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DATELINE February 8, 2016
| SANTA CRUZ AFTER HEAVY RAINS. Great shots of our “new” Lighthouse. |
| SANTA CRUZ’S Shawn Dollar shows us some wave action. |
BOOKSHOP SANTA CRUZ AND 1000 HARRY POTTER FANS. More about the health and welfare of having and supporting local businesses is the news about bookshop Santa Cruz’s Harry Potter party last Thursday, Feb.4. Along with bookstores around the country our Bookshop celebrated the dedication and devotion to the Harry Potter books. The
Bookshop attracted over 1,000 kids, and adults. Another item…while placing an order at Palace Art and Office Supply store on Pacific a guy comes up and asks us “where can we get a good lunch around here?”. A very usual and typical question. What he said next was important…”we don’t want one of those cookie cutter places” we sent him to Zoccoli’s. It’s those cookie cutter businesses that take the profits away. Think again about how Pacific Cookie Company started on Pacific Avenue, and also Pizza My Heart, and Lulu Carpenters. Give a small cheer to seeing the tiles vanish from Noah’s Delicatessen, and be sure to attend the opening of the Buttercup Cakes and Farmhouse Frosting’s new store opening Feb. 14 at Noah’s old location. They moved from Locust to Pacific.
FULL DISCLOSURE…I worked for the Santa Cruz Downtown Association for many years, that was before, during and after the 1989 earthquake. I also was a marketing consultant for the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) at Cabrillo College for 15 years and worked with nearly 250-300 small locally owned businesses. I’m very opinionated in favor of locally owned businesses and our Santa Cruz Downtown.
SANTA CRUZ VETERANS AND JOURNEY FOR CHANGE. It’s a fact that few Americans are willing to face… 22 American veterans commit suicide every day. That’s 22 every day. A bit of perspective is that 2 of our Armed forces die on active duty per day. Because of the need to obtain more and better psychological care some of our local veterans are walking, hiking , marching from Santa Cruz to Sacramento to ask The Department of Defense and The Veterans Administration to change the laws so that..
- Screening would be conducted by qualified mental health professionals.
- After discharge, veterans have access to Veterans Administration mental health services within two weeks of their requests.
- State agencies inform veterans of local services in their home area, contacting them within 30 days of discharge.
- County agencies make contact with returning veterans within 30 days and conduct a nine-month follow up to offer Veterans Affairs services.
The organizing vets ask, “We are currently in the process of securing places to throw our sleeping bags down at the end of each day of walking. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for the following: San Jose, – Mt. View, – Redwood City, – and Walnut Creek. We are not sure of the numbers yet. Probably 20-100”. Read their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/journeyforveteranchange
SECRET SANTA CRUZ CITY POLITICS. Now’s the time of the political season when political folks of all stripes and angles are looking for possible City Council candidates.It takes very little quesswork to see that the job of council person has become less and less rewarding. Rumors are rife about who could care enough or…know enough to make the council run. Watch this space…
For the past 3 years, Cowell Beach has been an embarrassment for the city due to its top spot on the Heal the Bay’s, CA-wide Beach Bummer list. This tourist-killing distinction is based on state-wide and state-required weekly testing, which documents high levels of e-coli bacteria during the summer months at Cowell’s. This has resulted in an F grade for water quality in the area between the wharf and the lifeguard tower to the west, close to shore. The vast majority of Santa Cruz county beaches earn an A or a B, including Main Beach and the San Lorenzo river mouth, except in the wet season which typically results in worsening grades for most CA beaches near an outfall or river mouth. Not so for Cowell’s, except when the city pumps Neary Lagoon into the ocean during the wet season. What is the source (s) of this high fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) at Cowell’s in the summer? Why is it limited to this area? Why was it so much cleaner in the 6 years prior to 2006 when it tested at A, A+ with C the lowest?
To address the problem the city council formed a Cowell Beach Water Quality Group (CWG) over a year ago at the initiative of council member David Terrazas, Members include the city and county plus a number of ocean and water-related non-profits. I represent the Sierra Club on the group. As a year-round swimmer at Cowell’s I was eager to get to work to help solve the problem.
I was not invited to the first meeting. At that meeting the group decided that the main goal was to change the public’s perception of the problem. I have some sympathy with that. Many erroneously believe that the sewage treatment plant pumps out at Cowell’s rather than a mile out to sea off Natural Bridges. The city has done serious work to ensure that Neary Lagoon is sealed off from the ocean. Pipes have been cleaned, gates installed. After all this work, the e-coli problem persists at essentially the same level as before, according to a December 2015 county report, despite significantly fewer water samples containing bacteria of human source. This same report minimizes the area of pollution and erroneously confines it to “under the wharf.” Neither Stanford nor the county tested under the wharf and the city tested only 5 samples, an insufficient number from which to draw any conclusion.
