To the polite, almost rhythmic applause that characterizes European audiences, I accepted the Palme D'Or for best documentary at the Cannes Film Festival for my film “Logging.” That was the plan, anyway. Never happened. I…
Posts published in “Essays”
Dancehall Reggae and many of its most prolific and articulate artists have as of late been treated the same as Ward Churchill, and have been censored and attacked for their “insensitive” comments. The reason for…
My son Olie and I have been traveling through Cambodia and Vietnam for the last five weeks. We are by no means a rarity; there are travelers making similar journeys here and all over the…
Because I have been a recluse for the most part of the last 25 years, if my name rings a bell with anybody, it’s probably because of my occasional AVA byline. My stuff has two…
At the end of Fred Gardner's reissued 1992 article Johnny Carson's story (AVA Jan 26, 2005) there is mention of a number of writers who provided material for Johnny. “It was a great period for…
On January 18th I went with my father to the protest of Donald Beardslee's execution at San Quentin. Cops buzzed like bees, roads had been closed off, and it was necessary to walk about a…
I was minding my own business when I heard the thump of heavy footwear on the porch. I stepped outside in time to intercept two neatly dressed young women, carrying shiny briefcases and purses. Their…
In 2003, Lifeworks group home manager Jack Graves recruited a known juvenile criminal named Kevin Tobie, who had been kicked out of San Francisco public schools because he'd been convicted of serious juvenile weapons crimes,…
(Editor’s note: William Ralganal Benson was born in 1862 and learned about these events directly from those who took part. Having spoken only a Pomo language as a youth and never having attended school, Benson…