Diane Keaton Speaks at the Bakersfield Business Conference

By Veronica Renaker

Breaking the day’s political tone, Diane Keaton gave attendees of the Bakersfield Business Conference something else to digest: Love.

For those who were hungry for politics, this shift came as a total surprise. Several made their way out of the main tent, while countless fans cheered out of respect and admiration for the leading lady as she entered the stage.
Keaton, an award winning actress, smiled as she recalled the many “kinds of love” that she’s experienced throughout her life, love that grows and changes. She spoke of the importance of loving and valuing yourself, and with that you can achieve anything.
“I chose my dream, and you know what? My dream came true,” Keaton said.

 

Ending her speech, Keaton delighted the crowd by singing a few lines from the song “Seems Like Old Times,” which she sang in her performance in “Annie Hall.”

“Seems like old times

“Dinner dates and flowers

“Just like old times

“Staying up for hours

“Making dreams come true

“Doing things we used to do

“Seems like old times

“Being here with you.”

Keaton is an actress, writer, director and producer. In addition to her Oscar win for her role in “Annie Hall,” Keaton has garnered 23 award nominations and 17 wins.

The lead in the 1977 film “Annie Hall” was Keaton’s breakout role and had been written expressly for her by the movie’s director, Woody Allen. This role was based on her real-life personality and created using Keaton’s nickname, Annie, and real last name, Hall. Keaton went on to mesmerize Hollywood and audiences throughout the country with her quirky personality and fashion sense.

“Annie Hall” was not her first role, however. She had her first starring role in the Broadway play “Hair.” Her first movie role was in “Lovers and Other Strangers.” But it was with the play “Play It Again, Sam,” that Keaton received a Tony nomination and began a record of award-winning performances, including many directed by Woody Allen.

The first of several starring roles in films directed by Woody Allen was her performance in the screen adaptation of “Play It Again, Sam.” She later went on to star in the Allen films “Sleeper,” “Interiors,” “Radio Days,” “Manhattan,” “Love and Death,” and “Manhattan Murder Mystery.”

Although comedy was where Keaton experienced most of her initial success, she did earn a Golden Globe nomination for the thriller “Looking for Mr. Goodbar.” In that same year, she received an Oscar for “Annie Hall,” which also won an Oscar for Best Picture. Keaton later starred in the movie “Reds,” for which she received another Oscar nomination, and again stepped outside of the comedy genre to star in the 1984 film “The Little Drummer Girl” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” “The Godfather: Part II,” and “The Godfather: Part III.”

But she returned to her comedy roots alongside Steve Martin in films like “Father of the Bride”

and its sequel, “Father of the Bride Part II,” as well as by starring alongside Bette Midler in

“The First Wives Club” and Jack Nicholson in “Something’s Gotta Give.”

Keaton began directing with the documentary film “Heaven.” She went on to direct other projects such as the acclaimed movie “Unstrung Heroes” and an episode of the cult classic TV show “Twin Peaks,” as well as several music videos.

Over the entirety of her career, Keaton has appeared in more than 50 films, television shows, and plays. Today, she continues to act, write and direct with an appeal that spans generations.

First Annual Bakersfield Marathon

By Joshua Rivera

Bakersfield’s first USA Track & Field organization’s certified full marathon, half marathon, 2-person half-marathon relay, and 5k run was held on Nov 13. More than 1,500 participants from Kern County and other parts California came together to experience this fun event.

 

This isn’t the first marathon that has been held in Kern County. The Golden Empire Marathons were 26.2-mile runs that were held in the 1980s. But this is the first year for the new Bakersfield Marathon & Half Marathon, and Kern County is hoping to make this an annual world class event. Being USATF-certified means that the Bakersfield run is a Boston Marathon-qualifier.

 

The marathon was supposed to start at 6 a.m., but was delayed for more than an hour. The reason behind the delay was because the KRC Safety Company, the company that the city contracted for the marathon, had to reposition the barriers and roadblocks they had set up. There was also a car crash at one of the intersections that the runners had to cross.

