Ms. Santa Barbara by Montecito Journal

WHO’D A THUNK?

WHEN KIM ANDERSON AND AARON OLSON OPENED HANDLEBAR COFFEE ROASTERS THREE YEARS AGO THEIR ONLY COMPETITION WAS STARBUCKS, COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF, AND A PLETHORA OF LOCAL COFFEE HOUSES. TODAY THEY’RE KNOWN FOR MAKING THE BEST COFFEE DRINKS IN TOWN AND ARE PACKED. (STORY ON P. 29)

SANTA BARBARA

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friday to friday fortnightly

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MS. SANTA BARBARA

cover photo by Nancy Neil for C Magazine

BORN IN THE SOUTH, CROWNED MISS WORLD, SANTA BARBARA MAGAZINE EXECUTIVE EDITOR GINA TOLLESON IS UNIQUELY CALIFORNIAN

BY MEGAN WALDREP

THE HOUSE THAT GINA BUILT

he stands in a white gown in front of thousands of people and she just wants to go home. She didn’t set out to be in this position but here she is and there they are – the audience, with all eyes on her. It has been almost a year since she’s been away from family and friends, and she’s ready to get back to a life she once knew.

WHAT TO DO PAGE 10

NEWS & VIEWS PAGE 16

The announcer takes the mic. In a few short moments, it will all be over, and she’ll be free. So she thinks. “And Miss World 1990 is... Miss United States of America, Gina Tolleson!” At that moment, she realized her life would never be the same. This was just the beginning. Looking back, it’s been quite a ride. Executive Editor of Santa Barbara Magazine and single mom Tolleson and I are sitting ...continued p.32

NOT AGAIN... PAGE 27

CYCLAMEN ARE HERE PAGE 34

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Stylin’ & Profilin’ – Megan Waldrep slows down Gina Tolleson, executive editor of Santa Barbara Magazine, long enough for an insightful interview about where she’s from and where her career is going

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Sharon’s Take – Sharon Byrne looks over her shoulder at 2014, with a keen focus on mental health, violence, and the drought

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Beer Guy – Zach Rosen quenches his year-end thirst by turning the page and coupling brews with books, so read all about it

The Weekly Capitalist – Jeffrey Harding casts his gaze toward America’s relations with Cuba and hacks Sony to pieces about The Interview L etters – Leoncio Martins sounds off about minimum wage and Jeffrey Harding responds; David S. McCalmont gets his fill of holiday spirit at Chickfil-A; and Jim Mahoney shares photos of Jimmy Buffett in SB

15 Days a Week – Jeremy Harbin spans his calendar-chronicling wings to cover the end of 2014 and the start of 2015, when the places to go and things to do never let up

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Holistic Deliberation – Allison Antoinette continues her health kick and dissects whether multivitamins are a wise supplement or a wasteful investment

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The News Page – Lennon James casts his net across the Marine Mammal Memorial, curious crawl spaces, The Affair on Showtime, the Amethyst Ball crusade, actress Lesley Nicol, Crasche Hats, artist Judith Geiger, houses by the numbers, a life-sized criminal, and some quotes that explain who’s who

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P.22 P.23

SB View – Sharon Byrne tips her cap to ladies of Milpas who are shakers and movers, while Cheri Rae leafs through Betsy Green’s chronicle of Santa Barbara a century ago

Behind The Vine – Hana-Lee Sedgwick uncovers and unlocks this month’s Key to Wine Country event, replete with flights of fancy Keepin’ It Reel – James Luksic has had enough of writing reviews for individual movies and thus unveils his Top 10 list of 2014, the finest performances, and the worst of all

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Man About Town – Mark Léisuré uses colorful language in chronicling Rainbow Girls, as he talks it up with Erin Chapin; he also offers a medley of musical options on the holiday horizon stretching into 2015

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P lan B – The great hairafter: Briana Westmacott doesn’t fear the beard – especially on her husband; maintaining facial hair is what the Chopshop does best

P.27 P.28 P.29 P.30 P.34

State Street Scribe – Jeff Wing briefly reflects on Thanksgiving and Christmas, then counts down to the New Year, all in the spirit of the season Food File – Christina Enoch was in a food funk, until she found Barbareno, which dishes out the local goods and cures hunger pangs Our Town – Corey Sanders pulls up a chair at Handlebar Coffee Roasters, where Aaron and Kim have cycled their way to serving up a first-class cuppa

The Andersen’s Danish Bakery & Restaurant (805) 962-5085 1106 State Street, Santa Barbara andersenssantabarbara.com

U p Close – Jacquelyn De Longe makes noise about Kernohan’s Toys, which has wowed children and adults alike since the 1950s

In the Garden with Mr. Greenjeans – Cyclamen are coming to town, Randy Arnowitz describes plants to decorate holiday homes and gardens

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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.

A Look Back at 2014 Mental Health Looms Large

couple of years ago, it became public knowledge that all was not well with our county’s mental health department, ADMHS (Alcohol, Drug and Mental health Services). The meltdown was exacerbated by the seeming inscrutability surrounding the department. It wasn’t that ADMHS didn’t want more transparency. It’s just that peering into the inner workings was about as easy as deciphering hieroglyphics through lenses covered in mud. The county supervisors (along with everyone else) could not understand the complex billing and gaps within the system. So a giant reorg was undertaken and is still underway. Against this backdrop, in May, Elliot Rodger carried out a plan for mass murder in Isla Vista, thrusting Santa Barbara County into the glare of national media. New calls for gun control ensued, though that was only one weapon of choice in Rodger’s heinous plan. New scrutiny was thrust onto the role of law enforcement in

cases involving mental illness, ironically just as Sheriff Brown was securing funding for a new jail that would allow better handling of people with severe mental illness. Recognizing that jail is often the de-facto mental health facility in this state, Brown is at least trying to address that problem while also coping with overcrowding and offloading of prison inmates into his jail. He also sits on the state’s oversight commission for the Mental Health Services Act, passed in 2004 to provide funding for services for those suffering from acute mental illness. I can scarcely think of more difficult terrain for a law-and-order Republican to have to repeatedly navigate than the void of services for the mentally ill, and admire the sheriff’s tenacity in trying to find solid solutions on this front. In August, Nicholas Holzer killed his parents, 2 young sons, and the family dog in Goleta. The news reported the killings as close to the University of California at Santa Barbara, and one could be forgiven

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for wondering if there’s some horrible government plot that puts something in the water or sends subliminal pings to induce insanity there. Someone had a theory like that back in the day about Waco, Texas, as the apex of some vortex of unseen energy whose frequency was so high and unbearable, while also undetectable, that it caused people to go insane within weeks. Whatever. But two high-profile mass murders by individuals suffering from mental illness in the same geographic area in one year has certainly got many of us scratching our heads. On the ADMHS reorg front, Alice Gleghorn has assumed the role of executive director. She comes to us from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, as their county alcohol and drug administrator. She’s got her work cut out for her, but looks to have the chops for it.

District Elections Lawsuit

Sued under an act specifically written, it seems, to encourage lawsuits to end at-large elections in California, the city is staring into the certain future of district elections. No city sued so far has prevailed, as the bar to prove racially polarized voting is low enough for a puddle to clear it easily. Once everyone finally accepts the reality that we will indeed be forced to district elections, expect the ball game to turn into a mad scramble over who is going to be in charge of drawing those lines.

The Drought

It started with Palminteri’s shots this year of Lake Cachuma approaching pond-scale. Right when Santa Barbara started moving to drought restrictions, the State Water Project reneged on delivering any water. The Los Angeles Times covered inland communities whose wells had run dry. Their children bathe fully clothed in communal barrels with water hand-carried from another community. Images circulated around social media showing lakes across the state at a fraction of their former size. Fights ensued over who has the right to punch a deeper well for groundwater that multiple farms and families rely on. The state passed legislation to put groundwater under new sweeping controls. 60 Minutes aired a story showing California’s groundwater depletion at dangerous levels via angry red zones. Examinations of Giant Sequoia rings revealed that California has seen 100-year droughts before. And as has happened with big bad droughts here, a great many of us woke up to the precarious fate of 36 million people utterly dependent on a patchwork of tenuous water supplies governed by a snarl of weird regulations. On that note, I am heading outside to do my happy rain dance. Maybe I can make the sky laugh hard enough to open up and pour down some relief. Have a safe and prosperous 2015!

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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.

Cuba Sí, Castro No

find myself agreeing with President Obama, which, as readers know, is a rare, rare thing on these pages. That is, he took the first (small) steps to normalize relations with Cuba which is a good thing for us and for the long oppressed Cuban people. I think the argument is pretty solid that the 50+ year embargo has failed its objective, which was to dislodge the dictator Fidel Castro and his regime. First let’s make sure we understand that Cuba is not a happy-go-lucky place. It is an oppressive dictatorship run by Fidel and now by his brother Raúl. Presumably Fidel is ill and senile or both. Their history is a sordid one of murder, intimidation, torture, corruption, slavery, criminal activities, and massive violations of human rights. There is a reason people flee or defect to the U.S.A. when they get the chance. Unless you are one of the privileged elite (a member of the communist party with good connections), life generally sucks. One of the first comments to come out of Cuba when the thaw was announced was of some campesino asking if they’ll get meat. Castro’s Cuba is one of those throwback regimes born out of the spread of Soviet sponsored revolutions during the Cold War. Most of them are gone now, having failed miserably. The Soviets subsidized Cuba for years. Besides oppressing his own people, Fidel exported revolution to Central and South America causing chaos and poverty until those regimes collapsed, or, as in the case of Venezuela, are in shambles. Whenever I see someone wearing the Che Guevara t-shirt I shake my head; he was not a romantic revolutionary, but rather a murderer, torturer, and instigator of oppression. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the Castro regime never changed. If you

want to see evil, then all you have to do is ask why, in the face of the massive failure, oppression, starvation, and hopelessness they caused, wouldn’t the regime change? Absolute power breeds evil men. The Castro regime has used the U.S. as a scapegoat ever since it took over: all their problems are our fault because of the embargo. Not true. The reason for their failure is their stupid regime and their evil, oppressive policies. After all most other countries trade with Cuba, but the

those involved; the safety of our Internet and computer infrastructure; the paranoia of North Korea’s leaders; delicate foreign relations; and censorship by threats of murder. That in itself would make a great movie. I saw the trailers for The Interview, and while it is probably a sophomoric stoner movie (hey, it’s Seth Rogan for chrissakes), I was looking forward to seeing it. It looked pretty funny to me. Anything that embarrasses North Korea’s evil regime has got my vote for an Oscar. Too bad they don’t have a sense of humor—but hey, they are dictators. What to do? Our government will most likely do nothing. We already have trade and banking sanctions against North Korea. It is not worth going to war over. Obama says we will take “appropriate” action at “a time of our choosing”.

I say float a million balloons over North Korea with the movie loaded onto thumb drives and watch what happens country still stinks. But normalization of relations with Cuba is a step in the right direction. Raúl has taken some small steps to liberalize the economy. Very small steps. Let’s hope they will continue and lift the yoke and let the country prosper. Now they can’t use us as an excuse.

Sony, The Interview, and North Korea This is too good of a story to pass up. North Korea, probably the weirdest, sickest country on the planet hacked into Sony Pictures, stole data and proceeded to use it to embarrass and extort Sony to kill The Interview, the movie that caused their ire. Sony, devastated from the attack, was now unable to find theaters who were willing to show the movie because of threats of violence to those who did. This raises a lot of issues: the released data revealing the zaniness of the Hollywood business model crafted around the egos of

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Don’t get mad, get even, I say. What could Sony, a private corporation located in Japan, do? Well, they probably can’t bomb North Korea. Perhaps some brave online outlet will step up and agree to sell the DVDs or stream the movie. One thought was to declare the film free of copyright, put it into the public domain, and release it on the Internet, for free. We all know that eventually it will end up on the Internet anyway. Also there are already groups in South Korea that float balloons

into North Korea with thumb drives loaded with media, including western movies. I say float a million balloons over North Korea with the movie loaded onto thumb drives and watch what happens. Another tactic would be tit-for-tat. Hire a bunch of hackers to cause as much havoc as possible in North Korea. The hacker group Anonymous took down the regime’s propaganda website last year. Of course Sony would deny any involvement. The North Koreans would say it’s an act of war. But what could they do? Bomb Japan or South Korea? Good luck with that; Pyongyang would be wiped out in minutes. Launch an invasion of South Korea? They wouldn’t last more than a week because they would run out of food. Hey, just line up all the food trucks from Seoul at the DMZ, and my guess those brave North Korean soldiers would trade AK-47s for burritos with kimchi. We are entering a new world folks. North Korea has proven that a rogue regime can and will cause havoc. The big issue here is not cyber terrorism or censorship: it’s the viability of the Internet. Experts say it’s impossible to fully protect our networks. It’s not impossible. If it were impossible, then you can kiss the Internet goodbye. The worlds’ economies run in large part because of the Internet infrastructure and if it can’t be made secure then it will wither and die. One way to look at it is that we are still in the dawn of the Computer Age and eventually it will be fixed. In the meanwhile we need to brace ourselves for a new kind of warfare. And we should do everything we can to get The Interview into theaters and computers worldwide. To hell with North Korea.

Publisher/Editor • Tim Buckley | Design/Production • Trent Watanabe Managing Editor • James Luksic Contributing Partner Opinion • sbview.com Columnists Shop Girl • Kateri Wozny | You Have Your Hands Full • Mara Peters Plan B • Briana Westmacott | Food File • Christina Enoch Commercial Corner • Austin Herlihy | The Weekly Capitalist • Jeff Harding Man About Town • Mark Leisure | In The Garden • Randy Arnowitz The Beer Guy • Zach Rosen | Elevator Pitch • Grant Lepper Girl About Town • Julie Bifano | In The Zone • Tommie Vaughn Mad Science • Rachelle Oldmixon | Keepin’ It Reel • James Luksic Stylin’ & Profilin’ • Megan Waldrep | 15 Days • Jeremy Harbin State Street Scribe • Jeff Wing | Holistic Deliberation • Allison Antoinette Up Close • Jacquelyn De Longe | Behind The Vine • Hana-Lee Sedgwick Advertising/Sales Tanis Nelson • 805.689.0304 • tanis@santabarbarasentinel.com Sue Brooks • 805.455.9116 • sue@santabarbarasentinel.com Judson Bardwell • 619.379.1506 • judson@santabarbarasentinel.com Kim Collins • 805.895.1305 • kim@santabarbarasentinel.com Published by SB Sentinel, LLC PRINTED BY NPCP INC., SANTA BARBARA, CA Santa Barbara Sentinel is compiled every other Friday 133 EAST DE LA GUERRA STREET, #182, Santa Barbara 93101 How to reach us: 805.845.1673 • E-MAIL: tim@santabarbarasentinel.com

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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.

