Letters To The Editor – Sheriff Pick

Sheriff Pick

Why should you care about the Sonoma County Sheriff’s election? In my view, it’s the most important office next to choosing your County Supervisor, primarily because, as the top cop in the county, the Sheriff has a lot of power. This individual’s office has the ability to detain you, arrest you, hold you in custody and maintain your imprisonment in the county jail.

Even before the George Floyd killing, the cry for police responsibility after fatal events, excessive aggression, racial and ethnic discrimination, and militant and bullying tactics has been loud and clear. Examples abound nationwide, but Sonoma County has its own dark history of fatal “events” and a track record of physical brutality in its ranks.

The Board of Supervisors established the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) following the cold-blooded killing of a 13-year-old boy carrying a toy gun by a Sheriff’s deputy. But it is now plainly clear that IOLERO needs a good deal more power if it is to function viably.

This Sheriff’s election should be about police reform. After reviewing the candidates’ websites and watching numerous public debates, I have concluded that the best candidate for affecting real change is Carl Tennenbaum. He fully and unequivocally embraces and pledges to strengthen citizen oversight and police accountability.

As I see it, paramount in a top cop is the overriding motivation to improve the lives of people, earn public trust, end over-aggression and unwarranted physical force, and aim to use diplomacy and reason as a first resort. I believe we have that in Carl Tennenbaum (www.carltforsheriff.com).

Will Shonbrun
Boyes Springs

Teen Time – Local teens devote over 3,000 hours to nonprofits

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By Isabella Cook

The Marin Chapter of the National Charity League (NCL), a multi-generational nonprofit organization devoted to philanthropic community involvement, is recognizing the efforts of 17 Marin high school seniors who have collectively given over 3,000 hours of charitable work to the county.


NCL is comprised of mothers (known in the organization as “Patronesses”) and daughters (known as “Tiktockers”) who come together and volunteer in a commitment to community service, leadership development and shared cultural experiences.


“I think NCL is a great opportunity for the girls to get into the community and work with the community,” said Jennifer Lopez, past president and current senior celebration co-chair of NCL. “Some of the organizations we collaborate with work to obtain extra food for those in need—these young adults in NCL get to deliver the food to these organizations, and pass it out to the people, and actually get to see where the food is going. It’s a lovely, lovely experience,” Lopez continued.


The league will honor its graduating class, who collectively contributed 3,026 hours of community service to Marin charities. In a ceremony on May 15 at Corinthian Yacht Club, Tiburon, these 17 Marin high school students will receive awards for their six years of service to more than 18 diverse local charities since 2015. Together with their mothers, these students have volunteered with a wide range of Marin organizations since 7th grade, donating time and effort to endeavors such as feeding the homeless, supporting senior citizens and disabled individuals, and tutoring low-income youth for college success.


“We are extremely proud of the NCL Class of 2022. Not only did these young women develop strong leadership skills, but they also flexed their grit and resilience during the pandemic,” noted Tracy Coombe and Stacey Crawford, chapter co-presidents, in a statement. “Via service to Marin County, this class has built a strong foundation for future success while creating a bond with their community. We are inspired!”


The Marin Chapter of NCL currently boasts over 220 members, all of whom provide hands-on volunteer service for local philanthropic organizations in the community. Members are women and their daughters, grades 7-12, from both public and private schools throughout Marin. Through this community service, NCL strives to assist in the early development of socially responsible community leaders and to strengthen mother-daughter relationships on a deep, personal level.


“Some graduated NCL members come back to talk about their experiences in college and how NCL has helped them, whether it be with public speaking experience, charity work or sorority rushing,” said Lopez. “The girls’ feedback is amazing. They say that NCL has played a huge part in preparing them for leadership roles. It’s nice, when our young women leave NCL, that they’re so comfortable with volunteering that it doesn’t seem like such a big task. They can easily volunteer a couple of hours during the week, and it doesn’t feel like a big load.”


The traditional six-year core program aims to teach young women, from an early age, the importance of community involvement through hard work, awareness and, most importantly, empathy for the people around them.


“This is a call to all 5th and 6th graders and their families to start thinking about joining NCL,” continued Lopez. “If you’re interested, just reach out to your local NCL chapter, get involved and get started as early as you can.”