 

The course started at California State University, Bakersfield, and took the runners through downtown Bakersfield, the Stockdale Financial District, and several more iconic Bakersfield neighborhoods. The finish line was located on the Kern River Parkway Bike Trail across from CSUB near Finish Line Bikes. Mile markers were present across the course for runners to rehydrate and rest if they wanted to.

 

Many vendors were present for the race and were located on CSUB’s campus. Participants and spectators were encouraged to relax after the race and enjoy the food and drink that were being sold. Massage tables were even established for the participants that completed the marathon.

 

The fastest time for the full marathon was 2 hours, 43 minutes, and 46 seconds, and belonged to Fresno resident Jose Campos.

 

“This was a really fun event to participate in because I was able to run with all of my friends,” said a runner that participated in the half marathon. “I hope to run the next one with my family and maybe attempt to run the entire 26 miles.”

Bakersfield Bacon and Craft Festival

By Alberto Muro

It was a weekend of bacon and beer in Bakersfield.

The second annual Bacon and Craft Festival returned on Nov. 12. at Riverwalk Park. Up to about 30 local restaurants supported the festival along with 50 craft brewers serving drinks. One restaurant called “Don Pepes Mariscos” served bacon wrapped shrimp and jalapenos, they also poured patrons specialty spicy beverages. The employees working in the booths performed at an extraordinary pace so the lines were almost non-existent.

Lengthwise brewery has participated in local craft festivals over the years. Their reputation derives through their creativity such as brewing  locally known beverages and ecstatic pub food. Lengthwise offered patrons some samples of pulled pork sliders, macaroni and cheese with bacon bits, and a choice of spicy or barbecue sauce. Those that were thirsty were treated with Lengthwise’s assortment of beverages.

Another local brewery called “Dionysus” made their presence known at the festival. During the summer the people of Dionysus opened their doors and have since been on the move to provide monthly flavors to satisfy local needs. The employees of Dionysus greeted festival goers with samples and provided information about their brewing techniques. Although they did not have bacon samples, Dionysus did provide a welcoming environment.

Last fall, Bakersfield witnessed the opening of its new local brewery called Temblor. Local restaurants and gas stations have taken notice of Temblor by selling their beverages. Lengthwise and Dionysus are also known locations to serve Temblor drinks. This is the second year that Temblor has participated in the Bacon and Craft Festival. Although they too did not serve bacon products, fans of the brewery lined up for their specialty drinks. One of the favorite beverages called “Under a blood orange sky” was described to have a smooth citrus taste. The beverage itself was dubbed as “refreshing” by the locals waiting in line.

 

Bacon and craft drinks were not the only highlight of the event. Under the 75-degree weather, festival goers saw themselves participating in over-sized activities. Connect 4 players tried stacking their Frisbee-sized black or red markers in either a straight line or diagonal pattern. CornHole players consisted of two teams with the objective of throwing sacks into an elevated ramp with a hole; often players would stack their sacks on the surface of the board to score more points.

Tensions grew as games often got intense. Thankfully the games echoed with the groans of people painfully congratulating another skilled player followed by a handshake.

 

One popular destination at the festival was the bacon bar. One could imagine that such a spot would consist of bacon flavored beverages filling the cups of thirsty patrons. Unfortunately the bacon bar did not have the flavored beverage, but they did hand out substantial amounts of bacon strips. If it’s one lesson that the bacon bar has taught anyone it’s that society takes bacon for granted and often we cry at breakfast whenever bacon strips shrink. Sadness was eradicated by the sight of bacon and the Bakersfield Bacon and Craft Festival has brought a community together for the love of bacon.

Yogolicious

By Bailey Vega

Last month, Taft local Sara Bravo opened Yogolicious, a brand new self-serve frozen yogurt shop in town.

 

Located at 428 Center Street, the store offers fifteen different flavors of yogurt and a plethora of toppings. Customers may choose from different container sizes, dispense their choices of yogurt flavors, and then proceed to the topping bar to add their favorite syrups, fruits, nuts, and/or candies. The cost for each treat is determined by the weight in ounces.

 

Yogolicious also circulates special limited time flavors such as pumpkin pie frozen yogurt. Additionally, they offer stamp cards that allow you to collect a stamp for every $5 spent. Once 10 stamps are earned, customers are offered a free “Froyo Loco.”

