Page 638 – Good Times

Valentine’s Day–being of love a little more careful: Risa’s Stars Feb. 13-19

Risa D’Angeles

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February 12, 2019

Valentine’s Day–being of love a little more careful: Risa’s Stars Feb. 13-19

We are in our last week of Aquarius, the sign of humanity itself—of community, freedom and awakening to the beauty of future visions, group life and service to the world. We have a busy week. Thursday is Valentine’s Day. Monday is Presidents’ Day as the Sun enters Pisces. And Tuesday is the full moon, the Pisces solar festival and the lantern festival, ending the Chinese and Tibetan new year celebrations.

Valentine’s Day is a Gemini moon/Aquarius sun day. Gemini (ray two, love/wisdom) is the sign of making contacts and communicating with everyone, everywhere. Gemini is the communicator creating connections and relationships everywhere.

On Valentine’s Day, we may experience hope, love, yearning, devotion, candy, kisses, hearts, flowers—and, for some, delusions, illusions and consuming too much chocolate. With Mars in Taurus (desire, luxury) and Mercury in Pisces (cravings), we could overdo the sugar and fall into a state of languor and oblivion. Hopefully not. Valentine’s day this year (with Gemini moon) should be fun, light, easy, happy, friendly, cheery, breezy, and lighthearted. Like Gemini.

Valentine’s Day always occurs in the depths of winter, in the sign Aquarius.

The heart (soul ruler) of Aquarius is Jupiter (ray two of love/wisdom). A perfect time for Valentine’s Day, where we remember the most famous words of Gemini-rising poet e. e. cummings (Oct. 14, sun/Venus in Libra, Gemini rising, Aquarius midheaven) to “be of love (a little) more careful than on everything.”

ARIES: Venus is in your 10th house of being recognized in the world. You’re becoming a bit more attractive and charming. The vulnerability you carry is your heart on your sleeve, filled with unexpected feelings, diplomatic abilities and magnetic keeping-the-peace responses. To be even more interesting, show a real interest in art, dance, ancient artifacts, and music. Tend to health with care–your valuable asset. And be willing to cooperate more.

TAURUS: It’s good to be in retreat, a healthful state of affairs for Taurus—who can be seen in fields, meadows, farms, hill and dale, but often not in crowds. Taurus is not very urbanized. A good thing. They are private, expressing love behind protective veils (doors), in the quietude of their homes. Venus is known for bringing romance and ending things no longer useful. Taurus is either the singer or the one who can’t sing. Both express themselves in hopes and dreams. Uranus (change) is in your sign soon!

GEMINI: You think about hopes, dreams and wishes, and somehow a bit of a wound appears. Perhaps, for some reason, you feel hindered or limited. Venus, whose light protects you, has plans for you behind the scenes. Venus asks you to create a journal of what you value about yourself, to write an autobiography, in order to make deeper contact with your essential beingness. Venus waits patiently to hear your story, your self-narrative and aspirations. There’s a sadness, because the time for something is not yet. It will be soon. You must be ready.

CANCER: Have you found new friends, perhaps one in particular? Have you left old friends behind? Do you realize why others like you? Because you have qualities they want to emulate, knowledge they want to know about, competency and practicality they want to imitate. People look at your skills and experiences and the presence you bring to all gatherings. You have authority and Venus wants you to share more with everyone. It’s good to pursue something of beauty–imaginative, inventive and splendid.

LEO: Routine things these days make you feel hindered, caught, caged, and slightly crazy. You simply must be let free, able to pursue travel, journeys, new insights, new realities, new waves of thought streaming through the ethers. Something exotic is happening to the way you express yourself. Attractive before, now you’re attractive, lovingly magnetic and becoming even more creative. Something you would never consider becomes a possibility. Paint.

VIRGO: Multiple realities appear, all connected to relationships, creative, and home endeavors. Something financial and resourceful comes forth. Do not allow it to wound or confuse you. Sharing power becomes possible because you want to harmonize differences, soothe any chaos or conflict, become intimate in terms of spiritual understanding (also physical). If partnered, you realize their goodness in the depth of your heart.

LIBRA: Venus provides you with wisdom of how to be in a relationship and how to create a beautiful, balanced, harmonious home environment. You are to love your partner with all your heart and your soul. Create deep intimate connections through praise and appreciation. This heals and brings forth unexpected gifts in the relationship. Be willing to compromise, adapt and make peace wherever there is no peace. If single, apply these to friends and family, past, present, and the future. Everything and everyone become your relationship.

SCORPIO: You have a special task in the coming months: to create and anchor a true (not only outer) harmony in all environments, from work to home to yard to garden to garage to car to people to groups. Organizing outer harmony creates an inner sense of joy, accomplishment and pleasure. Being successful now means being cooperative, instilling in everyone a team spirit, and having the willingness to understand and serve the needs of others. Try.

SAGITTARIUS: You become more charming, playful and dramatic these days. Even your choice of music and food reflects this. Are children or young people around? They will reflect this also, especially the dramatic parts. Your self-expression and sense of values enter a Venusian (soft, loving, romantic) phase of creativity. There’s so much to be kind, giving and cheerful about. So much fun to have. So many dramatic situations to enter. And to be the bright rising star!

