Pacific Sun 01.08.2010 - Section 1

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JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2010

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Letters Upfront Behind the Sun/Trivia CafĂŠ Feature Single in the Suburbs That TV Guy Best of Marin Ballot Information Open Homes Food & Drink All In Good Taste Film Music Movies Sundial ClassiďŹ eds Advice Goddess Horoscope

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›› LETTERS An extreme response to unfounded implication Peter Seidman’s article from last week [“Roads Not Taken,” Jan. 1] focuses almost entirely on the so-called entitlement issue of trail users on Marin open space and glosses over, or completely ignores, the environmental community’s concern over long-term impact to the land, flora and fauna. He has made the error of simplifying this to the same old tired hiker-equestrian-biker conflict without addressing the fact that there are true underlying environmental issues we in the environmental community have been raising for over two decades. The article also reduces those of us opposed to opening additional trails to mountain biking as “militants,” and has Supervisor Kinsey now branding us “extremists.” Most of us associate these terms with terrorist organizations. Kinsey can resort to name calling, but it is counterproductive. There are a few at the fringes of almost any issue. That is far from representative of the vast majority of opposition, which believes in guardianship and the need for scientific review on a local, site-specific basis. By omission, it seems this article attempts to label opponents—including the Tamalpais Conservation Club, the Marin Conservation League, the Marin Horse Council and the Bay Area Trails Preservation Council—as extremist organizations. Surprisingly, the only organization that is interviewed is one with a checkered past, the Marin Bicycle Trails Council. It has distinguished itself by having its now former vice president arrested in the act of building illegal trails in highly sensitive

protected habitat—and convicted not once but twice. The next time the Pacific Sun wants to dive into this issue, interview all sides—political, recreational and environmental. Attempt to write a balanced, well-informed article that speaks to the full issue. You will be doing the public a greater service. Larry Minikes, president Tamalpais Conservation Club

We’ll have to hire an events coordinator just to hike Mt. Tam! I read Peter Seidman’s article [“Roads Not Taken,” Jan. 1] on the continuing battle for trail space between hikers, bikers and equestrians and I have a solution for the conflict. The problem can be solved by issuing We’d assign this trail licenses to all who deputy to Mt. Burdell. are going to use the trails—for a fee of $1 a day—and the licenses can be picked up on the day one wants to use a trail at various locations all over Marin, such as grocery stores, bike shops, restaurants and many other locations. The license to use the trails on a particular day will be for a particular purpose only—such as for bikers only— which will mean that hikers and equestrians will not be permitted to use the trails on that particular day. The days will rotate and on the weekends there will be no equestrians and one day of the weekend the trail will be for hikers and the other day will be for bikers only. Let’s look at an example of the weekend. Let’s say the hikers can only use the trails on Saturdays and the bikers can only use the

›› TOWNSQUARE

TOP POSTINGS THIS WEEK

Worst event of the decade? OK, let’s not count 9/11 because that would probably win hands down, but what was the worst event of the decade? My vote goes to the 2000 presidential election, because that’s the first time in our history (of that magnitude) when the electorate didn’t decide the winner. Sarah Palin-”Going Rogue” I’m about half way through her book. I am amazed at what a great story her life is. It will make a good movie someday after she retires from the Presidency of the United State... Hero or Zero: Fires Banned When the local Air Quality Management District banned fireplace use on Christmas, some Marinites balked—actually, 27 of us.

Your soapbox is waiting at ›› pacificsun.com trails on Sundays. The equestrians will not be able to use the trails on weekends. On the days when the use is for one group only there will be deputized people from the community who will issue citations to any violator—a warning only for the first violation with the fine for the second violation $10 and for any subsequent violation the fine will increase by $5. This will provide some money to defray the costs of maintaining the trails and help prevent conflicts between bikers and hikers on the weekends. Now for the rest of the week it will also be necessary to issue licenses, but the licenses will be for all and there will be certain designated trails dedicated to each and the trails for one are not to be used by another. The bikers, hikers and equestrians will use certain trails that will be marked at the entrances and maps will be available all over the county that a biker, hiker or equestrian can reference to learn what trail they are to use. There will also be deputized people to issue citations during the week. The distribution of the licenses to locations all over the county can be made by the bikers who, I assume, will want to cooperate on this so they can shed some of the bad publicity they have suffered in their conflicts with hikers. Yes, we can all get along if we put our heads together and all work toward a common goal. Let’s do it Marin and we will become a model for other locations if we do it right, so let’s all pull together and “just do it.” Peter Marks, Greenbrae

‘Princess and Frog’ leaves reader feeling Grimm... I thought your readers might like to know about the suitability of the movie The Princess and the Frog for young people. In the Grimms’ child-friendly I read stories to version, the frog blackmails preschoolers at his way into the princess’s schools and li- bed and then she slings him braries. I went to against a wall. see the movie at the Lark Theater. I am sorry to say the movie is not appropriate for youngsters age 3 to 5. Too loud, too scary. 6 PACIFIC SUN JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2010

Better you read the Brothers Grimm story “The Frog Prince” to them yourself. By the way, if you go to see if you agree with me, and leave early, as I did, don’t expect to get your money back. The Lark Theater does not give refunds. Phil Sheridan, Mill Valley

You say you want a revolution? I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment expressed in the letter-to-the-editor by Geraldine Caldarola [“What’s It All About?” Jan. 1] as she lamented the blockage of real healthcare reform by “moneyed interests” and asked, “Do we need another revolution?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” If we had real healthcare reform, a single-payer system such as Medicare for all, all Americans would have access to healthcare, we would be able to choose our own doctors, doctors would be able to practice the way they want and would be paid fairly on a fee-for-service basis. We would save money. The insurance industry admits that they spend about 30 percent of premiums on something other than healthcare. It would also be good for the economy. American companies, no longer burdened with the high cost of providing healthcare for their employees, would be more competitive with those of other developed nations, and smaller businesses would be able to hire more workers, creating more jobs and generating more tax revenue. So, how do we make this happen? First, consciousness raising. Every other developed nation provides healthcare for all its citizens for less than half per capita what we spend. We are the only country that allows its insurance industry to rule healthcare and rule its legislators—to the detriment of us all. Second, we need to elect legislators who are more interested in our well-being than in catering to lobbyists. Third, we need campaign finance reform to make this feasible. If every other developed nation can do it, so can we. Ann Troy, M.D., San Anselmo

