I was thrilled to attend the grand opening and release party of Lester Estate Wines recently when they showcased their Pinot Noir, Rosé of Syrah and Chardonnay that day. I was impressed with all of them, but chose their 2016 Chardonnay ($45) to highlight here as it’s truly spectacular.
John Benedetti is the winemaker for the estate Chardonnay, which has a delicate nose of jasmine and white peach—along with a mélange of apricot, kiwi and lemon curd. All of these delicious flavors come together in a lush, mouth-coating richness, resulting in a lingering complex finish.
Lester Estate family members Lori and Steve Johnson both work extremely hard to showcase their wines—with Steve acting as “brand ambassador.” Well-known local viticulturalist Prudy Foxx oversees the vineyards and Keiki McKay takes care of marketing.
Lester Family Vineyards is known far and wide for growing premium grapes—always in demand by local wineries. Nestled in a bucolic setting on Pleasant Valley Road in Aptos, the Lesters’ Deer Park Ranch is a stunning place to visit. The late Dan Lester and his wife Patty Lester envisioned how wonderful it would be to grow grapes and make the best wine possible—and their dream is now fulfilled. As well as Chardonnay, Lester Ranch also produces excellent Pinot Noir and a bright and beautiful Rosé of Syrah—all available by allocation due to limited quantities.
The Lester family’s release party was a splendid event, with tasting room manager Frank Cates overseeing the day’s happenings. A healthy buffet was served by Lia Adams Events, and accomplished local musician Ken Constable played guitar.
The icing on the cake is that the estate will now be open at certain times for private and semi-private tastings. Up to 10 guests will enjoy a seated tasting featuring a five-wine flight ($25 per person)—the next dates being Nov. 10 and Dec. 8 at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. Check their website for some possible events around the holidays. Their wines are stunning—and just perfect for your Thanksgiving table.
Lester Estate Wines, 2010 Pleasant Valley Road, Aptos, 728-3793 or contact them by email at in**@le***************.com to schedule a reservation.
Despite the apple’s year-round presence in grocery aisles, this beloved fruit definitely has its season, and it’s right now.
Biting into one of these cold, crisp, tart-sweet fruits is one of the great pleasures of Fall, especially the heirloom varieties renowned for their complex flavors. Everett Family Farm in Soquel is a purveyor of such apples, and it’s well worth a quick drive up Old San Jose Road to visit their farmstand.
Not only will you find fresh apples, but also beautiful tomatoes, peppers, squash, alliums, lettuces and pasture-raised eggs from their farm. Plus, the farmstand, clabbered in tin and nestled behind a few still-ripening persimmon trees, couldn’t be any cuter if it tried.
Your cell phone will probably lose reception, but don’t be afraid of missing the turn—hand-painted signs that say things like “Taste the Rainbow!” and “Don’t Panic, It’s Organic!” will show you the way. I’ve been visiting them almost weekly this month to buy five-pound bags of Belle de Boskoop apples, a fragrant russet-skinned heirloom variety, to make apple jelly and apple sauce. I also grab a half gallon of their fresh-pressed apple cider, made with a mix of Honeycrisp and Gala apples.
Truly, this fresh, sweet, fragrant juice is the ambrosia of autumn. There’s nothing like it, and it can’t be replicated any other time of year. Nor can it really be preserved—it’s one of the brief pleasures of the season, and I drink as much of it as I can before it’s gone for another year. Tipping back a long, cold glass often brings to mind a line from a Robert Frost poem: “Essence of winter sleep is on the night, The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.” Apples are here, and the year is coming to an end.
That being said, Everett Family Farm also makes a beautiful hard cider—Soquel Cider, from heirloom Gravensteins—that can be enjoyed in any season. This adult beverage is crisp, dry, effervescent and delicious, and right now I like to enjoy it alongside roasted vegetables and sausages, especially squash, and, of course, apples.
2111 Old San Jose Road, Soquel. 566-0472. Open every day 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
When Santa Cruz photographer and 20-year Cabrillo Stage veteran Jana Marcus was starting to put together the celebration of Lile O. Cruse’s life at the Rio Theatre this weekend, she struggled with how to represent everything he had done at Cabrillo College. Hired as the director of bands for both classical and jazz music in 1970, Cruse was a popular teacher who founded the school’s jazz program and went on to be chair of the Performing Arts division. In addition, he led Cabrillo’s Summer Rep Theater until 1981, when he started and served for two decades as music director and leader of what stands as his greatest legacy: Cabrillo Stage.
When Cruse died on Aug. 23, after a short illness, at the age of 84, Marcus thought she was prepared; Cruse’s wife, Michele Rivard, had asked her three years ago to put together something that would be “short and sweet” in Cruse’s honor when the time came. But the more Marcus tried to make all of the pieces of Cruse’s life fit together, the more she realized that many of the most revealing ones didn’t happen at Cabrillo at all. Instead, they were things that happened outside of the college that grew out of the relationships he had built there.
She thought about Leslie Robertson Rhodes, who auditioned for a part in Cruse’s 1989 Cabrillo Stage production of Evita when she was 17 years old. Cruse saw something in her, and—despite the prevailing attitude that he was crazy to cast someone so inexperienced in the lead role—gave her the part of Eva Peron in what would go on to be one of the theater company’s most acclaimed productions. Rhodes went on to star in two more Cabrillo Stage productions, 1997’s Funny Girl and 2001’s Honk.
To Marcus, Rhodes is emblematic of the many cast and crew members whose talent Cruse recognized and fostered over the years.
“She loves Lile like a father,” says Marcus. “When Leslie got married and had kids, and one of her daughters got the part of Eva Peron in the high school musical, Lile and Michele went to Utah to see her daughter perform it. This was just a couple of years ago.”
Cruse stayed in contact with many of his music and musical theater alumni, and this particular relationship lasted until the very end.
“Leslie came to visit Lile several times when he was in his last months,” says Marcus. “He had a little bit of dementia, and Leslie asked Michele, ‘What can I do?’ And Michele said, ‘Sing for him.’ So Leslie was there in his nursing facility, singing ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.’”
Rhodes was only one of the people who wanted to be involved in this weekend’s celebration, which was originally conceived as a memorial, but quickly evolved into something quite different.