 

Proud to have Taft roots, Bravo has lived here for the past eleven years and is a Taft High graduate from the class of 2003.

“Five years ago, I first went into a self-serve frozen yogurt shop and thought, ‘This is it!’” Bravo, who has always wanted to start a business, said of her inspiration to open Yogolicious. She also explained that upon realizing that “Taft doesn’t have something like this,” frozen yogurt further seemed like an opportune venture for her to pursue. Since she was previously a corrections officer, she was also attracted to the concept of setting her own hours, which she says will allow for more flexibility in her schedule so she can care for her three children. The shop is run solely by Bravo, her husband, her brother, and her sister-in-law.

The business, including the name and all of the equipment and signs, was purchased in its entirety from a former owner in Los Angeles. Bravo bought the building in Taft over a year ago, and it has undergone numerous months of construction and design preparation in order to be transformed into what it looks like today.

 

“This community is so warm and welcoming,” Bravo said, expressing her appreciation for the great number of customers and positive reviews Yogolicious has already attracted in the few weeks it has been in business.

The November/December hours for the shop are 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, and it is open every day except for Wednesdays and Sundays. For more information and updates, visit the Yogolicious Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/YogoliciousTaft/

A Tribute and a Thank You to YOU!   Our family, our friend.

 

Thank you to Mahea Maui and our TC Students who developed this video from the 2016 COUGAR COOK-OUT!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED AND ATTENDED!!

Halloween in the Dorms

By Mark O’Connor

College campuses are filled with terrifying things such as research papers, midterms, group assignments, and professors who hand out homework on the weekends.

On Halloween night students had a great time getting dressed up in the TIL (Transition to Independent Living) and Ash Street dorms to forget about all of those petrifying things.

In the Ash Street dorms participants decorated their dorms for a Halloween decorating contest, the winner received a cash prize. One room had a mini haunted house that you could walk through while they attempted to scare you, and if you were brave enough to step through the spine-chilling walk way you were rewarded with candy in light of the Halloween spirit.

In the TIL dorms, students also decorated the doors with designs that read “Dead Inside, Do Not Enter” and “Caution” tape wrapped around the outside. There was a DJ that playing music in the center of the dorms that had people dancing and having a good time.

As students walked through the dorms they found themselves having a great time, sharing laughs and eating Halloween candy as if they were reliving their childhood days.

Artists’ Big Creative Thirst at Taft Gallery

By Ray Raygoza

Local art students collaborated with English students to raise awareness about the planet’s diminishing drinkable water supply and its unappreciated importance to the sustainment and progress of society.

 

 

“The Flow of Creativity” was the befitting name for the art exhibit at the Taft College Campus Art Gallery on Thursday, October 20^th in which students displayed paintings alongside selected quotes from Charles Fishman’s The Big Thirst. The event was part of the annual “One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern” project initiated yearly by the Kern County Library network and California State University, Bakersfield.

 

 

Taft College’s Basic Art 1600 students with instructor Deborah Rodenhauser worked interdepartmentally with Kamala Carlson and Danielle Kerr of the English department to create beautiful paintings of all different media based on selected quotes from Fishman’s book. Excerpts from the book, which is written in highly stylized prose, were paraphrased by the English students.

 

 

The English 1000 students in Carlson and Kerr’s classes have been assigned to read the book, which is a collection of musings and essays on Fishman’s philosophy about the disparaging and globally fragmented water distribution, as well as data based on his travels and research of the different ways that water is used throughout the world.

 

Fishman also writes of how the global water supply is becoming–and has become in many regions–irreversibly contaminated as a result of decades of pollution and the careless use of water as a source for waste.

 

Rodenhauser remarked jokingly, pertaining to America’s ever-intensifying water situation, “It’s as if all of the drugs and pills we washed down the drain in the sixties and seventies are coming back to haunt us!” According to Fishman’s sobering data, she is not far from the reality of things.

