Occidental News & Events Jan 2010

I hope you’re still basking in the glow of a wonderful holiday season and the beginnings of a fantastic new year. We enjoyed a beautiful couple weeks, both low-key and yet ultimately very busy. Unusually for us, we did not make advance plans—we talked about it, but never pulled the trigger on anything. So it was a real revelation when our time filled up completely with friends driving in unexpectedly from out of the area, and many other fun events. Had we planned in advance, we wouldn’t have been here to enjoy the spontaneity of long-time friends arriving with little notice. Something to be said for lack of planning ….

Rural Food Program
The St. Philip/St. Teresa Parish Rural Food Program, entering its third decade of service to people in West County who face the challenge of having nutritious groceries for their families, continues to experience more demand for services. In the last two months of 2009, families seeking assistance increased 60% – over 150 people braved the chill mornings to line up for groceries that helped to feed over 500 adults, children, and seniors. Rod DeMartini, Program Coordinator, thinks that requests for support will continue to increase in 2010, given high unemployment and reduced social programs funded by the government. A positive development, however, is that the parish program will be working with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa in an on-site program to assist Rural Food clients in enrolling in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called Food Stamps). There are also plans to respond to the growing number of children who are being supported by the program in offering additional nutritional groceries that would be beneficial to them.

The Rural Food Program distributes groceries on the second Tuesday of every month from 9-11 a.m. in the parish hall of St. Philip, in Occidental. Set up is on Mondays from 1:30-3 p.m. Volunteers are always welcome and appreciated!

Occidental Center for the Arts
Winterlude, a chamber music concert presented by Occidental Center for the Arts, promises a magical evening of music from France and England, dating back from the 1500s to one hundred years ago. The concert is meant to lighten the dark nights of winter with bright melodies.

The music is for lute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, piano and voice. It includes pieces by Finzi, Canteloube, Debussy, and Ravel. Jeff Chan, clarinet, Daniel Celidore, oboe, Miranda Kincaid, bassoon, Alice Chan, piano, Dominic Schamer, lute, and Amy Schamer and Chris Fritzche, vocalists. The concert is Saturday, January 9 at 8 p.m., at the Occidental Community Church, known for its excellent acoustics. A suggested donation of $20 will benefit Occidental Center for the Arts.

Renowned ensemble, Nota Bene, will play a matinee program of sonatas, trio sonatas, and other works from the Baroque period, on recorder, oboe, harpsichord, and cello. The concert is Sunday, February 21 at 3 p.m., in the elegant main dining room of the French Garden Restaurant, on Highway 12 in Sebastopol. A suggested donation of $15 benefits the Occidental Center for the Arts, and refreshments from the delicious French Garden menu will be available for purchase. Come early and enjoy lunch, or stay late and have supper afterwards.

For both concerts, make reservations, by calling 707-874-9392.

Avatar
By now, if you’re at all interested in movies, you’ve heard of (or even seen) the movie, Avatar. Full disclosure—I and my husband are both science fiction and fantasy aficionados, so I guess it was a fairly foregone conclusion that we’d love this movie. However, I was not prepared for the degree to which it swept me up and more than any movie I can remember, made me feel like I was truly in an alien, totally unknowable (on this planet) place. Quite an accomplishment, and a very complete experience as we enjoyed the storytelling, character development, and dialogue, in addition to the clearly superlative special effects. If you’re not averse to science fiction and enjoy a great yarn, see this movie. Even if you don’t like sci-fi, broaden your horizons a bit, and see this movie!

Thanks for all the kind feedback on my last column. Each month, I look forward to providing as much value as possible.

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FILM: Leap of Faith: Fast Lane to Farmstead

"Leap of Faith: Fast Lane to Farmstead" took the Best of Eco-Cinema, Special Jury Award from the 2009 Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival, the same week the film is available to buy on DVD!

For every copy sold, we will be donating a dollar to the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation, in support of their ongoing mission to educate people about sustainably farmed food and teach small farmers how to protect themselves from ever-increasing regulation by Congress. Please support the film and the Foundation - spread the word about "Leap of Faith", or give it as a gift this year:

http://www.indieflix.com/film/leap-of-faith-fast-lane-to-farmstead-30088/

I am thankful for America's small farmers and how much they care about the food they grow for us. We'll keep doing whatever we can to ensure their survival as business gets bigger and food gets faster.

Alexandra Austin
Mind-Made Media
818.485.2554 - O
323.836.3289 - C
www.mindmademedia.com

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Bob Dylan - Revisited Past & Present

Bob Dylan/ 10/10-11/09

Newport, RI, folk festival, 1963

By Terry Wright

The two forms exploded out of the crowd, grabbed the door latch on my 47 Chevy and breathlessly piled in chanting “we gotta go see Dylan”. Margie and Louise, bedecked in Woody Guthrie denim folk attire are on the warpath, we careen through the crowd to the big field and somehow shoehorn into a parking place and we are off at a run to the workshop tent.

OK, Dylan, I'd heard some echoes of this new guru through folk circles, even had the first album, and had started singing his early songs. We’d even scoured Washington Square for the dude to no avail one dark misty night in NYC, and here we were.

We made a grand entrance..high on our energy, working our way through the crowd, and there’s this guy, I check him out. And he checks me out, scraggly beard, tousled hair---check. Stained work shirt with 1/2 smoked pack of Galoises in the pocket ----check. Battered Levis, cowboy boots----check. Guitar over one shoulder—check. I look at him and say “what's with the bullwhip?” He touches the coiled serpent on his shoulder, smiles and says “Joanie and I are blowing minds doing bullwhip tricks around the pool at the motel”. “Cool, sounds like fun”. And off we go.