CAPRICORN: So much of your focus is home and family. You seek to aid and heal others whenever you see sadness or wounding. Art is a source of strength for you, so you’re often nostalgic for things traditional. You value color, art and books in your home, and all that you create is peaceful, beautiful and useful (like the art of hand-stitched quilts). Think about how to build a greenhouse attached to your home to nurture greens and medicinal plants and herbs. You are calm and serene. Home is your value and your pleasure. You are grateful.

AQUARIUS: We find you talking a lot these days about what you value, making plans, being out and about talking with friends, farmers and seeking to work with them in order to bring forth the necessary food for humanity. You find many companions along the way that agree with your values, interests and exchange of ideas. Great ideas always precipitate down to become great ideals within humanity. As an Aquarian, all that you do benefits humanity. Good work.

PISCES: A level of contentment is felt in your heart and mind. Wherever you find yourself, there is an inner feeling of safety, security and being in the right place. After a while you feel concern for your finances, security and the future. It is good at this time to offer yourself in service to others without thought of compensation. And to make greater and more contact with the spirit world. In this way, love is released which creates your present and future wellbeing. It’s your birthday soon.

Westside ‘Art Roommates’ Thrive in Shared Studio

Georgia Johnson

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February 12, 2019

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Westside ‘Art Roommates’ Thrive in Shared Studio

If there is such a thing as “art roommates,” Coco Barrett-Tormey and Kyle “Juice” Johnson could be the poster children for the concept. Johnson runs a custom surfboard shaping and sign painting shop, and Barrett-Tormey is a potter best known as the artist behind Coco Chispa pottery. The pair share a studio in the center of the industrial Westside. Amid the clamor of constant construction and in the shade of the afternoon light, they aren’t so much nestled as sprawled.

“You should have seen our old studio. Oh my gosh,” Barrett-Tormey exclaims. “It was tiny.”

“Like it came out to here,” Johnson says, shaping his arms into a box in the corner of the room. “Maybe 20 by 20 feet.”

“We luckily got along really well at first, because we couldn’t escape each other,” Barrett-Tormey says. “Our businesses are so different, but because we are so physically close to each other, we help each other out and encourage each other. Each success lifts the other person up, too.”

Barrett-Tormey and Johnson relocated to their present, much larger studio about a year ago. Between Johnson’s studio downstairs and Barrett-Tormey’s mass of of mountain mugs stacked on the upstairs balcony, the two have created a two-story artistic oasis. They can now comfortably fit dozens of surfboards, hundreds of mugs and a big fluffy white dog in their space.

The two somewhat solitary acquaintances found themselves sardined into a tiny studio out of financial necessity three years ago, but now they can’t imagine not sharing a space. “Juice knows me so well that he is constantly reflecting back on me who I am. That makes me feel a lot more confident,” Barrett-Tormey says. “In a lot of ways the community in Santa Cruz does that for me, too.”

The woman in cheetah print heels making mugs and the surfer dude creating one-of a-kind boards have more in common than it initially seems. They are also both avid outdoors people. Barrett-Tormey’s signature handmade mountain mugs and cantines are inspired by backpacking trips in the Sierras, and Johnson’s board-shaping is a natural extension of his passion for surfing. They have collaborated on a few projects, including a surfboard with Barrett-Tormey’s mountain designs on it and a few mugs.

“We are both practicing skills,” Barrett-Tormey says. “Sign painting and making surfboards—those are skills and will never not be important. It’s the same with pottery. There are older people who are way better at it, but a handmade mug is something that will always be special.”

It’s interesting, though, that the nature-loving artists chose a space in a noisy, industrial space surrounded by construction and building.

“I like the contrast of going out to surf, then coming to work here and there is clanging steel and high beams around,” Johnson says. “It’s an industrial space, but with our work the human touch is all over it.”

Barrett-Tormey started making pottery in Santa Cruz five years ago, eventually getting her own wheel and kiln on Craigslist. She started selling her work in Santa Cruz, and has since expanded to retailers across the country. She’s recently signed a deal with REI and is in the process of shipping them 1,000 mugs.

“I’ve been lucky enough to feel like there is this momentum, and all I have to do is keep up and make sure it doesn’t snowball away from me,” Barrett-Tormey says. “Pretty much every day, Juice and I remind ourselves that we are so lucky. That’s important, to remind yourself that you are lucky all the time.”

When he’s not shaping new boards, Johnson is behind seemingly every local business sign around, including Companion Bakeshop, Marianne’s, Mutari, Specialized Auto and Davenport Roadhouse. Originally from Los Angeles, he moved to Santa Cruz 10 years ago to shape surfboards alongside some of the local legends at Arrow.

“When I tell people that I paint signs and build surfboards for a living they say, ‘Oh, that’s fun!’ And yes, I was initially drawn to both crafts because they are fun, but they’re also professions that I take very seriously; there is a lineage and set of rules to follow with each one,” Johnson says. “I never thought I could be a sign painter nobody ever told me that’s a real job, but it is if you make it one.”

