Sunday, 24 November 2024

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Kelseyville Fire Protection District Chief Joe Huggins and his team stand in front of the mural, “Only the Brave,” recently painted on the side of their fire station in Kelseyville, Calif., by local artist, Ben vanSteenburgh. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A new mural in Kelseyville honors the work of first responders to protect the community.

The mural, titled “Only the Brave,” shows firefighters battling the firedragon which, according to artist Ben vanSteenburgh, depicts “the real courage it takes to stand up to the fires like those that have raged in Lake County, California, and many places across the world.”

The mural was funded through a private donation to Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, or LCRAI.

LCRAI is also using the image to raise money for Lake County fire stations, whose resources have been taxed by the challenges of several years of intense fire seasons.

“We need to make sure they are well equipped to continue protecting our vibrant, beautiful community as we face future fire seasons,” said Conni Lemen-Kosla, chairwoman of LCRAI.

LCRAI has started a GoFundMe account and is using prints of the original painting as a gift for a tax-deductible donation online at www.lcrai.org.

Many people who donate and receive the print of “Only the Brave” are giving them to their local fire stations.

“We believe it is a tangible way to show our gratitude and honor their bravery,” said Shelley Mincer from Pennsylvania.

Go to www.lcrai.org to support local first responders by donating to LCRAI’s GoFundMe campaign or donate directly on the Web site and receive an “Only the Brave” print.

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‘FBI’ ON THE CBS NETWORK

The prolific Dick Wolf, producer of the “Law & Order” and “Chicago” franchises, has a strong presence on the NBC network schedule. But for now, his new series “FBI,” a police procedural, has a home on the CBS network.

During the summer TV press tour, Dick Wolf explained to the assembled critics that he grew up idolizing his FBI agent uncle and “having a very, very warm feeling about all the agents I met back there.” Seeing his uncle as a role model translates into this show’s favorable portrayals.

An intense, moving drama about the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation offers the opportunity for “FBI” to cover all the bases of the crime beat, including gang activity to terrorism to hate crimes.

As a matter of fact, the basic themes are pretty much covered in the first two episodes, allowing Special Agent Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym) and her partner Special Agent Omar Adom “OA” Zidan (Zeeko Zaki) to demonstrate their talents.

The pilot covers the gang activity of the treacherous, murderous MS-13 expanding its turf and the sinister moves of a neo-Nazi white supremacist. The second episode goes for the topical terror threat posed by ISIS recruiting impressionable youth.

Agent Zidan, a Muslim who graduated from West Point and spent two years undercover for the DEA before being cherry-picked by the FBI, adds special skills with his ability to speak Arabic when uncovering the ISIS poisoning plot in the second episode.

Don’t get comfortable with Connie Nielsen as the person in charge because she’s replaced by Sela Ward’s Special Agent in Charge Dana Mosier, starting with the second episode. This is one reason it’s important to go past any series’ pilot to get the full picture.

One could be forgiven for thinking that Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto) is really running the show because he’s constantly barking directives in a commanding way that highlights his innate strengths. Sisto nails his role with effortless ease.

The pairing of Agent Maggie Bell and Agent Omar Adon Zidan works on several levels. Zidan proves to be sturdy and strong, while Bell has a sensitive core that relates to the emotional state of victims and the accused alike.

“FBI” may come to be a good bet for CBS for the primary reason that this type of police drama is like comfort food for the mind at the end of a long day.



‘THE ROOKIE’ ON ABC NETWORK

The fact that the titular character for “The Rookie,” a police procedural in the setting of Los Angeles, would seem an unnatural person to be taking up a career in law enforcement underlines this series’ human interest story.

Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan, a small town guy whose marriage and career crumbled, is starting over in the big city in his pursuit of a dream, at the age of 40, to become a police officer, in the LAPD no less.

The pilot episode wasted no time in moving John Nolan on a new path. In the middle of a divorce and giving up on construction work in his midlife crisis, Nolan foils a bank robbery with a reckless bravery that propels him to the uncharted waters of police work.

As the creator, writer and producer of “The Rookie,” Alexi Hawley was best-suited to point out during the summer TV press tour that Fillion’s character lands in a “sort of in between place because the other characters who are his age are his superiors.”

After getting through the police academy, the first day on the job proves to be a test that Nolan does not pass with flying colors. It’s not easy getting into the middle of a domestic dispute that turns ugly and bloody violent.

As befitting someone of advanced age, Nolan can’t quite keep up the pace of his fellow rookies. We see that he’s unable to jump a fence during a pursuit. Heck, he can’t even run fast enough to catch the ordinary street criminal.

The officer in charge of training rookies, Sgt. Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones), doesn’t want Nolan to be there in the first place. He doesn’t hold back on letting it be known that the LAPD is no place for someone trying to find himself because he’s “a walking midlife crisis.”