We are blown away, the poetry most of all, and the style…gravelly voice, great guitar in all modes, and unassuming air. “Baby let me follow you down”, “Don’t think twice” “House of the rising sun”, all done in a howling style, immediately adopted by all folkies around. And the world had changed for folk music.

Newport RI folk festival 1965

The multitudes are gathered to hear the famous guru of folk, Dylan is now a superstar, with a mane of hair, followed by a wave of marmidons crossing the field to the workshop. You have to shoehorn into the crowd and fight for a space, and the poetry flows and the music bites hard into the words, the guitar sings for us all to hear.

We gear up for the evening concert, a big crowd in the football field, packed in to do homage to the new god of folk. But, there is a setup for a rock band, unheard of at Newport, and finally they come out, Paul Butterfield, band and Dylan with a very poor rendition of some songs, out of tune, feedback screeching, people outraged, a wave of booing running through the crowd. I’ve been talking to Pete Seeger, who was seated in front of me with his mom, Ruth Crawford, and he is outraged, jumps up and heads back for the stage. I hear later that he was going to pull the plug on the performance with an axe. Butterfield and Dylan screech some more, and finally quit. Bob comes out and does one song to mollify the crowd, still with boos echoing, and finally bows out, no apology, just an experiment in a new genre that the folkies weren’t ready for.

This set the pattern for his career, and each time we heard a new set of tunes and a new band (most notably The Band), a new page was written in the bible of Dylan. Nashville Skyline with some great country ballads, Slow Train Comin, songs of his Christian phase, Time out of Mind with some uptempo ballads. He continued the poetry, and the captivating presence in concert.

So when we heard about the Greek Theater concert October 10, it was time, I stalked the Ticketmaster website and scored 2 tickets in the first public minutes, and was off to the music event of the year.

The Greek was packed, we got there at 5 and stood in line for good seats, which we got no problem, center up 10 rows behind the mixers, huge electronic affairs, studded with computer screens. We prepped for cold, and bundled up, with low back chairs, blankets and partied. The house beer and wine was lousey, so we had a little reserve and mellowed out, watching the people. I wore an Uncle Sam top hat so our late friends could find us. We got an early taste of the band during the sound test from the parking lot, and they were solid, with punching bass lines rumbling our chests

On time, they came on and introduced Dylan as an icon of American music and master of many styles and genres. A shout went up from the crowd as he entered the stage, dressed in black hat, double breasted black jacket and red scarf, launching into the solid big beat reverberating around the amphitheater.

The playlist was eclectic, (see Bob Dylan website for list and other reviews) with versions of Mama you been on my mind and the Lonesome death of Hattie Carroll with very creative arrangements; interfaces with Highway 61 revisited during which I cried with happiness, Thunder on the Mountain and old classics Like a Rolling Stone and finishing with All along the Watchtower. All done in the same style, big beat, up tempo, Dylan’s voice was gravelly and low as always, and occasional snippets of words came out, but I knew most of them and sang along. The faithful in the mosh pit were packed in, and well-behaved, and let out a collective spine chilling scream every time a favorite line came on. The crowd in general was mellow, I thought we were going to have some loud people behind us, but they mellowed out as soon as the music started.

The best part for me was to watch Dylan sing with his body, small movements and twitches, sometimes arms raised, leaning into the music, emphasizing the words with his body, Pushing into the lines sent chills up and down my spine. You can see him playing with the words.

“Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"

Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"

God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"

God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but

The next time you see me comin' you better run"

Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"

God says, "Out on Highway 61."

This says it for the poetry, It has always been a creative tour de force, and he can spout out rhymes with amazing words like a fountain. There is a clip in Pennebakers film where he is given 5 words and makes up poetry for 10 minutes, and incredible feat.

The band was solid, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar is top notch and the pedal steel, standup bass, and drums equally talented. They did make a lot of noise, but that’s what its all about in the new Dylan mode. The tour continues across the country, first to LA, then Las Vegas and ends up in Boston Its worth flying to.

Submitted by:
W.H. Terry Wright, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Geology, SSU (retired)
terrywrightgeology.com
terrysworld007.blogspot.com -
picasaweb.google.com/terryw100


If by some fiat I had to restrict all this writing to a single sentence, this is the one I would choose: The summit of Mt. Everest is marine limestone. - John McPhee

...and while you're at it - check out this web site where the photo of Bob came from:
http://tonemarrowreviews.wordpress.com/

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The Klamath River Renewal Battle

Photo of the Klamath River form www.friendsoftheriver.org

River of Renewal traces the longtime battle
over salmon and water in the Klamath Basin

The Klamath Basin in Northern California and southeastern Oregon is home to ranchers, farmers, commercial fisherman and the Yurok, Karuk and Hupa tribes. Since the mid-1800s, these groups have vied for rights to the Klamath River and its tributaries, which are vital spawning habitat for wild Pacific salmon. Hydroelectric dams have impeded the salmons’ ability to migrate between the ocean and their breeding grounds, and low river levels resulting from agricultural use have caused the mass death of migrating fish.

Remarkably, after years of conflict and negotiations, these groups recently came to agreement to share water and improve the river habitat. In September, the Secretary of the Interior announced an agreement with the PacifiCorp electric power company, based in Portland, Ore., and the governors of California and Oregon to remove the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. River of Renewal, winner of Best Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival in 2008, traces the tumultuous back story of these accords. Presented by Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) and the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) for Native American Heritage Month, the 55-minute documentary begins airing in November. Check your local public television station’s schedule for broadcast dates and times.