“As soon as we announced on Facebook that Lile had passed away, there were hundreds and hundreds of messages from people all over the country—musicians, techies, actors—and everyone was saying the same thing: ‘Lile changed my life,’” says Marcus. “I sat back and looked at all those messages, and it’s just really amazing how many lives he touched, and how people feel so incredibly loyal to him. And I thought, ‘Do we want to do a memorial, where people are going to get up and talk? Or do we want to let these people do what they do best, which is perform?’”
CENTER STAGE A still from a 2000 production of ‘Honk.’
The answer was obvious, says Janie Scott, a Broadway veteran who has been directing Cabrillo Stage productions for the last 17 years. Scott is one of a core group of people helping Marcus organize what has become, in true Lile Cruse shoot-for-the-moon fashion, the 90-minute performance extravaganza Maestro: A Musical Celebration Honoring Lile O. Cruse; she will also host it. Even an hour and a half, however, has not proven to be enough time to accommodate all of the performers who started under Cruse’s tutelage and have gone on to great things—and now want to show their appreciation for the mark he made on their lives.
“There were more people who contacted Jana than we could use,” says Scott. “Otherwise we’d be having, like, a 24-hour marathon for this show.”
Rhodes will be there, but she will not be singing what Marcus calls “the freakin’ saddest song in the world.” “When we were putting this show together, we asked Leslie to come and perform, and she said, ‘I can’t sing ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.’ I won’t get through the song,’” she says. “That’s when I realized this needs to a celebration, not a dirge. This needs to a celebration for all the people Lile has left behind. For everyone who loves him, everyone who feels so indebted for everything he did for their careers.”
Instead, Rhodes will sing “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” from Funny Girl. “Which she is a powerhouse at,” adds Marcus. “She’s going to close the show. We thought that song was actually really appropriate, because this whole celebration is about how all of us went forward and forged our careers because of what Lile believed in in us. So here we go, we’re going to carry the torch—don’t rain on our parade.”
Gathered Together
Despite the huge convergence of talent at the celebration—there are four Broadway singers in the opening rendition of “All That Jazz” alone—the outpouring of emotion and dedication to Cruse that these former Cabrillo Stage and jazz band figures have shown makes the whole thing feel more like a family gathering than an all-star production.
And that’s how it should be, says Rivard, a music educator who was married to Cruse for 33 years and worked with him on every Cabrillo Stage production.
“That’s what Lile tried to do—create a family,” she says. “Everybody had a role to play, and everybody’s role was important to everybody else’s role. By being a family—not a team, but a family—then he could promote the passion that he felt. People didn’t do a ‘job.’ And that’s why they kept coming back.”
Sometimes, the family concept could get quite literal, as Scott discovered when she worked with Cruse on the 1999 production of Annie. They were having trouble casting the lead role, and finally Cruse asked her, “Do you know anyone you could get in here?”
Scott did—her 13-year-old niece, who came in to audition.
“I had never told Lile it was a family member, because I don’t play that card,” says Scott. “So Lile sits next to me, and as she’s walking on stage, he says, ‘I hear you know this one.’ And I say, ‘Uh … yeah.’ He says, ‘I was just talking to her mom, and that happens to be your sister, Janie.’ And I went ‘OK, OK.’ When you spent a little bit of time working with him, you really caught on to what his very sly, dry wit and sense of humor was. And you had be somebody who appreciated that. I was a big fan.”
Her niece got the part, and Cabrillo Stage’s Annie became one of the first professional credits for Chelsea Morgan Stock, who has since gone on to perform in Broadway shows like The Little Mermaid—in which she played Ariel—Something Rotten and Sister Act.
Stock is far from the only national success story to come out of Cabrillo Stage. For Cruse’s very first production for the company in 1981, he chose Chicago—which was then fairly new and somewhat controversial—and chose L.A. actress Belle Calloway as the lead. Calloway went on to star as Roxy in the Broadway run of Chicago for several years. More recently, Rickey Tripp, who was the secondary lead in Cruse’s 2002 production of Some Like it Hot, has found success in Broadway shows like Hamilton and In the Heights, and choreographed last year’s live TV version of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Some of these success stories are returning to Santa Cruz County for Maestro, like Stark and Natalie Ballenger, who performed in several Cabrillo Stage musicals as a child and currently stars as Maria in the national touring production of West Side Story. A number of local favorites with connections to Cruse, like Cabrillo’s Kathryn Atkins, Andrew Ceglio and Tony Panighetti will also perform.
“Lile got performers from all over,” remembers Marcus. “He would go into the Bay Area—San Francisco, San Jose—for the lead roles, he would go and audition people all over the place back in the early ’80s. Once Cabrillo Stage started to catch on, by the late ’80s, people were auditioning from all over the country, to be there and work with Lile. And then the kids growing up in town were always in the ensemble. It was really exciting when someone from the ensemble who started when they were 10 was suddenly 20, and Lile was like, ‘I want you to be a lead this year.’”
A Stage is Born
Marcus got to witness the beginning of Cabrillo Stage because she practically grew up in the Cabrillo drama department, where her mother Wilma Marcus Chandler was choreographing and directing in the ’70s.
“As little kids, my sister and I were sleeping in the theater seats during rehearsal because mom had no babysitter,” she remembers. “And in the summertime, Cabrillo would have these big theater festivals. This was not Cabrillo Stage, this was in the mid-’70s. It was called Summer Rep Theatre, and bad B-movie actors would come and star in plays, and then we’d have a main stage musical and a little show. It was usually four shows. And Lile always did the full pit orchestra, because he was the head of the Performing Arts division at Cabrillo. So I met him when I was a little kid.”
The passage of Prop. 13 in 1978 led to the end of funding for summer theater at Cabrillo, but in 1981 Cruse came up with a cost-effective idea to replace it: Cabrillo Stage, which would produce one show a year. Cruse took on the roles of both executive producer and music director, and his ambition for the company quickly elevated it to a level that most people didn’t expect.
