Newest articles on The Sacramento Press written by PC Walker

Local Community Offers FREE Film Screening

2011-03-08T19:36:29Z

FUSION Ministries is hosting a free screening of "TONY"; the latest film by Invisible Children , and this is no normal indie film.

There is a long-running conflict in in Africa by which Joseph Kony terrorizes 5 countries with soldiers who are children abducted from their homes and forced to fight. Invisible Children is an organization which defines themselves as a movement seeking to end this conflict and bring them home by rebuilding schools, educating future leaders, and providing jobs in northern Uganda. Their mission statement indicates their motivation to "redefine what it means to be an activist."

"TONY" is the story of just one child rescued from this situation, but the film follows his journey from child soldier to the freedom he knows now. In so doing, the film gives clear picture of what Invisible Children calls "the longest-running conflict on the continent". The film presents an opportunity for knowledge and attention to an issue that has gone invisible.

The film is being shown on March 13 at 7pm @ First Covenant Church, 10933 Progress Ct., Rancho Cordova, CA

For more information, you can email FUSION Ministry Director

Roseville Filmmakers Just May Change Your Life

2010-01-07T17:21:04Z

A group of Roseville filmmakers have made their dreams reality with an inspiring full-length film.

No Parking is a beautiful story written by Seth Shore made into a full-length film directed by Hector Marquez. It premiered with great local acclaim that hopes to propel it to further success as a project that is much larger than the movie alone. Much like the movie’s tagline, “the ride is the destination”, the film is only the beginning of the overall drive for No Parking.

Grief coerces Paul and Ray to embark on a high school dream they never entertained with action. An 11 day road trip in a ’73 Volkswagen Bus is impetus for revelation into the human heart at its rawest point; when ‘the darkness takes all the good memories’ and all the cheer-up clichés are stripped away. The journey relieves a sense of hopelessness thru goading discussion and sometimes the frank challenge of a friend.

No Parking was filmed in majority on the road. The actors and crew traversed the California countryside in a caravan led by the film's true star, a cherry red VW Bus affectionately dubbed ‘Lucille’. In a testament to tenacity of entire project, Lucile would be the only vehicle not to experience mechanical trouble the entirety of the trip.

The film quality is not as strong as its commanding story, but as a stepping-stone to the overarching project, No Parking is an outrageously promising dream you cannot help but cheer-on to reality. At present it is a gripping story accompanying a breath-taking film montage of the state of California, but its future is one without time.

Marquez says the next step is to finish the "final cut" and discover an agent to represent the film for domestic and foreign theatrical release.

“Fox Family Home Entertainment has extended a domestic DVD release offer for retail release (Target, Wal-mart, Best Buy, etc.), and rental licensing (Blockbuster, Amazon, Netflix, etc.)!”

The greater goal is for as many people as possible to be able to see the story. Marquez adds, “If it makes a difference in their experience of life, then pass it on!”

Keep an eye on their journey, but do not stop there. Join the journey at noparkingmovie.com or follow them on twitter @noparkingmovie

Oak Park welcoming caravan bringing peace to Cuba

2009-07-07T22:28:44Z

Retired school buses covered in hand-painted tags may be nothing unfamiliar to Oak Park, but it is not every day you see one on a mission to bring aid to Cuba. Your chance is on its way July 11 at 5 p.m. when the Caravan to Cuba makes a stop in Sacramento.

The Caravan is an endeavor of Pastors of Peace to answer a humanitarian call that has been ignored by the United States for decades. The embargo of Cuba has stubbornly neglected the simple capacity a rich country such as ours has to serve and save another country in a vortex of poverty. Ravaged by hurricanes and horrific corruption, Cuba is in great need, but they are denied the vital aid of which we have a surplus.

The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) and Pastors of Peace have answered a call the US will not. Boarding an old bus in Vancouver, they are on their way to Cuba making stops along the way for outreach events, interviews, media events and to collect supplies.

Sacramento is one stop, and all are welcomed to come meet the caravanistas (a beloved term for those traveling onboard) as well as learn more about the troubles of Cuba they are attempting to curb. There will be a lot of food, fun, and friendships made on July 11.

Their website is full of information worth browsing, including lists of needed supplies you may be able to donate.

The Caravan to Cuba indicates that hunger and disease are being used as weapons for our political power. They intend to empower and mobilize anyone who would demand alternatives toward just change. Come to Oak Park United Methodist Church on July 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. to welcome the caravan and learn how you might be no small part of that change. For more information contact Faye Kennedy at fayek@springmail.com

Pretension on the Rise in Sacramento Coffee Shops

2009-07-07T00:18:15Z

"Pretension" has become a common term used to define most Sacramento coffee shops. Visitors have said they feel like an outsider in most joints they enter. It is as though the moment they enter, the looks of the regulars remind them they are obvious newcomers.

Yelp has several reviews of some of my favorite stops in Sacramento, which exemplify this attitude. There is a frustration with the "hipper-than-thou" baristas and the "fake small talk" of the regulars. There is a perception that these places are "grungy, like their patrons."

When most are indignant about the regulars, I am asking how I might become one. Though I am not looking to cut my jeans into shorts and take the brakes off the bicycle I do not ride, I still want to be a "regular".

Face it, you are not intended to belong to the 'regular' group because you are not...a...regular. The regulars are the ones who give a place its character. You may not one of these people, but every one of them was once a newcomer. They were once invariably blogging about how pretentious the coffee shop or bar they now love once was.

This group really appears more closed and bombastic it really is, and your capacity to become a regular is much larger than you may realize.

The very attitude of the regulars, which aggravates you is simultaneously the very magic of their appeal. Ray Oldenburg wrote in his book, The Great Good Place, "Joy and acceptance reign over anxiety and alienation. This is the magical element that warms the insider and reminds the outsider that he or she is not part of the magic circle."

The reason we are aggravated with the regulars is because we are faced with the reality that we are not regulars.

So come on back a few times. Slowly introduce yourself. Perhaps begin with the only true regulars; the baristas, bartenders, or workers.

Rather than blaming the pretentious regulars; why not become a pretentious regular?

Talk to Strangers

2009-05-22T17:37:17Z

I see you all the time at Tupelo Coffee House, but you don’t know me. We both like it that way. Neither of us will exchange a word, but I have created your brief back-story for my own entertainment. It is fiction, but this is the nature of our relationship. I have 900 Facebook friends, and I frequent all the same spots, but I do not know anyone.

We work here, meet here, and play here. When home is where the couch is, we spend most of our waking hours out and about; returning home only to crash for the night. Time is calculated in semesters, leases, and rental agreements instead of years or friendships.

Neighbors have come to represent mysteries rather than faces or lives. Forgotten are the times of a quick chat on the lawn or a longer conversation on the porch. We no longer live in neighborhoods; we exist in networks.

Once I became a ‘regular’, I began recognizing other regulars. This is where I first recognized you. When I saw you at Second Saturday, I wanted to walk up excitedly and ask what you were doing there. I wanted to catch up. Then I faced the disappointment in knowing…

I don’t know you.

People are more and more ‘connected’ while becoming more and more lonely. When the neighborhood is quickly forgotten, my goal is to engage in my networks. If we are always here, there is no reason we should not know each other.

What if there we were no strangers?

Introduce yourself to someone you see all the time but still have not met. If you see me at Tupelo or my bar, restaurant, or club, you may soon be startled by my endeavor to meet you.

What if you and I started a revolution where people were less lonely?

Don’t be a stranger!