By Katie Roof, Tech Crunch
Skiers, rejoice!
It just got a lot easier to track your mountain treks.
Due to an Apple watch update that combines GPS and altimeter (altitude) measuring, ski apps are now able to quantify performance. If you’re wondering how many calories you’ve burned or how fast you were going, all that data is available and more.
Due to this weekend’s expected stormy weather the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency is postponing the free community workshop about dementia.
The workshop entitled Diagnosis Dementia – Now What? was originally scheduled for March 3. It is now set for March 10 from 9am-2:30pm at the Placerville Senior Day Care, 935A Spring St. in Placerville.
Participants should arrive at 8:30am for sign-in.
The educational workshop is designed for family members and caregivers of those with dementia. The workshop will help equip loved ones and caregivers as they face the challenges of a dementia diagnosis, learn how the brain functions, what to do about new and difficult behaviors and the importance of taking care of oneself as a caregiver.
Class size is limited and registration is required; call 530.621.6180.
By Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee
Placerville resident Jaclyn Lovey is barely old enough to drive, but she’s already wowing music legends and audiences in Season 14 of the hit NBC show “The Voice.”
In her blind audition for “The Voice,” which aired Tuesday, judges Blake Shelton and Alicia Keys hit buttons signifying they wanted Lovey on their teams a minute into her rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”
By Howie Nave
On the surface the timing couldn’t be more perfect. When you look at the change, or movement if you will, that’s been happening in the country on attitudes toward sexual harassment, more women being empowered and the treatment of minorities in the bigger cities it just seems more than just a coincidence that many of the major motion pictures in Oscar contention this year mirror what’s been going on. However, when you factor in the time it takes to make a movie it’s almost like the trends caught up just about the time the movies were having their premiere in theaters across the country (and the world). Add to that the beating Oscar took for it’s “whiteout” with the bulk of most of the nominations eliminating movies of color in 2016 well, this year’s 90th Academy Awards ceremony is trying to correct itself.
And Oscar isn’t just nominating actors just because of color, but actors that really shined this past year. Some movies were made close to home such as Sacramento’s Greta Gerwig who directed “Lady Bird” and actor turned director Jordan Peele climbed to the top in the dark comedy/horror flick “Get Out,” which to me is the best, overt movie on the whole black/white debate where Peele not only sneaks in a covert (albeit satirical) message but turns out a very entertaining piece of work that stands on its own.
And, yes, I’m miffed that “Wonder Woman” wasn’t recognized at this year’s Academy Awards. Gee, what a shock. The movie was the No. 1 summer film of 2017, grossing $412.5 million in the States and making over $822 million worldwide making its director, Patty Jenkins, the biggest opening ever for a female director. Oh, and who played the dynamic lead character in this flick? Israeli actress Gal Gadot!.Add to that the critics overall loved the movie, but an Oscar? I guess the members of the Academy were predominately Palestinian this past year. OK, no whining let’s get to it.
“Three Billboards” may take home Best Picture on Sunday.
In the category for Best Picture the nominees are:
“The Shape of Water”
“Dunkirk”
“Darkest Hour”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“Call Me By Your Name”
“The Post”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
I believe this is a two way battle between the beautiful fantasy flick “The Shape of Water” and the powerful drama, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Sorry “Lady Bird” and “Dunkirk” (not to mention the gay romance, “Call Me by Your Name”) not this time. Progressive and very original movies, sure and no way “Get Out” could get in on this running. I’m a huge fan of history and loved “Darkest Hour” but again, not to be. While “The Shape of Water” received an impressive 13 nominations, my money is on “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” just on the strength of the amazing Frances McDormand playing determined mother seeking justice for her murdered child.
•Winner for Best Picture: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Let’s move on now to the category of Best Actor where the nominees are:
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
OK, sorry Denzel. As good an actor as you are nobody saw your movie, so that’s out. Coming in second for movies not seen: “Call Me By Your Name” (but gotta say this young man Chalamet was very moving). I think Daniel Day-Lewis is a brilliant actor but his announcement late last year that he was going to retire from acting was a nice way of planning in advance that “Phantom Thread” would win an Oscar for its leading man but nah, not gonna happen. Daniel Kaluuya was OK, but not outstanding. However, the movie he was in, “Get Out” was great. All of this leaves veteran actor Gary Oldman the guy to get the prize. He was not only amazing as British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” but his entire being was miraculously transformed into the man. Yes, I understand he’s had some controversy in his past regarding an ex-spouse, but I’m going with Oldman the actor in the now and his performance was undeniably brilliant.