Producer and narrator Jack Kohler (Yurok/Karuk/Hupa) travels back to his ancestral land to explore the history of the conflict from a Native perspective. He learns about cultural traditions that revolve around salmon and listens to his people talk about their long struggle to establish fishing rights and mend river conditions. River of Renewal captures eight years of protests, meetings and political action concerning the Klamath and provides viewers with an insider’s view of the saga.

“The dams were built in a time when jobs were needed and sources of energy were scarce,” Kohler says. “Now we realize the mistakes that were made. It is time to fix those mistakes. How can we make the world an ecologically sound and environmentally safe place to live? In one century, we have wreaked havoc on our mother earth, and now it is time to Pikiawish—renew the world.”

The River of Renewal website offers viewers more information about the new agreement, a guide to taking political action in favor of dam removal, and a guide to methods of conflict resolution that helped resolve the Klamath clashes. Visitors can also learn more about salmon, the ecology of the Klamath Basin and tribal history. A viewer guide and other educational tools are available for educators and community groups.

River of Renewal, a Pikiawish Partners production in association with Specialty Studios, is produced by Jack Kohler, Steve Michelson and Stephen Most and directed by Carlos Bolado. Major funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Web site: www.riverofrenewal.org

Jack Kohler has been a resident of Sonoma County since 1986. He began his film making career in 1997 working on the Production team of "Grand Avenue" and then getting a small supporting role in that film. The first film he co-produced, "California's Lost Tribes" aired on PBS nationally in 2006 & 2007. It included the issues surrounding Indian Gaming, including key moments in the Rohnert Park Community meetings about the Graton Rancheria Casino. His new documentary "River of Renewal" was eight years in the making. It chronicles the on going battle over the resources of Northern California’s and Oregon’s Klamath Basin. The film reveals how different dominant groups over the generations have extracted resources from the Klamath Basin with disastrous consequences including the collapse of wild salmon populations. This collision between sustainability and exploitation of our precious and diminishing resources may result in the largest dam removal project in history and the restoration of a once vital river.

Image of dead salmon in Klamath River from:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/cheney/chapters/leaving_no_tracks/
An estimated 77,000 salmon washed up on the banks of the Klamath River. In 2006, the government declared a "commercial fishery failure" on the West Coast. Image: dead salmon line the banks of the Klamath River in Sept. 2002.

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The Age of Stupid - Private Screenings

Anyone anywhere* can now hold their own screening of
The Age of Stupid.

Head straight over to the Indie Screenings website to get going.
And why would you want to do that?
Spread the word AND do a fund raiser for your cause!

Booking opens today, but the first date you can screen is October 24th, to tie in with the International Day of Action called by 350 and loads of other biggies. We're aiming for 350 screenings on October 24th. book in via Indie Screenings and pay a license fee which is set according to various factors (so a school in India would pay about a pound and a multinational oil company in America about 10,000), then you organize your screening (with lots of helpful advice available online), a DVD arrives in the mail, you charge for tickets and you keep the money for yourself or your campaign. May not sound totally thrilling, but the small fact that people can profit from this film is one of the main reasons why commentators are saying things like "[Stupid] represents the future of film, film culture and film distribution and marketing".


Here's a link to The Age of Stupid web site with their calculations on what the carbon footprint will be for rolling out this film:
http://www.ageofstupid.net/carbon_footprint
Naturally - you can check out the rest of the story while there!

And this is another part of the story with a link to the 2050 Project
http://the2050project.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=640&Itemid=59
Their new research says that we're most likely going to hit four degrees between 2060 and 2070 (=TOTAL DISASTER = LOTS OF US DEAD) No matter what you think of this information and movement - it's good to learn about these things so you can play an active part in the future of this planet - and therefore - the future of our children!

* When we say anyone anywhere, there are restrictions in these countries:
- Canada - Screenings can happen, but they need to be booked through Criterion: call 1-800-565-1996 ext. 260 or visit www.criterionpic.com
- Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg - book through Chrisje Simon-van Oosterhout: cs@mgmc.nl
- Poland, Former Yugoslavia (including Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo) - not possible, sorry

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CAPITALISM - a Love Story

Of course - I'm a Capitalist so I'm looking forward to seeing this film! Michael Moore - true to his style - hides none of the dirty side of Capitalism. Economic systems are much like religion - major distortions of the original message and concept come about over time. Stockbrokers, like the Catholic Church and other organized religions that make it their mission to enforce their own agenda, turn the original message into something self-serving, then spread it around for their own gain. Thank you Michael for being an honest Messenger - Vesta

from Michael Moore CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY

The time has arrived for, as Time magazine called it, my "magnum opus." I only had a year of Latin when I was in high school, so I'm not quite sure what that means, but I think it's good. I've spent nearly two years on this new movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story," and have poured my heart and soul into this project. Many early critics and viewers have called it my "best film yet." That's a hard call for me to make as I'm proud of all of my films -- but I will tell you this: What you are about to see in "Capitalism" is going to stun you. It's going to make some of you angry and I believe it's going to give most of you a new sense of hope that we are going to turn the sick and twisted mess made by the last president around. Oh, and you're going to have a good laugh at the expense of all the banking and corporate criminals who've made out like bandits in the past year. I'm gonna show you the stuff the nightly news will rarely show you. Ever meet a pilot for American Airlines on food stamps because his pay's been cut so low? Ever meet a judge who gets kickbacks for sending innocent kids to a private prison? Ever meet someone from the Wall Street Journal who bluntly states on camera that he doesn't much care for democracy and that capitalism should be our only ruling concern?

