Page 581 – Good Times

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology Aug. 28-Sept. 3

Rob Brezsny

-

August 27, 2019

Free will astrology for the week of Aug. 28, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Here are examples of activities I recommend you try in the coming days: 1. Build a campfire on the beach with friends and regale each other with stories of your most interesting successes. 2. Buy eccentric treasures at a flea market, and ever thereafter refer to them as your holy icons. 3. Climb a hill and sit on the grass as you sing your favorite songs and watch the moon slowly rise over the eastern horizon. 4. Take naps when you’re “not supposed to.” 5. Sneak into an orchard at night and eat fruit plucked just moments before. 6. Tell a beloved person a fairy tale in which he or she is the hero.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The hardiest creature on the planet may be the bacterium known as Deinococcus radiodurans. It can endure exposure to radiation, intense cold, dehydration, acid, and vacuum. I propose we make it your power creature for the coming weeks. Why? Not because I expect you’ll have to deal with a lot of extreme conditions, but rather because I think you’ll be exceptionally robust, both physically and psychologically. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to succeed at demanding challenges that require you to be in top form, now is a good time to do it. P.S. Deinococcus radiodurans is colloquially referred to as Conan the Bacterium, borrowing from the spirit of the fictional character Conan the Barbarian, who is renowned for his strength and agility.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the yearly cycle of many Geminis, retreating into a state akin to hibernation makes sense during the end of August and the first three weeks of September. But since many of you are high-energy sophisticates, you often override your body’s signals. And then nature pushes back by compelling you to slow down. The result may be a rhythm that feels like constantly taking three steps forward and two steps backward. May I suggest a different approach this year? Would you consider surrendering, even slightly, to the invitation to relax and recharge?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you decide to travel to a particular place via hot air balloon, you must be prepared for the possibility that your route will be indirect. At different altitudes, the wind may be blowing in different directions: toward the east at 100 feet high, but toward the southwest at 200 feet. The trick for the pilot is to jockey up and down until finding a layer that’s headed toward the desired destination. I see your life right now as having a metaphorical resemblance to this riddle. You have not yet discovered the layer that will take you where you want to go. But I bet you will soon.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Considering how bright you have been burning since the Flame Angels designated you as the Hottest Cool Person of the Month, I hesitate to urge you to simmer down. But I must. Before there’s a meltdown in your vicinity, please lower your thermostat. Not a lot. Just a little. If you do that, everyone will continue to see your gleaming charisma in the best possible light. But don’t you dare extinguish your blaze. Don’t apologize for your brilliant shimmer. The rest of us need your magical radiance.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Shogun is a bestselling novel about an Englishman who transforms himself into a samurai warrior in 17th-century Japan. Written by James Clavell, it’s over 1,100 pages long. Clavell testified that the idea for the story sprang up in him when he read one line in his daughter’s school book: “In 1600 an Englishman went to Japan and became a samurai.” I suspect it’s highly likely you will soon encounter a seed like that, Virgo: a bare inspiration that will eventually bloom into a Big Thing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran athlete Mickey Mantle is in Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. He had a spectacular 18-year career, winning the Most Valuable Player Award three times, playing in 12 World Series and being selected to the All-Star team 16 times. So it’s astounding that he played with a torn ligament in his knee for 17 years, according to his biographer Jane Leavy. She quoted an orthopedic surgeon who said that Mantle compensated for his injury with “neuromuscular genius.” I’m thinking that in the next few weeks, you’re in a position to accomplish an equivalent of Mantle’s heroic adjustment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Most people who belong to the Church of Satan neither believe in nor worship Satan. (They’re atheists, and don’t believe in the supernatural.) I think a comparable principle is true for many right-wing fundamentalist Christians. Their actions and words are replete with bigotry, hard-heartedness, materialism, and selfishness: so contrary to what the real Jesus Christ taught that they in effect don’t believe in or worship Jesus Christ. I mention this, Scorpio, in hope of inspiring you to take inventory of whether your stated ideals are reflected in the practical details of how you live your life. That’s always an interesting and important task, of course, but it’s especially so for you right now. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to purge any hypocrisy from your system and get your actual behavior in close alignment with your deepest values.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s the right time for you to create a fresh mission statement and promotional campaign. For inspiration, read mine: “My column Free Will Astrology offers you a wide selection of realities to choose from. With 4,212 years of dedication to customer service (over the course of my last 13 incarnations), I’m a reliable ally supporting your efforts to escape your oppressive conditioning and other people’s hells. My horoscopes come with an ironclad guarantee: If the advice you read is wrong, you’re under no obligation to believe it. And remember: a panel of 531 experts has determined that Free Will Astrology is an effective therapy for your chronic wounds and primordial pain. It is also dramatic proof that there is no good reason to be afraid of life.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here are good questions for you to meditate on during the next four weeks: 1. How can you attract resources that will expand your mind and your world? 2. Are you bold enough to reach out to wise sources and provocative influences that could connect you with useful tricks and practical treasures? 3. What interesting lessons can you stir up as you explore the mercurial edges, skirt the changeable boundaries, journey to catalytic frontiers, and make pilgrimages to holy hubbubs? 4. How best can you encourage lyrical emotion over polished sentimentality? Joyous idealism over astringent zealotry? Exuberant integrity over formulaic kindness?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “It is the beginning of wisdom when you recognize that the best you can do is choose which rules you want to live by,” wrote author Wallace Stegner, “and it’s persistent and aggravated imbecility to pretend you can live without any.” That will be an excellent meditation for you during the coming weeks. I trust you are long past the time of fantasizing you can live without any rules. Your challenge now is to adjust some of the rules you have been living by, or even dare to align yourself with some new rules—and then completely commit yourself to being loyal to them and enjoying them.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Given the astrological omens that will symbolize your personal story in the coming weeks and months, I think Piscean author Nikos Kazantzakis articulated the perfect prescription for you. I invite you to interpret his thoughts to fit your circumstances. “We’re going to start with small, easy things,” he wrote. “Then, little by little we shall try our hand at the big things. And after that, after we finish the big things, we shall undertake the impossible.” Here’s an additional prod from Kazantzakis: “Reach what you cannot.”