Those interested in joining the Marin Chapter of the National Charity League may call (714) 966-1005 or email in**@*******ne.org. The Marin Chapter includes Tiburon/Belvedere, Larkspur, Corte Madera, Kentfield, Greenbrae, Mill Valley, Sausalito, Ross, Fairfax, San Anselmo, West Marin Communities, Bolinas and Stinston. For more information, visit their website at www.marin.nationalcharityleague.org.

Hounding Homeward – Novato shelter stops collecting “contributions” from residents

A chapter of the Marin Homeless Union declared victory this month after a Novato homeless shelter stopped charging residents a monthly “contribution.”

In mid-March, the union presented a list of 20 demands to the executive management at the New Beginnings Center, a shelter operated by Homeward Bound of Marin. Since then, the two sides have been at odds over a number of issues, although a few of the demands have been met. Homeward Bound has agreed to keep grievance forms in the lobby and to allow residents to bring a witness to meetings with staff.

A large conflict still remains: whether the controversial monthly fee paid by residents was a requirement.

Anthony Prince, attorney for New Beginnings Chapter #5, the newest chapter of the Marin Homeless Union, maintains the payments were mandatory rent. As recently as last month, the shelter threatened people with eviction for not paying contributions, Prince said.

Homeward Bound’s co-CEO, Paul Fordham, claims the residents’ contributions were voluntary.

Furthermore, Homeward Bound management has discussed ending the contributions at the New Beginnings Center for at least a year, according to Fordham. In January, the organization identified a financial resource to fill the budget void created by dropping the contributions, and it took a couple of months to access the new funding.

“As such, all of this has nothing at all to do with the self-declared New Beginnings Chapter of the Homeless Union,” Fordham said.

Why does it matter now that New Beginnings stopped the contribution policy? Because the homeless union thinks people are entitled to reimbursement and may file a legal claim against the nonprofit for unjust enrichment.

“New Beginnings has opened up the legitimacy of charging the contribution in the first place,” Prince said. “They can’t have it both ways. If they really needed it, why did they say it was not compulsory? Why did they send out letters to residents saying it was mandatory? Even if they received a funding source, they still have to prove they needed the contributions.”

The entire conflict could likely have been avoided if the shelter management had been willing to sit at the table with residents, along with their union representatives, to discuss the needs and legal rights of residents. Although the president of Homeward Bound’s board of directors committed to a meeting in March, it never took place.

The situation has since escalated and has been turned over to lawyers on both sides.

Culture Crush – Week of May 11, 2022

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Novato
Isabelle Allende
This Thursday, spend an evening hearing from Latinx author Isabel Allende Live at College of Marin. The evening will begin with students in the College of Marin’s Drama Department performing an excerpt from The Stories of Eva Luna, dramatized and directed by instructor Erin McBride Africa. Following the performance, Allende will be interviewed on stage by College of Marin English professor Dave King, and will take questions from the audience. This will be a celebration of Allende, Spanish, Latinx cultures, feminism and democracy, and of bilingual, immigrant and refugee families. Isabel Allende Live at College of Marin will be held at the James Dunn Theater, 835 College Ave., Kentfield, Thursday, May 12, 6:30-8:30pm. Free. For more information visit www.marinarts.org.

Marin
Album Release
The joy of hearing music continues with the release of San Francisco Bay Area’s The Things of Youth (aka Jon Fee)’s latest album, The Things of Youth Volume 2. Fee has been active in the indie community since the early ’90s, playing bass and fronting Bay Area indie rockers The Rum Diary and post-rockers Shuteye Unison, and founding indie-eco label Parks and Records. Along the way, he has managed to grow a family and have a career at Salesforce and BlackRock. The Things of Youth was born as a solo project while Fee was between bands, filling the void on business trips and looking to push his song writing in new directions. The new album, Volume Two, comes seven years after Volume One. Although Jon Fee and friends may be getting long in the tooth and soft in the middle, still they continue the musical musings of The Things of Youth. Release show is Sunday, May 14, at 7pm, at the Fairfax Barber Shop, 67 Broadway, Fairfax. All ages. Free.