You'll meet all these guys in "Capitalism." You'll also meet a whistleblower who, with documents in hand, tells us about the million-dollar-plus sweetheart loans he approved for the head of Senate Banking Committee -- the very committee that was supposed to be regulating his lending institution! You'll hear from a bank regulator why Timothy Geithner has no business being our Treasury Secretary. And you'll learn, from the woman who heads up the congressional commission charged with keeping an eye on the bailout money, how Alan Greenspan & Co. schemed and connived the public into putting up their inflated valued homes as collateral -- thus causing the biggest foreclosure epidemic in our history. There is now a foreclosure filed in the U.S. once every seven-and-half SECONDS. None of this is an accident, and I name the names others seem to be afraid to name, the men who have ransacked the pensions of working people and plundered the future of our kids and grandkids. Somehow they thought they were going to get away with this, that we'd believe their Big Lie that this crash was caused by a bunch of low-income people who took out loans they couldn't afford. Much of the mainstream media bought this storyline. No wonder Wall Street thought they could pull this off.

Jeez, I guess they forgot about me and my crew. You'd think we would've made a better impression on these wealthy thieves by now. Guess not. So here we come! It's all there, up on the silver screen, two hours of a tragicomedy crime story starring a bunch of vampires who just weren't satisfied with simply destroying Flint, Michigan -- they had to try and see if they could take down the whole damn country. So come see this cops and robbers movie! The robbers this time wear suits and ties, and the cops -- well, if you're willing to accept a guy in a ballcap with a high school education as a stand-in until the real deal shows up to haul 'em away, then I humbly request your presence at your local cinema this weekend in New York and Los Angeles (and next Friday, October 2nd, all across America). ... And the amazing Jay Leno. This man called me after seeing the movie and asked me to be his only in-studio guest on the second night of his new prime-time show. I said, "Jay, shouldn't you be thinking of your ratings in the first week of the show? Are you sure you didn't misdial Tom Hanks' number (the area code where I live is 231; 213 is LA)?" He told me he was profoundly moved by this film. So I was the guest on his second show, and he told all of America it was my "best film" and to please go see "Capitalism: A Love Story." That was Jay Leno saying that, not Noam Chomsky or Jane Fonda (both of whom I love dearly). The audience responded enthusiastically and, after 20 years of filmmaking, it was a moment where I crossed over deep into the mainstream of middle America. Jay's bosses at General Electric musta been... well, let's just say I hope they didn't place a reprimand in his permanent record. He's one helluva guy (and following the example he set with his free concerts for the unemployed in Michigan and Ohio last spring, I've gotten permission from the studio to do the same with my film in ten of the hardest-hit cities in the U.S. next week).

Thanks everyone -- and see you at the movies!
Yours, Michael Moore MMFlint@aol.com

----------------------------------

For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning ...a note from Michael Moore

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Friends,

I'd like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I'm sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values).

In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one's religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. After all, we've heard enough yammerin' in the past three decades about how one should "behave," and I have to say I'm pretty burned out on pieties and platitudes considering we are a violent nation who invades other countries and punishes our own for having the audacity to fall on hard times.

I'm also against any proselytizing; I certainly don't want you to join anything I belong to. Also, as a Catholic, I have much to say about the Church as an institution, but I'll leave that for another day (or movie).

Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in "Capitalism: A Love Story," I pose a simple question in the movie: "Is capitalism a sin?" I go on to ask, "Would Jesus be a capitalist?" Would he belong to a hedge fund? Would he sell short? Would he approve of a system that has allowed the richest 1% to have more financial wealth than the 95% under them combined?

I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. All the great religions are clear about one thing: It is evil to take the majority of the pie and leave what's left for everyone to fight over. Jesus said that the rich man would have a very hard time getting into heaven. He told us that we had to be our brother's and sister's keepers and that the riches that did exist were to be divided fairly. He said that if you failed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, you'd have a hard time finding the pin code to the pearly gates.

I guess that's bad news for us Americans. Here's how we define "Blessed Are the Poor": We now have the highest unemployment rate since 1983. There's a foreclosure filing once every 7.5 seconds. 14,000 people every day lose their health insurance.

At the same time, Wall Street bankers ("Blessed Are the Wealthy"?) are amassing more and more loot -- and they do their best to pay little or no income tax (last year Goldman Sachs' tax rate was a mere 1%!). Would Jesus approve of this? If not, why do we let such an evil system continue? It doesn't seem you can call yourself a Capitalist AND a Christian -- because you cannot love your money AND love your neighbor when you are denying your neighbor the ability to see a doctor just so you can have a better bottom line. That's called "immoral" -- and you are committing a sin when you benefit at the expense of others.

When you are in church this morning, please think about this. I am asking you to allow your "better angels" to come forward. And if you are among the millions of Americans who are struggling to make it from week to week, please know that I promise to do what I can to stop this evil -- and I hope you'll join me in not giving up until everyone has a seat at the table.

Thanks for listening. I'm off to Mass in a few hours. I'll be sure to ask the priest if he thinks J.C. deals in derivatives or credit default swaps. I mean, after all, he must've been good at math. How else did he divide up two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish equally amongst 5,000 people? Either he was the first socialist or his disciples were really bad at packing lunch. Or both.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/

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CINEMA CHATTER: Defiance. Revolutionary Road, Revolutionary Road

Defiance, Revolutionary Road, The Rape of Europa

The best movies are the ones that make you feel like you are in the movie living it instead of sitting somewhere only watching. Director Edward Zwick has created a World War Two action adventure that pulls you right the forest of Belarus, A small country between Poland and Russia in Defiance.

