“Poison Ivy for sure. I like that she uses plants as a toxic defense to poison Batman. Harley Quinn too, because in the comics they team up at some point, but Poison Ivy is definitely number one.”
Kitty Vincents, 35, artistic horticulture by Forest Creeper
NYAH
“So many are misunderstood. Miranda Priestly is more villainized than a villain. She just knows what she wants and goes after it. Amy from Gone Girl gets her revenge, but she kills someone and stuff, so I don’t condone her actions. Poison Ivy is trying to save the forest, so why root for Batman protecting billionaires?”
Nyah Weyrowski, 25, marketing
SAMARA
“Annie Wilkes from Misery? Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter? Baba Yaga? Is Medusa a villain? I feel like for every female villain I can name, I’m like, ‘Well, she had a point!’ Oh, but for sure number one villain—Abigail Williams from The Crucible. She was telling lies and accusing people of witchcraft.”
Samara Tunstall, 35, artist and Slug Support case manager – UC Santa Cruz
RAMONA
“The Evil Queen, Snow White’s wicked stepmother. It plays into the trope of the evil stepmom. She has fading beauty syndrome and she projects onto Snow White, so there’s a weird, toxic ageism that she represents. It’s not even about monetary gain with her. If you’re going to be bad, you have to be as bad as possible.”
Ramona Chavez, 47, “Space Wizard”
VANESSA
“Cruella de Vil. I like her fashion and her hair. It’s fun.”
Vanessa Frizado, 27, hair stylist at Copper and Jade Salon
Saturday mornings at the Aptos Farmers Market at Cabrillo College are a favorite way to start the weekend. I go not only for the sheer sensory delight, tables overflowing with vibrant flowers and fragrant herbs next to colorful displays of ripe fruit and gorgeous vegetables, but also to say hi to the vendors I get to know a little better each week.
Catherine Barr has been one of those familiar Saturday morning faces for the past 30 years, to be exact. And although the title of Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets executive director sounds lofty, I see her there at the crack of dawn every week, engaged in animated conversation with farmers, staff and shoppers. She clearly lives and breathes this place.
So it was a pleasure to interview her about one of my favorite local resources, the one that fills my fridge each week, and why 50 years of farmers market success is a feat worth celebrating.
Founded in 1976 by local organizers and growers, including Robbie Jaffe and Barney Bricmont, the market began in a parking lot at Live Oak School with a small group of farmers selling directly to the public. It later moved to Cabrillo College during the 1980s after a Mediterranean fruit fly quarantine restricted agricultural movement in the Live Oak inspection zone.
Fifty years is an extraordinary milestone. What has allowed the Aptos Farmers Market not only to survive, but to thrive for half a century?
CB: A lot of it has to do not only with our farmers, but also with our very loyal customer base. Without them, we wouldn’t be here. Some families have been coming for decades. They brought their kids, and now they’re bringing their grandchildren.
The same thing is happening with some of our farms, where the next generation is taking over the family business. It’s a win-win situation.
When the market started in 1976, the goal was to give the small California family farmer a place to sell their wares. They couldn’t really compete with larger farms or wholesale operations. We still focus on that California farmer. Only about 25% of our members can be non-farm producers, like specialty food vendors.
And they do make it easier to get everything in one place. I have to admit I’m pretty hooked on Wise Goat fermented foods and Companion Bake Shop. Impressively, you’ve been part of the market for more than 30 of the past 50 years. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve witnessed?
When I started in 1992, there were maybe 400 to 450 farmers markets in California. Now there are almost 850 to 900. That’s doubled, and that’s remarkable in itself.
I also see a lot of the newer generations coming up who are more savvy. They understand different payment systems and new growing practices. A lot of them have come through UC Davis or Cal Poly. The tradition continues, and I really think that’s great.
Some farm families have been connected to the market for generations. What stands out to you about those relationships?
I feel very honored when they invite me to weddings, baby showers or other family occasions. I go because they’re more than colleagues or employers. They’re family.
That’s one of the things I appreciate most about this work. You build relationships over years and sometimes decades.
Farmers markets are so established now that it’s easy to forget how unusual direct-to-consumer farm sales once were. How has the relationship between farmers and shoppers evolved?
You’re looking at the person who is growing your food. That creates a real rapport.
Some farmers hand out recipes or explain how to use something unfamiliar. It becomes more than just buying produce. It becomes a community.
I always tell people: find a farmers market in Santa Cruz County that fits your needs and where you feel comfortable. Talk to the person selling to you. If one market doesn’t work for you, try another. We have a lot to choose from.
What would you say to someone who feels overwhelmed by farmers markets?
We’ve had people come to the information booth and say, “I don’t know where to start.” I’ll take them around.
I usually tell first-timers to do a loop or two before buying anything, because a lot of it is impulse buying. You may see something you like, then find another farmer selling something similar.
Ask the seller, “What would you do with this?” if you’re not sure how to use something.
And don’t worry about knowing everything. We’re all nice people. No one is going to laugh at you if you don’t know a scallion from an onion.
We also take credit cards now. I started that program because we were sending people to the ATM at Cabrillo College, but they’d never come back. Now we have market bucks for people who forget cash or spend more than they expected.
Barr says it can take two to four years for a new market to become established in people’s routines, and I get it. There’s a difference between strolling around enjoying the scene and relying on the market for weekly grocery shopping.
But I’ve found once you know the lay of the land, and how to work the market into your weekly routine, unpacking that basket at home can become one of the highlights of the week.
Small family farms face very different challenges today than they did in 1976. What worries you most about the next generation of farmers?
Regulations are challenging. Land prices around here are difficult, especially if a generational farm doesn’t own the land. It’s really hard for new farmers to rent land.
We have water issues. We have seasonal labor issues. It can be hard for vendors to find people to work.
Some farms have really struggled, especially after COVID. It took a while for us to get back to where we are today. I hope it gets better, because it’s hard.
