To me, Frisbee is a basic part of being from California. You grow up here, you learn to fling a plastic disc at your family and friends—it’s that simple. My dad has been into Frisbee since it first started getting big in SoCal in the mid-’60s, and I’ve been playing it with him from as far back as I can remember. Now I’m passing the tradition on to my 8-year-old daughter, who’s already hitting the sand for diving catches on Seabright Beach.
But despite knowing Santa Cruz was pretty much the center of the disc golf universe, I was always kind of intimidated by it. Mostly, I suppose, I didn’t know where to start. If you’re like me, I guarantee that Hugh McCormick’s guide to disc golf in this week’s Health and Fitness issue will transform your understanding of the sport. It’s definitely the most thorough look at disc golf I’ve ever read, and will hopefully be not only enlightening for newbies, but also useful for disc golf devotees.
Lauren Hepler also takes a look in this issue at our ever-evolving understanding of how CBD can be used to treat specific diseases. Here’s to your health!
I appreciate the opportunity to comment and correct an aspect of the recent and important article about driving under the influence of cannabis. I agree, of course, that any kind of impairment while driving a vehicle that causes a person to drive without sufficient care and caution is to be avoided and stopped by law enforcement. The article’s author wrongly stated that “Rice … doesn’t think law enforcement should test for THC.” What I was saying is that a THC result alone is not enough to convict someone. I have represented hundreds of people who were impaired or thought to be impaired by alcohol, cannabis, and virtually every other known drug. I absolutely believe that law enforcement should use all lawful tools available to determine whether someone is unsafe to drive. Whereas there are hundreds of studies that show virtually everyone is unsafe to drive at a .08 blood alcohol level, there is no comparable agreement that any particular amount of THC in a person necessarily means the person is an unsafe driver. The amount of THC in a person does contribute to that analysis, but alone is not enough. Other potential evidence has to include things like the officer’s observations of the driver, the results of the driver’s field sobriety tests, and the timing and frequency of the driver’s use of cannabis.
As exemplified by the driver in the story who crashed and killed their friend, using cannabis with other drugs, especially alcohol, is dangerous. Alone, cannabis has been shown to be significantly less dangerous than alcohol and many other “recreational” or prescription drugs.
Ben Rice
Santa Cruz
We wrongly characterized Rice’s position, and regret the error. — Editor
Here’s to #NoAmazonAugust
Bravo to Boulder Creek’s Jim Balkanloo! #NoAmazonAugust is an idea that is a long time coming and hopefully will gain some traction not only in Santa Cruz, but everywhere.
I have been coming to Santa Cruz all of my life. I love its quirky character and ability to maintain its integrity during changing times. Because Santa Cruz people care. It is one of the few places left anywhere that hasn’t sold its soul to corporate greed.
I am from Santa Barbara, a once cool, laid back beach town like here. Over the years, I have sadly watched greed take over. Skyrocketing rents forcing local businesses and families out. It has become another suburb of L.A. Our once-charming Main Street is full of chain stores and a Starbucks on every corner.
Please Santa Cruz, learn from this tragic lesson. Put your phones down, walk out into this beautiful place you live and buy from all of your fantastic local businesses. I will keep returning to Santa Cruz and supporting this community not only because I love this place, but because I also love giving money to real people. Thank you Santa Cruz for keeping it real!
Fiona Fairchild
Santa Barbara
Re: Patti Maxine
Mahalo nui loa for this beautiful article on the Icon, my friend Patti Maxine. I have known her for many years through the music scene and have enjoyed being in her Hawaiian genre stage performances from time to time. She has been a huge role model to other female musicians through the years, a massive contributor of talent to other genres and the Hawaiian communities around this Golden State as well! So, so happy that you wrote this sweet story about her journey of music loves, an honor and gift of aloha well deserved. I love you, the DIVINE Miss M., as I refer to her. Aloha!
— Faith Thompson Ako
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GOOD IDEA
The Soquel Creek Water District has secured $150,000 in federal funding for its Pure Water Soquel project to recharges its groundwater and rest wells with recycled wastewater. Meanwhile, UCSC’s Andrew Fischer has made significant findings in his studies of recharge in Pajaro Valley, with a study accepted into Water Research exploring how to remove harmful nitrates that can accumulate in runoff. His team showed that simply adding a layer of wood chips to the infiltration area can remove the nitrates from water by stimulating microbial activity in the underlying soil.
GOOD WORK
O’Neill Sea Odyssey’s Dan Haifley is preparing to sail off into the sunset—figuratively speaking anyway—as he prepares to retire from the educational nonprofit at the end of the year. The Sea Odyssey, which takes underprivileged kids on field trips aboard its catamaran, has tapped Cyndi Dawson to be the new director, starting Sept. 1. She’s currently the senior program manager at the Humboldt State University’s California Ocean Protection Council. A statement from Bridget O’Neill, released by Haifley, expressed excitement that Dawson “will help guide O’Neill Sea Odyssey into a future full of hope.”
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anderson East performs southern soul, R&B, Americana, roots, rock, blues and more.
The grandson of a Baptist preacher and the son of two church musicians, East has a soulful sound, an attention-grabbing voice and a passionate delivery that has the attention of fans, critics and even movie execs who deemed East a solid choice for inclusion on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. Catch the rising star on Aug. 21 at the Catalyst.
INFO: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $22/door. 423-1338.
WANT TO GO?
Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 13 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.
Live music highlights for the week of August 8, 2018.
