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Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All: Risa’s Star’s Dec. 19-25

Risa D’Angeles

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December 18, 2018

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All: Risa’s Star’s Dec. 19-25

Winter solstice. Return of the light. Return of the sun. End of darkness. Our hearts, our inner sun, vivifying, coming alive again. Solstice (Yule) is Friday, a complex day when sun enters Capricorn and a three-day pause begins. The sun is quiet and still (sol, “sun”; stice, “still”) for three days. And then at midnight, Christmas morning, the midnight sun begins to move northward. And the new light, the holy child (the soul) within our hearts and minds and in that little stable in Bethlehem … the holy child is born. We are anointed with light—the soul’s light.

So many events this week. Such a complex day is the solstice—Capricorn sun, Gemini moon, Venus/Neptune, Mercury/Jupiter (an auspicious time). And Saturday morning, a full moon—the last of the year—the Capricorn solar festival at 0.49 degrees. Monday is Christmas Eve, with Leo moon (sign of the gift of each of us). Tuesday is Christmas day.

The Christmas narrative is familiar. We all know the story. Mother and father, innocent child, shepherds, a bright star (Sirius), and animals all around. No room at the inn, the stable, the manger with hay, angels singing. At this solstice Christmas new light time, let us restore Christmas to its spiritual purpose and its distant origins, to its beauty, light and magic, with sacred rituals, prayers and invocations. And let’s join the angels saying “Merry Christmas, everyone. Peace on Earth, goodwill to all.” Love, Risa

ARIES: It’s important to maintain moment-to-moment awareness of all experiences each day, and of all who come into your sphere of life. If aware, you will see their gifts (talents and abilities) and they will reflect your talents, too This is a great revelation. Allow yourself no expectations. Remain poised in observation of all that is around you. In this silence, new values, new perspectives and the new realities you’ve been searching for appear.

TAURUS: Know that plans will change; feelings and emotions, too. Memories will be part of the holidays this year, and you have many of them. You will sense and feel the special people who are no longer with us. Know they still love you, always remaining close by. You will have new revelations about your work in the world. Perhaps a book, a painting, a work of creativity. Follow the signs, intuitions and impressions given.

GEMINI: If not traveling, then soon you should be. Travel offers prospects and plans that change the course of your life, advancing you into the future. When retrogrades occur, all our focus turns inward. But we are out of the long retrogrades. So thoughts, ideas and plans become practical. You seek new ways to make contact and communicate. Plan to study compassionate (non-violent) communication with friends and partners. You will never be the same after.

CANCER: New insights come forth about the people in your life. Before, you had global ideas, but now you have a deeper, more personal understanding of how others live their lives. Communicate your insights to those who care for you. Become interested in what others think. Ask for their insights. This creates deeper connections. And then love is released. You are surprised.

LEO: Tend to your health. A health issue from the past may reoccur. If seeing a doctor, seek a functional doctor (M.D.) in your area or close by. Functional doctors diagnose, test and look at health differently. It’s important to have a new approach to all things, from health to work to animals to plants to co-workers. The full moon offers illuminations and revelations. Listen in silence and solitude. Information comes on little cats’ feet.

VIRGO: Notice your creative expressions increasing. Happiness, enthusiasm and playfulness come into the mix, and you recognize these are natural gifts within each of us. And then something spontaneous occurs, and you understand your life experiences from birth to the present—and then you understand everyone else’s, too. And everything transforms daily in front of your eyes. And then there is joy.

LIBRA: The past returns for review. Nothing can stop this. Gradually, a new perspective appears concerning childhood home, parents, siblings, family interactions. Childhood impressions change like a kaleidoscope of colors. With revelations, your understanding increases and you step unexpectedly into a state of compassion. To anchor this unexpected shift, you reorder everything in your home. And a state of wonder follows you everywhere.

SCORPIO: So many thoughts occurring during this time. You attempt to find a pattern to a puzzle of life. You realize there are things you want to say (and not say) to family and friends. You notice all around is the light of insight and a new way of doing things, and you review old knowledge and see how it forms the foundation for a new philosophy of life. Soon, quietly, new skills appear, and new perspectives about your life as a server. You are the phoenix arising out of the fire.

SAGITTARIUS: Life and its gifts have you assessing many things—values, resources, what you have and don’t yet have, what you want and don’t want. You look too at what you considered lost (returning later in different forms). New and innovative ideas appear about your future work in the world. They take into consideration all your desires and aspirations, later to anchor creatively in your life. A new land calls. You answer.

CAPRICORN: It’s good to create an “I am …” journal. With Pluto in your sign, all Capricorns are transforming and becoming their greater selves. Seek to see yourself in new ways, with new information being given about who you are. Write in your journal sentences beginning with “I am …” Write every day. See how you begin to unfold and express yourself differently. A new self-coordination, identity, harmony, courage and creativity emerges as you write about yourself and who you are and will become.

