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

You wanted a staycation, you said. You need to catch up on streaming, you said. Well, the magic elf that lives in the sky certainly gave you what you wanted. During this period of house arrest, Netflix's cornucopia continues to spill narcos, zombies and real-life crime. Take a hard pass in favor of the adventures of a Suffolk sheep. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon cites ET, Men in Black, Doctor Who and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The space invader is about a yard high, a sort of mischievous finger puppet shaped critter with tentacles. Topped with an azure puppyish head, he's a deep-space cousin to Peanuts' Snoopy. Shaun helps him phone home, while warding off trouble from the Ministry of Alien Detection, and the authoritarian » 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 standard process, while requiring a degree of bureaucracy, is not that complicated. In most cases, the property owners get the ball rolling first. Then comes a public hearing before the Historic Landmarks Commission, after which the commission forwards its recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will hold another public hearing to consider the proposed landmark. If that all happens after the world opens up again, everyone can show up and voice their support in person at the meetings. All should go well. » Read More

Poet Billy Collins describes "standing on the edge of a lake on a moonlit night and the light of the moon is always pointing straight at you." I have high hopes that your entire life will be like that in the coming weeks: that you'll feel as if the world is alive with special messages just for you; that every situation you're in will feel like you belong there; that every intuition welling up from your subconscious mind into your conscious awareness will be specifically what you need at the moment it arrives. » Read More

Near the start of Disney/Pixar's latest animated film Soul, the character Ray Gardner encourages his son to appreciate live music: "Black improvisational music," he says. "It's one of our great contributions to American culture. At least give it a chance, Joey!" "This is where it all started! This is the moment where I fell in love with jazz!" says actor Jamie Foxx, playing the now-grown-up Joe Gardner. It's a small moment in a big film. Soul was one of the two most-watched motion pictures across streaming platforms in December 2020, and its box office earnings hover around $7.5 million. Six seconds, the time it takes Ray Gardner to change his son's life, isn't long. » Read More

Beheshti was born in Iran, but grew up in Palo Alto before getting a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Straight out of UCSC, she went to work as Jobs' executive assistant, right when he was returning to the helm at Apple. One year with Jobs gave Beheshti up-close experience with Steve's eccentric wellness strategies, in work and in life, so much that now, over 20 years later, she traces her own lifelong path back to his initial influence. She says Jobs showed her what it meant to be the chief executive of her own well-being in addition to the leader of her own company. » Read More