“I think in Lile’s head he was looking at this as, ‘Let’s make this the most professional thing it can be. This is not just academic theater.’ I’ve worked in that realm for a whole lot of years, and it’s a different animal,” says Scott, who in addition to her own history on stage—including playing Wendy in the Broadway production of Peter Pan—has served on the faculty of San Jose State University for two decades. “Lile was not afraid to get in the trenches and do all of the work that needed to be done. And he wasn’t afraid to call the shots the way he saw them. I think maybe sometimes in his head he was thinking, ‘Now what can we do? Where can I go with this, and what can we do to up the production values, up the quality of everything?’ as he continued to build what was really a dream of his.
CLASS IS IN Cruse teaches a jazz class at Cabrillo in the 1980s.
“He was very meticulous. He wrote everything down and he was extremely organized,” says Rivard. “He worked really hard to pick people who he could let do their thing, within his parameters. He would guide them if they started to stray, and if they never supported it, he didn’t hire them back. He really gave a lot of latitude, a lot of freedom. But he did set the bar high.”
His family and friends knew that underneath Cruse’s intent demeanor, that sly sense of humor was always waiting to spring. “He was always a joker, but he always looked like he was serious,” says Marcus.
Scott remembers what it was like to see him in the orchestra pit when she did her two lead roles for Cabrillo Stage productions—Peter Pan, appropriately enough, and Annie Get Your Gun. “While I’d be on stage performing, he and I would make eye contact often, and it was just sort of this unsaid communication. He was such a supporter for me in so many ways, including as a performer. He would give me that look which was, ‘This is great. Keep going. I’m happy you’re here and doing this.’ And I would of course be reflecting that back to him. It was just so evident in everything he did how much he cared for everybody, absolutely truly cared.”
“Everybody loved Lile,” says Marcus, “and that’s because Lile took the time to get to know everybody. You could be the volunteer techie mopping the stage before a show, and Lile would come up to you and go, ‘So, how are you doing today?’ He knew everyone’s name, and he made sure he talked to everybody.”
The Sound of Cabrillo
Cruse loved musical theater, which is what allowed him to create a company that is still the spiritual center of it in Santa Cruz County. But another part of his legacy is in music, especially jazz, and while it may seem separate, Rivard says it wasn’t to Cruse.
“There was no divide,” she says. “There was no divide between the styles of music, the styles of theater. If it was good and it was from the heart and soul, then it was worth listening to, and worth being part of.”
Cruse certainly brought both heart and soul to Cabrillo’s music program. He hired Ray Brown, and also taught Donny McCaslin—the saxophonist who collaborated with David Bowie on the music legend’s final album, Blackstar—as well as trumpeters Bill Theurer and Rebecca Coupe Franks, and saxophonist Paul Contos, who is the education director for the Monterey Jazz Festival.
One of Cruse’s early students at Cabrillo was Kuumbwa Jazz Center’s co-founder and Artistic Director Tim Jackson, who took a jazz history class from him shortly after moving to Santa Cruz in 1972.
“Lile was a really fun and inspiring teacher,” says Jackson. “He would actually bring groups in to perform. He started as a jazz cat—he was a professional sax player.”
Jackson went on to play in Cruse’s concert band, which gave him a whole different kind of education. “He threw a lot of hard music at us. Lile expected a lot from his band,” he says. “But he wasn’t dogmatic. He had very open ears.”
At the same time, Cruse headed a jazz band that has become somewhat legendary. “The Cabrillo College Jazz Band in the early and mid-’70s was just an amazing band, that had all these really great players,” says Jackson. “It was kind of a milestone band.” In 2011, Jackson reunited members of that band for a show at the Kuumbwa headed by Cruse, with the players coming from as far away as Spain to take part.
Maestro will also feature a tribute to Cruse’s bandleader days. “The very first singer Lile ever brought in to sing with his jazz band was this wild belter named Janie Finwall, who to this day still has a jazz combo upstate,” says Marcus. “She’s coming back to sing a song that she used to sing with Lile’s original jazz band, ‘Route 66.’ She scats, she’s a wild jazz singer.”
The Legacy
Leaving Cabrillo Stage wasn’t easy for Cruse. “Lile decided to retire in 2003 because West Side Story was his ultimate show. It was the most incredible production,” says Marcus. “It sold out a month in advance, every single show—30,000 people saw that show in six weeks. It was insane. And Lile said, ‘This is when I should retire. When everything is beautiful and big.’ And then he regretted it. He told me the next summer, ‘I don’t know what I did.’ It was very hard for him, which is why he came back as music director in 2005 and 2011. Because this was his baby. It’s hard to let go of your baby, you know? But Cabrillo Stage had reached a point that was amazing, both professionally and with the community recognizing, ‘Wow, we actually have Broadway-level theater right here in Santa Cruz.’”
Besides Broadway dreams, Cruse brought a real sense of fun and whimsy to the Santa Cruz County theater scene—and he enjoyed it as much as everyone else.
“He was entertained by the people, by the material, by the shows. He really, really was,” says Scott. “He really was pleased by the things that came from that, and I think he was just very proud of what he created. I hope he was proud. I think he was. He built an incredible foundation that is continuing on today.”
In the end, says Rivard, what matters is the people who made themselves—and continue to make themselves, at this weekend’s tribute—a part of Cruse’s world. They are more than just witnesses to his legacy.
“I think the people that participated in everything and went to see everything are the legacy,” she says. “Everything was for the audience. He wanted to always be entertained. And he wanted to entertain people.”
Maestro: A Musical Celebration Honoring Lile O. Cruse
An all-star performance hosted by Janie Scott, Maestro: A Musical Celebration Honoring Lile O. Cruse will be presented at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz, on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. The show is free, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
Performers include Natalie Ballenger, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Aimee Puentes, Janie Finwall Roberts, Kathryn Adkins, Tony Panighetti, Andrew Ceglio and more. Michael McGushin and Daniel Goldsmith are the show’s music directors. There will be a reception following the program.
For years, no one paid the Santa Cruz Port Commission much notice.
Then, in 2014, a disgruntled musician from the Sons of the Beach ukulele club, which gathers on Santa Cruz Harbor property each Saturday, got upset. He ran for election to the commission, citing a minor permitting issue surrounding the weekly event. He lost, and the issue quickly got resolved. But two years later, three seats were available on the Port Commission, which oversees the harbor. Eight candidates threw their hats in, three of them incumbents. Darren Gertler, one of the challengers, finished as the top vote-getter, after winning some big endorsements and running on a pitch to help improve harbor communications and keep the harbor mouth open. This year, Commissioner Gertler has endorsed candidate Neli Cardoso in the 2018 Port District race.
