It's Hostel Territory by Montecito Journal

SANTA BARBARA

IT ’S

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every other week from pier to peak

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SURE, MATT MARQUIS’ NEW WAYFARER HAS A COMMUNITY KITCHEN, LAUNDRY, AND FIVE-BED DORM ROOMS, BUT IT ALSO OFFERS PRIVATE ROOMS WITH KING-SIZE BEDS, FREE WI-FI, AND 42-INCH HD-TVS... LET’S JUST SAY IT’S UNLIKE ANY HOSTEL YOU’VE EVER HEARD OF

HOSTEL

(STORY ON PAGE 14)

TERRITORY

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Content

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Sharon’s Take – In part two of a series, Sharon Byrne continues to pay mind to the state’s mental health dilemma and would-be solutions

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Behind The Vine – Hana-Lee Sedgwick has grape expectations when it comes to Santa Barbara winemaker Ernst Storm

State Street Scribe – Jeff Wing continues living in the past, this time traveling back in time to the 1500s, to uncover the mystique of Santa Barbara lore L etters to the Editor – Thanks for Team Jacob story; anonymous “no comprendo” El Sentin; Regine Astier on The Reckoning; Jose Arturo Ortiz de Martinez-Gallegos on homeless and housing; Edmund Geswein on Jeff Harding and the stock market

The Beer Guy – While watching beer take shape, aficionado Zach Rosen looks through the drinking glass and reveals some tools of the trade

15 Days a Week – If you’re seeking amusing and productive activities, Jeremy Harbin tells you where to go (in a positive way), what to do, precisely when and why

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Santa Barbara View – Sharon Byrne dishes out some dining advice: feast your eyes on Sal’s Italian cuisine on Milpas; and Cheri Rae expounds on the library from cover to cover

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In The Zone – Tommie Vaughn checks out SB’s new hostel, The Wayfarer, and discovers it’s nothing like her visions of an old-school European hostel

Presidio Sports – Barry Punzal previews the UCSB men’s soccer season, chats up members of the SB Junior Lifeguard program and volleyballers Todd Rogers and Theo Brunner, while John Dvorak spotlights runner Cooper Farrell

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Man About Town – Mark Léisuré laughs about the LOL Comedy Festival; Ron White at Chumash; for PCPA, all the coast’s a stage; love at the New Vic; seeing Blind Tiger

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Keepin’ It Reel – James Luksic finds some Magic in the Moonlight, strolls Into The Storm, and turns away The Giver Real Estate Snapshot – Kelly Mahan’s latest chronicle of the housing market concludes sales and inventory have decreased while prices have spiked Up Close – Jacquelyn De Longe chats with Brian Mathusek and Merry Young, the harmonious brains behind Mutiny Studios

Mad Science – What is on Rachelle Oldmixon’s methodical mind? The brain – now that’s using her head.

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You Have Your Hands Full – Amid climbing and canyoning, Mara Peters surveys the peaks and valleys of Argentiere Food File – Christina Enoch ventures to Solvang, where she discovers they’re makin’ bacon and the brine is fine

Stylin’ and Profilin’ – As always, Megan Waldrep is on the trail of fashion – this time with trailblazers Caroline Calvin and Joie Rucker, the brains behind Calvin Rucker

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The Weekly Capitalist – Jeff Harding delves into the sands of time with a historical mindset, dissecting the Middle East and explaining what it means to the U.S.

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by Sharon Byrne

take

Sharon’s education in engineering and psychology gives her a distinctive mix of skills for writing about and working on quality-of-life, public safety and public policy issues. Her hyper-local SB View column can be found every other week on page 12.

Part II: The Bait and Switch

“U

ntreated mental illness is the leading cause of disability and suicide and imposes high costs on state and local government... State and county governments are forced to pay billions of dollars each year in emergency medical care, long-term nursing home care, unemployment, housing, and law enforcement, including juvenile justice, jail and prison costs.” From the California Mental Health Services Act, passed in 2004. A decade after the Mental Health Services Act’s passage, I saw a homeless man wandering my street, screaming to no one about media lies. I walked my dog that night with a neighbor. As we passed by Chapala One, I saw this same homeless fellow sleeping in the garage entry. He was intoxicated. I wondered again why this man was in my neighborhood, obviously in need of mental health assistance. And what should I do? For the second time that day, I questioned whether I should call the police. The guy is trespassing.

But what’s this going to accomplish, really? What would the police do with him? Cite and release? Book him into jail? Relocate him to some other neighborhood? None of those are a solution. From the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA): (d) In a cost-cutting move 30 years ago, California drastically cut back its services in state hospitals for people with severe mental illness. Thousands ended up on the streets homeless and incapable of caring for themselves. Today, thousands of suffering people remain on our streets because they are afflicted with untreated severe mental illness. We can and should offer these people the care they need to lead more productive lives. (e) With effective treatment and support, recovery from mental illness is feasible for most people. (f) By expanding programs that have demonstrated their effectiveness, California can save lives and money. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment provided in an

integrated service system is very effective; and by preventing disability, it also saves money. Cutting mental health services wastes lives and costs more. California can do a better job saving lives and saving money by making a firm commitment to providing timely, adequate mental health services. Sounds good, doesn’t? The voters in 2004 thought so, too…. So if we have the ability to provide “timely, adequate mental health services” from taxing millionaires in this state, then why is that homeless man shouting the odds in my street clearly in need of mental health services? The act provides for oversight with a committee comprised of 16 individuals including a small-business rep, large business, county sheriff, labor union, two persons with severe mental illness, a mental health professional, a school superintendent, a physician specializing in alcohol and drug treatment, and a rep with a heath services insurer. Santa Barbara County sheriff Bill Brown sits on this oversight committee. In 2009, Rose King, an author of the original act, filed a complaint against the state Department of Mental Health. Moving far away from the promise of acute mental health care, MHSA spending was turning into a boondoggle for mental health service providers. King says, “They produce films, PSAs, fund lots of conferences, and distribute grants to every

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interest group, which succeeded in getting them all on board with program: NAMI CA, Children and Family Advocates, Mental Health Associations, of course. And they all conduct conferences, trainings, promotional campaigns, etc.” Services to be provided under the MHSA are at the counties’ discretion to plan and execute. The state’s Department of Mental Health and the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission were supposed to provide oversight and direction of county implementations of the MHSA. So how did counties move from funding acute mental health to putting on conferences and de-stigmatization campaigns? The act was further weakened legislatively. On March 24, 2011, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 100 (AB 100) into law. Changes to the MHSA included the elimination of review and approval of county MHSA plans by the DMH and the MHSOAC. So there went oversight. Open season! Come all takers! The Department of Mental Health was then eliminated by Governor Brown as part of his budget reforms in 201213. Its services were transferred to other departments, mainly the Department of Health Care Services. We’re still collecting money for Prop 63. Oversight has been weakened. So who’s in charge, and where is all the money going? The answer in Part III.

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STATE STREET SCRIBE by Jeff Wing

Jeff is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. A long-time resident of SB, he takes great delight in chronicling the lesser known facets of this gaudy jewel by the sea. Jeff can be reached at jeffwingg@gmail.com

Carl and the Passions: Colonists Disavow Violence and Stuff

n 1542, a landing party of Spanish Explorers under the leadership of a certain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo waded blearily ashore in their puffy sleeves and curly tin hats, planted a little Spanish flag and exhaustedly fell face-first into some of the most undervalued real estate then on the planet. When they were able to gather themselves again, they organized a scouting party, their faith in Manifest Destiny surely emboldened when they found themselves crossing Cabrillo Boulevard. There are few heavenly portents as bracing to a Soldier of God as arriving in a faraway land to find the streets are already named after you. They fanned out with a new confidence, but did not yet remove their pewter shin guards. Dropping anchor, they’d seen movement along the shore. This untapped stretch of Alta California was likely inhabited by savages. It would be another 60 years before the place would actually be christened

Santa Barbara by another Olde-Worlde Nervous Nellie making hasty promises to a saint if she would just spare his ass from drowning in the freak storm that was swamping his ship. In 1592, though, the abundant charms of the unnamed future bed-tax experiment were already in evidence. A broad, verdant plain sloped gently upward from the beach into rolling foothills and thence into the lower reaches of a sun-washed, handsome range of pastel-colored mountains teeming with wildlife, the streams so crowded with steelhead trout the dour-faced fish could be heard begging each other’s pardon as they jostled for space. The shoreline was alive with otter and seal, the sandy channel floor a carpet of abalone, clams and urchins – the place was a cornucopia whose bounty could surely never be fully sown. The stunned and up-armored European arrivistes had just begun to fully grasp the scale of the largesse Providence had

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laid before them when the welcoming committee arrived – bronzed men, women, and children bearing bowls of beads, acorns, glistening seashells. And they were singing. The men wore hawk and woodpecker and eagle feathers and little else; the women demure deerskin skirts. The soon-to-be-vanquished hosts proffered their goods to the Spaniards, who kept their faces impassive but glanced at each other sideways. You seeing this? When the Spaniards finally began to chortle and then laugh uncontrollably, their new hosts joined in, setting down the bowls so as not to scatter the gifts through carelessness. In the ensuing decades, the Old and New worlds collided predictably here on the Central Coast, and progress fanned out over the region like a napalm attack. It’s a familiar trope, this one – Europe came to the new world with rapacious designs on the Rousseauian primitives here and proceeded to have their way. This does neatly sum up a longer, richer, and sloppier narrative. The human animal wages war as a matter of anthropological inertia. The Native American tribes had been warring on a necessarily more humane scale (owing to the absence of gunpowder and propaganda machinery, at first) for untold centuries before the bad guys arrived from The Continent and really got down to the Diphtheria-Blanket nadir of covetousness, murder, and God-approved thievery. And the Indians lost, their cultural reduction perhaps most tellingly announced by today’s transnational native adoption of the Casino as the top-of-mind symbol that informs an increasingly blithe public’s view of these First Americans. The serpent entered the despoiled Native American garden, broadly speaking. It’s a fact they had little choice but to embrace the invader, so thoroughly had they been defeated or assimilated. Spain in the late-18th century was protecting its interests in Alta California, ultimately constructing in our area both a yin and yang; a mission and an army fort; sort of a cake-and-eat-it-too proposition. The Chumash received the blessings of Christ only hesitantly, at first, though they did heed the instruction of James to be slow to anger, a New Testament admonition that ultimately did not work in their favor. In the mid-1980s Spain came calling again, this time to give Santa Barbara some aggrandizing sugar in the form of a one-ton Spanish selfie. Twentieth-century Spain was pleased with the startling, blue-chip outcome of its stumbling and occasionally brutal little Santa Barbara expedition of several hundred years before. To register their affection for their own gilded foresight, they presented 20thcentury Santa Barbara with an unwieldy statue of good King Juan Carlos III, under whose reportedly enlightened tutelage our town was given substance back in the day. The Spanish government’s impulse

to promote its former glory was on our aesthetic dime. The grand black statue of Spanish colonial King Juan Carlos III was installed atop an ostentatious pedestal in the middle of Santa Barbara’s shopping district, of all places, little Storke Placita barely able to contain this towering token of Spanish self-congratulation. Thank you, Spain. In return, we give you the Dumbo ride from our beloved Disneyland. The statue was a gem, and harkened back to a time when people cared about and occasionally looked at statues. In the piece, King Carlos is looking dreamily away like the bass player in a local band photo-shoot. He is big-nosed and regal, with the tiny mouth and laissez-faire eyes of a drowsy enlightened despot. The sculptor managed to imbue in his subject a posture that evokes someone sweeping into a dinner party in a Carly Simon song. In fairly short order, the statue came under attack, of course, representing as it did all that was wrong with our city, state, and country’s provenance. The King Carlos statue became the target of untoward political commentary, often dressed up in sad rags, scarred with graffiti, daubed with excrement; an awkward display of spleen from a people who have benefitted from the frank colonial thievery they now gathered to tearily decry. These protestors with their placards and selfrighteous little cups of carefully curated excrement, these Abercrombie & Fitch nativists were not clad in the sympatico woodpecker feathers one might expect, but rather in the Bangladeshi, Taiwanese, and Pakistani stitchwork of the very Globalist/Imperialist impulse they have made it their mission to dismantle. Much of what these sympathetic souls own, wear, drive and eat devolve from the downfall of the Chumash they pretend to venerate, and whose purloined State of California the neatly-combed, middle, upper-middle, and upper-caste protestors are never heard to suggest returning to the now Blackjack-maddened First Americans. Ahem. It is a puzzle. And so it was that a morally outraged Santa Barbara citizenry rose up against a long-dead Spanish king. The besieged and excrement-daubed statue was struck down from its pedestal near present-day Blenders in the Grass and that institution’s spirit of Warren Beatty, and secreted away to a location more discreet and less likely to invite the slings and arrows of the Offended. The good king can now be found cowering (grandly, you know) in a dusty little courtyard behind the scale model Presidio on East Canon Perdido, the Spanish fort mockup itself considered odious by the Nordstrom set who would rather not be reminded from whose First American loins their good fortune has sprung, or been sprung. This is our world. A big, wet rock that only makes what sense we can bring to it. Wish us luck. And have mercy on the Conqueror and the Conquered alike. They both paid for your groceries.

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Letters

Although you might not believe it, we actually want to hear from you. So if you have something you think we should know about or you see something we've said that you think is cretinous (or perspicacious, to be fair), then let us know. There's no limit on words or subject matter, so go ahead and let it rip to: Santa Barbara Sentinel, Letters to the Editor, 133 East De La Guerra Street, No. 182, Santa Barbara, California 93101. You can also leap into the 21st century and email us at tim@santabarbarasentinel.com.

