UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a book signing with local author Bert Atwood, combined with a Wine Studio club member appreciation party, on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the studio, 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.

The book, “My Father Was A Crop Duster,” is about determination, courage, leadership, vision, luck, foolishness, foolhardiness and tragedy.

This is Bud and Leila Atwood's story – and it is the story of their many associates – who with incredible amounts of hard work, and sometimes with incredible tragedy, built a crop dusting empire in California's fertile Salinas, San Joaquin and Santa Maria valleys.

As the sole surviving child of Bud and Leila Atwood, Bert Atwood was privy to more of the inner workings and incidents regarding their lives and the story of Atwood Crop Dusters than any other person now living.

Atwood will be at the studio to greet visitors and to sign sold copies of his book.

Offered at a special holiday price of $25 each, the regular price of the book is $39.95.

Wine tasting will feature various Lake County varietals and special sales on Lavender Blue wines and Lavender Blue Farm products with discounts ranging from 10 to 40 percent off. Refreshments will be served.

Artwork on display for the month of November is by photographer, Casey Carney.

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County.

Artist’s shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

Here’s a lovely poem about snow falling on San Antonio by Mo H. Saidi, an obstetrician and writer who, in addition to his medical training, has a master’s degree in English and literature from Harvard.

The Night of the Snowfall

Snow falls gently in the Hill Country
covering the meadows and the valleys.
The sluggish streaks of smoke climb quietly
from the roofs but fail to reach the lazy clouds.

On Alamo Plaza in the heart of the night
and under the flood of lights, the flakes float
like frozen moths and glow like fireflies.
They drop on the blades of dormant grass.

They alight on the cobblestones and live awhile
in silence, they dissolve before dawn.
The wet limestone walls of the mission
glow proudly after the night of snowfall.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2010 by Mo H. Saidi from his most recent book of poems, The Color of Faith, Pecan Grove Press, 2010. Poem reprinted by permission of Mo H. Saidi and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2013 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The grant that supports the free public writing workshop in Lakeport was renewed this month.

Poets and Writers, a national organization that supports working writers, renewed their grant to the Lake County Arts Council, which supports the Writers Circle workshop.

The workshop meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Main Street Art Gallery, 325 N. Main St., at 6:30 pm.

Residents from all over Lake County attend the Writers Circle and join other writers who share memoirs, fiction, essays or poems they have written – or just listen and get inspired.

Writers who are more seasoned join with beginning writers to offer feedback, build skills and find new ideas.

Aged 19 to 90, some people come only one or two times, and others show up every month.

The workshop is facilitated by former Poet Laureate Mary McMillan.

Poets and Writers supports the workshop through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation.

For more information contact Mary McMillan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lucerne Alpine Senior Center is hosting “Open Mic Lucerne” on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the center, 3985 Country Club Drive.

This event is held every third Saturday of the month.

Bands are already signing up for November. Last month was a full venue so sign up early. Performers are on stage prior, after and with the house band FOGG featuring classic and heavy metal rock and roll.

More sign-ups can be on site at 5 p.m. Saturday night or you can call 707-245-4612 or 707-274-8779.

Abundant talent in Lake County is obvious with exciting performances. This is a great venue to show off your talent. Music, comedy, mime, any other activity that is family-oriented will be appreciated.

Come be an audience member and join the fun. Room is available for dancing and relaxing. Last month the performances were great. There is no charge for attendance.

For those wishing to have dinner, an inexpensive meal is available with cost according to age. This is a child friendly event so bring the family.

All proceeds from the meal benefit the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, a nonprofit that serves the senior populations on the Northshore with lunches on site and Meals on Wheels.

For more information call Lucerne Alpine Senior Center at 707-274-8779.

LAST VEGAS (Rated PG-13)

What happens when four geriatric lifelong friends descend on Las Vegas for the ultimate bachelor party? Should we expect the old guys’ version of “The Hangover,” a wildly antic comedy or something more genial?

Given the amoral and enticing setting of Sin City, “Last Vegas” offers the requisite broad humor to be mined when old geezers find themselves seduced by the liberating excesses of the gambling oasis.

But there is much more to “Last Vegas” than the formulaic production of comedic fun. The geezers, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Kevin Kline, all of them a few years on either side of 70, are the reason to see this film.

The story begins when the quartet are youngsters and best pals running around Brooklyn, dubbing themselves “The Flatbush Four,” while hanging out at the local soda fountain and dodging the local bully.