If you could bring the original farmers who started the market in 1976 to Cabrillo College today, what do you think would surprise them most?
I think if they saw what they started and the legacy they created, not only for Santa Cruz County but Monterey County as well, they would just say, “Wow.”
Back then there were only four of them, and the market ran from about May to September. They stuck it out.
A farmers’ market can take three to five years to become a habit for customers. They kept going, brought in friends and built something people wanted to come to.
To go from four people in the organization to around 90 today, that’s really something. We owe it to them to continue what they started.
Joshua Turek’s thoughts, scribblings, scalpeled word choices, excised expositions, including his poignant pretty pentameters and posted handwritten journal entries, which he calls “unintelligible,” have engaged over one billion views across platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. That would make Turek, who recently moved to Santa Cruz with his family, a massive digital creator and a bona fide influencer.
Or in Turek’s case, more of a de-influencer.
He’s so tired from being born
–Notes of a New Dad
The 41-year-old Turek, who in earlier incarnations appeared like a street Jesus meets Mr. White (Reservoir Dogs), has given way to a decidedly more Dad-looking vibe. He recoils from the term “influencer.” In fact, Turek isn’t comfortable with most labels. His most prevalent self-identifying label would be comedian, then perhaps filmmaker, with poet in last place, next to Beelzebub.
Yet, the poetry is what has risen to the top of his profile. Turek’s words, when read, seem so run of the mill that it’s misleading. But the short sentences and paragraphs have gravitas. There’s an economy of motion in Turek’s word choices combined with a comedian’s sensibility. And that formula has captured a lot of attention in the content market.
Turek’s book of poetry, Notes of a New Dad, is his latest creation. With a successful reading at Spec’s in SF, Turek will be showcasing, reading and conversing about his new book of poetry at the Davenport Roadhouse on September 14.
NOVEL IDEA Turek’s fifth book of poetry is dedicated to his new life as a father in Santa Cruz. PHOTO: Joshua Turek
I rub my babies hand so he knows he is real and this world can be immediately kind
–Notes of a New Dad
Born, raised and honed in Los Angeles, Turek and his wife Siobhan decided that with a baby on the way, LA not producing any nuggets in the gold pan worth weighing, plus the Palisades Fire mandatory evacuation forcing the young couple with an apartment full of ash to leave the city that Turek had fallen out of love with—it was time to head north.
His wife, who grew up in Santa Cruz, found grateful lodging for her family at her father Randy’s house. Randy is an old-school Santa Cruzian and a believer in the power of art.
And, in almost all ways, Turek is once again reinventing himself. Or maybe he’s just refining his elemental nature into a new form.
HOME TOWN VIBES Recently arrived Joshua Turek is trying his best to blend into what makes Santa Cruz tick. PHOTO: Joshua Turek
It’s not just you this is a difficult timeline for anyone who isn’t a psychopath
–Joshua Turek on TikTok
Tropes are tropes because they are based on some sort of truth. Growing up in Los Angeles, the young Turek was indeed pushed into acting by his mother, who herself had wanted to be an actor.
“We went around trying to audition all over the city and never had much luck doing it,” Turek admits from his office in downtown Santa Cruz.
“But you know, typical stage moms, none of them think that they’re like the other stage moms. I was in a George Foreman grill commercial for Sears when I was 14, so I can’t totally say I failed.”
Think of Turek as a cross between SNL’s Jack Handey and George Bailey, an everyman who is wary of the encroaching corporate conformity that looms closer every day.
When I found out my wife was pregnant my first thought was “I need to join Costco”
–Joshua Turek on TikTok
Hollywood is a town with a storied past. Turek was caught in the eddy of an industry whose glorified star was rapidly fading. And yet for a young and ambitious creative, the allure was addicting.
“I got really obsessed with writing screenplays for 10-plus years. It was all I wanted to do, but no one wanted to let me do it professionally. I would write spec pilots. No one that I grew up with in LA had good connections. I ended up paying to submit a pitch to this small producer. He bought a screenplay of mine for one dollar,” Turek states.
Turek thought that if the movie titled The Intervention ever got made, he would then be decently positioned for further work. With one dollar in his pocket, Turek began traveling down the narrow path of stand-up comedy.
“I started doing stand-up when I was like 27 because I had nowhere else for my voice. The internet and the social media thing wasn’t happening. Which is great, because I got to go grind anonymously at open mics and be terrible for years,” the often self-deprecating Turek says.
“I think stand-up serves as this beautiful bridge for a lot of people as a means of therapy or self-expression. I don’t think I understood my speaking voice until I started doing stand-up and could just consistently have an outlet.”
When my son first learns words, I’m going to ask him what he remembers about being a baby before too many other things cloud his mind
–Notes of a New Dad
Seven years from the time Turek received one dollar for his effort, the movie (now titled) Benjamin was in production with comedian Bob Saget attached as a star and producer.
“I was just finding my voice as a stand-up, and then I found myself on the set of a movie that I had written. I was on set with Bob Saget and it wasn’t good.”
The movie came out and was distributed through the DVD-rental box Redbox. It was their first foray into providing their own content. It did not go well. Sales and reviews scraped the bottom of the barrel.
“I haven’t thought about it much,” says Turek.
Wisdom is found under heavy rocks of stupidity
–Joshua Turek
“I wanted to make my own movies. Just take a stab and I tried a few times,” Turek recalls. But in a town whose currency is “who you know” the lone wolf Turek found himself in the company of Hollywood’s shadier types. “I got into a weird relationship with a former one-hit wonder musician at the top of the Hollywood Hills.”
Hitting the Hollywood ceiling made of nepotism, Turek had a forced epiphany. “Screw it. I’m just going to make little short films. And that was by far more creatively satisfying than any of the things I’ve felt through the professional world. Every time I chase the industry, it goes wrong. I decided that I’m going to make these little films with my friends.