Great Gratitude

just want to extend my family’s deep thanks and appreciation for the phenomenal cover story you ran on your latest issue of the Sentinel (# 3/16) about the Join Jacob Team. This kind of coverage, leading up to the triathlon, is more than we could have hoped for and our whole team is extremely excited. You should see how many texts and emails I have received today about your cover story. These kids are pretty remarkable, and the best part in all of this is that they are testing themselves, learning to help others, and having a great time in the process. Thank you again for your support. Warmly, Jennifer Mansbach Santa Barbara (Editor’s note: Well, we’re thrilled that you are thrilled. Jacob Mansbach is certainly one role model I wouldn’t mind my own son emulating. Maybe there is something to this “good parenting” after all... – TLB)

No Me Gusta

I didn’t pick up the Sentinel during Fiesta, because the half-fold display issue looked like a typical Spanish-language paper. I wondered if you had gone out of business but then finally got around to checking the website. Not sure that worked for you. J. Santa Barbara (Editor’s note: There were other readers – and Sentinel staffers if truth be told – who shared your fears. We did it last year as kind of a joke, with Matt in a sombrero and Fiesta finery and it worked, so we thought we’d try it again. The issue moved well, so it probably didn’t hurt us. Maybe, however, we won’t do it again next year. – TLB)

In the Books

A fascinating new book by UC history professor Jacob Soll, The Reckoning, Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations (Basic Books, 2014) made me wonder: does our thirsty Town Hall keep a double-entry book of its debits

and credits? Are these books ever audited? Does anyone know for sure? Grateful for a reply. Regine Astier Santa Barbara (Editor’s note: We’ll try to get a good answer from Jeff Harding, the Sentinel’s resident Capitalist. In the meantime, any city that pays its “civil servants” the kind of salaries and benefits Santa Barbara does – safety dispatchers making $73,000 a year retire on $109,504-a-year “pensions” – is likely to declare bankruptcy at some point regardless of double-entry bookkeeping or lack of audits. – TLB)

Knock Knock. Who’s There? Nobody

In response to Sharon Byrne’s Santa Barbara View: “Wins and Setbacks: Solving Chronic Homelessness is as Hard as We Thought” (Sentinel # 3/15). I just want to say that I am not going to attack Sharon and the Milpas Outreach Project. For one, she is my good friend, and two, she is trying her best to help the chronic homelessness in the Milpas area. But who is going to help those who are homeless with disabilities and senior citizens with disabilities who are not drug addicts and alcoholics, and get them into housing? I will tell you who. Absolutely no one. Because we are not drug addicts and we are not alcoholics. So, therefore we are not the moneymakers for the non-profits and government agencies who work in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation. “The revolving door” commonly known as repeat failure. For instance, if I crawl into a bottle of alcohol every day and night and do drugs as well, get arrested, rearrested, show up in court, or don’t show up, then someone comes along and tells me we can help you, get you into a program, and get you into housing in 18 months. And guess what? As time goes by, I am back at it again. Lose my housing, back in the streets doing drugs and alcohol. Once ...continued p.29

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BEHIND THE VINE

by Hana-Lee Sedgwick Hana-Lee Sedgwick is a digital advertising executive by day and wine consultant and blogger by night. Born and raised in Santa Barbara, she fell in love with the world of wine while living in San Francisco after college. Hana-Lee loves to help people learn about and appreciate wine, putting her Sommelier certification to good use. When not trying new wines or traveling, she can be found practicing yoga, cooking, entertaining, and enjoying time with friends and family. For more information and wine tips, visit her blog, Wander & Wine, at wanderandwine.com.

Taken by Storm, the Wine is Fine

Winemaker Ernst Storm hails from South Africa

Uncork your favorite bottle and tip a glass

grew up in Santa Barbara, but moved away long before I was old enough to drink wine. Now that I know a thing or two about wine (and am well past the legal drinking age), I’m happy to be back in my hometown exploring the unique wines of this region. Even though the wine scene here has grown exponentially, it seems more and more winemakers are producing more focused wines that showcase Santa Barbara’s varied microclimates and soils, and doing a mighty fine job at it. Ernst Storm is one of these winemakers.

Originally from South Africa, Ernst has been on the SBC wine scene for a few years now, first at Firestone then at Curtis Winery. With dreams of making handcrafted wines that express the diversity of the Santa Ynez Valley, he started his own label on the side with grapes he purchased from Le Bon Climat Vineyard. In 2006, Storm Wines started with three barrels of Pinot Noir, but has since grown to a 2,000-case production to include a Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and several different Pinots. He also recently

co-founded a brand-new wine label with Les Marchands’ Eric Railsback called Notary Public. They produce Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon (which can be found at the new SB Wine Collective in The Funk Zone), also at about 2,000 cases. He’s certainly a busy guy! I was able to spend an afternoon with Ernst tasting through his line-up of Storm and Notary Public wines and chatting about his winemaking philosophy. Using Old and New World techniques to create terroir-driven wines, he sources grapes from different parts of the valley with the goal of creating balanced wines with distinct personalities – wines that convey a real sense of place. Most importantly, Ernst is making wine that he enjoys and believes in. Respect! I first tasted the 2013 Storm Sauvignon Blanc ($23), made from grapes that come from four corners of the Santa Ynez Valley, representing the distinct characteristics of each growing area. Occupying 50 percent of Storm’s production, this is by far his most popular wine. It’s fresh and juicy, with tropical flavors that beg for sunshine and a picnic! Next, the 2013 Notary Public Chenin Blanc ($28). The grapes for this wine were SITE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS 50 + YEARS EXPERIENCE - LOCAL 35+ YEARS

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grown in the minerally soils of the Jurassic Park Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. With hints of apricot and white peach, it’s a fresh wine with nice texture and depth, dancing around in your mouth and leaving you wanting another sip. I also tasted a few 2012 reds, which all seem to showcase the Santa Ynez Valley without being over-ripe with fruit. The 2012 Storm Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills ($50) is a classically styled Pinot with great aromas of dried cranberries and earthy undertones. A touch of new French oak adds some depth, making it totally approachable now but ageable. His 2012 Storm Grande Marque Rouge ($35) is a blend of 43 percent Mourvèdre, 29 percent Grenache, 14 percent Syrah and 14 percent Cinsault. This is an unpretentious, fun blend that has great dark-cherry flavors and wellintegrated tannins. Super-easy drinking, this would be a good dinner party wine. And hey, it even comes with a conversation starter: Ernst made the label himself using a large sheet of paper, some barrels, buckets, red wine and an iPhone camera. Talk about resourceful! Lastly, the 2012 Notary Public Cabernet ($28) from Happy Canyon. This showcases the Valley’s bright fruit but has herbaceous, savory notes with wellbalanced oak nuances. A quality Cab at a decent price. Across the board, Ernst Storm’s wines tend to have low alcohol, nice acid and a certain freshness that can easily be identified as his style. He’s passionate, down-to-earth, and I appreciate his dedication to his craft and vision. To find Storm and Notary Public wines, you can visit some of Santa Barbara’s best restaurants, like Julienne, The Lark, bouchon, and Arlington Tavern, to name a few, or head to the SB Wine Collective for a tasting of Notary Public wines (the label is so new that there isn’t even a website yet). Cheers!

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by Zach Rosen

The Right Tool for the Job

aving the right beer for the right glass is a pleasure often overlooked by bars. Many places will clumsily pour beer into pints with little regard to what beer they are pouring in there. Each beer has its ideal glass. The generic “pint” glass used in America is often called a shaker pint because it originated as the bottom portion of a Boston Shaker, the two-piece shaker set that has a metal container on the bottom and a glass top. This means it was designed for cocktail mixing and was never intended for beer. Bars and restaurants began putting beer in them simply because they are cheap, easy to stack, and durable. And, hey, technically it can hold liquid so what’s the difference between that and any other glass? Right? There are many factors that go into determining a suitable glass, but you may be wondering if it is even necessary to put beer in a glass. While eating or drinking, anywhere from 60-85 percent of the flavor of a food or drink comes from the aroma and not the taste. There are respiratory passageways connecting the nose and tongue. As you swallow, aroma vapors rise into your nasal tracts and stimulate your aroma receptors. A foam head is critical for the aesthetic value of the beer and for the aroma. The wall of a bubble is composed of barley malt protein and the bittering acids from hops. As a bubble bursts, it releases aroma particles. Without a foam head, the aroma will not quite have the same punch. In addition, pouring beer into a glass pushes off carbonation which stimulates the aroma and helps make the beer less gassy. Drinking from the bottle restricts these aromas. When you’re drinking from the bottle, the beer will be less flavorful and more filling.

The Shape of Things

If ordering a beer on draft, obviously you want a full pour to make sure you are getting your money’s worth. However, if the beer is in a bottle then make sure to not fill the glass all the way to the top while pouring it. The empty space in your glass allows aroma particles to collect, concentrating and improving the aroma of a beer. As you drink out of the glass, this empty space increases and can change the aroma. A beer can smell different when filled to different levels of the glass. This is due to the shape of the glass. As aroma particles rise through the glass, their flow patterns are sculpted and molded by its wall. The speed of the aroma particles will vary at different widths of the glass. This is Bernoulli’s Principle at work.

This idea relates the pressure and speed of fluid movement. An increase in pressure is balanced by a decrease in speed and vice versa. As the width of a glass widens or narrows, the glass wall will affect the pressure and speed of the aroma particles. For example, straight-sided glasses do not differ in width, and the aromas will move at a steady rate. A stange, meaning a pole or rod in German, is a slim, straightsided glass typically used for the German beer style kölsch. These glasses look like the orange juice glass you would see on a breakfast table – and

Zach Rosen is a Certified Cicerone® and beer educator living in Santa Barbara. He uses his background in chemical engineering and the arts to seek out abstract expressions of beer and discover how beer pairs with life.

funny enough, kolsch and scrambled eggs are a great way to start a lazy Sunday. This bright beer style has a crisp malt character and a hint of grain and sulfur. The light, volatile aroma is easily emphasized in the ...continued p.22

Pilsner glasses emphasize the crisp, floral aroma of the style

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15•Days• a•Week We Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Love, Babe…

by Jeremy Harbin

Want to be a part of Fifteen Days A Week?

Space is limited, but if you have an event, exhibit, performance, book signing, sale, opening, trunk show or anything else interesting or creative that readers can attend, let us know at 805-845-1673 or email us at tim@santabarbarasentinel.com. We’ll consider all suggestions, but we will give extra consideration to unusual events and/or items, especially those accompanied by a good visual, particularly those that have yet to be published.

Saturday

Tuesday

Come on Ride That Train, It’s the Choo Choo Train

What’s Good?

August 23

As our minds become more oriented to the instantaneous super speed of life on the Internet – where journalists upload articles directly from their iPhones, bypassing anyone with “editor” in his or her title and garnering dashed-off comments from hundreds of angry people – it can be difficult to remember: I’m writing you from the past. Yes, a distant past – several days ago, in fact. I am a ghost in the printing press, not a person anymore – at least not the same one I will be by the time you read this. Days from now, a week even, who will I be? How will constant reportage from our fractured world affect the message, the tone, the essence of what I’d have my past-self me write to your current-self you? This obfuscating toeing of the analog-digital line is a curse to all media, but especially to the craft of calendar writing. So, unable to predict the future, I give you: miniature train rides. Surely, no matter the horrors that befall the free world between the fading past of now and the dimly lit future of then, a half-mile ride on a miniature train will suit you. It’s the Goleta Short Line, and its tracks are laid throughout the grounds of Goleta’s South Coast Railroad Museum (300 North Los Carneros Road). Today from 1 to 3:45 pm, you and your kids can ride it for free as many times as you want. It seems a fitting place – a moving train – to meditate on the struggles of the calendar writer that I’ve discussed here; let the locomotive, that great symbol of hope, innovation, and discovery, circle you into your own future. And then do it again, and again, and again.

Sunday August 24

They’ve Got… Oh, Forget It

To kick off this entry about something called the Hungry Cat Crabfest, I’m tempted to make a joke about “crabs,” hinting oh-so subtly at the sexually transmitted variety. But I’m better than that, and so are you. Also, I try to shy away from jokes that places like Joe’s Crab Shack perfected years ago. It’s that old calendar writer’s adage: If frat boys wear the joke on a novelty T-shirt, it’s best to keep it out of the calendar listings. So it’s without double-entendre that I tell you that from noon to 5 pm today, you can get crabs at Les Marchands Wine Bar and Merchant (131 Anacapa Street). Pick up your tickets in person only at Hungry Cat (1134 Chapala Street).

Monday

August 26

Did you eat too much during Fourth Monday yesterday? Are you feeling like you need some fresh fruits and vegetables to get you feeling good so you can go out next Monday and do it all again? Then you need – wait, did you answer yes? You did? Great! Then you need to climb onto your Schwinn and pedal yourself right on down to the State Street Farmers Market. It’s on the 500600 blocks of State Street, and it’s waiting for you to come have your pick of all that’s fresh and seasonal. Cucumbers? Maybe. Lettuce? Probably so. Squash? I think those grow in the fall. Not sure, though. Tomatoes? It seems likely. Strawberries? I hope so. I’m really bad at remembering what’s in season. Thing is: I don’t have to. The farmers of the farmers market do that for me. See you there!

Wednesday August 27

Language Skills and Alcohol

Hey everybody, look around you: What street do you live on? De La Vina? Well, guess what? That’s in Spanish. Hey, where’d you get that taco? A taqueria? Guess what, dawg? “Taqueria” is the Spanish word for taqueria. Oh, hey, tell me: in which area of town would you like to buy a nice parcel of land one day a few years from now when your career is going well and you’ve found someone to settle down with? The Mesa?! Bro, “mesa” is a Spanish word. You guys, one last question: What town is this? Santa Barbara, right? Guess what? That’s Spanish! So why the heck don’t you speak Spanish? You should change that by going to Aprender y Beber at 5:30 pm at Milk and Honey (30 West Anapamu Street). There, you’ll speak with people at your level of Spanish knowledge with the help of a Spanish instructor, all while enjoying a cocktail. It costs $20, so I assume it comes with at least one drink, but I can’t find that in writing anywhere. What can I say? We all have different skills, people. That’s what makes the world go ‘round. Nos vemos allí (is what Google translate told me is Spanish for “see you there”)!

Thursday August 28

August 25

Coast Busters

Fourth Monday

It’s the fourth and last Monday of the month, and all true 15 Days heads will know exactly why I bring up that cold, hard fact: because on Fourth Monday, we choose a restaurant that’s open on Mondays and then we go eat there. We do this all to say “thank you” to those select few restaurants that aren’t afraid of Mondays, those special spots that know our hunger doesn’t end as the workweek begins. Today, we’re getting in our smart cars and defensively driving ourselves straight over to Chuck’s Waterfront Grill (113 Harbor Way). They start serving dinner at 5 pm, and I can’t wait to wrap my lips around that “Chuck’s Style” halibut. Cheers!

