North Bay Bohemian

Dishes of Drama

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Romanov treasures at Sonoma County Museum The historic dilemma of Russia—to look east or west—is reflected in Sonoma County Museum's exhibit "The Tsars' Cabinet." The show collects porcelain, enamel and glassware that belonged primarily to the Romanovs, who ruled in the 18th, 19th and very early 20th centuries.…

Family Planning

Richard von Busack — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

'A Separation' a brilliant film from Iran by Richard von Busack Another brilliant movie from the land of brilliant movies, A Separation unfolds in layers. Set in Iran, the film follows a potential divorce that's complicated by a criminal case: a pious nursemaid (Sareh Bayat) who tends to an aged member of the fractured family claims that she was made to miscarry.…

Paving Petaluma

Peter Byrne — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Deer Creek Village: Traffic jams or home improvement? by Peter Byrne To hear some tell it, the proposed Deer Creek Village center in Petaluma would seem to have it all: specialty stores, sales tax revenue and an agreement from local hardware supplier Friedman's Home Improvement to sign on as an anchor tenant. Below the surface, however, the Deer Creek project has more holes than a galvanized-steel pipe strap.…

Sex Wars

Leilani Clark — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

by Leilani Clark Marty Klein has been thinking about sex professionally for 31 years. In one of his six books, Ask Me Anything: Dr. Klein Answers the Sex Questions You'd Love to Ask, the intrepid doctor answers questions on everything from arranged marriages to masturbation and foot fetishes.…

Steiner's Plow

Juliane Poirier — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Reflections on radical farming, radical perspectives by Juliane Poirier As I was riding through a remote part of the Swedish countryside last summer, I was surprised to see a farmer working a plow drawn by a horse. The young man's face sported a beard trimmed to Amish specifications, and his past-century clothing looked like it had come right out of a movie-set costume trailer.…

Final Frontier

Frank Dice — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Goodbye to Occidental's Ranger Rick by Frank Dice In the summer of '95, on my first morning living in Camp Meeker, I came upon a spindly little creature with a Rip Van Winkle beard and a thousand-mile stare. I quietly mouthed a hello, whereupon the man stopped, put up his dukes and cried, "Do you want a piece of me, fat man?!"…

By the People

Leilani Clark — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

At Arizmendi Bakery, the workers call the shots by Leilani Clark Every worker is an owner at Arizmendi Bakery. The young guy in the blue baseball cap pounding sticky lumps of dough into a pizza crust?…

Letters to the Editor: Feb 22, 2012

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Way to Go, Mike In regards to pastry chefs ("Just Desserts," Feb. 15), a local Sonoman, Mike Zakowski, has been chosen to represent the U.S.A. at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in March 2012, which is an honor and a huge feat.…

Schulz's Footsteps

Leilani Clark — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

For the first time since Charles Schulz's death, 'Peanuts' is drawn by new cartoonists for comic book series by Leilani Clark Imagine that you're a young saxophonist asked to compose and record a new album marketed as "John Coltrane" 50 years after the jazz icon's death. Big responsibility, right?…

All Ages

David Templeton — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Puppet Playhouse series resurrects dormant genes by David Templeton Inanimate objects should never move, not all on their own. When they do, in stories and movies, our reaction ranges from visceral fear to astonished delight.…

Dining Deals

Michael Shufro — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Sonoma County Restaurant Week gets underway by Michael Shufro Foodies who relish the crème da la crème of California cuisine but are too squeezed by the economic crunch to order from a gilded menu need hunger no longer. In its third annual run since 2009, Sonoma County Restaurant Week returns, running Feb. 27 to March 4, when more than 80 eateries, wineries and fine-dining hotspots serve up gastronomic portions of their best recipes at costs to keep your wallet as full as your belly.…

Great Divide

Bruce Robinson — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Kate Wolf's life, 50 voices strong by Bruce Robinson The homespun folk-country songs of the late Kate Wolf form the basis for An Unfinished Life, a new choral work that premiered this week by the California Redwood Chorale. But not in the way fans are accustomed to hearing them.…