Minimum Wage

ear Mr. Jeffrey Harding, (In response to The Weekly Capitalist, Sentinel #3/25): increasing the minimum wage is smart for families and the economy. Today’s minimum-wage workers are better educated and more productive than their predecessors, but their wages are less adequate for meeting their needs. A worker employed full time at minimum wage earns $15,080, nearly $3,500 less than the federal poverty level for a family of three. Increasing the minimum wage would help put American families on a more solid economic path, increasing their confidence as consumers, and in turn their spending power. It would also move the United States toward a model of greater shared prosperity where worker’s can increase their living standards through increased earnings rather than through increased debt. The gap between executive pay and worker wages continues to grow. In 2013, the average CEO was paid 331 times what the average worker in the U.S. earned and 774 times what full-time minimum-wage workers made, according to a new analysis released by AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union. Chief executives took home on average a haul of $11.7 million in 2013, while the average employee earned $35,293. James Skinner, CEO of McDonald’s, for instance, made a total of $27.7 million in 2013. Michael T. Duke of Walmart Stores Inc. hauled in $20 million in 2013, and Larry Merlo of the CVS Caremark Corp. had a salary of $31 million. Those figures are dwarfed by what Larry Ellison, the CEO of Software Company Oracle and the best-compensated executive in the country, made last year: $78 million. To put those numbers in perspective, a minimum-wage employee would have to work 1,372 hours to make what Duke earns in a single hour in his job at the helm of Walmart. In recent decades, corporate CEOs have been taking a greater share of the economic pie while wages have stagnated. Even as companies argue that they can’t afford to raise wages, the nation’s largest companies are earning higher profits per employee than they did five years ago. Also, many executives do not suffer the consequences when they prove themselves poor stewards. For instance, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, earned a 74-percent pay raise in 2013, the same year that the company paid $20 billion in fines for regulatory wrongdoing and barely escaped criminal penalties. Finally, as we slowly recover from the

worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, corporate profits have soared, but American workers continue to be left behind. Decreases in wages (and corresponding decreases in family incomes) have increased child and family poverty and contributed to further increases in income inequality. Sincerely, Leoncio Martins Montecito (Jeff Harding responds: Thank you for writing to me about my recent article on minimum wage. But Leoncio, I have to ask you if you really read it. I don’t think you did, because I answered all of your comments in my article. You have written before saying much the same things about minimum wage and wealth inequality. I have shown in clear language why raising the minimum wage won’t alleviate poverty or help those who are unskilled workers earning minimum wages. Your argument is that the extra cash in the hands of low-wage workers will help the economy. How is that, Leoncio? The money has to come from somewhere and, with minimum wage, it comes out of the pockets of the employer or out of the pockets of the consumers – who may pay higher prices to offset the wage increase. As I pointed out in the article, in regard to fast-food workers, these restaurants have really tight margins and with intense competition in that field raising prices is not always an option. What results is unemployment, as employers try to reduce wage costs and lay off employees. Unemployment also results because fewer unemployed folks who need the work and ...continued p.8

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...continued from p.7 are willing to work for a lower wage won’t be hired. My point was that wage controls such as the minimum wage cause unemployment for unskilled workers. Also, if you suck money out of the employer or consumers and give it to minimum-wage workers, how does that help the economy? Are you saying they will spend the money better than the people from whom the money was taken? I think not, so there is no positive gain. Your other argument is that corporate execs make too much money and you imply that is an injustice, and I guess your solution would be to take it away from the execs and have the government redistribute the wealth to the needy. Yikes! What kind of government would that be, Leoncio? All powerful, all wise — all political. If you want to eliminate poverty, get the government out of the way, let entrepreneurs create jobs, and let the people choose what jobs they want. – J.H.)

Getting His Fill

Guitar: Taylor Custom BTO “Ultimate Couch Guitar” Sherry Villanueva, THE FUNK ZONE (The Lark, Lucky Penny, etc.), 93101

This morning (December 20), I walked into our Chick-fil-A restaurant at 6:30 am for breakfast, expecting to be surrounded by Christmas decorations and joyful Christmas music. I saw and heard nothing different from my last visit before Thanksgiving. Before ordering, I mentioned to the exuberant young female cashier that I thought Chick-fil-A would be copying from the playbook of commercial establishments in the past, rather than the current practices of rivals Carl’s Jr. and Jack-in-the-Box, and present a Christmas atmosphere for its customers. The cashier excitedly pointed to this anemic representation of a Yuletide tree over in the corner. She said that was the store’s “Christmas decoration.” And with a greater display of elation (if that’s possible; nothing comes close to teenage enthusiasm), she pointed out that the piped-in music was “Christianinstrumental” created and recorded by Christian musicians expressly for Chickfil-A. I rebutted to her that is the same

music you folks play all during the year. “But it’s Christian”, she shot back; all the while I’m pondering just what it is about these lackluster instrumental background renditions that makes them “Christian”! Creators of Muzak would doze off listening to this pap. If multi-millionaire Christian owners in Georgia feel a need to cave-in on the great cultural battles breaking out across America, how is it that less-powerful individuals on their own should be expected to bear the crunch of warfare in the Public Square with people and forces whose goal is nothing less than the elimination of Christmas from public consciousness? I’m not “angry” with Chick-fil-A... just disappointed. Glad these owners weren’t around in 1776; they would’ve told George Washington they can’t take up arms against the British – they’re some of our best customers! David S. McCalmont Santa Barbara

Fell Through the Cracks

(Editor’s note: We received this letter in October, but unfortunately it was lost in our Spam folder. We truly apologize.)

“Where is my poster?” He didn’t need one. Jimmy Buffett’s gig sold out the first day. Theme from Route 66: Jimmy Buffett in a 1962 Corvette with board – ready to roll

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Here is Jimmy Buffett in the Funk Zone before his sold-out concert at the SB Bowl, filming video clips that were shown in a worldwide live concert broadcast that night. The video clips got huge hoots from the 4,500 parrot-heads who packed the bowl. When in town, J.B. hangs in the FZ with pals Roger Nance (Beach House) and Reynolds Yater (the current pope of the surfing world). Jim Mahoney Funk Zone

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by Zach Rosen

Drinking While Reading

have a serious problem with books. My studio has piles of them. I can no longer allow myself to go into book stores, as I will lose control and end up trying to cart away far more books than I would ever be able to read. I rarely leave the house without a few of them tucked away in my backpack. This is my favorite time of year to read. The cool days make it easy to stay inside, reading, and of course, having a beer. I often find that what I am reading determines what I am drinking. Here are a few beers and books to enjoy next to one another.

Work by David Macaulay is one of the best out there. This explicative illustrated book has become a classic bestseller and a must for every household. After reading this book, you will never look at the world the same way. Macaulay deciphers the inner workings of everyday objects like electric trimmers or cylinder locks, demystifying their nature with simple text and whimsical illustrations. The book ranges from simple forces of physics to electronics and modern machines.

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.

Each explanation is assisted by woolly mammoths that travel up the page and across inclined planes, power plants, and through a whole variety of adventures. This book does not necessarily need to be read from front to-back. Just flip it open and get lost in the page. Try the vibrant Moving Parts 02 from

The Wide Disc World

Although I do love a good novel, who are we kidding? Picture books are the funnest, and The New Way Things

Victory Brewing Co. alongside this dynamic book. Moving Parts is a series of “ever-evolving” IPAs that explore the style and various ingredients. IPA series have ...continued p.15

Weekly Happenings in Santa Barbara:

Terry Pratchett is one of my favorite authors, and his Disc World series is unrivaled. Pratchett writes with the imaginative and fantastic qualities of Tolkien and the satirical edge of Stephen Colbert. From dragons, zombies, and talking dogs, Pratchett uses it all. The Disc World features recurring characters that the reader falls in love with throughout the series. Each book satires a different topic and the plot builds with suspense as multiple story lines are woven into one another. Since there are dozens of books in the series, it is difficult where to jump into. I would not recommend starting with his first book, The Color of Magic, which focuses on tourism. It is a great read but is not the best representation of Pratchett’s style. Here are a few good ones to start with: Reaper Man looks at time, relationships and death, even featuring Death as the main character. Death’s dry humor and logical approach to situations make him a favorite player among Disc World readers and this is one of his best stories. Witches Abroad addresses the ironies found in fairy tales and features the exploits of three witches, who are another favorite recurring set of characters. Going Postal satires the post office and will introduce you to the town of Ankh-Morpork, a London-like urban sprawl that is the main city in the Disc World books. Each book is about 300 pages, and the witty writing and fun characters make these books an easy read. To match Pratchett’s wit and English-style of humor, try one of his books alongside Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale by Black Sheep Brewery. This light, English pale ale has a soft fruity aroma and a crisp, biscuit malt character that complements these cheerful, fun books.

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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 December 27

Welcome to Another Week in Santa Barbara

Here we are again, at the precipice of another rollercoaster ride that is this biweekly calendar of Santa Barbara soirées, shindigs, and other situations. Sure, this ride looks like it might not have undergone maintenance anytime recently, and you’re not very confident in the mental state of the operator, but you didn’t stand in line for nothin’, man. So pull that rusty metal bar down over your lap and click it into place, because here we go (I’m not sure what the line or the safety bar stand for in this calendar-as-roller-coaster thing, either, which makes the metaphor as rickety as its own image, so it works on multiple levels): For today’s to-do, I’m recommending that you shove your Santa Barbaran-ness in the face of everyone you know who doesn’t live here by going to the beach. As you know, I’m writing you from the past. So I don’t know what the temperature is today, but I do know that it’s probably pleasant enough to – if not put your snorkel on and splash around – then at least to take a little walk on the sand. But that’s not enough. You need to take pictures. Now, you might feel the urge to post those pictures on the Internet, where your friends and family living in Not Santa Barbara will unwittingly come across them as they scroll through their social networking feeds. Resist this urge. The Internet’s oversaturated with jealous-making imagery and people are becoming more immune to its effects. To achieve the level of envy we’re going for here, you’re going to need to print your beach pictures out, stuff them in an envelope, and mail them to your old college roommate in New York and your old Aunt Gretta up in Oregon. Do it today, and with luck, they’ll get your letter in time for New Year’s. They’ll be all bundled up, afraid to go outside, and through their mail slot will come photos of you in shorts walking on the beach. “Why are you doing this to me?” they’ll call you up and ask. And it’s a fair question. That was a really weird, kind of mean thing you did.

Sunday December 28

Almost a New Year

We’re deep into that liminal, Bermuda-triangle stretch of the holiday season now. Christmas is over, but it’s not New Year’s yet. Shops and restaurants are keeping odd hours. Offices are making employees come in for two days at the beginning of the week before another long weekend. Some businesses are just locking up altogether until far enough into 2015 that everyone’s over their hangovers. What to do in this time of change? Do we just wait around for the first of January, or do we squeeze the last bit of life out of a year that’s all but over? Some would say that you have to choose life! Carpe Decemberem! Especially if you’re off work until next year, you have no excuse: use today and the remainder of 2014 to do those things you’ve been putting off. Maybe it’s just responding to some emails or cleaning the bathroom, but maybe it’s professing your love to a special someone or telling your boss where he can put his spreadsheets or driving to the grand canyon for no other reason other than you want to and you can. You could just lay on your couch, feeding on leftovers and thinking about how your life will be different come next month, or you could get up, throw the mashed potatoes and gravy away, and make those changes today. But then again, that would be wasteful. Let’s think about this first – wouldn’t want to do anything rash. Okay, I say we stay on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix until the leftovers are all gone. There’s a lot left in there still. Hmmm… maybe it’s better to just wait until next year to get out into the world and make changes. January, though. In January, we’ll do everything we’ve ever wanted to do. Yeah, next year.

Monday December 29 Rock Bands

Today’s event is a concert at the Lobero Theatre (33 East Canon Perdido Street) by bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. Now, I can’t claim to know much about the rock music genre, but I am vaguely aware that there exists an underground scene of alternative acts that college students just love – or at least they did in the 1980s and

90s. Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker were involved in this “college rock underground” in their day, with the latter even poking its head aboveground with the hit song “Low” (you know it: “Hey, hey, hey, like being stoned”). Well, these bands are still playing their guitar songs for cool moms and rock dads across our great nation, and they make their stop in Santa Barbara tonight at 8. Seems like a great way to spend a Monday, if you ask me. Get your tix at lobero.com.

Tuesday December 30 NYE Eve

We’re all excited, of course, because we all love New Year’s Eve, coming up tomorrow. You know how it goes: pay an exorbitant amount of money to eat a prix fixe dinner at one of our fine dining establishments, pour a sip of champagne and wait for midnight, shake hands with your neighbors, and make it into bed by 12:25. Get ready for the fun evening in store for you tomorrow by stocking up on all the good stuff you’ll need. For those of you foregoing the dinner out, perhaps you’re cooking for yourself or even throwing a little get-together for friends. Either way, you need food. Get that food at the Farmers Market on the 500-600 blocks of State Street from 4 to 7 pm. Then, you’ll need clothes and decorations for this party you’re throwing. Get those things at the Early Bird Flea Market at the Earl Warren Showgrounds from 6 am to 7 pm. Come tomorrow, you’ll be as ready as you’ll ever be to see the old year out the door and invite Baby New Year in.

