Bruce Bratton hosts University Grapevine, linking local and campus issues, every Tuesday 7:30-8:30 p.m. on KZSC 88.1 fm.
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THE LAU PROPERTY. It's difficult to imagine Oswald's Restaurant as "blighted". Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward enjoy eating there when they're in town and Oswald's has won dozens of awards. The Asian Rose restaurant, also on the Lau property, has been a favorite of thousands of both locals and visitors and that too has been designated blighted by our Redevelopment Agency. I'll try really hard to track down the rumor that this is all part of a deal between The Redevelopment Agency and Norman Schwartz of Bolton Hill Developers, which is just a front operation for developer Bill Brooks who has been slapping up stucco stoops on every street corner in Santa Cruz. Doesn't using eminent domain mean that the public will be better off, or that there will be an appropriate public purpose served by the new use of the property?
OUR CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION. Mark Massara, the Director of the Sierra Club Coastal Programs wrote a letter to everyone who wants to protect the California Coast. It tells of his disappointment in Dave Potter being reappointed to the commission and gives us an understanding of where we are at in respect to the future of saving our coast. I reprinted his entire letter in the letters to the editor section. Click here to read it.
MORE LETTERS. Pat Levy writes to ask about that parade of cars photo we ran in the June 28 column from June of 1969.
Right here is a letter from Rich Popchak about George Carlin. Last week Paul Dragavon attributed an emailed quote to George Carlin. Rich writes in to say there's a lot of online quotes that are definitely NOT from Carlin. Go to Carlin's site as Rich suggests. Carlin tells how much he dislikes those fake quotes and says only rarely does he even give a _uck about the subject of those quotes. Rich says: "Hello Bruce, As always, I enjoy your work. I am dubious however to the quote about Martha Stewart being attributed to George Carlin. Certainly it is a funny quip ... however there are many pieces of humor floating around the internet that are being attributed to Carlin. So much so that his web site has a page disclaiming many of the bits attributed to him: http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/home.html. As George says, "they are not mine ... don't blame me." I hope you are well and keep up the good work. Rich
A REVIEW OF SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ'S TWELFTH NIGHT. I asked my old friend Simon Kelly to write a review of the opening performance last weekend of Twelfth Night. Simon's an actor; he's studied Shakespeare for decades, has acted in Shakespeare Santa Cruz productions many times, and is also a veteran of The Dickens Players. Read his review here. I liked Twelfth Night and so did Simon.
ABBI HARTSELL, A SPECIAL PERSON. Abbi Hartsell has always been a very special person. She's always warm and friendly, and caring and supportive, and beautiful and incredibly peppy. And when she went up on stage last Sunday at the Santa Cruz Roller Palladium on Seabright to celebrate her 20 years of teaching Jazzercise she was even more special. More than 200 Jazzercisers and friends came to be part of Abbi's big 20 party and they showered her with love, and thanks, and flowers, and cards, and hugs, and kisses, and they exercised too! I've known Abbi for more than 20 years and can tell you she's given as much as she gets to not just Jazzercise, but to each and every one of her loyal students. Congratulations are definitely in order.
HAPPY ENDINGS. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a marvelous actor. She can, and does, grab all four corners of the screen and chews them up each second she's on in Happy Endings. Tom Arnold does a great job as the inept but concerned Dad, Lisa Kudrow is as bubbly as usual, and Laura Dern always plays Laura Dern but that's ok too. Happy Endings is yet another Los Angeles group of interrelated family stories. It's full of sex, jokes, pathos, and just go see it. You'll like it, but it probably won't show for long in summertime Santa Cruz.
QUOTES. "Ronald Reagan won because he ran against Jimmy Carter. If he had run unopposed he would have lost." -Mort Sahl. "Hypocrisy is the Vaseline of social intercourse." -J.R. Newman. "To every human problem there is a neat and easy solution-and it's wrong." -H.L. Mencken.
Bruce critiques films every Friday on KZSC-FM (88.1) on The Bushwhacker Breakfast Club at 8am.