Put your stamp on the letters to the editor at ›› pacificsun.com

›› UPFRONT

The weather underground Fighting climate change with soil, and other MCF funding highlights... by Pe te r Se i d m an

“This is a five-year initiative, and we have indicated we will put in a minimum of $10 million over that five years for a range of efforts,” says Thomas Peters, MCF president and CEO. “It’s a big commitment. It’s got quite a bit of range, all the way from research on agricultural lands out in West Marin to helping schools and neighborhoods further develop their Safe Routes to Schools programs.” The two programs Peters mentions, along with awarding grants and loans to the Dixie School District to help install solar panels and working to increase public awareness of water and energy efficiency, are indicative of the foundation’s priority list for grants: will a program benefit Marin while at the same time serving as a model for other communities? A prime example is Safe Routes to Schools: The foundation awarded a $175,000 grant to launch a Greenways to School Campaign. While funding a program that encourages kids to get to school on foot, by bike, bus and carpool may seem an insignificant goal to combat global warming, the numbers tell another story. Safe Routes got off the ground in 2000 as an initiative of the Marin Bicycle Coalition, which sought to find ways that would reduce traffic and promote health among school kids. In 2001, a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration helped develop a model 9 >

›› NEWSGRAMS George Leonard, 1923 - 2010 George Leonard, a pioneer in the human potential movement and one of Marin’s most distinguished residents, died from a long illness Jan. 6 at his home in Mill Valley. He was 86. Leonard first made his name as editor of Look magazine, where he spent 17 years covering the civil rights movement, foreign affairs and politics, and went on to author several books in the fields of human potential and education, including the groundbreaking The Transformation. The president emeritus of the Esalen Institute also wrote extensively on fitness and held a black belt in aikido. Leonard will probably be best remembered for his work in human potential, a concept that grew from the social changes of the 1960s and sought to utilize peoples’ untapped “potential” to live hapLeonard, standing, was also cofounder of the Aikido of Tamalpais dojo. pier, more fulfilled lives. The movement, for better or worse, came to define Marin County throughout much of the 1970s. Leonard is survived by his wife, Annie Styron Leonard, daughters Mimi, Burr and Emily—as well as two brothers and six grandchildren.—Jason Walsh

ED SMITH

W

hen officials at the Marin Community Foundation announced a five-year, $10 million initiative aimed at sparking local efforts to combat climate change, they probably didn’t expect a barrage of criticism over what they were not funding. Why, critics asked, wasn’t the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) helping to fund the startup for Marin Clean Energy? Why wasn’t the foundation joining with the county in energy efficiency programs? Lost in the underbrush of criticism were the programs the foundation actually was funding. Marin Clean Energy is a government agency, the reasoning went, and as such should be able to proceed without criticalcare help from the foundation. In addition, not all cities in the county are on-board the Marin Clean Energy train, and that played a part in the decision to use the initiative funds for other programs. Also, the county already has its own energy efficiency programs, and the foundation’s programs can act as an adjunct to them. Allocating funds to programs beyond the government-agency scope can expand the climate-change effort in the county. While the decision to eschew Marin Clean Energy and some other programs can be debated, it’s too easy to lose sight of the programs the foundation actually is funding. And that’s more or less what happened.

Lawson’s Landing to sell 50 acres for conservation Owners of the Lawson’s Landing campground at Dillon Beach in West Marin are planning to sell 50 acres of coastal area to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for its effort to preserve wetlands.The California Coastal Conservancy and the nonprofit Trust for Public Land plan to purchase the property with the help of a $1 million National Coastal Wetlands Protection grant, provided the state matches $500,000 in funds. Once purchased, public access and habitat management would be guaranteed, and the preserve—with more than 14 rare, threatened and endangered species—would be protected from development.—Samantha Campos Bay Model to get spring cleaning The Bay Model in Sausalito is preparing for a major springtime transformation, thanks to $13.2 million in federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The education center—which houses a working hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta System—will receive a new solar-paneled and seismically improved roof, new carpeting, updated exhibits, repairs to vessels and climate control installation to preserve artifacts. The center, located at 2100 Bridgeway, is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is expected to be closed from March 7 through May 31. —SC Shorts... The owners of the Peacock Gap Country Club and Spa in San Rafael filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 30, but plan to continue renovation and operation of the facility...A magnitude 2.2 earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean, 5.5 miles deep and 9 miles west of the Point Reyes National Seashore Jan. 5. —SC EXTRA! EXTRA! Post your Marin news at ›› pacificsun.com

JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2010 PACIFIC SUN 7

›› BEHiND THE SUN

From the Sun vaults, January 11 - 17, 1985

The China syndrome Bolinas man returns from forbidden kingdom to the east... and we don’t mean Mill Valley by Jason Wals h

25

‘In waking a tiger, use a long stick’—Mao Tse-Tung Marin’s stick stretched

years ago from Bolinas to Beijing 25

years ago this week. Orville Schell, one of Marin’s most prolific writers and a partner in Niman Ranch beef at the time, had just released his third book about China, To Get Rich Is Glorious, which chronicled his decade-long adventures in the post-Mao Middle Kingdom. A quarter century before China would stand on the verge of becoming the world’s foremost economic superpower, the Dogtown local— and future dean at UC Berkeley—chronicled a Western culture-starved nation emerging from a failed Cultural Revolution that left the country in economic disarray and facing an uncertain future. This week in 1985, Pacific Sun writer Eve Pell sat with Schell—whose current bookin-progress, according to orvilleschell.com, is an “interpretation of the last 100 years of Chinese history”—to ask him about the cultural awakening of the great tiger of the East. O O O O

What first got you interested in China—back in the ‘50s when it was still closed off from the West? I think it was the inaccessibility. China was to me what I think outer space might be for children now. You couldn’t get there; it was just romantic. And having been interested in politics, this enormously startling revolution was very attractive to me. My second year at Harvard, I took a famous survey course nicknamed “Rice Paddies,” about China, Japan and Korea. I used to study down in the stacks in the Harvard-Yenching Library, an old library that had been brought over from China, surrounded by books written in these strange characters. I kept wondering what they all were saying. Was your Chinese pretty good then? I had hardly scratched the surface—learning Chinese is like learning to play the violin; you could learn it forever. Did you have any idea then that China was going to open up later on? No. But that’s what made it interesting; China was such a tough nut to crack. You’ve written three books on China. Your most recent, To Get Rich Is Glorious, is more observations of changes in the country and its economic system. I was fascinated with the whole Maoist vision of a country that tried to develop in a way unlike any other, not kissing the boots of big Western powers and not relying on them for technology, capital or whatever. It turned out to be a very tough row to hoe. What 8 PACIFIC SUN JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2010