The two artists say that even though they probably have the means to move into their own spaces, they probably wouldn’t. The feedback they get from each other is important, and the daily conversations about art, waves and life are invaluable.

“We are so close now, we have our own little jokes that no one else will think are funny,” Barrett-Tormey says. “It’s pretty easy. That’s how it should be.”

For more information, visit juiceboxsurfboards.com and cocochispa.com.

Rob Brezny’s Astrology Feb. 13-19

Rob Brezsny

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February 12, 2019

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Free will astrology for the week of Feb. 13, 2019.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When directors of movies say, “It’s a wrap,” they mean that the shooting of a scene has been finished. They may use the same expression when the shooting of the entire film is completed. That’s not the end of the creative process, of course. All the editing must still be done. Once that’s accomplished, the producer may declare that the final product is “in the can,” and ready to be released or broadcast. From what I can determine, Aries, you’re on the verge of being able to say, “It’s a wrap” for one of your own projects. There’ll be more work before you’re ready to assert, “it’s in the can.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to create your own royal throne and sit on it whenever you need to think deep thoughts and formulate important decisions. Make sure your power chair is comfortable as well as beautiful and elegant. To enhance your ability to wield your waxing authority with grace and courage, I also encourage you to fashion your own crown, scepter and ceremonial footwear. They, too, should be comfortable, beautiful and elegant.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1995, astronomer Bob Williams got a strong urge to investigate a small scrap of the night sky that most other astronomers regarded as boring. It was near the handle of the constellation known as the Big Dipper. Luckily for him, he could ignore his colleagues’ discouraging pressure. That’s because he had been authorized to use the high-powered Hubble Space Telescope for a 10-day period. To the surprise of everyone but Williams, his project soon discovered that this seemingly unremarkable part of the heavens is teeming with over 3,000 galaxies. I suspect you may have a challenge akin to Williams’, Gemini. A pet project or crazy notion of yours may not get much support, but I hope you’ll pursue it anyway. I bet your findings will be different from what anyone expects.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A study by the Humane Research Council found that more than 80 percent of those who commit to being vegetarians eventually give up and return to eating meat. A study by the National Institute of Health showed that only about 36 percent of alcoholics are able to achieve full recovery; the remainder relapse. And we all know how many people make New Year’s resolutions to exercise more often, but then stop going to the gym by February. That’s the bad news. The good news, Cancerian, is that during the coming weeks you will possess an enhanced power to stick with any commitment you know is right and good for you. Take advantage!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Are there two places on Earth more different from each other than Europe and Africa? Yet there is a place, the Strait of Gibralter, where Europe and Africa are just 8.7 miles apart. Russia and the United States are also profoundly unlike each other, but only 2.5 miles apart where the Bering Strait separates them. I foresee a metaphorically comparable phenomenon in your life. Two situations or influences or perspectives that may seem to have little in common will turn out to be closer to each other than you imagined possible.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo basketball star Latrell Sprewell played professionally for 13 years. He could have extended his career at least three more seasons, but he turned down an offer for $21 million from the Minnesota team, complaining that it wouldn’t be sufficient to feed his four children. I will ask you not to imitate his behavior, Virgo. If you’re offered a deal or opportunity that doesn’t perfectly meet all your requirements, don’t dismiss it out of hand. A bit of compromise is sensible right now.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1992, an Ethiopian man named Belachew Girma became an alcoholic after he saw his wife die from AIDS. And yet today he is renowned as a “Laughter Master,” having dedicated himself to exploring the healing powers of ebullience and amusement. He presides over a school that teaches people the fine points of laughter, and he holds the world’s record for longest continuous laughter at three hours and six minutes. I nominate him to be your role model in the next two weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will be especially primed to benefit from the healing power of laughter. You’re likely to encounter more droll and whimsical and hilarious events than usual, and your sense of humor should be especially hearty and finely tuned.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science suggests that people who use curse words tend to be more candid. “Swearing is often inappropriate, but it can also be evidence that someone is telling you their honest opinion,” said the lead researcher. “Just as they aren’t filtering their language to be more palatable, they’re also not filtering their views.” If that’s true, Scorpio, I’m going to encourage you to curse more than usual in the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it’s crucial that you tell as much of the whole truth as is humanly possible. (P.S. Your cursing outbursts don’t necessarily have to be delivered with total abandon everywhere you go. You could accomplish a lot just by going into rooms by yourself and exuberantly allowing the expletives to roll out of your mouth.)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In the mid-1980s, a California carrot farmer grew frustrated with the fact that grocery stories didn’t want to buy his broken and oddly shaped carrots. A lot of his crop was going to waste. Then he got the bright idea to cut and shave the imperfect carrots so as to make smooth little baby carrots. They became a big success. Can you think of a metaphorically comparable adjustment you could undertake, Sagittarius? Is it possible to transform a resource that’s partially going to waste? Might you be able to enhance your possibilities by making some simple modifications?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Mongolia is a huge, landlocked country. It borders no oceans or seas. Nevertheless, it has a navy of seven sailors. Its lone ship is a tugboat moored on Lake Khovsgol, which is 3 percent the size of North America’s Lake Superior. I’m offering up the Mongolian navy as an apt metaphor for you to draw inspiration from in the coming weeks. I believe it makes good astrological sense for you to launch a seemingly quixotic quest to assert your power, however modestly, in a situation that may seem out of your league.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “A freshness lives deep in me which no one can take from me,” wrote poet Swedish poet Gunnar Ekelöf. “Something unstilled, unstillable is within me; it wants to be voiced,” wrote philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In accordance with your astrological omens, I propose we make those two quotes your mottos for the next four weeks. In my opinion, you have a mandate to tap into what’s freshest and most unstillable about you—and then cultivate it, celebrate it and express it with the full power of your grateful, brilliant joy.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): According to the Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, the word “obsession” used to refer to the agitated state of a person who was besieged by rowdy or unruly spirits arriving from outside the person. “Possession,” on the other hand, once meant the agitated state of a person struggling against rowdy or unruly spirits arising from within. In the Western Christian perspective, both modes have been considered primarily negative and problematic. In many other cultures, however, spirits from both the inside and outside have sometimes been regarded as relatively benevolent, and their effect quite positive. As long as you don’t buy into the Western Christian view, I suspect that the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to consort with spirits like those.