•Winner for Best Actor: Gary Oldman
Let’s move on now to the category of Best Actress or where the nominees are:
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
This is one of the toughest categories to choose from. Streep has been nominated an amazing 21 times and has taken home three Oscars, so don’t rule her out. She gave a stellar performance as Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post during the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers. Sally Hawkins, who it seemed virtually came out of nowhere and gave an incredible performance playing a mute janitor in “The Shape of Water” could be the spoiler, but my money’s on one of the best: Frances McDormand who played a determined, fiercely angry mom (and rightfully so) with pure, unbridled emotion who’s had it with the bumbling small town cops doing nothing regarding the unsolved brutal death of her daughter who takes matters into her own hands. I’m getting chills just remembering her performance.
•Winner for Best Actress: Frances McDormand.
“The Shape of Water” has the opportunity to win multiple awards.
The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are:
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Plummer should win just for coming in during the eleventh-hour to reshoot all the scenes that were originally shot with disgraced and fallen actor Kevin Spacey in the role that Plummer took over for. And the mere fact that two guys, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, were nominated from the movie, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” speaks volumes how good that film was. Many expect Sam Rockwell to take home the statue but man, if you haven’t seen “The Florida Project” well all I can say is Willem Dafoe brought everything out in his soul for this movie and honestly, had Dafoe not been nominated (the only one for this movie) I don’t think this movie would have remained on the screens for as long as it did. The movie stars a relatively bunch of unknowns with Dafoe playing the manager of a cheap Florida occupied mainly by homeless families struggling to make ends meet. It’s an over simplification, but trust me, well worth a looksy. So, my pick?
•Winner for Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe
The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are:
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
Wow, this category definitely belongs to the moms with an edge. I was literally blown away with not just singer Mary J. Blige’s first dramatic role in “Mudbound,” but she was unrecognizable playing it plain. I hope there are more movies in her talented future. In a movie shot close to home just down the mountain in Sacramento, Laurie Metcalf nails it in the very timely movie given today’s environment, “Lady Bird” and she could bring it home but man, to see Allison Janney, who won a Golden Globe in the same category as disgraced ice skater Tonya Harding’s mom is a game changer for Janney. And dare I say, whatever you felt (or didn’t) about Tonya this flick could very well challenge your thought process on the topic. And don’t rule out Octavia Spencer from “The Shape of Water.” But my decision is final.
•The winner for Best Supporting Actress goes to Allison Janney.
The director of “Lady Bird” could join a handful of women to be named the best in her field.
The nominees for Best Director are:
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”
Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Although the consensus seems to be that both Guillermo del Toro and Christopher Nolan are long overdue this being the year of powerful women you have to go with Sacramento’s Greta Gerwig for her magnificent “Lady Bird.” Gerwig is just the fifth woman nominated in this category in the 90 years the Oscars have been in existence. She’s also on the cover of the latest edition of Time magazine showcasing women’s new emergence in Hollywood in a very male dominated field so c’mon Academy members, don’t be a bunch of tools and give it to Gerwig. Oh, I do find it odd that considering that “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” garnered seven Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) there was nothing for its director, Martin McDonagh. Actor turned director Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” rocked it, but I’m still going with Gerwig. I’ll be voted out but I’m sticking to my guns.
•The winner for Best Director is Greta Gerwig.
The nominees for Best Original Screenplay are:
“Lady Bird”
“Get Out”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
“The Big Sick”
Because the average age of the Academy members is close to death and the majority are white guys it’s a long shot that Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” has a chance, but damn, that was one great satirical horror flick wasn’t it? “Lady Bird” has a great shot at it too and Paul Thomas Anderson’s screenplay for “Phantom Thread” is also good. But, I’m still going (with some trepidation not picking “Get Out”) with “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” even though “The Shape of Water” was something Hollywood needs to do more of.