“I was burnt out on the industry anyway. This is kind of pre-TikTok. I was just making videos with my comedian friends on my dad’s old camcorder. They were like avant-garde comedy fake French movies and fake French Gatorade commercials and stuff. They were cool,” says Turek.
In thirty years there won’t be any vintage stores because nothing is made these days to last that long
–Of Dumb Importance
And then COVID happened and since Turek wouldn’t be able to see his friends for a while, he turned the camera on himself.
“I started making videos of myself. And those built me a little audience,” says Turek.
Turek’s “little audience” grew into hundreds of thousands as his philosophical meanderings, sometimes political treatises, and deadpan comedic timing drew attention.
For example, one of Turek’s recent TikTok posts is a selfie of him holding his new son. The caption reads, “Broke my 41 year streak of not being a father.” Its viewing number of 75K views isn’t the big story, it’s the 500 comments.
Turek’s words, even when written in one sentence, touch a large number of humans. People from around the world comment on Turek’s posts. They include sentiments from people who want to buy the book, others who share in the struggles of raising a newborn, while others comment by quoting Turek’s other posts. And one incredible thing is in the 10K comments on TikTok they are all positive.
Turek’s reach and fanbase keeps growing.
Being internet famous generated a lot of grist with little milling, in other words, Turek’s content exploded but his bank account remained middling.
Turning to poetry, Turek has found a plateau on which to rest his weary legs. Everybody wants to get to “the top” but nobody mentions the complete exhaustion you feel once you get there.
I get diapers on Amazon because I am tired and fearful and selfish and atomized as has been glamorized. I wanna find community but I also do struggle with not hating everyone
–From Turek’s recent performance at Specs Bar in SF, A Love Letter to a City in Which I’ll Never Collect a Wage
“I didn’t go to college. I just got out of high school and moved to Hollywood with my sister. We were out in the suburbs. We got our own place and were just totally clueless. No idea of how to approach the world in any way. It was always just writing and reading and always going to the library. I loved studying language and language as this sacrifice we make to try to understand one another in some sort of surrogate way. I love words. And then yeah, somewhere along the way the conversational aspect of poetry clicked. It’s just talking to people,” Turek explains.
I write for smart people who wish they were dumber
–Notes of a New Dad
When Turek recaps his past, it has a certain over-it-all Janeane Garofalo-ness to its vibe. “When I started comedy, I was this tall, jock looking guy. Everybody hated me. But I put up a couple TikToks and the world falls in love (with me)? Whatever.”
Turek stands out amongst the grotesque amount of humans broadcasting their thoughts, every second, on the internet. He’s older, but not too old. He reeks of authenticity and moves with the heaviness of the world. Or maybe he just lumbers from not sleeping because of his new dad status.
“I kind of achieved what I’ve set out to do, which is just connect with people and try to explain things to them and share in the conversation of our culture. And that really scratched a big itch. I found my own sincere path, which is trying to connect with people, have conversations, and make art,” Turek says.
At heart, Turek is a comedian trying to find the outlet that will best support his musings. It just so happens his musings run deep and feel the feels. “I think comedy should be sad and poetry should be funny. I like approaching it that way. I named my second poetry book Of Dumb Importance. And that came through me thinking, ‘What is it that I want to say?’ And, I just want to say the most important things to me or to other people, but in the dumbest way possible,” Turek concludes.
Joshua Turek will be having his book release party on Sept. 14 at The Davenport Roadhouse, 1 Davenport Avenue, Davenport. Turek’s books of poetry are also available at Bad Animal, 1011 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz and at joshuaturek.com.
Legislation aimed at strengthening California’s protections against new offshore oil drilling is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom after passing both houses of the state Legislature.
Assembly Bill 1448, authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart, passed the Assembly on Aug. 27, one day after clearing the Senate.
The bill, known as the California Coastal Protection Act, is intended to prevent existing infrastructure in state waters from being used to support expanded oil production from federal waters.
AB 1448 would allow the state to block projects that expand federal drilling using existing leases and infrastructure in state waters. It would also require the California State Lands Commission to consider additional factors when deciding whether to renew, modify, extend or transfer oil and gas infrastructure leases.
The measure would additionally close what supporters describe as the last remaining loophole allowing oil and gas leasing in state waters.
The legislation comes amid efforts by the Trump administration to expand offshore oil and gas development in federal waters off California. No new federal offshore leases have been issued off California since 1984.
Supporters of AB 1448 say the state needs additional safeguards if the federal government moves forward with new drilling because operators could seek to use existing pipelines and other infrastructure in state waters to serve projects farther offshore.
“As the federal government rushes to violate the more than 40-year-old, bipartisan consensus against new offshore oil drilling, California needs to be prepared to respond,” Hart said. “AB 1448 puts clear safeguards in place to ensure that state infrastructure cannot be used to support new federal offshore oil development.”
Central Coast lawmakers are among the bill’s co-authors, including state Sen. John Laird and Assemblymember Dawn Addis. Other co-authors include Sens. Catherine Blakespear and Henry Stern and Assemblymember Damon Connolly.
Laird said the legislation could help protect both the environment and the Central Coast economy.
“This bill helps ensure California’s coast remains protected for future generations by preventing state infrastructure from being used to support the expansion of new federal offshore oil drilling,” he said. “From the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to our fishing, tourism, and recreation economies, protecting our coast means protecting the communities, jobs, and natural resources that define the Central Coast.”
Environmental groups backing the legislation point to previous California oil spills, including the 1969 Santa Barbara spill, the 2015 Plains All American pipeline spill near Refugio State Beach and the 2021 Amplify Energy spill off Southern California.
The bill’s supporters also say California’s coastline contributes more than $51 billion annually to the economy and supports more than 500,000 jobs.
Oceana Campaign Director Joseph Gordon said aging offshore infrastructure poses additional risks if federal drilling expands.
“Decades of toxic spills—from Santa Barbara to Refugio Beach—have made the stakes painfully clear,” Gordon said, urging Newsom to sign the measure.
