Saturday, January 19, 2008

Riding Alone For Thousand of Miles is tonight's film in Clarion-Venango's Indie Film Series:

Zhang Yimou's heartfelt feature about cultural displacement, grief, and reconciliation is from the director of Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers. Ken Takakura stars as Gou-ichi Takata, a laconic man who lives in a fishing village and is estranged from his son. When word reaches him that his son is ill with cancer, Takata travels to Tokyo but is turned away. Takata learns that his son has a passion for rural Chinese folk opera, and he flies to mainland China to locate Li Jiamin, an opera star who happens to be in jail at the moment. Takata's story reminds Li of his own sad disconnection from his young son, and Takata sets out to restore their relationship as a prelude to helping his own with Li's help.

Flick starts at 7:30 pm in Venango Campus' Rhoades Audiorium




The good news is the Library of Congress is putting 3,000 images up at Flickr. The bad news is they're relying on us to tag them all.





The Franklin Rotary Club has been hard at work cleaning, painting walls and restoring the ceiling on the third floor of DeBence Antique Music World


Oil City resident Jackie Greek is:
working [on a website] for the oil city south side association. For the neighborhood watch group. We want the photos to have flowers around them or taken in good weather. . . I am looking for any photos taken this summer of the oil city south side fountain, either with the flowers around it or the water with the lights on it. Or the memorial by the oil city library . Also looking for any photos that was taken either in the spring summer or fall or the oil city welcome sign on rt 8 coming into oil city from Franklin. Or any photos taken on the south side. . I can also mention on the web site who took the photo as well so you do get credit for it, if we do use it...
Email them to her.

(Ms. Greek, for whatever reason, doesn't want this project publicized, so please don't send her the photos originally requested. Thanks)



My yogini, Libby Jenkins, will teach a free yoga class from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Oil City YWCA. Pre-registration at the YWCA is encouraged but not required as space may be limited. Anyone who wants more information or who wishes to register can call the YWCA at 676-6528.


There will be an Open Musician Audition for 'Hank Williams - Lost Highway' on Sunday, Jan 20 at 2 pm and Monday, Jan 21 at 7:00 pm at the Meadville Community Theater, 400 N Main St, Meadville, PA.
Cast Needed:
  • Hank Williams - age 20's to 30's, be able to sing and play guitar, and
  • The Band (Must play one of the following: lead guitar, bass, steel guitar, and fiddle)
  • 4 band members, any age.
  • 1 male African American blues guitarist, any age.

Performers should come prepared to perform "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Auditions for speaking parts of the show will be held at a later date. Show opens May 2, 2008. For more information call Director Tom Hall at (814) 336-6273.


A digital photography exhibit depicting everyday life on Pennsylvania farms features the work of Rich Gensheimer, a photographer and documentary producer from North East, Pa. The exhibit includes more than 200 images by 10 photographers selected from across the state and will premiere at the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) annual conference in State College Feb 7-9 before traveling to other locations.

Gensheimer's photo essay, "As American as Blueberry Pie," was shot at Rassie Farms in North East early one morning in August 2007, as immigrants from Belarus and Ukraine spilled out of cars and vans to help Alan Rassie and his wife Jody pick blueberries.

The exhibit, entitled "Love your Mother: Farming as if People Mattered," is sponsored by PASA, the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club, Slow Food Pittsburgh, and the Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh.

Yes, I do think it would be great to see it in Venango County. To arrange for a showing of the exhibit, contact exhibit curator Donald L Gibbon, dongibbon@earhtlink.net, or (412) 362-8451. Yes, I would help set it up.



It's Edgar Allen Poe's Birthday!

Trip out to Phil Lesh's version of Poe's "The Pit and The Pendulum" from the free and legal download:
Phil Lesh and Friends Live at Nokia Theatre Times Square on 2007-10-31 (October 31, 2007)
and check out 1928's Fall of the House of Usher:











File Anthology Records (he world’s first ever all digital reissue label, its goal to provide an online outlet for rare and out-of-print music of all eras, genres and cultures) under "Man! Why didn't I think of that."




Turn a cup of tea into a theremin






2 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you know where i could find an up to date list of the indie films that will be shown at venango campus? the only list i can find was for fall '07. thanks!

Dittman said...

I do indeed! I posted it today (Jan 21st). Glad to help!