Santa Cruz Good Times

Thursday
May 23rd
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

9-Word Novels

tiny_novelYou made it short and sweet. You made it yours. Here are the nine 9-Word Novel winners.

1. Sparky, loving everyone, except Jehovah witnesses, licked faces freely.
- Carol J. Colin

2. UNENCUMBERED | Octogenarian, unencumbered by latest gizmos, embraces yoga, life universe.
- Gilda Zelin

3. ANTI-GERM-STUFF OVERLOAD! | What's an immune system to do but attack itself?
- Lisa Johnson


4. UNEXPECTEDLY, LIFE: YOU HAVE ALTERED | Prematurely confident. Unfortunately ignorant. Expensive carelessness. Effectively awakening. Unforgettable.
- Brittany Cowling

5. NEWS ITEM | Politician speaks honestly and plainly. Hell freezes. Pigs fly.
- Lois Chance

6. CHOICES | She adopted the dog. He hated dog. He's gone.
- Denise Hendsbee

7. REDEMPTION | Alien brain slugs are discovered, vanquished. Tea Party's over!
- Melissa Mendes Campos

8. That's not how I want my story to end.
- Geoff Lawson

9. AND THE WIND WHISPERS | Her shopping cart. Homeless woman has nothing... Has everything
- Wit

All the entries . . .
UNDROWNED | Touched and thought in vain; Fathomed love; outlived pain.
SANTA CRUZ HAIKU | Seductive Ocean, entices us through cool breath. Liberate yourself.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | Burdened elephant, weary, knees bending, laid down and died.
PRECIPICE | Jobs? (Kids ... Despair) optimistically compromised faithfully ... fall begins
A JOURNEY, BRIEF AND SWIFT | Arrival, naivete. Maturing, discoveries. Authority apathetic. Consequential accountability. Lessons.
UNEXPECTEDLY, LIFE: YOU HAVE ALTERED | Prematurely confident. Unfortunately ignorant. Expensive carelessness. Effectively awakening. Unforgettable.
My cute, high school girlfriend turned sixty last week.
THE PACT | She said. Then he said. Then they did it.
LITERARY NOTIONS | Great ideas often pop up like worms after rain.
FIELD OF DREAMS | Today, the SF Giants won their 10th World Series.
NEWS ITEM | Politician speaks honestly and plainly. Hell freezes. Pigs fly.
PERSONAL AD | Beautiful handicapped baby girl needs father and mother. Hurry!
Stretching, aligning ... hands and feet on mat … then tea.
She calls crying … Mama! Help me! ... I send money.
Pulling a final breath, Mom softly passed with grace.
SPRING BREAK 1971 | Madison to Daytona, partied two weeks. Total: Thirty dollars.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY | Sheets windward; fluffing. Aircraft carrier closing in. Surfing wake. *****Jeff, is it fluffing? There was a letter missing …
I searched for God in all the wrong places.
THE PARK | The officer asked, "Would this get us all high?"
UNENCUMBERED | Octogenarian, unencumbered by latest gizmos, embraces yoga, life universe.
TRUE LOVE IN UNLIKELY PLACES | Unhappy marriage. Animal shelter dogs. Best lifetime relationships ever.
SO MUCH DEPENDS UPON | That waking moment. With you next to me. Smiling.
YUMMY  | "Umami" the chef explained.  "Oh baby" his lover replied.
SWEET PEAS | Magenta sweet peas blew olfactory kisses to lucky passers-by.
DAMN GODS | Gods wage waning wars; goddesses linger in looming peace.
it's like it never happened, but it really did.
THE  DIE  EFFECT | Smart  meters  bring  dangers,  privacy  invasions  and  economic devastation.
The sun. The moon. The stars. The world. God.
Butterflies about, watch them shout, “I’m beautiful, look, see.”
I feel like I’m 25, it was my best.
You say, “I need a job … I’m for sale.”
A little dirt never hurt, so eat carrots raw.
We all feel feelings. We feel good the same.
THE LIL MAN  | Small, loud, handsome, dramatic, hard-headed, pleasant, strong, intelligent, flirty.
REDEMPTION | Alien brain slugs are discovered, vanquished. Tea Party's over!
BIG SISTER | Fighting evil, she traded the veil for a badge.
THE METAMORPHOSIS | I awoke transformed ... into a chicken. Man, life clucks.
From crystalis to butterfly, I am that which was.
LOVE THE PATH | Excruciating journey ends flying into safety of open arms.
SWIRLING winds.  Coastal fog. Rising Tides. Sunny coastline afternoons.
THE BIG GAME! | We came, saw the game, ate pretzels … and lost!
LOVIN’ LIFE IN SANTA CRUZ | Sunrise, waves lap at toes, sand through fingers. Happiness.
Waving, wonderful washes the sea over me, refreshing pools.
Sparky, loving everyone, except Jehovah witnesses, licked faces freely.
Mystically Sensuous, cooled my flesh, my eyes rolled back.
