1151_SCW

4/130==9( A/<B/1@CHE339:G j BE7BB3@( .A/<B/1@CHE339:G j E30( A/<B/1@CH 1=; j 2313;03@ 4 / 130==9( A /<B/ 1@CHE339:G j B E7BB3@ @( .A /<B/ 1@CHE339:G j E30( A /<B/ 1 @CH 1 =; j 2313;03@ & & j D=: ! <= !" j D =: ! < = !"

HOLIDAY ON ICE:

A South Pole Christmas Story p11

Advice for fo or Occupy

p4

U Unhappy nhappy on F Facebook accebook p6 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pla â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Plaid aid T Tidingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; idingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ring Rings gs the Bell p23

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

2

P OSTS

p4 p6

COVER STORY A&E

p11

p23

STAGE | ART | EVENTS p26

C L U B G R I D p28 FILM

p34

P L AT E D

p37

ASTR OLOGY

p41

CLASSIFIEDS

p42

ON THE COVER Photo courtesy Samantha Larson

A locally owned newspaper 877 Cedar St, Suite 147, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831.457.9000 (phone) 831.457.5828 (fax)

Santa Cruz Weekly, incorporating Metro Santa Cruz, is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue of Santa Cruz Weekly may be purchased for $1, payable at the Santa Cruz Weekly office in advance.

Santa Cruz Weekly may be distributed only by Santa Cruz Weekly’s authorized distributors. No person may, without permission of Metro Publishing, Inc., take more than one copy of each Santa Cruz Weekly issue. Subscriptions: $65/six months, $125/one year.

Entire contents © 2011 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form prohibited without publisher’s written permission.

Unsolicited material should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope; Santa Cruz Weekly is not responsible for the return of such submissions.

Printed at a LEED-certified facility

Our affiliates:

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

B E AT S C A P E

p24

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

CURRENTS

CONTENTS

Contents

3

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

POSTS

4

Posts.

Messages &

Send letters to Santa Cruz Weekly, letters@santacruz.com or to Attn: Letters, 877 Cedar St, Ste 147., Santa Cruz, 95060. Include city and phone number or email address. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity or factual inaccuracies known to us.

EDITORIAL EDITOR TRACI HUKILL (thukill@santacruzweekly.com) STAFF WRITERS TESSA STUART (tstuart@santacruzweekly.com) JACOB PIERCE (jpierce@santacruzweekly.com) RICHARD VON BUSACK (richard@santacruzweekly.com) CONTRIBUTING EDITOR CHRISTINA WATERS POETRY EDITOR ROBERT SWARD PROOFREADER GABRIELLA WEST EDITORIAL INTERN SAMANTHA LARSON CONTRIBUTORS ROB BREZSNY, PAUL M. DAVIS, MICHAEL S. GANT, ANDREW GILBERT, MARIA GRUSAUSKAS, JORY JOHN, CAT JOHNSON, STEPHEN KESSLER, KELLY LUKER, SCOTT MACCLELLAND, AVERY MONSEN STEVE PALOPOLI, PAUL WAGNER

ART & PRODUCTION DESIGN DIRECTOR KARA BROWN GRAPHIC DESIGNER BLAKE CHIAO, TABI ZARRINNAAL EDITORIAL PRODUCTION SEAN GEORGE AD DESIGNERS JENNY OATEY, DIANNA VANEYCKE

DISPLAY ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES ALICE COLBY (alice@santacruz.com) JOCELYN MACNEIL (jocelyn@santacruz.com) ILANA RAUCH-PACKER (ilana@santacruz.com)

PUBLISHER DEBRA WHIZIN

PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE EDITOR DAN PULCRANO

A SORRY SCENE

ORGANIZE OCCUPY

YESTERDAY as I headed up Berkeley Way toward Branciforte to get to Hwy 1, I saw an incident that left me brokenhearted.

It was Tuesday, the day garbage is collected on Berkeley Way. Bent over in front of one of the cans was a frail white-haired man digging through the garbage. As I passed by him, he put what he found into his mouth and was chewing it.

My question to you, reader, is what should I have done instead of crying?

I’m still in tears as I type this.

THE ARTICLE “Is Occupied Finished?” (Currents, Dec. 14) inspired me to write. The author interviewed Kalle Lasn, who said the movement would fracture into myriad projects. Local spokesperson Andy Moscowitz essentially said that awareness and messaging of the movement was now “diffuse.” My answer to both is that I hope not and that you are both wrong.

I offer the following basic framework to assist in preventing this diffusion: 1. Now is the time to formalize and organize the movement and give it more structure. Stay with me a moment while I articulate the framework.

Lucia Musso Santa Cruz

2. Formalize your support base; organize your alliances with organizations that you find common cause. Articulate the big picture agenda and define the agenda of what you want accomplished politically. This means “organizing” your message, purpose and actions with other Occupy groups. You still retain the diffuseness you need; you still retain the localness of the movement.

This localness is essential to change politics and policy. But you can’t do it on your own because you don’t have the resources, political or social capital.

Example: Let’s say your local agenda for “Occupy” is to change the foreclosure process with the banks. Team with organizations that support this as well as homeless organizations.

3. Grow the use of your intellectual capital. Find the professors and legal experts to “counsel” and guide.

4. Don’t bite my head off yet, but you need a counter-intelligence staff.

For every pundit on Wall Street or city council that publicly slams you, you must have an immediate message as well; better yet, get your intellectual capital to “war-game” these scenarios. Your friend is heavy offensive messaging—in essence, guerrilla marketing.

Lastly, a little about me: I am a former counterinsurgency advisor and did this stuff for real in Afghanistan and other places. I am good at what I do. But it’s time for change in our own country and the Occupy movement stands the best chance of success.

The beauty of the movement was the ability to bring people together so quickly. Now, regrettably, you must do what you abhor. You must become an organization with a formal strategy and structure. You can influence this election year, but you must become a people’s movement with organization.

My reading list for anyone that’s serious: Field Manual 3-24. (You can download this for free.) Read the Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung.

Name withheld by request Marina

5

ffrom fr o m Ocean O n Honda!

Ho nda! d

380 3801 01 Soq Soquel uel Dr Dr..

Soquel, CA 95073 Soq uel C uel, A9 5073 7 831.464.1500 8 31.464.1500 OceanHonda.com Ocea anHonda.com m

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

s y a d i l o Happy H

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

CURRENTS

6

Currents.

WHAT? ME WORRY? While Facebook forces us to waste time comparing ourselves to idealized versions of our friends, Mark Zuckerberg is laughing all the way to the bank.

The Misery Of Facebook How logging onto the social media giant destroys satisfaction

BY DANIEL GULATI

W

WHEN Facebook was founded in 2004, it began with a seemingly innocuous mission: to connect friends. Some seven years and 800 million users later, the social network has taken over most aspects of our personal and professional lives, and is fast becoming the dominant communication platform of the future.

But this new world of ubiquitous connections has a dark side.

Facebook—and social media in general—are major contributors to career anxiety. Facebook in particular takes it a step further: It’s actually making us miserable.

Facebook’s explosive rate of growth and recent product releases, such as the prominent Newsticker, Top Stories on the newsfeed, and larger photos have all been focused on one goal: encouraging more sharing. As it turns out, it’s precisely this hyper-sharing that is threatening our sense of happiness.

In the book Passion and Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders, I monitored and observed how Facebook was impacting the lives of hundreds of young businesspeople. As I went about my research, it became clear that behind all the liking, commenting, sharing and posting, there were strong hints of jealousy, anxiety and, in one case, depression. Said one interviewee about a Facebook friend, “Although he’s my best friend, I kind-of despise his updates.”

Said another “Now, Facebook is my work day.” As I dug deeper, I discovered disturbing by-products of Facebook’s rapid ascension: three new distressing ways in which the social media giant is fundamentally altering our daily sense of well-being in both our personal and work lives.

First, it’s creating a den of comparison. Since our Facebook profiles are self-curated, users have a strong bias toward sharing positive milestones and avoid mentioning the

more humdrum, negative parts of their lives. Accomplishments like, “Hey, I just got promoted!” or “Take a look at my new sports car” trump sharing the intricacies of our daily commute or a life-shattering divorce. This creates an online culture of competition and comparison. One interviewee even remarked, “I’m pretty competitive by nature, so when my close friends post good news, I always try and one-up them.”

Comparing ourselves to others is a key driver of unhappiness. Tom DeLong, author of Flying Without a Net, describes a “Comparing Trap.” He writes: “No matter how successful we are and how many goals we achieve, this trap causes us to recalibrate our accomplishments and reset the bar for how we define success.”

And as we judge the entirety of our own lives against the top 1 percent of our friends’ lives, we’re setting impossible standards for ourselves, making us more miserable than ever.

Second, it’s fragmenting our time. Not surprisingly, Facebook’s “horizontal” strategy encourages users to log in more frequently from different devices. My interviewees regularly accessed Facebook from the office, at home through their iPads and on their smartphones while out shopping. This means that hundreds of millions of people are less “present” where they are. Sketching out a mindnumbing presentation for the board meeting? Perhaps it’s time to reply to your messages. Stuck in traffic? It’s time to browse your newsfeed. Recounted one interviewee: “I almost got hit by a car while using Facebook crossing the street.”

Leaving the risk of real physical harm aside, the issue with this constant “tabbing” between real-life tasks and Facebook is what economists and psychologists call “switching costs,” the loss in productivity associated with changing from one task to another.

Dr. Srikumar Rao, an acclaimed selfhelp author, attributes “mindfulness” over multitasking as one of his 10

steps to happiness at work. He argues that constant distractions lead to late and poor-quality output, negatively impacting our sense of self-worth.

Last, there’s a decline of close relationships. Gone are the days where Facebook merely complemented our real-life relationships. Now, Facebook is actually winning the share of our core, off-line interactions. One participant summed it up simply: “We Facebook chat instead of meeting up. It’s easier.”

As Facebook adds new features such as video chat, it is fast becoming a viable substitute for meetings, relationship building and even family get-togethers. But each time a Facebook interaction replaces a richer form of communication—such as an inperson meeting, a long phone call, or even a date at a restaurant—people miss opportunities to interact more deeply than Facebook could ever accommodate.

As Facebook continues to add new features to help us connect more efficiently online, the battle to maintain off-line relationships will become even more difficult, which will impact their overall quality, especially in the long run. Facebook is negatively affecting what psychology Professor Jeffrey Parker refers to as “the closeness properties of friendship.”

So, what should we do to avoid these three traps? Recognizing that “quitting” Facebook altogether is unrealistic, we can still take measures to alter our usage patterns and strengthen our real-world relationships. Some useful tactics I’ve seen include blocking out designated time for Facebook, rather than visiting intermittently throughout the day; selectively trimming Facebook friends lists to avoid undesirable expartners and gossipy co-workers; and investing more time in building offline relationships. The particularly courageous choose to delete Facebook from their smartphones and iPads, and log off the platform entirely.

Daniel Gulati writes for the Harvard Business Review, where this article first appeared.

7

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

8

9

CURRENTS

Judging from these status updates, Facebook’s user base is solely 14year-old girls and 16-year-old boys.

The only reason the death of Osama bin Laden made the list is probably because Facebookers thought it was a Call of Duty expansion pack. All in all, a very poor showing for Facebook.

Conclusion: Facebook had the dumbest users in 2011. While Google and Twitter users displayed at least a modicum of interest in things that actually matter, the dominant topics on Facebook were cries for attention from other dumb Facebook users.

Facebookers stumbled through the year in a haze of cheap endorphins f looding their brains with every “like.”

Clearly, normally intelligent adults revert to miserable high-schoolers when on Facebook.

Will 2012 be an even dumber year for Facebook? All signs point to yes.

Adrian Chen writes for Gawker and Gizmodo, where this article first appeared.

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

The dominant topics on Facebook were cries for attention from other dumb Facebook users

december 21-18, 2011

NOW THAT Facebook, Google and Twitter have all published their yearin-review lists, we can definitively answer the question: Who was dumber in the year 2011: Facebook, Google or Twitter users? Hard to tell (’cause they were all pretty dumb.)

Each year, Google, Facebook and Twitter’s year-end hot topic lists offer a reliably depressing look into the Internet’s soul. Let’s compare them to see which group of users Googled, Twittered or Facebooked the stupidest bullshit last year: Google According to the modestlynamed 2011 Google Zeitgeist, the top fastest-rising Google searches were: 1) Rebecca Black; 2) Google +; 3) Ryan Dunn; 4) Casey Anthony; 5) Battlefield 3 So. Three meaningless celebrities and two meaningless technology products. The optimist would look at this list and think perhaps so many people Googled Rebecca Black and Ryan Dunn last year because they heard 12-year-olds talking about them at the grade schools they volunteer in, and wanted to be able to better relate.

The pessimist would look at this list and jump off a nearby overpass.

Also, it is suspicious that Google’s own social network was more interesting to Google users than almost every single other human event that happened last year. Pretty dumb, Googlers.

Twitter The top hashtags on Twitter in 2011 were: 1) #egypt; 2) #tigerblood; 3) #Threewordstoliveby; 4) #idontunderstandwhy; 5) #japan It’s not dumb that Egypt, one of the most historic and goddamn inspiring things to happen in this century, dominated Twitter’s conversation.