Rohnert Park
String Quartet
Hear powerful music in an idyllic location this Sunday with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, live at the Green Music Center. Known for the intensity of their performances, breadth of repertoire and commitment to concert experiences that are at once intellectually stimulating and emotionally alive, the St. Lawrence String Quartet offers an in-concert presentation that explores one of the seminal quartets of Franz Josef Haydn, the “father” of the string quartet. The Green Music Center is the performing arts center at Sonoma State University. As a cornerstone of the university’s commitment to the arts, the center is a place to witness artistic inspiration through year-round programming, serving as home to the Sonoma State University Music Department, the Santa Rosa Symphony and Sonoma Bach. The St. Lawrence String Quartet is playing Sunday, May 15, at 3pm, at the Green Music Center, 801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park.Tickets $25-85. Visit www.tickets.sonoma.edu to purchase.

Windsor
Mariachi Party
Come out for a day on the Windsor Town Green! El Mercadito de Windsor presents Mariachi & Mimosas, sponsored by Barefoot Bubbly—to celebrate Mom all month long. This event offers family entertainment for all ages. Join in as the summer series kicks off with Children’s Museum of Sonoma County’s Museum on the Go, Story-time in Spanish with Encanto’s short story, Mariachi, DJ Vino Manny, Makers Market with over 50 vendors, food vendors, swag bags for the first 50 guests and free children’s Mercadito bags with free scoop cards from Baskin-Robbins, Sunday, May 15, Windsor Town Green, 701 McClelland Dr., Windsor, 5-9pm. Free. For more information, visit www.happeningsonomacounty.com.

—Jane Vick

Astrology Week of May 11, 2022

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Choose the least important day in your life,” wrote Aries author Thornton Wilder. “It will be important enough.” I recommend that you make those your words to live by in the next two weeks. Why? Because I suspect there will be no tremendously exciting experiences coming your way. The daily rhythm is likely to be routine and modest. You may even be tempted to feel a bit bored. And yet, if you dare to move your attention just below the surface of life, you will tune into subtle glories that are percolating. You will become aware of quietly wondrous developments unfolding just out of sight and behind the scenes. Be alert for them. They will provide fertile clues about the sweet victories that will be available in the months ahead.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Every successful person I know starts before they feel ready,” declared life coach Marie Forleo. Author Ivan Turgenev wrote, “If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.” Here’s what educator Supriya Mehra says: “There’s never a perfect moment to start, and the more we see the beauty in ‘starting small,’ the more we empower ourselves to get started at all.” I hope that in providing you with these observations, Taurus, I have convinced you to dive in now. Here’s one more quote, from businesswoman Betsy Rowbottom: “There’s never a perfect moment to take a big risk.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Poet Ranata Suzuki writes, “There comes a point where you no longer care if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or not. You’re just sick of the tunnel.” That’s good advice for you right now, Gemini. The trick that’s most likely to get you out of the tunnel is to acknowledge that you are sick of the damn tunnel. Announce to the universe that you have gleaned the essential teachings the ride through the tunnel has provided you. You no longer need its character-building benefits because you have harvested them all. Please say this a thousand times sometime soon: “I am ready for the wide-open spaces.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the coming weeks, your imagination will receive visions of the next chapter of your life story. These images and stories might confuse you if you think they are illuminating the present moment. So please keep in mind that they are prophecies of what’s ahead. They are premonitions and preparations for the interesting work you will be given during the second half of 2022. If you regard them as guiding clues from your eternal soul, they will nourish the inner transformations necessary for you to welcome your destiny when it arrives. Now study this inspirational quote from poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “The future glides into us, so as to remake itself within us, long before it occurs.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Remember that you will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set,” wrote author Ellen G. White. That’s true! And that’s why it’s so crucial that you formulate the highest standards you can imagine—maybe even higher than you can imagine. Now is a favorable phase for you to reach higher and think bigger. I invite you to visualize the best version of the dream you are working on—the most excellent, beautiful, and inspiring form it could take. And then push on further to envision even more spectacular results. Dare to be greedy and outrageous.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Before Virgo-born Leslie Jones achieved fame as a comedian and actor, she worked day jobs at United Parcel Service and Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. Her shot at major appreciation didn’t arrive until the TV show Saturday Night Live hired her to be a regular cast member in 2014, when she was 47 years old. Here’s how she describes the years before that: “Everybody was telling me to get a real job. Everybody was asking me, What are you doing? You’re ruining your life. You’re embarrassing your family.” Luckily, Jones didn’t heed the bad advice. “You can’t listen to that,” she says now. “You have to listen to yourself.” Now I’m suggesting that you embrace the Leslie Jones approach, Virgo.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A person must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur, and dreaming is nursed in darkness.” Author Jean Genet wrote that, and now I’m offering you his words as the seed of your horoscope. If you’ve been attuned to cosmic rhythms, you have been doing what Genet described and will continue to do it for at least another 10 days. If you have not yet begun such work, please do so now. Your success during the rest of 2022 will thrive to the degree that you spend time dreaming big in the darkness now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Cursed are those who feel floods but who can only express a few drops.” So says an internet proverb. Luckily, this principle won’t apply to you in the coming weeks. I expect you will be inundated with cascades of deep feelings, but you will also be able to articulate those feelings. So you won’t be cursed at all. In fact, I suspect you will be blessed. The cascades may indeed become rowdy at times. But I expect you will flourish amidst the lush tumult.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “It takes a great deal of experience to become natural,” wrote Sagittarian author Willa Cather. I’m happy to report that in recent months, you Sagittarians have been becoming more and more natural. You have sought experiences that enhance your authenticity and spontaneity. Keep up the good work! The coming weeks should bring influences and adventures that will dramatically deepen your capacity to be untamed, soulful and intensely yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I intend to live forever,” proclaims 66-year-old comedian Steven Wright, who then adds, “So far, so good.” I offer you his cheerful outlook in the hope that it might inspire you to dream and scheme about your own longevity. Now is a great time to fantasize about what you would love to accomplish if you are provided with 90 or more years of life to create yourself. In other words, I’m asking you to expand your imagination about your long-term goals. Have fun envisioning skills you’d like to develop and qualities you hope to ripen if you are given all the time you would like to have. (PS: Thinking like this could magically enhance your life expectancy.)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Stop insisting on clearing your head,” advised author Charles Bukowski. “Clear your f—ing heart instead.” That will be a superb meditation for you to experiment with in the coming weeks. Please understand that I hope you will also clear your head. That’s a worthy goal. But your prime aim should be to clear your heart. What would that mean? Purge all apologies and shame from your longings. Cleanse your tenderness of energy that’s inclined to withhold or resist. Free your receptivity to be innocent and curious.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “The winner will be the one who knows how to pick the right fights,” wrote author Jane Ciabattari. Heed her advice, please, Pisces. You will soon be offered chances to deal with several interesting struggles that are worthy of your beautiful intelligence. At least one will technically be a “conflict,” but even that will also be a fruitful opportunity. If you hope to derive the greatest potential benefit, you must be selective about which ones you choose to engage. I recommend you give your focus to no more than two.