Read free excerpts from my most recent book: https://bit.ly/JoyLuckLove

UCSC Alum John Craigie Brings Indie-Folk Back to Town

Aaron Carnes

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February 12, 2019

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UCSC Alum John Craigie Brings Indie-Folk Back to Town

Portland Americana singer-songwriter John Craigie has played all over the country and built up a sizeable audience in the 15 years he’s been in music, with six excellent, moody indie-folk records to his name.

But it all started here in Santa Cruz. When he was a student at UCSC, he discovered KPIG—and by extension, Americana music.

“I started hearing music that I never would’ve heard in L.A. growing up,” Craigie says. “John Prine, Gillian Welch, Todd Snider, Greg Brown, Lucinda Williams, Loudon Wainwright III, and so many others.”

He got his feet wet as a live performer around the same time, playing in a group called Pond Rock.

“I met other serious musicians who were open to jamming together. House parties, Catalyst Atrium, Moe’s Alley, Henflings, etc. It was a great time to be in a jam band,” Craigie says.

He’s since scaled down the jam sounds and developed into one of the most respected singer-songwriters in the DIY touring scene. His latest album, Scarecrow, is a somber record that he recorded in a room alone, with the engineer stationed elsewhere. These are down-tempo, morose folksy songs.

“I wanted to capture that quietness that one feels alone on the road,” Craigie says.

The songs were written mostly when he was writing music for his previous record No Rain, No Rose. That album has a totally different, upbeat vibe. Though he sings about hard times, a lot of the focus is on the light at the end of the tunnel. When it came time to record it, he rounded up a bunch of musician friends and had a big jamboree acoustic recording session in a comfortable living room, and the enthusiasm is apparent all over the songs. But there were several songs that just didn’t have the right feel, and those were the basis for Scarecrow.

“I wanted to give them their own home that tied all these songs together,” Craigie says.

These two records mark a turn in Craigie’s career. They not only document his endless touring lifestyle, they showcase his finding a sense of home. After cutting his teeth in Santa Cruz’s music scene, he dove into the touring lifestyle. That’s when he really saw his songwriting blossom.

“It was always my dream to travel, and I had no problem roughing it. I loved sleeping on couches and meeting people and hearing all their stories. I noticed when the venue would give me a hotel, I would head back there alone and not meet anyone or get any stories. I craved those connections. It 100 percent affected my song writing in that most of my songs came from those interactions, whether they were romantic or tragic or new friendships,” Craigie says.

As serious as his songs are—and the ones on Scarecrow might be his most serious yet—Craigie is known for being a funny guy and putting on fun shows, with lots of hilarious in-between song banter. He even gets compared to Mitch Hedberg—not something you often hear about singer-songwriters—but his banter tends to include more funny true stories than absurd observations.

“I listened to an interview with him where he was asked about his delivery,” Craigie says of Hedberg. “He said that he was pulling a lot from jazz musicians and beat poets. He said something like, ‘shy people trying to sound cool.’ I don’t think I have much in common with Mitch’s style of humor, but I do think we have that similar delivery inspired by those beat poets and jazz musicians. We’re both shy guys trying to sound cool.”

It’s not that the new songs are devoid of humor. He thinks it’s just a little less overt.

“I think sometimes there is a type of humor in sad songs,” Craigie says. “It just depends on what you’re going through while you listen.”

INFO: 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18. Flynn’s Cabaret & Steakhouse, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $27. 335-2800.

Film Review: ‘Capernaum’

Lisa Jensen

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February 12, 2019

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We hear a lot about refugees fleeing violence and poverty in war-torn countries. They swarm across borders in caravans, we’re warned, or sneak in by stealth. Most of us understand that these people are seeking a better life, or a chance to survive at all. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we can imagine the kind of desperation that would drive anyone to leave behind everything they know and risk so much for such an uncertain fate.

