Mythic Games invites wizards of all ages to gather and compete

On a Friday evening in Downtown Santa Cruz, a battle between wizards is taking place. Utilizing magical spells, items, and fantastical creatures, these wizards—known here as “planeswalkers”—wield wit as a weapon and brandish brainpower as brawn.

The venue is Mythic Games on River Street, the event is “Friday Night Magic,” and the game is Magic: The Gathering. With an emphasis on “gathering,” the event encourages the participation of younger players by offering kids under the age of 16 the opportunity to play for free.

UC Santa Cruz’s Grateful Dead Archive finally opens to the public

It might be a slight exaggeration to say, “in the beginning was the Grateful Dead and post-modern culture flowed forth from that mighty stream”—but, the band’s new archive at UC Santa Cruz makes a compelling case.

The exhibit, entitled “A Box of Rain: Archiving the Grateful Dead Phenomena”—which officially opens to the public on June 29—features a wide variety of Grateful Dead memorabilia, and is housed at Dead Central: a 1,400-square-foot space inside the McHenry Library at UCSC.

Santa Cruz-based project aims to change the way we interact with technology

Jay Silver has a degree in electrical engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology and another one in Internet technology from The University of Cambridge. But while that educational background helped him build a foundation of knowledge, it left something to be desired.

“One of the biggest things that my education taught me, was that education doesn’t teach you how to make things,” says Silver. “So I went through years of getting degrees and I still didn’t know how to change the world, I didn’t know how to make things.”

'Samson's Quest' revels in a 1993 that could have been

I hate graphics," Christopher Rosenberg says, explaining that his disdain for the ultra-real renderings found in many of today's most popular videogames is likely directly linked to the many hours of his youth that he spent playing 8- and 16-bit Nintendo and Super Nintendo consoles.

"Some of my earliest memories are of playing Zelda II on an NES console," the 24-year-old Los Altos resident says. It is a time of great nostalgia for Rosenberg, though he doesn't always accurately recollect his childhood.

Santa Cruz Public Libraries joins global art project

The libraries' most powerful asset is the conversation they provide – between books and readers, between children and parents, between individuals and the collective world. Take them away and those voices turn inward or vanish. Turns out that libraries have nothing at all to do with silence."

Bella Bathurst ended her 2011 essay, “The Secret Life of Libraries” with this insight. The conversation she started in the Manchester Guardian has jumped the pond and landed squarely in Downtown Santa Cruz, and it sounds a lot like the shutter of a camera. (Remember those?)

Two local photographers come together to teach one amazing workshop

Walking into Poppy de Garmo and Margo Duvall’s Santa Cruz studio is like stumbling upon an artsy treasure trove. A large backdrop takes up nearly half the space, artwork hangs on the walls, and a rack bursting with colorful clothing pops out near the back. Their studio feels like a space of inspiration and collaboration.

When a colleague introduced de Garmo to Duvall about a month ago, their connection was instantaneous. Both photographers love taking portrait shots, and both have taught classes in the past. So, De Garmo thought they should pull their talents together and suggested teaching classes together.

MAH-commissioned book details history of local music

When Frank Perry was just a kid, he had a music teacher by the name of Vera McKenna Clayton, who taught in Santa Cruz from the 1920s to the 1970s. Perry doesn’t remember too much about Clayton, except that “she looked like she was really old,” he says. It wasn’t until much later that Perry realized while researching a book and finding out more about his former teacher, that “she was only a few years older than I am now.”

UC Santa Cruz alumnus has comedy down to a science

Nathan Habib claims he is a comedian first and an economist second. But talking to the 22-year-old UC Santa Cruz graduate, it is clear that the economist inside is constantly at work—even when he is behind the microphone telling jokes.

Habib is not a day trader or a Paul Krugman type. He loathes math and isn't preoccupied with global markets or politics. He is an economist in the classical sense. The young comedian concerns himself with actions of people and the peculiar forces behind those actions. Habib spends his days thinking about what makes people cry, scowl, smirk and (most importantly) laugh.

Editor’s note: David Allen Sullivan teaches English and film at Cabrillo College. The following poems were taken from his latest book of poems about the Iraq war, entitled “Every Seed of the Pomegranate,” published this month by Tebot Bach. A publication celebration reading will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 15 at the Cabrillo College Horticulture Center, Room 5005.  
Photo of the author by Amina Barivan.

Why Big Sur’s iconic memorial library needs local support. Several upcoming events promise to turn heads

Many of history’s most unique creative and political beasts have lived in Northern California. Certainly civil rights leader Harvey Milk sits near the top of the list. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who birthed the revered City Lights Bookstore, quickly comes to mind, too.