Page 135 – Good Times

Free Will Astrology

Astrology

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April 10, 2024

ARIES
March 21-April 19

Now is a favorable time to make initial inquiries, ask for free samples and enjoy window shopping. But it’s not an opportune time to seal final decisions or sign binding contracts. Have fun haggling and exploring, even as you avoid making permanent promises. Follow the inklings of your heart more than the speculations of your head, but refrain from pledging your heart until lots of evidence is available. You are in a prime position to attract and consider an array of possibilities, and for best results you should remain noncommittal for the foreseeable future.

TAURUS
April 20-May 20

Author Betty Bender said, “Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.” Painter Georgia O’Keeffe confessed she always harbored chronic anxiety—yet that never stopped her from doing what she loved. Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Anyone who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” I hope these testimonials inspire you to bolster your grit, Taurus. In the coming days, you may not have any more or less fear than usual. But you will be able to summon extra courage and willpower as you render the fear at least semi-irrelevant.

GEMINI
May 21-June 20

Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199) was a medieval king of England. How did he get his nickname? Scholars say it was because of his skill as a military leader. But legend tells an additional story. As a young man, Richard was imprisoned by an enemy who arranged for a hungry lion to be brought into his cell. As the beast opened its maw to maul the future king, Richard thrust his arm down its throat and tore out its heart, killing it. What does this tale have to do with you, Gemini? I predict you will soon encounter a test that’s less extreme than Richard’s but equally solvable by bursts of creative ingenuity. Though there will be no physical danger, you will be wise to call on similar boldness. Drawing on the element of surprise may also serve you well.

CANCER
June 21-July 22

Will the adventures heading your way be unusual, amusing and even unprecedented? I bet they will have at least some of those elements. You could encounter plot twists you’ve never witnessed or imagined. You may be inspired to dream up creative adjustments unlike any you’ve tried. These would be very positive developments. They suggest you’re becoming more comfortable with expressing your authentic self and less susceptible to the influence of people’s expectations. Every one of us is a unique genius in some ways, and you’re getting closer to inhabiting the fullness of yours.

LEO
July 23-Aug. 22

At least for now, help may not be available from the usual sources. Is the doctor sick? Does mommy need mothering? Is the therapist feeling depressed? My advice is to not worry about the deficiencies, but rather shift your attention to skillful surrogates and substitutes. They may give you what you need—and even more. I’m reminded of The Crystal Cave, a novel about the Arthurian legend. The king, Ambrosius Aurelianus, advises the magician Merlin, “Take power where it is offered.” In other words: not where you think or wish power would be, but from sources that are unexpected or outside your customary parameters.

VIRGO
Aug. 23-Sept. 22

The rest of the story is not yet ready to emerge, but it will be soon. Be patient just a while longer. When full disclosure arrives, you will no longer have to guess about hidden agendas and simmering subtexts. Adventures in the underworld will move above ground. Missing links will finally appear, and perplexing ambiguities will be clarified. Here’s how you can expedite these developments: Make sure you are thoroughly receptive to knowing the rest of the story. Assert your strong desire to dissolve ignorance.

LIBRA
Sept. 23-Oct. 22

In the coming weeks, you can ask for and receive more blessings than usual. So please be aggressive and imaginative about asking! Here are suggestions about what gifts to seek out: 1. vigorous support as you transform two oppositional forces into complementary influences; 2. extra money, time and spaciousness as you convert a drawback into an asset; 3. kindness and understanding as you ripen an unripe aspect of yourself; 4. inspiration and advice as you make new connections that will serve your future goals.

SCORPIO
Oct. 23-Nov. 21

Read the two help-wanted ads below. Meditate on which appeals to you more, and treat this choice as a metaphor for a personal decision you face. 1. “Pedestrian, predictable organization seeks humdrum people with low-grade ambitions for tasks that perform marginally useful services. Interested in exploring mild passions and learning more about the art of spiritual bypassing?” 2. “Our high-octane conclave values the arts of playing while you work and working while you play. Are you ready and able to provide your creative input? Are you interested in exploring the privilege and responsibility of forever reinventing yourself? We love restless seekers who are never bored.”

SAGITTARIUS
Nov. 22-Dec. 21

What is a gourmet bargain? What is a discount marvel? How about an inspiring breakthrough that incurs no debt? Themes like those are weaving their way into your destiny. So be alert for the likelihood that cheap thrills will be superior to the expensive kind. Search for elegance and beauty in earthy locations that aren’t sleek and polished. Be receptive to the possibility that splendor and awe may be available to you at a low cost. Now may be one of those rare times when imperfect things are more sublime than the so-called perfect stuff.

CAPRICORN
Dec. 22-Jan. 19

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in,” wrote novelist Graham Greene. For me, it was three days near the end of third grade when I wrote a fairy tale about the unruly adventures of a fictional kid named Polly. Her wildness was infused with kindness. Her rebellions were assertive but friendly. For the first time, as I told Polly’s story, I realized I wanted to be an unconventional writer when I grew up. What about you, Capricorn? When you were young, was there a comparable opening to your future? If so, now is a good phase to revisit it, commune with your memories of it and invite it to inspire the next stage of its evolution in you.

