Events range from municipal proclamations in several communities to special speakers in Bakersfield, Mt. Diablo, Orange, Pleasanton, Ridgecrest, and Sacramento, panel discussions in Apple Valley and Montclair, and readings in Fremont and Marin.

The San Fernando Valley branch featured past winners of the CWC’s prestigious Jack London Award. Two branches announced costume parties – Long Beach (“come as a favorite author or visual pun on a book title”) and South Bay (“an author, character from a story, book, movie, play, fairytale, mythology, political scandal, or even the member’s own lurid past”).

The East Sierra branch created a display for the city library with artifacts including a May 1917 issue of Harper’s Magazine highlighting Mark Twain, and a first edition of Jack London’s Call of the Wild.

The Central Coast branch concluded its “100 Words – 100 Years – $100” writing contest, and the Redwood branch caps the week on October 24 with the Redwood Writers Conference in Santa Rosa – a day-long workshop filled with speakers, panels, and one-on-one editorial consultations.

On the state level, the CWC presents this year’s Jack London Awards in Oakland on Nov. 8, and has also called for submissions for a time capsule about the future of print media.

The public is invited to send essays about what people will be reading in 2035, whether we still have conventional newspapers, magazines and books, and what impact state-of-the-art technology will have on news reporting, fiction, nonfiction, short stories, poems, reference works, and daily life in general.

The capsule will be opened in 2035, Mark Twain’s bicentennial. Anyone interested in participating should mail his or her essay to California Writers Club, P.O. Box 484, Ridgecrest, CA 93556, together with the author’s name, age, address, and permission to publish all or part of the essay.

California had only been a state for about 50 years when Jack London and some of his friends started their informal gatherings.

These meetings became the California Writers Club. The CWC encourages everyone to check www.calwriters.org periodically for membership information, updates on branch and centennial activities around California, and resources for educators such as quotations by California writers and, coming soon, a word search puzzle based on California authors.

The free gathering will take place from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

All talents are welcome. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

For questions and sign ups call 707-987-3647.

The shop is located at 21187 Calistoga St., Middletown.

From left to right, Becky Ayres, Beth Aiken, Paul Hadley, Ann Hubbard and Eric Van Dyke. Courtesy photo.

UPPER LAKE – A new woodwind quintet composed of uniquely talented classical musicians made their performing debut on Sunday.

The performance of “Quintessential,” as the group is called, was greatly appreciated by the brunch patrons at the Blue Wing Saloon & Café in Upper Lake, which has become a showcase for top quality local musicians.

“It was an honor to host a debut performance by such a wonderful group,” said Blue Wing owner Bernie Butcher. “With their seamless renditions of classical chamber pieces from the Renaissance to modern composers, our guests certainly got more than they bargained for today.”

Quintessential is composed of Lake County residents Beth Aiken on oboe and Ann Hubbard on bassoon, together with Becky Ayres (flute), Paul Hadley (horn) and Eric Van Dyke (clarinet) from Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

These talented individuals have a long history of playing together in the larger Lake and Ukiah Symphony Orchestras as well as the Symphony of the Redwoods.

Catherine Hall, an orchestral colleague of these players, was thoroughly impressed with the debut performance.

“This is a classic woodwind ensemble composed of truly exceptional musicians,” she said. “They interrelate exceptionally well, blending nicely into the whole while allowing the individual brilliance of each musician to shine through.”

“We all enjoy the larger setting of a big orchestra,” says Beth Aiken, “but this format allows us to perform a wider repertoire of music that truly inspires all five of us.”

“Or Give Me Death” by Ann Rinaldi.

(NY: Gulliver Books, 2004. 226 pp. $6.95, ISBN 0-15-205076-0)

Historical fiction written primarily for young adults.

What is liberty? Is it a right or always a longing never completely fulfilled?

Patrick Henry, one of America’s favorite forefathers, longed for liberty and his longing became the mother’s milk of early America. His famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, first delivered on March 23, 1775, is often credited with turning the passions of colonial Virginians towards American Revolution and the pursuit of Independence.

In the crowd the day he gave that famous speech were none less than Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In the face of such illustrious personages it is hard to imagine these giants of history as people like you and I, who struggled with what liberty meant for them, their families and their country.

In “Or Give Me Death” Ann Rinaldi masterfully weaves a fascinating blend of fact and fiction to tell us the story of Patrick Henry the statesman, the defender against religious persecution, the fearful husband and the stern father.

She tells the story of mental illness, explores the lack of treatment options and the havoc it can reek in a family. It is a story of children trying to raise themselves when the adults are too busy or incapable. “Or Give Me Death” is a story of learning the difference between truth and lies, and the ultimate duty of loyalty while one is longing for liberty.

Against the longing for liberty is the reality of slavery, but the reader is made aware that there are many different ways to be enslaved. Personal stories of African slaves are brought to life, as are the fears of those who said slavery was evil but contrarily owned slaves.