It’s a situation Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki addresses in Capernaum. Nominated for this year’s Foreign Language Oscar, it’s the often harrowing, deeply engrossing tale of a 12-year-old boy struggling to navigate the world the grown-ups have made—indifferent, at best, and carelessly brutal—in the refugee-haunted slums of Beirut. In Capernaum (the word loosely translates as “chaos”), Labaki puts a strikingly human face on a shadow existence so untenable that the dream of escape is the only possible response.

Zain (the remarkable young Zain Al Rafeea) is the eldest child in a family of Syrian refugees who occupy a crumbling Beirut tenement. His short-fused father and volatile mother (Kawsar Al Haddad) are likely to smack him at any moment, and he has too many younger siblings to count. When his parents sell his 11-year-old sister into marriage (kicking and screaming all the way), and Zain can’t protect her, he heads out on his own.

Scavenging food and sleeping in a Ferris Wheel car at an amusement park, he’s noticed by Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw), an Ethiopian refugee who works in the kitchen at the carnival cafe. Rahil has a secret of her own: not only is she “illegal” (her work permit is forged), she has a toddler who sleeps hidden in her backpack while she works.

Rahil invites Zain home to her tiny, ramshackle lean-to, and feeds and bathes him alongside her little boy, Yonas (winsome Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, whose gleeful good cheer and eager curiosity delight viewers throughout the film). Rahil strikes a bargain with Zain to provide him food and shelter if he will stay home and mind little Yonas during the day while she is at work.

Within this framework of plot, Labaki paints a broader portrait of the perilous lives of undocumented immigrants on foreign soil. Rahil and the other African women who clean and scrub around the amusement park are wholly dependent on the surly tough guy in the marketplace who forges their work permits for them. They live in fear of being herded up and caged, en masse, like animals. A Syrian girl Zain meets in the marketplace (she’s peddling a handmade wreath, he’s trying to sell a couple of Rahil’s meager pots to feed the baby) infects him with her fantasy of Sweden—a Utopia where everyone lives in a house, breathes fresh air and has plenty of food to eat.

In young Al Rafeea, a real-life Syrian transplant and first-time actor found on the streets of Beirut, Labaki has found the perfect vessel to express her views on the refugee experience. His Zain is aggressive and foul-mouthed, like his father, but quick-witted and resourceful, too. He rigs up a mirror outside Rahil’s window so he and Yonas can watch cartoons from the neighbor’s TV—then makes up scatological dialogue to fit the images.

But Zain also has the capacity to care deeply about others, and develop an unshakable sense of loyalty to them. He shows far more responsibility and initiative in caring for little Yonas than his own parents ever showed toward him—especially after Rahil disappears. It’s the plight of children like Zain, thrust into a baffling world through no fault of their own, that Labaki strives to illuminate. And it’s Zain’s response to that world—first, in a courtroom, on trial for a violent crime, then in a stark manifesto he calls in to a local radio show—that gives Labaki’s film its urgency and power.

CAPERNAUM

*** (out of four)

With Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw and Kawsar Al Haddad. Written and directed by Nadine Labaki. A Sony Classics release. Rated R. 126 minutes. In Arabic and Amharic, with English subtitles.

Vinocruz 2.0, Plus A Successor to Assembly

Christina Waters

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February 12, 2019

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Vinocruz 2.0, Plus A Successor to Assembly

When Vinocruz left downtown a few years ago, many of us mourned the loss of the only tasting room specializing entirely in Santa Cruz Mountains wines. But that was then. Now, thanks to partners Jordan Iversen and Matt Schofield, Vinocruz has relocated and expanded its offerings on the main drag in Soquel Village—though it’s still centered on our fine local wines.

The new owners brought a broad vision of sensory experiences to the space at the corner of Soquel and Main, which now offers food, live music, nightly specials, and even local beer and cider. Hence the updated name, Vinocruz Wine Bar & Kitchen.

“Everything we do at Vinocruz, even down to making our breads, is done in-house,” co-owner

Iversen told me. Day-to-day operations are handled by Schofield, along with can-do floor manager Sally Locke-Paddon. Iversen pointed out that the kitchen at Vinocruz has already attracted many dinner regulars who flock to weekday happy hours like “Flatbread Fridays” and “Tap and Taco Tuesdays.”

“Chef Maggie Fernandez, who came to us from Bernardus Lodge in Carmel, has been leading our kitchen,” Iversen says. “She was the one responsible for putting together our Valentine’s Day Menu, and will head up the food for that event.”

Vinocruz’s Valentine’s dinner on Thursday, Feb. 14, will be a prix-fixe meal designed by Fernandez. It will begin with an amuse and choice of appetizer. Entreé choices include scallops with mushrooms and asparagus ribbons, braised veal cheeks with black lentil pilaf and carrot puree, or Mushroom Wellington with mashed potatoes. Romantic dessert options include flourless chocolate cake and a chocolate sampler.

The $60 (bargain!) price includes your first glass of wine. Limited seating means that those interested should call Vinocruz now!

