Free, free, free

Don't miss free family day at the Coos History Museum!

You can't beat free and besides its a chance to meet the new staff member and make him feel welcome. Shelby Chase is the brand new events manager and will be working with all of the many events on the horizon.

Football season is grinding to a halt and now that Da Bears have been eliminate there's really no reason to stay and watch those long, commercial filled broadcasts. So get out your rain gear and come to teh Coos History Museum


https://mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.src=ym&reason=myc#9459439620

Let the Dance Floor Feel Your Leather

From: South Coast Folk Society

Subject: Free Dance Class – Live Music

When: Every Monday Evening

Time: 7:00PM to 9:00PM

Where: North Bend Housing Authority, 1700 Monroe, North Bend, OR

Featuring: Live Music and Free Dance Instruction

Free Dance Class Offered in North Bend – Dance to Live Music

    The South Coast Folk Society is offering a free dance class every Monday evening in North Bend.  All are welcome to experience the joy of dancing to traditional music from around the world.  This is a new class for all levels.  The music is live and the class is free.  Volunteers from the Folk Society Orchestra will be there playing live music every week.  Traditional dances are appropriate for beginners and experienced dancers alike. 

    This public class meets every Monday for two hours at the North Bend Housing Authority community activity room.  It starts at 7:00PM.  Singles, couples and families can all enjoy this casual friendly social gathering.  Drop-ins are also encouraged to attend.  Every session is new, a fresh start, and all the dances are taught.  Registration is not required.  Walk-ins are always welcome.  The Housing Authority is located at 1700 Monroe Street in North Bend, just three blocks west of the library on Connecticut Avenue.

    All ages can have fun dancing to live music played by many talented local musicians. The emphasis will be on traditional dances from America, Europe, and around the world.  These include circles, line dances, set dances, folk, and ballroom dances.  New musicians are invited to join the band.  For more information email  southcoastfolksociety@gmail.com or call Paul at 541-404-8267.  Monday, January 7, is a good time to join this lighthearted evening of social dance.

   

The South Coast Folk Society is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, study, teaching, enjoyment, and continuing evolution of traditional and historical dance, music, and song.  Member Oregon Cultural Trust.

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http://www.southcoastfolksociety.com

Things look Better Black and White

Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center Quarterly Art Show

Call to Artists January 2019

“Back to the Basics—Drawings in Black, White and Gray”

The Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center will host a show of artworks created depicting any subject matter using the drawing mediums of graphite, charcoal, pen and ink, brush and ink, or other drawing mediums and implements. Artists may enter 1-3 pieces in all artistic styles: representational, abstract, or futuristic. All works must be able to be hung on the wall. We are looking for work going back to our drawing/mark making roots, primarily in black, white, and gray. Some mixed media but primarily the drawn images are what we are encouraging for the focus of this show.

Please remember that art on the hospital walls is meant to entertain and de-stress the patients, families, staff and general visitors. It is not a venue for nudity, violence, morbidity, or a political soapbox. Thank you for your continued positive approach to art in these shows.

Show Calendar: Show runs January, February, March 2019

Reception: Sunday, January 6, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Delivery of Art: Wednesday, January 2, 2019 2 p.m.

Bring ready-to-hang art plus paperwork to the cafeteria at Southern Coos Hospital on Wednesday, at 2:00 p.m., or make alternative arrangements with show organizers.

Pick Up Date: Saturday, March 30, 2019 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Artists must pick up their artwork on this date, during the indicated time period. Show organizers will be on site to coordinate pickup. We ask artists to please sign your work out—don’t just take it off the wall.

If artists are not able to be present to pick up their work during this time, please make arrangements with the show organizers (see contact information below).

Location: Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center

900 11^th Street SE, Bandon, OR 97411

Entry Fee: Fee not required. Donations are welcome to help support continuing shows. Please make checks payable to Southern Coos Hospital Foundation.

Number of Pieces: 1 -3 pieces per artist, each must be wired and ready to hang, or matted and ready to hang.

Artwork Notes: Please deliver your artwork with the following information included:

• A list of your artwork(s) with your name, address, e-mail, title of piece, and price.
• AND, please make sure your name and title of the art is on the back of each piece you submit.
• If work is not for sale, include a value for insurance purposes please.

