Synthesis Weekly Nov. 4- 10, 2013

NOVEMBER 4 :: FREE

ALSO ...

PIMPS OF JOYTIME - 6TH STREET CENTER BENEFIT

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

11/7, 9pm

11/8, 9pm

11/9, 9pm

Kytami & BOOMTOWN

Kicks & Licks ft. CELO!!!

E-40 w/ DownNorth

FRIDAY

THURSDAY

SATURDAY

Furlough Fridays & A Happy Death

Monthly Acoustic Singer/Songwriter Showcase

Pre-Thanksgiving Rock Bash

November 15

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MONDAY

POOL LEAGUE 3 player teams. Sign up with bartender.

Starts at ?PM

November 21

6

WEDNESDAY

8-BALL TOURNAMENT

November 23 Rock Mountain Tribe, The Lonely Kings, Horseneck

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THURSDAY

8

FRIDAY

JAZZ

LIVE MUSIC

8PM

8PM

9

SATURDAY

9-BALL TOURNAMENT Sign-up at NOON Starts at lPM

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR SA RA CA LVOSA SA RA @SYNTHESIS NET Let's talk about racist costumes. On Halloween, I was standing in line at Chipotle with apparently the rest of America, checking out all the crazy costumes and feeling really festive and like a great parent for thinking to stuff my kids with boo-ritos before taking them out to trick-or-treat.

Full of burritos= not as much room for candy, right? (It didn't work though, they still ate a metric crapton of candy.)

But as I was standing in line admiring costumes, I noticed that some people didn't get the memo that racist costumes are out this year (and next year and every year). I saw three different sombrero-wearing, poncho-sporting "Mexicans," a girl wearing war paint like a Native American, and some girl just randomly wearing a Vietnamese straw hat (she phoned it in-with a racist costume).

TECH NOVEMBER! THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT.

EXTRA! EXTRA! PIMPS OF JOYTIME SUPER COOL BAND!

We love making new words out of the word November! This week we're focusing on apps! JD DiGiovanni gives us some megabytes for thought on Lulu, and we've also got interviews with the local developers of GoodStamp and Popfor! Not to mention we've got a couple of reviews for Pixlr & Mixlr and the new Dave Eggers book, Circle. Hold the app-la use until after you've finished reading.

Jaime O'Neill, Advanced Music Correspondent previews the upcoming Sierra Nevada Big Room performance by the Pimps of Joytime. Come to find out, they're a lot like the Fonz (before he jumped the shark.) Check them out on November 10th@ 7:30pm!

The 6th Street Drop In Center is having a benefit bash! Tommy brings us a fantastic interview with Logan Keyser about this very important community resource. The benefit will be held at Monstro's Pizza on November 9th @ 8pm. Bring a pack of socks and get in free!

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IMMACULATE INFECTION

OLD CROCK

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EDIBLE BITS

HOWL

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COMICAL RUMINATIONS

SPORTS BALL

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SEXYTIMES

REVIEWS

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So yeah. I'm not the costume police, and I get that they didn' t mean to be offensive (I hope they didn't anyway), that it's just Halloween, it's no big deal, and so on with all the excuses. But your racist costumes are not ok. It's in poor taste, it's ignorant, and it lacks a certain basic human decency. Nobody's trying to kill your Halloween spirit, but if you're going to dress up, you should steer toward wearing something that doesn't enforce centuries of destructive stereotypes, marginalize any particular population, or straight up make fun of an entire culture.

"But Sara, it's just a joke. Who died and made you the PC police?" Well my racist friend, get better jokes. And don't worry, refraining from racist cultural appropriation will not take all the fun out of Halloween. There are literally endless supplies of costume ideas to choose from that don't involve dehumanizing another culture or ethnicity. You now have an entire year to plan a better costume!

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CROWDSOURCED

Questions from our Life in Chico Facebook page.

What's an app you can't live without?

Joanne Denise Candy crus h Like · Reply · 53 minutes ago via mobile Antnony Walker Br eakfast cereal

ADOPT ME!

Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Bryan Hodosn Zy nga poker

Cecile is an easy-going chubster who would do well in just about any type of home!

She loves to explore, loves to cuddle and especially loves to talk to you.

Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Angeles Godinez Esp inosa instagram & yo t be Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Mike Christian App le Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Raquel Mattice Stick it!

x

Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Sean Edwards lmd b Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Jennifer Yeakle Our grocerie s Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile

2579 Fair Street Chico, CA 95928 • (530) 343-7917 • buttehumane.org

Julie Thornton-Adams None but yel p is one of my favs Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Vicki Tupin Simmons Pandora, Tune In radi o, Chehap , an d my newest o bsessio n - Duo li ngo.

Like · Reply · about an hour ago Er-ik Scan Fantasy football apps Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile

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Lisa Fenton-wildenhaus My hanking app Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile Veronica Felix T he weather ( hannel Like · Reply · about an hour ago via mobile

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NOW HEAR THIS Synthesis Weekly Playlist AMY

KYTAMI - "REFLECTIONS"

EVAN

MAROON 5- "PAYPHONE"

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Arielle Mullen, Bob Howard, Danny Cohen, Dillon Carroll, Erica Koenig, Howl, Jaime O' Neill, Kenneth Kelly, Koz Mc Kev, Ky Junkins, Matt Olson, Tommy Diestel Dan O' Brien, Jackie Reardon, Negin Riazi

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DAIN

JIM REEVES - "THE BLIZZARD"

TANNER

SLIME GIRLS - "SPLASH NEBULA"

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OWNER Bill Fishkin bill@synthesis.net

Joey Murphy, Jennifer Foti The Synthesis is both owned and published by Apartment 8 Productions. All things published in these pages are the property of Apartment 8 Production s and may not be reproduced, copied or use d in any other way, shape or form without the written consent of Apartment 8 Production s. One copy (maybe two) of the Synthesis is available free to residents in Butte, Tehama and Shasta counties. Anyone caught removing papers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. All opinions expressed throughout the Synthesis are those of the author and are not necessarily the same opinions as Apartment 8 Production s and the Synthesis.

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SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

IMMACULATE INFECTION

BY BO B HOWA RD - MADBOB@MADBOB COM

ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY HAUNTS MY DREAMS I've had a little more time to think about things since I got laid off. When I was in the grind-in that constant, daily routine-thinking didn't come easily. I mean, we are talking about important things that I had never even bothered to consider before I found myself inundated with all of this time.

For example : Elizabeth Montgomery is an incredibly underrated actress. If she hadn' t been typecast as a square, straightlaced, suburban housewife witch in a sitcom that spanned the period during which black and white television turned to Technicolor, she could have been on a par with Meryl Streep. I've caught her acting in a couple of programs-one was an old gangster flick called Johnny Cool, and the other an episode of the Twilight Zone featuring Montgomery and a young and striking Charles Bronson.

Goddamnit, she is haunting. In both those performances, Montgomery is beautiful, vulnerable, and fractured. I don't know how many pictures she acted in other than Bewitched, but I'm going to make it a random, meaningless goal of mine to watch every one of them.

Rhythm is Lead

I don't think they label the instruments right in modern rock ensembles. The singer and guitar soloist are most often referred to as the " lead players," but really those are the following instruments.

The bass guitar, drums, and rhythm guitar lead the music. The main vocalist and the guitar player follow along with the structure, rhythm, and tempo laid down by the " rhythm section." Trish tells me this might stem back to orchestral music, wherein the best player, the " first chair," could also be referred to as the " lead" player, but I'm not buying it-because if that were the case, then all players on stage would be " first chair." Most indie bands, rock bands, punk bands-there aren't multiple players lined up and vying for a given position within the bad.

Generally you find yourself playing with whomever is willing to put up with your bullshit.

The Good Old Days

Back in the days of the Old West, at least according to television, a couple of guys could play out a personal pissing match on the streets of the city's main drag. No one would bat an eye if the pair decided to blow apart Old Man Howard's split rail fence-first with a punctuating stream of fine leaden rifle shells, and then by a single well-placed blast from a 10-gauge shotgun. Then the cocksmen would saunter on down to the bar, not a concern in the world for why the fence they'd just demolished might have been there in the first place. Ah, the good old days.

The Old West Comes to Chico

I've heard reports of vigilante committees being formed in Chico : legions of private, armed security guards assembled, and paid, to clean up the city's mean streets.

Call me a flaming liberal, but this sounds like a terrible idea; one of the worst in recent local history. Is this some kind of an early April Fools' joke? Private parties are going to fund armed guards who will go out and " shoo" homeless people, some of whom are mentally unstable and/or on heavy drugs, out of the downtown area? Where are they "shooing" them to? Is anyone involved considering the legal, civil, and human tragedies this sort of action could give rise to? It seems so ludicrous on its face I can 't really believe I'm writing about it.

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Although being a student and being broke definitely goes hand in hand, you don't need to be toting a backpack around town to crave a good meal on a budget. We are all always on the lookout for ways to save some moolah and still eat well-and lucky us, we live in a town that has a plethora of inexpensive and tasty dining to be had, if you only know where to look.

baba ghanouj, dolmas, tzatziki, spanakopita and pita bread. It is a huge amount of food and usually ends up being two meals for me.

You can also order up any Athens Style gyro (my fave is the falafel gyro) for a mere $5.75.

Also downtown, Thai Basil has an ample lunch menu and everything on it is $7.50!

I have loved everything I have consumed there, but I especially enjoy the pad thai and the fresh-vegetable-packed red curry with This is a rundown of some of our go-to coconut milk (red curry, bamboo shoots, bell places to grab a delicious and wallet-friendly pepper, broccoli, carrots, green beans, zucmeal. I was having a hard time picking a basil). chini, and Thai budget point, but I ended up choosing $7.50 as the ceiling for these meals; five bucks was Burger Hut consistently grills up a tasty buildtoo low, and ten bucks seemed a bit steep your-own burger, and you can easily dine for a "budget" meal. Away we go! there within budget. Upper Crust Bakery has Hopefully you already know about the deli- a vast array of savory premade items in the glass case, and they have Quiche Lorraine cious burger spot, Nobby's, but you might (my hands-down favorite egg dish), Broccoli not know that you can order anything on with Bacon, and cold Sundried Tomato Slaw their menu for under $7. I usually go with Pasta with Smoked Mozzarella. They also the petite burger and small fries, and that have cups of various soups and chili on offer comes in just under our budget. Next up is each day. Bacio Catering & Carry Out is a terSol Mexican Grill. Again, just about everyrific stop for another filled-to-the-brim glass thing on this menu is under budget-the case.

