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Dilated Pupil

Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Dilated Pupil Student Guide

Thursday, 04 October 2012 00:00 GT_Staff
Dilated Pupil Student Guide

It’s that time of year again—school is back in session, and you’re either a little fish in a big pond or the big man/woman on campus. Whether you’re a freshman at UC Santa Cruz or finishing at Cabrillo College, there’s plenty to discover on campus and around town.

To help you navigate both UCSC and Cabrillo’s campus—including the best places to study, chow down, hang out and more—and get the most out of your college experience, we’ve dedicated the first portion of this year’s Dilated Pupil to just that. Want to know where to work out? We’ve got you covered. Looking for the best place to buy dorm room decor? Look no further.

Then, when you’re all ready to brave the unknown and explore around town, check out the second half of Dilated Pupil, in which we give you the lowdown on the best places to see live music, scarf pizza, spark romance, get that long-awaited piercing, surf, and more.

Let Good Times be your guide. —Jenna Brogan, Editor
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Dilated Pupil Santa Cruz Student Guide to on and off campus living (PDF)

Also see: Best places on and off campus to study in Santa Cruz
Tutors, Bookstores, List of Free wifi locations in Santa Cruz >

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Study Guide

Monday, 01 October 2012 00:00 GT_Staff
Study Guide

Best places on and off campus to study in Santa Cruz
UCSC & Cabrillo College
Tutors
Bookstores
List of Free wifi locations in Santa Cruz >
Complete Santa Cruz Student Guide click here >

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Indie Shops & Great Bargains

Monday, 10 October 2011 11:30 GTWebmaster
Indie Shops & Great Bargains

Shop till you drop and have some cash left over for some tasty food or a night on the town.
GOOD TIMES guide to Indie shops, thrift stores and bargain hunting in Santa Cruz.

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Do It Yourself

Monday, 18 October 2010 16:28 GTWebmaster

Our quick guide to several local creative portals that encourage you to use your brain, learn stuff and get things done.

Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios
An affordable and beautiful space, SCRS is the place where you can be loud and amplified, practice with your band and jam hard without the fear of being evicted. Outfitted with four streamlined rooms, each complete with a PA and mics, SCRS is a musicians dream. 118 Coral St., Santa Cruz, (831) 425-7277, santacruzrehearsalstudios.com.

The Bike Church
This nonprofit tool co-op is a gold-mine of information and support for those who desire to "DO IT YOURSLEF." The bike church offers affordable classes, parts and service and it’s also a safe place. Whether you're a veteran bike rider or still have training wheels, The Bike Church is all about supporting and sustaining the bike community. It's also a great place to volunteer. 703 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, (831) 425-2453, bikechurch.santacruzhub.org.

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Thrift Stores, Shops and Bargain Hunting

Monday, 18 October 2010 16:24 GTWebmaster
Thrift Stores, Shops and Bargain Hunting

Indie stores with great spirit boast stellar deals and more.

Bargain Barn
Appreciate a good rummage? Don't mind getting your hands a little dirty? The Barn is a score and a half. This hot spot is open daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 292 Pioneer Street,  Santa Cruz, (831) 423-8611.

Bill’s Wheels
Voted Best Skateboard Shop in GT Readers’ Poll, you can’t really go wrong here. 1240 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 469-0904

Crossroads
For last-minute outfits Crossroads is hard to compete with, whether you're looking for basics or fancy dress wear, they are bound to have it. This is also a great place to sell old clothes. 811 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, (831) 458-0555.

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Top 10 Tips for Surviving College

Monday, 18 October 2010 16:13 Leslie Patrick
Top 10 Tips for Surviving College1. Organization is key. You don’t want to be rushing around at 8:05 in a futile attempt to find the textbook you need for your 8 a.m. class. Set some simple guidelines for yourself such as keeping to-do lists to help you stay organized.

2. In this day and age, we are all very familiar with social networking. But when it comes to college, it may behoove you to do some old fashioned face-to-face networking too. Not only can you find that invaluable classmate who will share their notes should you miss a class, but you may also find connections that will help and support you well into the future. Consider Santa Cruz Next (xxxxx.org)

3.  Be cool. Many college students find themselves unduly stressed out what with the pressure of grades, money or new relationships. Take the time to breathe, stretch, walk on the beach or take that well-deserved nap—as the saying goes, “this too shall pass.”

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

In the Wash, area laundromats

Monday, 05 October 2009 11:44 GTWebmaster

ALL THIS CLEAN FUN FOR A BUNDLE OF QUARTERS. WHO KNEW? TAKE NOTE: FOUR WASHERS = BEST SPINS.