AQUARIUS: Perhaps you feel many endings or closings, or maybe you’re approaching a curve in the road. There may be sadness or sorrow concerning something (someone) that is no longer. This will ease over time. New perceptions occur in the coming months, offering an understanding of the past. Look back, then look forward. Cherish everything. Remembering is a gift. Soon, you will be stepping forward onto another path.

PISCES: So many things change for Pisces during this time concerning affiliated groups. You review when and why you joined certain groups and your purpose with them. They hold a different importance in your life now, and you gradually make changes in terms of your interactions. A new world service is calling; new relationships and a new form of group interaction take place. You step more fully into inner worlds, while remaining very practical in the outer worlds. There is no confusion. They are one.

Rob Brezny’s Astrology Dec. 19-25

Rob Brezsny

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December 18, 2018

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Free will astrology for the week of Dec. 19, 2018

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Consumer Reports says that between 1975 and 2008, the average number of products for sale in a supermarket rose from about 9,000 to nearly 47,000. The glut is holding steady. Years ago, you selected from among three or four brands of soup and shampoo. Nowadays, you may be faced with 20 varieties of each. I suspect that 2019 will bring a comparable expansion in some of your life choices, Aries—especially when you’re deciding what to do with your future and who your allies should be. This could be both a problem and a blessing. For best results, opt for choices that have all three of these qualities: fun, usefulness and meaningfulness.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): People have been trying to convert ordinary metals into gold since at least 300 A.D. At that time, an Egyptian alchemist named Zosimos of Panopolis unsuccessfully mixed sulfur and mercury in the hope of performing such magic. Fourteen centuries later, seminal scientist Isaac Newton also failed in his efforts to produce gold from cheap metal. But now let’s fast forward to 20th-century chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, a distinguished researcher who won a share of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1951. He and his team did an experiment with bismuth, an element that’s immediately adjacent to lead on the periodic table. By using a particle accelerator, they literally transmuted a small quantity of bismuth into gold. I propose that we make this your teaching story for 2019. May it inspire you to seek transformations that have never before been possible.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): U.S. President Donald Trump wants to build a concrete and fence wall between Mexico and America, hoping to slow down the flow of immigrants across the border. Meanwhile, 12 North African countries are collaborating to build a 4,750-mile-long wall of drought-resistant trees at the border of the Sahara, hoping to stop the desert from swallowing up farmland. During the coming year, I’ll be rooting for you to draw inspiration from the latter, not the former. Erecting new boundaries will be healthy for you—if it’s done out of love and for the sake of your health, not out of fear and divisiveness.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau advised artists to notice the aspects of their work that critics didn’t like—and then cultivate those precise aspects. He regarded the disparaged or misconstrued elements as being key to an artist’s uniqueness and originality, even if they were as-yet immature. I’m expanding his suggestion and applying it to all of you crabs during the next 10 months, even if you’re not strictly an artist. Watch carefully what your community seems to misunderstand about the new trends you’re pursuing, and work hard to ripen them.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 1891, a 29-year-old British mother named Constance Garnett decided she would study the Russian language and become a translator. She learned fast. During the next 40 years, she produced English translations of 71 Russian literary books, including works by Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, and Chekhov. Many had never before been rendered in English. I see 2019 as a Constance Garnett-type year for you, Leo. Any late-blooming potential you might possess could enter a period of rapid maturation. Awash in enthusiasm and ambition, you’ll have the power to launch a new phase of development that could animate and motivate you for a long time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I’ll be bold and predict that 2019 will be a nurturing chapter in your story; a time when you will feel loved and supported to a greater degree than usual; a phase when you will be more at home in your body and more at peace with your fate than you have in a long time. I have chosen an appropriate blessing to bestow upon you, written by the poet Claire Wahmanholm. Speak her words as if they were your own. “On Earth I am held, honeysuckled not just by honeysuckle but by everything—marigolds, bog after bog of small sundews, the cold smell of spruce.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out.” This advice is sometimes attributed to 16th-century politician and cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Now I’m offering it to you as one of your important themes in 2019. Here’s how you can best take it to heart. First, be extremely discerning about what ideas, theories and opinions you allow to flow into your imagination. Make sure they’re based on objective facts, and make sure they’re good for you. Second, be aggressive about purging old ideas, theories and opinions from your head, especially if they’re outmoded, unfounded or toxic.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Memorize this quote by author Peter Newton and keep it close to your awareness during the coming months: “No remorse. No if-onlys. Just the alertness of being.” Here’s another useful maxim, this one from author Mignon McLaughlin: “Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference.” Shall we make it a lucky three mottos to live by in 2019? This one’s by author A. A. Milne: “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Until 1920, most American women didn’t have the right to vote. For that matter, few had ever been candidates for public office. There were exceptions. In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first to seek a seat in Congress. In 1875, Victoria Woodhull ran for president. Susanna Salter became the first woman mayor in 1887. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, Sagittarius, 2019 will be a Stanton-Woodhull-Salter type of year for you. You’re likely to be ahead of your time and primed to innovate. You’ll have the courage and resourcefulness necessary to try seemingly unlikely and unprecedented feats, and you’ll have a knack for ushering the future into the present.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Studies show that the best possible solution to the problem of homelessness is to provide cheap or free living spaces for the homeless. Not only is it the most effective way of helping the people involved; in the long run, it’s also the least expensive. Is there a comparable problem in your personal life? A chronic difficulty that you keep putting Band-Aids on, but that never gets much better? I’m happy to inform you that 2019 will be a favorable time to dig down to find deeper, more fundamental solutions; to finally fix a troublesome issue rather than just addressing its symptoms.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Many people in Iceland write poems, but only a few publish them. There’s even a term for those who put their creations away in a drawer rather than seeking an audience: skúffuskáld, literally translated as “drawer-poet.” Is there a comparable phenomenon in your life, Aquarius? Do you produce some good thing but never share it? Is there a part of you that you’re proud of but keep secret? Is there an aspect of your ongoing adventures that’s meaningful but mostly private? If so, 2019 will be the year you might want to change your mind about it.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Scientists at Goldsmiths, University of London, did a study to determine the catchiest pop song ever recorded. After extensive research in which they evaluated an array of factors, they decided that Queen’s “We Are the Champions” is the song that more people love to sing than any other. This triumphant tune happens to be your theme song in 2019. I suggest you learn the lyrics and melody, and sing it once every day. It should help you build on the natural confidence-building influences that will be streaming into your life.

