Bratton Online

THE REAL APTOS VILLAGE circa 1910. Train depot, The Bayview Hotel in it’s real location, before Swenson Builders and Zach Friend got involved.

photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com

DATELINE June 13, 2016

SANTA CRUZ’S MYSTERY SPOT. There aren’t as many Mystery Spots around the USA as there once was, and ours was/is one of the best.

STAN KENTON & HIS ORCHESTRA. I’ve never been a fan of Stan Kenton but his influence on West Coast jazz was undeniable.

LONDON NELSON, JACOB LIEBBRANDT, JOAO CABRILHO, AND MR. GHARKY.

Or “What Sin’s A Name”?

It was great news last week to see that Good Times finally caught up to spelling LONDON Nelson’s name properly. I’d been writing about LONDON Nelson and that stupid spelling for at least 25 years. Phil Reader wrote a brief book about LONDON N. and appeared on my radio program a few times talking about how that mistake happened. It takes all of about three minutes research to learn how it happened. Now let’s see if Good Times sticks to the proper spelling. I bet they won’t. For some reason (probably arcane), Santa Cruz County has been cursed with popular names that have been spelled incorrectly for decades or even a century.

Here are a few examples that I’ve crusaded for over the years. (link expands, click again to collapse)

LEIBBRANDTS FIND CITY IS NOT RESPECTER OF NAMES; FEW PERSONS CAN SPELL IT. by TOM McHUGH (of McHugh Bianchi). Stan Stevens sent this. It’s from Santa Cruz Evening News 1929 Jan. 18, 10:2

Various members of the Liebbrandt families in the city have found to their dismay and chagrin that certain names are not conducive to felicitation. Their dilemma is a misspelled surname. It seems that the trouble started somewhere in the early years of the nineteenth century when Jacob Leibbrandt migrated to Nebraska from his native Germany. Just how long he remained in that state is not known but we find him in Santa Cruz in 1850. Probably there would have been no trouble if J. Leibbrandt had not been a large land owner. He was, however, and thereby hangs a story. His tract ran in an irregular line from what is now the corner of Cliff and Third street and was bounded by Third street, Leibbrandt avenue and Kaye street on the north; Third street on the east; Beach street on the south, and Cliff street on the west. Now Leibbrandt had three sons Jacob Jr., David and John, and eventually these boy married. When the city fathers deemed the time to be ripe to dedicate Leibbrandt avenue to Santa Cruz and posterity a certain one of the wives decided that she could achieve renown if she could but devise a shorthand method of spelling the name. Then the fun began. Her first attempt was Leibrandt, later she changed it to Leibrant. It appears in the records of the county recorder spelled in at least three different ways, as Leibbrandt, Liebrant and Leibrandt. Other ways of spelling are Librant, Liebbrant, Liebrandt, etc. This indifference over the spelling of a proper name has raised a justifiable wrath in the bosom of the Leibbrandts. To add insult to injury the name is not pronounced correctly by many. According to Herbert Leibbrandt of 44 Leibbrandt avenue from whom we gleaned much of our information, the correct pronunciation is Lee-brandt. Most people it Ly-brandt. Apparently the only way to straighten the matter out is to conduct an election or pass another ordinance.

GHARKY STREET AND GHARKY WHARF. Former Mayor Katherine Beiers first alerted me to this “popular” misspelling. Here’s an article from

“Notes on the History of Wharves at Santa Cruz, California”

