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We’re back!
First of all, where have we been? Well, that’s kind of a long story. Bruce has been here all along; the problems have all been me. Let’s see if I can break this down… the domain BrattonOnline.com was due for renewal, but when I went to renew it I couldn’t get in to the account at the registrar. Normally not a problem, you can use a different account to renew with, but for some reason not so this time. I did the “lost my password” thing, and that’s when trouble started.
I had lost my own domain because I was busy with cancer, so I couldn’t access the email they sent to change the password. This led to lots of communication with customer support, which for this company is in France… Figure in time difference and the need to fax documentation and no support on the weekend, and here we are!
It’s good to be back 🙂
-Gunilla
DATELINE May 4, 2015
DATELINE May 11, 2015
DATELINE May 18, 2015
IS KUSP BURNING??? I was part of a weekly Seniors Program on KUSP in the 1990’s, and part of a comedy troupe along with Tim Eagan, Michael Gant, Patty Free and John Tuck before that. John Laird talked me into being on KAZU’s board of directors a couple of years before they sold out to CSUMB. Way earlier than that, my KUSP attachment goes back to October of 1972 when I was running/managing a California State Assembly campaign and my candidate Henry Faitz and I did an appearance on KUSP. It was located in a large closet in the Babbling Brook Inn on Laurel Street and David Freedman ran the whole thing. Great days!!! Now there’s a complex money and ownership battle going on with all sorts of plots and possible plans. Some well informed sources say that if a large enough percentage of the membership get it together the possible sale could be stopped…and a very long overdue re-organizing could take place. The fear amongst many is that the blah, bland MUZAC type middle of the road classical format that CNPR foists upon all the stations it buys out/conquers will succeed. Meetings are being held, a growing number of folks are getting involved…it’s entirely possible that our community could go back to the days when we had a genuine locally owned and locally themed radio station.
| MASCULINE WOMEN! FEMININE MEN!!! The full lyrics to this 1926 song. You gotta love it!!! |
| JUAN CABRILHO. Not much new stuff here but it does point out Cabrilho’s Portuguese heritage. That menas it’s “Cabrilho” not the Spanish “Cabrillo” !!! |
| CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ MAMAS & THE PAPAS, back in the day. |
KUSP OPINION. I asked Dr. Mark Bernhard, a long time friend and chiropracter to give us his opinion. He was president of the KUSP board when KAZU “merged” with CSUMB. He wrote…
“As president of the KUSP board at the time, my opinion is that it began to go wrong when KAZU was going under 15 years ago and the KAZU board chose to be taken over by CSUMB, despite repeated, loud warnings from us and others that CSUMB’s assurances that they “wouldn’t change anything” was a pack of lies. KUSP brought out a “merger specialist” from public radio to warn KAZU about CSUMB, outlining the history of what happens when a college acquires a station. It’s never pretty for the one being taken over. Then station manager, Peter Troxell, made an eloquent and strong presentation, to no avail. The KAZU board didn’t like KUSP—they thought WE were too corporate and slick! They wanted to keep their little radio station the way it was and CSUMB lied and told them they could. The KAZU board thought KUSP was the big fish that would swallow them but it was the wolf in sheep’s clothing that devoured them. Our plan was to create a single entity with two frequencies, one overhead/staff/underwriting department, etc. and provide one eclectic all-music station and one all-news/info/talk station offering local, national, and international content. It would have been a fabulous, sustainable, financially strong, aesthetically great arts organization for the entire Monterey Bay and would have prevented these 15years of inane, repetitive, overlapping programming and competition between an entirely publicly-funded, largely volunteer entity (KUSP) and one that receives funding from CSUMB’s (nearly bottomless) coffers plus public fundraising to present what is a mindless, unoriginal pipeline,with minimal local content, directly from NPR to the Central Coast (whoopee!). But they are able to undercut the cost of on-air underwriting vs. KUSP because of the subsidy from CSUMB, assuring that much of the underwriting money that could go to KUSP goes to KAZU because it’s cheaper and a lot of people love NPR and equate that with “public radio.” I often shake my head in dismay at what could have been vs what has been. The original KAZU board was suffering mightily from myopic provincialism. That’s what I called it at the time and I stand by that description to this day.