Fast forward about six decades, the old friends, though separated by geography, remain connected. Douglas’ Billy is a slick Malibu lawyer about to marry a girl more than half his age. He wants his childhood buddies at the Vegas wedding.

Freeman’s Archie is a widower living in New Jersey with his son’s family. Having survived a stroke, Archie has to deal with his overprotective son who won’t even let him out of the house.

Down in Florida, Kline’s Sam, still married after 40 years to the same woman, is retired and bored, suffering from the lack of spark in his marital relationship. At the airport, his wife gives him a surprise going-away gift, something like a free pass.

Having lost his wife recently, De Niro’s Paddy, a cynical, grumpy old man, has become a recluse, hardly ever venturing from his New York apartment. It takes some cajoling to get him on an airplane for any reason.

There’s an old rivalry between Paddy and the soon-to-be married Billy. Having to do with competing for the same girl long ago, the simmering tensions come to the fore when Billy and Paddy meet lovely lounge singer Diana (Mary Steenburgen).

Mature and wise, as well as beautiful and sexy, Diana develops a special affinity for both Paddy and Billy, though for different reasons. This serves to reignite an old grudge that had previously divided the two childhood pals.

Inside one of the ritzy hotel casinos, Archie gets extremely lucky at the blackjack table, earning the group the unlikely distinction of VIP players. They end up with complimentary accommodations in the most posh suite that had been reserved for rap star 50 Cent.

While playing cards, the boys attract contempt from obnoxious frat boy Dean (Jerry Ferrara), who quickly changes his tune after he comes to believe the foursome are part of the East Coast mob. Getting special treatment at a casino can do wonders.

Once convinced the old guys are actually wise guys, Dean transforms from being an insufferable jerk to their gopher, fetching luggage and drinks and eventually coordinating the bachelor party blowout in the hotel suite.

Leading up to the wild party, the boys get some quality Vegas time by hanging out as the only attentive customers at Diana’s lounge and judging a biking contest where every pretty girl rates a “10” in their considered judgment.

On the prowl, Sam becomes friends with a Madonna impersonator (Roger Bart) and other drag queens, and then later meets an eager young pretty girl who is attracted to his worldly maturity.

For the most part, the passing of time has had a way of ossifying the quartet into a sedate maturity far removed from their hell-raising youthful exuberance. Except that Billy, the wealthy playboy, seems not to have mellowed in any significant way.

Being in Las Vegas has a way of bringing the boys out of the collective funk of old age dullness. Archie cuts loose after consuming vodka and Red Bull, finally getting to enjoy a great turn on the dance floor.

Sam loosens up enough to realize that retirement doesn’t have to be a dead-end. Meanwhile, the cranky Paddy evolves from a frowning pessimist to being willing to give his life a second chance at some joy.

The real joy of “Last Vegas” is watching the talented quartet of old guys putting some juice and excitement into the slogan “Old Guys Rule.” My guess is that you could have turned these veterans loose with the barest sketch and they’d come up with some interesting improvisation.

“Last Vegas” is appealing for its laughs and hijinks, maybe more so for folks who don’t mind the stale jokes about Lipitor, Viagra and assorted medical conditions. This is an entertainment skewing for the older demographic, though I believe it should be enjoyed by a wide audience.

Above all, “Last Vegas” is an amiable comedy that delivers tried-and-true themes that are best realized by gifted pros. And that’s what you get from Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Second Sunday Cinema's November presentation will be “Dirty Wars.”

The free film will be shown Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Clearlake United Methodist Church, 14521 Pearl Ave.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the film beginning at 6 p.m.

This well-researched, fast-moving 2013 documentary is based on investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill's book, “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield.”

Scahill, the acclaimed author of the international bestseller, “Blackwater,” comes upon a fatally flawed night raid by US forces in a remote corner of Afghanistan.

He finds that a highly secretive covert group called Joint Special Operations Command, whose job it is to “find, fix and finish” targets, is involved.

This discovery leads him to further important revelations in other hot spots like Somalia and Yemen.

Scahill finds that no one is beyond reach for JSOC operatives, not even US citizens.

“These wars being fought in our name may be dirty, but this courageous film reminds us that as long as we have a free press, they don't have to be secret,” according to the St Louis Post Dispatch.

Bill Moyers calls Scahill “a one-man truth squad.”

Dirty Wars opened at this year's Sundance Film Festival and won “Best Cinematography.”

For more information about Second Sunday Cinema call 707-889-7355.