Wednesday December 31 NYE

You can throw a rock out your window and hit an establishment that’s holding a New Year’s party tonight, so here are a few options: you’ve got New Year’s Eve Pops at the Granada Theatre (1214 State Street) at 8:30 pm. There, you’ll thrill to the Santa Barbara Symphony’s stab at songs from Broadway, the silver screen, Gershwin, and more, led by conductor Bob Bernhardt. You could head to the SOhO Restaurant and Music Club (1221 State Street) for dinner and music by a band called Soul Majestic. If you’d rather spend your night in the Funk Zone, Les Marchands Wine Bar and Merchant (131 Anacapa Street) is offering a flight of three sparkling wines for $18. If you want to get fancy with a ball drop and well-dressed dancing people, there’s a Black and White Party at the Bacara (8301 Hollister Avenue). And if you’re in the valley and want to stay there, you might consider the dinner specials at S.Y. Kitchen (1110 Faraday Street, Santa Ynez). Happy New Year!

Thursday January 1

Happy New Year

My advice for you this morning? A lot of water, a banana, one pack of Emergen-C or a similar product, and a good breakfast. Then go back to sleep. When you wake up the second time, your head should be clear enough to recall a few choice embarrassing moments from last night. (“How come nobody dances with a lampshade on their head anymore?” you wondered aloud to your fellow revelers, moments before you danced with a lampshade on your head.) Tell yourself no one will remember and distract yourself from your feeling of shame by doing some work or watching TV or cleaning the house. Then, when the clock strikes 5:30, head downtown to First Thursday. That’s the best way to put the past behind you: just carry on like nothing ever happened. So enjoy your First Thursday as usual; go downtown to check out art, do some shopping, eat some food, and drink some wine. Just try not to run into anybody from the party last night.

Friday January 2 Resolute

Some people choose to make New Year’s resolutions, usually to stop smoking, to stop eating unhealthy food, to start exercising – something self-improvement oriented. Some people have

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broken their resolutions already. To them, I say, there’s always next year. To those still hanging on to a new and improved lifestyle, here’s what to do today: put yourself to the test. You’re probably feeling pretty cocky at this point, having made it more than 24 hours now without a donut or an American Spirit. But you don’t want to become overconfident, lest ye fall to hubris, from a further height than need be. To combat this possibility, confront the thing you’re staving off. Smokers, buy a pack. Open it. Set it on your coffee table along with a lighter and an ashtray. Now think about everything in your life that stresses you out. Eat a big meal and have a couple drinks. If you make it to January the third without lighting up, you’re ready. Start telling people you officially quit smoking. Leave the pack on the coffee table just in case, though. Overeaters, do your own version of the cold-turkey method. You can’t quit food, of course, but you can quit food that tastes good. Have one egg white – no salt – for breakfast, a kale salad – no dressing – for lunch, and another egg white for dinner with a cube of melon for dessert. About an hour before your bedtime, go down to your former favorite restaurant and stand in view of the kitchen. Tell the staff to ready your favorite dish and set it in front of you. If you go home and only have a second helping of melon cube before you fall asleep, you’re ready. You can now officially start telling people that you lost 25 pounds. We can do it, everybody. Let’s all make this new year into whatever we want it to be. Achieve your dreams in 2015!

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Saturday January 3

More Rock Bands

Again, I can’t claim to know much about rock ‘n’ roll music (see calendar entry for December 29). However, I do have the vague-est of understandings that there was a scene of musicians in San Francisco in the 1960s that achieved total heavyocity. These bands had names like the Quicksilver Messenger Service, Country Joe and the Fish, Moby Grape, and Grateful Dead. Among them was Sons of Champlin; this band’s Bill Champlin would go on to join the band Chicago once the fumes of the 1960s and 70s had dissipated. Tonight, he gets the band to stop looking at pictures of grandkids for long enough to relive the glory days starting at 7:30 pm at the Lobero (33 East Canon Perdido Street). Now, not everyone from that famous San Francisco scene is so lucky as to be able to get the act back on stage well into the twenty tens. Once again, I may know virtually nothing about R&B or rock ‘n’ roll, but as I oh-so-vaguely understand it, the druggy exhaust coming off this 60s Festival Excess didn’t disperse without first choking out a few victims. But we learned our lessons – as listeners, as musicians, as marketing majors. Yes, if the Grateful Dead et al taught us any lesson, it’s a big one about branding. Music – especially the kind that young people will listen to – will make more money if it can be tightly controlled by teams of managers, agents, label executives, public relations people, and salesmen of all stripes. Once we – we, as a “content” making, targeting, packaging, and consuming culture – implemented what we learned from the Dead and the 60s scene in general, we finally arrived at talent like Will Champlin, son of Sons of Champlin’s Bill Champlin, and third-place cast member of season five of The Voice. He also performs tonight at the Lobero. Get your tickets for this family affair at lobero.com.

Sunday January 4

Funky Sunday

I hear you asking: what is Funky Sunday? I’ll tell you. Funky Sunday is a new holiday invented by the creative, trailblazing minds behind 15 Days a Week, Santa Barbara’s favorite calendar of events. On Funky Sunday, you go into the Funk Zone. (That’s the very reason it’s called Funky Sunday; it’s a play on the name of the Funk Zone.) If you don’t know – maybe you’re new to town or just visiting – the Funk Zone is a south-side neighborhood just a block away from the beach that was once an industrial area that now finds itself chock full of artists and wine and beer and food and boutiques. As art goes, just walk around and check out murals and maybe wander into an open studio. For wine, you’ll have no problem finding a glass. You could try Pali or Santa Barbara Winery on the main Funky Strip of Yanonali – just to name a couple of tasting rooms that have been featured here in the Sentinel – or try a glass from Municipal down Anacapa Street. If you’re more of a beer person, it’s got to be Fig Mountain in the Anacapa Project for you. When you get hungry, choose a place from your ever-expanding list of options – maybe Seven or Metropulos or Mony’s. Once you’ve had your fill, remember who sent you to Santa Barbara’s premier arts district and go home to rest up for next time. ...continued p.12

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...continued from p.11

shared the stage with heavy hitters like Yo-Yo Ma. The Cory Beers Cimbalom Band opens the show. Doors are at 6:30 pm; music starts at 7:30. Go to www.sohosb.com for your tickets.

Monday

Wednesday

January 5 Wine Time

Speaking of the Funk Zone, there’s always Monday Night Flights at Les Marchands Wine Bar and Merchant (131 Anacapa Street). This is a weekly event for folks who’d like to get deeper into their wine, people who aren’t satisfied with their usual selection of Charles Shaw. There won’t be any Two Buck Chuck there tonight, but maybe your sommelier could answer all your questions about the infamous brand. Is it true it’s so cheap because it’s being sold at that price out of spite after a divorce? Is it true it’s so cheap because there are animals in it? Is it true it’s so cheap because airlines had to sell their stock to Trader Joe’s after they could no longer use corkscrews onboard after 9/11? No, probably not – to all of the above. While the truth is that it’s just not good wine, there’s only one way to know for sure, and that’s to ask the good people of Les Marchands tonight at Monday Night Flights. They’ll expertly pair wine and food for you, but you just keep on with those questions about Charles Shaw; they’ll love it and might even send over a bottle on the house.

Tuesday

January 7

Hump Day Retreat

Here we are again. You’re presumably back at work, the good tidings of the holiday season and the good times of New Year’s far, far behind you. It’s like it never happened at all. It’s just another hump day. You know what you need? You need a retreat from the harsh concrete jungle of Santa Barbara into one of the serene landscapes set aside by our city planners. Consider taking your sack lunch to Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens (1500 Santa Barbara Street). Our town’s most manicured park has plenty of flowers and animals and ponds and benches… everything you need to help you forget about everything else, everything except for your turkey sandwich. Now back to work!

Thursday January 8

Early Date Night

January 6 Klezmazing

We don’t get too many klezmer bands coming through town (I know because I write an events calendar). So fans of the genre will surely to excited to learn that not only will their favorite music be played tonight at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club (1221 State Street), but it will be played by musicians at the top of their game. The Yiddish Art Trio features three players from New York who can play the traditional stuff but like to take the style into new territory, as well. They’ve

You could go hiking or something like that today to work on your weight loss resolution, but, I mean, you just went to the park yesterday. You wouldn’t want to overdo it with the outdoors. Too much of anything, as I understand it, is a bad thing. For that reason, we’re going to stay out of the sunlight as much as possible today by taking in a film at one of our local Metropolitan Theatres. Perhaps you could visit the one in Paseo Nuevo and pair your movie with some shopping. Or how about the Fiesta Five? Watch a movie, wander out onto State Street to find some dinner… you’ve got the makings of a classic date night. Use the first part of today to find a date.

Friday January 9

Walk and Eat

Savor Santa Barbara Food Tours offers tourists a chance to “eat and drink like a local.” So if you’re a local, and you take a tour, does that mean you’re actually eating like a tourist? Probably not. But it does mean that you’d get to eat good food and drink good beer and wine. So what if you have to rub elbows with some out-of-towners? Tourists are people too, you know – sometimes with interesting perspectives on life as a non-Santa Barbaran, like what it’s like to live in a place where you have to check the forecast, or save up money and take vacation time from work if you want to see the beach or some mountains. Breaking bread with these types can only serve to expand your horizons and give you a fresh view of our city. That’s why today we’re going on Savor’s tour of lower State and the Funk Zone. Get more information at savorsantabarbarafoodtours.com.

Saturday

PANINO PANINO PANINO PANINO PANINO

January 10 Field Trip

H A P P Y

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THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL 2014! Chris Parker | Ingrid Biancone | Steve Brown | Austin Herlihy

It’s been a whole bi-week of Santa Barbara, so how about we go up to the valley today? Here’s what you do: wake up. Make your coffee and your breakfast. Relax. At your leisure, you get dressed and ready, and you get into your car and you make the drive up to Solvang. This town is – here it comes, a word I try to stay away from – cute. But better than that, it has a lot of good food and drink and shopping. So spend some time checking it out. Have lunch at Panino, dinner at Giovanni’s, and end the night with some live music at the Sevtap Tasting Room.

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Multivitamins: Wise or Wasteful?

ultivitamins (MVM) have long been considered a secret weapon to aid health and fight against chronic disease. The idea behind taking an MVM is to provide the daily intake of vitamins and minerals that our diet should be providing but rarely does. With the rise of preventative medicine in the U.S. coupled with expensive marketing campaigns, the supplement industry is now $28 billion strong and growing. In recent years, however, multivitamin use has come under heavy attack. At $15-25 per bottle, and a growing campaign against them, how do we know that our investment is a wise one and not wasteful? We are biologically designed to thrive on a balanced variety of whole foods, such as fruits, veggies, beans, and lean sources of protein and calcium. Unfortunately, natural instincts to eat the right amount of these foods can be tricked by sugarand fat-laden empty calories that make up a good portion of the American diet. Even if people learn to choose fresh, sweet corn over processed corn chips, they face another challenge: today’s natural foods do not contain the same level of micronutrients they used to. The typical American consumes too many calories, and those extra calories do not translate to adequate nutrition. We often get suboptimal levels of key nutrients and phytonutrients that scientists are just beginning to understand. What makes the issue so confusing is that research on the benefits of vitamins is conflicting, and it’s often the negative studies that garner press attention. Last December, CBS News released a report concluding, “The Case is Closed,” multivitamins offer no health benefits and might even be harmful. It highlighted three studies put out by the Annals of Internal Medicine that added significant fuel to the fire. One review found no benefit in preventing early death, heart disease, or cancer. Another found that taking multivitamins did nothing to stave off cognitive decline with aging. A third found that high-dose multivitamins didn’t help people who had had one heart attack avoid another. Enough is enough, the report said: stop wasting money on multivitamins. Promises on labels can stretch the letter of the law by using carefully worded claims that suggest exaggerated results. Dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA as drugs are, and some manufacturers may

imply that their products have greater powers than the scientific evidence shows. Consequently, the amount and quality of evidence supporting the effectiveness of supplements varies greatly. Multivitamin supporters argue that by providing key missing nutrients in special diets – especially for pregnant women, some vegetarians and vegans, people with strong food allergies, and the elderly to name a few – they are mitigating the risks of nutrient deficiency that can, for instance, lead to osteoporosis. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, most adults and children don’t get enough calcium, vitamin D, or potassium. Ideally, one would consume potassium-rich foods, including dark leafy greens, legumes, and salmon, to fill their potassium gaps, but choosing a multivitamin supplement that contains these nutrients to act as a safeguard is the next best option. Moreover, studies similar to those cited by CBS are often designed to fail before getting started (both intentionally and unintentionally). Leading expert on preventative medicine, Dr. Mark Hyman, argues that “Nature doesn’t work by giving you only one thing. We all agree that broccoli is good for you, but if that were all you ate, you would die in short order. The same is true of vitamins. Nutrients are not drugs, and they cannot be studied as drugs. They are part of a biological system where all nutrients work as a team to support your biochemical processes.” At the end of the day, there is still too much conflicting research to draw a concrete conclusion. Most professionals agree that if proper vitamin ratios are not observed, then your risk of nutrient deficiencies do increase. Second, if mega-doses of vitamins are taken for prolonged periods, like two weeks or more, then natural vitamin transporters are diminished in the body. Before making a decision, start by filling your grocery cart with a variety of nourishing, nutrient-rich foods. Take stock of your diet habits and then evaluate what is missing. A daily multivitamin is a safer bet than a cocktail of individual supplements that can exceed the safe upper limits of the recommended intake for any nutrient, but no matter what, you should consult your doctor or registered dietician to help guide your vitamin investment. No one wants a drawer full of half-consumed vitamin bottles leftover from last year’s resolutions.

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...continued from p.9 become a popular trend with breweries, and Moving Parts is one of the most impressive iterations of this concept. The bright malt flavor is accented by notes of honeycrisp apples and herbs with an earthy fruitiness reminiscent of Ceylon tea. Moving Parts 02 alongside The New Way Things Work is a powerful force. Both have layers of complexity that will keep you engaged and never leave your senses in a bore.

