Giveaway: GARY MEEK QUINTET

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Saxophonist Gary Meek spent two decades touring and recording with Brazilian jazz legends Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. His resume also includes collaborations with keyboardist and composer Jeff Lorber, bassist Brian Bromberg, drummer Dave Weckl and more. In total, Meek has appeared on 200-plus recordings. On June 21, the Encino-born, Monterey-based Meek brings his quintet, comprising Akili Bradley on trumpet and flugelhorn, Eddie Mendenhall on piano, Dan Robbins on bass, and Skylar Campbell on drums, to Santa Cruz.

INFO: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 21. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $21/adv, $26.25/door.


WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 13 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Love Your Local Band: LAUREN WAHL & SIMPLY PUT

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Lauren Wahl recalls being nervous singing harmony vocals on stage with her sister nine years ago with the band Bluetail Flies. Now, she’s not only a lot more comfortable on stage, she’s got her own band, and pushing her debut EP for her group, Lauren Wahl and Simply Put.

She started writing songs six years ago, after she took up the guitar. But for the most part, she only did a couple of open mics. She’d played in other groups, too, like the Wild Rovers and Flypaper Blues. Now she’s taking her songs that have mostly been confined to her bedroom out into the Santa Cruz scene.

“I’ve had this ambition for a long time,” Wahl says. “The songs have been around for years. I’ve been waiting to record them. So it’s been really neat to see everything take shape and come to life with everyone’s parts. I’m super excited.”

Initially, Wahl expected to record a solo album, but then she met fiddle player Mariah Roberts when both accompanied Austin Shaw at his EP release show in 2015. That initial recording time fell through. When she re-booked it for the beginning of this year, not only did she bring Roberts, but she had a full band, which included Mike Kelly on bass, Zen Perry on drums, Justin Hambly on guitar, and Dylan Short on keyboards.

“Everybody just kind of came together and wanted to play, and it just became this full band we weren’t expecting at all,” Wahl says. “The songs just come to life. They’re the same songs, but it’s different to hear them with an entire band behind them. [I’m] becoming more comfortable with myself and not feeling like I need to fit in with a certain genre or cater to a certain sound. I feel like it’s just OK whatever it is.”

Opinion May 30, 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE

I think sometimes when people see that someone has been named “artist of the year,” they gloss right over it. Especially if they don’t recognize the name, and even more so if they’re not particularly familiar with the art form.

That could certainly happen with this year’s Santa Cruz Artist of the Year winner Cheryl Anderson. Though she’s been a part of the Cabrillo community for nearly three decades, she has made her mark in choral music—which is way, way off the radar of most people.

What I love about this week’s cover story by Christina Waters is that it reminds us of the meaning of an award like Artist of the Year, and reveals the incredible story of the person whose name many of us might have otherwise glossed over. Believe me, once you meet Anderson in this story, and hear how she’s impacted and uplifted the lives of the people who have had the good fortune to sing with her and learn from her, you will absolutely understand why she is Artist of the Year, and why it matters. I think this is a huge part of GT’s mission as a part of the alternative press: to uncover and explain how people we may have never heard of, or whose work we may not have previously understood, are impacting our community. In a very positive way, in this case. Congratulations to Cheryl Anderson, and thanks for reading!


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

We Are Your Neighbors

Contrary to Robert Arko’s (GT, Letters, 5/22) unsupported assertion, those who support the quicker, cheaper, safer bike and pedestrian option for the railroad right-of-way are not “a small group of folks.” Rather, we are thousands of your neighbors and community members. Even the RTC admits that a passenger rail service will cost millions of tax dollars in subsidies that could be used for more sensible transit solutions, and will not significantly impact our current traffic problems. If there’s a small group of folks involved in this issue, it’s the transportation bureaucrats, construction execs, and nostalgia buffs who are pushing the expensive RailTrail boondoggle. I urge your readers to visit trailnow.org/rail-trail-questions to get a look at a reasonable proposal. Let’s start building our Santa Cruz Greenway now!