A July Public Policy Institute of California survey found 63% of Californians oppose allowing more oil drilling off the California coast, according to Oceana.
AB 1448 is co-sponsored by Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Defense Center.
Back in the days before the internet, and I’m talking some 2,700 years ago, poets were the biggest influencers.
And, man, did they have some lasting influence, like this guy Homer whose early works just became a hit movie with all these stars in it.
I wonder if the Greek scribe would appreciate the word influencer. Personally, I hate it. It’s like one of those pretentious phrases that will scar this generation in future histories, like Perrier water in the 1970s or Limp Bizkit and the Kardashians in the 2000s.
I was glad to read in our cover story by the writer DNA that so-called influencer Josh Turek, who has influenced a billion people, hates the word also. DNA calls him a “de-influencer,” which I do like. It shows a guy who isn’t afraid to stand against convention and go his own way—ironically, he’s bringing a lot of people along for the ride.
He’s dabbled in film and comedy, but the most surprising thing is that the form that’s risen to the top of his LinkedIn, as it were, is poetry, which, in this disposable era, says a lot about those who still long for the past and things that will last.
It kind of gives us some hope. The article is a wild read, with poetry, grammar that defies spellcheck and our author DNA, whose day job is as a comedian. Enjoy and look at someone you may not already know.
Napa has its wine fame and according to Richard Stockton’s Altered States column Santa Cruz deserves a place on the Mount Olympus of Weed (see how I worked the Greek theme in there?).
Honestly, I don’t know how people distinguish sativa from indica. I always thought it’s some kind of scam. But Stockton introduces us to Chris Carr who can not only distinguish weed by type, but by the location where it’s grown. And he says we are the state’s finest.
Skeptic that I am, I’ll take his word for it. After all, I lost a big bet to a 10-year-old who claimed water from the sink in the bathroom tasted different from the water from the kitchen and he identified them each in numerous blind taste tests.
I can’t even tell the difference between Two-Buck Chuck and a $100 bottle of premium wine. Chris Carr is paving the way for bud-ees.
Here’s an offer you can’t refuse: Do you dream of getting published? Good Times is looking for more freelance writers. Community members with good ideas for articles, send your resume and ideas to ed****@*****ys.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
DIPPING MOON Here’s a shot of the partial eclipse Aug. 27 over the Giant Dipper. Photograph by Jaydn Ewing
GOOD IDEA
Three local airports have been awarded nearly $3.3 million in federal grants to bolster infrastructure.
U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) announced that Hollister Municipal Airport, Watsonville Municipal Airport, and Monterey Regional Airport are among the 51 California airports to receive Federal Airport Improvement Program funding, part of a nearly $109 million investment to modernize infrastructure, improve safety, and strengthen California’s aviation system.
“Investments in our airports are investments in our regional economy,” said Monterey Bay Economic Partnership President & CEO Tahra Goraya. “These new federal grants help our region meet demand for safe, modern, and resilient airport facilities as technology and transportation continue to evolve.”
GOOD WORK
Nearly 40 years after Santa Cruz became the fictional “Santa Carla” in the cult classic The Lost Boys, a new community-led project is celebrating the city’s connection to the film.
The 418 Project, in collaboration with One of Us: A Lost Boys Festival and Return to Santa Carla: The Lost Boys Memory Project, is inviting artists of all experience levels to submit work for a month-long Lost Boys Fan Art Exhibition at Hotel Paradox, October 1–30.
Artists are invited to interpret The Lost Boys, Santa Cruz, the Boardwalk, vampires, outsiders, the 1980s, memory, fandom—or their own vision of Santa Carla. Submissions close September 25. INFO: returntosantacarla.com
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I do not understand why everywhere I go in this town I smell skunks.” —from our Altered States column.
Thanks for the article on Ani DiFranco highlighting her concert at the Civic. The update on her achievements is much appreciated. She also collaborated in the late ’90s with the musician and storyteller Utah Phillips, resulting in my two favorite CDs put out by her: “The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere” and “Fellow Workers.” The latter has a track containing an anecdote that takes place in Santa Cruz, about the saw player and Wobbly Tom Scribner (the fellow still playing outside Bookshop Santa Cruz as the statue by Marghe McMahon). Ani did us all a great favor by producing these collections of Utah’s work. Talk about speaking truth to power! Highly recommended.
Mathew E. Simpson | Santa Cruz
NO PARKING
I loved the article on parking at UCSC! Having had my own spirited engagement with no less than three separate parking administrators over where I should park momentarily while I paid for my one-time, one-afternoon $10 permit, it’s clear where the term “petty bureaucrat” originates locally.
Surely a campus with the IT/AI resources UCSC must have should be able to devise a parking permit administration that doesn’t appear to seek primarily to become its own profit center?
Nadene Thorne | Santa Cruz
PRAISE FOR OUR COVER STORY
I want to appreciate how Richard Stockton took a complex and seemingly fantastical reality facing our coast and ocean and made it make sense for the reader. Very helpful, and well done!
Dan Haifley | Santa Cruz
TAKE ACTION, SAVE THE BAY
It breaks my heart what our current governmental people want to do to our Bay and elsewhere along our California Coast… They want to add additional Oil Rigs. Especially to our Monterey Bay. We already have a “Sanctuary Bay” and that was put into place several years ago. Now our current administration wants to violate that condition.
WHY? The only thing I can think of is because of Money….
Here we really care about our waters in our Bay… we have all kinds of wildlife in our Bay—dolphins, whales, seals, all kinds of sea fish. If there is drilling here and one of the oil rigs spills into our bay, that will threaten the cleanliness of our animals here. It will threaten our children who love coming to our shores and playing in the waves. It will threaten our surfers who come from all over the world to surf here. It will threaten the lifeguards who are present all the time along our beaches and shores.
