Daily paper turning yellow? (Not because it’s been on the doorstep for two weeks)

We’ve all noticed the changes, some of them quite severe, to the Ventura County Star in the past 6 months or so. Sections cut, thinner editions overall and to their credit, a reorganized Web site with a lot of fat trimmed away. But leaner, it seams has also turned meaner, and as an editor for [...]

Legendary L.A. punk promoter is mourned by many

“When Brendan started the Masque, it was a pure act, creating a place for people he liked, to do their thing, have fun and get wild, no salesmen allowed.”– Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea’s is just one of a rapidly growing collection of memories and tributes popping up in newspapers [...]

“Don’t you wish Ventura County had more to offer culturally?”

Someone asked me this yesterday and my answer was “no.” I find Ventura County to be culturally wealthy. I think much of it is a bit below the radar, maybe that’s why it’s perceived as lacking.
The subject got me thinking a bit about the definition of “culture” and if we’re really clear as to its [...]

CNN at Zoey’s Cafe

The video is courtesy of Missy Ellis. Thanks Missy!
Technically CNN’s Headline News taped a segment at Zoey’s Cafe in Ventura this week to spotlight the venue’s popular “bluegrass jam” that’s been held twice a month for seven years. Why is little ol’ Zoey’s getting attention from CNN? Because Phil [...]

Conspiracy theories and downtown Ventura’s nightlife

Violence, drinking problems, encounters with the “authorities.”
No, it’s not my teenage son—it’s the fear and loathing in downtown Ventura of late.  I heard tell that it’s all part of a plot by a certain developer to take over the city’s nightlife by sabotaging competing venues.  Actually, it was more like the paranoid fantasy of a [...]

Obama as muse

Much has been said and written recently about the potential impact our new president could have on the arts in America. Obama is literary and tech-savvy. When he described the prose from a book he was reading as “sparkling,” the loins of writers everywhere briefly tingled. There’s even a petition circulating to add [...]

The death of irony

The following is a correspondence between my dear friend Jay Windsor, who really needs a blog (or I need him to have one) and myself.
Windsor: Interesting piece about the rather rapid decline of the use of the word “irony,” in recent times. Me, I enlarged the chart that’s offered, printed [...]