Audacious ‘Artist’ poised to make big noise at 84th Academy Awards

Imagine my surprise to find so many of my favorite movies of 2011 up for major Academy Awards this year. Are my tastes becoming more mainstream, or is the Academy getting a clue? But whichever, some surprises in the pre-Oscar awards season and the usual free-for-all resulting from nine Best Picture nominations, ought to make for a lively Oscar show. Time to dust off the ol’ crystal ball and make a few fearless predictions.

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Cole Berry currently serves as world-fusion/funk band New World Ape’s percussion virtuoso, but if his passion for their eclectic brand of music ever wanes, he’s got other plans. “If I wasn’t in this band right now, I’d probably just be in the Andes,” he admits. Fortunately, it’s that immutable wanderlust that feeds his band’s musical fire. The core five of the seven- to eight-piece ensemble met while studying at UC Santa Cruz. In 2009, a year after graduating, Berry was contacted by drummer Beaumont Bradbury. “I was actually in La Paz, Bolivia, recovering from some intestinal issues,” recalls Berry, “and I got this email from him saying he wanted to kind of put together this serious progressive dance band, and I said yeah, count me in.”

Variety of services and professional etiquette help make this place a haven

We lead busy lives. And while we might already know that it’s best to find the right balance between work and play, we often overlook another important aspect to creating harmony between the mind and body: nurturing. As in, taking care of your skin and body in ways that go beyond basic maintenance. I’m talking about really taking care of yourself.

That’s where Patty Yarr comes in. As a licensed esthetician for 22 years, Yarr has absorbed a great deal of knowledge about skin and body health. During the last 10 years, she’s been at the helm of Aptos Village Skin and Body Care, a unique sanctuary nestled in the most picturesque part of Aptos. Many things shine here but mostly, it’s Yarr’s commitment to great customer care and offering an impressive line of skin care products—it’s one of the reasons she hit our radar in our annual health issue. (See GT’s 2/23 cover story.)

Editor’s Note: We live in an era where staying centered and healthy may seem like it’s becoming more and more challenging. With so many things capturing our attention these days—from the bastion of media information suddenly flooding our senses via Smartphones, Facebook and Twitter—we’re bound to eventually ask ourselves: What’s the best way to find balance and stay grounded? Hopefully we can offer some answers to that question in our health issue. This year, we decided to spotlight several local health advocates whose work is steering people toward living—or, in some cases, having—a more healthy life. And take note of our new health probe, dubbed On Our Radar, where we spotlight innovative happenings and humans. Enjoy. And here’s to your good health. —Greg Archer

Barbera 2010 and Center Street Grill  

With our bottle of Hunter Hill Barbera in hand, we head to Center Street Grill for dinner. I often take my own wine to restaurants—especially if I have one I really want to try—and pay the corkage fee. Center Street Grill is a restaurant we visit on a regular basis. I lived in Greece for 13 years, so I particularly love the Mediterranean-influenced food prepared by owner Danny Voutos. Voutos is of Greek descent, so he grew up appreciating olive oil-based cuisine, and flavoring food with fresh herbs and spices.

Plus Letters to the Editor

The longer you live here, the more likely you are to develop certain habits. You may like your sushi prepared a certain way, so suddenly you’re frequenting that one sushi spot that totally satisfies you. Perhaps there’s a particular bike spot that just has the right vibe, or a local bookstore whose dedicated efforts to reaching out to the community is something you truly value. Individually, these portals may seem like just another thing that is in your life, but really, they are much more.

How this bold, inventive original musical conceived by Bay Area locals is suddenly the hottest ticket in town. Head to the Retro Dome!

Let’s face it, Britney Spears is an acquired taste. The headlines. The turmoil. The shaved head. How much are we willing to tolerate from our pop divas?

A lot, apparently.

Still, we always seem to come back to the troubled singer, to use her vernacular, “one more time.”

A pre-Colombian soup of Mesoamerican shelled corn continues to nourish and warm us centuries later

The Aztec and other ancient cultures in Mesoamerica gave us many things. For instance, the words chocolate and avocado originated in the Nahuatl language, as did pozole [poh-soh-ley].