1431 San Andres Street

Last week, I told you about Municipal Winemakers’ (22 Anacapa Street) Sunday vinyl event, Winyl. This week, you should know about their summer movie series that they’ve dubbed Muvies. If you’re wondering what tonight’s movie is, you only have to continue wondering from now until the end of this sentence, because I’m going to type the name of the movie just beyond this colon: Groundhog Day. Why Groundhog Day? Because Bill Murray stars in it, and everyone born between 1982 and 1993 who looks like they could be in a Wes Anderson movie (read: the culturally cognizant set down at Municipal who bought red beanies after they saw The Life Aquatic) decided to worship Bill Murray after he was in his first Wes Anderson movie. I’m talking about the Wesandersonization of the nation, folks. It’s the force that made everything from food to rock music affected and dainty and written in Futura. It’s taken its toll and then its retreat – if the wind I’ve lifted my wet finger to can be trusted – but I’m not the zeitgeist police, so go on down to Muni at sundown, buy a glass or two of wine, and watch the movie for free – keeping the flames of Bill Murray fandom stoked for another day.

Friday August 29

Food and Music

BoHenry’s www.bohenry.com

How about going to SOhO Restaurant and Music Club (1221 State Street) tonight for happy hour at 5, and then sticking around to see some bands play? Doesn’t that sound like fun? So what if you don’t know anything about the bands – that’s the fun part. Maybe they’ll stink, but maybe they’ll be the best bands you ever heard. There’s absolutely no way to know unless you go. Think about that: You could be missing out on your favorite band of all time by not showing up tonight. What else do you have to do on a Friday night? Go to dinner? Lame. Dinner’s for chumps. The foodie thing is over. Just look at the line going out the door of the tattoo removal place: Goodbye bacon tat, goodbye slice of pizza, goodbye full sleeve of vegetables. The kids are into music again, man, and they’re all at SOhO tonight for a band called Helo, whose bio reads like so: “Helo is a band based in Santa Barbara that has been jamming out folk-rock tunes since the early 2010s.” You

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hear that? Early 2010s! These guys are so punk they don’t even want to tell you which year early on in this decade they started up in! “Oh, hey, when did you guys start up? 2010s? Which year in particular?” (That’s you sheepishly approaching the band, trying to hang after their set. Here’s their punk-as-all-get-out response to you.) “An early one and that’s all you need to know! Now get out of our faces!” Also playing: Dan Perea, Lynette Gaona, and Sol Tree. Music starts at 6:30 pm; get your tix at the door. Also, if you’re not into the bands, SOhO has $5 deals on really great food until 8 pm.

Saturday August 30 Tequila!

You’ve seen the hilarious T-shirts, dropped a 15-dollar bill to take an XXL home with you, and worn it out every time you hang with your old college bro Todd: “One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor” it reads in high-quality screen printing. And the cool thing about Todd – besides his sweet home studio set up where you guys lay down hot beats over cold brews sometimes – is that he always laughs at that T-shirt. And he loves tequila. Good ol’ Todd. Well, today, Todd’s in for a real treat, because when you surprise him with tickets to the Santa Barbara Tequila Harvest Festival, you’ll both be saying “one tequila, two tequila, three tequila… more!” That’s right; the Tequila Festival will offer more than 50 tequilas and mezcals to sample, plenty of food from local hotspots, and live entertainment. It all goes down from 4 to 7 pm in Elings Park (1298 Las Positas Road). The VIP tickets are already sold-out, so direct your browser to www.agaveavenue.com to grab what’s left.

Sunday August 31

Grape Party in the Valley

It’s Sunday again, so here’s what you do: First, sneak out of church during the closing hymn so you don’t get stuck fellowshipping with people. Go home, take off your khakis, burn them, and put on your wine-drinkin’ pants and driving gloves. Why the gloves? Because today is a Santa Ynez Valley day. We’re all going up for Sevtap Winery’s (100 Los Padres Way #4, Buellton) Grape Stomp Party. What to expect: wine, food, and grape stomping – but you probably figured all that. It starts at 5:30 pm, so you’ve got plenty of time to head there and maybe eat an after-church lunch at one of the Valley’s mighty fine dining establishments. Go to www.sevtapwinery.com to get your tickets.

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Monday September 1 Night Two

So you went to the SY Valley yesterday instead of going to see local froubadour Jack Johnson, huh? (Not a misspelling back there, by the way, but a combo of “frou-frou” and “troubadour”… is it no good if it doesn’t work unless it’s explained? No matter. I really stuck it to him with that one either way! Got you, Jack! Now, can I borrow $3 million? Let’s go surfing together!) Well, good news for you: You’ve got another chance to see the local legend of breezy guitar plucking tonight at 6:30. Disciples ALO will open. So go, dig the chill vibes, and let JJ’s music wash over you like a gentle ocean mist deposits its salty dew onto a Corona bottle stuck in the sand. Or… drive to the Santa Ynez Valley again. I don’t care. It’s your life. Tickets at www.sbbowl.com.

Tuesday September 2 More is More

To celebrate its anniversary, the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art has taken a cue from the number of years it’s been around and just run plumb wild. It’s the museum’s fifth anniversary, so the folks there went ahead and named an exhibit 5x5: Celebrating Five Years, and it involves more than 300 5” by 5” artworks from mostly local artists. It opens up August 28, but the artist reception takes place tonight. (That’s a lot of artists to rub elbows with. Smile and repeat after me: “Tell me about your process.”) There will be live music, and it’s free. If you like what you see, you can bid on the art at www.westmontmuseum.org/5x5. ...continued p.13

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Santa Barbara’s Online Magazine, Published Twice Daily

by Sharon Byrne

sbview.com

Sal’s Pizza: An American Story on the Eastside Sal says the secret to flavorful pizza is to “keep it thin”

From Mexico to Santa Barbara and Italy, with love

Sharon Byrne

Sharon Byrne is executive director for the Milpas Community Association, and currently serves on the Advisory Boards for the Salvation Army Hospitality House and Santa Barbara County Alcohol and Drug Problems.

sbview.com I

f you’re looking to try some authentic Italian pizza with terrific ingredients, stop in and see Sal. Across from the iconic cow on Milpas, Sal’s is celebrating 10 years in business. “It’s been a roller-coaster at times, but you have to roll with the changes,” Sal

grins. As the only Italian eatery on Milpas’ Eat Street, he is sitting quite comfortably in his own niche. Sal arrived in Santa Barbara 28 years ago from Mexico. He’s a Salvador, but acts more like a Salvatore. Various cooking jobs brought him into contact with an Italian

MASSAGES FACIALS WAXING BODY TREATMENTS

chef in Montecito, where Sal discovered a love of Italian food and found his inner genius. Mexican guy becomes American and cooks Italian – a truly American story. One of the lures of Sal’s is the array of fresh ingredients at the disposal of the modern pizza constructionist: fresh basil, roasted red pepper, eggplant, artichoke hearts, and gorgonzola, to name a few. Crusts are thin, the Italian way. “Thick crusts tend to bland out the pizza,” says Sal. “You want to taste the full flavor of the pizza, so keep it thin.” For those that have spent time in the northeastern U.S., the Pizza Bianca will be a welcome treat. Known as White Pizza from Boston to New Jersey, it’s made with Alfredo sauce. Sal’s Alfredo recipe was recently featured in Pizza Today, a pizza industry magazine. An Italian exchange student came in with a Swede once. Sal sees quite a bit of the international student traffic. The

Swede asked the Italian, ‘What are you doing? You’re from Italy! Why eat here?’ The Italian said wistfully, “I am far from home. I just want to taste something like it.” He told Sal afterward that it was the best Italian pizza he’d had in Santa Barbara, and was quite close to what he ate in his small Italian hometown. Sal also sees a lot of English tourists(!). Apparently they tell each other where to go and what to eat when visiting Santa Barbara, and Sal’s is clearly on their hot list. Popular dishes may raise some eyebrows, like the Cajun Chicken Fettuccini. Who doesn’t like a little N’awlins in your Italian, and more of that unique American penchant for mixing it all up in one big melting pot? Sal has a reputation for being one of the nicest guys on Milpas. He has long been involved in our community activities, and is a strong supporter of efforts to revitalize the area. Like most of the Milpas merchants, he loves kids. Munching on one of his fabulous pies one day, I asked him about it. He’s got three wonderful kids and a wife helping in the business – it’s a true family enterprise. But why step up so much for the neighborhood? He smiled as his eyes twinkled. “We have nothing to lose and everything to gain in coming together as a community. How could I resist?”

An Appreciation: The Library

by Cheri Rae he very thought of the library brings me back to my childhood, when I rode my bike to the local great sanctuary of books, with the cool air, the quiet rooms,

...continued p.25

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Wednesday

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for sale/lease

� 2 ,9 8 9 sf o f f i c e

2 6 w. a n a pa m u st. , t h i r d f lo o r

September 3 Comedy is Hard

Who here likes to laugh out loud (LOL)? I know I do. So if you, like me, enjoy laughing out loud (LingOL), then you’ll want to get yourself to one, two, or both of the LOL Comedy Festival events at the Lobero Theatre today. The whole thing kicks off at 8 pm with Next Up Stand Up, a show of up-and-coming comedy and music acts that will have you in stitches and in whatever music has you in when it’s good. Then at 10 pm, it’s Super Naked, a show imported from L.A. that also promises big laughs and great tunes. Go to www.lobero.com for your tickets and a full list of festival events. My sincere apologies for this entry being really unfunny; I think I got intimidated about trying to be funny while writing about actual comedians. But, hey, if these entries were all great, you wouldn’t recognize the truly great ones when you saw ‘em, know what I’m saying? I’ll try harder next year.

Thursday

Downtown Business District Location

Cherry Picking

▶ Located adjacent to public parking and walking distance to State Street, courthouse and the Santa Barbara Public Market

▶ Elegant, class “A” office space with 9 private offices, large conference room, bull-pen, 2 private restrooms and sophisticated reception area

September 4

I’ve not familiar with Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, but I do know this: If there’s a gun in the first act, someone’s going to fire it in the second or third. Or something like that. Look, I’m just a calendar writer. I can’t be expected to quote these people with any real accuracy. You know who can, though? The folks in the Lit Moon theater company. They’ll be able to quote Chekhov, because they memorized one of his plays and will go on stage to recite it in a dramatic way. That’s called acting; that’s called staging a play. Bravo, Lit Moon, bravo. They’ll do it tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday at 7 pm in the Porter Theatre at Westmont College. Get your $20 tickets ($15 for students) at the Porter box office, online at www.westmont.edu/boxoffice, or by calling (805) 565-7140.

Friday September 5

Carp is Expanding

All regular readers of this calendar know that I always defend Carpinteria. People are always all up in my face saying things like “Santa Barbara’s better,” “Goleta’s better,” and “Carpinteria stinks.” Why are they always bragging about ‘the world’s safest beach?’ What does that even really mean?” And I’m all like “Uh, first of all, it’s not a contest; we’re all in this county together. And, obviously, it means the beach is really safe. Duh.” But now I hear Carp has expanded the scope of its First Friday to also include Saturday? First Weekend? Come on, Carp, I’m going to have trouble defending you against everyone who says you’re getting a little bit too big for your britches. But you know I’ll still try. I love you, Carp, and I’ll always have your back no matter what everybody says about you. And you can bet I’ll be there today and tomorrow to take you up on your First Weekend deals, drink your First Weekend beer, eat your First Weekend food, and take in your First Weekend art and entertainment.

For Sale: $1,595,000 For Lease: $2.35/SF NNN ($0.81)

Austin Herlihy BRE 01518112 �

805.879.9633

Steve Brown BRE 00461986 �

805.879.9607

View detailed property flyer at www.radiusgroup.com 2 0 5 E . C a r r i l l o s t. s u i t E 1 0 0 | s a n ta B a r B a r a C a 9 3 1 0 1 8 0 5 . 9 6 5 . 5 5 0 0 | r a d i u s g r o u p. C o m

CRASCH

PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR

Saturday September 6 Ring His Bell

You know how it is with art: Everybody wants to be around it, but it’s really hard to leave the house to look at it, what with TV and all. The way I see it, we all have two choices. Choice number one: Hire an art dealer to buy art with your money and bring it into your house. Then hire someone else to hang it up. This way, you can look at it while Netflix loads up the next episode of Wilfred. Choice number two: You can be crazy for once in your life and put some pants on and go out into the world where art hangs on walls, and you can stare at it until you’re blue in the face – specifically the walls of Muddy Waters (508 East Haley Street) from 6 to 10 pm. Sure, choice number one sounds pretty good; throw some snacks into the mix there and it’s barely accurate to call it a “choice” anymore. But option two – with its promise of social interaction, adult or coffee-based beverages, and sweet, sweet art – is clearly the better use of your time. The artist with work on display tonight is Jimmy Bell, and his new series captures expressive faces, each with their own story. What’s more, local rapper Chaye Tione will perform.

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INtheZONE

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with Tommie Vaughn Tommie adapted her love of the stage to the

love of the page. As lead singer for the band Wall of Tom, she created This Rock in My Heart and This Roll in My Soul, a fictional book series based loosely on her experiences in the L.A. music scene. Now she’s spending her time checking out and writing about all things Santa Barbara. Reach Tommie at www.TommieV.com or follow her on Twitter at TommieVaughn1.

Wandering Through The Wayfarer General manager Casey Graves, assistant manager Cathy LeCompte, and Matt Marquis, president of Pacifica Hotels

The Community Kitchen

he new Wayfarer is what in the hospitality industry is known as a hostel, neither hotel nor motel, nor bed & breakfast. Hostels are distinguished by shared facilities, communal kitchens, and low-priced accommodations. The new Wayfarer, at the intersection of East Montecito and Helena streets, identifies itself as a hostel and has all that name implies. It also has, thankfully, a whole lot more. In Europe, hostels often offer slightly dirty, shared hotel rooms with patched bedding and the keen smell of mold, communal showers and bathrooms and a community kitchen filled with rowdy, drunk but friendly travelers and peeling floral wallpaper that may or may not be from the 17th century. Although all of this is utterly charming while you are traveling as minimally (and cheaply) as possible through the Italian countryside, Santa Barbara visitors probably expect more. They should, and they do get more – way more – at the recently opened and locally owned Wayfarer.