It's free! Click here.
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LAST WEEK'S COLUMN PHOTO. There was an amazing response from readers to last week's photo of Van Johnson and the five, count 'em: five, bathing beauties. Here's what Barbara Tyger had to say about Van. "The Romance of Rosy Ridge was Janet Leigh's first pic and she did come here, according to her book. In the book on Van Johnson it says he was at the height of his bobby soxer fame and was staying at a hotel with a view of the boardwalk and refused to go there, saying he couldn't. His companions insisted, so they went, word got out he was there and a mob gathered, trapping him on the Ferris wheel. Police and all had to be called to rescue him from the fans. And to show how fleeting fame is...in a few years he was not as popular, and a few more (films) and his movie career had collapsed".
WELCOME TIM EAGAN COMICS. Local residents have known Tim Eagan's comics for years. His Sub Conscious Comics have grown to national recognition and are printed weekly all over the world. You need to read his weekly political editorial comic strip "Deep Cover". One way to do that is to click on Tim's cartoon in the right hand margin each week and check out Eagan's latest take on Bush politics, etc. You can also find www.uclick.com in Tim's link. That has even more of Tim's comics as well as puzzles, cartoons and effluvia from the greatest artists working today. Eagan and I go way back to KUSP's Air Farce Players, and a few local weekly newspapers that are sorely missed, and needed.
PAUL DRAGAVON WEIGHS IN. Paradise resident and former Santa Cruzan Paul Dragavon sent this in, after listening to George Carlin talking about Martha Stewart. Carlin says, "Boy, I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars. O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant are still walking around; Osama bin Laden too, but they take the one woman in America willing to cook, clean, and work in the yard, and haul her ass off to jail".
YES, THE WONDERFUL FILM. Joan Allen has always surpassed every cast member in all her films. In Yes, she's better yet. This film is about a lot of things, east vs.west, war, sex, commitment, marriage and of course loves. What is even more daring is that it's all done in Iambic Pentameter (little rhymes that you may not even notice) the film becomes subtle, very involving and truly memorable. See it quick, it's too good a film to last long in Santa Cruz.
SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ. Here's the big secret about Shakespeare Santa Cruz that newcomers don't know about. The opening three weeks are the best time to get tickets. That's now! By the time reviews come in and word of mouth catches on all the good seats and entire nights sell out completely. 12th Night opens this week, Engaged opens next week, and Winter's Tale opens August 4th. Another tip is to be sure to bring both warm and cool clothes to Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale outdoor performances in the Sinsheimer/Stanley Festival Glen. You can both sweat and freeze during the same afternoon performances, trust me. Call 831 459-2159 for tickets or go to www.shakespearesantacruz.org to get all necessary details. Reviews to follow.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. If you expect something special from the mixing of the talents of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Roald Dahl all in one movie you are exactly right. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory has all the proper elements to make it a fine children's film. It's odd, offbeat, scary, often unexplainable and a joy to watch. Take the little buggers to see it on the big screen, they won't forget it, and you won't either.
WEDDING CRASHERS. Most of the film critics are wrong on this one. They're saying that it's another empty- headed, unfunny, dull attempt at comedy. It stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. It isn't empty- headed, it's a mean, desperate, vicious attempt to get vulgar laughs at any price and as such it makes you leave the theatre in a terrible mood. Do not see this movie, it's sick.
CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC. Better hurry to get your tickets to this renowned music festival. Now that the newspapers are full of the appointment of the Festival director Marin Alsop's historic appointment as the first woman to head a major U.S. Orchestra, tickets will go fast. She will be the new music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Baltimore's Orchestra now has a $10 million deficit and in addition, some orchestra members are objecting to Marin being named director until they've auditioned more conductors. Check out today's (Monday July 18) Washington Post or the Miami Herald. She replaces Yuri Temirkanov as Baltimore's conductor. The CabFestOconMu will be featuring world premieres, U.S. premieres and West Coast premieres. Musics by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Frank Zappa and of course John Adams will be performed. Get tickets asap by calling 831 420-5260, online at www.cabrillomusic.org or at the Santa Cruz civic Box office.