Homework: Is there somewhere in your life where you try to exert too much control—and should loosen your grip?

Art of Mind – Youth Arts Fest for Mental Health

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It seems we’re experiencing perpetually unprecedented times.
Though we’re all feeling the impact, our youth—and especially teenagers—face a particularly acute set of challenges.

The pandemic stripped teens of their connection, shutting down schools and cutting kids off from their social network. That is unless they engaged online, which, though they, like the rest of us, inevitably did, is proven to cause detachment and depression. In a CNN online article from April 29, Jenna Glover, a child clinical psychologist and director of psychology training at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said this about the circumstances of the pandemic:

“The disruption to routines and consistency is very damaging for a child’s mental health. They thrive on predictability, which has been absent for over a year.”

To this end, in response to the growing need and in honor of May, Mental Health Awareness Month, the Marin Suicide Prevention Collaborative’s Youth Action Team is hosting the May Mental Health Month Youth Art Showcase on May 12.

Marin Suicide Prevention Collaborative (MSPC) was launched in 2020, following the approval of the first ever county suicide prevention strategic plan in February of the same year. The team is dedicated to providing ongoing, culturally and linguistically appropriate support to the community of Marin County, ensuring that all struggling with mental health are aware of their options and the support around them.

MSPC is working in collaboration with the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Cultural Services and the Marin County Office of Education to plan and implement this event, which invited youth to submit their art for showcasing. Marin youth were encouraged to create and submit art that reflects hopeful messages based on their perspectives and experiences with mental health.

Art of many forms was accepted, including photography, painting, digital art, storytelling, poetry, dance, music and video. In their creation of art, youth were asked to share current life or community experiences that deliver hope or encourage young people to take a stand against injustice.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this important program, as the arts are such a crucial part of our lives, especially when it comes to mental health,” said director of cultural services Gabriella Calicchio. “The arts allow space for social connection, empathy, understanding and release, especially at a time when so many of us are feeling isolated and alone.”

