Comedian Bob Saget told The Sacramento Press he has a reputation for visiting the California State Railroad Museum while inebriated. Pablo Francisco joked that he would impersonate a Sacramentan by using a heavy Latino accent and calling the Hells Angels to kick someone's ass. Jamie Kennedy, on the other hand, said he didn't know enough about Sacramento to make a joke about it, but he respects the city for having genuine comedy fans. "The audiences really like to laugh up there," he said. "People go to San Francisco, and they go to Santa Barbara, but Sacramento gets neglected, and I think it's a good place to see comedy." Thursday and Friday night, Kennedy will bring his multifaceted ap

"Know Your Cuts of Meat" took the form of more than an audience participation game on the "David Letterman Show" Saturday morning. It was a the principle that guided Butchering 101, a class taught by Taylor's Market owner and butcher Danny Johnson at the adjacent Taylor's Kitchen on Freeport Boulevard. Having wanted to teach it for years, Johnson was only able to make the class a reality this January, because Taylor's Kitchen opened early last year. The monthly class has consistently sold out, and it even received national press when Johnson was featured in Time Magazine. Saturday's class was again sold out, and 25 people surrounded the butchering school graduate to see him de-bone, sl

Imagine you're relaxing with a glass of wine, overlooking Tuscan-like vineyards and grassy foothills. Italian arias about intense romances are being sung to you and an intimate crowd of about 200. That's the kind of opera experience the Sacramento Opera wants to provide with the second annual Opera in the Vineyards, happening Sunday night at David Girard Vineyards in Placerville. The informal theme of the show is "Love Italian Style," said the opera's general manager, Rod Gideons. It features soprano Carrie Hennessey, mezzo soprano Julie Anne Miller, tenor Darron Flagg and piano accompanist John Cozza. Concert pianist Jennifer Reason, who was married at the vineyard, will open the show.

Many musicians learn how to read music before playing a song. It was the opposite for guitarist Doug Pauly. "At some point, I started writing stuff out to teach myself," he said. "I didn't grow up playing music in formal situations, so it was a means to learning. I really learned to read well musically by writing stuff out. Most people learn to read well by reading in concert band or jazz band." Pauly said being a good sight-reader doesn't necessarily mean you play well, it just means you read well. This Sunday at JB's Lounge inside the Red Lion Hotel, the Doug Pauly Trio and Meleva Steiert will play an album-release concert for their new release, Play Nice. The show will also celebrate

Ever wanted to create your own doodle on the Google homepage? Three local companies — Digital Deployment, Fuel Creative Group and JM Design — teamed up to create two web-based kiosks enabling you to do just that. They’re located in the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. “Doodle 4 Google: If I Could Do Anything, I Would...” features the kiosks alongside 40 doodles from children whose art finishes the sentence, “If I could do anything, I would...” The winning drawing was featured on the Google homepage last month. The kiosks also debuted in the exhibit last month, allowing visitors to draw custom doodles and e-mail them to themselves or friends from the mu

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission banded together Wednesday afternoon, bringing nearly a dozen arts supporters to a public County Board of Supervisors budget meeting that discussed funding cuts from the county's Transit Occupancy Tax, a hotel tax. It was the last day of public hearings on the county budget before deliberations. Rob Leonard, the director of the county's Department of Economic Development gave a report on the cuts. Among organizations facing cuts from the TOT budget were the Sacramento Tree Foundation, the Sacramento Sports Commission and Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Despite their efforts to oppose the cuts, which included public service announcements

You wouldn't guess when you listen to her new album, "Songs for the Ravens," that 25-year-old singer-songwriter Julie "Julie Bee" Baenziger hadn't heard The Beatles or the Rolling Stones a year ago. "I didn't grow up listening to music except for my mom's Barbra Streisand and Cher," said the lead singer and main creative force behind Sea of Bees. "I've been kind of sheltered my whole life, so it was like a whole new world for me." Sea of Bees, which is sometimes just Baenziger and other times a full band, will hold an album release party for its debut record Saturday night at the Townhouse Lounge. Sea of Bees will perform as an eight-piece band, opening for local band Doombird, as well a

While the riverfront areas near downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento are quickly developing, the two cities are asking for input on possible new river crossings. The cities formed the Sacramento River Crossings Alternatives Study, which will result in a report to the Sacramento and West Sacramento city councils by the end of December. Monthly input is provided by a Stakeholder Advisory Committee, made up of neighborhood associations, business owners and local environmental groups (previous meeting coverage can be found here and here). Monday's SAC meeting featured an evening rush-hour bus tour of possible crossing locations. A survey was also released Monday to field public input on f

Soccer fans were looking for a few more goals after the United States' 1-1 tie with England on Saturday. They didn't get any that night at Raley Field as the inaugural Sacramento Cup between Major League Soccer rivals San Jose Earthquakes and Chivas USA went goal-less. The highly defensive game was decided on free kicks at the end of regulation time. In the end, the Earthquakes got six free kicks past the goalie against Chivas' five. It started out ugly when Earthquakes defender Steven Beitashour earned a yellow card on a dangerous tackle. With several harsh tackles, shoves and scuffles, the atmosphere was testy. Because both teams played a number of bench players and used multiple su

Chances are if you live in Sacramento, you know someone involved in the arts, or even a struggling artist. The greater Sacramento area is home to an estimated 1,515 arts-related businesses employing 7,061 people, according to a 2010 study by the National Arts Index. The arts contributed $350 million, $1.35 million in taxes and had the potential to make $2.8 million more for the city, according to a 2001 study by The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. However, SMAC and its current 10 full-time employees are facing further cuts by the city and county, the agency's two largest funding sources. County staff recommended cutting $134,655 in 2011, while city staff recommended cutting $150

