Join Gottlieb for this Big Read event celebrating the works of Poe during the month of October.
Mt. High Coffee Shop is located at 16295 Highway 175.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Blues fans are in for a treat when Mike Wilhelm & Hired Guns welcome their special guest Mighty Mike Schermer to reprise his last performance with the band at the Blue Wing on Monday, Nov. 14.
It seemed that Wilhelm and Schermer had an instant rapport and easy interplay the first time they were paired enabling these seasoned guitar pros to give a memorable performance which left the dancing audience exhausted but happy.
When Blue Wing proprietor Bernie Butcher learned that Schermer would be touring in Northern California in November, he contacted Schermer to find out if he would be available on Nov. 14, which indeed he was. Wilhelm was agreeable as well.
Filling out the band will be Randy Hare, guitar/backup vocal; Slammin' Scott Slagle, drums/backup vocal; Jamie Webber, bass and James “Jimmy the Lion” Leonardis, tenor saxophone.
Show time is 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Blue Wing Saloon & Café is part of the historic Tallman Hotel complex. Reservations are recommended for parties of six or more; call 707-275-2244.
For further information go to www.bluewingsaloon.com.
Mike Wilhelm's site is www.mike-wilhelm.com; Mike Schermer's is www.mighty-mike.com.
See the famous love scene in the surf on the big screen on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Soper Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.
The suggested donation is $5.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Film begins at 6 p.m.
This special Lake County showing is part of a new Classic Movie Series recently debuted at the theater.
The showings take place on the second Tuesday of every month through June of 2012.
Check the theater's Web site, www.soperreesetheatre.com, to see what other classics are coming up.
The Soper-Reese Community Theatre is a restored, historic, performing arts venue established in 1949 and seating 300 patrons.
Run by an all-volunteer organization, the theater operates under the guidance of the nonprofit Lake County Arts Council.
The Soper-Reese brings dance, music, plays and poetry to all members of the Lake County community and to visiting tourists.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Nesta Rae, a Kelseyville High School graduate who has made a name for herself on the national country music scene, is returning to Lake County in November for a concert and celebration of the release of her debut album entitled “Fly Free.”
The show, with full band, starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, with all seats selling at $15.
Andy Rossoff, local singer and pianist, opens.
“Fly Free” was released in July 2011 after a week long writing session in Nashville, Tennessee, with fellow song writers Scott Krippayne, Kent Hooper and Ron Robinson.
It chronicles Nesta's journey of letting go of the past in order to make room for the future. The songs have a beachy, acoustic pop vibe, highlighted with a little reggae, and underscored with a few darker melodic ballads.
“The ocean has always been an inspirational element in my life. I wanted this album to feel like a warm campfire after a day of surfing. You have a sense of calm as you just let the stories wash over you,” Rae said.
The Soper Reese Community Theatre, located at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport, is a restored, historic, performing arts venue established in 1949 and seating 300 patrons.
Run by an all-volunteer organization, the theater operates under the guidance of the non-profit Lake County Arts Council.
The Soper-Reese brings dance, music, plays and poetry to all members of the Lake County community and to visiting tourists.
The box office can be contacted at 707-263-0577. Tickets can be ordered online at https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?actions=10&p=1.
Most of us have received the delayed news of the death of a family member or friend, and perhaps have reflected on lost opportunities.
Here’s a fine poem by J. T. Ledbetter, who lives in California but grew up on the Great Plains.
Crossing Shoal Creek
The letter said you died on your tractor
crossing Shoal Creek.
There were no pictures to help the memories fading
like mists off the bottoms that last day on the farm
when I watched you milk the cows,
their sweet breath filling the dark barn as the rain
that wasn’t expected sluiced through the rain gutters.
I waited for you to speak the loud familiar words
about the weather, the failed crops —
I would have talked then, too loud, stroking the Holstein
moving against her stanchion —
but there was only the rain on the tin roof,
and the steady swish-swish of milk into the bright bucket
as I walked past you, so close we could have touched.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2010 by J.T. Ledbetter, and reprinted from his most recent book of poetry, Underlying Premises, Lewis Clark Press, 2010, by permission of J.T. Ledbetter and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2011 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.
JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN (Rated PG)
The rubber-faced British comedian Rowan Atkinson is best known for his role as Mr. Bean, a bumbler who would never have been confused for a James Bond type.
Yet, here he is in the titular role of “Johnny English Reborn,” spoofing the spy genre as a disgraced former MI7 secret agent being rehabilitated back into the business.
With his odd quirks, Rowan Atkinson, though often funny in his slapstick silliness, is an acquired taste for many filmgoers; you either love him or maybe not.
He might be compared to Peter Sellers’ clueless Inspector Clouseau in the “Pink Panther” films or to Don Adams’ fumbling Maxwell Smart in the iconic TV series “Get Smart.”
As Johnny English, Atkinson only wants to put a smile on your face, and if you let yourself enjoy the moment, he’ll win you over.
The original “Johnny English,” released in 2003, is almost a forgotten relic, but it did seem funny at the time, considering the British comic works hard for laughs.
Eight years later, Johnny English has matured a bit, yet he remains steadfastly game for ridiculous pratfalls and errant behavior that mocks the civility of the cultured spy world.
One of the best things about “Johnny English Reborn,” which is borne out by its PG rating, is that it is so delightfully old-fashioned that the inevitable sexy glamour of this genre becomes family-friendly.
The story opens with English living in a Tibetan monastery, where he trains his mind and body with spiritual guidance, as well as plenty of kicks to the groin, from monks.
Having botched a mission in Mozambique, English has been out of circulation for years, but then the brass at MI7 come calling for his services.
The British spy business is now a corporate affair; the headquarters is named after Toshiba, with the slogan of “Spying for You.”
Crusty old men are no longer in charge. The head of MI7 is a working mother called Pegasus (Gillian Anderson), who is less than thrilled by the return of a dinosaur.
For reasons unexplained, a plot to murder the Chinese prime minister at a summit is afoot, and English is deemed to be the one to foil this nefarious scheme.
Even though he’s back on the job, English remains under the watchful eye of the agency’s shrink, the pretty Kate (Rosamund Pike). Not surprisingly, she’s the eventual love interest.
Meanwhile, English takes on a junior partner (Daniel Kaluuya), who is often about two steps ahead in figuring out what sinister perils lurk around the corner.
Of course, many of English’s former colleagues resent or mock his return. The suave yet smarmy Ambrose (Dominic West), who smugly thinks he’s the top agent, is downright contemptuous.
What keeps English confidently moving ahead is that, much like Inspector Clouseau, he remains blithely unaware of his shortcomings. This, of course, results in some nice humor.
To be sure, there’s plenty of slapstick goofiness. Atkinson only needs to arch his eyebrow to achieve great comic effect.
A scene at a conference table is greatly amusing because of a simple glitch in the self-adjusting chair in which English sits as he struggles to be attentive to a briefing.
Almost as funny is English’s maladroit unwillingness to accept that the youthful-looking person at the briefing is in fact the British prime minister.
The formula for English’s success as an agent is predictable. Averting one disaster after another, he stumbles into triumph.
Still, it’s plenty of fun that this genial comedy spoofs the sturdier aspects of the heroics found with a James Bond or Jason Bourne.
“Johnny English Reborn” may not be the cleverest spy spoof, but it is sufficiently ridiculous and has enough hilarity to be a fun family entertainment.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
While we are on the subject of bumbling comics, it’s fitting that “Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection” is being released on DVD.
The digitally remastered and restored 10-disc set, loaded also with over two hours of special features, includes 58 of the comic team’s talking shorts and feature films.
These Laurel and Hardy shorts and features were produced under legendary movie mogul Hal Roach from 1929 through 1940; this is the first time in the U.S. that they have been available all together in one collection.
The DVD set offers the finest quality available to date, including such favorites as “Another Fine Mess,” “Helpmates,” “Sons of the Desert” and “Way Out West.”
The “Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection” DVD set comes housed in collectible, book-style packaging with an extensive, detailed film guide.
Interviews with comedy legends Dick Van Dyke, Jerry Lewis, Tim Conway and more are part of the special features.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
Award winning journalism on the shores of Clear Lake.
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