Gillian has much more to report on the above. Read it here….. (link expands, click to collapse)
( Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association. Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild).
PATTON’S PROGRAM.Gary reports on his KUSP Land Watch Programs…
| OLD SANTA CRUZ SURF MOVIES 1973-74. It looks like there were waves even way back then. And the crowds weren’t as serious.
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There is a meeting February 15th (President’s Day) on the proposed Coastal Rail Trail. The proposed Coastal Rail Trail in Santa Cruz County would have lots of positive impacts, and maybe some negative impacts, too. It is to be expected that a proposed project of this kind would be controversial, and so it is, though I think it’s fair to say that the majority opinion is that building a new trail from Watsonville to Davenport, along the existing rail right of way, would have lots of positive benefits. The “rail” part is, perhaps, more controversial than the “trail” part, but the current conception is that there would, ultimately, be a genuine “Rail Trail.”
Let me tell you about a meeting to be held Monday, Presidents’ Day, February 15th. Friends of the Rail Trail will be hosting Jeff Boothe, an expert transit consultant from Washington, D.C., who will present specifics on a variety of light rail systems around the United States. This will be an opportunity for interested persons to get an idea about what kind of options might be out there for rail transit, and how it might be possible to fund rail transit in Santa Cruz County. Bruce Sawhill, Chair of Friends of the Rail and Trail, will give a short exposition on the specific demographics of Santa Cruz County, and its suitability for rail transit. The meeting on Monday will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Vet’s Hall in downtown Santa Cruz, located at 846 Front Street.
Read the complete scripts of the above at Gary Patton’s KUSP Land Use site http://blogs.kusp.org/landuse . Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmenatl issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds/365” – www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DeCINZO. It’s Girl Scout Cookie Time…DeCinzo shares an idea. See below.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Eagan creates another view of IOWA last week….see downwards.
THE ADAM SCOTT FAMILY NEWS. Our only locally born movie star Adam Scott* has a mother who paints, and paints beautifully. That’s Anne Scott-Chambers (they look a lot alike!) She writes… I arrived in Santa Cruz in 1944 at age 3 months: a sleepy little kid in a once-sleepy little town. I have been rooted here since, with many rich forays out, always to return. I began scratching away with crayon, chalk, pencil from my first vertical years and haven’t stopped since, having hopefully strengthened technique since those early days. She has a show at Lulu Carpenters at The Octagon on Cooper Street now through Sunday, April 3. (* Adam Scott starred in The Aviator, Friends with Kids, Passenger Side, Knocked Up and dozens more).
SANTA CRUZ CHAMBER PLAYERS. There’s a world premiere of Grammy-award winning Barry Phillips’ original Santa Cruz Chamber Players composition for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, cello, and piano, ” Dolcissime: O Sweetest Sound” this weekend at the Chamber’s fourth concert of this season. There’ll also be musics by W.A. Mozart, Gunnar de Frumerie, Lou Harrison, and Erich KorngoldTheir PR says, “The musicians will perform some of the most melodic and beloved music from around the globe, including the world-premiere of This magnificently crafted chamber ensemble parallels – in miniature – the multi-faceted sonorities associated with the full orchestra and chorus, creating a singular and uniquely soulful chamber music experience. Expressed in songs both with and without words, and in delightful combinations of voice and instruments alone, immerse yourself in the very best that chamber music can provide for your listening pleasure. Jeff Gallagher, is the artistic director with clarinet and Solmaaz Adeli, mezzo-soprano, Lars Johannesson, flute, Barry Phillips, cello and composer, with Don Adkins at the piano. it’s happening Saturday, February 13, 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 14, 3 pm at the hard-to –find Christ Lutheran Church off Freedom Blvd. In Aptos.
LISA JENSEN LINKS Lisa writes: “Time-travel back to Golden Age Hollywood with the Coen Brothers’ sly Hail, Caesar!, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). Also, check out my cool new book trailer for Alias Hook!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
THE LADY IN THE VANMaggie Smith is now 81 years old. She’s played everything from Desdomona in the 1965 Othello to Exotic Hotels and Harry Potter roles. Her real acting strength has saved many dull minutes in Downton Abbey, as we all know. She’s just as good in this one as the cranky, haunted, funny, brittle, homeless old lady living in a van…obviously. You’ll laugh a bunch of times, the plot does get bogged down, but if you’re a fan of Maggie’s, it’s well worth seeing.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES. As you can guess this film is adapted from two books one is Jane Austen’s and the other one sure isn’t. It’s a big British costume drama like “would you care for some blood with your tea…m’dear? “. It’s James Darcy chasing after Elizabeth Bennett again, but this time Elizabeth knows martial arts and straps knives and weapons in her semi-private places. A weird film, the zombies aren’t as menacing as they should be and the Bennett sisters are too menacing. It’s best on a big screen, if you have to go.