Schell snapped this shot of a Chinese man and his daughter testing the private enterprise waters in the early 1980s.

interested me with the book was the way the whole Maoist dream is over; the vision has crashed and burned and the people are more accessible. Now what interests me is the question of what is China becoming and how is it going to view itself. It’s not Maoist, it’s hardly socialist, it’s barely revolutionary. The Chinese have always had a hard time with their identity. That seems odd because they’re the oldest civilization on earth. That’s it, because they are so used to having a clearly imprinted sense of who they are and culturally what they stand for and of being great and preeminent. In the last century and a half, as the West has become more in the foreground, they tried to shut it out—to maintain that old identity—and it failed. Then Mao came along, closed the whole place down again and tried to generate this new revolutionary identity, and now that’s sort of failed. And other powers interfere... Which may be very benign at first. I think we fail to appreciate what a dazzling, powerful, seductive and interesting society we are when seen from the outside. That’s why the Chinese have gotten at this new change with such vigor: they’re not officially able to express themselves in terms of getting wealthy, getting ahead, and they are just so tired of being held back by egalitarianism. You mention that after the revolution, the average life expectancy of the Chinese jumped from 35 to 68 years. Yes. The revolution was not a complete and unmitigated failure, and the way the Chinese talk about it today you’d think it was just a complete pain in the neck which did nothing. It certainly had a bitter end, but in many ways what it did accomplish was the heart and soul of China’s success: large

›› TRiViA CAFÉ

by Howard Rachelson

1. The name of what city in Marin County, where redwood trees were turned into lumber for construction, means “chopped wood” in Spanish? 2. Just released in December 2009, what film has produced over $1 billion at the global box office and become the fourth biggest money-making film of all time? 3. Which of the eight wives of King Henry VIII was the mother of Elizabeth I? 4. In golf, what is a “mulligan”? 5. According to their order of entry into the new United States, what were the first four states? 6. Name the only country that borders both Bolivia and Venezuela. 7. Pictures, to right: Identify these musical instruments named after people: 7a. Named after a Belgian designer of musical instruments 7b. Named for the band leader and composer who popularized its use in his band. 7c. Created by a pioneer of electronic music 8. The Academy Award statue was simply called “the statuette” until 1931, when librarian Margaret Herrick announced that it resembled whom? 9. What Shakespearean play contains the line,“To be or not to be, that is the question”? 10. 1 In his song “Trenchtown Rockers,” Bob t Marley says,“One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no...” what?

#10

BONUS QUESTION: What country, located in the continent of North America, was the first nation to formally abolish military forces?

Howard Rachelson, Marin’s Master of Trivia, invites you to a live team trivia contest at 7:30pm every Wednesday at the Broken Drum on Fourth Street in San Rafael. Join the quiz—send your Marin factoids to howard1@triviacafe.com.

hydraulics projects, the literacy campaign, healthcare, more or less universal education, these things are not to be pooh-poohed. But in many ways they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Yet four years ago there were communes [notorious peasant farm collectives created to rapidly increase production during the Great Leap Forward; this Maoism ideal led to widespread famine]. They don’t even have words for communes anymore, they’re called something else, townships. The present leaders are like Mao, who thought he could pick up Chinese society, shake it upside down and refashion it after several thousand years. It seems like he did that, though. But he didn’t, you see. That’s what we have to conclude. Are the anti-Communists going to be considered right all along?

#7a

#7b

#7c

Answers on page 28

No, and that’s the message that must be underscored. Even though Mao’s revolution did not succeed, you still have to be careful to sort out what worked from what didn’t. And that is not being done now. People, Chinese included, and particularly the intellectuals, who had it really rough, are very willing to jettison the whole damn past. The changes seem to be happening so fast. I never cease to be amazed now when I am in China. There’s a Maxim’s of Paris in Peking. One of my gauges of how China is going is to count espresso machines. Are they going to have yuppies next? They really aren’t far away. < Discuss the Five Year Plan with Jason at jwalsh@pacificsun.com