AQUARIUS
Jan. 20-Feb. 18

Even when you are your regular, ordinary self, you have a knack and fondness for irregularity and originality. And these days, your affinity for what’s unprecedented and uncommon is even higher than usual. I am happy about that. I am cheering you on. So please enjoy yourself profoundly as you experiment with nonstandard approaches. Be as idiosyncratic as you dare! Even downright weird! But also try to avoid direct conflicts with the Guardians of How Things Have Always Been Done. Don’t allow Change Haters to interfere with your fun or obstruct the enhancements you want to instigate. Be a slippery innovator. Be an irrepressible instigator.

PISCES
Feb. 19-March 20

Below are truths I hope you will ripen and deepen in the coming months. 1. Negative feelings are not necessarily truer and more profound than positive ones. 2. Cynical opinions are not automatically more intelligent or well-founded than optimistic opinions. 3. Criticizing and berating yourself is not a more robust sign of self-awareness than praising and appreciating yourself. 4. Any paranoia you feel may be a stunted emotion resulting from psychic skills you have neglected to develop. 5. Agitation and anxiety can almost always be converted into creative energy.

Homework: What’s your best method for dissolving bad habits? Tell me so I can benefit from your wisdom! Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

Healthy, Not Boring

Elizabeth Borelli

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April 3, 2024

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For the first time since 2019, Santa Cruz VegFest returns to the Cocoanut Grove on April 6, attracting more than 80 exhibitors dedicated to environmentally conscious cuisine.

Thousands of foodies, health enthusiasts and nature lovers will get together under one roof to celebrate a lifestyle that’s not just about what’s on the plate but also about the impact of dietary choices on the planet and our well-being.

VegFest organizers Camilla and Helbard Alkhassadeh, founders of Little Hill Sanctuary animal rescue center, call this event an immersive experience that transcends mere food festivals and delves into the heart of plant-powered living. The festival is the latest evolution in a lifestyle the two have embraced for decades.

The couple opened Little Hill in 2020; today, the nonprofit has become home to more than 100 abandoned animals. Their mission has been gaining momentum in recent years, with more and more people choosing to adopt a plant-based lifestyle. During a recent interview, Camilla and Helbard spoke in depth about the changes driving this trend.

One top reason they cite is the potential benefit to health. Diet-related disease rates continue to rise, even with all the latest interventions, the newest diet plans and whatever the Kardashians are doing. Yet nutrition doesn’t need to be all that complicated.

Plant-based diets are rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, which are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Studies have shown that adopting a vegan diet may lower the risk of certain chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer.

But those who aren’t yet ready to give up cheese fries forever are also welcome.

Helbard says that most attendees are not entirely vegan but are interested in learning more about healthy eating, spurred by recent media coverage about the Netflix series You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment as well as studies on “blue zones,” those regions noted for healthy longevity and plant-based diets.

A Gastronomic Adventure

For the plant-curious, VegFest is a foodie mecca filled with creative vegan dishes, desserts, drinks and samples. Though meat consumption has steadily risen over the past decades, VegFest is ready to help reverse the trend by proving veganism is anything but boring. Local and national faves like Bitchin’ Sauce, Cedar’s, ChocoZero, Foods Alive, GoMacro, Lesser Evil, Love Corn and Teeccino are a few of sponsors that purvey delectable vegan cheeses, sauces, snacks, drinks and desserts.

Old favorites like Charlie Hong Kong, a budget-friendly dining hub that has served local and sustainable food since 1989, intermingle with newcomers like Rock N Roll Donut Bar, the bakery café on Pacific Avenue where the old Starbucks used to be. The latter features a Strawberry Shortcake donut that looks more like a small birthday cake and tastes good enough to make it worthwhile to brave the downtown parking experience.

The culinary adventure doesn’t stop there. Other locals include Honey B Market, a plant-forward cafe and marketplace founded by Funky Bean Tempeh visionary Katie Belanger, and YoSoy Ceviche, providing traditional Peruvian recipes with a twist of fusion. Both offer diverse plant-based options that rival traditional animal-based dishes, demonstrating that veganism doesn’t mean sacrificing taste or variety.

For many people, vegan living is an ethical choice driven by animal welfare concerns. The livestock industry is often associated with animal cruelty, environmental degradation and the exploitation of animals for human consumption.

This was the motivation for vegan leaders like Camilla Alkhassadeh, who even as a kid turned her love for animals into activism. She shares her most memorable Thanksgiving story: the time she pointed to the turkey roast centerpiece and explained why she wasn’t going to eat it. Camilla learned about factory farms in her early 20s, when she met Helbard; they both embraced the same ideals, and together they never looked back.

VegFest also explores compassionate living and sustainable choices with an array of eco-friendly products, cruelty-free cosmetics and ethically-sourced fashion. VegFest offers a glimpse into a world where sustainability is not just a buzzword but a way of life.

Live Music, (Non) Killer Comedy

Enticing as the wares are, Saturday’s festival offers more than conscious consumerism, with five bands and a “vegan comedy show” taking place throughout the day.

Dead Nettle, a band led by Lindsey Wall from American Idol—who recently recorded and released her first album, How I Thought—offers an amalgamation of fierce folk and indie rock songs with a nostalgic grungy edge.

Additional performers range from the skillfully crafted lyrics of soloist Nat Letkof and Snake Oil Road Show, the duo composed of longtime music veterans Adam Stafford and Mr. X, to acclaimed bands Village of Spaces and Cement Ship.

