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A Week of Many Festivals: Risa’s Stars March 13-20

Risa D’Angeles

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March 12, 2019

A Week of Many Festivals: Risa’s Stars March 13-20

Multiple festivals occur simultaneously this coming week. Spring equinox, International Astrology Day and the Aries solar festival (at the full moon) are Wednesday, March 20. Persian New Year, Holi (Indian spring festival) and Purim (Jewish Festival) are Thursday, March 21.

Spring equinox (sun at the equator, zero degrees Aries) begins the new spiritual and solar year. In Aries, “all things new” begin. New life emerges in our northern hemisphere. Aries is the “fire of the mind,” bringing forth new ideas that become new ideals within humanity. Aries is “electric fire,” the fire in lightning storms usually experienced in spring.

During spring equinox, the Solar Angel streams into the Earth a fresh impulse (the plan for the coming year). And at the full moon during Aries, the Forces of Restoration and the Spirit of Resurrection flow into the Earth (the Mother). These forces offer humanity a new “livingness” by restoring our moral, ethical and psychological health. Their presence supports the new Aquarian culture and civilization and the emergence of the new Spiritual Materialism (sharing society). They offer a new hope and vision for the new world to unfold.

Archangel Raphael (the Christian name for Mercury or Hermes), the Healing Angel, begins to preside over the Earth at the equinox, bringing healing and protection. He carries the Caduceus, staff of Mercury. It is written that each evening, Raphael gathers up all of humanity’s requests for healing, carrying them to heaven where he presents them before the throne of God. Here they are transformed into fragrant blossoms, which are then borne down to Earth by Raphael’s serving angels. The flowers, scattered about where there is pain and sorrow, bring solace, care, beauty, and comfort to those in need.

ARIES: You feel “in alignment” this month as fiery ideas, revelations and many new ideals are impressed upon your mind. Pay attention to them. They are important and will stabilize your actions and self-identity in the coming challenging times. View and interact in groups with discernment and discrimination. Stand tall and with courage and remember that fear only means you need more information. Research.

TAURUS: You are ceaselessly serving others every day of your life. You work behind the scenes, which allows you to ponder, think, research, read, and study undisturbed. Sometimes you’re far away from home, tending to life and death situations or medical emergencies. You must turn toward yourself now and begin to heal, using different healing modalities–enough protein, vitamins, minerals, homeopathics, and a special purifying healing diet.

GEMINI: How has the Mercury retrograde affected you? No matter what your present situation is, know that you’re being prepared for future work. For now, you’re to dispel the illusions that you are not strong or capable. Dispel the illusion that keeps you hiding away. During the retrograde, reflect upon the nurturing quality offered from loved ones and friends. Be grateful every moment of the day and night. Listen to Gregorian chants.

CANCER: Opportunities are being offered within groups and people you affiliate with. Perhaps a recognition or call to leadership or a future wish and hope will be fulfilled. New people from far away enter your inner circle through community interaction. In these interactions, maintain discrimination, ethics and ideals. You’re called to help someone in the garden. You know more than most. Share what you do know with kindness.

LEO: Work continues to be a place where revelations and changes occur, and these expand your influence. You develop new ways of relating to everyone professionally, creating a potent leadership ability. Your power is greater than you recognize and more than most comprehend. Careful with the authority you have become. Intentionally balance discipline, structure and will with kindness. Let love rule.

VIRGO: Things religious, spiritual and adventuresome, along with places far away, play upon your mind. You create intentions to be better organized; you prefer plans and agendas if they have travel and philosophy included. It’s important to know how to handle other people’s resources. You seek to learn what is of value about and within each person first. Then you learn how to honor them.

LIBRA: Your heart is filled with love for another (new, present or past relationship). Love changes and balances your past. You think about money in terms of legacies, inheritances, stocks, investments, taxes, or savings. Bring all thoughts, fears, interests and information into the light for discussion. Tend to debts and become very thrifty. And consider what would sustain you (food, people, items, etc.) if the world changes in the blink of an eye.

SCORPIO: As you remain with your present work situation, consider creating new methods of well-being through communication and trainings, creating a caring work environment for everyone. Tend to your physical health, eliminating all sugars, dairy and gluten during Lent. Make sure to care for your financial health as well. In the meantime, remember to have fun, play a lot, and seek the artistic and the beautiful. Then creativity expands exponentially.

SAGITTARIUS: In your daily life, be willing to listen carefully to others; be curious about, agree with, and participate in their thoughts and ideas. This creates a loving emotional connection and balance in your life. Should you do this you will be seen as one who is wise, intelligent and caring—a new persona. Begin to intentionally cooperate, share and offer praise. These create right relations within, right relations without.

