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10/31/08
I’m a political rubbernecker in a big way, and I find the media’s role in covering the Presidential campaign to be particularly interesting. I time my trips to the gym specifically so I can watch Anderson Cooper 360, Olbermann, H&C, and the Daily Show each evening while grinding out a few miles on the treadmill. So any time I can get some behind-the-scenes of the media scoop, it’s sweeter than a mini-Snickers on Halloween.
So this week, I came across a couple good ones that have Diabloland ties. First of all, there’s a web video called “The Great Schlep” that has become a massive viral sensation. The clip stars comedian Sarah Silverman, whose video...
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10/30/08
Movie buff alert: It does not get any better than this. As part of the spectacular Paramount Theatre's awesome Movie Classic Series, the 1925 "silent" version of Phantom of the Opera will rock the big screen this Friday. Perfect flick for Halloween—creepy as hell, but beautiful and moving, without the bombastic Andrew Lloyd Webber score that has been associated with the story over the past 25 years. It gets better: Wurlitzer organist extraordinaire Jim Riggs will perform a live acompaniment to the film. Tickets are just $5, plan on getting there a little early! FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31 @ 8:00 PM
Paramount Movie Classics
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
(1925 silent movie version with live organ accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Jim Riggs)
Box Office...
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10/27/08
Walking across Monte Vista's campus with my longtime friend Ted on Friday, I flashed back to a memory from my sophomore year in high school. It was a perfect, sunny Friday afternoon in late May, and I was walking with another student to go to seventh period PE, the last class of the week. Ever the movie geek, I was looking forward to getting on with the weekend, so Ted and I could jam over to Crow Canyon Cinemas right after the final bell and catch an opening day matinee of Poltergeist II: The Other Side. I mentioned this to my classmate. "Dude," I inquired, "are you gonna go see Poltergeist II tonight?" "Uh, no," he replied. "I'm gonna get drunk." Good times. At age 38, I don't remember much about...
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10/23/08
I rarely buy popcorn at the movies, because I'm pathologically frugal. I always feel like I could buy another matinee ticket for the price of a popcorn, and I'd rather watch another film than dig into a feed bag. So I'm impressed to note that the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland is willing to meet me half way. On Monday-Thursday, the Grand Lake gives you a free bag of corn for every admission ticket purchased. It's also a beautiful, historic theater with a lot more personality than many of our multiplexes. So if you're in the mood to see W., High School Musical 3, Secret Life of Bees, or Beverly Hills Chihuahua next week, try the Grand Lake!
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10/22/08
Alameda resident Robert Buan knocked one out of the park this week by scoring a "Best Radio Program" awards at the Electronic Media Awards in Las Vegas. Buan, who hosts the Oakland A's "Extra Innings" postgame show, won for his weekly "Country Fastball" program. An avid country music fan, Buan interviews Major League ballplayers about their favorite country acts and songs—the two hour show is syndicated to stations in seven states. Nice one, Robert! Press release below: Country Fastball presented by Bank of America
Named 2008 “Best Radio Program”
Winner at 21st Annual Electronic Media Awards
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – GT2 Entertainment’s Country Fastball presented by...
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10/20/08
I found Oliver Stone's W. to be fascinating and very entertaining. My expectations had been set low, by wildly mixed advance reviews from national critics. In reading some of those reviews, it struck me that some critics wanted Stone to take a hatchet and a scalpel to Bush's presidential years, instead of focusing on the controversial president's backstory, daddy issues, and using only the build up to the Iraq war as narrative for W's presidency. I've never been a fan of Bush the president, but found Stone's touch for the material to make an extremely watchable biopic. The movie plays like a star-studded West Wing episode with a backstory that's right out of a Douglas Sirk melodrama from the late 1950s. Stone is critical of the Iraq war, for sure, but presents...
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10/15/08
We're so lucky to have the greatest art deco theater in the entire world, right here in the East Bay. Oakland's Paramount Theatre has been wowing its guests since 1931. One of my favorite recurring events at the Paramount is the classic film series, which has been on hiatus for awhile. But this Friday, October 17, the paramount starts a new series and they could not have picked a better film—Cool Hand Luke, starring the late great Paul Newman—to kick things off. They'll have the great Phantom of the Opera on Halloween, the Alfred Hitchcock classic North by Northwest on November 7, and the all-time greatest musical Singin' In the Rain on November 21. Admission is just $5, the best movie deal around, since a film at the Paramount includes...
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10/10/08
While watching Bill Maher's new comic documentary, Religulous, I was reminded of sleepover parties I used to have with an old grade-school buddy, Ray Page. Ray's parents had a VCR, so we would rent R-rated movies and watch them very late at night after his parents went to bed. We were 10 or 11 years old, and this felt extremely subversive at the time. In hindsight, watching Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part 1 or Bachelor Party really wasn't as Weather Underground as it felt at the time—but it really was fun. But thinking back to those eary days of VHS, one film really stands out: Monty Python's Life of Brian. Life of Brian was an extremely controversial film when it came out in thelate 70s, I believe the Catholic Church declared...
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10/09/08
Economy got you down? Is the political climate too full of hate? Well, here's a fun weekend matinee that will definitely get your mind off the blahs. On Saturday and Sunday, the beautiful Cerrito Theater is showing an awesome print of the 50's monster classic Creature From the Black Lagoon. I can't even begin to describe how cool this movie is. You have to see it for yourself. In its original 3-D format. Have fun! More information here
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10/07/08
Tonight through Thursday, comedian Lisa Landry is headlining Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Pleasanton. Lisa gave me a call at Diablo just after driving up I-5 from her home in Los Angeles, and we had a chat about her stand-up career and her gig as one of Us Weekly’s “Fashion Police.”
Diablo: Hi Lisa, thanks for calling. Is this your first trip to the East Bay?
Lisa Landry: It is, I’ve never been here before. It’s beautiful—and bright. I’m convinced that California forces you to be healthier because the bright sunlight is brutal when you’re hung over. It’s easier to be hung over in other parts of the country.
Diablo: Where are you from?
Lisa Landry: I’m originally Harvey,...
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10/02/08
I'm a big Oakland A's fan, which is why I spent most of the second half of the baseball season talking about how great Heath Ledger was in the new Batman movie. Now that the playoffs are here, and there aren't any Bay Area teams in the hunt for a World Series title, it's easy to lose interest. But the game is just too sweet to not have some rooting interest in the post-season. So here's an A's fan's guide to the playoffs: NATIONAL LEAGUE: Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia: The Milwaukee Brewers snuck in as the wild card team on the last day of the season. There's a couple of reasons for East Bay fans to root fopr the Brew crew. One is catcher Jason Kendall, who was the catcher for the A's until halfway through the 2007 season, when he was traded to the Cubs. He signed with the...
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