Very Civilly Yours Lately I’ve been irked by the lack of civility that has hit our country like some sort of syllabic plague. A few years back National Public Radio ran a story about George Washington and the fact that when he was a mere lad, he took it upon himself to handwrite a little something he called, 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, which were built upon a number of 6th-century guidelines he’d gleaned from some Jesuit gentlemen. When I read the list, it made me wonder. What happened to us and by “us,” I mean our society? Sometimes we are just plain not nice to one another. I notice this when I flick on a news show and watch a panel interview.

Tag!  You’re It! So, I’ve stepped in it again and this time what I mean by “it” is the ubiquitous package we call technology.  Namely, the “technology” of which I speak is Facebook.  I possess just enough knowledge to be dangerous about a variety of things, social networking being one of these.  While I’m not particularly knowledgeable about Facebook, generally, I am even less knowledgeable, specifically, about the related etiquette.  Evidently. Having said that, Facebook does make some things easier; like uploading photographs.  You can upload pictures and tag them over to your friends in less time than it takes to mop the kitchen floor.  While I do understand the concept that is the

Over the past few weeks, what is known as the "Occupy" movement has gained national attention. What started out as Occupy Wall Street in New York City has become a national phenomena and people are starting to "occupy" everything. In Oakland, CA they occupied the port of Oakland and a Whole Foods grocery store, in Fresno, CA they occupied a fruit stand and a Gottschalks, in Texas they occupied Fiesta Texas and Whataburger (that actually sounds pretty fun), and in Delaware they occupied...well they just occupied. Here in Sacramento the location of Occupy is a bit more controversial. They have decided to occupy a city park that has hours in which no one is allowed to be there. This brought

Pine Needles Are Trying to Kill Me We live in a mountainous community where we’re able to avoid most of the man-made dangers that occur in the big city, but we still have quite a few dangers up here in this neck of the woods; mountain lions, bears, coyotes and pine needles. That’s right. Pine needles. Now while I haven’t had many sightings of the aforementioned wildlife, I am CONSTANTLY sighting pine needles which are everywhere and, in fact, they are trying to kill me. Let me explain, lest this doesn’t make sense. In the wintertime, when pine needles first disengage from pine trees, they appear harmless, like most things that are out to get you. They are somewhat fluffy, innocuous, and

Sacramentans are in for a treat when comedian Paula Poundstone comes to the Crest Theater Sept. 30. Armed with nothing but a stool, a microphone and a can of Diet Pepsi, Poundstone draws on her own life in her stand-up show and nothing is off the table: her kids, her cats, her demanding job, her frustration at getting older and a full bag of neuroses. She’s just like many of us – except for a lightning-fast wit and an amazing ability to improvise anything into hilarity. Poundstone is a national supporter of library Friends groups and a portion of the proceeds from ticket, book and CD sales at the show will support the Friends of the Sacramento Library. She is known for being a refreshi

Bill Maher took over an hour and a half to do it, but in the end he gave every single one of the 2,422 audience members at least one opportunity to be offended. His genius lies in the fact that every single fan was laughing too hard to notice – or to care. Maher has inherited the essence of Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He channels Richard Pryor and George Carlin. He is the crazy uncle in the attics of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. And once he gets going, no one is exempt from his biting, incisive wit. Friday night’s sold-out show at the Sacramento Community Center was a nonstop roast of all that is absurd in America today. Maher is well known as the host of the weekly political com

As many Hollywood stars and tabloid rags can attest, keeping up with fame and one's celebrity standing in tinsel town is a vicious game. Red-headed, foul-mouthed comedian, Kathy Griffin, has made a career exploiting her self-proclaimed D-list status and her observations and encounters with the peculiar world of celebrity.   Griffin's charm and clever wit derive from her hilarious ability to interact with the A-listers while still maintaining a self-deprecating attitude towards her station in the celebrity world. The comic documents many of her forays in Hollywood in her hit reality show, "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List."   Griffin's standup act often includes escapades filmed on