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Santa Cruz - Dilated Pupil

Ten Tips To Wrap Your Head Around

Tuesday, 29 September 2009 13:06 Nick Veronin
Ten Tips To Wrap Your Head AroundRECESSION-PROOF YOURSELF
Web is the Word:
Take it from a journalism major whose industry was hurting before the economic meltdown—this bit of advice may be easier said than done. Fortunately, some of the things you are already doing may turn out to strengthen your résumé. Know much about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking platforms? Have a blog? Say so! There are many employers looking for web-savvy individuals to help take their business into the 21st century. If there is still time to learn more about HTML, Flash and all things Web 2.0—do it! It can only help your chances of finding that first big job.
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Silent Dilemma

An inside look at body image and eating disorders. PLUS: Why ‘fat’ is not a feeling. My earliest memory of “feeling fat” was when I was about 12 years old. Up until that time, I was not all that aware of having a body; I was pretty much just in my body, doing the things that kids do. I had not yet learned that I was supposed to look differently than I did. I had not yet downloaded the program that some foods were “good” and others were “bad.” I did not yet have exercise and movement linked up with calorie burning or self-worth.

 

Field to Vase

Open house provides opportunity for residents to meet their local flower growers Valentine’s Day is a high point of the year for those in the cut flower business. So when, one year in the late ’90s, the bouquet-riddled holiday failed to deliver for Kitayama Brothers Farms, the family behind the decades-old rose-growing business knew something was wrong.  “It was the writing on the wall,” recalls Stuart Kitayama, operations manager for the Watsonville-based company. “Those of us who had been hoping things would just get better finally said ‘it’s time to change.’”

 

The Price of Safety

The city's proposed budget addresses public safety needs The City of Santa Cruz’s pocketbook has come a long way since 2009, when an $8 million shortfall loomed. According to City Manager Martin Bernal, the proposed general fund budget for 2013-2014 is healthier than it has been since the beginning of The Great Recession in 2008. Armed with this returning stability, the proposal puts one of the community's top concerns—public safety—front and center.

 

Community Studies 2.0

After a controversial suspension, a new incarnation of the unique UC Santa Cruz major is reinstated The UC Santa Cruz community studies lounge is a great place to have a conversation.  Housed on the second floor of a faculty building in Oakes College, just down the hall from a whiteboard that reads “COMMUNITY STUDIES LIVES,” the room has a big round table, couches and chairs, and shelves stacked with past senior “capstone projects.”

 

North Pacific String Band

Jeff Wilson, who plays banjo for North Pacific String Band, loves being part of original music experiences. “What I like about the music we play is that it’s fairly unique and kind of hard to put your finger on,” Wilson says. “We’re not just trying to do bluegrass or country or folk. It’s a mixture of those things and we try to add in a lot of musicality to all of that.” Originality and musicality aren’t ideas which are limited to the band’s exploits either.

 

Peace in the Middle East

New dance-concert explores Palestinian-Israeli conflict Inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, local choreographer Karl Schaffer’s “Mosaic” is a dance-concert featuring Jewish Diaspora and Arab music from the women’s choral group Zambra, singer Fattah Abbou and a troupe of local dancers. In between rehearsals for the show, which runs June 21-22 at Motion Pacific, Schaffer shared the story behind its creation.

 

Muscle-Bound

Valiant cast battles loud, ugly action for the soul of 'Man of Steel' Early in Man of Steel, fourth-grader Clark, the boy who will be Superman, is cowering in a broom closet at school, eyes screwed shut, hands clapped over his ears. He can't control his super powers: his X-ray vision shows him the skulls and skeletons under everyone's flesh; unfiltered noise—dogs, traffic, heartbeats—assault him from all sides. Rushing to school, his mom kneels outside the door and asks what's wrong.

 

CYNDI

On the eve of Cyndi Lauper’s Mountain Winery gig, we dissect the woman, the icon, the creative beast. Plus: Her thoughts on the music industry, equal rights and those sparkling ‘Kinky Boots’ Few performers possess the kind of fierce, she-bopping tenacity Cyndi Lauper has become famous for. Equal parts free spirit, civil rights activist and Grammy-winner, Lauper is one of the few creative artists able to successfully marry her cutting-edge verve with a heart-of-gold panache. It certainly has helped fuel the remarkable career resurgence she has been experiencing lately.

