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May 21st
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Arts, Entertainment, Dining, Calendar

Literature

Wally Lamb pens another winner

Wally Lamb pens another winner

The author of 'The Hour I First Believed' talks about coping with bestseller stardom.

A number of years ago I came to believe that Wally Lamb was one of today’s great storytellers. I knew of the hubbub surrounding his second Oprah Book Club novel, “I Know This Much Is True,” and taking a chance, I cracked it open to see if it lived up to the hype. It did. Then I went back and read his first novel, “She’s Come Undone.” Again, the rave reviews were accurate. Now, in 2008, Lamb’s third novel hits bookstores. Curiously titled, “The Hour I First Believed,” the read is full of rich and complex characters and plenty of heart-wrenching storylines. It also uses Columbine High School in Colorado as a backdrop to the story. Quite simply, the book is pageturner. It chronicles a troubled couple, Caelum and Maureen Quirk, who both work for Columbine High School. Maureen is onsite the day the horrific shootings take place and the tale story follows the duo as they reel from the tragedy. GT recently caught up with Lamb, who heads to Bookshop Santa Cruz at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.

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A&E

Sculptour uses downtown Santa Cruz as a gallery

Sculptour uses downtown Santa Cruz as a gallery

Three-dimensional artists bring art to the avenue

She may have had a highfalutin job and a six-figure income, but Marilyn Kuksht wasn’t living a fairytale. She was 40 and a senior vice-president of a bank in San Francisco. But something didn’t feel right. So she took a little time off to go scuba diving. Somewhere, floating through the deep blue, she came across a stunning site off the coast of Cozumel.

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A&E

Art of Healing

Survivors Healing Center hosts its annual artistic evening

Her father would make her take showers with him when she was 6 years old. There, he would masturbate. She would go to bed at night, pull the covers over her head and play dead. Someone would climb into her bed and in the morning she would go to her fourth grade classroom with a burning

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Theater

Twilight Zone

Twilight Zone

Mountain Community Theater goes to the outer limits

Miguel Reyna started watching The Twilight Zone when he was just 8 years old. His ‘assignment’ was to record the shows for his mom who worked an evening shift. For the next four years, the young Reyna became addicted. “Your mind is blown away,” he says of the popular 1960s television show. “Watching those Twilight Zones gave me the chills at a young age and really put a different lens on life for me. Up until this day, the suburbs [anywhere] look like The Twilight Zone. The show is dated in the acting and dialogue, but they it’s relevant and timeless through the stories.”

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A&E

The Young and the Restless

Can Santa Cruz golden grom Nat Young take the heat?

When you can call a world class surf break your childhood playground, you are like many Santa Cruzans. When you can call yourself a champion of that wave and the next big Santa Cruz export, you are Nat Young.

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A&E

The Cho Goes On

The Cho Goes On

You can’t keep her down, so it’s best fly high with Margaret Cho at Mountain Winery

Her comic inspirations were Richard Pryor, Sandra Bernhard and, funny enough, Flip Wilson, so it seems natural that the chic Korean comic that is Margaret Cho somehow became one of the most savage trailblazers in the entertainment industry today. That she hovers just below pop’s perverse buzz-generating radar yet so cleverly knows how to dip into it, using it to her advantage, is one of the things that make Cho standout in her milieu.

It’s a skill that particularly comes in handy when she has to promote her own work, which Cho is doing—big time—this month.

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A&E

Erasing Hate

Erasing Hate

Pisces Moon event hopes to eradicate gay hate crimes

It happened in his junior year of high school. Ryan McCune of Stockton was hanging out in the parking lot with his friends and girlfriend, saying good-bye as Christmas break was about to start. That’s when he got tapped on the shoulder and heard the word “faggot” being hurled at him. McCune twirled around and another student smashed him in the temple with a lock. He was knocked unconscious and the beating started. About 12 students, many from the football team, proceeded to pound on him. About 20 minutes later the principal scared away the attackers and soon McCune was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital.

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A&E

Feel the Burn

Feel the Burn

Burning Man kicks off with art installations by Santa Cruz’s Two Lanterns camp

Last year, Barbie and Ken got divorced and two semi trucks twisted in the air. Where else could such strange things happen other than at Burning Man? For those “not in the know,” Burning Man is an all-out artistic love-fest where creative people will gather in the Nevada desert from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1. It’s also known to be a love fest of other sorts, with drugs and sex abounding (in private). But what is Burning Man at its core? For local artist Jason Guy it’s about “radical self-reliance” and a “celebration of the arts. … When you go to Burning Man, there’s a welcoming gate … it feels like coming home.”

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A&E

Shift Happens

Shift Happens

You’re not alone on that cosmic mood swing. JZ Knight returns to Santa Cruz and tells you why.
Plus: What are you doing to step into your fabulous future?

She doesn’t quite come out and say it, but after talking to JZ Knight for an hour, you get the feeling that the woman best known for channeling the 35,000-year-old entity Ramtha, is telling you to do this:  Get off your ass and start creating a new reality. That may be a bold interpretation, but considering the current state of the world, who can really feel good sitting down? Knight, a spiritual teacher, world-renowned lecturer and

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A&E

Chic Boutique

Chic Boutique

Independent design store Cameron Marks makes its ‘mark’ in the fashion world

On any given day, there is the danger of becoming lustful—for clothes and shoes. A true fashionista knows when the lust creeps in. It’s when you keep eyeing a pair of black kitten heels, and imagining them on your feet. The scene replays over and over. This is precisely what happened to me recently during a visit to Cameron Marks, a cozy, chic, one-of-a-kind boutique on the Westside of Santa Cruz.