Yes, vegan comics do exist; so far I’ve met two, and both will be performing at VegFest. Regular Good Times readers know DNA as a talented writer and columnist. But they may not know he’s also a vegan comedian with a psychedelic twist who has opened for Moshe Kasher, Janeane Garofalo, Myq Kaplan and most of the Bay Area. An intergalactic performer, DNA uses comedy to bridge the gap between generations, genders, religions and species.

Connoisseurs may know vegan comedian Virginia Jones from her appearances on Portlandia and CNN’s History of Comedy or from her interviews on the LEGENDARY s, Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone, Call Me Curious, and Jackie Kashian’s long-running masterclass in Dorkdom, the Dork Forest.

Virginia, who has 20K followers on TikTok,, defines a vegan comedienne as “a comedienne who is also vegan.” She doesn’t make jokes about meat eaters normally, but no promises for this session.

And don’t miss DCherry Clown’s Drag Vegan Story time. This local drag performer from Monterey County has been a vegetarian since age 14.

Get Inspired

For those ready to take this lifestyle to the next level, VegFest has a daylong lineup of presentations by leading experts in the fields of nutrition, environmentalism, and animal welfare, such as Lauren Ornelas, founder of the Food Empowerment Project, and Tamearra Dyson, the founder of Souley Vegan.

And among the list of authors and activists sharing insights and inspiration, nutritionists Rachel Brown and Dr. Maria Jose Hummel share tips for healthy plant-based eating.

One VegFest sponsor, Vrinda Quintero of local catering company La Areperia 831, was motivated by social justice concerns related to food access, cultural representation and food sovereignty. By promoting plant-based alternatives and traditional cuisine, they aim to address issues of food injustice and empower marginalized communities to reclaim their culinary heritage.

A Call to Action

For Camille and Helbard and the team that made Santa Cruz VegFest happen, the big goal is to raise awareness. They hope attendees leave with a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration to make positive changes in their lives and the world around them. Whether it’s adopting a plant-based diet, reducing their carbon footprint, or starting where they’re at with more conscious sustainable choices, VegFest empowers individuals to be the change they wish to see in the world.

VegFest is more than just a food festival; it’s a celebration of compassion, sustainability, and the power of collective action. Whether you’re passionate about animal rights, environmental conservation or simply enjoy delicious food, VegFest offers something for everyone.

April 6, 10am-6pm, Cocoanut Grove at Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz. Adults: $5, Children under 12 free. vegfestsantacruz.org

Capitola on the Mend

Tarmo Hannula

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April 3, 2024

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The Wharf House Restaurant and the Boat and Bait Shop on the Capitola Wharf were torn down and toted away over the past few weeks as part of major repair and rebuilding of the historic landmark.

Construction crews carefully picked apart the buildings, with attention to not let debris get into the ocean.

Officials estimate demolition fees to run about $804,880.

While there is talk of the Boat and Bait Shop being rebuilt, it is unclear if the Wharf House, which featured a deck and dance floor, would come back to life.

“We’re a National Marine Sanctuary and there are some traces of hazardous materials in those buildings,” Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown said. “So we have to be careful in the demolition because we, above all, have to protect the waters and life of the Marine Sanctuary. The buildings just weren’t safe anymore and they found traces of asbestos.”

In October, state and city officials joined around 100 people to kick off repairs after storms last year took a giant bite out of the Capitola Wharf, cutting it into two sections and damaging buildings. That gap has since been replaced.

Attendees spoke about a multi-year journey that led to the groundbreaking ceremony.

“This wharf for 130 years has been an essential part of this community,” said Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who was at the October event. “This wharf has been a cornerstone of this community. But most importantly, it’s a symbol of what we stand for in this community. It represents the resiliency of Capitola.”

Even before the damage and current repairs, Capitola officials were planning to revitalize the wharf.

In 2015, city leaders began discussions on how to make the wharf more resilient and reinforce the structure against high surf and climate events. In 2016, Capitola residents passed tax Measure F, which the city used to update various fixtures of the wharf in the following years.

Following the storms in December 2022 and early 2023 that tore a big section out of the wharf and damaged its buildings, Panetta secured $3.5 million in federal funds for the wharf’s revival. Combined with state money, insurance payouts and Measure F contributions, the city now has more than $10 million to repair and reinforce the wharf.

Separately, a community-founded fundraiser known as the Capitola Wharf Enhancement Project has raised more than $150,000 to help beautify the structure. That money will go toward things such as public art, educational signage, benches and more.

But Brown pointed out that during recent repairs, workers discovered greater damage than was first detected.

“We had to move quickly in tearing the buildings out,” Brown said, “in order to keep hazardous materials from falling into the water.”

Brown said officials were hoping for a reopening of the wharf sometime in October but permits and Coastal Commission approvals take time. She added that she hopes the wharf could once again serve as a venue for live music, dining, dancing, recreational fishing and more.

Street Talk

Street Talk

John Koenig

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April 3, 2024

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What is something that you love—that your friends just can’t understand?

Metal Music. I’m always going to concerts and it’s hard to get my friends to come along.

Nick Heath, 26, Loan Officer at Santa Cruz County Bank

Sourdough bread. Everyone loves it, but they don’t understand what goes into the outcome of the deliciousness. Like behind the scene. They think it’s very, very simple—or maybe not, maybe the opposite.

Aisha Samon, 32, Trader Joe’s Downtown

Doom metal is my thing, it’s like metal but it’s even more miserable. It’s long and slower, it just doesn’t end, it goes on for even longer like kind of a drone thing. There’s lots of screaming too, yeah. A lot of people hate that.