“For so many years, it slid under the radar,” Gertler says of the commission. “It’s always been at the bottom of the ballot. No one knows what the Port District is, no one knows what it does. I think that’s changing.”
Cardoso, a fisherwoman who originally hails from Brazil, says she has a plan to increase salmon releases out of the Santa Cruz Harbor, making it a better place for both the fishing industry and for everyday hobbyists. “I want to be there for the people, more than anything,” says Cardoso in her thick Portuguese accent.
In years past, the commission wouldn’t hold elections, because there weren’t enough candidates. For whatever reason, the commission is certainly generating interest and candidates now.
Two seats are available, and two incumbents are running for re-election, including Commissioner Toby Goddard.
On a recent Saturday morning walk around the harbor, Goddard tells me his favorite spot is on a bench right in front of the district office overlooking the marina. “I like to come down and here and just observe,” he says. “From here, I can see how active the harbor is.”
Goddard, who met his wife in the harbor and also got married there, says that overseeing the Port District involves managing a number of relationships—with the city, county and California Coastal Commission, as well as other state bodies. By day, Goddard is the conservation manager for the Santa Cruz Water Department. At commission meetings, he says he brings knowledge of how local government works, as well as a long list of contacts and connections.
Goddards’s fellow incumbent in the race is Reed Geisreiter, the recently retired regional president for Comerica Bank. Geisreiter says he brings his financial expertise to the commission, where he specializes in refinancing debt, setting aside reserves and handling lease renewals. One of the district’s responsibilities is as a landlord to tenants like the Crow’s Nest. The only commissioner who doesn’t own a boat in the harbor, Geisreiter says he represents the general public, including joggers and ukulele players who may not rent slips in the harbor. He wants to make sure the harbor is safe and affordable while remaining totally self-sufficient, he says. Geisreiter is the son of a former commissioner and his dad founded the ukulele club.
Candidate Dick Starr grew up around the harbor and, like Geisreiter, he’s the son of a former commissioner. His family owned one of the first boats in the marina. Starr has seen a lot of changes in the harbor over the years. He says his experience as a licensed contractor has shown him how to envision a big finished project, like a house, as well as the long to-do list of needed tasks to get to the finish line. He wonders if the commission might explore stacking boats in the dry dock, as well as building a crane to lift them into the water—something he’s seen in harbors he’s visited in Florida.
Gertler says many of the big issues he ran on were quickly resolved. Communication has gotten better since the district hired a different director, he says, and frequent dredging of the harbor mouth has kept the port open more often, something many boaters had been calling for two years ago.
Goddard notes that 2016 was a big El Niño year—one that pounded the harbor, bringing in piles of sand. That’s what kept the harbor shoaled in, he says, and a recently purchased dredge came with a challenging learning curve that year, as well. He does agree with Gertler, though, that the new Port Director Marian Olin, a 22-year veteran of the district staff, is “an excellent communicator.”
For her part, Cardoso has a vision for the harbor that involves more salmon releases from the harbor, via the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project. In the past, the project would release 240,000 smolts into the harbor. Many of the fish got caught by fishing boats at sea. A few years later, the rest would return to the harbor, making for magnificent fishing. Cardoso and her husband Thomas Whelan (who’s also the campaign manager) would like to see releases go back to at least 240,000, arguing that it could be a boon to the salmon fishing industry. The two of them rue the days when the fishing was great right out of the harbor, as it provided opportunities to folks who couldn’t afford to book a spot on a charter boat.
The salmon returns came with other impacts, however, like swarms of sea lions, and throngs of people crowded on the docks and levies, casting out lines. Whelan has a plan to mitigate the sea lion overcrowding. Even still, Goddard and Geisreiter don’t see it going over well with other harbor lovers.
The two sitting commissioners say they would support increased salmon releases, provided that the releases are done offshore, as they were in 2017. That prevents the massive returns to the harbor seen in past years that they believe can be problematic.
Goddard, whose wife once nearly got hooked by a frenetic salmon fisherman on the jetty, says that being a commissioner means a lot of listening to opposing viewpoints. It requires a lot of balance, rather like being on the water, he explains. “You’re on a paddleboard, trying to balance a lot of different things,” he says, holding his arms out and swaying from side to side, acting out the metaphor.
Salmon aside, Goddard and Geisreiter have a lot of other priorities on their minds, like replacing the seawall behind Aldo’s, and economic development.
Starr says he still wants to learn more about the issues. If elected, he says that he might look at the district differently once he adjusts to the board and gets his sea legs.
“It’s always easy to point fingers and say you shoulda and coulda,” he says. “But until you’re in the seat and standing in those shoes, you can’t tell what everything really looks like. And then, all of a sudden you realize you don’t have $20 million to do every single project, so you have to pick and choose and look for funding.”
[This is part two of our guide to the Nov. 6 election. Part three runs next week. — Editor]
It’s nearly Election Day, and local races are seeing much of the splintering and fraying one would expect this late in the cycle.
One initiative that’s seeing a wide range of buy-in in the election isMeasure H, the $140 million affordable housing bond.
“We’ll be able to provide housing to seniors, veterans, farm workers, the people who make our community work,” says Alina Harway, communications director for the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH). “I don’t think there’s any doubt from anyone in the community that we have an affordable housing crisis. What’s exciting to me about Measure H is that input came from so many different places.” Harway, who lives in Scotts Valley, notes that the process included groups from Santa Cruz For Bernie to the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau.
Three-quarters of the cash from the 35-year bond would go toward building an estimated 1,041 brand new affordable units. The rest would fund homeless facilities and go toward assistance for first-time home buyers.
Some homeowners, like activist Becky Steinbruner, argue that Measure H would tack an unfair burden onto property tax bills, putting a squeeze on low-income seniors.
Harway, who happens to be a new home owner herself, stresses that under the measure many seniors will qualify for the state’s Low Income Senior Property Tax Deferral Program. It also would provide relief to seniors who rent, she says.
Besides Measure H, there are only two other local measures with any opposition, one of them beingMeasure M, Santa Cruz’s rent control initiative (see our previous coverage).