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    Bring Your Own Bag

    Single-use plastic bag bans are underway Shoppers in Capitola, Watsonville, the City of Santa Cruz, and the unincorporated parts of the county are, by now, becoming accustomed to the absence of plastic bags. On Sept. 20, 2011, Santa Cruz County became the first local jurisdiction to pass an ordinance that banned single-use plastic bags and implemented a fee for paper bags, which took effect last spring. Watsonville, Capitola, and Santa Cruz followed suit with similar actions: Watsonville’s ordinance went into effect last September, and, as of last month, the bans in Capitola and the City of Santa Cruz are now in place.

     

    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.

     

    The Tilt

    Although Jesse Malley, lead singer of the outlaw country, blues and rock ’n’ roll band The Tilt, no longer lives in Santa Cruz, she was born and raised here and this is where her love of music and performance began. “My dad worked at The Catalyst for 27 years, so I got to see a lot of music acts come through town,” she says. “Music always seemed to me to be such an incredible way to express yourself that I just stumbled upon my voice and jumped into it.” That jump eventually led to Malley heading down to San Diego to pursue a music career, and her band The Tilt has just released their full-length debut, Howlin’.

     

    Whole Lotta Blues

    The 11-piece, husband-and-wife-led Tedeschi Trucks Band headlines the Santa Cruz Blues Festival Guitarist Derek Trucks and vocalist/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, the husband-and-wife team at the helm of The Tedeschi Trucks Band, have learned that in a band as well as in a marriage, the best way to keep things running smoothly is sometimes to take a step back. That’s especially true when you’re dealing with an 11-piece group that, in addition to its namesakes, features two drummers, a keyboardist/flautist, a three-piece horn section and two harmony vocalists.

     

    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).

     

    Land of Lions

    New research provides foundation to look at protecting mountain lions, particularly when it comes to Highway 17 An adult male mountain lion called simply “Number 16” by the Santa Cruz Puma Project led a scientifically interesting life for the more than two-year period he was tracked by the UC Santa Cruz-based research project. According to Chris Wilmers, associate professor of environmental studies at UCSC and head of the Puma Project, the group initially caught and collared Number 16 in Loch Lomond. He then proceeded to cross Highway 17 several times, where he was eventually was hit, but survived. In an unusual move for an adult male, Number 16 then shifted his home range to the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. Recently, the lion’s tracking collar went on “mortality mode.” The day before Wilmers spoke to Good Times, the researchers found his skeleton.

     

    So Sleep (Pralaya) Does Not Overtake Us

    Sunday is Pentecost, a festival of the Holy Spirit (Ray 3 of Divine Intelligence). Pentecost is the name given to the descent of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire appearing above the heads of Christ’s (Piscean World Teacher) Disciples (students) in an upper room (plane of the Mind). Pentecost is not a simple bible story. It’s an actual experience for each individual as the Light of the Soul begins to direct the personality with spiritual gifts and virtues – wisdom, understanding (all ideas, all hearts), knowledge and Right Judgment (directing the intellect), wonder, fortitude/courage and respect/reverence (directing our willingness to serve).

     

    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.

     

    Bringing the Message Home

    Former mayor and UCSC student recap their experiences at the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women While traveling to New York for the 57th United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), seasoned local activist Jane Weed-Pomerantz had a notion of what to expect. But, with the vast scope of worldwide women’s rights violations presented at the commission, she knew she would still be taken aback at times. “I was worried because I had a feeling I would be finding out what I did find out about women and girls in the world,” says Weed-Pomerantz. “I was trying to brace myself for the knowledge of the reality, because we are really very protected in this country.”
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    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.

     

    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 are you a total sucker for?

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

     

    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 |

     

    Vine & Dine: Pine Ridge Vineyards

    Chenin Blanc + Viognier 2012 On a recent trip to Palm Springs, I came across Pine Ridge Vineyards’ Chenin Blanc + Viognier at a new downtown restaurant called Lulu. Superbly decorated in Hollywood-esque style and with a very hip vibe, this California bistro is one of the hottest new dining spots—and the Chenin Blanc was just the right wine to pair with some of Lulu’s Happy Hour tapas-style food. And eating outdoors in the desert’s warm night air makes a chilled white wine taste even better.

     

    Making Sense of Soul

    Allen Stone wants to give R&B back some of its depth Whether fairly or unfairly, R&B and soul music often get typecast. Much of the music is groove-inducing and has an overtly romantic, sensual or sexual side to it, and the suggestive lyrics only reinforce this mood. That is fine and well, but for R&B and soul singer Allen Stone, it is not enough. “I love music that’s about love, and I love R&B songs, but I also like songs that have influence on culture,” Stone says. "I believe that if you’re given a microphone you need to use it in a positive way, and I feel like pop culture, more often than not, doesn’t. I think that [pop stars] are very bad stewards of the microphone they’ve been given, and the voices they’ve been given, and they tend to talk about pretty futile and shallow things, rather than subjects which uplift the children in our culture, or the teenage culture, or the young adult generation. If you’re given a microphone, you should say something that’s deeper than, ‘I’m going to the club and I’m going to drink cognac.’”

     

    Step on up to the Bar

    Here in Santa Cruz County, we are privileged to have farm-fresh greens year-round. Making a nightly salad at home is a snap since the emergence of pre-washed greens, and vinaigrette dressing is made easily with your favorite vinegar and small spoon of Dijon mustard whisked with a bit of olive oil.

     

    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.

     

    Do you unplug often enough? Or do you need help?

    Santa Cruz | Caregiver