Cruz

[Drunk Monk]

He woke to someone breaking into his car and tried to catch him. We've had a rash of car break ins in our hood over the last few weeks. It's been like every other day.

In retrospect I should have been a little more on guard. He never felt threatening. For a second, my mind went to my dragon cane by my front door. It's balinesian hardwood. I put it there just in case I come home to another raccoon.

Jingles was non-plussed about it all. When he saw I stopped playing ball, he went off and took a dump on the driveway. Actually dump is not the right word for Pom poop. It's more like a heaping tablespoon. Well no, that's not the right words either.

It was an odd start for the day

[Drunk Monk]

Police Investigating Possible Hit-And-Run That Left Woman Dead
BREAKING: Police said the woman was discovered near Gault Elementary School early Monday morning.

By California Patch (Patch Staff) - February 6, 2017 4:38 pm ET [url=http://my.patch.com/article/26914153/edit][/url]

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SANTA CRUZ, CA — Police in Santa Cruz are investigating a possible hit-and-run that left a woman dead early Monday morning. After receiving a report at 2:38 a.m. of a person lying in the street, police found the woman in the 1200 block of Seabright Avenue, near Gault Elementary School.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators from the Santa Cruz Police Department and the Santa Cruz County coroner's office determined that a car might have hit the woman, who was described as being in her mid 20s.
Police have not determined whether the woman had ties to Santa Cruz and are withholding her name until they notify her family. No vehicle description has been released.
SUBSCRIBE
Anyone who may have witnessed the collision has been asked to contact Santa Cruz police Detective Williams at 831-420-5839 or dwilliams@cityofsantacruz.com. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call (831) 420-5995.

This is my cross street.  I could almost see the spot from my veranda.

[Drunk Monk]

A flagship Starbucks opened on Ocean. Great location, prominent and a stepping stone away from hey 17, the tourists will love it. 

Worse still, Logos is closing. Not sure if it's been 'officially' announced yet - I have an inside connect. I can't imagine the Cruz without Logos. :-(

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Well, fuck.

[Drunk Monk]

The windows are now plastered with Day-glo poster board - closing sale is July 20 - even the fixtures must go.

[King Bob]

Sad to see another independent/used bookstore gone. So few left.

[Drunk Monk]

[/url]

[img=667x0]http://goodtimes.sc/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/news1-1729-logos-closing.gif[/img]NEWS
Logos, Used Book and Music Store, Closing After 48 Years
After trying to sell for a year, Logos owner John Livingston prepares for retirement