No one should expect rent control alone to suddenly turn Santa Cruz into a cheap town to live in. Some research has shown that the policy has provided an excuse for landlords in other cities to take units off the market, often by converting them to owner-occupied condominiums. Generally speaking, that can inflate other portions of the rental market and create big price jumps whenever a vacant unit appears on listings. Studies, released in recent months, have since added nuance to such findings, if not thrown them into question altogether.
What rent control can do is help out Santa Cruz residents, including lower-income ones, who are living in older apartment buildings—i.e. complexes built before 1995—by preventing their rents from continuing to sky-rocket. And if the statewide Proposition 10 manages to pass (it’s trailing badly in the polls), those protections could extend to all homes in Santa Cruz city limits.
In Capitola,Measure L, backed by the trail-oriented nonprofit Greenway, would change the city’s transportation laws pertaining to the proposed rail trail project that could one day stretch from Davenport to Watsonville. The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is currently studying a plan to introduce rail transit on the corridor, a direction supported by Friends of the Rail and Trail (FORT), which opposes Measure L.
Greenway, though, wants a wider bike and pedestrian trail with no train, citing estimated train costs and ridership numbers, as well as the corridor’s narrowness and engineering challenges. Some of those challenges are in Capitola, where an aging 200-foot bridge would likely not be able to accommodate an added trail. This particular initiative would mandate that planners do not reroute the trail off the corridor anywhere in Capitola. Opponents, including FORT Chair Mark Mesiti-Miller and City Councilmember Stephanie Harlan, argue that Measure L would unnecessarily tie the city’s hands—conflicting with existing city law, while creating a potential standoff with the RTC and even throwing the status of unrelated bike projects into question.
There are nine other local measures—the most notable beingMeasure G, the local sales tax measure, and the only countywide initiative besides Measure H. The county measure would raise the sales tax to 9 percent, no higher than it is elsewhere in the county. A Santa Cruz measure raised the city’s sales tax to 9.25 percent this past June. Although the measure appears on all local ballots, it would only raise the rate in the unincorporated area. It would fund improvements to parks, homeless services and mental health offerings.
Capitola is one of three cities looking to pass a transient occupancy tax (TOT) this November withMeasure J. Most of this lodging tax increase would go to miscellaneous general fund expenses—basically offsetting increasing pension costs for retirees and preventing deep cuts elsewhere in the city. Twenty percent of the money would go to support off-season marketing efforts in a gesture intended to negate costs to the business community, while another 18 percent would go toward youth and early childhood programs, providing a small boost to programs currently funded by Capitola’s general fund. Because it’s a specialty tax, Measure J will need a two-thirds vote to pass.
There are two other TOTs on local ballots: Measure O in Watsonville, which would raise its TOT to 12 percent, andMeasure P in Scotts Valley, which would raise its lodging tax to 11 percent. Both need majority votes to pass. The subtext for all these TOT and sales tax measures has to do with pension costs, which are rising statewide. The projected growth in the investments that backed the pension portfolios was unrealistically rosy, and, rather than dealing with it, the state kicked the costs down to local governments.
There are three local parcel taxes—each needing 55 percent in order to pass—including Scotts Valley’sMeasure A, which would charge $108 per parcel of property and raise $820,000 annually toward maintaining programs and keeping up with technology needs, as well as attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers and counselors over five years. In Soquel Union Elementary School District,Measure B,a six-year funding plan, would approve a tax of $96 per parcel and raise a total of $820,000 in order to retain and attract teachers, while avoiding program cuts. La Selva Recreation District’sMeasure P tax would allow a tax of $50 per parcel, raising $40,000 each year for clubhouse upgrades and other district improvements.
There are two other Capitola initiatives:Measure I, which would raise Capitola’s cannabis business tax from 10 to 12 percent, andMeasure K to consider eliminating the city treasurer as an elected position—something most jurisdictions did years ago. Seeing as Capitola already has a finance director, Peter Wilk, the current treasurer, argues the position would be better filled by an appointment, if it’s needed at all.
It may not be the grandest event in the gaudy world of Northern California music festivals. But within its sphere of influence—which, despite its small size, happens to reach around the world—Santa Cruz’s Y2K International Looping Festival has been a major player for almost two decades.
The festival, which features three nights and two days of continuous performances, has inspired similar events in Asia, Europe and Latin America that celebrate and explore the dimensions of the art and technology of looping.
What is looping? It’s the ultimate do-it-yourself technology that allows a performer to create a rhythm or melody, record it and immediately perform over it in real time, making it possible to layer infinitely. A musician can add elements one at a time, freeing him or her to explore other sounds and textures. (On the down side, a world where looping is common would make Will Ferrell’s “More Cowbell” SNL skit obsolete).
This weekend, beginning Friday, Oct. 26, the Y2K18 festival takes over Center Stage Theater in downtown Santa Cruz with artists from around the world demonstrating just how far you can take such a straightforward technology. Around 40 performers—16 of whom come from outside the U.S.—will participate, representing a wild variety of styles and instrumentation. All they have in common is the process of looping, a brand of real-time self-improvisation.
The founder of the looping festival is Rick Walker, the veteran Santa Cruz percussionist and multi-instrumentalist who has been mounting the festival since 2000 with almost no resources. Largely because it features musicians who are pioneers in pushing the boundaries of performance, the festival has never really generated big audiences. But it has caught the attention of a small cadre of musicians from around the world who have sought to emulate it elsewhere.
“Every year,” says Walker, “someone comes to this festival [as a performer] who’s never been here before, and every year there’s at least one of those artists who is blown away by it, saying ‘I had no idea this kind of community even existed.’”
The festival continues Saturday and Sunday, leading up to its headlining concert, which this year is called Voces de Mexico and features choral director and ethnomusicologist Juan Pablo Villa, who will be creating a musical piece inspired by Mexican folk traditions and the narratives of people crossing the hostile deserts of northern Mexico in search of a better life. Villa will be collaborating with fellow looper Per Boysen from Sweden, and several guest vocalists. Also taking part in the show is visual artist Maha Jumai Taitano—who, in a first for the festival, will be creating video loops.
Walker, 65, will also be among the performers, along with longtime Santa Cruz musical partners Bill Walker (Rick’s brother) and Daniel S. Thomas. Many of the festival’s performers will also perform on an ambitious looping tour that includes dates in Singapore, Malaysia, Bali and other countries.
