The people who tell you, "There are more tears shed over answered prayers," aren't going to answer your prayers anyway. I was a non-TV-watching snob during Fantasy Island's six-year broadcast run, as it impressed upon its viewers the importance of not asking for trouble by wishing for anything. But who ever really gets away from television? Had I known that Satan (Roddy McDowell) turned up a couple of times during the series, I might have tuned into this long-running annuity for that richly-syllabled Ricardo Montalban. » Read More

According to the Akira Kurosawa-scholar Donald Richie, when the legendary Japanese director was asked why his 1951 Rashomon was so popular, he'd reply, "Well, you see ... it's about this rape ..." In short, the ticket-selling shock-value qualities of this act of violence are self-explanatory. We hear evidence, presented straight to the camera. The testifiers sit in the lotus position in the sandy courtyard of some royal authority, whom we neither see nor hear. The accused bandit Tajomaru (Toshiro Mifune) has been captured. He's tied up and bored, squinting at the sky, looking for signs of rain. » Read More

"Biorhythm" displays Rapoport's work from the 1970s and '80s but you can see the through-line connecting her computer paper-printouts to the artificial intelligence indifferently clicking and swaying through the open archway. Rapoport received an MA in painting from UC Berkeley in 1949. Assistant Curator Kathryn Wade, who organized this show, includes one painting from the artist's early forays into abstract expressionism. Pink and Gray (1958) is an almost-sculptural oil-on-canvas, the thick brushstrokes building up a hardened impasto crust. Depending on how you circle the gallery, it's either the first painting you'll engage with or the last. But it stands out as an example of an artist at the beginning of her career, experimenting with » Read More

Over the course of his two decades in stand-up, Papa has never felt comfortable trafficking in the kind of cynicism and negativity that drives so much of today's comedy. But even for this well-known "nice guy" comic, such a message doesn't come naturally. "It really came out of my touring over the last couple of years," Papa says of the inspiration behind You're Doing Great! "I learned that people all over were having this overwhelming feeling that they weren't doing enough, weren't working hard enough, weren't happy enough. It was this weird kind of tension that people couldn't identify." » Read More

"I've always been interested in the way that the collective memory of a family's history is passed down through generations," says photographer Kija Lucas. She records those memories in the Montalvo Arts Center exhibit, "The Museum of Sentimental Taxonomy." Lucas sends an open call to the public, asking that people bring in objects that are meaningful to them. Then she arranges a temporary space in a community center or library in order to document the objects. "A participant will come in with their object, or multiple objects," Lucas explains. After she photographs it, they'll either write something down or she'll interview them to hear the backstory. » Read More

As an organization, ConXion operates out of a nondescript building just across Coyote Creek from where The Jungle homeless encampment used to be. The surrounding environs include Happy Hollow and the historic Ashworth-Remillard House, where the roosters meander into the Walmart parking lot. Once inside ConXion, however, a vast array of activities become apparent, all relating to education, workforce, behavioral health and other social services for disconnected youth and adults. Murals adorn the walls. Day laborers arrive to learn computer skills, get food, or just hang out in a safe place while they look for work. Counselors, teachers and social workers tend to the needs of disenfranchised parents or kids embroiled in the child welfare » Read More

There comes a time when you wish someone would treat you with a little more kindness, like by screaming out all the reasons you deserve to be left for dead and have your face eaten off by raccoons. Even more painful than being dumped by a friend is being dumped by a friend and having no idea why. Lingering questions we can't answer are mental weevils. Their fave food is our peace of mind, which they gnaw through at random moments. In scientific terms, psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik found that when we have unfinished business, the mind remains in a "state of tension" until we get closure. » Read More

Do you feel ready to change your mind about an idea or belief or theory that has been losing its usefulness? Would you consider changing your relationship with a once-powerful influence that is becoming less crucial to your life-long goals? Is it possible you have outgrown one of your heroes or teachers? Do you wonder if maybe it's time for you to put less faith in a certain sacred cow or overvalued idol? According to my analysis of your astrological omens, you'll benefit from meditating on these questions during the coming weeks. » Read More

Perhaps the most noticeable addition to the environment is the hideous former Valley Title Building, the decades-long eyesore on the corner directly across First Street from Original Joe's. Ghosts of living, breathing people might be stalking the building. In 2006, it was lawyer central, for example. When Sam Liccardo first ran for City Council District 3 that year, he kept a campaign office upstairs. During that same era, Jenny Do ran a Viet-themed space on the second floor called The Green Rice Gallery--a precursor to all the ways in which the Viet arts community is now emerging. The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce occupied the ground level, back when Pat Dando ran the show. Every day I'd walk by and see a homeless drunk » Read More