Homework: What do you want most for the person or animal you love best? freewillastrology.com.

Music Picks: Aug. 28-Sept. 3

Aaron Carnes

-

August 27, 2019

0

Santa Cruz County live entertainment picks for the week of Aug. 28

WEDNESDAY 8/28

INDIE

ON DRUGS

Some of On Drugs’ songs sound like they were recorded on a tape recorder; screams cut to buzzy screeches, interrupted by background conversations that fade to droning instruments. Other songs are surprisingly heartfelt; sweeping falsettos croon over twinkling guitars while a comforting, Pavement-esque drumbeat keeps all those sad feels moving toward angsty release. No matter the song, fun or sad (at shows, they’ll let you choose), On Drugs has affable punk energy to bolster the eccentric mood swings and anthemic tirades. Like many drugs, On Drugs takes what’s comedic and makes it deep. Or is it the other way around? I dunno. I’m high. AMY BEE

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 429-6994.

COUNTRY

VINCENT NEIL EMERSON

What makes a great country song? Good pickin’ and singin’ is a start, but songs about hard living and sad heartbreaks are essential. Just like the blues or punk, it has to be authentic, because true believers can spot a fake a mile away. Folks, it doesn’t get much more authentic than Vincent Neil Emerson. This Texan’s tales of inebriation, sobriety, bad luck, and dreams of stardom travel on a road of twangy guitars, haunting organs and a wounded voice. Joining him will be local honky-tonk torch bearer Jesse Daniel. MAT WEIR

7:30 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

THURSDAY 8/29

ROCK

THE BLASTERS

Catching a Blasters show is like strolling through the annals of American music, an audio tour of blues, country, rock, and R&B by a band whose members have been playing for decades. Today, the Blaster’s lineup includes vocalist-guitarist Phil Alvin, guitarist Keith Wyatt, bassist John Bazz, and drummer Bill Bateman, who all have impressive chops and distinguished musical careers. They’re the perfect group to explore the diverse musical legacy of American music with an energetic passion born from the love of playing live shows. AB

8 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. 479-1854.

JAZZ

KRISTEN STROM GROUP

During his life, San Jose bassist John Shifflett earned universal recognition as a consummate jazz musician whose commanding tone and supple sense of time elevated countless ensembles. With drummer Jason Lewis, he formed one of the region’s definitive rhythm section tandems that recorded with everyone from pianist Taylor Eigsti and saxophonist Mike Zilber to guitarist Mason Razavi and reed expert Kristen Strom. Following Shifflett’s death in 2017, Strom set about revealing that Shifflett was more than a first-call sideman. On last year’s Moving Day, she recorded a gorgeous album of his compositions. She’s been playing Shifflett’s music ever since. ANDREW GILBERT

7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $21 adv/$26.25 door. 427-2227.

FRIDAY 8/30

COMEDY

TORIO VAN GROL

Torio Van Grol isn’t a stoner, but he does have some hilarious weed stories, like the time he got so high that when he played foosball, he got too distracted by the inner lives of each individual “player.” His entire delivery and point of view is stoner-esque, with his oddball perspective and left-field takes. Maybe that’s because all his friends are stoners. As he points out, he likes to hang out with people that are having snacks. Whether you partake or not, you will enjoy Grol’s absurd observational humor. AC

7 & 9:30 p.m. DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 S River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. 900-5123.

