Santa Cruz Good Times

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Jun 20th
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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 >

 

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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

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    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

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    Exposed

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    What’s your secret to avoiding the summer swarms?