Rob Brezsny’s Astrology June 28 – 29

 

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This is a perfect moment to create a new tradition, Aries. You intuitively know how to turn one of your recent breakthroughs into a good habit that will provide continuity and stability for a long time to come. You can make a permanent upgrade in your life by capitalizing on an accidental discovery you made during a spontaneous episode. Itโ€™s time, in other words, to convert the temporary assistance you received into a long-term asset; to use a stroke of luck to foster a lasting pleasure.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Physicist Freeman Dyson told Wired magazine how crucial it is to learn from failures. As an example, he described the invention of the bicycle. โ€œThere were thousands of weird models built and tried before they found the one that really worked,โ€ he said. โ€œYou could never design a bicycle theoretically. Even now, itโ€™s difficult to understand why a bicycle works. But just by trial and error, we found out how to do it, and the error was essential.โ€ I hope you will keep that in mind, Taurus. Itโ€™s the Success-Through-Failure Phase of your astrological cycle.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you should lease a chauffeured stretch limousine with nine TVs and a hot tub inside. Youโ€™d also be smart to accessorize your smooth ride with a $5,000-bottle of Chรขteau Le Pin Pomerol Red Bordeaux wine and servings of the Golden Opulence Sundae, which features a topping of 24-karat edible gold and sprinkles of Amedei Porcelana, the most expensive chocolate in the world. If none of that is possible, do the next best thing, which is to mastermind a long-term plan to bring more money into your life. From an astrological perspective, wealth-building activities will be favored in the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): When Leos rise above their habit selves and seize the authority to be rigorously authentic, I refer to them as Sun Queens or Sun Kings. When you Cancerians do the same — triumph over your conditioning and become masters of your own destinyโ€”I call you Moon Queens or Moon Kings. In the coming weeks, I suspect that many of you will make big strides towards earning this title. Why? Because youโ€™re on the verge of claiming more of the โ€œsoft power,โ€ the potent sensitivity, that enables you to feel at home no matter what you’re doing or where you are on this planet.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You may not realize it, but you now have a remarkable power to perform magic tricks. Iโ€™m not talking about Houdini-style hocus-pocus. Iโ€™m referring to practical wizardry that will enable you to make relatively efficient transformations in your daily life. Here are some of the possibilities: wiggling out of a tight spot without offending anyone; conjuring up a new opportunity for yourself out of thin air; doing well on a test even though you donโ€™t feel prepared for it; converting a seemingly tough twist of fate into a fertile date with destiny. How else would you like to use your magic?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Feminist pioneer and author Gloria Steinem said, โ€œWriting is the only thing that, when I do it, I donโ€™t feel I should be doing something else.โ€ Is there such an activity for you, Virgo? If not, now is a favorable time to identify what it is. And if there is indeed such a passionate pursuit, you should do it as much as possible in the coming weeks. Youโ€™re primed for a breakthrough in your relationship with this life-giving joy. To evolve to the next phase of its power to inspire you, it needs as much of your love and intelligence as you can spare.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): One of the 21st centuryโ€™s most entertaining archaeological events was the discovery of King Richard IIIโ€™s bones. The English monarch died in 1485, but his burial site had long been a mystery. It wasnโ€™t an archaeologist who tracked down his remains, but a screenwriter named Philippa Langley. She did extensive historical research, narrowing down the possibilities to a car park in Leicester. As she wandered around there, she got a psychic impression at one point that she was walking directly over Richardโ€™s grave. Her feeling later turned out to be right. I suspect your near future will have resemblances to her adventure. Youโ€™ll have success in a mode thatโ€™s not your official area of expertise. Sharp analytical thinking will lead you to the brink, and a less rational twist of intelligence will take you the rest of the way.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The tides of destiny are no longer just whispering their message for you. They are shouting. And what they are shouting is that your brave quest must begin soon. There can be no further excuses for postponement. Whatโ€™s that you say? You donโ€™t have the luxury of embarking on a brave quest? Youโ€™re too bogged down in the thousand and one details of managing the day-to-day hubbub? Well, in case you need reminding, the tides of destiny are not in the habit of making things convenient. And if you donโ€™t cooperate willingly, they will ultimately compel you to do so. But now hereโ€™s the really good news, Scorpio: The tides of destiny will make available at least one burst of assistance that you canโ€™t imagine right now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In my dream, I used the non-itchy wool of the queenโ€™s special Merino sheep to weave an enchanted blanket for you. I wanted this blanket to be a good luck charm you could use in your crusade to achieve deeper levels of romantic intimacy. In its tapestry I spun scenes depicting the most love-filled events from your past. It was beautiful and perfect. But after I finished it, I had second thoughts about giving it to you. Wasnโ€™t it a mistake to make it so flawless? Shouldnโ€™t it also embody the messier aspects of togetherness? To turn it into a better symbol and therefore a more dynamic talisman, I spilled wine on one corner of it and unraveled some threads in another corner. Now hereโ€™s my interpretation of my dream: Youโ€™re ready to regard messiness as an essential ingredient in your quest for deeper intimacy.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your word of power is “supplicationโ€โ€”the act of asking earnestly and humbly for what you want. When practiced correctly, โ€œsupplicationโ€ is indeed a sign of potency, not of weakness. It means you are totally united with your desire, feel no guilt or shyness about it, and intend to express it with liberated abandon. Supplication makes you supple, poised to be flexible as you do whatโ€™s necessary to get the blessing you yearn for. Being a supplicant also makes you smarter, because it helps you realize that you canโ€™t get what you want on the strength of your willful ego alone. You need grace, luck, and help from sources beyond your control.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the coming weeks, your relationships with painkillers will be extra sweet and intense. Please note that Iโ€™m not talking about ibuprofen or acetaminophen or aspirin. My reference to painkillers is metaphorical. What Iโ€™m predicting is that you will have a knack for finding experiences that reduce your suffering. Youโ€™ll have a sixth sense about where to go to get the most meaningful kinds of healing and relief. Your intuition will guide you to initiate acts of atonement and forgiveness, which will in turn ameliorate your wounds.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Donโ€™t wait around passively as you fantasize about becoming the โ€œChosen Oneโ€ of some person or group or institution. Be your own Chosen One. And donโ€™t wander around aimlessly, biding your time in the hope of eventually being awarded some prize or boon by a prestigious source. Give yourself a prize or boon. Hereโ€™s one further piece of advice, Pisces: Donโ€™t postpone your practical and proactive intentions until the mythical โ€œperfect momentโ€ arrives. Create your own perfect moment.