Beer and Books Made Here

Pure Order Brewing Co. has become a popular hang out spot for locals, with a tasting room that is often accompanied by outside games, live music, and food trucks. The laid-back brewery is a great place to grab a pint while reading next to their impressive array of hop vines. Earlier this year, owners James and David Burge planted a small field of cascade hops on the brewery property. The hop plant is a climbing, herbaceous perennial, meaning that the external plant dies off during the fall. The rootstock lives underground during the winter, and the plant materializes again in the spring. Because of this, the hop plant is establishing its root structure the first year it is planted and usually only develops a few hop cones, which is the part of the plant that is used in brewing. We were all shocked to see how well their hop vines did for a first-year growth. By the end of this summer, their hop yard was full of bushy vines with fat hop cones. James and David harvested the hop cones this fall and brewed their Hometown Brown with them. This brown ale has a brief caramel-like sweetness and a quenching character. The hops flavor is mild, featuring a zesty spice note and some anise and citrus undertones. The easy-drinking nature of this brew means you can throw down a pint without a worry. Grab a pint and sit in their beer garden while reading We Make Beer by local beer writer Sean Lewis (santabarbarabeer. wordpress.com). Grab a copy of Sean’s book at the brewery’s gift store. Sean has autographed them with a different beer musing in each book. We Make Beer is a series of stories that feature engaging writing and intriguing views. Each chapter focuses on a different interview and is titled by a quote, with the meaning of the section accented by a star. Sean’s writing achieves what every journalist wants to accomplish in an interview. He looks past the beer and identifies the brewer’s mind and how their palate influences it. Sean places interviews in context for the reader while lacing his own insights on the meaning of beer into the text. The book makes a good lazy day’s read, lasting about a growler’s length of this easy-drinking brown ale. Whatever you end up reading, make sure to have some beer there because brews and books make a powerful pair.

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TheNewsPage

themjmag.com and either download the interview or simply read it there on the site. As for the $300-per-person Amethyst Ball, call (805) 963-1433, extension 117, for more information or go to cadasb.org/ amethystball.

by Lennon James

Marine Mammal Memorial

Up at Downton

Jim Knowlton (left) helped direct and produce Swain’s Island, One of the Last Jewels of the Planet, and Secret Ocean 3D with Jean-Michel Cousteau. Swain’s Island is a 56-minute documentary meant for television, and Secret Ocean was produced for IMAX theaters, “which are all forty minutes long, never longer,” Knowlton says. “We are showing little teases,” Jean-Michel adds, because the films have been selected to be shown at the film festival in January, and festival organizers insist they not be unveiled until first unspooled there. Curious and/or impatient readers can view the two-minute-long Swain Island trailer, however, on YouTube.

uring the “meet & greet” just before the 38th Annual Holiday Show and Auction for the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center began in Fleischmann Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Jean-Michel Cousteau surmised that “it was only because of Mimi DeGruy (Mike DeGruy’s widow)” that he, Cousteau, had been selected as the 2015 recipient of the David Attenborough Award at the upcoming Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). When the event got underway, Marine Mammal Center director Peter Howorth narrated “In The Wake Of Giants,” a documentary dealing with the cooperation and expertise needed to save a whale that had been caught up in fishing lines. Howorth also served as MC for the evening, introducing Jean-Michel, who presented what he called “a little tease” and played trailers for two films he has worked on, and that will be unspooled for the first time at the upcoming film festival. Among the many “Christmas Gift” ideas displayed on tables lining the auditorium, the most popular – and biggest movers – were digital prints of Peggy Oki’s original watercolors and oil paintings, priced at $20, $25, and $30; sales were brisk.

Dominic West and Ruth Wilson star as two really mixed-up wife-and-husband-cheating, family-deserting lovers in The Affair, a gritty, compelling, hugely entertaining and highly addictive Showtime series (photo credit: Barbara Nitke/Showtime)

Showtime was supposed to wrap it all up, wasn’t it? Apparently not. Now, the couple lives in New York City in a big apartment with a view of the rest of Manhattan. He’s a successful writer and she’s... a mother... again. Oh, and he was just arrested by the Montauk sheriff and a couple of deputies. But, hey, that’s life in the big city and how most affairs end, right? No. Season Two, we are informed, is right around the corner and we are advised to “stay tuned.” We will, dammit.

The British Invasion

Peggy Oki sells her whimsical prints “in a couple of surf shops” and also online at: www.peggyoki.com. Oki has an exhibit currently at the Sojourner Café that will be up through January 23, and where both the digital reproductions and her originals are for sale.

The Affair Isn’t Over

Okay, so Alison (Ruth Wilson) is a tramp and Noah (Dominic West) is a slut. That has been established. Noah is also certainly a criminal, possibly a murderer and probably dug up the cocaine at the edge of the Lockhart ranch and sold it for spending money. Alison was most likely involved, too. But, The Affair “finale” on Marine Mammal Center director Peter Howorth (left) and Santa Barbara’s premier artist Bud Bottoms (he created the iconic dolphin fountain at the head of State Street on Cabrillo Boulevard) were a big part of the 38th Annual Holiday Show and Auction

Montecito resident Peter Noone (and friends) will be the featured performer at this year’s Amethyst Ball fundraiser for the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse to be held at the Bacara Resort in Goleta on Saturday, April 11. Guests are asked to come either in black tie or 1960s garb, and this gala promises to rank as the Event Of The Year. Montecito Journal’s semi-annual glossy published an excellent extended interview with the British rocker in its Spring/Summer 2014 issue. Copies are still available at the Journal office (free for the asking) at 1206 Coast Village Circle, or you can go online to:

Lesley Nicol splits her time between a home in Beverly Hills and London, and has visited Santa Barbara on many occasions. In case you don’t know Lesley, the veteran actress plays Beryl Patmore, head cook on Downton Abbey, ITV’s popular series, going into its sixth season in February. The show is seen on PBS and season five begins on U.S. televisions on January 4. When Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko was introduced to Lesley recently, the two hit it off and Hiroko invited the actress to spend a day whale watching aboard the Condor. After canceling (because of the weather) twice, the third time was the charm and Lesley, her husband, Da’aboth Te’He’Ling (just call him David), Hiroko, and a small group of friends headed for the Channel Islands in search of whales. This is not exactly whalewatching season, but they did manage to view the antics of at least one gray whale out near Santa Cruz Island. Hiroko’s passion is saving dolphins and particularly orcas (killer whales) from captivity, and she works hand-in-hand with Peter Howorth and the Marine Mammal Center in Santa Barbara to free the creatures. Lesley’s passion, and her husband’s, is saving what are called “moon bears” from captivity. These bears – more than 12,000 of them, says Da’aboth – are kept in tiny cages for their entire lives, up to 30 years and longer, and are “milked” daily for their bile. This practice is carried on in China and Vietnam, in spite of the fact that the bile that is extracted and used medicinally can now be produced artificially. Da’aboth supports and works with a group called AnimalsAsia, which operates bear sanctuaries and rescue centers in Chengdu, China, and Tam Dao, Vietnam. AnimalsAsia, through the support of

(from left) Condor Express owner Hiroko Benko, Da’aboth Te’He’Ling, and Downton Abbey’s Lesley Nicol brave the cold on the bow of the Condor in search of whales (they spotted one just after this photo was taken)

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of the year), you can call her at (805) 569-3323 or visit her website: www. judithgeiger.com.

What’s the Catch?

Artist Judith Geiger spends most of her Sundays at her pavilion at the junction of Garden Street and Cabrillo Boulevard, where her kiln-formed glass creations are a featured attraction

donors around the world, has created semi-natural enclosures where the freed bears – some 400 of them so far – can live out the rest of their lives in friendly surroundings and with other bears. For more info, please go to: animalsasia. org or email them at: info@animalsasia. org.

Heads Up

Any parent worried about their child’s safety when skateboarding or snowboarding should know about Crasche Hats. These hats, while not as effective as actual helmets, can not only protect a skull in case of an accident, but are fashionable enough (semi-cool?) that kids will actually wear them, unlike the heavy-duty plastic helmets that are often set aside once the parent is out of sight. And, now that the City of Carpinteria is working with the Carpinteria Skate Foundation to create and operate a skateboard park, as reported by Joshua Molina on Noozhawk, it will be even more important to convince skateboarders to wear some protection on their heads. Their website is www.crasche.com, and the hats cost just $28.95.

Glass Works

Judith Geiger is an artist whose kilnformed glass works are directly across from the Santa Barbara’s Visitors Center on Cabrillo Boulevard at Garden Street. Her display is easy to find and well worth looking for. She’s been selling her glass creations at the Sunday Art Show since 1986, though she originally sold her paintings on silk. “I did that for about twenty years,” she says during our short interview. She says she switched over to the glass medium about 10 years ago. “You need a lot of specialized equipment and a kiln” to create a finished glass work, Ms Geiger notes. Each piece is put into a kiln for at least six hours. In the old days, an artist had to watch it or her art would “get messed up” but now, thanks to computerized kilns, that doesn’t happen. “I did a lot of experimenting until I got it right,” she explains. What Ms Geiger does is cut each piece

Judith Geiger’s kiln-fired impressions of Santa Barbara landmarks along with her Hawaiian-inspired designs are a Sunday Art Show draw

of glass individually, layer it on a base piece of glass and kiln fire it at 1500 degrees, turning the creation into a permanent work of art. Striking images of Santa Barbara landmarks and other imagery based on Hawaiian reef fish and tropical motifs are for sale at her attractive stand at prices ranging from $20 to $2,500. If you miss Judith (the Santa Barbara Arts & Crafts Show on Cabrillo Boulevard is held from 10 am to dusk every Sunday

Ernie Salomon is pissed. And because he’s pissed, he penned the following minitirade: “All new homes and remodels of existing homes in Santa Barbara adding 500 square feet or more must provide an underground catch basin for roof and groundwater runoff. These basins allow the runoff to be filtered into the ground, rather than onto the street. My neighbor spent more than $3,000 for such a catch basin. “The building department requires these basins in order to prevent rain runoff from flowing into the streets, and thus washing pollutants into storm drains and finally emptying them into the ocean. This building policy probably affects about 1/10 of one percent of all the homes in Santa Barbara. “Now we get to the Land of Oz part: “At the same time that the city is enforcing this building requirement to “clean the ocean” with a few water runoff catch basins, many areas of Santa Barbara still do not have their streets cleaned, especially those in hilly areas like ours. We have not seen our street cleaned in 34 years! All the pollutants from homes on Eucalyptus Hill’s streets and many other areas are still being washed into the Pacific after 34 years. “Although I am a not-so-smart guy, I would think that pollutant runoff from the foothill area streets into the storm drains and ocean are fed with a higher velocity (gravity) than that which is generated in the lower areas of our city, where you clean the streets on a regular basis and with much more debris because these uncleaned streets are filthy! “You are all smart people. I am notso-smart people. Please explain your rationale for allowing tons of debris to be washed into the ocean every time it rains by not cleaning many of our city’s streets versus the feel-good impact of requiring water catch basins for 1/10 of one percent of homes to help prevent ocean pollution. “Please, come out from behind the curtain and help me understand. “Am I missing something here?” Probably, Ernie. Probably.

Dwarf Drops Load

And, speaking of missing something, we would be derelict if The News Page did not include the following tidbit from our former colonial masters across the sea: Kingston-On-Hull, England – A British dwarf who dropped his pants at a government office and defecated on the floor was warned by a judge to “clean up his act” or face jail time. The defendant, who stands four feet tall, dropped his pants at the Wilson Center in Hull when he was there to

complain about his housing situation (the countertops were at least eight inches too high for him to use); he urinated on the floor and defecated twice during the incident. “Taking your trousers off and exposing your person before defecating and urinating, then abusing staff is uncivilized” the judge said as he gave the dwarf a 21-day suspended sentence. If the above reads like our former Crime Time, it’s on purpose, as the Sentinel is in search of a writer who can do our police blotter. The pay is small but the psychic rewards are big. Please email tim@ santabarbarasentinel.com if interested.

Who the Hell Are We (Not)?

“[Cuba] represents everything that threatens us and who we are.” – So says U. S. Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham, who went on to say on CBS’s Face The Nation that the North Koreans “attacked who we are” when they hacked into Sony’s email and threatened terrible consequences for the U.S. if The Interview were released. President Barack Obama said signing immigration legislation into law without a path to citizenship “is not who we are as Americans.” Obama also opined later that Sony’s self-censorship in the face of North Korean intimidation is “not who we are. That’s not what America is about.” He also said in light of the recent release of enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA, “We tortured some folks, but torturing people is not who we are.” Secretary of State John Kerry agrees, saying that the people involved in the recently released torture report “are not who we are.” When explaining why he was withholding the release of the photos of a dead Osama Bin Laden, the president said, “We don’t need to spike the football... that’s not who we are.” When apologizing in the UN Security Council as Secretary of State (in 2012), Hillary Clinton said “This is not who we are.” L.A. Clippers former owner Donald Sterling says the racist quotes attributed to him (during a live secretly recorded conversation) “are not who I am.” Cornerback Dwayne Gratz, after being cited for disorderly intoxication and trespassing in Miami Beach after attempting to pay for his purchases with bubble gum, said “That’s not who I am and not who I’m trying to be.” Running back Ray Rice, who decked his then-fiancée in an elevator, said, “That’s not me. That’s not who I am as a man.” So, in light of the above, I, Lennon James, have a confession to make. This column is not who I am. Really. It’s not. (Nevertheless, I’ll have another one like it next issue.)

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Local and Global Advocates.

At Sotheby’s International Realty, we impact the world on a global level through our support of Conservation International, and on a local level by supporting CASA Santa Barbara, Unity Shoppe, The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, Transition House, and Heal the Ocean. Our office culture fosters a strong passion for supporting local organizations and causes in our community; giving back is a priority for our associates, which is evident in the generous acts we see throughout the year. From all of us at Sotheby’s International Realty, we wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

SANTA BARBARA AREA BROKERAGES MONTECITO COAST VILLAGE ROAD | MONTECITO UPPER VILLAGE SANTA BARBARA | SANTA YNEZ

sothebyshomes.com/santabarbara sothebyshomes.com/santaynez

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.