Homework: Write a parable or fairy tale that captures what your life has been like in 2018. Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

Danusha Laméris Launches Pop-Up Poetry in Santa Cruz

Wallace Baine

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December 18, 2018

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Danusha Laméris Launches Pop-Up Poetry in Santa Cruz

Too bad the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t keep “poets per capita” stats, because Santa Cruz would probably be a national leader in that arena.

If you’re looking for a leading indicator on the richness of Santa Cruz’s poetry culture, take the high turnover in county’s poet laureate program. A new poet laureate comes along every two years, which is more often than some people buy new sneakers.

“What happens in some places is that they have the same poet laureate for a long time,” says poet and teacher Danusha Laméris. “That’s because they don’t necessarily have a wide pool of poets to choose from. Here we can turn it over every two years exactly because we have so many people who are seriously pursuing their writing.”

Laméris is now experiencing that phenomenon first-hand. She was recently named Santa Cruz County’s new poet laureate, taking the baton from the incumbent Robert Sward, who himself followed a string of luminaries in the position, including Ellen Bass, Gary Young and David Swanger.

It’s a sudden boost in credibility and visibility for the author of the 2014 volume The Moons of August, who has also published in the New York Times, Ploughshares, Best American Poetry and several other journals and anthologies.

A decade ago, Laméris was part of the effort to establish the program as a board member for the local group Poetry Santa Cruz. This time, her friends in the organization approached her with what they called an “invitation.”

“They said, ‘We have an invitation for you,’ and I said, ‘Is it a party?’ They were like, ‘Well, it’s a two-year party.’”

Each poet laureate comes into office with a specific mission. Laméris’s mission is to initiate what she calls “poetry pop-ups,” to bring poetry events to venues and settings where you probably would not encounter poetry otherwise. The first example will take place on Feb. 9 at the downtown yoga studio Nourish. It’s a pre-Valentine’s Day event called One Breath. “It’ll be an event for Valentine’s that’s not necessarily for couples, but for everybody,” she says.

Laméris came to poetry from an unusual parallel path. When she first came to Santa Cruz as an undergrad at UCSC, she studied painting. But poetry had been a central theme of her upbringing. One of the drivers of the carpool she belonged to as a kid growing up in Berkeley was U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. In high school, she met acclaimed poet Tony Hoagland (“He just happened to be dating my Spanish teacher,” she says).

But most fundamentally of all, her grandfather was a poet who published a collection of poems about life in his native Barbados.

“I remember going (to Barbados) when I was 9 or 10,” she says, “and being with my granddad talking with his friends who were all poets. Years later, I read their work in anthologies. And the conversations they were having were so fascinating to me, these men in their West Indian accents, quoting verse and debating it. It was very pivotal for me.”

Still, Laméris didn’t turn to poetry until after graduation, when she saw a flyer for a workshop with poet Ellen Bass. Since then, it has not only been her artistic playground and an avenue to meet mentors and other inspiring people; it has helped her survive considerable family tragedy, specifically the death of her son and the suicide of her twin brother.