Vinocruz, 4901 Soquel Drive, Soquel. 426-8466, vinocruz.com.

Assembling Tacos

Always on the edge of reinvention, Penny Ice Creamery partners Zach Davis and Kendra Baker have now formed an alliance with Mark Denham (former chef at Soif) and manager Sarah Shields. The result-in-progress is Snap Taco, a very 21st-century fiesta of fun foods with an emphasis on tacos. It’s set to open in the former Assembly space early next month.

If intimate fine dining didn’t quite seem like the best fit for Pacific Avenue’s huge restaurant space, then filling it up with a zesty variety of quick and tasty options might just work.

The big difference between Assembly and Snap Taco—and given economic realities, we can expect to see more of this approach—is the counter service format. Primal Santa Cruz is successfully pioneering this style of dining on the Westside.

The Snap Taco menu, according to Davis, “is inspired by turning fresh, local and sustainable ingredients into new-school tacos bowls, sandwiches and other eats.” So casual is definitely the primary theme, with “a mix of seating options inside, on the sidewalk patio and in our private courtyard.”

Prices are expected to stay on the low side—a trio of tacos will cost around $11—with weekly specials and other playful spins. Already the colorful street facade is snapping into focus. Look for an opening in March.

Snack Alert

The Lundberg Family are major organic rice producers. Perhaps they got bored with, uh, just rice. In looking for the next Lundberg product, they came up with thin squares of puffed rice.

Lundberg’s Thin Stackers Puffed Brown Rice Cakes ($3.50ish) are each around 25 calories, GF, organic, and whole grain. Since the rice lacks aggressive flavor, the trick is to top it with hummus, cream cheese, smoked salmon, or peanut butter. Nice crunch, and a nice alternative to overly salty GF crackers.

Rewriting the Rules for Men’s Mental Health

Andrew Steingrube

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February 6, 2019

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Rewriting the Rules for Men’s Mental Health

“What is this salty discharge?” a befuddled Jerry Seinfeld wonders aloud as he wipes the tears from his eyes in an iconic scene from his namesake sitcom—a comedic take on the much bigger idea of male emotion and vulnerability, which even a few decades later can still feel quite foreign to many men.

Now, a first-of-its-kind set of psychological guidelines and increasingly active local community groups hope to change that by questioning male stereotypes in an effort to improve access and quality for mental health care.

Ironically, it was in the thick of the #MeToo movement that the American Psychological Association (APA) recently issued guidelines—for the first time in its 127-year history—focused specifically on treatment of men and boys. The association had released similar reports for girls and women, LGBTQ+ people, racial and ethnic minorities and older adults, but never for men.

At the root of the paper is a fundamental mismatch: “Boys and men, as a group, tend to hold privilege and power based on gender,” the report explains. But they also have disproportionately high rates of negative health and social outcomes, such as suicide, heart problems, violence, substance abuse, and incarceration. Along with the pressures of daily life, the psychological and emotional weight of these risk factors often go unaddressed. “Many men do not seek help when they need it, and many report distinctive barriers to receiving gender-sensitive psychological treatment,” the APA report notes

That male emotional needs are often relegated to the backburner, or sometimes left off the stove entirely, is a familiar phenomenon to the leaders of the Central Coast nonprofit Breakthrough Men’s Community, which offers support groups and educational resources in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. “I was stunned that it has taken the APA 127 years to address this subject,” says Executive Director Chris Fitz.

Breakthrough was created in 1978 to help men end “non-productive, painful, or abusive aspects of their lives.” The group has since expanded to offer more local programs that cover everything from addiction to becoming an ally for other types of people. “The most powerful ingredient” in changing behavior, Fitz says, is still often first-hand stories from other men.

The APA’s own report echoes these sentiments, saying that research shows boys are taught from a young age to be “self-reliant, strong, and to minimize and manage their problems,” ultimately leading to “adult men who are less willing to seek mental health treatment.”

Attempting to behavioral constructs in any culture, let alone one as entrenched as mainstream masculinity, is certainly not an easy undertaking. Many of the APA’s new guidelines suggest that psychologists dig deeper into other facets of male identity—like race, sexuality or other variables—that in the past may have led to feelings of stigma. Breaking cycles of physical or emotional turmoil that can lead to violence—against women or otherwise—is another focus of guidelines that urge mental health providers to encourage healthy family and social relationships.

Santa Cruz and the Bay Area are among the many urban and suburban areas where non-traditional gender roles, co-parenting arrangements and stay-at-home dads have flourished thanks to legislation and some area companies’ more generous parental leave policies. Amid these broader cultural shifts, what groups like the APA and Breakthrough say is still missing are mental health services that acknowledge how times have changed.

For John Hain, a member of Breakthrough on the Central Coast for over 20 years, such change is often easier said than done. A former forensic pathologist, he says that seeing the results of “self-neglect”—suicide, substance abuse, other risky behavior—all motivated him to focus on the role of emotional imbalance.

“Challenges to these rigid mores are tremendously unsettling for many men,” says Hain.