They have hot and cold items-made only exception being the shrimp fajitas comwith fresh, local, and seasonal ingredientsing in at a whopping $7.50. (If you scrounge and I have a weekly craving for their kale under your car seats I'm sure you could Caesar salad, cold Thai chicken salad, and unearth another fifty cents.) I am fond of whatever soups they are whipping up. the tostada salad with the southwest dressing, or their chile relleno burrito.

Eating on a budget absolutely doesn't have to

At Sultan's Bistro downtown, I am a sucker mean fast-food crap. Grab your $7.50 and hit for the appetizer sampler : tabouli, hummus, the streets-there is amazing food to be had!

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SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

COMICAL RUMINATIONS

BY ZOOEY MAE - ZOOEYMAE@SYNTHESISNET

BLANCHE DUBOIS Last week I indulged in a semi-dangerous pastime-reading while walking. I was reading an article from a local paper profiling a homeless man who felt he'd been wrongly harassed by police officers. He claimed that he really never "asked" for change, saying instead "spare change," in an attempt to prompt a donation. I would have kept reading, but my dumb, broke-down train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the subject of the article ... asking me for change. I'm not saying the experience of being hit up for change is annoying; it is, but that's not my point. I just wish the author had bothered to maybe do a little field research and ask around to verify his claims. The fact is, that guy asks me for change about four times a week. Maybe I'm wrong, and the author did ask around, and I just somehow always end up choosing routes that intersect his points of solicitation.

I'm torn on the homeless issue. On the one hand, I do understand that the ones who don't suffer from a disability, who live on the streets by choice, are choosing to live outside the system. I empathize with not wanting to live one's life within the confines of a typical lifestyle, to avoid the trappings of normalcy. However, unless there's a

physical or mental deficiency, the fact remains that they're choosing that life. Along with that selection comes the responsibility of finding a method to navigate through it.

Relying on the kindness of strangers (a' la Blanche DuBois) is of course their prerogative, but expecting people to fund your lifestyle reminds me of something I'd say as a petulant teenager to my parents-stay the fuck out of my room ... but also please bring me some soup.

This practice of making ill-advised life choices and then expecting others to fill in the blanks is a trend that seems to me to be worryingly rampant. It's apparent in general, but especially visible in my age demographic (25-35). This generation, the trophy kids/millennials-we're a rather pathetic bunch, aren't we? It's distressing, this trend of not just constantly taking, but expecting, feeling entitled. We take so much more than we bring to the societal table. If each generation were tracked on a graph, they'd probably have an erratic zig-zag pattern. We move in one direction toward the dysfunction of an overly strict, emotionallydevoid upbringing, then yank the wheel back the opposite way, over-correcting and ending up with a whole new generation of assholes who whine incessantly and bemoan

FACEBOOK.COM/SYNTHESISCHICO • SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

That wasn't a fart.

I was just blowing you a kiss with my butthole.

somScards

user card

the fact that no one is handing them the job they feel they somehow deserve.

I just realized, this week 's column was a total bummer.

Sorry about that. Let's end on an " up" note. At a dinner party, a man farts. Another man says, " How dare you fart in front of my wife! " The man replies, "Sorry, I didn't realize it was her turn!" (Cue curtains and ragtime piano music as I soft-shoe shimmy off the stage.)

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location like a city, would it be any better? No.

BYSARA CALYOSA Dating isn't easy. It actually flat out sucks. After opening yourself up to outright rejection, you have to pass through a gauntlet of awkward moments and a heightened sense of self- consciousness. Are my glasses dirty? Can they tell ?

Maybe I shouldn't talk about the whole Israel/Palestine thing. All that effort and attention to detail wouldn 't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that more often than not, things don't work out.

As social media has been playing an increasingly large role in our lives (problem-solving and streamlining away our little inconveniences), it's no surprise to see it making its way into our romantic lives. Missed-connections sites give users the ability to confirm anonymously that the glances they were exchanging from across the cafe were, indeed, fuck-me-looks. Apps like Tinder make it easy to get in touch with people you find attractive, and who think the same about you. These products are at best a kind of social lubricant, and at worst, mistaken as a substitute for real human interaction. Most, however, are made with the best of intentions.

In all of her interviews, Alexandra Chong starts off talking about her app, Lulu, by referring back to a post-Valentine'sday brunch she had with a group of women. What she found remarkable about the brunch was how the lack of a male presence made it so the conversations-on anything from men to life choices-were much more honest and to the point. It was there, Chong says, that she came up with the idea for Lulu: a tool to allow women to offer one another that same support (in regards to relationships) anonymously, without the presence of men, and with their phones.

It makes sense that Chong so regularly starts talking about Lulu by telling that story. She presents Lulu as something akin to a widely relatable and holistic experience. Whatever your gender or orientation, being in an

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environment where you can be open is something to be desired, and most often is something that takes place in a small community. Chong claims that Lulu is that same small community, scaled up, and given a search function and a rating system-all while retaining the same benefits.

Lulu's logic is "the more the merrier," and why not? We have the tools to make it possible and the people to make it work. However, there has been little effort made to test that logic. Instead, attention has been squarely focused on the way Lulu functions in relation to the men-the subjects this community is built around rating.

Lulu scrapes up men's Facebook profiles and puts them on the app for rating without getting their consent, effectively making a man's participation in Lulu "opt-out" only. That decision is pretty plainly out of the realm of what anybody besides a lawyer would call "ok," and is a big part of what has been drawing criticism. That fact, coupled with how public the information is (any woman anywhere can see a man's profile if she signs up; men can't), has drawn cries of sexism from many other critics of the app, who also equate the unprovoked on line sexual commentary to catcalling.

I agree with most of those points, but the interesting part of this app isn't just the fact that men can suddenly claim to be victims of some wrongdoing. What I've been struck by instead, is that despite the fact that this behavior is neither new or innately bad on a small scale like Chang's brunch table, when you scale it up it suddenly becomes pernicious. So where exactly does this transition take place? If the app was regional, or confined to a specific

The problem lies in the fact that Lulu tries to take the benefits of a small community and project them onto one as large and opaque as the Internet. One of the great things about getting advice from people you already know is that you can weigh the validity of their statement based on who they are and how knowledgeable and honest you perceive them to be. Lulu can't afford its users that kind of self-determination because it only provides a handful of anonymous opinions from people they may or may not even know. The app tries to keep the degrees of connection a user has to anyone she's rating close, by restricting her rating ability to only the men she is friends with on Facebook. Seeing that it isn' t uncommon to have up to a thousand friends on Facebook between Berkeley and Boston, it seems a meaningless rule. Even then, one could argue in response that we don't always get advice from people we know intimately, but when you are talking to someone in person-even if they're at best a friend of a friend-there is a certain amount of trust and faith we can put into those interactions, because there is a face attached to that information and a reputation to go along with it. To lie to someone or betray another's trust comes with consequences in smaller communities, while the same behavior is routine and even praised in so many on line ones.

Chong wants us to see Lulu as enabling women to make better choices regarding their relationships by way of holding men accountable, but her app does little to hold the women doing the rating to a similar standard. The competitions Lulu holds on college campuses, that provide cash rewards to whoever can rate the most amount of men in the shortest amount of time, is undeniable proof that this app encourages a lack of investment in the accuracy or validity of the ratings, and degrades the very purpose of the app. The same type of behavior can't exist easily in a group of people sharing the same table and looking one another in the eye.

Any claim of the app holding men accountable for their actions falls apart under the slightest inspection. How can someone be held accountable for their actions if they're only provided with an aggregate score of opinions? A Lulu Dude's (the unfortunate name of Lulu's service for men who sign up) score is as effective in changing his behavior as a professor would be in handing a paper back with a grade, no marks in the margins, and a refusal to meet about it. The reason for the grade is more important than the grade itself.

If we ignore the fact that Lulu was made to replicate the social benefits of small offline communities, and compare it to other large on line communities, it still comes up short. Most popular rating sites have found ways to give

#cash rewards to whoever can rate the most amount ofmen in the shodestamount oftime SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

#aren1 raliD/products... G 0 qd st 0 mp tbeyte ratinrpeople •P:.YG:::~,,:~~,:::., The g"Y' beh;od the oow

their users a clear idea of how to weigh the opinions they feature. Rotten Tomatoes has a "top critics" category made up of people who are particularly good at their job-along with user ratings and a handful of other professional critics.

Yelp solves the same problem by providing a profile and a history of how a person has rated other restaurants. These features allow a user to weigh opinions and ultimately make a more informed decision about where they'll spend their money, all despite the opaqueness and lack of social responsibility the web can enable.

Lulu can't do that. It allows users to anonymously rate an already anonymous comment's accuracy. Of course, all the anonymity is because Lulu needs to protect the identities of its users, because they aren't rating products ... they're rating people. People who may find out what is being said-and if they were to feel they were unfairly treated, they might just try to do exactly what Lulu tries to exempt its users from, which is to hold them accountable. In an attempt to combat any really vile ratings, Lulu is set up so a user can only rate with groups of pre-set language and hashtags. It's a smart move on some levels, but also inhibiting. A user's rating can only be as expressive as allowed by the language provided, which could possibly work if that set language wasn't in the hands of an app that provides "Slaying Mad Pussy" as a way to mark someone's relationship status. The combination of maintaining its users' anonymity, encouraging mass-rating, and resulting attempts to keep ratings from being too hurtful, renders Lulu ineffective as a rating site.

Chong failed to realize what made that brunch so special : it was a small community of friends. That smallness engenders a willingness to share intimate knowledge in confidence, as well as the tendency to provide thoughtful and heartfelt advice not just because someone can, but because they care. Even with our best developers and electronics, the benefits of smallness can't be imposed onto a larger community, even if it's online-because the same principles of offline communities still apply to how we use social media. It seems as if that point is either lost, ignored, or never realized in the first place by some developers.

More users mean a higher potential payout, which means that when trying to replicate or improve how small com munities work, functionality will lose out to mass appeal.

Lulu will mostly likely continue on with a modest following of curious women and navel -gazing men, but it will never be a completely functional or useful tool. For each failure, however, there are people in the industry taking note, improving, and maybe, eventually, building up enough courage to think small.

your average Silicon Valley types. Chris Tisler and Jared Johnson are both 33-year-old oilmen that live right here in Chico. They travel all over the country working jobs in the oil fields, and in their scant spare time they created an app for recognizing good deeds and spreading goodwill. I love supporting tech in Chico, and who hasn't wished for the opportunity to publicly thank somebody for a good deed well done?

How did you two meet?

Chris : We're both oil field guys so we met in school. We're drilling fluid engineers. We design and implement drilling fluid programs.

