Good Times Santa Cruz newspaper, arts, music, entertainment

Speed Dial

211, free human resources referral system, launches in Santa Cruz
Like a miniature fortress, boxes upon boxes are stacked up against the wall. Amongst the cubicles bathed in fluorescent light, the typical Monday morning drone is notably absent. In its place is a general buzz of anticipation, as the last finessing touches are made to a long-awaited project.

Everyone in the United Way of Santa Cruz County office is preparing for the July 30 launch of 211, a free phone referral service for human services ranging from food stamps to evacuations in th... Read more...

Rearranging Rape

UCSC dissolves its 30-year-old Rape Prevention Education center
“As of next school year, Rape Prevention Education as you know it will no longer exist.” This is what UC Santa Cruz administrators told Rape Prevention educator Gillian Greensite last month, explaining a decision to “reorganize” the program.

Greensite was told that, starting in the 2010/2011 school year, Rape Prevention Education would no longer be a separate effort, but would be absorbed into the Student Health Outreach and Promotion program (SHOP), and that she would no longer be a...

Ocean Advocacy Goes Federal

Executive Order creates Clean Ocean Act
You don’t need to tell a Santa Cruzan how important the ocean is. From our economy to our natural beauty to our hard-fought-formoniker as “Surf City,” Santa Cruz is defined by its relationship to the ocean as much as Colorado is to its Rockies. So when President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on July 19 creating a national ocean policy for the first time in history, it was like hearing about a big break for an old friend who’s been going through a tough time lately. Read more...

Bad Faith

Searing tragedy of intolerance reduced to melodrama in 'Agora' |

There's a fascinating, heartbreaking, infuriating true story at the center of Agora, a sumptuous drama of ancient Alexandria from Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar. But even as the female scholar protagonist lectures her students that every system in the universe must revolve around a center or it will collapse, Amenábar clutters up his narrative with so much bombast and portent, it's own center finally cannot hold. Read more...

Nordic Forge

“Man is wolf to man.” Not only is this a quote from the Roman playwright Plautus, one of the earliest known Latin authors, but it is also the title of the earliest known demo recording from local metal slayers Nordic Forge. “[The title track] is a song Jimi wrote almost all at once,” explains the vocalist, Rueben. “Then, I wrote the lyrics after listening to the hymn ‘O Rubor Sanguinis’ by Saint Hildegard Von Bingen.” Determined not to be just another scrawled name in the metal world, the guys in Nordic Forge draw their creativity from classics...

New Traditionalists

This year’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music blends the historical with the cutting edge
At the ripe old age of 48, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (CFCM) somewhat paradoxically maintains a longstanding tradition of modernity. This year’s lineup reflects that dichotomy: Attendees will hear the works of newer composers like Jennifer Higdon as well as those of time-tested artists like George Walker, and cello virtuoso Wendy Sutter, who will play the contemporary music of avant-garde composer Philip Glass.

GT recently spoke with H... Read more...

It's All Connected, Redux

A common question asked of scientists is how the oil spill will affect life in the Gulf.
My sense is that it will effect directly or indirectly, severely or slightly every single form of life in the Gulf, for many years to come. The air, the water, the sand, the mud, the microbes, the plankton, the marshgrass, the mangroves, the jellyfish, the oysters, the shrimp, the shorebirds, the turtles, the sharks, the redfish, the children, the fishermen, the chefs, the taxi drivers, the artists, the oil industry workers, the politicians. Every single bi...

‘Cabaret’ Captivates

Show’s actors, ensemble ignite the Cabrillo Stage
When director Trevor Little took on the task of bringing all the glitz, glamour and grime of 1931 Germany to life, he had one choice: go big or go home. Lucky for us, he chose the former. With an awe-inspiring cast of commanding vocalists and dancers, an enveloping storyline that mixes romance, promiscuity, fascism and enough lingerie to make anyone’s head spin, Little’s rendition of “Cabaret” ends Cabrillo Stage’s summer season with a bang. Read more...

Perfect Palm

The Palm Deli features breakfast all day, flavorful sandwiches, and prepared meals for dinner at home
The Glaum family is adored for their locally fresh cage-free eggs. For the past year, these eggs have been served in breakfast burritos and sandwiches at the Glaums’ new deli where Piggie Market has nurtured Redwood Village neighbors for 25 years.

The central, thatched-roof, hexagonal open kitchen mimics the unusual shape of the extensively renovated building. Textured stone flooring winds around the kitchen, leading to an extensive wine selectio... Read more...

Family Feudal

SSC delivers vibrant and riotous 'Lion In Winter'
If you've never seen the fabled 1968 film, The Lion In Winter, well, that's a shame. But it means you'll have the pleasure of discovering the witty James Goldman play on which it's based for the first time in the vibrant new production from Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Still, even if you know the film and/or play well, can recite the dialogue like the Pledge of Allegiance, it only means you'll get an extra kick from the infusion of vitality this delicious SSC production brings to the material. Read more...

Comic Con 2010 Wrap Up!

Or at least here are the top five things that I read about since I wasn't actually there:

5. Dexter: Season 5 Trailer - (Heads up, do NOT click on that link until you've seen the unbelievable finale to season 4 from last year) Michael C. Hall has already earned his status as one of the finest actors of this generation for his performance as David Fisher on HBO's masterful series Six Feet Under - but man, if he isn't close to outdoing himself on Dexter: Showtime's profoundly addictive series about a serial killer with a moral code who only pursues ...

Storrs Winery Chardonnay 2008

One of the most popular wines round these parts is Storrs Chardonnay. It’s probably one of the most-requested wines at any given restaurant. And the reason is simple – it’s an excellent wine. It turns out that many judges at this year’s California State Fair think so, too. They named the Storrs 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay as the Best Wine of the Region. As the top wine of the greater Bay Area, this wine also garnered a Best Chardonnay of Region distinction, and a gold medal. When you think of all the wines submitted in this competition... Read more...

Big Bang Theory

Queen of comedy and New York Times bestseller Chelsea Handler gives birth to her third book
If the name Chelsea Handler hasn’t yet crossed your path, don’t worry, it will. This devilish darling is a busy girl these days what with her hit show Chelsea Lately on the cable television network E! Entertainment, her whirlwind nationwide comedy tour and promoting her recently released third bestselling book “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang.”

Characterized by hilarious quips, modicums of irony and a heavy sprinkling of sarcasm, Handler’s latest literary foray ...

A+ Pho

Can't decide between Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese food? At Capitola's new Asian Express you can enjoy all three. As an added bonus, they make an exceptional bowl of pho (which approximately rhymes with duhhh), a Vietnamese noodle soup.

At Asian Express, nestled between Starbucks and Togo's in the Ross building of the Capitola Mall, various appetizers, entrées and side dishes wait in warming trays at the counter. Choose from a single entrée and side ($4.50), two entrées ($5.49), or three ($6.39).

The chow mein noodles were mixed with vegetables an... Read more...

Santa Cruz Area Events

Events this Week and Beyond
Need something to do? Read about what events are not to be missed.
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