by Frank Perry, Barry Brown, Rick Hyman, and Stanley D. Stevens June, 2012

David Gharky was born around 1800 and arrived in Santa Cruz during the winter of 1852-1853. He built and, for a few years, operated Santa Cruz’s second wharf. He was primarily a farmer and died in 1877. It should be noted that “Gharky” has been spelled at least seven different ways. The present-day street is spelled “Gharkey,” which was a common spelling in the 1800s. The 1865 deed recording the sale of his wharf to the California Powder Works spelled it “Gharkey,” “Gharky,” and “Girkey” within this one document. Spellings in old newspapers include “Gherky” and “Ghearkey,” while the 1860 census spelled it “Yerkey”—possibly a clue to its pronunciation. The State Legislature, in issuing a wharf franchise in 1856, spelled it “Ghirky.” The strongest evidence, however, points to “Gharky” as the correct spelling. It is spelled that way in the 1854 poll list, on an 1866 parcel map, in the 1867 Great Register of Voters, in the 1870 census, in his obituary (Sentinel, Sept. 25, 1877, p. 2), and on his tombstone at Evergreen Cemetery. Most significantly, he signed it that way in his will (see page 14). Given this evidence, we have adopted that spelling here, except when quoting others”.

JOAO RODRIGUES CABRILHO. This has been a hotly contested mis-spelling since California became a state. Some historians believe that Cabrilho was born in Portugal which means Cabrilho is correct. Others believe he was from Spain, which means Cabrillo is proper. When I’ve spoken to Portuguese Organizations we all agree it’s Cabrilho. Check this out. From the Library of Congress article titled “Cabrilho’s Discovery of California”

LEAH GARCHIK AND MY GREAT NAMES. Noting all of above, names has always fascinated me. I met Cashmere Tango Obedience in Aptos, E. Pluribus Eubanks verified his name for me decades ago. In the last two months I’ve sent two names to Leah Garchik at the San Francisco Chronicle. She sent them back, not wanting to make fun of a foreign name and she thinks folks might be too sensitive in the second case. From the 3/30/16 issue of the Santa Cruz Sentinel in an article about new buildings being proposed near an agricultural zone…it stated this.. “We’re not city planners or economists, but we feel there must be a proposal that falls somewhere between encroaching on the buffer and killing the project.” Juggy Tut, president of Elite Developments, which bought the property last year, remains patient despite the controversy”. I never asked Juggy. Last week I sent Leah “Rasmea and her defense committee recently won a huge victory, as the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sent her case back to trial judge Gershwin Drain, saying he had BLAH.. BLAH”‘ JUGGY TUT and GERSHWIN DRAIN !!! How can you beat those monikers??

CABRILLO FESTIVAL HOUSING. It’s a long time and very popular tradition. Especially for folks who live near the Civic Auditorium to house one or two Cabrillo Festival Of Contemporary Music musicians while they’re here. Hundreds of friendships have been made, kids love having musicians in their homes”and you get to hear Festival secrets too. The “official” festival request reads “We need your help! Each year, dozens of local families and individuals open their homes to house our talented orchestra members and illustrious guest artists. With the momentous season ahead, we now find ourselves short of homes! If you have a spare bedroom, guest cottage, or entire home available, won’t you consider joining our host program? Many of these are for short term stays! You’ll receive vouchers for two concert tickets, and the opportunity to support some incredible artists. Contact Festival Housing coordinator Valerie Hayes at 426-6966 or use this form

ELECTION RESULTS

Only one shocker in Santa Cruz County results, and that was the vote total that Donald Trump received. It’s hard to understand why 5,883 of our neighbors voted this way. Obviously they haven’t been watching Trump perform on TV, and God knows he’s been given lots of free TV by the media. Very scary stuff going on here. No surprise here in Santa Cruz County that Bernie beat Hillary by the count of 25,171 to 20,105. The Bernie team certainly got their people out to vote. Now lets get the Dems on the same page in November. I found it reassuring that all three of the County Supervisors running for re-election won. Today’s Board of Supervisors members are working as a team to get things done while supporting their diverse constituents. Nice going voters and nice going Supervisors Friend, Leopold and McPherson. Check here for complete election results.

(Paul Elerick is a member of, and former co-chair of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org . He’s a current member of Nisene to Sea, a group of mid-county citizens committed to maintaining an open hiking trail from Cabrillo College to Nisene Marks State Park

SEXUAL ASSAULT: CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

There is no going back.