Don’t expect Nolan’s training partner to have a light touch. LAPD officer Talia Bishop (Afton Williamson), tasked with taking Nolan on the beat, wonders why a middle-aged rookie is even being given a chance. Veteran officer Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) is equally tough.

Aside from the grittiness of the mean streets of the City of Angels which go far to create a sense of realism, “The Rookie” benefits from the likable presence of Nathan Fillion that serves him well in whatever role he plays.

At first blush, “The Rookie” looks promising for having a dark edge that doesn’t sugarcoat the rigors of dangerous police work in the urban setting.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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“Witnessing.” Image courtesy of MAC staff.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center’s Restore project features a needle felting (felt painting) workshop this Saturday, Nov. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Adults and children age 12 and up are invited to join one of Lake County’s most prolific artists, Alana Clearlake, to learn some of the techniques and tricks she employs in her work with felt.

The cost of this class is $10 to cover the many specialized materials required.

The name “needle felting” describes the process of this art form: Poking repeatedly at natural animal fibers with a barbed needle that eventually entwines the fibers creating a solid fabric. The result is similar to felt that is machine made and widely available.

Since hand felting is individual, the texture and look is very different from felt, which is purchased. “Come stab with me and become familiar with a new terminology: drafting, carding, roving, tops,” said Clearlake.

Clearlake is a master of the medium. Her colorful and impressive felt paintings and evocative felt sculptures are regularly featured in MAC exhibits. She has taught extensively, and her work in a variety of media has been exhibited worldwide and featured in artisan journals and magazines.

Two large-scale felt paintings, sculptures, and traditional mixed media paintings by Clearlake are currently on view in the “All Souls” exhibit at MAC. Enjoy “All Souls” through Dec. 2: Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; or by appointment.

Please register in advance for this one-of-a-kind class at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.

“We Are All Stardust III.” Image courtesy of MAC staff. 
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.

Until about a hundred years ago, the worth of a poem was measured by how noble and elevated was its subject and its manner of delivery, but with the appearance of modernism all hell broke loose and suddenly there were all sorts of subjects one had license to write about.

Here's an example of a fine contemporary poem with a richly detailed subject that no doubt wouldn't have seen the light of day in the 1880s or '90s.

It's by Sally Van Doren, who lives in New York, from her 2017 book from Louisiana State University Press, entitled Promise.

Housewife as Poet

I have scrawled audible lifelines along the edges
of the lint trap, dropping the ball of towel fuzz
in the blue bin lined with a thirteen-gallon bag.
My sons' wardrobes lounge on their bedroom floors,
then sidle down to the basement, where I look
forward to the warmth of their waistbands
when I pluck them from the dryer.
Sometimes I wonder why my husband
worries about debt and I wish he wouldn't.
Sometimes I wonder how high the alfalfa
will grow. Sometimes I wonder if the dog
will throw up in the night. Like my mother,
I'm learning not to tamper with anger.
It appears as reliably as the washing machine
thumps and threatens to lurch across the floor
away from the electrical outlet. Nothing's worth
getting worked up about, except for death.
And when I think of the people I have lost,
I wish them back into their button-down shirts,
their raspberry tights.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by Sally Van Doren, "Housewife as Poet," from Promise, (Louisiana State Univ. Press, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Sally Van Doren and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young star in the 1948 romantic comedy, “The Bishop’s Wife.” Courtesy image.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1948 romantic comedy, “The Bishop’s Wife,” starring Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young, screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 1 and 6 p.m.

Entry to the film is by donation.

It’s a delightful Christmas show about an angel (Grant) sent down to Earth to help a bishop (Niven) with his struggling marriage and an urgent need for funds for a new church.

The acting from all three stars is lovely with Grant taking center stage as the graceful, good-natured miracle worker from above.

The movie is sponsored by Michael Lorenzini. Not rated. Run time is 1 hour and 49 minutes.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Symphony Association is excited to announce that new brass and woodwind players will join the expanded Youth Orchestra in the November concert.

The concert will take place on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

This has been the dream of conductor, Sue Condit for several years.

“We now have a group of students who are excited about playing in an orchestra,” said Condit. “All are currently playing in their high school band and were recommended by their music teacher.”

The Youth Orchestra will begin the November concert with Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arranged by Richard Meyer.

This piece premiered in 1887 for full orchestra after Rimsky-Korsakov changed his mind about scoring for a solo violin with orchestral accompaniment.

Meyer’s arrangement features a clarinet solo and several sections of the original Capriccio Espagnol.

Continuing on with composer, Rimsky-Korsakov, the orchestra will play Dance of the Tumblers, from the opera Snow Maiden. Based on folk and fairy tales, this highly colorful and energetic piece is a favorite of all audiences.

Reserve tickets now for the opening season fall concert set for Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre. General admission for the 2 p.m. concert is $25 or $30 for premium seating. Lake County Symphony Association members receive a $5 discount.

Open rehearsal starts at 11 a.m. The cost is $5 for adults and is free for those under 18.

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