Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones lounged on his office couch and smoked. Ronald Reagan wanted to stay and talk some more. Little Richard praised the Lord. And there were close encounters with Mary Tyler Moore, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, too.Healdsburg's George Rose (shown above) was there to capture [...]

Ariege Arseguel always has been known for promoting fund-raisers that also were a lot of fun, including those big downtown Santa Rosa block parties she threw during her five years with the Sonoma County Museum.She started at the museum in 2002 as director of advancement and community relations, then became [...]

Years ago, my car broke down in a tiny desert town on New Year's Day. While the mechanic at the crossroads gas station waited for the car parts he needed to come in by bus, I watched TV in the town's sole motel.In these pre-satellite dish days, in a spot [...]

Spam, spam, spam, spam, live theater and spam.That's what San Francisco gets when "Monty Python's Spamalot" opens May 22 at the Golden Gate Theatre.The show was co-written by Eric Idle, one of the founders of the manic English comedy troupe, Monty Python's Flying Circus. It has music by his longtime [...]

The words of William Shakespeare have survived not only the past four centuries, but the endless experiments of theater directors, who have set his classic plays in Nazi Germany, the Wild West, the Roaring '20s and on the Spanish Main aboard pirate ships.As long as Bard's artful language is preserved, [...]

Some people avoid local amateur theater like the plague.Not Janey Hirsh. She embraces both.Last year, she and her happy band of crazies staged a musical comedy about the bubonic plague called "Huzzah! A Lighter Side of the Black Death."This year, Janey and company, also known as American Dream Theatre, share [...]

Ray Bolger's scarecrow costume from "The Wizard of Oz."The Apollo 13 space capsule.And more than 200 rare rocks.The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has loaned some pretty interesting stuff to its affiliate museums over the years -- some 7,000 artifacts of all kinds.Even Amelia Earhart's flight suit. (No, not the [...]

Snoopy, the multiple-personality beagle from "Peanuts," always did seem middle-aged. Just look at that stomach.On Tuesday, April 28, Snoopy " well, actually, his ice arena " turns 40.Snoopy's Home Ice, also known as the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, opened April 28, 1969, with a gala and show starring skater Peggy [...]

George Rose just can't help being a great photographer. Even when he's doing something else, he accidentally upstages himself with beautiful photos.Sonoma County Museum's current "Wine Country Poster Art" exhibit features prints from a collection of some 300 winery posters that Rose and his wife Denise donated to the museum [...]

What is it about guys in drag onstage that people enjoy so much, anyway?From Milton Berle in the early days of TV to Monty Python and beyond, men in heels and evening gowns have been getting big laughs.Local theaters have been dressing to make the most of drag appeal lately. [...]