Ezra Bettencourt, 37, Musician / Tile guy

The Panic In Needle Park, an old art film with Al Pacino. Friends think I’m strange because it’s a downer about drug addiction, but it’s actually a comparison with love. I used to watch it on Valentine’s Day when I was single.

Avery Johnson, 30, Photographer

A film called Hi, Mom, directed by Brian DePalma. It’s DeNiro’s defining movie before Taxi Driver. It’s dark and disturbing and it freaks people out. I’ve watched it multiple times.

Reggie Williams, 49, Philosophy Professor

People don’t get how much I love Star Wars—I have a Star Wars tattoo. And poetry and English literature, like JaneEyre, and Jane Austen’s novels.

Tiffany Dauner, 40, English Teacher

Andy Frasco Shows His Grown-up Side

Music

Alan Sculley

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April 3, 2024

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Could it be that Andy Frasco is maturing? He returned to touring this winter, and fans can expect Andy Frasco and the U.N. to bring the party on stage (or somewhere in front of the stage when Frasco is crowd surfing). But the singer/keyboardist is toning down the partying and other shenanigans that typically happened on and off stage on past tours.

“I’m doing it for my liver,” Frasco said, when he phoned in for a recent interview. “I’m all about the party, but I want people to know that I’m a songwriter, too. So I’m just really dialing in my songwriting, really dialing in my musicianship, so I know I can’t blame my partying for my shitty songs…I love partying and I love giving the people their entertainment, but I also want to give them something to think about.”

The fact is, by the time the pandemic hit in spring 2020, Frasco was not in a great place. He’d been drinking too much and doing cocaine, and his life-of-the-party behavior had left him wondering who his friends were and battling some genuine bouts of depression.

No one wanted the pandemic, but being forced off of the road gave Frasco the much-needed opportunity to take a hard look at himself, figure out how to get his life in a better place and decide if he still truly loved writing music and going on tour.

“I was just very selfish,” Frasco said, citing one of the contributing factors to his emotional issues.

“I was, like, doing things and not thinking about others. All of a sudden people wouldn’t start calling me back. I was realizing maybe it is me. I always blamed everyone else that I am on an island. But maybe I’m putting myself on an island.

“Before the pandemic, I didn’t want to be there. And I was faking a smile because I was just too depleted,” he said. “I had to look at myself in the mirror, like what are you doing this for if you’re not going to wake up? You preach happiness and you’re not even happy, so why do you keep (doing) it?”
One significant change was to kick his cocaine habit. He also cut back on drinking, although he admits he still enjoys his beverages.

But the supply of Jameson liquor is lasting longer these days, as he and his band have moderated their intake onstage these days.

“There’s still drinking. I’m not going to lie to you there,” Frasco said. “But it’s definitely more toned down. We’re drinking a half a bottle of Jameson a night, not the full bottle.”

The changes in behavior won’t surprise those who’ve been paying attention. Especially on 2020’s Keep On Keeping On and then Wash, Rinse, Repeat., the album that arrived in April 2022, it was clear Frasco wasn’t just offering escapism in his music.

That was a main theme for Frasco after he founded Andy Frasco & the U.N. in 2007, began touring and released the first of what is now nine studio albums in 2010.

One look at song titles like “Mature As Fuck,” “Blame It on the Pussy” (from 2016’s “Happy Bastards”) or “Smokin’ Dope n Rock n Roll” and “Commitment Deficit Disorder” (from 2014’s Half a Man) and it was obvious that Frasco and company were bringing the party with funny, sometimes bawdy lyrics, a disregard for rules, decorum (and sobriety), and a rowdy sound that mixed rock, funk, blues, soul and pop.

The approach generated a good bit of popularity, as Frasco and the U.N. began what became a consistent routine of playing roughly 250 shows a year—a pace that continues to this day. Along the way, the band especially caught on in the jam band scene and festival circuit.

But Frasco started to shift the narrative of his songs to more thoughtful subject matter. He kept the music buoyant and catchy, but the lyrics now wrestled with topics like getting older, maintaining his mental health, finding happiness, being considerate and appreciating life as it happens.

Keep On Keeping On arrived shortly after the pandemic hit. With touring halted, Frasco didn’t worry about taking the next musical step for quite awhile.

Instead, he took to social media. He hosted a video I Wanna Dance With Somebody Dance Party, and started podcasting. His current series, Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast, features interviews—some of which get downright deep—with musicians and other celebrities, commentary and comedic bits. The series has gained considerable traction and Frasco, who is frequently joined by co-host Nick Gerlach, will continue doing these podcasts even as he returns to a full schedule of touring, songwriting and recording.

With all of this activity, it wasn’t until about six weeks before he was due to return touring in 2021 that Frasco realized he wanted to have new music for the upcoming shows and charged into making Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

He traveled to several cities to write and record with other songwriters, a process that helped him sharpen his songwriting chops.

“It was basically like going to songwriting school,” Frasco said. “I wrote with 20 different songwriters and I wrote with, like, 15 different songwriters in Nashville, and I wrote with a couple of guys in Charleston and a couple of guys in L.A., and instead of like the mind state of I know everything, I went in there with my mind state of I don’t know anything. It kind of helped me grow into the next phase of my career.”

Feeling he was in a creative space, Frasco spent a chunk of 2022 making his current album, L’Optimist. The new album reflects a new development in Frasco’s life.
“I think it’s a love album. I finally committed to someone and I’ve been writing about her,” Frasco said.