“I feel that as artists, we all have some kind of irritant that we work on over a lifetime,” she says. “You know, that whole grain-of-sand-in-an-oyster thing. For me, that irritant has been grief.”

Today, Laméris is not only writing—she’s just completed a new manuscript of what she hopes will become her second book of poetry—but also leading workshops for other aspiring poets. As poet laureate, she’ll be part of the Hive Collective, which will broadcast a poetry show on Santa Cruz’s new non-commercial radio station KSQD in the new year.

She’ll also become the public face of a thriving culture of poetry that goes back generations in Santa Cruz, which has produced high-profile poets and poetry events and created an environment where poetry can continue to pop up in unexpected places.

“I’m just looking forward to creating more poetry communities and pollinating poetry in the community,” she says. “That’s my passion and dedication.”

Music Picks: December 19-25

Aaron Carnes

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December 18, 2018

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Live music highlights for the week of Dec. 19, 2018

WEDNESDAY 12/19

ROCK

MIKE RENWICK’S HOLIDAY DELUXE

The holidays are back, and that means one man has been preparing all year for one night. Not Santa—we’re talking about Boulder Creek musician Mike Renwick. He’s back with his Holiday Deluxe show. For 364 days, Renwick plans, practices and works with Bay Area musicians to create a holiday experience so amazing you’ll forget about all of the coal Santa left in your stocking. Dashing through the show is a mix of rock, blues and funk jams, with Renwick breaking out the acoustic guitar from time to time. MAT WEIR

INFO: 8 p.m. Flynn’s Cabaret, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $20/adv, $25/door. 335-2800.

THURSDAY 12/20

INDIE

PROXIMA PARADA

Things have gotten more laid back since jazz guitarist Josh Collins joined Proxima Parada a few years back. Having once described their music as “porch-stompin,” this slower, smoother, more soulful version of the band could’ve been met with eye rolls and resistance. Instead, fans embraced the more mature R&B sound, even contributing to a Kickstarter to fund their last album, Big Seven. All in all, redirecting creative efforts into jazzier, smokier and tighter arrangements (and gaining Josh Collins, of course) have evolved Proxima Parada into the best version of itself so far. AMY BEE

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst Club, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $10/adv, $13/door. 423-1338.

JAZZ

WINDHAM HILL’S WINTER SOLSTICE

Back in the bronze age, when record labels could build global empires on the strength of a concept, Windham Hill became an international force with a stable of startlingly accomplished musicians versed in an array of acoustic musical traditions. Among the label’s best-selling releases was a series of seasonal anthologies, and none did better than 1986’s A Winter’s Solstice. The album birthed a perennially popular tour. Marking the 30th anniversary of that undertaking, three of the original artists are back on the road together: Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman, Grammy-nominated Alex de Grassi and the extraordinary Barbara Higbie. ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: 7:30 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $36.75/adv, $45/door. 423-8209.

ELECTRO-FUNK

PLANET BOOTY

These electro-funk, retro visionaries juxtapose ’80s workout hotties, with frontman Dylan Germick pouring wet foods on dry foods and singing catchy, silly-sexy lyrics about getting naked all day. I came away kinda … well, hungry. But maybe Planet Booty are purposefully pointing out the cosmic connection between food, sex and exercise? How dance is the fruit of life, and booty is the fruition of a life well-lived, like that cigarette butt commercial where all the butts rap about the beauty of their differences? In that case, I (and everyone else) am the perfect fan base. AB

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $8/adv, $12/door. 479-1854.

FRIDAY 12/21

REGGAE

ANUHEA

The lighthearted, breezy reggae-pop songs of Anuhea are staples in Hawaii, the land where she hails from. Her second album, 2011’s For Love, really seems to have struck a pop chord with the people there, finding the middle ground between reggae and island music. After releasing some EPs and a live record, she’s back with a new album, Follow Me. It’s a bit more intense than the simple smiling-girl-walking-around-the-island-with-her ukulele that defined her early years. It’s still got those elements, but it’s blended with a modernized, drum-machine-y R&B flair. AARON CARNES

INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 479-1854.

ROCK

GRATEFUL SHRED

Is it more important to sound like the Grateful Dead, or embody the spirit of the band? Here at GT, we don’t think anyone should have to sacrifice either when trying to get their twirl on in the pit. Thankfully, neither do Los Angeles’ Grateful Shred. Since 2016, they have kept the laissez-faire, controlled-chaos philosophy of the Dead while replicating the songs and sounds of one of the Bay Area’s monumental groups. MW

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $20. 423-1338

AMERICANA

APPLE CITY SLOUGH BAND

Is there a band name more Watsonville than the Apple City Slough Band? No, there is not. This six-piece of Apple City rockers proudly wears their Watsonville pride on their sleeves as they bring a large heaping of breezy, jam-band rock ‘n’ roll with a distinctly Americana rootsy twist. It’s good, down-home music without pretense, like a low-key, lo-fi Eagles. It’s like they sing: “We’re not musicians. We just like to rock ’n’ roll.” Their record Live at Costanoa will make you feel extra groovy. AC

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.