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Santa Barbara’s Online Magazine, Published Twice Daily

sbview.com

Milpas on the Move

by Sharon Byrne

The Amazing Women of Milpas

ast year, I penned an ode to the terrific men in the Milpas area that put their hands on this community and give it a ton of love. This one’s for the ladies. Ami Kang at Jack’s Bistro has a ready smile and created the Milpas Panini, with hand-carved tri-tip and a spicy chipotle dressing. She braved the Milpas roundabout at 6 am with coffee and breakfast for the Christmas Tree crew, a welcome treat! Right up the street, Pam at Your Place Thai will greet you at the door, and serve up all the wonderfully spicy dishes you can stand. There’s a reason she always wins “Best of Santa Barbara”, an honor Ami also earned this year. Mama Lu is one tough cookie, having survived a gang assault on her premises in 2010. She serves the only Taiwanese snack dishes in the city, a secret known among the Asian community here, and now you know it, too. I can’t read the Chinese menu, but when I see a fragrant dish going by, I ask what it is, and order it next time. They deliver, too! Even when you place obscure orders such as, “something with beef, veggies, a lot of pepper, in a red sauce…” the dishes are amazing! All three ladies put sumptuous entries into the Taste of Milpas™, and helped us get the holiday lights up on Milpas. New neighbor Natalia Govoni opened Sheer Delight in the 400 block of North Milpas, and she’s got some gorgeous Brazilian lingerie. Want to feel beautiful? Put on anything in her store, and you will. She’s also a tremendous volunteer

Santa Barbara

127 West Perdido St. Santa Barbara Ca., 93101

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 and fierce advocate for the business community on Milpas. She welcomes a great conversation, so definitely stop by for a chat. Dahlila Alv at El Dorado Jewelry is an absolute jewel. Can’t figure out what to get your sweetheart on that special occasion? Go see Dahlila! She constantly comes up with great ideas for things we could do on Milpas to create excitement and make things better, and her enthusiasm is highly contagious. Behind Dahlila is new Milpas business owner Tere Jurado. She makes jewelry by hand, and some of her pieces are stunning. New neighbor Linda Sun Stein opened Zen Massage at 500 N. Milpas. She’s right next door to Carlota at Omar’s Insurance, who educated business owners on ways to get tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Carlota and her husband put a great antique truck into the parade. Chris at Mariah Mazda is a doll and loves doing the Trick or Treat. Kathy at Marborg is an angel. We rely on Marborg’s help for the Taste of Milpas™

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and Holiday Parade. This year, three lovely Marborg ladies set up a table on Milpas for the Trick or Treat and had a blast with the kids! Kim Garden at Mission Linen is a longtime parade supporter, and we love seeing the vintage Mission Linen truck in the holiday parade. Karen Feeney at Allen Construction calls me to make sure she is on the Trick or Treat route, and sponsored the Taste of Milpas™. Juanita at Cesar’s Place has the best shrimp cocktail in the city, and Cesar’s is a hit in the parade with their antique truck. But it’s not just the business ladies that bring love to this community. We have rock-star residents and non-profit leaders, too. I arrived at the old Milpas Post Office in early December to clean it for the holiday party. The place was a dusty mess. I sent out one email, asking for volunteers, a couple of days before. Note to self: organize better. As I was contemplating my task, a team of women converged on the old post office like Navy Seals, loaded with Christmas cheer, and armed with cleaning supplies, ladders, and decorations. Betsy Cramer, Mary and Patty Robles, Abbey Fragosa, Bea Molina, Martha Jaimes, and Natasha Todorovic cleaned, shined, and decorated. The place was completely transformed within two hours. The men helped, of course. They mopped, hung lights, and tried to figure out the electrical situation. They quickly realized the ladies had command and thus applauded. MCA president Alan Bleecker marveled at the team transforming the place. “It’s always the women, isn’t it?” he asked. “They can make anything happen.” The women were back at 5 am to help put up the tree, with Martha updating the star for the treetop and Sue Burke braving the roundabout to hang ornaments. Raquel Lopez at la Casa de la Raza and Carolyn Brown at Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara work tirelessly on behalf of our community’s children and families. Juanita Hernandez and Casie Kilgore are outstanding principals at Adelante and Franklin, respectively. We are continually impressed with Monique Limon’s drive for this community and strong advocacy for the children here. She’s very hands-on, a quality I greatly

admire in a school board member. They all deserve a huge de-stressing massage with the healing women helming the Santa Barbara Body Therapy Institute. Thank you so much, ladies, for all you do for this community!

Cheri Rae

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.

sbview.com Local Books by Cheri Rae

Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1914

he subtitle of this delightful book is Tale of everyday life in Santa Barbara 100 years ago. I’m a sucker for this kind of collection: I live in a house built in 1912, and vintage, consignment, and historic restoration are some of my favorite words. So this book is a natural for anyone interested in what Santa Barbara was like a century ago. History buff Betsy J. Green has been writing a column for edhat for some time, and she finally decided to collect them into a lovely book designed to evoke the look and feel of old-timey Santa Barbara. The month-by-month account of 1914 is based on articles that appeared in the local newspapers Morning Press and Daily News & Independent. Green’s lively writing style and the layout of short takes of local history make this a fun read and an especially fun gift item for the holiday season. Her account of the community’s official Christmas tree – located near the intersection of Carrillo and Chapala – is particularly timely, as is the story about Santa Barbara’s float entered in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena. However, that story is written without an ending, with the promise it will be continued next year – no doubt the first entry in the second in this series of books of history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1914 is available at local bookshops and at www. elbarbareno.com.

Historian Betsy Green’s tome chronicles Santa Barbara a century ago

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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.

Finding the Key to Wine Country

’ve said it before, but if you like wine even just a little bit, Santa Barbara is one of the best places to be. While growing up here, of course I wouldn’t have imagined that Santa Barbara County would turn into the wine destination that it is today, nor would I have guessed that wine would end up being such a big part of my life. No complaints, though! Santa Barbara is full of amazing wineries, wine-tasting events, and festivals that will keep anyone who appreciates wine busy for a while. The Santa Barbara Vintners’ Association, a non-profit organization that promotes the SBC wine industry, is part of the reason there are so many events for us all to choose from, like their Celebration of Harvest weekend in October and Key to Wine Country in early December. The Key to Wine Country event is a

Admiring the view at Melville Winery

Santa Barbara Seafood Pasta

Fresh Fish and Succulent Shrimp simmered with tomato, vegies, fresh basil & garlic tossed with Fusilli pasta & topped with shredded Parmesan.

Fiddlehead Blending: making our own Pinot Noir blends

Wine and food pairing at Presqu’ile (photo provided by SB Vintners)

full weekend of events, special offerings, and tastings throughout Santa Barbara County to help people experience all that our wine country has to offer. Each participant receives a key card that acts as a passport to attend the many activities. There were almost 40 wineries and 10 restaurants that participated this year, allowing key holders access to exclusive happenings and behind-the-scenes experiences not normally available. And the best part? There was no limit to how many deals or tastings you could experience throughout the weekend, from discounts at restaurants to vineyard tours, and wine and food pairing events. You could take advantage of the offerings as much or as little as you preferred. Most of the events at the wineries were open-house style so you didn’t have to stick to a certain schedule, but there were also a few special experiences that were RSVP-only, like a sit down wine and food pairing with Presqu’ile wines and Chef Robbie from Mattei’s Tavern, and the Bubbles sparkling wine seminar at Riverbench Winery. Other experiences included a Dierberg & Star Lane wine flight paired with Jessica Foster Confections truffles, barrel tasting at Cambria Winery, and a holiday celebration complete with cookie decorating and caroling (and wine) at Andrew Murray. At the blending seminar at Fiddlehead Cellars, we learned about the different characteristics that barrel aging can impart in wine and how blending wine from different barrels can create many different textures and complexities. We ended the hour-and-a-half experience with blending trials to create our own

unique wine, and the group then voted on their favorite. Our team won! Afterward, I headed to Melville Winery for a walking tour of the beautiful vineyards, followed by a tasting of their current release wines. In town, there were a few events scattered throughout the Funk Zone and downtown. The newly opened Cebada tasting room (inside of Isabella Gourmet Foods downtown) gave keyholders a chance to taste their wines with local artisan food pairings from the store. Nearby, the wineries of the Wine Collection of El Paseo offered a raffle ticket to each person who tasted at all six of the tasting rooms throughout the weekend, including Au Bon Climat, Grassini Family Vineyards, Happy Canyon Vineyard, Margerum, MWC32, and Jamie Slone Wines. The winners received magnums of wine from these wineries. There were more than a few purple-mouthed participants attempting to complete the round in one day – pretty impressive! Although this column focuses on introducing the public to the people behind their favorite local wines, it’s always good to take a step back and appreciate the wine community as a whole in Santa Barbara. It’s fantastic that there are so many educational and/ or exclusive experiences from which to choose. We have such a wide range of talent and interesting people in our county, not to mention an excellent assortment of wine, so it’s great to be able to get out there and see all that our wine country has to offer... and perhaps meet a few new people with similar interests. Cheers!

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Best Movies of 2014: 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.

All The Best A

lthough 2014 made it difficult to compile a rock-solid, airtight Top 10 list – no thanks to a dreadful first six months at the theaters – the year didn’t lack for impeccable performances. Narrowing down the Academy Awards’ male fields of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor will be a towering order. For my money, the finest performances by actors included: Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox), Michael Keaton and Edward Norton (Birdman), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), brutally overlooked Jude Law (Dom Hemingway), Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini (The Drop), Philip Seymour Hoffman (A Most Wanted Man), Bill Murray (St. Vincent), and John Malkovich (Cesar Chavez). As for actresses, the herd is a bit thinner, though top-notch turns by discounted ladies were plentiful: Emma Stone (Birdman), Noomi Rapace (The Drop), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond The Lights), Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Keira Knighley (Begin Again), and Carrie Coon, who spotlessly embodied Ben Affleck’s sister in Gone Girl – though many spectators heralded the same movie’s Rosamund Pike, which seemed more a fascination with her icy role than the actress. My list of favorite films couldn’t include four potential gems unseen as of press deadline: American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Unbroken, and Inherent Vice. That said, there’s no shame in the choices here, even if a few initially seemed insubstantial (Begin Again) or nothing special (The Drop) on the surface. As specified in my column last spring, The Lunchbox packed a profound wallop, delivered from India with sincerity and keen observations about relationships and everyday activities. Birdman, meanwhile, proved gutsy and ambitious – with crackling dialogue, deep characterization, and backstage action – to propel Alejandro Inarritu among the forefront of ingenious directors. Interstellar may have involved some fuzzy physics and needed pruning, but it’s an impressive spectacle from Christopher Nolan. Let’s not forget Boyhood, a cinematic achievement chronicled over 12 years and worth every minute of its nearly three hours.

Birdman The Lunchbox Boyhood The Theory of Everything The Drop A Most Wanted Man Interstellar Magic in the Moonlight Gone Girl Begin Again Honorable mention: Jersey Boys, Wild, and Foxcatcher almost made the coveted list; in any case, each is worth watching at your earliest convenience. In contrast, the following bottomfeeders (littered with feeble comedies and absurd horror flicks) amount to an unlucky baker’s dozen.

Worst of the Worst: Let’s Be Cops Ouija The Giver 300: Rise of the Empire Sex Tape The Other Woman Sabotage The Expendables 3 Tammy As Above, So Below Blended Endless Love Devil’s Due

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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.

Color My World:

Rainbow Girls Return to SOhO

eldom has a band’s name been as apropos as Rainbow Girls. It works on every level for the eclectic rootsmusic quintet that came into being less than five years ago. That was out in Isla Vista, at a weekly underground open mic night at their home that was called the Rainbow House. As it happened, Erin Chapin and Caitlin Gowdey, the two who actually lived there and instigated the formation of the group, already had a duo called Red & Yellow. Add to the mix that the all-female band’s music is about as upbeat, sunshine-y, and frothy as they come – well, you get the picture. After crafting their sound during a bandbonding trip to Joshua Tree right out of the get-go, Rainbow Girls – there’s no “The”, as Chapin reminded me in a telephone interview – made their bones busking around Santa Barbara, particularly at the Farmers Market on lower State Street on

Tuesdays, where their good looks, great harmonies, and foot-stomping (literally) rhythms attracted lots of attention. A trip to Europe solidified things, after which the girls added a drummer upon their return to Santa Barbara, and started booking paying gigs. SOhO became a frequent haunt before the band became road warriors, and despite the fact three of the five members relocated to the Bay Area. The club hosts Rainbow Girls again on the first Saturday of the new year (that would be January 3 for the calendarchallenged), and it should be something of a more rocking affair than we’re used to from the quintet, who’ve plugged in and amped up the volume since their streetfair days. Chapin filled us in on the early days and latest transitions. Q. First of all, I was surprised to find out

Rainbow Girls make a musical party of five

that you don’t all live here anymore. Maybe that’s why the gigs are far more spaced out. A. Yeah, well, we’re on the road nine months out of the year now, so three of us moved to the Bay Area because Caitlin – she’s the redhead accordion player – her family has a cabin north of San Francisco, and her parents let us live in it and use it as a practice, living and recharging space in between tours. It’s pretty hard to pay rent in Santa Barbara and only be home for three months. But Hannah, the drummer, and Cheyenne (Methmann) are from here. Yeah, it sucks to pay rent when you can’t live in student housing. How did things come together out in IV? We had the open mic every Monday at our unofficial living co-op, and there’d be 100 people in our living room. I’d make beans, we’d have red wine. It was an open mic without the microphone. There were lots of regulars. People would sing, or read poetry, act things out, whatever. It went on for two and a half years, and was a beautiful thing. One night, Cheyenne came and performed this lovely, simple song and I thought, “What if we asked all the girls at Bean Night to start a band?” Caitlin was in. We asked all of them. Some thought it was stupid, but the one who said it was awesome joined the band. Then we went on that five-day trip to Joshua Tree, just drove out in my van, camped in the rain, and recorded a fivesong demo on my computer using a room mic. We made up the songs together. In Europe, we busked all over and couchsurfed everywhere. We played a lot of places, including a Swiss wedding. We had a blast. The band really came together and figured out how to do things. How much did playing the farmers market influence the band? That was the first place a lot of us saw you. Well, it paid our rent. Santa Barbara was just home, a place to settle down for a second, hone the sound a bit, make

enough money to buy the van, and get back out and on the road again. Starting there was essential to our sound, because it forced us to sing together and harmonize all the time because it’s hard to be heard if it’s just one person. We learned how to work with dynamics just to make sure we were loud enough and to leave space for the tap dancing. And we did a few covers, which we don’t really do on the road, but that helped us in songwriting. If we hadn’t played the farmers market and gotten all that love and support from the community, I don’t know if we’d be here. We learned to play different instruments, which takes us down different directions. We’re almost completely an electric band now. There’s almost no acoustic shows any more. We only busk when we’re in Europe and Santa Barbara. You’re probably too young to know what I’m talking about, but I imagine the shock is like when Bob Dylan first went electric. Yeah, when we first started, our parents weren’t happy because they loved our harmonies and the acoustic guitars. But there are limits to being all-acoustic, and it’s not as fulfilling as rocking an electric guitar solo or doing some funky beats. It’s way more fun to jam with all those instruments. And we wanted to stand out: it’s a lot more rare to have a band full of ladies jamming on stage than it is to see four girls harmonizing with one instrument. The whole point behind the band is to show people that we’re capable women who can all play and sing. That’s why we’re doing this all-lady show at the Fillmore in San Francisco at the end of January. It was hard to put it together because bands like us are few and far between. But you still play acoustic instruments, right? I mean, I’d miss that. Oh yeah, they’re almost all acoustic: guitar, accordion, ukulele – plus electric bass, guitar, and keyboard. Savannah ...continued p.31

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Plan B

“I’m not sure. Just playing around with something different,” he gave me a nonchalant reply and moved on. I assumed he was channeling some sort of inner bard. It wasn’t until I spied a small, framed photo of his late father on his work desk that I realized where the facial hair inspiration was stemming from. Staring back at me in an etched gold frame was a black and white image of Paul’s dad, in his earlier years, wearing an identical beard. The tribute made those whiskers a bit softer and that much sweeter.

by Briana Westmacott When Briana isn’t lecturing for her writing courses

at UCSB and SBCC, she contributes to The Santa Barbara Skinny, Wake & Wander and Flutter Magazine. Along with her passion for writing and all things Santa Barbara, much of her time is spent multi-tasking through her days as a mother, wife, sister, want-to-be chef and travel junky. Writing is an outlet that ensures mental stability... usually.