CAPRICORN: The energy of Aries influences your home and family, how you nurture and are given nurturance. Your constant care and nourishment given to family and tradition lead to a depth of unexpected love, for you are to family the “love that underlies all things.” Sometimes our families are far away. If this is the situation, radiate Goodwill from your heart to those both near and far. Then people walking into your radiant light feel you are their family.

AQUARIUS: Watch with care all resources, finances, money. Be very aware of what your values are. Maintain communication with family and siblings. Are you moving about a lot, does your present environment need improvement in order for you to feel safe and secure? Communicate to everyone what your needs are. A new opportunity reveals itself in terms of recognition of your talents and your work in the world.

PISCES: Neptune, Mercury retrograde and Vesta are in Pisces. At times you feel captive and betrayed. Choices must be made. A home found. Neptune is dropping the veils between kingdoms. Mercury retrograde helps you remember things from the past. You ask forgiveness. Vesta has you making small sacrifices and tending the hearth. You miss so many things which are dissolving away. Find your place in the garden. Remain there. Especially at dawn and dusk. The devas join you then.

‘Disposable Man:’ Author Michael Levitin’s Updated Male Manifesto

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March 12, 2019

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‘Disposable Man:’ Author Michael Levitin’s Updated Male Manifesto

Franz Kafka and Philip Roth walk into a bar … that could be the beginning of a terrific joke. Or it could be the beginning of a remarkable post-millennial novel by Berkeley journalist Michael Levitin, in which the author and protagonist of Disposable Man retraces the steps of his Russian Jewish ancestors in a circuitous journey to the east. From the book’s spectacular opening pages to the raw bittersweet ending, Levitin’s novella bristles with restless speculation about male identity in the #MeToo milieu.

Max Krumm is a disaffected American journalist living in today’s Berlin, or rather he is killing time in Berlin until he figures out a way to comprehend his identity, and/or retrace the steps his family took on their flight from the Nazis during the second war. Even better, Levitin’s protagonist does both in this odyssey that weaves back and forth in time, tracking a mysterious postcard from Aunt Josephine before she was shipped off to Siberia.

After much hilarious drinking, smoking and kvetching with three equally disaffected artist buddies, Krumm—along with Alan the occasional journalist, handsome Easy Wayne and Robert the ex-pat Brit—pack weed, beer and bicycles onto a train for Poland and a long weekend of debauched soul searching.

Levitin knows his territory. Five years as a journalist in Berlin before returning to his native Bay Area, plus his vantage point at the edge of the millennial generation, gives him an astringent perspective on post-feminism, late capitalism, global unemployment, and the overall ennui of males who have yet to find traction in a chaotic Zeitgeist.

The voice of Disposable Man is intimate and vivid as Levitin spins the saga of one man’s journey to set the family record straight. With his tongue firmly in his cheek, the author probes the irony of being Jewish in Berlin.

“It’s still too shocking that a Jew should just turn up and put down roots in this capital of capitals—in this inferno of his past,” the author writes. “A Jew cannot just simply come to Berlin: he needs an alibi.” Levitin goes on to explain that, “Jews are now coming to and staying and living in Berlin: because Berlin has had the madness boiled out of it. Berlin is exhausted.” And so are the ex-pats, careers temporarily comatose, who meet at their favorite bar to take shots, smoke weed and complain about women.

Krumm and co.’s long weekend of talking, fishing, swimming, drinking, smoking, and laughing magically morphs into a moment of Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake. (And yes, this is a daring and courageous gamble on the author’s part.) It ends with a bonfire, at which the quartet, now gone completely wild and feral, howl at the flames until dawn. The bonfire on the Polish riverbank is simultaneously a Viking funeral pyre, a rite of passage and a cremation of four men’s impossible dreams. It is also a ritual grieving for their entire generation, the men who’ve become satellites to a world controlled by women. The Golden Age of bad old masculinity has ended, broken into submission by ascendant Others.

Disposable Man is a compelling male manifesto, an elegy to lost purpose and grip—stunning, angry, smart, funny, and uncomfortably precise. Most remarkable, perhaps, is the fact that this young man’s tale of angst is capable of resonating so richly with a female Baby Boomer. Tears filled my eyes as I read the last pages. A tour de force, crackling with humor and defiance. Continuous shots of vodka without a hangover.

Michael Levitin will discuss ‘Disposable Man’ with poet and essayist Stephen Kessler on March 15 from 7-9 p.m. Felix Kulpa Gallery, 107 Elm St., Santa Cruz.