SATURDAY 12/22

ROCK

THE ROCK COLLECTION

Santa Cruz, it’s time to light up a J. A nice sticky J—one that slows things down and gets your heart rate up. The kind that gets you hearing new things in music. You know what J I’m talking about: jam. When it comes to this big J, you’d be hard pressed to find a more accomplished group of musicians than the Rock Collection. Featuring Melvin Seals of the Jerry Garcia Band, Stu Allen of Phil Lesh and Friends, and Greg Anton of blues-fusion beast Zero, the Rock Collective rolls up and pass around gobs of the sticky, icky stuff. MIKE HUGUENOR

INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.

FUNK/DANCE

SMOKEY THE GROOVE

When you say the word “funk,” everyone thinks of the same thing: sweaters. This Saturday, Michael’s On Main brings us the Funky Sweater Xmess Get Down, a Christmas sweater funk fest wherein the funkiest sweater wins. Laying down the beat for this funky (and insulated) holiday bacchanal is Chico’s Smokey the Groove, a jazz-funk ensemble with a full horn section that promises each show will be (no joke) “a journey through time, space and the beyond.” Be sure to bring a sweater that can handle at least four funky dimensions. MH

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.

Soif’s New Chef Serves Up Hearty Winter Menu

Christina Waters

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December 18, 2018

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Soif’s New Chef Serves Up Hearty Winter Menu

Chef Tom McNary’s winter menu at Soif is long on New American comfort dishes accented by seasonal sides. Citrus relish, roasted root veggies, hearty meats, and salads that pay attention to top local ingredients.

Three of us met last week to celebrate the holiday season, the shortest days of the year, and longstanding friendship. And of course, to sample some of the new items on Soif’s menu after McNary took the helm of the downtown Santa Cruz restaurant and wine bar in October.

It was a night for indulgence, and so we chose some very nice wines to accompany our meal. Patti likes Pinot Noir, so for her there was a gorgeous French Burgundy from Michel Sarrazin 2017 ($12), with pert tannins, spice and dark berries in the finish. Melody splurged on a 2010 Casanuova delle Cerbaie Brunello di Montalcino ($18), and I treated myself to an opulent, plummy, meaty 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape from Roger Perrin ($20) that was worth every penny.

We also had some food with our terrific trio of red wines, starting with shared plates of fat, fragrant arancini ($11) and Dungeness crab salad ($14). Our server supplied extra plates so that we could sample freely.

Spheres of arborio rice arrived generously dusted with parmesan and piping hot, so that every forkful revealed a molten core of fontina. A spicy tomato sauce added piquance to this very appealing starter. The salad offered an over-abundance of lettuces, fennel and citrus, though rather less crab than we had hoped. Colorful with slices of watermelon radish, the salad relied on pastel morsels of winter citrus for much of its impact. We might have liked a smaller portion—this was a very large salad—where the crab meat could have made a bigger impression.

My entree of diver scallops ($34) was beautiful to the eye. Three huge, perfectly cooked scallops on a cloud of celery root puree, adorned with slender parsnips and carrots, and deep green beet leaves. Again, the grapefruit and citrus relish threatened to overwhelm the delicate shellfish.

Melody’s grilled ribeye was a hit ($33). Excellent beef, sliced so that the crimson interior showed off nicely, came with a rich Bordelaise red wine and demi-glace sauce. A plump pillow of scalloped potatoes sat on one side of the plate, which was ringed with buds of chartreuse romanesco and sweet roast carrots. The house dinner plates are quite large and allow for a wide margin of what we in publishing call “creative white space” around the main attraction. The central culinary ideas tend to gather in the middle of each plate.

Patti’s burger of ground ribeye ($18) was another star entree. Thanks to the huge dinner platters, the burger arrived with a landslide of french fries that might have served the entire Golden State Warriors team. We actually had to chuckle at the sheer quantity of fries. The burger was perfect! On a tasty, soft brioche bun, with aioli, pickled veggies and a deep well of ketchup, it was a great value for its price.

Along with decaf and a glass of port, we attacked a lemon tart dessert with three forks ($10). Indulgence shared feels less naughty, we agreed. Decorated with remarkably ripe, flavorful raspberries and an oval of whipped cream—also embedded with raspberries—the tart let us down. The crust was a bit thick, and the thin layer of lemon filling lacked bold citrus punch. This was a polite tart, rather than a tart tart.

