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DATELINE April 28, 2014
SANTA CRUZ BUSINESS COUNCIL SUPPORTS APTOS VILLAGE & EVERYTHING. One can never be too sure where the Santa Cruz Business Council is coming from. Way back in February they agreed, and sent a letter supporting the development of Barry Swenson’s Aptos Village. That’s odd because Swenson hasn’t yet even filed permits or finished finding financing for this controversial development. The Business Council also sent a letter to the City Council supporting Swenson’s 100 Studio units at 555 Pacific Avenue that also hasn’t even broken ground yet. Makes you wonder what development they wouldn’t support or if they care?
COASTAL COMMISSION GOING ANTI-COAST!!! It was almost a surprise when the Coastal Commission voted to allow the 39 acres and 184 hotel rooms The Monterey Shores Resort wants to build in Sand City, right on the beach, right where the Snowy Plovers nest!!! As environmental watchers predicted only Commissioner Mary Shallenberger voted against the monstor beach motel. Now we can all watch and bet how they’ll vote on…(from their website)…University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC – Marine Mammal Pool Renovation). UCSC’s notice pursuant to the certified CLRDP for renovation of the existing marine mammal pools at UCSC’s Marine Science Campus at Terrace Point in Santa Cruz. (AK-SC). Explain once again how do these mammal pools differ from “The Blackfish” orca side shows at Marineworlds??
SANDWICH BOARDS EVERYWHERE ON PACIFIC AVENUE. Adding to the mystery and incompetence in ruling The Great Morgani off Pacific Avenue we now are seeing sandwich boards being allowed all over our downtown sidewalks. Each one takes up almost exactly the same amount of square inches that Morgani does…or did. Let’s vote all of the City Council out of office tomorrow morning…what good have they done so far?
THE SENTINEL’S LAST REPUBLICAN. Somewhere in the vast internet I found The Santa Cruz Sentinel’s veteran photographer Dan Coyro saying goodbye to Shanna McCord labeling her the “second to last Republican at The Sentinel”. Did you doubt it???
OTHER GOODBYES TO ELIZABETH LIMBACH AND IKE JABLON. After reading Elizabeth Limbach’s great Good Times piece on Rape in the Watsonville fields everyone was surprised to see last week’s Good Times ad for a new Managing Editor!! Elizabeth will be missed. Ike Jablon, the nearly new and wildly energetic PR guy at the Nickelodeon/Del Mar is leaving for Austin, Texas this week because of family. He changed the cinema marketing scene in these parts by leaps and bounds, he too will be missed and appreciated…a lot. Lane Jouvet is replacing him. She’s worked in film in NYC and LA and there’s a picture of Lane and Alejandro Jodorowsky together on her website.
PARAPROSDOKIANS, PART 2. Ralph Davila also sent in these paraprosdokians which he states arefigures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous. Wikipedia adds, “Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis“. You can look up “syllepsis”. I did. I printed some of Ralph’s paraprosdokians last week. Here are the last ten…
- To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
- I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
- In filling out an application, where it says, ‘In case of emergency, Notify:’ I put ‘DOCTOR’.
- Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
- You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
- I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.
- To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
- Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
- You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
- I’m supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE PROPOSAL- CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
The People’s Democratic Club (PDC) is holding a May 4 forum, 5-7pm, In the Police Department Community Room, City of Santa Cruz. A proposal by Councilmember Micah Posner, to consider a proposed ordinance to allow for the use of city funds in campaigning will be reviewed. Speakers include Bruce van Allen, former SC City mayor, Councilmember Posner and possibly Senator Bill Monning. If you are tired of big money buying into seats on our City Council, you need to come to hear Micah’s proposal. Also, there could be major announcements by people who will be running for City Council!
(Paul Elerick is co-chair, along with Peter Scott, of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org , and is a member of Nisene 2 Sea, a group of open space advocates).
PATTON’S PROGRAM. Gary talks about the Monterey County LAFCO packet and tells us that Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold is actually the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the the California Association of LAFCOs statewide group. He explains Soquel’s “Will-Serve” letters. Check to see news about how there’ll be an official groundwater emergency. If you are involved with accessory dwelling units as a tenant, landowner,or neighbor , you’d better attend this weeks meeting. Read all of above scripts at Gary Patton’s KUSP Land Use site http://blogs.kusp.org/landuse. Gary is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor, and an attorney who represents individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. Gary has his own website, “Two Worlds / 365? – www.gapatton.net
CLASSICAL DE CINZO. Jobs, what jobs ?…see DeCinzo’s version down below.