JOHN LIVINGSTON HAS BEEN IN THE USED BOOK AND MUSIC BUSINESS FOR NEARLY FIVE DECADES. PHOTO: JACOB PIERCE

ByJacob Pierce
Posted on July 18, 2017

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A strange mood hangs over Logos Books and Records—somber, nostalgic.
“Can I sell some books?” a middle school kid asks the man working behind the counter on Saturday morning, July 15.
“We’re not buying books anymore,” the man responds. “Try Bookshop Santa Cruz.”
Word began leaking out this month among longtime customers that the two-story used book and music shop will close at the end of the summer—ever since owner John Livingston started telling a few friends. Employees began doing the same.
“Everyone has a different point of view on it. Some people only care about how they can’t shop here anymore. Other people care about how it’s a loss to the community. And other people come up and congratulate me because I get a chance to retire,” says Livingston, a sentiment resembling regret in his voice.
Not regret, necessarily, for any decisions he’s made in the 48 years since he first launched the business. It’s more the rueful reflection of a man who wishes things could have gone another way.
After several years subsidizing the beloved destination, Livingston, now 70, began to yearn for retirement—more time playing music and golf and helping with Kuumbwa Jazz, where he sits on the board of trustees. He had started to worry about what it would mean if something happened to him and his wife Fran Etow was stuck managing an increasingly costly operation. 
“You know, I started thinking about the practical aspects,” he says.
Logos will be temporarily closed through Wednesday, July 19, while Livingston, his employees and a consultant complete an inventory and organize a sale, which will begin on Thursday, July 20, and last through the summer.
Livingston first got his start in 1968, when he took a job as a music buyer at Moe’s Books in Berkeley, where he went to college.
That store’s owner, Moe Moskowitz, became a mentor to Livingston, who left soon after to drive around the United States, searching for a place to open a book and music store of his own. After realizing he didn’t actually want to leave the area, Livingston decided on Santa Cruz. And at his boss’ insistence, he took extra copies of books that Moe’s had duplicates of and brought them to Santa Cruz to sell at his grand opening. It was something that rubbed some Moe’s employees the wrong way, Livingston recalls—not that his mentor really cared what they thought.
Doris Moskowitz, Moe’s daughter, who now runs the Berkeley store, says her father was a mentor to a lot of young people, and employees often questioned his willingness to help out fledgling entrepreneurs—and even would-be competitors—who followed in his footsteps. She remembers her father as very proud, and even a little bit “cocky.” He was so confident in his business that he felt no one could truly pose any threat. And regardless, he wanted nothing more than to spread the joy of book selling, and he wanted bookstores to do it “the right way,” like he did, explains Moskowitz, who’s been to Logos many times herself. The Moskowitz family earned a reputation for paying fair prices for the books that customers brought in, and building a relationship with those customers over time.
And so with a small loan from his parents, Livingston opened Logos at its original Cooper Street location in 1969, when he was 22.
“In those days, you could start a business for almost nothing,” he says. “They lent me a little bit, and I paid them back within a year. It was lights-out from the start. The doors opened, and we were flooded with books to sell. For the first 10 years, it was great. I was in my 20s with lots of money.”
Livingston’s favorite used-book memory involves a copy of[url=http://www.logosbooksrecords.com/2012/01/20/logos-books-records-discovers-a-1st-american-edition-of-the-adventures-of-tom-sawyer/]The Adventures of Tom Sawyer that a woman named Charlotte Williams brought in. And instead of buying that day for a few bucks, the book buyers set it aside, telling her they thought it might be worth more, and they’d like to get back to her. The novel eventually fetched $18,000 at auction, with Williams and Logos splitting the proceeds.
The 1989 earthquake dealt the store a big blow, but Livingston was able to buy a new building—its current three-story location with a basement, offices on top and a skylight that beams down the center on sunny afternoons. Business peaked in the mid-1990s, Livingston remembers, “and then all of a sudden the downloaded music started happening.”
Livingston cut back Logos’ rent in the following years. When the numbers dipped again, he stopped taking a salary. After that, he reduced the store’s rent some more. Then in the summer of 2015, used book sales began nosediving. At first it was only a few percentage points per month. But even that meant a serious blow for the part of the business that had, until then, appeared relatively resilient. Suddenly, one month saw a 12-percent drop in sales. “And hasn’t picked up,” he says. “I can’t look at very many months that have been up, and I can look at a lot of them that have been down.”
People’s reading habits have changed, Livingston says, and shoppers are browsing for books less than ever.
Livingston had once prided himself on paying well above minimum wage, but that became difficult to do, he says. He listed his business on the market for a year, and had some serious talks, but couldn’t secure a buyer.
“Essentially, the biggest problem is the rents downtown are high, and I own the building, and because I’m trying to retire, I need to get at least a reasonable market rate for the space,” he says. “The economics of a used book store now, especially of that size, just don’t work.”
Livingston has started looking for new tenants.
In order to reshape a used bookstore like his into something that might survive, Livingston says, it would have taken an owner with a different model, a lot of time and plenty money to experiment with.
Moscowitz of Moe’s Books in Berkeley says her shop is on a long lease, and the building is in a trust, but they are still constantly trying to keep up, even selling books on amazon.com. “We need that, but we don’t like it,” she says. “We have to stay in business, so you have to stay flexible to just keep moving along.”
Meanwhile, Livingston keeps hearing from distraught customers.
“They come in and say, ‘What am I going to do now?’ Or ‘I have no more reason to come downtown.’ I’ve heard that several times because it’s a unique store,” he says. “It’s one of the things that makes Santa Cruz different from other places. In that sense, it’s horrible. There aren’t many great bookstores left in the world. I consider this to be one of the best.”