5 Things To Do in Santa Cruz: February 6-12

GT Staff

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February 6, 2019

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5 Things To Do in Santa Cruz: February 6-12

A weekly guide to what’s happening.

Green Fix

Migration Festival

Pack a picnic and migrate on over to Natural Bridges State Beach for a full day of activities to celebrate the migration of whales, butterflies, birds and other travelling species. The park will host migratory animal talks, active kids’ games, crafts, skits, live music, educational booths and displays, plus a celebratory habitat cake served at the end of the event. Picnic lunches are available for purchase for those who don’t bring their own.

INFO: 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9. Natural Bridges State Beach, 2531 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. 423-4609, thatsmypark.org. Free/$10 parking.

Art Seen

Hive and Hum Store Closing Sale

It’s never easy to say goodbye to local stores we know and love, but we can at least help them go out with a bang. Hive and Hum is having a liquidation sale with 50-60 percent off the whole store. That fancy leather ottoman you’ve been eying for years and the wall decor are both 50 percent off, so why not treat yourself on Valentine’s Day?

INFO: 50 percent off Feb. 7-14, 60 percent off Feb. 15-22. Hive and Hum, 415 B River St., Santa Cruz. 421-9028. hiveandhum.com. Free.

Sunday 2/10

Downtown Santa Cruz Antique Faire

Your uncle’s political views may be antiquated, but some of these treasures aren’t. The antique fair brings hundreds of knick-knacks—Victorian lace doilies to vintage AC/DC shirts—from over 40 vendors. Maybe you’ll find those cowboy boots or that turquoise ring you’ve been searching for everywhere. Either way, you’re also guaranteed to find something you weren’t looking for. Dog friendly and near everything downtown for your weekend adventuring. The show happens every second Sunday of each month, from 9-5. Rainy weather means it’s rescheduled to the third Sunday.

INFO: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Intersection of Lincoln and Cedar streets, Santa Cruz. Free.

Sunday 2/10

Clothes For a Cause

The seven-member ReSisters group is hosting a fashion boutique featuring over 500 articles of gently used clothing, plus shoes, handbags, jewelry, and scarves. People from all over Santa Cruz County have donated for the cause. All proceeds benefit the Maia Foundation, which helps low-income students go onto higher education. ReSisters formed as a support and advocacy group shortly after the election with the intention of countering negative, divisive rhetoric by taking positive action at a local level. Come for the deals, stay for beer, wine and live music by American Idol hopeful Lindsey Wall.

INFO: 1-4 p.m. Cantine Winepub, 8050 Soquel Drive, Aptos. $25 suggested donation.

Monday 2/11

35th Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation

Martin Luther King Jr. Day might be over, but February is Black History Month. In recognition of Dr. King’s legacy, the Martin Luther King convocation presents speakers to talk about equality, justice and opportunity. Previous years’ speakers include Angela Davis, Benjamin Jealous and Alicia Garza. This year’s speaker is writer, professor and political commentator Melissa Harris-Perry, the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University, where she is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Center and co-director of Wake the Vote. She is also editor-at-large of Elle.com and a contributing editor at the Nation. She continues to create and direct programs with the goal of creating diverse, quality American media.

INFO: 7 p.m. Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. 459-5003, specialevents.ucsc.edu. Free.

Opinion: February 6, 2019

Steve Palopoli

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February 6, 2019

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EDITOR’S NOTE

There is a long tradition of “anti-Valentine’s-Day” Valentine’s Day issues at Santa Cruz alt-weeklies. Maybe it’s because journalists are naturally contrarians, or because the syrupy sweetness of the holiday is just so ripe for salting. But man, there have really been some great ones. Like the time we wrote about the ghosting phenomenon here at GT a couple of years ago. Or Georgia Perry’s “Take a Ride in the Junk Trunk” memoir back at Santa Cruz Weekly, which was the worst-date story to end all worst-date stories. And back at Metro Santa Cruz, we celebrated V-Day one year with a “No Sex” issue.

It’s not always doom and gloom with our love lines. Former GT staffer (and current Love at First Bite columnist) Lily Stoicheff wrote a truly heartfelt defense of Valentine’s Day one year after she got sick of all our cold prickling. And I thought last year’s V-Day issue with Maria Grusauskas’ story on two local sex podcasters was remarkably cuddle-positive.

But yeah, we’re back to our wet-blanket ways this year—sorry, Lily! Our V-Day issue cover story is about divorce, it’s true; specifically, a local photo project that involves jamming people into a cursed wedding dress and getting them talking about their failed marriages. But I think Georgia Johnson’s profile of Kay Hansen and Georgia Cantando, the two women behind this phenomenon, actually proves that our fascination with the dark side of Valentine’s Day isn’t really rooted in some kind of nasty cynicism. It’s actually because the stories of our shortcomings and failures in love can sometimes be more revealing, moving and human than some idealized portrait of love triumphant—and are also super entertaining! Hansen and Cantando definitely understand this, and have taken it to a new level. So slip into something formal and uncomfortable, and give it a read!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Complicit in Censorship

Thank you so much, GT, for sharing the story about the Financial Times’ report on Netflix’s decision to, at the request of the Saudi government, pull an episode of The Patriot Act because host Hasan Minhaj criticized the Saudi government, which is responsible for the (still unpunished) murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (GT, 1/9). It was important to hear again, loudly and clearly, how Reed Hastings of Santa Cruz, head of Netflix, downplayed his company’s stark act of complicity in censorship on behalf of a murderous regime by calling it “banal” and “benign.” He further claims that Netflix supports “artistic freedom.” Really? Until when? Until an authoritarian government with which you have business dealings requests you silence an artist for condemning that government?