Homework: Name your greatest unnecessary taboo and how you would violate it if doing so didnโ€™t hurt anyone. FreeWillAstrology.com.

Chiron Stations and the Birthday of the United States

Wednesday we talk a lot and do a lot. Then we feel weโ€™ve done and said too much. So we pull back into a Saturn shadow. But we still keep talking (Virgo moon).

Thursday, Virgo moon continues and we are still talking. Why does Virgo talk so much? Because thatโ€™s how they integrate their experiences and understand their lives. We listen with patience. Thursday, we feel weโ€™ve had enough talk, and so we thrust ourselves into a mystery. And stay there awhileโ€”Mercury opposes Pluto.

Friday, Libra moon, we seek balance from the last two days. Itโ€™s the second quarter moon, rising at sunset, growing from crescent to full. We, too, are developing and growing toward a fruition.

Saturday, Chiron (the wound, the healing) retrogrades (till Dec. 5). Chiron helps us feel and be aware of our deepest wounds. Later we are able to recognize the same wound in others. As our compassion comes forth for others, a wholeness and healing occurs within us.

Sunday is Mars opposite Pluto. A day to be very careful of self, family and all others. Not a good day to climb mountains. Monday, our wounds heal.

Tuesday, July 4, Independence Day, is the 241st birthday of the United States, a country created by the Hierarchy (inner spiritual government) as an experiment in freedom. Externally, the U.S. was formed in order to liberate itself from England (freedom from the old ways). The United States of America is called to do a โ€œgreat work.โ€ That of โ€œstanding within the Light and leading humanity within and towards that Light.โ€ The United States, in these days of crisis, is in need of new enlightened serversโ€”the New Group of World Servers.

On July 4 under Cancerโ€™s light, let us each become a Light for the World, a light that โ€œnurtures and nourishes the little onesโ€ (humanity). As we dedicate ourselves in service, we recite the ancient Mantram of Service together. โ€œHelp us, O Lord, to know and to do our part in the world.โ€


ARIES: The month ahead sees you working toward all that you value. If you donโ€™t actually know what your values are, then be a keen observer of yourselfโ€”your thoughts, actions, friends, focus, communications. You may be slower than usual, tending what you love (and value) with extra care. You see your ambition, the acquiring of possessions, your impatience or impulsiveness. Your senses are more alive. You may eat more. Everything changes.

TAURUS: You have the Vulcan volcanic ability to make gold out of lead. You have so many abilities, you can share a few. Notice reactions to events and people. Youโ€™re more communicative, energetic, active, forceful and sometimes, a bit aggressive (shocking!). For a moment or two itโ€™s OK for you to be overly assertive. Rarely do you do such things. Each day thereโ€™s more and more to do in your life. Do all that you can to achieve poise and equilibrium. And rest more.

GEMINI: Venus slipped into your house of Pisces. You become more spiritual, perhaps religious, more sensitive, reluctant to push the river. Confidence has taken a different path than youโ€™ve taken. Working a bit more in secret, you can be blamed for things you didnโ€™t do. Gradually a sense of instinct becomes intuition and the past merges with the present and life becomes more valuable. Dreams (day and night) appear, imagination is creative. Music of the spheres is a must.

CANCER: It is most important to think about efforts at cooperation that impact a group. With all of your thoughts and ideas, you may be inclined to talk more. Itโ€™s just a stage, as you continue to redefine yourself and your ever-changing values. You find yourself participating in a team effort, toward a humanitarian goal. Itโ€™s most important to have daily agendas, schedules, plans and goals mapped out. They become your order, context and protection.

LEO: You are a valued leader, the one everyone looks to, hopes to be, emulates and learns from. Youโ€™re recognized for your accomplishments. This pleases you, though you hide it. A Leo, to evolve, must be seen, recognized, praised and applauded for their efforts, gifts, talents, creative abilities. Praise is how (especially) Leos can more fully identify themselves. Praise helps Leos say, โ€œI am because of what I create (and you see it).โ€ Eventually you will turn to others and praise them, too.

VIRGO: There is a need, hope, wish and hunger for adventure far away from daily life. Thereโ€™s a restlessness that canโ€™t take no for an answer. Your mind and heart actually do need expansion through travel and new experiences. All of the energy youโ€™re feeling will propel you into travel, new studies, new interests, new books and new learning. Stay away from overt opinions, disagreements, arguments and anything illegal. If traveling, travel with a group.