HAIL CAESAR. Let’s face it…the Coen Brothers just can’t get it together to direct great films anymore. Think back to Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Fargo, Oh Brother Where art thou, and more. Hail Caesar stars Goerge Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johanessen, Channing Tatum, and Ralph Fiennes and it still will provide you with about two half laughs. It’s a very polite, condescending, wholesome satire on the Hollywood of MGM, Esther Williams, Ben Hur, Charlton Heston, Gary Cooper et al. Its sophmoric, easy, nearly stupid attempts at humor are embarrassing. Wait and rent it.
THE CHOICE. Let’s hope Landmark doesn’t bring any more really, really bad movies like this to town. Especially when there are reports of brilliant, exciting films being made world-wide. This movie got a miserable 8 points on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a trashy,trite,over- used Hollywood B movie sex film with no laughs, no surprises, and a plot that you can and wouldn’t bother writing at home. Stop everybody you know from going to this.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
ANOMALISA.If you liked, or loved such Charlie Kaufman films as Synecdoche, Being John Malkovich, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind you will definitely worship Anomalisa.It’s done entirely with animated puppets, and voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan and David Thewlis. Like Kaufman’s other films it views the world through a confused man’s mind. We are never sure of the dream, his illusions, the real world, or how deep the plot is going. Many leveled, subtle, intelligent, unforgiving, and completely unsolavable if you need a clean cut story. It’s like Shakespeare’s serious plays and Wagners Ring Operas, if you need simple stories forget it. If you like major contributions to cinema as art….don’t miss it.
ROOM. There is some discussion on whether or not this film is based on a novel or reality. Either way it is a well done, angonizing, torturous, moving film. Brie Larson as the teen age mother and Jacob Trembly as her son deserve special acting awards. Kidnapping the young teen ager and raping her in a locked shed for years while she somehow manages to raise her son and maintain a sense of humanity will have you completely fixed to the screen. See this film.
BROOKLYN. Whew…I knew I loved this film and now I see that Rotten Tomatoes gives it 100% Saoirse Ronan plays the lead Irish (very Irish) girl who comes to New York City in the 1950’s. She adjusts then falls in love with an Italian (very Italian) young man. That seems to be ok but she has to return to Ireland on a visit and falls in love with a young Irish (very) young man. It’s not too funny, it’s deep, profound, wrenching and perfect acting. You could easily loose your heart in this film. See it, if you like wonderful films. It also stars (in a smaller role) Jessica Pare who you’ll for sure remember as Megan Draper, Don Draper’s dark- haired sexy wife in Mad Men.
THE HATEFUL 8. Quentin Tarantino is BACK! A beautiful film. A plot, a tradegy as intriguing as Agatha Christies “Ten Little Indians”and acting as great as any we’ve ever seen. With a cast consisting of Samuel Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, Michael Madsen, and Channing Tatum and written and directed by Quentin hisself, how can we miss? It’s in the Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs vein. It’s bloody, beyond violent, extremly funny, thought provoking and mystfying. Go see it on some big screen.
THE REVENANT. What’s odd about The Revenant is that hardly anyone I know, knew what the word meant. Looking it up (I had to) in Wictionary you’ll find… Someone who returns from a long absence. A person or thing reborn. A supernatural being that returns from the dead; a zombie or ghost. The film is a Big Golden Globes winner for best Drama film and for Leonardo DiCaprio’s best acting and Alejandro Inarritu for best Director. Set in the 1820’s its about Leonardo and his fellow fur trappers being attacked or occasionally helped by Indian tribes such as the Ree, the Ankara,the Pawnee and the Sioux. DeCaprio almost dies from a bear attack and spends the rest of the film crawling and freezing his way to revenge the trappers who left him to die. DeCaprio has only 15 lines in English, he takes off his clothes and sleeps inside a dead horse (after removing the guts) and then he wins the Golden Globes!!! Go figure, and you need to see it on a big screen.
CAROL. Many big nominations and awards for this poignant, touching, sad, pertinant story of women’s love. Rooney Mara reminded me of Audrey Hepburn and does a perfect acting job here. Cate Blanchett is the lead and does all she can, and will continue to win more prizes. Yet there is/was something cold, removed and stiff, stage play-like that kept me from really getting inside the emotions they played onscreen. Go see it by all means.
OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS. If you’ve a tradition of watching Oscar Nominated shorts (5 animated, 5 Live action) you’ll see a few religious rituals and how painful and cruel they are . Then there’s the usual cutesy, quaint ones, and as usual, there are some you can’t possibly grasp. All in all it’s just about the average run-of-the-mill Oscar Nominated Shorts. No GREAT stuff this year again. None that you’ll remember one hour later.
SPOTLIGHT. Lots of Oscar buzz around this excellent film. When you have a cast like Mark Ruffalo, Michale Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Billy Crudup, Stanley Tucci and Live Schreiber and a plot involving the Roman Catholic church’s child molesting priests and the “official cover-up” you got a winner. It’s shocking, even though you think you know all there is to know. When you add in the current troubles the Vatican is having…you’ve got a very sick institution. It’s newspaper business at its best. It’s also reporting such as no newspaper can afford today…you’ll see how important that is/was. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 97%!!!
THE BIG SHORT.The cast is very well known by now. Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Marisa Tomei, and Brad Pitt. This is a Hollywood version of what should have been a Michael Moore documentary of the bankers, real estate brokers, and the rest of the crooks behind the Wall Street explosion of 2008. It bored me to a snooze because I haven’t the foggiest idea , or any knowledge of all those financial dealings. Go only if you’re up on all those money market concepts.
STAR WARS The Force Awakens STINKS & MORE. I was actually stunned when I left the theatre after viewing Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My sister and friends immediately asked what I thought about the film, I couldn’t even think about it as I would have with any other film I’ve reviewed in the last 40 plus years. Then I read Michael Hiltzik’s business column in the 12/30/15 edition of the L.A. Times. Michael’s new book is titled Big Science. His column is titled, “Why Star Wars Stinks”. In it he tells how the film is unimaginative, dull in long stretches, and is a poor copy of the original 1977 Star Wars. He says and I agree that it’s not a movie.”It’s the anchoring element of a vast commercial program”. He goes on to say that this film will bring in nearly 5 Billion dollars and that because of the related product sales it wouldn’t matter if NO ONE SAW the film, it still would make those profits. The plot is obscure, the art work is wonderful, and it’s cold, impersonal, and dullRead the critique above. This is not a movie, it’s a product placement showcase for Disney productions and world wide toy manufacturers.
THE FINEST HOURS. Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Casey Affleck and Eric Bana are all in this Coast Guard, brave and true rescue movie. You wouldn’t believe they are in it because the film is so dark you can hardly tell who’s talking (or swimming). It’s a saga and seems to be six hours long. Other reviewers who saw it in 3D said is almost unwatchable because the 3D makes it even darker. Something doesn’t work in this plot. We aren’t given enough time to identify (and share) the fear, tragedy, and losses these super brave Coast Guardians have to face. It would even less exciting watching it at home…be warned.
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI. It’s the story of the C.I.A. men stationed in Libya and how they failed to defend the USA embassy during an attack on September 11, 2012. It’s 2 ½ hours of poorly edited combat scenes, and we are provided with almost no back story or explanation of what’s happening. Just blood, violence, and the sadness of losing.
SISTERS. This is an almost perfect example of a trash movie. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey outdo each other with crotch, sex, poop and pee jokes that aren’t funny. It’s a shame to see these obviously brilliant, smart, tasteful women sink so low that they have to take roles in movies this low class. Don’t go and don’t let anyone you care for go either.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE RADIO PROGRAM
KZSC 88.1 FM or live online at
www.KZSC.ORG TUESDAYS 7-8 P.M.
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORGOn February 9 Barry Phillips talks about his Dolcissime Suite premiering at the Santa Cruz Chamber Players on Feb. 13 & 14. Ecologist Grey Hayes is on after Barry talking about our endangered environment. Then on Feb. 16th Josef Sekon talks about pianist Theodora Serbanesou-Martin who performs on Feb. 21st as part of his Aptos Keyboard Series. After Josef, Jacob Martinez follows and tells us of the huge progress that The Digital Nest has been enjoying. Feb.23 has Ron Zaidman and Chase Sullivan telling us all about the Five Branches University. Then UCSC dramaturg Adrian Centeno talks about “Marques”. That’s the Narco-Macbeth play running 2/26-3/6 at UCSC.
Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always at bratton@cruzio.com
NEW UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVE FEATURE. Stuff changes at KZSC a lot. If you missed either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… http://www.radiofreeamerica.com/dj/bruce-bratton You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens.
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If you haven’t seen this video, it’s definitely worth a viewing. It’s amazing how their faces change the moment they realize what the photographer said. |
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson-Darrow, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur, The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011.
QUOTES; FOOTBALL
“If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.”Erma Bombeck . “Some people think football [soccer] is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.” Bill Shankly . “The same boys who got detention in elementary school for beating the crap out of people are now rewarded for it. They call it football.” Laurie Halse Anderson
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.
Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.
