Archive for April, 2009

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More for the weekend


Keith Lowell Jensen or KLJ to you and me will taping his stand-up routine for three nights beginning this evening at Luna’s. This is your chance to see history in the making folks or at least an outstanding comedy routine. For more info about Jensen’s recent projects you can catch the recent interview with him on CPR’s Insight this past Wed.

The taping dates are as follows:

Friday April 17
Saturday April 18
Friday April 24

Doors open at 7pm show starts at 8. This evenings performance isn’t sold out yet. For tickets go here.

look and listen


CPR’s Off Air broadcasted live from the Java Lounge this afternoon, with interviews with Niki and Jake and an all local musical line up. If you didn’t already catch it this afternoon you can listen to it here.

In movie news the Crest has decided to hold over the 4 hour long bio pic Che. For anyone who’s been waiting for it to come through you got three more days to learn more about this guerilla leader than you ever thought possible.

Crowning Achievements, detail, Rebecca Crowther
Finally, tomorrow and Saturday are your last two chances to catch Personal Lives at the Verge before it comes down to be replaced with Museum of Love: the Work of Daniel Johnston.

Do it!

more from tent city

Forwarded text from Greg Bunker of Francis House:

Sacramento Tent City Alert

Wednesday, 4-15-09

10 am

We are calling on all Homeless Advocates to bear witness and stand in solidarity with our homeless guests who are being forced to move from Tent City with no safe and legal place to sleep at night!

There are over 1,200 homeless folks sleeping on the streets any given night, according to the Sac Co. Homeless Count 2009. St. John’s Shelter is still turning away over 200 women each night. The 100 folks who are still sleeping at Tent City have become “VISIBLE” due to the national media attention. They represent a bigger societal and systemic problem. Are we going to allow them to be scattered and hidden once again?

The City Police will be at Tent City most likely on Wednesday to enforce that folks leave the private property so that “fencing” may be done to keep them off. Those who refuse to leave will be either “cited” or physically removed most likely starting on Thursday.

We would like to “bear witness” starting on Wednesday.

Come to Tent City located behind Blue Diamond.

Take 160 N (16th St.)
Go past Big Al’s Furniture on the right
Turn Right on Dreyer St. ( Before The Casino Café)
Go to the end of the Street and Park
Walk up the bike Trail and meet on the Levy

For those who are moved to participate in a nonviolent Civil Disobedience, please read attached purpose, information and guidelines. Even if you choose NOT to do Civil Disobedience, we need your support and presence!

news from tent city

Midmo just received breaking news regarding the progress happening at Sacramento’s now, internationally known tent city.

First this news from Greg Bunker of Francis House Sacramento:

Dear Friends;
As you know, Francis House joined with Loaves&Fishes; and SHOC in a lawsuit over the confiscation of the belongings of the homeless and their mistreatment by our local governments. It is a long journey but as the suit winds it’s way through the courts, Tent City has been the focus of an international media blitz started by a piece done by the Oprah show. It spurred the Mayor to create a task force to address the issues of the homeless that includes me and Sister Libby and members of SHOC and at least one very articulate resident of tent city. The ideas and initiatives generated so far are unprecedented and very positive but we are woefully short of the number of beds we need just to accommodate the two hundred or so at Tent city much less the larger estimate of homeless of 1,200 men women and children. St John’s Shelter is still turning away more than 200 women and children per night. We have a long way to go to create Safe Ground for everyone.

In the next several days, starting tomorrow morning, we are calling on everyone we can reach, to hold a vigil at tent city and to bear witness to what the city police will do to dissolve Tent City.

Check out the attached info and join us if you can.

Feel free to broadcast this message out to the universe.

Greg Bunker, Executive Director
Francis House of Sacramento
“francishouse.info”

Here’s more info on how you can show your support:

Tent City Alert

Thursday, 4-16-09

Time to Be Announced!

We are calling on all Homeless Advocates to bear witness and stand in solidarity with our homeless guests who are being forced to move from Tent City with no safe and legal place to sleep at night!

Starting Thursday come to Tent City located behind Blue Diamond.

Take 160 N (16th St.)
Go past Big Al’s Furniture on the right
Turn Right on Dreyer St. ( Before The Casino Café)
Go to the end of the Street and Park
Walk up the bike Trail and meet on the Levy

Even if you choose NOT to do Civil Disobedience, we need your support and presence!

Thank you! The Safe Ground Team:

Loaves & Fishes, Sister Libby Fernandez, (916) 879-5581
Francis House, Greg Bunker, (916) 204-8688
SHOC, Paula Lomazzi, (916) 425-6708
Mark Merin Law Firm, Mark Merin, (916) 443-6911

Purpose:
The City and County of Sacramento has opened up 50 more temporary shelter beds but will leave behind 150 homeless people here at Tent City with another 1,000 homeless folks outside throughout the City and County without shelter. We are willing to be arrested on behalf of our homeless folks rather than see them be moved or be threatened with an “arrest” if they do not move when they have NO SAFE PLACE to go!!!!

The Power of the Peep! Friday April 10

Peeps are disgusting.

I say this with some authority, having eaten 30 at one sitting, having watched someone else consume 72 in a half hour, and having seen many people vomit them up after trying to eat as many as they could hold.

All of this fun occurred at Archbishop Dave Smith’s annual Peep Off, held in Midtown the weekend after Easter. He’s been having Peep Offs for about 13 years (no one is really sure), and holds the world record for most consecutive Peep Offs. Sacramento used to hold the record for Most Peeps Consumed and Not Immediately Vomited Up in a Half Hour, but we may have lost that title…again, no one is really sure.
When Dave began running his Peep event lo those many years ago, I don’t believe that anyone involved would have believed that someone would have made a documentary about Peeps (and Peeping Off), but tonight we have Matthew Beals’ Power of the Peep at Movies on a Big Screen

in West Sac.   As if that weren’t enough to draw you, the Archbishop himself will be on hand for a Q&A.; (That’s him on top of the car.)
Fun starts at 7PM and then goes again at 9:30.  $5 to get in, and MOBS is located at 600 4th Street in West Sac.

Enough Merle Haggard to choke a horse.

Monday was Merle Haggard’s birthday and to celebrate Jerry Perry organized a tribute show featuring 15 bands covering over 50 Haggard numbers. The Poplollys, Richard March, The Alkali Flats, The Bottom Dwellers, The Fortunate Few, Rowdy Kate, and Jackson Griffith were amongst the many local acts in attendance. Of those who played I would have to say that Jackson and the Bottom Dwellers were two performance which stuck with me when I woke up the next morning. Well that and the three beers I had served through Old I’s well-seasoned beer lines.

Those who follow the Flats know that they wear matching scorpion bolo ties on stage. Chris Harvey, one of the Flats two front men just got this sweet new clavical tattoo in solidarity with his bandmates. It doesn’t get more down than this folks.

Like a true birthday party there was birthday cake which some said tasted a little “merley.” I’m guessing that meant that Merle tastes like berry filling.

Either way the crowd made short work of the cake.

In the end a good time was had by all.

Happy Birthday Merle!