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tions, with cash awards ranging from $100 for individual classes to $2,000 for top< 7 The weather underground performing schools. It’s a fun competition, program. MCF contributed a $25,000 but it has a serious goal. grant, and Fairfax received another A Safe Routes school assembly program $25,000 from the state to participate in a seeks to show kids that an individual action pilot project. In 2005, the Transportation can expand to a community action and Authority of Marin started managing the then to a collection of community actions. Safe Routes program, boosted by income “One little trip to school may not take that from Measure A, the Marin County trans- much CO2 out of the air,â€? says Kallins, “but portation tax initiative. the more [that kids and parents] develop The foundation’s initial seed money these habits to get around, that can start helped nurture a program that has received snowballing. You see people starting to bike national recognition and has been replicat- to destinations other than schools: to soccer ed across the country. That’s nice, say skep- practice, to friends’ houses. You see families tics, but some question whether getting kids biking together. Little steps together can creto ride and walk to ate a cultural shift, show school really has that people they don’t need much of an effect on The foundation’s initial seed a car to get everywhere.â€? money helped nurture a proclimate change. Peters says the Safe According to the gram that has received national Routes program is a Marin Congestion fundamental example Management Agency, recognition and has been repliof the community foun21 percent of trafďŹ c cated across the country. dation’s philanthropic in the morning local philosophy. “First commute consists of parents driving kids to and foremost we want to make sure we are schools. And for a further bit of perspective: investing in programs that work here. When The transportation sector accounts for 62 there can be a model that can be replicated percent of all carbon emissions in the county. elsewhere, that’s a major accomplishment.â€? “When we started the program, we had Peters says that when people ask him what nine schools, and the number of kids bekind of program represents a true success ing driven was at 62 percent,â€? says Wendi story for MCF, he often points to Safe Routes. Kallins, Safe Routes to Schools program While the methods of the Safe Routes director. “By spring 2008 we were at 47 per- effort are grounded in transportation cent. The Safe Routes program promotes initiatives, another program in MCF’s an education campaign in the schools. It climate initiative deals with issues not as also pushes for infrastructure improvewell understood as transportation. Many ments that make biking and walking to Marinites don’t realize that an innovative school safer, a perennial concern among program in West Marin could turn the parents. And the program supports efforts whole climate-change debate on its head. to enforce trafďŹ c laws that protect walkers At least that’s the hope. and bicyclists. Safe Routes also encourages The Marin Carbon Project is the recipicarpools and bus transportation.â€? ent of about $1 million in MCF funds for The foundation’s grant will help Safe work to determine the effectiveness of Routes “shift 800 studentsâ€? to non-autocarbon sequestration on agricultural lands. mobile transportation, which Kallins says The foundation previously awarded the can reduce carbon emissions by 430 metric carbon project $240,000. Although people tons. MCF’s overall goal for all of the prohave heard the term carbon sequestration, grams in its ďŹ ve-year climate-change initia- many don’t fully understand the potential. tive is to reduce more than 2 million metric John Wick understands the possibilities. tons of emissions, the equivalent of taking He’s the carbon project’s director; he also more than 326,000 cars off the roads. owns a ranch in West Marin with Peggy “Our view is that [the funds for Safe Rathmann, author of the classic children’s Routes] is an enhanced investment in book Goodnight, Gorilla. Their Nicasio Nasomething that’s already been enormously tive Green Ranch is a testbed for education successful in several criteria,â€? says Peters. and outreach at the carbon project, which “It reduces car trips. It helps eliminate also includes the Marin Agricultural Land congestions. It is enormously good for the Trust; the USDA Natural Resources Conkids. And it has proven to be an enormous servation Service; Marin Organic; the Unifamily and community beneďŹ t.â€? versity of California Cooperative Extension, One of the programs at Safe Routes to Marin and Sonoma counties; the Marin Schools encourages parents to join a School Resource Conservation District; and the Pool, sort of a school-community carpoolUniversity of California, Berkeley, Departing program. And parents also can make ment of Science, Policy and Management. contact with each other to share responIt’s an impressive list that includes sibilities for getting their kids to walk and mainstream participants. But the work bike together with adult oversight. those participants are engaged in is far from The newest Safe Routes program, the mainstream. Using agricultural practices to Greenways to School Campaign, will reduce atmospheric carbon has garnered kick off at the Marin Connections Center the name carbon farming. Although it’s at 3240 Kerner Blvd. on Jan. 21 at 4pm. been under the scientiďŹ c radar, the ideas Greenways will use classroom competibehind it are beginning to make a blip. 10 >

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research and development.â€? Grasslands and rangelands need herd animals to < 9 The weather underground thrive. The animals eat the grasses, and in “Marin County produces 3 million tons of turn, their grazing stimulates the grasses to CO2 equivalents a year,â€? says Wick. “Marin proliferate. But, says Wick, modern grazCounty has 140,000 acres of grassland, and ing habits, overgrazing, have destroyed the more than 100,000 acres are managed as paradigm. To restore balance, herds should food-producing rangeland. Our early re- move around the range without lingering search suggests that increasing the soil or- on any one plot. Wick says he “borrowsâ€? ganic material by applying compost could a herd of cattle to feed on the grass at his fully offset one-half ranch. When they of the county’s emis- The idea turns on its head the are ďŹ nished, they go sions.â€? The funding back to their owners, from the community theory that herd animals are a who get “free room foundation will pay major source of carbon emissions. and boardâ€? for their for analysis of the animals. In exchange, number of grazing animals in West Marin, the grasses on Wick’s ranch get the beneďŹ t the amount of potential compostable mate- of natural stimulation. “We are mimicking rial and other factors that could point to a the system of ancient predators and herd successful carbon sequestration program, one animals. The herd must move.â€? that could be duplicated around the world. When the animals trample grass, it Rather than dump compostable mate- gets pushed into the soil, where worms rial into landfills, it should be composand other organisms break it down, ted—that’s now mainstream. But Wick ultimately leaving carbon in the soil. and his carbon project colleagues have That process, along with the compostsome intriguing ideas: mix that coming, creates a carbon-rich soil that holds postable material with cow manure to more water and is stronger and more improve the process. Then the dried stable. The process takes carbon out of material can be spread on grasslands. the atmosphere through plant photosynThere’s enough potential capacity in West thesis and decomposition. Marin, according to some of the project’s The idea turns on its head the theory scientists, to allow adding material for 10 that herd animals are a major source of to 15 years. Others in the project say it carbon emissions. Wick and other carbon can be deposited in perpetuity. farmers think herd animals (and the grassThe material adds to the organic matlands on which they feed) could be the ter in the soil. That could be a boon to answer to curbing carbon emissions. agricultural lands around the world that “I am a carbon farmer. I take a resource have lost a signiďŹ cant amount of topsoil like atmospheric CO2, and I harvest it by due to destructive farming practices. “The growing plants. I am enormously excited. soil in the Great Plains used to be 42 feet We have an amazing resource for free now. thick, and now [most of] that soil has It’s totally cool. These are great times.â€? < washed away.â€? The early results associated Contact the writer at peter@pseidman.com with carbon farming to help alleviate the problem of lost topsoil “are astonishing.â€? It’s your county, speak up at Wick says the carbon project is basing ›› paciďŹ csun.com its projections on “150 million years of

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â–˛ It was the day after Christmas â–ź Like many Americans this

and Jamie Davis of San Rafael needed to move out of his apartment by the end of the year. With a million things on his mind, he swung by the drive-through ATM machine at the bank downtown. He deposited a check, took out some cash and left. As he was waiting to pull into trafďŹ c he kept hearing a voice yelling, but he ignored it. He started to drive forward when he looked to his right and a lady was frantically jumping up and down trying to get his attention. “I know this is a small gesture in the realm of things but it meant a lot to me that this stranger would go so far out of her way to simply return... my ATM card,â€? he said. “I often lose faith in people and she gave me some of that back. It was a wonderful Christmas present.â€?