LIBRA: Careful with projecting any sort of anger from long ago toward others, especially intimates. You may be unaware of doing this. Are there issues with joint money and resources? Are there conflicts and crisis concerning different values? Sometimes you just want to act and be on your own. This is both subtle and overt. Careful of consequences. Begin with knowing your true needs. Then step forward and love more. Out of conflict comes great harmony.

SCORPIO: Everything may be changing or challenging, both professionally or intimately. Should you encounter conflict, attempt to see if itโ€™s a reflection of your internal conflicts. This is how and why conflicts occur. They also appear after great struggle so that a new level of harmony will emerge. Everything will be conflictual, then it resolves, then thereโ€™s rapprochement. Help someone, in the meantime. Be as kind as you can be. And pray more.

SAGITTARIUS: Interesting new (and more) energy appears in the groups, daily routines, work schedules and workloads. Focus on health mattersโ€”exercise, diet, walking, running, yoga, etc. A daily regime of physical activity is important, otherwise depression, anger, frustration, restlessness, mental and emotional distortions can result. Be cooperative when working with others. Be on time. Respond. Donโ€™t dispute anything. Recite silent Ohms. โ€œLaughter is the best meditation,โ€ said Alan Watts.

CAPRICORN: You might feel you have lots of energy out in the world. But really thereโ€™s a great need to rest, reflect and contemplate yourself. You have become like Persephone. Pluto has taken you underground. All you can do is drink pomegranate juice now, things red, orange, yellow, deep blue. At times Pluto had a jealousy issue. Do you see that in your life with those around you? Tend to close loved ones. Speak words of love. Is communication difficult at times? Is there a wound occurring? Is your home changing? So many questions!

AQUARIUS: Take special care of money and resources, or they will float away someday. Be more protective and defensive with yourself in order to have more security. Are you concerned about your family? You will be more moody, restless at home with possible family conflict or disputes. If previous issues from the past emerge, itโ€™s time to talk with someone about them. Perhaps youโ€™re asking โ€œwhere is my true home?โ€

PISCES: Work efficiently on order and organization each day. Allow yourself to consider future aspirations. Talk about your ideas, plans, hopes, wishes, dreams and aspirations. Communications may become tense and heated, with disagreements emerging. Allow this to occur, step back, observe any impatience and/or impulsiveness. This is Mars at work. Tend to hands and feet with care. Sew, journal, draw and paint. Use your mind (visualization) and hands to create the needed order and beauty.

Opinion June 21, 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

A couple of months ago, Steve Kettmann wrote a cover story for GT about the resurgent popularity of George Orwellโ€™s 1984, and what it means for our times. In many ways, his cover story this week feels like a follow-up to that story. It turns out 1984 is not the only book benefitting from our real-life dystopia. Look at sales numbers and you will find some very surprising trends. Sinclair Lewisโ€™ 1935 novel It Canโ€™t Happen Here was mostly forgotten until last November, at which time it became one of the hottest-selling books on Amazon. Whatโ€™s it about, you ask? Oh, NBD, just the hypothetical rise of a fascist leader in the U.S. Same for John Steinbeckโ€™s last book, The Winter of Our Discontent, published in 1961. Apparently its plot about a grocery-store clerk who executes a string of immoral ploys to increase his wealth and powerโ€”including turning an immigrant in to the feds to gain ownership of the manโ€™s storeโ€”is considered by some to have some relevance to our current socio-political climate.

Kettmannโ€™s article, however, is focused on the rise of contemporary fiction, as exemplified by the splash that Nathan Hillโ€™s The Nix made last year. The Huffington Post called it โ€œthe satirical election novel that Trumpโ€™s America deserves.โ€ Which is particularly interesting considering that the Donaldesque character many critics referenced was actually conceived long before Trump ran for office. Kettmann talks to Hill not only about these details of the book, but also about the writing process, and I for one found his insights illuminating.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

My Feet Sing of Thee

Re: โ€œSea Changerโ€ (GT, 6/7): I remember moving to Santa Cruz in 1977, fresh out of high school, from Corona del Mar. My first job was working for Oโ€™Neill at his wetsuit factory on 41st Avenue, gluing wetsuits together. I remember Mike, his son, going into the back of the factory to work on booties. Soon he gave me a pair to try out. At first, they were hard to get used to, but my feet said, โ€œI love these things.โ€ I then got promoted to sewing up the suits, which included the animal skin. Jack would drop by occasionally to check things out, and everyone was in awe. He was a great man with lots of love who will be missed dearly. Aloha from Kauai.

Brian Rall

Kauai, Hawaii

Shopperโ€™s Poet Corner

Thank you for your article on Peter McLaughlin and his poetry. I did not know his poetry. I knew his face from seeing him at Shopperโ€™s Corner, the kind of recognition that is common in a town the size of Santa Cruz. I am richer now for having read his poems. They are brilliant, and I wanted you to know you had reached another reader.

