Columnists

“Big ideas don’t often come from small tents.” – Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

The ripple effects of high gasoline prices have been clear for decades, ever since the Arab oil boycott of the mid-1970s temporarily forced a form of gas rationing on California.

The City of Gilroy Recreation Department’s production of “Seussical, Jr.” was outstanding. Under the direction of Michelle Serrano, 50 actors brightened the Gilroy High School stage, bringing to life the prose of the beloved Dr. Seuss.

We arrived in New Zealand in July 2002 – winter in the Southern Hemisphere – and stayed in the Millennium Hotel, a fine lodging overlooking Cathedral Square in Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city. Across the plaza was the huge stone Anglican Cathedral; I remember climbing to the top of its 200-foot tower to get a view of the surrounding city, having no idea what fate had in store for this massive historic edifice.

On Dec. 4, 1956 four brilliant young men on the verge of realizing their dreams of soaring into the heights of the music business met at the ramshackle Sun Studio in Memphis for a relaxed jam session.

Many computer users stay in a “ready-to-go” position at all times without giving arm, hand, shoulder and neck muscles enough opportunities to rest. There's a simple method to correct this. I call it repetitive rest, but one of my clients called it the “zen” of ergonomics, and once you try it you may agree.

When it comes to history, I’m always entertained by uncovering the surprising chain of connections that link the past with the present. To illustrate this game of connect the historic dots, let’s take this year’s centennial celebration of Silicon Valley’s Villa Montalvo estate and connect it, along a winding avenue, to the reign of the great Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne.

I really dread the 2012 election cycle, especially the presidential race. We know that both the Obama and Romney campaigns have enough money to completely dominate television advertising, and given what we have seen from the Republican primary races, it will be overwhelmingly negative. It appears that Romney’s theme will be that Obama was not up to the job and gave us four years of failure, so he deserves a chance to get it right. Almost every speech is filled with “he didn’t … I will.”