Jared : He was doing a job in the Northstate. I've lived in Chico for about 15 years now; he asked if he could stay with me while he was working and after a couple of days he was like, "yep, I'm moving here."

You two came together and this magical thing happened.

Why this type of app?

Jared : What brought us together [as friends] in the first place was a lot of synergy in our backgrounds-troubled childhoods with tough family situations-so when we got in the oil field, it kinda magnified everything. We do so much traveling and see so many different demograph ics, socially and economically; we see people everywhere with stories just like ours, with the same kind of hardships.

When you see those similarities and you see what could have made your childhood different or a little bit easier... [we] started to put together an idea. What could we do to make a difference? How can we do something socially responsible?

At this point it's free and I don't see any ads on the app, so how do you plan to monetize?

Jared : Right now we're all about user experience. There are a lot of companies, like Foursquare and Twitter, that launched and are successful without a monetization plan in place-that came later. It's all about building your user base. We really want to protect user experience.

Chris : And any kind of monetization experience kind of steps on the toes of the ideals of the app.

How'd you come up with the funding to develop the app?

Both : We bootstrapped it.

Jared : It's been a long-time goal; we've been putting money aside for this project.

Generally when people do good deeds-say they've helped an old lady across the street-they don't generally wave their hands afterwards and say, "hey everybody look! I did a good deed, pat me on the back."

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App Store: Free Archimedes Workshop LLC

goodstampit.com Platforms: iOS Chris : [laughing] But secretly, you want to be acknowledged.

Jared: There are two angles there; we understand the audience that doesn 't want to be self-promoting, but this app gives people an avenue for thanking them. It's not really about promotion for yourself, it gives people an easy avenue to thank you or acknowledge you. And it's not just about you, it's things that you see. If you saw somebody give up their taxi for a little old lady, drop a pin, because it's a way to acknowledge good deeds in the world that aren' t your deeds.

I love that this is a way to grow positivity and encourage people to do more good things. What are the nuts and bolts of the app? How does it work?

Chris : To be active, you just have to register and drop pins.

Or go in and endorse other people's pins, which we call "stamping." We've also got typical social network stuff, like being able to customize your page. It's mostly about dropping pins, the map, and going in and recognizing and acknowledging other people's pins.

Jared: You can follow people, create groups, there are a lot of things that go into the social aspect side. Maybe you're not a big pin person and you just want to be part of a social group that goes to raise a swingset, or participates in a blood drive-the avenues for use are pretty broad and open to the user.

It sounds like something nonprofits could get a lot of use out of too.

Chris : Absolutely. They can make their own profile, drop their pins.

Jared: You can make a nonprofit profile with your nonprofit group linked to it. Or create a group on the fly, like if you happen to be at a place with a group of people all working on the same project. [ie: after a storm cleanup where people from across the country come together.] There's even a messaging system all in-app.

Chris : We wanted it to stay broad in its versatility so that the users can direct us and let us know which way we need to head with it and what we need to emphasize.

Jared: Yeah, version 2.0 could highlight certain aspects that get a lot of use. We're leaving ourselves open to pivot depending upon what the users give us feedback-wise.

Goodstamp is available in the iOS app store. You can follow them on twitter @goodstamp, like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/goodstampit), and check out their website at www.goodstamp it.com.

Get to droppin' some pins! Details for a launch party to follow.

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9

SCENE REPORT

POPFOR

ALTON BROWN

BY AMY OLSON

BY ZOOEY MAE

Are you a serial flake-constantly setting up dates and meetings you inevitably skip-but then you feel really guilty? Good news! Now you can hit a little icon on your phone and send those sad lonely creatures an apology and a latte while finishing up that video game and bottle of bourbon in your underpants. Boom, now you're a great guy.

I asked Michael Manning, creator of the Pop For app, to give me the whole rundown.

The idea of gifting via app has been touched on in one way or another in the past, mostly related to buying alcohol (the first one I'm aware of was an app in the UK that let you buy a beer for someone). I saw the opportunity as being much larger and something that local merchants could really benefit from, and the next logical step in social app development. People see on line buying as taking over, and while it's grown substantially (and continues growing) it still hasn 't replaced how people shop : locally. That's especially true for food establishments, which until now haven't really been able to participate in on line sales.

I suppose one could-theoretically-also give gifts for non douche-guilt. A nice person could just be feeling all the feels and decide to buy a friend one of those reusable coffee cup sleeves.

It allows people to express their generosity, to say "thanks," "congratulations," "my bad." And it allows them to do so via their local businesses, which benefits their community. Along with the obvious connection between friends, parents can " pop for" their children (from middle school to college) and know their money

10

is being used as intended, HR can reward their employees, users can favorite different items from local businesses and create a bridal registry, etc. We're confident shoppers and merchants will come up with ways to use PopFor we haven't even thought of yet!

I imagine one of those uses could be becoming a super classy stalker, the kind who keeps a respectful distance while buying things for you to eat, and then peers at you from behind a fern while you eat it going "hmmmmyyyeeeeeees, my gift is inside you."

The app was developed here in downtown Chico. It's designed to work with browsers, tablets and smart phones (downloads from Google Play and the Apple App Store will be available soon). We're in beta right now, but anyone can sign up. Users can send to any recipient with an email address (we' ll be add ing SMS and Twitter as options also). You can also pin your favorites to Pinterest or share on Facebook so your friends know what to get you.

Merchants also get a dedicated page that can really help promote discovery of their business and what they have to offer, with the added benefit of visitors being able to purchase right from the web page.

We're piloting Popfor in Chico right now, and plan to expand to other cities very soon (and when we do, users can pop for friends and family even when they've moved away).

All in all a very cool and useful app that can not only make you look super suave and generous, it can help the local economy. If you 'd like to try it out right now, go to popfor.com. One of those local participating businesses is the Naked Lounge, and they have a super heady pumpkin latte made with real pumpkin goo.

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Alton Brown, renowned chef, television host, and author visited Laxson Auditorium last Sunday, and I was lucky enough to be in attendance. I was particularly enthusiastic about this show because I'd just listened to the semi-recent Nerdist podcast episode that had hosted him. (If you're not aware of the Nerdist podcast, I highly recommend it.) From that episode I learned that Brown is an avid James Bond fan, a licensed pilot (he flies himself on his private plane to most shows), and ... kind of a dick. I don't mean that as a bad thing, I just mean that he didn't really let the show hosts get away with anything. Any joke that he didn't think was funny, any reference that wasn't com pletely on point, he didn't let it slide. And again, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, just unusual when it comes to people who make their living by amassing fans for one reason or another.

I was really bummed that we couldn ' t get an interview, because there was something I was just itching to ask him. On the podcast episode he spoke partly about his time spent as a host of Iron Chef, and how it was kind of incredible that nearly every ingredient known to man had, at some point, been used on the show. He then went on to say that there was even a chef, and he wouldn't name names, that had tried to sneak marijuana into one of the dishes. My question is, what were they cooking? I mean ...

brownies are the obvious choice but it's Iron Chef! It could be anything!

Anyway, on to the show. I was surprised by the huge turnout, especially because there wasn ' t any real information about what the show would entail. I was especially curious if he would cook anything, and how he would do so for such a large venue. He did end up making food : pizza and ice cream.

The more impressive of the two was the pizza, made by a crazily enlarged Easy-Bake Oven type of device in which a pizza was cooked under super high-powered lights in about three minutes.

He also sang a few songs, accompanied by a drummer and guitarist. I felt like the music was a little unnecessary, especially since he's not exactly talented in the singing department. But, he's Alton Brown. At this point, he can really do whatever he wants.

And he did. He sang a song about a shrimp cocktail he ate in an airport once that gave him diarrhea. Clearly, the man is accomplished. I'm probably just bitter though, as my seat was literally in the very last row in the balcony. I think there is probably a very clear correlation between the quality of the seat and the quality of the person sitting in the seat. I'm including myself in that equa tion. I'd rate this show a 5/10. Two stars for the Easy-Bake Oven, and three stars for the patter. I'd recommend this show to families with ninety minutes to kill and $40 per ticket to spend.

SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

A beautiful, tropical setting within the award-winning In Motion Fitness Resort. The Cabana features a fireplace, tables, chairs and beautiful arched windows.

Included is our large, fenced in patio featuring a fire pit surrounded by a Mediterranean view.

FACEBOOK.COM/SYNTHESISCHICO • SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

11

FOOD

fli

& DRINK

Holiday Inn Closed

MON TUE WED THU

FRI

SAT

Closed

Mon-Fri happy hour 11-2PM

Daily Happy Hour from 4-7PM

$2.50 Dom & Sierra

PBR $2.25 Everyday!

Nevada Drafts 3-6PM v$3.50 Dbl Wells 6PM -close $8 Dom Pitcher

1/2 OFF POOL Pool League, 3 player teams. Sign up with bartender. Starts ?PM.

$9 SN Pitcher

All ages until lOPM

2 DOLLAR TUESDAY! Food & Drink specials!

Daily Happy Hou r from 4-7PM

11AM-2PM $2.50 SN & Dom Drafts 2-close $2.50 wells & Dom Draft s $3.50 Dbl Wells &

PBR $2.25 Eve ryday!

SUN

5-9pm

BEER $3/4/5/6 $1 SHOTS FREE Pool after lOPM Chicken Strip Sand only $6.50 befo re 6 PM DOLLAR DAZE 6-9pm $1 Be er $1 We lls $2 Doubles FREE Pool after lOPM

Happy Hour 5-7pm Daily Drink Specials Nightly Dinner Specials 5-9pm

Daily Happy Hour

Mon-Fri 2-6PM

Reuben Sand w/ fries or

Happy Hour 5-7pm

from 4-7PM Full Bar in Back Room Weds, Fri & Sat Nights!

PBR $2.25 Everyday!

$1.50 PBR or Coors Pints $2 Kami Shooters 1/2 OFF POOL

salad $6.50 5pm-Close 1/2 off kids items 8pm-Close Pitcher

Daily Drink Specials Nightly Dinner Specials 5-9pm

8 Ball Tournament Sign-up 6PM. Starts ?PM.

Specials $6/$9/$12 FREE Pool after lOPM

Mon-Fri 2-6PM

Baby Back Ribs $10.99 Philly Cheesesteak $7.50

& Sierra Nevada Drafts

11-2PM $2.50 Dom

Daily Happy Hour from 4-7PM

3-6PM

PBR $2.25 Everyday !