ZERO

HERO

JUST IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES recession-tinged season, Cindy and her ďŹ ance are both out of work. Nevertheless, her ďŹ ance managed to save up to buy Cindy an insulated North Face vest for Christmas. Then, on New Year’s Eve, a very cold and rainy night, the couple went to see Avatar— which Cindy found to be “a beautiful, spiritual movieâ€?—in a Corte Madera theater, where Cindy set her vest on the empty seat next to her ďŹ ance. But sometime during the ďŹ lm, the woman sitting next to him took off with it. “Ironically, the movie was about that very subject [abusing and taking from others] and, I guess, the message fell on deaf ears.â€? Subsequently, Cindy started her new year with the u. —Samantha Campos

Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to scampos@paciďŹ csun.com. Toss roses, hurl stones with more Heroes and Zeros at ›› paciďŹ csun.com

social distortion

›› feature by Beth Allen

Whatever happened to making friends the old-fashioned way —by actually meeting them?

book bandwagon and I was buckled in for a reunion frenzy. Every time I’d log on there’d be a long list of friend requests from folks I hadn’t heard from—or thought about— t started out innocently enough. I was on MySpace and he was on my in years. There were old friends I’d “friend requests” list and had sent me a message—“Hey yoga girl! loved, nonfriends I’d hated and others I didn’t remember at all. How’s it going? Funny finding you on here.” My boyfriend would come home A “friend request,” of course, is another site member, having better of me. Hours can pass as you click and click and ‘Hey yoga girl! How’s it going?’ from work and I’d quickly click off found your page, asking to befriend you, so you can view each click...names, faces, likes and dislikes, status updates... the Facebook page and pretend to other’s site. I looked at his photo to get a better idea of this per- deeper and deeper into the bowels of virtual friendbe doing something else—like a drug fiend trying desperately son who was so eager to be my “friend.” It was the guy who’d making on Friendster, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace. But I had to hide her addiction. “How’s Facebook?” he’d ask sarcastically, been standing next to me in Bikram yoga class at Red Dragon to wonder, was this really “my” space? Or was it “their” space? knowing exactly what I was up to. I tried to hide my compulfor the last year. We’d stood in our tiny yoga skivvies, sweating The “they” part seemed to have a hold on me that made me sions to no avail. When he’d go out, and I was staying home, in 110 degree heat and had exchanged no more than “hi” with uneasy. Was I really “connecting” with old and new friends, or he’d yell, “Have fun on Facebook tonight!” as he walked out the a nod of the head. becoming more and more disconnected the more I logged on? door. I hit “accept” to add him as a “friend” and clicked on How “social” is social networking, really? Sometimes it seems After my initial two-week flurry of clicks, emails and the rush his picture. more like “social-recluse networking.” of emotions, laughs and memories—all Facebook induced— Hmmm...very interesting. Under “status” it said “swinger.” my addiction quieted down and I edged bleary eyed away from O O O O The short description on him included “I’m into threesomes, the computer and back to reality. IT ALL STARTED for me seven years ago with Friendster— foursomes, fivesomes...” Oh dear. This was a bit more than I I “came to” one night when frantically typing to an old the first big “make friends” social-networking site founded by acquaintance. A question came to me: Would I, if given the needed to know. a couple of Mountain View programmers in 2002. (Friendster opportunity, go out to dinner with some of the people I was so He also wrote for a “Gentlemen’s magazine” where he eventually lost the American market to MySpace and Facetraveled the states doing reviews of clubs. Gentlemen’s desperate to exchange emails with? magazine? A few more clicks around his page and I realized book, but apparently it’s huge still in Asia.) When I jumped If they were to call right now and say, “Hey, I’m in town ship from the slow, clunky Friendster to MySpace, social he wrote for a strip-club rag. Great! I was really looking for the night! Want to go grab a beer?” Would I even want to? networking wasn’t yet a household term and MySpace was still Hmmm...Well, sure, with some of them. Maybe. A few. Defiforward to seeing him next week at yoga. Standing next cool. And six years later, in 2008, I finally joined the Facebook nitely not all of them. him, seeing him in his tiny bikini shorts, dripping with clique—and my social-networking life changed. Everyone was sweat. I could only think of one thing. I began logging on a little less—every few days. But I didn’t on Facebook. Ew. quit. I just couldn’t. I was still curious to see who else from my My first two weeks on Facebook, I have to admit—I was And so it goes in the world of social networking. He was past might pop up. just another face in my virtual world, pushing too much infor- out of control. I’d sneak on every chance I got; I felt compelled O O O O mation into my real-life world. But even when it’s information to look up every old boyfriend, high school buddy and college friend I could fi nd. Everyone I knew had hopped on the FaceI REMEMBER WHEN I did try to quit. This was back in I probably don’t want to know, my curiosity always gets the my MySpace-only days, B.F. (before Facebook). I’d become wrapped up in some MySpace drama due to a good friend’s recent break-up—her now ex-boyfriend had a “new” girlfriend who was posting about the matching tattoos they’d gotten and the wild weekend they’d just had...it was too much. Really too much. Especially considering we were in our 30s, not teenagers. These sorts of sordid affairs were swirling around my friends’ MySpace pages more and more often. Another friend was “cyber-stalking” her ex and becoming increasingly miserable every time she looked at his profile. She finally told me she was cutting herself off from looking at his page. Forever. Of course this only lasted about 24 hours and she was back at it and moaning to me about all the photos of hot chicks in his “Top 20” list of friends. I was starting to feel tired. Sick of the drama. Over it. I logged in and told my MySpace account I wanted it to go away. I wanted to delete it. I don’t recall the exact turn of events but it went something like this: I clicked on a button to “delete my account” and MySpace responded with a pop-up message that asked, “Are you ‘The Internet sure you want to do this?” is a giant I hit “YES”. international It replied again with something like, “Are you sure you’re network of intelsure?” ligent, informed “YES!” computer enthusiasts, by which I “All your connections and friends will be lost. Are you sure mean—people you’re sure you’re sure you want to do this?” without lives’ “YES! YES! YES!” —Dave Barry It replied: “In 24 hours you will be emailed a link to delete 12 > your account.”

