We will have our monthly English Country Dance this coming Saturday, November 9th. It is at the St. John's Presbyterian Church with entrance on Arguello at Lake. Doors open at 7:15 pm for those who want to review steps and the dance starts at 7:30 pm. Our caller will be Sharon Green and we will have music by David Strong, Christopher Jacoby and Craig Johnson. If you can, do bring snacks to share and I hope to see you there. Continue reading

Gary switch-hits effortlessly between playing piano and teaching dances, and the dances he brings are always interesting and fun to do. He'll be joined by a band of four: Anne Goess of the Raggedy Annes, who is excellent at English tunes (and is also a stellar contra and Irish fiddler); Rob Powell, who plays all sorts of music at all sorts of venues (symphonies, morris, and ECD with the the Nonesuch Dance orchestra in Palo Alto); Jenny Hanson, who's well-known in RSCDS circles for her flute (and piano) playing; and William Allen, a longtime local favorite among ECD pianists. The... Continue reading

The first dance in our new location was a great success. The space is just to die for, and the acoustics are really nice. I predict the musicians are going to start competing to play here with the amazing piano. It was the day before Sharon Green's birthday, and it wouldn't be proper to say exactly, but I am continually astounded at how many of those she's had. Go, Sharon! St. John's Presbyterian Church 25 Lake Street (at Arguello Boulevard) San Francisco, CA Continue reading

Even though we're not updating this site, we're still dancing every month at DanceGround Keriac. Saturday March 12th Anne Goess and Bill Jensen will be playing and Bruce Herbold calling. We're building a really nice crowd. Come and join us! We may be moving though. DanceGround Keriac. There are plans for redevelopment of the property, and there is a measure before the Board of Supervisors that might forestall the redevelopment. Either way, we'll continue holding the dance somewhere in San Francisco on the second Saturday every month. Stay tuned for future developments! Continue reading

Before I start, I have to say I have terrible, terrible diction. I talk too fast and I mumble. My high school drama coach made me rehearse with marbles in my mouth, and to no lasting improvement. My wife rarely understands anything I say without asking me to repeat myself.... Continue reading

I know Bulgaria isn't Russia, but this Bulgarian film reads like a short story by Tolstoy or Gogol. It would start something like this. The Lesson In a small town in Bulgaria, close enough to the nearest city that you could walk there if you needed to, but far enough... Continue reading

Yes, there's a period in the title. The filmmaker says all his titles have that. It doesn't "mean" anything. Though I notice that it does make it a complete sentence. So the word becomes an intransitive verb? Hmm. Trailer: So if you're making a movie about a guy windsurfing from... Continue reading

You're a hard-as-nails sea captain with a heart. The national economy is tanking, the fish aren't biting any more, your old boat is falling apart, and/or your own "luck has run out." You get an offer to ship some illegal immigrants in from mainland China, for good money. Of course... Continue reading

I rushed! I got in! I've had two conversation here about how much better tiff. was back in the old days. It was much more "The People's Film Festival" they say. Tickets were two bucks. You could wait in the rush line in camraderie with a bunch of other regular... Continue reading

"Welcome to the new South Africa" says the trailer. Yeah, I guess we're in Africa today. Anti-violence from A Single Word. But now an exploitation flick? Joe Bob Briggs would have loved this movie. Does anybody remember Joe Bob Briggs any more? More than Rogert Ebert, I would list Joe... Continue reading

And here we are on Tuesday. I walked here throug the Kensington Market neightborhood, a vibrant mix of tiny ethnic shops, porches a street scene. A guy running for local election was pimping his friendship with the last Jane Jacobs, who moved here after writing her book... A Single Word:... Continue reading

If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know... Continue reading

I don’t remember why I picked this movie to see in the festival. It was a while ago, and there’s been a lot of stimulation this past week. This is my last film of the festival. I don’t remember picking this movie. But as I start watching it, I remember... Continue reading

Venice is a movie from Cuba, which you don’t see much of around here. The last movie from Cuba I saw was Our Man In Havana, which was filmed in 1958. There's probably been more recent movies, but they haven't hit the local multiplexes recently, gosh I wonder why. Venice... Continue reading

Sing, sing a song, sing a happy song... --what they sing in heaven when you're dead I've been here for almost a week now, and seen I think fifteen movies. The boundaries between world and film are starting to get a little hazy. And I sit down in the "Bloor... Continue reading

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. I've never not liked a Ron Howard film. Actually, I don't think you can go wrong going to see something he put his name on, unless you're a total asshole. The Good Lie is... Continue reading

I just turned 49 yesterday. Holy shit, how did that happen? I don't even remember turning 30. Whatever, I'm definitely rolling down the tail end of middle age. This film takes place in that space. You can't pee at will any more. At work they are expecting you to be... Continue reading

Oh, dear. I had such high hopes for this one. I lived in Crakow for a year back in 2011, and fell in love with the Polish film industry. It seemed like every Pole I met was a cinephile, and the best of Polish film has such a huge mature... Continue reading

Ah, the silver screen. Silent film. Shanghai cinema. Exploitation films. Social issues. Good stuff. Interesting irony here. The main character, played by Ruan Lingyu, is trying to raise her kid and make a living as a prostitute at the same time. She tries to find other work, but can't get... Continue reading

Ah, here's my taste of current events for the week. First a little history In 1999 the government of Iran (the religious leaders who really run things) tried an experiement with a moderate government in helping the country recover from the Iran-Iraq war. The imams didn't like the results and... Continue reading

Ah, this is the film I flew five hours to see. If this is the only good movie I see while I'm here, it will have been worth the price of the plane fare. If the point of a film, the point of Art really, is to entertain, or to... Continue reading

Apparently they looked at three thousand films to come up with the selection they're presenting here. That's a big number. It occurred to me halfway through this that there must have been a lot of really uninteresting ones if these are the ones that made the final cut. The other... Continue reading