[Drunk Monk]

First Logos and now Cafe Perg goes belly up. Downtown slowly devolves into another tourist strip mall...

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On the plus side, I can hear the Gin Blossoms at the boardwalk perfectly from my open bedroom window right now. Not that that I'm a fan, but at least it's live music.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, fuck.

I was cleaning up a bit and found a $12 credit for Logos. I rushed down there, but I was a day late and a credit short. It's dark and the day-glo banners lie crumpled at the bottom of the window displays. Fuck.

Cafe Pergolese closed too. That used to be my go-to hangout when I lived here 30 years ago. I still hit it up on occasion because it's across from the Well where Stacy works part time and for nostalia's sake. But their coffee and tea where mediocre at best. Still they had a funky old skool cafe atmosphere, the kind starfux can't replicate at all (btw, I pass the new starfux on my commute and it's always busy - if Verve goes down due to it, we all go down). Semi-fuck.

O'mei closed because it came out that the owner was a David Duke supporter and his staff walked out. I haven't eaten there since my grad school daze (menu too meaty & glutenny for us) but I used to train at O-mei Kung Fu (omei is a Chinese sacred mountain) and have a lot of school shirts. I'm stowing those with my Shaolin stuff that has swastikas. Fuckin nazis.

Don Quixotes (technically Scotts Valley but still Cruz) is changing to Flynns. They still promise to stage concerts and are upgrading their menu. I'm hopeful here because the old menu was greasy inauthentic Mexican - the new menu will be organic, gf, farm2table, and half veg although it will be a steakhouse. Jury is out on that one. Fuck pending but maybe not a fuck, maybe a yay.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Hail Verve! HAIL!

[Drunk Monk]

925 views|Aug 21, 2018,8:18 pm
Where To Sleep, Eat And Chill In Groovy Santa Cruz, California
David HochmanContributor
The worldview from Los Angeles



Old-fashioned thrills on the beach at the West Coast’s oldest amusement park.SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK AMUSEMENT PARK
Santa Cruz is California as you always pictured it. The beaches are big and beautiful, conversations skew to the left and toward the cosmic, and surfing matters way more than grinding 9 to 5. From the city’s historic beach boardwalk to the redwoods on campus at the University of California, the coastal town of 65,000 is laid back Cali quintessence at its grooviest, and worth a visit if you’ve never been.



STAY

Dream Inn brings a touch of sophistication to a town that takes its surf vibe seriouslyDREAM INN SANTA CRUZ
The city’s only hotel on the beach, Dream Inn has 165 surf-themed rooms with private balconies all looking out to Monterey Bay.  Flip-flops and tank tops are always welcome, though the cultivated and comfy retro-chic vibe makes the place hip enough for cool cats and inviting for families. Rooms are spacious with thoughtful touches like Keurig coffee makers, rain-shower shower heads and mid-century mod furnishings. Surf legend Jack O’Neill’s surf shop once stood on this site, and the hotel’s Jack O’Neill Lounge pays homage with kick-back concoctions like the MaiOhMaiTai. In warm weather, there’s a taco grill by the pool and 50s surf music, as if you needed more help getting in the spirit.





EAT
Expect a line, bring cash (no credit cards) and let the Santa Cruz magic do the rest. Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe is a super casual spot for breakfast and lunch, with a famous house cinnamon roll and bacon waffles worthy of the wait. The staff is impossibly friendly, and big tables of happy dudes in Old Guys Rule shirts will have you wondering if you’ve found your retirement paradise.
Lillian’s Italian Kitchen is an unpretentious bistro with way-better-than-average classics like lasagna and braised short rib ragu. The specialty is the house “Sunday gravy,” which is really just heaps of red sauce. You can slather up a meatball sandwich or have it in a pasta dish. Comfort food in a comfortable setting.
DO