Mordecai Shapiro | Santa Cruz

Re: Rent Control

My rents have historically been under market. It has been better to keep tenants at reasonable rent rather than deal with turnover costs.

Unfortunately rent control is a game changer. I now need to “price in” the additional risk and costs associated. As my units vacate I need to increase rents significantly to cover additional tenant regulatory costs.

Most people don’t realize that rental units in a beach town work on a 2-3 percent rate of return. Think about that for a second. Would you be willing to deal with tenants, legal risks, potential catastrophes, city permitting bureaucracy and everything else for 3 percent? Just something to think about.

— Santa Cruz Resident and Rental Owner

Jacob, your articles are always well done. Your rail trail articles were excellent and this continues your good work.

On this subject we all have opinions, and I don’t live in the city limits, so I am not going to be affected by the Santa Cruz rent control. I am a empty-nester with a four-bedroom three-bath house. My wife and I have been doing work on our house to split it into a two-unit duplex. We have stopped all work on our project until we see if this will affect the rest of Santa Cruz County. We are a future rental already taken off the market, and we won’t be the last. This is a really bad idea for renters. It will shrink supplies and drive up costs for landlords which will have negative effects for anyone renting. I have four sons living in the area, and this will not help them as renters.

— Paul

Re: Trees on Ocean St. Extension

This is an excellent article. Our neighborhood (in Newark) is going through the same issues with PG&E and every point you make is a duplicate of what is going on here. Their supply line is less than 15 feet from our homes and they insist it is safe. But we think differently. We get different answers, or nonsensical answers, or no answers at all to our questions. Their reimbursements are pitifully inadequate. They are destroying our property and home values for no good reason that any of us can see except perhaps for PR and CYA purposes. They are refusing to meet with us as a group, rather insidiously approaching each individually. They use lies and threats and coercion to get their way. Is there some way for us to connect with people at your end so we can join forces and try to stem this nonsense?

— Lynne Mercer


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

LITTLE PICK-ME-UP

Big Pete’s Treats, a trailblazer in the world of California’s cannabis-infused cookie industry, is expanding its annual beach cleanups far beyond its Santa Cruz home. This year’s summer of environmental events is a tour starting in San Diego on Saturday, June 2, with five stops along California’s coast. This year’s effort, which won an environmental award from the San Francisco Chronicle, will culminate with a cleanup in Santa Cruz on Oct. 13 in honor of founder Pete Feurtado’s birthday.


GOOD WORK

GARDEN SUPPORTERS

The California Fertilizer Foundation (CFF) is a real group that apparently gives out grants, and it isn’t as crappy as it sounds! The CFF is hosting a presentation at noon on Wednesday, May 30, at Happy Valley Elementary School. The CFF School Garden Grant will fund improved soil quality for the school’s edible garden and help perennial plants attract pollinators. The school garden uses a Life Lab curriculum from UCSC to educate students about healthy food and nature through garden-based education.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“To be an artist is to believe in life.”

-Henry Moore

5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz the Week of May 30-June 5

Art Seen

‘Pride!’ PopUp Exhibit

This exhibit is centered around the the personal experiences of LGBTQ+ identifying individuals in Santa Cruz County. With themes from political rights, representation and intersectionality, the work of six local artists isn’t limited to just one idea or medium. This is a one-night-only event, so hop to it.  

INFO: 6-8 p.m. Friday, June 1. Santa Cruz Art League, 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz. 426-5787. scal.org. Free.

 

Green Fix

‘Plant Life’

You have tons of choices for arts viewing on First Friday, and the Art Cave is a particularly special one. A sweet nurturing arts incubator, the Art Cave was born out of a love of the arts and teaching art a few years ago. The latest exhibit, “Plant Life,” showcases plant-inspired art by 14 mostly local artists, including Art Cave co-founders Leigh Erickson and Danielle Peters. There are a few international artists featured, too. Meander over to its neighboring venues, the R. Blitzer Gallery, Idea Fab Labs, and Bluestone Imports, and you’ll see that there’s something for everyone.