Walker says that after 18 years, the festival is finally becoming an official nonprofit, which could dramatically change how it is funded. Being able to accept tax-exempt donations might allow the festival to reach for higher profile artists and appeal to potential donors in the tech industry who are excited about the collision between technology and creativity that looping represents.
Walker has kept the festival alive with little funding for years and has, over the years, often wondered how to keep it viable. “Every year, two hours before the artists arrive, we’ll be tearing our hair out,” he says. “Every year when it’s over, we’ll be crying and going, ‘I’m so glad we did this.’ It really is an amazing thing.”
INFO: The Y2K18 International Looping Festival will be held Friday, 7:30-11 p.m., Saturday 1:30-11 p.m., and Sunday 1-7 p.m. at Center Stage Theater, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. The headliners concert, featuring Lizeth Ruvalcaba, Leika Mochan, Juan Pablo Villa and Voces de Mexico, will be presented 9-11 p.m. Sunday. y2kloopfest.com.
Last fall, while Alric “A.C.” Carter’s band Tauk was on tour, he snuck away to see a movie: Blade Runner 2049. He’d never seen the original, but he loved the sequel—particularly the music.
“It just evoked a certain kind of emotion,” says Carter, who plays keyboards in the jazzy, proggy, hip-hop instrumental fusion ensemble. “You feel like you’re part of the experience. I liked how the music hits and breathes with the visuals.”
It wasn’t until the following year that the film’s influence fully manifested itself. Tauk’s latest recording project became two concept albums that explored artificial intelligence and the moral ambiguity of technology.
It wasn’t so much that the foursome was trying to make a particular point about AI; rather, they were contemplating the possibilities.
“We think about what we’ve seen in our lifetime, and the potential for what’s actually possible. Certain things that were impossible are a lot more feasible these days,” Carter says. “There’s good and bad to everything.”
The two albums that resulted were Shapeshifter I: Construct, which came out in April, and Shapeshifter II: The Outbreak, which was released in September.
Unlike something that Rush or King Crimson might do, this package of futuristic, fantastic-themed albums has no actual stories, since the band is entirely instrumental. What the listener is left with is a mood and a feeling. Carter says that they are happy to keep the whole thing opaque.
“We want to be able to paint these different soundscapes and allow our listeners to have their own unique experiences,” he says.
Whether or not you are creating a story in your mind while listening to it, the music certainly sounds sci-fi. There’s a strange juxtaposition as Carter’s keys spit out spacey textures and squeal with an almost robot-like, pitch-altering vocal-sounding lead while the rhythm section grooves together in a loose funky jazzy vibe that’s accented with a heavy dose of math rock smarts. It’s kind of like hearing a robot wrestle with its own imperfect humanity.
“I create the soundscapes and textures so that the mood can be right. It’s similar to, say, lighting incense for meditation,” Carter says. “The guitar is going to sound like a guitar, and bass and drums for the most part sound like that. But you have so much range dynamically as a keyboard player.”
The record is a first for the band in that it was recorded not in a proper studio, but a house where they could work uninterrupted for weeks on end. This particular house was creepy, which may have added to the overall cinematic, foreboding sound of the music.
“It was an abandoned house that no one had lived in for 40 years. Paintings suspended on the walls, almost falling off. Dusty. We set up in the living room, our sound board was in the kitchen. We made it work, but it was a vibe,” Carter says.
The intention was to create a single album, but they came up with so much good material that they split it into two, grouping songs together that seemed to intuitively match. The first album has a tense, contemplative sound to it, while the second one has a lot of momentum. It could easily be the soundtrack to a flying-car chase scene.
The group’s natural tendency toward genre-mashing has only increased since its inception a decade ago. On these records, they continue to explore the line separating musical style as they ponder robot life. The two concepts complete each other, and make for an overall dynamic instrumental record.
“We take on many different genres, ideas and approaches as far as styles go that we try to mix and make our own,” Carter says. “We feel like the songs that we have on this record are very cinematic and would fit in with a lot of movies and visuals and things of that nature.”
Tauk performs at 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26 at the Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. 423-1338.
Admit it, you’ve often talked to the wild animals you encounter. Even the birds you see along the Pogonip trail, or in your own backyard. We have scrub jays who visit us, and yes, we talk with them. You’ve probably listened in amazement at all the different vocal techniques that our sassy local crows possess. And you suspect that it all means something. Well, it does.
That wily cuisinartist Jozseph Schultz has put together a fascinating event that will help introduce you to bird language while enjoying brunch and a morning walk. The bird language tour guide is naturalist Jeff Caplan, who also leads classes and walks for local groups including the UCSC Bird School Project. Fascinating stuff that will help you tune into what nature is saying, and how to recognize different avian voices. Sensitivity training for the next time you talk to your wild bird friends.
A wonderful morning open to all, but hurry and make reservations, it’s limited to 25 participants. First a talk, then a walk along pastoral San Lorenzo River, which is currently rich with birds visiting from Canada and South America. Then brunch at 11:30 a.m., with vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and meat options.
Introduction to Bird Language + Brunch is Saturday, Nov. 10, 9am-noon, at India Joze Restaurant, 418 Front St., Santa Cruz. $35 includes class, walk and brunch (kids $15). Tix at brownpapertickets.com/event/3656654.
Lester Vineyards Tastings
For the first time Lester Family Vineyards in Corralitos, a gorgeous swath of vines currently tended by the amazing viticulturist Prudy Foxx, is open for tours and tastings.
Originally planted by Dan Lester and Foxx, the 14-acre vineyard began in 1998. Fruit from these vines has gone into some of the great wines of our region: David Bruce, Cinnabar, Soquel Vineyards, Big Basin, and Alfaro Family Vineyards. Recently the Lester family began harvesting fruit for their own wines, made under the Lester Estate Wines label. Tastings will be held at the Deer Park Ranch on Pleasant Valley Road in Aptos, in a fascinating barn filled with some of Lester’s wide-ranging collections. Flights of 2018 estate wines include three Pinots, a Rosé, and a Chardonnay.
Tastings for up to eight may be arranged for Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. For details email: in**@le***************.com.
