Oct. 22, 2024 – Ann is in OurLitteCorner today
Support Local News. It’s The Standard?
This is an unpaid-for public announcement:
Please Read and Support Your Local News Source.
If you’re in Glen Ellen, that would be The Kenwood Press (whose office – oddly enough – is in Glen Ellen, about a block from our house).
But if you’re in San Francisco, you can get your local news from the relatively-new online news organization, The San Francisco Standard. To quote The Standard’s web page: “Whether it’s an investigation into political corruption or a guide to the best wine bars in town, we provide San Francisco—one of the most dynamic cities in the world—with the journalism it deserves.”
We’ve been devoted readers of The SF Standard for about 7 months now…well, whenever it was that our daughter, Sara, assumed the role of Food Editor for that news organization. :).
Why is it so important to support local news sources? According to The Knight Foundation –
“Local journalists are at the frontline of communities, investigating and delivering the news that matters most to residents. Their future and the survival of their profession is critically entwined with the health of our communities and our democracy. And they are disappearing.
Confronted with sinking revenues, local news organizations are shutting their doors and leaving many U.S. communities without a daily news outlet. At the same time, trust in news has hit all-time lows and polarization has peaked, in part because the shrinking of local news has led to a loss of trustworthy information created by people we know.“
An internet search reveals many non-profit organizations devoted to shoring up local news, but a name we all recognize, The MacArthur Foundation, is especially involved, having just awarded $20 million to 205 local news outlets, with the hope of “revitalizing local news to better inform communities and strengthen American democracy.”
I don’t know whether or not restaurant reviews in local news sources help strengthen democracy, but encouraging dining at locally-owned restaurants (in Glen Ellen think The Glen Ellen Star, the fig cafe, Yeti, The Garden Court Cafe, the Mill at Glen Ellen, and Les Pascals) can help both the restaurant owners and the social lives of the diners (a reminder that many studies are showing the numerous ways we benefit from socializing).
The SF Standard and Sara recently posted an article about the SF restaurant Foreign Cinema.
How can you resist a restaurant whose 25th anniversary gala has a scene like this? “An aerial silks artist in a sparkly bodysuit [is] dangling from the dining-room ceiling, twisting herself into compromising positions, her foot just grazing the head of a handsome server passing out puff-pastry-encased escargot to patrons…”
John Clark, one of the restaurant’s owners/chefs says in regards to these yearly celebrations,“My sense is to always do something slightly offensive — but not so offensive as to alienate people. Something just shocking enough.”
You can read Sara’s article describing the 25th anniversary party at Foreign Cinema here (viewer discretion advised): 25 years of hedonistic parties at Foreign Cinema.
We’re already making plans to go into SF next September to celebrate Foreign Cinema’s 26th anniversary. Anyone want to meet up with us there?
And we’ve got a favorite cocktail from Foreign Cinema to share with you. Like Foreign Cinema’s anniversary parties, it’s a little wild and crazy and different – but I’m betting that you’ll love it! It may become the new Standard.
Foreign Cinema's Persian Bloody Mary
- 5 c tomato juice (Knudsen Organic Tomato Juice is a good choice)
- 6 T lime juice
- 4 T lemon juice
- 2 T sherry vinegar
- 2 T Madras curry powder (Madras curry is spicy; go light if you’re adverse to spice)
- 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Diamond kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper (go light if you’re adverse to spice)
- 1 1/2 tsp sumac and 1 1/2 tsp Diamond kosher salt mixed together to salt the rims of the glasses
- 6 – 8 oz vodka
- 4 lime wedges for garnish
In a pitcher, stir together the tomato, lime, and lemon juices with the vinegar, curry powder, turmeric, sea salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, up to a day ahead.
To serve, stir the vodka into the juice mixture. Moisten the rims of 8-ounce tall glasses by running lime or lemon juice around the rims (using your juiced lemon or lime halves works great here), then dip the rims into the sumac-salt mixture. Fill the glasses with ice cubes. Pour the vodka mixture into the glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge. Serve.
No diner at Foreign Cinema seems positioned to watch the film screen without a radical head-turn. I couldn’t possibly watch for more than a couple seconds without severe pain. If I knew about the films, I’d avoid the joint even if the food was both excellent and free.
Maybe some ibuprofen pills prior to dinner would help.
Hi Ann
Thanks for another interesting and informative post.
I like the “Abbey Road” feeling of the photo on the Kenwood Press article.
I’ll check out “The San Francisco Standard.”
It may be impossible to provide unbiased news. For one thing, confirmation bias. “Confirmation bias is people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs.” I’ve read other claims that the brain filters out things it doesn’t want to hear or see.
I listened to KPFA when I lived in Berkeley. Nearly everything they put on the air was through the lens of opposition to the Vietnam war and radical left ideology. My confirmation bias liked it. I’d heard the arguments on the other side, and I didn’t want to listen to them.
The rule at family gatherings used to be don’t talk politics or religion around the dinner table. I’ve experienced bad outcomes and hard feelings for ignoring that rule. No one’s mind was ever changed. Now, I let it all slide. Whaddya gonna do?
Andy here. Thanks for the insightful comments. Confirmation bias is a useful term and explains, among other things, much about the vast political divide in the country. Your point that we all “suffer” from confirmation bias is a good one. I guess that’s why I tend to filter out negative comments about our blog and only recognize the good ones.
It’s Ann here. I hadn’t caught the connection with the Abbey Road album. That’s so cool. Photographer deserves a lot of credit for that. Go local news! https://www.thebeatles.com/abbey-road
BTW- Here’s a link to a recent New Yorker article entitled “How Biased is the Media, Really?” It’s an interesting read.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/how-biased-is-the-media-really
Andy here again: The New Yorker article is enlightening, especially given that it is from a “liberal press” journalist’s point of view. Thanks for suggesting it.
Hi Andy
I loved the way they ended the article: “With Trump out of the picture, what will we write about? “
He definitely is someone that many folks love to hate.