Not only does this show provide a space for youth to express themselves in a way they might feel unable to do without the channel of art, in its myriad forms, it’s an opportunity for them to reconnect with one another, slowly beginning to bridge the gap created by the last two years of Covid. It’s also a chance for Youth Action Team members to help their peers open up a supportive dialogue around mental health without fear of judgment or stigma.

“The Youth Action Team members are in a perfect position to positively influence their friends and peers around these important topics,” said senior program coordinator Kara Connors. “We know that youth often talk with peers about their personal struggles, even before talking to an adult. Every young person can be equipped to help one another by directing them to resources and information to get help. The Youth Art and Film Showcase will connect youth, build their confidence as helpers, and create social change and norms through their art.”

One Tawny Strotz, a junior at Redwood High School, felt just this opportunity presented itself in joining the Youth Action Team, and providing a safe youth-to-youth space for connection and support through the current mental health challenges.

“I feel strong as part of a community like the Youth Action Team, that is motivated by change and action to bring attention to the important issue of mental health,” Strotz said. “I know that some of my friends have had their fair share of mental health struggles, and just having a chance to be open about it helps to normalize the conversation so we can help each other. I’m happiest when I know I can help my friends, which we will do through the showcase by bringing attention to mental health and giving students an opportunity to have their work appreciated.”

Artwork was provided by Nancy Vernon and is titled “You Are Not Alone.” The Youth Art Showcase will be held May 12 from 5-7pm at the Marin County Office of Education. For more information, visit www.marincounty.org.

Trivia – 05/04/2022

Photo by Miller Oberlin

1 Can you identify two lakes, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, whose names begin with “M”?

2 What two physical objects were displayed on the flag of the former Soviet Union?

3 It is said that Doris Day, who died in 2019, had turned down a 1967 movie role because it offended her sense of morality—this role was later filled by Anne Bancroft, who gained an Oscar nomination. What role in what 1967 film did Doris Day turn down?

4 What are the largest animals ever known to exist?

5 What three countries today are the biggest total consumers of fossil fuels?

6 The three-word title of what top-grossing 2006 movie included the name of a person who died in 1519? 

7 Which U.S. state has the lowest per capita annual personal income, about $39,000?

8 What are the Latin and Greek names for what we call the Earth?

9 What is the modern name for the country formerly known as British Honduras?

10 What three U.S. presidents were the tallest—at least 6’3?

BONUS ANSWER: Cinco de Mayo is an observance of the Mexican army’s unexpected victory on May 5, 1862 over overwhelming military forces from what country, at what battle, named for a state of southern Mexico?

Want more trivia for your next party, fundraiser, school or corporate event? Contact ho*****@********fe.com.

ANSWERS:

1 Lake Merritt in Oakland

   Lake Merced in San Francisco

2 Hammer and sickle, tools of labor

3 Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate

4 Blue whales—bigger than dinosaurs and mastodons

5 China, U.S., India

6 Da Vinci Code

7 Mississippi

8 Terra in Latin and Gaia or Ge in Greek (as in geology, geography and geometry)

9 Belize

10 Lincoln (6’4″), L.B. Johnson and Donald Trump (6’3″), and Thomas Jefferson was 6’2.5″

BONUS ANSWER: Mexico’s victory over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla

Mrs. Saturday Night – Catskills come to Sonoma

By Harry Duke

The Borscht Belt comes to wine country with the Sonoma Arts Live presentation of Saturday Night at Grossinger’s. This musical by Stephen Cole (Merman’s Apprentice) and Claibe Richardson runs in Sonoma through May 8. It’s co-directed by Larry Williams and SAL artistic director Jaime Weiser Love.

An area in New York’s Catskill Mountains, the Borscht Belt was where hundreds of resorts that catered to the Jewish community thrived for over 50 years. Some of the world’s greatest entertainers either got their start there or appeared in their heydays to appreciative audiences.

Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel was one of the largest, and Cole tries to give the resort and the driving force behind it their due.

The show opens as if the audience were the audience for a Grossinger’s show in the 1960’s. Tummler (entertainer) Sheldon Seltzer (co-director Larry Williams) welcomes the crowd with a few era-appropriate jokes before he’s informed that the evening’s main attractions—Judy Garland, The Nicholas Brothers and Alan King—are stuck in a snow drift. Well, the show must go on, so the entire Grossinger family is enlisted to tell the story of how the resort came to be.