Rob Brezny’s Astrology March 13-20

Rob Brezsny

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March 12, 2019

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Free will astrology for the week of March 13, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The coming weeks might be a good time to acquire a flamethrower. It would come in handy if you felt the urge to go to a beach and incinerate mementos from an ex-ally. It would also be useful if you wanted to burn stuff that reminds you of who you used to be and don’t want to be any more; or if you got in the mood to set ablaze symbols of questionable ideas you used to believe in but can’t afford to believe in any more. If you don’t want to spend $1,600-plus on a flamethrower, just close your eyes for 10 minutes and visualize yourself performing acts of creative destruction like those I mentioned.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus aphorist Olivia Dresher writes that she would like to be “a force of nature,” but “not causing any suffering.” The way I interpret her longing is that she wants to be wild, elemental, uninhibited, primal, raw, pure—all the while without inflicting any hurt or damage on herself or anyone else. In accordance with your astrological omens, Taurus, that’s a state I encourage you to embody in the coming weeks. If you’re feeling extra smart—which I suspect you will—you could go even further. You may be able to heal yourself and others with your wild, elemental, uninhibited, primal, raw, pure energy.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In some major cities, the buttons you push at a crosswalk don’t actually work to make the traffic light turn green faster. The same is true about the “Close Door” buttons in many elevators. Pushing them doesn’t have any effect on the door. Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer says these buttons are like placebos that give you “the illusion of control.” I bring this phenomenon to your attention, Gemini, in hope of inspiring you to scout around for comparable things in your life. Is there any situation where you imagine you have power or influence, but probably don’t? If so, now is an excellent time to find out—and remedy that problem.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Philip Boit was born and raised in Kenya, where it never snows except on the very top of Mount Kenya. Yet he represented his country in the cross-country skiing events at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2006. How did he do it? He trained up north in snowy Finland. Meanwhile, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong competed for Ghana in the slalom in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Since there was no snow in his homeland, he practiced his skills in the French Alps. These two are your role models for the coming months, Cancerian. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’ll have the potential to achieve success in tasks and activities that may not seem like a natural fit.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the process of casting for his movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, director David Fincher considered selecting A-list actress Scarlett Johansson to play the heroine. But ultimately he decided she was too sexy and radiant. He wanted a pale, thin, tougher-looking actress, whom he found in Rooney Mara. I suspect that in a somewhat similar way, you may be perceived as being too much something for a role you would actually perform quite well. But in my astrological opinion, you’re not at all too much. In fact, you’re just right. Is there anything you can do—with full integrity—to adjust how people see you and understand you without diluting your brightness and strength?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1993, an English gardener named Eric Lawes used his metal detector to look for a hammer that his farmer friend had lost in a field. Instead of the hammer, he found the unexpected: a buried box containing 15,234 old Roman silver and gold worth more than $4 million today. I bring this to your attention, Virgo, because I suspect that you, too, will soon discover something different from what you’re searching for. Like the treasure Lawes located, it might even be more valuable than what you thought you wanted.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover,” wrote author James Baldwin. “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” To fully endorse that statement, I’d need to add two adverbs. My version would be, “The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to kindly and compassionately make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” In accordance with current astrological omens, I recommend that you Libras enthusiastically adopt that mission during the coming weeks. With tenderness and care, help those you care about become aware of what they’ve been missing—and ask for the same from them toward you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): For thousands of generations, our early ancestors were able to get some of the food they needed through a practice known as persistence hunting. They usually couldn’t run as fast as the animals they chased. But they had a distinct advantage: they could keep moving relentlessly until their prey grew exhausted. In part, that’s because they had far less hair than the animals, and thus could cool off better. I propose that we adopt this theme as a metaphor for your life in the coming weeks and months. You won’t need to be extra fast or super ferocious or impossibly clever to get what you want. All you have to do is be persistent and dogged and disciplined.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Wompsi’kuk Skeesucks Brooke is a Native American woman of the Mohegan tribe. According to her description of Mohegan naming traditions, and reported by author Elisabeth Pearson Waugaman, “Children receive names that are descriptive. They may be given new names at adolescence, and again as they go through life according to what their life experiences and accomplishments are.” She concludes that names “change as the individual changes.” If you have been thinking about transforming the way you express and present yourself, you might want to consider such a shift. This year will be a favorable time to at least add a new nickname or title. And I suspect you’ll have maximum inspiration to do so in the coming weeks.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): For many of us, smell is our most neglected sense. We see, hear, taste, and feel with vividness and eagerness, but allow our olfactory powers to go underused. In accordance with astrological omens, I hope you will compensate for that dearth in the coming weeks. There is subtle information you can obtain—and in my opinion, need quite strongly—that will come your way only with the help of your nose. Trust the guidance provided by scent.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb says humans come in three types: fragile, robust or antifragile. Those who are fragile work hard to shield themselves from life’s messiness. The downside? They are deprived of experiences that might spur them to grow smarter. As for robust people, Taleb believes they are firm in the face of messiness. They remain who they are even when they’re disrupted. The potential problem? They may be too strong to surrender to necessary transformations. If you’re the third type, antifragile, you engage with the messiness and use it as motivation to become more creative and resilient. The downside? None. In accordance with the astrological omens, Aquarius, I urge you to adopt the antifragile approach in the coming weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In 2014, NASA managed to place its Maven spacecraft into orbit around Mars. The cost of the mission was $671 million. Soon thereafter, the Indian government put its own vehicle, the Mangalyaan, into orbit around the Red Planet, spending just $74 million. As you plan your own big project, Pisces, I recommend you emulate the Mangalyaan rather than the Maven. I suspect you can do great things—maybe even your personal equivalent of sending a spacecraft to Mars—on a relatively modest budget.