I

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JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2010 PACIFIC SUN 11

BRINDL MARKLE

< 11 Social diistortion Well...needless to say, a good night’s sleep and a login the next day turned up a “friend request” from someone I’d lost track of and was happy to hear from. Hmmmm...I thought. Maybe I’ll hold off on deleting my account. I still have it, of course. The other day, out of curiosity and for the sake of this article, I tried to bring up that same string of prompts MySpace gave me when I tried to delete my account. But nothing was there. After half an hour of searching, I gave up on it altogether. I couldn’t even find a “delete my account” option anywhere. Obviously, they’ve buried it in the bowels of MySpace, so to quit cold turkey you’ll have to click...and click...and click... O

O

O

O

I’M IN MY 40s now and still feel the pull of that icky junior high-ish-ness on Facebook. Like I have to prove to anyone who used to laugh at me that I turned out OK. I want those people to know my life is great. I’m secretly satisfied when I find someone I never liked, or who was always mean to me, and it turns out he or she hasn’t had such good luck...maybe been divorced twice or has a crummy job. Or finding out the guy who dumped me 10 years ago is “single.” Or when I see someone who’s my age, but hasn’t “aged” so well. The paunch. Hair loss. Those few pounds I need to lose don’t seem so bad after all. I can’t even imagine the pressures of being a teenager today and listing your “Top 20” friends or your “relationship status” for all the virtual world to see. Is nothing sacred anymore? So much of the personal and private is now public. The very idea of “meeting” people on the Internet and later meeting them in person is so different now. Those initial “getting to know you” conversations have certainly changed. You already know their favorite bands, movies, books, where they went to school, whether they’re single, in a relationship, divorced, a proud parent...and on and on it goes. Who needs to go out anymore? About 15 years ago—back when “work email” was new and I was still pretty much an Internet virgin—I was going out with a guy who was pretty email savvy and quite gung-ho about the whole tech thing. He had me diving headfirst into cyberspace. One night he asked me if I wanted to go to a party with him. The party was for a friend from his online bulletin-board group. When we got to the party it was quiet, there were small groups of people huddled together. Most had a cup with their chat-room nickname scrawled on it—“007partymonster” or “Sooperstud69.” I introduced myself to a few folks, and they shyly chatted with me. These people were part of the same online community, and had been for a long while, but many did not know each other’s real names. The cups were their nametags—their online handles. The evening was fun but there was an undercurrent of awkwardness. And then I realized. I was in a room full of socially handicapped computer nerds, most of whom would no doubt be 12 PACIFIC SUN JANUARY 8 - JANUARY 14, 2010

shallow hal ‘You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years trying to get people interested in you’—Dale Carnegie

home safe at 10 and immediately posting to their bulletin board, instant messaging and emailing with the same people from the party they’d just left—only now comfortably and with zeal, walls down. Social-recluse networking at its finest. O O O O IN LAST YEAR’S hit book The Peep Diaries, Hal Niedzviecki explored the different ways “we’re learning to love watching ourselves and our neighbors” in what he defines as “peep culture.” Technology is changing the way we communicate. And is it for the better or worse? I’m not so sure. As my dad used to tell me horror stories about “walking 10 miles to school in the snow,” I’m part of the generation that will boast, “I went to college for six years without a computer.” No Internet. No Google. And I survived just fine. Instead of emailing I’d pick up the phone. Or write a letter. Or—strange as it sounds—go visit friends and hang out with them for the evening. In the virtual world of today, people are living less and less and clicking more and more. Cyber networking constantly—while becoming further isolated. In an interview on KQED’s “Forum,” Niedzviecki talked about how in our world of peep culture we are a nation of people who become increasingly isolated as we move up the ladder of success...the wealthier we become the more isolated we make ourselves— bigger houses with gates and locks, so to speak. And in turn, we grow lonelier and seek something to fill this void. And recently, that something has been online social networks. The recession notwithstanding, we are in an age of increased wealth possibilities that can purchase increased cyber possibilities. We still crave connection, Niedzviecki says, and yet still take measures to avoid its inconvenience. Instead of taking the bus, we drive a car. We have a washer and dryer, so we don’t go to the laundromat anymore. We skip the video store and log on to Netflix. And we’re getting lonelier. Virtual communities like MySpace and Facebook are a way to connect

with others. To build up our egos. To prove we exist. But does it work? Niedzviecki tells a great story. He wanted to meet in person some of the “friends” he’d made online and so he posted about a party he’s having—everyone’s invited. Every one of his 700 Facebook friends. Hopefully he didn’t spend too much on the spinach dip, because only one person showed up. He received responses from people who said they were coming; others replied “maybe.” And yet, only one “friend”—one!—bothered to show for his party. In the cyber world we may seem to be teeming with “friends,” but mostly they’re a different kind of friend—a friend who’s not a friend. After all, it’s quicker and easier to email someone than to actually make a date and hang out. It takes less of our energy, and we are starting to like it that way. Convenient, fast, easy. Multitasking takes on a whole new meaning in the world of cell phones, Bluetooth and text messaging. Everything is happening at once and our senses are overloaded and our attention spans are waning. O O O O WHEN THE NEW Academy of Sciences opened in 2008, I couldn’t wait to go. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Steinhart Aquarium; since first visiting on a gradeschool field trip, I’ve loved roaming its dark, quiet, fish tank-lined halls. And while the new aquarium is beautiful and mind-blowing, it’s definitely a sensory overload. Curved metallic-blue walls, luminous tanks at all eye levels, water-wavering words projected against partitions, and a booming voice bellowing facts about the ocean. Interactive experiences abound with all kinds of things for kids to poke, touch, move...there’s a chance to

The Peep Diaries: How We’re Learning to Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors, by Hal Niedzviecki. City Lights Books, 2009. In a world where the private becomes more and more public and everyone wants to know about everyone else, and wants everyone else to know about them, the Internet is king. Hal Niedzviecki delves into the world of social networking and digs to uncover why we put it all out there. We’ve become a mass of TMI—too much information—and we just can’t get enough, an obsession Niedzviecki coins“oversharing.” Finding that we’ve become frantic to fill a void that is never satisfied, it’s no surprise that the popularity of tweeting, blogging, posting and webcamming is snowballing in an unstoppable frenzy. The Peep Diaries is a crash course in the many ways our culture exposes itself and an investigative, often humorous look at just how attentionstarved and lonely the majority of people are.Talking with many of the average Joes who expose themselves through tweets, blogs, posts and webcams, Niedzviecki shares their stories and tries to understand their motives. From employees fired for blogs they’ve written to middle-class housewives who post amateur soft-porn pics of themselves, to shaming your neighbor for stealing your Sunday paper by posting a video of it on YouTube, to self-created cyber-celebrities, the wired world has become part of our daily lives for better or worse. It’s made use of our time more efficient, yet much more of our time is consumed as we stalk, spy, watch and peep at others through media that didn’t exist until the last decade. And as the Peep Diaries discovers, the more we become connected by computers through our obsessions with “reality,”the more disconnected we become from reality. For anyone interested in what the last two decades have found us immersed in, Niedzviecki’s book is a must-read. —Beth Allen