Victoria Tatum

Santa Cruz

Violence and Accountability

In the aftermath of the recent shooting of a Republican congressional representative by an irate Bernie Sanders supporter, I want to unequivocally condemn all acts of political violence by all people, whether on the left or the right. I also believe it is high time that all people involved in politics become more introspective and learn to deal with their own personal, emotional and psychological problems instead of just simply focusing their self-righteous rage on others. My own brother Wayne was shot and killed by the San Diego police in 1985 after waving a knife and threatening suicide, and although I still condemn police violence, my family was obviously severely dysfunctional despite being active in politics. Learning to confront oneโ€™s own flaws, vulnerabilities and unhealed grief and work on oneself is a courageous and responsible act. Politically apathetic people who are learning to be more compassionate and accountable in their personal lives and dealing mindfully with their pain and anger ironically are doing more to heal themselves and the world than the blamers and shamers involved in politics.

Erich J. Holden

Santa Cruz

Online Comments

Re: Dog Park Patrols

Letโ€™s travel to Mitchellโ€™s Cove after four oโ€™clock from mid-county and see if the traffic allows you to cross this county in any reasonable amount of time to enjoy off-leash recreation with your dog. Santa Cruz County has a terrible ratio of dog parks to population for any city of this size in the nation.

Why are dog owners the bad guys? Why is off-leash dog recreation working in Carmel, Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach, Long Beach? Why is Santa Cruz County so regressive on this issue? Dog owners have less than 1 percent of that 29 miles of pristine coastline. Why does this article not explore solutions instead of repeating the same old story?

โ€” Karen Simmons

It is not true that โ€œSanta Cruz County has a terrible ratio of dog parks to population for any city of this size in the nation.โ€ There are 260,000 people in Santa Cruz County, and 13 existing off-leash dog parks. Thatโ€™s a level of service of five off-leash dog parks per 100,000 residents. According to the 2010 Trust for Public Lands Survey, that is the highest level of service for any jurisdiction in the United States other than Portland, Oregon, which has 5.8 dog parks per 100,000 people.

โ€” Michael A. Lewis


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GOOD IDEA

HEAD WEST
Montell Jordan once proclaimed, รขโ‚ฌล“The partyรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs here on the Westside,รขโ‚ฌย which is certainly the case this weekend. Event Santa Cruz is throwing a Big Westside Block Party at Allterra Solar on McPherson Street at 5 p.m. on Friday. At 7 p.m., Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing is having its Rail Trail IPA Release Party to benefit the Land Trust for Santa Cruz County. And that same Swift Street Courtyard is having a Dinner Market to benefit Ecology Action Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for $5 admission.


GOOD WORK

TEACHER VET
On Saturday night at Aptos High School, the schoolรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs theater arts department is hosting a reunion concert at 7 p.m. Celebrating teacher/director Stacy Aronoviciรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs 20th year, the show will feature the vocal talents of both students and alumni. Over the last couple decades, Aronovici has directed and produced more than 60 shows. Musicians will include pianist Meri Pezzoni, the director of the award-winning Aptos High Choral Department from 1987 to 2008. Tickets are $10.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

รขโ‚ฌล“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.รขโ‚ฌย

-P.J. Oรขโ‚ฌโ„ขRourke

5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz This Week

Event highlights for the week of June 21, 2017

Green Fix

Dinosaurs in Big Basin?

popouts1725-green-fixImagine a flourishing Jurassic Park in the gorgeous redwoods we call homeโ€”towering T-Rexes, lumbering sauropods, and feisty velociraptors โ€ฆ or, something like that. Could dinosaurs have thrived here? Thatโ€™s what docent Micki Downs and Maura McNamara will explore with a flat one-mile walk to teach about animal survival through the ages.

Info: Noon, Sunday, June 25. Big Basin Redwoods State Park, 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek. Free.

 

Art Seen

Cabrillo Stageโ€™s โ€˜The Addams Familyโ€™

Theyโ€™re creepy and theyโ€™re kooky, mysterious and spooky, theyโ€™re altogether ooky, the Addams Family! Thatโ€™s right, get ready for a stage interpretation of Americaโ€™s favorite slightly less-than-normal family next door. The Addams family offers up a series of hilarious situations and interactions as they navigate their more โ€œnormalโ€ neighbors. This Thursday, June 22, the Cabrillo theater takes on the classic TV series, which began in the 1940s as a series of magazine cartoons by Charles Addams.

Info: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 22. Cabrillo Crocker Theater, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. cabrillostage.com. $22.

 

Saturday 6/24

Pleasure Point Street Fair

popouts1725-pleasurepointstfairItโ€™s that time of year againโ€”good weather, good friends, and a great reason to take the family to Pleasure Point for the most anticipated event of the summer. The area will be buzzing this Saturday, June 24, with seven local bands on two stages playing Americana, folk, funk, reggae and more. Kids get their own kids zone with face painting and crafts, while adults can indulge in a beer and wine garden from New Bohemia Brewing Company. The Santa Cruz Boardroom will hold a skateboard contest in addition to more than 90 vendors selling crafts, food, beverages and more. This yearโ€™s beneficiary is the Jay Moriarity Foundation, honoring the spirit of legendary waterman Jay Moriarity and supporting local programs that improve the quality of life for the community and environment.

Info: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 41st & 38th Avenues, Santa Cruz. pleasurepointstreetfair.com. Free.