SATURDAY 8/31

POP-PUNK

PEACH KELLI POP

Peach Kelli Pop’s Gentle Leader sounds like a punk album recorded after hours in a Sanrio store. Not that PKP’s earlier albums don’t—the Canadian one-woman-band has always had been endearingly sweet, making a point to expand the punk-rock cannon beyond male misanthropes and ‘80s outsiders to include characters like Sailor Mars, Lisa Frank, Keroppi, and Badtz Maru. On tracks like “Cherry (That’s Not Her Real Name)” and “Hello Kitty Knife,” PKP veers towards art-punk weirdos like Eat Skull and OOIOO, but without losing the music’s candy-coated core. MIKE HUGUENOR

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

MONDAY 9/2

INDIE-FOLK

XAVIER RUDD

Australian singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd is an optimist. On his latest single “Walk Away,” he captures our moment in time of social inequality and political dysfunction. In the midst of highlighting how dire everything is, he closes the song with a call for action and hope over an uplifting folk-rock melody. Rudd has always highlighted social injustices like the plight of indigenous Australians, the decay of our environment and racism. But he creates arena-worthy folk-rock songs that will fill your heart with the possibility of all the good we can do if we just try a little harder. AC

9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $23. 423-1338.

TUESDAY 9/3

REGGAE

STEPHEN MARLEY

Perhaps you’ve heard of Stephen Marley’s father, Jacob Marley. An ex-business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge, Marley visited the “Humbug” businessman on Christmas Eve to offer him a chance of redemption from his greedy ways. Wait! No, hang on. I might have that wrong. Let’s start over. Stephen Marley is a six-time Grammy winner, and a living link to the roots of Jamaican popular music. His 2011 album Revelation Part 1: Root of Life won Best Reggae Album and features the beautiful “Made in Africa” (featuring the cast of Fela!), a powerful reminder of the genre’s transformative, spiritual power. MH

8 p.m. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $56 adv/$60 door. 335-2800.

Inside Santa Cruz’s First Spanish Bookstore

Georgia Johnson

-

August 27, 2019

0

Inside Santa Cruz’s First Spanish Bookstore

Pablo Helguera only thought his art project would run for a few months. But six years later, he’s still collecting books and getting invitations to set up shop in cities across the U.S.

Helguera, a New York-based artist, opened the first Spanish-language bookstore in Brooklyn, Librería Donceles, to address a lack of bookstores that serve the growing Hispanic and Latin communities in the United States.

“Books are quickly disappearing. Brick-and-mortar bookstores are having a hard time keeping up with giants like Amazon,” Helguera says. “The experience of the book has completely changed, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate the very physical, sensory experience of the book. That can’t be transmitted online. Through this art project, I am trying to create an experience of reading and learning and living that I feel is getting lost.”

The exhibit is a pay-what-you-wish bookstore, with all proceeds benefiting Latin organizations. The Librería has set up in the Museum of Art and History (MAH)—replacing the Chamber of Heart and Mystery—this month. All proceeds support the Hablamos Juntos Project run by the Young Writers Program Santa Cruz. The name Librería Donceles comes from Donceles Street in Mexico City, a second-hand bookstore destination. “The stores were packed spaces where you’d get lost,” Helguera recalls. “It was an expedition to find something interesting there.”

Fast forward to New York in 2013. There were around 2 million Latinos and not a single Spanish-language bookstore. “To me, it was ironic that we had such a big Latinx population and no books,” Helguera says. “I felt it would be really important to address this issue through an art project. That’s when I started accepting book donations from Mexico.”

The response was so enormous that Helguera had to fundraise to ship all 20,000 donated books to the U.S. Mexican libraries donated, as did families and other people looking to get rid of clutter. The exhibit received every kind of book imaginable, from student textbooks to poetry, cooking and children’s books. The art project became a miniature Donceles Street. It’s intimate and comfortable, but also new and different, like a stranger’s living room.

“People had very emotional and strong responses to some of the books that I had for sale,” Helguera says. “They remember different parts of their lives, editions from the past. Books contain parts of our lives, and that’s something that became very clear from exhibit.”

Despite the strictly Spanish content, Helguera notes that there is more about the exhibit than the books that resonates with people. It’s the cultural exchange of information and experience that is particularly impactful to everyone, including non-Spanish speakers. It’s the freedom to get lost in the store, to thumb through old editions and marvel at found objects in the pages.