“explore” practically everything. And while that’s certainly impressive, I can’t help but feel completely overwhelmed in my attempts to shut out everything around me and enjoy the ebb and flow of the notoriously bashful octopus—its tentacles climbing along the glass—or the jellyfish as they bob and swirl in their seeming state of perpetual suspension. But this constant and overpowering play for our attention isn’t merely at entertainment venues, where perhaps that’s what you pay for. When I’m driving and stop at a light, I grapple with my iPod, cussing under my breath that I can’t use my cell phone for fear of getting a $250 ticket. I look to my left and there’s a 16-year-old texting in the next car. To my right is an SUV with two kids in the back transfixed by a DVD. No one notices the horizon; no one wants to see past the windshield. We’ve become so good at multitasking that we’ve forgotten how not to “task” at all. The other day I was in a digital video computer class. This was pretty complicated stuff, and if you missed a second of what the instructor was saying, you could easily get lost. This didn’t stop my fellow students from logging on to personal email, news websites, Facebook—all day long. A woman to my left had a laptop plugged in and was actually telecommuting for her day job—she said there was a crisis she had to monitor—while taking class. The guy to my right had his iPod in one hand and cell phone in the other. Someone else BlackBerry-ed every 15 minutes. I kept catching my mind wandering due to an uncontrollable urge to log on to my Yahoo

account. I would sneak a peak in between lessons and had hardly any new messages. So why did I feel the need to do it? Perhaps this is why: Last month it was my birthday, and when I logged on to Facebook a couple of days afterward, I had a long list of happy birthday messages from all sorts of people who had posted on my page. And you know what? Reading them, some from people I really barely knew, gave me a warm fuzzy. A cyber warm fuzzy. And I was home, alone, in front of my computer. Yet I felt cared about and that made me happy. And this, I guess, is why we keep logging on. But I’ve given myself a challenge. The next time I find an old friend online, I’m going to turn off the computer and give that person a call. And if she isn’t worth calling? I’m going to turn off the computer and read a book. Or take a walk. Cuddle with my dog. Or call up someone I actually do want to talk to. We need to stop living in the virtual now and return to the now. The “last day of your life” analogy is a tired one, but I’m going to use it anyway: If you found out tomorrow you only had a week to live, would you still spend hours a day on Facebook? I could go on, but I’ve got to check my tweets. <

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Facebook has a space for users to post “What’s on your mind?” whenever they login. It’s called a status update. Quite often Facebookers like to mention how busy they are...yet they still have time to post how busy they are. Here a few recent posts from my “friends” I found amusing: ---------------------------“Trying to fit in a meeting, trip to the pool, playdate with kids’ friends, trip to the gym and dancing to Michael Jackson’s hits in a 24 hour period.” ---------------------------One friend logged on to Facebook while getting back to nature: “We are camping in Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa in a 4-person tent that truly barely fits three.” ---------------------------“Friend” Sally challenged us to take her “How well do you know Sally?” quiz. Questions included: Which college did I receive my bachelor’s degrees from? What is my dog’s name? Who is my favorite band? Where am I originally from? Four minutes before compiling the quiz about herself, Sally had posted: “Stressed out again...too many last minute deadlines keep interrupting my writing.”

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---------------------------Some posts are deeply philosophical: “Feeling gratitude for my life. It may be hectic and demanding but I feel absolutely blessed for each breath of air and every day above ground...” ---------------------------Others disturbingly personal: “Just ate a lot of garlic and I’m pretty sure I will have a lot of gas tonight.” ---------------------------Others blatantly obvious: “Drunk and going to pee.” ---------------------------This one may portend a more grisly outcome: “I think I might actually have a settlement with the psycho downstairs. Please, please, please move out and go somewhere and get the meds you need and stay away from me and my family forever!!!!” ---------------------------A potential movie deal is pending. No, really: “My Pomeranian raided Chinese takeout bag overnight, opened and ate a fortune cookie. Her fortune: You have strong spiritual powers, and you should develop them.”—BA

4

Are you curious about hormones? Are they safe? Can they help with fatigue, depression, brain fog, hot flashes, sleep, and anxiety? In many cases, yes.

Beth Allen is the Pacific Sun’s art director. Befriend her at ballen@pacificsun.com.

what’s on their minds?

w w w. S i m p l e R a d i a n c e . c o m

Michelle Conte, R.N., Practice Manager John E. Conte, M.D., Medical Director JANUARY 8 –JANUARY 14, 2010 PACIFIC SUN 13

›› SiNGLE iN THE SUBURBS

Obsession, for men If guys are so busy with sex, how do they find time to lambaste my columns?! by N i k k i Si l ver stein

P

oor me. I feel misunderstood. Based on the mail I received and the Town Square comments posted about my last column on paciďŹ csun.com, I should clarify my position on my favorite subject—men. I tried to convey that I don’t need to understand or change men anymore. Acceptance is my new mantra. I thought I was exhibiting personal growth and sensitivity that I’m not usually prone to, so I was surprised when both men and women wrote in with suggestions and criticism. The Dec. 25 column in question, “Change I Can Believe In,â€? shared stories of men behaving badly. Since then, friends have told me similar tales, which means these male misdeeds aren’t isolated events. I’ll give you another couple of examples. The vulgar guy who made Tamara cringe is her brother. The siblings went to Fish in Sausalito for a late lunch. When they drove into the parking lot, she mentioned it smelled

ďŹ shy. “Close your legs,â€? Harry replied. Laurie dated Shep for two months. He’s no spring rooster, however his charm captivated her. After their only night of intimacy, he failed to call, so she phoned him. “To tell you the truth,â€? Shep said, “I love the chase and conquest, but the relationship part is always a letdown. I’m sorry, my dear.â€? You probably get the idea by now. Is it any wonder I’m throwing in the towel when it comes to understanding men? Readers, on the other hand, have a perfect appreciation of the battle of the sexes. The ďŹ rst letter to come in was from George, a polite 65-year-old, who explained that men are simple to understand: “From ages 14 till about 60 they are obsessed with sex. It consumes at least 90 percent of all our mental energy and imagination. We think about the female body all day long.â€? Well, George, with all this sex on the brain, how do men have the capacity to climb the corporate ladder, start wars and play golf?