11-2PM $2.50 Dom & Sierra Nevada Drafts 3-6PM $3.50 Dbl Wells 8-Close $2.50 Dom & SN Drafts

$1.50 PBR or Coors Pints $2 Kami Shooters 1/2 OFF POOL JAZZ NIGHT- Martini

$3 Soccer Morns $5 Smirnoff Blasters $5 DBL Roaring Vodka

6pm-Close $4 Grad teas

Happy Hour 5-7pm Daily Drink Specials Ni ghtly Dinner Specials 5-9pm

$3 All beer pints FREE Pool after lOPM

Specials All ages until lOPM Daily Happy Hour from4-7PM Full Bar in Back Room Weds, Fri & Sat Nights!

PBR $2.25 Everyday!

Mon-Fri 2-6PM $1.50 PBR or Coors Pints $2 Kami Shooters 1/2 OFF POOL All ages until lOPM

10 oz. Tri-Tip Steak w/ Fries or Salad & Garlic Bread $8.99

Happy Hour 5-7pm Daily Drink Specials Nightly Dinner Specials

8pm-Close $4 Jager $5 DBL Vodka Red Bull $6 Jager Red Bull $2 Kamikaze shots

5-9pm

FREE Pool after lOPM Bartender Specials $3 14oz Slushies

Open at llAM !

Bloody Mary Bar

Daily Happy Hour from 4-7PM

$4 20oz Slushies Southern Comfort Promo 9pm- Close

Noon-6PM $8 Dorn Pitch er $9 SN Pitch er 8PM-Close

Full Bar in Back Room Weds, Fri & Sat Nights!

PBR $2.25 Everyday!

Bartende rs Choice

Baby Back Ribs w/Salad, Fri es & garlic bread

Happy Hour 5-7pm Daily Drink Specials

9 Ball Tournam ent.

Sign-up at noon. Starts lPM.

$10.99 8pm-Close $4 Single/$6 Double Jack or Captain

Nightly Dinner Specials 5-9pm

All ages until lOPM

$2 Sierra Nevada FREE Pool after lOPM

FREE POOL

$S.19 Grad/Garden/

Restaurant Open for

1 hr. with every $8 purchase All ages until lOPM

Turkey Burger w/fries or salad Bloodies $3 Well, $4 Call,

Dinner 5-9pm

$6.SO DBL calls

10AM-2PM

r-------------, 1 FREE FOUNTAIN DRINK :WITH ANY MEAL PURCHAH :

halftime 'til they're gone!

MONSTER MONDAY SPECIALS 6PM-CLOSE

Happy Hour 5-7pm Daily Drink Specials Nightly Dinner Specials

WING WEDNESDAY!

$3.50 Dbl Wells 8-close

Bird Dog Whisky Promo 9pm-Close

w/

$1 PBR all night All ages until lOPM

$3.SO Fireball , Jim Beam, Captain Morgan and Jameson

Bartender Specials $3 14oz Slushies $4 20oz Slushies

$2 Kami Shooters 1/2 OFF POOL

$6.50 Pulled pork sand fries or salad 25 cent wings from

$2 for 3 Wings $2.50 SN Pint All Day 8PM-Close

Closed

Mon-Fri 2-6PM $1.50 PBR or Coors Pints

GAME NIGHT!

Kami shots

Closed

Mon-Fri 2-6PM $1.50 PBR or Coors Pints $2 Kami Shooters

$5 Bottles of Champagne with entree $4.50 Bloody Mary $5.50 Absolut Peppar Bloody Marys

Daily Happy Hour from 4-7PM PBR $2.25 Everyday!