Old World Meets the New Millennium The Wayfarer, deep in the bowels of the Funk Zone (FZ), presents a refreshing set of lodging options for individuals, friends, and families wanting to explore Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. The hostel boasts 31 rooms – both private and shared. A change of pace that appeals to many different types of travelers. Private rooms feature a king bed or queen bed, as well as a fold-down Murphy twin bed, allowing up to three travelers. Shared rooms are available in an all-female or all-male dorm-style format, with four to five beds that can be reserved individually or collectively for guests traveling in groups. All room types include a full ensuite bathroom, free Wi-Fi, 42-inch HDTV, individual lockers, and a desk. But The Wayfarer didn’t stop at designing an excellent variety of room options, it was designed to encourage guests to explore outside the room – from a fully equipped community kitchen where guests can cook something fresh

It’s summer year ‘round in Santa Barbara. Stop by Corks n’ Crowns and sample a taste of summer with our rose ﬂight! Beer more your style? We have TWO beer ﬂights for you to chose from. Like what you’re drinking? Enjoy complimentary corkage at one of our local, partner restaurants!

Corks n’ Crowns

The staircase giant grid of Santa Barbara with golden grapes dangling above as a reminder that you’re just steps away from the Urban Wine Trail

from say, one of our many public markets, to an outdoor heated swimming pool and deck with regularly hosted events. Additional amenities include a funky library and reading space, community games, complimentary breakfast, and onsite laundry.

Challenging the Typical Santa Barbara has become a highticket beach community, and choices for the budget-conscious socially savvy traveler have been limited. Wayfarer rooms range from $59 to $89 per night; private rooms start at $159. Which is pretty good for a hotel just steps from the Urban Wine Trail, the hot spots of the FZ, State Street, and three blocks

Everywhere you look, there are eclectic touches

Marsha Kotlyar Representing Exquisite Properties of Montecito & Santa Barbara

Tasting Room and Wine Shop

32 Anacapa Street in the heart of Santa Barbara's Funk Zone Hours: Monday-Sunday 11am-7pm

A private room even sports a pull-down twin bed, creating additional sleeping for guests traveling together

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The library/ game room is an excellent communal space in which to unwind

“WE CAN WALK DOWN TO THE OCEAN” - THE DIRTY HEADS

A Place For Savvy Foreigners and Budget Travelers Strolling through the grand doubledoor entrance of The Wayfarer, my eyes popped at the décor featuring lodge-style warm woods side-by-side with gleaming industrial touches such as the chrome chandeliers. Assistant manager Cathy LeCompte smiled at my reaction to the decor and the giant giraffe in the lobby redolent of nearby Santa Barbara Zoo. “Not your typical hostel, huh?” she laughed. Matt Marquis accompanied us as we ...continued p.30

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from the Pier and East Beach. The Wayfarer Hostel concept was conceived by its owner and operator, Pacifica Hotels, in partnership with pioneering FZ developer Central Coast Real Estate. “We’re always looking for interesting and dynamic ways to expand our portfolio, and The Wayfarer is one that challenges the typical lodging concept,” said Pacifica Hotels president Matt Marquis. “This hospitality concept is different from anything we’ve done before and novel for the West Coast. The emphasis on common space and socializing is of growing importance to the millennial traveler and becoming a significant part of the hospitality industry.”

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www.presidiosports.com Presidio Sports is a provider of local sports news and information for the Santa Barbara community. Founded in 2008, the small team at Presidio has covered hundreds of local sporting events and published thousands of articles connected to Santa Barbara’s athletic community. Please visit their website for more local sports news and information.

Young Gauchos Have the Makings of Something Big

by John Barry Punzal

Ismaila Jome and the UCSB soccer team have a lot of potential this season

here was a time early in his collegiate soccer coaching career that UCSB’s Tim Vom Steeg was reluctant to put freshman players in his starting 11. That was then. With the talented group of freshmen he’s brought in this season, Vom Steeg says 4-5 first-year players might be in his starting 11 when the Gauchos kick off the season in Charleston, S.C., in two weeks. “Of the nine to ten freshmen we’re talking about here, like last year, easily half of them have an opportunity to start in that first game,” Vom Steeg said following the team’s first official practice for the 2014 campaign at Dunn School in Los Olivos. Vom Steeg has one of the youngest teams in his 16-year career at UCSB. Moreover, the roster is one of the most gifted, top to bottom. “We haven’t been this deep talent-wise,” he said. “I probably have to go back 4-5 years. They’re young but they’re very good,” he said. The youngsters include a quartet from the L.A. Galaxy Academy: Axel Mendez, Ryo Fujii, Jeff Quezada, and Adonis Amaya; Dugan Zier from the New York Red Bulls Academy, and Alex Liua of San Jose Earthquakes Academy The goal for Vom Steeg and his staff will be getting everyone on the same page offensively and defensively. “That’s going to be the real challenge for us, to be patient enough,” he said. “The only promise we made to this recruiting class was they’d have an opportunity to compete for a starting spot, or at least a lot of playing time. It’s a young team, but we’re very excited as a coaching staff.” The Gaucho youth movement actually

started last season with Ismaila Jome, Nick DePuy, Drew Murphy, and goalkeeper Josh McNeely. They made an impact as freshmen, helping UCSB win the Big West regular season title and return to the NCAA Tournament. Returnees like Kevin “J-Lo” Garcia-Lopez, Duncan Backus, Brandon Brockway, in the back Marshall Cazares and Adam CarnSaferstein also stepped up and made their presence known in matches. Their experience and talent combined with this exceptional recruiting class give Vom Steeg lots of options. “This will be the best soccer-playing team we’ve had since the days we had Chris Pontius, like 2010 when we had (Luis) Silva, (Danny) Barrera, and Pontius, or even the year before,” Vom Steeg said. The coach looks forward to the day when all the pieces fall into place and the team starts operating like Germany did against Brazil in the World Cup. “At some point, this thing is going to come together, and it’s going to come together in a big way,” he said. “This thing is really going to blow up,” he continued. “The issue for us (this season) will be can we get out of some games in the first seven-eight games? Can we just find a way to win some things? Can somebody step up and win a couple of games? If we get this thing going, I don’t think anyone should play us at end of this year.” The Gauchos make their debut on Saturday night, Aug. 23, when they play Westmont in their annual exhibition match at Harder Stadium. “Anyone that comes to the Westmont game will be amazed at level of soccer on

the field,” Vom Steeg said. “We haven’t had this level of play. What we can do and what we can ask our guys to do because of their skill level is completely different than what’ve done.”

Junior Guards: Program Builds Fitness, Confidence in Youth

by Barry Punzal ou can’t miss them during a weekday morning in the summertime, boys and girls in red swimsuits and long-sleeve white T-shirts, heading to East Beach on their bikes, on skateboards, on foot or by car. Once there, they learn about ocean safety and the physical demands of becoming a beach lifeguard. They work hard, compete hard, and always have fun. And they come away with a feeling of accomplishment. By the end of the City of Santa Barbara Junior Lifeguard program, kids who started out being afraid to put their faces in the water are swimming from Stearns Wharf to the East Beach Bathhouse. Seeing kids gain that confidence is a big reason the junior lifeguard program is one of the most popular summertime activities for youth in the community. Every year, enrollment fills up fast. This summer’s seven-week program has 303 kids enrolled. They range from age 9 to 17. Presidio Sports is pleased to recognize the Santa Barbara Junior Lifeguard program as its Team of the Month. Scott Holland, an assistant director of the program, knows first-hand the value of the junior guard program. The San Marcos High and UCSB grad has been involved in the program for 11 years, including six years as a junior guard. “I spent most of my summers here at East Beach,” he said. Besides the valuable training and knowledge he acquired, Holland said he has gained lifelong friendships through the program. “I still have friends I made as a junior lifeguard here as a kid. Other friends I’ve made working here. It’s a pretty tight-knit community. There’s a common bond with others who were junior lifeguards.” Like Holland, the majority of the instructors are former junior guards. It’s their personal experiences in the program that are key in developing a good rapport with the youngsters. “At the beginning, some of the kids struggle, but we try to make it as comfortable for them as possible in the water,” Holland said. “Positive reinforcement is so big out there.” Rich Hanna, the director of aquatics for the City of Santa Barbara, says the program helps kids in so many ways. “Our Junior Lifeguards participants get to network with local peers in a way that doesn’t often happen during the school year because of the various school districts, and kids come out of

the program with newfound friendships and the ability to work well in teams,” he said. “The combination of the physical fitness aspect and the water safety skills they acquire serve them well living here in Santa Barbara, a truly fitness-first and aquatic-minded community.” When he watches kids progress in the program, “it’s pretty cool,” says Holland. “On a larger scale, you see a kid at nine years old who could barely swim, and by the time they’re 11, 12, or 13, they may be one of the fastest kids in the program and going to the state championships. Beyond that, we see some of those kids become assistants, or their ultimate goal is to become a lifeguard or a junior lifeguard instructor.”

Rogers-Brunner Come up Short at Manhattan Open

by Barry Punzal laying in Southern California is bringing out the best in Todd Rogers. He and partner Theo Brunner earned a bronze medal a few weeks ago in an international beach volleyball tournament in Long Beach. On Sunday, the Santa Barbara duo advanced to the finals at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open, the “Granddaddy” of beach volleyball tournaments. They lost in straight sets against Phil Dalhausser and Sean Rosenthal, 21-17, 21-13. It was the first final on the AVP Tour this season for Rogers, 40, and the 29-year-old Brunner, whose previous finishes have been a third and a pair of fifth-places. The fact he was playing against Dalhausser in the final made Sunday extra special for Rogers. They won three straight Manhattan Opens (2006-08) during an incredibly successful seven-year partnership that included an Olympics gold medal in 2008. “I like playing Phil,” he said in an email interview with Presidio Sports. “He is a great player and the best American blocker, if not the best blocker in the world when he wants to be. He was pretty big in the finals, which tends to be his M.O.” Besides scoring points with his menacing block, Dalhausser was effective using the kind of clever shots his former partner is noted for. The 6-9 Dalhausser dialed down his hitting and jump-serving because of an abdominal muscle strain, an injury that forced him to miss the AVP event in Salt Lake City the previous weekend. Rogers-Brunner started well, taking a 15-12 lead in the first set. DalhausserRosenthal then got a big break when a deep shot by Rogers traveled too deep. That started a 9-2 run to finish the set. Dalhausser-Rosenthal maintained that momentum through the second set. Despite the loss in the final, Rogers said he was pleased with the team’s performance at Manhattan Beach. Among their victories, they knocked

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Roberts Photography

Beach volleyball pro Todd Rogers made the AVP Manhattan Beach final at 40 years old

off top-seeded Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson in a three-set elimination match and got a revenge win over fourthseeded Brad Keenan and John Mayer in two sets. Rogers-Brunner were seeded fifth. “The win over Jake and Casey was big for Theo,” said Rogers. On beating Keenan and Mayer, “It was sweet revenge for me, as I played poorly against them in the first match (a 21-16, 22-24, 15-11 loss in the third round),” he said. Rogers-Brunner have battled through some grueling matches this summer. The UCSB alums prevailed in three threeset matches in the contender’s bracket at Manhattan Beach. In an elimination match in Salt Lake City, they won the highest-scoring game in AVP history, beating Keenan-Mayer, 43-41, en route to a three-set victory. Asked how his 40-year-old body holding up, Rogers replied: “Body feels very good. Felt good in Manhattan Beach and played extra matches in hot weather. I have not logged as much travel this year, so I think that has helped a lot.” As for the progress he and Brunner have made in their first season together, Rogers said it’s more about his partner getting better. “Frankly, I am a stop on the road for Theo. A good stop, but he should be going on to greater things in the future. “We are on a solid, upward trend, so, hopefully, that can continue,” he added. “His progress has been good. He has made great strides in several areas, but still has a ways to go if he wants to fulfill his dream of gold at an Olympics.” The “Professor” knows. NOTES: Santa Barbara Open champion Katie Spieler won a pair of matches in the qualifying rounds to make the women’s main draw at Manhattan Beach. Spieler, a Dos Pueblos grad and current member of the University of Hawaii sand volleyball team, played with Pepperdine’s Delaney Knudsen. They entered the main draw as the 32nd

seed and drew number one Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, falling 21-9, 21-9. They then fell to number 17 Dana Fiume-Hilary Pavels, 21-11, 7-21, 15-9. On the men’s side, former Santa Barbara High star Jeremy Casebeer and Casey Jennings finished seventh. Casebeer was featured as a “Rising Star” on the CBS Sports Spectacular broadcast Sunday. Santa Barbara’s Will Montgomery and partner Paul Baxter placed 17th.

High School Runner of the Month: Cooper Farrell

in July, Santa Barbara in August, and Carpinteria in September. “It’s just cross-training for me,” Farrell said. “Swimming increases your lung capacity, and cycling is just pure suffering. So you take little pieces from the other two sports and apply it (to running).” The Olympic Distance course at the USA Championships was a 1,500-meter swim, 40k bike and 10k run. Battling cramps much of the way, the 17-year-old finished in 2:12:59.17, good for 28th place in the 16-to-19 age group. After the swim and bike, he completed the 10k running leg in 41:08.60. It was just his fourth long-course triathlon he’s ever done. Farrell, who lives in Solvang, has been training 8-12 hours a week this summer.

His cross country coach at Laguna Blanca during the fall, marathon runner David Silverander, has started coaching him as a triathlete as well. “I knew he knew how to schedule things and set himself up for success,” Farrell said. “So I figured he could help me a lot with training with goals and rest days, because triathlon recovering is half of the exercise.” In cross country, 16:34 is his personal best and he hopes to break 16 minutes during his senior season. The Owls will be competing at a number of invitationals during the fall. Outside of sports, Farrell is vice president of Laguna Blanca’s Youth for Direct Relief club and has donated a week during each of the past two years at the Storyteller Children’s Center.

by John Dvorak itness won’t be a problem for Laguna Blanca’s Cooper Farrell entering his senior cross country season. That’s because Farrell, the Owls’ top runner, is in the midst of competing in four triathlons in two months, highlighted by a recent trip to Wisconsin for the Age-Group USA Triathlon Championships. Added to that is the local triathlon trifecta: Goleta Beach

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On the Boards

with Mark Léisuré

Mark spends much of his time wandering Santa Barbara and environs, enjoying the simple things that come his way. A show here, a benefit there, he is generally out and about and typically has a good time. He says that he writes “when he feels the urge” and doesn’t want his identity known for fear of an experience that is “less than authentic.” So he remains at large, roaming the town, having fun. Be warned.