But it’s pretty stupid the second thing Twitter users cared about most was Charlie Sheen’s meltdown. I didn’t see many news junkies tweeting about how the Egyptian protesters were #winning (nor, for that matter, did I see Charlie Sheen fans tweeting about the Muslim Brotherhood), so there could be a highly-differentiated “dumb” and “not-dumb” population in Twitter’s user base.

The most tweets per second

occurred during the MTV Video music awards (8,868 tweets/second).

Pretty dumb. But this was rivaled by less-dumb events like Troy Davis’ execution (7,671 tweets/second) and Steve Jobs resigning from Apple (7,064 tweets/second).

Facebook The top five Facebook status updates for the U.S. were: 1) lms (like my status); 2) tbh (To be honest); 3) Death of Osama bin Laden; 4) Charlie Sheen; 5) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

CURRENTS

Dumb, Dumber and Dumber

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

10

Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital

he gift we all need...

50 years of caring for pets and their people spas â&#x20AC;˘ massage â&#x20AC;˘ bodycare Dr. Cheryl Dembner has been a part of

Hot Tub & Sauna Suites Skin and Body Care Skin Care Products Massage

the SCVH family for

tientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; concerns

sely to our pa At SCVH we listen clo

more than 10 years.

831.475.5400 www.santacruzveterinaryhospital.com

417 Cedar Street â&#x20AC;˘ 831-458-WELL â&#x20AC;˘ www.wellwithinspa.com

11

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN The author’s summit of Mt. Vinson-Massif on Antarctica put her, at age 18, one peak away from a world record.

T

“This does not feel like Christmas,” I thought between forced gulps of hot chocolate. I looked over at my teammate Doug, hunkered next to me in our kitchenette dug out of the snow, nursing his frostbitten hands. My dad and the other climbers in our group, Wim and our guide Victor, huddled in our shelter trying to warm themselves. ≥

13

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

BY SAMANTHA LARSON

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

Christmas at the top of the bottom of the world

COV E R STORY

South Pole Summit

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

12

13

11 C O V E R S T O R Y | S O U T H P O L E

C O V E R S T O R Y d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

6=³6=³6=:G 7B¸A 1=:2 Epvh-!pof!pg!uif!nfncfst!pg!uif!ufbn-!nblft!

nfssz!po!bo!Boubsdujd!Disjtunbt/ We were at the base of Mt. Vinson-Massif, at 16,050 feet the highest point in Antarctica. In December 2005, in the middle of my senior year of high school, between the anxieties of college applications and prom drama, my dad and I had somehow decided to journey down as far away from holiday cheer as we could possibly be to climb this peak.

I was a 17-year-old girl amongst middle-aged men, and while it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the first time Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d played that roleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Mt. Vinson would become the sixth of the Seven Summits, the highest peak on each of the continents, that my dad and I would climbâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I still felt an underlying compulsion to prove I was good enough to be there.

The team had leisurely awoken that morning thinking we would follow a relatively easy plan. The goal was to tag High Camp and

then come back down for the night, following the mountaineerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maxim of acclimatization, â&#x20AC;&#x153;climb high, sleep low.â&#x20AC;? While normally itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best get a pre-dawn start for a day of mountaineering, both in order to get the most out of daylight hours and to leave when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the coldest so that the ice is more solidly frozen in place, neither of those considerations mattered as much here: It never gets dark in December in Antarctica, and with the mercury hovering between 0 and â&#x20AC;&#x201C;20 degrees Fahrenheit, we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too worried about things thawing out.

Still, when the sun was shining and the wind was calm it could feel deceptively warm. Even though it looked like we would have good weather for the day, I casually threw some extra mitts and my f luffiest down jacket into my pack, just in ¨

#

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

14

13 C O V E R S T O R Y | S O U T H P O L E

15 C O V E R S T O R Y d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

B=> =¸ B63 ;=C<B/7< B= G=C Uif!bvuips!boe!ifs!gbuifs!sfbdi!uif!

tvnnju/ case, along with the bag of food I was carrying up to leave for when we returned for our summit bid.

We rolled out of camp with the sun gleaming against the pristine snow that crunched underfoot as we made our way toward the base of the headwall. Once there, we made a stop to put on our crampons, spikes that attach to the bottom of mountaineering boots to help gain traction in the ice, and then began to ascend the face that would lead us to High Camp, situated in the col (or pass) between Mt. Vinson and its neighbor, Mt. Shinn.

Planting my ice axe into the incline ahead of me every couple of steps, I followed the slow but steady pace Victor set at the lead of the rope. I was giddy at the thought of being surrounded by the untouched peaks of this mystic land.

Unconventional, perhaps, but not a

bad way to spend Christmas day, I thought.

Cold Hard Tracks Christmas back home was, of course, much different. The holiday season in Long Beach was announced by the appearance of colorful, tree-shaped light decorations f loating out on the bay.

Sometimes after the boat parade that went around Naples Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for which we would deck out our kayaks, and ourselves, with festive strings of lightsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I would paddle out to one of the platforms, just for the novelty of sitting on a f loating Christmas decoration.

My brother and I often spent Christmas in Brooklyn with my mom and grandma, where the holiday fixation was on appetizing ¨

$

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 C O V E R S T O R Y

16

Celebrate at Seascape!

W I T H O U R C H R I S T M A S D AY B U F F E T & N E W Y E A R â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S E V E PA R T Y

Gourmet Christmas Buffet at Sanderlings Restaurant December 25, 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8pm / $45.95 Adults / $19.95 Children 12 & under A traditional holiday buffet with a wide selection of favorites, including a seafood bar, roasted prime rib, bounty of fresh vegetables, a variety of delectable sides and salads, a festive dessert display, and more!

Call (831) 662-7120 to reserve your table.

New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve Party December 31, 7pm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:30am / $89 per person

(tip included)

Enjoy a lavish dinner and dessert buffet, followed by dancing with live music by Mike Hadley & the Groove, and a midnight champagne toast.

Doors open at 6:30pm, Dinner 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9pm, Dancing 8:30pm â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12:30am.

Call (831) 662-7141 to make your reservation. Special room rates available.

www.SeascapeResort.com â&#x20AC;˘ One Seascape Resort Drive, Aptos

15 C O V E R S T O R Y | S O U T H P O L E fowl. Be it pheasant, quail or duck, my mom would spend the better part of a day strategizing the sequence of events that would yield the best feast. Though we always ended up with a delicious meal, things rarely went according to plan.

Back on Vinson that dynamic was in full effect. After a couple of hours of climbing on Christmas morning, a smattering of clouds invaded the sky, blocking the warmth of the sun.

We made a quick stop to adjust our layers to the lower temperature; while Victor and Wim each added a jacket, Doug and my dad said they thought they would be fine with what they had on. Feeling lazy about digging through my pack and readjusting, I convinced myself that my current garb would also suffice.

Yet as we began to climb again, the wind picked up and I soon realized that the thin gloves I had on wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be enough after all.

I tried to shake off the burning cold by whirling my arms around, hoping that increasing the blood f low would be sufficient. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.

Because we were traveling in standard glacial travel style, with a single rope connecting the team, if I stopped to get my thicker mitts out of my pack, everyone else would have to stop with me. I knew that in this sport, seemingly small errors like this could result in dire consequences. If I made everyone stop, they could grow cold themselves due to the lack of movement, starting a chain of events that could end with frostbite or a fall. As part of a small team whose members were out to push their limits, I agonized that there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t room for my previous laziness.

But my mind f lashed on all of the things I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to do, or at least not as well, if I lost my fingertips to frostbite. I may be a mountain climber here, I thought to myself, but back at home I needed those fingers if I wanted to keep playing the piano or the oboe or even be able to instant message with my friends. I convinced myself it was worth it to protect my hands.

Completely embarrassed, I called out to Victor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you change your gloves when I gave you the chance

before?â&#x20AC;? he asked, clearly cross. But he stopped so I could throw off my pack and get out my mitts.

However, my punishment wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t complete; they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t at the top of my pack as Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d been hoping. I grew increasingly frustrated as I rummaged for the elusive mitts while the rest of the team waited impatiently. Victor gruff ly marched up to me to aid my search by holding the bag of food and the jacket that had been obstructing my path to the gloves. By the time I finally found them I was almost to the point of tears. I apologized but still felt I would have to do something to make up for my mistake.

As we climbed on, the weather worsened. Once we got to High Camp we hastily made a cache for the gear we would leave up there and then started back down. Now in near-whiteout conditions, we were thoroughly miserable. A layer of the freshly blown snow accumulated in between some of our boots and crampons, reducing the purchase of our feet on the slope and causing us to stumble from time to time, pulling and catching each other by the rope that served as our lifeline.

Peak Experience Mountaineering started for my dad, and thus for me, when he climbed Mt. Whitney with a friend from work. I can imagine my dad taking his last few steps to the summit: euphoric from the endorphins, adrenaline and altitude, hardly able to believe how far he had come since that morning as he looked down at the valleys below. Standing on top of a summit triggers just the right emotional cocktail to make it the most addictive experience I have known.

After Whitney and some other California peaks, he felt ready to take on something bigger. He suggested climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to his friends, but they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take the time off. So he brought it to the family dinner table one night.

My older brother and my stepmom both reasonably declined. But, more than climbing ¨

'

17 d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

18

1517 paciďŹ c avenue santa cruz, ca 95060

831-429-1940 store hours: Monday - Thursday 10 AM - 7 PM Friday - Saturday 10 AM - 8 PM Sunday 11 AM -7 PM

santacruzlegs.com

19

16 C O V E R S T O R Y | S O U T H P O L E

tqjsju!dpnft!up!Boubsdujdb/ a mountain, the thought of going to Africa seemed incredibly exotic and exciting to me. As an animallover, I reasoned that if I climbed Kilimanjaro with him, which I knew nothing about, I could probably convince him to take me on a short safari afterward. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yeah, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll go!â&#x20AC;? It came out without much thought, unknowingly launching the biggest obsession of my teenage years.

Eventually, that obsession would turn into a world record. After success on Vinson, my dad and I only had one peak left to complete our Seven Summits quest: Mt. Everest.

I took a gap year before college to train and prepare, and we reached the summit of Everest that spring, making me, at the age of 18, the youngest person at that time to have climbed the Seven Summits, and the first to climb them all with her dad.

I felt depleted when we got back to camp after our long Christmas day on Vinson; it took all of my willpower to help out with the chores of collecting snow to melt for water and cooking the dinner I was too tired to eat. As I laboriously cut up garlic with my pocketknife to throw in with the frozen salmon pattiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;our holiday dinnerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Victor looked at me and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I bet youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never had a Christmas like that before, have you?â&#x20AC;? I wearily shook my head.

Climbing High A day or two later we returned to High Camp, the point of departure for our summit bid. I had still not recovered from our hard Christmas day and was nauseated from the altitude. After weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d set up a tent, but before weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d finished all the chores of setting up campâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;most importantly, cutting out blocks of ice to build into a wall for protection from the windâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Victor suggested I get inside my sleeping bag to boil some water for tea while the rest of the team continued working. A bit surprised at getting out of the dirty work but not about to complain, I obeyed. I had never loved my sleeping bag more than I did when I crawled into it then. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You were moving quite slowlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I think you were getting a bit hypothermic,â&#x20AC;? Victor said later,

¨

C O V E R S T O R Y d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

A<=E B/<<3<0/C; Uif!ipmjebz!

Smirking, he added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Somehow I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be the last, either.â&#x20AC;?

After dinner I used the satellite phone to call my mom and brother.

I was so exhausted, and there was such a lag in the connection between us, that it was hard to communicate anything at all.

Even if I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really know what I was supposed to say, how I could possibly describe what it was like to be there right then, I liked the thought of them being able to hear me. I tried to imagine them sitting cozily around a tree, well fed and warm and protected from the chilly streets of New York, as I looked across the expanse of ice in front of me that led to the bottom of the earth. My dad and I then called my stepmom, younger brother and sister back in California. She asked how we liked our presentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d forgotten! Before sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d left us at the airport, she had handed my dad and me each a small package, which weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d stashed away in our sleeping bags.

We hung up the phone, got into our tent and opened them. I uncovered a pair of earrings, two small silver hoops. They seemed so out of place here, but I looked forward to going back to my other life, where I could envision wearing them.

b eVr E2 1R-2S8 T , 2O0R 1 1Y S A N T A C R U Z . C O MS A N dTe cAe C mR b eUr Z2 1. C -2O8 ,M2 0 1d1 e c e CmO

20 20

13 C O V E R S T O R Y | SOUTH POLE explaining why he had let me off easy.

When we woke up the next morning, Victor suggested we start up toward the summit: The weather was good, for now, and we had increasingly little time before we had to be back at basecamp in order to get our ride back out. If we missed it, we would most likely have to stay an extra two weeks. He promised that if we felt we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t strong enough, we would turn around and rest and try again the next day.

