Santa Cruz’s James Durbin wowed judges on American Idol last night with a rendition of the Beatles’ “Oh Darlin’” and advanced to the next round.
Elizabeth Cook’s War of The Sexes
Men and women don’t always get along in Elizabeth Cook’s lyrics. There’s the mechanic who cons his housewife clientele in “Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman.” There’s the mullet-haired charmer who may or may not slip Quaaludes to his dates in “El Camino.” Then, of course, there’s the guy who gets so loaded he can hardly get it up in “Yes to Booty.”
Santa Cruz Idol
You know that on American Idol the biggest sob stories are saved for the end. That’s certainly what happened last night, and the wannabe star who got the gasps was a local Santa Cruz artist, James Durbin, 21. Ryan Seacrest warned us at every possible moment that we would cry when we heard his story, and certainly many people probably did.
Cutting Positions, Not People
Faced with a looming budget deficit, Santa Cruz City Council is hoping to cut positions, not people by eliminating two positions that were left vacant two months ago. In November, City Clerk Lorrie Brewer, who had worked in the city clerk’s office since 1989, announced that she would be leaving the employ of the city and moving on to Mountain View.. At the time of her announcement, City Manager Martin Bernal and Mayor Mike Rotkin both said they would begin the search for a replacement immediately, however, given the budget crisis, the city has decided to leave the position vacant. Bernal will assume her responsibilities.
Santa Cruz Poets, Santa Cruz Inspiration: Len Anderson
Two poems from the physicist, Pushcart Prize nominee and co-founder of Poetry Santa Cruz.
The Exhibitionist: Robert Mapplethorpe
A labyrinth walk of images make up the “Robert Mapplethorpe: Portraits” exhibition at San Jose Museum of Art. The 103 photographs are mesmerizingly similar in size and shape, all black and white with few melodramatic contrasts; neutral dark or light backgrounds in the same unremarkable frames, mostly straight-on head and upper torso poses with the subject looking directly at the camera. Flatteringly lit, formally composed, these seem at first to be standard glam shots of famous people, but after one familiar face draws the viewer close, the path from photograph to photograph becomes a deepening encounter with the same unveiled regard.
Missed Connections
We know you’re lonely, but (good news!) you’re not the only one. There are 124,720 single Santa Cruz County residents, according to figures from CNN and Money Magazine. Here we present an unedited snapshot of love and longing in our city in the past week alone, courtesy of Craigslist.org.
Tiffany 4Ever
The first single off the singer Tiffany’s self-titled 1987 debut album flopped. It was the second, a remake of Tommy James and the Shondells’ 1967 hit “I Think We’re Alone Now,” outfitted with drum machine beats and some serious bass synth, that would propel the album to the top of the charts in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. It sold 4.1 million copies all told, making it a platinum record four times over.
Ten Questions for Richard Hoover
The founder of the world-famous Santa Cruz Guitar Company talks about the beauty of Mt. Madonna, the bizarre circumstances that brought him to Santa Cruz and the dawning realization that he’s not going to play for the Yankees.
No Shortage of Challenges in Resources Post
In 1983, as Gov. Jerry Brown was leaving office at the close of his second term, he appointed an energetic young councilmember from Santa Cruz to the Solar Cal Council’s local government commission on renewable energy sources. John Laird went on that year to become one of the first openly gay mayors in the country and to launch a political career the particulars of which are well known in these parts: as Cabrillo College Trustee; as Assemblymember with an appointment as chair of the budget committee; as state senate candidate and now, in a leap from the legislative to the executive branch, as Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. “And now I’m sitting here with industrial solar projects on my plate 28 years later,” he says.