To Beard, or Not to Beard

y husband has done it. He has joined the long list of celebrities and athletes who proudly flaunt fuzzy faces. Yes, alongside Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, Santa Claus and Abe Lincoln, David Beckham and pretty much the entire SF Giants baseball team, there’s Paul. He’s now approximately three months into his scruff and while I wasn’t on board with the whole beard thing in the beginning, it’s starting to grow on me. The itchy kiss is tickling my fancy.

Trimming is Such Sweet Sorrow

Building the Beard

Can you call it a trend when it’s been around for more than 200 years? A pillar of masculinity, the beard has been a basic for many men looking to boost their macho. Since the lumberjacks emerged in the 1800s, that axe-wielding bearded stud has been an icon for the manliest of men. Recently coined in the media, “Lumbersexual”, the woodsmen look is on the rise. You’ve seen him. It’s that guy, with his goatee or full-face fluff, wearing

Look at how “Lumbersexual” Paul is, and without even knowing it

The inspirational image of Paul’s late dad from his younger years

his flannel plaid shirt and looking like he just stepped out of the forest; according to trends, he has currently got the girls’ attention. Even if he has never been near a chainsaw, and his idea of an adventure is putting on his hip hiking boots and saddling up to a barstool at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company. I know for a fact that my husband’s beard is not inspired by any trend. Paul has never been one to keep up with (or even know) the latest fashion features. I love that about him. His stubble crept up on me. What began as a seemingly “too busy to shave” week, turned from a shadow to an inky black coat with some salty wisdom sprinkled in there. After a couple of weeks, I had to pose the question: “What’s up with the facial hair?” I lightly inquired one morning over coffee.

While Paul’s beard burgeoned without nurture, growing a beard is not always easy. Many men can’t actually get all the patches to properly fill in. And if they do, sometimes they don’t match everything else that is vegetating out of their head. There are remedies, of course, A Touch of Gray can mend the matching process and help tone down the salt in that salt and pepper look. And for those baby-faced hipsters who are truly dedicated to filling in the bare patches, there are now facial hair transplants available. Lumbersexual is unstoppable. I can’t say that I have ever enjoyed burrowing my face in bristles. In fact, I associate full facial hair with a memory of my dad during his hippie days, and the itchy hugs I had to manage from his beard that grew down to his chest. But I am warming up to Paul’s recent maturation; his winter coat is looking good on him. I am a bit concerned about what will happen when he decides to shave it all off. If it is anything like my kids’ reaction when I dyed my hair red, we could be in for some tears. But for now, if the question is to beard or not to beard, I say set the razor aside. Untrimmed is a turn-on.

Briana’s Best Bets Once the beard is there, I can attest from watching my husband, that it is not easy to maintain. Our bathroom sink is now home to some new tools. One day, I noticed a new pair of little scissors on the counter; the next, a full electronic beard trimmer had moved into the corner. I’m thinking if you are going to go full Lumbersexual, you should pay a visit to the barber. Have a professional help you manage that new look. There’s a sweet, man-cave set up on Upper State Street at the Chopshop. They have flat-screen TVs mounted on rock walls and old-fashioned barber chairs strewn around the room. Check out the Chopshop for a classic hot towel cleanse, beard trim or shave, and haircut. Chopshop 3204 State Street; (805) 770-2933

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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

New Year’s Revolution

aahhhh (author closes eyes, breathes deeply, leans back in his expensive leather desk chair and enters a reflective reverie in a decorative flume of aromatic smoke. The other bus passengers look on with mild interest as he is seen to draw on an imaginary Meerschaum pipe). Another “holiday season,” whose name I dare not type, and whose spiritual overtones will here go largely unremarked, has come and gone. Once again, we pour into churches, synagogues, mosques, and bet-hedging, non-confrontational, I-Can-Feel-OkayAbout-This Universalist meditation stations, in search of the Meaning of It All. Others find peace in simple giftgiving. Rising as one from our inedible Thanksgiving turkey dinners, a ceremony best described as the transference of bargain stovetop stuffing from one body cavity to another, we respond to the faint, musical tinkling of the yearly Pavlovian bell and race into the big-box outlets like an army of salemaddened Magi, swarming over police barricades, mashing humanoid dents into storefront metal security doors, and commemorating a reported long-ago sacrifice by roughing each other up with Roman Centurion gusto in the annual Flat-Screen TV Stampede. We do mean well, though, and despite Adam Smith’s unenlightened self-interest threatening again to derail the thing, there was much ambient and deliberate goodwill, footballs tossed on

drought-stricken lawns, and hugging. We are not a fallen race. And now here comes the New Year again. Our dear, old, mossy rock just turns and turns and turns, impervious to our fancy talk, our heartbreak, our nonstop philosophizing, our wars and joys, our pretenses, our hopes, unmoved by the vibrantly awful Christmas sweater we’re obliged to don in a maddened panic whenever Aunt Jolene threatens to stop by the house.

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the previous year out with streamers and laughter and strange expectant jitters. Large and small gathering places all over the planet will be jammed with friends and lovers, old pals, and new acquaintances. An hour before midnight, that chatty, lonely-seeming mesomorph from the gym, the one you invited in a moment of weakness, will swagger in out of the chilly evening air with his Gym Face on, wearing a T-shirt so tight it may have been applied by automotive paint robots. To your surprise, he’ll look once around the room with a mild but unmistakable expression of fear, then seeing you he’ll bound over like an Irish Setter, this massive brute. His expression will light up like a Christmas tree. “Yo, man!” He’ll hold out his fist for a brotherly bump.

You will make a new life! Everyone feels it. The whole world gets worked up. On New Year’s Eve, we loudly raise a glass to another solar circuit and find ourselves curiously excited by the prospect. Whether our world is a mere pebble flung out of an improbably exploding singularity, or a blue sapphire hung in the ether with care by an Intelligent Designer, we are individually so tiny and fleeting we verge on the virtual, but are possessed of a depthless self-awareness we haven’t begun to harness. Epoch after epoch, we swarm hopefully over a comparatively small, precious stone as it runs inexhaustible laps around a ball of exhaustible nuclear fire, doing, by definition, the very best we can. In a few nights, our rock will close another circle in empty space. We’ll see

Mosquito Control

“Yeah. Yo.” You want to oblige him, and your inexpert little fist will miss. You’ll lurch a half-step forward and pitch a cracker laden with cucumber dip onto the hostess’ spangled party dress, where it will stick like a brooch. She glowers. “Happy New Year?” you offer. New Year. As a term, it’s fraught. What happens is this; our heartfelt resolutions carry something like real power, the power of annihilation. You are erasing last year’s beige inconsequence and beginning again with foreknowledge. You will make a new life! Everyone feels it. The whole world gets worked up. Times Square, the very heart of the New Year’s ritual, becomes a seething, bathroomless puddle of riotous

humanity, 200,000 diapered celebrants. It’s all over the 60-inch screen in our hostess’s living room, and it is bedlam. Finally, the big, glowy Times Square ball rattles inelegantly down its long, long pole and the place goes mad. Everyone starts singing. “Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot!” Many of us in the room wonder again if this is a question being posed by the weird old song. Confetti flies and the little plastic party poppers launch their streamers amid acrid puffs of smoke; champagne is splashed around. We made it again. Once more around the sun. As midnight drew nigh, murmured intentions have the earnestness of prayer. A whole new year! I’ll start over! Two days into January, you’re a newly minted penny; unspent, unscathed, not one of those old pennies with the dowdy Lincoln Memorial etching on the back and teeny little Abe there in the middle like a flaw in the copper. No, you are the new modern penny, the one with the Superman symbol. You are sporting a full tank of high-octane resolution. Your spirit is aglow with possibility, your heart thrumming with the fever of renewal. This Year Will Be Different. By February, you are making mistakes. But it’s a cycle! Woo hoo! Time to erase that chalkboard and start again. New Year’s Eve. You can leave it all behind. And again, the crazed throngs in Times Square, televised fireworks blossoming over the Sydney Opera House. The New Year approaches like a wave moving across the Earth, and the world’s capitals erupt with color as it washes over them. In our own loud room, we stand straight up and brace ourselves to receive it. The glowy ball shimmies down. Three! Two! One! And so begins another turn around our favorite star. It’s only a fire, but what a lovely, lovely fire it is. Let us bask.

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by Christina Enoch

Chef Julian Martinez and general manager Jesse Gaddy. Young and bold.

Regional Food by Young Talents

was in a food funk. I felt like I almost ran out of places to eat and write about. Do I need to drive north or south 40 miles looking for something exciting? Contemplating and complaining on a road trip, I found Barbareño. Santa Barbara, you never disappoint; I will never run out of food stories. Barbareño is a brand-new, gorgeous restaurant at the corner of De la Vina and Canon Perdido streets. Previously D’vine Cafe spot. I adore this place. I love it so much I went twice in one day. The folks behind this up and coming restaurant are young, bold, and truly gifted. Head chef Julian Martinez (he looks like a young Justin Timberlake) and general manager Jesse Gaddy (he has a flawless milky skin) greet me with big smiles. Wow, they are young. Or it’s just me getting older. “Barbareño” is one of the extinct Chumashan languages that was used in the area of Santa Barbara. The idea for this restaurant is to bring micro-regional food to Santa Barbara like some of small towns in Italy and France, where its own unique style of cooking is celebrated. I can see passion in their eyes. These guys can’t be that young because they are too smart and bright. Every dish they serve has its own story that goes back to the root of Santa Barbara. Their California roll, for example – the layers of perfectly sliced avocados find their story way back to 1871, when the first avocado trees from Mexico were planted right at this very corner. Who knew? Ask the ever-so-friendly and knowledgeable staff when you order. You will learn a thing or two about the history of the town we all love. Restaurant itself is chic, earthy, cozy, rustic, and romantic. Chef Julian makes everything from the scratch, even the butter. Make sure you try their homemade sourdough and cured butter. The food is unique and celebrates our

Chic, earthy, rustic and romantic. I adore this place! 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.

Santa Maria barbecue, celebrating mid-19th century cookout of Santa Maria Valley’s cattle ranchers.

Everything from scratch. Even the butter.

Basil ice cream. Basil what? The most refreshing dessert I’ve ever had.

climate, geography, history, people, and local traditions. Smoked beet tart (Mandarin, pistachio, and coffee-cured duck) makes a party in my mouth. Let’s get this party started! Get a chef ’s plate, you get to try all the delicious appetizers. Sunflower is literally plate of sunflower itself: root, seeds, sprouts and petals. Please don’t ask me to describe how he makes this, because I have no idea. Black Olive Raviolo: duck eggs goose out when you cut it. Ask for their homemade sourdough to soak it all up – don’t waste a drop. Off to the dessert... basil ice cream.

Sunflower root, seeds, sprouts, and petals. Literally a plate of sunflower.

Basil what? It’s the most refreshing dessert I’ve ever had. An aspiring journalist and Slovakian beauty, Lenka’s most caring service topped off my wonderful experience. I prefer restaurants like this-off the beaten path, tucked in, quiet and strong. I am not a big fan of hustle and bustle, a bit “full-of-themselves” restaurant scenes. These guys don’t pretend anything. They work with and support smaller farmers and wine makers. They just want to share their passion. Now bring your gorgeous self here and experience what I have experienced. You’re welcome.

Black olive Raviolo. Duck eggs gooses out when you cut it. Ask for the homemade sourdough to soak it all up.

California roll: sliced avocado, market fish, noni vinaigrette, and cucumber salt. Cucumber what?

Chef’s plate: Eggamuffins, ranchero scotch eggs, smoked beet tart.