I thought maybe I would feel better once weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d gotten started, but pretty quickly I became sure that I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to make it. I felt on the verge of vomiting with every step. But I kept marching along, distracting myself with an internal debate over whether I had yet reached the point at which I should just tell the team I needed to turn back around. I would pick out an objective just within sightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;some distinctive rock or feature of iceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and tell myself that all I needed to do was make it there, that then I could decide whether or not I wanted to keep going. But upon reaching every target, I would just decide to postpone the decision again by picking out a new one. My whole existence was pared down to figuring out ways to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really sure right then why it was actually so important that I did, but I figured that if a previous self had been willing to go through all of the pain and effort this mountain had required so far, then it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something I should give up on easily.

Far sooner than I expected, Victor told us that we were probably halfway there. We continued on.

We did make it to the summit that day. I trudged up, planted my ice axe into the ground, and rested my forehead on it. My dad came over and let me lean on him to rest instead. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good job, honey-bear,â&#x20AC;? was all he could say as I quietly cried into his shoulder. 0

Fine Area Rugs & Carpets

Winter Sale 30% off Area Rugs

CLEANING - SALES - REPAIRS

Since 1984 CA Lic 797120

6000 Soquel Dr. Aptos | 831.476.4849

21 d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

22

23 A&E

A E!

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

Lads in Plaid

BY TRACI HUKILL

N

NOT EVERYTHING went well for Mom on this holiday trip out West.

First there was the missed flight, and then there was the other missed flight, and then the fellow passenger who blabbed all the way to Chicago.

But Saturday night at the Cabrillo Crocker Theater, things started to look up. That’s when the four stars of Plaid Tidings launched into “Strangers in Paradise,” followed closely by “Sh–Boom,” “Mambo Italiano” and a slew of jazzed-up holiday numbers as only a quartet of clean-cut fraternity brothers from 1950s middle America could perform them.

The show’s premise is pure cornball. The Plaids, having perished in 1963 when their car was hit by a bus carrying a gaggle of schoolgirls to see the Beatles (this is explained in Forever Plaid), are given a chance to return to present-day Earth to do the Perry Como–style Christmas program they always dreamed of. It takes them most of Act 1 to figure this out, though, and they work their way through some of the campiest hits of the late 1950s in the closeharmony style of the Lettermen and the Brothers Four until they finally start working the Christmas angle with a holiday-style tribute to Harry Belafonte’s “Matilda” and entertaining hand-bell versions of

MERRY BELAFONTE From left: Matt Dunn, Sean Gorski, Tad Kistner and Max Bennett-Parker lead a rambunctious holiday version of ‘Matilda.’

“Carol of the Bells” and “Mr. Santa.”

The singing and acting are both strong throughout. To hear four-part harmony done at all in this era of gutted school music programs is a pleasure; to hear it done well is a rare treat. Under the musical direction and piano accompaniment of Drew Lewis (David Nordgren plays bass), this foursome turns out the kind of closely woven four-part harmony you can hardly separate into its constituent threads, and without the intonation issues that bedeviled the Cabrillo Stage cast of Forever Plaid in 2008. As the nerve-wracked, stage fright-battling Jinx, first tenor Tad Kistner wows the audience with a sweet, pure tone. Max BennettParker (like Kistner a Forever Plaid veteran), often singing lead, anchors the production both musically and

dynamically as the charismatic Frankie. Scotts Valley High graduate Sean Gorski as Smudge, the lanky, horn-rimmed glasses-wearing nerd, blends in beautifully as the group’s baritone and has some hilarious comic moments in his somewhat spastic dance number, “Let It Snow.”

Matt Dunn as Sparky ably holds down the bass and emerges as a reliable comic element throughout, delivering snarky ripostes at every opportunity.

Not surprisingly, veteran Cabrillo Stage director Andrew Ceglio’s sense of playfulness and wit keep this production buoyant and energetic, especially during a three-minute show-stopping recapitulation of The Ed Sullivan Show during which characters like Topo Gigio and Jose Jimenez dash onstage, do a few

seconds of shtick and dash off again.

Mom was laughing so hard she was almost weeping, and I, born too late to get the references, had to stop and imagine a three-minute SNL blast featuring the Pathological Liar, Stuart Smalley and Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin to get the full force of how fun this is for those who knew the show. Plaid Tidings truly does offer entertainment for everyone, but there’s a little extra love in it for the Moms of the world. And that’s a beautiful thing.

PLAID TIDINGS At Cabrillo Crocker Theater through Dec. 30 Tickets $16–34 at www. cabrillostage.com

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

Jana Marcus

A 1950s boy band goes full corn for the holidays

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

SAE

24

LIST YOUR LOCAL EVENT IN THE CALENDAR! Email it to calendar@santacruzweekly.com, fax it to 831.457.5828, or drop it by our office. Events need to be received a week prior to publication and placement cannot be guaranteed.

Stage

share their favorite works in a variety of mediums. Thru Dec 31. Free. 450 Hwy 1, Davenport, 831.426.1199.

THEATER

Felix Kulpa Gallery

Paper Wing Theater presents the Tony Award-winning puppet-powered musical comedy. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Thru Jan 14. $22-$25. Paper Wing Theater, 320 Hoffman Ave, Monterey, 831.905.5684.

And Then There Was Light.

The second annual neon show will feature the work of Lili Lakich, Catarina Hosler, Michael Leeds, Denise Vivar, Patrick Stafford, Penny Waller, Bill Concannon and Mark Brandwene. Thru Jan 1, 2012.

Free. 107 Elm St, Santa Cruz, 408.373.2854.

Plaid Tidings

Masaoka Glass Design

A holiday spectacular featuring the male a capella group the Plaids performing Christmas hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Thru Dec 30. $16$34. Cabrillo College Theater, 6500 Soquel Dr, Aptos, 831.479.6154.

The Winter Glass Exhibition.

Featuring hand blown art glass ornaments, jewelry, hearts, platters, vases and pumpkins. Opening reception with glass blowing demonstrations Sat, Nov 26, 1-7pm. Thru Dec 31. Free, 831.659.4953. 13766 Center St, Carmel Valley.

Avenue Q

CONCERTS Santa Is Real: A 1950’s Christmas Spectacular Carolyn Sills and her band play pop and country hits from the ‘50s, plus classic holiday numbers made popular by Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley and Eartha Kitt. Thu, Dec 22, 7:30pm. $10.

Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton, 831.603.2294.

Art MUSEUMS CONTINUING Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History Futzie Nutzle & The Espresso Police. Featuring works by Nutzle, Judy Foreman and Frank Foreman, musical performances by the artists who played Caffe Pergolesi and artifacts from the old café.

Thru Mar 18, 2012. Museum hours Tue-Sun, 11am-5pm; closed Mon. 705 Front St, Santa Cruz, 831.429.1964.

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History Coastal Lagoons: A Closer Look through Art, History and Science. A virtual visit to seven local lagoons. Visitors will learn how land-use decisions have changed the outlines of each site, how scientists measure the current health of each lagoon and how artists continue to be inspired by the ever-changing nature of lagoons. Thru Feb 25, 2012. $2-$4, free for members and youth under 18. Tue-Sun, 10am-5pm. 1305 E. Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, 831.420.6115.

GALLERIES

Motiv Cosmographs: Big Black and White. Blurring the lines between photography and painting, Stephen Laufer’s work explores space, landscape and abstract figures, staking out a new organic cosmology. Thru Jan 31, 2012. Free. 1209 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, 831.479.5572.

Santa Cruz Central Branch Library Gallery Paul Titangos: Personal Photography From Around the World. Traditional black and white silver gelatin prints and colorful digitally re-mastered large canvases. Thru Jan 31, 2012. 224 Church St, Santa Cruz, 831.420.5700.

Santa Cruz County Bank Into the Woods. Featuring the work of nine local artists who explore the natural beauty, strength and mythical character of trees. On display at all branches. Thru Jan 18, 2012. Free. 720 Front St, Santa Cruz, 831.457.5000.

Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center The Gift of Art. Over 40 local artists showcase their jewelry, textiles, ceramics, wood, glass, baskets, paintings, cards and more. Wed-Sun . Thru Dec 24.

Free, 831.336.3513. Wed-Sun, noon-6pm. 9341 Mill St, Ben Lomond.

FUTZIE NUTZLE & THE ESPRESSO POLICE Futzie Nutzle and Caffe Pergolesi go together like coffee and steamed milk. Case in point: the MAH will be hosting a hybrid exhibit featuring pieces by the prolific Santa Cruz artist whose work has graced the pages of Rolling Stone and the walls of the Museum of Modern Art alongside artifacts from the cafe where his early work was first displayed. On display through March 18 at Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz, 831.429.1964. Free with admission. and a potluck dinner. Wed, Dec 21, 7pm. Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave, Santa Cruz.

HOLIDAYS Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train

AROUND TOWN

Passengers can sing along to seasonal carols, sip spiced cider and enjoy a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus while riding vintage rail cars adorned with thousands of lights through city streets of Santa Cruz. Thu-Sun, 5 and 6:30pm. Thru Dec 23. $18-$26. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St, Santa Cruz, 831.335.4484.

English Country Dance

Victorian Carriage Rides

Second and fourth Thursdays of each month; beginners welcome. Fourth Thu of every month. $5-$7.

First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz, 900 High St, Santa Cruz, 831.426.8621.

Tour downtown in a horsedrawn carriage. Thru Dec 23. $5. Hat Company of Santa Cruz, 1346 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, 831.429.8433.

Events

CONTINUING

Freedom Forum’s Christmas Potluck & Movie Night

Davenport Gallery

Featuring a screening of John Harris’ It’s an Illusion

Favorite Things. Thirty artists

THROUGH MARCH 18

NOTICES Call for Artists: ‘Inspirations’ Let’s start the New Year with what inspires you. We

encourage all mediums: jewelry, glass, ceramics, paintings, prints, baskets, sculpture, textiles. Work may be submitted in sets of 10. Dec 21-Jan 8. Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center, 9341 Mill St, Ben Lomond, 831.426.4906.

The Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay ADHD Support Group Wed, Dec 21, 6:30-8pm. Mar Vista Elementary School, 6860 Soquel Dr, Aptos, 831.684.0590.

SC Diversity Center

Discuss end-of-life options for serenity and dignity.

Meets in Aptos the last Wed afternoon of every month except Dec; call for more info. 831.251.2240.

The Diversity Center provides services, support and socializing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning individuals and their allies.

Diversity Center, 1117 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, 831.425.5422.

Red Cross Mobile Blood Drives

Support and Recovery Groups

Drives occur at several locations countywide each month; for schedule and locations call 800.733.2767.

Alzheimer’s: Alzheimer’s Assn., 831.464.9982. Cancer: Katz Cancer Resource Center, 831.351.7770; WomenCARE, 831.457.2273.

Candida: 831.471.0737.

Chronic Pain: American Chronic Pain Association, 831.423.1385. Grief and Loss: Hospice, 831.430.3000.

Lupus: Jeanette Miller, 831.566.0962.

Men Overcoming Abusive Behavior: 831.464.3855. SMART Recovery: 831.462.5470.

Trans Latina women:

Hemlock Discussion Group

Santa Cruz Film Festival Call for Entries Santa Cruz Film Festival now accepting submissions for consideration into its 11th season, May 10-19, 2012.

Films and videos of all lengths and formats completed after January 1, 2011 are invited to enter. SantaCruzFilmFestival. org Last Tue of every month.

Thru Jan 31.

Mariposas, 831.425.5422.

Trichotillomania: 831.457.1004. 12-Step Programs: 831.454.HELP (4357).

San Francisco’s City Guide

Yoga Instruction

Hanin Elias

Pacific Cultural Center: 35+ classes per week, 831.462.8893. SC Yoga: 45 classes per week, 831.227.2156. TriYoga: numerous weekly classes, 831.464.8100. Yoga Within at Aptos Station, 831.687.0818; Om Room School of Yoga, 831.429.9355; Pacific Climbing Gym, 831.454.9254; Aptos Yoga Center, 831.688.1019; Twin Lotus Center, 831.239.3900. Hatha Yoga with Debra Whizin, 831.588.8527.

Alec Empire’s token super-vixen from Atari Teenage Riot strikes out on her own. Dec 22 at Hemlock Tavern.

Zen, Vipassana, Basic: Intro to Meditation Zen: SC Zen Center, Wed, 5:45pm, 831.457.0206.

Vipassana: Vipassana SC, Wed 6:30-8pm, 831.425.3431. Basic: Land of the Medicine Buddha, Wed, 5:30-6:30pm, 831.462.8383.

Zen: Ocean Gate Zendo, first Tue each month 6:30-7pm.

All are free.

Dan the Automator Architect of Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz plays DJ set at Holiday Ball. Dec 22 at Rickshaw Stop.

Plastic Fauxno Band Over two hours of John Lennon hits from tribute band. Dec 23 at Great American Music Hall.

Brian McKnight Multimillion-selling singer and producer sits in for a holiday show at the jazz club. Dec 20-23 at Yoshi’s SF.

Tony! Toni! Toné Without Raphael Saadiq, Oakland’s R&B heroes soldier on in style. Dec 23-24 at Yoshi’s Oakland.

More San Francisco events by subscribing to the email letter at www.sfstation.com.