WEDNESDAY 8/8
INDIE
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
A Canadian indie rock band that’s been around since the late ’90s, Broken Social Scene is as much an ever-evolving musical collective as a clearly defined group. Formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, the band’s membership has ranged from as few as six people to as many as 19. The lack of strict confines extends to the band’s sound, as well, as members take an experimental approach to making music, drawing from all of their diverse musical backgrounds and interests. Described loosely as baroque pop, the Broken Social Scene sound includes guitars, strings, woodwinds, horns and more, swirling together in unexpected ways—sometimes lovely, sometimes chaotic, but always interesting. CAT JOHNSON
A three-piece out of La Honda, Three on the Tree throws it back to the classic country era with smooth and swinging covers of favorites like “Walkin’ After Midnight” and “Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” as well as solid originals that pay tribute to country pioneers and contribute new sounds and stories to the genre. Comprising Jerry B. Logan on guitar and vocals, Freddy Deubert on drums and harmonies, and Noah Hall on bass and harmonies, Three on the Tree will help you forget your 21st century blues. CJ
Yodeling seems like a lost art form—at least until you hear some young artist kick down serious chops. Maddie Leigh, who’s still a teenager by the way, is starting to make a name for herself in the Southern California country scene. She got her start as an ambitious young yodeler; at 15, she released a cover of old-timey-style country song “Little Lady Who,” and in it yodels like a boss. The next year, she started releasing her own singles, super catchy country-pop songs like “Wishing” and “Some Will Call It Love.” AARON CARNES
Drawing inspiration from legendary classic rock bands like the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, the Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Apple City Slough Band adds Americana elements and a jam band ethos. The band hails from Watsonville, which was nicknamed “Apple City” 100 years ago due to the abundance of apple orchards in the area. This Friday, the Apple City Slough Band joins folk singer-songwriter Patrick Maguire for an evening of rock, Americana and folk music. CJ
INFO: 8:30 p.m. Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.
FRIDAY 8/10
REGGAE
FREDDIE MCGREGOR
Back in the ’60s in Jamaica, people used to refer to Freddie McGregor as “Little Freddie.” He was only 7 years old, but already he was recording at the famous Studio One as part of the Clarendonians. It was in the late ’70s that he became a star in his own right, starting with the release of his debut album Bobby Babylon in 1979. As the ’80s progressed, McGregor would go on to see his most successful years with songs that were both political and deeply religious to his Rastafarian faith. AC
Whenever hip-hop fans—or the artists themselves—argue about who’s the realest and who’s a poser, there’s one name that is never questioned: Immortal Technique. For two decades, he has delivered some of the most real no-holds-barred lyrics about presidents, politics, celebrities and everything in-between. One hundred percent completely independent, he has built his own career from the ground up as a champion rap battler to a world-renowned artist teaching revolutionary ideals to hungry minds. MAT WEIR
Normally, you have to choose between a band being crazy-weird-psychedelic and pushing out spastic high-energy tunes. Not so with Wand. These guys crank out manic tracks with mind-expanding madness. At least that was the best way to describe the L.A. five-piece’s first three records. On last year’s Plum, the group took a sharp left turn and wrote a record that’s almost math-rock, yet actually toned down a bit in terms of energy. This year’s Perfume seems to be a retrospective of every type of song the group can write, with some new tricks in the bag as well. This group only started five years ago, and already they are in their second, maybe third phase. AC
Everyone seems to want a piece of Emmet Cohen. At 28, the pianist has been recruited by some of jazz’s most formidable bandleaders, holding his own with commanding drummers Herlin Riley and Ali Jackson while touring and recording with bass maestro Christian McBride. An accompanist B-3 organist, he’s also made a name for himself as a producer/player eager to document senior legends on his Masters Legacy Series featuring albums by drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassist Ron Carter (with sessions by Benny Golson, Tootie Heath and George Coleman to come). He draws on an expansive array of jazz idioms in his own trio, a fiercely swinging combo featuring Jamaican-born bassist Russell Hall, a protégé of Ron Carter’s at Juilliard, and drummer Evan Sherman, who also performs with the Jimmy Heath Big Band and Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $26.25/adv, $31.50/door. 427-2227.
It took a long time for local musician Gary Blackburn to write “What’s it Going to Take,” a song about his son Alex, who passed away in 2001 before turning 13.
“It took time for me to really get past the total badness and grieving and start thinking I needed to make positive things out of this,” Blackburn says. “I need to move forward. I need to write it out to help my healing process.”
The response to the song has been incredible, he says. The organization Compassionate Friends, which supports grieving parents, even flew him out to their annual convention to perform the song. The group helped him in his time of need, and he’s done what he can to reciprocate. Since 2016, he’s been throwing an annual benefit for the organization at Flynn’s Cabaret (formerly Don Quixote’s) on his birthday. This year, he’s moving it to Michael’s on Main.
“He was such a character. Such a fun guy. He’s my inspiration,” Blackburn says of his son. “Alex changed the way I wrote songs. Before, it seemed like I wrote nicely crafted tunes, but [they were] sappy love songs. Now they’re much more deep.”
Blackburn is a singer-songwriter with rock, country, blues and Americana roots. He was heavily involved in the local scene from the late ’70s until 1989, when his son—then 5 months old—got sick. He stopped playing music for a while, first dealing with his son’s health, and then later the grieving that came with his passing. In 2011, he joined the alt-country band UTurn, and slowly started playing live more. He is releasing his solo album Streaks of Gray at this show, but he’s not spotlighting it. This event is about Alex and it’s about Compassionate Friends. Even sales from his album go to support the organization.
“I’m hoping whoever hears it can relate to it and connect to it in some kind of way,” Blackburn says. “I want to do something other than just a birthday party gig kind of thing.”
INFO: 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. Michael’s on Main, 2591 S Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.
The view from Loma Prieta’s tasting room is not the only reason to go there—their wines are spectacular. At 2,600 feet, the elevation offers a breathtaking panorama of the Monterey Bay.