The Humor Times (20 Years) and Access Sacramento (25 Years) Celebrate Anniversaries Together with a Comedy and Variety Show Featuring Comedian Will Durst and many other performers including the 40’s vocal harmonies of “Sister Swing”, a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, a magician and local improvisational comedy troupe The Anti-Cooperation League. Joint Anniversary Celebrations -- As print publications nationwide continue to fall by the wayside, the Humor Times is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary. And as corporate media continues to consolidate, Access Sacramento celebrates its 25th anniversary as the area’s local, community-operated TV, radio, and Internet production resource. The publi

Meet Liz Franklin at ONCE UPON A SHELF USED BOOKS on Saturday, January 29 @ 2:30. Once Upon A Shelf is located at 7753 Roseville Road, Suite C, Sacramento. On the corner of Antelope and Roseville Roads. Call for more information @ 745-1200. Take a peak what's in store: If you’ve ever wondered about how much time and money you’ve lost because you can’t remember where you put things, you’ll probably think that Liz Franklin was heaven sent to be your guardian angel. She’s on a one-woman crusade to make people laugh their way out of chaos to achieve new levels of organized perfection. Liz Franklin is a 27-year veteran of office organizing and she’s been called in to do rescue and damage

The Sacramento Comedy Spot will host W. Kamau Bell Friday night and his critically acclaimed show -- "The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour.” Bell, 37, has been doing the “Bell Curve” show for the last three years. The jokes are tweaked slightly to accommodate current events, but the core has remained intact. Attendees of the show may be treated to laughs about the recent Shirley Sherrod debacle and the Tea Party. Bell has performed at the Punchline in Sacramento, but that was many years ago. He said he's excited to be back in the area. "I think I have about four or five fans in Sacramento," Bell joked. Bell’s career as a comedian has been on a steady rise ever since

John Ross, a local comedian who was born addicted to methadone, a heroin substitute used to treat heroin addicts, discusses his past as an inspiration for his humor.

The surveillance state is a miracle of convenience. In the old days, if you ran a red light, you had to go through the rigmarole of being pulled over by a police officer. Today, by contrast, you are more likely to see a flash of light from one of the red-light camera mounted at intersections around the county and a week or so later receive a set of photographs in the mail: one of you behind the wheel of your car with a swear word still crinkling your lips; another of your car entering the intersection illegally; and, finally, a close-up of your licence plate. Just think: all the incriminating evidence sent directly to your home, and you didn't even have to ask for it. It's almost as cleve

A while back I saw a ‘man in the street’ interview on TV, and they were asking people what they thought of social networking. One twenty-something thought it was great, but that he didn’t think a fifty year old should have an active Facebook profile. Now, the bone through his nose was one indication that this young man’s judgment was not to be trusted, but still, it made an impact. Am I really too old for Facebook? Is fifty the age when you are officially ‘too old’? Now, I’m by no means a Facebook fanatic; I’m not constantly updating my status, or commenting on the status of others. But I do enjoy checking in with people now and then, and see what they are up to. But now that I know that

While strolling beside the American River during my daily walk with the dog this evening, I heard the sound of a siren in the distance. A moment later I spied a plume of blue smoke rising in the sky. My first thoughts were that I had run across a wild fire, and if I were able to get some good photographs of the fire fighters taming the flames, I'd have my first real scoop for the Sacramento Press. In fact, I thought, if the fire got big enough, and I got my reporting done quickly enough, and my step-daughter wasn't playing Sims on the computer when I got home (or if I could bully or bribe her out of the computer chair) and my wife didn't rush home from work, wanting to know what was for di

* The City of Sacramento will start using “The Claw” to deal with the homeless problem. * Former Mayoral candidate Murial Strand will grow a handlebar mustache and tour the country with it. * A shocking new sex tape will surface on the internet involving former Mayor Heather Fargo, Rob Fong, and bounty hunter Leonard Padilla. * The Pennysaver will overtake the Bee and become Sacramento’s most read publication. * Zelda’s waitresses will be replaced by Hooters waitresses and vice versa. * Jack’s Urban Eats will be purchased by a group of Muslim Restauranteurs and be renamed Jack’s Turban Eats. * The Downtown Ice Arena on K street will begin using frozen bum urine. * There will be a r