Who Knows?

Regarding the letter from the gentleman who wrote, "Very funny, but sorry—parapsychology is whoo-whoo, it does not exist" (Letters, Sept. 8). My daughter was born at 2:30am, and I first saw her around noon. I had a camera, and she followed me around the room with her eyes as I took pictures. Ten hours old, eyes very much open and perceptive. Most doctors would find this highly unusual, if not almost unheard of. Later, my daughter had the ability, maybe 20 seconds before the phone rang, to call the name of the ringer. Also, my daughter would ask, "How's Chuck?" just as I was thinking about my brother Chuck.

I'm not naïve. I have degrees in both biology and marine biology. I know things are "not verifiable" if they are unable to be replicated. No one would ever be able to ask (and get) my daughter to repeat these capabilities, but they do exist. How do you explain these things, Mr. "Just Not Scientific"?

Rick Huber

Novato

A Word from our Advertiser

You know, crappy cameras like the Holga were the rage like 10 or 15 years ago ("Present Imperfect," Sept. 8). It is so not "the rage" for the Bohemian to print such a mundane article with a has-been subject matter. I mean, c'mon, fashion photography and fine art photography have been using low-tech techniques for, like, ever! This just makes the Bohemian seem so behind the times and small-town. Wouldn't it be more realistic to just showcase some great low-tech photography without trying to make it sound like it's the new thing? Not to mention that the pictures used are just plain crappy, not cool at all or even trying to show how cool the Holga can be.

The Bohemian consistently misses the actual cutting-edge, cool, new, happening stuff in this county and the whole freakin' Bay Area, for that matter.

Shane Sterling

via email

Center of the Universe

You'd think that trying to launch an art center—the Occidental Center for the Arts—in this economy would be daunting enough, but it doesn't compare to the difficulty of breaking through to the Bohemian's art and entertainment writers! Since the OCA opened on April 3 with a Fools Day Parade, we've had a myriad of musical offerings from Chris Caswell to Blue Brazil; art gallery showings; writers' workshops; and, most recently, "Remembering Harmony" (Sept. 3–4), a site-specific interactive performance that was part of ArtsSonoma Festival 2010. The OCA is proud to be the new home of the Redwood Arts Council and the Occidental Community Choir, two West County cultural icons, yet we yearn for a mention (or even an event listing at times) in your widely read and highly regarded publication!

It's not just the neat events we want to attract your readers' attention to. There's also the Independent Eye Theater's latest imaginative work with puppets, Hands Up! (Oct. 29); the Caswell Family Celebration (Nov. 14) featuring mother Helen Caswell's art and her musically talented offspring onstage; a staged reading of Under Milkwood with Paul Huberty directed by Brian Shears (Nov. 21); and the Human Rights Film Festival planned for January.

The Press Democrat is consistently biased in favor of Santa Rosa–based events, but the Bohemian? Say it ain't so! Shoot, the OCA is even located on the Bohemian Highway (at Graton Road). Thanks for listening and for all that the Bohemian does to support the arts and culture.

Andrea Van Dyke

Occidental

Send a letter to the editor about this story.