Santa Cruz Good Times

Tuesday
May 21st
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Universal Peace Day

RisaNewSAs we progress through Mercury retrograde, the past shows up for remembrance and review. During the final stages of World War II (in 1945), two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9), Japan, This event, (the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date) released and liberated the energy of the atom, an important spiritual event equal to the appearance of humanity on Earth. Universal Peace Day was created to commemorate the moments and days of those bombings. Organized in 1984 (Art for the People in Central Park, New York beginning with a sunrise meditation), singers, dancers, artists and poets shared messages of peace throughout the day. At the exact moment on the anniversary of the bombings, candles were lit and bells rang out all over Central Park. Since then Universal Peace Day celebrations occur around the world. In 1987 as people everywhere shared their visions of peace by computer, the mayor of Hiroshima “made a dedication for peace via telephone at the exact moment of the bombing.” By 2008 international recognition for Universal peace day was commemorated simultaneously by the United Nations and Japan ringing peace bells together. In Hiroshima this year, runners will bring the torch of peace into the city to light the fire of Hope & Peace. Now a global observance with worldwide broadcasts, everyone can join in with bells and candle-lighting. The purpose is to unite humanity for a moment of peace, to remember the bombings in Japan and to re-dedicate ourselves to Life. We remember the Esoteric equation for Peace; Good Will, Right Relations, Active Peace. On-line: tune in to Peace Day TV, the United Nations Peace page. See www.peaceday.tv. Register your celebration at www.livepeaceinternational.org. See Risa’s Facebook page for daily astrological/esoteric updates. Note: in the weeks to come, we’ll change our minds a lot.

Esoteric Astrology as News for the week of Aug 4–10, 2011 For Sun and Rising Signs

ariesAries-March 21–April 20
It’s best to plan on having fun during the next several weeks. This will stimulate your creativity, which won’t follow its usual road less traveled but will embark upon an entirely new direction. This is only if you ponder upon the state of your creativity and seek other sources of inspiration to discover new patterns. New alternatives find their way to you. Change is your newest name.

taurusTaurus
April 21–May 21
Mercury retro is about detours, delays, and the long way around any and all situations and events. It’s time now to review your previous course of action and decisions. More fundamental values have now arisen and it’s best to get to the heart of what you’re doing so that future stability is assured. Someone’s voice is important. Harken to it.

geminiGemini
May 22–June 20
It will be important for your self-identity (which is altering) and your creativity (being restructured) to understand that your life agenda is evolving, your friends are shifting about, positions are changing and only you are the reliable one in your life. Always the message–tend carefully to your money. You may spend more than usual.

cancerCancer
June 21–July 20
Take time to settle financial worries and concerns by re-strategizing where money is being spent. Concerns about the future are real. The future is an unknown. However, we need to prepare by putting food by in case of unusual events. The Mormons are efficient in this area. I found an excellent website about food storage for you. Analyze and review it. lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/foodstoragewhat.htm

leoLeo
July 21–August 22
The main questions asked the next several weeks are “Who am I to myself and to others?” How do I project myself out into the world?” The search for answers leads to an internal review of self that shows you the truth of who and what you’ve become over time in the last many years. Now is the time for refinement, for calling in consistency and personal magnetism and a love that’s real. It will happen.

virgoVirgo
August 23–September 22
All realities become inner realities. All resources become inner resources. All communication becomes internalized even though sometimes you think you’re speaking aloud. Know that for three weeks veils will envelop your eyes, a mist will surround you as your life’s reality and activity move behind the scenes. In other words, only instinct and intuition are your guides.

libraLibra
September 23–October 22
So many things are occurring for Libras. Your self-identity is restructuring, your foundation is transforming, your home has moved, your creativity has been refined, your relationships have revolutionized, your resources have expanded, your anger has arisen, your love of friends has been revealed. Now it’s good to be silent for a while to assess. New vistas of introspection are approaching.

scorpioScorpio
October 23–November 21
What’s occurring in your world? Something important is being communicated there; something’s offered. Take it, at least for a while. Make no big decisions the next three weeks. However, do ponder on what it’s like to be in the spotlight. Don’t misstep and stumble amidst all the footlights aimed at you. Stand a bit in the shadows. Others follow your clear thoughtful mental clarity. You’ve earned this recognition.

saggSagittarius
November 22–December 20
You are in a period of pausing a bit, entering into an interlude of thoughtful rest. Tend to important things like travel which so often gives you direction, vision and purpose. For the next 12 months a new self-identity will resolve itself within you. For now you may be feeling the shifting to and fro of many different identities. Try all of them on. Impact your environments, friends and yourself with acts of goodwill.

capricornCapricorn
December 21–January 20
Set a goal to review your monetary situation. Set another goal to organize it, applying resources in ways that don’t make you feel overspent. Are there resources somewhere you’ve forgotten or are there other ways of bringing in money that you’ve previously rejected? A sure way of receiving more is to tithe to those in need. When you give from your heart, a magnetic field is created and we’re given back tenfold. Teach this to children .

aquariusAquarius
January 21–February 18
What is the status of your relationships, partnerships, intimates, close friends? It is good in coming weeks to assess this; to mend ties with some, offer services to others, forgive some and ask forgiveness of others, shake hands with some, embrace others. Misperceptions easily occur. Reach out; make contact through direct compassionate communication.

piscesPisces
February 19–March 20
Everything in your daily life is suddenly different. New responsibilities appear as you return to a previous situation. Mental clarity will be needed along with physical strength and quiescent emotions. Careful with anger toward mother or those close to you. The recognition you seek may not be available. You’re on your own on an island. You’ll need a boat, good shoes, and that sweater your mother always told you to wear.


Risa is Founder & Director of the Esoteric & Astrological Studies & Research Institute, a contemporary Wisdom School in Santa Cruz, CA.

More at nightlightnews.com. Risa's email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Facebook: Risa's Esoteric Astrology
Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment
smaller | bigger

busy
 

Share this on your social networks

Bookmark and Share

Share this

Bookmark and Share

  • Search
  •  

    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.”
    Sign up for Tomorrow's Good Times Today
    Upcoming arts & events

    Latest Comments

     

    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