INFO: 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 1. The Art Cave in the Old Wrigley Building. 2801 Mission St., Santa Cruz. facebook.com/theartcavesc. Free.

 

Sunday 6/3

Open Streets Watsonville

Summer is here, which means extra traffic and road rage. Wouldn’t it be nice if, just for a moment, there were no cars and no traffic? Open Streets Watsonville is a little break from summer traffic and a chance for families to play safely in the street. For one day, the intersection of Brennan and Union streets will be closed to all cars, creating a “pop-up park” for folks to bike, walk, play, skate, and dance in the street.

INFO: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Brennan and Union streets between Callaghan Park and the City Plaza. 425-0667. scopenstreets.org/watsonville. Free. Photo: Bill Bishoff.

 

Saturday 6/2 and Sunday 6/3

Redwood Mountain Faire

With more than 20 bands across two stages, arts and crafts and unlimited locally made food, beer, and wine, the county’s favorite Mountain Faire is back for its ninth year this weekend. Plopped in a grassy meadow among the oak trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Redwood Mountain Faire offers an idyllic experience beyond compare. This year’s lineup includes locals the Coffis Brothers and Mountain Men, San Francisco’s nine-piece tour-de-force: Midtown Social, and the Hackensaw Boys from Charlottesville. Proceeds benefit nearly 20 local organizations. Don’t forget a lawn chair and blanket for some well-deserved relaxation to kick off your summer, but please leave your furry friends and coolers at home.

INFO: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. The Meadow at Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. redwoodmountainfaire.com. $25-$45. Kids 12 and under free, $5 parking.

 

Sunday 6/3

Santa Cruz Pride

In this queer visibility action, members of our Santa Cruz community—organizations, allies, supportive groups, churches, candidates, ensembles, performers, parents, and children—will join together in pride, activism, enthusiasm and love. Pride kicks off with a parade beginning at Pacific Avenue and Church Street, and follows with a festival between Cathcart, Cedar, and Lincoln streets (where the Wednesday Farmers Market is). The festival features a stage and live performances from LGBTQ+ musicians, spoken word artists and more. All ages are welcome.

INFO: Parade begins at 11 a.m., festival at noon. Pacific Avenue and Church streets, Santa Cruz. santacruzpride.org. Free.

 

Friday 6/1-Sunday 6/3

‘The Realistic Joneses’

If you thought one Jones was enough, think again. In the spirit of neighborly love, Actors’ Theatre kicks off its season with Broadway’s hit comedy The Realistic Joneses with four whole Joneses, each as weird and unique as the next. The show features lots of local talent, laughs and a nightmarish situation in which a couple shares more than just a coincidental last name with their neighbors.

INFO: Friday and Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. Center Stage Theater. 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. sccat.org. $26 general, $23 students and seniors.

Local Talk for the Week of May 30, 2018

“Pippi Longstocking, because she’s very fun-loving, she has long pigtails and she’s very cute.  ”

Kathy Haliburton

Capitola
Wellness Specialist

“I would want to be Anne of Green Gables, because she is a ferocious personality with a huge imagination.  ”

Stephanie LaBaw

Santa Cruz
Teacher

“Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. She grew up learning to be a badass, and we got to watch the whole process. She’s a rock star.  ”

Asha

Santa Cruz
UCSC Admissions

“Trevor Noah. He has a witty way of talking about a dark past in his book Born a Crime, and I learned more about apartheid while laughing.  ”

Allison Cruz

Santa Cruz
Attorney

“Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, because I used to draw them as a child and I thought he was a dark devious person, but he was still a kid, so that’s how I feel I am inside.  ”

Jason Cruz

Santa Cruz
Brand Manager

Point Market’s Cali Burrito On Pointe

What doesn’t the Point Market have, I ask myself, scanning the shelves and other surfaces brimming with goods. My field of vision is filled with everything from sunscreen, toiletries and Sex Wax to Marianne’s ice cream, bottles of local wine and countless snacks. There’s also all of the candy I loved as a kid, the kombuchas and jun tonics I love as an adult and—no joke—at least 50 varieties of hot sauce. There’s an espresso machine and gluten-free cookies and—well, you get the picture.