The songs, though, aren’t all about romantic bliss.

“It’s scary as hell. I’ve never had a relationship,” Frasco revealed. “I don’t even know what the fuck I’m doing. That’s what I’m writing about. Like, is this OK?”

Some of the songs from L’Optimist are popping up in set lists on Frasco’s current tour with his band, along with material from his back catalog.

“I have two different philosophies when I write songs,” Frasco said. “Sometimes I write songs for the record and sometimes I write songs for the set. And these new songs, I was really focusing on trying to write it for both. It’s been really nice. It’s given me confidence that I can write songs for both the (album) and for the live show.”

April 4, 8pm, at the Felton Music Hall

Free Will Astrology

Astrology

Rob Brezsny

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April 3, 2024

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ARIES March 21-April 19
Aries author Eric G. Wilson claims, “Darker emotional states—doubt, confusion, alienation, despair—inspire a deeper and more durable experience of the sacred than contentment does.” I disagree. I know for a fact that an exquisite embrace of life’s holiness is equally possible through luminous joy and boisterous triumph and exultant breakthroughs. Propagandists of the supposed potency of misery are stuck in a habit of mind that’s endemic to the part of civilization that’s rotting and dying. In any case, Aries, I’m pleased to tell you that in the coming weeks, you will have abundant opportunities to glide into sacred awareness on the strength of your lust for life and joie de vivre.

TAURUS April 20-May 20
Will humans succeed in halting the decimation of the
environment? Will we neutralize the power of fundamentalism as it fights to quash our imaginations and limit our freedoms? Will we outflank and outlast the authoritarians that threaten democracy? Sorry I’m asking you to think about sad realities. But now is an excellent time for you to ponder the world we are creating for our descendants—and resolve to do something in loving service to the future. Meditate on the riddle from Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking Glass: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”

GEMINI May 21-June 20
The genius polymath Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) contributed much treasure to science and engineering. One encyclopedia sums up his legacy: “He was the father of observational astronomy, modern-era classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.” Unfortunately, many of Galileo’s ideas conflicted with the teachings of Catholicism. The church fathers hounded him for years, even arresting him and putting him on trial. The Vatican eventually apologized, though not until 350 years after Galileo died. I expect that you, too, will generate many new approaches and possibilities in the coming months, Gemini—not Galileo level, of course, but still: sufficiently unprecedented to rouse the resistance of conventional wisdom. I suspect you won’t have to wait long to be vindicated, however.

CANCER June 21-July 22
Now would be a perfect time to prove your love. How? You might begin by being extra considerate, sensitive, sweet and tender. I hope you will add sublime, scintillating touches, too. Maybe you will tell your beloved allies beautiful truths about themselves—revelations that make them feel deeply understood and appreciated. Maybe you will give them gifts or blessings they have wanted for a long time but never managed to get for themselves. It’s possible you will serenade them with their favorite songs, or write a poem or story about them, or buy them a symbol that inspires their spiritual quest. To climax all your kindness, perhaps you will describe the ways they have changed your life for the better.

LEO July 23-Aug. 22
Leo naturalist and ornithologist William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) said, “I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well-tended lawn.” I encourage you to adopt his attitude toward everything in your life for the next few weeks. Always opt for unruly beauty over tidy regimentation. Choose lush vitality over pruned efficiency. Blend your fate with influences that exult in creative expressiveness, genial fertility and deep feelings. (PS: Cultural critic Michael Pollan says, “A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”)

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
I praise and celebrate you for your skills at helping other people access their resources and activate their potentials. I hope you are rewarded well for your gorgeous service. If you are not, please figure out how to correct the problem in the coming months. If you are feeling extra bold, consider these two additional assignments: 1. Upgrade your skills at helping yourself access your own resources and activate your own potentials. 2. Be forthright and straightforward in asking the people you help to help you.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
I don’t regard a solar eclipse as a bad omen. On the contrary, I believe it may purge and cleanse stale old karma. On some occasions, I have seen it flush away emotional debts and debris that have been accumulating for years. So how shall we interpret the total solar eclipse that will electrify your astrological house of intimate togetherness in the coming days? I think it’s a favorable time to be brave and daring
as you upgrade your best relationships. What habits and patterns are you ready to reinvent and reconfigure? What new approaches are you willing to experiment with?