25 d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

Celebrating Creativity Since 1975

GIVE THE GIFT OF LIVE MUSIC TICKETS MAKE GREAT GIFTS! ROBERTA GAMBARINI QUARTET

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

Jan 9

Jan 12 GRAFFITI WITH DENNIS CHAMBERS

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

B E AT S C A P E

26

Feb 6 BOBBY BROOM & THE DEEP BLUE ORGAN TRIO

Jan 16 ROY HARGROVE QUINTET Jan 19 MADS TOLLING QUARTET TRIBUTE TO JEAN-LUC PONTY Jan 23 GRETCHEN PARLATO Jan 25 STANLEY CLARKE BAND

Feb 9 RAVI COLTRANE QUARTET Feb 13 BENNY GREEN TRIO Feb 14 VALENTINE’S JAZZ AND DINNER WITH TUCK & PATTI Feb 28 LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO At the Rio Theatre Advance tickets at kuumbwajazz.org and Logos Books & Records. Dinner served 1-hr before Kuumbwa presented concerts. Premium wines & beer. All ages welcome.

320-2 Cedar St [ Santa Cruz 831.427.2227

kuumbwajazz.org

WHERE’S LE BOEUF? At Don Quixote’s this Friday, both of them, rockin’ the alternajazz that’s making them famous.

WEDNESDAY | 12/21

WEDNESDAY | 12/21

THURSDAY | 12/22

YUJI TOJO

LA PLEBE

CAROLYN SILLS

Using the fretboard as his playground, the Japan-born, Santa Cruz–based guitarist Yuji Tojo is a wizard of the wires, a legend of the loops and a icon of improvisation. Referencing musical styles from around the world, Tojo’s lightning-quick hands weave together layers of sound by strumming, hammering, thumping, pounding, and coaxing notes and rhythms into place using every inch of his guitar.

An exciting and innovative artist, Tojo is one of Santa Cruz’s underexposed musical gems. Crow’s Nest; $3; 8pm.

(Cat Johnson)

Self-described “bilingual punks with horns ’n’ vomit,” San Francisco’s La Plebe has spent the past decade rocking audiences worldwide with an astonishingly energetic live show.

Seriously. As soon as these five musicians from the barrio start playing, they turn into an erratic pack of speed demons, demanding attention from anyone within earshot. Their social and political messages about human rights are accented by bilingual lyrics and a two-piece brass section that keeps the music spicy and fresh. They will be joined by fellow local punks the Pop Bottle Bombers, Street Justice and Bankrupt District. Catalyst Atrium; $6 adv/$8 door; 8:30pm. (Mat Weir)

Carolyn Sills’ bass may be almost as big as she is, but whatever she lacks in stature she more than makes up for with her sultry, potent voice.

She’ll take on the swinging pop and country hits of the 1950s—think classic holiday tunes made popular by the likes of Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley and the Andrew Sisters—in her show Santa Is Real: A 1950s Christmas Spectacular (a play on the Satan is Real album by ’50s country duo the Louvin Brothers). She’ll be backed by local instrumentalists and special guest vocalists Patti Maxine and Tracy Parker. Don Quixote’s; $10; 7:30pm.

(Samantha Larson)

27 B E AT S C A P E

LISA TAYLOR & SOUL CITY

FRIDAY | 12/23

LE BOEUF BROTHERS Identical twins Pascal and Remy Le Boeuf got started in jazz here in Santa Cruz when they were 12 by playing every weekend at the downtown farmer’s market. With Remy on sax and Pascal on piano, they’ve since hit it big on the modern jazz scene in New York City, playing with a sound characterized by odd time signatures, shifting harmonies and a broad range of contemporary influences (among those they cite: Radiohead and Sufjan Stevens). On their

Lucinda Williams

CONCERTS ROY HARGROVE QUINTET Jan. 16 at Kuumbwa

LUCINDA WILLIAMS

FRIDAY | 12/23

Jan. 18 at Rio Theatre

THIRTY9FINGERS

BIG SANDY & HIS FLY-RITE BOYS

Forget white—this year Christmas will be metal, and Thirty9Fingers will be leading the way with a pack of bloodthirsty reindeer. No strangers to the Santa Cruz metal scene, Thirty9Fingers have participated in two Your Music Magazine Olympicks and slain many shows. But what makes the Fingers unique is their ability to approach their lyrical subject matter almost lightheartedly. Almost.

Sharing the stage with A Thousand Shall Fall, Warcorpse and 3 Lunas, the Thirty9Fingers are the perfect way to wrap up a Very Metal Christmas Show, even if the wrapping paper is black. Blue Lagoon; $5; 9pm. (MW)

WEDNESDAY | 12/28

PEPPINO D’AGOSTINO Award-winning Peppino D’Agostino is a virtuoso fingerstyle guitarist who moves seamlessly between classical,

Jan. 21 at Don Quixote’s

ALO Feb. 3 at Moe’s Alley

GROUNDATION Feb. 6 at Catalyst

pop, folk, ragtime and more. Born in Italy, D’Agostino moved to the Bay Area over 25 years ago and played his first gigs in America on the streets of San Francisco. A self-taught artist with tremendous depth of expression, D’Agostino admits to incorporating everything he hears, sees and feels into his music. “Music is not only what you know musically, but also what you experience in life,” he says.

“It is a ref lection of our personalities and spirit.” Don Quixote’s; $15; 7:30pm. (CJ)

WEDNESDAY | 12/28

PLANET PLOW Question: What do you get when you mix the skate-punk style of Santa Cruz with psychedelic jams, power riffs and spaced-out timing? Answer: The strange men of Planet Plow. By combining the styles of Hendrix and the Doors with NoFx (PP’s singer is clearly a fan of Fat Mike), Planet Plow has managed to integrate two genres of music that normally just wouldn’t mix. Songs range from the virtues of living a rebellious life to the search for redemption, taking the listener “through time and space,” as their slogan says. Blue Lagoon; $5; 9pm.

(MW)

’TWAS THE PUNK SHOW BEFORE CHRISTMAS La Plebe at the Catalyst

Atrium on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

Steadily building a reputation as one of the best R&B acts around the Monterey Bay Area, singer/songwriter Lisa Taylor and her top-notch band Soul City have earned their audience the old fashioned way: by playing night after night, club after club, catching the ears of one fan at a time. Blending covers of classic R&B tunes with heartfelt and well-crafted original material that dips into pop, reggae, neo-soul and more, this is an outfit with the style and chops to take its groove to the next level. Crow’s Nest; $5; 8pm. (CJ)

most recent album, In Praise of Shadows, they gained recognition through experimentation with state-of-the-art production techniques. Don Quixote’s; $12; 8pm. (SL)

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

THURSDAY | 12/22

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

28

clubgrid SANTA CRUZ

WED 12/21

THU 12/22

FRI 12/23

SAT 12/24

Thirty9Fingers

VJ/DJ Tripp

THE ABBEY 350 Mission St, Santa Cruz

BLUE LAGOON

Live Comedy

923 PaciďŹ c Ave, Santa Cruz

BOCCIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CELLAR

Warcorpse

Roberto-Howell

140 Encinal St, Santa Cruz

THE CATALYST

Nu Shooz

Fish Hook

Karaoke

Christmas Bash

La Plebe

1011 PaciďŹ c Ave, Santa Cruz

CLOUDS

Jazz Open Mic

110 Church St, Santa Cruz

The Esoteric Collective

CREPE PLACE 1134 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz

CROWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEST

Yuji Tojo

Soul City

The Messiahs

Reggae Night

Aloha Friday

2218 East Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz

CYPRESS LOUNGE 120 Union St, Santa Cruz

Live Hawaiian Music

DAVENPORT ROADHOUSE 1 Davenport Ave, Santa Cruz

FINS COFFEE

Marty Atkinson

1104 Ocean St, Santa Cruz

& Friends Acoustic Night

HOFFMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BAKERY CAFE

Preston Brahm Trio

Mapanova

1102 PaciďŹ c Ave, Santa Cruz

Isoceles with Gary Montrezza

KUUMBWA JAZZ CENTER 320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz

MAD HOUSE BAR & COCKTAILS

Mad Jam

DJ AD

DJ Marc

DJ E

529 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz

Bring your instrument

Rainbow Room

Cruzing

Church

MOTIV

Raindance presents

Libation Lab

BIG B

1209 PaciďŹ c Ave, Santa Cruz

Dubstep

with AL-B

MOEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ALLEY 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz

RED 200 Locust St, Santa Cruz

RIO THEATRE 1205 Soquel, Santa Cruz

SEABRIGHT BREWERY

Bombshell Bullies

519 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz

Jimmy Dewrance Band

29

MON 12/26

TUE 12/27 /27

SANTA SANNTA CRUZ SA THE ABBEY 831.429.1058

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Boxâ&#x20AC;?

Rosati/ Czarnecki

90s Night ight

Goth Industrial

Quartet

with DJ AL9k

SC Jazz Society

Cooper Jenkins

BLUE LAGOON 831.423.7117

BOCCIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CELLAR 831.427.1795

Jazz Jam

THE CATALYST 831.423.1336

Jazz Baby

CLOUDS 831.429.2000

7 Come 11

CREPE PLACE 831.429.6994

Live Comedy

CROWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEST 831.476.4560

Open Acoustic Night

CYPRESS LOUNGE 831.459.9876&#8206;

CofďŹ s Brothers

DAVENPORT ROADHOUSE 831.426.8801

Geese in the Fog

FINS COFFEE 831.423.6131

Dana Scruggs Trio

Joe Leonard Trio

Barry Scott & Associates

HOFFMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BAKERY CAFE 831.420.0135

KUUMBWA JAZZ CENTER 831.427.2227

DJ Chante Neighborhood Night

MAD HOUSE BAR & COCKTAILS 831.425.2900

MOEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ALLEY 831.479.1854

Moombahton

Terminal

Two$days

MOTIV

w/ Dane Jouras

with DJ AD

831.479.5572

RED 831.425.1913

RIO THEATRE 831.423.8209

Neighborhood Night

SEABRIGHT BREWERY 831.426.2739

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

SUN 12/25

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

30

clubgrid APTOS / CAPITOLA CAPIITOLA TOO / RIO DEL MAR / SOQUEL SOQQUE UELL

WED 12/21

BRITANNIA ARMS

Trivia Quiz Night Nigh

THU 12/22

FRI 12/23

SAT 12/24

Karaoke

8017 Soquel Dr, Aptos

THE FOG BANK

Karaoke Sound Co

Marshall Law

211 Esplanade, Capitola

MARGARITAVILLE 221 Esplanade, Capitola

MICHAELâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON MAIN

Karaoke

Wild Blue

West Coast Soul

2591 Main St, Soquel

PARADISE BEACH GRILLE

Johnny Fabulous

215 Esplanade, Capitola

SANDERLINGS

Breeze

Samba

In Three

1 Seascape Resort Dr, Rio del Mar

SEVERINOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BAR & GRILL

Don McCaslin &

7500 Old Dominion Ct, Aptos

The Amazing Jazz Geezers

SHADOWBROOK

Tsunami Joe Ferrara

William Graybo

1750 Wharf Rd, Capitola

THE WHARF HOUSE 1400 Wharf Rd, Capitola

THE UGLY MUG 4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel

ZELDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

Yuji Tojo

203 Esplanade, Capitola

SCOTTS VALLEY / SAN LORENZO VALLEY DON QUIXOTEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

Mike Renwick

6275 Hwy 9, Felton

Carolyn Sills

Le Boeuf Brothers

Christmas Spectacular

HENFLINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TAVERN 9450 Hwy 9, Ben Lomond

WATSONVILLE / MOSS LANDING CILANTROâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

Hippo Happy Hour

1934 Main St, Watsonville

& KDON DJ SolRock

MOSS LANDING INN

Open Jam

Hwy 1, Moss Landing

1011 PACIFIC AVE. SANTA CRUZ 831-423-1336 Wednesday, December 21 Â&#x2039; In the Atrium Â&#x2039; AGES 16+

LA PLEBE

!DV $RS s $RS P M 3HOW P M

Sunday December 25 - Closed Happy Holidays!

Thursday, Dec. 29 Â&#x2039; In the Atrium Â&#x2039; AGES 21+

SPUN

!DV $RS s $RS P M 3HOW P M

-YPKH` :H[\YKH` +LJLTILY Â&#x2039; AGES 21+

THE DEVIL MAKES THREE Friday, December 30, $20 in Adv./ $25 Drs. with

Miss Lonely Hearts

Saturday, NEW YEARS EVE, $35 Adv./ $40 Drs. with

Mariachi Ensemble

Brothers Comatose and Miss Lonely Hearts

"OTH SHOWS $RS P M 3HOW P M Friday, Dec. 30 Â&#x2039; In the Atrium Â&#x2039; AGES 21+ plus The Devil Himself

CYLINDER

AT THE $RS s $RS P M 3HOW P M

3ATURDAY $EC Â&#x2039; In the Atrium Â&#x2039; AGES 21+ ELIQUATE plus DJ Stone Dabone .O #OVER s $RS P M 3HOW P M

Jan 4 NOFX/ No Use For A Name (Ages 16+) Jan 5 STRFKR Atrium (Ages 16+) Jan 6 LoveRance Atrium (Ages 16+) Jan 8 Total Chaos Atrium (Ages 16+) Jan 12 Equipto Atrium (Ages 16+) Jan 13 Vetiver Atrium (Ages 21+) Jan 15 Slightly Stoopid (Ages 16+) Jan 27 Buckethead (Ages 16+) Jan 28 Jackie Greene (Ages 21+) Feb 6 Groundation (Ages 16+) Feb 11 Y & T (Ages 21+) Feb 19 Rebelution (Ages 16+) Mar 8 SOJA (Ages 16+) Mar 17 Iration (Ages 16+) Apr 10 Dark Star Orchestra (Ages 21+) Unless otherwise noted, all shows are dance shows with limited seating.