$5 Top, $6 Goose Mimosas $2/flute, $5/pint $6 Beer Pitchers FREE Pool after lOPM

4

HUIT PREIEHT THI\ COUPON. EXPIRE\ 11/10/13 .J

L

~~~lOa~r ~A~~ 895

rd Avenue,

ico

ACROU FROM SAFEWAY. ON NORD BULLDOGTAQERIA.COH

12

WEDNESDAY 9PM

FRLDAY 4-7PM

DJ SPENNV &JEFF HOWSE

THE PUe路 SC0 UTS

DANCE NIGHT

HAPPY HOURI

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!Y

C HI CO CA

GoDownlo

BEAR-E-OKE

Lounge V 1 p u 1tra

Happy Hour 11-6PM

MNFSpecials

EVERY DAY

se lect bottles & drafts

Bucket of Beer

Happy Hour-4-7pm $1.7S

$2 Marqis $3 Cuervo Marqis

Bacardi Cocktails

Pints, $1.00 Shots, 1/2 off

$2.50 Corona's

Bear Burger with fries

Southern Comfort

or salad for $5.29.

Skyy & Red Bull

all Single cocktails, $1.00 Food items

Mon-Sat 3PM-6PM $1

BURGER MADNESS!

$2.7S

llam-lOpm.

2 for 1 Burgers llam-8pm Throughout the football

CLOSED

& Sierra Drafts

COME

Dom draft, $2 SN draft, $1.SO wells

game $1 Kamikazes $3 Jameson and Skyy Special

GoDownlo

BEAR WEAR!

$2 All Day

$3 Tea of the Day

Happy Hour-4-7pm Bu ck

Progressive Night!

1/2 off w hil e wearing

$2 Select Si erra Nevada or

Bartend er Specials

night 9pm-lam

8-lOPM $1 Si erra Pal e

Bear W ear.

MUG CLUB 4-lOPM

Dom Drafts

Happy Hour 4-Spm

$2 Kam is -any flavor

Ale, Dom estics, Rollin g Rock & w e ll cocktails up lOPM-close 25C per hour-close

MONDAY 4:00PM

Mon-Sat free pool 6-SPM

GoDownlo

TRIKE RACES!

All 16 oz Teas or AMF $3

$3 Tea of the Day

Happy Hour-4-7pm

Buck Night

Happy Hour S-8PM

Post time @ lOpm.

All Day

Bartender Specials

1/2 off all cocktails, $1.7S

8-close

$5 House Martinis

Drafts, Guest bartenders

$1 well cocktails, Sierra

$4 Glass of House Wine

every w eek

Nevada Pal e Ale, Rolling

$3 Well Cocktails

Win T-shirts and Bear

Happy Hour 4-Spm

Bucks.

MUG CLUB 4-lOPM

Rockdom draft

20% off wine by bottle

$3.50 Guiness Drafts,

$1 off Call liquor

$2 Karl Strauss

and bottled beer

$S Vodka Red bull $2.50 Pinnacle Cocktails

Drink specials!

$2.50 Pint of Sierra Nevada Half Off Rockstar Cocktails

$2 Select Be ers $3 Teas

BURGER MADNESS!

Happy Hour 11-6PM

Buck Night

Bear Burger w ith fri es

$2.75 select bottles &

9pm-Close

or salad for $5.29. llam-lOpm.

drafts

$112oz Select Teas

$2 16oz Wells

$2.SO Fireball Shots

Drink specials!

$2.50 Pints of Sierra

Happy Hour-4-7pm

$3 Hot Licks

Happy Hour S-8PM

$4.50 Doubl e Bacardi

$5 House Martinis

SO cent w ell drinks

8-9PM $1 pal e ale

$4 Glass of House Wine

$3 20oz All Teas

9-lOpm $2 Kamis,

and dom draft

$3 Well Cocktails

$1 Well Cocktails

$2 Fireball, $3 Cherry

up 25C per hour until

20% off wine by bottle

$2 Select Bottle Beers

Blasters, $2

close

$1 off Call liquor

Saco Promo

bottle Bee r lOpm-lam

Free Happy Hour Food

$3 Tea of the Day

Happy Hour-4-7pm

Power Hour 8-9PM

Happy Hour S-8PM

BURGER AND FRIES FOR

4PM until it's gone

Bartender Specials

$S Fridays 4-8pm Most

1/2 off Liquor & Drafts

$5 House Martinis

Bird Dog Whisky Promo

food items and pitchers of

9PM-Close

$4 Glass of House Wine

Happy Hour 11-6PM

9pm-Close

beer are $5

$3 Pale Ale Drafts

$3 Well Cocktails

Nevada

VIP Bottle Service

ONLY $4.99!

available

Mon-Sat lOpm - lam.

Vodka & Red Bull

select wells, bottles and

$3 Double Well Cocktails

pints $2.7S

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f

DRINK SPECIALS

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20% off wine by bottle $1 off Call liquor and bottled beer

Ha lf Off Rockstar Cocktails

LATE NIGHT EATS! BEAR

$4 Sex On The Beach

$3 Tea of th e Day

Happy Hour-4-7pm

Mon-Sat 3PM-6PM

Happy Hour S-8PM

$2.50 Pint of Sierra Nevada

BURGER AND FRIES FOR

$4 Sierra Nevada Knightro

Bartender Specials

Hot dog m enu all day

$1 Dom draft, $2 SN draft,

$5 House Martini s

ONLY $4.99!

ON TAP

Southern Comfort Promo

llam-8pm, All Day and

$1.SO w ells,

$4 Glass of House Wine

Mon-Sat lOpm - lam.

$1 Jello Shots

All Night Tall cans of bee r

Power Hour 8-9PM

$3 Well Cocktails

7-lOPM $3 Rumpy, Jager

(24oz) $3 .SO, $2 Capri sun

and Fireball

Shots, Al l Teas $3.SO, Tea

1/2 off Liquor & Drafts 9-Close Pale Al e Drafts

$1 off Call liquor

Party 9-llpm 32oz Teas

$9.75 Pal e Pitchers

and bottled beer

CLOSED

CLOSED

$3 Featured Shot of the

$$ Bartend er's Choice $$

Night

20% off wine by bottle

are $2.SO HALF OFF EVERYTHING

Call To Rent For Private

(Except Red Bull and

Party

Premium Liquors) Go Downlo

BURGER MADNESS!

$4 World Famous Bloody

Brunch lOam - 2pm

Happy Hour-4-7pm

Bear Burger with fries

Joe

Football Specials

Champagn e Brunch

or salad for $5.29.

$5 Premium bloodys

llam-lOpm.

your choice of vodka

Come chec New Fall & Food & Ori

930am-lpm, Every Nfl Game (20 Tv's), $3 Bloody marys, $3 screwdrivers, $5 pitchers of beer

House Made Martinis, Sangrias & Seasonal Fresh Drinks

J)~ Tapas Menu

Champagne Brunch SUNDAY OPEN ALL NIGHT FOR VETERANS DAY

10am-2pm Every Sunday with purchase of an entree

FOOTBALL SPECIALS ALL DAY

Pfu/J Live Music on Wednesdays Wed-Sat I 5pm - 8pm Corner of 2nd & Wall Across from GRANA 530.898 . 9898

13

THIS WEEK ONLY BEST BETS IN ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, NOVEMBER

7TH

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER

A UBREY DEBA UCHERY

KYTAMI

AND

LOSTON MAIN

STH

THE BROKEN BO NES

CAFE CODA

Hauntingly beautiful violin (played by the hauntingly beautiful co-founder of Delhi 2 Dublin), floating over heavy drums and bass, pushing genre boundaries between classical, ambient, dubstep, and hip hop?

Yes please. With Boomtown and Jay Tablet. 9pm

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER

STH

The mistress of mood and her band of merry men take the stage, joined by the spooky-funky Battlehooch of San Francisco, Gentleman 's Coup, and Disco Church .

All ages. $5. Doors 7:30pm, show 8pm

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER

gTH

E-40

WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY? LAXSON AUDITORIUM

LOSTON MAIN

Are you a fun-hater? Do you find laughter to be a tedious waste of time?

This is the perfect opportunity to go into an auditorium full of people and glower at them with your arms folded .

Student/child $35, senior $41, adult $43, premium $48. 7:30pm

Pop yo collars and put your pimp cups up, Vay Area artist E-40 is coming back to Chico! Fo sheezy. Don't make him go back to slanging yayo to get his mayo, drop that scrilla at the Dungeon for your presale tickets. How white do I sound right now? W/Down North. $30. 9pm

AND FURTHERMORE, THESE EXCITING THINGS 4 MONDAY Cafe Flo: Word Play Poetry Night.

7-9pm Sierra Nevada Big Room: Festival

superstars Greensky Bluegrass, with Fruition. $20. 7:30pm

5 TUESDAY Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall: CSU

Chico's department of history presents "Is History Bunk?" roundtable discussion. Free. 7:30pm

BMU Auditorium: Take Back The Night.

Speakers begin at 6pm, followed by candlelit march through Downtown Chico at 9pm Chico Women's Club: Alli Battaglia & The Musical Brewing Co. CD release, and benefit for KZFR. Special guests include The Resonators, Julian, Knowvella, Mandalyn May, Daniel Vera, and Chico Tribal Belly Dance. All ages.

Free. Doors 7pm, show 7:30pm Cafe Flo: Loki And The Entertainment.

5-7pm

6 WEDNESDAY LaSalle's: Twisted Strategies experi-

mental hip hop, with rock from Box Knife Betty. $5. 9pm

7 THURSDAY 1078 Gallery: Jackie Daum, Jenna &

Jesse, Aamir Malik. All ages. $8. Doors 7pm, show 7:30pm

14

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Harlen Adams Theatre: Celebrate

Veterans Day early with the Symphonic Winds' Fall Concert, "Band Classics."

Persons attending in military uniform or carrying a military ID card get in free, otherwise advanced tickets are $15 general, $13 senior, $6 students/ children. Add $2 at the door. 7:30pm

8 FRIDAY Chico Women's Club: Benefit for the

National MS Society. Music by The Perpetual Drifters, Dick & Jane, John Paul Gutierrez, and The Amblers. $10.

7pm Lost On Main: EDM DJ group Kicks &

Licks feat. Celo. 9pm

9 SATURDAY

Cruz Derby Girls. $6/kids, $10/advance, $12/door. 7-9pm The Maltese: Wake of the Dead. 9pm Monstro's: 6th Street Center for Youth

Fundraiser. Skelator, Severance Package, Born Into This, Scrolls. All ages. $5, or $3 with donation of new socks.

8-llpm Sierra Nevada Big Room: Death By

1078 Gallery: Escape From Earth!

Disco w/ music from DJ Boogie Man.

Selente, Playboy Smooth, Roxy Doll,

$30. Dinner at 6pm, music starts

Olove. $5. Doors 7:30pm, show 8pm

7:30pm

Cafe Coda: Jake Nolen & Band,

Wine Time: Los Caballitos de la Can-

Strange Habits, Sean Martin. All ages.

don. 7-9pm

$5. Doors 7:30, show 8pm Cafe Flo: Drum Circle. Beginning work-

shop . llam-lpm. Followed by Song Circle with Robert Catalano, 1-4pm

10 SUNDAY Sierra Nevada Big Room: Pimps of

Joytime. $25. 7:30-9:30pm

Cal Skate: Nor Cal Roller Girls vs Santa

SYNTHESIS WEEKLY. COM

ONGOING EVENTS Panama's: Eclectic Nights. Buck night

University Art Gallery: Paintings of Erika

4 MONDAY

6WEDNESDAY

and DJ Eclectic. 9pm

Navarrete . All ages. Free. llam-4pm

The Bear: Bear-E-oke ! 9pm

lOOth Monkey Cafe & Books: Open Mic.

Quackers: Karaoke night with Andy.

University Bar: Free Pool 6-8pm

Cafe Flo: Live Jazz Happy Hour with the

All ages. 7pm

9pm-lam

Carey Robinson Trio. 5-7pm

The Bear: Trike Races. Wint-shirts and

DownLo: Pool League. 3 player teams,

Bear Bucks. Post time lOpm. Mug Club 4-lOpm

Southside Playhouse: Rogue Theatre presents The Weir. $10, available only at the door. 7:30pm

Cafe Flo: Carey Robinson Trio . 5-7pm,

University Art Gallery: Paintings of Erika

signup with bartender. 7pm. All ages until lOpm Ellis Art Window Gallery: Lea Gadbois acrylic paintings. Runs through 11/27.

then Way Out West Country Showcase, featuring The Blue Merles. 7-9:30pm

Maltese: Open Mic Night. Comedy.

Chico Women's Club: Afro Brazilian

Signups at 8pm, starts at 9pm. Mug Night Dance. 5:30-7pm 7-11:30pm

DownLo: 8 Ball Tournament. Signups

University Art Gallery: Paintings of Erika

6pm

University Bar: Free Pool 6-8pm

Blue Room Theatre: Grand Guignol. An evening of horror, sex, and comedy in the French tradition. $12 students/seniors,

VIP Ultra Lounge: Acoustic performance with Bradley Relf. 7-9pm. No Cover.

Woodstock's: Open Mic Night.

Howse. 9pm. $1.

8 FRIDAY

Woodstock's: Spelling Bee for the

The Graduate: Free Pool after lOpm

lOOth Monkey Cafe & Books: Writing

Grownups. 6:30-7:30pm

Jesus Center: Derelict Voice Writing

Group, everyone welcome . 9-10:30am

5 TUESDAY

Maltese: Smashed Spelling Bee. 9pm

lOOth Monkey Cafe & Books: lntermedi-

The Tackle Box: Swing Dance Wednesday,

ate Bellydance Class with BellySutra. $8.

cIasses 7-9 pm

6-7pm

University Art Gallery: Paintings of Erika

Cafe Flo: Open Mic Singer-Songwriter

Navarrete. All ages . Free. llam-4pm

Night with Aaron Jaqua. 7-9pm

University Bar: Free Pool 6-8pm

Chico Women's Club: Afro Carribean

VIP Ultra Lounge: Laurie Dana. 7-9pm

Dance. $10/class or $35/mo. 5:50-7pm.

Followed by Capoeira, $3-$10. 7:308:30pm

Woodstock's: Trivia Night plus Happy

Hour. call at 4pm to reserve a table .

Starts at 8pm

Group. 3:30-5pm The Beach: Play and Destroy DJ Contest.

DownLo: 9 Ball tournament. Signups

noon, starts at lpm.

Mic hosted by Rich & Kendall. 5-9pm

7 THURSDAY

Frankenstein. Adults $20, kids $12.

7:30pm

Southside Playhouse: Rogue Theatre

presents The Weir. $10, available only at

The Bear: DJ Dancing. No Cover. 9pm

Crazy Horse Saloon: Fusion Fridays, the

the door. 7:30pm

best country, rock, oldies, 80s & top 40. evening of horror, sex, and comedy in the Country dance lessons 9-10:30pm French tradition . $10. 7:30pm

DownLo:

Yz off pool. All ages until lOpm

Duffy's: Pub Scouts- Happy Hour. 4-7pm

Chico Theatre Company: Young Franken-

Holiday Inn Bar: DJ Dance Party. 8pm-

Studio Inn Lounge: Karaoke. 8:30pm-

stein. Adults $20, kids $12. 7:30pm

midnight.

lam

DownLo: Chico Jazz Collective every

Maltese: Fabulous Friday LGBTQ+ Dance

The Tackle Box: Karaoke. 9pm

Thursday. 8-llpm. All ages until lOpm

Party. 9pm

University Art Gallery: Paintings of Erika

The Graduate: Free pool after lOpm

Navarrete. All ages. Free. llam-4pm

Has Beans: Open Mic Night. 7-lOpm .

University Bar: Free Pool 6-8pm

Sign ups start at 6pm

Peeking Chinese Restaurant: BassMint.

Weekly electronic dance party. $3.

9:30pm

Holiday Inn Bar: Karaoke . 8-llpm Maltese: Karaoke . 9pm-close.

IT'S A BOUNTIFUL FALL HARVEST AT

SICILIAN CAFEI

evening of horror, sex, and comedy in the The Graduate: Free Pool after lOpm French tradition. $12 students/seniors, Holiday Inn Bar: DJ Dancing. 70s and $15 gen. 7:30pm 80s music. The Molly Gunn's Revival!

Cafe Coda: Friday Morning Jazz with 8pm-midnight Bogg. llam LaSalle's: 1980Now! 8pm Cafe Flo: Flo Sessions weekly music Scotty's Landing: Music Showcase. Open showcase. 7-lOpm

The Graduate: Free Pool after lOpm

