Archive for the 'Blog' Category
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
So everyone knows about the MidMo Holiday FUN Raiser tomorrow, right? We’ve been asked many times, ‘who is the Best Christmas Ever Band?’ We decided to go straight to the source – band leader Amanda Cook.
Turns out that the whole group is collectively battling a cold but Amanda roused from her sickbed just to answer these questions….
Who is in the Best Christmas Ever Band?
…It’ll be just me Candice Phillips and Dylan Barnes… I can’t promise greatness and it might just be a handful of songs since there are a few that won’t work without a band.
Are these all going to be Christmas songs? No Kwanzaa songs?
We will be playing all Christmas songs, though I am saddened to leave out those celebrating Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.
What was your personal Best Christmas Ever?
It is a known fact that much like Summer, I am not a fan of Christmas. So it’ll be my goal to make this one the best ever.
The third choice in our Monday conundrum comes in the form of Japan’s long-loved Melt Banana. Does anyone listen to this band anymore? I’m really glad I did, once. Since ’94, their insanely spastic, incredibly fast, super tight brand of in-your-face punk rock has crossed all boundaries, leaving them in a class of their own. My head still kind of hurts from their show at Joe’s Style Shop, years ago, when a shirtless dude punched me in the back of my head, after I tried politely asking him to stop smashing into me and everyone around him. HAH! Even as a youngster, I was a boring old man. Although these tired old ears can’t quite take it anymore, I encourage anyone with an adventurous side to check out this awesome music; their live show is especially impressive, and never intentionally promotes violence!
Harlow’s
8PM, $12, 21+
Las Vegas’ Caravels has a very mid-west hardcore emo thing going on, and they do it really well. Their sound is dense and huge and powerful (except, of course, when the breakdown comes!). Sacramento’s Di Bravura is NUTS. The two songs on their split with Mane Horse sound like at least three bands playing at the same time, with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong singing over it all. Yikes. San Jose’s Leer and Santa Cruz’s Mellican will be there to up the mosh-ante. Damn good thing that Digitalis is hosting an all-ages shows; the kids need to come to this one.
Digitalis, 1115 H st.
7:30PM, $5, all ages
Three shows on a Monday night! What are we going to do?!!? Well, let’s discuss our options. First, we have Australia’s Miami Horror, a synth-based, clap-your-hands, it’s-always-summer-time dance band. Think Neon Indian meets Sixteen Candles, meets every young cool kid on earth. San Francisco’s Geographer has a more “Chris Isaak or the Smiths as a techno band” approach to electronic music, with a strong “back of your hand placed against your forehead as you feign fainting” vibe. Quality stuff, should be a great night if you dig this scene. But, let’s move onto option number two…
Sacramento State University Union Ballroom, 6000 J st.
7:30PM, $10 CSUS students, $15 general, all ages
We’re heading toward our awesome annual holidy party- the MidMo Holiday FUN Raiser! This year the party will be Saturday, December 3, at Luigi’s Fun Garden at 2050 20th Street. We’ll have raffles, prizes, snack, a DJ, AND the debut of the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER BAND! As always, we’ll be collecting toys for needy kids- this year all proceeds will go to the Sacramento Children’s Home. The FUN Raiser is FREE, but we hope you’ll bring a new, unwrapped toy for a needy child.
We’ll see you there!
Saturday, December 3, 6PM
Luigi’s Fun Garden
2050 20th Street, Midtown
At the risk of sounding cliche, it’s the time of year to give back. Do it in a fun way at the Food for Comics Drive.
On November 19th (This Saturday!) at Empire’s Comics Vault on Fulton Ave., customers will get $2.00 off selected comics when they bring in two or more canned goods or non-perishable foods. All horror goods and horror-related merchandise will also be 20% off. Local comic book artist Jason Dube, owner of Scattered Comics, will be there, as well as San Francisco “Horror Hostess” Miss Misery.
One of Jason Dube's characters
Enhance your karma and your comic book collection!