Nina Paley is an amazing animator, syndicated comic strip artist, a professor at Parsons School of Design, and a Guggenheim Fellow who creates masterworks all by herself.  She “is half revelation, half revolution. A Western woman who took an Eastern story and with a personal computer single-handedly animated a full-length film that received accolades from Roger Ebert and attacks from conservative Hindus, a story that morphed into a protracted fight with Sony and others about copyrights, catapulting the artist into an Internet hero and her struggle into a cause celebre for Creative Commons.” Lavina Melwani, Hinduism Today

Short: Fetch! (5 mins)

A man plays fetch with his dog. The game is complicated by the fact that the world they occupy is chock full of optical illusions.

Feature: Sita Sings The Blues (82 mins)

Nina Paley juxtaposes the story of Sita and husband King Rama from the Hindu epic the Ramayana of Valmiki with her own Indian divorce creating “the greatest break-up story ever told”. The movie utilizes a different style of animation for each type of scene:  Irreverent Indonesian shadow puppets provide narration. A curvaceous Betty Boop-like Sita takes center stage when she sings the blues.  Battle scenes are rendered either in a style reminiscent of the Yellow submarine (kids will love this) or as Mughal drawings from ancient Hindu texts. Paley’s own life is rendered as fuzzy cartoon squiggles.  The musical score jumps back and forth between traditional Indian instrumentals to the smoky vocals of 1920’s jazz phenom Annette Hanshaw used to give Sita voice when she feels blue.

Sounds confusing?  Roger Ebert of the Chicago-Sun Times freely admits he was put off when he first read the description of the film and had to be talked into watching it.  When he did he was blown away. “I put on the DVD and start watching. I am enchanted. I am swept away. I am smiling from one end of the film to the other. It is astonishingly original. It brings together four entirely separate elements and combines them into a great whimsical chord. ... To get any film made is a miracle. To conceive of a film like this is a greater miracle.”

Don’t make the mistake Roger almost did. Come see this miracle when the Coastside Film Society screens it!  It boasts battle scenes that put modern anime to shame, a mixed Indian and classical American Jazz soundtrack that will thrill, two heartbreaking tales of love gone wrong, artistic flourishes that will amaze, enough humor keep both young and old amused, and opening credits that will blow you away.

“Ms. Paley did everything in this an amazingly eclectic, tour de force by herself. The ingenuity is dazzling—and a lot of fun.” A. O. SCOTT New York Times

Friday April 8, at 7:30 pm

Suggested donation $8.00 adults, $3.00 kids

Community United Methodist Church Sanctuary

777 Miramontes Half Moon Bay

More info and a trailer at : www.HMBFilm.org

Spray paint vandalism of El Granada cars, vandalism of a storage facility in Moss Beach, as well as public intoxication, DUI, warrant arrest, and drugs.

On Thursday, April 7, the public is invited to participate in a discussion at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company with special guests Sunne Wright McPeak, president and CEO of California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and Zabrae Valentine, deputy director of California Forward and executive director of the California Forward Action Fund. Led by moderator Lenny Mendonca, co-founder of the Brewing Company and director of McKinsey & Company, the panelists will discuss the roots of California’s fiscal crisis and what Californians can do to address it.

California has a $25 billion deficit and, according to a recent Field Poll, 55% of Californians are not in favor of raising taxes to balance the state’s budget. The poll also showed that 62% of registered voters believe additional cuts to public education would be “very harmful.”

With past experience working for Governor Schwarzenegger’s cabinet as Secretary of California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, McPeak oversaw many of the largest state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, California Housing Finance, Department of Managed Health Care, and Department of Financial Institutions. Under McPeak’s leadership, performance and productivity in all departments of the agency improved significantly, generating more than $180 million in savings. Now, as president of CETF, she is dedicated to closing the “digital divide.” McPeak also has been a member of the California Forward Leadership Council since the organization launched in 2008.

Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6 to 8 p.m.
The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company
390 Capistrano Road, Princeton-by-the-Sea, Calif.

Admission and snacks are complimentary. Beer, wine, and other beverages will be available for sale at the event.