Pasta of the Week
Redolent of garlic, a bowl of exceptional porcini gnocchi tossed with local dry-farmed tomatoes and cubes of eggplant made a memorable dinner last week at Gabriella Cafe. A glass of Prosecco joined by a pristine, perfect salad of tender butter lettuces added to the gastronomic delight.
Product of the Week
New non-Greek yogurt from Chobani. Quite a departure for the Chobani folks, who created a trend for Greek-style yogurt. Well, not to be outdone by themselves, the Chobanistas have now created something truly dreamy. Ultra creamy and thick, this is yogurt that will attract even those rugged types who still consider yogurt to be sissy food. Low-fat, gluten-free, Kosher-certified, non-GMO, 120 calories per 5.3-ounce serving, it is delicious. Chobani Smooth (the fruit has been whipped in, not lying at the bottom) comes in luscious flavors such as black cherry, peach, strawberry banana, and vanilla. We love the blueberry. Find your own favorites. $2-plus at New Leaf.
Noah Gould at Iveta
An Open Studio display currently at Cafe Iveta, Gould’s oil paintings wander between student work to boldly neo-Hopper with hints of Max Beckmann. Worth a look while you’re seeking your scone fix.
The autumn festivals of Light begin soon with Halloween when veils thin between worlds. We are in Scorpio now, deep, dark, mysterious and so often misunderstood. Scorpio, very complex in all of its deep watery darkness, is humanity as Hercules toiling away each day within the Twelve Labors. Scorpio is Ray 4, the Ray of Humanity—the Ray of Harmony emerging through conflict and chaos.
Ray 4 (Scorpio) is the struggle of moving from “darkness to light, from death to immortality.” It is the struggle of spiritual growth (Evolution), to move forward and not to “fall back into old beliefs, systems and ways of being.”
Scorpio calls humanity to Discipleship. In Scorpio there is a great battle and nine great tests given to us by Mars. The personality enters into battle with the Soul. The Disciple and Soul must emerge “victorious.” The battle is not easy. The path is filled with dangers, hindrances, obstacles. The personality wants direction from the Soul, yet it doesn’t. In Libra, the choice was made to enter the battle. And so, in Scorpio the war begins.
Scorpio is not just to do battle. It is not enough that the pairs of opposites, polarized in Libra, now meet. Scorpio must create within the self and in all environments, a Path of Harmony. This is Ray 4—a new level of harmony emerging from conflict and chaos.
Therefore, Scorpio must know both, transforming the difficulties, vicissitudes, conflicts and chaos into a new state of harmony. In Scorpio the three lights meet—the Personality, the Soul and Spirit (permanent spiritual atom). After the great battle is over these three must reintegrate, fuse and blend.
This is the secret of Scorpio and the “Fourth Way.” In all these things written here, Scorpio battles daily. Scorpio is the turning point, the reset, and the reorientation. And so now we know. (Daily studies with Risa on the Risa D’Angeles Facebook page.)
ARIES: Assess if there are any needs you or a partner have that are unspoken, unknown and perhaps hidden, only coming to life when conflict and chaos arise. Asking about values and needs are good questions to ask in all relationships (with self and others), and especially now. Are there legal situations you must tend to? Carefully make plans for later implementation.
TAURUS: It’s time to teach others what you know. You protect, hide and shield information until the right time comes forth, and now is that time. You cannot do what you’ve been doing alone for much longer. Are you asking others to help you? Asking them what they need in return? Clear communication is the sign of the disciple.
GEMINI: Is there difficulty with concentration, communication or making contact with others? With the stars? Write down by hand what you value most in daily life? Make it into a journal. When expectations are placed upon you, explain you’re working slowly now as life has taken a sideways turn. You’ll be doing things not quite to your liking—an exercise in sacrifice. Go slow. Call an old intelligent friend.
CANCER: Are you sleeping? Your appetite may increase. Something slips into your life that makes you happier, creating a surging forth of determination and courage and a new sense of creativity. You’ll be inspired about how and where you live. Prepare for a new life to appear. You have become orderly and organized.
LEO: Should you feel you cannot possibly leave home, remain there quietly for a while. Tend to personal issues, things domestic like cleaning and clearing, gardening and cooking, allowing yourself also time for research. Contact previous friends. Is there a misunderstanding to be explained, something or someone needing care and tending? Someone moves.
VIRGO: Make sure you’re getting enough vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin B (complex), A and D, calcium and magnesium. Your appetite and feelings for food may change dramatically. Drink water with marigold flowers and mint. Monetary situations continue to unfold. New ideas stream into your mind and you ponder many ways you are creative. How many journals do you have now?
LIBRA: Be sure your finances are in order. Assess them carefully. What goes in, what goes out. Balance it with a thought to savings. Finances affect emotions and health. When researching investments, think gold, silver, platinum, consult a precious metals professional and don’t succumb to a situation or person that may confuse you. You may need more rest.
SCORPIO: Suddenly your life assumes additional intensity and, being very private, you’re unable to hide the effects. To ease the discomfort of this concentrated powerful state, maintain consistent exercise, and then double it. A new self-identity and a new sense of strength is forming. Your heart petals are opening. Sometimes this hurts. Set your sights on new and distinguishing goals.
SAGITTARIUS: The new life structure you’ve sought is forming within your sphere of daily work and service in the world. Discipline yourself in the right use of energy and time. Don’t waste these in emotional endeavors. Stay behind the scenes. Work on your own. Plan for future endeavors or perhaps do nothing at all. Don’t dabble in anything hidden.
CAPRICORN: Don’t take on excessive tasks lest exhaustion begins to affect your immune system. You’re capable of holding the entire world on your shoulders, but soon this becomes too heavy and quite unbearable. Create a manifestation list with your hoped-for goals and priorities, forming a magnet of energy around you. Delays are normal. Don’t fret.
AQUARIUS: You feel and understand humanity’s needs and sorrows, and thus bring forth new ideas, with a message of balance and harmony (and a bit of fun). You have tremendous potential to bring into form your hopes, dreams and aspirations. Focus on specific goals. It’s an excellent time for future planning. Maintain all close friends and contacts.