 

Making the Grade

The quest to identify sources of high levels of bacteria at Cowell Beach continues With straight As on Heal the Bay’s annual “beach report card” for 10 out of 13 Santa Cruz County beaches—Main Beach, Seabright, and even Cowell Beach at the Stairs, to name a few—it would seem that Santa Cruz boasts a high coastal GPA. But in recent years, one Santa Cruz beach just can’t seem to pass: Cowell Beach west of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

 

Summer Solstice, Full Moon, Mercury Retros

Early morning Wednesday Mercury, star of communication and conflict, turns stationary retrograde (23 Cancer). We all know by now what not to do. And what to do—through July 19.
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A Sustainable Culture

The popularity of old world yogurt is surging, and it’s easy to make at home Yogurt is a product of the ages. With a name originating in Turkey and probiotic benefits touted by the health food industry. A fondness for Greek-style yogurt has taken the country by storm, resulting in a tripling of the number of yogurt factories in New York State, and a $2 billion a year industry. What sets this Mediterranean yogurt apart is straining. Other cultures refer to the product as “hung” yogurt. Stirred yogurt is placed in a fine mesh strainer which has been lined with cheesecloth and suspended over a deep container. Watery whey seeps out, resulting in a thicker, denser yogurt with more protein by volume. It makes a lovely base for a stiffer tzatziki cucumber-garlic dip and spread.

 

The Power of Conversation

Local author Cecile Andrews emphasizes importance of community engagement in newest book Cecile Andrews, author of the new book “Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good,” probably wouldn’t get along too well with Larry David’s character from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, known for hiding his face and avoiding communication with anyone he runs into on the street. Andrews is a longstanding part-time Santa Cruz (part-time Seattle) resident who says something that’s struck her about this town over the years is people's willingness to participate in a practice she’s dubbed the “Stop and Chat”—which is exactly what it sounds like.

 

Is Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor?

He's a patriot. Anyone who stands up for the rights that we stand for as a country, that is real democracy. That would be in my book—somebody who is a patriot. Leah WeissSanta Cruz | Therapist

 

Best of Santa Cruz County

The 2013 Santa Cruz County Readers' Poll and Critics’ Picks It’s our biggest issue of the year, and in it, your votes—more than 6,500 of them—determined the winners of The Best of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll. New to the long list of local restaurants, shops and other notables that captured your interest: Best Beer Selection, Best Locally Owned Business, Best Customer Service and Best Marijuana Dispensary. In the meantime, many readers were ever so chatty online about potential new categories. Some of the suggestions that stood out: Best Teen Program and Best Web Design/Designer. But what about: Dog Park, Church, Hotel, Local Farm, Therapist (I second that!) or Sports Bar—not to be confused with Bra. Our favorite suggestion: Best Act of Kindness—one reader noted Café Gratitude and the free meals it offered to the Santa Cruz Police Department in the aftermath of recent crimes. Perhaps some of these can be woven into next year’s ballot, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the following pages and take note of our Critics’ Picks, too, beginning on page 91. A big thanks for voting—and for reading—and an even bigger congratulations to all of the winners. Enjoy.  -Greg Archer, EditorBest of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll INDEX | Shops | Food & Drink | Arts & Entertainment | Health & Fitness | Professionals | The Rest |

 

Serene Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

There’s always an upbeat vibe going at MJA’s tasting room on the Westside. On a recent visit, the very sociable owner Marin Artukovich was busy pouring for a roomful of oenophiles having a good time. With the help of staff members, Artukovich makes sure that nobody waits too long to sample his fine wines, while also keeping track of every person’s flight.

 

Paying it Forward

Pianist Benny Green wants jazz’s past to continue to inform its future I can honestly say I’m still learning.” Hearing such an admirable, humble statement from someone like Benny Green—a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and band leader whose 30-plus year career includes performances and recordings with jazz luminaries like Oscar Peterson, Art Blakey and Betty Carter—might be surprising at first. But Green’s insatiable desire to keep learning has served him well. That desire—and his deep love of jazz—is something he wants today’s younger musicians to feel, too.

 

Good Morning Maui

Goodness, righteousness, virtuousness and fairness are some of the four-score English words that attempt to describe the Hawaiian essence of pono, whose use in the state motto translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

 

Exposed

David Cay Johnston’s new book explains how big companies rob us blind In his late teens David Cay Johnston started to ask questions. “Why do we have these guys in uniforms with guns driving around in cars all day?” “Why is the Santa Cruz County Courthouse being built in such an unusual shape?” He wrote an article, while still living in his hometown of Santa Cruz, proving that the off-kilter courthouse building, which officials had promised would save money, actually cost more than a conventional building.

 

What’s your secret to avoiding the summer swarms?