Host Phil Mathewson gets ready for the show. Photo by Joanne Bateni.

LAKEPORT – Jan. 5 saw the biggest open mic ever at Café Victoria.

The event featured regulars Lorna Sue Sides, Poetry Interlude founder; Erv Howell, honky-tonk stylist; and Dick Flowers, a cappella singer starting off the show.

Newbies included Andy Rossoff, who played the house piano and sang some of his favorite songs. Andy is a self-taught musician and an open mic virgin. He can be seen playing keyboard in a band called Leftys.

Everybody’s favorite doctor, Milan Hopkins, MD of Upper Lake, strummed his guitar and sang some cool tunes.

Donavan made his second appearance at the open mic, singing his original songs while playing his guitar.

Lourdes Thuesen joined us for the first time, reading a few poems for the full house.

Carley Rae, another first-timer, read a short poem near the end of the session.

Host Phil Mathewson played his mandolin and sang a few of his original songs between acts.

Café owner, Victoria Philips, treated everyone to her freshly baked carrot cake muffins and ice cream.

Next open mic is Saturday Feb. 2. Come early for a good seat.

Poet Lorna Sue Sides reads one of her favorite poems. Photo by Joanne Bateni.

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Musicians and magicians will entertain from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

There is no charge for this event and all ages are welcome.

Sign up to perform at Cafe Victoria, 301 Main St., Lakeport, or call the event's host, Phil Mathewson, at 263-3391.

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While we are waiting around for Harrison Ford to return as Indiana Jones, it’s not so bad to watch an imitator about half his age taking on the role of a globe-trotting adventurer in search of treasure.

Nicolas Cage is no low-rent Indy, considering that he established himself nicely as treasure hunter Ben Gates in “National Treasure,” which had the salutary effect of making American history a lot more fun than one would ever imagine possible when measured against the average high school history textbook.

However, while the “National Treasure” films have no real educational value as history lessons, it is probably an article of faith for unwary filmgoers that the Masons have buried treasure maps within many of our most treasured national monuments. After all, it’s more fun to think some mysterious group holds the keys to deeply concealed secrets.

“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is more than willing to push heavy doses of fictional history in service of advancing an interesting story. In its efforts to make history alive and vital, this sequel expands the story into a global adventure, but not before opening up with a flashback to the assassination of Abe Lincoln.

Nicolas Cage returns as Ben Gates, assisted by his father, university professor Patrick Gates (Jon Voight), and the mission is much more personal.

The father and son team are shaken by the discovery of one of the long-lost pages from the diary of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. The diary was found on Booth’s body when he was killed, but several pages that had been torn from the diary had never been found until now.

Surprisingly, the information on a recovered page seems to implicate their ancestor Thomas Gates as a conspirator in the plot to kill Lincoln.

Of course, we know this is bogus right from the start, since the evidence has been brought forward by highly suspect Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), whose efforts to uncover his family history oddly seem to require the services of menacing henchmen.

Meanwhile, Ben has to reassemble his crack team of history investigators, which is complicated by the fact that he’s now estranged from his old flame, American history archivist Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger). Ben’s tech-wiz partner Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) is game for the mission, considering that his Ferrari has just been impounded for unpaid taxes.

For reasons not to be fully explained here, the story takes Ben and his crew to foreign locales, starting with a quick trip to Paris where a replica of the Statue of Liberty provides a coded message in one of its inscriptions. Then the gang is off to England where the mission becomes much more daunting, particularly when Ben has to sneak into the Queen’s private quarters at Buckingham Palace. A dazzling street chase occurs in London, which is hard to believe because gridlock is a constant in this capital city.

Having retrieved a clue from Queen Elizabeth’s desk, Ben takes the action back to Washington, D.C., where the objective becomes the need to find another clue from a matching desk that is only found in the White House.

At some point, it becomes necessary for Ben to call for help from his mother, linguistics professor Emily Appleton (Helen Mirren), as only she can translate the clues written in an obscure Native American dialect. Before heading off on an archaeological hunt in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore, there’s also the small matter of the abduction of the president of the United States (Bruce Greenwood).

By the way, the presidential kidnapping brings into focus what the “Book of Secrets” is all about. Tapping into the conspiracy theory mindset, this supposed secret book is for the eyes only of the president, and it turns out to be some sort of historical scrapbook that holds top secret letters and documents. Naturally, Ben needs something that’s in the secret book, if only because the story is so improbable that it serves the plot to have him chasing after something that should be absolutely unattainable.

Notwithstanding its essential silliness, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” has a surprisingly large number of high-caliber cast members, certainly more than the plot warrants. The film also benefits from plenty of humor that helps to distract from the thin plot. Action sequences kick in with enough punch to keep everything lively.

Simply put, “National Treasure” may not shine as bright the second time around, but there’s plenty of adventure and fun to keep audiences flocking to this sequel.

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

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Second Sunday Cinema's free film for Jan. 13 is "Hacking Democracy," which makes a calm, close, even-handed search for an answer.

Bev Harris, an investigative writer and grandmother, was concerned enough about reports of "stolen elections" and non-secure electronic voting machines to launch what turned out to be quite an adventure. Happily, a camera went with her, and the result is entertaining, inspiring and chilling, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican.

Harris crisscrossed the nation, diving into dumpsters and digging into trash cans (all quite legal). She confronted blank-faced county officials and hired world-class hackers to try the system.