“When we opened the bookstore and started going through all of the donated books, we started finding things,” Helguera says. “From movie tickets to love letters, business cards and pressed flowers and religious images, we found things—secrets—that people put in their books. They become biographies of people’s lives. That can’t happen digitally.”

Helguera references his upbringing as some inspiration for the project. Growing up without the internet, he often looked to books for entertainment, many of which were handed down from his relatives.

“In the past, you could give your books to your kids, which is why I have my parents’ and grandparents’ books. But I can’t give my daughter my iTunes library, because I don’t own it. I am leasing those songs, they are never mine,” he says. “There is something special about really owning an object.”

The project has been to California before, including a stop in San Francisco’s Mission District. Helguera says that California in particular has an interesting response because of the large number of Hispanic and Latino residents, compared to other stops like Anchorage, Alaska. “Anchorage has maybe a 3% Latino population, but still lots of people came because it was such an exciting and new thing to experience,” he says. “In California, the reception is different. There are a lot more people that remember books from their childhood, or can resonate with particular stories. It’s fascinating.”

Librería Donceles runs through next summer at the Santa Cruz MAH, 705 Front St., first floor Lezin Gallery, Santa Cruz. 429-1964, santacruzmah.org.

Love Your Local Band: Nels Andrews

Aaron Carnes

-

August 27, 2019

0

A friend of local musician Nels Andrews was given a box of keys, rocks and other odd treasures by her mom when she graduated high school.

Her mom had acquired them over the years from some crows she’d been feeding (apparently, if you feed crows, they will sometimes gift you random items in return). This peculiar story served as inspiration for Andrews to explore the nuances of long-term relationships in his new song “Pigeon and the Crow.”

It’s the title track off his new album, which came out on Aug. 9; he’ll release the vinyl version on Aug. 30 at Streetlight Records. In conjunction, he collaborated with friend Mike Bencze to create a graphic novella to tell the story of “Pigeon and the Crow.”

“People have told me that my songs are little graphic novels,” Andrews says. “They jump around a lot. They’re full of imagery instead of having long narration in the stories.”

Pigeon And The Crow is Andrew’s fourth album, his first since moving to Santa Cruz in 2013. When he started recording, he reached out to friend Nuala Kennedy, an Irish flautist who played on his previous album. They started to record in L.A., but she moved back to Ireland when it was only partially complete. To finish the album, she gathered up some players from the traditional world in Ireland, and Andrews gathered up some of his local indie-folk friends, like Stelth Ulvang from the Lumineers.

“We pulled a bunch of friends from each of our bags,” Andrews says. “It’s collaborative.”

The album has an emotional tenderness to it that is rooted in folk, with Irish elements and a bit of the Santa Cruz breezy indie-folk sound.

6:30 p.m. Streetlight Records, 939 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 421-9200.

Film Review: ‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’

Richard von Busack

-

August 27, 2019

0

Someday you’ll meet someone quirky who considers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz’s audience-pleasing The Peanut Butter Falcon their favorite movie of all time. That choice wouldn’t be disgraceful; like the star Zack Gottsagen, this movie is on its own wavelength.

Gottsagen’s Zak introduces himself: “I am a Down’s Syndrome person.” He’s stubby, stubborn, and he wins you over fast with the strength of his own agenda and his willingness to carry it out. Using a special-needs actor could be considered problematic—a question of exploitation and how deep the performance goes. However, such casting is always better than having a normally abled actor pretending to be differently abled, or what novelist Bruce Wagner famously termed “the perennial audience-pleaser and vainglorious actor’s showcase staple.” (Sean Penn may some day live down I Am Sam, the subject of a devastating monologue by Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder.)

This Zak is a fan of professional wrestling and one vintage wrestler in particular, the SaltWater Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), who he watches repeatedly on a VHS tape. This obsession spurs his plan to flee the coastal North Carolina old folks’ home where he’s being kept. One night, he gives staff the slip with the help of his roommate Carl (Bruce Dern). Dern does some superior codgering, and he’s infectiously amusing here. One by one, they take away pleasures from the old, but Dern makes it look like the pleasure of defying authority is the best of them all.

Zak flees at night in his underwear, stowing away in the boat of another fugitive, Tyler (Shia LaBoeuf), a hard-luck, broken-hearted crab poacher; on Tyler’s trail are a couple of bad bastards (a formidable John Hawke and the rapper Yelawolf).