Her blood pressure dropped, stroking the soft White Dog.
Sweating, she scuttled sideways, clearing the terrifying Thrusting Machine.
GONE | Your hair is everywhere; defensively twisted away from me. 
GOODBYE, MOON | Through tears, she saw the moon one last time.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH ALMOST EVERYTHING ON EARTH? | Earth is overpopulated by humans.  Solution:  Global birth control.
IT'S A LIFE | A ride many will try only few will master.
REPETITION | Writing, euphoria, vacuity, upheaval, unblock, euphoria, writing, repetition.
SEX GOD AND MYSTERY | My God!  I am pregnant.  Who is the father?
RANGO | Shot a man, got girl, sunset. The end.
CHILDHOOD | Uncle, incest, shame, self-hatred, sex addiction, abortions, JESUS! recovery …
Just as space never ends, time has never began.
Life, random order, we a ball on roulette wheel.
WE | A speck of fertilizer indubitably changing the earth.
GOOD TIMES? | I am a man. I need a job. Now.
NIGHTMARE FAMILY LIFE | CPS hell! Children’s court. Body mutilation. ADHD. Demons. Light!
EMERGING TRIUMPHANT | Enthralled by radical serendipities we thrive against all odds.
DISCONNECTED | Oppressing panic turns liberating bliss—forgot iPhone on vacation.
Put some spring in your step we're finally free.
BEAUTY’S VILE COUNTERPART | Constructing family, recognizing and naming, created the excluded monster.
After the car crash, we laughed then kissed...
IF YOU MUST | Blame the multitude of invisible wave activity surrounding me.
ANTI-GERM-STUFF OVERLOAD! | What's an immune system to do but attack itself?
I grew rapidly, at first, before I moved here.
FRANCIS | Heaven hadn't found any answers in Francis Logan Goliath.
THE WAVES BREAK ON INNOCENCE | Youthful joy brutally tarnished; a family learns what matters.
N.Y.  JOURNAL/9-11 | Pregnant! Smiling, I turn ... a plane heading at me!
2011, A SPACE IDIOCY | A resurrected HAL 9000 instinctively creates a Facebook page.
BAD DAY AT OK CORRAL | The schoolmarm burned, Tex blazed, a six-shooter fell flacid.
HORMONES ON HOLIDAY | Romance at the seashore with children roiled in fog.
LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFFAL | Presidential indecisiveness holding the button, then the earthquake struck.
STRING SOLO | Sex crazed politicians plotting world dominance abide universal puppeteer.
THE CORNER POCKET | Ocean of beer. Salty tears. Last shot. Game over.
THE HOOK | They jumped out of the water to take The Hook.
LOST | Computer got virus, book irretrievable, back to bottle, Lost.
She is cooing to her baby as I garden
The cage door opened as the white shark passed
MYSTERY AND ROMANCE | Quiet, Shot, Running, Dark, Scuttle, Leap, Embrace, Happy Ending
SPRINGFIELD | Dow plummets.  Dao soars. Springfield grimaces, hesitating to follow.
HUBRISTIC FIT | Roll the presses. Epic all-nighter yields nine worder.
OCEAN OTTER. TEACH ME PLAY. WATCHING YOU EVERY DAY.
WAR | Uniformed, grasping door latch: the last of my father.
FULL SPEED AHEAD | Four hundred thousand furlongs per fortnight. Now that’s fast.
LIFE | creation birth childhood learning adulthood service family experiences culmination
I was a dear wish and I came true.
That's not how I want my story to end.
POST-GRADUATE LAMENT | He's stuck in Oakland with the unemployment blues
THE JOURNEY | Giving birth. One then two, into herself she grew.
Lost. Woods. Afraid. Sunset ... Dark ... Sunrise. Path. Road. Found.
UNBOUNDED | Aching, sweating, straining ... I found where the twist flops.
DEAD A HEAD | 3011. Reawakened, my cryogenic head unfrozen. Drat, smart.
MOONSHINER DAUGHTER'S | First job north. Shocked by greedy bosses!
TAKING THE HINT | Painstakingly removing the Chihuly, Jack exulted:  "She loves me!"
ARRIVAL | Etches opportunities.  Accomplishing unexpected proof.  Presence affirms perfection.
BEHIND FALLEN TEARS | Ripped pictures, fallen tears, unspoken words. Friends at war.
CHOSEN | Each clenched fist relaxed, Ahmed drew the short straw.
NOBODY WILLING | He's drunk, yelling again. A Baby Name book closes.
AND THE WIND WHISPERS | Her shopping cart. Homeless woman has nothing... Has everything.
CHOICES | She adopted the dog.  He hated dog.  He's gone
THE WEDDING | Eyes met, Vows spoken, lips touched, then two were one.
ALL THESE PEOPLE | Who are we? "Myself," she whispered.
WAIKIKI AFTER 20 YEARS | You drink maitais.  I talk.  You fall.  I push.
NOBODY WILLING | He’s drunk, yelling again.  A baby name book closes.
THE PROTECTOR | Adults frightened him.  So off came the tadpole legs.