Because every voter needs to see this film – especially in an election year – I will not ruin the suspense by sharing the outcome. Please take note: We here in little rural Lake County may feel safe, because we (at least in some precincts) use paper ballots. Unfortunately, all the votes are still compiled on electronic vote-counting machines.

As Bev Harris puts it, "The weakest link in the human chain can destroy the integrity of the election simply by swapping a memory card or popping in a USB memory stick."

In one memorable, probable example of the above, in one precinct in Florida, the total for Al Gore in 2000 was MINUS 16,022 votes!

This documentary will be shown on Jan. 13, and marks the first complete year of Second Sunday Cinema's ongoing series of free films.

The venue is the social hall of the Clearlake United Methodist Church at 14521 Pearl St., near Mullen.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for snacks and socializing. The film starts at 6 p.m., and is followed by time to hang out and meet new people and discuss the film.

You can get more information at 279-2957. As always, this film is free.

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Blue Wing and Tallman Hotel owner Bernard Butcher reported that the saloon and hotel will soon be hosting a variety of acts in different musical genres.

In January, the Blue Wing's “Monday Blues” lineup will include Twice As Good with Paul and Rich Steward on Jan. 7 and 14; Memphis Exchange with Jeff Eades, Randy McGowen and Steven Guererro on Jan. 21; and the Mark Weston Band with Walt Rangel and Scott Slagle on Jan. 28.

From January through May, the Tallman Hotel will host its second annual "Concerts with Conversation" series on the third Thursday of each month.

The series includes Phebe Craig (harpsichord) and Michael Sand (violin) on Jan. 17; John Mattern (piano, guitar and vocals) on Feb. 21; Ragtime evening with David Reffkin (violin) and Chris Alexander (piano) on March 20; Elena Casanova (classical and Cuban piano) on April 17; and Lakeside Chamber Players with Clovice Lewis (cello), Catharine Hall (flute) and Carolyn Hawley (piano) on May 15.

For more information visit the Blue Wing Saloon online, www.bluewingsaloon.com, telephone, 707-275-2233; or the Tallman Hotel, www.tallmanhotel.com, telephone 707-275-2244.

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Phebe Craig and Michael Sand will perform at the first Concert with Conversations event for the new year on Jan. 17, 2008. Courtesy photo.

UPPER LAKE – The Tallman Hotel will present its second season of “Concerts with Conversation” beginning Jan. 17 and extending through May 15 with a concert each month.

Ten percent of all proceeds from the concerts will benefit the Soper-Reese Community Theater Fund which is in the process of converting the old single-screen movie theater in Lakeport into a state-of-the-art performing arts center.

As with the first, highly successful Tallman concert season in 2007, the series will bring some of Northern California’s finest musical talent to this delightful and intimate Lake County venue.

Guests will enjoy a champagne reception with the musicians in the parlor of the hotel followed by a three course dinner featuring Lake County wines. This will be followed by an informal concert and dialogue with the musicians in the charming Riffe’s Meeting House next door to the Hotel.

The 2008 season kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 17 with an evening of early baroque music featuring the husband and wife team of Phebe Craig on harpsichord and violinist Michael Sand.

Phebe has performed and recorded with many early music ensembles and is the director of the San Francisco Early Music Society’s Baroque Workshop. Michael was one of the original directors of Philharmonia, the first period instrument orchestra on the West Coast, and he has appeared as guest director with numerous chamber orchestras in this country and abroad. Both Phebe and Michael are on the music faculty at UC Davis.

The remainder of the 2008 season features an eclectic group of accomplished musicians:

Feb. 21 – Ukiah resident John Mattern is one of the most artistic and innovative musicians in Northern California. With John on saxophone, the John Mattern Jazz Quartet has recently released a popular CD called Alfonsano. He is now launching the next step in his performing career as a singer songwriter, playing piano and guitar while performing original music influenced by his roots in jazz, folk, bluegrass and progressive contemporary styles.

March 20 – Joined by Chris Alexander on piano, violinist David Reffkin will present a lighthearted and upbeat evening of turn-of-the-last-century ragtime music. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, David is the dean of the San Francisco ragtime scene. He appears on numerous recordings either as soloist or ensemble member and was a founder and co-director of the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival. Since 1981, David has been the host of “The Ragtime Machine,” a weekly radio program on KUSF-FM in San Francisco.

April 17 – Pianist Elena Casanova has been a featured soloist with the Ukiah Symphony Orchestra and has performed widely throughout Northern California. An exciting and expressive performer, Elena will present a variety of classical and contemporary pieces plus some of the passionate music from her native Cuba. She has recently released a haunting CD of classical and modern Cuban music called Recordando.

May 15 – Ever popular in Lake County and beyond, the Lakeside Chamber Players will again conclude the Tallman Concert Series. The incomparable cellist and composer Clovice Lewis will be joined by flutist Catharine Hall and pianist Carolyn Hawley. The group will perform a variety of classical chamber pieces plus original compositions that Clovice calls “Jazzical,” a name that well sums up the blend of styles that makes his music so unique.

Tickets to any or all of these events can be obtained by calling the Tallman Hotel reception desk at (707) 275-2244.

The cost for individual concerts with dinner is $80, or $350 for the entire series. Tickets for the concerts only can be obtained for $35. The Hotel also has a special package of hotel room plus two concert and dinner tickets for $275.

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