The Nazi’s are moving east to Russia looting, killing and arresting Jews for deportation to the labor camps. You are introduced to the Bielski brothers who come home to find their parents and their sister slain by Reich followers and vow revenge. These Jewish freedom fighters Tuvia (Daniel Craig) and Zus (Liev Schrieber) didn’t seek their revenge in the usual way.

They started camping in the forest to be safe and slowly different refugees drifted into their camp. Every time they go foraging for food the scouts would return with 3 or 5 more displaced Jews. Eventually they realize they needed to build a community deep in the forest where they could be safe.

With over a thousand refugees these brothers take old men, women and children deep into the forest and set up a community putting everyone to work building, cooking sewing all the necessary skills to keep all these people housed and fed. This community forms its own militia and do their share of resistance fighting too; Cinematographer Eduardo Serra does his job so well you can feel the chill of the temperature and almost taste the snow.

Screen writers Edward Zwick and Clayton Frohman have taken this little known true story of resistance and survival in a time of massive death and destructions. Composer James Newton Howard’s Oscar nominated score is the perfect punctuation to this larger than life story of courage and leadership. Of all the Nazi stories available this season I think Defiance is the most cinematically exciting in all aspects.

If you prefer your wars in the home Revolutionary Road is for you. Director Sam Mendes often delves into complicated family issues. Previously in The Road to Perdition and American Beauty he cut through behavioral veneers and gets right to the issues of humanity.

Revolutionary Road is a bleak and startling look at midcentury life, warts and all. Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio portray Frank and April Wheeler who fall in love, marry and move to the suburbs of New York and have children. Once they are firmly ensconced into their comfortable lives these two people how trapped they are by their choices and how unfulfilled their lives are. The acting between these two is so intimate you feel like a voyeur watching some scenes.

Screen writer Justin Haythe Gives us a story teeming with passion while being both concise and austere. Kudos to the production designer, costume designer and art directors who nailed the era in all details large and small. It was easy on the eyes (Thank You Roger Deakins) while being emotionally gut wrenching. A hard movie to watch but a beautifully crafted film with amazing acting by the whole cast.

My documentary pick is The Rape of Europa. This remarkably informative documentary of how the Nazi war machine systematically fleeced European museums and citizens of great art. The sheer number of pieces stolen was staggering.

The documentary also tells what length the curators of the Louvre in Paris and The Hermitage in St. Petersburg went to so they could protect the art. They even moved the enormous statue Winged Victory from the Louvre. When the Russians arrived in Germany they took as much back to the homeland as they could.

This fantastic film continues by explaining how art historians and curators rescued what they could and tried to reunite the art with the families and museums that lost them. Ownership by some pieces is still being sorted out.

If you are interested in European art or prefer documentaries this one entertains and informs also. Congratulations to Directors Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen for producing such a comprehensive time line to the greatest art theft in history.

If you prefer home viewing to theatre going there a some Oscar nominated films available for home viewing. Right now The Visitor, The Duchess, Dark Knight Wall-E, Man on Wire, In Bruges, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder and Vicki Christina Barcelona are all available. On Feb 20th Frozen River with Melissa Leo’s nominated performance that is really special will be available and finally on Feb 17th The Changeling with Angela Jolie will be available for home viewing. Enjoy the plethora of fine movies available now it is quite a treasure chest of experiences.

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CINEMA CHATTER: Man on Wire, Benjamin Button, The Duchess

A good movie is comprised of many elements. First is the story, then acting, next editing, if a period piece the set decoration and costume are important. Controlling all these is the director’s vision and decisions.

Director David Fincher whose vision gave us Seven & Fight Club have gone in a whole new direction in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Starring Brad Pitt in the title role, his curious case is he is born old and ages backward, toward youth, childhood and eventually becomes an infant. The story begins on Armistice Day World War 1 1918 in New Orleans and moves through the 20th century and beyond when Hurricane Katrina is about to slam the birthplace of Jazz. Oddly enough these events are both the beginning of this fascinating and well done movie.

The extraordinary Cate Blanchett is the love of his life and since she ages the usual way they manage to meet in the middle. This movie does run long (2hours and 45 minutes), and my experience is people either run hot or cold on the experience. I however found this a thought provoking film examining ageing, love, and parental responsibility. Screen writers Eric Roth and Robin Swicord have done a wonderful job weaving a story going in two directions at once with humor, suspense and lots of loving emotion.

The Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival is going to be happening from March 6th until March 8th .They will be screening 44 films at five different venues. These films have a wide range of diverse subjects. For more information contact www.SebastopolFilmFestival.org or call 707-829-4797

My documentary pick this month Man on Wire reminds me of an old Electric Light Orchestra song “Hold on Tight to Your Dream.” This is exactly what Philippe Petit, French high wire artist did. While waiting for a dentist appointment in 1966 this man saw a drawing of the still to be built World Trade Towers. He promptly tore the page out of the magazine and left the dentist office taking his toothache and stolen article with him. Mr. Petit knew at that moment he HAD TO string a wire between these two towers and walk 1,350 feet above New York City! He planned and trained and waited until August 7, 1974 to achieve his dream. This fascinating documentary chronicles his quest from that day in 1966 until he lives the dream eight years later. This outrageous story is told with suspense The wonderfully French music soundtrack fits each situation to perfection.