 

Fishman writes, “The new class of micropollutants we are beginning to hear about–infinitesimal, almost molecular traces of plastics, birth control pills, antidepressants–have literally been invisible even to chemists until very recently; you certainly can’t tell if they’re in your water by looking at it or drinking it. The impact of those micropollutants on our health, if any, may remain invisible for years–and may be almost impossible to predict or trace” (8).

 

Much of the book entails these kinds of warnings against the seemingly grim future of water and its function in our society along with musings from Fishman’s travels to different sacred water supplies throughout the world. The artists that participated in “The Flow of Creativity” were commissioned to create works that reflect his writings through their own creative lenses. Some of the artists were able to share their thoughts on their pieces, the water issues, and art in general.

 

“Comic artists like Michael Turner, Bret Booth, and Jim Lee really motivated me when I was starting,” says Nashel Tena of her pursuits in visual arts, something she has been passionate about since she was a young child. Her piece is an iridescent, comic-style portrait of a young man inspired by Fishman’s account of a boy that bemoaned a devastating drought in his home country. Tena says that she was very moved by the fact that even though the boy in Fishman’s excerpt yearned for free-flowing water; it has never come. Her piece was one of the few judges’ selections of the evening’s exhibit.

 

 

“If anyone is looking to pursue art, you have to build a passion for it and really want to improve yourself. Don’t believe people that say ‘you have natural talent.’ You’ve got to work for it. If you really want to work for it, then you can get there. If you want to be good at something, you can be,” she says.

 

The image drawn by Samuel Rodriguez displays water molecules and an abstract mountain range. It conveyed sophisticated blending techniques and precise attention to detail. “Earth has the water trapped in what is considered a 4^th state” Rodriguez says. “Under extreme confinement, water molecules are able to move through energy barriers.” Simply put, water molecules that are normally trapped beneath the earth’s surface also happen to be above the earth.

 

 

English student Ashtian Wright was responsible for compiling the paraphrase for the assignment. “We were assigned quotes about water, so I utilized my creative thinking and came up with a descriptive analysis.” Both participants put their skills to the test and produced a detailed illustration about the essence of water.

 

When asked why she selected the particular excerpt from Fishman’s book that she did, Victoria Fraire, an art history and English literature major at Taft College, said “I liked the way it spoke of how sacred the water is and how it is pictured as something spiritual. For me–when I did my piece–that was a main thing. Water gives life and nobody really values that.”

 

 

After finishing her studies at Taft, native Northern Californian Fraire hopes to purse higher education in art and literature at either The University of California, Berkeley or The University of San Francisco. She fondly remembers the renaissance art and architecture of Europe, in places such as Spain and France, from where she has only recently returned this past year. She aspires to study abroad and looks forward to visiting Italy, particularly Venice and Florence.

 

When asked to advise growing artists, she relays the advice she gives to her artistic eleven-year-old daughter: “Day by day, go outside and look at things. Always keep a sketchbook to sketch whatever catches your eye. If it’s something that you’re passionate about, study it everyday. And always make sure that you’re in the moment.”

 

The judges undoubtedly had a difficult time selecting which pieces would go on to be displayed at the CSUB art exhibit of a similar vein. Winners were also recognized and honored at Charles Fishman’s panel on Thursday, October 27th, at which Fishman appeared to discuss his work and to field questions from readers.

 

The judges’ selections of the evening were Ashley Ramos and Vicoria Fraire for 1st place; Maria Zavala and Nashel Tena for 2nd Place; Karen Rodriguez, Shelby Jacobson, and Madison Borecco for 3rd place. Listed are paraphrasing writers alongside the visual artists.

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Thirst Comes To CSUB

By Alberto Muro

On the evening of October 27, the president of Cal State University Bakersfield Dr. Horace Mitchell invited investigative journalist and author of The Big Thirst Charles Fishman to the 10th annual “One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern” readers program. Dr. Mitchell  spoke about the success of  “One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern” saying “It promotes literacy to Kern County students.” Every year students throughout Kern County read enticing works of literature and participate in events that are relevant to the book. Students also get the opportunity to meet the author of the book.