Homework: Upon waking up for the next seven mornings, sing a song that fills you with feisty, glorious hope.

Santa Cruz’s Tess Dunn Returns As Alter-Ego T3TRA

Wallace Baine

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March 12, 2019

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Santa Cruz’s Tess Dunn Returns As Alter-Ego T3TRA

Oscar Wilde didn’t know a thing about electro-pop music. But if he were around today, the 19th-century playwright and legendary wit would totally get Tess Dunn. It was Wilde, remember, who once said, “Give a man a mask, and he’ll tell you the truth.”

That applies to Dunn, a 24-year-old singer-songwriter who has been performing and recording since the age of 13. Not because she wears a mask on stage, but because she has taken to recording under an alter ego named T3TRA (pronounced “Tetra”). And it’s through T3TRA that she’s telling her truth.

The Santa Cruz native returns to her hometown for a performance as T3TRA at Kuumbwa Jazz Center on March 16. She’ll be showcasing a new album of original material called Lightswitch.

“It’s one of the best ideas I ever had,” she says of her on-stage persona.

Throughout her adolescence, Dunn performed and recorded under her given name. That changed once she reached her twenties. Lightswitch is now her second effort as T3TRA.

Beginning with 2009’s Darling Just Walk, the artistic persona Dunn presented under her real name was a specific thing. “She was always optimistic. She had a zest for life, wouldn’t let anything get her down,” says Dunn. “And all that was true when I was teenager.”

That changed, she says, when she began experiencing exhausting mood swings, from manic episodes of activity and creativity to shut-down periods of depression. Eventually, she was diagnosed with bipolar-1 disorder. “I wanted to write about it,” she says, “but it felt weird doing so as Tess Dunn, because I already had a reputation under that name. It didn’t feel right to write about how depressed I was. Also, at that age—19, 20—I was experiencing adult things like lust and love that I didn’t really understand at 15 or 16.” On top of that, she was wary of disappointing an audience who had come to expect a certain spirit in her music, a spirit that suddenly felt confining.

It was time for an artistic reset.

“It was really refreshing, and it’s given me a huge dose of freedom,” she says of her decision to become T3TRA. At the same time, she was beginning to be seduced by the beats and textures of electronica, and a break into a new alter ego allowed her to change up her fundamental sound from bright and buoyant power-pop to a darker, synthetic vibe.

As a result, in a Wilde-ian sense, Dunn is now telling her truth in a way that she had not dared before. The title track of new album Lightswitch is a particularly emotionally naked stab at grappling with the disorienting mood swings of bipolar. “It’s probably the most honest song I’ve ever written in my 10 years of songwriting,” she says.

Facing a bipolar disorder is burden enough for anyone, but Dunn has also been dealing with other serious health issues her entire life. Namely, cystic fibrosis (CF), a devastating chronic disease that primarily affects the lungs and demands intense day-to-day treatment. Mostly as a result of her CF condition, she’s also had to face epilepsy and diabetes. Life expectancy for those with CF is somewhere in the mid-40s, but that number has been steadily moving northward thanks to improvements in treatment.

Because she’s lived with CF her entire life, Dunn is intimately familiar with a certain live-for-today impulse. Last year, she graduated from Sonoma State University and shortly thereafter began work as a writer where she now lives in Marin County. A severe flare-up of CF symptoms sidelined her and forced her into freelancing.

“In that case, getting sick was definitely a blessing for me, because it pushed me to turn back to my music and say to myself, ‘Yeah, that’s really what I want to do with my life,” she says. “If I had continued to work as I was doing, I would have let my music sit on the back burner.”

Cystic fibrosis has given Dunn a considerable headwind in her life and career, and she’s always felt that she’s had to cram a lot in what she believes will be an abbreviated lifespan. But being involved in the CF community has allowed her to keep a valuable perspective.

“I have this weird sense of guilt,” she says. “I mean, I have friends with CF who are in the hospital every other month. And though I’m feeling bad a lot, numbers-wise I can’t complain because I’m doing so well.”

Tess Dunn performs as T3TRA at the album-release concert for ‘Lightswitch’ at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $10 advance/$15 door. iamt3tra.com.

Soquel’s Pretty Good Advice Off To Pretty Great Start

Christina Waters

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March 12, 2019

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Soquel’s Pretty Good Advice Off To Pretty Great Start

Warm and casual is the vibe at Soquel’s new breakfast and lunch spot, Pretty Good Advice, the brainchild of former SF chef Matt McNamara. A short menu of morning and noontime items is well stocked with outstanding breads and pastries created by Jen Jackson, while McNamara’s charcuterie recipes round out the house entrée offerings.