Woodstock's: Trivia Challenge. Call at 4pm to reserve a table. Starts 6:30pm

Crazy Horse Saloon: Ladies Night Danc-

Blue Room Theatre: Grand Guignol. An

kol and friends. 7-lOpm

Maltese: Karaoke. 9pm-Close

stein. Adults $20, kids $12. 7:30pm

The Bear: DJ Dancing No Cover. 9pm

Cafe Flo: Flo-n-the Blues w/Steven Trus-

LaSalle's: '90s night. 21 +

Chico Theatre Company: Young Franken-

ing w/DJ Hot Rod. 10pm-1:30am

9:30pm

Blue Room Theatre: Grand Guignol. An

Holiday Inn Bar: Salsa Lessons, 7-lOpm

18+.9-llpm

Chico Theatre Company: Young

Crazy Horse Saloon: All Request Karaoke .

Farm Star Pizza: Live Jazz with Shigemi and Friends. 6:30-8:30pm

$15 gen. 7:30pm Cal Skate: Adults only skate night. $6.

Duffy's: Dance Night! DJ Spenny and Jeff

lOpm

Circle. 2-4pm

Navarrete. All ages . Free. llam-4pm

Navarrete. All ages. Free. llam-4pm

DownLo: Game night. All ages until

lOOth Monkey Cafe & Books: Knitting

The Bear: DJ Dancing. No Cover. 9pm

University Bar: Free Pool 6-8pm

21+

9 SATURDAY

Southside Playhouse: Rogue Theatre presents The Weir. $10, available only at the door. 7:30pm

University Art Gallery: Paintings of Erika

Navarrete. All ages. Free. llam-4pm University Bar: Free Pool 6-8pm

10 SUNDAY Chico Theatre Company: Young Franken-

stein. Adults $20, kids $12. 2pm DownLo: Free Pool, 1 hour with every $8 purchase. All ages until lOpm LaSalle's: Karaoke . 9pm Maltese: Live Jazz, 4-7pm. Trivia, 8pm The Tackle Box: Karaoke. 8pm

CHICO'S BIG SECRET Best Drinks Best Prices

Best Patio Best Staff Best Karaoke Tuesdays at 9pm

2582 Esplanade • (530) 343- 0662

Best Live Bands

1020 MAIN STREET CHICO '••?) 530.3~5.2233 (G ...~

Saturdays at 9pm

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15

ON THE TOWN

PHOTOS BY JESSICA SID

SEXYTIMES

BY BA LLS MC PHEARSO N - BALLS@SYNTHESIS.NET

Why do guys get so upset and take it personally when a woman doesn't finish every time?

Because oftentimes, men's self-worth and esteem is ego-driven. To fail at a job is a fail.

They feel as if they have just been defeated.

He just lost the game.

Now, if he is vested in your pleasure he will want to work with you and want to succeed. The motive may be more for saving his ego and less for your pleasure, but you'll still reap the benefits. If it is to be more than a one-time-only occurrence, guide him. He's a dog; train him to touch, lick, pet, stroke, bite where it will deliver maximum KABLOOEY power. You can rebuild himyou can make him stronger.

Speaking just for this author, Balls does not ever fail at satisfying a woman. Ever. My success IS ego-driven and as such I have developed an oral talent nonpareil.

Men, quit jackrabbiting your dick like it's some great gift. Learn oral NOW. My hub and I are in a dry spell. I want to get things moving but I'm the one with the (much) higher sex drive, and I forgot how to initiate years ago. And he's not a morning guy, so a wake-up BJ is out of the question (I've tried, it's a no-go).

Your sex drive is off the chart and his is on life support. Rad. Just fuck someone else; that's what you want me to say isn't it? I mean really, start hanging out with his pals and find some new dick. That's what's "in" these days. No? Ok, if you're not about sampling new people, then you'll need to work it out somehow. You need to get to the root of the matter by talking to

16

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

him. This tired -ass subject is the focus of

Cosmopolitan every damned month, and it is all due to the breakdown of actually conveying wishes/dreams/desires to your partner. Dead Bedroom Syndrome is real.

There are myriad studies that show it's due to boredom, lack of spark, over-familiarity, his fault/her fault, or financial and environ mental factors. Fact is-it's up to you two to figure out the impasse. No one person or article can successfully un-do this tangle.

If the two of you are unable to speak the same language of your sexual needs, then a professional therapist may be a helpful translator.

Back-pocket trick : a sultry striptease to Cat's in the Cradle or Dust in the Wind.

That will get his boner a bobbin'.

Is it ever possible to recover the 'mood' once you let out a vag-fart or butt fart?

Air goes in, air comes out. See : How a Piston Works.

That said, if you rip one out of the blue whilst your partner is giving you oralthat 's just mean. Funny, but mean.

Personally, I don't care. Sexual activity can be untidy. Deal with it.

Unrelated subject matter: Novembeard.

You may have read about the Chico Beard Collective in last week's Synthesis. If not, go to synthesisweekly.com and read the article. The CBC holds Novembeard to raise funds for music and arts programs at Chico and PV High Schools. These programs are instrumental in the development of nonshithead citizens. Please donate your time, money, or raffle items to this wonderful cause. Find a participating beard grower and donate today. More information at

fb.com/chicobeardco/Jective.

SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

OLD CROCK

BY JAIM E O'N EILL - JAIMEANDKARENONEILL@GMAILCOM

THE HALLOWEEN HANGOVER We just passed another Halloween here in Chico, a night that arrives with a certain amount of dread and nervous expectation. Extra hours are assigned to local cops, and extra vigilance is demanded of anyone venturing into downtown, or any of those blocks near what is known as "the zoo"-a phrase of such widespread notoriety that it has entered the Urban Dictionary, and added to Chico's rep as a place for rowdy partying. What we know locallygrownups in costumes, behaving badly-is now pretty much the signature of Halloween everywhere. It wasn't always so.

Scholars searching for when and how things started going seriously sideways in this country might start with the change in the way we observe Halloween. When I was a kid, back in the long-ago Eisenhower years, Halloween was almost exclusively devoted to children. In downtown stores in towns from coast to coast, local businesses would sponsor contests for the best costumes. Service clubs would put energy into converting old vagrant dwellings into "haunted houses." The local movie theatre would show crackly versions of Dracula, The Wolf Man, or maybe a more current screamer from William Castle. Down at Woolworth's or Kresge's, costumes were on sale, made of extremely cheap and often quite flammable material, outfits meant to transform kids into pirates or princesses, cowboys or cats.

In my working class neighborhood, moms usually sewed costumes for their children. One year, I won second prizea ViewMaster-at the local movie house, for my mother's best attempt to turn a skinny nine-year-old into Batman, a comic book hero yet to be transformed into the "dark prince" of big budget blockbusters for a more cynical time.

My generation viewed growing up with dread and suspicion. We inhaled novels by Jack Kerouac and others, almost all of them about fleeing the responsibilities that came with growing up, driving as fast as possible to outrun adulthood. Famously, as we left adolescence behind, we marked the passage with the slogan "don't trust anyone over 30." We became hippies, playing dress up with yearround costumery. And we started to build a drug culture that would turn the whole nation into Batman's Gotham, a place where drug-related violence was never absent from the front pages of city newspapers.

As the '60s turned darker, with assassinations and the horrors that filtered back from Vietnam, we clung to visions of childhood, and we began converting Halloween into a celebration not for kids, but for adults. The gay community first expropriated Halloween as a freak show and bacchanal, and the so-called counter culture made it a time for dropping a little acid, or doing a doobie or a line of coke with friends, all gathered together in trippy and increasingly ghoulish drag. Even suburban "straights" decided that Halloween was the perfect time for boozy parties where spouses could flirt with trouble while pretending to be things they weren't. Regional sales managers dressed

themselves up as masked gangsters in order to mingle with escrow clerks from local mortgage companies dressed as harem girls.

Meanwhile, the ritual of trick-or-treating became less and less appealing, even frightening. Stories began to pop up, in towns large and small, of people who put poison or razor blades in the candy or the apples given to the children who rang their doorbells. Within the space of a single generation, a time of year once devoted to candy for kids lost its innocence. The hours kids spend trick-or-treating have now been cut back severely. In some communities the custom has been dropped entirely, with more easily monitored gatherings taking place in lodge halls or schools.

Those construction paper cutouts of witches and skeletons that once stirred minor fright in children are less central to Halloween these days. Since the 1980s, Halloween has increasingly been seen as just another "beer holiday," like Super Bowl weekend. Now All Hallow's Eve has been repackaged and repurposed as an opportunity for boozy adults to play at being post-apocalyptic zombies, those walking-dead metaphors for what we are in danger of becoming.

Nor is this shift unique to the U.S. In the UK, adult costume sales have increased some 700% since 2009, as canny marketing strategies target the adult desire to play dress-up.

71.5% of Americans celebrated Halloween last year, up from 52.5% in 2005, many of them dressing up as sexy nurses or lecherous doctors. The partying begins a couple weeks before Halloween, and Halloween spending in the U.S. alone hit a record $8 billion last year, with the average U.S. consumer spending $80 on costumes and assorted other stuff marketed for the occasion. This year, Americans will spend $2.6 billion on Halloween costumes, with the most popular outfits being Miley Cyrus in her "twerking" outfit from her VMA media moment, or the characters from Duck Dynasty and Breaking Bad. That's not chump change, and those aren't role models for little kids, not in any sane universe.

If you wonder why so many of our politicians are now behaving like spoiled children, or why adult-sized people are dressing up in tri-corner hats with tea bags dangling from them, you might look to what's become of Halloween. If you're puzzled about why there seem to be so many who dismiss science, it might be because a couple of generations have seemed reluctant to give up childhood, and have stolen it from the children. If you wonder why there seem to be so many people in high places who are behaving irresponsibly, willing to break the toys unless the other kids play by their constantly changing rules, you might consider how difficult it can be to find adults these days, on Halloween, or most any day you choose.

According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated

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NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

17

LIKE, LITERALLY

HOWL

BY JAYME WASHBURN - EDITORIA L@SYNTHESIS.NET

HOWLMOVESMOUNTAINSTUMBLR.COM

THE FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT

FOUR CATS IN THE ANIMAL SHELTER

A few years ago I found myself carrying around The Singularity Is Near, written

by Google's director of engineering, Ray Kurzweil. I had every intention of finishing it, but was only able to drag through a few chapters. It was unfortunately a really heavy 700-page book. It sadly became a doorstop after I gave up on it. The little I read was impressive, with bright ideas on technology, engineering, and futurism. Kurzweil visited Chico last spring to talk about his role at Google, and is one of the most inspiring advocates on technology and the role of it in our lives.

He had this to say at his TED talk in April : "As we gradually learn to harness the optimal computing capacity of matter, our intelligence will spread through the universe at, or exceeding the speed of light, eventually leading to a sublime, universe-wide awakening."

It's a pretty fantastical claim-an idea that seems even a little far-fetched. Kurzweil is in love with technology, but something about his unfaltering optimism in it makes me squirm a little. Maybe that's why I raced through The Circle by Dave Eggers (published earlier this month), because it's critical of technology in a way that Kurzweil is not. Eggers seems to have taken stock of first-world life, and has responded to our technology-obsessed state with a public service announcement warning us of the dangers lurking ahead.

It's a parable of creepy proportions about what the not-so-distant future might look like if we continue on our current path. It does not lend itself to the kind of glowing optimism of Kurzweil, but rather warns "chicken little" style about what life might look like if we grow more connected to technology and less connected to the living, breathing beings around us.

