Month: October 2009

Go Bold this Second Saturday

Raw and vibrant, "The Hunger" reflects the passion in the paintings by Santiago Proano.
Raw and vibrant, "The Hunger" reflects the passion in the paintings by Santiago Proano.

Sometimes you have to exit the beaten path to find brilliant artists. This Second Saturday, I recommend heading to a most unlikely spot to view the works of a bold and commanding Sacramento artist: Santiago Proano at the Marco Fuoco Gallery on 6764 Folsom Blvd. at 7PM.

The gallery is part of an interior design business, which is the perfect locale for an artist whose paintings pop straight off the wall, leaving colorful, intense emotions that will complete any vibrant home design. Proano’s art is not the kind to be tucked into the corner of a room. It’s the sort of art that sets the tone, calls you in, and tugs at your mind.

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Witchapalooza

This weekend, Cal Expo gets a head start on the Halloween season with the inaugural Witchapalooza. Music, street entertainers, celebrities, inflatable rides and, of course, spooky things abound to support several local charities. The best news is the bargain price for family fun — admission is only $5 and kids 12 and younger are free. Many of the attractions are geared towards fans of fantasy fiction, so if you have a kid, or are a kid of any age who loves to read about wizards, vampires or ghosts, you’ll find something at Witchapalooza to tickle your fancy.

Check their website for all the details, but some intriguing features include appearances by film legend Malcolm McDowell, the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer Kristy Swanson, and paranormal romance author and lycanthropy expert Eva Gordon. Awesome shopping opportunities are available from dozens of vendors, including costumes from Badger’s Den, one of the best suppliers of historical reenactment and fantasy supplies in the US, and Whimsic Alley, a recreation of numerous shops from the world of Harry Potter. Several contests have prizes, including a costume contest for both kids and adults, and patrons will have the opportunity to win $500 in cash. Steampunk culture will also be featured, including demonstrations of strange and fantastic gizmos.

Country Day moving to the grid

Newton Booth SchoolThe Sac Press reports that Country Day School is close to signing a lease for the old Newton Booth school building. I had not followed this story so I had no idea, but as a former Newton Booth resident I am glad the school will be getting some use. Country Day’s student newspaper The Octagon reported in March (in a very well written article! Kudos, Page Editor Calvin Fernandez) that the school “hasn’t historically gotten along with its Sierra Oaks neighbors,” another fact of which I was not aware. I wonder why, and I wonder how they will get along with the Newton Booth folks.

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Kings on Twitter

Via twitter-athletes.com, here is a listing of Sacramento Kings on Twitter.

It looks like Jon Brockman leads the way with over 30,000 followers (blog about that, JT!).

Former River Cat, Nick Swisher, cracks the overall top 10 list with 936,016 followers.

What does this all mean? I have no idea. Twitter is still lost on me, but apparently the kids love it so who am I to judge?

Souza leaves (left) News10

I still think I am the last to know these sorts of the things as I rarely watch local news, but I did notice that Patty Souza resigned her position as meteorologist early last week. I did not notice, however, that she had not been on the air since July August!

After a very difficult decision, I have decided to leave News10 to pursue other interests and life dreams. This is nothing but positive for me as my life focus and purpose has shifted in a different direction.

These statements are always tough to translate. And, of course, the comments are very useful and constructive.

Luckily, we can follow her on the Twitter pages.

Newest member of Sactosphere: Jason Thompson

jason-thompsonThe Sacramento Press puts out approximately 18 kazillion articles in a day, so one or five or 10 are going to slip past unnoticed. So in case you missed it: “What’s up Kings fans?” by the Sac Press’s latest blogger, Kings second year big man Jason Thompson. He invites us fans out to “Paint the Town” purple this weekend and has lots of nice things to say about our town:

Now that I’ve lived here a year, I just like how clean the city of Sacramento is. It’s one of those cities where there aren’t too many distractions. I think Mayor Kevin Johnson does a good job with security, and everywhere I go people treat me with respect. People of Sacramento really know how to treat people right and it keeps everyone out of trouble.

Welcome to the Sactosphere, JT!! Maybe you can get a Squirty Tip of your own.

Lodi…On the Water?

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Gee, I really like Lodi wine, but I don’t really like going to Lodi”? Well, then I’ve got the event for you. On October 11, Lodi wines will be featured at the Treasure Island Wine Fest. (that’s right, Treasure Island, that little spit of land holding the Bay Bridge together) From 1-5pm, you’re invited to enjoy the gorgeous views of the bay and beautiful wines from your neighbors down the road. It also happens to be the last day of Fleet Week, and you’ll probably be able to catch of glimpse of the Blue Angels in the sky as well as a host of seamen in their crisp whites.
Over 200 wines will be featured at the event. Tickets are $55 online and $65 at the door (parking is free). Check out http://www.tiwinefest.com for tickets and more details.

Sacramento: highest fatal accident rate in state

Natomas Traffic Intersection
Creative Commons License photo credit: calaggie

Fans of this here Web log were not surprised this morning to open up the Sac Bee and read that Sacramento has the highest rate of serious car accidents and drunken-driving crashes of any city in California.

Some Sacramentans say the city’s poor ranking makes perfect sense: Drivers here are plain bad.

My hunch is that this accounts for most of the problem. However, I can see how the freeway layout and traffic patterns could also be blamed. And we can’t let crystal meth off the hook. What do you all think?

UPDATE: La Bonne owner collapses

la bonne soupe

UPDATE: Stickie just alerted me that the Sac Bee is reporting that La Bonne Soupe owner Daniel Pont collapsed and was hospitalized today while working to get his restaurant re-opened. So was the restaurant really ever put up for sale? I am confused. Poor guy, we wish him luck. UPDATE: On Friday October 9 the restaurant passed its reinspection.

I know CoolDMZ is probably the last person you look to at this here Web log for restaurant advice, but since nobody else was touching the news that the beloved and world-renowned La Bonne Soupe was summarily shut down this week after a health inspection turned up a “mild to moderate” cockroach infestation I thought I’d chime in. The report can be viewed here.

Continue reading “UPDATE: La Bonne owner collapses”