•The Winner for Best Original Screenplay goes to “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are:
“Mudbound”
“Call Me By Your Name”
“The Disaster Artist”
“Molly’s Game”
“Logan”
OK, I’m still reeling from the shock of seeing an “X-Men” movie, “Logan” even being considered! Was that a typo? There’s hope! Seriously though this category is finally going to acknowledge “Call Me By Your Name” hands down. “Mudbound” maybe, but it’s on Netflix and some elitists at the Academy probably look down on their movies streaming online.
•The winner for Best Adapted Screenplay goes to “Call Me By Your Name”
The nominees for Best Cinematography are:
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Dunkirk”
“Darkest Hour”
“Mudbound”
“The Shape of Water”
Like “Logan” I was mildly surprised to see “Blade Runner 2049” make the cut. Being a student of history seeing “Darkest Hours” spend a lot of attention to detail I was also jazzed it too was nominated. Still, seeing a fantasy/fairytale movie that just took me to another place in the way of “The Shape of Water” sealed it for me.
•The winner for Best Cinematography goes to “The Shape of Water”
The nominees for Best Animated Film are:
“Coco”
“The Boss Baby”
“The Breadwinner”
“Ferdinand”
“Loving Vincent”
If you knew the work that went into making “Loving Vincent” you’d probably want it to win. This animated feature bypasses the usual computer generated techniques instead going old school, painting it all by hand. In fact, it took 65,000 oil-painted frames to make the film! It’s a mind trip. However, at times the interest wanes some and when you watch an animated story that looks more familiar sure enough, your attention stays more focused. That said (and since I didn’t see the other three) I gotta go with Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson’s “Coco” not just for this category but also for Best Original Song too.
•The winner for Best Animated Feature goes to “CoCo”
The nominees for Best Original Score are:
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
“Dunkirk”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Finally! I’m glad the latest “Star Wars” flick got a nod. Unfortunately, the Academy will shy away from a sci-fi flick yet will go with a fantasy world (hey, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” could skate that category) feature film in the way of “The Shape of Water” instead. You know who should snag this category? Yes, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” but sliding toward the water flick.
•The winner for Best Original Score goes to “The Shape of Water.”
Howie Nave is host/emcee/manager of The Improv at Harveys. You can hear him Monday-Friday 6 to 10am on KRLT FM-93.9. He has been reviewing movies for years. They may be heard on four other stations each week where he does “A Jew Doing a Movie Review,” and he occasionally writes reviews for Lake Tahoe News.
By Allison Aubrey, NPR
Only about 50 percent of adolescents with depression get diagnosed before reaching adulthood. And as many as 2 in 3 depressed teens don’t get the care that could help them.
“It’s a huge problem,” says Rachel Zuckerbrot, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and associate professor at Columbia University.
To address this divide, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued updated guidelines this week that call for universal screening for depression.
The Last Straw is an event in Incline Village to bring awareness to the plastic devices that fill landfills, and end up polluting streams, oceans, and beaches.
It is said that 500 million straws are used and discarded every day in the United States. That is enough straws to wrap around the Earth’s circumference 2.5 times a day.
Students at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center will host educational tables during happy hour from 5:30-6pm on April 19 on the campus of Sierra Nevada College. At 6pm, students will present on local programs to reduce single use plastic waste and host screenings of the short films “Straws” and “Everything Connects.”
This collaborative event is hosted by local students together with IVGID Waste Not, Keep Truckee Green, League to Save Lake Tahoe, SOS Outreach, Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, and UC Davis TERC.
The even is free, though registration is required.
By Kathryn Reed
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that I didn’t want to end. And for someone who isn’t much of a fan of fiction, that speaks volumes.
“Dying Words” (NaCl Press, 2012) by K. Patrick Conner is a novel that takes readers into the life of an obituary writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. Those jobs don’t exist anymore. Newspaper jobs barely exist, let alone such a specialty.
Conner was a reporter at the Chronicle, so he was able to accurately capture some of the nuances of the paper, and certainly The City. (Since I was an editor there, I can vouch for much of the authenticity.)
“Dying Words” is much more than life at a newspaper. It’s about life itself.