Sales: The hospital does not charge a commission fee on sold paintings. The Southern Coos Health Foundation will accept a donation of a percentage of any purchased artwork.

Other Notes: We reserve the right to refuse submitted artwork due to subject, presentation or space.

Images may be used for advertising and promotional purposes for this show.

The costs of producing and hanging this show are underwritten by Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center—for the benefit of the Bandon and outlying communities: patients and families, visitors, staff, and the public.

Loss or damage to artwork located in the hospital is at the artist's expense unless deemed covered by hospital insurance policy less deductible.

Questions? Contact the show organizers:

Ava Richey: yarnfarm@frontier.com 541-297-6118

Susan Lehman: studioblue@mycomspan.com 541-347-9888

Submission Form for the “Back to Basics—Drawings in Black, White, and Gray” show

Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center

(Please fill in completely and print clearly)

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Daytime Phone: _________________________________________________________

Email: _________________________________________________________________

Website: _______________________________________________________________

1. Title: ________________________________________________________________

Medium: _______________________ Price/Value: __________ Is Painting for Sale?_______

2. Title: ________________________________________________________________

Medium: _______________________ Price/Value: ______ _____ Is Painting for Sale? ________

3. Title: ________________________________________________________________

Medium: _______________________ Price/Value:___________ Is Painting for Sale?_________

Please be sure your artwork has your name, title, and contact number attached to the back.

Sign here to indicate that you have read, understand and agree to the guidelines in the Call to Artists.

Artist signature: ______________________________________________ Date: ___________

*******************

____# of pieces checked in. BY: __________________________________ Date:______

How did you hear about this show? E-mail, Poster, Friend, Newspaper, Website, Facebook, Coffee Break, Other______________

Plans for the New Year

T'was the Friday 'fore Christmas and all through the house every creature was stirring including the mouse, the Internet was buzzing, Amazon was swamped and the USPS was really getting thumped, the stockings were wrapped with diligent care in hopes that the recipient wouldn't be scared and I in my big chair and Ma in her cups had just fizzled out not caring was'up, when then like a light bulb an idea appeared and all of my doubts suddenly cleared, there's gold on the way cause the kids just got paid and the after Christmas, (Hanukkah or Kwanzaa), sales are not far away, so shake like jelly and turn off the telly, put on your Nikes and drag out the bikes and find a real camera...

I know it doesn't rhyme but I got tired and this isn't about seasonal poetry, but about getting you fixed for the New Year.

I know you thought I forgot all about my annual nag, but no I was just waiting cause you do not want to buy a camera before the holiday.

And the news is good, really, really good.

When I started bitching about getting you a real camera the best I could offer was a twelve megapixel camera for around two hundred, but time has not stood still and for that same two hundred you can get a sixteen megapixel camera!

So for all of you size queens there is a bright new day coming. But for the rest who just want the best for the least and could care less about wall-sized prints Let's talk

I am still a big believer in the Pentax K-x. It was my first and I liked it so much I got another one for The Long Sufferin'. (Darn kid, she now takes better pictures than I do...sometimes.)

The Pentax K-x is a twelve megapixel DSLR, digital single lens reflex, camera. It has all the bells and whistles of the High-priced spread at a price you can pay without taking out a second mortgage!

And it uses AA batteries for power! Now if you have ever been ready to shoot a once in a lifetime photo and discovered to your horror you forgot to recharge the camera battery, you know why double A's are such a big deal. Yes, I know new batteries are much more user friendly, they can be topped up without destroying the full capacity and they charge fairly fast, but of you need it NOW fast won't do. Or you get to that vacation spot where you have waited decades to go to and the camera won't fire. But you can find Double A's anywhere. And then you won't miss out on The Thing on the Couch falling off the paddle board when the shark is right behind him. (Naw sharks like healthy food and you know the Thing has been parked so long eating chips and salsa and watching football no self-respecting shark will bite him.)

And if you use the Energizer Lithium you'll have to change only once a year. (I click a lot more frames than you do and I haven't had to change the batteries in over a year.)