Tyler and Zak become traveling companions, rafting south on the wide, flat Pamlico Sound: ankle-deep wetlands you can walk on as if you’re Jesus. The pair is intended to look like Huck and Jim, but the Mark Twain side is hard to perceive, despite Zak’s keen ad libs. (“Stay cool!” Zack says in parting to someone who isn’t exactly the coolest ice cube in the refrigerator.) As a road trip movie, it’s more like The Last Detail done watery. The two southward-bound runners are at last joined by Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), who tended to Zak at the nursing home and who is responsible for tracking him down. In her scene at a gas station, smilingly rebuffing greasy Tyler’s elaborate compliments, Johnson shows she has more than enough self-amusement to survive the various ordeals she writhed through in the 50 Shades of Gray series.

Directors Nilson and Schwartz built the cuteness in from the title on down (the name is Zak’s unusual choice for a wrestler’s nom de guerre). The Peanut Butter Falcon is sometimes as gooshy as its namesake food. Moments that don’t quite work include a baptism by a profane junkyard lay-reverend. And there’s a final magical realist moment of triumph that isn’t set up perfectly.

That said, the Outer Banks waterscapes make The Peanut Butter Falcon funky and appealingly summery; it’s like seeing coastal Louisiana in a movie for the first time. LaBeouf will never be mistaken for a hotdog Transformer stooge again. His Tyler is seasoned by lingering regret from that session of weird public penance LaBeouf did a few years back. Self-inflicted shame-ordeals or shoemaking, you never know what’ll nourish an actor. LaBoeuf nails this wispy tale together. There are worse things you can say about a film than it’s like Beasts of the Southern Wild if Frank Darabont directed it.

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON

Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. Starring Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBoeuf and Dakota Johnson. (PG-13) 93 minutes.

How Not to Kill Your Fruit Trees

Christina Waters

-

August 27, 2019

0

Poet and shaman of the orchard Orin Martin has now given us the ultimate guide to growing fruit trees organically: Fruit Trees for Every Garden. With a foreword by Alice Waters and the firm, encouraging voice of the keeper of UCSC’s Alan Chadwick Garden energizing each page, the well-illustrated book is accessible and definitive.

Every home gardener considers fruit trees to be the ultimate challenge. Martin knows this, and he long ago mastered the art of tending many varieties of heirloom fruit in orchards that have inspired countless apprentice gardeners, as well as artists such as his wife Stephanie Zeiler Martin, whose exquisite color etchings adorn the new book. With daughter and publishing colleague Manjula Martin, Orin shares his secrets in fresh, uncluttered language. Available now, the book is a horticultural gem—a true heirloom.

The title contains the tantalizing implication that we, too, could learn to grow organic orchards.

ORIN MARTIN: In essence this book is for all, the novice through the skilled, experienced tree grower. Call it a roadmap, a how-to manual—but much more than just that. It’s about the hows and whys of tree-fruit growing. It seems people’s first impulse is to grab a tree, grab a spade, dig a hole, and stick the tree in the ground. Don’t be that person! Many mistakes with fruit trees are made as a result of inadequate or poor planning, and once the tree is in the ground, it’s hard to reverse engineer yourself out of trouble. This book aims to help in that regard—planting a fruit tree should be a considered act.

After so many years of doing and teaching, was it easy to put together accessible tips and principles of organic gardening?

Over more than 42 years, I’ve probably taught 1,500 apprentices—1,500 UCSC undergrad intern and 1,500 public workshop participants. In apprenticeship-style teaching, we learn by doing, by working alongside others who know more, learning in a granular fashion, incrementally, until competency is achieved, and then we work independently. It was startlingly easy to transpose both the style and substance of oral presentations into the format of this book. My life’s goal has been simply to fully understand a topic and then offer translation services to others.

What has been your greatest success as a fruit grower?

I regard fruit growing as a long conversation with trees. It’s a bit of a dialectic, too. I am largely self taught. I never really went to school much. There was no one there to show me the way, and so I had to figure it out myself. And in a slow, methodical, sometimes painstaking manner, I did. This has been a pleasurable journey, but not one without its setbacks. This book aims to make the learning process easier and more rapid for others.

In making this book what are you especially pleased with?

What I am most pleased with is the length and detail and the associated graphics in the pruning and training chapter. This chapter explains tree physiology and lays down a good foundation. When growing a tree, you will undoubtedly spend more time pruning and training your trees than any single activity. Studies have shown that trees in the everyday landscape have a calming effect on people, yet the average backyard gardener may feel anxious, confused, even defeated by the seemingly daunting task of pruning. Fear not—the book will help!

And working with your daughter and wife as collaborators?

Let me proudly state that without the help of my oldest daughter Manjula, writer and managing editor of Zoetrope literary magazine, there would be no book! The evocative copperplate etchings and the illustrations in this book were done by my darling companion and wife of 35 years, Stephanie Zeiler Martin.

