Randy's Guide LXXIV (74)

Today is Republican Maine Senator Olympia Snowe’s 61st; Friday is Washington’s Birthday; Saturday is businessman Michael Dell’s 43rd; Sunday is Mexico’s Flag Day; Monday is Philippines’ People Power Day; and Tuesday is English singer Corinne Bailey Rae’s 29th.


Local News Story
Stanford extended its free tuition to students from families earning less than $100,000 a year, and also included room and board to those from families making less than $60,000 annually. The announcement comes as the university is planning to raise total undergraduate tuition and fees to $47,212 for the 2008-09 school year. daily.stanford.edu/article/2008/2/20/universityAnnouncesBoldAidPolicy


Change for Change
New charity to consider: My New Red Shoes. Founder 30-year-old Heather Hopkins, a Princeton University graduate, provides new school clothes to Bay Area homeless and poor children. www.mynewredshoes.org

Previous organizations Randy's Guide has spotlighted and donated: Common Ground Relief, LYRIC, Aldea Inc., Glide Memorial, City CarShare, Maitri, Loaves and Fishes, Friends of the Urban Forest, Farm Sanctuary, Bay Area Community Services, and Blue Energy.

Donate through the non-profit's Web site or your corporate donation program.


Weekend Weather
Bay Area: Rain through Sunday, with the worst to hit Saturday afternoon and evening. Highs 50-55, lows 35-45.

High 70, Low 47: Austin, TX (partly cloudy)
- A CNN-sponsored debate between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will take place tonight at UT-Austin

High 35, Low 19: Wells, NV (snow showers)
- A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Nevada this morning, as this small town sustained major damage in its historic district and shut down its main water line

High 55, Low 35: Atlanta, GA (rain clearing by Saturday)
- Republican lawmakers have pushed through a bill that would move the Tennessee-Georgia border and allow drought-stricken Georgians to tap into the Tennessee River

High 34, Low 20: Columbus, OH (ice and snow clearing by Sunday)
- Columbus has purchased more than 1,000 gallons of beet juice to mix with salt water for use on roads. The beet juice mixture freezes at a much lower temperature than salt alone


Environmental Tips
Increasingly sourced overseas, paper usually is finished with chlorine bleach and produces over 1,000 different chemicals, including dioxin and mercury. Choose recycled office paper, toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins… and recycle or compost them afterwards.

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With Valentine’s Day upon us – and Easter, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day not too far in the future – consider giving post-consumer recycled paper cards or e-cards to your friends and family.


Music Videos
“Neptune City” by Nicole Atkins (New Jersey)

Keyboardist Dan Chen suggested that she form a new group back in 2005. Now, we can hear her silky voice as part of Nicole Atkins & The Sea, which comes to Chicago tonight, Portland on Feb 29, San Francisco on Mar 3, San Diego on Mar 5, West Hollywood on Mar 6, and Texas and North Carolina later in March.

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“Flathead” by The Fratellis (Scotland)

Fresh off its Breakthrough Award at the British version of the Grammys, The Fratellis are aiming to release its second album by summer. The band also has two concerts planned in the UK later this month.


Movies (through Feb. 18)
#1 Jumper (PG-13): $32.1MM opening; $38.7MM overall; 3428 screens; $9,362 per screen
#2 The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG): $24.7MM opening; $27.1MM overall; 3847 screens; $6,431 per screen
#3 Step Up 2 the Streets (PG-13): $22.1MM opening; $28.7MM overall; 2470 screens; $8,958 per screen
#19 Jodhaa Akbar (NR): $1.6MM opening; 100 screens; $16,024 per screen

Be Kind Rewind (PG-13): Comedy; about two guys who try to reenact all of the movies found in a local video store; co-starring Jack Black, Danny Glover, Mos Def, and Mia Farrow; directed by Michel Gondry

Beaufort (NR): Drama; about the final days of an Israeli army unit’s withdrawal from Lebanon; winner of Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival; nominated for 1 Oscar

Charlie Bartlett (R): Comedy; about an outcast boy who begins an underground psychiatry room, dispensing pills to his schoolmates; co-starring Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, and Anton Yelchin

The Signal (R): Horror; about a couple who must flee murderous maniacs created by a strange transmission

Vantage Point (PG-13): Thriller; about eight different perspectives behind an assassination attempt on the U.S. President; co-starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt

Witness Protection (PG-13): Comedy; about a small-town sheriff who mistakenly gets involved in a FBI crime case; co-starring Larry the Cable Guy and Peter Stormare

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (NR): Drama; about a 12-year-old boy living in Sao Paulo during the turbulent year of 1970

This week’s movie review: The Orphanage (R): A-minus. Comparisons to “The Sixth Sense” and “The Others” are inevitable. Be prepared to unravel a woman’s mysterious journey back through her childhood orphanage – and now family home.

This week’s video review: Namesake (PG-13): A. Thoroughly enjoyable cross-cultural look at the Indian-born parents and the conflicted American-born children growing up in New York.


Chinese New Year Activities www.chineseparade.com
Parade [Sat 5:30-8pm]: Year of the Rat, 4706. Parade begins at Market and 2nd and proceeds to Kearny and Jackson. Also on KTVU (channel 2) and KTSF (channel 26).

Community Street Fair [Sat 10am-4:30pm, Sun 9am-5pm]: Features displays of dance, music, calligraphy, kite making, and acrobatics. In Chinatown (SF).

Chinese Culture Center Spring Festival [Sat/Sun 11am-4pm]: At the Hilton (SF).

Carnival [through Sunday, 10am-10pm daily]: At Walter U. Lum Place (SF).


Paid Activities
Dance – Compania Nacional de Danza [Th/Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm]: Spain’s national dance company. At YBCA (SF), $35. www.ybca.org

Event – WonderCon 2008 [Fri 12-7pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-5pm]: The 22nd year of celebrating popular comics in SF. At Moscone Center South (SF), $5-40. www.comic-con.org/wc

Theatre – Said Said [through Sunday]: About a distinguished Algerian poet who survived French torture earlier in his life. At Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley), $20-50. www.marintheatre.org

Event – Peninsula Home & Garden Show [Fri noon-8pm, Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm]: Featuring celebrity guests Henry Tenenbaum (KRON-4) and Chip Wade (HGTV). At the Event Center (San Mateo), FREE-$10. www.peninsulahomeshow.com

Live Music – NoisePop 2008 [Wednesday through Mar 2]: Independent bands at various SF venues, including Thee Parkside, 12 Galaxies, and Rickshaw Stop. FREE-$20. www.noisepop.com

Theatre – Wishful Drinking [through Mar 30]: Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show features stories about her mother Debbie Reynolds, her marriage to Paul Simon, and her addictions. At the Roda Theatre (Berkeley), $27-69. www.berkeleyrep.org

Previous: Film - San Francisco IndieFest [through today in SF]; Theatre - Taking Over [extended through Sunday in Berkeley]; Theatre - Kooza [through Mar 2 in San Jose]; Theatre - Curvy Widow [through Mar 9 in SF]; Theatre - Insignificant Others [through Apr 13 in SF] recommended