Yuk It Up

o paraphrase Jerry Lee Lewis, there’s a whole lot of laughing going on. Or at least there will be, for six straight days, when the Santa Barbara LOL Comedy Festival comes to town September 2-7. There are too many comedians to count slated to perform, including a whole lot you’re familiar with (Andrew Dice Clay, Jay Mohr, Russell Peters, and Jim Jeffereys) and a bunch you may not be, playing in the three biggest venues downtown: the Arlington, the Granada, and the Lobero; the latter booked multiple shows each night. The festival – which was patterned after the success of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival – is meant for basic public consumption but also as a venue to film the shows for upcoming airing on cable and Internet channels, including lolflix.com, the presenter. Brad Willams and Kirk Fox are taping their first-ever one-hour specials, for example, while Peters is kicking off his world tour. So it’s much more than just a series of shows. Nadine Rajabi, blogger for BravoTV. com and host of RHOC Fresh Squeezed Recaps, will team with Eric Schwartz (a.k.a. Smooth-E) to co-host continuous red carpet and backstage coverage during the festival, while LOL Comedy Inc. will be filming in and around Santa Barbara for a special expected to the boob tube next summer. But some stuff isn’t getting filmed at all, like a special premiere screening of Rip Taylor’s documentary Rip Rip Hooray, featuring an appearance by the wild man

himself for a Q&A, which should prove rather epic for Santa Barbara when it kicks off the fest next Tuesday. So if you see people around town holding their sides as if in pain that week, don’t be alarmed. They’re just laughing their way back home. Get the details, ticket and pass info, videos and much more on the fest’s website, www.lolcomedyfestival.com.

A Case of the Wonderfuls

No need to wait till September to see top-notch comics at work. Ron White, whose Comedy Central one-hour specials have set network records, hits the Chumash Casino’s Samala Showroom this Thursday, August 28. The cigarsmoking, scotch-drinking funnyman from the “Blue Collar Comedy Tour”, who parlayed that into becoming one of the top-three grossing comedians on tour under his own aegis, has been booked for two shows on the same night.

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What a difference a few months make! Last season, we got four different productions of the 30-year-old backstage farce Noises Off from four of our area theater companies. Now we’re getting two world premieres from two of the same companies this week. Go figure. PCPA already got the ball rolling with the world premiere of The San Patricios earlier in August at their Santa Maria theater, in advance of opening the show in the Solvang Festival Theater for a run August 28 through September 7. The historical drama from playwright José Cruz Gonzáles takes a glimpse into a piece of America’s past largely overlooked by history books as it looks inside the MexicanAmerican War and reveals that the traitors, deserters, and heroic fighters of the era were all one and the same. The piece tackles notions of cultures colliding or fusing together in the story of Irish immigrants who had fled the famine in their homeland discovered they had left one bad situation for another and started wondering why they were fighting against the Mexicans, a people who shared similar religious beliefs. Get details, tickets, and more online at www. pcpa.org or call 922-8313. Meanwhile, Rubicon Theatre Company (RTC) in Ventura is readying its own new venture in Conviction, a story of a teacher accused of a crime he may or may not have committed, and the impact the accusation has on his relationships with close family and friends, each of whom having different perspectives on what happened. The drama comes from Carey Crim, resident artist at The Purple Rose, who first brought the work to RTC for its Plays-in-Progress program last year. The themes of “erosion of trust and shifting moral boundaries” intrigued the company enough to book it for its world premiere at the tail end of the current season, said Karyl Lynn Burns, RTC’s producing artistic director. Scott Schwartz (Stephen’s son) – who previously directed the West Coast premiere of tick…tick…BOOM! and his own adaptation of My Antonia at Rubicon – as well as the world premiere of his father’s opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon for Opera Santa Barbara a couple of years ago – signed on as director, and made Conviction the first play of his first season as artistic director of Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York. The RTC run, slated for September 6-28, complete the co-produced world premiere. The cast includes Tom Astor, Elyse Mirto, Joseph Fuqua, and Julie Granata, all of whom performed the initial reading last year. For tickets and more info, call 667-2900 or visit www.rubicontheatre.org.

Love in the Air... at Least at New Vic We told you about the Great Love Debate way back last winter when L.A. transplant Bryan Howie first brought

the upscale, content-rich singles theme event to town at Center Stage Theater (CST). Now, after extended tour of North America, the extravaganza returns to town on Wednesday, August 27, for its 50th show, this time at the New Vic, which can accommodate 200 folks instead of CST’s 80. As before, tickets are being sold to maintain gender balance (and increase your odds for getting a date). The format for the event features six panelists discussing the great relationship issues of the day, with participants Howie, dating coach Lisa Darsonval, K-Lite’s Catherine Remak, women’s coach/author Dr. Minette Riordan, relationship author Dr. Wendy Walsh, and local celeb/man about town Warren Butler. Come early for cocktail hour, and stay late for a mix and mingle party at Arlington Tavern. Info at www.SBLove.eventbrite.com.

Catch a Tiger by the …

The architecturally-blessed three-story establishment located at 409 State Street dates back to 1889, and most recently housed The Savoy, which opened with a bunch of cool circus/aerial acts before settling into the usual nightclub scene and eventually going under last winter. Before that it was Q’s, which was partial to pool as well as music. The joint has been re-christened as the Blind Tiger, which might just be the best name of the bunch. There was a soft opening around Fiesta, but the grand opening takes place Labor Day weekend, with a wide variety of entertainment to kick off the place. Santa Barbara’s own Grooveshine gets the opening slot early on Friday night, August 29, (which should warm the hearts of those who rue the fact there are few places for local bands to play) before SLO’s Proxima Parada take over at 9 pm, followed by DJ Bennett at 11. Trance-progressive-electrotech house DJ Manifesto gets Saturday night’s slot. Sunday brings We Govern We, featuring former Greek alternative rock band Sigmatropic leaders Panos Scourtis and Anna Karakalos, and Adrian Burke and John Boutin (formerly of Gwenmars), with Daniel Ash, of Bauhaus and Love fame. We wish the Tiger folks well, because this is one of downtown’s most historic buildings and a great spot what with the multi-level layout. Check out the extensive website at www.blindtigersb. com where you can even watch the video of Matthew McAvene of The Macky World (and a fine singer-songwriter in his own right) constructing the sculpture that will be on display at the restaurant/bar.

Pop Top

Marshall Crenshaw and the Bottle Rockets at the Lobero on Thursday, August 28, might just be the best power pop-roots rock show we’ll see in town for quite some time. Crunchy guitars, soaring melodies, and lots of wistfulness should abound....

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by James Luksic A longtime writer, editor and film critic, James has

worked nationwide for several websites and publications – including the Dayton Daily News, Key West Citizen, Topeka Capital-Journal and Santa Ynez Valley Journal. California is his eighth state. When he isn’t watching movies or sports around the Central Coast, you can find James writing and reading while he enjoys coffee and bacon, or Coke and pizza.

Riviera the Real Deal

he unrivaled Riviera Theatre drew a considerable crowd on a recent Sunday afternoon, proving that – despite idyllic weather in our nirvana – a quality film can still lure a wave of humanity indoors. Elsewhere, while dodging the landmines caused by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy – both earning box-office gold without my blessing – I made time for this trio, with only one regret:

Magic Man

he latest gem from Woody Allen, Magic in the Moonlight casts Colin Firth (royalty in The King’s Speech but strong as oak in The Railway Man) as a British killjoy who masquerades as a Chinese illusionist. He is summoned by a fellow magician (Simon McBurney) to observe – and possibly expose – a clairvoyant (Emma Stone) on the Côte d’Azur, where a wealthy widow (Jacki Weaver, who distractingly resembles Sally Struthers) yearns to contact her deceased husband. Our hero and his aunt (flawless Eileen Atkins) are impressed by the young lady’s supernatural gift and then some. Only a carefree jetsetter (Hamish Linklater) with a ukulele obsession stands between the potential lovebirds. Although it isn’t surprising that Allen has again penned a romantic-comedy involving an older man and 20-something female, it’s helpful the director selected urbane Firth instead of himself as the headliner. If the actor doesn’t exude as much charm as usual, the script’s cynical quips roll off his tongue. As always, Allen takes care to flesh-out all players, rarely favoring one over another, giving them space to breathe along the glorious French coastline and amid the rolling hills. (An excursion into a planetarium, to avoid a rainstorm, proves a satisfying detour.) Just when a scene is on the verge of withering, it’s injected with a bolt of humor or passion. And though the filmmaker’s music of choice, old-fashioned jazz, has become too familiar – almost too easy – it’s uniformly relevant and a toe-tapping delight.

Blown Away

he title Into the Storm doesn’t tell the half of it. For starters, there’s more than one storm and, frankly, too many tornadoes to be believed. The premise (in lieu of an actual plot or substantial story) follows a devastated path along Tornado Alley, where unwavering storm trackers, graduating students, and two thrill-seekers converge. Despite an overkill and onslaught of swirling visuals – even for cyclone-prone northern Oklahoma – the movie’s frightening images are impressively managed and chillingly convincing. Oftentimes, it’s as if director Steve Quale (Final Destination 5) sprinkled real-life archival footage from actual twisters. The excessive use of handheld videocams, meanwhile, fails to boost the creativity quotient; they detract from the action rather than complement it. (Too much voyeuristic sleight-of-hand, so to speak.) Most of the melodrama – such as a young couple trapped at an old mill, the single father with sons, the single mother who misses her daughter – feels contrived and amounts to little more than debris. The same can be said about the nervous and sad-

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sack intern, who has as much business tracking tornadoes as would a scarecrow. If you miss witnessing Into the Storm at a cineplex, don’t bother seeing it months from now: watching this movie on your TV – unless you have a substantial in-home theater – would be pointless.

What Gives?

he Giver – the latest in a stumbling parade of Hunger Games-like tales – amounts to pseudo-tragic trash. On the heels of unremarkable Divergence and The Host, whose title was as lackluster as the movie, comes this misguided and oddly executed bit of young-adult business. As the titular character – a groggy, muttering sage – Jeff Bridges has the inexplicable power to give back memories and feelings, which were “erased” from residents in a world of conformity. His overseer, in a bizarre Oz-esque role, materializes in the form of Meryl Streep’s face during a ritual wherein teens are assigned jobs befitting their personalities (but how can anyone tell ’em apart?). Despite the audience’s supportive and cultish “Jonas!” chant, a young man (Brenton Thwaites of Maleficent) defies the colorless community’s rules and unlocks its forbidden past. Upon taking our hero under his wing, the Giver speaks in such clipped phrases indicative of Dr. Seuss that I kept expecting to hear “I do not like green eggs and ham.” The cinematography unspools in sanitized black and white, virtually a cellophaned version of Pleasantville. For vague reasons – there’s a lot of that going around – shades and splashes of color gradually seep in (as does Taylor Swift, in a fleeting cameo). Dialogue is littered with buzzwords and euphemisms such as “Ceremony of Loss,” and the robotic reply: “Your apology is accepted.” The most insufferable and pretentious of all – and it’s a howler – is “Precision of language!” which replaces “Be quiet” or “Watch your mouth.” Bridges would make me appreciative even if he portrayed a cadaver, which he practically does this time – but his participant looks too serious among folks who have no clue about crying, kissing, dancing, or love. Thwaites is agreeable enough on those rare occasions he isn’t channeling Robert Sean Leonard in Dead Poets Society. The only thing I can say in Streep’s defense is that she isn’t given a great deal to do. I almost felt sorry for Katie Holmes as the protégé’s cold-fish mother, who is just collateral damage within this train wreck. Perhaps I wouldn’t mind such a far-flung, obtuse project if it were crafted by somebody with a lick of common sense or funny bone. In fact, the one and only laugh is unintentional: an infant gets carried in arctic conditions (for a lengthy period) with his face uncovered. Anybody with half a brain might assume the baby gets frostbite or pneumonia – but instead he emerges unscathed and even more lively. So typical of the baloney piled high in this calamity of mind-numbing mush.

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...continued from p.9 Beer-centric spots like Hoffmann Brat Haus have a different glass for each beer

small volume and tiny width of a stange. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co just began canning their beer and their lemony kölsch, FMB 101, was the first to go in cans. Grab a six-pack of it and try playing with the beer in different glassware. You usually don’t want to consume liters of a high-alcohol beer (or maybe you do but that probably would not be wise). These strong brews are usually put into a small snifter (8-12 ounces). This gives the drinker a reasonable serving size, and the snifter shape helps improve the aroma. Alcohol slows the movement of aroma particles so a greater volume of air space in the glass will help compensate for this loss in speed. The wideness of a snifter allows

a greater volume of aromas to collect, and then the tapered mouth gives them a little burst of speed as they exit the glass. The shape of a snifter also allows the beer to be swirled in the glass without fear of splashing. Barley wines, double IPAs, and Russian imperial stouts all tend to find their way into a snifter; however, this glass really is just good for tasting any complex, flavorful brew. A similar glass, the chalice or goblet, will often accompany a Belgian ale. The wider mouth allows for deeper sips and a more pleasant view of the beer. These glasses often have ornate detailing. The Kasteel Brewery (kasteel is castle in Flemish) chalice contains a castle on the base of the

stem. The Orval chalice is modeled after a monastery column and has an art-deco flare and the monastery’s emblem of a trout holding a golden ring on the base. The shape will also determine the surface area-to-volume ratio of the glass. This influences the rate that heat moves into the glass. This is because the shape of the glass changes how the beer warms up and consequently how the aroma particles move through the glass. Aroma increases with an increase in temperature. As you hold a glass, the heat from your hand and the surroundings warm the beer. This drives off carbonation, changing the flavor and flattening the beer. Since the wall of a glass is where much of the transfer of heat is occurring, the surface area-to-volume ratio will change how much of the volume of beer is being exposed to the wall surface. Lower surface area-to-volume ratios will keep the beer colder for longer. This is the benefit of serving lager in two-liter mugs at Oktoberfest. In case you are wondering the difference, steins have a fitted lid, mugs do not. The lid was introduced during the Black Plague to keep fleas out of the beer.