Inspired by the compelling Victim Impact Statement read aloud in court by the woman sexually assaulted, and fuelled by national outrage at the 6 month jail sentence handed down by Judge Aaron Persky to the ex-Stanford student convicted of sexual assault, the public’s understanding of the impact of rape and the focus of blame has shifted as dramatically as two plates in a major earthquake. The issue of rape, routinely buried in silence, has soared to a national and global level and the discussion is not on how drunk she was but on how life shattering her experience was. This shake-up is long overdue.

click here to continue (link expands, click again to collapse)

Females have for centuries been held accountable for the sexual violence of males perpetrated against them in male-dominated societies including our own, despite significant gains in female status and economic independence. Historically, the task of preserving her virginity as a measure of her worth fell on women’s shoulders. If she were raped then she hadn’t tried hard enough to prevent it. Our very language renders the person who raped invisible by using the passive voice as in my last sentence. While women as male property has largely been legally overturned in most countries, and many men do not use force to obtain sex, the social attitudes holding women accountable for rape have been slow to change. This is especially true when alcohol is involved. From research we know that if a woman is raped and has been drinking she is blamed, hence the guilt and shame. If a man rapes and has been drinking he is excused. Typical victim-blaming statements include, “she was drunk, what did she expect?” and “she put herself in a dangerous situation.” That an aggressive male creates the “dangerous situation” does not register and is rarely examined as the cause. It is accepted as given and the task is to avoid it not question its legitimacy. In fact masculinity is rendered invisible in media coverage of all violence whether local or global. Boys are not born violent nor are they prone to rape. They are, however encouraged if not pushed in that direction by cultural norms of the need to be a “real man,” the politics of global war and the throbbing reinforcement of aggressive masculinity by the popular media. This imperative permeates all aspects of our lives from presidential politics (is Obama tough enough?) to humiliating a young boy for showing “weakness.” That many young boys and men are beginning to challenge the straightjacket of expected masculinity, and many male mentors helping to foster that possibility is encouraging but insufficient unless there is also wide social and political recognition of the centrality of the need to wean men from violence and a redistribution of resources in that direction.

The fury surrounding the Stanford case has focused on the very light sentence handed down by the judge with thousands calling for his removal from the bench. The defendant was found guilty of sexual assault (not rape) in that he penetrated the woman’s vagina with his fingers (labeled “foreign objects” in the legal system) and was witnessed “humping” her with his clothes on, while she was extremely intoxicated and eventually unconscious. The three felony counts of sexual assault arose from these actions. Due to alcohol she had no memory while he claimed she consented, a claim the jury disbelieved. Had he been sentenced to 6 years in state prison there may have been no public outrage. Many of those clamoring for justice say they would be happy if he were raped while incarcerated. As understandable as these strong emotions may be, they bring us no closer to understanding the causes of sexual violence and its prevention.

Ohio, the home state of the convicted ex-student, is a state that adopted the abstinence-only sex education policy that thankfully has been terminated by President Obama. How many generations of young people were left with a vacuum where sex education might have played a positive role especially when the family fails, as most do, and it appears this one did if the father’s comment of “20 minutes of action” is any indication? Yet even states such as California, which did not adopt abstinence-only, fail to provide young people with the insights, skills and language to navigate the complexities of sexual relationships. Beyond body parts, disease and pregnancy prevention, few attempt to engage in conversations about desire, sex as a relationship not a thing, caring for oneself and others, pleasure etc. Consent can be taught in grade school, not in a sexual context but in other contexts such as asking to borrow a scooter. Those who “take” sex probably also “take” her scooter. Boys who demonstrate aggressive tendencies should be noticed by teachers, religious leaders, coaches, all well trained in these issues and with resources readily available to intervene. To wait until college to teach sexual consent with online mandatory modules is too little, too late as evidenced in the Stanford case.

The letter from the woman who was sexually assaulted has sparked a national conversation, helping rape survivors lift the load of guilt from their shoulders and shifting the focus to the actions of the male who instigated the crime. It is a rare opportunity to build upon this historical moment, to ask fundamental questions and provide game-changing solutions.

(Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association http://darksky.org Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild).