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
At your best, you Scorpios are not invasive manipulators. Rather, you are catalysts. You are instigators of
transformation, resurrectors of dead energy, awakeners
of numb minds. The people you influence may not be aware that they long to draw on your influence. They may think you are somehow imposing it on them, when, in fact, you are simply being your genuine, intense self, and they are reaching out to absorb your unruly healing. In the
coming weeks, please keep in mind what I’ve said here.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
In my astrological opinion, it’s prime time for you to shower big wild favors on your beautiful self. Get the fun underway with a period of rigorous self-care: a physical checkup, perhaps, and visits with the dentist, therapist, hairstylist and acupuncturist. Try new healing agents and seek precise magic that enhances and uplifts your energy. I trust you will also call on luxurious indulgences like a massage, a psychic reading, gourmet meals, an emotionally potent movie, exciting new music and long, slow love-making. Anything else, Sagittarius? Make a list and carry out these tasks with the same verve and determination you would give to any important task.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
The coming days will be a favorable time for you to wrestle with an angel or play chess with a devil. You will have extraordinary power in any showdown or collaboration
with spiritual forces. Your practical intelligence will serve you well in encounters with nonrational enigmas and supernatural riddles. Here’s a hot tip: Never assume that any being, human or divine, is holier or wiser than you. You will have a special knack for finding compassionate solutions to address even the knottiest dilemmas.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Your featured organ of the month is your nose. This may sound beyond the scope of predictable possibilities, but I’m serious: You will make robust decisions and discriminating choices if you get your sniffer fully involved. So I advise you to favor and explore whatever smells good. Cultivate a nuanced appreciation for what aromas can reveal. If there’s a hint of a stink or an odd tang, go elsewhere. The saying “follow your nose” is especially applicable. PS: I recommend you take steps to expose yourself to a wide array of scents that energize you and boost your mood.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
When is the best time to ask for a raise or an increase in benefits? Can astrology reveal favorable periods for being aggressive about getting more of what you want? In the system I use, the time that’s 30 to 60 days after your birthday is most likely to generate good results. Another phase is 210 to 240 days after your birthday. Keep in mind that these estimates may be partly fanciful and playful and mythical. But then in my philosophy, fanciful and playful and mythical actions have an honored place. Self-fulfilling prophecies are more likely to be fulfilled if you regard them as fun experiments rather than serious, literal rules

Homework: Imagine that everything and every place in your life are holy.

Under Ben Bulben — A Jewel Theatre premiere

Stage

Christina Waters

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April 3, 2024

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Under Ben Bulben — A Jewel Theatre premiere

While the rest of us were busy looking for the right yoga pants, or flirting with the guy across the bar, Kate Hawley was listening. Watching. Paying close attention.

Thanks to this playwright’s pitch-perfect ear, Jewel Theatre has launched another probing theater piece, the world premiere of Hawley’s Under Ben Bulben. Tongue firmly in cheek, the title nods both to a middle-of-nowhere spot of Ireland and a poem by Irish literary star William Butler Yeats.

Unfolding in a succession of vignettes, Ben Bulben places us in a run-down hotel managed by the unflappable Mrs. Brennen (a seamless, adroit performance by Patty Gallagher). With cheery scolding about the cost of hot water, and a stern warning against eating in the room, she welcomes a procession of guests. All have come with plenty of baggage.

We know these guests. We have been these guests.

With care and cunning Hawley and her scenario turn the hands of time back and forth, musing on memory and life’s inevitable lessons. Hawley is brilliant at surprises that are nonetheless familiar.

Thanks to knockout performances, the laughs are as rich and abundant as the tender epiphanies. Hawley writes funny as well as bracing, and never more so than for a breathtaking performance by Karel Wright as Maggie, accompanied to the hotel by her grandson Shaun (Andrew Yabroff).

As she remembers a childhood friendship that gave her the happiest times of her life, we watch an actor equal to the play’s best writing. It was one of those spellbinding moments that can only happen in live theater.

The tone is set as we meet the first guests, Sally (Julie Eccles) and Jack (Paul Whitworth), returning after many years to the site of their honeymoon. Hawley’s superb ear is at work as Jack makes a phone call to his daughter to let her know they’ve arrived safe and sound.

Talking with his little granddaughter, he launches into silly grandfather talk. Whitworth adroitly reveals the conversation on the other side through his own responses and reactions. The play often uses a phone call as a crucial device to expand the world

of the stage by way of unseen relationships, joys, disappointments and woeful disconnects. The phone calls to invisible others also invites the viewer into the play’s interior as we provide the unheard dialogue in our own imaginations.

Time, memory, what is said, and what isn’t, all form the deep tissue of Under Ben Bulben, a play whose appeal is immediate but whose scenes and implications will generate conversations long afterwards.

The Jewel pampers theater-goers with exceptional sets and lighting, and here kudos are due to lighting designer Kent Dorsey and scenic designer Michael Schweikardt.

Impeccable sound design by John H. Koss adds further texture, offering sonic reminders of the surrounding world.

The play keeps us engaged from start to finish as the characters bring their issues into the well-worn hotel room, inflected here and there with tart enthusiasm by Mrs. Brennan.

We meet another couple, on a return overnight for a golf tournament, and while the husband (Jeffrey Fiorito) drunkenly stumbles into bed and sleep, his wife (Nancy Carlin) recalls their previous stay. Both players are flawless in this gorgeously written bit of domestic revelation.

Cristina Anselmo as Josie and Solange Marcotte as her bored daughter Caitlin work their tense scene into a perfect lather of mother-daughter miscommunication.

Yet nothing is stereotypical in Hawley’s writing.

My heart was won, and not for the first time, by Rolf Saxon’s deft turn as a man on the phone to his ex-wife about their daughter’s wedding plans. His reactions to what we know she must be telling him are a masterclass in technique.

Finally, kudos to superb direction by Paul Mullins, whose insight into the script encouraged each actor to create a unique character.

Replete with memorable performances, Under Ben Bulben—the penultimate offering by the Jewel Theatre Company—is a splendid evening of theater.

Under Ben Bulben
Through April 14, $53
jeweltheatre.net

Weed Reeps

Cannabis

Dan Mitchell

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April 3, 2024

0

The politics of cannabis sometimes seem complicated because, almost uniquely in this sad political era, both support for and opposition to laws reforming cannabis laws can be found on both sides of the aisle.

