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From the Editor

Wednesday, 28 November 2012 12:00 Greg Archer Columns - Editors Note
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Greg 12It’s a busy time of year and we may feel like we are being pulled in a thousand different directions. At the top of the list of to-dos is this reminder: Express gratitude. It’s a good reminder but I always like to chase it back with a shot of “count your blessings,” too. In other words: Take a look around, check in and see if you’re taking anyone or anything for granted. Let’s face it, we lead busy lives—so much so that we can lose track of the people and things that actually make our lives vibrant. The following three questions were recently presented to me and I’ll share them with you.

1) When was the last time you really reached out to a friend and took the time to genuinely “check in?” 2) When was the last time you gave thanks for your job or profession? 3) Can you list five things you are grateful for today?  Have fun with all that. Awareness is a cool thing—it’s the taking action part that can trip people up. Onward ...

Speaking of gratitude, it seems the community of Santa Cruz is growing even more excited about the arrival of The Santa Cruz Warriors—the basketball team’s first game in Reno unfolds this weekend and the first home game is Dec. 23. You can learn more about the Warriors and what their presence might mean for Santa Cruz. See you at the local games.

And take note:  We’ve been receiving a nice response from our annual Community Fund issue, which ran last week. In addition to drawing attention to the 30th anniversary of Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, we highlighted the issue of housing, and the five nonprofits making huge strides in that arena:  Transition Age Youth Program, Habitat For Humanity,  Pajaro Valley Shelter Services, Homeless Services Center and Watsonville Law Center.  To make a donation, visit cfscc.org, call 662-2000, or mail in the form on page 12 of this week’s paper.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of this week’s issue. Thank you for reading. More next time ...

Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief

Letters to the Editor

Prop 37: The Aftermath
Regarding the article on Prop 37 (GT 11/22), our entire household was pretty bummed that the proposition did not pass. It’s a real shame.  We all have the right to know what is in our food and we deserve to know if any of our food contains GMOs. The only hope we now have is that, maybe, the entire proposition can be rewritten at some point so that it is even more clear to California voters. Thank goodness for the fantastic efforts of GMO-Free Santa Cruz. This local group was a champion in getting the message out and they truly deserve recognition for their amazing efforts.
John Fields
Santa Cruz

Community Foundation/Community Fund
It’s always nice to see spotlights on our area’s nonprofits. Thank you Good Times and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County for bringing into our awareness the issues this year: Homeless Services Center, Pajaro Valley Shelter Services, Habitat For Humanity, Transition Age Youth Program and Watsonville Law Center).
Tammi Gillingham
Aptos

To ‘Lincoln’ or Not to ‘Lincoln’
I always appreciate Lisa Jensen’s movie reviews and the one that she wrote about the new film, Lincoln, was good. But I am still on the fence about the movie. That was not an easy film to sit through. I expected a bit more from Steven Spielberg. I enjoyed the performances and Daniel Day-Lewis was in top form, but I could not understand why the film was so tough to watch. Help me out here. Maybe it’s just me?
Alex Crawford
Scotts Valley

Online Comments

On ‘Lincoln’
Lincoln lives again for a brief time, I thank you for making history come alive.I wish we could turn back the hands of time and stop Booth. Just think if he had lived and his dreams of equality for all were realized how different our history would be. No Civil Rights Movement, Suffragists Movement, maybe just peace and happiness.
—Guest

On ‘His Man Stan’
Nice article on Ray Brown and Stan Kenton, Mr. Dunn. I hope you do more Jazz type articles because you like history and those that really get the most out of jazz are those that enjoy its evolution. Ray will have a stellar performance and we are so lucky have it so near. Oh, Geoffrey, you could do a book on Kenton, you got friends.
—Bobby Z

editorsnoteimage2Chris Daniels of the Santa Cruz Warriors takes his best shot at a recent practice. Read this week’s cover story.

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Silent Dilemma

An inside look at body image and eating disorders. PLUS: Why ‘fat’ is not a feeling. My earliest memory of “feeling fat” was when I was about 12 years old. Up until that time, I was not all that aware of having a body; I was pretty much just in my body, doing the things that kids do. I had not yet learned that I was supposed to look differently than I did. I had not yet downloaded the program that some foods were “good” and others were “bad.” I did not yet have exercise and movement linked up with calorie burning or self-worth.

 

Field to Vase

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North Pacific String Band

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Making the Grade

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Summer Solstice, Full Moon, Mercury Retros

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A Sustainable Culture

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The Power of Conversation

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What’s your secret to avoiding the summer swarms?