 

Saturday 6/24

Author Nathan Hill with Michelle Richmond

popouts1725-AuthorNathanHillSamuel Anddresen-Anderson hasnโ€™t seen his mother, Faye, since she abandoned his family when he was just a boy. Now itโ€™s 2011 and sheโ€™s made a reappearance, being accused of an absurd crime that takes the news by force in a divided political climate. Is she the radical hippie that the media paints her as or the average girl who married her high school sweetie as Samuel remembers? Nathan Hillโ€™s The Nix has been named Notable Book of 2016 by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Hill will be at the Wellstone Center in conversation with Michelle Richmond on Saturday, June 24.

Info: 2 p.m. Wellstone Center, 858 Amigo Road, Soquel. wellstoneredwoods.org/nathanhillmichellerichmond.

 

Saturday 6/24

Dinner Market

popouts1725-DinnerMarketSummer is finally here, and after all those months of the bitter California cold, we can finally enjoy Santa Cruzโ€™s best seasonal offeringsโ€”like strolling through the Dinner Market on a balmy Saturday evening with friends, family, and community members. This Saturday, June 24, sample the best in local cuisine with a food market featuring 10 local vendors, including Kellyโ€™s French Bakery, Hanloh, Ate3One Food Truck, Kickinโ€™ Chicken and more. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery and Beauregard Vineyards will provide libations while the Rhythm Street Rangellers, Doug Hopkins, and the Surfing Magicians will provide the entertainment.

Info: 5:30-9 p.m. Swift Street Courtyard, 402 Ingalls St., Santa Cruz. $5 admission benefits Ecology Action. ย 

How do you define success?

“Finding what you love and being able to do that every day in a sustainable way.”

Daniel Corrales

Santa Cruz
Woodworker

“Living with an open heart, being present, and helping others.”

Kory Snider

Aptos
Sales

“Having more than what you need.”

William Mays

Santa Cruz
Graphic Artist

“If youรขโ‚ฌโ„ขre happy with your life at the end of it.”

Karen Miga

Santa Cruz
Post Doc

“Making it through dinner without screaming.”

Ed Miga

Santa Cruz
Project Manager

Music Picks June 21โ€”27

0

 

Live music highlights for the week of June 21, 2017.

WEDNESDAY 6/21

COUNTRY

BITTER DIAMONDS

An outlaw country outfit from San Francisco, the Bitter Diamonds play โ€œold school country for modern times.โ€ Comprising Charles Verlin on vocals and guitar, Ian Michell on bass, Jody Clarke on pedal steel, Mike Saliani on lead guitar and Mark Grupe on drums, the band got its startโ€”as legend goesโ€”when Verlin finished a thermos of day-old coffee in the parking lot of the Say When Casino in McDermitt, Nevada. Although itโ€™s not clear what that has to do with the band, itโ€™s their story and theyโ€™re sticking to it. Also on the bill: the Western Wednesday Allstar Band, featuring standouts from our local country and honky-tonk bands. This monthโ€™s featured player is the one and only Jim Lewin. CJ

INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

THURSDAY 6/22

ELECTRONIC

CRYSTAL METHOD

Twenty years ago, โ€™90s electronic duo the Crystal Method released their classic album Vegas to much acclaim and remarkable sales. Itโ€™s important to remember that during this time electronic music was primarily a niche genre. The Crystal Method was one of a handful of bands in this era (Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers) that took the sound to a mainstream alt-rock audience. Their aggressive, punk-charged dance music sound felt oh-so-cozy in the โ€™90s, and carries on today. AC

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $25. 429-4135.

THURSDAY 6/22

JAZZ

BASSDRUMBONE

With its unusual instrumentation, fearless approach to improvisation, and four-decade track record of extraordinary music, BassDrumBone should be a left-field jazz institution. But the collective trio is still something of an underground phenomenon, due to a long hiatus or two and a confusing discography. Whatโ€™s crystal clear is the interactive brio of bass master Mark Helias, exploratory drummer Gerry Hemingway, and muscular trombonist Ray Anderson, a player with a startling vivid vocabulary of bluesy smears, burry blasts and singing phrases. Following up on the double album The Long Road, one of last yearโ€™s most consistently inspired recordings, the trio hits Santa Cruz on a tour marking the bandโ€™s 40th anniversary. ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 427-2227.

THURSDAY 6/22

AMERICANA

WALCOTTS

If you think itโ€™s strange that a band from L.A. is playing Americana, donโ€™t worry. Walcotts, the band in question, injects a bit of theatrics into the sound, and bends the rules of the genre in unexpected ways. The nine-piece band play elements of old-timey jazz, heartland anthems and good old-fashioned American folk. Itโ€™s an authentic tribute to the roots music of this great country, but a song like โ€œCoalingaโ€ is something only a Californian would ever think to write. AC

INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

FRIDAY 6/23

ROCK

THE WEIGHT

Ahhh, the Band. So many hits, so many memories. โ€œThe Night they Drove Old Dixie Down,โ€ โ€œUp on Cripple Creek,โ€ โ€œThe Weight.โ€ The hits just keep coming. The Weight is a band of musicians who were either in the Band or โ€œare deeply connected to [its] legacy.โ€ Comprising Jim Weider from the Band, Brian Mitchell from the Levon Helm Band, Marty Grebb, who wrote for the Band, and more, the Weight pays loving tribute to the pioneering country-rock act whose legacy and influence is alive and well. CJ

INFO: 8:30 p.m. Moeโ€™s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.

SATURDAY 6/24

SOUL/VOCALS

ALICE SMITH

Singer-songwriter Alice Smith experienced both rural and urban life growing up in both Washington, D.C. and on a farm in Georgia. She masterfully blends these two cultures in her music, which spans folk, blues, rock, soul and R&B. From her 2006 debut album, For Lovers, Dreamers & Me, which showcases Smithโ€™s easy handle on country, classic funk and everything in-between, to her 2015 cover of Nina Simoneโ€™s song, โ€œI Put a Spell on Youโ€ on Nina Revisited, Smith has carved a unique space for herself on the contemporary vocals landscape. CJ

INFO: 7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $27/adv, $37/door. 427-2227.

SUNDAY 6/25

ROCK

RACHEL LARK

Witty, bawdy, and with a deceptively innocent voice, San Francisco musician Rachel Lark is unlike most singer songwriters. Her sexually positive songs like โ€œWarm, Bloody and Tenderโ€ and โ€œItโ€™s Hard to Be a Feminist and Still Want Dickโ€ have earned her major props from critics, and sheโ€™s a regular guest on Dan Savageโ€™s podcast, Lovecast. Admittedly, her music might not be for everyone, but for those who want gender equality and keep their sense of humor during the fight, Lark will quickly become a favorite. Sunday night she rocks Don Quixoteโ€™s with her multimedia rock opera Studies Have Shown. MAT WEIR

INFO: 7 p.m. Don Quixoteโ€™s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $10/adv, $12/door. 335-2800.

MONDAY 6/26

INDIE

CAT POWER

Itโ€™s been five years since the last album of original material from Cat Power aka Chan Marshall. Sun relied heavily on synths and autotune, a departure for her that left open the question of what exactly Cat Power sounds like now. But it doesnโ€™t really matter, because Cat Power has evolved into a musical force unto herself. When she started in the โ€™90s, her lo-fi indie-folk sound fit within a larger context of the eraโ€™s alternative scene, but by the end of the century, her hypnotic songs had taken on a character of their own, and every expansion of her sonic palette seems natural. AC

INFO: 8 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $35/gen, $50/gold. 423-8209.

MONDAY 6/26

REGGAE

GAPPY RANKS

For those who like to give big thanks and praise in the form of booty-shaking dance moves, look no further than Gappy Ranks. The London born Jamaican Dancehall artist first hit the major music scene with the dancehall collective Suncycle. After two albums, Gappy left the group in 2004, cutting his own path in the reggae scene. Thirteen years and seven releases later, Ranks also owns the label Hot Coffee Music, and has made a name for himself producing other reggae and dancehall artists like JBoog, Busy Signal and many more. Opening acts for Gappy Ranks include the 7th Street Band, and Rocker T, turning those Monday blues into the red, green, and gold of rasta. MW

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $13/adv, $15/door. 429-4135.


IN THE QUEUE

MEDFLYS

Monterey Bay ska, new wave and rock. Friday at Don Quixoteโ€™s

ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY

Renowned acoustic guitar fusion band. Friday at Kuumbwa

SPIRIT OF โ€™76

Grateful Dead tribute. Saturday at Don Quixoteโ€™s

SMASHELTOOTH AND THE PIRATE

DJ power-couple and friends benefit local mural project. Sunday at Moeโ€™s Alley

GALACTIC

Funk and jazz out of New Orleans. Tuesday at Catalyst

Giveaway: Hop N Barley Beer & BBQ Festival

 

Santa Cruz has become a destination town for appreciators of craft beer. With a growing number of breweries, pour rooms and beer events, the townโ€™s reputation is solidly established. On July 15, more than 50 craft breweries and 12 cideries will sample their creations at Skypark in Scotts Valley for the eighth Hop Nโ€™ Barley Beer Festival. Also on tap for the day are food vendors, lawn games and two stages of live music featuring Kaa Pow, the Leftovers, Windy Hill, Daze on the Green and Ancestree (above).


INFO: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 15. Scotts Valley Skypark, 361 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley. $5-$55. hopnbarley.org. WANT TO GO? Go to santacruz.com/giveaways before 11 a.m. on Friday, June 30 to find out how you could win a pair of tickets to the festival.

Love Your Local Band: Dan Too

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Dan Too sounds like part of an incomplete sentence. Also, who is Dan One? Clearly, this name requires some context. โ€œDan Oneโ€ is actually Dan Juan, a musical project belonging to Daniel Talamantes. He started Dan Juan about a year ago. Then last September, he started Dan Too, because he didnโ€™t have enough โ€œDanโ€ themed bands, apparently.

In truth, though, heโ€™s a little ambivalent about the names.

โ€œI did not come up with either of those names, but theyโ€™re sticking at this point, I guess,โ€ Talamantes says.

The first โ€œDanโ€ band, an indie rock project, features members of bluegrass ensemble Steep Ravine, who are on the road frequently. โ€œThereโ€™d be a month or two recess and Iโ€™d want to keep playing and writing,โ€ says Talamantes.

The second โ€œDanโ€ band he started, to fill in the gaps, ended up being more in the realm of alt-country. Now that both bands are fully formed, he has the ability to take material to whichever band it fits the best. Or sometimes, whoever happens to be practicing next.

โ€œI bring it and if it doesnโ€™t catch with one, Iโ€™ll bring it to the other and see what happens,โ€ Talamantes says.

The remaining members of Dan Too include drummer Jon Payne, pedal steel/guitar player Ian Park, and bassist Tyler Larson. People might be familiar with them from a whole slew of local bands like the Painted Horses, Scary Little Friends and Dos Osos. I guess you could call it a local all-star band, although Talamantes says that just about every local band is an all-star band, so maybe thatโ€™s not a huge deal.

โ€œSanta Cruz these days almost feels like a lottery machine. You pull the trigger and see who shows up for what instrument. This is whatโ€™s happening these days in Santa Cruz music,โ€ Talamantes says.


INFO: 9 p.m. Saturday, June 24. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

Class Honors Mary Holmesโ€™ Life of Meaning, Paradox and Love

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In his four years helping UCSC students search for deeper meaning in their lives, artist Addi Somekh has seen firsthand the impact of young people discussing big concepts.

โ€œTeaching is a very spiritual job, because youโ€™re broadcasting these seeds, and you donโ€™t know where theyโ€™ll end up in the future,โ€ says Somekh, a UCSC grad himself, reflecting on his recent class, Meaning, Paradox, and Love, which wrapped up earlier this month. โ€œYouโ€™re almost like a prism where the light shoots through you, and then it shoots out in all these different directions, and the light gets picked up by someone else and theyโ€™re going to run with it.โ€

Somekhโ€™s spring classโ€”inspired by many conversations with his mentor Mary Holmesโ€”is part philosophy and part writing, with an emphasis on connecting with others through deep personal conversations. Every student interviewed someone in the community more than 70 years old to talk about life. In a town where many locals often bemoan the disconnect between university students and the rest of the city, each conversation bridged a โ€œgenerational divide,โ€ Somekh says, establishing an intimate bond between complete strangers.

โ€œIt was one of the most incredible experiences of my life,โ€ says Georgia Sullivan, a freshman anthropology student.

Somekh was a student at UCSC from 1990-1994, and he met Holmes when he was 19 years old at Penny University, an informal gathering created by Cowell College Founder Paige Smith. (The group has been meeting every Monday for nearly 40 years.) Holmes, who was among Cowellโ€™s founding faculty, was 80 at the time, and she taught lessons that heโ€™s passed onto his students, he says.

โ€œMary would say that everybody has to find some meaning in life,โ€ says Somekh, whoโ€™s bounced back and forth over the years between Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, where he returned after the school year ended. โ€œPeople wonโ€™t live meaningless lives. So the search for meaning is universal. The nature of paradox is universal, because paradox is the mystery of the operating system of the universe. And that love is so powerful that even the absence of love affects people. So the search for meaning, the nature of paradox, and the power of love are universal experiences that connect all human beings.โ€

The foundation of the class, Somekh says, was the interview assignment, with students mining their subjectโ€™s experiences for priceless insights.

โ€œThe DNA of the class is for a college student to find someone who is older and ask them questions about what this whole thing is about,โ€ he explains. โ€œWhen youโ€™re in the fourth quarter, you can look back and start making sense and be at peace with things that you were never able to changeโ€”that could be a cautionary tale for somebody who is about to enter the real world.โ€

Back in Somekhโ€™s student days, his own conversations with Holmesโ€”who died in 2002โ€”turned into 80 hours of interviews that later served as the subject of his book, Mary Holmes: Paintings and Ideas. A few years ago, Faye Crosby, then the provost of Cowell College, saw the book and invited Somekh to start teaching a class. The first class, four years ago, only had 13 students. The following year that doubled. This year, 130 students signed up.

โ€œThe way Mary affected me is that she was like emotional Windex. When she would talk, everything that was murky was clear. I could see better. I had better perspective,โ€ Somekh says.

Students in his class read books like Victor Franklโ€™s Manโ€™s Search for Meaning, and heard from perspectives from various speakers, including a man who was released from jail at age 70, eager to live the rest of his life.

For her assignment, Sullivan interviewed an intersex Vietnam veteran who she met while working at the Penny Ice Creameryโ€™s downtown kiosk. The two met several times afterward, with Sullivan accumulating eight hours of interviews. The interviewee told Sullivan that she liked that the 19-year-old wasnโ€™t afraid to ask anything. โ€œWe established this really close connection because her tears were falling on my hands, and she was sharing these really intimate things,โ€ Sullivan says.

Sullivan says the class inspired her to ask questions that she never would have asked before.

For many students, the experience has been life-changing. Somekh says one student had had a bad year and interviewed a man who had scoliosis and had been told he couldnโ€™t heal from it. But he managed to get better by stretching with a stick. โ€œAll the shit that she was depressed aboutโ€”she realized that she could take control of her destiny,โ€ Somekh says. โ€œShe said, โ€˜Iโ€™m not a victim. If I see how this guy survived something that was so much worse than what I was going through, I could handle this.โ€™ Thatโ€™s really the whole point.โ€

When each student finished their paper, they sent a copy to the interviewee.

The challenge is for students to break out of their comfort zones and learn in unconventional ways, says Somekh, an artist best known for his life as a balloon-twister. (He will have an installation at the Museum of Art and History in August that will touch on similar themes, Somekh says, and include a giant balloon sculpture called โ€œElephant and Six Blind Indian Guys.โ€)

Next year, Somekhโ€”who owns his own company, New Balloon Artโ€”may take a break from the class while he focuses on his craft. Last spring, students told Somekh that, out of the three class sections, they enjoyed paradox the most.

โ€œParadox is the mysterious ecosystem of the universeโ€”the yin and yangโ€”the fact that two things can be totally opposite and both true,โ€ Somekh says. โ€œFor instance, if youโ€™re a surfer, you have to be submissive to the wave, but you have to be in control.โ€

Film Review: โ€˜Beatriz at Dinnerโ€™

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Sheโ€™s a selfless woman of color, a massage therapist and healer who works with cancer patientsโ€”so attuned to nature, she keeps a rescue goat in her apartment. Heโ€™s a toxic, filthy rich, white, male real estate developer with the morals of a jackal, who thinks nothing of displacing entire communities and ecosystems with his gigantic global building projects. What happens when their worlds collide at a dinner party?

Thatโ€™s the setup for Beatriz at Dinner. But while it talks a good game in the preview trailer, it canโ€™t quite rise to the challenge of its premise. This third collaboration between screenwriter Mike White and director Miguel Arteta (after Chuck and Buck, and The Good Girl) is all about the meticulous construction of these two opposite worlds, and setting them on the road to confrontation. But all the filmmakersโ€™ credibility is used up establishing this premise. Once thatโ€™s done, the movie loses steam, and starts flailing around in search of a conclusion.

A profoundly de-glamorized Salma Hayek stars as Beatriz, a Mexican native from a tiny village who immigrated to California as a child, to be raised by her grandmother. A practitioner of reiki, tai-chi, massage, and other healing arts, she works with patients at a Los Angeles cancer center, and also chugs around in her dilapidated old car to private clients. Beatriz believes that people with โ€œunfinished businessโ€ in one life come back in another form to make amends. A vegetarian, sheโ€™s so empathetic with the natural world that she says she can โ€œfeel the painโ€ of dead animals.

One of her clients, Cathy (Connie Britton), is a society wife in a ritzy gated community in Newport Beach. Cathyโ€™s teenage daughter was a cancer patient for a while, where she and her mother both bonded with Beatriz; Cathy credits Beatriz with saving her daughterโ€™s life. So when Beatrizโ€™ car conks out in her driveway, Cathy is happy to invite Beatriz to stay for dinner while waiting for her mechanic to arrive.

But itโ€™s not just any dinner. Cathyโ€™s husband is a contractor whose biggest client, real estate mogul Doug Strutt (John Lithgow), is the guest of honor. Arriving with his third wife in a chauffeur-driven Lincoln SUV, Strutt (as you can tell from his name) is a smug peacock, proud of his shady business practicesโ€”like defoliating โ€œprotectedโ€ lands before he gets permits to develop, so thereโ€™s nothing left to protect. His philosophy is โ€œthe world is dying . . . so you might as well enjoy yourself.โ€

Struttโ€™s sycophantic young lawyer and his wife (Jay Duplass and Chloe Sevigny) round out the guest list, alcohol is consumed, and agendas are revealed. At first, everybody ignores deferential Beatriz, until Strutt, assuming sheโ€™s part of the staff, asks her to refresh his drink. The gulf between these two worlds is underscoredย when Cathyโ€™s tale of her daughterโ€™s cancer scare makes the other women so uncomfortable, they quickly switch the conversation to a โ€œrealityโ€ TV star, whose travails are much more real to them.

Screenwriter White is accomplished in the cinema of discomfort, and there are times you canโ€™t bear to look at the screen as the characters attempt to copeโ€”or notโ€”with an increasingly embarrassing situation. But the expected clash-of-the-titans between saintly Beatriz and deplorable Strutt never quite materializes. For one thing, theyโ€™re written as such extreme polar opposites, we know they are never going to have a dialogue. And as soon as the filmmakers figure this out, thereโ€™s a great deal of floundering around in search of an exit strategy.

Unfortunately, the one they finally come up with makes no sense in terms of everything weโ€™ve been told about the character, or even the simple mechanics of how things work in daily life. Weโ€™re left to view the story as metaphor, but since any similarity between the odious Strutt and the current blowhard-in-chief is entirely intentional, the movie doesnโ€™t even satisfy on that level. It seems to address the chasm between the top 2 percent and the rest of us without offering either solutions or catharsis.


BEATRIZ AT DINNER

**1/2 (out of four)

With Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, and Connie Britton. Written by Mike White. Directed by Miguel Arteta. A Roadside Attractions release. Rated R. 83 minutes.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology June 28 – 29

Astrology, Horoscope, Stars, Zodiac Signs
  ARIES (March 21-April 19): This is a perfect moment to create a new tradition, Aries. You intuitively know how to turn one of your recent breakthroughs into a good habit that will provide continuity and stability for a long time to come. You can make a permanent upgrade in your life by capitalizing on an accidental discovery you made...

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Event highlights for the week of June 21, 2017

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Music Picks June 21โ€”27

Cat Power
Live music highlights for the week of June 21, 2017.

Giveaway: Hop N Barley Beer & BBQ Festival

Win tickets to Hop N Barley Beer & BBQ Festival on Saturday, July 15 at Skypark.

Love Your Local Band: Dan Too

Dan Too
Dan Too plays Saturday, June 24 at the Crepe Place

Class Honors Mary Holmesโ€™ Life of Meaning, Paradox and Love

Mary Holmes balloon hat Addi Somekh
A Cowell College course, taught by balloon artist Addi Somekh, bridges generations

Film Review: โ€˜Beatriz at Dinnerโ€™

Beatriz at Dinner Salma Hayek
Culture-clash, cocktails, unsatisfying in โ€˜Beatriz at Dinnerโ€™
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