There’s Papa (Dan Schwager), who seems to thrive on telling his daughter, Jennie (Daniela Innocenti Beem), “No!” in triplicate to any of her ideas about building a resort; Jennie’s long-suffering but loving husband, Harry (David Shirk); and their children, Elaine (HarrietePearl Fugitt), and Paul (Tommy Lassiter).

Beem is in her element here as the brassy and driven Jennie and delivers her usual powerhouse vocals. Williams had the audience in his hands as the resort’s roving entertainer, who pines for Jennie. The heavy lifting in the dance department was done by the youthful Fugitt and Lassiter, who also contributed some nice vocal work.

An affectionate look at a by-gone era, Saturday Night at Grossinger’s is sometimes uneven and could use a tighter script. Also, the vocals were occasionally drowned out by Sherill Peterson’s on-stage band—a problem when most of the story is told in song.

‘Saturday Night at Grossinger’s’ runs through May 8 at Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Thurs–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $25–$42. 866.710.8942. sonomaartslive.org. Proof of vaccination or a negative test with ID required to attend. Masks optional.

Zero Effect – Less is more

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By Christian Chensvold

What do you have when you have nothing? According to ancient teachings, you still have one thing, the one thing that can never be taken from you. Potential comes from the Latin word for power, and when you feel like you’ve lost everything, you still have the potential to access a power capable of achieving the impossible.

The three-part organization of a human being into body, soul and spirit is known throughout the world’s wisdom traditions. Your body is the earthly vessel, much of which runs on its own involuntarily. It also carries around an emotional layer of the joys and sorrows you’ve experienced, moving us from the physical realm into that of the soul.

But when you’re weighed down by fear and melancholy and sweating through the dark night of the soul, it becomes possible to see the third part, the golden needle hiding in the messy haystack of your disordered self.

Consider George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life, ready to jump off a bridge to end his life. Someone else splashes down, and without thinking, George leaps over the railing to save him. Instinct governs the self-preservation of the body, which would have kept George safely on the bridge, so he couldn’t have jumped for that reason. Something else must have made him take the plunge, as if divine intervention sent him to an appointment with destiny.

Now think of a critical juncture in your own life when you faced a choice between comfortable misery and a terrifying step into the unknown. Your mind just wants to go home and curl up in the fetal position, but a strange force inside pushes you, everything becomes a dizzy blur, and next thing you know you’ve done it and your life is headed in a new direction.

Years later, after everything worked out and you’re embarrassed for having been so scared, you find yourself wondering about that strange force that seemed to just take hold of you and act of its own volition. It certainly wasn’t your timid body, nor was it your trembling soul, which was busy rationalizing why you shouldn’t do it.

It was that elusive third part of you, the supra-human invisible intelligence capable of taking over, in vital moments related to the potential written in your stars, to act on behalf of what is good for you.

So if you ever feel like you’ve got plenty of nothing, plagued by problems impossible to solve, never forget you still have the Spirit. You’ll be surprised what it can do for you.

Content is Dead – Long live content

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By Daedalus Howell

Remember when “content was king?” I do—in fact, I remember the very moment I first heard that damnable phrase. It was 1999 and I was sitting across from an entertainment attorney who was working up some contracts for me. He bundled my paperwork into a folder, winked and said, “Content is king.” At $300 an hour, I could see how he came to that conclusion.

And now “content” is so ubiquitous as to be meaningless. Movies, for example, once the pinnacle of the content ecosystem in terms of the relative costs of their achievement, are glutting our broadband. Netflix, for example, went from curating and creating pitch-perfect original programming to a fire hose model to quench a thirst that its recent stock plummet proves was never there. Instead of drowning in a sea of mediocrity, millions of viewers cut bait. This is surely an indication that the content bubble is about to burst. It certainly already has for those in the lower echelons—journos included.

What’s a media maker to do? Evolve. Or more specifically, mutate. Hence, this emergent species known as a “creator,” a creature that has evolved to specifically survive in the piss puddle that is social media. Like the many of us content-making serfs, creators require a corporate platform—a host body, if you will—to survive. However, their relationship isn’t parasitic so much as symbiotic—the host needs the creator to create the content it monetizes. Every post, everywhere, is making someone else money.