Marie Lindsay | Felton
DON’T PAVE PARADISE
We just returned from the Sunday Live Oak Farmers Market where the proposed 7th & Brommer project had a booth as well as a few representatives associated with the contractor. The proposed sketch of the plan was on display, and as the affected community, we were merely allowed to write our dire concerns about this undesirable, dense proposed building plan on sticky notes and adhere them to the board.
This, to me, already demonstrated the lack of concern as well as respect for all the Yacht Harbor and Twin Lakes homeowners who will be the folks most impacted by this construction.
What truly concerned me was the often complacent attitudes of many in attendance today. We have lived in the same single-family home, just off 7th for 54 years and have never witnessed such indifference to our Live Oak community and neighborhood. And now with this shameful display of indifference, can any of us place our faith in how this remaining catastrophe of excessive density will proceed? Rather than turning a blind or complacent eye to what the county, hand in hand with the contractors, is attempting to shove down our throats, this is the time to stand up and loudly protest their outlandish scheme to ruin what has always been the best of the Santa Cruz we all love dearly.
Defend the integrity of our Harbor/Twin Lakes Beach neighborhoods. The contractor reps are trying to get us to believe that it is all written in stone already, that none of us have a say. This, I am quite sure, is merely their tactic to make it easier to plow forward with minimal community protest.
Sure, we all knew some sort of building would eventually be fashioned in the 7th and Brommer lots. But, for the love of Santa Cruz, and to preserve the integrity of our community and neighborhood, scale it back to blend with the single-family units surrounding the proposed construction. Don’t pave paradise and put up a parking lot.
Most of us are surprisingly clueless about the inner workings of our own bodies. Do you know where your gallbladder and spleen actually live or what jobs they perform on your behalf? Can you trace the journey your breath takes after it slips into your lungs? Have you ever experimented to discover in detail which foods best suit your one-of-a-kind system? Do you know, from experience rather than guesswork, how much sleep you require to stay vividly awake and emotionally balanced? The current astrological climate favors you becoming a curious apprentice of your body’s gorgeous mysteries.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
The English idiom “cut to the chase” comes from the silent films of the early 20th century. When the plot dragged, directors would literally switch to a chase scene to restore audience interest. Various languages have other ways to say “get to the point” or “skip to the crux.” Spanish: ir al grano. French: aller droit au but. Italian: venire al dunque. Japanese: hondai ni hairu. In accordance with astrological omens, Taurus, I suggest you do that in the coming days. Skip the boring parts. Jump to the action scenes. You can return later and fill in the story details, but for now you’re best served by moving toward the exciting essence or the crucial core of things.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
This is one of those unusual times when laziness and apathy work in your favor. Life is organizing a relaxing renewal on your behalf, and your main job is to not interfere. So I advise you to skip the hustle and enjoy the thrill of being still. Put a pause on doing and indulge in the fine art of simply being. Please, Gemini? Set aside your ambitions for now. Hide your to-do list. Inform your chattering monkey mind that it’s on temporary leave from its usual jumping and squawking. Feel guilt-free as you immerse yourself in the most relaxed versions of feeling good, and welcome whatever fresh vitality wants to flow in.
CANCER June 21-July 22
In the 17th century, Dutch inventor Christiaan Huygens discovered that two pendulum clocks hanging on the same wall gradually synchronized their swings. Why? He eventually realized that tiny vibrations traveled through the wall and made the clocks influence each other. Scientists call this “entrainment.” Now is prime time for you to capitalize on this phenomenon, Cancerian. I urge you to be extra alert for how your moods, rhythms and intentions subtly affect the people around you, and vice versa. If you cultivate qualities you’d like to predominate in your relationships, you will find others unconsciously aligning with your rhythm.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
Now is an ideal time to have fun cultivating the art of receptivity. Have fun being as open to influence as you can imagine. Be innocent! Be amenable! Be willing and eager to be surprised! It doesn’t mean surrendering your drive or drifting aimlessly while life happens around you. I’m talking about an active, alert sensitivity that invites wonder and transformation. You think boldly, act with purpose and radiate what’s uniquely yours, and yet you also remain humbly aware that learning never ends and that wisdom can arrive from unpredictable directions.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
You’ve been extra reasonable lately. How do you manage to be so responsible, measured and composed? I’m not complaining. I admire your integrity. But now the cosmic omens are clear that it’s time to address your soul’s needs for more wonder and awe and reverence. So I will slip you a tantalizing prod: What’s the best, most healing trouble you could provoke right now? I’m not referring to recklessness and chaos, of course. I mean twists and tweaks that stir up inspiration and liberate creativity. Are you bold enough to follow the truth and beauty that thrills and intrigues you?