But I’m here at this charming little market on East Cliff Drive, in the heart of the Pleasure Point neighborhood, for the burritos. Specifically, the Cali burrito, which I can never resist despite a long list of other burrito options sharing menu space with breakfast, tacos, burgers, sandwiches, poutine, quesadillas and smoothies—all extremely tempting.

But wrapped within the Cali burrito’s warm tortilla are zesty seasoned french fries, carne asada, beans, rice, creamy avocado, sour cream and melty cheese. It’s everything my California heart wants in a burrito, our unofficial state food. The friendly cashier behind the counter rattles off a list of salsa options that blur together, but gives me an insider’s tip: “You gotta get the spicy green.” I do, and I do not regret it.

One of the things I appreciate about the burritos at the Point is that I can choose a smaller burrito size. Yes, the large is only one dollar more and substantially more food, but I have moved on from the stage of my life where calories mean nothing. I want the joy of a burrito without the waste or reheating. A day-old burrito can simply not be revived, and I would rather not carry around a food baby that feels like a literal baby. For me, the small burrito is just enough.

The joys of the Point Market are many, and they’re spreading to Live Oak. Sister store Black Point Market on the corner of 14th Avenue and East Cliff Drive will offer similar products with a local vibe, with hopes to open in June.

 

Holy Wow Wow

Those who love the cult favorite sandwich will be happy to know that the new owners of Day’s Market reached out to say that the Tuna Wow Wow will live on, and Day himself has taught them its secret ways.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology May 30-June 5

Free Will Astrology for the week of May 30, 2018

ARIES (March 21-April 19): A critic described Leonardo da Vinci’s painting the Mona Lisa as “the most visited, most written about, most sung about, most parodied work of art in the world.” It hasn’t been sold recently, but is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Today it’s kept in the world-renowned Louvre museum in Paris, where it’s viewed by millions of art-lovers. But for years after its creator’s death, it enjoyed little fanfare while hanging in the bathroom of the French King Francois. I’d love to see a similar evolution in your own efforts, Aries: a rise from humble placement and modest appreciation to a more interesting fate and greater approval. The astrological omens suggest that you have more power than usual to make this happen in the coming weeks and months.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): These days, many films use CGI, computer generated imagery. The technology is sophisticated and efficient. But in the early days of its use, producing such realistic fantasies was painstaking and time-intensive. For example, Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Jurassic Park featured four minutes of CGI that required a year to create. I hope that in the coming weeks, you will summon equivalent levels of old-school tenacity and persistence and attention to detail as you devote yourself to a valuable task that you love. Your passion needs an infusion of discipline. Don’t be shy about grunting.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): On February 17, 1869, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleyev had an appointment with a local cheese-making company to provide his expert consultation. But he never made it. A blast of inspiration overtook him soon after he awoke, and he stayed home to tend to the blessed intrusion. He spent that day as well as the next two perfecting his vision of the periodic table of the elements, which he had researched and thought about for a long time. Science was forever transformed by Mendeleyev’s breakthrough. I doubt your epiphanies in the coming weeks will have a similar power to remake the whole world, Gemini. But they could very well remake your world. When they arrive, honor them. Feed them. Give them enough room to show you everything they’ve got.