UNMITIGATED PLUGS. In this day and age of big box stores, franchises, and online shopping it is nearly shocking to find small-one-shop owners who deliver excellent, affordable and friendly service. For that reason I'm going to begin recommending (with no kickbacks of any kind and they don't even know I'm doing this) those area businesses that still believe in taking care of their customers. Frank Belluardo bought out Fortier's Opticians at 108 Walnut Avenue, in downtown Santa Cruz. I went in there with a much busted pair of eyeglasses. Frank, being a genuine craftsman, not only replaced the hinge using a special and rare heating machine but he also explained the entire process to me. Frank's a genuine eyeglass repairman. He also has an infinite collection of antique and modern lens patterns and grinds and fits your prescriptions right there. Go to www.fortiersopticians.com or better yet, stop by.
Mike, of Mike's Watch Shop 6010 Highway 9 (on the right just after the Quik Stop) maintains the same kind of operation. He didn't just fix my malfunctioning Timex wristwatch but showed me how to keep it up to date. One owner, small, dedicated craftsmen businesses are getting scarce. When we find good ones, we need to support them. Let me know of any you think are worth telling everybody about. Mike's phone number is 335-1095.
DOWNTOWN FARMER'S MARKET. It's all about tomatoes at this time of year. Some local hobby growers are already picking them, but the organic growers are only bringing in the dry farm tomatoes to the market. Santa Cruzans go extra crazy for real home grown tomatoes. Dry farm according to Nesh Dhillon, market manager, is a term used to describe growing tomatoes using a very limited amount of water that is directed directly to the plants. It forces extra meat (excuse the expression) and taste to the plants. Go get 'em this Wednesday. A while back, I erred in saying that the use of hydroponics in growing things was not a great way to grow stuff. My source for that faulty news since corrected his statement and said hydroponics were en excellent and efficient way to grow things but that it was expensive to install such a system. Sorry about that.
TONY RUSSOMANO'S HOT SPOT. Ace reporter Tony Russomano has a lot of friends around Santa Cruz. I've known him since the 60's in San Francisco, but that's not the point! Go to http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_192210803.html which is CBS online. You'll read Tony's staggering story about that "Hot Spot" down near Santa Barbara in the hills, where for some unexplained reason the ground is heating up to bizarre degrees and some intrepid folks are saying maybe it's a portal to hell. Maybe it'll explode, maybe the devil will come to surface, maybe we should send our City Council in person to stay there a few weeks and really check it out.
SHERIFF'S POSSE RODEO PHONE CALLS. I have no idea when we are going to start getting the telemarketers annual phone calls asking us to donate money or buy tickets to the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Rodeo. Maybe it was a circus? Has anyone ever actually seen one of these rodeos or circuses? Is this some phone scam? When and where are they held? Anyone know anything about this?
CHRISTO'S "THE GATES" EXPERIENCE. Jane Gregorius, who has worked with Christo on many projects like the New York Central Park The Gates, Running Fence, and The Umbrellas, along with her artist friend Lynda Watson are going to give a lecture and slide presentation on Thursday July 28 at 6:30 p.m. The talk will be at The Museum Of Art & History, 705 Front Street, downtown Santa Cruz. They'll talk about their experiences at The Gates and other Christo projects. Tickets at the door or call 429-1964. Here's a great idea, we should have Christo do one of his famous wrappings over our City Council and leave them wrapped until all their terms expire. Couldn't hurt.