‘Fruit Trees for Every Garden’ by Orin Martin, with Manjula Martin. Ten Speed Press. Available at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Soquel Vineyards’ Fog-Infused 2017 Pinot Noir

Josie Cowden

-

August 21, 2019

0

Soquel Vineyards’ Fog-Infused 2017 Pinot Noir

One of my favorite places to visit is Soquel Vineyards. Situated high in the hills of Soquel on beautiful property, it is a delight to taste fine wines while looking out over the vineyards. Complete with ocean views and an attractive patio, one could not ask for a better experience.

The hardworking trio of twins Peter and Paul Bargetto and Jon Morgan is responsible for the award-winning wines produced. We head there one Sunday specifically to try their estate-grown 2017 Pinot Noir ($40). Renowned for producing richly textured, full-bodied wines with structure and elegance, this luscious Pinot certainly fits the bill.

“Very generous with black cherry and Santa Rosa plums,” say the winery owners. “At an elevation of 1,000 feet, just touching the border of the fog line, the fruit ripens very slowly and brings together a textbook effort.” Aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, this luscious Pinot deservedly won a Double Gold—Best of Class with 97 points in the 2019 Sunset International Wine Competition.

Soquel Vineyards’ wines are attractively packaged, and their well-designed Trent’ Anni label celebrates 30 years in the winemaking business.

Soquel Vineyards, 8063 Glen Haven Rd., Soquel. 462-9045, soquelvineyards.com.

Akira Aptos

Four of us had dinner at Akira Aptos recently, which is known for its super-fresh fish. A dish of unagi (two pieces over rice) is only $6.50 and very tasty. A salmon starter we all shared, along with hot sake, was terrific. Soquel Vineyards wines are sold at Akira, and you can now enjoy your meal on a new outdoor patio.

Akira Aptos,105 Post Office Drive, Aptos. 708-2154, akiraaptos.com.

Grapes for Good

Cork and Fork wine bar in the heart of Capitola by the Sea will host Bargetto Winery for a special fundraiser for the Fallen Officer Foundation (FOF). Join them at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, when 25% of Bargetto wine sales will go to FOF. Cork and Fork owner Cathy Bentley plans to hold a Grapes for Good event every month featuring a different nonprofit and winery.

Cork and Fork, 312 Capitola Ave., Capitola. 435-1110, corkandforkcapitola.com.

Golden Roots Kitchen’s Healthy, Local On-Demand Meals

Georgia Johnson

-

August 21, 2019

2

Golden Roots Kitchen’s Healthy, Local On-Demand Meals

First, there’s the rise of food delivery apps like UberEats and Postmates. Then there’s Blue Apron, Hello Fresh and other large do-it yourself meal prep companies. In Santa Cruz, there’s also Golden Roots Kitchen, which aims to satisfy instant-food demand with local, healthy ingredients.

In her quest for better prepared meals, Chef Melanie Geist creates a menu each week based on what’s in season. Since she and her team do the heavy lifting on sourcing and cooking, all that’s left for customers to do is eat.

How does it work?

GEIST: Each week we produce a new menu—it changes every week—with eight to 10 items. It’s designed to be customizable, so instead of things being offered TV-dinner style, we have categories like a sprouted grain, a legume, a vegetable, an animal protein, and a frittata. Things are categorized so people can chose a dish on its own, or combine items on the menu to make their own meal.

We text everyone the menu on Thursdays, and they can choose what they want. On average, people order about five items. By Tuesday the items are ready, and people can have them delivered to their home or pick them up in our Scotts Valley kitchen. Our items range from $8-16.

What are some examples of menu items?

This week we have a roasted red pepper and Early Girl tomato soup. The Early Girls are back in season, so we are working with Live Earth Farm to get those this week. We’ll make a cashew cream for it so it’s dairy free. We have a leek and sweet potato frittata on the menu this week— that’s a customer favorite—and we have a flourless tahini cookie.

Where do you get the inspiration to create a new menu every week?

I love Yotam Ottolenghi. I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from him. I love the Eastern flavors and using a lot of herbs and spices. When I travel, I also try to recreate dishes with produce that are local to us.

goldenrootskitchen.com

Opinion: August 21, 2019

Steve Palopoli

-

August 21, 2019

2

EDITOR’S NOTE

It’s easy to complain about our favorite bands “selling out,” because we believe there’s a value in the meaning of music that goes beyond crass commercialism. But how many of us would actually be able to turn down a multi-million-dollar check to let one of our own songs be used in what might suddenly seem like just one harmless little commercial?