The sweet sounds of live jazz sent us happily out into the chilly evening. Remember, Mondays at Soif involve music starting at 6:30 p.m. Plan your seating accordingly.

Soif Restaurant & Wine Bar, 105 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz. 423-2020, soifwine.com.

Film Review: ‘The Favourite’

Lisa Jensen

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December 18, 2018

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The work of filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is an acquired taste, like pig’s feet or blood pudding. It appeals to those with an appetite for caustic low comedy, sexual intemperance, and human venality, all whipped into a heavy bouillabaisse and set to full boil. His peculiar sensibility seems to resonate with a lot of viewers, especially critics, since his breakout movie, the alternative-reality satire The Lobster, in 2015. Now he applies his worldview to the 18th century in the period piece The Favourite, with decidedly mixed results.

The movie has a nodding acquaintance with historical reality. The story is set in the time of England’s Queen Anne, in the first decade of the 1700s, and concerns her relationships with her close friend and confidante, Lady Sarah Churchill (ancestor of you-know-who) and the genteel servant Abigail. All are historical personages, and Lanthimos and scriptwriters Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara should be commended for combing through history to find a tale featuring three juicy parts for actresses in a story about women jockeying for position in a man’s world.

Queen Anne (a terrific Olivia Colman) is portrayed as imperious and quicksilver in her temperament, yet timorous about her ability to actually lead. She’s kept on track by the politically astute Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), whose war hero husband, the Duke of Marlborough, is off fighting the French. The women have been besties since girlhood.

Enter Abigail (Emma Stone) a distant relation of Sarah’s hoping to find employment at court. Once a lady but fallen on hard times, she’s ambitious to regain her station and follows Sarah’s example in everything—particularly her attention to the queen. When she spies an intimacy beyond mere friendship between Anne and Lady Sarah, Abigail sees her way forward.

This Abigail is an All About Eve-style opportunist, ruthlessly pursuing her own agenda beneath an innocent exterior. However, the simmering stew of erotic sexual politics between the three women (and the occasional man onscreen long enough to register, like Nicholas Hoult as foppish, insinuating opposition party leader Harley) has its basis in speculation at the time over Anne’s sexuality that continues today.

Lanthimos often flings history aside, sometimes in entertaining ways, like the palace ball scenes where deadpan, extravagantly costumed dancers dip, flip and haul each other around in moves better suited to an ice-skating arena or hip-hop stage. There are other moments of unexpected tenderness in this witches’ brew of intrigue, as when Anne introduces Abigail to her 17 pet rabbits—each one named for one of the children Anne has borne and lost.

This tragic part of Anne’s history is true (well, I’m not sure about the rabbits). But the narrative often goes awry, if not historically, in terms of its weirdly comic tone. With her husband off at the front and her hands full of delicate diplomacy, when does Lady Sarah find the time to go shooting birds with Abigail? Yes, it’s metaphor, with Sarah losing her mentor status as Abigail’s aim grows more precise, but two such comparative scenes (instead of four) would get the point across.

The point of other sequences is more obscure, like the lords’ mania for duck racing. Or a giggling, middle-aged aristo, naked under an enormous wig, shown dodging missives flung by a bunch of cackling nobles. On the night of her wedding to a smitten young lord, a scowling bride is too busy scheming to offer her new husband anything more than indifferent hand service.

Lanthimos may be taking aim at human folly—greed, ambition, depravity, especially among the oh-so-idle rich—but that’s a broad target. He coaxes excellent performances out of all three of his lead actresses, Colman in particular as the cranky, unhappy, insecure queen. But as the fortunes of these women rise and fall, and viewer sympathies are meant to keep shifting, the characters as written never achieve the resonance that would keep viewers engaged and invested in them. They remain pawns in an exercise of mannered absurdity.

THE FAVOURITE

** (out of four)

With Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman. Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. A Fox Searchlight release. Rated R. 131 minutes.

New Vice Mayor Justin Cummings Shakes Up Santa Cruz Politics

Local News

Jacob Pierce

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December 14, 2018

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New Vice Mayor Justin Cummings Shakes Up Santa Cruz Politics

Santa Cruz has a new mayor, and her name is Martine Watkins.

Watkins, who just wrapped up her one-year term as vice mayor this week, began her new role at the end of Tuesday night’s meeting. Also at the Dec. 11 meeting, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to make newly elected City Councilmember Justin Cummings the town’s new vice mayor.

Councilmember Chris Krohn, who supported Cummings’ campaign, made the nomination, behind a newly minted City Council majority. The change marks first time in two decades that a newly elected City Council candidate has transitioned right from his swearing in into the vice mayor seat. By conventional wisdom, the post puts Cummings next in line to be mayor.

He could not be reached for comment by deadline, but in his remarks Tuesday night, Cummings said he was looking forward to working collaboratively with colleagues and staff.