The imminent “sale” of KUSP is, so far, rumor. I don’t see that happening, at least not how it’s currently being portrayed by many. But KUSP is deeply in debt despite having already sold several repeater frequencies and much connected equipment. It is not the fault of management. I have the utmost respect for the insight, intelligence,eloquence, foresight,and dedication of Terry Green as Station Manager, and KellyO’Brien as Board President and John Morrison, Treasurer (both with superhuman, unbelievable volunteer dedication) as well as all the other unpaid board and under-paid staff. The whole media landscape is changing, as we all know. KAZU will probably have to change or go down as well in the next 5 years because they have their head in the sand regarding that landscape. We’ve been trying to convince them of the benefits of a merger for the last several years but they don’t get it. Most people, especially the young (i.e. current/futuremedia consumers) don’t listen to the radio anymore.They listen to their “device.” And they stream that content from the internet. Who needs a radio station that relies on an antenna anymore? Things will definitely change at KUSP, but the direction and ultimate organization remains to be seen. I was out of town for the big meeting on May 6 but I’m confident that everyone involved is dedicated to preserving the original mission of the station. As Terry Green said in a recent email: “As a group, we hold the public trust here, and we need to work from what is true, not what we are afraid might be true. We have a collective responsibility to work this out… and to do that in a way that will inspire, and not diminish, the confidence of the many thousands of people who support us now, and thousands more that may support what we do in the future.” Mark also sent two websites with further historical details. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAZU and http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/12.15.99/kusp-9950.html
HAWAII—MAUNA KEA & THE 14 TELESCOPES. Hawaii – the big Island – is home to Mauna Kea the dormant volcano that stands 13,796 feet above sea level. There’s an even bigger issue going on there than KUSP!!! Mauna Kea is a sacred place and Universities and observatories from around the world are developing telescope sites there against the native Hawaiians protests. Go here to read the developers side. I’m trying to connect with some Office of Hawaiian Affairs officials to get their side. It’s a very sad and disrespectful saga…much like our treatment of the “American” Indians. More later.
BARRY SWENSON BUILDERS HAS THEIR WAY
WITH THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
On Tuesday, May 5th, the County Board of Supervisors approved the requested modifications to the Aptos Village Plan, the major modification was the addition of six more dwelling units. This wasn’t exactly a shock for those of us who have watched this project’s progress over the years. You can read and hear what happened on Tuesday by clicking here…. The proponents of Barry Swenson’s project included all the usual suspects, representatives from the Aptos Chamber of Commerce, Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, Santa Cruz County Business Council , the project’s architect and several real estate agents. A new addition to this team was Testorff Construction, represented by a crew that occupied two rows of chairs in the audience wearing black hoodies with their company’s name on the back. Most of these guys testified in support of the modifications, one of them claimed he wasn’t being paid to be there. The opponents of the modifications were Aptos residents, many of who will live with the increased traffic and congestion during construction and after. But it gets tiresome to hear the proponents tout 22 public meetings on this version of the Aptos Village Plan over a 10 year period with “stakeholders” and the public. I certainly don’t remember any of these being announced to the public after the current plan was presented for review. Even Supervisor Zach Friend admits there have been no public hearings since 2012, that being before he was in office. Can anybody out there point me to these announcements?
(Paul Elerick is co-chair with Peter Scott of the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, http://sensibletransportation.org , and he’s a member of Nisene 2 Sea, a group of open space advocates).
A FEW THOUGHTS ON HOUSING.
The high cost of housing in Santa Cruz is a frequent topic of conversation similar to the drought. Unlike the drought it is unlikely to have an ending date. Those of us who came here in the 1970’s can recall that rent wasn’t an issue. For around $120 a month you could rent a house. Those who could, bought a house for around $50,000. How did the same house which cost $50,000 then, come to be valued around $800,000 now? The usual answer is supply and demand. The population in the city in the 1970’s was around 30,000 residents and today it is double that number. To avoid any hint of smugness, it’s well to remember that the real old-timers will tell you that those of us who came here in the 1970’s were also responsible for the growth of Santa Cruz and they are right. But it did seem at that time the town was largely affordable. Today it is largely unaffordable except for those who bought their house long ago, or those currently with high incomes or investment properties.
According to supply and demand, the solution to the high cost of housing is always a call for more housing to be built, never that demand might be tempered by local hiring, less sales promotion of Santa Cruz and a smaller UCSC. Most assume that more housing equals more affordable housing. But does it? There has been a lot of housing built in Santa Cruz over the past 40 years and with greatly increased density, yet rents and housing prices have increased ten-fold or more. The developers and the politicians misuse the term “affordable” for market rate housing (ADU’s for example) and pretend that projects such as 1010 Pacific Avenue will be affordable for teachers, police and firefighters as promised, when in fact such projects soon become student housing at market rates. With an ever-expanding UCSC and 54 percent of students living off campus, easily outbidding families and workers for rental housing, there seems no relief in sight.