UCSC DORM TOUR. Not what you think

PATTON’S PROGRAM. From Gary’s Two Worlds website”

Go to Gary’s Two World’s website to see the Trump image he mentions”

“That image, like Donald Trump himself, is hard to ignore. I found it on a blog posting by David Weinberger, who writes, mainly, about the effect of tech on our ideas.

In his blog posting entitled, “How Donald Trump Hijacked the Authenticity of the Web,” Weinberger claims that Trump appears to be “authentic,” even “honest,” because political discourse has succumbed to a standard of “political correctness” that makes virtually all political speech seem somewhat deceptive and fraudulent. In other words, by saying the politically incorrect thing, Trump gets credit for “speaking truth to power,” and for an honesty and straightforwardness to which he is most emphatically not entitled. Weinberger’s observation is worth thinking about, particularly as those who hope for an honest political discourse think about how to “trump” the advantage that “The Donald” has managed to obtain by his ruthless and brutal disregard for good breeding and the truth”. (Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney who represents indivuduals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, Two Worlds at www.gapatton.net

CLASSICAL DeCINZO. Same old view of local cyclists according to DeCinzo scroll that-a-way.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Eagan swings into our hot election circus see below”

LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Good news for art lovers, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com), as Pajaro Valley Arts hosts an excellent sculpture show in its Watsonville gallery, and offers up a fabulous new membership deal. Also, discover a new online arts and letters publication, Ampersand Literary, which generously invited me to Q&A about books, writing, and my chaotic adventures in publishing!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.

THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)

MAGGIE’S PLAN. This NYC tragi-comedy falls into the “Woody Allen, New York City Odd People in Love” category. Julienne Moore, Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Bill Hader do excellent acting (except for Julienne Moore and her lousy German accent). It’s about University teachers, divorce, sex, raising kids, control freaks, and our very, very complex lives today. You’ll be completely absorbed all the way through. Not a classic but “absorbing”.

NOW YOU SEE ME 2. A disaster sequel to another disaster opener. 36 on Rotten Tomatoes. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and bit parts by Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine but don’t tell anybody. Four would be stage illusionists (technical advice by David Copperfield, really) are supposed to be world famous but Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, really) is an evil world plotter and you’ll never be able to follow the plot anyways, so don’t go. Tell your friends who like stage magic not to go too, there isn’t any. What effects there are, are all digital Fx.

STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD

ME BEFORE YOU. It’s an odd bit of casting to see Emila Clarke who plays the white haired, skinny, oft-bare- nippled, dragon mother Princess Daenerys Targaryen Thoros in Game Of Thrones in this hammy, corney tragi-comedy. She is chubby, undeucated, clutzy, poorly dressed, goofy and mugs incessently. The other star is a guy in a wheelchair who looks so much like Christopher Reeves (in and out of the wheel chair) that there’s a creepy feeling all through the film. It’s beyond a tear jerker, it’s treacle, sugary, and not worth your time.

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. This sharp, wordy, comedy is from a little known Jane Austen book, “Lady Susan”. If you’re particular, it takes place in England 130 years before Downtown Abbey (1790). Plenty of Hayden, Cherubini and Cimarosa-type music. Daughter Hillary convinced me that I’d been slipping critic- wise and that Kate Beckensale is completely out of character, and phoney. It’s a desperate, wordy attempt to make still more money out of anything with Jane Austen’s name on it. The plot centers on what women had to do to survive back then. Go see it if you like Brit costume epics, with lots of scenery and furniture. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so go figure. It’s just not all that gteat a film.

MONEY MONSTER. Genuine Hollywood. What can you expect when you have George Clooney and Julia Roberts as stars and Jodie Foster as director. The entire film demands lots of tension and there is some but it keeps lagging. You will be totally aware that you’re watching Clloney and Roberts every time they move or speak. The irate investor/person of plot isn’t the best actor either. But there’s few other films around so see this”just be warned.

NICE GUYS. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe make terrible buddies in this sloppy attempt at another buddy movie.This one is set in L.A. in the 70’s. An investigator and a cop team up and with no laughs, no subtleties whatsoever, more violence, much blood, “it’s awful. There’s a 13 year old girl in it that does an excellent job of acting her name is Angourie Rice. We’ll be seeing and hearing more of her.