Looks Matter

The effect of putting beer in a glass begins before you even drink it. The image of a bright, bubbling glass of beer has an aesthetic appeal. Hefeweizen glasses are taller than other glasses. Wheat has more

protein than barley does, which means that wheat beers form more bubbles. The extra height of a Hefeweizen glass allows this fluffy head to be on full display. The image of beer in a glass has a psychological impact on the mind and will influence your enjoyment of the beer and even your drinking behavior. A study from the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol found that the glass shape will affect the rate that someone drinks their beer. When people are in a social situation that involves alcohol, they usually go into it with an idea of how many drinks they intend to consume (whether they stick to that intended number or not is a whole other story). As a person drinks, either consciously or subconsciously, he or she is judging the volume left in their glass and will pace their drinking rate accordingly. It is more difficult to estimate the volume of beer remaining in a curved glass than a straight-sided glass, so a person might be drinking quicker than they realize. Keep in mind, this is just one of the factors of drinking rate, and there’s a lot of other things going on that influence a person’s drinking behavior. Whatever glass you choose, remember it is most important that you put beer in a glass in the first place. I have used a wine glass for beer on more than one occasion, and it tasted just fine. How could it not? It’s beer.

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Real Estate Snapshot

by Kelly Mahan

Inventory & Sales Are Down; Prices Are Way Up

One example of a good opportunity in this low inventory / up price market, is this listing on Nicholas Lane in the foothills of West Montecito (presented by Sheela Hunt at Village Properties) priced at $2,270,000. At approximately 3,200 square-feet, this home is positioned as a fair value for a buyer when comparing amenities and price per square-foot, and provides ocean views from the master suite. It is in the Cold Spring School attendance area and has a nearly one-acre, park-like yard for enjoying the Santa Barbara lifestyle.

hile sales are down overall, the Santa Barbara real estate market numbers from July are showing prices are significantly up from last summer in all of the housing districts, including Summerland/Carpinteria, Montecito, the East Side, the West Side, Hope Ranch, and Goleta. Last month, 90 homes closed escrow, down from the 103 that closed in June. The number of home sales overall for the year is down 20 percent, while the median sales price is up 21 percent. The average sales price in July in Santa Barbara: $1.8 million, up from $1.4 million at this time last year. There has also been a big jump in the total volume of sold homes: roughly $207 million this July versus $139 million last July, despite the fact that sales were significantly less (90 this July vs. 113 in July 2013.) One possible explanation: Better financing options have given buyers the green light to buy more expensive real estate. Roughly 145 new listings came on the market in July, but inventory is down overall. There are currently 1,314 active listings from Carpinteria to Goleta, a decrease from 1,486 at this time last year. “There can be many factors that can affect sales and drive prices up, while at the same time showing sales transaction volume down,” says local real estate agent Mark Hunt. A few reasons? Wealthier buyers may be entering the area, buyers may be paying premiums for top areas and good schools, and the inventory of available homes is still very low based on historical averages, which creates competition between potential buyers, Hunt says. “While the number of multiple offers

on homes that sell might not be as high as, say, six months or a year ago, it only takes one solid offer for a home to sell,” Hunt says. It’s also possible that sellers are carefully watching market trends, and are holding off on listing their homes in hopes of listing at a higher price. Potential buyers of average-priced homes might be holding off on purchasing, waiting for more inventory, and thus, more choices for the amenities they are looking for. As more homes come on the market, the rate that prices will increase will likely slow, making the end of the year an ideal time for buyers to get in the game. “Buyers are paying a premium to live here, and sellers often feel they can ask more for their homes based on the up numbers of the past twenty-four months, in terms of sales prices and the low inventory,” Hunt says. The low inventory in Santa Barbara continues to be a constant topic of conversation in town. One area not slowing: the condo segment of the market, which remained strong. Sixty new condo listings came on the market for the month, with an average list price of $740,000. The inventory in this category rose from about 120 at the end of June to 125 at the end of July. Prices on condos are also rising: the median sales price went from $489,500 to roughly $570,000. In both homes and condos, buyers are negotiating prices, despite the fewer number of homes to choose from. In July, 26 percent of the homes sold were bought at prices lower than their listed one. For condos: 19 percent of the condos listed for sale had price reductions.

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UP CLOSE

BY JACQUELYN DE LONGE

The Mutineers continue to make their way up and down the coast (photo by Clovis IV photography)

Our former restaurant reviewer takes a closer look – as only a 3rd-generation SoCal native can – at the people, places, and things that make Santa Barbara so unique. When she is not working for us, she keeps herself busy with various writings, chases her two young children around, and practices yoga and Pilates for some sense of sanity.

Love and Mutiny in Santa Barbara Mutiny Studios’ husbandand-wife team, Merry Young and Brian Mathusek

reative Brian Mathusek and Merry Young are a husband-and-wife team who conceived of the multi-tasking indie lover’s dream, Mutiny Studios. They focus on music bookings, and band promotions in the Santa Barbara area while helping local bands branch out. This duo also creates catchy designs for promotions, album covers, banners, logos, as well as custom handmade screen printing for T-shirts and limited-edition posters. They host annual events in Santa Barbara: The Summertime Jamboree, The Holiday Spectacular, and Whiskey Fest for St. Patty’s Day. They are avid supporters of the live music scene and also play in their own band, The Mutineers, a folk/punk/ Americana/pub group. I sat down with the cross-pollinating creatives over a beer, and they opened up to me about how they got to where they are today. It all started in San Francisco more than 14 years ago at an English teaching school, where Mathusek, Merry Young, and Michael Astudillo, one of

the owners of Seven Bar and the acoustic guitarist for the Mutineers, formed their long-running friendship. They traveled to Thailand, where all three taught English, and when they returned to the States, Brian and Merry followed Michael back to Santa Barbara to settle down and set up shop. “It’s our life. It all centers around music – all the design,” says Merry. Music is how they got started, and it’s the thread that keeps them going. For Brian and Merry, they are lucky to live their lives the way they want. The Mutineers have performed all along the West Coast in Portland, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara (of course) and in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay; even in Boise, Idaho, at the Summer Festival. Brian entertains the crowd with his vocal and piano skills, while Merry backs his vocals and keeps the beat by banging on the drums. They both agree the Los Angles punk band, X, has been vital in developing their music, but their classic influences differ with him favoring Frank Sinatra and her gravitating

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Brian Mathusek and Michael Astudillo, co-owner of Seven Bar and Kitchen, about old times over a beer

to Bob Dylan and the Band. “He’s the punk guy, and I’m the country girl,” explains Merry of their blended style that carries across genres. Originally a freelance designer, Merry was using her knowledge of screen printing (something she learned right here at SBCC) to make promotional material for their own band. Her clever eyecatching designs were instantly noticed, and requests started coming in from other bands and events. The two expanded their production, and Brian quickly learned the trade to become their head printer. Together they have made unique prints and designs for performers such as Mad Armor, Ventucky String Band, and D.J. Darla Bea, and promos for shows at the Brewhouse, Whiskey Richards, Seven Bar & Kitchen, and New Noise Festival. Even with their band and print studio, they find time to promote other groups and put on live shows throughout the city. Mutiny Studios has two current events taking place right now, one of which is The Summertime Jamboree. The gala takes place at the Seven Bar in the Funk Zone on Saturday, August 23, beginning at 3 pm. For the ladies, there will be a Pin-up fashion show of classy designer pieces by indie labels Once Upon A PinUp and King Cat Hollywood. (Sorry, no pasties here! Just tasteful vintage style.) Don’t worry, gentlemen – you too can participate, so be ready for this year’s new addition of the Beard & Mustache contest, complete with a stylist from Walter Claudio on hand should anybody need assistance with their facial-hair presentation. This competition will be judged by none other than Mathusek

Summertime Jamboree, a seasonal event, designed, promoted, and put on by Mutiny Studios

himself, who wears an impressive beard over a foot long. There will be live music by the bands, NOCONA, a Los Angeles based band, Deer Leg from Ojai, and Freakin’ on Speakers, a local SB band. Another happening event is Mutiny Studios collaboration with Muddy Waters on Wednesday, August 27, at 8 pm. This all-ages show features Tomten, a threemember band self-described as Baroquepop from Seattle, Washington, and the Acetates, a Hollywood band mixing folk roots and early 1960s-era rock’n roll. And right around the corner is the Holiday Spectacular, where they will be entertaining us with an old-school variety show performing holiday-favorite covers and Christmas Burlesque. Excited about their expansion, these two are currently relocating their Carpinteria studio to a bigger space here in Santa Barbara and continue to work hard to keep up with demand. A big supporter of Mutiny Studios, Michael Astudillo had this to say about Brian and Merry, “They’re awesome. I love ‘em. They’re a couple of the best people you’ll ever meet.” If you’re looking new and fresh designs, prints, promotions, music or other entertainment, there is only one place you need to go – Mutiny Studios, where Brian and Merry make their mark on you with love and mutiny.

www.mutinysb.com

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...continued from p.12 the smart and helpful librarians. It was a place I could go and feel I belonged. Most of all, it was the freedom to browse the card catalog and wander among the shelves filled with endless rows of literary works. More than that, I could take home an armful of these treasures to read on my own time, in my own room. Reading books in the summertime provided windows to the world for a girl growing up in the small town of Orange: they took me places I couldn’t have imagined; they taught me about people I learned to admire; they helped me dream about possibilities that had never occurred to me. When my daughter was small in Santa Barbara, every Tuesday and Thursday morning we walked to the library for story time. Back then, the long-time children’s librarian Shirley Morrison read with great dramatic flair; she and her helpers opened the books and let stories fly out, charming and delighting the audience with their enthusiasm as they unlocked the secrets held between the covers of those colorful books. It’s been quite some time since I got to sit with a group of little kids in the library, celebrating the stories contained in books. But last Thursday, I had the chance to witness a graduation ceremony for 15 enthusiastic new readers – students at Franklin School – who were recognized for their participation

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Cheri Rae is the senior editor and columnist for sbview.com. Known for her civic activism and insightful chronicles of the local scene, Cheri has a hard-won reputation for writing about issues that other Santa Barbara-based writers are reluctant to tackle.

Cheri Rae

sbview.com

The symbolic arch adorning SB Public Library is one for the books

in a summer reading program. These children, each of whom had read more than 10 books during the program, were termed “Reading Ambassadors.” The library staff enthusiastically welcomed them, commended them for their achievements, and reminded them how they could read aloud in funny voices, tell jokes while they read to their friends, and point out details on pictures. As a recorded version of “Pomp and

Circumstance” played, each child was called up by full name – resulting in giggles and laughter from their friends – and asked to sign a chart-sized document, the Reading Ambassador Promise. It read: I hereby promise to read stories to my friends and family And share the fun of storytelling with my community. With proud smiles and shy handshakes, each child was recognized, applauded, and appreciated for making the effort to embrace reading. Talk about positive reinforcement! These kids received goodie bags filled with discount coupons for local products and attractions, a free book from Granada Books, stickers, and even free admission to Legoland. Since it was a hot day, they even got popsicles to eat on the library lawn. The message they all embraced is that the library is a cool place where

they fit in. Once child noted, “You can borrow books for zero dollars.” Another observed, “And there are computers.” Smart kids: They already understand the library belongs to them, and with computers, they library provides access to written materials, even for those who may have difficulty reading, due to dyslexia or other learning differences. Downloadable audiobooks – so kids can hear with their ears, rather than read with their eyes—offer another form of access to the magical world of reading. And the library also offers adult literacy services, where well-trained volunteer tutors discreetly help grown-ups decode the elusive secrets of the written word. The decorative arch outside our central library – formerly the main entrance – is worth revisiting: it depicts Plato and Aristotle and our city’s coat of arms, and surrounding them are the shields of the great libraries of the world: University of Bologna, Bibliotheque Nationale, University of Salamanca, and Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Those storied European libraries have their place. But what goes on inside our local community treasure – each and every day – is every bit as significant in providing access to the written word to individuals right here at home. And for those newly minted Reading Ambassadors, the world is wide-open for them to discover.

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by Rachelle Oldmixon

Brain Power

he brain is the most fascinating thing on the planet. Possibly in the universe. Of course, when I say the brain, I really mean the brains of several different animal species. Octopuses, for example, have a neural system almost completely unlike our own. Their brains cannot be divided into the same lobes ours can, and just imagine how much of an octopus’s brain must be dedicated to the motor functions necessary to control their sucker-filled arms. Yet, octopuses exhibit remarkable intelligence and a level of curiosity that most human five-year-olds could not match. Then there are dolphins, which are so intelligent that many marine scientists refuse to conduct research on them because they believe that the standard of care for captive dolphins is deplorably low. Unlike all non-human animals – and some humans – dolphins are capable of figuring out televised gestures and responding to those gestures in the same way they might respond to a trainer. Not to mention that they also form complex social groups of

A self-professed nerd, Rachelle has her M.A. in psychological and brain sciences and she occasionally appears as a co-host on a science and innovation TV show. While her degree focused on the brain, Rachelle never could settle on one area of science. So she shares her love of all things science here and on her blog: www.redhotsci.com. Now, go do some science!