A recent morning visit rewarded us with outstanding Cat & Cloud coffee, plus a textbook cinnamon babka ($4), a tangy honey-thyme scone ($3.50) and ricotta toast with quince butter ($4.50)—all baked on the premisses in the exhibition kitchen that takes up half the tiny interior. Indoor picnic seating establishes the tone of PGA, while the café’s outdoor seating will be an obvious summer magnet for those who crave conversation and sunshine.

The ricotta toast was intriguing. The thick slab of bread—served, as is everything at PGA, in a coated paper basket—wasn’t actually toasted, but it was as warm and delicious any pain de campagne I’ve ever tasted. The thyme-scented scone exploded with flavor and texture, and we look forward to sampling more sweet and savory creations from this experimental baker.

Counter service rules here at Pretty Good Advice: you order, pay, take a number, gather your utensils, and pour your coffee into paper carry-out cups. No glass, ceramic, cloth, or metal in the place. At lunch we had a chance to sample the sophisticated entrée plates, which arrive partnered with toasted housemade bread, baby carrots, some pretty lettuces, and fresh pickles. The small portions are very attractive, though it’s difficult to cut through the ham and bread with the black plastic utensils provided.

Our favorite lunch item was the pork paté with grilled ham ($9.50). Paired with crunchy toast points, mustard (some mayo would also be welcome), and little pickles, this was the most substantial lunch by far. The small portion of green goddess salad ($6) was indeed small, but intensely flavored and liberally tossed with parmesan and avocado. The roasted garlic croutons were very thin. Tiny, crunchy and delicious. The classic though mild chicken terrine ($9) came with little carrots and pickled kumquat, plus toast and greens. It was a pretty grouping of ingredients, but a small portion. LeBron would need two orders. A dessert of griddled Meyer lemon loaf ($6) was delicious topped with whipped cream, fresh mint and bits of mandarin. I hope the menu expands.

Pretty Good Advice is open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday. 3070 Porter St., Soquel. 226-2805, prettygoodadvicesoquel.com.

Catch of the Day

Deciding that seafood is misunderstood and needs to be cast in a sustainable light, the folks from One Fish Foundation (onefishfoundation.org) are hosting a KNOW FISH dinner next Sunday, March 17, at 5 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Food Lounge.

Expect a show-and-tell dinner, where you’ll dine on fresh, delicious and responsibly harvested seafood while you learn more about what “responsibly harvested” really means. The hardest-working act in the the local fish biz, Ocean2table entrepreneurs Ian Cole and Charlie Lambert, will be on hand to tell stories about how they caught and processed the seafood you’ll be eating.

Chef Diego Felix of Colectivo Felix will fill participants in on the importance of sourcing locally harvested seafood, and you’ll learn about the changing “seascape” for domestic and global seafood. Tickets: $60 (plus tax and gratuity). eventbrite.com.

A California Michelin

The first ever statewide Michelin Guide California will launch this summer. In addition to the previously covered San Francisco Bay Area and wine country, the new all-California Michelin Guide will include restaurants in greater Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.

Film Review: ‘Captain Marvel’

Richard von Busack

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March 12, 2019

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Expert script-flippage gives texture to the heartfelt female empowerment message within Captain Marvel. It starts as a war-on-terror movie, with the shape-shifting Skrulls as an insurgent enemy, hiding among the locals on a planet that looks like Afghanistan. We arrive at our more current malaise when the film’s true villain starts talking of foreigners who “threaten our borders.” When Captain Marvel is over, one notes that a conventional romantic lead wasn’t here, and also wasn’t missed. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and the five credited writers, give this heroine’s journey the same attractive solitude that male heroes—super and otherwise—have enjoyed in the movies forever.

Brie Larson’s appealing underplaying sells this material, which isn’t the freshest. Her character Carol Danvers has the same last name as Supergirl. In honor of copyrights, Stan Lee glommed onto the name of an established red-clad, magically powered superhero who predated the Marvel Universe. (That previous Captain Marvel is going to be back in the movies for the first time in decades under his new name, Shazam.) The creation of this Captain Marvel is as much a tribute to Lee’s relentless branding as is his mandatory cameo and the posthumous thanks to him before the titles.

Marvel is called “Vers,” an amnesiac soldier of the outer space Kree empire, with the ability to blast photon rays from her fists. The power is a gift from the Empire’s all-highest, an artificial intelligence simulation that appears to her in the shape of Annette Benning. Vers has a rep for being too unfocused and emotional, as she’s always reminded by her superior officer and sparring partner (Jude Law). After a skirmish, Vers is captured by the pointed-eared Skrulls. Her dormant memories are stirred up during an interrogation by their diabolical leader, the Cockney-accented Taros (an amusing Ben Mendelsohn).