THE SELF-MADE MAN, a TV PRESENTATION. Barbara Parrish sent this as an email notice... "Is it ever rational to choose death? On Independence Day at Stern Ranch in central California, 77-year-old solar-energy pioneer Bob Stern finds out he is seriously ill, possibly dying. Meanwhile, an elderly in-law is slowly declining on artificial life support in a hospital. Bob decides to cheat that fate and take his own life. His family tries to stop him. But first, Bob sets up a video camera. Daughter Susan Stern ("Barbie Nation," P.O.V. 1998) tells the story of her father's quirky, inspiring life and the difficult end-of-life choices faced by an aging population. Part King Lear, part Western, "The Self-Made Man" is a true-life family drama about a controversial issue: Should we control how we die? It is a co-presentation with the Independent Television Service (ITVS). KQED/Channel 9 See P.O.V.: The Self-Made Man Tuesday, July 26, 10:00pm or again at Friday, July 29, 4:00am.
QUOTES: "Remember blood is not only thicker than water, it's much harder to Get off the carpet." -Phyllis Diller. "One or two days before moving house, place your goldfish bowl in the freezer. When the time comes to move you will find that your fish can be transported in a car or van with no danger of spillage." -D.A. Roberts. "Somewhere on this earth, every ten seconds a woman gives birth to a child. We must find this woman and stop her at once." -Sam Levinson. "I don't plan to grow old gracefully. I plan to have face lifts until my ears meet." -Rita Rudner.
Bruce critiques films every Friday on KZSC-FM (88.1) on The Bushwhacker Breakfast Club at 8am.
It's free! Click here.
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ABOUT READERS CONTRIBUTIONS. This week's column turned into one of those emptying the email bag sessions. Your letters, contributions, and feedback have never been more welcome, and fun. Keep up the good words.
HURRICANE DENNIS HITS OUR CUBAN SISTER COUNTY. Karen Lee Wald is in the Santiago Province of CUBA, as of this Monday am. (7/11/05) She emailed this alert to her Santa Cruz friends and members of the Cuba Study Group.
"Don't know whether you folks have heard yet that Guama was the worst hit in Cuba's Santiago Province and is still cut off from the rest of the world. The rivers that pass through that municipality to the sea are all flooded, making passage by road impossible. Phone and electric lines are down, too, so no one knows yet how extensive the damage is. Hopefully, you folks can be rallying people to send whatever aid is needed once we get the word, although my guess is that what will be most needed is construction material...I will try to find out more before I leave Santiago today...Karen".
Nancy Abbey of The Cuba Study Group responded, "Sit tight and we'll see what we can do in the way of aid, once the Cuban government has had time to assess the damage. We will have three Caravanistas who can provide information, too. AGuaS and the Cuba Study Group will be deciding what we can do - if anything - so any suggestions, ideas and input will be helpful."
BUSES TO CUBA. These caravans to Cuba aren't out for some yuppie-eco-happy vacation. Folks like Santa Cruzan Bill Burtsch, who will be one of the drivers of the community-sponsored school buses being driven to Cuba, know they are risking many legal and physical obstacles created by our Washington administration. They left Santa Cruz at 11:17am on Monday. They'll be going to Santa Barbara, L.A., San Diego, Las Cruces, San Antonio, and McAllen, Texas. They'll meet there with 14 other caravans. The buses go by barges to Havana and the Caravanistas fly to Cuba. You can keep up with the bus caravan by clicking on http://www.caravan16.blogspot.com. You can also show support and help raise media awareness by contacting 831-465-8272. That site will also keep you up to date on the results of Hurricane Dennis.
A SOCIALIST SPEAKS ABOUT LONDON. David Mc Reynolds, who ran for President on the Socialist ticket a few years ago, sent this email last week. I first met David back in the '50's in Pasadena and later on when I was at KGO. We have many mutual friends.
"Waking late today I was horrified to find the news was of the deaths in London, at least 37 at last report. Also in the news was the allegation by Al Queda that the Egyptian Ambassador to Iraq had been murdered. There can be no defense of, or excuse for, the deliberate targeting of civilians. Our first thoughts surely go to the families of those who have died, and to the many dozens in hospital with injuries and vivid memories of terror.
The world lives in a time of terror. Let us think of the daily lives of every person in London, of every person in Iraq. As a pacifist I believe violence is neither the way to change the world, nor the best defense against the forces of madness that rely on bombs, whether those bombs fall from the air or are strapped to bodies. As a socialist I believe violence is not caused by a handful of evil persons but by great flaws in our systems, by poverty, oppression, and the theology of fanatics - a theology we have seen at work in the United States in the bombing and murder of those at abortion clinics, as well as in Islamic nations or, today, in London.
Let us look at these events with compassion in our hearts, not with vengeance in our minds. Let us realize the first victims in any war are never the political leaders, but those caught up in the societies, whether in London or Baghdad, New York, or Kabul.
As one who has visited London so many times in my life I feel as if my own city had been attacked again. My heart goes out to friends in London, and I await news of whether any of them were involved. Let this tragedy lead us to a new commitment to social change by nonviolence, and by seeking our protection through the legal means that seek to locate the individuals involved, rather than on military attacks on other cities. It is in this context that those of us in the West need to remember that the recent tragedy in Afghanistan in which a US helicopter was shot down with the loss of 17 American lives, also involved, in the same time period, a US military attack on civilians in which more than 17 persons were killed. If violence is our means, then violence will be our future."
Peace, David McReynolds, Former Chair, War Resisters International Member, Socialist Party National Committee
HEIGHTS. This isn't a Woody Allen film but because it's about working show biz oriented New Yorkers you do think about Woody Allen. It's relationships, egos, Glenn Close playing Mrs. Macbeth, and of course sex. Go see it. You won't forget Iraq or London entirely, but you'll lose yourself in somebody else's problems instead of your own for just a little while.
ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW. This is a Los Angeles film and not to be confused with N.Y. films (see above). Miranda July is the author, main star and you either like her or not. She's either as refreshing as rain in July or an unlikable geek. They loved her in Cannes and Sundance and probably Santa Cruz. It's a completely original film no matter how you look at it, so go look at it.
A HEALTHY SANTA CRUZ. Activist, SCRP member and attorney Reed Searle wrote a letter to Don Lane and City Councilmembers Madrigal, Porter, Fitzmaurice. The letter refers to the Madrigal Economic summit meetings that are dealing with Santa Cruz's future.
"I recall that an item on the agenda is a discussion about what "healthy Santa Cruz" means and the extent to which growth is a necessary constituent of health. These are indeed issues of major significance and they deserve thorough discussion. A consensus on these issues would be a very important contribution to the on-going debate about the future of our city.
What we want Santa Cruz to be depends in part on... who "we" is. We are retired people, artists, vacation home owners, tourists, long-term residents, wage-earners, students, surfers, entrepreneurs---and the meaning of "health" is probably different for each of these groups. What we want to see our city be, and become, may be different for each of us as well.
Any economic growth must be carefully designed to achieve specific civic goals. Among these the city budget and protection of the Santa Cruz atmosphere/ambiance are probably foremost. I think that further development should await the impacts of projects currently on the table (UCSC expansion, Monterey Bay Sanctuary Center, Tannery Arts Center, La Bahia etc). We know these projects will affect transportation, housing, civic services, but we do not yet know the extent of the impact. If the arguments against, for example, UCSC expansion have merit, we must certainly wait until that issue is resolved and implemented before authorizing more growth. UCSC is our major source of employment and attracts the kind of employment most desired in the city.
I wish we could have a Santa Cruz that can accommodate everyone who wants to live here, provide them with decent housing and high-paying jobs, all without causing more congestion and loss of our special flavor. It cannot happen.
