A little bit of country comes to Oakland

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HILLS NEWSPAPERS: January 14, 2011

The three guitars resting on her living room couch tell the story. “These are the girls” says Oakland hills singer/songwriter Caren Armstrong — each instrument poised to be played by an artist who can make the strings sing.

Mention the name to any local guitarist and you’ll find Armstrong has a big following. The free-spirited redhead with hair the color of warm cherry wood teaches as many as 25 lessons a week in her cozy hills apartment and is a regular in acoustic clubs around the Bay. But her monthly songwriter’s showcase may well be her signature event. Continue reading →

Boy plays piano to help children around the world

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OAKLAND TRIBUNE: January 6, 2011

For many kids, playing the piano is a rite of passage that ranks somewhere between breaking a bone and getting braces. But for 13-year-old Omar Abdul-Rahim, the piano holds the key to helping other children.

On Sunday, this eighth-grader at Corpus Christi School in Piedmont will play a benefit concert for the George Mark Children’s House in San Leandro, a hospice for terminally ill children. It’s his second fundraising performance in a year, and it underscores how even a child can make an important contribution in the world.

Omar’s epiphany came after hearing a speaker in church make a plea for donations for children living in the slums of Calcutta. After Mass, he went up to the representative and said, “I don’t have any money, but I can play the piano.” Continue reading →

The Six Questions

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OAKLAND MAGAZINE: January/February 2011

Who: Terry Sendgraff, 77, Oakland

What: She’s a retired performer who pioneered a type of aerial dance called Motivity using trapeze bars, hoops, harnesses and slings. She’s also the founder of the first women’s trapeze dancing troupe in the nation, Fly By Nite, and the first women’s stilting troupe called Women Walking Tall. Continue reading →

Commercials are Al Attles’ new `game’

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MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL: December 3, 2010

He’s the voice of experience. Mature and confident. You get the sense that his mettle has been tested in every arena.

Meet Al Attles, the voice behind a new series of Toyota truck commercials. It’s the same Al Attles who played 11 seasons for the Warriors, then coached them to an NBA title in 1975. In the world of advertising, as in basketball, he’s still got game. Continue reading →

The Six Questions

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OAKLAND MAGAZINE: December 1, 2010

Who: Jules Bruff, 37, a Montclair native living in Los Angeles

What: Bruff is a Hollywood actress who has worked in more than 40 commercials, network television shows and feature films including David Fincher’s Zodiac. She recently finished writing and producing an indie film on depression (in which she also acts) called Part Time Fabulous. Continue reading →

Oakland: America’s healthiest city

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Deane Lamont

OAKLAND TRIBUNE: November 27, 2010

“Oakland America’s healthiest city” — this is one headline you probably never expected to see, but in the decades between the Civil War and the Great 1906 earthquake this is how Oakland was advertised.

“Open space, good weather, and, later, commercially run parks all made the East Bay a desirable location for outdoor sports and recreation,” notes Deane Lamont in his new book, “America’s ‘Healthiest’ City: A History of Early Oakland, California.” Continue reading →

Collection tells story of legendary local rink

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CONTRA COSTA TIMES: November 19, 2010

Nothing says November like ice-skating, and one of the most celebrated rinks of all time was torn down 25 years ago this month.

Montclarion Lisa Malione-Brenkman remembers it like it was yesterday — and she should. She’s spent the last seven years working on an impressive collection of memorabilia from San Francisco’s iconic Winterland Auditorium and the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies. Continue reading →

Cooking in the kitchen with Clint (Eastwood)

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CONTRA COSTA TIMES: November 4, 2010

Not many women can say Clint Eastwood has been in their kitchen. But then, most kitchens don’t look like Terry Paulding’s.

Well-stocked and spacious, Paulding’s Emeryville kitchen is featured in Eastwood’s new supernatural thriller “Hereafter.” It’s the site where Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard first meet in cooking class. Continue reading →

East Bay seniors keep sharp with new technology

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Salem Lutheran Home's community relations director Laura Gibson watches as 83-year-old resident...

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: October 29, 2010

Bob Stewart dons his headphones and logs onto the computer at Salem Lutheran Home in Oakland. A retired chemical engineer, he once took a college course from renowned chemist Linus Pauling. Now, at 83, he’s using a revolutionary software program at Salem to keep his brain sharp.

The Posit Science Brain Fitness program is proving to be one of the senior care community’s most popular offerings. Continue reading →