After blasting her way off the ship, Vers falls to earth into 1990s North Hollywood. The ruckus summons America’s top secret agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, digitized to a younger form, wearing a plastic-y wig, and still possessing both eyes). The corpse of a dead Skrull convinces Fury of Vers’ story. As they try to round up the aliens, the jagged bits of Vers’ past keep flashing back. She recalls her past life as a fighter pilot and her lifelong friendship with her fellow pilot Marie Rambeau (Lashana Lynch).

It’s possible that the lamentation of fanboys has been exaggerated publicity to make a blockbuster sound like an underdog. But there has been some public wailing by fans emasculated by a strong heroine. Hope they’ll save some tears for the scenes where Jackson does some things he may never have done in a movie: helping to wash the dishes and going gooey for a orange kitty called “Goose,” in honor of Top Gun.

Larson and Jackson have a smooth rapport. She brings in a great deal of feeling, but also some playfulness. In the patronization-free partnership with Fury, our heroine can be slightly bratty, pestering him at a bar about why he thinks everyone should call him by his last name. “And what will your kids call you?” “Fury.”

There was a Blue Angels flyby over Hollywood to promote Captain Marvel—the military-industrial-entertainment complex at work. Future historians could note this show of military might occurred during a week of public speculation about drafting women into the military.

But Captain Marvel’s exhilaration isn’t as supermacha as G.I. Jane or Starship Troopers (satire or otherwise, that Verhoeven film was what it was). The movie is not about Vers becoming a good, disciplined soldier. She finds her independence at last. The 1990s setting—used for grunge needle drops and jokes about the slowness of old-time computers—may have been there to remind us of that other intrepid blonde heroine of the era, Buffy Summers, the Slayer.

Despite some starchy Louisiana heartland sequences, this is an effective fantasy of power used with grace and without arrogance, featuring a constantly underestimated figure rising up again after being knocked down. Fully charged up and blazing in the heavens, this Captain Marvel is as fine an embodiment of the Superman figure as there has been in the movies. Hopefully, six weeks from now in Avengers: Endgame, this flying light goddess is going to barbecue Thanos and his conservative austerity program.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and Jude Law. (PG-13) 123 minutes.

Opinion: March 6, 2019

Steve Palopoli

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March 6, 2019

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Longtime locals may be getting déjà vu at recent Santa Cruz City Council meetings. Tensions are running high, and divisiveness is approaching peak levels—in other words, it’s how the political climate gets around here every time homeless issues rise to the top of the agenda. It’s been that way for at least as long as I’ve been in Santa Cruz. Things got particularly nasty in the mid-’90s, in the wake of the Loma Prieta earthquake, and again in 2000, then again in 2002 … actually, I can remember more years it was bad than years it wasn’t.

The discourse has often gotten extremely uncivil. So is there any difference now, as the Ross Camp and overnight parking on Delaware Avenue become only the most high-profile issues splintering the current debate? Perhaps, as we have just witnessed the city’s mayor call out other councilmembers for what’s been called sexist and inappropriate behavior, bringing what was once mainly backroom scuffling into the light of public debate.

In this week’s cover story, Jacob Pierce takes a closer look at that debate, bringing in perspectives from everyone involved to examine the question of where the lines of acceptable behavior should be drawn in our city government. We can only hope the push to take such issues seriously will improve the situation not only now, while #MeToo and bullying are trending issues, but also every year this comes up again in the future.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Re: “Spin Vogue” (GT, 2/27):

Offshore wind in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary? We don’t have to destroy the environment to “save” it if we emulate Sweden, France and Finland—countries that decarbonized decades ago, thanks to nuclear power. Instead, we emulate Germany, which—after spending hundreds of billions on wind and solar while closing nuclear plants—has failed to reduce CO2 emissions for 10 years straight.

Contrary to popular belief, civilian nuclear power and its waste have hurt no one in the United States. Worldwide, civilian nuclear power accidents have killed less people than are killed every single day by pollution from burning coal.

We need nuclear power and renewables. Read, for example, the new book A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow. Our existence depends on everyone understanding what it really takes to decarbonize.

Stephen Williams
Santa Cruz

Faith Restored

I must respond to the absurd comments of Marji Schoeneman (Letters, 2/27).

I also live in Watsonville, Marji. I live in the retirement community of Pajaro Village. One might think that older folks just love Trump and all his behaviors. Think again!

There is little respect left in my community for Trump. His disgusting, racist, misogynist, xenophobic behaviors were well outlined by our former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.

No, there was not one miniscule amount of respect for Trump in the article. And if you watched the Michael Cohen hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 27, you know why.

As I went door to door when I ran for city council in District 7, many voters wanted to know if I was a Democrat, and if I would help remove Donald Trump if elected.