Hastings is the multimillionaire head of a media empire, and his casual disregard for the effects and implications of his actions on freedom of the press and intellectual freedom, and his willingness to cooperate with a violent, repressive government that wishes to continue to murder journalists unrestrained, is both supremely chilling and enormously revealing. With his words and actions, he shows himself, and his company, Netflix, as unfit to be one of the few mediums through which we may access brilliantly informative programs such as Minhaj’s. As a result, people of conscience will look for alternatives to Netflix. However, there are very few options for viewing media because U.S. antitrust laws have laid dormant for decades. Perhaps it’s time to dust them off, so that we have the choice to access media from companies that have respect for intellectual freedom and freedom of the press.

As citizens who do not want to support companies that engage in immoral actions and decisions that destabilize the democratic process, what are we supposed to do? How far will participation in censorship by media monopolies go?

Jessica Murray
Santa Cruz

Jump Scare

There are many things to like about the Jump bikes that are now stationed all over town. They are convenient, good exercise and environmentally sound. Nonetheless, I’ve noticed a significant safety issue that seems to be getting no attention from either Uber (the owner of Jump) or the City of Santa Cruz. The city’s FAQ page on the bikes is clear: “Can my child ride a Jump bike? No, bike share membership is limited to ages 18 and over.” However, every day I see children and teenagers riding these bikes around town, usually without helmets (which happens to be illegal as well as unsafe). I understand that Uber’s policy is merely intended to limit their liability and that they have no desire to try to actually enforce it. But where is the city? Does a kid have to be seriously injured or killed before they start enforcing the age limits (to say nothing of the helmet law for minors)?

Mordecai Shapiro
Santa Cruz

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

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GOOD IDEA

The Santa Cruz County Office of Education is coordinating the Santa Cruz County Mock Trial Competition. This year will be the 13th for the contest, which runs Feb. 6-27. Mock Trial gives students the chance to learn about their judicial system. Judges volunteer to preside over the hearings, and more than 40 local attorneys volunteer as scorers. The winning team will represent the county at the state finals in Sacramento in March.

GOOD WORK

Before southern California’s Carlsbad Desalination Plant opened in 2015, UCSC scientists saw an opportunity to study the effects that high-salinity brine might have on coastal waters. Their study’s results, published Jan. 25 in Water, included both good and bad news. There were no significant changes to nearby sea life from the discharge, they found. But salinity levels exceeded the permitted level, and the salt plume extended much farther offshore than had been permitted.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Roux Dat Expands Cajun Mini-Empire

Jacob Pierce

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February 6, 2019

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When Chad Glassley moved to town in 2013 with ambitions of opening a Cajun restaurant, he originally set his sights on one of the kiosks along downtown Santa Cruz’s Pacific Avenue.

When that didn’t work out, he and wife Aurelia, an Aptos High School grad, simply opened a fast-casual restaurant called Roux Dat in Capitola instead. Then, last year, their original plan came to fruition, when they signed the lease on a kiosk outside Bookshop Santa Cruz for Roux Dat’s second location.

But running a small-scale version of the joint is trickier than Glassley had originally imagined, partially because he has to keep it stocked by trucking over stews from the Capitola location. He figures the logistics will get easier once the restaurant opens a third branch in a couple of months at Abbott Square, just off of Pacific.

OK, so jambalaya or gumbo?

CHAD GLASSLEY: Both, just because they are very different stews. Do rice in the middle, and I would do jambalaya on one half and gumbo on the other. It’s fun to compare.

Fried pickles or fried green tomatoes?

I like fried green tomatoes better, because there’s a little more substance, and I like the tartness. It’s almost like a green apple.

Why is it so hard to find places that serve alligator?

There was a ban for a while in the state of California, and then it got lifted. But it was mainly just for clothing, for boots and belts and things like that. We get our alligator from Louisiana, so we are pretty far away, and the price can get high, so maybe people don’t stock it. But we always find it’s a nice little surprise: ‘Really, you have gator on your menu?’

Mardi Gras is March 5. Any plans?

We might do a couple Mardi Gras beer specials. We’ve got the Mardi Gras Bock on tap from Abita. We always look into doing a crawfish boil, but everyone wants crawfish at that time, and again, like alligator, the West Coast gets left out because it takes a while to ship out here.

rouxdatcajuncreole.com, 295-6372

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CAPERNAUM

Assembling Tacos

Snack Alert

Migration Festival

Hive and Hum Store Closing Sale

Downtown Santa Cruz Antique Faire

Clothes For a Cause

35th Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation

EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK