Rob Brezsny Astrology Dec 13-19

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Free will astrology for the week of December 13, 2017.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to a Sufi aphorism, you canโ€™t be sure that you are in possession of the righteous truth unless a thousand people have called you a heretic. If thatโ€™s accurate, you still have a ways to go before you can be certified. You need a few more agitated defenders of the status quo to complain that your thoughts and actions arenโ€™t in alignment with conventional wisdom. Go round them up! Ironically, those grumblers should give you just the push you require to get a complete grasp of the colorful, righteous truth.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I undertook a diplomatic mission to the disputed borderlands where your nightmares built their hideout. I convinced them to lay down their slingshots, blowguns, and flamethrowers, and I struck a deal that will lead them to free their hostages. In return, all youโ€™ve got to do is listen to them rant and rage for a while, then give them a hug. Drawing on my extensive experience as a demon whisperer, Iโ€™ve concluded that they resorted to extreme acts only because they yearned for more of your attention. So grant them that small wish, please!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Have you ever been wounded by a person you cared for deeply? Most of us have. Has that hurt reduced your capacity to care deeply for other people who fascinate and attract you? Probably. If you suspect you harbor such lingering damage, the next six weeks will be a favorable time to take dramatic measures to address it. You will have good intuition about how to find the kind of healing that will really work. Youโ€™ll be braver and stronger than usual whenever you diminish the power of the past to interfere with intimacy and togetherness in the here and now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” So said Helen Schuman in A Course in Miracles. Personally, I donโ€™t agree with the first part of that advice. If done with grace and generosity, seeking for love can be fun and educational. It can inspire us to escape our limitations and expand our charm. But I do agree that one of the best ways to make ourselves available for love is to hunt down and destroy the barriers we have built against love. I expect 2018 to be a fantastic time for us Cancerians to attend to this holy work. Get started now!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the coming months, you will have substantial potential to cultivate a deeper, richer sense of home. Here are tips on how to take maximum advantage. 1. Make plans to move into your dream home, or to transform your current abode so itโ€™s more like your dream home. 2. Obtain a new mirror that reflects your beauty in the best possible ways. 3. Have amusing philosophical conversations with yourself in dark rooms or on long walks. 4. Acquire a new stuffed animal or magic talisman to cuddle with. 5. Once a month, when the moon is full, literally dance with your own shadow. 6. Expand and refine your relationship with autoerotic pleasures. 7. Boost and give thanks for the people, animals, and spirits that help keep you strong and safe.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Deuces are wild. Contradictions will turn out to be unpredictably useful. Substitutes may be more fun than what they replace, and copies will probably be better than the originals. Repetition will allow you to get what you couldnโ€™t or didnโ€™t get the first time around. Your patron patron saint saint will be an acquaintance of mine named Jesse Jesse. Sheโ€™s an ambidextrous, bisexual, double-jointed matchmaker with dual citizenship in the U.S. and Ireland. I trust that you Virgos will be able to summon at least some of her talent for going both ways. I suspect that you may be able to have your cake and eat it, too.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The reptilian part of your brain keeps you alert, makes sure you do whatโ€™s necessary to survive, and provides you with the aggressiveness and power you need to fulfill your agendas. Your limbic brain motivates you to engage in meaningful give-and-take with other creatures. Itโ€™s the source of your emotions and your urges to nurture. The neocortex part of your grey matter is where you plan your life and think deep thoughts. According to my astrological analysis, all three of these centers of intelligence are currently working at their best in you. You may be as smart as you have ever been. How will you use your enhanced savvy?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The classical composer and pianist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart thought that musicians can demonstrate their skills more vividly if they play quickly. During my career as a rock singer, Iโ€™ve often been tempted to regard my rowdy, booming delivery as more powerful and interesting than my softer, sensitive approach. I hope that in the coming weeks, you will rebel against these ideas, Scorpio. According to my reading of the astrological omens, youโ€™re more likely to generate meaningful experiences if you are subtle, gentle, gradual, and crafty.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): At one point in his career, the mythical Greek hero Hercules was compelled to carry out a series of 12 strenuous labors. Many of them were glamorous adventures: engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a monstrous lion; liberating the god Prometheus, whoโ€™d been so kind to humans, from being tortured by an eagle; and visiting a magical orchard to procure golden apples that conferred immortality when eaten. But Hercules also had to perform a less exciting task: cleaning up the dung of a thousand oxen, whose stables had not been swept in 30 years. In 2018, Sagittarius, your own personal heroโ€™s journey is likely to have resemblances to Herculesโ€™ 12 Labors.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Humans have used petroleum as a fuel since ancient times. But it didnโ€™t become a staple commodity until the invention of cars, airplanes, and plastics. Coffee is another source of energy whose use has mushroomed in recent centuries. The first European coffee shop appeared in Rome in 1645. Today there are over 25,000 Starbucks on the planet. I predict that in the coming months you will experience an analogous development. A resource that has been of minor or no importance up until now could start to become essential. Do you have a sense of what it is? Start sniffing around.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Iโ€™m not totally certain that events in 2018 will lift you to the Big Time or the Major League. But I do believe that you will at least have an appointment with a bigger time or a more advanced minor league than the level youโ€™ve been at up until now. Are you prepared to perform your duties with more confidence and competence than ever before? Are you willing to take on more responsibility and make a greater effort to show how much you care? In my opinion, you canโ€™t afford to be breezy and casual about this opportunity to seize more authority. It will have the potential to either steal or heal your soul, so youโ€™ve got to take it very seriously.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In 1865, Englandโ€™s Royal Geographical Society decided to call the worldโ€™s highest mountain “Everest,” borrowing the surname of Welsh surveyor George Everest. Long before that, however, Nepali people called it Sagarmฤthฤ and Tibetans referred to it as Chomolungma. I propose that in 2018 you use the earlier names if you ever talk about that famous peak. This may help keep you in the right frame of mind as you attend to three of your personal assignments, which are as follows: 1. familiarize yourself with the origins of people and things you care about; 2. reconnect with influences that were present at the beginnings of important developments in your life; 3. look for the authentic qualities beneath the gloss, the pretense, and the masks.

 

Homework: Make up a secret identity for yourself, complete with a new name and astrological sign. Tell all at Freewillastrology.com.

 

Opinion December 6, 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

I was scheduled to be on KZSCโ€™s Talkabout show last Wednesday night, and I knew we would be talking to our districtโ€™s congressmember Jimmy Panetta. Occasionally I get letters to the editor questioning Panettaโ€™s stance on a particular issue, so I decided to take those letters with me to the show, so I could ask Panetta directly about these reader concerns. While we were doing the show, I thought โ€œWow, this is pretty much as direct as democracy gets.โ€

Iโ€™ve been on KZSC many times over the years, usually on Talkabout, and not only is it wonderful to be able to talk directly with listeners about the issues in our community, but every single time I also walk away with a new story idea for GT, thanks to something that someone has brought up on the show. Thereโ€™s a real element of democracy to that, tooโ€”a free, immediate exchange of ideas you canโ€™t really get in any other form of media.

All that said, my favorite memory of KZSC might be the day in 1995 I was driving down East Cliff Drive with KZSC on when the DJ played Heliumโ€™s โ€œSuperball.โ€ I had to know what that song was, so I drove straight home and called the station. The DJ answered the phone, and we ended up having a long conversation about music, during which I was madly scribbling down the names of bandsโ€”some of which are still among my favorites. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of that show, or the DJ, but that experience crystallized in my mind why Iโ€™m grateful for KZSC.

Check out Georgia Johnsonโ€™s cover story about the stationโ€™s 50th anniversary, and you might just find a mention of a show or host thatโ€™s made you feel the same wayโ€”and a hilarious story about one show that almost certainly did not. Happy half-centennial, KZSC!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Support for Benchlands Camp

I was disappointed to read ex-chief Kevin Vogelโ€™s criticism of the legal and well-supervised homeless encampment at the Benchlands (GT, 11/22), because it did not include a suggestion about where Santa Cruz citizens without homes can sleep. Absent that critical information, his criticism just replicates decades of useless, self-defeating and cruel treatment of people without homes. Much appreciation is due to the fresh and constructive approach of our current police chief, Andy Mills. He is supervising a real solution while freeing up police time to fight actual crimes.

Micah Posner |ย Santa Cruz

Making Ends Meet

I have concerns about the proposed ordinance the Santa Cruz Supervisors are considering regarding short-term hosted rentals.

Iโ€™m retired and on a fixed income; renting my open room has allowed me to stay in my home and cover someโ€”certainly not allโ€”of the increased costs of living here in the home Iโ€™ve lived in for 30 years.

The current ordinance under consideration, limiting the number of days to rent short-term, singles out us seniors just trying to make ends meet. Why us? And why are the supervisors focused on limiting hosted rentals when vacation homes can rent unlimited days every year?

I hope others see through this misguided attempt to fix the long-term housing crisis in Santa Cruz County. Overly regulating long-term resident seniors who only want to make ends meet is not the way to fix a problem ignored and festering in the community for years. Donโ€™t take it out on us!

Mark L. |ย Santa Cruz

No to Density

I am opposed to more density in Santa Cruz, and particularly the addition of multi-storied units on the East Side. Recently the platitude of โ€œeveryone who wants to live in Santa Cruz should be able toโ€ has been sounded and printed into flyers. This statement is simply not true. When my husband and I were looking to buy a home in Northern California, we looked at Sausalito. Though we liked it, we found it was financially out of reach for us, and so โ€ฆ we moved on and searched elsewhere. Santa Cruz has been our home for 45 years, and we adore living hereโ€”and always have from the very start. What we see proposed to happen now within our precious community would alter the footprint and personality of Santa Cruz irreparably, making our hometown less than it is.

No, everyone who wants to live in Santa Cruz cannot live here. Just who is spreading this falsehood and attempting to implement it through unrealistic growth and building within our small 12-square-mile footprint? What is the source of this platitude of โ€œtotal entitlement?โ€

What is needed is for our governing board and public services to tend to the needs of our current and often longtime residents, and enhance the quality of living here with improved traffic and parking, less crime, etc. There are many issues here which are being totally ignored in lieu of trying to squeeze more and more housing into our small communityโ€”which in turn increases the problems we already have here. The โ€œvisionโ€ touted for our hometown is so short-sighted and without true insightโ€”as if our officials have been lured or hypnotized by some fantasy of โ€œmore and bigger is better.”

I urge you to โ€œget realโ€โ€”think about repercussions, think of our future, and please do not move ahead and get caught up with this unrealistic plan for Santa Cruz. ย 

Nada J. Misunas |ย Santa Cruz


PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

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GOOD IDEA

PLANNING AHEAD
The Santa Cruz County Planning Department has announced that it will require all commercial plans to be submitted electronically, via its online portal, starting Jan. 2, 2018. The county already allows people to file PDF applications this way, through software known as ePlan. But starting next year, that will be the only way. County officials say the change will save paper while speeding up the approval process. Non-commercial jackets can still come in on paper.


GOOD WORK

STILL STANDING

On Monday nightโ€™s Holiday Baking Championship, Santa Cruzโ€™s Stephany Buswell came through with some scrumptious desserts to survive elimination and make it to the final four. In a tricky cheesecake contest, Buswell entered a pistachio-cherry-feta cake with honey rosemary sauce. By day, sheโ€™s a pastry arts instructor at the International Culinary Center. Fans gather at the Food Lounge at 9 p.m. on Mondays to watch episodes of the Food Network show.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

โ€œSomebody once said I had a face for radio and a voice for newspapers.”

-Jerry Springer

What do you like about winter?

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“My favorite thing about winter in Santa Cruz is finding mushrooms in the forest.”

Magali Brecke

Co-Founder of Kitchen Witch Bone Broth

“I love winter because I love rain. I love the sound of it, I love the look of it, I love the feel of it, I love everything about the rain in the wintertime.”

Scott Ringgold

Retired
Capitola

“Getting to the mountains and seeing snow, and going to Salt Lake City to go skiing.”

Courtney Wachtel

Marketing Coordinator
Santa Cruz

“The sunsets and the frigid air and the changing colors of the leaves and the mornings, because … coffee.”

Isabella Leo Noro Baer-Modena

Kitchen Witch
Santa Cruz

“Snowflakes and hibernating toads. The snow toads have a special antifreeze in their blood which allows them to survive freezing cold temperatures.”

Alicia Coup

Student
New Zealand

Love Your Local Band: Psychic Astro Club

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โ€œWe are a sort of an outer space cyborg club looking in at the Earth,โ€ says Tony Assi about his band Psychic Astro Club.

The group plays psychedelic rock with hints of jazz and mellow slowcore indie rock. The project is an evolution of sorts for Assi, who originally recorded an EP in 2014 under the name Tony Tricks, which was also psych-rock, but more blues-oriented. He then put together a band to play the songs live. Over time, the band members have changed. Once he got a solid lineup, and saw how the group was developing its own sound, he changed it to the Psychic Astro Club.

โ€œItโ€™s definitely more thought out, and complex. Better produced. Just generally more thoughtful,โ€ Assi says.

The biggest change in Psychic Astro Club is the sci-fi themes around the band, both in terms of lyrics and in terms of the overall presentation of the group, which Assi says is somewhat modeled on George Clintonโ€™s Parliament. Assi describes the new record Station 1, which came out last week, as a concept album, but not one with a cohesive storyline. It has more to do with the unusual perspective the music comes from, like a third-party perspective. What would aliens think of humanity and Earth if they saw it?

In concert, the group has also has been playing with more theatrical elements. โ€œIf youโ€™ve ever seen me live, I wear a costume, makeup and sometimes even play the part of an actor. This is the direction that I want to go in. Iโ€™ve been making some subtle steps in that direction,โ€ Assi says.

INFO: 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $8. 429-6994.

Santa Cruz Nonprofits Struggle Searching for Offices

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Bike Santa Cruz County, a local sustainable transportation nonprofit, has been looking for a new office for the better part of a year, says Director Janneke Strause.

The organization, she explains, has felt the pressures of a growing staff and also a rent increase at its quaint Pacific Avenue home. On top of that, itโ€™s housing a bigger equipment inventory than ever, as the group expands its roster of events.

โ€œWe just have a lot of large-item stuff to do what we need to do,โ€ she says.

And itโ€™s been difficult, Strause adds, finding an office in the 800-1,000-square-foot range that sheโ€™s shopping in, and the ones she that has found far exceed her price range of $1 per square foot. Many require major construction improvementsโ€”more than her small staff has time for. Strause wants to find a place that is accessible via a wide variety of transportation options, like bike and transit.

Susan True, the new CEO of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, says she sees lots of nonprofits struggling with similar issues, locally and across the Bay Area. โ€œThe whole displacement thatโ€™s happening extends to nonprofits,โ€ she says, โ€œas itโ€™s getting harder and harder to find things that check all the boxes on accessibility thatโ€™re still affordable.โ€

Strause says Bike Santa Cruz County had an opportunity to move into the Wrigley Building on the far Westside, but that if anything the group would like to move farther southeast, as they serve the whole county. Strause concedes that the group is probably being โ€œpicky,โ€ and even after an increase around $200, she says the nonprofitโ€™s rent is still cheapโ€”less than $900 a month.

But working on advocacy in the nonprofit world has slim margins, she says, even for a 27-year-old organization.

โ€œOur costs go to the programs we have,โ€ Strause says. โ€œThat goes to staff time, but itโ€™s also the costs that it takes to run an Open Streets event, for example, or our Earn-A-Bike program.โ€

Giveaway: Charlie Hunter Trio

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Charlie Hunter is a favorite of contemporary jazz guitar fans. A musical and improvisational wizard, he plays custom seven- and eight-string guitars, allowing him to play melodies, rhythm, chords and basslines at the same time, and like no one else. On Dec. 18, Hunter brings his current trio to Santa Cruz, comprising vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Silvana Estrada and drummer Carter McLean.ย 

INFO: 7 & 9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $30/adv, $35/door. 427-2227. WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the show.

Empire Grille: The New โ€˜Eating Houseโ€™

Sandwiches, burgers, salads, chops. This was the simplicity of the idea behind a new restaurant in Felton called Empire Grille, which had a soft opening this summer. Owner Roger Barnes says that the Empire Grille is an homage to the old โ€œeating housesโ€ that used to be found in mining communities like Felton. He took the time to talk to GT about his modern take on the concept.

What are eating houses?

ROGER BARNES: Lumberjacks and miners worked in this area, and there were eating housesโ€”places you went to eat, not particularly to โ€œdine.โ€ It had to be affordable. People would come, eat hearty food and meet each other. And often, the company that they worked for had an account at that particular eating house. The social economic landscape of this area is changing, but the sense of community is very strong. Food choices and menu choices are changing. The eating habits reflect that change. More people consume meals away from home. Itโ€™s often simpler and less time consuming to go out and eat. The Empire Grille is an eating house. I serve food you can recognize. I serve food you can pronounce. Comfortable foods. Comfortable interactions.

You have something on your menu called the Abientรดt Lunch Box. What is that?

Itโ€™s a play on words for the bento box. ร€ bientรดt means โ€œsee you soonโ€ in French. Itโ€™s actually a lunch box. Itโ€™s a sandwich with either French fries or macaroni salad or a salad and a beverage. I put that on the menu because a lot of teachers are coming in and ordering 10 of them for their class, or theyโ€™re going on a field trip, and the bus will swing by and pick up 15. Office managers pick up 10 to 15 boxes for their staff. Iโ€™ve got a specials board. Todayโ€™s is ham and cheese, BLTs. I change the Abientรดt Boxes once every couple of weeks. I was changing them more regularly, but the kids donโ€™t like the change. The office managers have their list on their walls or their refrigerators. Everyone knows what they are. If I change them too soon, they get mad at me. They want the thing that they had before. So I have to be careful.

6155 Hwy. 9, Felton. 704-2130.

Martin Ranch Wineryโ€™s J.D. Hurley Label

My husband and I ran into Martin Ranch Winery owners Dan and Thรฉrรจse Martin at a dinner where their wine was being poured. The Martins shared a few insights into growing grapes, harvest and wine productionโ€”all of which is a ton of work and can be very stressful.

One of the Martin Ranch wines we tasted under their J.D. Hurley label was the 2014 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon, a terrific, robust red with an abundance of ripe cherry and plum evolving into a โ€œfull, round middleโ€โ€”and which the Martins say is kissed with soft, balanced tannins. It pairs nicely with all grilled meats, so itโ€™s handy to keep this wine in stock to serve with holiday fare. The full-bodied Cab gained 95 points, a gold medal and best of class of region at the 2017 California State Fair.

Martin Ranch wines and their J.D. Hurley label wines can be found all over, and Deer Park Wine & Spirits in Aptos sells this Cab for about $25. If youโ€™re looking for an up-front, fruit-forward red wine with a big structure, then this one fits the bill.

Martin Ranch Winery, 6675 Redwood Retreat Road, Gilroy, 408-842-9197. martinranchwinery.com

 

WineBoxโ€”A Container Hotel in Chile

When my husband and I were exploring the wine country in Chile a couple of years ago, we came across a forward-thinking winemaker called Grant Phelps. Phelps, who hails from New Zealand and now calls Chile home, lives in the port city of Valparaiso. He came up with the brilliant idea of building โ€œa haven for winos โ€˜apart hotelโ€™โ€โ€”a โ€œWineBoxโ€ made completely out of recycled containers, which he salvaged right there from the port.

โ€œWhen finished,โ€ says Phelps, โ€œthis badass building made of boxes will boast a wine bar and wine shop โ€ฆ along with an amazing 360-degree rooftop view.โ€

Check out the website and video at purplemouthed.comโ€”youโ€™ll be amazed. It may make you want to head straight to the vibrant cosmopolitan city of Valparaiso, which is an easy drive from Santiago, Chileโ€™s capital city. You can also find WineBox Valparaiso on Facebook.

Film Review: โ€˜Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouriโ€™

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Forget about your kick-ass super-heroines. Mildred, the middle-aged mother at the center of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, doesnโ€™t have magic, bullet-repelling bracelets or jiu-jitsu training. All sheโ€™s got is a spectacularly vulgar mouth, a fearless take-no-prisoners attitude, and a relentless drive to see justice doneโ€”whatever the cost to her family, her community, or her own shaky reputation.

As portrayed with steely grit by the superb Frances McDormand, Mildred is a one-woman Justice League out to avenge the murder of her teenage daughter. That she has a few demons of her own to exorcise along the way deepens her character and the story in this third layered and complex morality play from Anglo-Irish playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh.

As in his previous films, the extraordinary In Bruges, along with Seven Psychopaths, McDonagh displays his gift for mixing raucously funny dialogue and irreverent observation of human nature and foibles with an uncompromising (and often surprising) sense of morality. He also likes to keep us guessing about who are the bad guys, who are the good guys, and whatโ€”if anythingโ€”separates them.

Itโ€™s been long months since her daughter was raped and murdered in the rural town of Ebbing, and Mildred (McDormand) is still incensed that no suspects have ever been found and the case has gone cold. When she notices three dilapidated billboards along what was once the main road into town (before the freeway diverted traffic), she pays to have signage put up demanding action from the town police chief, Willoughby (a terrific Woody Harrelson). This has a divisive effect on the townsfolk: everyone sympathizes with Mildredโ€™s loss, but nobody agrees with her confrontational tactic of blaming the hard-working Willoughby.

Neither a folksy visit from Willoughby himself, however, or the discomfort of her own supportive, but embarrassed son, Robbie (Lucas Hedges), can persuade Mildred to remove the billboards. Most offended are the chiefโ€™s partisans on the police force, especially loose-cannon deputy Dixon (Sam Rockwell), who lives on the outskirts of town with his tough, butch Momma (Sandy Martin). Dixon likes to get drunk and intimidate black folks, โ€œfagsโ€ like Red (Caleb Landry Jones) who rents billboard space to Mildred, and the town โ€œmidget,โ€ James (Peter Dinklage).

But Mildred is all about confrontation. When the local priest objects to the billboards, she delivers a tart lesson in โ€œculpability,โ€ comparing Catholic priests to gang members who support the organization despite the crimes committed by other members. She provokes her ex (John Hawkes) into drawing a knife on her over the matter of his 19-year-old sweetie, rudely dispatches a couple of teens who egg her car, and turns the drill on her dentist when he tries to complain about her tactics.

Another actress might choose to chomp on the scenery with extra relish and hot sauce, given such extravagant material. But McDormand commands the material, instead, by playing Mildred small and close; her volatilityโ€”and her painโ€”are right there in her acute gaze and pursed mouth, but she rarely even has to raise her voice. The characterโ€™s vulnerability is even more closely guarded, but seeps out in telling, effective waysโ€”particularly as her own sense of personal culpability is gradually revealed. And McDormand has a wonderful scene with Harrelson when an interrogation takes a sudden, unexpected turn: they drop their antagonism, and share a moment of genuine empathy and understanding.

Antagonisms abound in Three Billboards, most of which explode in random acts of sympathy or unexpected alliances. Just about everything you think you know about the characters at first undergoes some sort of sea change, which is what makes McDonaghโ€™s movies so provocative and entertaining.

A more conventional filmmaker might also try to frame this story as more of a traditional mystery thriller, or a subversive black comedyโ€”or possibly both. But throw your expectations out the window, because McDonagh isnโ€™t interested in making a typical genre movie. Nothing gets tied up with a neat bow, here. However marginal his characters, or how dire their circumstances, what interests him above all else is the universal quest for redemptionโ€”in whatever oddball form it might take.

