Valen Lambert

On days like this, they say “the air is close.” We had been biking since 5:30 AM. To begin riding any later would have been suicidal, as the midday heat bordered 100 degrees and headwinds blew air of 70 percent humidity from the sweating Iowa corn.All day long, ambulances sirened by us in the … Continue Reading

Big Sur inspires reverence. When the explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo became the first to sail along the Alta California coastline during the fall of 1542, he was transfixed as oak-laden hills turned mountainous and studded with plentiful conifers, which rose abruptly from the turquoise water like … Continue Reading

Shuffling into our booth, Gracie Sinclair marvels at the drink menu with her big, green, Betty Boop eyes. “Question: Is that a happy hour price?” I assure her $7.00 is the cost of an average cocktail in Portland, Oregon — the 32nd stop of Folk Bitch Trio’s debut world tour. “Old Crow whiskey, … Continue Reading

In 1972, art critic Roger Cardinal introduced the term “outsider art” in his book of the same name. The label was his own version of French artist Jean Dubuffet’s earlier art brut — a label describing, in Cardinal’s words, “the only art which can truly be described as inventive, the art engendered … Continue Reading

Out here, this green earth will swallow anything whole. Consider a felled coastal redwood, one of the largest and heartiest living organisms on earth, breaking down into the dank forest duff and disappearing into the understory. The desert tells time in dust, water through shape. The forest … Continue Reading

It’s Saturday night at The Ritz and Reggie Watts is playing, which is like saying it’s a Saturday night at Studio 54 and Prince is playing. The lucky few hundred folks who also made it through the door are stark naked and squeezed buttcheek to buttcheek around the fire pit in front of an intimate … Continue Reading

Everett’s isn’t too busy for a Friday, which is surprising, as it’s the premier dive bar in downtown Arcata.  Catfish is bouncing tonight. I’ve now come in enough to where he doesn’t card me at the door. He tips his hat, “Nice to see ya.” Inside, my boss at the elementary school is playing pool … Continue Reading