Grayden Hubbell is the main character. Now in his 70s, his sole job at the paper is to write obituaries. The love of his life died decades ago, and yet there is still love to be had even in his dying days.
Conner has a way with words that is poetic, as well as captivating. He makes you care about the characters and connect to them.
It’s hard for me to know if the tears I shed were for the story or the reality about the state of newspapers or both.
No matter your feelings about newspapers, this is a story about people, and the importance of the connections people have in their lifetimes.
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· Please join in the discussion via commenting. Feel free to pose questions.
· Questions: If you knew you were dying, would you change your life and how? Should Grayden have been let go when he was given bad information? Have you thought about what you would want your obituary to say?
· The next book is “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging” by Sebastian Junger. The review will be posted April 1.
By Edward Etzel, The Conversation
Hundreds of Winter Olympians around the world are saying farewell to the thrill of a lifetime. While a handful will leave as delighted medal winners, the majority leave empty-handed.
Whether they won the medal or not, some find themselves navigating uncharted waters into an uncertain future. In many cases, they’ve trained and devoted themselves to their sport for years.
Suddenly, the lights go dim.
As a former Olympian who’s now a sport psychologist, I know from firsthand experience that it’s not easy. Being an athlete is central to the identity of most Olympians, and transitioning away from training and competing can be daunting.
Daily life upended
In the early 1980s, psychologist Nancy K. Schlossberg developed her transition theory. It recognizes that people are prone to stress whenever they experience shifts in routines, relationships and roles, and changes that can happen at home, at work and at school.
For Olympians, a transition back to everyday life represents a break from months of highly structured routines. No longer are they expected to be accountable to their teammates or coaches. And no longer do they have an impending competition to motivate them.
Some of the most immediate challenges involve making a decision: Should an athlete continue his or her studies? Or search for a job? Most Olympic athletes receive very little funding and need to find a way to financially support themselves outside of their sport.
Many also need to decide whether they even want to continue participating in their sport. This might seem like no-brainer for some, especially those who are young, healthy and still at the top of their game, like 17-year-old snowboarders Chloe Kim and Red Gerard.
But for those whose physical prowess is waning and who have growing families it’s a distressing decision. After three-time Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn won a bronze medal in the downhill ski event, she acknowledged that she was at a different point in her career – perhaps the end – because her body was breaking down.
“I wish I could keep skiing,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I wish my body didn’t hurt as bad as it does.”
A flimsy sense of self
For athletes who have invested years of their life to get to the Olympics, they have to contend with what sports psychologists call their “athletic identity,” which is the extent to which being an athlete is entwined with their sense of self.
For athletes who have a strong athletic identity, the lifestyle of being an athlete is central to how they see themselves and how others may see and treat them. When they’re competing, it can serve as a source of great strength, meaning and perseverance. But when age, injury or failure occur, it can become an Achilles heel: All of a sudden, they’re unmoored.
Retiring from playing a sport is as weighty a decision as retiring from a job or changing career paths. It can create a huge void and can force athletes to reflect on their careers and question their performance: Am I weak or strong? Was my athletic career a success or a failure? How resilient am I? How do I craft the next chapter in my life?
When the music’s over
As a psychologist, I’ve had the privilege of working with many ex-Olympic athletes who have struggled with this transition.
I’ve also personally been through a post-Olympic transition.
In my case, before the end of the 1984 Olympic Games, I returned home to Morgantown, W. Va., with a gold medal in the men’s English match rifle shooting event. But I was also saddled with the memory of a mediocre 15th-place finish in a different event.
All of a sudden, my years-long journey of preparation, sacrifice and competition was over. Luckily, I had a job waiting for me as a shooting coach and was enrolled in a graduate program in professional psychology. I decided that I needed to retire in order to focus on work and school, and was able to move on from being an Olympic athlete with little, if any, regret.
But each athlete’s path and story differs. For every Michelle Kwan, who went on to become an author and a public diplomacy ambassador for the United States, there’s a Debi Thomas, the former figure skater who declared bankruptcy in 2014 and is grappling with mental health issues.
Those who struggle the most post-games are perhaps those who had high expectations that went unfulfilled, which can lead to a lifetime of “what-ifs” and second guessing.
