Friday night, the Coastside Film Society presents The Five Obstructions. Director Lars von Trier drags his old mentor, Jorgen Leth out of retirement by challenging him to “re-make” one of his classic shorts over and over again in a variety of clashing styles.

von Trier provides five set of “obstructions” that his master must overcome.  For example, the first film must be made while shopping for cigars in Cuba with no individual shot lasting longer than half a second.  Thus begins a battle in which we get to watch student and mentor reverse roles as Leth is thrown and conquers challenges which have been custom designed to ruffle his artistic sensibilities.  All five final films have been intercut with documentary footage showing how each challenge was tackled and overcome.

“In 90 minutes we get to reexamine the nature of cinema, the sources of creativity, and the unexpected joys of the unanticipated moment. And it couldn’t be more fun to watch.” Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Friday, August 12, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Community Methodist Sanctuary, Half Moon Bay
777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay, Corner of Johnston & Miramontes.
$6.00 donation per person

The Million Dollar Dream Event is a live and silent auction fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity tonight at 6:30, at the Bell Building on Kelly Ave in Half Moon Bay

There will be many items up for auction including jewelry, landscape consultation, dining, trips, artwork, wine, golf, event tickets, private dinner for 8 prepared at your home by Cafe Gibraltar, gourmet food, including Giants tickets.

The $10 admission ensures a fun time, hors d’oeuvres, dessert, refreshments, and a martini bar. All proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity. All checks are made out directly to Habitat for Humanity and are tax-deductible.

Please contact Mitone Griffiths at 650.712.2484 or mitone.griffiths@camoves.com for more information.

It turned out to be a very nice day for a car show. It was overcast, but not that cold, and the sun wasn’t beating down on us all afternoon.

What I love about these shows is that you get a chance to see some really timeless design. There was a lot to see, but I wanted to focus on Coastsiders who were exhibiting at the show, and there were a few. I got photos of a couple who happened to be with their cars when I came by.

There was a good turnout of interesting cars, gourmet food to try, and interested visitors.  The setting, on a lawn next to the Ritz and the golf course, was ideal.

Barry Parr

Barry Parr

Jack Castor of Half Moon Bay was there with a beautiful Jaguar D-Type, replica long-nose, long fin.

Barry Parr

Pfeiffer Juergen with his wife and daughter, of Moss Beach, showed their 1964 Corvette Stingray.  Pfeiffer’s daughter sports a Petite Baleen t-shirt, something she has in common with my own three-year-old daughter.

The Classics by the Sea car show returns to the Coastside for the fourth time on Sunday from 11 to 4 at the Ritz.

Several Coastsiders will be exhibiting the cars this year.  John McCue will be showing a 1957 Cadillac Coupe de Ville and a 1966 El Dorado convertible, Jack Castor of Half Moon Bay is bringing his 1956 Jaguar D-Type, and Travis Ball his 1967 Jaguar 420, James Holsman will be showing his 1904 Holsman Hi-Wheeler, which was designed and invented by his great uncle, Henry Holsman.

The funds raised at this event will benefit the Chamber Commerce, which produces the show, and the Chamber’s Scholarship Fund, Coastside Education and Senior programs. This year’s them is “A Celebration of Food, Wine, & Wheels”, with gourmet food and wine tasting. Admission is $10.

The Fire Next Time, a film about town is torn apart by a struggle over land use, development, and the environment will be shown tonight on KQED, Channel 9, at 10pm as part of the P.O.V. series.

The following description is from Coastsider’s story about this film’s appearance on the Coastside on Saturday night:

What would you do if the place you loved was changing so rapidly that the fabric of town life began unraveling before your eyes?  In Kalispell, Montana, disagreements about growth, race and land use led to fervent conflict.  The resulting high-stakes battle over developmental and environmental issues may sound familiar to many of us here on the San Mateo coast

Tensions in Kalispell were further exacerbated by a conservative talk show host who took to the air to stridently express his point of view and to suggest what action needed to be taken.  What would you do if this were your town?  What kind of ending would you make to this story?  That is for each of us to decide.

Monday night at 10pm, the Coastside’s fireworks went off as scheduled, delighting hundreds of people arrayed on Surfers Beach. Hoopla Entertainment provided a selection of patriotic tunes to accompany the show.

Cheri Parr

Click on the image to see our album.

Coastsiders from Montara to Pescadero turned out for this year’s parade. This is the first year that Coastsider appeared in the event. We were driving a red Miata featuring the slogan “Why wait till Wednesday?”, which everyone seemed to like.

Click on the photos at the right to see the album.

LATER: We’ll be running photos from tonight’s fireworks show.

A town is torn apart by a struggle over land use, development, and the environment in The Fire Next Time, Saturday’s presentation of the Coastside Film Society.

What would you do if the place you loved was changing so rapidly that the fabric of town life began unraveling before your eyes?  In Kalispell, Montana, disagreements about growth, race and land use led to fervent conflict.  The resulting high-stakes battle over developmental and environmental issues may sound familiar to many of us here on the San Mateo coast

Tensions in Kalispell were further exacerbated by a conservative talk show host who took to the air to stridently express his point of view and to suggest what action needed to be taken.  What would you do if this were your town?  What kind of ending would you make to this story?  That is for each of us to decide.

Patrice O’Neill, who directed and co-produced the film, will be our guest and will do Q & A after the screening.

Click “read more” to see the press release that this story was based on.

Saturday July 9, 8:00 pm
Community Methodist Sanctuary
777 Miramontes, Corner of Johnston & Miramontes
Half Moon Bay
$6.00 donation per person

The Coastside Chess Club will hold 4 chess meets this summer at the Half Moon Bay Community Center. there will be both official and casual chess available from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays: July 3, July 10, July 24, and August 7.

At each chess meet there will be separate sections for youth and adult players, in separate competitions for ranked an unranked players. Trophies, metals, books, and other prizes will be awarded in all sections. The Coastside Chess Club is a not-for-profit organization and all participation fees are used to offset the cost of the event. The participation fee is $15 for unrated competition, $20 for official competitions with United States chess Federation ratings.

The events are held under the supervision of chess master Eric Schiller of Moss Beach, author of many books on chess. He will be providing coaching tips and general chess information between games.

This is a great opportunity for young Coastside players to meet each other and kids from all over the Bay area.

The 2005 summer season will be a bit short this year because Dr. Schiller has to travel to London as arbiter of the Staunton Memorial tournament, but Pacifica will be taking up the slack by hosting a competition on August 13.

Chess sets are available at most of the coffee shops and cafés on the Coastside. If you know of an establishment that does not have chess equipment, but would like some, the Coastside Chess Club will be happy to provide chess sets and boards on request.

You’ve seen the mural in progress on the side of Half Moon Bay City Hall, and now it’s finished.  Friday at 6:00pm, the Rotary Club, which commissioned it, and city council will dedicate the mural. 

One panel represents floriculture—a key element of the Coastside economy. The second is an idealized view of a Coastside beach with a windswept cypress in the foreground. The beach is based on the view looking south from Surfers Beach in order to capture the half-moon shape of the bay, according to the artist Doug Snow.  He added a cypress tree to the foreground for compositional reasons and removed some buildings from the view.

Cheri Parr

Cheri Parr

Click “read more” to see the press release.