Santa Cruz Good Times

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Jun 18th
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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.


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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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The Plug Bug & Corbin Dunn

Mechanic, programmer, acrobat, builder, tinkerer. Corbin Dunn's 1969 Volkswagen Beetle is a fully electric vehicle. It has an electric motor powered by 48 stacked squares of Lithium-ion battery cells under the hood in place of the 50 horsepower gas engine that it was built with. He calls it, affectionately, “the Plug Bug.” Dunn, who was born in Hawaii, raised in Corralitos, and now lives in a large, old A-frame house near the summit in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is a 35-year-old programmer for Apple in Cupertino, where he helped develop the iPhone and works on the framework for the Macintosh operating system. But his aptitude for intricate technical work is not limited to computers. Dunn is a tinkerer.

 

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.

 

Flag Day, Father’s Day and Chiron

Another week of complex planetary energies falling to Earth. Mars interacts with Pluto (inconjunct), Uranus (sextile) and Chiron (square, challenge, ouch!). We won’t know how to comprise, we’ll want to be friends but our hurts will challenge that desire.

 

To Arm or Disarm?

While gun sales soar nationally, a group of musicians fundraise for a local gun buy-back In the wake of high-profile incidents of gun violence—from the Sandy Hook school shooting last December to the fatal shooting of two Santa Cruz police officers three months ago—the debate over gun ownership in America centers on one question as it rages on: Do guns make us safer or do they make our lives more dangerous?
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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.”

 

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 |

 

Dancing Creek Winery

At the Pinot Paradise event back in March, I tasted some very good Pinots from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Dancing Creek Winery’s 2009 Pinot ($27) was one of them. This plummy dark brew, made from grapes grown in Corralitos, has delicious flavors of pomegranate, prosciutto, dried cherries, and mint julep.

 

A Very Fine House

Adjacent to the front door, the long, clean wooden bar is surrounded by pumpkin-colored stools. At the entrance to the dining rooms, there is a new low-slung cafe door hung in the wood-covered arch. Where there once was a stage, stocky wooden tables are neatly arranged perpendicularly on a new tile floor, each set with square white plates and burnt orange cloth napkins.

 

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?

 

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