My home viewing pick this month is The Duchess. A delightful frothy confection of a film about a long past era. The story is about Georgiana Spencer who was Princess Dianna’s 18th Century ancestor. Both were thrust into an arranged marriage while in their teens. Georgiana (played be Keira Knightly) was married to the Duke of Devonshire (played by Ralph Fiennes) at the age of seventeen. Both husbands had a roving eye and enjoyed a dalliance outside of the marriage, finally both women were icons of the fashion world.

In Georgiana’s case it was mile high hair festooned with feathers. This chapter in history is told with perfect pitch by cinematographer Gyula Pados who with the help of costume designer Michael O’Connor and set decorator Rebecca Alleway have created an environment so authentic you are pulled into the film as if you are witnessing the story in person. The strict social code of behavior and mandated political attitudes are on display and fascinatingly told with an eye towards the lack of power or influence of women then.

Mr. Fiennes performance as the Duke is nuanced, multi layered and quietly powerful. Director Saul Dibb has assembled all the factors in making a great film and presented it to us with such an ease and fluidity that you are barely aware of the complexity of knowledge being presented.

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Movie Reviews: Milk and Frost/Nixon

History repeats itself 30 years later and two films, Milk & Frost/Nixon, capture the lessons we should be learning. This time, we need to get it right.

Movie Reviews: Milk & Frost/Nixon

By Vesta Copestakes

It’s not common for me to watch movies, but two films drew me to the theater this holiday season because they both received reviews that made me believe they were bringing important parts of our history to film: Milk & Frost/Nixon. I didn’t put the 2 & 2s together until I saw both films that these movies are about the same era in history, 30 years ago, and that they are also both about history repeating itself.

Even though I was young and aware in the mid to late seventies, I don’t think I was as aware as I believed I was at the time. In the case of Milk, I can see that being straight and middle class white, my awareness of profound discrimination against homosexuals was more an abstract injustice. I had experienced racial prejudice and it’s negative impact, but hadn’t seen too much homophobia, mostly because I lived in a very straight world.

Discrimination of any kind has always offended me, but this kind didn’t touch my life. Now that I am older and have many gay friends, I know from experience the profound impact of homophobia. What knocks me over is how the worst offenders are people of Christian faith. I am convinced that Jesus would never approve. My impression of the teachings of Jesus is that he taught us not to judge, but to love all people the way his father had taught Him. How can these righteous people stray so far from the path they insist they are following?

What I saw in Milk was the same battle we just fought over Proposition 8, but then it was Proposition 6 and far more reaching in its discrimination. It was a hate movement designed to segregate a huge part of our population using the tools of fear.

Our Prop 8 is about marriage. That Prop 6 was about every aspect of life where a homosexual would come into contact with the heterosexual world. Ultimately, Prop 6 failed. It was a huge celebration of life and acceptance for so many that lead us to believe much of the battle was over, especially here in Northern California where we thrive on acceptance and tolerance.

Try to imagine a world without homosexuals and you lose huge contributions from the work force, from our economy and from the benefits of their participation in our mutual life. What blew me away the most was the massive support from black churches. I simply have yet to understand how a huge part of our population which has suffered immensely from discrimination, could support discrimination toward another group. Hypocrisy is not strong enough a word. I can’t make sense of that one.

So we became complacent as we grew to see that there are no differences in the love between a man and a woman from the love between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. The Gay Rights movement had become so used to a higher level of acceptance, they didn’t seem to see the battle raging as strongly as it really was. We have much work to do. This one needs to go to the Supreme Court and be challenged as a basic human right in our country. We are the land of equality and justice for all. There are no exceptions to the word ALL

And in the case of Frost/Nixon I was simply elated at the time that Nixon was out of office, bummed that he got off Scott free, but the bottom line was that the war in Vietnam came to an end over time and the draft that so plagued my generation was put to rest. It was the Draft that brought us to the streets in protest of the wrong war. Not that there ever really is a right war. But our war took every young man and pulled him into service whether he believed in the cause or not. Females were free to live. Males were prisoners of the system.

The Gulf and Afghanistan/Iraq wars distinguish themselves as being fought by all volunteer forces, so it’s hard to complain. These young men and women believe in what they are doing and volunteer to do it. But these modern wars are still as wrong as the Vietnam War, and clearly illustrated in the movie, the bombing of Cambodia by Nixon was just as power hungry and based upon a lie as the invasion of Iraq. The very same abuse of power we have witnessed in the Bush administration was the violation of our power structure and government system of which the Nixon administration was guilty.

Nixon got to retire in wealth and comfort rather than die in prison where he belonged. He betrayed our trust, he broke our laws and he was guilty of crimes against humanity. The Bush administration is just as guilty and they, too, will play golf, lecture, live in luxury, etc. until the day they die. At least with Nixon, he had his moment of truth in the famous interview with David Frost. We can only hope the same will be true with Bush, Cheney and the gang. The future will become the present and we’ll find out.

Ultimately, I was impressed with both the quality of these two films and how they portrayed the repetition of history. Sometimes we need to re-live a lesson to learn it. Hopefully, we’ll get it right this time. Two steps forward, one step back, but forward movement none-the-less.

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Veterans and Soldiers in Film

Jennie Orvino checks in with reviews and links to films dealing with soldiers and veterans' experiences in our current wars.


Hi Friends and Fans,

I've been meaning to recommend some films dealing with soldiers' and veterans' experience of our current wars, and today seems a good day to do it.