EAGANS DEEP COVER. Eagan sinks to a new low in this week’s Deep, Deep Cover see deeply below.
KING LEAR. Reviews for Sam Mendes production of King Lear at London’s National Theatre live ahve been nearly perfect. Simon Russell Beale as Lear got raves in every review. The National Theatre Live production plays at the Del Mar FOUR SHOWS ONLY!Thursday 5/1 @ 7:30pmSunday 5/4 @ 11:00amThursday 5/15 @ 7:30pm and Sunday 5/18 @ 11:00am http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/44084-king-lear . I’ll save you a seat !!
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW. If you’ve never seen this rapid, zip along, sexy comedy by Joe Orton here’s your chance. (Local history…it was one of the four plays that opened Theatre 303 at the Sashmill back in the 70’s). Jewel Theatre is presenting it and Art Manke is directing, and Mike Ryan plus Danny Scheie and Julie James are co-starring. It plays May 1-25 at Center Stage. Go here!
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “Follow the saga of “the greatest science fiction movie never made” in the irresistible doc, Jodorowsky’s Dune, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com). Also, celebrate the first annual California Bookstore Day, and get ready to grin like the Cheshire cat over this Sherlock vs. Loki dance-off video mashup.” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
…In order of perfection…
JOE.Many of us forgot that Nicolas Cage could act, he was in some very terrible films. That’s not the case with Cage in Joe. Taking place in today’s Texas, it’s hot, dirty, nasty, gritty, boozin’, shootin’, evil, stupid South. Supporting Cage is the young Tye Sheridan (from Mud). It’s an excellent movie…go see it.
RAILWAY MAN. “Shell shocked”,(PTSD) Colin Firth just wants to kill his WW2 Japanese captor who is still alive. Firth and Nicole Kidman do good jobs with their roles but the film drags for some reason and loses impact. It’s still well worth seeing, but it could have and should have been better.
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE. Rotten Tomatoes gives this a 99%, it’s that great!!! Jodorowsky who is now 85, wanted to make Frank Herberts classic “Dune” into an opus that would have been extra magnum. He has Salvatore Dali, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, David Carridine, and Pink Floyd committed to do it, but it never happened. This documentary is a telling and showing of Jodorowsky’s pic and plot. If you ever read Dune and thought it was one of the best Sci-Fi books ever written see this film very soon, it won’t be there long.
THE OTHER WOMAN. If you’ve ever wondered why Cameron Diaz is famous, you’ll still wonder after seeing this dog of a dumb comedy. Mick La Salle liked it and he’s just about alone.I never knew what Nicki Minaj did, I’m still not sure but she’s the best thing in this FLOP and everything else flopsa lot in this film (if you catch my drift). I’m still trying to figure why I went.
BRICK MANSIONS. If all goes really, really bad then Detroit could look like this movie in 2018. It’s a terrible action, evil, crashing, jumping killing “action” flick. The now deceased Paul Walker stars in this mindless, over edited, special effects, pointless disaster. It’s a perfect example to use when you think that there are too many movies centering on violence on every theatre screen in the USA (and propably the rest of the world today).
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
(from BEST 2 worst)
DOM HEMINGWAY. Jude Law literally chews up the hard drive in this very British art-house film. It somehow ended up at Cinema 9 in Santa Cruz. Law plays the angriest man I can remember on screen. He is mean, pissed, cruel and just served 12 years in prison instead of ratting on an equally mean billionaire mob boss. It’s an excellent film, and funny, driven, exciting and touching, all at the same time. Go for it…it’s really a Nickelodeon film at Cinema 9 no less!!!