Barbareño 205 W. Canon Perdido Street (805) 963-9591

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OurTown

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story and photos by Corey Sanders

Getting a Handle on Coffee

andlebar Coffee Roasters is bustling these days. In three short years (its anniversary was November 1), Handlebar has quickly become a spot for world-class coffee served by the friendliest team you could find. The quick success of this coffee mecca seems pretty obvious in retrospect, when one considers that the owners, married couple Aaron Olson and Kim Anderson, spent years on the professional cycling tour, where they first met. Both raced with elite professional teams and travelled the world competing with the top athletes in the world. Among her accomplishments, Kim won the Route de France Internationale Feminine (the women’s Tour de France). They each raced for more than 12 years at this level – so making the best coffee in town is well within the wheelhouse, so to speak. During their globetrotting days, they spent a lot of time in café’s and developed a love of the culture that these places represented. Upon settling down in California – first Santa Monica and ultimately Santa Barbara (they like the cycling culture here in SB and small town feel) – they decided that their own café was the next step in their adventure. They invested their life savings and with some serious sweat equity opened their little shop on Canon Perdido Street. Initially, the couple had a small slice of retail space next to the iconic Jimmy’s building (now Three Pickles), where they managed to do everything from roast their own coffee, to preparation of drinks, etc. The patio area that is an ideal place to hang out and enjoy one of the couple’s creations. Their popularity demanded some extra elbow room, so they expanded into the adjoining frame shop where their loyal customers and plenty of new ones can sit and sip.

To prepare for this new business effort, they both attended the premier barista school in the world: the American Barista and Coffee School in Portland, Oregon. They decided early on that they would source only the best products (they get their coffees from the premier supplier in the U.S. – Royal Coffee Imports). Kim and Aaron use only organic milk from Straus family creamery, pastries from Renaud’s, breads from The Baker’s Table, and Vegan options from Flagstone Pantry – all local suppliers. They cut no corners, make everything to order and use topshelf ingredients. The first thing people may notice when they first walk into Handlebar is the large green roaster in the corner that looks like some sort of steam engine from the 19th century. It is a Probat roaster, made in Germany. Aaron uses this roaster twice a week to prepare the beans not only

for the café but for all of Handlebars wholesale and restaurant customers, of which there are a growing number each week. The coffee is carried by some of the top restaurants around the Central Coast, including Restaurant Julienne, Trattoria Vittoria, Mattei’s Tavern, and caterer Duo. Whenever you walk into Handlebar, whether early in the morning or late in the afternoon, you’re bound to see Kim and Aaron. These days, they strive to take some time off and count on their excellent team – now numbering 10 employees – to

keep everything running smoothly. No matter how busy they are, they always have a smile on their face and greet every customer they know by his or her first name. That love and inspiration goes into every Americano, latte, or cappuccino they make, which keeps us coming back. Who doesn’t like a great cup of coffee with friends?

Handlebar Coffee Roasters 128 E. Canon Perdido Street

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UP CLOSE

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BY JACQUELYN DE LONGE

Just another hard day of play for Greg

Our former restaurant reviewer takes a closer look at the people, places, and things that make Santa Barbara so unique. This freelance writer’s credits include Chef’s Profile for Food & Home Magazine, repeat comedic monologues for the national play, Expressing Motherhood, and many more. If she is not writing, practicing Pilates or yoga, you can find her chasing her two kids and two dogs around Santa Barbara.

Kernohan’s Toy Story A fantastic collection of classic board games

hadowed beneath one of the oldgrowth Ficus tree lining Anapamu Street, and situated across the street from the beautiful courtyard that houses Core Power Yoga, Artamo Art & Literature, Armada wine & beer and Pete’s Coffee Shop stands a store that can take your inner child back in time. There in the hustle and bustle of downtown just around the corner from State Plasma Street is Kernohan’s Toys, a place of wonderment for children and adults alike that first opened its doors in Santa Barbara in 1954. It is a place where you can imagine a little brass bell of decades past chiming your entrance as you open the door to greet the familiar faces of the local owners. It could be their incredible collection of reissued toys, wrapped in vintage packaging and primary designs that give Kernohan’s its nostalgic vibe, or maybe it’s the lack of cheap mass-marketed character products that overwhelm children and their parents at every turn in just about any other store during the holiday season. Any way you sense it, this place has captured and maintained the whimsy of an old-fashioned toy store at a time when independent boutiques are often overlooked for the familiar. With a soft-spoken voice and an approachable demeanor, Gretchen Brinser, co-owner of Kernohan’s Toys, is a wealth of helpful information on just

the right toy to pick for the special child you are shopping for. She keeps the focus of their toy selection on educational, imagination inspiring, science, and geography-based products. “It is all about learning though fun. I strongly believe in make-believe play with costumes and tea sets and manipulation games for the very small kids.” It is more than a consumerism that drives her in her business, Gretchen steadily believes that the way children learn and the influences they have in young age effects the type of adults they become. “Toys are productive and have a value in society, and we want to encourage that,” says Gretchen. She stays on top of the best toys by attending industry trade shows and maintains high standards for the ones they sell at Kernohan’s. Some of their big sellers include an old-fangled Spirograph, a geometric drawing toy, long-lasting Bruder trucks and bulldozers, and Calico Critters, collectible dollhouse sets with creature families. The business carries numerous classic board games, such as Sorry, Monopoly, Twister, Jenga, and Yahtzee, and they also have big-ticket items like Plasma Cars, a pedal-less favorite for kids and adults alike. For the best go-to gift Gretchen recommends the Stomp Rocket, “It’s affordable and everyone loves it.” (I absolutely agree! It’s perfect

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Toys fly off the shelf during Kernohan’s holiday season, the company’s busiest time of year

for any gender and my kids can’t get enough of it.) Gretchen and her husband, Greg, acquired the business in 2006 from an East Coast transplant who purchased it from the original owner, Harriet Kernohan when she retired at 92. The gentleman closed the first location and moved Kernohan’s to Goleta on Calle Real, where it is still open. Behind the register is the iconic Big Bear, a giant stuffed animal that Mrs. Kernohan brought back from the New York Toy Fair, her first toy-purchasing trip for her new toy store she was about to open back in 1954. From opening day until the business was sold in 2001, “Bear” spent every day on a cart in front of the store on State Street, greeting customers. The stuffed animal was petted and photographed by generations of Santa Barbara children. He was even stolen a few times for fraternity pranks. Luckily, he has always been found and returned and remains on display at the Goleta location to this day. Wanting to return Kernohan’s Toys to downtown, the Brinsers opened a second location on Anapamu Street. When they sought their perfect place, they were fortunate to have found it in an area that favors small-business owners and boutiques. Occasionally they are visited by Kathleen Kernohan and other relatives and friends of the original

owner, each with fond memories and tales of their youth. Greg couldn’t be happier about their family business. “The best part is we get to be surrounded by toys every day,” he laughed as he juggled a Perplexus (described on the company website as… a puzzle in the round, and obstacle course on the roll. It looks as if it needs more time and patience than I have.) He and his wife share the duties between both locations and oversee their handful of employees, many of whom have stayed with them through their entire college years, as the Brinsers are wonderfully understanding bosses who want to support students particularly around finals time. After nearing the end of another crazy holiday season, December being their busiest month, the Brinsers look to the New Year knowing the cycle of birthdays, Spring Break visits from the grandparents, and summertime stocking up of travel games is just around the corner. Yet no matter the time of year, it is always a good time to stop in and check out Santa Barbara’s best toy store and play to your childish heart’s content.

Kernohan’s Toys 18 W. Anapamu Street; (805) 962-5353 5739 Calle Real, Goleta; (805)964-6499

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...continued from p.24 rocks a drum kit but she also plays djembe and cajon. That’s why sound people hate us sometimes.

How does it work as a collective in terms of songwriting and arranging? Is there a system or something more organic? We write all the songs together. Some might come mainly from one person, but everybody writes their own parts, even if someone else might have an idea. Savannah has all these different drum styles up her sleeve, and we often play off that. Sometimes it’s two ideas that come together. But none of us read music, so nobody’s laying down sheet music telling each other what to do. We record when we practice, so we can hear what we’re doing outside of our own heads. Does this sound right? Is it too much? How does that part work there? It really helps us prepare. I’m interested in the arrangements, too. With all the instruments and shifting them around between the members, the combinations and permutations are endless. It depends on what instrument the original songs come on. It’s mostly formulated on who plays what style the best. If it’s a funk song, for example, I’m going to do the bass because I love that. But if it’s folk, it’s Vanessa. If it’s keyboards, I like the organ, Caitlin likes the piano. I can solo on electric guitar, while they all like to do funky strumming. Savannah decides a lot for herself, and that really influences the sound – loud or electric or airy and roomy. How do you keep the egos in check? Some kind of higher math formula to make sure everything’s fair? Is it as peaceful behind the scenes as it seems onstage? Yeah, really it is. People expect us to argue and fight – maybe because we’re all girls, and just being in a band can be so dramatic. I was in bands with guys that had lots of drama. But we don’t. We just talk about things, and if we don’t agree, we take a step away and come back and compromise. We’re in the car for hours on end, which can drive anyone crazy, but there’s really no conflicts. (On stage), we write our set list and arrange our songs around the fact that we want to have all of us involved. So if Caitlin sings lead on a song, she’s not going to do the solos. Everybody gets a chance to shine. We draw your attention to all the things we do. Nobody even wants to do all the lead singing, be exclusively up front. It’s much more fun to sing lead then step back for a few more songs, so you can just relax more. We all agree that’s better. So what’s next? Can you tell me about the next album? It will be slightly shorter than the 17 songs we put out on the first one, which was so long because we wanted all the songs we know and love to be recorded. This time around, we’re not having to

backtrack through our catalog. There are a few songs we’ve been playing out – some rock and roll dance-y songs, plus some interludes that are acoustic and eerie sounding. Quite a few things are inspired by being on the road. That’s changed our lives. It’s a wonderful life, and we’re so grateful. But it’s also a sacrifice. You don’t have much of a home life, time to hang out with a boyfriend or your family. You can’t have a dog. So that is showing up in the album, but in a good way: free yourself from the constraints that hold you back from following your dream. We believe in what we’re doing – that’s the message we have to bring to people. So it’s worth it.

Lounging with Léisuré

Looking for merry melodies or other musical mirth with Mark? Here’s where you might find me this fortnight: Surf ’s up at SOhO on Sunday, December 28, as a couple of highly successful wave-riders turned singer-songwriters share a bill. Headliner Donavon Frankenreiter is a Jack Johnson protégé in both surfing and music – his debut album came out on JJ’s Brushfire Records – while local boy Tom Curren has a lot of surf championships to his name but just a couple of records that haven’t made anywhere near as big of a splash. Still, it’ll be fun out of the sun at SOhO for the night... That’s the same night, by the way, that Ojai’s Celtic Spring plays at the weekly contra dance at Carrillo Recreation Center. The dancing is social and good exercise – especially with out-of-town caller Warren Bleier behind the microphone – but the music alone is worth the price of admission, even more so because it’s free if you’re only listening! Monday, December 29, brings Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker to the Lobero, giving alt-punk guitar hero David Lowery – who also writes the heady lyrics behind the alternately crunchy and country-ish songs – a chance to front both of his bands on one stage.

Old Music for the New Year

After that, you’ll have to wade a couple of days into 2015 to find me out listening to music, where it’s going to be a double-header for this leisure-loving guy on Saturday, January 3. The night starts off at the Lobero Theatre, where the underground guitar-vocal songwriter hero Bill Champlin brings his most beloved project to the stage. Champlin founded the Sons of Champlin up in San Francisco not long after the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane began jamming, but the band somehow never got the attention it deserved, at least outside of musicians’ circle, where they remain heroes. Champlin went on to make a bunch of solo records, grab a couple of Grammys for co-composing the hits “After the Love is Gone” and “Turn the Beat Around”, which were hits for Earth, Wind & Fire and George Benson, respectively, and

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then join Chicago for just shy of 30 years, where he sang on a bunch more hits. The Lobero gig, by the way, will be opened by his son, Will Champlin, who you might recall from finishing in the finals a few years back in the reality TV show The Voice, and from his years living and gigging up in the Santa Ynez Valley. Anyway, after that show is over, I’m heading over to SOhO to check out Rainbow Girls’s latest raucous adventure.

Klezmer on a Saturday Night? SOhO is also home for the only other two shows I might drop in on before next weekend. The Yiddish Art Trio – who do klezmer as if it’s both a dissertation and a raucous Jewish wedding – make their Santa Barbara debut there on Tuesday night (January 6) before piano prodigy-turnedrockin’ pop babe Scarlett Rabe tickles the ivories and incites your ambitions at the upstairs club on Wednesday, January 7.

The Kids Are All Right

That takes us to Saturday, January 10, the date for the annual Kids Helping Kids (KHK) concert at the Granada – I think it’s the fifth year since Toad the Wet Sprocket were the headliners to inaugurate the series that’s produced by the students at their alma mater, San Marcos High

School. All of the musicians who have played the benefit show feature uplifting music or an independent DIY attitude – or both – and 2015’s edition is no different. Even after Ingrid Michaelson was “discovered” by a music producer from the ABC TV series Grey’s Anatomy who found her music online (back in 2006 on MySpace, which makes it seem even longer) and used such evocative songs as “Breakable” and “The Way I Am” on the show, she maintained artistic control over her career, releasing her albums on her own labels. Michaelson’s most recent album, Light’s Out, debuted at number five when it came out in April. The folk-pop singer-songwriter serves as a great example for the KHK student team, members of the honors economics class who virtually run the entire nonprofit and handle just about every detail of the concert. Opening is Jon McLaughlin, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter from Indiana, (not to be confused with the jazz and Indian classic composerguitarist John McLaughlin, 40 years his senior), also increased his public image by providing music for a network TV show, in his case, the comedy Scrubs. Beyond the music, the event also features a live auction and dozens of silent auction items, performances from some students, and ensembles at San Marcos – and lots of good cheer.

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A picture worth a thousand words. Gina after being named Miss World 1990.

by Megan Waldrep Megan is a writer with a fashion designer past.

After 10 years designing for her own label, she started writing because “it just felt good”. Now a freelancer for various publications, she loves interviewing people to learn how they got from point A to present day. She co-authored the children’s book Spice & Little Sugar. The literary world is home, sweet home. www.meganwaldrep.com

...continued from COVER

at The Goodland Hotel during a slight break in her day. A photo shoot for the magazine will commence shortly, and the time for my much sought-after interview has come. The curiosity began during my first Sentinel assignment. It was October of last year, and I was to interview the designers of clothing line Veronica Beard at the former Dressed boutique in Montecito. I made my way into the shop and – aside from the fact we were the only ones wearing almost identical bohemian hats – the tall, dark, and stunning beauty was hard to miss. She has a presence. Fast-forward one year, I’m here to answer the one question I’ve been asking myself since our first meeting: who is Gina Tolleson? The bastion of Santa Barbara lifestyle has lived the life of a beauty queen, on-camera journalist, TV host, and entrepreneur, but the position of mother is her most coveted role of all. Tolleson reflects, “As a woman in our time, there are so many things that are expected of us. That we work, we have success, we have a family, and we have a happy relationship, and et cetera. The bar is set pretty high,” she continues, “but I think in your maturation, and becoming a mother, it gives you this kind of empowering strength that you can do anything that you want. You just have to remind yourself of that every day and then have a cocktail.”