I'm including as well an article from The Nation, with stats of 300,000 soldiers suffering from PTSD, 320,000 with traumatic brain injury, 18 suicides per day of vets (previous wars included), and 18% unemployment rate of Iraq and Afganistan war vets (the last info from Andrew Bacevich, on radio this morning, author of The Limits of Power, the End of American Exceptionalism.)

I've also added (forgive this long email but I've been holding on to this information in the light of our celebration of the new president) links to articles about the arrested vets who tried to bring questions to Obama and McCain at their final presidential debate. A very difficult story about police abuse, one vet trampled by police horses, resulting in a broken cheekbone, etc. These particular Iraq vets have been arraigned and are now referred to as the Hempstead 15. More at the following links:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=1059

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2164

***
Now, my FILM RECOMMENDATIONS (all available from NetFlix). Let me say that these documentaries are not depressing. They make me proud of the journalists who made them and of the real people whose lives they depict. Better than fiction! Totally engaging.


Body of War produced by Phil Donahue, personal story of Tomas Young, a gung-ho soldier who returned home paralyzed and is struggling to deal with his physical limitations and changing feelings about war. Very well produced and photographed. Especially moving is his meeting with Senator Byrd, now 90. "We both have some mobility issues," Tomas says to the senator who walks with canes. Also interesting to be reminded of the congressional vote to authorize the Iraq invasion, name by name.

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. one of my favorites, because it is about soldiers' writing, and interviews with them, and read by actors with great graphics and illustrations. I feel this is a neutral piece, not necessarily "anti-war" but just showing the reality of these peoples' experiences, from infantry, to med evac to the officer who accompanies caskets home.

Voices in Wartime again, the literary slant. "Powerful poetry, shattering images." (2005) from Vietnam and the World Wars to the present. Focuses on both history and post traumatic stress.

Sir! No Sir! historic, about the GI movement to end the Vietnam War

Alive Day Memories; Home from Iraq
Jim Gandolfino (the Sopranos) interviews returning Iraq vets, legless, armless, brain injured. Not specifically anti war; one legless guy was pretty gung ho still, but he was damaged, wouldn't let Jim hug him.

The Ground Truth: The Human Cost of War mostly just interviews with soldiers about their experiences, very powerful about PTSD

Poison Dust: about depleted uranium and the birth defects, etc. in babies of soldiers, from the Gulf War era


***

Article from The Nation, Nov. 10, 2008
On Veterans Day, Don't Forget About the War
By Aaron Glantz

The War in Iraq has disappeared from the headlines. The ongoing economic crisis has Americans looking inward, wondering if they can keep their homes and their jobs, with little interest in death and destruction half a world away. According to the Pew Research Center, media coverage of the war has plummeted from an average of 15 percent of stories in July 2007, to 3 percent this February, to just 2 percent of stories during the last week of October.

The war also disappeared as an issue in the presidential campaign. Both Barack Obama and John McCain barely mentioned the war in Iraq in their final debate. In his historic victory speech, Obama said "Iraq" only once. Some say the election results show Americans demanding a "change," and in many ways they do. But they also show a collective desire to forget.

Most Americans want to put the war behind them, but this feeling is based not on a coherent critique but on a kind of collective exhaustion. In many ways, we as a country find ourselves in a mood like the one towards the end of the Vietnam War: we are tired and simply want to move on and forget the conflict ever happened.

Yet this feeling can come at a great cost, because it is this same dynamic that led to the betrayal of more than three million Vietnam veterans.

"When I go through airports I see soldiers just sitting up against a wall...by themselves," says therapist and Vietnam veteran Shad Meshad, who heads up the National Veterans Foundation. "No one goes up to them; that positive energy toward them has faded. No one is spitting or shouting, but they're still left with the fact that they're responsible for what they did or didn't do, and they're supposed to think about that alone."

Given the experience of Vietnam vets, Meshad believes that the American people ignore their veterans at their own peril. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, eighteen veterans commit suicide every day and 200,000 sleep homeless on the streets on any given night. By 1986, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Survey reported that almost half of all male Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder had been arrested or jailed at least once--34.2 percent had been jailed more than once, and 11.5 percent had been convicted of a felony.

"We're going to repeat that same thing, I can sense it," Meshad says, "if we don't take action and Congress doesn't create services to help these folks over the next ten or fifteen years."

Indeed, there are already many signs that history is repeating itself. Consider the implications of an April 2008 survey by the Rand Corporation; it found that a majority of the 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder and of the 320,000 with traumatic brain injury are not receiving help from the Pentagon and VA medical systems. In its study, Rand noted that the federal government fails to care for war veterans at its own peril--noting PTSD and TBI "can have far-reaching and damaging consequences."

"Individuals afflicted with these conditions face higher risks for other psychological problems and for attempting suicide. They have higher rates of unhealthy behaviors--such as smoking, overeating, and unsafe sex--and higher rates of physical health problems and mortality. Individuals with these conditions also tend to miss more work or report being less productive," the report said. "These conditions can impair relationships, disrupt marriages, aggravate the difficulties of parenting, and cause problems in children that may extend the consequences of combat trauma across generations."

"These consequences can have a high economic toll," the report continued. "However, most attempts to measure the costs of these conditions focus only on medical costs to the government. Yet, direct costs of treatment are only a fraction of the total costs related to mental health and cognitive conditions. Far higher are the long-term individual and societal costs stemming from lost productivity, reduced quality of life, homelessness, domestic violence, the strain on families, and suicide. Delivering effective care and restoring veterans to full mental health have the potential to reduce these longer-term costs significantly."

There is hope in this story, though.