Reed Searle
ANOTHER VOICE ABOUT GROWTH AND SANTA CRUZ. Former City Councilmember and Mayor Christopher Krohn sent this email:
"Hey Bruce,
I just heard a lecture (couple weeks ago) and ran across the notes I took. It was a lecture by a UC Berkeley dean who is an architect and is working in China...in the 3rd largest city, Tianjin. His task is to be part of a design team for a population area of 100,000...(what SC city population may be in time, and I would propose those bodies a) be present without a car and b) locate them within core and not sprawl...of course finding water for that number will be the key...I am not a big fan of desalinization on Terrace Point...yet)
Anyhow, this guy said the guiding principles of design are as follows
- high density, mixed use
- connectedness (plazas, bike paths, pedestrian paths that actually go somewhere)
- Pedestrian- bike friendly (similar and different than #2)
- Public realm quality (places people want to be)
- self-sufficiency, or zero waste
- diversity of housing sites
- respect history of site and city
- create compelling image for city
LOUD AND UNRULY GATHERINGS. The City Council and the Santa Cruz City Police are trying to do something about those loud and unruly parties that always happen next door. I'm not sure how to approach this issue; my neighbors are just fine, thank you very much. But Lisa Mastramico wrote an excellent letter to the Council. Here it is, with Lisa's permission:
June 27, 2005
Re: Amendments to Santa Cruz Municipal Code Chapter 9.37 Pertaining to Loud or Unruly Gatherings
Dear Santa Cruz City Council members:
First, I would like to thank those of you who took the time to respond to my request and to meet with me last week regarding this issue. I know your time is valuable and I appreciate it very much.
I agree that the current ordinance should be amended and I also recognize that there is much pressure on the council to pass something as soon as possible. But, I believe that the council can amend the ordinance to truly target those responsible, rather than passing something that is sweepingly punitive to everyone and disproportionately punishes renters over homeowners, particularly because renters are most directly affected by one of the main groups that the council is trying to get at: absentee landlords.
However, this amended ordinance, as it is currently written, disproportionately punishes and disadvantages renters in an already extremely difficult market. The vicarious liability provision, as currently written, does not truly give renters a warning (it is punitive to send your landlord and/or your parents a certified letter) and the landlords will only pass on the cost of the emergency response to their tenants, which could lead to higher rents affecting the rental market as a whole.
It is not difficult, I must add, to have the police visit a gathering at your home, especially if you have a neighbor who has a particularly low tolerance for noise, such as I do. So, I am not speaking hypothetically as the police did come to my birthday party just a few weeks ago, even though I had informed all of my neighbors and gave them the phone numbers of all three housemates. Though the party, in my opinion, was neither "loud" nor "unruly," we did what the officer said and told everyone to move inside and there were no more problems or calls and police did not have to come back. But, under this ordinance, my landlord would now be receiving a certified letter and would probably not renew my lease coming up next month. Is this, just because I had a party for my 34th birthday?
Additionally, as currently written, this ordinance will make tenants responsible for the citations of the renters before them who may have received a "warning" and/or citation sometime within the entire last year. There isn't even a mechanism in the ordinance for you to know when you move into a new place if it has already been cited or not. Will this be the landlord's responsibility to let tenants know? Why would this ordinance make a new renter liable for the previous tenants' citations?
One thing this ordinance does not do, as currently written, is make any plan for having a public dialog, forum, task force or any other plan for bringing awareness about and responsibility for these issues out of the neighborhoods where people have been suffering from these out of control parties and into the larger community, especially the student community, so that we can all become educated and articulate what is acceptable in our community and what is not. This will help bring lasting change, which will only become more important as the student body grows.
Casting a wide net of punishment is no doubt an efficient way of dealing with a situation such as this one, even if it doesn't necessarily target the offenders and will punish non-offenders. It takes more time to consider the implications on the community as a whole, especially with something so broad. But, considering the implications of this ordinance, particularly on renters, I believe that the council should err on the side of caution and move forward with strengthening the current ordinance, but not in such an extreme and radical way, especially before they have heard from other constituencies on this. If the council takes the time to hear from other interested and affected constituencies, any changes to further strengthen this ordinance will most likely be more effective, as well.
Respectfully, Lisa Mastramico
Nine-year Santa Cruz Renter and Community Member
P.S. Lisa told me on Monday (7/11) that she was at a party of 20 on Saturday July 9, average age 32, all working professionals, minimum noise and the police came, gave a written warning and said one more notice in 12 months and you get a fine. This is exactly what the City Council said would never happen when they passed this ordinance. It's unfair to renters, it discriminates, and it's sure polarizing the community.