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
I am asking you to give yourself slack in situations where you sometimes treat yourself carelessly or unkindly. Instead of tightening, loosen. Instead of cornering yourself, offer an escape hatch. Ask: “What if I give myself 20% more mercy, 20% more time or 20% less pressure?” Maybe you’ll get an extension on a deadline or allow yourself to be a learner instead of an expert. Rather than calling yourself a failure because you’re less than perfect, you’ll decide, “It’s good enough for now.” As you slip away from the traps you set for yourself, you’ll teach your nervous system a fresh truth: You can be gentle with yourself but still be responsible.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Scorpio, you rarely need to be lighter and breezier. Your assignment is almost always to delve deeper and explore further. This is true now even more than usual. Other people might shiver and cower in the face of your intensity, but I celebrate it because it drives you to excavate the rich, messy truths and complicated feelings that really shouldn’t stay hidden. Regard this horoscope as your authorization to wield your emotional X-ray vision with precision, and to trust that the treasures you seek are often buried in places that scare others away.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
In classical music, composers often develop a simple motif into a complex symphony. A short sequence of notes becomes the foundation for an entire composition. A key passage gets rearranged and elaborated in multiple ways. You will have a comparable opportunity in the coming weeks, Sagittarius: a seed of potential that seems modest at first could expand into more substantial riches if you cultivate it patiently. Your visionary aplomb and optimism can transform a core cell into a full orchestration.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
You seem to be wandering in a frontier for which there are no maps. You’re hovering in liminal zones, between worlds. So for now, I guess you will have to steer without your usual guidance. That’s a good thing! What I can do is name the gifts that are likely to come your way as you explore the unknown: 1) turbo-charged intuitions about your best possible future; 2) a talent for spotting surprising connections you didn’t even know you were looking for; and 3) a provocative unpredictability that magnetizes allies who can help tease out and illuminate your hidden and buried desires.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
The placebo effect has a lesser-known counterpart called the nocebo effect: Negative expectations can create negative outcomes. If you’re told a harmless pill might cause headaches, you’re more likely to develop them. Your belief in harm creates actual harm. I bring this up, Aquarius, because I’m worried you may be nocebo-ing yourself right now. Your conviction that certain outcomes are inevitable is encouraging them to manifest. So here’s my counsel: Which negative expectations or predictions are you treating as facts? Consider the possibility that the problems you’re so skilled at identifying are being called into existence by your identification of them. And if you find that’s happening, STOP! Formulate some healing alternatives.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
“Dear Rob: Your horoscopes delight me in a spooky way. They make me feel as if you’re watching me from afar, not like a stalker, but like an eccentric guardian angel who gives me a heads-up before I do something foolish, tells me about opportunities I haven’t noticed, and shakes awake the part of me that’s inclined to quit. Thanks a million times! —Deep Pisces.” Dear Deep: You have exquisite timing, because now is an ideal moment to pour out gratitude for the people who’ve lifted you up and helped you. Offering appreciation now will function as a potent prayer that will be far more effective than pleading for what you don’t have. It will set in motion an irresistible magic that draws even more blessings in your direction.
Homework: What’s the most important thing you’ve never done? tinyurl.com/v9v9v9v9
REVEREND PEYTON’S BIG DAMN BAND When it comes to fingerpicking, Reverend Peyton is considered one of this century’s best. Imagine the greatest down-home blues band showing up on your front porch and drinking the well dry. The Big Damn Band are those cats. Peyton is a fiery frontman and acts as a proponent—and a damn fine preacher—for returning to roots music that comes straight from the Mississippi Delta. Peyton learned from the feet and hands of T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. The new album is called Honeysuckle, and it smells and sounds sweet. DNA
PRIVATE LIVES There’s a thin line between love and hate and sometimes, it’s the barrier between balconies. That’s the premise of Noel Coward’s Private Lives. Two divorced lovers find themselves spending their new honeymoons next door to one another at the same hotel. Both are egotistical, passionate and selfish, so how are they going to manage to live next to each other at a hotel? Better yet, how are they going to live without each other? This laugh-out-loud comedy is rich, witty and as sharp as Cupid’s arrow. See the play Friday, Sept. 4, for a matinee preview or check out one of the multiple showings through Oct. 4. MAT WEIR
INFO: 2pm, The Grove, 501 Upper Park Rd., Santa Cruz. $15-$86. 479-1854.
SHOEGAZE
PINK BREATH OF HEAVEN The visionary project of Liv Field and Rex John Shelverton, Pink Breath of Heaven patches together the textures of shoegaze with the energy of modern psychedelia. Glittery guitar, atmospheric melodies and introspective lyricism turn dreamy vocal-driven tunes into riotous rock anthems. Their breakout single “Blue Is the Morning” announced a band with a focused intensity, and their debut album Colors Make a Sound delivered a cohesive work that built out a distinctive world with each song. Pink Breath of Heaven is a rising force in San Francisco’s psych-rock underground with sets that linger in the mind long after the show ends. SHELLY NOVO
43RD ANNUAL FIDDLE AND DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA A lively gathering of over 200 fiddlers, cellists and guitarists set the stage for Alasdair Fraser’s 43rd Annual Fiddle and Dance Extravaganza. Presented by Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle and Dance Camp, the evening spans New England Contra, Scottish Ceilidh and Spanish Castilian dance. Acclaimed dance callers including Summer McCall, Maria San Miguel and Nic Gareiss lead the room. Joining the mix is traditional duo Rakish, master cellist Natalie Haas, “sonic magpie” Laura Cortese and nearly a dozen more world-class faculty artists. Come early for an inclusive pre-show introduction. The event promises to get everyone on their feet by the finale. SN
INFO: 7:30pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church Street, Santa Cruz. $32-$38. 420-5030.
SATURDAY 9/5
SOUL
A TRIBUTE TO SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE Sly and the Family Stone were one of the rock era’s most groundbreaking groups, both in terms of their music—an expert melding of funk, soul, rock and psychedelia—and their lineup, which was multiethnic and multigender when such was anything but commonplace. This tribute to the group’s music features an all-star lineup of Bay Area and Marin musical luminaries. The project was originally conceived as a two-night engagement at HopMonk Novato and Moe’s Alley last March, but popular demand—and the fun spirit among the players—has led to what might be thought of as a reunion. BILL KOPP
THE PSYCHEDELIC ART OF 1970S CHRISTIAN HIPPIE COMICS By the close of the 1960s, mainstream institutions reluctantly began to come to terms with the emerging counterculture, taking—for a time, at least—an “if you can’t beat ’em, co-opt ’em” approach. So it was that Christian evangelicals launched comic books in a bid to reach the era’s youth. With a look and feel that suggests Archie, Jughead and their pals on acid, those unique works fall into what is now known as “Christian Hippie Comics.” A deep dive reveals a fascinating approach to theology and spirituality. Santa Barbara-based religion and myth scholar Amy Slonaker presents a vividly illustrated lecture on the subject. BK
INFO: 7:30pm, The 418 Project, 155 South River St., Santa Cruz. $13. 466-9770.