Santa Cruz is the picture of California chill.DREAM INN SANTA CRUZ



The Beach Boardwalk Amusement Park, dating back to 1907, is the oldest on the West Coast, and has exactly the old-time-y, step-right-up atmosphere you’d expect. Cotton candy and taffy, teenagers clutching each other on first dates, grandma telling the kids to stop with the screaming. The Giant Dipper is a landmark 1924 wooden roller coaster, which, along with the 1911 carousel, is a National Historic Landmark.
If nothing else, walk the cliffs. West Cliff Drive is a three-mile dramatic walk and bike path with views to the waves and the curl of coastline. There’s a surf museum along the way, and some spooky old craftsman homes. The real draw is the people: jugglers, joggers, jokers and more than a few tokers.  
You’ve seen the bumper sticker. Why not experience the wackiness yourself? Santa Cruz’s Mystery Spot is the ultimate roadside throwback and an absolutely bonkers attraction if you think even two seconds about it. Open since 1940, the place bills itself as a “gravitational anomaly,” where compasses freak out and buildings lean in ways that make no sense. It’s all very pre-Internet, low-fi, super kitschy, and a must-visit in my book.
 
David Hochman covers the good life in Los Angeles and far beyond. Bylines: Forbes, GQ, New York Times, etc. See www.davidhochman.com. Tweets at @davidhochman and @letterfromla.

This Forbes report barely tried. Nevertheless the two places for eats are both a short walk from our bungalow, and both quite good, just in case any of you feel like stopping by.

[Greg]

All hail the Seabreeze and their cinnamon rolls.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Time for a meet-up!

[Drunk Monk]

All hail the Seabreeze and their cinnamon rolls.

Time for a meet-up!

Anytime brothers!  SIN-a-mon rolls are on me.   

As long as it's not syrup again...

[Drunk Monk]

Jordan Peele filming new movie in Santa Cruz



Actors and film crew of Jordan Peele’s new movie take over several blocks of the Seabright neighborhood to shoot a scene near the Seabright Beach entrance at East Cliff Drive and Cypress Avenue on Wednesday. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
By BAY AREA NEWS GROUP |
PUBLISHED: September 13, 2018 at 5:32 am | UPDATED: September 13, 2018 at 5:37 am
By Matthew Renda, Santa Cruz Sentinel
SANTA CRUZ – One of the hottest directors in Hollywood will be shooting his new film in Santa Cruz for the next three days, according to film crew members on location.
Jordan Peele, the acclaimed director of “Get Out” (2017), will film his much anticipated follow up in Santa Cruz, according to crew members working for the Universal Studios-backed production.
A film crew was setting up a car explosion scene on East Cliff Drive above Seabright Beach and near the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum on Wednesday afternoon. Filming will take place at various locations around Santa Cruz through Saturday, according to crew at the shoot.
Peele, who was a notable sketch comedian before turning to directing, won near universal acclaim for “Get Out,” his directorial debut that went on to garner about $175 million at the box office on its way to four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Peele.
The movie won praise from a range of critics for its deft and darkly satirical handling of race and class issues in America.
Peele has revealed little details regarding the follow up, tentatively titled “Deep Cuts” or “Us,” aside from saying he expects it to be tonally similar to “Get Out.”
“One thing I know is that this is genre and playing around with the thriller, horror, action, fun genre of intrigue is my favorite,” Peele told The Hollywood Reporter in February. “That’s my sweet spot. So I think tonally it should resemble “Get Out.”
“That said, I want to make a completely different movie. I want to address something different than race in the next one.”
Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss and Winston Duke from “Black Panther” are signed on to star in the film.
It’s been long known that Santa Cruz was on the list of locations for Peele’s production.
In August, casting directors Tracy Dixon and Kelly Hunt put out a call for extras for people living in and around Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz can boast of its horror movie bona fides.
“The Lost Boys,” the vampire horror classic from 1987 starring Cory Haim and Kiefer Sutherland, was shot almost entirely on location in town.
Several other major Hollywood productions have used the boardwalk and wave swept cliffs of Santa Cruz as a backdrop for their stories, including “Chasing Mavericks,” “Dangerous Minds,” the “Transfomers” spinoff “Bumblebee,” “The Sting II,”, the 1983 Clint Eastwood vehicle “Sudden Impact,” parts of the 1970s classic “Harold and Maude,” and “Back to the Beach” with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
Other movies shot in Santa Cruz include the cult classic “Killer Clowns from Outer Space” and “The Tripper.”