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ninety-five percent of your fears have little or no objective validity. Some are delusions generated by the neurotic parts of your imagination. Others are delusions you’ve absorbed from the neurotic spew of other people’s imaginations. What I’ve just told you is both bad news and good news. On the one hand, it’s a damn shame you feel so much irrational and unfounded anxiety. On the other hand, hearing my assertion that so much of it is irrational and unfounded might mobilize you to free yourself from its grip. I’m pleased to inform you that the coming weeks will be an excellent time to wage a campaign to do just that. June can and should be Fighting for Your Freedom from Fear Month.

 

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): During the next four weeks, I’ll celebrate if you search for and locate experiences that will heal the part of your heart that’s still a bit broken. My sleep at night will be extra deep and my dreams extra sweet if I know you’re drumming up practical support for your feisty ideals. I’ll literally jump for joy if you hunt down new teachings that will ultimately ensure you start making a daring dream come true in 2019. And my soul will soar if you gravitate toward the mind-expanding kind of hedonism rather than the mind-shrinking variety.

 

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Everyone has a unique fate that’s interesting enough to write a book about. Each of us has at least one epic story to tell that would make people cry and laugh and adjust their thoughts about the meaning of life. What would your saga be like? Think about what’s unfolding right now, because I bet that would be a ripe place to start your meditations. The core themes of your destiny are currently on vivid display, with new plot twists taking your drama in novel directions. Want to get started? Compose the first two sentences of your memoir.

 

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Dear Oracle: I find myself in the weird position of trying to decide between doing the good thing and doing the right thing. If I opt to emphasize sympathy and kindness, I may look like an eager-to-please wimp with shaky principles. But if I push hard for justice and truth, I may seem rude and insensitive. Why is it so challenging to have integrity? – Vexed Libra.” Dear Libra: My advice is to avoid the all-or-nothing approach. Be willing to be half-good and half-right. Sometimes the highest forms of integrity require you to accept imperfect solutions.

 

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You have waited long enough to retaliate against your adversaries. It’s high time to stop simmering with frustration and resentment. Take direct action! I suggest you arrange to have a box of elephant poop shipped to their addresses. You can order it here: tinyurl.com/ElephantManure. JUST KIDDING! I misled you with the preceding statements. It would in fact be a mistake for you to express such vulgar revenge. Here’s the truth: Now is an excellent time to seek retribution against those who have opposed you, but the best ways to do that would be by proving them wrong, surpassing their accomplishments, and totally forgiving them.

 

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Marketing experts say that motivating a person to say yes to a big question is more likely if you first build momentum by asking them smaller questions to which it’s easy to say yes. I encourage you to adopt this slant for your own purposes in the coming weeks. It’s prime time to extend invitations and make requests that you’ve been waiting for the right moment to risk. People whom you need on your side will, I suspect, be more receptive than usual—and with good reasons—but you may still have to be smoothly strategic in your approach.

 

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I bet you’ll be offered at least one valuable gift, and possibly more. But I’m concerned that you may not recognize them for their true nature. So I’ve created an exercise to enhance your ability to identify and claim these gifts-in-disguise. Please ruminate on the following concepts: 1. a pain that can heal; 2. a shadow that illuminates; 3. an unknown or anonymous ally; 4. a secret that nurtures intimacy; 5. a power akin to underground lightning; 6. an invigorating boost disguised as tough love.

 

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When I was a kid attending elementary schools in the American Midwest, recess was a core part of my educational experience. For 45 minutes each day, we were excused from our studies so we could indulge in free-form play—outdoors, if the weather was nice, or else in the gymnasium. But in recent years, schools in the U.S. have shrunk the time allotted for recess. Many schools have eliminated it altogether. Don’t they understand this is harmful to the social, emotional, and physical health of their students? In any case, Aquarius, I hope you move in the opposite direction during the coming weeks. You need more than your usual quota of time away from the grind. More fun and games, please! More messing around and merriment! More recess!

