By the second week, those fears were confirmed as the organizers of the festival in San Jose and Redwood City pulled the plug, Covid-19 cases increased and public health officials forbade gatherings. A year later, the festival returns, this time fully virtual, from March 20 to 30 with 199 films and shows from 55 countries, most of which will be available to stream throughout the festival. Another 13 "Spotlight" events will punctuate the festival with Zoom Q&As and "red carpet" interviews with filmmakers and actors and peeks at rough cuts. » Read More

There comes a time in every reporter's career when an actor must be interviewed because they've directed a short film. These moments are fraught with anxiety because the films are often vanity projects created for the sake of showcasing some nascent talent the actor believes has been overlooked, without ever questioning why. I'm happy to report this is decidedly not the case with Zach Woods' debut directorial effort, David, a hilarious, humanistic portrait of psychic healing that should be prescribed viewing for the sake of global mental health. » Read More

Janice Lobo Sapigao didn't expect her first year as the Santa Clara County Poet Laureate would be sucker punched by a global pandemic, but she's determined not to let that stop her from getting South Bay kids to love their own words. The Silicon Valley native took over the two-year poet laureate position in January. The honorary post comes with a mandate to increase poetry awareness and celebration. Sapigao, a Filipina American poet, author, writer, educator and active community member, has plenty of ideas for that. » Read More

The text on the marquee said it all: "The Ritz Closed Until Further Notice." The news came as a disappointment to fans of Xavier Dprehpaulezz--the imaginative blues singer and songwriter who performs under the moniker Fantastic Negrito--who was scheduled to wow the crowds at The Ritz on March 19. As the county and state ramp up efforts to prevent a spike in novel coronavirus cases, bars, nightclubs and live music venues are shutting down, and it is unclear when they will open again. » Read More

Talk, talk everywhere but not a drop of trust. "Opinion has become our driving force," says Quinn, who brings his new show, The Wrong Side of History, to Stanford for four performances March 13 and 14. "Free speech, exchange of opinion, open communication: These things are automatically thought of as evolutionary ways to get to enlightenment. But my whole show is, hey, maybe we've gone too far with free speech, once we have electronically made opinion this thing that everyone gives out all day, every day." » Read More

The problem is, it's not true. As Martin Cooper reveals in his new memoir Cutting the Cord: The Creator of the Cell Phone Speaks Out, cellular technology was actually being developed in the late '50s and through the '60s. By the time Star Trek debuted in 1966, Cooper and his team at Motorola were practically in the home stretch; in 1973, they debuted the first-ever handheld mobile telephone, the brick-like DynaTAC. Cooper himself made the first cell phone call on October 17, 1973--to his chief competitor at AT&T, with whom he'd been in a bit of a cellular space race, as revealed in the book. » Read More

Punjab Cafe on Santa Clara Street can take credit for crystallizing the phenomenon of Raj De Niro. When the restaurant first opened, it was a narrow corridor with room for just a few tables. Then it expanded, taking over the space next door, as the owners turned the original corridor into a fledgling ice cream operation that never materialized, so that original space sat empty. I would waltz in for the lunch buffet on a regular basis, sometimes twice a week--so much that if the main floor was filled up, they would let me sit in the old narrow corridor next door, essentially storage space off limits for anyone else. » Read More

"I love unmade beds," writes Gemini poet Shane Koyczan. "I love when people are drunk and crying and cannot be anything but honest. I love the look in people's eyes when they realize they're in love. I love the way people look when they first wake up and they've forgotten their surroundings. I love when people close their eyes and drift to somewhere in the clouds." In the coming days, Gemini, I encourage you to specialize in moments like those: when you and the people you're interested in are candid, unguarded, raw, vulnerable and primed to go deeper. In my opinion, your soul needs the surprising healing that will come from these experiences. » Read More

The dark history of Cupertino has resurfaced thanks to author Bob Calhoun, whose new book cooks up a bouillabaisse of carnage. At least a few chapters of The Murders That Made Us: How Vigilantes, Hoodlums, Mob Bosses, Serial Killers, and Cult Leaders Built the San Francisco Bay Area (ECW Press, 2021), are dedicated to the South Bay. In one called "The Technological Divide," Calhoun recounts one of Cupertino's darkest moments, 10 years ago, when Steve Jobs passed away the same day Shareef Allman went on a shooting rampage at the Lehigh Permanente Quarry before taking cops on a manhunt through suburbia, only to off himself in nearby Sunnyvale. » Read More