I replied every time in the affirmative.

Fortunately, my two opponents were Democrats and have similar views to mine regarding Trump. Even though I did not win, I was struck by the anger, outrage and disgust with this POTUS. It reinforced my faith in the people of Watsonville. I resolved to do all that I can to remove him legally from office.

Thank you, Good Times, for your timely article regarding a true feminist leader from my generation. God bless Madeleine Albright. You go, girl!

Steve Trujillo
Watsonville

Speak Up For Green New Deal

The UN’s latest climate report claims we have 12 years to dramatically transform our economy and lifestyles to preserve the stable climate human civilization has depended on for millenia.

We need a massive mobilization of every sector of society on par with what science and justice demand. Local activist groups have already taken the initiative, but we need more people across a wider spectrum of backgrounds to speak up.

We need the parents of young children too young to speak for themselves and local high school and college students to demand action. These are the futures most jeopardized.

A Green New Deal will keep Americans safe from climate change and create millions of green jobs. It is common sense policy that is overwhelmingly popular with American people, regardless of political party or where they live.

Angela Barros
Santa Cruz

CORRECTION

In last week’s news story “Spin Vogue,” GT reported the incorrect name for the proposed Castle Wind project in Morro Bay. We regret the error.Spe

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

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

GOOD IDEA

Bike Santa Cruz County is looking for a leader with a vision for local transportation that’s sustainable and forward-looking, and who has the credentials to walk the walk. Current Executive Director Janneke Strause has announced plans to pursue a graduate degree in community and regional planning after implementing a new strategic plan. In less than three years under Strause, the organization expanded the youth-oriented Earn-a-Bike program, increased its budget by 30 percent, incorporated as a nonprofit, and moved to a larger office. For information about the opening, visit bikesantacruzcounty.org.

GOOD WORK

On Saturday, the Santa Cruz County Parkinson’s Group held the “My Life is Bigger Than Parkinson’s” symposium at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos. Filled to capacity, the free conference brought together an impressive slate of speakers that laid out the latest developments in scientific research and emerging technologies and treatments to attendees. One thing that was abundantly clear was the wide range of resources available in Santa Cruz County to people with Parkinson’s. To tap into them, check out easepd.org.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”
-Winston Churchill

Dollar Dose Banks on Cannabis Cough Drops

Jacob Pierce

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March 6, 2019

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Dollar Dose Banks on Cannabis Cough Drops

Making cannabis candy isn’t so different from what typical boutique candy makers do, says Daniel Thomas, chief operating officer of Santa Cruz cannabis-infused cough drop company Dollar Dose. “It’s pretty much standard candy making, with a little bit of special stuff added,” says Thomas, who once worked for Marini’s Candies.

It’s the process of getting the “special” THC into the hard candy, and keeping levels consistent across batches, that is Dollar Dose’s secret weapon. As of September, the company led by founder and CEO Jason Freeman had sold 170,800 of their $1 cannabis-infused lozenges, which come in four flavors: hibiscus sativa, indica root beer, indica apple, and Thomas’ favorite, watermelon sativa.

The candies are available all the way from Shasta County to Los Angeles, including here in Santa Cruz County at KindPeoples, Cannacruz, TreeHouse, Herbal Cruz, Central Coast Wellness Center, and Curbstone Exchange. In December, Dollar Dose became the first cannabis distributor to obtain a local conditional use permit.

What’s it been like navigating the regulatory framework?

DANIEL THOMAS: It’s been nuts. Until mid-January, there were no real permanent regulations. They were all temporary emergency regulations, and they changed several times. Some of those changes were pretty big shifts. Then they would propose new regulations.

Sometimes there would be things in those new regulations that would make us go, ‘Ah, that would be terrible!’ or ‘That would be sweet!’ They were just proposals. It’s this shifting puzzle. It’s hard to get clear answers. It was just us staring at the screen of regulations until our eyes start watering. Fingers crossed they don’t change them too much.

Cheech and Chong or Seth Rogen?

Cheech and Chong—timeless. Come on.

You should introduce a higher-THC night-time varietal and call it Dollar Doze.

Oohhh… shoot. [Nodding] We’re definitely looking at scaling. With this new sales bump, we’re gonna buy a new forming wheel. We’re gonna start getting new products rolled out. We are interested in doing higher dosages, as well as toffees, gummies, stuff along those lines.

dollar-dose.com.

5 Things to Do In Santa Cruz: March 6-12

GT Staff

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March 5, 2019

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5 Things to Do In Santa Cruz: March 6-12

A weekly guide to what’s happening

Green Fix

Water Education Series

The Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency, formed in 2017 to comply with California’s new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, is hosting the last of their three-part educational series to engage and inform all people who rely on the water supply from the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin. The Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin is the major water source for the San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz. The topic is “Managing Groundwater: How Can We Prepare for an Uncertain Future?” Erik Ekdahl of the State Water Resources Control Board will give the keynote. Local water agency leaders will also present an interactive water management “myth-busting” exercise, and attendees will try their hand at water management planning themselves.