PATRIOTISM REVISITED. Sound archivist, long time friend, BrattonOnline subscriber, and Brooklyn resident Doug Pomeroy saw last week's slight bow to patriotism (such as it is nowadays) in this column, and sent this piece for our edification:
How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb?
- One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed;
- One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed;
- One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb;
- One to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs;
- One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the new light bulb;
- One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: Light Bulb Change Accomplished;
- One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark;
- One to viciously smear #7;
- One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along;
- And finally... one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.
Bruce critiques films every Friday on KZSC-FM (88.1) on The Bushwhacker Breakfast Club at 8am.
It's free! Click here.
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SUPPORT THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION. The California Coastal Commission is being evaluated by the NOAA. That's The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration out of Washington, DC. They run the satellites, buoys and infinite items that try to stabilize our nation's environment. Well, NOAA (feds in suits) was in Santa Cruz on June 21 before we knew it, asking if we liked what the California Coastal Commission had been doing all these years. Very few (2) environmentalists/ progressives showed up. But the right wing developers had it together and ripped the Coastal Commission every way but up. We need to pay back the Coastal Commission for saving California's Coast, and need to pray that the Commission will be able to continue to do their good works. Write or email letters today and do your part, or the evil developers will make Santa Cruz look like the beaches in Honolulu, or Florida, or Seaside, or Half Moon Bay, with their high rise hotels. Here's what Ren Curry of Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning (SCRP) said in an email:
"We all know that the California Coastal Commission is a critical part of responsible planning along our coasts. That is why it is very important to support them in all possible ways. NOAA is conducting a review of the CCC because NOAA supplies some of their funding. There is still time to help the CCC. We need to ask NOAA to increase support for the CCC (funding, staff), and we have until THIS FRIDAY (July 8, 2005) to submit comments to Ralph.cantral@noaa.gov
OR
Mr. Ralph Cantral
NOAA/NOA/OCRM
1305 East-West Highway (N/ORM7)
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Some broad talking points are:
(a) The CCC is essential because of the strong pressures for developing our coast
(b) They are effective within their budgetary and staffing constraints
(c) They are the only agency with oversight on development by State agencies, such as UC Santa Cruz !!!
(d) They need more staff and a bigger budget to accomplish all their goals
(e) A dedicated source of funding is needed to reduce the political pressures on the CCC
The text below contains a detailed description of what NOAA is seeking, including "what you think NOAA should do to help"
==============================================
During this evaluation, the team will be considering issues like staffing and budgets, and looking at what would help the Commission improve (i.e., having a dedicated funding source). They will be considering how well the Commission is fulfilling its partnership with local government (is the state giving adequate resources to local governments to implement their LCPs? Are the LCPs adequate? Should the CCC require local governments to update their LCPs? etc.) The team will also look at public access, and water quality, and identify what more the state/CCC can do to improve both. They will be looking to individuals and organizations to hear what they see as problems with the State coastal program, how you think the CCC is doing its job, what are the problems in the future that need to be addressed (i.e., beach access, erosion, nonpoint source water pollution, etc.), what you think NOAA should do to help.
Written comments will be accepted until Friday July 8, 2005, and may be forwarded to Ralph Cantral at Ralph.cantral@noaa.gov or NOAA/NOS/OCRM, 1305 East-West Highway (N/ORM7), Silver Spring, MD 20910."
This is our Coast folks, and with a few major slip ups (oil rigs in Santa Barbara, Dream Inn, ad infinitum) the Coastal Commission has been our biggest property protector. Help the California Coastal Commission.
DOWNTOWN FARMERS MARKET NEWS. I met old friend Martha Benedict at her little Benedictine Healing Products booth at last week's Farmers Market. Martha grows, infuses, decocts, extracts and sells organic herbal products in little bottles. These tinctures are good for healing your problem areas. That includes your liver, painful nipples, fungus, phlegm, ear aches, moody blues (her words), nerve pain and most other problems. She's at the Farmers Market every other week, so that'll be the week after this.
