During this Mercury in Virgo retrograde (Aug. 20-Sept. 12) the Black Rock Arts Festival, Burning Man, the yearly “desert art-piece on the playas,” begins, distilling all facets of community creation, living and sharing.

And so, through the retro, almost at summer’s end (Aug. 30-Sept. 6), the celebration develops, proceeds, burns, cleans up and then disappears without a trace. The theme this year is Metropolis, the Life of Cities. People worldwide are returning to the cities. Tent cities are now in major metropolitan cities everywhere, filled with both the migrating masses and those who have lost their homes.

Plus Letters to Good Times
My Polish mother always used to say that if you make a mess, you have to clean it up. “What—were you born in a barn or something?” she’d crack. All this comes to mind as many of us are reflecting more about cleaning up the trail of environmental messes human beings are leaving behind now. The issue has been especially heightened after the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

No rights for single fathers. My experience is that the women get the full choices without the father being able to speak their pieces. I think it's a one way street when it comes to that. That's my experience.

Mitchel Herrera
Santa Cruz | Disabled

Or Who’s That Girl?
A few weeks ago, during a typically foggy, chilly Santa Cruz morning, I decided to take a brisk walk to get the blood moving, revitalize the senses and energize my mental state. It was early in the day and as such I chose to simply hide my comfortable almost-pajamas and disheveled almost-awake self with a black trench coat cinched dramatically at the waist, a pair of extra large sunglasses, and a neatly tied black scarf atop the leftovers of the previous night’s fantastic hairdo. As I headed for the front door, a brief glance in the mirror told me I looked a lot like a movie star in a clichéd disguise, more specifically (and fantastically, in the true sense of the word—the derivative of “fantasy”) I imagined I looked a lot like 1970s era Elizabeth Taylor dodging the public eye. (Need I remind you that it was very early, and I probably had not yet had my reality-inducing first cup of coffee, so humor me.)

Plus Letters to Good Times
Yoga is a good thing.
And, over the the years, after sweating my Polish rump off in Bikram Yoga, I feel as if I’ve learned a few things about living, and living well, along the way—well, I hope that’s the case. But ask me on a Tuesday, when the paper is on deadline. It’s actually the best time for me to practice the essence of Yoga. (Or, in many cases, be reminded to—and I’m not sure what cosmic teacher taught me this, so forgive me—”get the hell out of my own way.”)

Fires Fury. Great three-piece band, awesome people.

Christopher Czech
Santa Cruz | Solar Installer

People like me who put words on paper are always looking for a trend. I had an English teacher in college who said clues in literature and life come in threes. Later I met a cop who said he didn’t believe in coincidences at all and that CIA agents who don’t see trends are, generally, dead CIA agents.

The week: After intense planetary activity, including solar flares (Shamballa force) from the Sun and the magnetic field impacted Earth in previous weeks, the energies slowdown. Friday, Uranus (planet ruling the Aquarian Age, where community flourishes), retrogrades (till March 2011) back into Pisces (sign of saving the world). Uranus stimulates revolution, inventiveness, freedom, new archetypes.

Plus Letters to Good Times
The Beat Goes On
Curtain Up
August has blown in and so have the fall fashions. That only means one thing for GT’s  Features Editor, Christa Martin—compiling our annual Fashion Issue. And this year has proven to be our biggest fashion endeavor yet. Local designers, local fashionistas, local fashions—and more ... it’s all here. There are perks, too—as in prizes. See the end of the cover story for that information, or check on page three. Beyond that, if you already haven’t done so, visit GT’s Obsessive Beauty blog online, which Martin and GT scribe Leslie Patrick launched earlier this year. There’s more—so dive in and enjoy.