THE JUNGLE BOOK. I must confess to still being under the influence of the REAL Jungle Book movie. That’s the 1942 masterpiece starring Sabu as Mowgli. All real live action, no special effects, just Kipling and technicolor. This Disney commercial money maker is exactly that”a Disney money maker. Filmed darkly (to save FX expense) it’s a hodge-podge of Bill Murray’s looney asides, some old Disney songs and not one iota of what Kipling had in mind when he wrote the book. Send the kids, and you go to the movie next door, believe me.

THE LOBSTER. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly head the cast of this unfathomable, suposedly dystopian satire on our views and customs relating to sex. marriage, and it’s not nice to animals either. It’s heavy drama, with some laughs thrown in. Maybe you have to be young and distant to catch all the supposedly clever zingers. I missed 95 % of any meaning or purpose to this flick.

X MEN: APOCALYPSE. Another Marvel Comics dystopian monster versus mutant movie. The one in teresting thing I remember from this very forgetable mess is that Magneto played by Michael Fassbender is Jewish and got all his superhuman strength from the ashes of Auschwitz!! And it shows Auschwitz too!! Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, James McAvoy and a big surprise Ally Sheedy are all in it for the big bucks they got paid”. why else?

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. These box office gazillion dollar money makers are getting more and more bizzarre. They are direct copies of comic book plots. You shouldn’t apply any common sense or logic to the plots. Like comic books (even the earliest ones 1930’s) were just for fun and escape. So is Captain America:Civil War. To see Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downeyjr., Paul Rudd, Marisa Tomei, Martin Freeman, William Hurt, Paul Bettany, Hope Davis, Alfre Woodard and the legendary Stan Lee (creator of the Marvel Comics) in as nonsensical and violent and bloody and senseless a film like this one is just embarrassing. I can’t wait to see such sagas as Orphan Annie vs. Little Lulu, Joe Palooka battles Dick Tracy, Bugs Bunny vs. Minnie Mouse. They can’t fail.

POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. I am many generations before this parody of today’s rock scene and didn’t laugh or like any of the parts I stayed awake through. Then I left just about half way through. It is true that Sarah Silverman, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey, Martin Sheen, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Cowell, and Joan Cusack all have “cameo” parts of about 12 seconds each BUT that Judd Apatow “directed it” should be warning enough.

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.ORG. The three top Short Story Winners from Bookshop Santa Cruz take over the June 14 program which is also Universal Grapevine’s 10th Anniversary!! June 21 has Carla Brennan talking about Meditation, Buddhism, and Mindfulness. She’s followed by Lincoln Taiz and Ben Leeds Carson talking about the workshop presentation of their opera “Menagerie: The Trial of Spock” (the Star Trek Opera). June 28 has naturalist Grey Hayes warning us of more dangers from the ills-schemed proposed North Coast National Monument. He’s followed by UCSC Professor James Clifford telling us about his new UCSC Campus book, “The Ecotone“. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com

With all the sadness going around, here’s a little helping of pure joy.

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.

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, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, 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 “MUSEUMS”

“I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the statues that are in all the other museums”, Steven Wright

“I’ve become like one of those people I hate, the sort who go to the museum and, instead of looking at the magnificent Brueghel, take a picture of it, reducing it from art to proof. It’s not “Look what Brueghel did, painted this masterpiece” but “Look what I did, went to Rotterdam and stood in front of a Brueghel painting!”, David Sedaris
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep”, Scott Adams

COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Click and enter the box in the upper right hand corner of each Column. You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!) Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!

Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com

Direct phone: 831 423-2468

All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com

Blog Archives

June 14 – 20, 2016

THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)

STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

Blog Archives

June 14 – 20, 2016

THAT IS THE QUESTION (THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)

STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD

BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.

THAT IS THE QUESTION
(THE NEWEST FILMS IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)

STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD