Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

?ÄúI ain?Äôt no cowboy/I just look like one.?Äù ?Äì Robbie Robertson, ?ÄúBetween Trains?Äù Dear Britney, I have been thinking about you a lot lately. I can?Äôt help it. Every time I go to the store I see your face on the front cover of tabloids and celebrity worship magazines accompanied by a headline that describes [...]

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In bringing “Mad Money” to the screen, director Callie Khouri introduces us to a script based on a true story. Knowing that this landmark heist happened, and that it was pulled off by three women in working-class jobs, armed only with their wits, is a delight to savor. Diane Keaton plays a suburban matron accustomed [...]

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Tim Weltz, Christine Macomber and Eric Burke star in the Ross Valley Players?Äô production of A.R. Gurney?Äôs comedy ?ÄúThe Cocktail Hour.” Photo by Ron Severdia Before the late sixties, the cocktail hour was a standard function for most financially successful, yet dysfunctional, “wasp” families. It basically served as a time for families to engage in [...]

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Ed Muskie cried while defending his wife during a media encounter in 1972; his tears cost him the New Hampshire primary. Hillary Clinton cried thirty-six years later, during an ongoing campaign defense of why she would be a good President because, among other things, she was the wife of one; her tears have been credited [...]

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?ÄúAnd the sun don?Äôt shine any more/And the rains fall down on my door.?Äù ?Äì The Band, ?ÄúIt Makes No Difference,?Äù written by Robbie Robertson First weekend of 2008 in Vallejo. Rain. Lots of it. Two power outages. The first outage occurred around ten a.m. as I was getting ready to download a 1988 Rick [...]

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The first sentence from Norman Mailer?Äôs final novel ?ÄúThe Castle in the Forest?Äù is ?ÄúYou may call me D.T.?Äù I used to sign correspondence as ?ÄúD.T.?Äù; this fact has no bearing on the narrative or quality of Mailer?Äôs novel, it is only trivial information about my past. A reference to ?ÄúCall me Ishmael?Äù from Herman [...]

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I know something about good songs. One was recorded about me in 1963. Maybe you?Äôve heard it. Maybe you?Äôve heard of me. My friends call me Jack. Back then I was known as Little Jackie. Back then millions of people were interested in my frolicking in the autumn mist with a friend who lived by [...]

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Gart Williams probably never played a single note of music. Unlike Bruce Berry in Neil Young?Äôs ?ÄúTonight?Äôs The Night,?Äù there were no moments to ?Äúsing a song in a shaky voice that was real as the day was long.?Äù Too busy working for an unappreciative employer whose single motivation tool was to sternly dictate, ?ÄúPush, [...]

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The Black Nativity — A Gospel Celebration of Christmas Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, SF – through December 30, 2007 The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in San Francisco presents its annual gospel celebration of Christmas, a delight for the whole family, and not a moment too soon. This nourishing musical is a treat for all, regardless of whether [...]

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During a recent visit to Los Angeles I attended a screening of an unreleased film titled ?ÄúAttitude for Destruction.?Äù Produced by David S. Sterling and directed by Ford Austin, the film?Äôs premise is a simple one. Boy meets girl. Boy leads band. Band does well. Label wants band but not boy. Band kills boy. Band [...]

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When you’re¬?an artist with your own studio,¬?the pressure to¬?produce work¬?must be daunting. When¬?you are part of a¬?large¬?co-op¬?studio,¬?with so many¬?other¬? talented people¬?around you, that pressure must be almost overwhelming. But from that group there also must be the support¬? and drive¬?that comes with working with them as well.¬? ¬? The work that I saw¬?this last weekend [...]

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?ÄúThere was no actor anywhere/Better than the jack of hearts.?Äù ?Äì Bob Dylan, ?ÄúLily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts?Äù One of 2007?Äôs most provocative films, ?ÄúI?Äôm Not There?Äù features six actors portraying a character based upon a particular characterization of ?Äúthe life and times of Bob Dylan.?Äù Nearly every reviewer has praised the performance [...]

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?ÄúChina Dolls?Äù by Michelle Yu & Blossom Kan The gal pal theme has long been a literary favorite with such classics as Amy Tan?Äôs ?ÄúJoy Luck Club?Äù (1989), Terry McMillan?Äôs ?ÄúWaiting to Exhale?Äù (1992), and of course, Candace Bushnell?Äôs ?ÄúSex and the City (1997).?Äù Written by cousins Michelle Yu and Blossom Kan, ?ÄúChina Dolls?Äù is [...]

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?ÄúThe I Chong: Meditations From the Joint?Äù by Tommy Chong Not often does one classify Tommy Chong, legendary comedian of the famed Cheech and Chong 1970?Äôs duo, as an Asian American author but ?ÄúThe I Chong: Meditations from the Joint?Äù deservedly places its spine on the shelves of the Cultural Studies section of bookstores. Having [...]

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George Maguire is the director for the award-winning play, “The Shadowbox”, currently playing at the intimate Harbor Theatre space in Suisun City. Writer, Michael Cristofer, has been praised by critics for his insight, perceptiveness, and humor in dealing with the controversial subject matter (death and dying). The work earned Cristofer both a Pulitzer Prize and [...]

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