Although Loma Prieta makes around a dozen different wines, it is known far and wide for its Pinotage. Pinotage is a rare wine in California, so it’s exciting to find plentiful quantities at Loma Prieta. Not only do they have their own estate vineyard of Pinotage, but they also get Pinotage grapes from wherever they find a good source. Fruit for the 2014 Pinotage ($45) was harvested in Amorosa Vineyard in Lodi, an ideal area for growing the warm-weather-loving Pinotage grape.
Smoky plum and grilled lamb aromas greet the nose, with touches of clove and caraway. On the palate, a wide array of flavors, including soy and tamari, grilled ripe plums, blueberries, sage, marionberry pie, and strong tea, give unique complexity to this interesting wine.
The winery suggests you enjoy it with grilled sausages and hot dogs with spicy mustard, or a salami and provolone sub with peppers, oregano and olive oil.
Loma Prieta Winery is a beautiful place to visit. It has picnic tables, a bocce ball court, giant chess/checker board, and a telescope—all available to the customer.
I end this article on a very sad note: Owner and winemaker Paul Kemp passed away on July 1 due to complications following surgery. I’m sure he would love you to toast him with a glass of his Pinotage.
Loma Prieta Wiinery, 26985 Loma Prieta Way, Los Gatos, 408-353-2950. lomaprietawinery.com. Visit the website for accurate directions to their tasting room.
Chaminade Farm-to-Table Dinner
Looking for something fun and fabulous to do on the weekend? Then head to Chaminade Resort for their next farm-to-table dinner, which will feature Summit to Sea wineries—Burrell School, Loma Prieta and Wrights Station.
The al fresco evening kicks off with passed hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m.—with plentiful wine from three wonderful wineries. The event is Friday, Aug. 10 and tickets are $110 all inclusive.
In the ever-widening world of weed chemistry, one active ingredient has emerged as the breakout wellness star of California’s legal cannabis market—and it’s not the one that gets you high.
First discovered in the 1940s and demonized during the post-Reefer Madness era, CBD—a cannabinoid like its better-known psychoactive cousin, THC—has reemerged in the world of legal cannabis as a pain-and-anxiety-relieving alternative to more psychoactive cannabis products, as well as to synthetic painkillers like opioids.
“Everyone’s initial thought with the adult use was we would see a large increase in recreational use,” says Jessica Kim, a product specialist at KindPeoples Collective. “It’s increased a lot on the medical side, even though these folks don’t have medical recommendations.”
Across the board, Kim says much of the demand for CBD products at KindPeoples stems from either newcomers or older customers returning after a long break from cannabis.
“They’ll come in and say, ‘I don’t want to get high, but this is what’s wrong with me.’”
From anxiety to arthritis to Crohn’s disease to neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease, would-be patients are now inundating a growing number of CBD purveyors, from organic grocery stores selling less-concentrated hemp derivatives to cannabis dispensaries like KindPeoples that offer a wide array of CBD blends.
CBD’s medical potential has been an area of interest for researchers since around 1980, when isolated studies started to show positive effects of CBD treatment for conditions including epilepsy. Since then, larger-scale studies were severely constrained by prohibition, and research in the U.S. is just now beginning to systematically evaluate CBD’s efficacy to treat specific symptoms.
Key to the perceived wellness benefits of CBD is the way the chemical interacts with cell receptors in the endocannabinoid system, which helps regulate the body’s neurological system, stress levels, sleep cycle, memory and other functions. “CBD kind of selectively fits into the receptors in your brain that THC would normally go into,” Kim says. “It just doesn’t impart that psychological high people are used to.”
With the range of CBD oils, vaporizers and topical creams on the legal market growing by the day, such products are a prime example of the way consumers frustrated with high-cost, pharmaceutical-centric healthcare are seeking new regimens of personalized medicine.
This year, Santa Cruz massage and bodywork studio Vital Body Therapy became the first in town to offer CBD massage. “Over 65 percent [of our clients] say that they come to us to manage their chronic pain. So, when over 80 people chose the CBD massage the first month we offered it, we were further convinced that people are committed to finding alternative ways to manage their pain instead of using opioids,” says Kelly Stoll in an email.
Owners Stoll and Jennifer Galvin also now offer a growing range of custom-formulated CBD massage creams, balms and an epsom soak sold by recently-launched sister company Vital Body Therapeutics.
If the world of CBD seems vast, that’s because it is. Key to the appeal of CBD topical creams, oils and vaporizers is that products offer different ratios of CBD to THC—or CBD-only products available over the counter—which Kim says can be tailored to different symptoms.
For neurological conditions like Parkinson’s—a more recent area of focus for CBD wellness advocates—Kim recommends products with high ratios of CBD, starting around 20 parts CBD to 1 part THC. The ratio of THC is often higher for epilepsy patients and those looking to treat autoimmune diseases like Chron’s Disease and IBS. For acute pain, like arthritis, Kim recommends more balanced ratios of 2-to-1 or 1-to-1 to take full advantage of THC’s strong analgesic effects.
Even if there’s no shortage of demand for CBD, the economics of such products are still evolving. Hemp-based products, for instance, don’t carry the 15-percent state-mandated excise tax for cannabis products, and Kim says dispensaries are often able to discount larger quantities. Still, the products don’t come cheap—weighing in around $60 for a 1,000 mg tincture combining CBD and essential oils at KindPeoples.
Vital Body Therapy strives to offer reduced-price body work on a case-by-case basis to clients who cannot afford it—many of whom are also members of Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM).
