Arts & Events

Arts Calendar

Thursday December 04, 2008 - 10:04:00 AM

THURSDAY, DEC. 4 -more-


Other Minds Performs ‘New Music Seance’

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Thursday December 04, 2008 - 10:05:00 AM

The New Music Seance, Other Minds’ wryly titled, more intimate (and historically minded) counterpoint to its bigger annual festival in the spring, will return this Saturday afternoon and evening to the candlelit wood interior of the 1895 Arts and Crafts-style gem designed by Bernard Maybeck, San Francisco’s Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon St. in Presidio Heights, with three programs (1, 4 and 8 p.m.) for the third year of the Seances. -more-


Oakland Public Theater Presents ‘Children of the Last Days’

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Thursday December 04, 2008 - 10:06:00 AM

“Bring your good Sunday clothes, your tambourine, your church fan—and your sense of humor!” -more-


The Sculpture of Martin Puryear

By Peter Selz Special to the Planet
Thursday December 04, 2008 - 10:07:00 AM
Martin Puryear’s Ladder for Booker T. Washington (1996).

Sculpture in America is at present at a high point, both in terms of quality and diversity. Currently, SFMOMA presents a retrospective by the celebrated African-American sculptor Martin Puryear, which came to San Francisco from New York’s Museum of Modern Art. It was preceded there by a major exhibition of the preeminent Richard Serra of giant curved steel slabs generating kinesthetic responses on the part of the visitor. -more-


Holiday Shows Abound in Bay Area

By Ken Bullock Special to the Planet
Thursday December 04, 2008 - 10:06:00 AM

‘Tis the Season ... with an abundance of shows to keep you jolly, both traditional—Christmas Carols, Nutcrackers—and what might be called antidotes to too much cheer, or when the cheer gets cloying, and something quieter (or, on the other hand, more caustic) is called for as a restorative. -more-


Moving Pictures: Harry Langdon: Silent Comedy's Forgotten Genius

By Justin DeFreitas
Thursday December 04, 2008 - 11:11:00 AM
DVD releases of the films of Harry Langdon should help establish him as one of the great comedians of the silent era.

Comedians were a dime a dozen in the days of silent film, but great comedians were precious and few. The judgment of history has left us maybe a half-dozen top-notch talents, and just a few of those names are much remembered today. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd are the heavy hitters of course, the names that immediately come to mind, with perhaps Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Charley Chase, and a few others lagging not so far behind in name recognition. Still others, like Laurel and Hardy, did well in silent films but are today best known for their sound work. -more-


About the House: Working Well with Contractors (Horror Story or Happy Ending?)

By Matt Cantor
Thursday December 04, 2008 - 10:11:00 AM

Why do so many people have horror stories about remodeling and the contractors who perform this work? Is there a direct line from the Mafia to the remodeling industry? Do they post notices in High School locker rooms reading “School not working out? Why not try contracting? Anyone can qualify!” As a recovering contractor and one who inspects the work of contractors, I have had occasion to see both sides of this curious and often heated area of commerce. -more-


Community Calendar

Thursday December 04, 2008 - 09:53:00 AM

THURSDAY, DEC. 4 -more-