That’s one of the reasons John Densmore makes such a fascinating profile subject in Wallace Baine’s cover story this week. (The others, of course, include the fact that he played in the Doors, one of the most important rock bands on the ’60s counterculture movement, and that he just wrote a book about his bandmate Jim Morrison). As you read the piece, I wonder if you’ll start over-analyzing Densmore’s words the way I did, as if they held some secret clues to what makes this guy able to stand up to that kind of temptation for the sake of artistic integrity. The funny thing is, I’m not sure there is such a mystery. The answers are pretty much right there in what he says. Give it a read and see if you agree.

I also wanted to mention that comedian Shane Mauss returns to Santa Cruz next week, bringing his Stand Up Science! show back to DNA’s Comedy Lab on Tuesday, Aug. 27. I mention this because not only did Mauss himself make a great cover-story subject for us last time he was here, but both of the UCSC scientists he brought to speak at the show were so great we immediately wanted to do cover stories on them, too. (One of them was Barry Sinervo, who we did a cover story on in July). I don’t know who his guests are this time, but you can bet I’ll be there to find out. Oh yeah, and Shane is really funny, too!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

No More Knit Picking

As a senior, I was interested in Hugh McCormick’s article about staying active (GT, 8/14), and turned to it first.

I was very disappointed. I am not a high-income senior who can afford Dominican Oaks. Nor can I pay for the classes offered by PEP through Dignity Health. I live in low-income senior housing. We don’t have a van to take us anywhere.

We do have opportunities to stay active in Santa Cruz, and I am sorry Mr. McCormick didn’t care to include some of them in his one-sided article. Louden Nelson Center offers several classes for active seniors, and my own exercise choice, Toadal Fitness, has very reduced rates for seniors.

There was a quote by Ms. Routly, executive director of Dominican Oaks, in which she says, “Our seniors aren’t just sitting around knitting.” I am a longtime knitter and member of the Knitting Guild of Santa Cruz. This group has many seniors as members and is active in the community knitting and donating many items such as chemo caps and various sweaters, scarves, shawls, etc. to the Homeless Garden Project store. Many of us knit complicated patterns. Ms. Routly might want to plan a trip to the county fair and visit our booth. We are a vibrant group, and we knit.

I expect GT to publish well-rounded articles, which represent the diverse population residing in our county. This article did not.

Margo Fisher

Santa Cruz

Repair Our Roads

Last week’s article in GT stated that 20 years of deferred maintenance (and storm damage) on our 1,764 miles of county roads has resulted in a $453 million backlog of repairs needed to make them safe and passable. The RTC has allocated a mere $2.8 million annually in funding for repairs, not even enough to keep up with yearly costs. As pointed out in the article, there are many rural roads that have been relegated to a single lane. The RTC’s priorities need to become more focused on the roads we have, not on continual, expensive rail corridor studies and a dubious contract with Progressive Rail that will suck away untold millions of taxpayer dollars in order to bring the tracks up to Class I certification. Please, no more money for a train that will never be. Let’s put our resources into more practical necessities.

Buzz Anderson

Santa Cruz

ONLINE COMMENTS

Re: District Elections

An interesting situation for the city of Santa Cruz. But Ebenstein seems confused—or he is distorting the

law—when he says, “The California Voting Rights Act is pretty specific about districts as the remedy.” ln

fact, the law, as revised in 2015-2016, clearly states, “District-based elections shall not be imposed or

applied in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice as a

result of the dilution or the abridgment of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class.” That is, if district elections don’t solve the problem, they can’t be imposed.

— John Hall

Election districts would be wonderful, then the entire city wouldn’t be run by those from the city up on the hill.

— Robyn Marx

If Hernandez is right, ranked-choice voting is the only solution that can work without some ridiculously shaped districts. It’s time to amend the Voting Rights Act to accept it as an alternative solution to districts.

— June Genis

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Submit to ph****@go*******.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.

GOOD IDEA

MAT’S PROGRESS

Nourish Wellness Center has established itself as a giving partner for Freedom for Immigrants through the end of August. The Santa Cruz-based center is donating $1 for every person who comes to one of its massages, yoga classes or nutrition consultations. The money goes to the National Bond Fund, which provides support to get immigrants out of detention centers while they await court hearings. For more information, email in**@no**************.com or call 359-5335.