Tickets subject to city tax & service charge by phone 866-384-3060 & online

www.catalystclub.com

KDON DJ Showbiz

31

MON 12/26

TUE 12/27 2/27

APTOS APTO TOOS / CAPITOLA / RIO DEL MAR MAR / SOQUEL BRITANNIA ARMS 831.688.1233

Pam Hawkins

Game e Night

Pro Jam

THE FOG BANK 831.462.1881

MARGARITAVILLE 831.476.2263

MICHAELâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON MAIN 831.479.9777

Ken Constable

PARADISE BEACH GRILLE 831.476.4900

SANDERLINGS 831.662.7120

Johnny Fabulous Dance Lessons

William Graybo

SEVERINOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BAR & GRILL 831.688.8987

SHADOWBROOK 831.475.1511

THE WHARF HOUSE 831.476.3534

Open Mic with Jordan

Movie Night 7:45 pm start time

THE UGLY MUG 831.477.1341

ZELDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 831.475.4900

SCOTTS VALLEY / SAN LORENZO VALLEY DON QUIXOTEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 831.603.2294

Karaoke with Ken

HENFLINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TAVERN 831.336.9318

WATSONVILLE / MOSS LANDING Santa Cruz Trio

KPIG Happy Hour Happy hour

Karaoke

CILANTROâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 831.761.2161

MOSS LANDING INN 831.633.3038

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

SUN 12/25

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

32

33 d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

FILM

34

Film Capsules NEW CAPS THE ARTIST (PG-13; 110 min.) The French writerdirector Michel Hazanavicius brought his cinematographer (Guillaume Schiffman) and two French actors to Hollywood to make this black-and-white silent tribute to 1920s American

cinema, which has some critics charmed and others blown away. (Opens Fri at the Nickelodeon)

THE DARKEST HOUR (PG13; 89 min.) Director Chris Gorak (1995’s ‘Right at Your Door’) brings a bit of an indie sensibility to his first bigbudget flick, a 3-D thriller set in Russia and starring Emile

SHOWTIMES

Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella and Rachael Taylor.

(Opens Sun at Green Valley)

John Hodge (Trainspotting, Shallow Grave). (Fri-Sat at Del Mar)

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE PRESENTS ‘COLLABORATORS’ (NR; 182 min.) The Russian playwright Mikhail Bulgakov engages in a battle of wits with Joe Stalin in this filmed British stage play written by

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET PRESENTS ‘THE NUTCRACKER’ (NR; 97 min.) Helgi Tomasson’s version of the classic ballet, which premiered in 2004, is set in 1914 San Francisco, and is on

its way to becoming a classic in itself. (Sat at Del Mar)

WAR HORSE (PG-13; 154 min.) Steven Spielberg’s epic horse movie begins with the heartwarming story of a friendship between a boy and his mount, and then becomes a heart-rending epic war movie. (Opens Sun at Del Mar and Green Valley)

Showtimes are for Wednesday, Dec. 21, through Wednesday, Dec. 28, unless otherwise indicated.

Programs and showtimes are subject to change without notice.

APTOS CINEMAS 122 Rancho Del Mar Center, Aptos 831.688.6541 www.thenick.com

Alvin and the Chipmunks — Wed-Sat 11:45; 2:30; 4:50; 7:10; 9:30. (Sat No

9:30pm; Sun No 11:45am.)

Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol — Wed-Sat 12:10; 3:20; 4:25; 6:30;

We Bought a Zoo — (Opens Fri) 11; 1:30; 4; 6:30; 9. (Sat No 9pm.)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — Daily 11:50; 3; 6:15; 9:15. (Sat No 9:15pm) The Muppets — Wed-Thu1:30; 4; 6:30; 8:45.

J. Edgar — Wed-Thu 3:40; 8:45.

The Way — Wed-Thu 1:20; 6:20.

4:40; 6:45; 7:45; 9:50; 10:40. (Sun No 9:50; 10:40.)

CINELUX 41ST AVENUE CINEMA

CINELUX SCOTTS VALLEY 6 CINEMA

1475 41st Ave., Capitola 831.479.3504 www.cineluxtheatres.com

7:30; 9:40; 10:35. (Sat No 9:40; 10:35.)

The Muppets — Wed-Sat 11:10; 1:50; 4:35; 7:20; 10:10. (Sat No 10:10pm; Sun

No 11:10am) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — Wed-Sat 12:35; 1:10; 3:40;

226 Mt. Hermon Rd., Scotts Valley 831.438.3260 www.cineluxtheatres.com

War Horse — (Opens Sun) 11:55; 4; 6:30; 9:45.

Hugo — Daily 11; 1:45; 4:30.

Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol — Daily 12:45; 4; 7:15; 10:10 (Sat

The Adventures of Tintin — (Opens Wed 12/21) 4:30pm.

The Adventures of Tintin 3D — (Opens Wed 12/21) 11:30; 2; 7; 9:30. (Sat

No 7:15; 10:10).

The Darkest Hour — (Opens Sun) 1; 3; 5:30; 8; 10:15.

War Horse — (Opens Sun) 11:55; 3:15; 6:30; 9:45.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked — Wed-Thu 11:40; 12:15; 2;

New Year’s Eve — Wed-Sat 11; 1:30; 4:20; 7; 9:45. (Sat No 7; 9:45.)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 — Wed-Thu 1:15; 4; 7; 9:45.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — Daily 11; 1:45; 4:40; 7:30;

10:20 (Sat No 7:30; 10:20).

DEL MAR 1124 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz 831.426.7500 www.thenick.com War Horse — (Opens Sun) 12:30; 3:30; 6:30; 9:30.

Hugo — Wed-Thu 12:40; 3:20; 6; 8:30.

Hugo 3D — Daily 11:10; 1:40; 4:20; 7; 9:30 (Sat No 9:30pm).

Young Adult — Daily 12; 2; 4; 6:15; 8:15; 10:15 (Sat No 8:15; 10:15).

Collaborators — Fri 3; 6:45; Sat 11:15; 3.

Nutcracker — Sat 6:45pm.

NICKELODEON Lincoln and Cedar streets, Santa Cruz 831.426.7500 www.thenick.com The Artist — (Opens Fri) 12:20; 2:30; 4:40; 6:50; 9.

The Descendants — Daily 1; 2; 3:30 4:30; 6; 7; 8:30; 9:30 plus Fri-Wed

11:30am. (No Sat 8:30; 9:30.)

Melancholia — Wed-Thu 2:20; 5:10; 8:10.

My Week With Marilyn — Daily 12:30; 2:45; 5; 7:15; 9:20. (Sat No 9:20pm.)

No 7:20; 10:10.)

2:45; 4:20; 5:10; 6:45; 7:30; 9; 9:45; Fri-Wed 11; 2; 4:20; 6:45; 9. (Sat No 6:45; 9:30.)

Arthur Christmas — Wed-Thu 11; 1:30; 4; 6:30.

The Descendants — Fri-Wed 11; 1:30; 4:20; 7; 9:40. (Sat No 7; 9:40.)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — (Opens Tue 9:45pm) Wed-Thu 7; 9; Fri-Sun 11:45; 12:30; 3:15; 4; 6:45; 7:45; 10:15; Sun-Thu 11:30; 3; 6:30; 10. (Sat No 6:45; 7:45; 10:15.)

Hugo 3D — Wed-Thu 11; 1:40; 4:30; 7:20.

Mission Impossible — Daily 11:15; 1; 2:15; 4:15; 5:20; 7:15; 8:30; 10:20. (Sat No 7:15; 8:30; 10:20.)

The Muppets — Wed-Thu 11:10; 1:45; 4:20. Fri-Wed 10:45am.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — (Opens Midnight Thu) FriTue 11; 11:30; 1:45; 2:30; 4:40; 5:30; 7:30; 8:30; 10; 10:20; plus Wed 8:30. (No Tue 9pm, No Wed 9pm.)

The Sitter — Wed-Thu 12:45; 3; 5:20; 7:40; 9:45.

GREEN VALLEY CINEMA 8 1125 S. Green Valley Rd, Watsonville 831.761.8200 www.greenvalleycinema.com The Adventures of Tintin — (Opens Wed 12/21) Wed-Thu 3:45pm; Fri-

Wed 1:15; 7; 9:30.

RIVERFRONT STADIUM TWIN

The Adventures of Tintin 3D — (Opens Wed 12/21) Wed-Thu 1:15; 7; 9:45

155 S. River St, Santa Cruz 800.326.3264 x1701 www.regmovies.com

Fri-Wed 1:15; 7; 9:30 Plus Fri-Sun 10:35am.

We Bought a Zoo — (Opens Fri) 1:15; 3:50; 7; 9:40 plus Fri-Mon 10:35.

War Horse — (Opens Sun) 12:30; 3:40; 6:45; 9:45.

The Darkest Hour — (Opens Sun) 3; 7:15.

The Darkest Hour 3D — (Opens Sun) 3; 7:15 plus Sun 11am.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked — Daily 1; 3; 5:05; 7:15; 9:30 plus Fri-Sun 11am.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — Daily 12:30; 3:55; 6:40; 9:45 plus Wed-Sun 12:30pm.

Happy Feet Two 3D — Wed-Sat 1:15; 7:15 plus Fri-Sat 11am.

Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol — Daily 1; 4; 7; 9:45 plus Wed-Sun 10:20am.

The Muppets — Wed-Sat 9:30pm plus Wed-Fri 3:55pm.

New Year’s Eve — Wed-Thu 1:15; 3:45; 7; 9:30.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — Daily 1:15; 3:50; 7 plus 9:40 Fri-Sun 10:35am.

The Sitter — Wed-Thu 1:40; 4:10; 7:15; 9:40.

We Bought a Zoo — (Opens Fri) 1; 4; 7; 9:50. (Sat No 9:50pm.)

J. Edgar — Wed-Thu 12:45; 3:45.

New Year’s Eve — Wed-Thu 1; 4; 6:45; 7:15; 9:30; 10.

SANTA CRUZ CINEMA 9 1405 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz 800.326.3264 x1700 www.regmovies.com The Adventures of Tintin — (Opens Wed 12/21) 1:20.

The Adventures of Tintin 3D — (Opens Wed 12/21) 11; 1:35; 4:15; 7:15; 10.

(Sat No 10pm; Sun No 11am.)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — (Opens Wed 12/21) Wed-Sat 11:55; 1;

3:30; 4:30; 7 8; 10:30. (Sat No 10:30pm; Sun No 11:55am.)

The Darkest Hour 3D — (Opens Sun) 12:30; 2:55; 5:20; 7:50; 10:10. (Sat No 10:10pm.)

Alvin and the Chipmunks — Daily 11:45; 2:30; 4:50; 7:10; 9:30. (Sat No 9:30pm; Sun No 11:45am.)

35

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (PG; 113 min.) Steven Spielberg directs adaptation of the beloved series by Herge, starring the curious young reporter Tintin (Justin Bell) and his loyal dog Snowy.

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED (G; 93 min.) While on a cruise, the Chipmunks and the Chipettes fall overboard but, alas, survive the ordeal to torture parents everywhere this holiday season with their high-pitched, bootyshaking tale of desert island survival.

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (PG; 106 min.) Santa’s youngest son tries to figure out how the old man delivers all those gifts in one night and finds a high-tech contraption buried at the North Pole in this animated tale voiced by James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton.

THE DESCENDANTS (R; 115 min.) Almost everyone will enjoy the George Clooney/ Alexander Payne film The Descendants. Clooney’s Matt King is a lawyer who toils while his family has a good time. Matt’s wife languishes in a coma after a bad boating accident. He goes to retrieve his daughter, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), currently immured at a strict boarding school because of her partying. Alexandra confesses that she’s been acting out lately because she saw her mom with a stranger’s hands on her.

Matt also has to deal with his cutely awkward, profane younger daughter, Scottie (Pacific Grove’s Amara Miller, debuting), as well as with his ornery fatherin-law (Robert Forster, excellently embodying the old military side of Hawaii).

Coming along for the ride is Alexandra’s pal Sid (Nick Krause), her seemingly silly young partner in partying, who wedges himself

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (R; 164 min.)

Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Social Network) takes on the first installment of the Swedish trilogy armed with Daniel Craig, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer and Rooney Mara.