Cheese, Please

Stett Holbrook — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference celebrates all things cheese by Stett Holbrook Cheese makers, mongers and lovers will descend on Sonoma this week for five days of rinds and wheels. The Ninth Annual Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference, running Feb. 25–29, attracts premier cheese makers from around the country and the North Bay.…

Talisman Wine

James Knight — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

by James Knight What does it take to make wine? A lot of beer, chuckle the home winemakers.…

Returned to Sender

Juliane Poirier — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Local soldiers home from Iraq and Afghanistan struggle to readjust by Juliane Poirier When Conan Nunley, 39, returned from Iraq in 2005, being back in Sonoma did not comfort him, nor make the war in his mind disappear. "I knew I was home," Nunley says, "but I didn't feel home."…

Dear Diary

Aaron Carnes — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Shuteye Unison a whole new sound machine by Aaron Carnes Before their breakup in 2007, the revered Cotati quartet the Rum Diary found a coveted sweet spot between catchiness and experimentalism that took in both '90s emo-core and '70s space rock. Though the group is but a memory now, three-fourths of the band forged on to form Shuteye Unison, who are if nothing else stranger than the Rum Diary.…

Feb. 18: Benefit Hike at Sugarloaf State Park

Jennifer Cuddy — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:14:00 -0800

Whether we’re active hiking-and-biking nature lovers or not, North Bay residents generally know that we’re spoiled rotten with unbelievable scenic beauty. Unfortunately, due to staff reductions and budget cuts (are you even phased by hearing those words anymore, California?)…

Feb. 22: Willie Brown at SRJC

Jennifer Cuddy — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:10:00 -0800

You think you’ve accomplished a lot in your life? Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown has done it all: law school, journalism, radio, podcasting, written his autobiography, been named the best-dressed man in San Francisco, appeared in Disney films—you name it, he’s probably already beaten you to it.…

Feb. 16: Dweezil Zappa at the Uptown Theatre

Jennifer Cuddy — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:04:00 -0800

When I was in middle school, I was always on the honor roll. Bringing home good grades would make my parents proud, but it seems like ever since I was a kid, there isn’t much that I can do anymore to give both my parents that loving look in their eyes, filled with pride and approval.…

Feb. 18: Dan Bern at Sweetwater Music Hall

Jennifer Cuddy — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:56:00 -0800

Ah, rebirth. The sweet, cleansing release of the past, and a new and hopeful approach into the future.…

Feb. 16-23: Across the Bridge

Gabe Meline — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:51:00 -0800

Pomplamoose
Quirky YouTube sensations in danger of being usurped by even-more-twee Karmin. Feb 18 at Great American Music Hall.…

Two of Clubs

David Templeton — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

MTC's 'Steady Rain' a tense police story by David Templeton Nothing's more riveting than a good, taught story, except, maybe, for two. In Keith Huff's riveting play A Steady Rain, the simultaneous tales told involve crime, alcoholism, adultery, high-speed car chases and a touch of cannibalism.…

Kitchen Confident

Jessica Dur — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Great deals, top-notch meals from student chefs at SRJC's new Culinary Arts Center by Jessica Dur What's a chef to do when presented with 60 gallons of chopped cabbage that must be used as soon as possible? At the Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Institute, such superfluity is a weekly occurrence, as students in knife class learn the cuts of the trade by slicing and dicing pounds of fresh produce.…

Broken Hearts

Gabe Meline — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Whitney Houston and us by Gabe Meline For most of us, the death of Whitney Houston was experienced in the swift, economical manner made de rigueur in the 21st century: find news on Facebook or Twitter, confirm with reputable news site, compose concerned/sorrowful/witty post back to Facebook or Twitter, wait for Jennifer Hudson tribute, move on. At least that's how we do it in public.…

Just Desserts

Stett Holbrook — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Meet the pastry chefs of Sonoma County Restaurant Week by Stett Holbrook, Suzanne Daly, Nicolas Grizzle and Jacquelynne Ocaña We elevate chefs to celebrity status, giving them their own TV specials or competitions. We revere the heroic butcher and the ability to break down whole animals.…