The novel centers around Mae, a young woman who lands a coveted job at The Circle-a company that has successfully combined social media sites, banking, on line shopping, and even voting into one universal account that manages every aspect of a person's life. There is little resistance from anyone, because with

18

THE

CIRCLE

DAVE

EGGERS many technological developments, most people find that what makes life more convenient is essentially good. Mae finds herself in an increasingly creepy world where Orwellian statements like "Privacy is theft" and "Sharing is caring" are thrown around to shame people into transparency.

Eggers seems to caution that we are headed towards some kind of event horizon of information saturation, where privacy no longer exists.

I closed the book and felt a little rattled. I kept thinking back on the recent interview I read about Kurzweil. While his forwardthinking and optimism are admirable, his ideas lack the reality of what Dave Eggers writes about. Humans have always been capable of great things, but unless we evolve to be better human beings, advances in technology will not necessarily advance us. For now, we can choose the extent to which technology plays a role in our lives.

Part of me worries that a day will come when this isn' t the case. Dave Eggers will be shaking his head at the masses who were too busy tweeting and updating to heed his warnings.

NOVEMB ER 4 - NOV EMBER 10, 2013

"Lord, is it good to be us!" Missy purred to herself. "Where before there was cold and wet, now there is warmth. Where before there was gnawing on bones, now there is more chow than we'll ever need. One by one we were swept up by the people of this city, one by one we were placed reverently in this shelter, until these four felines found themselves together: A friendship seemingly eternal. I, Missy, am white, with some gray on the tail. Shelly is a deep, dark gray, with some teeth missing (I love her still). Pete and Patches lie beside us, and it is as if they always have, and always will. The mustard -yellow welcome mat lies beneath us, as always.

Pete's two front paws are curled beneath his torso, as is his habit. We've been in this animal shelter for months, yet I feel as if our life together has only just begun." Missy curled her body tight, then stretched herself out, then settled down again.

"Pete smells different today," thought Patches, "My tongue can taste it-like suddenly recalling the tang of Fancy Feast, although I haven't had it in ages."

"What shall we do today?" Patches said aloud. "We've been fed ; we've slept plenty. Shall we stare intensely into the sky? Shall we run circles around the scratching post? We could stop to rub against it as well, feeling the static as it sends messages into our fur. I could climb to the top of the post, to feel, for a moment, the feeling of being a king-

among-cats. " If we wanted to, we could spend the afternoon chasing after each other, or, we could spend it chasing after mice that are invisible to everyone but ourselves (just as the humans pace into and out of that front gate, feverishly, chasing secrets we can smell, but cannot see). We can do all these things! There is infinitely more time than we'll ever need." " For all of you, perhaps, there is time," Pete said. "For me, there is now a yawning chasm. This morning I was adopted."

He took a paw out from under his torso to give it a lick, a subtle gesture that nevertheless gave away the conflict behind his green eyes.

"How strange, that gesture of Pete's," Shelly thought. "How glaring is this yellow welcome mat. The scratching post seems suddenly alien, and unfathomable ... these traits that I've never noticed before. Pete is leaving us. Everything is suddenly wideeyed; everything has been startled awake.

My gray fur stands, shocked and upright.

This boundless friendship has found its boundary."

"If I knew how to work a camera," Patches purred to himself, "I would photograph us, as we lie here, right now. I would see the welcome mat we rest upon ... I would see the fences that surround us. Those same fences have held us here for months, trapping us in one place. Pete goes now beyond them. He goes beyond us."

SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

SPORTSBALL

BY DAN O'BRIEN - AMA LGAMCONSU LTING@GMAI L.COM

PHOTOS BY JESSICA SID

ON THE TOWN

THE WEATHER REPORT There was something yawn -worthy about this last week of football. Perhaps it is the malaise that sets in mid -season as we start thinking about the playoffs. Maybe the 8-0 Chiefs are not exactly the kind of undefeated team we wanted, but the one we deserved. While I enjoy the trumped showdowns between marquee receivers as much as the next frothing-at-the -mouth fan, I cannot seem to summon the same level of excitement as I felt before the season started. Watching bad teams stick around and good teams succumb to injury has become the party line for the NFL over the past several seasons. The notion of dominantfranchises has been replaced with dominant players.

This idea of " players over team" mentality might not be as startlingly obvious as it is with the NBA. It is no secret among people who know me, that I love basketball. I am not particularly good at it, but something about the 82 games of a full season sits better with me than the 16 we get for the NFL and the hundreds we endure in the MLB just to watch baseball in October.

Heading into the 2013-2014 season of the NBA, one has to ask whether the Heat will three-peat and propel LBJ into the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) conversation. Most NBA fans, with the notable exception of LBJ haters, already have him in the conversation-especially given the strides he has taken to shore up deficits in his game, as well as the multitude of productive years he has ahead of him. If pressed, I would have to take the field against the Heat. There are too many teams that improved significantly over the summer. Indiana beefed up their emaciated bench that, to the surprise of most fans, took Miami to a Game 7. Derrick Rose is back and appears to be better than ever, a claim that makes the Bulls a frightening team come the postseason. Instead of my normal NFL predictions, I am going to predict the eight teams from the East and West that will make the playoffs-and how they will be seeded.

The East : (1) Miami Heat, (2) Indiana Pacers, (3) Chicago Bulls, (4) Brooklyn Nets, (5) New York Knicks, (6) Washington Wizards, (7) Atlanta Hawks, and (8) Cleveland Cavaliers.

I like this seeding simply because you have Lebron playing two games in Cleveland during the postseason wearing a Heat jersey. The battle for New York will be the center stage of the first round, pitting a veteran and hungry crew in Brooklyn against Carmelo Anthony's legacy.

The West : (1) Los Angeles Clippers, (2) San Antonio Spurs, (3) Oklahoma City Thunder, (4) Houston Rockets, (5) Golden State Warriors, (6) Memphis Grizzlies, (7) Minnesota Timberwolves, and (8) Los Angeles Lakers. That's right, I said it: The Lakers are going to make the playoffs. And Kobe Bryant is going to win the MVP. The battle for LA will be the marquee match-up of the first round.

Without further ado ...

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NOV EMBER 4 - NOV EMBER 10, 201 3

19

SCENE REPORT

WEASEL AND THE PIMPS: AN OLD DUDE GETS HIS FUNK ON

BY JAIME O'NEILL

When I was a young high school hoodlum, I had an older friend I thought was just about as cool as it was possible to be. His street name was Weasel, and he never made a move that wasn't smooth. He was hip to just about everything, and his taste in stuff like music and rebellious posturing epitomized all I was trying to be.

That was a long time ago, and I hadn't thought about Weasel for decades. But when Brian J. and The Pimps of Joytime took the stage at the High Sierra Music Festival last summer, I was immediately reminded of my old hoodlum hero from high school days. Brian J. looks a little like that guy, and he is, onstage, a master of moves so un-selfconsciously cool that even a superannuated music fan like me can still recognize how cool they are.

I ain't much of a funk fan. When I was young, I had the normal person's appreciation for James Brown, and there were few ensembles funkier than the band Ike Turner fronted, but I just never got down with Kool and the Gang, or the Average White Band. Even the Temptations, as good as they were, just weren't my bag. (Does anyone on the planet still use that outmoded slang term?)

But my younger daughter loves funk, and she was already a huge fan of The Pimps of Joytime when she talked me into traipsing all the way across the fairgrounds at the High Sierra Music Festival to see this band known to play musical echoes of a genre that was never my fave. There are few things fathers won't do for daughters, even when those daughters are all growed up.

But I was surprised to find myself really diggin' the Pimps, from the first song to the last. Perhaps that was because the band shouldn't have been so narrowly labeled in the first place. This is way more than a funk band. As Brian J. told me in a recent interview: " What I wanted to do was to create the equivalent of a dance party, and now that's what we're doing every time we play-creating a party where people just want to dance."

Because I hear so much good guitar work, it's hard to impress me with a guitar solo, but Brian J. did just that when I heard him take his first solo. " Well," he told me in response to my compliment, "guitar is the instrument I'm most fluent in. The least thought goes into the guitar because when I take a solo, that's when I kick into natural instinct mode. I started young, and it just flows now. The Pimps get into all different styles, but at base we're blues."

The Pimps of Joytime is a distinctly urban band, and Brian J. traces its sound to time spent in the nightclub scene of his native Brooklyn.

20

N OV EMBER 4 - N OV EMBER 10, 2013

" Back in 2006, when I was just starting the band, I was much more into the night life," he told me. " I was going out and hearing the Brooklyn DJs at the clubs. I really liked how they could go so seamlessly from one style to another, and I wanted to see if I could recreate live music that was like some of the experiences I'd get in the clubs, where a set might morph from salsa into hip hop, then into Afro beat, and then maybe into Electronica. I was re ally digging that, the way they would mix it up. It was kind of an insight, that you don't have to do just one thing; that you can go from '50s rock-n-roll to reggae to Cajun, and make it all of a piece. I'm a fan of all that music, and we just make our own gumbo out of all of it. You can hear these traditional elements, but it's all tied together, and modern."

When he said he wasn't spending as much time in the clubs anymore, I wondered if he'd gotten married.

"No," he said. "I just got a lot more busy. When I started the band, we'd play once a week in Brooklyn, then go to play in San Francisco once a month, then down to New Orleans once or twice a year. Now I'm busy touring, and working on other projects, and there's just not enough time for partying. Besides, when we're out making music, we're always part of the party, so in that sense I'm probably clubbin' more than ever."

I mentioned how impressed I'd been by the band's drummer, John Staten, who'd worked the High Sierra crowd into a froth. That gave Brian J. an opportunity to say how pleased he is to have the band in its current configuration. " We've had a lot of shakeups in personnel since we started , but for the last year we've had the band I was trying to assemble from the beginning."

I asked him if he'd gotten to meet any of his musical heroes as the band's fame has spread.

" I got to do a gig with Family Man, Bob Marley's bass player," he said. "That was a thrill. And I played with George Porter, the bass player with the Meters. I've worked with most of the Neville brothers. I always wanted to play with Ali Farka Toure, but that never happened. I was so sad when he passed last year. He was an amazing guitar player."

And what about this life he'd chosen for himself-the touring, the interviews, the nights in strange places?

"I feel like I'm blessed," he said, without hesitation.

"When I meet people who don't know what they want to do with their life, I feel lucky because I always knew I wanted to make music. I still feel I'm at the beginning of where I want to go, but I really like what I do. And the traveling gets better as we get more successful. I hope that what I do with this band can lead to other projects.

A little success gets your foot in the door, and I'm looking forward to doing things like soundtrack work."

I ended the interview by asking him if there was anything he'd like to see in the piece. " You could direct readers to find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and lnstagram.