HAPPY FEET TWO (PG; 106 min.) Mumble the Penguin encounters much bigger problems than his son Erik’s unwillingness to dance— the entire colony is under threat and must join forces to defeat it. With voices of Robin Williams, Pink, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

HUGO (PG; 133 min.) Martin Scorsese’s first 3-D film, about an orphan growing up in 1930s Paris in a train station, involves an automaton and a reserved man who runs a toy shop.

With Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law and Emily Mortimer.

J. EDGAR (R; 137 min.) Clint Eastwood’s shot-full-ofcurare biopic takes on a half-century of history, from the Palmer raids to Nixon’s regime. This J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardi DiCaprio), founder of the FBI, is a pudgy minotaur, encircled by a loyal secretary (Naomi Watts) and a proud but suffocating mother (Judi Dench). He emerges for lunches, dinners and jaunts to the racetrack with longtime companion Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer, the Winkelvosses of The Social Network). The film asks you to mourn Hoover, who may have hidden his own sexuality even as he snooped into the sex lives of others. Would this epic blackmailer, head of the American secret police, have been a better man if

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

REVIEWS

into this family tragedy.

Meanwhile, Matt must make the painful decision to liquidate a piece of property that he’s holding in trust for the rest of the family.

The end result of the deal will be yet another resort with golf course, part of the endless effort to turn Hawaii into Costa Mesa.

Clooney is roguish and entertaining; he gives the kind of star’s performance that probably only looks easy and smooth to pull off. And he finishes with some very heavy old-school acting, which puts Clooney farther out on the limb than he is in the rest of the film.

(RvB)

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

WE BOUGHT A ZOO (PG; 132 min.) As a recently widowed newspaper columnist who (yes) buys a dilapidated zoo, Matt Damon reportedly shines, rescuing director Cameron Crowe’s latest effort from the mawk.

Scarlett Johansson costars.

(Opens Fri at Aptos)

FILM

Movie reviews by Traci Hukill, Tessa Stuart and Richard von Busack

NOBODY PUTS PEPPY IN THE CORNER Bérénice Bejo is Peppy Miller, a young extra with big dreams, in ‘The Artist,’ opening Friday. he just could have declared his secret love to the world?

(RvB)

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL (PG-13; 139 min.)

Tom Cruise and the rest of the Mission Impossible force must operate outside the spy agency’s command structure and umbrella of protection when a bomb goes off at the Kremlin, pushing the U.S. and Russia to the brink of war.

THE MUPPETS (PG: 104 min.) Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the rest of the gang are back to save their theater, which is being threatened by an oil tycoon. With Amy Adams, Jason Segel, Chris Cooper and Alan Arkin.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (Rated R) Kenneth Branagh stars as Sir Laurence Olivier and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in a story about the tension between the two stars during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl.

NEW YEAR’S EVE (PG-13; 123 min.) Several couples’ lives intertwine over the course of a New Year’s Eve. With Ashton Kutcher, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Biel, Sarah Jessica Parker, Common, Seth Meyers, Katherine Heigl and many more.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (PG-13; 135 min.) In Guy Ritchie’s hasty and frequently lowclass sequel to his 2009 franchise-builder, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.)

is treated as a clown, with cheap wigs and beards and long underwear scenes. He’s even painted with mascara and lipstick. The tension between Holmes and Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), whose schemes the detective has discovered, survives Ritchie’s unconquerable urge to vulgarize. The Professor is a sweet role for any actor, and Harris does it well. There’s a vaguely syphilitic quality to this citizen above suspicion.

One nasty scene has him admiring his reflection in a mirror and singing Schubert while putting Holmes through the torture sequence. The women seem retrofitted into the script, while the bromance between Holmes and Watson (Jude Law) peaks in a cramped ballroom with the two dancing. Like all the film’s many double entendres questioning the closeness of the great detective and his assistance, this moment is absent of all sexual charge, unless you’re sexually aroused by stupidity.

THE SITTER (R; 106 min.)

Jonah Hill is a college student home on break who gets suckered into babysitting the little monsters next door, never suspecting the mayhem that awaits.

TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 1 (PG-13; 117 min.) In the first part of the two-part conclusion to the Twilight series, the happy couple start their monster family and set in motion a series

of events leading to a pitched battle with the evil vampire council and the werewolves.

THE WAY (PG-13; 132 min.)

Martin Sheen stars in the tale of a man who embarks on a pilgrimage in honor of his son, recently killed. Directed by and co-starring Emilio Estevez.

YOUNG ADULT (R; 102 min.) Irked, drunk and thirty-something young adult fiction writer Mavis (Charlize Theron) returns to her home town in Mercury, Minn. Her mission is to retrieve her high school boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson) from his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser) who has just had a new baby.

Instead, she ends up in the company of a depressed beta-male (Patton Oswalt) whom she barely glanced at back in her glory years.

The film is almost there; Theron has a good time playing this disagreeable woman, but scriptwriter Diablo Cody pulls her punches and gilds this story with an unbelievable level of alterna-culture; she even gives the unsteady main character supposed wisdom (it’s hard to believe she writes anything, even unsuccessful young adult novels); Mercury looks too rich, too hip, and too much like a John Hughes village to be the one we’re hearing described by the dialogue.

And ultimately Young Adult is like an SNL skit that wears out its welcome.

(RvB)

CAPITOLA-BY-THE-SEA

9$/8$%/( &28321

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

36

&$3,72/$

+DSS\ +ROLGD\V

$Q\WKLQJ LQ VWRFN HYHQ LWHPV RQ VDOH RQ DQ\ FDVK SXUFKDVH RI RU PRUH 6$17$ &58=

. VW $YHQXH 3DFL¿F $YHQXH 0RQ )UL 6DW 0RQ )UL 6DW 6XQ 6XQ

([S

Art & Office Supply

&DVK FKHFN RU EDQN FDUG RQO\ /LPLW RQH FRXSRQ SHU FXVWRPHU SHU GD\ 1RW YDOLG ZLWK RWKHU FRXSRQV 0XVW SUHVHQW FRXSRQ DW WLPH RI SXUFKDVH

ChristinaWaters

As sto stocking ocking stu stuffers uffffffe uffers fers go, thiss one is ve very ry rare. ry (Or, if you yoou prefer, well done.)

The H HINDQUARTER’s INDQUARTER’s pre-paid pre-pa aid Hospitality Card

FROSTING ADVISORY Starz is on the Westside. Resistance is futile.

Starz in Our Eyes

C

CUPCAKE THRILLS Who knew that a gluten-free chocolate cupcake could taste so sinful? Obviously the entrepreneuses of Starz did, that’s who.

Because those gluten-free babies are just part of the all-starz lineup now available in a second location. Yes, Starz has brought its sleigh full of cupcakes to reside inside the delightful Yogizmo emporium on the Westside, where it offers 19 varieties daily from a from-scratch menu of 196 different recipes.

A quick review: Yes, it’s true that Starz specializes in frosting-intensive handheld desserts in flavors ranging from red velvet to chocolate and coconut to peanut butter. But what’s often overlooked is that Starz founders Lisa and Connie Brighton have made a pampering dessert treat for those of us who either will not, or cannot happily, metabolize gluten. Yes, the yummy glutenfree cupcake (to quote my buddy June Smith) is indeed Starz’s gift to gourmet cake-heads. The one I just polished off was topped with utterly authentic butter and chocolate frosting.

The new satellite location, at 1717 Mission St., allows the frosting to be spread even thicker. No longer simply a luxury obtainable by 41st Ave. neighbors, Starz’s old-fashioned cupcakes can be yours no matter which side of town you hang out in.

SNOWDON IN SEABRIGHT Mimi (Aqua Bleu) Snowdon’s latest restaurant design is, so far, a big undercover operation. But at least you should know that the location will be right next door to La Posta on Seabright.

Sounds intriguing, no?

RESTAURANT RED TAPE The word on the street is that the pizzeria planned by chef Ben Sims for the location across from New Leaf is getting lots of parking space grief. Will red tape and a huge permit fee cause this talented young entrepreneur to take his act elsewhere? Will I ever locate Ben’s cell phone number so I can get a quote from him? Stay tuned and we’ll follow up.

HOT PLATES That would be the celestial black cod wrapped in parchment offered last Sunday night at La Posta along with infant turnips and leeks in a gossamer sauce.

Send tips about food, wine and dining discoveries to Christina Waters at xtina@cruzio.com. Read her blog at http://christinawaters.com.

426-7770

“where the elite meat” 303 Soquel Avenue between b Ocean and Pacific

Lunch & Dinner www.thehindquarter.com

I

In Santa Santta Cruz

I

Reservations Advised

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

Stop S to p by by for f or yours y o urs today. to d ay . Get Get one others o n e for f or yourself y our s el f and and o thers as gifts. as g if t s . Load Lo ad them th em ffor o r as as much as a you want. They’re as good goo od as cash and can be reloaded r elo ad ed over o ver and an d over. over.

Whoever W h oev er you yo u give gi v e one o n e to to will w i l l have h av e a cow! cow!

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

Christina Waters

BY

P L AT E D

Plated

37

38 DINER’S GUIDE

Diner’s Guide Our selective list of area restaurants includes those that have been favorably reviewed in print by Santa Cruz Weekly food critics and others that have been sampled but not reviewed in print. All visits by our writers are made anonymously, and all expenses are paid by Metro Santa Cruz.

SYMBOLS MADE SIMPLE: $ = Under $10 $$ = $11-$15 $$$ = $16-$20 $$$$ = $21 and up

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

Price Ranges based on average cost of dinner entree and salad, excluding alcoholic beverages APTOS $$ Aptos

AMBROSIA INDIA BISTRO

$$ Aptos

BRITANNIA ARMS

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

$$$ Aptos $$ Aptos

207 Searidge Rd, 831.685.0610

8017 Soquel Dr, 831.688.1233 SEVERINO’S GRILL

7500 Old Dominion Ct, 831.688.8987 ZAMEEN MEDITERRANEAN

7528 Soquel Dr, 831.688.4465

Indian. Authentic Indian dishes and specialties served in a comfortable dining room. Lunch buffet daily 11:30am-2:30pm; dinner daily 5pm to close. www.ambrosiaib.com American and specialty dishes from the British and Emerald Isles. Full bar. Children welcome. Happy hour Mon-Fri 2-6pm.

Open daily 11am to 2am.

Continental California cuisine. Breakfast all week 6:30-11am, lunch all week 11am-2pm; dinner Fri-Sat 5-10pm, Sun-Thu 5-9pm. www.seacliffinn.com.

Middle Eastern/Mediterranean. Fresh, fast, flavorful. Gourmet meat and vegetarian kebabs, gyros, falafel, healthy salads and Mediterranean flatbread pizzas. Beer and wine. Dine in or take out. Tue-Sun 11am-8pm.

CAPITOLA $ Capitola

CAFE VIOLETTE

$$

Capitola

GEISHA SUSHI Japanese. This pretty and welcoming sushi bar serves 200 Monterey Ave, 831.464.3328 superfresh fish in unusual but well-executed sushi combinations. Wed-Mon 11:30am-9pm.

$$$

SHADOWBROOK

Capitola

1750 Wharf Rd, 831.475.1511

$$$

STOCKTON BRIDGE GRILLE

Capitola

231 Esplanade, 831.464.1933

$$$ Capitola

203 Esplanade, 831.475.4900

104 Stockton Ave, 831.479.8888

ZELDA’S

All day breakfast. Burgers, gyros, sandwiches and 45 flavors of Marianne’s and Polar Bear ice cream. Open 8am daily.

California Continental. Swordfish and other seafood specials.

Dinner Mon-Thu 5:30-9:30pm; Fri 5-10pm; Sat 4-10:30pm; Sun 4-9pm.

Mediterranean tapas. Innovative menu, full-service bar, international wine list and outdoor dining with terrific views in the heart of Capitola Village. Open daily.

California cuisine. Nightly specials include prime rib and lobster. Daily 7am-2am.

SANTA CRUZ

Wednesday Facebook Giveaways Every week.

facebook.com/santacruzweekly

$$ Santa Cruz

ACAPULCO

$$$ Santa Cruz

CELLAR DOOR

$ Santa Cruz

CHARLIE HONG KONG

$$ Santa Cruz

CLOUDS

$$ Santa Cruz

1116 Pacific Ave, 831. 426.7588

328 Ingalls St, 831.425.6771

1141 Soquel Ave, 831. 426.5664

110 Church St, 831.429.2000 THE CREPE PLACE

1134 Soquel Ave, 831.429.6994

$$

CROW’S NEST

Santa Cruz

2218 East Cliff Dr, 831.476.4560

$$ Santa Cruz

GABRIELLA’S

$$ Santa Cruz

HINDQUARTER

$$ Santa Cruz

910 Cedar St., 831.457.1677

303 Soquel Ave, 831.426.7770 HOFFMAN’S

1102 Pacific Ave, 837.420.0135

Mexican/Seafood/American. Traditional Mexican favorites. Best fajitas, chicken mole, coconut prawns, blackened prime rib!

Fresh seafood. Over 50 premium tequilas, daily happy hour w/ half-price appetizers. Sun-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm.

Features the vibrant and esoteric wines of Bonny Doon Vineyard, a three-course, family-style prix fixe menu that changes nightly, and an inventive small plates menu, highlighting both seasonal and organic ingredients from local farms.

