It’s never enough.
Each week the Weekly strives to cover arts and culture with depth and insight. But there’s too much to get to, even with “Artifacts” to assist (see column, at right). Fortunately we have the limitless world wide webbing to catch what doesn’t squeeze in. Which means if you’re only reading the paper, you’re missing a bunch of stories on our website’s Arts & Culture blog (www.mcweekly.com/culture). Here is a look back at the ways in which the blog reflected life in Monterey County in 2014.
Thursday, Jan. 23
“At Wednesday’s MPC board meeting on the theater arts department, the people spoke.”
When the Monterey Peninsula College board of trustees held a meeting regarding theater budget cuts, people let loose a passionate stream of comments that ranged from quizzical (MPC prez Walter Tribley opening with “Welcome to tonight’s celebration”) to logical, from earnest (“You’ve got to give Gary [Bolen] and his staff a fighting chance”) to angry.
Friday, Feb. 7
“CSUMB lines up a smart and provocative Black History Month.”
CSU Monterey Bay is adept at celebrating diversity with diversity. This one included a visit by Khleo Thomas, a teen idol who’s acted with Nick Cannon and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a discussion of the “the n-word,” and a tag-team poetry duo, one of whom worked with KRS-One. For 2015, expect a Trayvon Martin Black Out Silent March.
Friday, March 28
“Diego Luna, the director of Cesar Chavez, which opened today, talks film and politics.”
For the print story about the biopic movie, the Weekly spoke with people who worked with Cesar Chavez. The interview with the director, Diego Luna, was released on the blog the day the film opened. He talked about screening the film at the White House (President Obama introduced it) and how he got the film made after others tried and failed.
Thursday, April 24
“Inspectors shut down Forest Theater as an ‘unsafe structure.’”
This was the first of three local theater venues to be taken out of commission this year. Magic Circle and the Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater would follow.
Friday, May 2
“An excerpt of playwright Octavio Solis’ new play debuting tonight at the Steinbeck Festival.”
A filmmaker, an artist and a playwright go into an RV. It’s not a set-up for a joke. They were PJ Palmer, Patricia Wakida and Octavio Solis, and on October 2013 they took a road trip to retrace the journey of the fictional Joad family for the 75th anniversary of The Grapes of Wrath. Solis wrote a powerful and lyrical play about it. Then gave us an excerpt.
Tuesday, July 29
“The Carmel Bach Festival showed a glimpse of a new mode of singing.”
My wife and I had to bring our newborn to this contemporary vocal concert, so we sat in the back and held our breaths, hoping the baby wouldn’t awake and yell or toot. No worries. The disturbance came from a woman’s cell phone, which rang for two minutes. Because it was an avant-garde concert, it took a minute to realize it wasn’t part of the show.
Tuesday, Aug. 12
“Monterey’s art scene was misrepresented for years on Wikipedia. Is it any better now?”
If you didn’t see the original write-up for “visual arts” in the Monterey entry in Wikipedia, curiously skewed to drive people to one gallery, it’s captured on the blog. The entry was rewritten by a Wikipedia editor who flagged it as advertising. Then he cited this blog. Very meta.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
“Angelo Di Girolamo, beloved owner of Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater, died on Sunday.”
Many stories look ahead. Others look back, and, sometimes, pay respects. This one contains photos and a video by Nic Coury in which the sweet, generous and tough Di Girolamo reminisces about his life with the Wharf Theater. The theater community is still waiting to hear what is to become of Angelo’s gift to all of us.
Tuesday, Oct. 7
“Monterey County artists and writers represented at last weekend’s Alternative Press Expo.”
Sometimes, we just want to show you a bunch of cool photos and funny captions. This event took place outside Monterey County, but warranted coverage because of the participation of local artists and the event’s place in the cultural zeitgeist. And if you think chicken nuggets dressed as the characters of Downton Abbey aren’t part of the cultural zeitgeist, then there’s no need to continue this conversation.
Thursday, Oct. 9
Interviews go longer than most print stories can possibly contain. With me, it happens often. This one gets intense.
Friday, Dec. 5
“Elaine Herrmann talks on Saturday about the Civil War diary she found in her Monterey basement.”
The quote that ends this story, extracted from the diary, is one for the ages.