“It’s truly a choice people are making based upon their own history of addiction or powerful stories of family members and friends who have died from opioid overdosing that started with a simple prescription to help manage their pain,” says Stoll.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa writes that in the Arab world, to say a mere “thank you” is regarded as spiritless and ungenerous. The point of communicating gratitude is to light up with lively and expressive emotions that respond in kind to the kindness bestowed. For instance, a recipient may exclaim, “May Allah bless the hands that give me this blessing,” or “Beauty is in the eyes that find me beautiful.” In accordance with current astrological omens, I propose that you experiment with this approach. Be specific in your praise. Be exact in your appreciation. Acknowledge the unique mood and meaning of each rich exchange.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you need this advice from mythologist Joseph Campbell: “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” He says it’s “a rescue land . . . some field of action where there is a spring of ambrosia—a joy that comes from inside, not something external that puts joy into you—a place that lets you experience your own will and your own intention and your own wish.” Do you have such a place, Taurus? If not, now is a great time to find one. If you do, now is a great time to go there for a spell and renew the hell out of yourself.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When he was 20 years old, future U.S. President Thomas Jefferson had an awkward encounter with a young woman who piqued his interest. He was embarrassed by the gracelessness he displayed. For two days afterward, he endured a terrible headache. We might speculate that it was a psychosomatic reaction. I bring this up because I’m wondering if your emotions are also trying to send coded messages to you via your body. Are you aware of unusual symptoms or mysterious sensations? See if you can trace them back to their source in your soul.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): There’s a zone in your psyche where selfishness overlaps generosity, where the line between being emotionally manipulative and gracefully magnanimous almost disappears. With both hope and trepidation for the people in your life, I advise you to hang out in that grey area for now. Yes, it’s a risk. You could end up finessing people mostly for your own good and making them think it’s mostly for their own good. But the more likely outcome is that you will employ ethical abracadabra to bring out the best in others, even as you get what you want, too.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You probably gaze at the sky enough to realize when there’s a full moon. But you may not monitor the heavenly cycles closely enough to tune in to the new moon, that phase each month when the lunar orb is invisible. We astrologers regard it as a ripe time to formulate fresh intentions. We understand it to be a propitious moment to plant metaphorical seeds for the desires you want to fulfill in the coming four weeks. When this phenomenon happens during the astrological month of Leo, the potency is intensified for you. Your next appointment with this holiday is Aug. 10 and 11.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In her poem “Dogfish,” Virgo poet Mary Oliver writes, “I wanted the past to go away, I wanted to leave it.” Why? Because she wanted her life “to open like a hinge, like a wing.” I’m happy to tell you, Virgo, that you now have more power than usual to make your past go away. I’m also pleased to speculate that as you perform this service for yourself, you’ll be skillful enough to preserve the parts of your past that inspire you, even as you shrink and neutralize memories that drain you. In response to this good work, I bet your life will open like a hinge, like a wing—no later than your birthday, and most likely before that.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libra fashion writer Diana Vreeland (1903-1989) championed the beauty of the strong nose. She didn’t approve of women wanting to look like “piglets and kittens.” If she were alive today, she’d be pleased that nose jobs in the U.S. have declined 43 percent since 2000. According to journalist Madeleine Schwartz writing in Garage magazine, historians of rhinoplasty say there has been a revival of appreciation for the distinctive character revealed in an unaltered nose. I propose, Libra, that in accordance with current astrological omens, we extrapolate some even bigger inspiration from that marvelous fact. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to celebrate and honor and express pride in your idiosyncratic natural magnificence.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.” This definition, articulated by author Isaac Asimov, will be an excellent fit for you between now and Sept. 20. I suspect you’ll be unusually likely to feel at peace with yourself and at home in the world. I don’t mean to imply that every event will make you cheerful and calm. What I’m saying is that you will have an extraordinary capacity to make clear decisions based on accurate appraisals of what’s best for you.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I’ve compiled a list of new blessings you need and deserve during the next 14 months. To the best of my ability, I will assist you to procure them. Here they are: a practical freedom song and a mature love song; an exciting plaything and a renaissance of innocence; an evocative new symbol that helps mobilize your evolving desires; escape from the influence of a pest you no longer want to answer to; insights about how to close the gap between the richest and poorest parts of yourself; and the cutting of a knot that has hindered you for years.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “It has become clear to me that I must either find a willing nurturer to cuddle and nuzzle and whisper sweet truths with me for six hours or else seek sumptuous solace through the aid of eight shots of whiskey.” My Capricorn friend Tammuz confided that message to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were feeling a comparable tug. According to my assessment of the Capricorn zeitgeist, you acutely need the revelations that would become available to you through altered states of emotional intelligence. A lavish whoosh of alcohol might do the trick, but a more reliable and effective method would be through immersions in intricate, affectionate intimacy.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Not even five percent of the world’s population lives in a complete democracy. Congratulations to Norway, Canada, Australia, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Sweden. Sadly, three countries where my column is published—the U.S., Italy, and France—are categorized as “flawed democracies.” Yet they’re far better than the authoritarian regimes in China and Russia. (Source: The Economist.) I offer this public service announcement as a prelude to your homework assignment. According to my astrological analysis, you will personally benefit from working to bring more democracy into your personal sphere. How can you ensure that people you care about feel equal to you, and have confidence that you will listen to and consider their needs, and believe they have a strong say in shaping your shared experiences?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Mystic poet Kabir wrote, “The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower withers.” He was invoking a metaphor to describe his spiritual practice and reward. The hard inner work he did to identify himself with God was the blooming flower that eventually made way for the fruit. The fruit was his conscious, deeply felt union with God. I see this scenario as applicable to your life, Pisces. Should you feel sadness about the flower’s withering? It’s fine to do so. But the important thing is that you now have the fruit. Celebrate it! Enjoy it!
Homework: If you could make money from doing exactly what you love to do, what would it be? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.
Uranus retrograded on Tuesday this week, joining the other retrogrades (Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron) in this unusual retrograde season. Uranus is one of the “outer planets, beyond the personality-building planets (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars), and the social (Jupiter and Saturn) planets.