California organic meets Southeast Asian street food. Organic noodle & rice bowls, vegan menu, fish & meat options, Vietnamese style sandwiches, eat-in or to-go. Consistent winner “Best Cheap Eats.” Open daily 11am-11pm American, California-style. With a great bar scene, casually glamorous setting and attentive waitstaff. Full bar. Mon-Sat 11:30am-10pm, Sun 1-10pm.

Crepes and more. Featuring the spinach crepe and Tunisian donut. Full bar. Mon-Thu 11am-midnight, Fri 11am-1am, Sat 10am-1am, Sun 10am-midnight.

Seafood. Fresh seafood, shellfish, Midwestern aged beef, pasta specialties, abundant salad bar. Kids menu and nightly entertainment. Harbor and Bay views. Lunch and dinner daily.

Califormia-Italian. fresh from farmers’ markets organic vegetables, local seafood, grilled steaks, frequent duck and rabbit, famous CHICKEN GABRIELLA, legendary local wine list, romantic mission style setting with patio, quiet side street Americana. Ribs, steaks and burgers are definitely the stars.

Full bar. Lunch Mon-Sat 11:30am-2:30pm; dinner Sun-Thu 5:30-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-10pm.

California/full-service bakery. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. “Best Eggs Benedict in Town.” Happy Hour Mon-Fri 5-6pm. Halfprice appetizers; wines by the glass. Daily 8am-9pm.

HULA’S ISLAND GRILL

Santa Cruz

221 Cathcart St, 831.426.4852

$

INDIA JOZE

Santa Cruz

418 Front St, 831.325-3633

$$ Santa Cruz

JOHNNY’S HARBORSIDE

493 Lake Ave, 831.479.3430

$$ Santa Cruz

OLITAS

$$ Santa Cruz

PACIFIC THAI

Eclectic Pan Asian dishes. Vegetarian, seafood, lamb and chicken with a wok emphasis since 1972. Cafe, catering, culinary classes, food festivals, beer and wine. Open for lunch and dinner daily except Sunday 11:30-9pm. Special events most Sundays.

Seafood/California. Fresh catch made your way! Plus many other wonderful menu items. Great view. Full bar. Happy hour Mon-Fri. Brunch Sat-Sun 10am-2pm. Open daily.

Italian. La Posta serves Italian food made in the old style— simple and delicious. Wed-Thu 5-9pm, Fri-Sat 5-9:30pm and Sun 5-8pm.

Fine Mexican cuisine. Opening daily at noon.

49-B Municipal Wharf, 831.458.9393

1319 Pacific Ave, 831.420.1700 RISTORANTE ITALIANO

Santa Cruz

555 Soquel Ave, 831.458.2321

$$ Santa Cruz

1220 Pacific Ave, 831.426.9930

ROSIE MCCANN’S

Italian-American. Mouthwatering, generous portions, friendly service and the best patio in town. Full bar. Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am, dinner nightly at 5pm.

Irish pub and restaurant. Informal pub fare with reliable execution. Lunch and dinner all day, open Mon-Fri 11:30ammidnight, Sat-Sun 11:30am-1:30am.

$$ Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ MTN. BREWERY California / Brewpub. Enjoy a handcrafted organic ale in the

402 Ingalls Street, Ste 27 831.425.4900

taproom or the outdoor patio while you dine on Bavarian pretzels, a bowl of french fries, Santa Cruz’s best fish tacos and more.

Open everday noon until 10pm. Food served until 7pm.

$$ Santa Cruz

SOIF

Wine bar with menu. Flawless plates of great character and flavor; sexy menu listings and wines to match. Dinner Mon-Thu 510pm, Fri-Sat 5-11pm, Sun 4-10pm; retail shop Mon 5pm-close, Tue-Sat noon-close, Sun 4pm-close.

$$ Santa Cruz

WOODSTOCK’S PIZZA

105 Walnut Ave, 831.423.2020

710 Front St, 831.427.4444

Pizza. Pizza, fresh salads, sandwiches, wings, desserts, beers on tap. Patio dining, sports on HDTV and free WiFi. Large groups and catering. Open and delivering Fri-Sat 11am-2am, Mon-Thu 11am-1am, Sun 11am-midnight.

SCOTTS VALLEY $ HEAVENLY CAFE American. Serving breakfast and lunch daily. Large parties Scotts Valley 1210 Mt. Hermon Rd, 831.335.7311 welcome. Mon-Fri 6:30am-2:15pm, Sat-Sun 7am-2:45pm. $ JIA TELLA’S Scotts Valley 5600 #D Scotts Valley Dr, 831.438.5005

Cambodian. Fresh kebabs, seafood dishes, soups and noodle bowls with a unique Southeast Asian flair. Beer and wine available. Patio dining. Sun-Thu 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm.

SOQUEL $$ Soquel

EL CHIPOTLE TAQUERIA

4724 Soquel Dr, 831.477.1048

Mexican. Open for breakfast. We use no lard in our menu and make your food fresh daily. We are famous for our authentic ingredients such as traditional mole from Oaxaca. Lots of vegetarian options. Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, weekends 8am-9pm.

Y

our contributions now and throughout the year ensure that quality end-of-life care, including support for grieving community members, transitional care for the seriously ill, hospice care for underinsured or uninsured patients, and end of life planning and education remain available and accessible to our entire community.

This holiday season, please consider supporting Hospice of Santa Cruz County. Donations can be made online at www.HospiceSantaCruz.org or by calling (831) 430-3000.

831.430.3000 www.hospicesantacruz.org This ad was donated by a generous community member

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

$$

Thai. Individually prepared with the freshest ingredients, plus ambrosia bubble teas, shakes. Mon-Thu 11:30am-9:30pm, Fri 11:30am-10pm, Sat noon-10pm, Sun noon-9:30pm.

39

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

$$$ LA POSTA Santa Cruz 538 Seabright Ave, 831.457.2782

’60s Vegas meets ’50s Waikiki. Amazing dining experience in kitchy yet swanky tropical setting. Fresh fish, great steaks, vegetarian. vegetarian.Full-service tiki bar. Happy-hour tiki drinks. Aloha Fri, Sat lunch 11:30am-5pm. Dinner nightly 5pm-close.

DINER’S GUIDE

$$

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

40

Free Will

By Rob Brezsny

For the week of December 21

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): In her memoir Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, Gabrielle Hamilton suggests my horoscopes were helpful to her as she followed her dream to create her New York City restaurant, Prune. “I killed roaches, poisoned their nests, trapped rats, stuffed their little holes with steel wool and glass shards,” she wrote, “while my girlfriend ... walked through the place ‘purifying’ it with a burning sage smudge stick and read me my Rob Brezsny horoscopes in support.” I would love to be of similar service to you in the coming months, Gemini, as you cleanse whatever needs to be cleansed in preparation for your next big breakthrough. Let the fumigation, purgation and expiation begin!

CANCER (June 21–July 22): In 1992, 30,000 Americans signed a petition asking the governor of Hawaii to change the name of Maui to “Gilligan’s Island.” Fortunately, the request was turned down, and so one of the most sublime places on the planet is not now named after a silly TV sitcom. I’m urging you to avoid getting swept up in equally fruitless causes during the coming months, Cancerian. You will have a lot of energy to give to social causes and collective intentions in 2012, but it will be very important to choose worthy outlets that deserve your intelligent passion and that have half a chance of succeeding.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): The Palace of Versailles once served as home for French kings and their royal courts and was the hub of the French government. To this day, it remains a symbol of lavish wealth and high civilization.

Set on 26 acres, it has 700 rooms, 67 staircases, 6,000 paintings and 2,100 sculptures. The grounds feature 50 fountains and 21 miles of water conduits. And yet the word “Versailles” means “terrain where the weeds have been pulled.” Prior to it being built up into a luxurious center of power, it was a marsh in the wilderness. I nominate it to be your inspirational image for the coming year, Leo: a picture of the transformation you will begin.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): A guy named George Reiger is a certifiable Disney freak. He has covered his skin with 2,200 tattoos of the franchise’s cartoon characters.

If you plan to get anything like that much thematic body decoration in 2012, Virgo, I recommend that you draw your inspiration from cultural sources with more substantial artistry and wisdom than Disney. For example, you could cover your torso with paintings by Matisse, your arms with poems by Neruda and your legs with musical scores by Mozart. Why? In the coming months, it will be important for you to surround yourself with the highest influences and associate yourself with the most inspiring symbols and identify yourself with the most ennobling creativity.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): In the Classical Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, the word teocuitlatl literally meant “god poop.” It was used to refer to gold, which was regarded as a divine gift that brought mixed blessings. On the one hand, gold made human beings rich. On the other hand, it could render them greedy, stingy and paranoid. So it was potentially the source of both tremendous bounty and conflict. I suspect that in 2012, Libra, you will have

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): What spell would you like to be under in 2012? Be careful how you answer that; it might be a trick question. Not because I have any interest in fooling you, of course, but rather because I want to prepare you for the trickiness that life may be expressing in your vicinity. So let me frame the issue in a different way. Do you really want to be under a spell—of any kind?

Answer yes only if you’re positive that being under a spell will help you manifest your biggest dream. And please make sure that whoever or whatever is the source of the spell is in the service of love.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): The Environmental Working Group wrote the Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health. It concluded that if every American avoided eating cheese and meat one day a week, emissions would be lowered as much as they would be by removing 7.6 million cars from the roads. This is the kind of incremental shift I urge you to specialize in during 2012, Sagittarius—whether it’s in your contribution to alleviating the environmental crisis or your approach to dealing with more personal problems. Commit yourself to making little changes that will add up to major improvements over the long haul.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22–Jan. 19): Suzan-Lori Parks is a celebrated American playwright who has won both a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant. During the time between November 2002 and November 2003, she wrote a new short play every day—a total of 365 plays in 365 days. I think you could be almost as prolific as that in 2012, Capricorn. Whatever your specialty is, I believe you will be filled with originality about how to express it. You’re also likely to have the stamina and persistence and, yes, even the discipline necessary to pull it off.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): Pigeons are blessed with an extraordinary ability to find home, even if they’re hundreds of miles away. They have an internal compass that allows them to read the Earth’s magnetic field, and they also create a “map of smells” that gives them crucial clues as they navigate. A team of scientists performed some odd experiments that revealed a quirky aspect to the birds’ talent: If their right nostril is blocked, their innate skill doesn’t work nearly as well. (It’s OK if their left nostril is blocked, though.) What does this have to do with you? Well, Aquarius, you’ve been like a homing pigeon with its right nostril blocked, and it’s high time you unblocked it. In the coming months, you can’t afford to be confused about where home is, what your community consists of or where you belong.

PISCES (Feb. 19–March 20): One of Alexander the Great’s teachers was Aristotle, who was tutored by Plato, who himself learned from Socrates. In 2012, I’d love to see you draw vital information and fresh wisdom from a lineage as impressive as that, Pisces. In my astrological opinion, you need much more than a steady diet of factoids plucked from the Internet and TV. You simply must be hungry for more substantial food for thought than you get from random encounters with unreliable sources. It will be time for you to attend vigorously to the next phase of your lifelong education.

Homework: If you’d like to enjoy my books, music and videos without spending any money, go here: http://bit.ly/LiberatedGifts.

Visit REALASTROLOGY.COM for Rob’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1.877.873.4888 or 1.900.950.7700

S A N TAC RU Z .C O M

TAURUS (April 20–May 20): On Jan. 15, 1885, Wilson Bentley photographed his first snowflake. Over the course of the next 46 years, he captured 5,000 more images of what he called “tiny miracles of beauty.” He was the first person to say that no two snowflakes are alike. In 2012, Taurus, I suggest that you draw inspiration from his example. The coming months will be prime time for you to lay the foundations for a worthy project that will captivate your imagination for a long time—and perhaps even take you decades to complete.

to deal with the arrival of a special favor that carries a comparable paradox. You should be fine—harvesting the good part of the gift and not having to struggle mightily with the tough part—as long as you vow to use it with maximum integrity.

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

ARIES (March 21–April 19): In the fictional world of the wizard Harry Potter, muggles are people who have no magical powers. Because of their deficiency, certain sights may be literally invisible to them, and certain places inaccessible. I’m going to boldly predict that you Aries people will lose at least some of your muggleness in the coming year. A part of your life where you’ve been inept or clueless will begin to wake up. In ways that may feel surprisingly easy, you’ll be able to fill a gap in your skill set or knowledge base.

ASTROLOGY

Astrology

41

S A N T A C R U Z . C O M d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1

42

CLASSIFIED INDEX

PLACING AN AD

ÂĄ â&#x201E;˘ ÂŁ ¢ â&#x2C6;&#x17E;

BY PHONE

BY MAIL

EMAIL

Call the Classified Department at 408.298.8000, Monday through Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm.

Mail to Santa Cruz Classifieds, 877 Cedar St., Suite 147, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

classifieds@metronews.com Please include your Visa, MC, Discover or American Express number and expiration date for payment.