This has led to some unfortunate rhetoric from reform advocates in support of ghouls like Matt Gaetz just because those ghouls favor liberalizing pot laws. For such single-issue proponents (most of them, to be fair, just individual social-media randos, though there are a lot of them), Gaetz’s overall vileness doesn’t matter a bit; he’s pro-weed, so they support him.

From many of the same people, we get statements of opposition to Democratic politicians, and not just the ones, like Joe Manchin, who oppose liberalization, but even the ones like Chuck Schumer, who favor it but are perceived to be moving too slowly or getting too cozy with big, corporate weed companies (not that they are above criticism for those things, of course).

But the situation isn’t really as complicated as it might seem. It’s not really necessary to get into a moral debate over whether it’s OK to vote for people who want to deport millions or who are fine with women dying from ectopic pregnancies as long as those people are pro-cannabis.

The best course for reformers is to support Democratic politicians, period. Support for reform comes overwhelmingly from Democrats; opposition comes overwhelmingly from Republicans. If the Democrats had control of the Senate over the past several years, weed would almost certainly have been legalized at the federal level by now.

But we don’t even need to examine Congress. Look at what’s happening at the state level.

In 2022, voters in five Texas cities approved ballot measures to decriminalize weed. Or, more accurately, not even to decriminalize, but simply to ratchet down enforcement by local cops of laws prohibiting the possession of small amounts of pot.

The ballot measures—in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen and San Marcos—were passed overwhelmingly. In Austin, probably the most progressive of those cities, 85% of voters approved the measure. In Killeen, a military town and not exactly a hippie haven, the initiative won 69% of the vote.

In January, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the five towns, seeking to block implementation of the voter initiatives. Paxton proudly issued a press release declaring that he filed the lawsuit “to protect the public from crime, drugs and violence.”

Paxton of course knows that problems stemming from “crime, drugs and violence” aren’t impacted at all by people possessing small amounts of pot, and that busting those people won’t help solve them. He’s doing this to appeal to his base, which skews toward the elderly and the malevolent. And he knows that the MAGA types who support him won’t change their votes even if they support pot reforms.

Republicans in Ohio are motivated by the same thing: sticking it to Democrats, whatever the will of the people might be. In November, a ballot measure to legalize adult-use weed passed with a whopping 57% of the vote. Senate Republicans, who control that chamber, immediately began attacking the measure, offering a substitute bill that would ban home growing, restrict allowed THC levels, raise the excise tax rate from 10% to 15%, and direct tax proceeds away from social-equity programs and general substance-abuse programs, and toward law-enforcement and “marijuana substance abuse” programs, as well as safe-driving initiatives.
That would run directly counter to what Ohioans—including many Republicans—explicitly voted for. But screw that if you have the chance to own the libs, right?

Facing widespread criticism, the Republican senators have backed down a bit since then (conceding on the home-grow provision, for example) but they’re still trying to fiddle with the law, including by insisting that tax proceeds go to cops.

If any of these efforts are successful at all, look for Republicans in red and purple states, and those in Congress, to step up their opposition. When it comes to pot reform, only one party can be counted on to do the right thing, even if they sometimes go about it in frustrating ways.

The Gospel According to Rev. Billy C. Wirtz

Music

Bill Kopp

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April 3, 2024

2

The Gospel According to Rev. Billy C. Wirtz

With a stage name like Rev. Billy C. Wirtz, you’d expect that the man would be an evangelist of some kind. And you’d be right. But Wirtz—born William Wirths in Aiken, South Carolina, just up the road from where James Brown was born 19 years before him—isn’t selling old-time, fire-and-brimstone religion; no, he’s on a mission to spread the good news about American roots music. A bona fide renaissance man of song, Wirtz is a singer, songwriter, humorist, broadcaster, journalist, historian, author and filmmaker.

And he considers all of his various creative endeavors as part of one big calling. And that’s been the case ever since long before he got started as a recording artist with 1983’s Salvation Through Polyester. “I still do a comedic live presentation,” he explains. “But within the comedy, I’ll play an old classic and talk about how it evolved.”

A Rev. Billy C. Wirtz concert is a history lesson wrapped in a rollicking, laugh-riot live show. He might start out by playing one of his originals: maybe a new one like “Go Little Golf Cart,” about the alleged naughty goings-on in the Villages, Florida’s deep red, Disneyfied and 95% white community. From there, Wirtz might launch into a lively, fast-paced discussion about “Got My Mojo Workin’,” the blues classic popularized by Muddy Waters.

“But Muddy didn’t write ‘Mojo,’” Wirtz will explain. Composed by Preston Foster in 1956, the song was first cut by a woman named Ann Cole. “She and Muddy were on the same bill at the Manhattan Casino in St. Pete,” he’ll tell the audience. Waters had been looking for a blues song that combined country beats, like Chuck Berry had done with “Maybelline” in 1955.

Helping the audience to appreciate that blues, gospel, country and rock ’n’ roll are closely woven strands of the tapestry that is American music, Wirtz will then demonstrate that “Got My Mojo Workin’” and Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” are, in his words, “the identical song with the same beat.”

After pausing to let that fascinating fact sink in, he continues. “I put stuff like that in between ‘Mama Was a Deadhead’ and ‘Roberta’ [from 1989’s Deep Fried and Sanctified] and all the classics.”

Wirtz’s other pursuits dovetail with his own music-making. For years now he has hosted radio shows like Reverend Billy’s Rhythm Revival, broadcast in different forms on Santa Cruz’s KPIG-FM, Western North Carolina’s WNCW and Tampa’s WMNF. “I’ve been doing the show for about 15 years now,” he says.