One woman will die in pursuit of liberty and another will plead “Patrick, Patrick, please, I beg of you, give me my freedom, or let me go to my death.”

Did these struggles with slavery and liberty in his home life inspire Patrick Henry’s famous speech, which inspired the Virginians to arms, which led to a Revolution which gave us the freedom to pursue our own vision of liberty?

Read “Or Give Me Death” and decide for yourself. It is, after all, a free country.

Geri Williams is a local book fancier.

'Couples Retreat' stars Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis, and Faizon Love and Kali Hawk. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures.

COUPLES RETREAT (Rated PG-13)

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, actors Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau collaborated as writers on the hit film “Swingers” to deliver snappy, comedic dialogue that cemented their reputations for delivering laughs. The fame achieved by that success has served them well, though Vaughn has been more visible in the public eye since then.

Nevertheless, these two old friends have returned to try to work their magic formula for a relationship movie involving couples on the cusp of middle age. The aptly-named “Couples Retreat” is the fruit of this renewed teamwork.

Vaughn and Favreau, assisted by Dana Fox, have pieced together a script that delivers, at the minimum, a serviceable comedy, one that is likely to do well in the future on late night cable viewing.

Working off the template of randy sex comedies, “Couples Retreat” strives with the help of its talented writer-stars to come up with comical situations and barbed one-liners that deliver the normal expectations.

For good measure, Vaughn and Favreau mix in some drama just to keep afloat the relationship conflicts inherent in a story where couples are expected to bicker, if only to satisfy conventional plot lines.

The story of “Couples Retreat” begins with the obsessive Jason (Jason Bateman) and his frustrated wife Cynthia (Kristen Bell) scheming to get their friends to join them in a package deal for an island paradise vacation.

Unbeknownst to the others, Jason and Cynthia, though outwardly contented, are seriously thinking of divorce because they remain childless. Going off to a resort in French Polynesia looks terribly inviting, but the troubled couple can’t afford to go alone, nor can they tell their friends the real reason for the trip, which is namely to take advantage of the “Couples Skill Building” workshops.

Vaughn’s Dave is happily married to Ronnie (Malin Akerman), with two adorable sons, the youngest of which has potty issues with toilets on the showroom floor of a local department store. Meanwhile, Favreau’s Joey and his wife Lucy (Kristin Davis) find their marriage on the brink of dissolution once their daughter goes off to college.

Recently divorced Shane (Faizon Love) is hooked up with 20-year-old Trudy (Kali Hawk) in a romance that seems unlikely to survive for another two weeks. Given that these friends are enduring a cold winter in the Midwest, a trip to the sun and fun of the Eden resort proves irresistible.

Arriving at the beautiful Eden resort, the couples soon discover that the seaside paradise is anything but the hedonistic playground they had expected. Instead, they are confronted with a daily regimen that makes an Army boot camp look like a trip to Disneyland.

Running the resort with an iron fist is an imperious Frenchman named Marcel (Jean Reno), who insists that everyone must participate in a series of grueling programs, particularly early morning counseling sessions with therapists who seem incapable of doing anything other than creating relationship schisms.

Meanwhile, Joey and Dave are increasingly restless after dealing with Marcel and the pompous henchman who is always insisting that everything is for their own good. Joey, in particular, is itching to get to the other island, which is called Eden West, a sybaritic pleasure zone for swinging singles.

The urge to move to the fun island is even more compelling after the guys are exposed to slimy yoga instructor Salvadore (Carlos Ponce), looking very much like an oiled and muscled Fabio. One of the funniest, if crude, scenes involves Salvadore, dressed only in very brief shorts, pacing the women through some very eccentric, sexualized moves.

Except for the brazen Trudy, who is eager to break free of the stodgy routine, the wives are trapped with little to do other than spar with their husbands in therapy sessions. On the other hand, the guys pretty much live up to their predictable screen personas.

Vaughn and Favreau do their best to be humorously obnoxious, hurling insults and wisecracks in scattershot fashion. Bateman plays his usual uptight role to varying comic effect, while Love, possessed of considerable girth and size, is the object of physical comedy.

“Couples Retreat” may not be a candidate for the best comedy of the year, but it has enough laughs to entertain viewers who have enjoyed these actors in even better comedies.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Sometimes I wonder why films with a holiday theme are released outside the expected time period. With the economy in the dumps, maybe it makes sense to start Christmas shopping early.

The DVD release of “Little Spirit: Christmas in New York,” an animated story that features music by Faith Hill and Duncan Sheik, may be just thing to buy now and hold for holiday gift giving.

“Little Spirit” tells the story of a young boy who embarks on the holiday journey of a lifetime in the city that never sleeps.

Moving to a new house in a new city is never easy, but when the boy’s dog is accidentally lost in Central Park, he’s determined to find his furry friend in time for Christmas.

Feeling lost and alone, a magical spirit takes the boy on an incredible adventure, learning the true meaning of Christmas along the way.

“Little Spirit” will entertain both kids and their parents.

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