hirt Pocket Graphic

varying sizes and interact with each other on an emotional level. Even if The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was right and humans are only the third most intelligent species on the planet (after mice and dolphins, of course), I still think the human brain is the most interesting to study. And that is solely because humans are the only animals who can articulate their thoughts in a way that other humans can clearly understand. Thus, making the experience of our brains’ activities relatively easy to study compared to the brain(s) of octopuses or dolphins. But I digress. Back to my point. Brains are awesome. And not awesome like last

vision. This is because our brain is experienced in filling in those visual gaps. Our eyes move around frequently, and by doing so, the brain learns what should be seen by the blind spots and so “imagines” what should be there. That “imagined” missing puzzle piece is then integrated into the visual information that the eye is sending to the brain. The result is a coherent whole image, and we go about our lives oblivious to the fact that a little bit of everything we see is imagined. Yet, if we did see our blind spots, we would probably be much more cautious creatures, less likely to explore or venture much outside our small social groups for fear that some danger may lurk in our blind spot. Could you imagine society as we know it developing from a bunch of “The brain is so complex, so timid ancestors? I cannot. For the record, octopuses do not have active, that it can trick itself. In blind spots. This is because their optic fact, some of those tricks have nerves are attached to the eye differently than ours are. guided our evolution as both Then, if you really want to talk about the brain’s trickery, we have our memories. a species and as a society.” Whenever you experience an event, your brain encodes what it perceives and eventually stores those experiences in no visual information can be received on the very neurons that responded to the that part of the retina, creating a small original occurrence. Every time you recall that memory, the brain activates those blind spot in each eye. But, if you look around you right now, neurons and allows your conscious mind you won’t notice two gaping holes in your access. While activated, that memory is susceptible to being changed by influences outside the memory itself. For example, if a fisherman catches a two-foot fish while out deep-sea fishing, he may tell his friends back home that he caught a four-foot fish instead. If he tells that false story often enough, and with all of the other original events of the day, he might rewrite his own memory to truly remember having caught a four-foot fish! Now, convincing your own mind is not the most common way to have your brain tamper with your memory. More often, other influences will make small changes to any given memory. Other people’s recounting of the same event, leading questions, and even the space in which you recall the memory can alter the original. That is why investigators are supposed to follow strict rules with witnesses to crimes; otherwise, eyewitness reports are more likely to be inaccurate. Why would our brain rewrite our memories? And why would we not notice? Or if we do notice, why don’t we seem too bothered by the notion? Some might argue that re-writable memories allow for a single, communal memory to form within social groups, which promotes a certain social bond. Others may argue that memory is fallible simply because of the way it is stored, and that the brain has developed a way of coping with our own fallibility. © 2014 NiteMe? Moves I have no idea. All I know is that the brain has tricked itself into believing that Street we can, and should, trust our memories. Yep. The brain is awesome. week’s release of The Expendables 3, but awesome in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes I think neuroscientists are just sophisticated zombies: pale and obsessed with brains… Anyhow, the brain is so complex, so active, that it can trick itself. In fact, some of those tricks have guided our evolution as both a species and as a society. Take, for example, the blind spot on your eye. “Wait,” you say! “What blind spot?” Exactly. Your eyes are connected to the brain by the optic nerve. There are no photoreceptors where the optic nerve meets the retina. Without photoreceptors,

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You Have Your Hands Full by Mara Peters Former editor for the fashion/lifestyle section of the New York

Achilles in a good moment

Post, Mara moved to London and worked as a contributing editor for the Daily Mail’s You Magazine, freelancing for Look Magazine, NY Post and the Style Magazine for The Sunday Times. To remain sane during diaper years she writes a mommy blog, You Have Your Hands Full – www.handsfullsb.com.

The Last Gasp of Summer

“M

aha, I will take him down on the trail,” he said with a thick French accent. Just smiling enough for me to see the missing teeth, “you must go Maha, this is something you only do once in your life. Leave him, I will take him.” I looked past Vincent, our guide, just in time to see Olivia repel off a rope straight down into the 100-foot waterfall. The roar of the rapids was almost deafening. If I closed my eyes, I almost couldn’t hear the cries of Achilles, hanging onto my leg. We were well into our morning canyoning, deep in the depths of the French Alps. Vincent wasn’t just any guide we had hired – he was Alpha’s best friend. When I had met my husband 16 years ago, he was living in Argentiere, a tiny town nestled in towering peaks, climbing mountains with Vincent for almost a year. Pre-marriage Alpha brought me to Argentiere. To test my character, look for my weaknesses and find my strengths. Unbeknownst to me, over a long dinner Vincent quietly accessed my physique,

taking note of my self-confidence. And then it was decided: a very aggressive week of peaks to climb before we headed back home to New York. “Maha,” he always would remind me after, “Do you remember climbing Tacul, you crying the entire way up because you were so scared to come down?” His laugh was big and jolly, as he smoothed his crazy hair down. Tacul was a peak just behind Mont Blanc, the very mountain that claimed six lives while we were on vacation recently. Lean the wrong way on Tacul and there would have been a major problem. Crying felt like the obvious solution. Besides his love of teasing, there was also a quiet acknowledgement when he brought up Tacul – we had climbed together and shared something that few have ever done. Those days in the mountains were moments that would sustain me over the years to come. You see raising a large family had slowed our life way down. It was a victory to get to the mailbox in those early days. I’d often think about that week with Vincent and

imagine myself squeezing the most of life. We would send our Christmas cards to Argentiere, care of Vincent Ravenal, in hopes that he wouldn’t forget that we would come back when we could. This summer, the kids were ready. Jackson, our oldest, was capable of tackling some of the Alps bigger peaks. Olivia was strong and fit and Teddy was good enough. It was our last, Charlie, aka my Achilles, that was a problem. There is no place for a five-year-old in the mountains. But the nature of a big family is to push the lingering weak link forward so the others could go forward as well. I was impatient at first. Wanting to go on aggressive hikes and climbs. We tapered our expectations and managed to hike for hours everyday. When Achilles got tired, Alpha and I shared carrying him. He was keeping up, in his own way. On our last day, Vincent took us

canyoning – where you can explore hidden gorges, rappel, jump, and slide down waterfalls. The kids had heard much about Alpha’s friend over the years and were out of their minds that he would guide them on an adventure. Achilles had been okay to deal with the frigid water, even though his wetsuit was hanging off of him. As we held onto rock cliffs, clipped onto a line, Achilles held his arms out to Vincent, ready and willing to trust him across. It was the next step, a 10-foot jump into a deep pool below a waterfall that put the kid over the edge. It was time to throw in the towel, question the plan, call it what it was: he was five for god sake. I’ll stop too, I told myself. I had some fun jumping into the pools, sliding on the falls. Parenting is about compromise. For the last 12 years, I have tapered my expectations. I had learned to hang back. “Maha, I have him,” Vincent told me as he grabbed Achilles by the harness, “it is your time, go!” Before I could think twice, I jumped – rappelling, deep into the waterfall, the cold water shocking my skin on the back of the neck. Waking me up. As I dangled, lingering 25 feet in the air, I couldn’t help but think that once again, Vincent was giving me a gift. I shouted out with joy and slowly lowered myself into the waterfall before I let it wash me into the pool. Just a moment that reminded me to push forward, choose living, even with an Achilles heel.

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by Christina Enoch

Makin’ Bacon and Brine

The little shop by Chef Pink and partner Courtney Rae

Chef Pink and Courtney Rae

ake a break from that kale for a moment, put down that juicer, slowly walk away – because I am taking you to the land of bacon. I’ve been “stalking” Chef Pink (Crystal DeLongpre is her real name, not many people realize) since her Square One days. I followed her to the soul food festival, supper club and saw her TV appearance on Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen. She is one of the most talented chefs I’ve met so far. Looking at her beautiful wedding photos with her long time partner/now wife Courtney Rae and more photos of their new shop in Solvang – Bacon and Brine – I realized it was about time to drive up and see them. She finds peaceful Solvang her home where meats, vegetables,

Heirloom tomatoes gazpacho

fruits and wines are overflowing. Bacon and Brine, located in Atterdag Square, is super-cute, a dainty sandwich shop with a not-so-dainty menu. Chef Pink breaks down and smokes the whole pig herself, while Courtney does the brining/fermenting of vegetables. Together the duo create delicious and creative sandwiches daily. It’s not easy to find quality and flavorful

Courtney is a queen of brining and fermentation. She makes Kimchi that I approve of.

After years of working full time for an ad agency, Christina found her passion in cooking and food. Now armed with her newfound title, “Culinary School Graduate Food Blogger,” she writes and shares her passion for food, cooking, restaurants, photography and food styling in her popular blog, black dog :: food blog. Christina’s a proud mommy of not one but two shelter dogs and lives here in Santa Barbara with her husband. She’s also an avid Polynesian dancer, beach lover, traveler, swimmer, snowboarder and most of all, a lover of anything edible and yummy. Check out her ramblings here and at www.blackdogfoodblog.com.

pork stateside, but nothing tastes better than pork with just soy sauce and ginger (ahh... the Asian in me). Chef pink sources the pigs locally from four different farms, all of them raised organically, pasture-raised, grass-fed, and humanely treated. When I write, I try to spotlight chefs, and Chef Pink always spotlights the farmers and ranchers. (Check out those who bring delicious goodies to her: baconandbrine.com) There she is, in the back cooking up bacon, probably the thickest I’ve ever seen! Up front, the queen of brining and fermentation is Courtney Rae with her signature pinup hair and polka-dots dress. The menu changes daily – so don’t ask why and what, and don’t ask for a substitution. I ate “Not So Ramen” bacon dashi, braised belly, 65-degree-Celsius

Not-So-Ramen sandwich: bacon dashi, braised belly, 65-degree egg, smoked-house sriracha and cilantro

Tête-à-Tête sandwich. Traditional French fromage tété (head cheese) with deliciously brined onions.

egg, smoked-house sriracha, and cilantro. It’s a messy business. The Tête-à-Tête sandwich tasted lovely with Courtney’s pickled onions. It ain’t some fancy restaurant making sea urchin ice cream, but Chef Pink’s talents still shine through. As my friend Kathleen and I drove back to Santa Barbara, we stopped for a glass of Lambrusco (Italian sparkling red wine) to tame our pork bellies. What a fun little lunch trip.

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...continued from p.7 again being a nuisance to the public. But that’s alright. Here comes along the next individual(s) to get help from drug and alcohol addictions. The revolving door. A waste of taxpayers’ money from state and federal funding for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation programs. Also, I told city council on August 5 at the public meeting that many of the caseworkers, counselors and social workers who work in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation, themselves are suppose to be recovering addicts as well. They are the enablers and they will not pass drug and alcohol testing. The staff for drug and rehab centers are not tested. They fail as well. I am not against drug and alcohol rehabilitation, it is just not working here in SB or anywhere else in the United States. But there are a few privately run centers that have a higher success rate than the ninety-nine percent failure rate at all the other centers. Here are the facts: Penn and Teller, on their program BS on Showtime titled 12 Stepping, they reported that they received a copy of a one-year survey by Alcoholics Anonymous Headquarters done in 1989, that the success rate of rehabilitation was five percent and that was the same success without rehab of that same year. You can see it on YouTube. In the year 2000, Dr. Nancy Snyderman for an ABC News 20/20 Special contacted AA headquarters and was told the success rate for rehab recovery is less than three percent. In the year 2009, a Federally Funded National Survey determined that this success rate for rehab and recovery is less than one percent, here in the United States. This was broadcast on MSNBC News. In Europe, it is a 75-percent success rate for recovery. The Europeans are doing something right with their drug and rehab programs. The Kroc Foundation has a $1.8 billion endowment and will not allow one penny of this endowment to existing Salvation Army rehabilitation and recovery programs. That is why the Salvation Army here in SB will not receive any of it. This funding only helps out children, those with disabilities, and senior citizens. My mother who was born in Mexico and never finished third grade, and she did learn how to read and write, not only Spanish but also practically self-taught in English. She told me many times when I was growing up and as well into my adult

years, that if one is addicted to drugs and alcohol they can quit anytime, they just don’t want to. What many of the experts who have done the studies on Drug and Alcohol Addiction pretty much say they can control their addiction with proper treatment. This treatment will never be available in a small city like SB. So, who is going to help me get into housing? As far as Social Security Administration is concerned, I am disabled. I have a seven- to ten-year wait for housing. So does a 70-plus-year-old woman who is homeless that I have not met yet, but I was told about her. And many others who are senior citizens and disabled. There are senior citizens with disabilities who sleep in their cars or in doorways of some buildings, on solid concrete, dirt ground, or behind bushes. We are not the drug addicts and the alcoholics. But if we decide to go that route, then someone is going to come along and say, “We can help you and get you into housing”. And it is not about building more housing, it is getting the right people into housing: those who have disabilities and senior citizens with disabilities who are not addicts. This discrimination is a state and federal violation of the ADA (American Disabilities Act). Those with disabilities are not getting the help they need, especially when it comes to housing, and of course, so many other issues that I spoke about at the SB County Board of Supervisors twice last month during the public comments. On August 5, I brought this up to the Santa Barbara City Council during the public comments as well. What I said to them was that if the Department of Justice is not here by the end of this year to do an investigation, they will be here sometime next year to do a through investigation. I am taking up the cause to fight for those who have disabilities and senior citizens with disabilities who are not addicted to drugs or alcohol, and are discriminated from getting them into housing. We are human beings living like stray dogs in the streets of SB. Enough is enough. Jose Arturo Ortiz de MartinezGallegos Beginner Homeless w/ Disabilities Advocate Santa Barbara (Sharon’s Response: Full disclosure: as someone who grew up in a family of addicts, I fret that I too might fall down the

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We wandered the halls together as the tour continued, taking in a bunk-bed-style shared room, a private room with the coolest mermaid wallpaper and a welcoming patio overlooking the pool. Then, up to the shared laundry facility, back down to the colorful library, and the dazzling pool that peeks over State Street. I could catch different languages wafting through the air as we passed guests. I decided that if any of my friends came for a visit, I knew just where I would send them. “We wanted to be able to offer a value to our guests that they cannot get at any other upscale Santa Barbara hotel,” Matt says. “Not only in price,” he continues, “[but also] because why shouldn’t they feel all the luxurious amenities on their vacation? Our extremely convenient location is close to all that vacationers want in Santa Barbara, with the Funk Zone at our back door, State Street at our front door, and the ocean just blocks away.” Marquis plans to add various activities, mixers, perhaps movie nights. “We plan to try them all,” he promises. “We really are hoping to create an ideal, a new-wayof-thinking hostel. Our Pacifica Hotels design team really pushed the envelope already, trying to engage the guests, mix it up with different accents of our fair city with all the eclectic special touches – some we had to fight for – like the mermaid wallpaper, but once the hotel was finished, we knew we really had something special. A new ‘hostel’ as we all remember it has been born.”

The Wayfarer is located at 12 E. Montecito Street, Santa Barbara. For booking or questions, call (805) 845-1000 or visit www.pacificahotels.com/thewayfarer. Booking is available now and rates start at $159/night for private rooms and $59/night for a single bed in a shared room.

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by Megan Waldrep With over ten years in the industry designing for

her own label, she began writing because “it just felt good.” In addition to writing, Megan is currently the head designer and creative director for Mew Kids, a children’s clothing line, as well as a co-author of the much loved children’s book Spice & Little Sugar. You can say she wears many hats. Which is fitting. For a fashion writer and all. Discover her world at www.mewkids.com.