The Pentax K-x is also rugged. It is made for REAL people to use so it will “Take a lickin and keep on ticking.” I had the pleasure of missing a step on the front porch and taking a header. Unfortunately I had the Pentax in my hot little hands and it was caught between my big, fat body and the unforgiving porch! Oops! Scraped DSLR. No, the camera was fine and that was two years ago and it is still firing away. (MY body did not get off as light, I had bruised ribs for four weeks.)

Pretty sharp for a camera which was part of a prat fall sandwich!

The K-x will do more than you can for a bunch of years and will still have secrets to revel when you develop a burning desire for a newer camera and the best part is you paid under two hundred!

In fact Amazon has one for one hundred and forty nine dollars and it is on Prime so there's two day, no coast shipping for Prime members. (And why are you not a Prime member? Are you an anarchist or Luddite or a technophobe? Get with the program and be a Prime member and save the Post Office all that backbreaking labor. UPS pays a living wage and they need us to keep their workers slaving away.)

Twelve megapixels, Double A batteries and thousands of legacy lenses and all for a C and a half, com-on that is a deal what you can't refuse!

And if you really want that sixteen megapixel camera there's a Pentax k-30 for $222 at KEH so you can make wall-sized prints if you just have to.

Art Reception 5-7 pm SATURDAY JANUARY 5th at GALLERY BY THE BAY, North Bend

“The Emerging Goddess within” and other works (plays) by Victoria Tierney.

Surprise guests, painting raffle, treats. 

What will the new year bring? Let’s stART with ART!

Last Dance

From: South Coast Folk Society

Subject: English Country Dancing in Coos Bay!

When: Saturday Evening, DECEMBER 29, 2018

Time: 7:00PM to 9:30PM

Where: Coos Bay Senior Center Dance Hall, 4^th and Ingersoll, Coos Bay, OR

Featuring: Music: Outstanding Open Band, and Dance Calling by Alixe Dancer

Folk Society to Host English Country Dance December 29, Public Welcome

The South Coast Folk Society will host an evening of English Country Dancing on Saturday, December 29, from 7:00 to 9:30PM.  This public event will feature live music by the Outstanding Open Band, and dance lessons and calling by Alixe Dance of Roseburg.  Singles, couples and families can all enjoy English Country Dancing.  It’s fun.  New dancers are always welcome.  English Country Dancing is a lovely, graceful form of casual social dancing appropriate for all ages.  Experience is not required.

The Outstanding Open Band consists of over twenty talented local musicians dedicated to playing great dance music.  Alixe Dancer, the caller for the evening, is a highly experienced and very personable instructor and caller.  Her English Country Dance repertoire is ideal for all skill levels.  This is an informal dance; however, period dress is welcome. 

This event is alcohol and fragrance free.  It will take place at the Coos Bay Senior Center Dance Hall, located at 886 S. 4^th, corner of 4^th and Ingersoll in Coos Bay.  Refreshments, scones and tea will be served.  Doors open at 6:45PM.  General admission: $7;  Seniors over 60: $6;   Members: $5; Students: free;  and Supervised Children under 12 are also free.  For more information call 541-404-8267, or go to their web site at www.southcoastfolksociety.com.

   

PRESS RELEASE   English Country Dance  PRESS RELEASE

The South Coast Folk Society is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, study, teaching, enjoyment, and continuing evolution of traditional and historical dance, music, and song.

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http://www.southcoastfolksociety.com

Buying the Cow

So now you've had a sleep and a yawn and coffee and you are ready to actually think, so think about buying a good camera.

First let's talk about why you should buy a used camera.

 
 

Well, first they are cheaper. Camera equipment has a terrifically short product cycle. Major producers like Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Canon bring out new models before the old model's packing has been completely sealed. Canon produced seven models between 2006 and 2012 and all of them are now obsolete.

Which is very good news for you. Cause obsolete gear has a low resale value. But that doesn't make it bad or useless or even unreliable. In fact with modern electronics, they either work or they don't. So a camera two years old may be four or five hundred less than a new one and just as reliable and capable. Remember manufacturers build for extreme conditions. They don't expect every user to subject their equipment to extreme use but they have to build for it because some user will. And you get the advantage of all that superior construction.