> VOTE for your favorites >

 

Share this on your social networks

Bookmark and Share

Share this

Bookmark and Share

  • Search
  •  

    Free Angela

    Political activist and UC Santa Cruz Professor Emerita Angela Davis commands the spotlight in a riveting new documentary. PLUS:  UCSC’s Bettina Aptheker opens up about the political upheavals of the ’60s and ’70s—and today. Angela Davis is not a human being who can be easily summed up in several sentences or paragraphs—books maybe, but, even then, capturing the political activist, scholar and author in the most comprehensive light is downright complex. That’s because Davis is an undeniably unique political creature, one who should be seen and heard to be fully absorbed and downloaded. Which is what makes Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, the new documentary about Davis and the turbulent political upheavals she faced during the late-1960s and ’70s, so inviting. In it, filmmaker Shola Lynch marks the 40th anniversary of Davis’ acquittal on charges of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy with a historical vérité style of filmmaking to illuminate a side of Davis few may have seen (or can recall), and captures the events that thrust the woman into one of the most fascinating orbits of notoriety and political intrigue of the 20th century.

     

    No Big Surprises

    The highly anticipated draft Environmental Impact Report for desal is finally out. Will it change anything? When scwd2, the group pursuing the proposed joint desalination plant for the Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District, set up a booth at the Santa Cruz Earth Day festival in 2012, its reception was less than warm. Signature gathering for Measure P, the “right to vote” on desal ballot measure, was in full swing, as were tensions over the controversial project, which would produce up to 2.5 million gallons per day of desalinated water and cost an estimated $100 million. What were representatives of an energy-intensive desal plant doing among the recycling and conservation booths? That was the attitude Melanie Mow Schumacher, public outreach coordinator for scwd2 (pronounced “squid squared”), remembers sensing.

     

    The Maya-Ixil Move Forward

    Local nonprofit works to educate and create opportunity for indigenous communities in Guatemala In an isolated region of the Guatemala mountains called Ixil, the indigenous Maya population was devastated by a civil war between the government and leftist guerrilla factions that spanned 1960 to 1996. During that 36-year war, the Guatemalan military eradicated entire Mayan communities. In what amounted to genocide, soldiers burned Mayan farmlands and homes, raped and tortured the people, and scattered families. By the end of the war, 200,000 Mayans had been killed, 7,000 of whom were Maya-Ixil.

     

    Public Thinking

    Watsonville teens host TEDx event Santa Cruz County is no stranger to the TED brand. TED—which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design—talks have come to the area through independently organized events 10 times since 2011. This month, the gathering returns to the county with a new twist, thanks to the Watsonville Youth City Council. TEDxYouth@Watsonville, which will take place Sunday, May 19 at the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts in Watsonville, will feature only speakers younger than 19 years old and will traverse topics from racial stereotypes and renewable energy to traditional Mexican dance.

     

    Transoceana

    Danny Moriarty’s musical influences have been known to impact his life beyond his local rock band, Transoceana. “I went through two periods,” confesses the singer, guitarist and songwriter. “I borrowed Bono’s mullet look from the ’80s for a while, and then I dressed like I was from the ’70s and had big hair like Jimmy Page.” Bono and Page are also symbolic of Transoceana’s evolution as a band during their three years together.

     

    Cruzin’ for Inspiration

    Former resident pays homage to Santa Cruz with locally shot thesis film When he left Santa Cruz for the University of Southern California’s graduate film program in 2010, Christopher Guerrero had completed the film major at UC Santa Cruz in 2008 and worked on campus in the film and digital media department. It wasn’t until he headed south, that Guerrero began to reminisce about the coastal town. “It was really really hard when I moved to L.A., to acclimate and find friends,” he says, adding that—counter to the philosophical, conversational culture of Santa Cruz—he found nowhere in his new town where he could simply sit and talk about life with someone. “I didn’t really realize why I love [Santa Cruz] so much until it was gone.”