SUNDAY 9/6
INDIE ROCK
STEPHEN MALKMUS Indie rock royalty Stephen Malkmus steps into the lead role again after being the pioneer of some of the best and most notorious bands of the last bunch of decades. Malkmus is known primarily as the lead singer and guitarist for Pavement, whose raucous, high-energy shows are still talked about in the indie rock scene. Contributing exceptional guitar work with Silver Jews, Pavement’s crumble led Malkmus into a solo career backed by his new band, the Jicks. It’s incredible that Malkmus never achieved the top tier of fame, but that’s what makes his career authentic and the kind of DIY lifestyle that makes legends. DNA
INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $55. 423-8209.
TUESDAY 9/8
LITERARY
THE POWER OF AWE When everyday life becomes overly stressful, monotonous or even meaningless, it can be hard to find joy or focus on one’s well-being. In the book The Power of Awe, Dr. Michael Amster provides “practical, science-backed tools” to help “cultivate awe” within the everyday routine. Readers and event attendees will have a concrete foundation for reconnecting with daily life. These tools focus on supporting well-being, reducing stress, finding meaning, bringing joy and building resilience. Dr. Amster will be in conversation with Sharon Papo, a local leader, founder and CEO of Indigo Skies Consulting. These conversations will hopefully spark inspiration for taking the first steps to cultivating more awe. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 6pm, The MAH, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. $8-$10. 429-1964.
WEDNESDAY 9/9
HIP HOP
PAWPAW ROD His name might be PawPaw, but this hip hop artist is anything but dusty. Born in Hawaii, PawPaw Rod was a “military brat” who grew up all over but spent his formative years in Oklahoma. Now based out of Oakland, this rapper has been making a name for himself ever since his debut single, “Hit Em Where It Hurts,” dropped in 2020. Over the last six years he released four separate EPs and just unleashed his debut full-length, Picture Day, in May. By mixing soul, pop and hip hop, PawPaw Rod creates a modern sound that pushes the genre into the 21st century. MW
INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $34-$121. 713-5492.
Three years ago, Alayna Nathe opened a highly unusual small business in Santa Cruz.
Her company, True Source Waters, was built around a simple, albeit risky, idea: If you give people access to high-quality water in exchange for participating in ongoing water education, the benefits will speak for themselves.
What started as an unconventional experiment has grown into a community of locals who regularly refill at the store, attend free classes, bring their families and friends, and sometimes stay a while. Today, True Source may provide hundreds of gallons of free water in a single day, six days a week.
Rather than charging by the gallon, the business is supported through sales of home water ionization and filtration systems. It’s a model that might sound questionable on paper. Three years and more than 300,000 gallons of free water later, Nathe no longer wonders.
Where did the idea of building a business around giving away your primary product come from?
Alayna Nathe: My entry into the water ionization business was through selling the systems. It was hard to get people to recognize the benefits enough to make a big commitment, and I knew there had to be a better way to connect people to this resource.
When I opened the store, I wanted to try something different, so I came up with a free water and education business model.
How exactly does the free water program work?
It’s in exchange for education. People purchase any bottle or bring their own bottle from home and pay a one-time fee. After that, they never pay for the water. They agree to attend a quarterly water education class to maintain their membership.
When they experience enough of the benefit, some decide to invest in a home system, but there’s no sales pitch. It’s their own decision.
Some people were concerned about the business model in the beginning. But I recognized that people will pay for a product they believe they need. A certain percentage will decide they want the benefit and convenience at home. It works because there is trust in the product from the consumer.
What do people notice about the water that inspires them to change their hydration habits?
The first thing I notice is that people become more intentional about drinking good-quality water. They remember to bring their own bottles, even to restaurants, and they start avoiding single-use plastic water bottles.
People tell me they have more energy or easier workout recovery, although everyone has their own unique experience. I hear so many stories from people while they’re in the store, and they love to share them with each other. About 80% of our customers come from word of mouth.
You describe your water as hydrogen-rich and ionized. What exactly does that mean?
The process we use in the store and in our home systems involves electrolysis, which separates water into alkaline and acidic streams. The drinking water also contains dissolved molecular hydrogen gas.
Molecular hydrogen, H2, is being studied for its potential antioxidant properties and its relationship to oxidative stress and inflammation. It’s a growing area of research, and there’s still a lot to learn.
Looking back at the woman who opened this unusual Santa Cruz storefront three years ago, what has surprised you most?
At 52, as a longtime Santa Cruz resident, I knew I wanted to support my community in living a healthier, longer life. What I didn’t expect was the community that would be built around it, or how much the daily interactions with customers would fill my cup.
People come into our lounge with books or magazines and end up meeting new friends. I’m amazed by the connections that happen here.
Someone called it a “third space,” meaning there’s home, there’s work, and then there’s this other place where people can connect. I think of this as a slowdown store. People stay. They wait. They talk.
Three years ago, I asked this community to trust me, and I got a lot of side-eye at first. Today, we have close to 1500 active members. We also offer three community education classes each month, all free and open to the public.
We provide the water and the education, and then we trust people to decide whether what we do has value.
That level of trust is the most unconventional part of the business model. In a world designed to move people quickly from interest to purchase, True Source Waters gives them something increasingly rare: time to experience, learn and decide for themselves. Along the way, Nathe discovered she was giving away more than water. She was creating something almost as vital: a space for community.
Elizabeth Borelli is a wellness writer, author and Mediterranean lifestyle and longevity advocate. Learn more about her work, local events and free recipes at ElizabethBorelli.com.
Summer Tour is a new documentary from director Mischa Richter and producers including actress Chloë Sevigny. The film will have its local premiere at the Del Mar Theatre on Sept. 9. After the movie, film subject Annie Dunn and her mother, Christine Gibson, a Santa Cruz Deadhead, will join a Q&A moderated by DNA.