As a music fan with a deep well of knowledge paired with insatiable curiosity, Wirtz is the ideal person to explore and document overlooked corners of musical history. One of his current projects is a documentary about 92-year-old pianist Leon Blue. A member of classic blues band the Mannish Boys, Blue’s extensive credits include work with everyone from “king of Western Swing” Bob Wills to Ike & Tina Turner to Lloyd Price to B.B. King. The documentary isn’t quite finished yet, but Wirtz has his title: The World According to Leon.

Wirtz writes often for America’s oldest blues periodical, Living Blues, and other outlets. In 2022 he won an award in Florida for Best Nonfiction Magazine Article. That history of the state’s so-called chitlin’ circuit was, according to a well-connected acquaintance of his, “a bad motherfucker for a documentary.” Work is about to commence on that project. “We begin by interviewing Alan Leeds, who was James Brown’s road manager for 15 years,” Wirtz says.

Rev. Billy C. Wirtz’s passion for music is contagious, and it knows no bounds. He loves the wild stuff, and he has dedicated life and career to spreading that love to listeners, readers and audiences. “When the segregationist preachers screamed about the devil n-word music, they said it would lead to premarital sex, and to interracial couples dancing,” he says with a smile and hearty laugh. “And they were right!”

Reverend Billy C. Wirtz with Bob Malone, April 6, Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz, 7:30pm $30/$45
gold circle.snazzyproductions.com

Oyuki Sushi, Atypical Oasis

Dining Reviews

Mark C. Anderson

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April 3, 2024

1

Downtown has added a category of cuisine with new Oyuki Sushi (1010 Pacific Ave., Suite F, Santa Cruz) which would be great news on its own.

But there are more tasty subplots where that came from.

Oyuki specializes in Nikkei-style food—essentially Peruvian ingredients with Japanese technique—via items like salmon nigiri with house chimichurri or special sushi rolls finished with Peruvian sauces like acevichado, a lightly spicy ceviche marinade made from leche de tigre.

Full-on Peruvian dishes present more welcome additions, including albacore ceviche, chicken ají, causas (smashed potato-seafood towers), lomo saltado (a signature Peruvian sirloin-onion stir fry, with fries), papa a la huacaina (potato in an aji amarillo-and-cheese sauce), and choros a la chalaca (steamed mussels with corn, cilantro, onion, tomato and traditional spices), with regionally-born drinks chicha morada and Inca Kola to pair with them.

A solid roster of fusion sushi helps, with eye-catchers like the Fuji special with shrimp tempura, salmon, cucumber, avocado and the house Fuji sauce made with Andes Mountains inspiration.

Vegan sushi presents another bonus, with a dozen rolls like the Machu Picchu with carrot-based vegan “salmon,” avocado, spinach, cucumber and seasoned mushrooms.

So does the cozy and clean setting—with the alpaca wall hanging made of alpaca fur—and the approachable vibe of husband-and-wife team Carla Estrada and chef Maynor Lopez, both veterans of the hospitality industry with a range of Latin American heritage, Peruvian included. oyukisushi.com

RISING FLAVOR
Gifted pastry guru—and local popup darling—Enzo Pelliccia has thrown open the doors on his own spot with Emozioni Pasticceria (2814 Porter St., Suite B) in Soquel. His major draws include Napolitano pizzas, savory flatbreads and top-shelf sweets like millefoglie

Andersonwith pistachio cream, chocolate “bombs” and authentic Italian lemon cream sponge cakes. It’s now open 9am-5pm Tuesday-Friday, and
until 2pm Saturday-Sunday, instagram.com/emozionipasticceria

ON THE WATER
Made my overdue maiden voyage to reader favorite Riva’s Fish House (31 Municipal Wharf) and came away pleased with the easy vibe, engaging service, worthy cioppino and quality crab cake sandwich. My eternal search for quality—and ideally oceanside—happy hours finds a home here too, 3-6pm weekdays, with $1 off draft beers, $4 domestics and $5 well drinks, rivafishhouse.com. Speaking of the Wharf, Riva’s sister spot Makai Santa Cruz (49a Municipal Wharf) does one of the best fried chicken sandwiches in town with the Hawaiian Mochiko marinated in gojuchang; and Humble Sea’s wharfside beer garden (45 Municipal Wharf) is back noon-sunset Friday-Sunday with craft drafts, BYO food, prime views and merch, humblesea.com

FLAVOR BURSTS
Santa Cruz VegFest gets cruciferous 10am-6pm Saturday, April 6, with 80 vendors and thousands of attendees channeling plant-based, cruelty-free, animal friendly and environmentally-sustainable lifestyles at the Boardwalk’s Cocoanut Grove ballroom ($5, free/12 and under), vegfestsantacruz.org…Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets popular Sunday Live Oak Market (at East Cliff Village Shopping Center) was given the boot by Swenson Builders last week, who then decided they would have an additional 30 days on their lease to find a new home, santacruzfarmersmarket.org…Cruz Kitchen and Taps (145 Laurel St, Santa Cruz) does an uncommon salad worth flagging called “Da Baby,” with smoked whitefish, avocado, sweet onions, wakame, sesame seeds, lime, ginger, chili paste and soy sauce, cruzkitchenandtaps.com…

May the fork be with you.

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