Time to start spring cleaning and clear your shelves of all those books your children have outgrown.  Donate your gently loved children’s books to Pacifica School Volunteers Children’s Book Sale.  Board books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, novels, non-fiction - all children’s books are welcome from baby books to high school level.  Books can be dropped off March 9th thru May 4th at:

• Pacifica School District Office, 375 Reina Del Mar
• Starbucks, Linda Mar or Fairmont Shopping Center locations
• First National Bank, Linda Mar Shopping Center
• Pacifica Community Center, 540 Crespi at Hwy 1
• Pacifica School Volunteers Office, Linda Mar Education Center, 830 Rosita

And, this year they will be collecting books April 16, Earth Day, at Linda Mar Beach, South Parking Lot.

All donated books will be sold at the Ninth Annual Children’s Book Sale, Saturday, May 7th at Linda Mar Shopping Center.

This group makes the rounds daily in Pescadero.

Make a difference in someone’s life.  Become an Adult Literacy Tutor. San Mateo County READS abd Half Moon Bay Library are offering three tutor training sessions to prepare people for this important and rewarding service.

  Session #1 Overview of Literacy & Working
  with Adults.
  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13TH, 6:30-8:30PM

  Session #2 Reading and Writing Tutoring
  Techniques
  SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH, 10:00AM-3:00PM

  Session #3 Lesson Planning & Resources
  WEDNESDAY, MAY 5TH, 6:30-8:00PM

  To find out where these sessions are being and held and to learn more about tutoring,
contact Linda Roderick at 650.726.2316x226.
Volunteers must 18 years of age or older.

Public intoxication in Princeton and Pescadero, a possible bomb, warrant arrest,  theft and commercial burglary in Pescadero, and child neglect in Princeton:

Deputies responded to Stanford Avenue to conduct a welfare check after a concerned citizen reported possible child endangerment at that address. Upon initial contact the male subject became physically combative with Deputies.  The investigation also revealed that both the male and his wife were providing extremely unsafe living condition for their 3 month old baby. Child Protective Services responded to the scene and conducted an investigation. They took custody of the baby.  The male subject was placed under arrest for felony child endangerment charges, as well as for resisting, delaying, and obstructing deputies from performing their duties.  The female was placed under arrest for felony child endangerment charges. Both subjects were transported and booked into the county jail.

Supporters of restoring Sharp Park to a natural state are presenting the results of their research at an education forum in Pacifica. The event will be held at Pacifica Public Library, 104 Hilton Way, Pacifica, at 6:30pm tonight, Thursday, March 31.

Independent scientists and engineers with unparalleled expertise in Bay Area coastal and aquatic ecology, hydrology, coastal engineering and ecosystem restoration have prepared a conceptual plan for the future of Sharp Park. Discussion will include several key points:

• Beach preservation – How do we save the beach at Sharp Park?
• Flood Control – How do we best protect our communities from flooding?
• Sea level rise – How will sea level rise affect Sharp Park?
• Species Protection – What is the best way to coexist with the park’s endangered species?
• History – What was Laguna Salada like prior to development?
• Cost – What will it cost?

The authors of the report, Pacifica resident Bob Battalio of the environmental consulting firm ESA PWA, coastal ecologist Dr. Peter Baye, and coastal herpetologist Dawn Reis, will present the findings of their year long investigation. The authors will provide information and perspective intended to facilitate wise management of Laguna Salada, Sharp Park.

The report was supported by the Rose foundation for communities and environment, and was commissioned by Wild Equity and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Coastal Rep is opening Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Tomorrow night! Come celebrate the chutzpah of Coastal Rep for staging his classic piece of American theater with us at the Mad Men themed opening night gala. Dress up in the style of the early 1960ies ad agency show, nibble on retro appetizers and listen to great music of that era with us after the show.

Tickets online at www.coastalrep.com

Two separate trios re-visit the glory days of San Francisco’s beloved North Beach neighborhood, from Vince Guaraldi at the Hungry i to Bill Evans at Keystone Korner.

Mike Greensill Trio:  Mike Greensill-piano; John Witala- bass; Brad Buethe- guitar

Dick Fregulia’s Bill Evans Tribute:  Dick on piano; Piro Patton-bass; Bill Moody-drums.

Online reservation available through http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/155018
 
April 3, 2011 – 4:30, $35
Douglas Beach House on Miramar Beach
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650 726-4143, www.bachddsoc.org