance crumbles and she joins her old man on a road trip so unglamorous that they stay in budget motels and frequent honky-tonk bars. But at least the bickering pair starts the slow process of reconciliation.

As you can well imagine, baseball is merely the backdrop to a story of misunderstanding and life’s regrets, along with the hurt feelings and foreseeable remorse.

In the backwater regions of the South, Gus and Mickey focus their scouting attention upon a local phenomenon named Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill), a beefy home-run hitter who recalls the towering prowess of Babe Ruth.

But, the hitting machine Bo is not a swell guy. He demeans the local peanut vendor and brags endlessly about how his career trajectory will be a magnet for willing female groupies.

On a more pleasant note, Gus and Mickey come across the handsome, friendly Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a former hot pitcher recruited by Gus who had to retire from the game after blowing out his arm. Now he’s a scout for the Boston Red Sox.

The story also needs a romantic subplot, so Mickey and Johnny start to fall for each other, even if the presence of the doting Gus may somehow put a damper on the looming passion.

While coping with physical limitations, Gus still has the knack for finding and assessing talent. He stakes his reputation on making judgments based on personal scrutiny, rather than using computer models.

“Trouble With the Curve” is an appropriate title in many ways. For one, it accurately measures the unseen problems with prospect Bo Gentry, though the cranky old scout taps into his lingering doubts with ease.

For another, Mickey and Gus can find redemption only if they get past the curveballs tossed in their direction. We develop a rooting interest in seeing things neatly patched up between them.

Hardly a novel observation, “Trouble With the Curve” is the antithesis of “Moneyball,” which celebrated the use of new technology. That “Moneyball” remains an excellent film takes nothing away from this salute to old-school virtues.

Though Eastwood did not direct “Trouble With the Curve,” he owns this picture. Here’s hoping that he can still play the role of old crank in a few more movies.

To be sure, the storyline in this film is rather expected and conventional, but “Trouble With the Curve” scores at least a solid triple right into the deepest corner of the outfield.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

If you can’t keep up with TV shows during their original run, at least we have DVD releases that bring everyone up to date.

“The Mentalist,” still running on CBS, is the kind of show that requires your attention, particularly to details.

Just as the fifth season is getting under way, “The Mentalist: The Complete Fourth Season” follows the exploits of a California Bureau of Investigation consultant.

Simon Baker’s Patrick Jane is also a former faux-psychic obsessed with finding Red John, the serial killer who murdered his family.

In the fourth season, Patrick learns the true price of revenge and deals with the fallout from his actions of the previous season.

Yet, the unconventional Patrick continues to use his razor-sharp skills of observation and psychological manipulation to bypass the system and solve the toughest crimes in his own inimitable way.

“The Mentalist: The Complete Fourth Season” includes a special feature about how the show seeks to create the “appearance of reality” when it comes to police procedures.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Kay Ryan was our nation’s Poet Laureate at The Library of Congress for the 2008-2010 terms. Her poetry is celebrated for its compression; she can get a great deal into a few words.

Here’s an example of a poem swift and accurate as a dart.

Pinhole

We say
pinhole.
A pin hole
of light. We
can’t imagine
how bright
more of it
could be,
the way
this much
defeats night.
It almost
isn’t fair,
whoever
poked this,
with such
a small act
to vanquish
blackness.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2011 by Kay Ryan, whose most recent book of poems is Odd Blocks, Selected and New Poems, Carcanet Press, 2011. Poem reprinted from Poetry, October 2011, by permission of Kay Ryan and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2012 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.