I fancy myself a halfway intelligent person, but I always seem to make the most head-smackingly stupid mistakes. A “for instance” would be the fact that I didn’t realize the News-Sentinel had an early deadline for the Fourth of July holiday, and found myself prepping for a late screening of “Magic Mike” as I discovered that the Lodi Living section was getting ready to go to press. It seems my stupidity knows no bounds.

I typically preface reviews of Pixar films with a disclaimer stating that, while I admire their consistently engaging and often groundbreaking work, I do not share the majority opinion that they are the end-all and be-all of contemporary animated entertainment.

It has occurred to me that I discuss my personal goings-on a bit less than my fellow News-Sentinel columnists do, but in the interest of partial disclosure, I must confess that life has gotten significantly more difficult for me in the past few months. I’ve started a new job that requires many long, grueling, thankless hours in an undesirable environment. The possibility of complete physical and mental collapse is now very real.

A bounce-back performance propelled Lodi Flames girls cross country team to a league championship on Thursday.

DOROTHY SCHERLE

A funeral for Dorothy Ruth Scherle, 83, of Lodi, who died Aug. 10, will be held at 11 a.m. today at Donahue Funeral Home, 123 N. School St., Lodi.

MARY MOLINA

A funeral for Mary B. Molina, 85, of Galt, who died Aug. 6, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Iglesia Rosa De Saron Church, 120 7th St., Galt, with Pastors Sergio and Blanca Manquera officiating. A graveside service will follow at 1:30 p.m. at Galt Cemetery.

MARY MOLINA

A funeral for Mary B. Molina, 85, of Galt, who died Aug. 6, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Iglesia Rosa De Saron Church, 120 7th St., Galt, with Pastors Sergio and Blanca Manquera officiating. A graveside service will follow at 1:30 p.m. at Galt Cemetery.

VIRGINIA 'GINNIE' ANDREWS

A celebration of life for Virginia "Ginnie" Andrews, 83, of Lodi, who died July 22, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Arbor Place, 17 Louie Ave., Lodi.

RICK 'RIKKI' GARIBALDI

A funeral for Rick "Rikki" James Garibaldi, 30, of Lockeford, who died Aug. 1, will be held at 11 a.m. today at the Ham Lane Church of Christ, 600 S. Ham Lane. Interment will follow at Cherokee Memorial Park, Highway 99 at East Harney Lane, Lodi.

RUTH MOSS

A funeral for Ruth Roberta Moss, 98, of Lodi, who died July 18, will be held at 1 p.m. today in the Evergreen Chapel at Cherokee Memorial Park, Highway 99 at East Harney Lane, Lodi. Interment will be private.

MALVIN 'BUTCH' CHENEY

A gathering for Malvin John "Butch" Cheney, 63, who died July 16, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Thornton Community Hall, 26950 N. Sacramento Blvd., Thornton.

Lodi police on Monday continued the search for suspects in separate shootings that sent two alleged Norteño gang members to the hospital.

One of the victims remains in a Sacramento hospital with critical injuries. The other was treated and released for lesser injuries at Lodi Memorial Hospital.

Police are looking for a white, four-door passenger vehicle and a full-size brown Ford Ranger pickup truck with a covered bed in connection with one of the shootings and a white minivan used in the other.

It’s that time of year again — a time for victors to be showered in glory, for losers to be mocked and ostracized, and for creative artists to cheapen their craft by taking part in the ridiculous circus that we call the Academy Awards. 

Well, I guess it was bound to happen. Although I submitted my year-end top 10 list several weeks ago, it shall have to be amended to include one of 2010’s truly brilliant works: “Blue Valentine,” a powerful deconstruction of a failed marriage that serves as a showcase for not only Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, its bright and talented young stars, but also for Derek Cianfrance, a new director making his feature debut. (It would have come in at No. 5, for those keeping track).

I’ll continue to do my best catching up with some late 2010 releases while we wait for the new year to really get going. So in that vein we’ve got a brief look at the awards-season favorite “The Fighter,” along with my predictions for this year’s Oscar nominations. Completely meaningless, but kinda fun.

I  spent much of 2010 bemoaning the sad state of Hollywood studio filmmaking. But looking over a roster of the year’s most worthwhile releases, it struck me that it might not have been such a bad year after all. If you’re simply looking at the number of good films released, then 2010 was certainly not one for the books — but if you focus on the quality of the very best releases, few as they may have been, things start to look a bit different.

OK, so maybe “The Social Network” won’t make $200 million at the domestic box office. Once again, I appear to have overestimated the taste and sanity of mainstream American movie-goers. I’ll learn someday.

Hello Santa,

Hello Santa,

Director Robert Redford's "Lions for Lambs" is the latest offering in the barrage of liberal messages movie studios have been trotting out for awards season and, as was the case with other recent Hollywood war commentaries, it doesn't appear that anyone is buying what they're selling. As evidenced by the previous failings of both the critically acclaimed "In the Valley of Elah" and the star-studded "Rendition" (neither of which I caught up with in theaters), it looks like mainstream ticket-buyers just aren't up to forking over 10 bucks for a civics lesson they could get for free on PBS.

Maple Street resident Lucy Gomez was not shocked to learn her street is one of the worst in Lodi when it comes to pavement conditions.

Standing outside his Lodi home, John Grinder said everyday he sees someone struggling to make it around his corner.

Plywood covers the doors and windows, knee-high grass grows thick in the front yard and broken glass glints through the blades of grass as a breeze sways it back and forth.

When John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, my devout Roman Catholic grandmother was thrilled.