PISCES: Piscean teachers, travelers, publishers, writers, adventurers and religious leaders are busy with schedules, plans, travel (careful!), cultural and/or religious aims and endeavors—remembering to maintain harmony and balance into daily life. At times Pisces can feel isolated and isolating. You need a stimulus package of direction and hope. Safety is important. Find a warm pool to swim in. Know you are a focal point for saving grace.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In her poem “Shedding Skin,” Harryette Mullen compares her own transformation to the action a snake periodically carries out to renew itself. Since you now have an excellent opportunity to undertake your own molting process, you may find her thoughts helpful. (I’ve rendered them in prose for easier reading.) “Pulling out of the old scarred skin—old rough thing I don’t need now—I strip off, slip out of, leave behind. Shedding toughness, peeling layers down to vulnerable stuff. And I’m blinking off old eyelids for a new way of seeing. By the rock I rub against, I’m going to be tender again.” Halloween costume suggestion: snake sloughing its skin.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Only the young and stupid are confident about sex and romance,” says 49-year-old author Elizabeth Gilbert, who has written extensively about those subjects. I agree with her. I’ve devoted myself to studying the mysteries of love for many years, yet still feel like a rookie. Even if you are smarter about these matters than Gilbert and me, Taurus, I urge you to adopt a humble and curious attitude during the next few weeks. The cosmos have prepared some interesting lessons for you, and the best way to take advantage is to be eagerly receptive and open-minded. Halloween costume suggestion: sex researcher, love explorer, intimacy experimenter.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “My way of learning is to heave a wild and unpredictable monkey-wrench into the machinery,” wrote Gemini author Dashiell Hammett. But I recommend that you use his approach very rarely, and only when other learning methods aren’t working. Most of the time, your best strategy for getting the lessons you need is to put lubricating oil into the machinery, not a monkey-wrench. That’ll be especially true in the coming weeks. I suggest that you turn the machinery off for a while as you add the oil and and do some maintenance. Halloween costume suggestion: repair person; computer techie; machine whisperer.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): The great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was a Cancerian like you and me. One of the factors contributing to his success was that he put his demons to good use, “by harnessing them to his chariot.” He also testified that he gained control over his demons by taking long walks after breakfast. “Demons don’t like fresh air,” he said. “They prefer it if you stay in bed with cold feet.” I suspect that now would be an excellent time to adopt his advice. Halloween costume suggestion: walk your demon on a leash, or make it into a puppet, or harness it to your chariot.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Throughout the Halloween season, I encourage you to fantasize extensively about what your dream home would look like and feel like if you had all the money necessary to create it. What colors would you paint the walls? Would you have carpets or hardwood floors? What would be your perfect lighting, furniture, and décor? As you gazed out your windows, what views would you see? Would there be nature nearby or urban hotspots? Would you have an office or music room or art studio? Have fun imagining the sanctuary that would bring out the best in you. Halloween costume suggestion: the ultimate homebody.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look,” writes novelist Jodi Picoult. That’s crucial for you to meditate on during the coming weeks. Why? Because your superpower is going to be the ability to find extraordinary things that are hiding in places where people have almost never thought to look. You can do both yourself and those you care for a big favor by focusing your intensity on this task. Halloween costume suggestions: sleuth, treasure hunter, private eye, Sherlock Holmes.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming.” Author Shauna Niequist wrote that. In accordance with the astrological omens, I endorse her perspective as true and useful for you. You’ve zipped through your time of fertile chaos, conjuring up fresh possibilities. When January arrives, you’ll be ready to work on stability and security. But for now, your assignment is to blossom. Halloween costume suggestions: beautiful creature hatching from an egg; strong sprout cracking out of a seed.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “He believed in magic,” writes author Michael Chabon about a character in his novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. “Not in the so-called magic of candles, pentagrams, and bat wings,” nor “dowsing rods, séances, weeping statues, werewolves, wonders, or miracles.” Then what kind? Chabon says it’s the “impersonal magic of life,” like coincidences and portents that reveal their meanings in retrospect. I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because now is a favorable time to call on the specific kind of magic that you regard as real and helpful. What kind of magic is that? Halloween costume suggestion: magician, witch, wizard.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” Sagittarian author Jane Austen wrote that in her novel Northanger Abbey, and now I’m passing her message on to you, slightly altered. My version is, “If adventures will not befall Sagittarian people of any age or gender in their own neighborhood, they must seek them abroad.” And where exactly is “abroad”? The dictionary says it might mean a foreign country, or it could simply mean outside or in another place. I’d like to extend the meaning further to include anywhere outside your known and familiar world. Halloween costume suggestion: traveler on a pilgrimage or explorer on a holy quest.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): PR executives at a beer company offered to pay me a lot of money if I would sneak a product placement ad into your horoscope. They asked me to pretend there was a viable astrological reason to recommend that you imbibe their product in abundance. But the truth is, the actual planetary omens suggest the opposite. You should not in fact be lounging around in a haze of intoxication. You should instead be working hard to drum up support for your labor of love or your favorite cause. Very Important People will be more available to you than usual, and you’ll be wise to seek their input. Halloween costume suggestion: the Ultimate Fundraiser; Networker of the Year; Chief Hobnobber.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “What kind of idea are you?” asks author Salman Rushdie. “Are you the kind that compromises, does deals, accommodates itself, aims to find a niche, to survive; or are you the cussed, bloody-minded, ramrod-backed type of damnfool notion that would rather break than sway with the breeze?” I pose this question to you, Aquarius, because I think you could be an effective version of either idea in the coming weeks. If you’re the latter—the cussed, damnfool notion—you may change your world in dramatic ways. Halloween costume suggestions: revolutionary; crusader; agitator; rabble-rouser.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “There is no beauty without some strangeness,” wrote Edgar Allan Poe. Fashion designer Rei Kawakubo ventured further, declaring, “Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty.” She also added another nuance to her definition: “For something to be beautiful, it doesn’t have to be pretty.” I’ll offer you one more seed for thought: wabi-sabi. It’s a Japanese term that refers to a kind of beauty that’s imperfect, transitory, and incomplete. I bring these clues to your attention, Pisces, because now is an excellent time to refine and clarify your own notion of beauty—and recommit yourself to embodying it. Halloween costume suggestion: the embodiment of your definition of beauty.
Homework: What part of you is too tame? How can you inspire it to seek wilder ways of knowing? Write Freewillastrology.com.
