pacific sun 12.18.2009 - section 1

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Why am I spending 30 bucks to listen to a song called ‘Aria of Wondrous Elixir’? [SEE PAGE 21] Upfront Grand jury’s shocking energy advice… 9 All in Good Taste Eat local for the holidays! 27 Music Narada Claus is comin’ to town 28 MARiN’S BEST EVERY WEEK ›› pacificsun.com DECEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 24, 2009

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Section 1 of the December 18, 2009 edition of the Pacific Sun

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Page 1: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

Q U O T E O F T H E W E E K : Why am I spending 30 bucks to listen to a song called ‘Aria of Wondrous Elixir’? [SEE PAGE 21]

Upfront

Grand jury’sshocking energy advice… 9

All in Good Taste

Eat local forthe holidays! 27

Music

Narada Claus is comin’ to town28

M A R i N ’ S B E S T E V E R Y W E E K

› › pacifi csun.com

D E C E M B E R 1 8 - D E C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 0 9

Page 2: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

2 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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Page 3: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 3

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Page 4: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

4 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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7 Letters 8 Upfront 9 Behind the Sun/Trivia Café/ Heroes & Zeros 13 That TV Guy 14 Holidays in the Sun 22 Open Homes 24 Food 27 All in Good Taste 28 Music 29 Talking Pictures 30 Film 31 Movies 32 Sundial 35 Classifi eds 37 Horoscope 38 Advice Goddess

+your link to Marin

Member of the Associationof Alternative Newsweeklies

‘Hurt’ so good: Local critics honor incendiary IED drama. Newsgrams, p. 8.

›› ON THE COVER

Design Beth Allen

Pacific Sun835 Fourth St. Suite B(entrance on Cijos St.)San Rafael, CA 94901

Phone: 415/485-6700Fax: 415/485-6226E-Mail: [email protected]

pacifi csun.com

PUBLISHER - Sam Chapman (x315)

EDITORIAL

Editor: Jason Walsh (x316); Reporter: Samantha Campos (x319);

Movie Page Editor: Matt Stafford (x320); Copy Editor:

Carol Inkellis (x317); Calendar Editor: Anne Schrager (x330)

CONTRIBUTORS

Lee Brady, Greg Cahill, Pat Fusco, Richard Gould, Marc Hershon,

Richard P. Hinkle, Brooke Jackson, Brenda K. Kinsel, Jill Kramer

(x322), Lois MacLean, Joel Orff, Rick Polito, Renata Polt, Peter

Seidman, Nikki Silverstein, Annie Spiegelman, David Templeton,

Barry Willis.

Books Editor: Elizabeth Stewart (x326)

ADVERTISING

Advertising Director: Linda Black (x306)

Senior Display Representative: Dianna Stone (x307)

Display Sales: Ethan Simon (x311), Linda Curry (x309);

Inside Sales: Helen Hammond (x303); Courier: Gillian Coder;

Traffic Coordinator: Amanda Deely (x302)

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Art Director/Production Manager: Beth Allen (x335);

Graphic Designers: Gwen Aguilar (x336), Michelle Palmer

(x321); Missy Reynolds, Gabe Lieb, Brindl Markle (x308)

ADMINISTRATION

Business Administrator: Cynthia Nguyen (x331)

Administrative Assistant: Elisa Keiper (x301)

Circulation Manager: Bob Lampkin (x340)

PRINTING: Paradise Post, Paradise, CA

Year 47, No. 50›› THiS WEEK

›› STAFF

Embarcadero Publishing Company. (USPS 454-630) Publishedweekly on Fridays. Distributed free at more than 400 loca-tions throughout Marin County. Adjudicated a newspaper of General Circulation. Home delivery in Marin available by subscription: $5/month on your credit card or $60 for one year, cash or check. No person may, without the permission of the Pacific Sun, take more than one copy of each Pacific Sun weekly issue. Entire contents of this publication Copyright ©2009 Embarcadero Publishing Company ISSN; 0048-2641. All rights reserved. Unsolicited manuscripts must be submit-ted with a stamped self-addressed envelope.

Page 5: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 5

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Page 6: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

6 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

When you or a loved one are suffering, Recovery Without Walls (RWW) is there to help.

Recovery Without Walls successfully treats patients with an individualized, outpatient program. It is founded and directed by Howard Kornfeld, M.D., a leading authority on treating alcoholism and addiction, as well as chronic pain. Dr. Kornfeld has been a medical leader in Marin County for over two decades and has taught about addiction medicine as a member of the clinical faculty at the UCSF School of Medicine for over ten years.

Dr. Kornfeld is an expert in gentle, therapeutic detoxification from alcohol and drugs, particularly as a leading practitioner in the use of Suboxone (buprenorphine), a medication for the management of both pain and the addiction that can happen so quickly from opiate pain pills. Dr. Kornfeld combines his pharmacological expertise with a pioneering medical methodology that naturally aids recovery.

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Page 7: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

because you can’t see him and he does im-possible things. Well, then perhaps people should not believe in God because you can’t see him and he does impossible things.

I, for one, do believe in Santa Claus for the following reasons:

He is happy and jolly and he likes red, which makes a cold December brighter.

He is kind to animals because when I leave treats for his reindeer they are always eaten, even if they are “sweets.”

He is able to fl y around the world far faster than the speed of light and go down chimneys much smaller than his belly.

I believe in Santa because he never wor-ries about whether you are poor or rich, black or white, yellow or tan, or Jewish or Christian, or Buddhist or Muslim or Shinto or atheist or agnostic or young or old, just as long as you believe.

He never mentions dieting; in fact, he be-lieves in sugarplums and often gives sweets.

He cares only about surprise, and giving and loving and never once has asked for anything in return, except that we try to be good.

He thinks it is fun to laugh. “Ho, ho, ho.”I believe in Santa because his mode of

transport does not pollute our air. I believe in Santa because he offers hope and one may anticipate for 364 days of the year. One can ask him for anything—a toy, a car, world peace, true love and he never says “no.” He teaches me “if one Christmas is a fl op, even Santa makes mistakes and it is wrong for me to ask the impossible of a ‘quite jolly old elf.’”

He teaches children the joy of receiving and as they grow older the “good” boys and girls become the givers because they want to give joy to others and make them as happy as they were when Santa gave to them.

He taught me when I was very young that believing makes it true and so I learned that Santa Claus is real because the little known “clause” in Claus is this: When you fi gure it all out and stop believing in him in your immature, childhood way, you must become him and then forever and ever, and for all time he is as real as real can be.

Ruth W. Scott, Mill Valley

Your soapbox is waiting at›› pacifi csun.com

T O P P O S T I N G S T H I S W E E K

Put your stamp on the letters to the editor at›› pacifi csun.com

›› LETTERS

All you need is loveI am greatly disturbed by the folks who are

so upset about two Disney princesses dancing on the cover [Oct. 23]. Get over it. We have such fi ne “family values” in our country—where education and healthcare and plain common sense all need to have a bake sale to fi nd funding, while most of our tax dollars go to war and killing people.

We are bankrupt—economically and mor-ally. You know what Jesus would do, and it is not fearing, hating or killing. If you are not about love and kindness, or washing another’s feet, then you really should look to see how far what you profess is from the reality of the master and how he lived.

Love is what matters. Period.Sierra Salin, Fairfax

Here comes the sunWith last week’s international climate

conference in Copenhagen, the world’s at-tention is focused on global warming and the resulting coastal fl ooding and extreme weather patterns.

An article in the respected World Watch magazine suggests that most manmade greenhouse gases responsible for global warming are emitted, not from industrial smokestacks or car exhausts, but from meat and dairy production.

Chief greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by combustion of fossil fuels to operate feed crop, factory farm and slaugh-terhouse machinery, trucks and refrigera-tion equipment. The much more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are discharged

from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools, respectively.

Whatever the 190 nations’ representatives decide in Copenhagen, each of us can help reduce global warming three times a day. Our local supermarket stocks a rich variety of soy-based lunch “meats,” hot dogs, veggie burgers, dairy products and ready-to-eat frozen dinners, as well as a vast cornucopia of more traditional fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Patrick Sullivan, Mill Valley

Dig a ponyThe Christmas

season is in full swing, and PETA is asking revelers to spread goodwill to animals by keep-ing them out of their holiday plans. Here are the top fi ve reasons to skip reindeer photo ops, horse-drawn car-riage rides and liv-ing Nativity scenes:

It’s not uncom-mon for animals used in holiday displays to be sent to slaughter when the season is over.

Congested streets and mall parking lots are no place for horses. Horses and humans alike have been seriously hurt—some fatally—when horses have been spooked by an unex-pected noise and run amok.

Reindeer can transmit numerous diseases to humans, including anthrax, salmonellosis, rabies and ringworm.

Constantly being exposed to public inter-action often leaves animals stressed and fear-ful. Over the years, animals in holiday displays

have snapped and made a break for it, and they have paid with their lives after being hit by cars or dying from shock.

Understaffed and overburdened animal control departments don’t have the resources to monitor these displays and enforce com-pliance with anti-cruelty laws.

This Christmas, give animals the best gift of all by refusing to support these kinds of ex-ploitative displays. Peace and goodwill to all.

Jennifer O’Connor

Animals in Entertainment Campaign, PETA

Baby, you’re a rich manGod wants us to love one another with

no strings attached. Even the unloved, the unwanted and the unneeded.

If you are rich you want to go to heaven—and you don’t want your in-laws wishing you were dead before your time so they could get at all your money. Or when you do die, you do without honor, for being greedy all your life. But you can do something good with your money, like helping those who are really in need. Give away all the money you don’t need to the poor. If you do, even after 100 years have passed when you are dead and gone, people will still say good things about you—and look up to you and God’s light will live through your good work. For years to come.

Robbie Willis, San Rafael

Nowhere manI’m writing in

regard to David Templeton’s story about how adults found the truth out about Santa [ “ S a n t a — T h e Whole Shocking Story,” Dec. 11]. The past few years much has been written and broad-cast about the commercialization of Christmas and the danger of de-luding children by allowing them to believe in Santa Claus (as if we could stop them).

People say that they don’t believe in Santa

Horses and other large animals are simply ill-equipped for a life of public performance.

Norman Rockwell’s 1939 Post cover, ‘Extra Good Boys and Girls,’ sold in 2007 for over $2 million. Now that’s what we call a true believer.

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 7

›› TOWNSQUARE

Napa Wine Train to receive $54 million of Stimulus Money Sen. John McCain said that it was “silly and shortsighted” to fund this fl ood control project on the Napa river for a tourist wine train. He has put this project on the list

Upfront: 24 hour party people If the Republican Party has been the “party of no,” the Democratic community organizing effort has been the party of “can we talk?” (to para-phrase a Joan Rivers line). Read...

What happened to Merry Christmas In my line of business, I meet a lot of Marinites all year long. I’m amazed at how few are willing to to say “Merry Christmas”. Even when I say it, they come back with Happy H...

Page 8: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

The title of the recent grand jury report about Marin Clean Energy leaves little doubt as to the intentions of the grand

jurors. The title: “Pull the Plug.”Far from being a rational piece of reasoned

investigation, the report is neither accurate nor fair, say Marin Clean Energy proponents. County Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who also is chairman of the Marin Energy Author-ity board, puts it bluntly: “I’m not surprised at all. I could tell from the orientation of the members and the types of questions raised that it was going to end up being a hit job.”

Ed Mainland, a member of Sustain-able Novato and a longtime participant in Marin’s sustainability movement, says he sees the fi ngerprint of PG&E. “The grand jury report is sort of a mini-scrapbook cut and paste job from PG&E talking points.” Novato, Corte Madera and Larkspur are the only cities that have declined to become members of the Marin Energy Authority, a joint powers agency.

PG&E has spent serious time and money trying to quash attempts across the state to form local power agencies under a state program that allows what’s called commu-nity choice aggregation. The Marin Energy Authority formed in December 2008. It isn’t the fi rst of its kind in the state.

The San Joaquin Valley Power Author-ity paved a trail for other entities in the state interested in creating public power agencies. When news broke that San Joaquin was sus-pending its efforts to break away from PG&E, opponents of public power said the experi-ence should be a cautionary tale for Marin.

But, say Marin Clean Energy proponents, rather than act as a cautionary tale about energy markets and public power, the San Joaquin story actually is a cautionary tale about the tactics PG&E has been using to block public power plans. After the state law passed in 2002 that allows cities and counties to form their own public power agencies, the San Joaquin agency, which comprises 12 jurisdictions in the Central Valley, was out in front of the pack. “San Joaquin started the request for proposals process in November of 2007,” says Dawn Weisz, a Marin County sustainability planner and interim director of the Marin Energy Authority, “and they had locked in a deal with one supplier in January 2008.” But before it could start to provide power, PG&E pressured the agency to sign an agreement that would have al-lowed the cities and towns in the agency to be responsible for any debts and liabilities of the authority’s programs. And that, says Weisz, “is contrary to state law.”

The utility raised the issue before the Cali-fornia Public Utilities Commission, which resulted in a six-month delay in implement-ing the public power contract with an energy supplier. The utilities commission ruled in favor of the San Joaquin agency. PG&E fi led an appeal, which caused another delay. By the end of that process, the energy market “had changed dramatically,” says Weisz. San Joaquin, however, is taking another crack at local energy.

That kind of blocking tactic was seen in Marin when PG&E offered Novato a special deal if the city would turn its back on

Metallica frontman donates land James Hetfield, vocalist for Metallica, has

donated 330 acres of his property overlooking Lucas Valley to Marin County for agri-

cultural preservation. Previously, Hetfield donated more than 400 acres to the county

for open space. The county is also in talks with Hetfield about an estimated $200,000

project to reroute the Luiz Ranch Fire Trail on his property, which is currently obstructed

by a fence. In September, Metallica played a sold-out benefit concert for the Marin His-

tory Museum, which received approval this week from the San Rafael Planning Com-

mission to operate its Marin Rocks rock ‘n’ roll exhibit at 850 Fourth St. in downtown San

Rafael. —Samantha Campos

Local film critics honor ‘Hurt Locker’ The Hurt Locker has been named best picture

of 2009 by the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, a collective of film writers from such Bay

Area publications as the Pacific Sun, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Palo Alto Weekly,

among others. The critics’ group also named Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow as the

year’s best director. Other honorees include Colin Firth as best actor in A Single Man and

Meryl Streep for her portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia. Other awards went to Christian

McKay for his supporting performance in Me and Orson Welles; Mo’Nique for supporting

actress in Precious; Coraline for best animated feature; Quentin Tarantino for his original

screenplay to Inglourious Basterds; Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach for their adapta-

tion of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox; and Roger Deakins for cinematography in A Serious Man. Rounding out the awards were You, the Living for foreign language film and Anvil! The Story of Anvil as best documentary.—Jason Walsh

Point Reyes oyster farm fined for clams Drakes Bay Oyster Co. received a $61,250

fine from the California Coastal Commission for cultivating clams within a harbor seal

protection area. Kevin Lunny, owner of the controversial Point Reyes oyster farm, said the

clams were placed in the area mistakenly, due to faulty navigational equipment. Confu-

sion about placement started in 1993, when the former Johnson’s Oyster Co. applied to

the state Fish and Game Commission for permission to grow clams in a 1,000-plus-acre

section of the bay—the commission granted a permit for a 1-acre parcel designated

for scallop production, so Johnson’s grew the clams in the larger area. When Lunny took

over operations in 2005, the farm continued clam production in the area and while he

petitioned the commission to change the designation, an inspector ordered the farm to

move the clams—which is when, Lunny said, the bivalves were erroneously placed using

Fish and Game coordinates. —SC

Shorts... The 142 Throckmorton Theatre has begun its “New 142” fundraising cam-

paign with the help of an anonymous donor who has offered to match up to $50,000 in

donations from the community through the end of December 2009. For more info, call

415/383-9611 or visit online at www.142ThrockmortonTheatre.org...Thirty county

employees have volunteered to retire early in exchange for a $25,000 bonus. The elimina-

tion of the 30 positions, effective March 31, 2010, is expected to save the county $3.1 mil-

lion annually. —SC

›› UPFRONT

Runaway grand jury?Clean energy proponents hear voice of PG&E in scathing grand jury report

b y P e t e r S e i d m a n

›› NEWSGRAMS

EXTRA! EXTRA! Post your Marin news at ›› pacifi csun.com

10 >

8 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 24, 2009

Page 9: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

1. “The more self-centered and egotistical a guy is, the better ballplayer he’s going to be,” is attributed to this athlete who attended Terra Linda High School in the 1960s, pitched for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and was known as “Spaceman” due to his outrageous behavior. Who is he?2. Which plant, common around Christmas time, contains poisonous berries that should not be eaten?3. Our paper money has this formula: 75 percent material A, and 25 percent mate-rial B. What are A and B? 4. Based on the music of rock band Queen, this musical opened in London’s West End in 2002, and is being produced in many countries of the world as we speak. What’s the title?5a. The fall of the 800-year-old Roman Empire was hastened by the Sack of Rome on August 24, 410, when the city was conquered by Alaric I, leader of what barbarian East Germanic tribes? 5b. What form of art and architec-ture is inspired by these tribes? 5c. In what century was this French miniature painting of the Sack of Rome created? 6. In 1966-67, this man rented the top two floors of the Desert Inn, refused to check out, purchased the hotel and was left in peace. Who was he?7. What does it mean to “86” some-one or something? Give a few answers. What’s the origin?8. U.S. President Johnson, his wife and two daughters were all known as LBJ. Name them all.9. What country of the world has the second largest number of Internet users? (total, not per capita)10. Millions of sports fanatics join fantasy leagues and get points based on the accomplishments of their dream team. What is a tasty name for these sports leagues?

BONUS: Two years before his death in 1998, Frank Sinatra’s daughter Nancy asks her father what he wants for Christmas, and Frank replies, “Another...” what?

Answerson page 35

Howard Rachelson, Marin’s Master of Trivia, invites you to a live team trivia contest at 7:30pm every Wednesday at the Broken Drum on Fourth Street in San Rafael. Join the quiz—send your Marin factoids to [email protected].

›› TRiViA CAFÉ b y H o w a r d R a c h e l s o n

#5

Marin music lovers had fi nally become adult contemporaries 20 years ago this week.

It was December of 1989 and popular music was in a

state of alarming transition. Punk was dead, James Brown was in prison and Ice Cube had left N.W.A.

So Marin County music makers seized the opportunity to single-handedly reinvigorate American popular music—by stripping it of all its energy, immediacy and excitement.

Marin, according to music producer Lloyd Barde, had become the unoffi cial “mecca of the New Age music market.”

“Critics call it yup-pie Muzak, the sounds of Sominex, or elevator music for the ’90s,” wrote Pacifi c Sun staff reporter Greg Cahill in his story “Bay Area Boom in New Age Music.” “But for a growing number of Marin businesses, it has the sweet sound of success.”

And sweet it was. New Age music fi rst meandered into America’s subconscious in the mid-1960s, mostly as mood music for Zen medi-tation. But the new genre re-ally came of age, as it were, in the 1970s and ’80s as already semi-dormant jazz and ex-perimental rock bands like the Pat Metheny Group, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd lapsed even further into the Land of Nod with quirky electronic burps and tape-looped animal noises—and sold a ton of records in the progressive-pop pro-cess. Soon, a thousand ethereal synth bands were born—most of which, it turned out, were from Marin. Such local New Age acts as Ray Lynch, the Turtle Island String Quar-tet, Denny Zeitlin, Constance Demby, Jim Chappell, Steven Halpern and Montreaux were just the tip of the iceberg lettuce on the Marin supermarket music scene.

Following two decades of antiestablish-ment rocking, it appeared, the baby boom-ers just wanted to relax. After a youth with middle fi ngers raised valiantly at the face of unchecked materialism and establishment corruption, Marin hands were now locked in collective shuni mudra.

Marin, in fact, was the logical place to be-come the epicenter of the movement, record company consultant Geoffrey Workman told the Sun. “We live in a very affl uent county,”

noted Workman. “And our people need this music for personal growth.” Some of the genre’s biggest fans, he said, were investment bankers, doctors and real estate brokers.

North Bay New Age record producer Neil Sapper cautioned, however, that too much success could be a “killer” for the new style. “We don’t want to be like the other guys,” Sapper said, referring to the kind of catchy, enjoyable songs often heard on the airwaves. “I mean, radio was dying a couple of years ago because it had grown so stale, with

formats that were afraid to be adventurous.” And any style willing to encompass 30-minute-long sequencer runs in songs about faer-ies with lyrics written in Sanskrit was nothing if not adventurous.

But whatever you do, warned Sausalito New Age record producer Ter-rence Yallop, don’t call it

“New Age.”“We all in some way dislike

the term New Age,” yelped Yallop. “The music is now reaching beyond the cross-legged incense burners or metaphysical explorers who

were initially interested in it.” More popular descriptions cir-culating among New Age musi-cians at the time included “adult contemporary,” “contemporary instrumental” and “adult con-temporary instrumental.”

Whatever they called it, the soothing sounds of the Pacifi c Ocean at high tide set against the sustained drone of John Tesh’s polyphonic synth pad was defi nitely Marin’s new rock ’n’ roll.

It certainly was for the emerging KKSF ra-dio station in San Francisco, anyway, “where New Age recording artists like Yanni and Patrick O’Hearn are sandwiched between harder acts like Tracy Chapman and David Sanborn,” station music director Nick Francis said with no hint of irony.

“When you’re in the Top 10 for adults age 25 to 54 you’re in a very enviable position,” said Francis. “What we play is contemporary instrumental music that has mass appeal with the same aspects that a regular pop song would have.”

Added Francis: “Although if you can dance to it, we probably won’t play it.” Discuss ‘Yanni Live at the Acropolis’ with Jason at [email protected]

Lost in the supermarket musicMarin—Live at the Acropolis!

b y J a s o n W a l s h

›› BEHiND THE SUN From the Sun vaults, December 15 - 21, 1989

20years ago

Blast into Marin’s past with moreBehind the Sun at ›› pacifi csun.com

▲ MB of Corte Madera alerted us to a group of strangers who helped her family earlier this month. One day, while MB’s son was walking their dog on Tamal Vista Bou-levard, a car swerved into the dog—which, spooked, ran away. Witnessing the hit-and-run, Mary Connolly and her daughter Kelsey

ran after the pooch for several blocks and, even though the dog was in shock and growl-ing at them, they were able to lead MB to her. Then helpful passerby Quail Baez gave them her leash and a blanket so they could secure the injured canine and get her to emergency care, while samaritan Leslie Jacobs comfort-ed MB’s son and called ahead to the vet.

HE

RO ▼ Another reader complained

recently of using a coupon mailer from a local salon for a “mini-facial,” which she said spe-cifically stated the inclusion of a professional “deep pore extrac-tion.” But after waiting 20 min-utes, she opined, the facial was nothing but superficial moistur-izers. When questioned, the salon aes-thetician said the ad was a “mistake”—despite our reader having seen the same advertisement displayed for months. In conclusion, our reader laments her time wasted—and her poor passed-over pores persist plugged and pullulating. Um, ew.—Samantha Campos

ZE

RO

Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to scampos@pacifi csun.com.Toss roses, hurl stones with more Heroes and Zeros at ›› pacifi csun.com

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DECEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 9

Page 10: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

10 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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the Marin Clean Energy proposal and stick with PG&E. That violates state law, and PG&E had to back away from the proposal.

Those kinds of shenanigans fall in stark contrast to the grand jury report, which says the effort to pursue Marin Clean Energy should be abandoned in an attempt to work with “local foundations, federal, state and lo-cal agencies and PG&E to foster cooperation.”

That seems odd to proponents of Marin Clean Energy, who tried for months to work with PG&E to arrive at a plan that would meet the clean energy requirements of the new local power agency. “We worked very closely in many meetings with PG&E to fi nd a way that they could meet the local goals around renew-able energy,” says Weisz, “and they ultimately cut off those discussions in April of this year, after we had spent a lot of time trying to craft something. They were unwilling to put any-thing on paper that we had worked on over a four-month period. And after that, they were reprimanded by the California Public Utilities Commission for the [special] offer they had put on paper” in Novato. The suggestion that PG&E would be willing to engage in a coop-erative effort with local power agencies seems even stranger in light of the ballot measure the utility company is working on.

PG&E is behind a measure aimed at the June 2010 ballot that some say would kill public power in the state if voters approve it.

Originally called “The Taxpayers Right to Vote Act,” it is a constitutional amendment that mandates a two-thirds vote in any jurisdic-tion that seeks to create a public power agency and break away from an existing utility power grid. It also would require an agency like Marin Clean Energy to garner a two-thirds vote in a proposed new expansion area, as well as hold a separate election in the existing service area. In other words, before expand-ing, a public power agency would need a two-thirds vote from its entire customer base. Proponents of community choice power agencies say it is a blatant attempt to use the almost insurmountable two-thirds rule to effectively block local power.

The timing of the grand jury report comes as the Marin Energy Authority is nearing a Feb. 4 vote that will decide whether it ac-cepts a contract with an energy wholesaler. McGlashan and others say the report was the subject of a suspicious leak. It seems PG&E had a copy of the report before the grand jury released the document. An e-mail from a Mill Valley resident to members of the Mill Valley City Council says the resident received the re-port Dec. 4 from David Rubin, PG&E’s direc-tor of service analysis. The report was released to the public Dec. 7, although it’s dated Dec. 2. That early release by the PG&E representative is illegal. McGlashan fi led a formal complaint with the county district attorney.

The allegation that the grand jury report is slanted in favor of PG&E also rests on a serious omission. Among the fi ndings in the

report is the assumption that the business plan for Marin Clean Energy, which was formulated in 2008, “is outdated and lacks suffi cient detail, including current pro-forma data, updated market analysis, load projec-tions, customer exit fees and the specifi ed quantitative analysis.”

The grand jury publishes a list of docu-ments that it uses in analyzing an issue. A key document is missing from the list in this re-port. In a preliminary response to the report, the Marin Energy Authority board asserts that, contrary to the allegation in the report, the business plan “is an extremely detailed document, prepared in cooperation with energy industry experts.” The response con-tinues by saying the business plan underwent two independent peer reviews, both of which found it to be comprehensive and containing “no fatal fl aws.” In addition, a draft version of the implementation plan for Marin Clean Energy “was made available to the grand jury as requested and provides an even higher level of specifi city and detail, as it is more current.” That implementation plan was not included in the documents the grand jury perused for the report. The board of the Marin Energy Authority approved the implementation plan Dec. 3 and submitted it to the state public utilities commission Dec. 4. “The implemen-tation plan,” states the response, “is, in effect, an update to the business plan.”

That kind of omission, say clean energy proponents, calls the report into serious question. In addition, the report suggests

that many questions remain unanswered concerning the Marin Clean Energy proposal, questions that have been asked and answered numerous times as proponents have made the rounds of city councils and public meetings. At each step along the way, and in letters to the editor, a curious similarity in criticism crops up, which suggests PG&E talking points. And those same talking points seem to be embedded in the grand jury report.

One of the criticisms of the energy plan that turns up repeatedly, including an allegation in the grand jury report, is the assumption that the proposal will put taxpayers at serious risk in a program that’s never been tried in Cali-fornia. In addition, the report cites a New York Times story about a power entity in Florida that promised to deliver solar power, but much of the money raised went to adminis-trative costs. That kind of anecdotal evidence does a disservice to the grand jury because the fact that one energy agency was mismanaged in Florida proves nothing about the overall effi cacy of community choice and local power.

What the report fails to give adequate atten-tion to are the successful community choice local power agencies that already operate in Massachusetts and Ohio. The report also fails to note the fact that one in four Californians already receives electricity from local munici-pal utilities, not from monolithic monopoly power utilities like PG&E. And, notes the Marin Energy Authority’s preliminary re-sponse to the report, those municipal utilities “generally charge their ratepayers 20 percent

< 8 Runaway grand jury?

Page 11: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 11

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less than the investor-owned utilities and are governed by elected boards.” Under the Marin Clean Energy program, customers who choose not to opt out would automatically purchase electricity generated from sources that are 25 percent greenhouse-gas-free. Customers who choose to pay a relatively small surcharge would purchase 100 percent clean energy. The clean-energy proposal will give current PG&E customers multiple opportunities to opt out of the green program and stick with PG&E, which will continue to transmit electricity to all customers. (Keep in mind that all energy is pooled. But think of the energy grid as a pond. The energy that customers pay for through Marin Clean Energy is generated from clean sources, which helps fi ll the pond with clean energy, displacing dirty energy that would have been there had customers not signed up with Clean Energy.)

PG&E currently provides about 15 percent clean energy to its customers and is under state mandate to increase that to 20 percent in 2010. But the utility already has fi led for and received a waiver from the state because it will not meet that target until after the deadline.

Marin Clean Energy would, out of the gate, supply its customers with a minimum of 25 percent clean energy and, notes Mainland, that the goal is to be 100 percent renewable, leapfrogging the PG&E state-mandated target.

The grand jury suggests that the county and its cities seek to improve current clean energy programs rather than embark on Marin Clean Energy. But, says Weisz, those programs cost

taxpayer money that comes out of general funds. Ratepayers fund Marin Clean Energy.

In addition, the grand jury’s recommenda-tion that the county should work with PG&E to create clean energy programs rather than launch local initiatives is belied by a new report. The UCLA Environmental Law Cen-ter and the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at the University of California this month released a report titled “In Our Backyard: How to Increase Renewable Energy Production on Big Buildings and Other Local Spaces.” Although Marin may not have a plethora of big buildings, and the open space it does have may pose challenges for renew-able energy production, the county still has ample opportunity to promote local clean energy production by local companies. The number of solar installers currently working in the county proves the possibilities. Not to mention other forms of production.

A key fi nding in the UC report: “Decentral-ized renewable energy generation represents the single most immediate and feasible means to produce renewable energy at a broad scale without reliance on long-distance transmis-sion lines, some of which have yet to be built.”

That’s what sustainability and clean energy proponents in Marin have been saying for years. Contact the writer at [email protected]

It’s your county, speak up at›› pacifi csun.com

Page 12: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

12 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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Pacifi c Sun›› pacifi csun.com

Page 13: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 13

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The Pacific Sun’s annual Freeway Fiction contest—short, pithy stories composed while commuting—is revving up again. In honor of Highway 101, these fictional nuggets must be exactly 101 words long. Although the story length is constrained, the subject matter is not—let your imagination soar as you conjure up situations, characters, action.

Once you arrive at your home or office, put your road words down on paper (or Word doc as the case may be), slap on an appropriate title (titles don’t count as part of the 101 words) and send us your story. We’ll publish the best ones. All entries must be typed and include your name, address and phone number.

E-mail entries [email protected]

Or Mail to: Freeway Fiction c/o Pacific Sun835 Fourth St. Suite B San Rafael, CA 94901

Deadline for entries Thursday, December 31

Pacific Sun›› pacificsun.com

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›› THAT TV GUY b y R i c k P o l i t o

FRIDAY, DEC. 18 Supernanny This week’s family has four children under the age of 5. Both parents are already working full-time, but we’re guessing they would increase their hours if they could. ABC. 8pm.Frosty Returns And this time, it’s personal. CBS. 8:30pm.The Top 40 Videos of 2009 These are just music videos. But we’re sure the Tiger Woods Collection will be available as a box set any day now. VH1. 9pm.Where the Heart Is A pregnant teen is aban-doned at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart. We imagine Wal-Marts in Oklahoma have a whole section for that. Aisle 7, we’ve been told. (2000) CMTV. 9pm.

SATURDAY, DEC. 19 The Wizard of Oz Trans-ported to a surreal land-scape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three stran-gers to kill again. (1939) TBS. 7pm.Holiday on Ice, Las Vegas Style If it were truly “Las Vegas Style,” the ice would be in the drinks. And the skaters would be naked. KICU Channel 36. 9pm.Ghost Intervention This “boo” thing really isn’t really working for you anymore. The Learning Channel. 9pm.

SUNDAY, DEC. 20 Survivor: Samoa Is it fit-ting or ironic that the contestants are ending their long dysfunctional sojourn about the same time your family arrives for the holi-days? CBS. 8pm.Two Weeks in Hell And this is just Green Beret training. They don’t even have to argue about who Mom loves more. Discov-ery Channel. 8pm.Christmas in Wash-ington 2009 With Dick Cheney back in Wyoming, the Grinch will be played this year by Joe Lieber-man. TNT. 8pm.

MONDAY, DEC. 21 I Want a Dog for Christ-mas, Charlie Brown Rerun celebrates Christ-mas with Snoopy and his canine companion, Spike, because nothing says more about the meaning of Christmas than a lonely child hanging out with a pair of anthropomorphic canine siblings separated since infancy when they were sold for profit. ABC. 8pm. Who Was Jesus? This episode explores the years from his birth into early adulthood. What did he do before the savior thing kicked in at 30? Is there a training program for saviors? Grad school? Did he have room-mates? Discovery Channel. 9pm.

MTV Cribs Tonight’s tours include Tony Hawk’s house. We wouldn’t want to live in a house where you have to pull a triple ollie off the half-pipe to get to the bathroom. MTV. 9pm.

TUESDAY, DEC. 22 The Biggest Loser This is the “Where are they now?” episode. We’d check the nearest Sizzler. NBC. 8pm.Freddy vs. Jason Night-mare on Elm Street’s Fred-dy Krueger and Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th series face off. It just seems this would be better handled in an

American Idol format. (2003) SyFy. 8pm.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23 Footloose Kevin Bacon plays a high school boy from the city who moves to a rural community where the townsfolk have banned dancing. Once you get a taste of Bacon’s particular brand of dancing, you’ll see why. (1984) VH1. 9pm.Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura If you’re the kind of person who follows Jesse Ventura’s conspiracy theories, you’ve probably already disconnected the cable to stop the CIA from reading your thoughts. TruTV. 9pm.

THURSDAY, DEC. 24 Casper’s Haunted Christmas The Friendly Ghost learns a disap-pointing lesson about Christmas: Dead kids don’t get presents. (2000) Cartoon Network. 7pm.Disney’s Prep & Land-ing Apparently Santa has a team of elves who do the advance work, sneak-ing into your home to get things ready and giving you another reason to put a lock on your liquor cabinet. ABC. 8pm.A Christmas Story Every year TNT offers a solid 25 hours of back-to-back screenings. By the eighth

showing, you’ll be rooting for him to turn the gun on his family. (1984) TBS. 8pm.A Miser Brothers’ Christmas After a sleigh accident, the Heat Miser and the Cold Miser have to take over for Santa, providing the Heat Miser a chance to drop in on Donald Trump and get his hair back. ABC Family. 10pm.

Critique That TV Guy at [email protected]

Turn on more TV Guy at›› pacificsun.com

Dancing’s not the only thing they should’ve banned. Wednesday, 9pm.

The desperados spy their next victim, Saturday at 7.

Page 14: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

How deep is need for some Marin families and individuals, old and young alike, in this holiday season—a season mired in a deep recession?

Phil Lastreto, associate director of the Marin Community Food Bank, recently received this call: A woman said that over the years she had been a contributor to the food bank, but now she was forced to ask a question for which she apologized profusely before asking—would it be possible for her family to get food from one of the food bank pantries? Lastreto assured her she would be more than welcome to do so because that’s what the food was for—people in need.

There have been similar calls, Lastreto says. It’s the fi rst time he can remember anything like them.

The deep economic recession we are in knows no season; it has hit hard in Marin as well as across the country throughout this year. But perhaps at no time is it more pronounced than during the holidays when thoughts should turn to happier things, to hope. For many in Marin that will not be the case due to the tremen-dous needs of so many families and individuals for some kind of relief—relief to simply help them make it through the next weeks and months. Marin relief agencies, in fact, report need is up anywhere from 30 to 70 percent for such things as clothes, food, shelter—or perhaps a toy or two for children. In one of the na-tion’s wealthiest counties, the economic bottom has fallen out for many. Diane Linn, executive director of the Ritter Cen-ter, which provides numerous year-round services for the economically disadvantaged, said she has seen “a marked increase” in people in need of help. “These are people who never thought they would be accessing these kinds of ser-vices—then they lost their job and car and house and are trying to keep it together.”

Linn said that what concerns her the most is that when the holidays are over and the lights go dark and winter digs in, those in need who have been helped in the last month or so will be forgotten even though their needs will re-main. “It is in the dead of winter, after Christmas, when we run low on food and clothing,” she said.

Christine Paquette, director of develop-ment for St. Vincent de Paul, says her organization that helps to feed those in need, is looking for meat—fresh, fro-zen or canned. She says there has been ample giving by Marin residents and things at the moment are somewhat stable. But the din-ing room where free meals are dispensed has 30 percent more people in need of food than in the past. Also, she added, “We can always use coats, always will take garden fresh vegetables,” as well as fruit. She said what they particularly need is lettuce because “we have a nice salad bar that is always the fi rst thing to go.” Plus, she added, the organi-zation is always looking for donations, which is what keeps them

in operation.Dianna Garcia of the Salva-

tion Army says thanks to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots her organization will be able to pro-vide thousands of toys for children. Plus, the traditional bell ringers outside of retail stores are bringing in money. Also, the Christmas trees with tags on them in the Marin malls and elsewhere contain names of children and the toys they want—and that can add much to a family’s holidays. But, she added, the Salvation Army still needs many essential things such as coats, shoes, blankets and sleeping bags. The sleeping bags

and blankets are for the homeless who can fi nd no available shelter in Marin since most are overcrowded already, she said. What is really heartbreaking, she said, are families who come

for help with the utility bills since their power has been cut off for lack of payment. There is not much her organization can do about that she said; “it’s really tragic.”

The toys will be assembled and organized at 5470 Nave Drive, then on Dec. 21, will be distributed at drive-through pickup locations to families who have previously

sent a card asking for help.Marin City’s Performing Stars of Marin is also feeling the effects of the recession. Executive Director Felecia Gaston said the organization is holding its 12th annual Holiday Celebration and Toy Drive from 10am

to 3pm Dec. 23 at the Manzanita Recreation Center in Marin City. While donations will be gladly accepted, Performing Stars is also looking for unwrapped toys for infants and kids up to 11 years

old, gift cards for children 12 to 16, and arts and crafts projects. Also needed are used telephone books, Christmas cards, yarn and

used CDs or DVDs. Respecting Our Elders is a Marin group that helps to provide

food for up to 1,500 households of seniors in affordable hous-ing every week. Ruth Schwartz and her husband, Curt Kinkead,

founded the program a few years ago. Simply put, what they do is get food from such places as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods,

Schwartz said, and distribute it to people just above the poverty line. These folks are not eligible for government

assistance and are forced to choose each month whether to get needed medica-

tion, pay the rent or buy food. The pro-gram, she says, allows them some relief in not having to make such impos-sible decisions. Sometimes homeless persons show up for a meal, some bringing extra food when they can. She says the need for such services as she and her husband provide is “absolutely greater” than it has

been in the past. She says her orga-nization also provides “open food” days

at locations in Hamilton and in San Rafael where food is given out, especially bread—of which there

always seems to be a surplus. Contact Don at [email protected]

14 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 24

Would you say noto this guy?