In the documentary, we follow Annie and Jerry Pierce, two young, long-haired hippies, as they traverse the country following the most recent incarnation of the Grateful Dead. Pierce describes life on tour as “one of the last American adventures still out there,” a sentiment reinforced by a welcome appearance from Jerry Garcia early in the movie.
Annie grew up being taken to the weekly Michael’s on Main Grateful Dead gatherings by her mom for intergenerational bliss.
“My first show was Dead & Company at the Hollywood Bowl on Halloween 2021,” says Annie from her home in Santa Cruz. “I got the download then and there and decided that’s what I needed to spend my time doing. Going to these shows.”
In 2023, when Summer Tour was filmed, John Mayer’s Dead & Company provided its musical world, filling the score with Jerry-perfect tones and rapid flurries of notes.
Director Mischa Richter captured a spot-on moment at the very start of Summer Tour. The sincere young couple—they have since split—were asking patrons at a gas station to help fill their tank. Running out of gas is an inside joke and part of the package for anyone who has been on Dead tour.
The idea that all Deadheads are well-heeled, so-called “trustafarians” is a misnomer. Whatever passed for middle class in the late 20th century is now barely making it. The wild hair and positive outlook haven’t changed, but the economics have.
Summer Tour opens a magical door that admits a willing audience into a vibrant, incredible, real American dream. For most people, the idea of traveling the country without any means of support would seem foolish and impossible.
“I would sell fresh fruit,” Annie begins. “You could buy fruit with food stamps. So I’d buy fruit with my food stamps and sell fresh fruit bowls. I sold some necklaces here and there and other things.”
It sounds like a fairy tale that in 2026 this could still be an option—but how?
In a win for humanity, a lot of Americans across the country saw this ragtag group of young people traveling the U.S. and supported that dream.
“We would get donations and some people were happy to fill our tank with gas. They supported the mission. So just angels all along,” says Annie.
The movie was filmed during the final cross-country summer trip of the Dead & Company tour. The band at that point was John Mayer, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Jay Lane, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti. Original Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann had stepped away earlier that year.
For somebody completely unfamiliar with what a Grateful Dead scene and show look like, it might appear that you’re watching a new People documentary on cults, or perhaps a Cuckoo’s Nest of crazies spinning themselves into the ground.
For longtime Deadheads, nothing has changed. Yes, Dead & Company circa 2023 was missing the bear of a man Garcia and scholar Phil Lesh, but in the fields among the twirling young people wearing cotton-print sundresses, this documentary might as well have been filmed in 1973.
Annie and Jerry do “the thing,” the same thing every Deadhead who has traveled across the country on tour has done since the 1960s. You get in tune with your road angel. You beg for spare gas and sell what you can to make your way to the next show.
Annie considers herself a “private person,” which might seem at odds with being one of the documentary’s two main subjects. But that is actually what gives Summer Tour its charm and authenticity. Annie comes across as quiet but kind and seeking joy.
Director Mischa Richter has manifested a more accurate representation of Deadheads with Summer Tour than the cinematic universe has provided thus far. There’s magic in Summer Tour.
The flip side of Annie is Jerry, a Northeast dude with long hair, a cherubic smile and some real chops on guitar. Jerry also has an enthusiasm for life accompanied by a lot of deep thoughts. Without giving a spoiler, when we visit Jerry’s home life, it’s perhaps an optimistic nod from Richter that maybe the different “sides” of America can work things out.
“I think that’s what it’s about. It’s a kind of crushing stereotypes and being open to things. And reconciliation. The universe loves reconciliation. And that was hard for Jerry. He hadn’t been home in a long time and he really wanted to do that. He pushed to do that, you know, and that was beautiful,” says Richter from his home office.
Richter and Sevigny—star of Kids, Boys Don’t Cry and Big Love—started dating in high school and saw their first Grateful Dead show together in 1990 at Madison Square Garden.
Thirty years later, Richter was searching for a way to celebrate the music that was the soundtrack to his life. He began looking around the Dead & Company crowds to see if he could find a compelling story and a reason to dedicate three years of his life to making Summer Tour.
“I wanted, as an artist or filmmaker—whatever you want to say I am—an intention and something to carry me through that everyone could relate to. And then I met Jerry and Annie,” says Richter, who looks every bit the cool, early-50s Head.
Something was in the air in 2023, and Richter felt there was something special about that last summer tour.
“The bigger venues, the big tours, the huge Shakedown—I felt like that hadn’t really happened since the ’90s when I first got into it,” Richter says.
“So I didn’t know Jerry and Annie really well, but when I met them at the Warfield, I felt their love for each other at that time. And they reminded me of Chloë and me, because Chloë and I were high school sweethearts. For me, most important was that the film be full of music and the experience of the music,” Richter concludes.
Annie is shy about any potential celebrity status because of Summer Tour. All she wants to do is get back on the road and see some more shows.
“I’ve even had my grandma find ways to compare it to her experience going to church. She’s a very devout Catholic, my sweet grandma. She mentioned, ‘You know, Annie, going to church is really similar. You’re going to this place where everyone is believing in the same thing and you’re all wanting to do the same things.’ That was really sweet to hear her say. I think there is this third collective consciousness that’s really special. Dead & Company opened the door for a lot of kids to go experience that for the first time. Which is cool,” Annie says.
See Summer Tour Sept. 9 at 7pm at the Del Mar Theatre, 1124 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Tickets are $16.75. Film subjects Annie Dunn and Christine Gibson will appear for a Q&A moderated by DNA. More information at landmarktheatres.com/events/60716-summer-tour.
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Three years ago, Alayna Nathe opened a highly unusual small business in Santa Cruz.
Her company, True Source Waters, was built around a simple, albeit risky, idea: If you give people access to high-quality water in exchange for participating in ongoing water education, the benefits will speak for themselves.
What started as an unconventional experiment has grown into a community of...
Mischa Richter’s documentary Summer Tour follows Santa Cruz Deadhead Annie Dunn and Jerry Pierce across America during Dead & Company’s final 2023 tour.