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20, America will have a President who has shown an interest in and commitment to caring for America's veterans. As a senator, Obama supported increased funding for the VA and an expanded GI Bill. His campaign platform sounded all the right notes about increasing the number of mental health providers, reforming the government's bureaucratic disability-claims system, and increasing the number of Vet Centers, where returning veterans can find community as they make the difficult transition from war to civilian life.

But taking those steps will require hard work and support from the public that amounts to more than just lip service to "supporting the troops." We must stay engaged on the issue of Iraq and our government's treatment of its veterans and create an atmosphere where a repeat of the tragedy that followed the Vietnam War will not be tolerated. If we don't, Barack Obama may follow our lead and rush quickly past the veteran who's sleeping homeless on the street.

***

About Aaron Glantz
Independent journalist Aaron Glantz reported extensively from Iraq from 2003-05 and has been covering the stories of American military veterans since his return. He is author of How America Lost Iraq (Penguin) and the forthcoming War Comes Home (UC Press). He edits the website www.warcomeshome.org, a project of radio station KPFA-FM

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MOVIE REVIEWS - Cinema Chatter

Joan Garverick LOVES watching movies. Each month she reviews Movies on the wide screen in theaters, Documentaries and Video Picks so you can enjoy movies at home. Support your local Video Store - please - and shop locally for your home viewing!


The Duchess is a delightful frothy confection of a film about a long past era. The story is about Georgiana Spencer who was Princess Dianna’s 18th century relative. The parallels of their lives are fascinating. Both were thrust into an arranged marriage while in their teens. Georgiana (played by Keira Knightley) was married to the Duke of Devonshire (played by Ralph Fiennes) at the age of seventeen. Both husbands had a roving eye and enjoyed a dalliance outside of the marriage. Finally both women were icons of the fashion world. In Georgiana’s case it was mile- high hair festooned with feathers that won’t fit through a doorway.

This slice of history is told with perfect pitch by cinematographer Gyula Pados, who with the help of costume designer Michael O’Connor and set decorator Rebecca Alleway, have created an environment so authentic you are pulled into the film as if you are witnessing the story in person. The strict social code of behavior and mandated political attitudes are on display and fascinatingly told with an eye towards the lack of power or influence of women back then. Mr. Fiennes performance as the Duke is nuanced, multi-layered and quietly powerful. Director Saul Dibb has assembled all the factors in the making of a great film and presented it to us with such an ease and fluidity that you are barely aware of the complexity of knowledge being presented.

Body of Lies: If you’re not into costume dramas and want your entertainment with suspense, spy technology and thrills then Body of Lies is for you. The story takes place all over the Middle East. C.I.A. agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) starts the movie in Iraq, goes to Jordan, Turkey, and Syria spinning his web of lies and intrigue. He speaks the local language and can pass as a native.

Meanwhile back in the USA, his boss Ed Hoffman (played by Russell Crowe) is trying to manage his employee via cell phone and computer. Some critics have called the plot ridiculous and convoluted, but I think our presence in the Middle East is a jumble of religion, terrorism and high tech methods.

The film moves at a quick clip showing you many sides of middle eastern life from crowded markets to homes that are an oasis of serenity hidden behind tall walls. Tourist Hotels and glitzy night clubs are against the image of the outskirts of town where garbage is dumped and burned. This locale seems to be a favorite meeting place of covert types.

As usual, Director Ridley Scott has pulled a great performance from Mr. Crowe and Mr. Di Caprio, but the real performance to watch is Mark Strong who plays Hani Salaam, the head of Jordanian intelligence. Mr. Strong doesn’t say as much with his words as he does with his eyes, and the camera is right in his face picking up all the complexities he emits. A nail biter of a story with lots to keep you engaged.

VIDEO PICK
My video pick this month is one of the best and most thought-provoking movies so far this year. The Visitor tells the story of a lonely widower college professor, Walter Vale, who is sleep-walking through his life. The loss of his wife, and the boredom factor with his teaching, has made him listless and adrift. He has an apartment in New York City that he never stays in.

When he comes to New York for a conference and goes to his apartment for the night, he is surprised to find foreign strangers living in his apartment. Initially he tells them to leave immediately, then when it occurs to him that they have nowhere to go, and secondly that he can help them with very little effort on his part, he wavers and welcomes them.

This sets up a story of a wonderful relationship between these 3 people who are thrown together by happenstance and impact each others lives in a powerful and meaningful way. This story is a view of our post 9/11 world that many Americans don’t realize even exists. It is also a window into the plight of immigrants in our country.

Written and Directed by Thomas McCarthy this is a story without the usual clichés and pat answers about life in America. An unassuming movie that packs a powerful punch, all the elements of a great indie film.

Goodbye Paul
Finally I would like to salute the amazing career or Paul Newman. He made 53 movies in 52 years. He never played the same role twice and always played them with a raw honesty that jumped off the screen and into your heart, head or throat depending on the subject matter. I have been visiting his movies these past few days and it is astonishing to realize how powerful he was, all while making it look effortless. He chose roles that made you think either about his role or the world around it.

A Paul Newman movie was a mandate for a movie date and he never disappointed. Sometimes it took me years to figure out the finer points of the plot, but that is the bonus you always get from Mr. Newman’s work, never a one-dimensional character, always a complicated man with surprises. Beside being a brilliant actor, he was verrrry easy on the eyes, and when he flashed that stellar smile all women and some men would just melt. I know I always did. I think you can pick out any of his films and they will tell you a good story in a different fashion than the usual and that is always a joy to behold. Lucky for us he is on film and we can always have happy viewing with any of his films that we all love so much…now and always.

Happy Viewing!

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