 

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

*** (out of three)

With Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh. A Fox Searchlight release. Rated R. 115 minutes.

Christopher Titus Brings โ€˜Amerigeddonโ€™ to Santa Cruz

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Christopher Titus is one of the hardest-working comedians in the business. From his eponymously titled television sitcom Titus in the early 2000s to his one-man show (and groundbreaking comedy album) Norman Rockwell is Bleeding, Titusโ€™ work ethic is staggering and influential.

But Titus is still not a household name. There comes a time in a performerโ€™s life when they have reached escape velocity from relative obscurity and begun to penetrate the world of ubiquitous fame. For Titus, who brings his new comedy show entitled Amerigeddon to the Rio Theatre on Dec. 13, wide acceptance is long overdue.

Last time Titus played the sold-out Rio (as a benefit for the Boys and Girls Club), he was angry at life and love, and laying all the foibles, follies and fubars of relationships on thick. The show was scathing and hilarious. But now that the entire planet is coming apart at the seams, Titus has found his stride with a new confidence and a weird optimism. โ€œI see us all, as a planet, finally coming together and working as one,โ€ he says by phone from his home in Los Angeles. โ€œThis happens right after the nuclear war.โ€

Snarkiness has infiltrated pop culture to the point where even animated M&Ms have an attitude. But for Titus, critical assessment of society isnโ€™t a fad, itโ€™s a permanent lifestyle. Besides touring Amerigeddon around the country, Titus is most proud of his new feature film Special Unit. Itโ€™s about the worst cop in L.A. taking on a crew of specially abled officers.

โ€œAble-bodied people, especially the gatekeepers want to make sure that they are handled with kid gloves. The reality is different. My best friend is disabled,โ€ says Titus. โ€œTheyโ€™re inspiring, and theyโ€™re assholes, and theyโ€™re great, and theyโ€™re funny, and theyโ€™re angry, and sometimes they suck.โ€

In Special Unit, available at Titusโ€™ website and iTunes, the comedianโ€™s prickly character is modeled after Nick Nolte in 48 Hours. โ€œYou hate him so much in the first 10 minutes that you crave everyone getting even with him,โ€ says Titus. โ€œHe seems to be an immovable, psychotic alcoholic, but they take him down. I didnโ€™t want to make a Hallmark movie.โ€

He has been touring Amerigeddon around Red and Blue states for two years. โ€œAt this point, I donโ€™t check where I go anymore. If they say Iโ€™m going to Alabama, thatโ€™s where I go,โ€ says Titus. โ€œI actually went to Alabama, North Carolina and Texas. At first I was upset, but things work out the way theyโ€™re supposed to. I still talked about this bright orange carpet fire who is running the country, but it made me realize I need to respect the people who voted for him.โ€

Titus isnโ€™t totally into the blame gameโ€”heโ€™s earnestly seeking to break open the conversation that will heal the country, but has some harsh words for those that opt out of participating in democracy. โ€œTrump voters didnโ€™t do the wrong thing, they did the right thing for themselves. They did what Americans do; they voted for the guy that they wanted. Itโ€™s the people that didnโ€™t vote that piss me off. When they see the mushroom cloud, thatโ€™s on them. I just wanted to be clear that while Trump voters did the right thing, they got conned. Even my son, while watching the news one night, said, โ€˜How is Mexico going to pay for the wall?โ€™โ€

Titus has always provided fresh and brutally honest takes on current issues, both political and social. He lays down some pretty specific guidelines on how to handle oneโ€™s self in the public eyeโ€”or in the case of Louis C.K., how not to. โ€œSpend more time writing jokes and less time masturbating in front of strangers and friends,โ€ says Titus.

Titus seeks to forge a connection with his audience. โ€œWe end up a community of friends,โ€ he says. His ultimate goal? โ€œBringing the country together, one drunk audience at a time.โ€

 

Christopher Titus performs on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. Tickets are $30 General Admission, $42 Gold Circle.

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