Archive for the 'Blog' Category
Betty Inada: A Sacramento Flapper on the Silver Screen
By William Burg
How did a Sacramento girl become the most popular jazz singer in Japan? The little-known story of Betty Inada began in Sacramento’s Japantown. Like many Nisei, the first generation of American-born children of Japanese immigrants, her life was caught between the traditions of her parents and the culture of their adopted country. Born on November 10, 1913, her parents named her Fumiko but gave her the nickname “Bessie,” which she disliked and later changed to “Betty.” This independence characterized her life, and by her teens she fell in love with jazz. In the 1920s, jazz was wild, disobedient music considered responsible for the downfall of American morals, but kids like Betty loved it. Adopting flapper fashions, short hair with celluloid barettes and short skirts with rolled-down stockings, Betty’s style shocked her parents and more traditional Nisei youth but made her a popular figure in the local jazz scene. Read more »
It might seem like a stretch for a guy who put out a record called “The Kids are All Fucked Up” to get hired as executive chef at one of Sacramento’s fanciest restaurants, but not for Michael Thiemann.
Thiemann, who was part of some of Sac’s best punk bands like “Crash and Britany” and “The Pretty Girls“, has just been named the new executive chef at Ella.
Ella
He’s leaving Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco to move back to his hometown. He’ll start at Ella on February 1st, replacing Kelly McCown, who will be moving to new restaurant Goose & Gander in St.Helena.
Maybe being back in Sac will cause Thiemann to reminisce about his music days and we’ll finally have that gourmet restaurant-slash-punk-venue we’ve all been waiting for.
Who can argue with 25% off E V E R Y T H I N G ?!?!?!?!?!? (except food and drink…) Get down to Bows and Arrows RIGHT NOW…………………………………….
***Full Disclosure: Sarah Hansel works at Bows & Arrows as a retail girl/blogger***
Daniel Trudeau, AKA Pregnant, is planning a “G” Hum Parade on January 7th. What this means is that he’s trying to get at least 100 people with instruments together to walk through the streets of Sacramento playing the chord of “G”.
The Parade will start at Bows and Arrows (1815 19th st.) at 1 PM and end at Southside Park around 4. Once the parade reaches Southside Park, there will be various group musical exercises and fun experiments.
Daniel has about 56 people confirmed so far. To join the G Hum Parade, email him at trudeau.daniel5@gmail.com.
RSVP to the Facebook Event Here.
Read the blog I posted on the Bows&Arrows site for more info/questions with Daniel about why he’s doing this.
We’ve got another ‘Find the Ad’ Contest in this month’s issue of Midtown! To enter just pick up a copy, find the ad referenced on the announcement on page 38 and then submit your answer either by mail (Midtown Contest, 980 9th Street #175, Sacramento, CA, 95814) or email (contest@midtownmonthly.net). Submissions MUST be received by Noon, December 19.
Good luck!
The American Political Items Collectors (yes, it’s an organization) is hosting its annual holiday Political Collectibles Show & Sale!
You can buy, sell and trade political memorabilia (campaign buttons, posters, etc.) and even get your items appraised for free. Perfect place to buy gifts for political junkies, or even just browse around and look at the cool vintage political stuff!
The event is this Sunday, December 11th, from 10AM-2Pm. It will be held at Sierra 2 Center (2791 24th Street, in Curtis Park).
Admission is 3$, free for children and students!
I’ve been putting off writing this note for a week now. It’s not that I don’t like holidays – I love the holiday season – but frankly, I’m burnt.
Black Friday. Online Monday. Who-Gives-a-Shit Thursday. Pepper spraying at a Walmart sale? Really? Where does it all end? What does all this shopping have to do with the spirit of the season?
I know. I know that we need this – as a country we need this, and as a community we need this. People going out and spending money is a good thing, especially right now as the economy continues to struggle. A trip through Midtown reveals plenty of empty spaces where little businesses used to be (RIP Newsbeat!), and a little consumer frenzying is great news for the shops and restaurants we all want to see survive – and thrive.
But still, there’s something insidious about the whole thing. Remember Buy Nothing Day? It wasn’t that long ago that fighting the gross commercialization of the holidays was considered a good thing. Now it seems almost un-American.
I guess the key is being a ‘thoughtful’ consumer, and in that spirit we offer up our annual MidMo Holiday Gift Guide.
Each year for the past five years we’ve been picking the brains of our contributors, asking them to share their favorite places to shop for the holidays. This time out we got some great tips from Becky Grunewald (who also writes about some of her favorite ethnic markets on page 16), Bill Burg, Liv Moe, Sarah Singleton, Matt K Shrugg and Dennis Yudt. If you are looking for that special gift, or need something for that hard-to-shop-for person, I think you’ll find some great ideas starting on page 24.
And, speaking of unique gift-shopping spots, Michele Hébert brings us her regular Wine Picks column this month, and also profiles Scout Living, the Midtown antique store that specializes in Mid-Century Modern and other high-style home furnishings. If you haven’t had a chance to stop by, you should – they’ve got lots of eyecandy.
Many of us will be picking up visiting friends and family, or taking a trip ourselves for the holidays. Usually a trip to the airport is no fun, but there’s good news this year: the new terminal is open, the art is installed, and it is spectacular. There’s been plenty of press about artist Lawrence Argent’s big red bunny (which is a nice, fun piece, btw) but there is so much more to see. Between local favorites like Suzanne Adan and internationally-known artists like the Living Lenses team, you’ll need to be careful that you don’t miss your flight just looking at all the art! Check out Jim Cameron’s rundown of art and artists on page 40.
There’s plenty more to read (like our semi-annual Peaches and Herb CD review section) but I’ll stop here and let you get to the rest of the book. From everyone here at Midtown Monthly, have a happy holiday season and as always, thanks for picking us up.
Tim