After Dr. Mitchell spoke with the students, he introduced Charles Fishman to the stage. Mr. Fishman was greeted by a round of applause and wasted no time getting into the details of the book. “I’m the guy that ruined your fall semester,” Mr. Fisher stated as he lifted a copy of his book. His statement was met with laughter.

Mr. Fishman also thanked “One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern” for inviting him to speak with students about water. California is currently in the midst of a drought,  and The Big Thirst is the perfect book to enlighten student readers about the importance of water. Mr. Fishman explained the simplicity of his book by saying, “The more water we have, the happier we are. That’s the entire book in less than eighty characters.”

The Big Thirst discusses  the  water problems on a global scale rather than domestic. Mr. Fishman explained  his overall objective for writing the book by  studying water from around the world. “I spent 5 years traveling the world trying to understand the water problems,” Mr. Fishman said while mentioning his trips to Italy, India, Australia, and the United States for his project.

During the panel, Mr. Fishman brought up some grueling statistics that served as an eye opener to students. “Four out of ten people don’t have access or have to walk 3 km to get clean water,” he said while talking about his trip to an impoverished region in India. Mr. Fishman did in fact walk 3 km to experience first hand the struggles of obtaining clean drinking water.

Mr. Fishman also says the  lack of clean drinking water in India is the result of “failed policies from elected officials promising the Indian people access to clean drinking water.” There are talks of clean water initiatives in every election cycle, but the Indian government contributes very little towards the cause. As a result, people are forced to traverse long distances for clean water.

At the end of the panel, Mr. Fishman encouraged students to ask questions pertaining his research towards his book. Students lined up and began asking questions regarding water conservation methods, traveling experiences, and  his overall message to students. One question lingered in reference to his statement “four out of ten people don’t have access to clean water.” “Good evening Mr. Fishman, you mentioned that there is lack of clean water in locations,  I assume they are poverty stricken” “Yes, that’s correct,” Mr. Fishman replied. “The United States has a strong economic infrastructure, yet there are cities experiencing contaminated water”; “Mr. Fishman, if money is not the problem, then what is?”

Mr. Fishman began explaining that funding is usually not the reason for lack of clean water, but instead it all boils down to politics. As Mr. Fishman explained earlier, “Leaders in India, for example, do not use their political influence towards clean water.” He also talked about the contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, and how the lack of political intervention lead to negligence towards a clean water system and the result was tragic.

 

For his closing statement, Mr. Fishman thanked the students and faculty for being involved in the “One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern” and hopes his book informed everybody about the importance of water so that one day we may stop taking it for granted. He then asked students to form a line for his book signing; following this statement, the stampede sound of students gathering around Mr. Fisher could be heard through out the gym.

4th Annual Feed The Zombies Food Drive

By Joshua Rivera

From October 29^th to October 31^st, the Feed the Zombies Food Drive was held at 5510 Lombardy Court. The Food Drive is a non-profit event that was created by Kern County resident Cherie Willis to help the homeless in Kern County.

This is the fourth year that Willis has hosted her food drive. Every year she usually receives over 300 canned good items from people in the Kern County community wanting to receive a good scare at her haunted house. On the 30^th, Willis had already received over 144 cans of food and was expecting a lot more on Halloween. Every year she has a different theme for her haunted house, and this year’s theme seemed to center more on clowns and the circus.

Willis says she hosts this event to try and show people that Halloween should be “looked upon as a celebration” like Christmas or Thanksgiving because not many people decide to celebrate Halloween anymore. She also does this because more holidays are coming, and not many people will be able to celebrate with food.

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Willis says she also decided to do this because she received canned goods from the community when she was younger, so she likes to do the same thing for families that are in a similar situation. Even when her house burned down earlier this year and she lost all of her props for the haunted house, she decided to redo everything and still host the event.

Willis usually donates her canned goods to nonprofit organizations, but this year decided to make gift baskets and give them directly to the Bakersfield Homeless Center/Bethany House. She says, “I would like to feed thirty people in one day, then feed ten people overtime.”

Willis’ haunted house is a big success every year that is usually advertised on Kern County’s website for events, Facebook, and even the news. Willis is doing good work for the community and encourages Kern County residents to check out her haunted house and get involved with donating canned goods.