GOOD WORK

FUR A GOOD TIME

The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is getting the word out about an opportunity for potential cat owners to “Fall in Love Before the Fall.” Feline adoption fees typically range from $55-120. But due to a high volume of felines, the shelter is lowering adoption fees to just $19, in honor of the year 2019. Adoption fees include vaccinations, a microchip, a cardboard cat carrier, and a spay or neuter operation. To see available cats, visit scanimalshelter.org.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Where’s your will to be weird?”
-Jim Morrison

5 Things To Do in Santa Cruz: August 21-27

GT Staff

-

August 20, 2019

0

5 Things To Do in Santa Cruz: August 21-27

A weekly guide to what’s happening

Green Fix

Bike Ride with Martine Watkins

Martine Watkins and the Santa Cruz Police Department want to race you—on a leisurely bike ride, that is. It’s a great way to get your local politics opinions heard from the back of the peloton. The city of Santa Cruz invites families on a Riverwalk ride with Watkins, SCPD and Ecology Action. Bring a bike, a helmet and a light. No hydrocarbon electric bikes necessary—beach cruisers work great.

INFO: Saturday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m.-noon. The Colligan Theater, 1010 River St., Santa Cruz.

Art Seen

Aromas Day

Aromas day, a “day in the country,” celebrates the biggest little village on the Central Coast. Every year, it proves to be the most fun people can have with their clothes on (they said it, not us). The streets close to traffic, and the town becomes a walking mall, opening up to visitors with music, handcrafts, art, jewelry, food, and drink. This year also includes horse-drawn wagon rides courtesy of Backstretch Horse Rescue. For early risers, the day begins with an old-fashioned pancake breakfast at the Aromas Grange. Eggs, pancakes, ham or sausage, coffee, and juice galore for $8. Following that, there’s live music and the Classic Car Show. Wear your walking shoes.

INFO: Sunday, Aug. 25, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. aromasday.com. Free.

Sunday 8/25

Holistic Health Wellness Fair

College of Botanical Healing Arts (COBHA) sponsors its 14th-annual Holistic Health and Wellness Fair in downtown Santa Cruz, bringing together traditional and alternative practitioners, businesses and educational institutions from Santa Cruz’s diverse healing community. Peruse dozens of booths and meet local practitioners, get hands-on healing, sample local products and foods, and listen to knowledgeable guest speakers. The fair supports the nonprofit, which provides education and research around the art and science of essential oils, plants, nutrition, and herbal healing.

INFO: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Lincoln and Cedar streets, Santa Cruz. cobha.org. 462-1807. Free.

Saturday 8/24 and Sunday 8/25

Dahlia Festival

Join Dahlia lovers, growers and admirers for this two-day Dahlia extravaganza with hundreds of varieties blooming especially for this time of year. There will be over 1,000 award-winning blooms, including poms larger than your head and some only the size of a thimble. There are all kinds of colors, though interestingly, blue dahlias don’t exist. Take photos, browse rows and rows of flowers, and talk to growers about how they successfully grow these incredible blooms.

INFO: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25. Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. 429-1964, santacruzmah.org. Free.

Saturday 8/24 and Sunday 8/25

Tequila and Taco Music Festival

Everyone knows that tacos are delicious. But did you know they taste even better with tequila? This weekend at San Lorenzo Park, the two will be paired once again. There will also be beer, craft vendors and live music.

INFO: 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 and Sunday, Aug. 25. Tequila sampling times are from 11:30 am-3:30 pm on Saturday only. San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz. 805-628-9588, tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com. $10-$40.

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

WEDNESDAY 8/28

INDIE

ON DRUGS

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 429-6994.

COUNTRY

VINCENT NEIL EMERSON

7:30 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

THURSDAY 8/29

ROCK

THE BLASTERS

8 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. 479-1854.

JAZZ

KRISTEN STROM GROUP

7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $21 adv/$26.25 door. 427-2227.

FRIDAY 8/30

COMEDY

TORIO VAN GROL

7 & 9:30 p.m. DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 S River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. 900-5123.

SATURDAY 8/31

POP-PUNK

PEACH KELLI POP

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

MONDAY 9/2

INDIE-FOLK

XAVIER RUDD

9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $23. 423-1338.

TUESDAY 9/3

REGGAE

STEPHEN MARLEY

8 p.m. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $56 adv/$60 door. 335-2800.

6:30 p.m. Streetlight Records, 939 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 421-9200.

‘Fruit Trees for Every Garden’ by Orin Martin, with Manjula Martin. Ten Speed Press. Available at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Soquel Vineyards, 8063 Glen Haven Rd., Soquel. 462-9045, soquelvineyards.com.

Akira Aptos

Akira Aptos,105 Post Office Drive, Aptos. 708-2154, akiraaptos.com.

Grapes for Good

Cork and Fork, 312 Capitola Ave., Capitola. 435-1110, corkandforkcapitola.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Bike Ride with Martine Watkins

Aromas Day

Holistic Health Wellness Fair

Dahlia Festival

Tequila and Taco Music Festival