Daedalus Howell

Fleet Street in London is a shrine to a vanished world, a sort of fossil record of journalism’s evolution—and its devolution.

Peace came dressed like a census taker clipboard in hand, mild mannered asking who still lives here and in what condition. It smelled of sunscreen and burnt coffee and Febreze And shuffled awkwardly on the welcome mat in mismatched shoes. But—we’re not supposed to talk to strangers or salesmen And so we closed the door. […]

Authoritarian types go after the arts first. Fragile, underfunded, subjective—it’s easier to remove the arts rather than reckon with culture.

Look, 2025 has already been a wild ride—AI went from sci-fi to HR, billionaires keep trying to launch themselves into space and the rest of us are just trying to keep our screen time under 14 hours a day. So let’s pause the doomscrolling and raise a glass (organic, local and biodynamic, of course) to […]

When I was a kid in the ’70s and ’80s, they told us, “You can be anything you want.” Thus empowered, Sesame Street’s Big Bird decided to be a firefighter. Failure ensued. Later in the same episode, a camera-toting cast member named Olivia sings “You Can Be Anything You Want To” with Big Bird, who […]

The media is like that apocryphal Mark Twain quote—the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. It hasn’t died so much as evolved.

It’s said that comedy is tragedy plus time. In Aaron Foster’s case, it’s also depression, anxiety, grief, two restaurants, a defunct sports nutrition brand and a stint as an HGTV host—all seasoned with gallows humor and served under the banner Mostly Jokes. The show, which lands at Sebastopol’s Main Street Theater on June 5, is […]

Like many jacks-of-all-trades, I’ve long yearned for a “unified field theory” of my career. I’m not a Renaissance Man in the conventional sense since the scope of my interests is limited to media, meaning-making and occasionally manipulating both for laughs. Call it a controlled burn with occasional fireworks. The “UFT” (which, incidentally, is the sound […]

Sure, Inception, Dreamscape, The Lathe of Heaven or any of a number of sci-fi flicks that explore harnessing the dream state are entertaining—but are they healing?   A recent study led by Dr. Garret Yount, a molecular neurobiologist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), which is perched over the border of Sonoma and Marin counties, […]

Anyone in the tri-county area within earshot of an academic has probably heard about the dramatic cuts occurring at the North Bay’s only state college—Sonoma State University. Due to a colossal budget deficit precipitated by declining enrollment, years-long administrative woes (including a sexual harassment scandal in 2022) and inflation, the beleaguered school is eliminating several […]

Rejection is par for the course for working writers, more so for non-working writers.  This is a direct lift from my latest rejection: “Although I like your writing and appreciate your sense of humor, I’m afraid I cannot offer my representation at this time. In the current competitive market, publishers will not even consider nonfiction […]

Santa Rosa Jazz Hands Who here enjoys basking in the most soulful musical genre called—you guessed it—jazz? Well, local jazz fans are in luck since The Bennett Friedman Quartet is set to perform next month in concert at the Newman Auditorium at Santa Rosa Junior College. The quartet features saxophonist Bennett Friedman, guitarist Randy Vincent, […]

How does one use a knife and fork while throwing devil horns? Mill Valley Restaurant Rally might have an answer. For the week of Sept. 15-22, Mill Valley’s top restaurants offer three-course prix fixe menus from $55 to $65, with a $10 specialty cocktail (featuring local distiller Batiste Rhum) to boot. In addition to the […]

Even though Max Korten technically is not a Marinite, my editor, Daedalus Howell, and I made an exception. Hopefully, you’ll agree that this guy qualifies as someone who truly appreciates Marin to the max! What do you do? I’m the director of Marin County Parks. It’s honestly the best job I can imagine. I was […]

The community’s engagement, passion and support are what make the Pacific Sun and Marin County the best.

The Rafael Hosts a 20th Anniversary Screening, Wine Tasting, and Book Signing of ‘Sideways’ with Author Rex Pickett It’s time to raise a glass and toast one of the cultural touchstones of our era—Sideways, the beloved film about romantic contretemps in wine country, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In its honor, the Smith Rafael Film […]

It’s not often that one can live out a childhood fantasy of escape and adventure—or, to invoke industry parlance, “Run away with the circus.” But theoretically, one can, at least in a sense, when Circus Vargas comes to Marin next week. Although there’s no word if Circus Vargus is hiring as such (we scoured the […]

Family lore has it that I was conceived on a Bodega Bay beach. Thus, any visit to our particular part of the Sonoma Coast is a look at where it all began—at least for me. That was slightly over half a century ago. And the experience of Bodega Bay is still as romantic and relaxing […]

News, Thought & Things to Do in Marin County, California

News, Thought & Things to Do in Marin County, California