Another thing, I live inside a female body and I apparently don’t think about it nearly as much as men do. I worry about some of you guys. I really do. Clara, a 24-year-old reader, chimed in with a different perspective. Not surprisingly, the men in the previous column disgusted her; however, the women disgusted her too. Referring to the attorney who believes women should sleep with him if he’s spending money on them, she wrote, “Clearly, women always have the upper hand when it comes to sex and feeding a maniacal ego like ‘Tom’ by ‘giving it up’ is where the problem(s) begin.� She wasn’t the only woman with the belief that women hold the sex card. Alicia’s posting was more direct: “...women have tolerated boorish behavior in men that would have been unthinkable a generation or so ago. They’ve allowed men to act like jerks without withholding sex in the misguided hope of obtaining love.� Wow. Using sex as a reward or a sword seems extreme. Though my sweet, commitment-phobic, sometimes boyfriend isn’t perfect, I wouldn’t consider cutting off sex to punish or change him. A male reader, Tristan, opined, “If women (particularly American women) don’t learn to respect men for what we are, you will be single for the rest of your life; or, you will have to become a lesbian.� Tristan, I kissed a girl and I didn’t like it, so I’m not becoming a lesbian. I certainly respect men who respect me. If men want to be

obsessed with sex and women’s bodies, be my guest. I’m not even going to try to ďŹ gure it out anymore. I merely request that you don’t catcall to me on the street, talk to me about your genitals on a public trail or liken the scent of my vagina to the odor of ďŹ sh. Really, is that too much to ask? I agree men and women are different. It’s biology, chemistry, hormones, whatever—it’s just not enough to explain away vulgarity on the part of men. If I attempted to have a discussion with a man about my menstrual ow, a yeast infection or the inadequacy of his penis size, I have no doubt he would be uncomfortable. Because I respect my male friends, acquaintances and even strangers, I wouldn’t put them in such an awkward and degrading position, even if I discover they lack girth and length. (Yes, it matters.) I don’t ďŹ nd all or even most men crude, which is why I’ll end with an email from a nice reader I’ll call Greg. “Those guys were jerks! They give men like me a bad name. I did have a good laugh though, especially about the attorney giving advice to his friend about ‘getting it’ on the third date. What’s the hurry? When a man takes a woman out, he should never expect anything in return, other then a thank you.â€? Thank you, Greg. Ladies, I have his email address if you’re interested. < Email: nikki_silverstein@yahoo.com

Offer Nikki some helpful advice on TownSquare at ›› paciďŹ csun.com

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›› THAT TV GUY FRIDAY, JAN. 8 Bones When human remains are discovered at a neighborhood block party, you have to wonder if somebody had an advantage in the three-legged race. Fox. 8pm. Apocalypse Man It’s like Survivorman or Man vs. Wild, but this guy sets out to survive in a post-apocalypse landscape. It sounds easy. We may be wrong, but we’d always assumed two things would survive Armageddon: cockroaches and Starbucks. History Channel. 11pm.

4XFEJTI .BTTBHF IS

by Rick Polito

Men of a Certain Age Are we to believe that viewers are suddenly interested in a Sex and the City-style show about middle-aged men? We’re not buying it until we see Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen get spots on The View. TNT. 9pm. CSI: Miami A popular singer bursts into flames. This is exactly the kind of thing that could rejuvenate American Idol. CBS. 10pm.

SATURDAY, JAN. 9 Rudy Th e i n s p i r i n g story of a young man relentlessly pursuing TUESDAY, JAN. 12 his dream of playing on American Idol The the Notre Dame football auditions begin in Bosteam, working long days Go to class, Rudy. Saturday, 5:30pm. ton, fire extinguishers at and enduring endless hours of demanding physical training only the ready. Fox. 8pm. to wind up playing for two minutes in Trapped An anesthesiologist and his one game. The good news is he picks up a wife, along with their 6-year-old daughbachelor’s degree in “horribly misplaced ter, are held captive by three kidnappers. Most parents would choose prioritiesâ€? while he’s there. to view that as free child(1993) CMTV. 5:30pm. care. (2002) Lifetime. 9pm. The Bachelor: On the Celebrity Ghost Stories Wings of Love This time, The only things haunting the bachelor is a pilot. We these people from beyond wonder if he will be handthe grave are their careers. ing out roses or little bags of A&E. 11pm. peanuts. ABC. 8pm. The Fugitive Dr. Richard Kimble is on a mission to WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13 clear his name and find the Our Little Genius A game man who killed his wife. show with child prodigies That’s nice. He could carpool answering difficult queswith OJ Simpson and Scott tions, the easiest being,“Who Peterson. (1992) American ‘I didn’t kill my wife!’ Saturday gets picked last for kickball?â€? at 8. Movie Classics. 8pm. Fox. 9:15pm. It’s Me or the Dog Tonight we meet a fam- Aliens Lately, we’ve been nostalgic for the ily that has eight rescue dogs in a special days when James Cameron’s aliens weren’t “It’s Me or Your Little Cujo Posseâ€? episode. blue hippies living in rainforest harmony Animal Planet. 10pm. huts. (1986) American Movie Classics. 10:30pm. SUNDAY, JAN. 10 THURSDAY, JAN. 14 The Secret Life Celebrity Rehab of Tiger Woods with Dr. Drew There’s some part Mackenzie Phillips, that’s still secret? Heidi Fleiss and Really? TLC. 6pm. Dennis Rodman on Miami Vice This one show? We truly is the updated, relive in a Golden Age. imagined movie VH1. 8pm. version. They get to Daylight Sylvester shave in this one. Stallone stars as an (2006) E! 7pm. emergency worker Less kind, less gentle... Wednesday, 10:30pm. The Simpsons who struggles to 20th Anniversary Show Wow. We’re old. save victims of a tunnel collapse trapped Fox. 8:30pm. in the suffocating darkness, cut off from the slightest glimmer of hope, an experience they share with people who actuMONDAY, JAN. 11 ally paid to see this in the theater. (1996) Little People, Big World It occurs to us that the ideal TLC reality program would American Movie Classics. 10pm. < be a pair of 500-pound dwarfs with 14 Critique That TV Guy at letters@paciďŹ csun.com kids who flip houses for a living and design clothes, all of this in a competitive Turn on more TV Guy at cooking show format. TLC. 7pm. ›› paciďŹ csun.com

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M A R i N

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PACIFIC SUN OPEN HOMES

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Attention realtors: To submit your free open home listing for this page and for our online listing map go to ›› pacificsun.com, click on Real Estate on the left navigation bar, then scroll to the bottom of our new Real Estate page and click on the open home submission link. Please note that times and dates often change for listed Open Homes. Call the phone number shown on the properties you wish to visit to check for changes prior to visiting the home.

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