Beyond supply and demand, housing is a commodity, similar to health care, where speculation, trading and profit are the driving forces beneath the surface cost. Housing activists in the Bay area, which faces similar issues, conclude that it is not possible to build your way into affordability. Affordable housing can be achieved only through subsidized housing and rent control. Building more housing without such policies in place will not result in an affordable Santa Cruz but rather an affluent, overcrowded city straining available resources”.
(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).
| CABRILHO MEETS THE INDIANS. Just a few dozen questions remain about this clip. |
| BLONDIE’S HEART OF GLASS. Blondie was one of Good Times’ publisher Jay Shore’s favorites |
PATTON’S PROGRAM. Gary alerts us to our county supes re-writing our Land-Use Policies on 5/19. He says, “In essence, the County’s Planning Director and County Administrative Officer are asking the Board to change the rules for developers in Santa Cruz County, with a significant possibility that the protection of agricultural land, the protection of neighborhoods, and the protection of the natural environment will all be diminished”. Then he states about the KUSP confusion, “The KUSP Board and station management have signed a “Letter of Intent” to sell KUSP’s frequency and transmitters to the Classical Public Radio Network. If that deal goes through, you will have to start doing your own investigation on upcoming land use related items, since I’ll be off the air. And frankly, doing research on your own would be a good idea no matter what! At any rate, there are some upcoming meetings about the proposed sale of KUSP. The first meeting is May 21st, in Monterey” About our water issue Gary reports, “In the next few months, the City of Santa Cruz will be adopting a new Water Conservation Plan, and the event this evening is intended to stimulate some public input into that process. As the event organizers say, “among Santa Cruz residents, water conservation comes right after Mom and apple pie, or maybe ahead of apple pie, but there is [still] work to do to ensure that the new plan matches the community’s sentiment.” 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. Very early “DeCinzo guide to Santa Cruz”….see downward just a bit.
EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. Once again, we are gifted with a classic “Subconscious Comic”…see how Eagan sheds light on our darkest thoughts…scroll below.
LISA JENSEN LINKS. Lisa writes: “How romantic is the new film version of Far From the Madding Crowd? Find out this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com.” Also, please note my blog will be on hiatus until May 25, so talk among yourselves until I get back!” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975.
THAT IS THE QUESTION
(IN ORDER OF PERFECTION)
FELIX AND MEIRA. A Hasidic Jewish wife in Montreal who isn’t happy with her traditional wife’s role and her husband’s rule seeks a change in her life. The plot moves to Brooklyn and Venice, Italy and is sensitive, respectful, involved, and gets you thinking all about religion , again. Not a laugh in it but well worth thinking about.
MAD MAX FURY ROAD. Tom Hardy is no Mel Gibson and Charlize Theron isn’t any Tina Turner (Beyond Thunderdrome 1985). Fury Road is a very serious and wonderfully filmed road chase that lasts 2 hours. Remember how sort of goofy and friendly Mel Gibson was? Tom Hardy barely talks at all through the entire film. Max’s last name is Rockatansky in case anybody asks you. Hard to believe but this plot involves mother’s milk, oil, a little water, a flame throwing guitar, and just plain lunacy. Great special effects…all directed by George Miller the very same director who did the first 3 Max’s.
WELCOME TO ME. Kristen Wiig is the whole show here and her whole show is a weird takeoff on Oprah and her followers. Neurotic, disturbed, unsure…that’s what the story line/plot is. Not funny, deep, twisted and a genuine comment on a disturbed mind, just go prepared to think a lot.
STILL PLAYING AT A THEATRE NEAR US
FROM BEST TO REALLY BAD
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. Carey Mulligan and her dimples light up the screen every second in this Jane Austen era vintage drama. It’s an early women’s equality heartbreaker, and it;’s beautifully photographed, perfectly acted and only a little pointless. It’s of course from Thomas Hardy’s book. Matthias Schoenaerts is from Belgium and Wikipedia says, “Matthias Schoenaerts (Dutch: [‘m?tj?s ‘sçuna?rts]; born 8 December 1977) is a Belgian actor.[1] He is the son of actor Julien Schoenaerts. He first starred in Daens. He is best known for his roles in Loft, Bullhead and Rust and Bone, the latter for which he won the CĂ©sar Award for Most Promising Actor. I put that stuff in there because he’s an excellent actor and we’ll be seeing a lot of him very soon. Go see this movie. By the way cute and essentially sweet Carey Mulligan is far from the way Julie Christie played the role in the earlier version.
EX MACHINA. Oscar Isaacs takes the lead in this sci-fi winner of a film. You’ll stay glued to the seat as this somewhat kinky story unfolds. If you have to classify it , It’s another robot into human story but with so many twists..it’s powerful, and full of suspense. You could say that there are a few plot twists that seem awkward, but go for it…it’s the best film of the year (4 months).
CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA. Juliette Binoche is totally wonderful in this wistful saga about fame, show biz, and aging. Kristen Stewart of all people, won an award in France for her role as Juliette’s assistant. I liked Chloe Grace Moretz’s presence more than I did Stewart’s contribution. You should see it, if you like good films. There are twists and plot turns and questions you’ll think about for days, and it’s an excellent film.
5 FLIGHTS UP. You get what you pay for when you see this cutesy Hollywood film. Diane Keaton, Morgan Freeman, and especially Cynthia Nixon make this almost worth your admission. Cynthia Nixon is the one you’ll remember, we’ve seen just about all of Keaton’s jerky, kinky moves and have been lulled almost to death with kindly, cuddly Morgan Freeman’s grandpa imitation. It’s an OK movie but you won’t remember anything from it….or how it ends 2 minutes after you leave the theatre. At least there’s no violence, blood, or superheroes in it…and that’s rare!!
WATER DIVINER. Russell Crowe makes his debut as a director in this Gallipoli war saga of a father who’s a water diviner goes to the battlefield in Turkey where this two or maybe 3 sons died and “divines” their bodies…well, two of them. The war scenes are great and bloody, but the film never transports you into the story. Something is too cold, too impersonal to care that much about. But it still qualifies a a good movie.
WOMAN IN GOLD. Helen Mirren will get no big awards for her starring role in this mini-saga of how a Jewish woman fought for years to get Gustav Klimt’s painting of her aunt back from the Austrian government. Austria possessed the painting after Hitler’s Nazi’s stole it from her folks. It lacks a point or reason or spark. Ryan Reynolds is pretty good as the young attorney. Go rent “The Rape of Europa” documentary from a few years ago, it’s more dramatic!!
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. It’s the second biggest box office opening in movie history!! Avengers #1 was the biggest and IronMan was number 3 As you could guess 59% of the audience were males under age 25, and probably walked using their knuckles. No one has figured out what Ultron was supposed to be and not very many people could possibly care. It’s nearly 100% computer generated , which means it’s very dark…even the non 3D version. There’s no figuring out the plot. And Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey jr., Mark Ruffalo (as the Hulk!!) Don Cheadle, Stellan Skarsgard, and even Samuel L. Jackson in a bit role can do absolutely nothing to make this movie interesting. It’s a hymn to violence, it totally depends on blood and killing and who needs it?
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 sometimes old programs are archived… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. May 19 Elizabeth Romanini and Attny. Bill Parkin talk about the success of NOPOC (Neighbors Organized to Protect our Community) and then Tash Nguyen and Courtney Hanson discuss UCSC’s Sin Barras.. . . May 26 Rachel Goodman and Ed Porter bring us up to date on the KUSP confusion. They are followed by UCSC Prof. Mathew Lasar talking about the future of radio and online “radio” type stuff. Veterans advocate Dean Kaufman talks about benefits and programs for vets on June 2. Becca Reed King discusses our Community Television station news after Dean. On June 16 the annual Bookshop Santa Cruz “Short Story Winners” read their winning entries. Frank Perry unveils The Capitola Museum’s summer attractions on June 30. Actor, director Mike Ryan talks about Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s season on July 7. 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 9 years, here’s a partial list of some of the 900 broadcasts. Click herehttp://kzsc.org/blog/tag/universal-grapevine then tap on “`listen here” to hear what’s still available. The list includes Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson-Darrow, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Ted Benhari, 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. 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 June 2006.
QUOTES.
“There’s too much nudity on TV, and not enough on the radio,” Jarod Kintz. “Television, radio, and all the sources of amusement and information that surround us in our daily lives are also artificial props. They can give us the impression that our minds are active, because we are required to react to stimuli from the outside. But the power of those external stimuli to keep us going is limited. They are like drugs. We grow used to them, and we continuously need more and more of them. Eventually, they have little or no effect. Then, if we lack resources within ourselves, we cease to grow intellectually, morally, and spiritually. And we we cease to grow, we begin to die.” Mortimer J. Adler, How to Read a Book “As early as 1930 Schoenberg wrote: “Radio is an enemy, a ruthless enemy marching irresistibly forward, and any resistance is hopeless”; it “force-feeds us music . . . regardless of whether we want to hear it, or whether we can grasp it,” with the result that music becomes just noise, a noise among other noises. Radio was the tiny stream it all began with. Milan Kundera, Ignorance
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BEST OF VINTAGE STEVEN DeCINZO.
Deep Cover by Tim Eagan.