 

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): For many years, actor Mel Blanc provided the voice for Bugs Bunny, a cartoon character who regularly chowed down on raw carrots. But Blanc himself did not like raw carrots. In a related matter, actor John Wayne, who pretended to be a cowboy and horseman in many movies, did not like horses. And according to his leading ladies, charismatic macho film hunk Harrison Ford is not even close to being an expert kisser. What about you, Pisces? Is your public image in alignment with your true self? If there are discrepancies, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to make corrections.

 

Homework: Each of us has a secret ignorance. Can you guess what yours is? What could you do about it? Freewillastrology.com.

Gemini – Bright Shiny One: Risa’s Stars May 30-June 5

Gemini, the third sign in the zodiac, is an air (mental) sign. Their minds are their strength. Ruled by Mercury who creates duality—and then Venus, synthesizing that duality—Gemini is endlessly curious, aware of the latest everything, like a breeze flowing through a meadow, chasing butterflies, a forked tongue, sometimes, who knows what will grab their fancy next time? Geminis are quick witted, expressive, and two personalities in one. Fun loving and restless, we never know where they are.

Gemini personifies duality (their spiritual task). One minute they’re here; the next moment, we can’t find them. Everything is done is at the speed of light—making friends with strangers, hopping here and there, gathering information with a possibility of superficiality and/or inauthenticity at times. A quick mind, followed by boredom, Gemini must always be involved in the study of something, anything, including music, art, dance, theater and writing. Finally, one day, when Gemini slows down, they study astrology, find their true selves, and become “white magicians.”

Gemini is about the hands and arms (dexterity). Geminis loves sports, games, films, books and everything social. They hear what others can’t hear. Geminis are ruled by Mercury; thus, they are communicative and clever, spontaneous, quick witted, and sometimes they gossip. They are always out and about in the world. Their task is to bring down to earth, in simple terms, what’s occurring in the popular culture so the masses of humanity can understand.

Gemini touches both heaven and earth, probing both. Never landing in one place for long. We love their intelligence. If we’re lucky, we’ll catch a glimpse of the “love that underlies their intelligence.” Just for a moment, though. Geminis are like the devas (bright & shining ones).

 


 

ARIES: A revolution, revelation, idea, dream or vision held long in your heart and mind, perhaps for years, comes more and more into form and matter, manifesting through using your creative imagination, creating visualizations. The next seven years—which seems like a long time, but is really only a blink in God’s eyes—brings forth what you’ve longed for, hoped for, and through your persistence you will love into existence. Then it must be shared.

TAURUS: You never lose sight of your vision or of the tasks you are to perform. No matter what occurs – surprising events, losses, people, ideas and hopes falling away – you know “love underlies all happenings of the times.” That love emerges from heavenly beings and stars and angels guiding our lives. Focus now only on what’s in front of you. Know choices, plans and events made during this time will slowly move forward.

GEMINI: Many thoughts, ideas, events and communications from the past return. This last month there was a need to externalize thoughts and be understood. This will continue as Mercury remains behind the scenes (in Taurus). Later, misinterpretations will turn around, lost friends may call. Much remains obscure so you can spiritualize all actions. Write each day’s events in your Esoteric Journal.

CANCER: You think about, ponder upon and consider goals for the coming months. You have expectations and ideals. Up to this point the goals and ideals of the past have served you. However, in the last several years, life has changed so radically that newer points of view are forming. This is also due to influences of health, and by friends, colleagues and family. You have been “reconstructed.”

LEO: Your creative life, art, photography and writing especially, are most important now. These constitute your real vocation, as they are closest to your heart. They define the gifts through which you can best assist others. It is through beauty. Pursuing your talents improves them more and more. What studies have you put off in recent years? Subscribe to an art magazine.

VIRGO: You think deeply so you can have clear perspective. Mortality (the idea and meaning of death, the reality of life after death) is something you will think about in the coming months. This is a healthy response to the changes occurring on our planet as the Pisces Age ends. There’s an underground river of communication between you and others. It’s not verbal or externalized. Fill that river with love.

LIBRA: This is a special time of connecting with other cultures and communicating with them. Share your heart with others and they, in turn, share with you. You might begin a monthly Conversation and Dinner Group, a Salon, or a Book and Dinner Club—gathering and discussing for greater perspectives. You like and need partnerships; they accomplish more than one person alone. Discuss everything with loved ones. You need love and care; this comes from open loving communication.

SCORPIO: We think we have free will—and we do, to an extent. We can choose what we do each day, somewhat. We can choose how we behave, sometimes. We can think about where we live, sometimes. But there’s a greater plan. It’s best to be more fluid and discover what that greater reality is that hovers over, influences, surrounds and penetrates our little wills and lives. It is the Soul. Make its acquaintance.

SAGITTARIUS: Great opportunities move toward you in their own time and place. You become more and more aware of this. Listen to all communications, from yourself and others, assessing carefully intent, purpose behind everything, everyone and all events. Messages can heal, wound, uplift, destroy, create, deny or be a refuge. Refuge (sangha) is greatly needed by you and everyone at this time. You are to offer it.

CAPRICORN: In your daily (successful, ambitious, up the ladder of) life, you find yourself needed in two places at once. Your mind is here, your body over there somewhere. This is the Gemini experience in the daily life of a Capricorn. You will attempt to bring a harmony and synthesis to this duality. Amidst constant changing vicissitudes and instability, you find poise, balance and harmony. And a field of bright orange flowers. This is the Soul. Call upon it each moment.

AQUARIUS: It’s best to be among the young, playful, innocent and childlike, romantic and creative. Then you will become these, too, discovering new outlets of art and creativity. You will see things in a newer, more golden light and your imagination will flow outward making your life filled with days of happiness and joy. Often you are toiling among life’s questions. At this time, just be the artist and futurist you’re meant to be.

PISCES: Know that everyone and everything in your environments love, care for and support you. Offer gratitude to them for being in your life at this very moment and all the future moments to come. Something’s ending. A new life will be built from the old, phoenix-like – a new community creating the foundation for newer and greater achievements. Bid the old realities adieu. They served their purposes well. You now have new promises to keep.

Allegretto Vineyards’ Rosé of Tannat

Tannat is a red wine grape historically grown in the Basque region of France. Not surprisingly, Basque settlers in Uruguay started making Tannat, and it is now one of the country’s major wine exports. Thankfully, Tannat is also produced in the United States, and Allegretto Vineyards makes one of the best.

We enjoyed a superb flight of Allegretto wines at Allegretto Resort & Spa in Paso Robles, which included a marvelous 2016 Rosé of Tannat ($25). Grapes are harvested from the estate vineyards on the resort’s property and made into this light-copper-colored Tannat Rosé—a gorgeous elixir with notes of anise, cinnamon and a smidgen of red cherries. Allegretto also makes two full-on Tannats ($55 and $80) as well as other reds, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Zinfandel. Allegretto’s whites include Chardonnay, Viognier and white-blend Duetto.

As well as Allegretto wines, the resort’s Cello Ristorante & Bar serves wines from across the globe—with many choices to pair with Cello’s rustic northern Italian cuisine and locally sourced ingredients. The Mediterranean-inspired décor is bright and casual, with friendly service to match. Cello is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and offers a daily Happy Hour from 3-6 p.m. It’s a marvelous place to dine after a day of wine tasting in Paso Robles. We shared a bottle of Allegretto Viognier over dinner, and it was the perfect pairing for our bountiful entrees of Frutti di Mare and Risotto del Giorno. Viognier is one of my favorites, and Allegretto makes such a good one (heady, perfumed and redolent with notes of peaches and flowers), that I was in Viognier heaven.

Surrounded by lush vineyards and manicured gardens, including a mesmerizing sound-emitting labyrinth, Allegretto Resort is an incredible place to stay. Owner Doug Ayres has gone to great lengths to make this a haven of beauty, harmony and tranquility, mingled with stunning artwork from the world over. He and winemaker Alan Kinne are turning out truly awesome wines—intense and impressive. A tasting at the resort is about $25 (refunded with a purchase) and wines can also be shipped.


Allegretto Vineyards and Wines, 2700 Buena Vista Drive, Paso Robles (just off Hwy. 46 East). 805-369-2526, allegrettowines.com.

Film Review: ‘Beast’

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If a “thriller” doesn’t have a lot of action, it had better come up with some other way to keep its audience riveted. The dark, edgy drama Beast manages this, big time—it has thrills to spare, but they come from a deft accumulation of detail. For his impressive debut feature, writer-director Michael Pearce crafts an eerie mood of unspecified menace in which anything might happen, and anyone might be capable of the most heinous actions. Trying to figure out whodunit—that weary cliché—is a puzzle that keeps us on the edge of our seats in Pearce’s capable hands.

There is no lack of candidates in the film’s contemporary village community on the isle of Jersey, off the southern coast of England. The town is on edge over a series of murders of young women. The serial-killer-on-the-loose motif is standard for the genre, but Pearce uses it as a launching pad to examine the tensions (emotional, psychological and cultural) already at work beneath the placid surface of this middle-class community.

At the heart of the story is twentysomething Moll, skillfully played with both presence and vulnerability by Irish singer and actress Jessie Buckley. Employed as a tour guide on one of the “granny buses” that cart visitors on holiday around the island, Moll’s demeanor is affable, yet reserved, under her mop of flame-red curls.

Her reservation is understandable when we see her at home within the family unit. Moll’s ferociously passive-aggressive Mum (Geraldine James) is the church choir mistress, determined to control Moll’s every thought, word, and deed with the same iron-fisted precision. She won’t tolerate any false notes in her daughter’s behavior, due to some transgression in Moll’s past to which her Mum makes dire allusions. And once Moll has been sufficiently berated, Mum insistently renews the fiction that they are now “friends” again.

In flight from her own suffocating birthday party one evening, Moll heads for the local dance club, parties all night, and ends up at dawn wandering the grassy cliffs above the seacoast with a man she barely knows. Who knows what might happen next, if not for the timely appearance of Pascal Renouf (Johnny Flynn, unsettling yet dynamic) with a shotgun, a Jeep, and a basketful of illegally poached rabbits.

Pascal is a reclusive young handyman living in an old stone cottage inherited from his parents far out on the edge of town. Despite, or perhaps because of, her mum’s stern objections, Moll begins a tentative flirtation with Pascal (she hires him to do some repair work around the house) that erupts into something much more intense. She admires his indifference to what other people think, and the freedom that comes with it. He responds to something wild inside her that everyone else has been trying to suppress for years.

Of course, as Moll parades Pascal around on the fringe of her mother’s elite circle, it develops that the handyman is a prime suspect in the murders. But it takes all the rest of the movie to unravel Pearce’s intricate layers. Clifford (Trystan Gravelle), a policeman investigating the killings, has an ulterior motive; he has a crush on Moll. What about that other guy picking up women at the club? In a bracing riff on the good-cop/bad-cop scene, the silver-haired police woman (Olwen Fouéré) in charge of the investigation, dismisses Clifford from the room to grill Moll with alarming intensity.

And what are we to make of the disturbing visions of home invaders in hoodies who terrorize Moll? Not every question is neatly wrapped up in Beast, but the stylish look of the movie, its dark heart, and the fascinating complexity of leads Buckley and Flynn make for a highly satisfying thriller.

Beast

*** (out of four)

With Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, and Geraldine James. Written and directed by Michael Pearce. A Roadside Attractions release. Rated R. 107 minutes.

 

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Film Review: ‘Beast’

Beast
Psychological thrills to spare in dark, edgy ‘Beast’
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