OTHER FARMERS MARKET NEWS. I wrote last week that I had no information on the Felton and Cabrilho Farmers Markets so Michele Mosher, Chair, Felton Farmers Market Board emailed very quickly to say... "Hi Bruce, Saw your piece on farmers' markets, and wanted to let you know that the Felton Farmers Market is open every Tuesday from May to November, 2:30-6:30. It's in the parking lot of St. John's Catholic Church on Hwy 9 just south of Felton, across from the Quikstop, and features lots of parking, a family-friendly atmosphere including a kid's corner, live music and lots of great fruit, veggies, flowers, fish, baked goods, wine, and prepared foods. Many of our vendors say it's their favorite market for its community feeling. For more info, visit www.feltonfarmersmarket.org."
KONTROLL. This is the second best film of the year (after Brothers). It was filmed entirely underground in the subways of Budapest. I traveled in Budapest's subways in September of '97 and they weren't that bad. This wild-insane-crazed plot is funny and tragic and creates a pace that is rare in films. Some European films have it, but more new films from Japan and Korea attain this same excitement. Go see it, especially on the big screen if you like good films. And go soon because good films aren't selling very well in Santa Cruz and they are forced to leave quickly if nobody comes to see them.
WAR OF THE WORLDS. This is a perfect summer blockbuster of a film. It's scary, and also relatively close to the H.G. Wells book, and Dakota Fanning is the finest kid actor Hollywood ever invented. Makes you wonder how her future will be? Will her folks steal all her millions (she's made 11 films!!) Will she be another Shirley Temple, Liz Taylor, or Lindsay Lohan, or possibly normal?? Tom Cruise plays a little dumber than usual Tom Cruise, but that's all this script needs. Just go and have a good time. Remember Tom Cruise makes around $40 million per picture and can use your extra money. Always remember that "A dollar given to Scientology, etc. etc" (I forgot the rest).
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. Go to Frans Lanting's website at www.lanting.com and click on penguins, the Emperor penguins. Just see how cute they are. Not Frans, the penguins. Now if you still want cute, a 5 lb. sugar bag full of cute, go see the National Geographic documentary The March of The Penguins. More than that, the film is even narrated by Morgan Freeman. For instance, Tom Cruise may be cute, but not like these penguins. The film is so sweet; it never shows penguin poop, or even penguin sex, except once with tears and swelling background music. As an example of the film's pitch, while the penguins are voraciously attacking helpless fish and squid, it calls the Leopold seals and Petrels predators because they are trying to eat the penguins at the same time. March of is way more anthropomorphic than any early Disney "True Life Adventures" from back in the 50's. By the way, did you know that the water ouzel part of Disney's True Life Adventure "Water Birds", an Oscar winner in 1952, was filmed at Big Creek Falls here near Swanton Road?
ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY. Patriotism is a suspect word nowadays. It's very hard to love your country when it does what the United States is doing, both to us as citizens and to our worldwide neighbors. In that same vein, Scott MacClelland sent along this email which does say something about our internal affairs.
Dear Red States,
We're ticked off at the way you've treated California, and we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.
To sum up briefly:
You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.
We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Wal-Mart.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazies believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.
By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.
Sincerely, (Scott tried to find the original author but couldn't).
Thanks Scott.
QUOTES. "In the first place God made idiots. That was for practice; then he made school boards." -Mark Twain. "I was the toast of two continents - Greenland and Australia." -Dorothy Parker. "Canada is a country so square that even the female impersonators are women." -Richard Brenner. "Some Republicans are so ignorant they wouldn't know how to pour piss out of a boot - even if the instructions were printed on the heel." -Lyndon B. Johnson
Bruce critiques films every Friday on KZSC-FM (88.1) on The Bushwhacker Breakfast Club at 8am.
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