Marin Food Bank: marinfoodbank.org, 415/883-1302

Ritter Center: rittercenter.org, 415/457-8182

St. Vincent de Paul vinnies.org, 415/454-3303

Salvation Army, satruck.org

Performing Stars of Marin performingstars.org, 415/332-8316

Holiday Toy Drive Admission is free to a basketball doubleheader Sat., Dec. 19 (San Rafael High vs. Albany at 5:30, Dominican vs. Holy Names at 7:30), at Dominican University’s Conlan Center with the donation of a new, unwrapped toy for the Ross Valley fi re and police depart-ments’ toy drive.

eher

pro-children. rs outside of retail stores are bringing in money Also the Christmas

unwrapped toy for the Ross Valley fi re and police depart-ments’ toy drive.

on we are in knows no season; it has hit hard in Marinhroughout this year. But perhaps nced than during the holidayso happier things, to hope. Forbe the case due to the tremen-es and individuals for some kindp them make it through the next ief agencies, in fact, report need is upnt for such things as clothes, food, wo for children. In one of the na-economic bottom has fallen out

ive director of the Ritter Cen- year-round services for the said she has seen “a marked f help. “These are people whoaccessing these kinds of ser-and car and house and are

rns her the ays are over ter digs

been

nhing,”

r of develop-ays her organization is looking for meat—fresh, fro-as been ample giving by Marin

ment are somewhat stable. But the din-dispensed has 30 percent more peoplet. Also, she added, “We can always usesh vegetables,” as well as fruit. She said ttuce because “we have a nice salad o go.” Plus, she added, the organi-ations, which is what keeps them

and blankets are for the homeless who can fi nd no avaovercrowded already, she said. What is really heartbrea

for help with the utility bills since their power has beenot much her organization can do about that she s

The toys will be assembled and organized at 5be distributed at drive-through pickup locatio

sent a card asking for help.Marin City’s Performing Stars of Mrecession. Executive Director Feleciholding its 12th annual Holiday C

to 3pm Dec. 23 at the ManzanitWhile donations will be gladlooking for unwrapped toys

old, gift cards for children 12Also needed are used telephon

used CDs or DVDs.Respecting Our Elders is a

food for up to 1,500 househoing every week. Ruth Schwar

founded the program a few yeis get food from such places as

Schwartz said, and distributeline. These

assistanmon

tiogi

niat loca

where food is given out, always seems to be a surplus. Contact Don at [email protected]

Would you say noto this guy?

Page 15: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 15

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Page 16: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

16 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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H LIDAYS i N tHe SUn

Last minute shoppers are in luck when it comes to selecting gifts for people infatuated with

food and wine. From fine books to vittles, se-lections abound around Marin for these final days of the seasonal shopping rush. Fortu-nately, most of the ones I’ve chosen to write about are available in smaller venues, a defi-nite plus: It’s less stressful to avoid giant stores and malls, and the dollars go to independent merchants who are neighbors.

Local bookstores know their demographics and stock wide assortments of cookbooks. This year everyone has seen or read about Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home or David Chang’s Momofuku; I rec-ommend a few less exalted suggestions. Italy remains a favorite inspiration in our kitchens. Those who watch Lidia Bastianich on her PBS food show—part travelogue, part instruction—know she is free of ego-driven showmanship, a cook who revels in her sub-ject. Her newest work is Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy (Knopf, $35), covering lesser-known regions where she learned from cook-ing with ordinary people, then shared their recipes. Irresistible. Another Italian choice is Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $27.50), more exciting than it sounds. The son of Marcella Hazan, doyenne of Ital-ian cooking in America, he teaches here and in Italy and his expertise on countless uses of pasta is impressive. The book has an excellent glossary on types, shapes and uses; there are lots of vegetarian and kid-friendly recipes, all with concise instructions...Speaking of veg-etarians, any of them should appreciate Love Soup, by Anna Thomas (Norton, $22.95). One of the first writers to take vegetarian recipes to a sophisticated level back in the ’70s, she presents 160 soup choices arranged by season, versatile and useful for all of us...One of the most personal works of 2009 is Judith Jones’ The Pleasures of Cooking for One (Knopf, $27.95), from a star in the food world. As an editor she introduced us to Julia, James (Beard) and other innovators

during her 50-year career. This beautifully produced little book is an argument for tak-ing great care of oneself by dining properly as a singleton, using the best ingredients and always enjoying every meal...The largest and costliest book on the list is My New Orleans: The Cookbook (Andrews McMeel, $45) by chef John Besh. There’s no impartiality

here: I love NOLA and its food and Besh is one of my heroes. This collection of memoir, history (with priceless vintage photos), food talk and 200 recipes is a very singular take on a unique American cui-sine. It’s also a look into how the city and its people survived Katrina and the aftermath. (A portion of proceeds from sales will go to a youth service program in the fields of hospitality and restaurants.)...A pop-ular guide, Hugh John-son’s Pocket Wine Book

2010 (Mitchell Beazley, $14.99) covers 6,000 wines with a supplement on South America; handy, extraordinarily thorough.

No broad discussion of wines here, but a few ideas from a nearby source. Dessert wines from Quady Winery in Madera are fine ways to end feasts: Essensia—Muscat wine with floral peachy overtones—and Elysium from black Muscats, berry-like, good with cheeses. Quady recently introduced artisanal ver-mouths—Palomino Fino, with amontillado-like flavor, and Purple, good aperitifs.

Kitchen goods: chef Eric Ripert (Le Ber-nardin) delighted me with his practical holi-day gift nomination in a slick magazine: the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven ($179 regular retail, “a very efficient, overlooked ap-pliance”)...Marche aux Fleurs in Ross is sell-ing housemade pickles and preserves in rustic baskets ($25 for one, $45 for two)...Cowgirl Creamery carries cheese boards made from salvaged hardwoods by Howard Foote of Tomales; $30 and $50.

Last but not least: gift certificates! Give one for dinner at a favorite restaurant or a home-town store with upscale temptations. Wrap it cleverly for your recipient. A guaranteed win-win solution. Share gift ideas with Pat at [email protected]

Open up and say eat!

Our express-lane gift list for the food lover in your familyb y P a t F u s c o

Your friends will be jacked when they open their Cowgirl Creamery cheese board.

Page 17: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 17

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18 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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Lifestyle in Balance

Last holi-day sea-son, the

economy careened like a runaway train bound for Hades. You might have expected the box set to be the fi rst thing jettisoned by the recording industry to lighten the load.

Guess again. The box set is back:

bigger, boxier and pricier than ever.

Of course, there’s the new four-disc Elvis 75: Good Rockin’ Tonight (Legacy/BMG) and the Beatles 14-CD stereo box set (grab a 10-disc mono edition if you get the chance). But the most ostentatious is Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box (Sony Classical), a 90-CD career retrospective housed in a wood case and ac-companied by a 312-page hard-bound book. Just two of the discs sport previously unre-leased material by the award-winning cellist. The price tag: a hefty $798.98.

One of the cool-est anthologies is AC/DC’s Backtracks (Legacy/BMG), featur-ing two CDs of studio and live rarities and a DVD packed with rare vid-eos. The price: $39.98. Or you can drop $179 on the deluxe edition that includes three discs, a rarities LP, a cof-fee-table book, memorabilia reproductions and a working guitar amp. That’s 12 pounds of heavy-metal thunder!

Or how about the 11-CD Chansons Annees (Mercury Im-

port), gathering the recorded works of French fi lm star Brigitte Bardot. The 1960s sex kitten had a string of

pop hits as well as a num-ber of recordings made with the legendary singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. It’ll cost you a C-note and some change.

Even German industrial-metal band Rammstein is getting into the act. The deluxe edition of the band’s sixth album, Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da, arrives in a metal fl ight case re-plete with bonus CD, six sex toys (numbered to represent each band member),

handcuffs and lubricant. The provocative collector’s item costs around $400.

Country and roots music fans might appreci-ate the three-CD

Hank Williams Revealed: The Unreleased Re-cordings (Time/Life), delivering 50 songs—

including talking blues—culled from an intimate

1951 radio show. It’s the second installment

in a three volume se-ries that is preserving

this long-lost treasure trove of

143 songs total.Roots-rock fans, as well as lov- 21 >

Ninety Yo-Yo Ma CDs for someone you love, or one Yo-Yo disc for 90 of your friends...

Page 19: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 19

To our Special Customers:

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Page 20: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

20 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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Page 21: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009 PACIFIC SUN 21

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ers of Latin rock and even garage-band afi -cionados, will fi nd plenty of thrills in Thee Complete Midniters: Songs of Love, Rhythm & Psychedelia (Micro Werks/BMG). This amazing four-CD set kicks off with “Whittier Blvd.” (inspired by the Roll-ing Stones’ “2120 South Michigan Ave.”), a sonic joy ride down the streets of 1960s East L.A., and never looks back. Dance tunes, torrid ballads, soul songs and Farfi sa organ-driven garage rock—think Doug Sahm, if he’d been born in the barrio.

The three-CD import Cave of Clear Light: Pye & Dawn Records, 1967-1975, showcases the rare under-ground rock issued on these in-fl uential British labels (the early Kinks were on the Pye imprint).

Jazz fans might want to seek the import-ed budget-priced box set Jazz Manifesto: Ella Fitzgerald Sings George Gershwin. The am-bitious 1959 recording project, which teamed the legendary singer with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, resulted in 55 glorious tracks. Also

available on the domestic Polygram label.The four-CD City Lounge: London/Par-

is/New York/Berlin, Vol. 6 (Phantom Sound & Vision) offers 60 tracks from the new generation of sophisticated lounge-inspired soul, nu-jazz, electro, folk and pop artists.

For budget-conscious audiophiles, there’s the two-CD Creedence Clearwater Revival: The Singles Collection (Concord/Fantasy). It gathers 30 remastered, and mostly mono, singles by the hot-selling Bay Area hitmakers.

If all this crass commer-cialism is fostering existential angst, consider purchasing the budget-priced import Simply Buddhist Medita-tion (101 Distribution), a

four-disc box set intended to help you be calm, controlled and self-aware—as in, why am I spending 30 bucks to listen to a song called “Aria of Wondrous Elixir”? Share a holiday tune with Greg at [email protected]

Judge this book by its covers

Prestige Records: The Album Cover

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Not as highly regarded as the Blue Note

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< 18 Meaty beaty big and boxy

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AC/DC will literally ‘let there be rock’

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deluxe edition of ‘Backtracks.’

Page 22: Pacific Sun 12.18.2009 - Section 1

22 PACIFIC SUN DECEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 24, 2009

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NOVATO 523 WOODBRIDGE 4/4 $599,000 $651,000 38 108.7%104 SOMERSET 3/2 $795,000 $636,000 267 80.0%433 ESTADO 4/3 $649,000 $635,000 36 97.8%118 CHESAPEAKE 4/5 $750,000 $635,000 302 84.7%7 ENGLISH 3/2 $643,900 $629,000 54 97.7%120 HOLSTROM 4/3 $649,000 $599,000 203 92.3%2228 LAGUNA VISTA 5/4 $643,500 $585,000 94 90.9%

SAN RAFAEL 1241 CENTER 3/2 $915,000 $850,000 65 92.9%108 OAKMONT 4/4 $949,000 $825,000 185 86.9%35 DOWITCHER 3/3 $919,000 $820,000 157 89.2%509 C 3/3 $825,000 $790,000 73 95.8%7 MADRONA 4/3 $799,000 $790,000 147 98.9%

532 BRET HARTE 4/2 $819,000 $735,000 120 89.7%725 MONTECILLO 3/2 $725,000 $696,000 91 96.0%287 DEVON 3/2 $699,900 $690,000 36 98.6%125 IRWIN 3/2 $659,000 $640,000 46 97.1%705 LAS OVEJAS 3/2 $649,000 $639,000 31 98.5%57 FREMONT 2/2 $729,000 $635,000 166 87.1%113 BAYPOINT 3/3 $556,875 $630,000 7 113.1%

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TOMALES 25875 STATE ROUTE 1 2/1 $795,000 $600,000 309 75.5%

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Please note that times and dates often change for listed Open Homes. Call the phone number shown on the properties you wish to visit to check for changes prior to visiting the home.

Attention realtors: To submit your free open home listing for this page and for our online listing map go to ›› pacifi csun.com, click on Real Estate on the left navigation bar, then scroll to the bottom of our new Real Estate page and click on the open home submission link.

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