But the Maasai people of Kenya have a saying about life: “Everything ends.”
It’s a maxim that every Olympic athlete – medal winner or not – should take to heart.
Edward Etzel is a professor of sport and exercise psychology at West Virginia University.
Friends of the South Lake Tahoe Library have two events scheduled for March.
The first is on March 3 at 1pm. Mark Jensen, curator at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Carson Valley, will share Fritzi Dangberg’s adventures, accompanied by some show-and-tell of her possessions, that give a glimpse into making the most of life in the first half of the 20th century. Dangberg was not a typical rancher’s daughter. Born in 1907, her family was one of the most influential in Nevada’s Carson Valley, with a stake in several businesses and a livestock ranch that included tens of thousands of acres and animals. Her family’s prosperity made life comfortable and gave Dangberg many opportunities: college, travel and notable friends.
The next event is the book sale on March 17 starting at 10am.
Both events are free and at the library on Rufus Allen Boulevard.
By Melinda Myers
Turn up the heat and add a bit of spice to your meals with hot peppers. Add them to your garden, flower borders and containers for added beauty and easy picking.
Your biggest challenge will be narrowing down your choices. Let All-America Selections winners help. This nonprofit organization tests new edible and ornamental varieties nationally for their suitability to home gardens and containers.
Red Ember, a 2018 All-America Selections winner, is full of flavor and adds beauty to flower or container gardens. Photo/All-America Selections
Grow a few cayenne peppers if you like Mexican, Cajun and Asian cuisine. They also add a bit of zip to dips, stews and marinades. Brighten your meals and garden with the brilliant red and tasty fruit of Red Ember. This 2018 AAS winner is pretty enough for flower gardens or containers. You’ll be harvesting earlier and longer, providing more time to use and enjoy them. For a mildly spicy option with the same great flavor try Cayennetta. Its heat and cold tolerance makes it a great choice no matter where you garden.
If you like it even hotter, include a few habaneros in the garden. Then add heat and flavor to jerk chicken, chili, jam and other recipes. For those that like the flavor of habanero, but can’t stand the heat, try Roulette habanero. It looks and tastes like a habanero in every aspect except its not hot. Roulette is the perfect solution for families with different heat tolerances.
Add a full spectrum of color to containers and small space gardens with the early ripening Hungarian Mexican Sunrise and Sunset wax peppers. The conical shaped fruit transition from green to yellow, then orange and red. The fruit can be harvested and eaten at any stage. But the longer it is on the plant, the better the flavor. Mexican Sunrise is semi-hot while Mexican Sunset is for those that like a bit more heat. Both can be eaten fresh, stuffed, baked, grilled or pickled.
Grow a few Aji Rico peppers to add warm heat with a hint of citrus to your dishes. Eat them fresh or cook into salsa and hot sauces. Control the heat with the number of seeds left in the fruit. The more seeds that remain; the greater the heat.
Roast them, use them fresh or string a few Giant Ristra peppers together to dry and use throughout the winter. Don’t be fooled by its appearance. This 7-inch chili pepper looks like a sweet Marconi but has the spiciness of a cayenne.
For those who want to crank up the heat try Emerald Fire at 2,500 Scoville units. Not the hottest pepper on the market, but this jalapeno is certainly one to respect. The deep green fruit resists cracking and matures to red. Use them fresh, stuff with cream cheese, grill or can for later use.
If your taste lies on the other end of the heat spectrum start with Chili Pie and work your way to some of these hotter varieties. These miniature bell peppers are mildly hot when the fruit turns red. Be careful not to mix them in with your sweet bell peppers.
Heed this warning when growing and using any hot peppers. Clearly mark or better yet grow your hot peppers away from sweet peppers to avoid an unwelcome surprise. Keep your hands away from your eyes when working with hot peppers and wash them thoroughly when done.
Most important, have fun growing and using hot peppers in your garden, containers and meals. These beauties combine nicely with other vegetables, herbs and flowers to create stunning garden beds and containers. And their spicy flavor is sure to help you create memorable meals this season.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including “Small Space Gardening.” She hosts the Great Courses “How to Grow Anything: Food Gardening For Everyone” DVD set and the nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moment” TV and radio segments.