INFO: 9 a.m. Saturday, March 9. Felton Community Hall, 6191 Hwy. 9, Felton. 335-5621. Free.

Art Seen

The Real Irish Comedy Fest: Santa Cruz

Get St. Patrick’s Day off to a real traditional start—no cartoon leprechauns here. Come get a blast of blarney and Irish laughter just in time for the big day. The Real Irish Comedy Fest showcases the best blend of Irish comedic talent and is coming to Santa Cruz for one night only. Yes, accents are included, so you know it’s real.

INFO: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 10. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz. 427-2227, kuumbwajazz.org. $20.

Friday 3/8

‘Armistice100 Santa Cruz’

Local longtime videographer LB Johnson will be showing her video Armistice100 Santa Cruz to benefit local veteran groups and the Center for Spiritual Living. Armistice100 Santa Cruz documents the efforts of Santa Cruz Veterans For Peace Chapter 11, Armistice100 Santa Cruz and VFW Post 5888 to honor the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day last November. Johnson has worked with veterans-turned-peacemakers for 35 years, making videos of talks, concerts, protests, and marches. She documented Marines returning to Vietnam after 20 years

in 1989 and a Santa Cruz mayor’s delegation to Vietnam in 1995.

INFO: 7 p.m. The Center for Spiritual Living, 1818 Felt St., Santa Cruz. $10-$20.

Saturday 3/9

Estuary Restoration at the San Lorenzo

Historically, the San Lorenzo River has been home to abundant populations of coho salmon and steelhead trout. However, as an urban stream it has also seen significant land-use change that has highly impacted these species’ numbers. Join the California Conservation Corps and local environmental volunteers in weeding and replanting to reinforce stream banks and mitigate erosion at Mike Park, which will improve water quality in the San Lorenzo. Volunteers will remove weed suppression and invasive plants and weeds, spread mulch and plant native botanicals. All ages are welcome; don’t forget to bring closed-toed shoes, gardening gloves, water in a reusable bottle, and snacks. RSVP email or call required.

INFO: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Mike Fox Park, 225 San Lorenzo Blvd., Santa Cruz. 420-3931, li************@**aa.gov. Free.

A New-School Napa Winery

Josie Cowden

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March 5, 2019

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On a recent trip to Napa, we stopped by Ashes & Diamonds for a tasting. Friends had recommended this fairly new operation, both for the gorgeous wines and the unique mid-century-modern tasting room.

The brainchild of advertising executive Kashy Khaledi, a visit to Ashes & Diamonds is exciting and memorable. The winery’s 2014 Cabernet Franc ($75) is one of the better Cab Francs I have enjoyed in some time. Winemaker Steve Matthiasson has made a perfect, aromatic wine with enormous bold flavors. A blend of select vineyards from Napa Valley, one can almost taste the volcanic, clay and sandy soils from which the luscious black grapes sprang.

The Ashes & Diamonds team say their winemaking philosophy is simple: “A wine should be based on the quality of farming, minimal intervention in the cellar, and time-honored methods of healthy fermentation and harmonious blending.”

Khaledi strives to give the visitor not only world-class wines, but also a very memorable experience. He is the son of Darioush Khaledi, owner of the famous Darioush Winery in Napa, with its impressive entrance of Persepolis-style columns reminiscent of ancient Persia.

Ashes & Diamonds, 4130 Howard Lane, Napa. 707-666-4777, ashesdiamonds.com

Live Earth Farm

Along with its weekly delivery of fresh, organic produce, Live Earth Farm is now partnering with other local vendors.

Look for a hearty loaf of bread from Companion Bakeshop, pastas and pies from Pie Ranch in Pescadero, poultry and eggs from Sol Seeker Farm in Corralitos, and jams from Happy Girl Kitchen in Monterey. Additional partners include coffee from Hidden Fortress Roasters and honey from Rivas Bees and Carmel Honey.

Live Earth Farm, based in Watsonville, offers shoppers an abundance of choices for the weekly CSA (community-supported agriculture) delivery. And we can all look forward to the farm stand and U-pick opening again in May. In the meantime, you can find Live Earth at local farmers markets. Bonus: their nonprofit Farm Discovery educational programs (farmdiscovery.org) are integral to the farm’s community-supported success.

For more info on Live Earth Farm, including farm tours and field trips, visit liveearthfarm.net.

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

Catch of the Day

A California Michelin

CAPTAIN MARVEL

EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Water Education Series

The Real Irish Comedy Fest: Santa Cruz

‘Armistice100 Santa Cruz’

Estuary Restoration at the San Lorenzo

Live Earth Farm