Time to paint your body, don your wigs and honk that old plastic noisemaker. The World Cup is just around the corner. The month-long tournament begins Friday, and there are a variety of options for those willing to set their alarms to see the 4:30, 7 and 11:30 a.m. games. Below is a detailed list of different bars and restaurants hosting World Cup viewing events, as well as food and drink specials. Local soccer fans can double their soccer fix for a few hours Saturday with the inaugural Sacramento Cup. For the first time ever, Major League Soccer teams will come to Raley Field and compete in an exhibition game: Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes. Scheduling the game became feasible

Despite controversy in other City Council district races, District 5's candidates were civil and respectful of one another. "They were all polite and I have nothing but nice things to say about them," said Leticia Hilbert. "The civility and consideration of opinions has been really great," said Terrence Johnson. Henry Harry said that everyone ran a good campaign with no "cheap shots," while Jay Schenirer stressed that he felt that no one was running "against" each other. Patrick Kennedy did not seem to mind running against four candidates. "I ran my campaign as I would running against one other person, or 16," he said. "I ran on my 22 years in the district. It didn't really come into

The Crocker Art Museum is about to undertake the logistical nightmare of moving artwork to and from its new expansion. But it will be worth it, museum officials say. "It's about art, sure." said Lial Jones, director of the Crocker. "But the building is also really about a sense of place for Sacramento and a sense of trying to make sure Sacramento's future is that much stronger." Jones and Gerald Gendreau, a Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architect partner who has worked on the project since its inception nearly 10 years ago, led a media tour of the expansion wing Friday. Ten years ago, the museum was the 103rd largest in the nation. With the expansion, it is estimated to to be among the 70

You might not know it, but Sacramento is a growing market in the entertainment industry. It has it all: actors, directors, models, artist management, production studios and acting coaches. "If you talk to somebody on the street, the general public doesn't know we have an entertainment industry," said Cody Dorkin, actor and founder of Studio 24. "I've been working in the industry since I was a little kid. I've lived up here in Sacramento the entire time, pretty much, and I had no idea what the industry actually held in Sacramento. I think people would be surprised to know that there are probably over 40 entertainment companies in Sacramento." Studio 24 will host the First Annual Entertain

Sacramento's arts community is looking for more than just 15 minutes of fame. "There's a stigma that artists can't communicate what they do," said artist Milton Bowens. "Or that our profession is all Andy Warhol's personality." An effort to change that started in June, when Mayor Kevin Johnson's For Art's Sake initiative was begun to raise the profile of arts in the city. "We are going to promote the arts in a real way," he said. It got off to a running start. To fund the monthly meetings, Johnson raised $100,000 within a week of starting the initiative. The last 12-months, the planning stage of the initiative, were managed by Sharon Gerber. She owns Six Degreez, an event-planning comp

It's February, the Super Bowl is on, and you’re surrounded by food and drinks. You're glued to the game but only half-watching most of the commercials. Then an Emmy-award winning commercial comes on and blows you away. Chances are if you saw the big game, you saw the work of local group Bongo Post + Music, which won an Emmy last month for "Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement." Their commercial for the NFL Network, entitled "Run," followed Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden throughout the course of a year and debuted the U2 song "Put on your Boots," all in 30 seconds flat. Work on the commercial started weeks before the Superbowl. It was filmed by director Matthew Culle

The largest storm in California's recorded history peaked in January 1862, turning the Sacramento Valley into a 250- to 300-mile-long inland sea. Since the previous winter, Sacramento had received 400 percent of its annual average rainfall. The storm moved as far inland as Tennessee, slowing down troop movements in the Civil War. After 10 inches of rain in December 1861, Sacramento newspapers declared Christmas canceled. By January 1862, steamboats sailed through what is now Old Sacramento, rescuing people from their homes, and boat-makers charged inflated prices to capitalize on the new demand. On Jan. 10, newly elected Governor Leland Stanford had to travel to the Capitol via boat for

How to be a saxophone legend, step one: When you walk onto the stage with a five-inch afro, beard and dark sunglasses, don't even introduce yourself. Just start playing and let that do the talking. At age 79, Sonny Rollins is perhaps the greatest saxophone player around, and he proved it Thursday at the Mondavi Center in Davis. He treated the nearly full 1,800-seat Jackson Hall to an almost three-hour performance of jazz flecked with Caribbean and Latin vibes. After finishing his opener, a 10-minute cover of Noël Coward's "Someday I'll Find You," Rollins introduced his four backing musicians: guitarist Russell Malone, percussionist Victor See-Yuen, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Kobie

Ann Wilson loved watching her son play "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." Heart's lead singer is honored to have her song "Barracuda" featured in the video game, adding that it's a good way of passing music on to younger generations. "I have a son who's 12, and when he was 10 it was hard for him," she said. "But he got into it. He got a chair, took his shirt off, got his guitar on and he got good. It was fun to see him play the songs on that game." Heart and former Van Halen lead singer Sammy Hagar are headlining the second annual Walk 'n' Rock For Kids at Raley Field May 31. The walk and concert event benefits the local Hope Productions Foundation, which aims "to strengthen nonprofit o

A Sunday night panel with four former Sacramento mayors took a lighthearted tone at the Time Tested Books/Midtown Monthly Living Library series. Topics included Burnett Miller's alleged pornographic doodlings during council meetings ("You claimed they were pornographic," he said to Anne Rudin who kept several of them); Heather Fargo's love of animals; the expectation that Rudin look like Gloria Steinem ("aviator glasses, long hair and militant," she said); and Phil Isenberg's ability to politely interrupt people ("he knew how gently to cut everybody else off, so nobody hated him," said Miller). Nearly 100 people, most appearing to be over 40, showed up at Time Tested Books to listen to th