From Levi’s to Start-up Calvin Rucker

he fashion industry has seen it all. Creating extraordinary and viable pieces is tough and having a concept widely accepted is even tougher. New brands aren’t expected to blaze trails, but in this case, there is an exception. This is a story of two girls who reached for the stars, found great success, and did it again – several times. Fashion label Calvin Rucker developed in the hearts of Caroline Calvin and Joie Rucker almost 20 years ago. Caroline was then design director for Levi Strauss and Joie, a UCSB grad, was a designer for Levi’s. The two worked closely, developing looks that would propel and transform the Levi’s market. Naturally for the creative minds, ideas snowballed into inspiration that would one day reach beyond the walls of the denim giant. “We would get together and we would design and say, ‘Oh, we need to do this type of line. We need to do that...’ We decided that we wanted to do a brand together. That was in 1995.” After the auspicious connection at Levi’s, each woman grew into her own force. Caroline became senior VP of Global Designs for Levi’s, presiding over the U.S., European, Middle Eastern, and African markets, while Joie became VP of design for Guess? Inc. before founding Joie and Rich & Skinny Jeans, grossing more than $40 million in sales collectively. These women literally mean business – and if any two people have the conviction to initiate a start-up, it’s them. Caroline reflects on her time at Levi’s Strauss: “I had great training. I had amazing discipline in terms of managing a team and managing a creative business, so I have all due respect for all the larger corporations.” Heavily loaded with industry knowledge, the stars aligned and the time had come to make their dream a reality. She continues, “We had a lot of belief in what we were doing (at Levi’s) but we also believed that we could provide

It’s only Rock ‘n Roll, but I like it: Calvin Rucker Fall/ Winter 2014

Joie Rucker and Caroline Calvin of design label Calvin Rucker

more to the design aspect if we got outside the corporate walls... I like having control of our destiny, of my destiny, in a smaller business.” Going from big business to small has its challenges. A raw, grittier road awaited them, but according to Joie, that’s part of the fun. “Because we have experience leading bigger teams, it can sometimes be frustrating because we don’t have as many hands on deck, but a lot of times it’s the freedom of that as well.” With major fashion companies such as H&M and Zara in the market, the threat these brands can produce quicker, faster, and less expensive is ever present. Caroline shares their secret weapon in the world of fast fashion: “The way we’re doing this is slow design, slow product. It doesn’t mean we’re doing it slowly, but it’s always about working with artisans, handcraftsmanship, and made in L.A.” Joie and Caroline are hands-on at the factory, watching production happen, and ready to tweak and address any issues as they arise. “There’s always going to be issues no matter what,” she continues, “but we’re taking the artisan craftsman back into design but doing it in casual clothing that’s not couture but casual couture.” The result is a well-loved and thoughtful collection. With two very different design aesthetics at the helm, they shaped the unique styles into one. Joie explains,

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“It’s one thing when you are a designer and you’re working on your own, but it’s different when you have two design leaders coming together to create this new synergy that wouldn’t happen if you were doing it by yourself.” Following the launch of the self-titled fashion label in 2012, Women’s Wear Daily and Apparel News (the fashion industry’s equivalent to The Wall Street Journal) were quick to present the duo’s creative child to the masses with great approval. But these women are more than business smart, they’re all heart. Caroline attributes their process, “Joie and I are very different in terms of perspective, but the surprise is that (the consumers are) getting it right now. They’re seeing how we’re evolving the look every season, they’re watching us curate it, and they’re excited to see the next season.” Witness a woman try on Calvin Rucker designs, and you’ll observe a transformation taking place: The response is subtle but significant; shoulders go back, the chin raises a little higher, and confidence is built. It’s the ultimate compliment to any designer. An obsession with luxurious fabrics and attention to detail in ready-to-wear sets them apart. “To mix couture details with casual expression is different in what we’re doing. Every one of our high-end fabrics are from Italy, Japan, France... we scour the world for the best fabrics,” Caroline affirms. “Fabrics are our passion. Fabric, fabric details, trim, fit, and then

Clothed in confidence

Uniform for the beautifully tough

the look which comes together during the process.” The recently released Fall/ Winter 2014 collection, titled Gamine Rock Chic, is currently available at www.forwardforward.com and high-end retailers throughout the country. They now have presence in the international market as well. California girls with a wide-world view, Calvin Rucker is every woman. “We’re West Coast,” Caroline states, “but we believe from our experience living around the world that we’re bringing the aesthetic of European, casual American, New York... we have a global citizen expression of what we’re doing.” Casual couture is a new concept. You must have trust and confidence from your audience before you can take a journey into the hardly known. Genuinely, Caroline and Joie have more than that – they’ve got mad respect.

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The Weekly Capitalist by Jeff Harding

Jeff Harding is a real estate investor and a writer on economics and finance. He is the former publisher of the Daily Capitalist, a popular economics blog. He is also an adjunct professor at SBCC.

Why Freedom Can Save the Middle East

he stories coming out of Iraq and Syria are depressing, as radical Islamic forces slaughter their neighbors solely because they hold different beliefs. This article is my attempt to explain why the Middle East is so chaotic and violent, and how it can be overcome. Basically, it all comes down to ideas. Much of what we are seeing in the Middle East stems from an idea: Wahhabism (also known as Salafism). You can think of it as a revivalist movement that gets back to the old time “pure” religion and the “Golden Age” when Arab Muslims were ascendant in much of the world. To say it is a strict form of Islam is an understatement. Wahhabis believe that the sacred texts, the Quran and the Haditha (a post-Muhammad write-up of what his followers thought he said and meant), contain all the knowledge required for the regulation of Islam and society. They reject kalam (reason and discourse based on other texts), because human reason is faulty. Know and believe what the Quran says because it is the word of God, and who can be so presumptuous as to understand God’s logic? If you don’t understand the sacred texts, go to a scholar who does. Don’t question, just believe. I have oversimplified Wahhabi ideas and maybe even have gotten them wrong, but whatever the details of the movement’s theology, they believe (1) you must believe only what is written in the Quran and Haditha; (2) you must reject reason and just accept the teachings; and (3) you must follow the word of learned men who preach these ideas. Also one of the tenets of Wahhabism is to bring about a “true” Islamic society, which is very authoritarian – at least if you take Saudi Arabia, the intellectual and financial center of the movement, as an example. There is little room here for free thinkers. It would be a pale comparison to Christian fundamentalism, though not entirely dissimilar. Christianity went through this kind of turmoil constantly during the Middle Ages. With Church-state control of society, forced conversion of nonbelievers (heretics) through torture (Inquisition) was sanctioned by various popes. They also whipped up the faithful into armies that invaded the Middle East and slaughtered Muslims (Crusades).You might recall that we burned a few witches here. Your religion is my heresy; my religion is your heresy. Fortunately, today most Christians accept the teachings and

wisdom of the secular world along with their faith. If you ask why Wahhabism even exists in the modern world, you have to look to the Saudis because Arabia is where Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahab started this movement in the mid-1700s. He made an alliance with the Saud family, and they have been associated with the Wahhabi movement ever since. The other thing about Wahhabism is that it is evangelical. The government of Saudi Arabia and prominent Saudi families have spent many billions of dollars spreading Wahhabism throughout the Muslim world. Their schools (madrassas) and mosques can be found almost everywhere. You can thank oil for that. The Saudis vigorously reject the idea that Wahhabism is responsible for the rise of radical, political Islam today. They would say that these terrorists are not true Wahhabis. From everything I have read, I believe Wahhabism is the fount of radical Islam and, consequently, the rise of terrorism in the Muslim world. If you deny reason, then you open the gates of Hell to radical charismatic imams who turn the faithful into instruments of violent jihad. While the Saudis can attempt to wash their hands of these children of Wahhabism, they have spawned a radical and violent jihadist movement. Had they instead financed schools that taught mathematics, science, and the history of civilization and its ideas, the Middle East would be quite a different place. Why is this radical theology so ascendant in the Muslim-Arab world today? For two reasons. One is the evangelical efforts of Wahhabis, especially by the Saudis who finance madrassas, where students learn only the Quran. The second reason is that when you have nothing else to look forward to in life, it’s easy to be lulled into radicalism. I speak here of the failure of Middle East’s leaders, religious and secular, to create prosperity and well-being for their citizens. I think the majority of Westerners believe that life is worth living and that we can better our lives through self-effort. We are the product of our liberal (the old Jeffersonian meaning here) ideology of individualism, freedom, and capitalism, and its resulting prosperity. On the other hand, if I am locked into poverty, and I look around and see just about everyone else is the same way, I might not be optimistic about my future. And, after all, what do I know? If I have any

education, I haven’t learned much other than religion, and my religious leaders pretty much rule my neighborhood. I am told to reject most things Western as being haram (non-Islamic and therefore sinful) and believe what the Imam says. If I am a good Muslim, I’ll see my reward in heaven. If I am a young man, perhaps appeals to radical violent jihad as a means of achieving oneness with God make a lot of sense to me.

“I think the majority of Westerners believe that life is worth living and that we can better our lives through self-effort” The upshot of all this Wahhabi fervor against a backdrop of poverty is that many Muslims are sympathetic to radicalism. And it’s not that they are unaware of the success and power of the West; they are painfully aware of the failure of their societies. Even if they are not followers of the Wahhabi path, the idea that a powerful jihadi force might

cause the West to fear them is appealing to many (“Surely, Allah will subdue the might of the Disbelievers…” Quran 4:84, whose passage fits into the Salafi/ Wahhabi jihadi idea of “strengthening the hearts of Muslims”). The U.S. has a lot of Muslims. Estimates run from about 3 million to 6 million. It’s not that we don’t have radicals, but the vast majority of U.S. Muslims, especially the second generation, reject radicalism and terrorism because life is good to them in the U.S. Like the rest of us, they work hard to get ahead, care for their families, and appreciate the freedom they have to do and worship as they please. They have no reason to tear down the walls. You already know the answer to the problem. If the Muslim world rejected Wahhabi/Salafi fundamentalism and were given the opportunities offered by Western liberal ideas and institutions, especially free market capitalism, then standards of living would rise and the idea of jihad and authoritarian rule would diminish. It worked in the West and everywhere else in the world when tried. No one is asking them to give up their religious beliefs – just the sword, and that they decide to live freely, cooperate voluntarily in society, and open themselves to liberal ideas and learning. It’s a tall order, but it’s their only hope.

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...continued from p.29 addiction hole someday. I serve as chair of the SB County Advisory Board on Alcohol and Other Drug Problems. I work on the Milpas Outreach Project, dealing with chronically homeless, most of whom have an addiction. In short, I sometimes feel like I am drowning in addiction. And I see cases where seniors and those with disabilities are eclipsed by those with addiction. The addicts tend to need police and fire attention, so they’re quite expensive to a locality, and that’s why they often get prioritized. I am aware that you and Michael Merenda are both Baby Boomers, and my bet is that as more of you edge up to the precipice of age, the issue of seniors facing homelessness will get a lot more attention. I am confident of that, actually. I am also sadly aware that Social Security’s Disability program is maxed-out at present, with record-breaking enrollment, and not just a little fraud. In 2013, nearly nine million people in this country were on Social Security disability. That’s seven percent of our working population. Are we really that disabled as a nation? The Milpas Outreach Project is working with individuals north of 60. Sleeping rough is really not good for seniors! I’ve also met a senior lady that is bouncing between her car and shelter, and lost the car. No life savings, no family to help, and getting her a job at this age... well it’s already a very tough labor market in this town. Everyone is jamming into the low-end, entry-level jobs. There’s just no reason for senior citizens to be out on the streets here, or anywhere. It’s an appalling comment on our society, actually. The disability question is much more difficult – there are so many varying degrees of disability, and I am not qualified to say which ones keep you from working and which don’t. Don’t get me started on the mental health problem... grrrrr. I am already writing on that. I am glad you wrote, and that you’re thinking about these things, too. We need some serious problem-solving heads on this from a cross-section of our community. Sooo... what are you doing for lunch?)

Taking Stock

Jeff Harding, aka the Weekly Capitalist, has had many interesting articles in the Sentinel; however, I don’t recall him ever writing anything about the stock market (if he did, I must have missed it). Anyway, I found out on the Internet

that surprisingly the stock market has been around since long before computers or even the telephone and today most countries in the world have a stock market, including third world and communist countries. There have been some online articles saying that the stock market is no longer doing what it was originally designed to do. It has turned into an oppressive mechanism to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, thus it is hurting the overall economy. Some have suggested that the stock market should be (brace yourself for this one) abolished. Okay, I’m sure some Montecito residents have just fell over in their chairs! But anyway, I was wondering what Jeff’s opinion is on this. If he is in favor of keeping the stock market, which I’m guessing he is, are there any changes to it that could make it better for all Americans. Any regulations? Perhaps even deregulations? What are your thoughts, Jeff? Edmund Geswein Lompoc (Jeff Harding responds: You would be correct that I am in favor of keeping the stock market. I’m not sure if your letter is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I am curious to know who is in favor of eliminating the stock market since I have heard no clamor for that. I just read where a local company, Inogen (INGN), raised $86 million in February by offering stock to investors. Its goal is to provide compact, really lightweight oxygen generators to those who need oxygen to breathe. You’ve probably seen those afflicted with serious lung disease hauling around large, heavy cylinders of oxygen so they can breathe and live. Some kids at UCSB invented the product a couple years ago when one of them wanted to do something to help his grandmother who was tied to one of those cylinders. They will use the money to increase production and help market their products. They have about 160 employees now, which is good for Santa Barbara. So, I think the stock market is a really good thing because it gives business access to capital to help them grow and create jobs, wealth, and prosperity. I guess what really irks me is the type of government we would have that would have enough power to abolish stock markets. You know, if they have enough power to do that, then they have the power to do just about whatever they want. That kind of power usually leads to tyranny. Now that I think

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about it, I don’t think North Korea or Cuba have stock markets. My guess is that people who wish to abolish free and voluntary exchange of capital and ideas – which is essentially what the stock market is – either don’t have an inkling about economics or they wish to have dictatorial powers to force some utopian scheme on the rest of us.

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I could suggest lots of changes to the stock markets, but there’s not enough space for that topic. By the way, if you come across information on how the stock market oppresses poor people, I would urge you to share it with all of us. Thank you for your letter and thank you for reading the Sentinel.)

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