UNDER THE SKIN. If you liked Enemy and wonderfully challenging plots that will leave you wondering this is your film. I loved every minute of it. It’s intelligent, non Hollywood, beautifully photographed and of course it stars Scarlett Johanessen. Like Enemy the recent Jake Gyllenhaal piece of cinema history theending to Under The Skin will knock off your socks permanently. Check out the trailer… http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/under_the_skin_2013
LUNCHBOX.You’ve seen the lead Irrfan Khan in great films if you’ve seen any Indian films lately. HBO’s In Treatment, The Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire etc. It’s the touching, sensitive, no big action story of a non-relationship. It’s also a tour of contemporary Mumbai, India. It’s a wonderful film.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.Like Salvatore Dali and Norman Rockwell Wes Anderson makes brilliant films but the intent, meaning, and any statements behind what you see are confusing. Budapest Hotel is one of Anderson’s simplest films. Lots of laughs, not much subtlety, and Ralph Fiennes is at his funniest best. Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Jude Law, Owen Wilson, Edward Norton and F. Murray Abraham are also inthe film for publicity purposes I guess. Rotten Tomatoes says Johnny Depp, Ursula Kuhnt, and Angela Lansbury are in it too, but I didn’t see them.
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER. A surprising and well made documentary about a very shy woman who hid her photography “hobby” from the world all her life. As the Nick’s site says, “She never showed her work to anyone, but since its recent (and accidental) discovery, she is now considered among the 20th century’s greatest photographers. Walking the streets of Chicago and New York City, Maier quietly captured faces, moods and moments (as well as many self-portraits) with her Rolleiflex and created unforgettable imagery that has only come to light in the last few years. Her strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films and interviews with those who thought they knew her”. You’ll see a huge number of her photos; go if that’s your thing, or if you like good documentaries.
OCULUS. Featuring a haunted mirror, this is a pretty good and pretty scary movie. It has some clever and well thought out scenes and is definitely several cuts above the usual horror film. What it does do is maintain a tense feeling throughout almost all the film, that’s not easy. Go if you like to be mystifyied or scared.
DIVERGENT. Shailene Woodley has come a long way from George Clooney’s daughter in The Descendents, or her wonderful job in “The Spectacular Now”. She’s the main thing in Divergent. She diverges from the approved 5 factions in this Chicago land of the far distant future. It’s a lot like Hunger Games and Shailene reminds me a lot of Jennifer Lawrence in looks and in the roles they play in both these flicks. Ashley Judd is in this too, so is Kate Winslett. Much war, blood, fights, teen age stuff. You could stay home and study about oil deposits in Santa Cruz County and be better off.
TRANSCENDENCE. Johnny Depp seems to be losing the zillion dollar attraction he used to have. This film is a dud. It’s about technology and re-creating dead people. Paul Bettany does his usual fine actiong job and so does Morgan Freeman who hasn’t had a chance to rslly act in years and just keeps playing the same old Morgan Freeman. It’s Man versus machine and dullness versus your cost of admission…you decide.
CAPTAIN AMERICA, Winter Soldier.You take Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson, and put them in a film like Captain America and what do you have?? Not much, just another bloody, violent, superhero, Marvel Comic blockbuster. It does have a few seconds where we can think about security versus fear as a way to run the USA. Redford plays an evil Wall Street warmonger, and Johansson jumps around a lot and she really does have an intriguing voice, if you stop looking and listen to her. She’s a good “guy” and works with Chris Evans as the Captain. Just go if you’re under 16, and bored.
HEAVEN FOR REAL. Jesus H. Christ, is this a god “faith-based” film or what??? Greg Kinear plays the preacher who’s son almost dies but goes to heaven anyways and probably, or maybe??? the kid sees jesus and his horse, and lots of Christian stuff. Don’t go unless your church is closed for some reason and you have nothing to do.
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 sometimes old programs are archived… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick returns April 29 to talk more about issues from the bench. Marty Rizzo follows him on 4/29 by telling us “new” details in our earliest Santa Cruz Mission Days. Traci Hukill and Eric Johnson tell us about Hilltromper Santa Cruz on May 6., then Anita Monga artistic director of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival reveals their film features. Dan Haifley author of “50 Years of Safe Harbor” talks about his book on May 13. 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
UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 5 years here’s a chronological list of just this year’s podcasts. Click herehttp://kzsc.org/blog/tag/universal-grapevine then tap on “listen here” to hear any or all of them… all over again. The update includes 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. Hear them all!!!
QUOTES. “The first thing we do, let’s kill all lawyers“, William Shakespeare. “Only lawyers and mental defectives are automatically exempt from jury duty”, George Bernard Shaw. “The only difference between Doctors and Lawyers is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas Doctors rob you and kill you, too”, Anton Chekhov
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.
Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.
