Santa Cruz Good Times

Monday
May 20th
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

9-Word Novels

tiny_novelYou made it short and sweet. You made it yours. Here are the nine 9-Word Novel winners.

1. Sparky, loving everyone, except Jehovah witnesses, licked faces freely.
- Carol J. Colin

2. UNENCUMBERED | Octogenarian, unencumbered by latest gizmos, embraces yoga, life universe.
- Gilda Zelin

3. ANTI-GERM-STUFF OVERLOAD! | What's an immune system to do but attack itself?
- Lisa Johnson


4. UNEXPECTEDLY, LIFE: YOU HAVE ALTERED | Prematurely confident. Unfortunately ignorant. Expensive carelessness. Effectively awakening. Unforgettable.
- Brittany Cowling

5. NEWS ITEM | Politician speaks honestly and plainly. Hell freezes. Pigs fly.
- Lois Chance

6. CHOICES | She adopted the dog. He hated dog. He's gone.
- Denise Hendsbee

7. REDEMPTION | Alien brain slugs are discovered, vanquished. Tea Party's over!
- Melissa Mendes Campos

8. That's not how I want my story to end.
- Geoff Lawson

9. AND THE WIND WHISPERS | Her shopping cart. Homeless woman has nothing... Has everything
- Wit

All the entries . . .
UNDROWNED | Touched and thought in vain; Fathomed love; outlived pain.
SANTA CRUZ HAIKU | Seductive Ocean, entices us through cool breath. Liberate yourself.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | Burdened elephant, weary, knees bending, laid down and died.
PRECIPICE | Jobs? (Kids ... Despair) optimistically compromised faithfully ... fall begins
A JOURNEY, BRIEF AND SWIFT | Arrival, naivete. Maturing, discoveries. Authority apathetic. Consequential accountability. Lessons.
UNEXPECTEDLY, LIFE: YOU HAVE ALTERED | Prematurely confident. Unfortunately ignorant. Expensive carelessness. Effectively awakening. Unforgettable.
My cute, high school girlfriend turned sixty last week.
THE PACT | She said. Then he said. Then they did it.
LITERARY NOTIONS | Great ideas often pop up like worms after rain.
FIELD OF DREAMS | Today, the SF Giants won their 10th World Series.
NEWS ITEM | Politician speaks honestly and plainly. Hell freezes. Pigs fly.
PERSONAL AD | Beautiful handicapped baby girl needs father and mother. Hurry!
Stretching, aligning ... hands and feet on mat … then tea.
She calls crying … Mama! Help me! ... I send money.
Pulling a final breath, Mom softly passed with grace.
SPRING BREAK 1971 | Madison to Daytona, partied two weeks. Total: Thirty dollars.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY | Sheets windward; fluffing. Aircraft carrier closing in. Surfing wake. *****Jeff, is it fluffing? There was a letter missing …
I searched for God in all the wrong places.
THE PARK | The officer asked, "Would this get us all high?"
UNENCUMBERED | Octogenarian, unencumbered by latest gizmos, embraces yoga, life universe.
TRUE LOVE IN UNLIKELY PLACES | Unhappy marriage. Animal shelter dogs. Best lifetime relationships ever.
SO MUCH DEPENDS UPON | That waking moment. With you next to me. Smiling.
YUMMY  | "Umami" the chef explained.  "Oh baby" his lover replied.
SWEET PEAS | Magenta sweet peas blew olfactory kisses to lucky passers-by.
DAMN GODS | Gods wage waning wars; goddesses linger in looming peace.
it's like it never happened, but it really did.
THE  DIE  EFFECT | Smart  meters  bring  dangers,  privacy  invasions  and  economic devastation.
The sun. The moon. The stars. The world. God.
Butterflies about, watch them shout, “I’m beautiful, look, see.”
I feel like I’m 25, it was my best.
You say, “I need a job … I’m for sale.”
A little dirt never hurt, so eat carrots raw.
We all feel feelings. We feel good the same.
THE LIL MAN  | Small, loud, handsome, dramatic, hard-headed, pleasant, strong, intelligent, flirty.
REDEMPTION | Alien brain slugs are discovered, vanquished. Tea Party's over!
BIG SISTER | Fighting evil, she traded the veil for a badge.
THE METAMORPHOSIS | I awoke transformed ... into a chicken. Man, life clucks.
From crystalis to butterfly, I am that which was.
LOVE THE PATH | Excruciating journey ends flying into safety of open arms.
SWIRLING winds.  Coastal fog. Rising Tides. Sunny coastline afternoons.
THE BIG GAME! | We came, saw the game, ate pretzels … and lost!
LOVIN’ LIFE IN SANTA CRUZ | Sunrise, waves lap at toes, sand through fingers. Happiness.
Waving, wonderful washes the sea over me, refreshing pools.
Sparky, loving everyone, except Jehovah witnesses, licked faces freely.
Mystically Sensuous, cooled my flesh, my eyes rolled back.
Her blood pressure dropped, stroking the soft White Dog.