And you could mention we're working on new material, and we've just finished a bunch of songs for a new album."

The Pimps of Joytime will be making their first ever Chico appearance at the Sierra Nevada Big Room this coming Sunday, November 10. Bob Littell, the Big Room impresario, told me he booked the band on the basis of an email I sent him in which I raved about their performance up in Quincy last summer. He might have just been trying to make me feel good, but if I was in any way responsible for getting the band here, that makes me happy. And it would probably make Weasel happy, too, wherever he may be.

SYNTHESISWEEKLY.COM

ROCK YER SOCKS OFF

BY TOMMY DIESTEL

This Saturday there's a benefit for the 6th Street Drop In Center at Monstro's Pizza.

Social worker, rocker, and Masters student Logan Keyser sat down with me to chat about the show, the center, and the youth who depend on its services.

people looking to point fingers at the influx of homeless people hanging out downtown. With all the current fervor about homelessness and the sit/lie ordinance, why are community centers like 6th Street so important?

How were you involved with the 6th Street Drop In?

The only reason we have these programs [is] because enough evidence has been presented that there is a need within the community. If the need wasn't there, neither would the programs. However, if Chico didn't have a homeless problem do you think these kids would still be on the streets? Yes! Of course they would still be there. At least now there is a place that offers hope and support, along with a way out of whatever these kids have been through.

I USED to be a case manager at the Drop In center. I was there for five years, almost from the beginning. I stuck around for so long because that place does such good work. It is vital to the kids who find them selves homeless in the area. Since 2008, whether you want to call it a recession or an economic collapse, 6th Street became busy as fuck! (Laughs) But all of the social programs and services like the Drop In did.

These services are needed, but it 's hard because all of these people are in need of these resources, and the agencies are facing ridiculous budget cuts.

What kind of services does the Drop In offer?

Pretty much everything you need to become stable if you so desire it, like internet access for job hunting, or for school use, or trying to find housing. There's also laundry services so you don't have to seem like you just woke up from underneath a bridge. 6th Street tries to meet basic needs so [kids] can sublimate themselves into what they want to become instead of having to deal with this anchor that's been bestowed upon them. The Drop In tries to create an environment that is conducive for these kids' success. And it works. I've seen it happen.

When 6th Street Drop In Center first opened, they became an easy target for

Tell me about the show. How will the event benefit the Drop In Center?

One of the case managers for the center is the guitarist for Scrolls, who will be playing on Saturday. Born Into This is the band that I'm in. Josh from Severance Package has been doing this program at 6th Street called Writing for Doughnuts. He comes in around 3 o'clock with a case of doughnuts, and if you want one you have to write something; it's trying to encourage kids to write and be creative. The last band is Skeletor, which I'm told is made entirely of teachers. Not only do the bands have a connection with the center, but the proceeds are going to buy socks for people who need the Drop In services.

Come check out Scrolls, Born Into This, Severance Package, and Skeletor Saturday Nov. 9th @ Monstro's Pizza. Show starts at 8pm. $5 at the door, or $3 if you bring a donation of new socks.

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REVIEWS PIXLR EXPRESS APP REVIEW BY NEGIN RIAZI Please allow me to geek out for a moment. I recently discovered that Autodesk Inc., creator of some of the industry's leading 3D design software, has designed a top-notch photo-editing app. Yes, now you can forget all about lnstagram's measly effects and turn your photos into something worth bragging about.

Autodesk currently has two apps out: Pixlr-o-matic (which is for more fun -andquick editing) and Pixlr Express (which I' ve become addicted to). Seriously, Pixlr Express is a dream come true for photo lovers. With over 600 effects, including borders and overlays, this app adds a spark to any and every photo.

I will admit, I am a bit of a photo-taking addict. (I mean, who wouldn't want a picture of beautiful latte art?) Pixlr Express lets me resize, crop, adjust the contrast, brightness, sharpen, blur, and add awesome effects. There's the option to add overlays. Want to add a bokeh effect? It's got you covered. How about whitening

some teeth or fixing red -eye? Yeah, it's got that too. Pixlr Express also provides an amazing array of fonts-everything from retro to dotted to handwritten. Oh, by the way, they also have stickers if you like add ing hearts or comic labels like "Aarrggh!" (if for some reason your photo needs a hint of pirate).

Pixlr Express can be found for free in the App Store as well as the Play Store. Therefore iPhone and Android users alike can benefit from this amazing little app. And did I mention it's completely ad-free?!

MIXLR

APP REVIEW BY SARA CALVOSA Have you always dreamed about having your own pirate radio station but you're too lazy to learn how those old-timey ra dios work? Well somebody invented Mixlr!

You can record a broadcast reel directly from your phone or into the mic on your computer, and blast your golden nuggets of wisdom or musical genius out to the world. I don't know if it uses radio waves, but it is heavily integrated with Soundcloud. It was a little less intuitive to figure out how to use everything and to get my music on there for a playlist. I finally gave up and decided to just talk about stuff that was on my mind. I can imagine myself using Mixlr to record an audio version of the Synthesis for the visually impaired, or for people to listen to it in the car on their way to work, or while they're working out at the gym. I also imagine myself using Mixlr to wisecrack about local issues, like perhaps a live broadcast in tandem with the City Council meetings? If you ' re a musician and you'd like to broadcast your album at a certain time, maybe to coincide

with a tour, then Mixlr would be a great place to connect with your fans. It's also great for podcasting! In the car! You just set it to record and talk all the way home about stuff as if somebody is in the seat next to you. You could also car-sing for part of it. The point is that it's yours, and you can finally have your very own radio show!

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

21

s

H

NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10, 2013

BY KOZ MCKEV

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

LEO

You're in the thick of

Relationships are always

This is your last week of Mercury

You' re as good as you feel. Love

Family issues just can't be

VIRGO Bloom where you are planted.

transformation at this point.

somewhat difficult to balance. It's

retrograde. Sunday the 10th

and joy should be easier to come

ignored, especially when

You may be showered with rain

You need to lose in order to

like being on a seesaw. The weight

at 1:12 PM PST, Mercury goes

by this week. You move with

they involve parents or

drops, or the leaves as they

gain. Freedom and attachment

of one can offset the balance of

direct and you can work on

a certain spiritual dignity. Your

grandparents. You are in a place

fall to the ground. Be friendly to your neighbors, even the

are not compatible. You begin

another. The lovemaking could

picking up the pieces of the

creative life is expanding to new

where you are hyper-aware of

the week as an optimist, with

get hot and heavy this week as

things that went haywire the

heights. Spread the wealth of

your feelings. Facts don't always

local birds and squirrels. Find

the moon transiting your ninth

passions kick in. Venus moves

last couple of weeks. Monday

your personal happiness. On

change feelings. Own what you

poetry and stories in everyday

house. Add some beauty and

into your ninth house, giving

afternoon through Wednesday

Tuesday, Venus moves into your

feel and don't judge it to be

activities. Enjoy doing something

thought to your career as Venus

you a more exploratory attitude

morning looks good for

seventh house, making you more

right or wrong. Your creative

artistic with your hands. Venus

enters your tenth house. Mercury

toward love and romance.

working on partnerships and

attractive to others. The moon

ideas will get a chance to be put

will move into your fifth house

goes direct Sunday afternoon,

Mercury going direct will improve

relationships. The weekend looks

is the house of harmony and

into action. The weekend will

on Tuesday,boosting your

offering you a chance at new

communication with loved ones

good for travel, detours, and

romance Wednesday afternoon

be a good time to reach out to

playfulness. By Wednesday the

plans. The weekend looks good

by Sunday afternoon. Learn to see

unique experiences. Do things

through Friday afternoon. Initiate

friends and loved ones. Let go

love gets juicier than ever with

for socializing and catching up

beauty in the ordinary.

to improve your health as well

the type of love you would like

of the things that don't work.

the moon transiting the fifth

as work on improving the lives

to receive.

with friends.

house as well.

of others.

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

What you buy has more to do

Happy Birthday! Since you've

Don't be fooled by deceivers.

Believe in yourself. You can do it

Knowledge is a two-edged

This is a time of higher learning

with political outcomes than

survived Saturn, Mercury, north

Talk is cheap. It's still best to

with encouragement and love.

sword. It has its benefits, as in

for you. You may also find this to

whether or not you vote. Your

node, sun, and solar eclipse in

lay low this week and not to

Venus enters your first house

being prepared for something.

be the luckiest time of year for

values are in focus and you hate

transiting Scorpio, you now can

make any sudden moves. The

on Tuesday, spicing up the love

Its drawback is knowing

you. Joy and playfulness lead to

hypocrisy. It's easier to see it in

enjoy your own conscious version

moon in Sagittarius Monday

and creativity department for

certain miseries or frustrations.

making inspiring art. Flow with

others than to see it in yourself.

of paradise. Create the heaven

through Wednesday afternoon

you. On Wednesday through

Sometimes worse still, are

whatever notions captivate your

One message this week is to do

you want. You have friends and

allows you to have the needed

Friday afternoon the moon will

betrayals. Yet your talents,

attention. Complete the tasks

the inner work. It's not out there

love all around you, what more

influence to see your situation

be in Capricorn, solidifying your

skills, and wisdom are shining

that need completing. Be as

somewhere else, but inside your

could you want? Enjoy the people

a little clearer. Self-love is the

influence on others. Honor the

brightly. The moon will be in

loving and as compassionate as

soul where you fear to tread. By

and things that are right in front

beginning of all real love. You

friends who have been helping

Aquarius this weekend, giving

feels good for you. Try more to

the weekend things will ease up

of you. Saturn can make one

are ready to make money and

you. Be open to meeting new

you more power to persuade

understand rather than longing to

and you' ll find a place in your

either depressed or tired . It's

to do good work. You'll also be

people who could potentially

others to your side. Be the light

be understood.

heart to sing a happy song.

better to be tired. Give it your

more effective if you pray and

advance your cause. Let go of

of encouragement shining rather

best shot Scorpio!

meditate before each new day.

past mistakes and worries.

than the jester mocking or the critic bitching.

Happy Blithday Deva Damels 11/9/73, Titus Woods,11/10/62 Koz McKev 1s on You Tube, on cable 11BCTV,1s heard on 90/FM KZFR Chli::o, and also available by appoli1tment for personal horoscopes, Call (530)891-5147 or e -mail kozmk:kev@sunsetnet

GREAT AUTUMN READ Winter Melon, written by local writer Bill Wong Foey A defiant and passionate young woman survives the Rape of Nanking in this debut novel.

Voted Book of the Month for July by Lyons Books "Lives of Asia" book group.

In paperback online at Amazon.com and Lyons Book Store, 135 Main Street, or as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes and DirectMusicCafe.

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