Creators are like dolphins born in captivity—cute, slick and can’t survive in the wild. At least us legacy media types can write a cogent paragraph and tape it to a wall somewhere until those too come tumbling down. Of course, there’s little upside to posting broadsides, or frankly anything newsworthy, ever since some paywall-averse idiot in the ’90s thought “information wants to be free” was a business model rather than a slogan.

Thus, we dolphins must be subsidized by big media barons and special interests (which are often one and the same) and hope enough crumbs fall in the tank to sustain us.

The only way a creator can make real money is in the art market, which has its own absurd economics and over-valuations. Hence, as of this moment, I’m pivoting. Instead of a mid-market media maven, I now identify as a conceptual art project. Let’s start: Clip this article and tape it over the hole in the wall we mistook for a window into the future of democratized media. Now that’s rich.

Daedalus Howell is an ongoing performance art piece at daedalushowell.com.

Letters To The Editor – Sheriff Pick

Sheriff Pick Why should you care about the Sonoma County Sheriff’s election? In my view, it's the most important office next to choosing your County Supervisor, primarily because, as the top cop in the county, the Sheriff has a lot of power. This individual's office has the ability to detain you, arrest you, hold you in custody and maintain your...

Teen Time – Local teens devote over 3,000 hours to nonprofits

Photo courtesy of NCL
By Isabella Cook The Marin Chapter of the National Charity League (NCL), a multi-generational nonprofit organization devoted to philanthropic community involvement, is recognizing the efforts of 17 Marin high school seniors who have collectively given over 3,000 hours of charitable work to the county. NCL is comprised of mothers (known in the organization as "Patronesses") and daughters (known as "Tiktockers") who...

Hounding Homeward – Novato shelter stops collecting “contributions” from residents

New Beginnings Chapter #5
A chapter of the Marin Homeless Union declared victory this month after a Novato homeless shelter stopped charging residents a monthly “contribution.” In mid-March, the union presented a list of 20 demands to the executive management at the New Beginnings Center, a shelter operated by Homeward Bound of Marin. Since then, the two sides have been at odds over a...

Culture Crush – Week of May 11, 2022

Photo provided by College of Marin
NovatoIsabelle AllendeThis Thursday, spend an evening hearing from Latinx author Isabel Allende Live at College of Marin. The evening will begin with students in the College of Marin’s Drama Department performing an excerpt from The Stories of Eva Luna, dramatized and directed by instructor Erin McBride Africa. Following the performance, Allende will be interviewed on stage by College of...

Astrology Week of May 11, 2022

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Choose the least important day in your life,” wrote Aries author Thornton Wilder. “It will be important enough.” I recommend that you make those your words to live by in the next two weeks. Why? Because I suspect there will be no tremendously exciting experiences coming your way. The daily rhythm is likely to be...

Art of Mind – Youth Arts Fest for Mental Health

It seems we're experiencing perpetually unprecedented times.Though we’re all feeling the impact, our youth—and especially teenagers—face a particularly acute set of challenges. The pandemic stripped teens of their connection, shutting down schools and cutting kids off from their social network. That is unless they engaged online, which, though they, like the rest of us, inevitably did, is proven to cause...

Trivia – 05/04/2022

Photo by Miller Oberlin 1 Can you identify two lakes, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, whose names begin with “M”? 2 What two physical objects were displayed on the flag of the former Soviet Union? 3 It is said that Doris Day, who died in 2019, had turned down a 1967 movie role because it offended her sense of...

Mrs. Saturday Night – Catskills come to Sonoma

By Harry Duke The Borscht Belt comes to wine country with the Sonoma Arts Live presentation of Saturday Night at Grossinger’s. This musical by Stephen Cole (Merman’s Apprentice) and Claibe Richardson runs in Sonoma through May 8. It’s co-directed by Larry Williams and SAL artistic director Jaime Weiser Love. An area in New York’s Catskill Mountains, the Borscht Belt was where...

Zero Effect – Less is more

By Christian Chensvold What do you have when you have nothing? According to ancient teachings, you still have one thing, the one thing that can never be taken from you. Potential comes from the Latin word for power, and when you feel like you’ve lost everything, you still have the potential to access a power capable of achieving the impossible. The...

Content is Dead – Long live content

By Daedalus Howell Remember when "content was king?" I do—in fact, I remember the very moment I first heard that damnable phrase. It was 1999 and I was sitting across from an entertainment attorney who was working up some contracts for me. He bundled my paperwork into a folder, winked and said, “Content is king.” At $300 an hour, I...
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