Camera life spans are measured by shutter activations. A moderately priced camera should be good for at least fifty thousand activations: a superior build might do more than a hundred thousand. But no matter what unless you are a working professional, you'll never reach even the fifty thousand mark. That's 1700 pictures a year for thirty years for those who have to have specifics.

So a camera two or three years old will be just as reliable as a new camera, if you buy from a reliable source. Now I know the merchants want you to shop small and buy local and with Craigslist just a click away on every phone the temptation to buy from a local is pretty strong...until you think about the guarantee.

Craigslist may be local but if you buy a turkey it is yours. Besides most Craigslist sellers have a very dear idea of what their items are worth. Now I don't want to cheat anyone out of a dime they deserve but I don't want to make their Mercedes payment either.

A Canon 7D on Craigslist sells for $750 but from Adorama it is $170 body only, B&H has one for $399.95 with a two year no questions guarantee and KEH has one for $349.80 and it has the sterling reputation of KEH cameras to back it up. So for less than half of Craigslist you get the same thing and a money-back guarantee. Just a thought.

But the 7D while a fine camera is a bit of a hill for our purposes. You want to stay away from pro-level or even advanced consumer cameras. Why not go for the best? Because pros and advanced amateurs beat the hell out of their cameras taking thousands of frames a year and dragging them through all sorts of conditions I wouldn't even drag myself through. Sure that perfect image of a snowy owl is great except for the sitting in a freezing blind for twelve hours waiting for the little plucker to show up. And all of that cold and wet in addition to getting into your bones, gets into your camera. Or what about the dunes? All those wild buggies tearing through the sand with spinning tires and boiling exhausts spewing out stuff which will seek out your camera and invade any crack or cranny. No those pro cameras lead exciting lives but when they are done they are done. Think taxi cabs, you wouldn't want your daughter driving one to school in Roseburg, right?

So what you are looking for is that nice entry level camera owned by a little ole lady who only took it to church socials and teas. That puppy has a lot of life and you want some of it.

And giant sensors with a bazillion megapixels just take up space you need for all of those cat videos you downloaded from YouTube.

So how much is enough?

You are in luck, I used to say twelve megapixels but this year the sixteen and eighteen megapixel jobs are cheap enough to consider. All of which makes the twelve megapixel cameras a real steal!

Why just twelve? Because it is enough to make beautiful 11x14 prints with no image degradation. Need even more definition? Shoot in RAW and edit in post production. But that is for the advanced class so I'll just say twelve will do the job and if aunt Behapsabub keels over suddenly and names you heir to the vast hair net fortune she has been hoarding all of these years treat yourself to a sixteen megapixel baby.

Okay so now you know what you want and why you want it what makes it so much better than the cigarette package point and shoot or the camera in your phone? I already mentioned all those big fat megapixels just waiting for you to use them and the faster CMOS sensor instead of the CCD sensor in your phone, and best of all you can change the lens!

Why in the world would you want to change a lens and how would you do it even if you wanted to? First changing lenses offers a whole range of new views. The McCollough Bridge needs a wide angle lens if you want to get it all. Sure you can do that with your phone but what will it look like when it is blown up to 11x14? Maybe you want a perfect image of your daughter before she goes off to school and dyes her hair blue and red and gets a piercing through her nose and eyebrows and tongue and maybe I'll just stop there, You want her to look like you dreamed of her, grown, fresh and oh so beautiful, you can do that with an 85mm lens. And it will stay that way even when she starts dating that thirty-five year old grunge guitarist named Barf with the bleeding heart tattoo on his forehead.

Oh yes, if you can operate a flush toilet or a light switch you can change a lens.

So what does all of this mean? It means you now have to decide, Pentax Kx, Canon Xsi or Nikon D90. (You could also do a Sony A700 but you;d be losing out on a lot of accessory choices)

How to chose? Isn't there a Match.com for DSLRs? No but before you rake in all that Holiday cash I will help you make a decision which will warm your heart, save your 401K and fill your New Year with glorious images.