When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
Welcome to The Golden Age of TV Movies, a monthly column about the many wonderful made-for-TV movies that were produced during the 1960s and 70s.
Oscar winner Sally Field was a popular sitcom star who had yet to prove her acting chops when Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring was broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week in February 1971.
Field had become a popular teen idol after starring in the 1965 beach party sitcom Gidget, followed by the silly if enjoyable The Flying Nun a few years later. With Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring she proved herself to be an acting force to be reckoned with, perhaps even leading to her acclaimed, award winning portrayal in Sybil (1976) and her Oscar-winning roles in Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984).
Which means they liked her, they really liked her!
One thing the ABC Movies of the Week have never gotten enough credit for is the groundbreaking directness with which they addressed social issues of the day. Viewing many of these films today, it's easy to laugh at the badly dated fashions of the period and the quasi-elevator music scores. Look closer.
Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring is a work of surprising depth and maturity. As the film opens, teenage runaway Denise (Field) comes home to the welcoming arms of parents who profess to love her. The parents (Jackie Cooper and Eleanor Parker) probably do love their girls, but we soon see that this upwardly mobile couple is far more worried about keeping up appearances than in maintaining a happy family.
Brief flashbacks reveal Denise's life on the road: panhandling, drugs, sleeping in parks and eating out of trash cans. She comes home looking for stability, some real food and clean clothes.
What she finds are paranoid, smothering parents who cannot see that they drove Denise away. Nor can they see that their younger daughter Susie (Lane Bradbury) can't take much more and is nearing her own breaking point.
ABC TV
Denise (Sally Field, right) and Susie (Lane Bradbury) left.
The film doesn't judge the parents, the daughters, or the street people who Denise once thought of as family. It merely presents what is: a series of lost souls unable to find their way in a harsh, judgmental world.
Which is the worse of the two, home or the streets? In truth, it's a toss-up.
click to enlarge
ABC TV
Screen grab: Sally Field as Denise
Thanks to strong writing and great acting, Maybe I'll Come Home In the Spring offers a powerful and disturbing peek inside the American Dream turned nightmare.
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