     

    Beck to the Future

    In celebration of Beck’s solo acoustic show at The Rio, GT explores Song Reader, the alternative rock icon’s most ambitious interactive art piece yet. Here’s an odd little paradox of the digital revolution: The more sophisticated our technology gets, the more our musical milieu begins to resemble that of a bygone era, when song ideas were passed around from musician to musician, perpetually taking on new twists. Dozens of different YouTube users might try their hand at setting somebody’s rant about cats or double rainbows to music, or you might hear the Belgian musician Gotye turning the many and varied covers of his song “Somebody That I Used to Know” into a virtual orchestra (see below).

     

    Growing Berries Without Bromide

    Researchers test a new alternative to a controversial chemical The scarecrows perched in Santa Cruz strawberry fields do little to scare away the birds, much less the insects and fungi harbored in the soil. Everything likes to eat strawberries, which makes growing them a risky business. This predicament led UC Santa Cruz professor Carol Shennan to take an unconventional approach to pest management. Nine years ago, the fatal plant disease Verticillium wilt was wiping out strawberry plants at the university farm. Chemicals hardly phase the pathogen, and Shennan saw little improvement with crop rotation, which is typically used to treat infested fields. A visiting plant pathologist from the Netherlands recommended a little-known organic technique called anaerobic soil disinfestation, and, with so few other options, Shennan decided to give it a try. 

     

    Uniting All That Has Been Separated

     

    Legal Battles Drag On

    More than a year after the 75 River St. occupation, four defendants remain embroiled in ongoing case  More than a year and a half since a group occupied the former Wells Fargo building on River Street in an act of protest, felony charges linger on for four of the original defendants and a trial may be imminent. Gabriella Ripley-Phipps, Brent Adams, Cameron Laurendeau and Franklin Alcantara were scheduled to begin trial May 13 in connection with the late 2011 protest. That trial now has been pushed back to September due to scheduling conflicts. The four face a felony charge of vandalism and a misdemeanor for trespassing.
  • Login
    Login with registered email or username + password
  • Create an account
    Registration
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    REGISTER_REQUIRED
  • Sign up for Tomorrow's Good Times Today
    Upcoming arts & events

    Latest Comments

     

    The Pleasure of Süda

    Süda is a happening place. As my friend Jan and I were enjoying dinner, every table in the restaurant filled up and nearly all the outdoor seating was occupied as well. Located in the Pleasure Point area, Süda is a magnet for just about everybody hanging out in that neck of the woods.

     

    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.

     

    What do you know about Monsanto?

    Santa Cruz | Self Employed  

     

    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 |

     

    Poetic Cellars

    Poetic Cellars makes the most romantic wines. With a verse or two of beautiful poetry on every label, mostly poems of love and romance, this is the perfect wine to open up over dinner with your sweetheart. I particularly love winemaker Katy Lovell’s Syrah ($28) with its voluptuous velvety textures and dark fruit flavors.

     

    The Gypsy

    French-born jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée lives for musical freedom and improvisation Cyrille Aimée is a musical gypsy. Her sound incorporates elements of Latin American, American, Brazilian and other styles of jazz, she has recorded albums as a duet with Diego Figueiredo, she currently performs with the Surreal (same pronunciation as her first name) Band, and she is working on a new album with yet another band. As it happens, Aimée can actually blame gypsies for her love of jazz. “I grew up in Samois-sur-Seine, which is a little town in France where Django Reinhardt used to live,” she says. “Every year they have the Django Festival in his honor, and so gypsies from all parts of Europe come and honor him and play guitar. I started hanging out with the gypsies and became obsessed with their music, their way of living, their freedom. What drew me to jazz music was the freedom of it, all the improvisation, and the fact that it’s a style of music that is constantly changing.”

     

    May Day in the Alps

    When my daughter returns to Santa Cruz from her new home in Los Angeles, she comments on how quiet it is here. It was even more so during a trip to Ben Lomond, when we set out for a sample of her second favorite macaroni and cheese. Sitting at the front of the Tyrolean Inn restaurant, the green tarp with plastic windows kept out the chill as well as the noise of an occasional passing car. A new draft beer celebrating the German spring, Maibok ($6) was refreshing, served in a hefty glass stein, but specialty cocktails are unique as well.

     

    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 are you a total sucker for?

    A cold beer after a long bike ride, gossip, and fighting over politics. Kyle McKinley Santa Cruz | Lecturer