Uranus (seventh planet from the Sun and Ray 7) is the planet of the Aquarian Age, of electricity, change, innovation, discovery, revolution and revelations. Uranus brings surprises and many things yet unimagined. When Uranus is retrograde (till 2019), we have inner stirrings, unusual revelations, and the rules of thinking shift and change, we think unusual things, much of which are of the future. Uranus works in sudden ways and is called the Great Awakener, and it is we (humanity) who are “awakened,” with quick liberating results. Uranus overturns conventions and traditions, allowing all that has outlived its usefulness to fall away.
Which brings us to Saturday’s new moon, solar eclipse. During solar eclipses, something essential, its job complete, falls away. Uranus retrograde and the new moon solar eclipse support each other. Both making room for the new to come forth. Uranus brings social change to our world. Retrograde Uranus prepares us for revolutionary changes, revelations that may shock us in the next year. Listen for hints (Q) till then. For now, we are in the calm before the storm! Addenda: questions need to be asked about the California firestorms.
ARIES: It’s important to assess with truthfulness what you know, recognizing your knowledge as a gift to be shared with others. You can be strong-willed and driven with self-confidence and authority. However, your fire quickly extinguishes and your attention shifts elsewhere. It’s important to acknowledge others’ points of view. Allow others to share their accomplishments. Then you become a true source of real leadership to be emulated.
TAURUS: You remember many things from the past. Much about family and friends that will reappear. Don’t allow other people’s beliefs, criticisms or behaviors to offend or deter you. Identify with your own thoughts, ideas and intuition. It’s important to feel secure with the information you present to others. However, do not present unusual ideas and visions to those who will either appropriate or test you with them. Maintain protection.
GEMINI: Filled with ceaseless curiosity you interact with everyone and everything. Many may want to communicate with you. Listen to what they have to say. Some may be important. Notice indecision. It reflects the dual nature of our world. Careful with distractions and complete what you’ve begun. Do only what keeps your mind agile, interested, directed, and focused. You’re to initiate the intelligent new narratives we need to hear.
CANCER: It’s important to ponder deeply upon the more essential decisions you need to make. You must have all the facts, be practical, proceeding slowly. There’s value in taking your time, contemplating different choices. This gives you focus for significant decisions. Determination colors all your actions these days. You’re developing a greater level of concentration. Concentration is the first level of meditation (the Leo level).
LEO: Your voice is stronger, more powerful, more outspoken than usual. You might say things you don’t mean or didn’t think about. Your tone may have changed, too. Arguments and intellectual competition, irritability, impatience, and impulsiveness seem to have cropped up. Concentration is almost impossible so you make quick decisions. All of this makes you more creative, dexterous and getting to the heart of what matters. You’re on the “burning grounds.” Be fierce.
VIRGO: You’re able to communicate with the dream world, with angels and devas, the angelic builders in the plant kingdom. All decisions made will be based on an instinctual sense of things. You may encounter mysteries not understood. Use your imagination, envisioning the world you want to live in. Stand firm within your own beliefs while listening carefully to what others believe. Our minds change when we learn more.
LIBRA: It is good to seek recognition for your professional work. You’ve worked hard, gaining success and status, climbing every step of the ladder. You’ve been generous with your knowledge, time and skills. You rule with a keen sense of ethics and order. Your pride in your work and the many decisions that helped you reach that state is good and appropriate. It’s also essential to remember those who helped along the way. Who are they? Thank them.
SCORPIO: Much of your knowledge has been gained through experiencing the underbelly of life here on Earth (a Mystery school). You have a keen awareness of sorrow and pain, of betrayal, trust and mistrust. You have a sense of ethics and justice. Your most important task is the quest for truth and through this truth a sense of identity emerges. Knowing all that you know, you could rule the world. You know the danger, though.
SAGITTARIUS: You shine like the Sun. You realize you’ve worked long and hard to be able to shine. You’ve gained strength, expanded borders, extended horizons, projected yourself into fields and hoped to make the world better. You lead others through dramatic explanations. You love your heritage and a sense of self-identity has resulted. When you over-act you pay the consequences. But always you win in the end. Don’t let your crown slip.
CAPRICORN: Your determination has always been your great strength. You search for greater inner identity when sharing resources with another. With that “other,” good changes occur in your life. This allows all that’s hidden to come into the light. Remember anger, sadness, disquietude, and unsettledness present you with a message. You’re perhaps overtired, overwhelmed, needing rest and a respite. Contemplate these things. Remain in the garden.
AQUARIUS: Sometimes, in trying to understand relationships, you allow others to have more power. Eventually you become depressed with this situation and wonder what’s wrong. It’s not good for you to remain in the shadows. You need equality, care, excitement and a deepening love so you can begin to trust and settle down. It’s good that others recognize your leadership skills. You bring the future to humanity. Gracefully.
PISCES: It’s good to realize you’re at the helm—the organizer, achiever and advisor of your life with rules and a time watch. Few see or recognize these qualities of responsibility. It’s as if everything’s falling away (again) and disappearing. Placing your entire heart into work can make the nerves suffer. Subtle changes will occur over time. Visualize and imagine, draw and paint, in detail, your perfect and precious life. Clouds never obscure the bright golden sunshine of your very own perfect self.
I’ve tried quite a few hacks to simplify or improve my time in the kitchen, but nothing has made as much of a difference as subscribing to Live Earth Farm’s CSA.
For a long time, I resisted joining the community-supported agriculture program—which delivers a box of produce from Live Earth and other nearby farms to a pickup location every week—despite the fact that I frequently shop at our amazing local farmers markets. I assumed it would be too expensive and inconvenient, and that I would end up supplementing my subscription with trips to the grocery store anyway. I could not have been more wrong, and am still impressed with all of the ways it has been a positive introduction into my life.
For starters, the quality of their organic produce is exceptional. Each week, I can’t help but swoon a little over the dry-farmed tomatoes, butterball potatoes, dark leafy greens, young onions, cute bunches of radishes or luscious strawberries still warm from the sun. Having just come from their farm outside of Watsonville, everything is fresh. Oddly enough, I thought I might miss shopping, but I’ve found having the choices made for me (and knowing they’re picking the best each week) is liberating.
Live Earth also lets you know what’s coming before you pick it up, and their online hub makes it easy to substitute or add in additional produce. This summer, my zucchini plant has taken over my garden, so I’ve been opting out of summer squash and doubling up on stone fruit and berries. You can also add bread from Companion Bakeshop, preserves from Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove, pastured eggs and other pantry staples.
I’ve also been surprised at how much money I’ve saved. Each share is around $25 a week, and even with veggie-centric diets, my boyfriend and I struggle to eat it all before the next pick-up. And I’ve discovered that by not going to the store multiple times a week, I’ve actually saved money in grocery store impulse buys.
But the best part is how good it feels to support our local farmers and sustainable agriculture directly. I knew it would be delicious, but I didn’t realize it would be this easy.
The little-known story of how disc golf took Santa Cruz by siege.
The Local Star: Shasta Criss
Santa Cruz pro Shasta Criss caught the disc golf bug relatively early—as a high schooler in 1992. The black-bearded 41-year-old traveling pro plays on the Disc Golf Association’s ProLine team, and feels most comfortable playing both tournaments and casual rounds in a zip-up hoodie and baseball hat.
Criss is a seasoned professional, with 21 career wins and more than $60,000 in career earnings, but he fondly remembers how it all started. He began playing his “home course” of DeLaveaga, lovingly referred to as “DeLa,” with a group of his buddies and a single disc in the early ’90s. In college, he was playing disc golf more regularly, and then, after taking a five-year hiatus where he was “trying to figure out life,” he came back to the sport shocked and inspired at how much the game had changed.
“When I started playing again around 2002, the disc and plastic technology had changed dramatically,” says Criss. “I saw people throwing shots I didn’t know were possible. I wanted to throw like that and get good at disc golf.”
He soon began devoting more time and energy to “the beautiful game,” working long nights so he could spend all day at DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course—playing multiple rounds of the 29 holes, incrementally improving his putts, drives and approach shots.
While still an amateur in 2005, Criss decided to play his first tournament, the Faultline Classic. “It was a pro-only tournament, but I didn’t care,” he says. “I just wanted to play.”
His horrible finish didn’t deter him in the slightest, and he started playing in more and more tournaments. His finishes became better, and he became better. Way better.
In 2006 he began playing pro, and four years after jumping into the world of competitive disc golf, Criss won his first tournament, the 2010 Faultline Classic, at the age of 33.
Criss’s proudest accomplishments came last year, when he won two national tournaments—Oregon’s Beaver State Fling and the Masters Cup, held every year at DeLaveaga. Since turning 40 in 2016, he now competes in the Masters Division.
Playing the sport that he adores, and currently in the middle of the longest tour of his career—a string of big tournaments that will take him clear across the country and back in his retrofitted van—Criss is living his dream.
FOR THE W Shasta Criss secured a recent Pro Masters win at the Minnesota Majestic. PHOTO: REBECCA HEIAM
Criss believes the sport has a pretty quick learning curve. “People can get good after a year or two. It took me a long time to get good, but once I had the desire to I saw results and improved quickly,” he says.
Pros will typically carry 20-plus discs with them, and multiples of the same disc, but he believes that all beginners need is one disc to start. Once you figure it out a little, then it’s time to throw different discs. For less than $10, those new to the sport can buy a midrange driver than will fly straight with little side to side movement.
“A midrange driver is perfect for learning, because they’re easier to control,” he says.
Criss calls the disc golf community a “tribe” that spans all walks of life and is growing across the country and world. The love of the flying disc and the game creates a bond that he says is indescribable.
“On tour there is one constant: your friends and fellow competitors,” says Criss. “The camaraderie is what really makes the game special.” Criss says that he is “beyond stoked” to be a part of a disc golf family that continues to grow.
Even though Criss is a globe traveling, touring professional his heart he will always live in Santa Cruz County. This is where he picked up his first “magical” disc—this is where the love affair was born.
DISC DIEHARD A disc golf enthusiast at the DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course shows off a permanent homage to the sport. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER
When Tom Schot designed and built DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course in 1984, he could have never imagined how popular—or how important—it would become.
DeLa is where Criss honed his skills. It also remains a top bucket-list destination for almost any disc golfer. Everyone in the sport has heard of DeLa, and the legendary course is the home of California’s largest tournament, the Masters Cup, now in its 33rd year.
“It’s pretty amazing to see how much disc golf has grown in Santa Cruz County, and what it is today,” Criss says.
A 29-hole wooded and highly technical disc-golf-wonderland, DeLa has single handedly made Santa Cruz County a world-class disc golf mecca. Mythical holes like “the Fridge, “the Lady,” and of course “the Top of the World,” bring thousands of locals and disc golf pilgrims to DeLa each year.
But while DeLa is undeniably the biggest and baddest local course we have, it isn’t the only game in town.
“My first love will always be DeLa, but Black Mouse in Felton is definitely worth the trip,” says Criss. The short technical course set among the redwoods on a steep slope in the San Lorenzo Valley offers a unique and exciting challenge for disc golfers of all skill levels.
For true beginners, Aptos High’s modest course has plenty of baskets that are perfect for practicing short drives, approaches, and putts. If you’re willing to travel to Monterey, Criss is a big fan of the two courses at Cal State Monterey Bay, and the “user friendly” course at Ryan Ranch.
Being a disc golf pro in Santa Cruz County certainly has its perks. The first is the weather; disc golf diehards can play year round. The second is competition. Courses like DeLa attract solid competitors to smaller monthly tournaments, and to big tourneys like the Masters Cup in the spring and Faultline Classic in the fall.
The DeLaveaga Disc Golf Club hosts a wide variety of events and tournaments perfect for getting your feet wet. Bag Tag nights, held every Tuesday at DeLa, attract pros and novices alike, and are sublime arenas for learning rules and techniques, skill building, and offer a fun and casual way to get into competing.
“Playing with more experienced players is the best way to get better,” says Criss. He adds that he will always be a student of the game. “No two rounds are the same,” he says. “There is always something to learn and get better at.”
Just a decade ago, most people would scoff at the idea of a “professional disc golfer.” But today, says Criss, “there are more and more people making a living off the sport. It is important however that we remember our roots and origins as the game grows into something bigger than we ever expected.”
Throws of Passion: The Disc Golf Origin Story
Disc golf didn’t start with a bang. Instead, it started with a Wham-O—and a man affectionately known as Steady Eddie.
While the age-old question of who played disc golf first remains a heated topic argued over many a pint, there’s no denying that the sport as we know it today wouldn’t exist without the tireless and steady efforts of Ed Headrick.
A serial inventor and top engineer at the Wham-O toy conglomerate (which also brought the world the Hula Hoop, the Slip ’N Slide, and the Hacky Sack, among other things), Headrick is credited with inventing the world’s first Frisbee in 1966.
For many years, Frisbee golf really didn’t fit into the promotional plans Wham-O had for its flying pieces of plastic. Pretty much from day one, however, small groups across the nation were using the Wham-O projectiles to play the earliest games of Frisbee golf. Throwing Frisbees at targets was just plain fun.
One groundbreaking event, the first American Flying Disc Open in 1974, was a legendary gathering of Frisbee enthusiasts, and is arguably the place where Frisbee culture was born. Hundreds of Frisbee golfers or “Frolfers” descended on the city of Rochester, New York in the hopes of winning what was then a sweet prize: a 1974 Datsun B2W. Pretty much overnight, Frisbee golf—eventually known more popularly as disc golf—had arrived.
DISC JOCKEY Santa Cruz skate culture meets disc golf at the shop at DeLaveaga Park. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER
Sensing growing excitement surrounding the flying plastic discs he had created almost a decade earlier, Headrick created a new Sports Promotion Department at Wham-O, and hired the Datsun-driving AFDO champion Dan “Stork” Riddick as its director. Many people who had been playing some version of Frisbee golf for years were shocked to learn that their informal hobby was a real sport.
In late 1975, Headrick designed, built, and installed the world’s first disc golf course at Oak Grove Park in Pasadena. Originally, simple poles were used as targets. But Headrick struck gold with his next, much-needed creation: the basket we know today, which he called the Disc Golf Pole Hole. When he installed them at Oak Grove Park, the popularity of the course, and disc golf in general, increased dramatically.
In the Summer of 1976, Headrick founded the Professional Disc Golf Association. The group has become a huge part of his legacy, and remains the largest disc golf organization today. Early disc golfers jumped at the opportunity to become a part of the PDGA, a legit governing body and a way to feel like they were a part of something bigger than their local clubs.
Disc golf was still in its infancy, but Headrick saw it as the next big thing. Abandoning his comfortable and well-compensated position at Wham-O, he went all-in on the disc golf dream. He began travelling the country, promoting the sport, designing courses, and selling his Pole Holes.
A natural salesman and true hustler, Headrick watched proudly as the popularity of disc golf started to snowball. Each new Headrick course attracted new players to the sport, and cities and towns began clamoring for his designs. After a few years of barely making it, his gamble started to pay off, and by 1979 the young sport of disc golf was well established.
Disc Covered: A Guide to Santa Cruz Disk Golf Parks
DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course
1468 Upper Park Road, Santa Cruz
Near the end of the 19th century, DeLaveaga Park was donated to the government as part of a trust for “educational and recreational purposes.” The California National Guard used the park for training exercises, and the ridge that now hosts DeLa’s most famous hole–“The Top of the World”—was used as a lookout point for the military in World War II.
But by the time Tom Schot received permission to construct an 18-hole disc golf course in 1984, the park’s long-since-unused upper region had become a dumping ground littered with overturned cars, refrigerators, washing machines and countless broken bottles. Little did anyone know Schot was masterminding a course that would not only rescue and transform the space, but also become a national mecca of disc golf.
Schot’s course, which initially used 4×4 wooden posts as targets, was specifically created to host the 1987 World Disc Golf Championships. The newly formed DeLaveaga Disc Golf Club (DDGC) helped him get the course ready for action, clearing out tons of junk, twisted underbrush and poison oak.
On its way to becoming a world-class disc golf destination, the course—now boasting 29 holes—has morphed and mutated over the years, but many aspects of Schot’s design remain intact today. Around 200 people play DeLa each day, and the DDGC, now one of the most respected disc golf clubs in the nation, has been at the forefront of establishing and transforming disc golf culture in Santa Cruz County.
DeLaveaga is a natural cathedral boasting towering redwoods and groups of Monterey Pines that form the backbone for many of the course’s holes. Banana slugs abound, and the hoot of an owl might cause players to pause mid-throw. The course is a gorgeous mixture of flora and fauna, a truly special place that delights disc golfers from around the world.
DeLa Cart Course
401 Upper Park Road, Santa Cruz
DeLa’s second course is Santa Cruz County’s newest disc golf experience. Open every Wednesday and Sunday after 3 p.m., the newly installed disc golf course is located on the front nine of the DeLaveaga golf course. For $17 a player, and $15 per person to rent a cart (carts are optional), players can compete on the same course layout as the final round of the 2016 Masters Cup.
Even though walk-ons are welcome, it’s recommended that you reserve tee times a week in advance to enjoy gently rolling terrain, meticulously manicured fairways, and spectacular old growth redwoods and pines—without burning too much of a sweat. Hazards like sand traps, putting greens, and cart paths are all “out of bounds,” and carry a one-stroke penalty.
Many of those who have disced on the golf course say that the new course layout is more challenging than its purely disc golf counterpart. Using a detailed map from the clubhouse, drivers and their groups follow the main cart path in a counterclockwise loop around the front nine, starting and ending at the clubhouse. Most holes are friendly for left-to-right throwers.
There are few, if any, places in the United States where disc golfers can play a round using golf carts, and the new course at DeLa has been extremely popular. The course is operating on a trial basis.
TOP SPOT Mac McCormick throws from the famous Top of the World at DeLaveaga. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER
Black Mouse Disc Golf Course
7179 Hacienda Way, Felton
At Black Mouse, an ancient redwood forest keeps discers, squirrels, and the occasional mouse shaded and comfortable on hot days. Designed and installed by SLV Junior High School students, “the Mouse” is a true technical course. Hanging branches provide tight windows that require precise throws on almost every one of Black Mouse Disc Golf Course’s 18 holes.
Booming drives don’t matter here—Black Mouse is all about control. A putter and midrange driver is all you need to have a good round. Pros and amateurs alike will enjoy the wild elevation changes and its tightly wooded holes that serve as a nice counterpart to the wide open play at the area’s other top courses.
Black Mouse will test all of your shots—short putts, forehands, tomahawks, etc. Most of the course’s holes are short and birdie-able (150-200 feet) with a little finesse—and maybe some luck. On the other hand, the near constant slope and ubiquitous redwoods give every hole disaster potential.
The course rarely gets crowded, so experts like to hit Black Mouse to not only work on their short game, but also enjoy the peace and quiet the course has become known for. The views of the San Lorenzo Valley are spectacular.
Some players complain that Black Mouse is hard to navigate, that some holes require “blind shots,” and that signage isn’t always as clear as it should be. It’s definitely recommended that you google “Black Mouse Disc Golf Course” and download and print out a map.
Play is free, but be sure to put loose change in the “Black Mouse box” to ensure the course remains the gem that it is today.
Before it became an official club sport in 1998, disc golf was already a popular part of UCSC’s intramural sports program. When the sport was introduced to campus in the 1970s, there were no baskets (officially called Disc Golf Pole Holes) to speak of; students threw Wham-O-style Frisbees at a variety of targets like telephone poles, redwood trees, and the occasional car.
Eventually, the UCSC Disc Golf Club (UCSCDGC) established courses, but these too were informal, lacking anything in the way of baskets or tee pads.
In 2015, everything changed. After years of clamoring and pushing hard for their beloved sport, the UCSCDGC convinced OPERS to install a nine-hole disc golf course on campus. The modest course that now snakes across the outer rim of the East Field Complex has become a popular place to play for students, and some non-Slugs as well. The slightly hilly par-3 course boasts top-of-the-line baskets and incredible views of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary and Santa Cruz. It’s designed to play like a “seaside links course,” and is a wide-open, often windy, place to practice medium range drives and putting. In spite of hilly terrain, elevation changes, and a variety of hole locations and lengths, a round will be more memorable for its beauty than its challenge. Still, it’s a fun course, and worth a visit.
Navigating the course can be a bit confusing, but course maps are provided by the OPERS office in the East Fieldhouse. One thing to note: this is not a circular course—hole nine ends up far away from hole one, so getting back to your car may require a bit of a hike.
Harbor High Disc Golf Course
300 La Fonda Ave., Santa Cruz
Practice makes perfect. And Harbor High Disc Golf Course is a perfect place to practice.
Bring a handful of discs—you won’t need more than a midrange driver and putter—and frolic about on this five-hole course placed strategically around Harbor High School’s track and football field.
It’s a great place to start for newbies, and vets looking to hone individual parts of their game. Practice drives on the football field itself, and then spend some time working on putt mechanics. The course is a great place to figure out the nuances and personalities of new discs.
The course itself really doesn’t put up much of a challenge, and the basket locations are pretty wide open. The baskets themselves are top quality.
Use Harbor High Disc Golf Course as a warm-up spot or practice zone, and remember that it’s, of course, closed during school hours.
Bridge to Bridge Disc Golf Course
287 Water St., Santa Cruz
Tom Schot and the City of Santa Cruz installed the Bridge to Bridge Disc Golf Course in downtown Santa Cruz with noble intentions. The nine-hole course, established in 2012, was strategically placed to increase foot traffic along the San Lorenzo River’s levee.
But that dream never manifested. In Bridge to Bridge’s infancy, park rangers routinely patrolled the area of San Lorenzo Park between the county courthouse and the river, but for the last couple of years the park has been known more for its homeless-encampment controversies than anything else.
It’s a shame, as Bridge to Bridge is a beautifully designed, technical disc golf course that is a sublime place to work on putts and midrange drives. The course was designed with beginners and intermediate-level players in mind, and most holes are pretty basic—less than 200 feet. The narrow stretch of parkland is the perfect place to learn the basics of the game. Many holes are “aceable,” but require some mojo and maneuvering to avoid shrubs and small trees. A full round of pitch and putt holes can be played in less than an hour.
The City of Santa Cruz spared no expense in creating Bridge to Bridge, and each hole has top-of-the-line DGA Mach III baskets and granite tee pads. In reality, most experienced players would prefer to drive a few miles and disc at DeLa, but if you’re in downtown Santa Cruz and have a burning desire to disc, Bridge to Bridge is there for you.