Sweating, she scuttled sideways, clearing the terrifying Thrusting Machine.
GONE | Your hair is everywhere; defensively twisted away from me. 
GOODBYE, MOON | Through tears, she saw the moon one last time.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH ALMOST EVERYTHING ON EARTH? | Earth is overpopulated by humans.  Solution:  Global birth control.
IT'S A LIFE | A ride many will try only few will master.
REPETITION | Writing, euphoria, vacuity, upheaval, unblock, euphoria, writing, repetition.
SEX GOD AND MYSTERY | My God!  I am pregnant.  Who is the father?
RANGO | Shot a man, got girl, sunset. The end.
CHILDHOOD | Uncle, incest, shame, self-hatred, sex addiction, abortions, JESUS! recovery …
Just as space never ends, time has never began.
Life, random order, we a ball on roulette wheel.
WE | A speck of fertilizer indubitably changing the earth.
GOOD TIMES? | I am a man. I need a job. Now.
NIGHTMARE FAMILY LIFE | CPS hell! Children’s court. Body mutilation. ADHD. Demons. Light!
EMERGING TRIUMPHANT | Enthralled by radical serendipities we thrive against all odds.
DISCONNECTED | Oppressing panic turns liberating bliss—forgot iPhone on vacation.
Put some spring in your step we're finally free.
BEAUTY’S VILE COUNTERPART | Constructing family, recognizing and naming, created the excluded monster.
After the car crash, we laughed then kissed...
IF YOU MUST | Blame the multitude of invisible wave activity surrounding me.
ANTI-GERM-STUFF OVERLOAD! | What's an immune system to do but attack itself?
I grew rapidly, at first, before I moved here.
FRANCIS | Heaven hadn't found any answers in Francis Logan Goliath.
THE WAVES BREAK ON INNOCENCE | Youthful joy brutally tarnished; a family learns what matters.
N.Y.  JOURNAL/9-11 | Pregnant! Smiling, I turn ... a plane heading at me!
2011, A SPACE IDIOCY | A resurrected HAL 9000 instinctively creates a Facebook page.
BAD DAY AT OK CORRAL | The schoolmarm burned, Tex blazed, a six-shooter fell flacid.
HORMONES ON HOLIDAY | Romance at the seashore with children roiled in fog.
LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFFAL | Presidential indecisiveness holding the button, then the earthquake struck.
STRING SOLO | Sex crazed politicians plotting world dominance abide universal puppeteer.
THE CORNER POCKET | Ocean of beer. Salty tears. Last shot. Game over.
THE HOOK | They jumped out of the water to take The Hook.
LOST | Computer got virus, book irretrievable, back to bottle, Lost.
She is cooing to her baby as I garden
The cage door opened as the white shark passed
MYSTERY AND ROMANCE | Quiet, Shot, Running, Dark, Scuttle, Leap, Embrace, Happy Ending
SPRINGFIELD | Dow plummets.  Dao soars. Springfield grimaces, hesitating to follow.
HUBRISTIC FIT | Roll the presses. Epic all-nighter yields nine worder.
OCEAN OTTER. TEACH ME PLAY. WATCHING YOU EVERY DAY.
WAR | Uniformed, grasping door latch: the last of my father.
FULL SPEED AHEAD | Four hundred thousand furlongs per fortnight. Now that’s fast.
LIFE | creation birth childhood learning adulthood service family experiences culmination
I was a dear wish and I came true.
That's not how I want my story to end.
POST-GRADUATE LAMENT | He's stuck in Oakland with the unemployment blues
THE JOURNEY | Giving birth. One then two, into herself she grew.
Lost. Woods. Afraid. Sunset ... Dark ... Sunrise. Path. Road. Found.
UNBOUNDED | Aching, sweating, straining ... I found where the twist flops.
DEAD A HEAD | 3011. Reawakened, my cryogenic head unfrozen. Drat, smart.
MOONSHINER DAUGHTER'S | First job north. Shocked by greedy bosses!
TAKING THE HINT | Painstakingly removing the Chihuly, Jack exulted:  "She loves me!"
ARRIVAL | Etches opportunities.  Accomplishing unexpected proof.  Presence affirms perfection.
BEHIND FALLEN TEARS | Ripped pictures, fallen tears, unspoken words. Friends at war.
CHOSEN | Each clenched fist relaxed, Ahmed drew the short straw.
NOBODY WILLING | He's drunk, yelling again. A Baby Name book closes.
AND THE WIND WHISPERS | Her shopping cart. Homeless woman has nothing... Has everything.
CHOICES | She adopted the dog.  He hated dog.  He's gone
THE WEDDING | Eyes met, Vows spoken, lips touched, then two were one.
ALL THESE PEOPLE | Who are we? "Myself," she whispered.
WAIKIKI AFTER 20 YEARS | You drink maitais.  I talk.  You fall.  I push.
NOBODY WILLING | He’s drunk, yelling again.  A baby name book closes.
THE PROTECTOR | Adults frightened him.  So off came the tadpole legs.


> VOTE for your favorites >

 

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