At the same meeting, City Clerk Bonnie Bush swore in the two other new councilmembers—Donna Meyers, who finished second, and Drew Glover, who ran on a slate with Cummings. Cummings and Glover are the first African American men to serve on the council. Meyers is the city’s first openly lesbian councilmember.

The council unanimously confirmed Krohn’s vice mayor nomination of Cummings.

Customarily, the top two vote-getters from each election each serve a one-year term as vice mayor and another as mayor, although the actual decision is left up to the council. Meyers nominated Councilmember Cynthia Mathews, the second-leading vote getter in the 2016 election, to be vice mayor. Meyers cited Mathews’ years of service and her work protecting women’s health.

Mathews withdrew the nomination, signaling a desire to move forward, adding that she enjoyed getting to know Cummings in recent months and that she did not want to further a perception that politics in Santa Cruz is divisive. (Under a majority led by Krohn, Mathews’ nomination would likely not have had the votes to pass.)

The shift in order marks the first disruption to the mayoral norm since 1998, at the beginning of the last term Krohn served on the council. That’s when Krohn and his newly elected fellow councilmembers Keith Sugar and Tim Fitzmaurice shook up the rotation for mayor. The specifics were different, but the council voted to appoint Katherine Beiers to the mayorship, in lieu of then-Vice Mayor Mike Rotkin, who had been the top vote-getter two years prior, and customarily would have been next in line. Sugar became the vice mayor.

Over the course of their shared four-year council term, Sugar, Fitzmaurice and Krohn would each serve a year as mayor.

Beiers says many activists told her at the time that they felt she should be mayor, and that Rotkin shouldn’t. Rotkin, she says, had just gotten caught ripping down a campaign sign for Fitzmaurice. She also says that one of her colleagues had also disrupted the chain, stepping in line in front of her a few years earlier. Rotkin says that the campaign sign was just a misunderstanding. The property owner, he says, had asked him to take down the sign and put up a different political one. He claims Beiers had asked him if he would be willing to simply let her serve her term as mayor first for personal reasons, and that that’s the reason he went along with it, not realizing he would miss out on his chance.

With three new councilmembers on the dais in 2018, local politicos are now looking forward. Krohn says his decision to nominate Cummings wasn’t just about politics, but also about his leadership style. “Right person, right time,” he says.

After the election results confirmed earlier this month that Meyers came in second at the polls, many voters thought that she would end up serving a year as vice mayor and another as mayor during her time on the council. Krohn isn’t ready to say who he might support for vice mayor at the end of 2019.

“I won’t go there yet,” he says. “Let’s just get this year done first and see how it goes.”

Love Your Local Band: Christmas With the Misfits

Mat Weir

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December 13, 2018

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Love Your Local Band: Christmas With the Misfits

Ah, Christmas. A time for Santa, presents and the music of horror-punk band the Misfits. OK, maybe that last one pertains only to Santa Cruz. After all, where else can one go to experience Christmas With the Misfits, the annual holiday benefit concert featuring local and regional bands covering Misfits songs?

“It really is a big party,” says founder Nick Anchorheart. “We have a Christmas tree on stage, everything is decorated, and some of the bands even throw a Christmas song into their set.”

For its sixth incarnation, this ghoul’s night out will feature performances by made-up Santa Cruz bands 831 (members of Stellar Corpses and Hayride to Hell), 5:25 (members of Get Married) and Midnight Mass (members of Requiem) along with Face For Radio (Fresno), and 12 Steps To Nothing (San Jose). Anchorheart’s band, the Sea Wolves, will also be performing under the moniker Fiend Wolves.

“I love mixing up the genres and getting bands that aren’t necessarily the same style as the Misfits,” he chuckles. “One year we did a doo-wop version of one of the songs.”

So, how did Misfits, a band who wrote “Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?” and “Die, Die My Darling” become associated with the holiday season?

It began in 2011, when Anchorheart threw a Misfits-themed show around Halloween. He tried to repeat it the following year, but there were no open dates. His wife, Samantha, suggested he instead do a tongue-in-cheek Christmas show. It was a surprise hit.

Since its inception, the holiday concert has operated as a benefit show and raised money for Grind Out Hunger and Imagine Supported Living. This year, all proceeds will benefit the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. Patrons can also donate through buying raffle tickets and gift certificates donated by Streetlight Records, Black Pearl Tattoo and Starving Musician. Attendees can bring a new toy, to be donated to the children’s ward at Natividad Hospital in Salinas, for five raffle tickets.

“I want to get the community as involved as possible, and keep everything local,” Anchorheart says.

INFO: 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16, Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 423-1338.