Employment Classes & Instruction Family Services Music Real Estate

g Employment

Jobs

Retail Sales Associate High End Swimwear In Capitola $9-12 per hour Full Time Long Term KELLY SERVICES, 425-0653 email: 1471@kellyservices.com *Never A Fee*

Production Workers Wanted!

Food production in Watsonville Day and Swing Shifts Available Must have a flexible schedule Fluent in English required Must have reliable transportation & pass a drug test Temp-ToHire $8.50/hr.

KELLY SERVICES, 425-0653 email: 1471@kellyservices.com *Never A Fee*

Paid In Advance!

Make $1,000 a Week mailing brochures from home!

Guaranteed Income! FREE Supplies! No experience required. Start Immediately! www.homemailerprogram.net (AAN CAN)

Coordinator Educational Seminars $17 per hour, Full Time Long Term Primary point person for events: Travel, facilities, catering coordination Coordinate radio & tv ads Conduct research, compile data, edit Prepare agendas and meeting minutes Order supplies, maintain records KELLY SERVICES, 425-0653 email: 1471@kellyservices.com *Never A Fee*

Community Coordinator Internet Networking Health Conscious Co in Watsonville Manage social media FB, Twitter, blog Edit content with Copywriter Protect nationally recognized brand Measure impact reports with stats Teach employees social media Full Time Long Term $15-20/hr KELLY SERVICES, 425-0653 email: 1471@kellyservices.com *Never A Fee*

42 42 42 42 43

Assistant Wheel Tech in Engineering Dept.

Great company in Scotts Valley Quality Control, Some Assembly Collect and Analyze Data $16-$19/hr. Full Time Long Term KELLY SERVICES, 425-0653 email: 1471@kellyservices.com *Never A Fee*

$$$HELP WANTED$$$ Extra Income! Assembling CD cases from Home! No Experience Necessary! Call our Live Operators Now! 1-800-405-7619 EXT 2450 www.easywork-greatpay.com (AAN CAN)

g Business Opportunities

EARN $75-$200 HOUR (Now 25% Off), Media Makeup & Airbrush Training.

For Ads, TV, Film, Fashion. 1 wk class &. Portfolio.

AwardMakeUpSchool.com 310-364-0665 (AAN CAN)

IN PERSON

BY FAX

DEADLINES

Visit our offices at 877 Cedar St., Suite 147, Monday through Friday, 10am-4:30pm.

Fax your ad to the Classified Department at 831.457.5828.

For copy, payment, space reservation or cancellation: Display ads: Friday 12 noon Line ads: Friday 3pm

MEN SEEKING MEN 1-877-409-8884 Gay hot phone chat, 24/7! Talk to or meet sexy guys in your area anytime you need it.

Fulfill your wildest fantasy.

Private & confidential. Guys always available. 1-877-4098884 Free to try. 18+

AshleyMadison.com 100% FREE for Women! Every 30 seconds another woman joins AshleyMadison.com The #1 Source for Mutually Beneficial Arrangements.

Tons of BROKE college girls and SINGLE MOMS looking for Mutually Beneficial Arrangements. Find Her Today at ArrangementFinders.com.

Featured in: USA Today and MAXIM

ggggg For Sale

Firewood/Fuel

SEASONED EUCALYPTUS $265/CORD $25/DELIVERY $25/STACKING HELP US CONTROL CALIFORNIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BIGGEST WEED! MICHAEL (831)750-7076

g

Music

Services

Advertise Your Music Services in the Santa Cruz Weekly!

Transportation

Real Estate Services

Real Estate Services

Automobiles

Seminars

Seminars

CASH FOR CARS:

Any Car/Truck.

Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid.

Advertise in the Santa Cruz We Come To You! Weekly and your ad will auto- Call For Instant Offer: matically run online! Print 1-888-420-3808 plus online. A powerful com- www.cash4car.com bination. Call 831.457.9000!

AN EXPERIENCED

TEAM

for buying, selling and managing property in Santa Cruz County

Home Furnishings

April Ash home Furnishings Huge Inventory Sale 50 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 75 % Off. April Ash Home Furnishings. Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10-5 Sunday 11-5. 2800 South Rodeo Gulch Road, Soquel High Quality Furniture and Accessories 831 462-1522 831 462-1533 FAX

Pacific Sun Properties

g ggg Please recycle Family Services

Health Services

Cold Laser Clinic

Classes & Instruction

Classes & Instruction

High School Diploma!

Graduate in just 4 weeks!!!

FREE Brochure.

Call NOW! 1-800-532-6546 Ext. 97 www.continentalacademy.com (AAN CAN)

g Adult Services

Adult Entertainment

Have a Guaranteed Affair at AshleyMadison.com.

Stop having Sex with Escorts whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been with 1000s of other Men. Meet real women who are trapped in sexless Marriages and need to find sex on the side. Featured on: Ellen, Tyra & The View.

Heal; injuries, trauma and ailments. Tissue, bone and organ. Donation only.

831/600-7570. Sponsored by Mother Natures Temple.

734 Chestnut Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831.471.2424 831.471.0888 Fax www.pacificsunproperties.com

General Notices

Adoptions

Miscellaneous

Pregnant?

Considering Adoption? Spirit Walkers Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s One True Gift Adoptions 866-413-6293 (Void in Illinois) (AAN CAN)

g Home Services Contractors

Decks and Fences.

Affordable and reliable carpenters available for all youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re deck and fencing needs.

Lic#925849. Call Dave 831/332-6463

Light-paced hikes 1st & 3rd Sundays at 1pm.

Varying terrain in local parks.

Embracing the connective spirituality of humans to nature.

Music, chanting, light yoga, & refreshments along the way. Free.

Sponsored by Mother Natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Temple. www.mothernaturestemple.org For more info call the ecoreverend at (831) 600-7570.

All That Stuff Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Been Accumulating in the Garage, Closet, or Wherever? Sell It! Advertise in the Santa Cruz Weekly and your ad will automatically run online! Print plus online. A powerful combination. Call 408/200-1329!

this newspaper BVS AO\bO 1`ch ESSYZg Wa ^`W\bSR Ob <]`bVS`\ 1OZWT]`\WO¸a ZSORW\U :332 QS`bWTWSR ^`W\bW\U TOQWZWbg caW\U a]g POaSR W\Y O\R bVS []ab ORdO\QSR S\dW`]\[S\bOZ ^`OQbWQSa W\ bVS W\Rcab`g ES Q]\bW\cS b] e]`Y Oa O a]QWOZZg Q]\aQW]ca Z]QOZ Q][^O\g b] `SRcQS S\S`Ug Q]\ac[^bW]\ caS `SQgQZSR [ObS`WOZa O\R ^`][]bS `SQgQZW\U BVO\Y g]c T]` `SORW\U bVS AO\bO 1`ch ESSYZg

43

Condos/Townhouses

Charming and Central Condo Comfortable and charming condominium in a great Santa Cruz location, close to downtown & Seabright yet tucked away. Spacious 2 br, 1.5 ba with high ceilings, fireplace, backyard, detached garage, balcony and more, 533 Broadway, #7, Santa Cruz. $329,000. Listed by Terry Cavanagh 831-345-2053 and Tammi Blake, 831-345-9640.

g Homes

Serene and Private Country Living New price for this private, charming, 3 br, 2 ba, home with guest quarters. 4+ acres, country setting, minutes to town, 187 Old Ranch Rd. $699,000. [ www.187oldranchroad.com â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Listed by Terry Cavanagh, DRE# 01345228 and Tammi Blake, DRE# 01308322, 831-345-2053 / 831-345-9640.

g Land

Aptos Ocean View Acreage Private acreage with ocean views above Aptos. Almost 7 acres with good well, access, trees and gardens, sloped with some level areas, permits to build already active.

Ready to build your dream home! 7101 Fern Flat Road, Aptos. $468,000. Listed by Terry Cavanagh 831-345-2053.

ROUGH AND TUMBLE

Come Play on the easy terrain at DEER CREEK MELODY. 10 Acres, just 2 miles in, on a well maintained private road, off the grid, lots of sun, and plenty of water with approx.

200 ft. of accessible year around creek frontage.

Recreational Parcel. Offered at $212,000. Broker will help show. Call Debbie @ Donner Land & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

Bring your dreams. Travel 3 miles in, on a private road to a bit of the forest to call your own. This 8 AC parcel is pretty much untouched. Approx.

90 member, private Road Assoc. Broker will help show.

Offered at $350,000. Broker will help show. Call Debbie @ Donner Land & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

Feel the breeze through the trees from these Breathtaking Sanctuary Acres. Flat and spacious with Beautiful Oak trees, Giant Redwoods, Turkeys and Deer.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just too pretty to describe. Excellent location, just minutes to town.

Already has Well, Phone & Power. Septic Perc. test completed. Offered at $750,000.

Call Debbie @ Donner Land & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

parcels varying in size from 18 acres to 40 acres. This sprawling land is rough and rugged, ideal for your quads and dirt bikes or saddle up the horses and have your own Lewis and Clark Expedition. Massive, yet pretty much untouched acreage with Timber possibilities. If you appreciate land that is sprinkled with springs, warmed by lots of sun, and has views as far as the eye can see, consider this beautiful spread. Excellent owner financing is available with just 20% down, the seller will carry at 6%. Inquiries welcome. Offered at $1,150,000.

Call Debbie @ Donner Land & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

290 ACRES MADONNA END OF ROAD PRIVACY MT Come explore 290 acres conâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; LOS GATOS sisting of 11 meandering

SKYVIEW CABIN 12 Gorgeous AC, Off the Grid, in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mtns. Beautiful spot for a Large house. Comes with a stage that opens 40â&#x20AC;&#x2122; by 16â&#x20AC;&#x2122; +, (great for storage, the owner was thinking about an amphitheatre). The amazing landscape in a dream-like environment, surrounded by Redwoods, Madrones, Oak Trees, and friendly terrain.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never stop exploring & enjoying this unique piece of land, just 8 MI from town.

Water & nice neighbors!

Great Investment. Approx. 90 member, private Road Assoc.

Broker will help show.

Offered at $450,000. Call Debbie @ Donner Land & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

PERFECT PERCH Approx. 1/2 acre located in Boulder Creek with Stunning Views and many lovely Redwoods. Design your dream home for this unique property. Already has water, power at property line, Approved septic plan, soils report, and survey. Plans Approved & Building permit ready to issue. Easy drive to town, yet feels private.

Shown by appointment only.

Offered at 198,000. Call Debbie @ Donner Land & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

Tired of the old place?

Check out the Santa Cruz Weekly's Real Estate classifieds and find a new place to live. Call 408-200-1300 to advertise.

FIVE STAR PARK ##### REDUCED! $169,900 â&#x20AC;˘ Best location in the park â&#x20AC;˘ Lake view, steps to club house â&#x20AC;˘ Pool, work-out room, Jacuzzi â&#x20AC;˘ 3 spacious bedrooms, 2 baths â&#x20AC;˘ Custom designed with entry foyer â&#x20AC;˘ Gourmet chefs will love the kitchen â&#x20AC;˘ 1650 square feet, cathedral ceilings â&#x20AC;˘ All-ages park, beautiful surroundings Judy Ziegler GRI, CRS, SRES ph: 831-429-8080 cell: 831-334-0257 www.cornucopia.com

g Investment Property

CLOSE TO TOWN AND SUNNY TOO! Sweet, Sunny, 6,875 SF lot close to town and in a good neighborhood too. 2005 permits approved in all departments, but expired and in need of resurrection because prior owner did not pick them up! Close to shopping, entertainment, schools and beach.

Come and see for yourself.

Offered at $100,000. Call Debbie @ DonnerLand & Homes, Inc. 408-395-5754 www.donnerland.com

g Real Estate Rentals Shared Housing

ALL AREAS ROOMMATES.COM Browse hundreds of online listings with photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse!

Visit: www.Roommates.com.

(AAN CAN)

g Home Services Contractors

Notice To Readers California law requires that contractors taking jobs that total $500 or more (labor or materials) be licensed by the Contractors State License Board. State law also requires that contractors include their license number on all advertising.

You can check the status of your licensed contractor at www.cslb.ca.gov or 1-800321-CSLB (2752). Unlicensed contractors taking jobs that total less than $500 must state in their advertisements that they are not licensed by the Contractors State License Board.

d e c e m b e r 2 1 -2 8 , 2 0 1 1 S A N T A C R U Z . C O M

g Real Estate Sales

DEER CREEK MELODY

Why Wait for Beauty School?

A New cosmetology academy is now open in Santa Cruz, and is unlike any beauty school you`ve seen before.

Come and see for yourself what everyone`s talking about. Enrolling now!

TheCosmoFactory Cosmetology Academy 131-B Front St, Santa Cruz 831.621.6161 www.thecosmofactory.com.

WAMM Opens Membership!

Apply for membership to WAMM for Low cost Organic Medicine! Longest running MMJ Org. in Nation. Serving Santa Cruz for 18 years! WAMM.org, 831-425-0580. peace

85,000 People

Make Your Ad

Browse through the Santa Cruz Weekly each week! Get seen today. To advertise call 408-200-1300.

TO ADVERTISE IN THE SANTA CRUZ WEEKLY, PLEASE CALL 831.457.9000

1 0 1