Willow Glen Children’s Theatre Celebrates 30th Year

A&E
Stage

GT Staff

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December 13, 2018

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Willow Glen Children’s Theatre Celebrates 30th Year

This is a big year for one of the area’s most iconic children’s theater groups, and not just because it’s the 30th anniversary of the Willow Glen Children’s Theatre. It’s also because this is the first year that WGCT’s holiday performances—which run Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 16—won’t be overseen by founding director Gavin Coffing, who started the organization three decades ago and wrote an original play for each season.

This season, that responsibility fell to the replacement Coffing handpicked, Jordan Collier. The 28-year-old Collier has been involved with WGCT for almost 20 years, and a staff member for 13 years. She still remembers her very first day at WGCT, when she was 9 years old.

“My mom just kind of signed me up,” says Collier. “That first day I made a little friend, and I just loved it. My first play, I had two lines. The whole environment was so much fun.”

One of the things that makes WGCT unusual is that all of the kids who sign up for a season of WGCT get lines in the play. In fact, the lines are sort of written for them, as the group’s director observes the season’s participants from the very first Saturday morning meeting, over the course of a few weeks. The weekly gatherings start out with improv and other acting games for the kids, who generally range from age 7 through older teens. As the director begins to write the play, parts are handed out and rehearsals begin, culminating in the weekend of performances. The whole process takes just over two months, and allows the kids to see the whole process of production.

This year, the task of writing the play has fallen to Collier. “It’s definitely a little intimidating,” she admits. “But I’m really very honored that Gavin trusted me to continue this program that he put his blood, sweat and tears into. I’m just trying to honor what he’s created, because I think it’s important. We really want to make every participant feel like they have their time to shine.”

Collier’s first play is called Here, There, Everywhere, and follows two friends as they investigate the disappearance of a wealthy, eccentric old man from their neighborhood. Various clues lead them to encounter a number of characters over the course of the story.

“I do love mysteries. I always have,” she admits. And despite the many challenges she’s run into, she also loves working with the more than two dozen kids who are involved this season. She’s not surprised to see them bonding, as she did with the kids she first performed with—many of whom are her fellow SGCT staff members now, and some of whom now have nieces and nephews who are currently in the program.

“It’s always been such a close group,” she says.

Armitage Wines’ Limited-Edition Crimson Wonder

Josie Cowden

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December 12, 2018

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Armitage Wines’ Limited-Edition Crimson Wonder

Looking for something fabulous for your Christmas table? The 2017 Merlot made by Brandon Armitage is a winner.

Entering the portals of Armitage Wines’ Aptos tasting room recently, I was thrilled to find that Armitage is now making Merlot and Chardonnay along with the wine he’s most known for, Pinot Noir. “I branched out,” Armitage laughed as he served wine at a recent event for wine club members. Tasting room manager Jeanne Earley busily prepared delicious-looking appetizers to serve to the packed house.

Armitage’s expertly made wines are in high demand—and they sell out quickly. The 2017 Merlot ($60) is a crimson wonder, made with grapes harvested from Fowl Play Vineyard in Scotts Valley. The property falls under the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA and is just down the road from the old Alfred Hitchcock estate where Armitage farms Pinot Noir grapes.

Fewer than 100 cases were produced of this exceptional Merlot, which overflows with aromas of plum and chocolate and deep flavors of vanilla, coffee and red fruits.

Armitage says the 2017 is very European in style—“French, even”—because of the low-alcohol content of only 12 percent. “He calls it a ‘winemaker’s wine,’” says Earley. “He strives to keep the alcohol level down, which is hard to do as the world gets hotter.”

Armitage pours his heart and soul into winemaking—and one can feel the love in every bottle. “The only thing that inherently exists within all things is Love,” his label declares.

Armitage Tasting Room, 105C Post Office Drive, Aptos. 708-2874, armitagewines.com. Open weekly Wednesday-Sunday.

Companion Bakeshop

I’m absolutely nuts about Companion Bakeshop’s buckwheat blueberry scone ($3). Devilishly dark and delicious, you’d never know this crunchy-round-the-edges treat is gluten-free. Everything they make is top notch, including their freshly baked bread.

At the end of November, Companion opened a new outpost in Aptos Center at 7486 Soquel Drive—and they’re serving Cat & Cloud coffee, too. My cup runneth over.

Visit companionbakeshop.com for locations, including farmers markets, or call 252-2253.

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

WEDNESDAY 12/19

MIKE RENWICK’S HOLIDAY DELUXE

THURSDAY 12/20

PROXIMA PARADA

WINDHAM HILL’S WINTER SOLSTICE

PLANET BOOTY

FRIDAY 12/21

ANUHEA

GRATEFUL SHRED

APPLE CITY SLOUGH BAND

SATURDAY 12/22

THE ROCK COLLECTION

SMOKEY THE GROOVE

THE FAVOURITE

Companion Bakeshop