There’s something about a Southern Belle... Tolleson was born and reared in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the northeast part of the state (or “upstate,” as referred to by Carolinians). Bred on sweet tea and good manners, she is the only child born to a textile-business-owning father and a nurturing, supportive mother. She’s about as Southern as they come. It was a happy childhood, splitting her time between cheerleading, baton, and competitive dance. With a six-foot frame by age 13, modeling was a natural addition to her already busy schedule and, being in the South, beauty pageants soon followed. (Note: These differ from pageants you see on reality TV. The competitions are a respected Southern convention: one of poise, academics, and gentility.) After several years, her ambition grew. At 15, with her mom as chaperone, she began journeying to New York City each summer for modeling. Her family in the textile business granted a pied-à-terre in

She reigns supreme: Miss World 1990, Gina Tolleson

the city near the garment district, which afforded her the life of a summer city dweller. At season’s end, she’d come home, go back to school, and be a normal teen. A normal teen with a rising career. Her enthusiasm carried on long after her migration from the Big Apple, and she continued to work throughout high school, traveling to the local markets of Atlanta and Charlotte, combining her two passions: school and modeling. She was serious about her work. So serious that the day after graduating from high school she headed to Paris. She told her parents it would be just for six months, then she’d return. “Modeling,” she says, “wasn’t a way for me to get out of going to college right away, it was just something I was taking the opportunity for at the time, but I always wanted to eventually go to school.” She was studious and enjoyed school, and though she ended up traveling between Paris, London, and Milan for the next two years, college was not an experience she would miss. With a European fix under the belt and a desire for a career as an on-camera reporter, the School of Journalism at the University of Georgia beckoned. She chose UGA and the town of Athens, based on its proximity to modeling jobs in Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami. Her strategic decision also gave way to an ultimate college experience. Athens was thriving. The explosion of musical talents REM and the B52s made the town a hot spot for creative minds and musical escapades. It was the right place at the right time. With the imprint she made modeling stateside and overseas, it wasn’t long before

whispers of Tolleson’s return reached the ears of Paula Miles, director of the Miss South Carolina USA pageant. Would she be interested in representing her home state? With some gentle it’s-only-one-day nudging from her mom, she agreed. It was a move that would propel her life.

Queen of the World

Gina was crowned Miss South Carolina USA (over Access Hollywood host Nancy O’Dell, her first runner-up) and was placed on the fast track to Miss USA. Three months later, she had the title of first runner-up and a ticket to the Miss World competition. (Pageant note: The firstplace winner was sent to Miss Universe and first-runner up to Miss World, the two international competitions at that time.) Granted independent study courses from UGA, she headed to Norway and then to London, the home base for Miss World, to compete. With contestants from 81 countries living under one (hotel) roof, combined with language barriers and a highly competitive environment, the experience proved to be a comprehensive multicultural study in its own right. At this point, it had been almost a year from being crowned Miss South Carolina USA to the Miss World competition and she was just about done. She recalls, “I specifically told my mother, when she was coming over to London, ‘Don’t have Dad come. Miss Venezuela’s gonna win, and I get to go home!” Famous last words. Including Tolleson, there have only been two United States winners to date. “The best thing I got from the competition and from the woman who started it, Julia Morley, is that she always saw it as something beyond just a beauty competition. Her motto is ‘Beauty with a

Purpose,’ so it was very fulfilling for me in that way.” NPR.org recently wrote a piece on the Miss World competition, crediting the competitors’ charitable works as a main part of the competitive edge. Visiting orphanages in El Salvador and Poland and touching down in Capetown, South Africa, the day apartheid was lifted were just a few instances that granted Ms Tolleson new understandings of the world. After 13 months of living in London, and 35 countries later, her term came to an end. In true form, Tolleson realized that while she was able to make an impact on others, she was also growing as a professional woman. Interviews almost daily, every opportunity was a chance to better her skills as an interviewer and interviewee – an opportunity to build a resumé. She made it back to America and, upon seeing the reel she had assembled, a CNN affiliate sent her to Brussels to contribute to European coverage for the 1992 elections. Her on-camera talent began to unfold.

Love And Marriage

Shortly thereafter, she was brought back to America to co-host the 1992 Miss World competition; the assignment brought romance. During a promotional photo shoot for TV Guide, the beauty queen met Los Angeles-based actor and co-host, Alan Thicke, and love and career merged into one. “I was in El Paso, Texas, for two weeks working for ABC and the head of special programming for ABC at the time called me in and said, ‘You should really come to L.A., and you could do more entertainment things for us.’” California dreamin’ turned to reality. L.A. was an easy transition, one which laced a new job and new life together. The

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A throne of her own: Gina at her desk at Santa Barbara Magazine office with a cover rendering by modern pop artist Donald Robertson

Brunette bombshells: with Carpinteria native and fashion designer Heidi Merrick

couple co-hosted a show on A&E called Travelquest, wherein they sailed across the world, learning a trade within 48 hours. For example, one episode showed her learning to dive in Port Douglas, Australia. A rare moment of relaxation with her youngest boys The next, learning to surf in Fiji. They (Photo credit: C Magazine) purchased Santa Barbara Magazine, to were married shortly after in ‘94. The wedding came and went and with contribute the things I was already doing her on-camera work lessening a bit, an on camera to the magazine – fashion, entrepreneurial spirit awakened. With celebrity, health & beauty, lifestyle, and ties in the entertainment business, and travel stories.” With her experience, a talent for trend-spotting, she and two Tolleson became lifestyle editor in 2002. girlfriends launched a corporate gift and “I thought, ‘Well I don’t need to go back jewelry business called Gretna Green to L.A. I have a job here!’ My son was Gifts. Clients such as Hugh Grant, Tom thriving here, his father had a home here, Arnold, Meatloaf, and execs at Warner so it just fell into place to transition out Bros and NBC hired the team to put of L.A. and stay.” One year rolled into the next, and love, together elaborate thematic packages as end-of-filming “wrap” gifts, and presents babies, and a new job title were blessed for family and friends in general. “We upon her. Taking on the role of executive jumped into that business, which was editor, she re-married in 2003 and welcomed two boys back-to-back – Luca really fun,” she reflects. After a couple years, the friends in 2005 and Tiago in 2006. transitioned into motherhood and the page was turned on the business with fond memories and new skills honed. The birth Although she had some experience of her first son, Carter, came in 1997 and writing due to camera assignments from after two years of raising a child together, time to time, the world of magazine sadly a separation ensued. production was slightly foreign. “There was a lot of learning ground, but I think I found my niche pretty quickly in what With a little boy her main priority, my contacts were in the entertainment she needed to get back to work. But and fashion business. I naturally brought Santa Barbara didn’t seem the right fit that element to the magazine,” she says, (Alan’s Carpinteria ranch was where the crediting mentor Holly Palance, the first couple spent a good deal of time before Santa Barbara Magazine editor, as the the divorce). “I literally thought, I’ll stay woman who recognized Tolleson’s voice as in Santa Barbara for six months, maybe. a writer. Senior editor Laurie Deans and Because I was 32 and single with a three the creative director, hailing from Town & year old... I knew I was going to have to Country, Margot Frankel, were also huge go back to work. And if I was going to do supporters. Today, she can’t imagine doing it any television, I was going to go back to Los other way. “I prefer now to be in print. I Angeles.” But, Santa Barbara wouldn’t have it that can wear my PJs in bed writing from home on a weekend and no one has to see me. way. Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Opportunity came by way of the Smith family, owners of the local ABC station Magazine afford Tolleson an enviable and family friends. They had a new lifestyle. She’s able to drive her kids to venture and were looking for talent to school every morning, pick them up see its vision through. “I was approached almost every day, and run a magazine at by my family friends, Bob Smith and the same time. “I’m really glad my boys his daughter, Jennifer, who had just see me work full time,” she says. “As much

as sometimes the grass is always greener and I’m exhausted, I like that my boys see that I’m productive and that I’m creative, and that I have an identity outside of being a mom.” Tolleson reflects back on her life with an open heart. “I’m grateful to my exhusband for introducing me to Santa Barbara. I’m grateful for the magazine

that has kept me here for fourteen years. I’m grateful to my second relationship for giving me two beautiful children and introducing me to another slice of Santa Barbara life – the surf culture, yoga, adventures that I wasn’t exploring on my own. I am grateful for the relationship I am in now; I hope he gets a better ‘me’ after all these years.”

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In the Garden with

Mr. Greenjeans

by Randy Arnowitz “Mr. Greenjeans,” as he is known around

Santa Barbara, is a gardener, horticulturist and writer. He particularly enjoys working with roses, orchids and sharing the day with his golden retriever Peaches, who faithfully accompanies him in the field. Contact him at greenjeansmr@gmail.com

Cyclamen are Coming to Town Cyclamen persicum flourish in containers with regular deadheading, nourishing soil, and proper watering

The addition of a succulent echeveria puts an edgy spin on this traditional wreath

For the holidays, cyclamen are available in all of these colors. And wait, there’s more: some are fragrant!

hen it comes to festive plants and foliage for decorating your home and garden during the holidays, let’s face it: your selection is limited. Poinsettias, which traditionally came in red are now available in yellow, pink, splotchy pink, and other colors. Evergreen boughs and branches for table centerpieces are staples, as are the foliage and bright orange and red berries of pyracantha and cotoneaster. If you’re edgy, you can make or buy wreaths assembled from colorful and unusual succulents. Aside from the succulent wreaths, most of these other items have a limited shelf life and are put in the green bin right after the holidays. On the other hand, Cyclamen persicum, or florist’s cyclamen as they are referred to, can be purchased in the fall – and with proper care, give you showy blooms all the way through the holidays and into the spring. Keep in mind though, that in our climate, they do best when grown outside, so when you’re done showing them off indoors for the holidays, plant them outdoors. EARTHQUAKE RETROFITTING 50 + YEARS EXPERIENCE - LOCAL 35+ YEARS

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The older strains of cyclamen typically have large, dark green, or green with silver veined, heart-shaped leaves. The butterfly-like flowers, which sit atop six-inch stems come in white, salmon, crimson, purple, red, and pink. Miniature, more delicate versions are available and are exact replicas of the big guys. Some are even fragrant. In the home, at holiday time, cyclamen do best in a cool, bright room and should not be over-watered. Cyclamen grow from a water-storing tuber and for this reason are susceptible to rotting out if watered when already wet. I hate to tell you this, and I’m not making this up just to complicate your life, but like many plants, the symptoms of over- and underwatering are similar. Meaning that, if the foliage on your cyclamen is wilted, it could indicate that the roots have either turned to mush or have dried out too much. After some hits and misses, here is what I’ve discovered about keeping cyclamen healthy, and producing a colorful bounty of flowers and leaves over a long, cool season:

In Containers

I’ve had better luck growing cyclamen in containers than in the garden. This is because with cyclamen in pots, I have better control over the type of soil they’re planted in and how often I water them. As a medium, I use a well-draining potting soil with added nutrients such as FoxFarm Ocean Forest potting mix. Sometimes, for extra drainage I’ll add some pumice to the recipe. I situate the container where it will receive either morning full sun or very bright, diffused light all day. I avoid afternoon full sun, as the plants will look

a little toasted and less vibrant if grown in harsh afternoon sun. If you are transplanting your cyclamen into larger pots or planters, you will probably notice the soil the cyclamen comes planted in is different from the potting soil that you are transplanting into. It could be that the soil around the root ball is “peaty.” This means that after you transplant, it may be difficult to keep that peaty root ball moist, even though you are soaking the heck out of the new surrounding soil in the new container. In the past, I’ve yanked sad-looking, wilted cyclamen out of their pots after weeks of what I thought was conscientious watering only to find that they were, in fact, bone-dry. Once established and the roots grow out into the new container soil, cyclamen are very drought-tolerant. Initially however, it may take some effort to keep the new plants adequately watered. If you are keeping your cyclamen in its original container, thoroughly soak the plant, pot and all, in a bowl of water when the soil begins to dry out until the soil is saturated. Let it drain before setting it back in its saucer or decorative planter. If the pot is encased in that funky florist foil, remove it so the water can drain out of the bottom of the pot and away from the soil.

In the Garden

If you decide to plant your cyclamen directly into your garden bed, as many folks do, be sure your soil is porous and well-draining. Your cyclamen will benefit from the addition of some good backyard or nursery compost.

Established plants in the ground are probably more sun-tolerant and I’ve seen them planted in full sun on the coast. However, whether in the ground or in containers, mine have flourished in bright, dappled light. As mentioned above, be sure root balls of the individual plants are being thoroughly watered until they have had a chance to root out into the existing garden soil. After that, only water when soil approaches dryness. Keep in mind that the lumpy, beet-like thing that the leaves grow out of is a water storing tuber. I’ve found that plants that grow from tubers benefit from a little extra drying out between irrigations and are more likely to rot if watered too often.

Miscellaneous Facts

• Whether grown in containers or in the garden, you should remove the flowers after they’ve finished blooming. Rather than cutting off the spent blooms, the best way to do this is to carefully reach into the plant and twist or pinch off the old flower stalk down at the base of the plant. Be careful not to yank the entire plant out of the pot while doing this. Also, take note of what the flower stalks look like before and after they bloom, so you don’t remove the ones that have not flowered yet. They look somewhat similar. • If blooming or growth slows down, feed with a bloom food. My new favorite ( I know, I know – here we go again with the favorites) is MaxSea 3•20•20. I use it on all my blooming stuff. Instead of the recommended application amounts, I use much less but more often. • Whether transplanting cyclamen, it is important to bury the bulb at the same depth that it is already planted in, in its original container. Do not let fallen leaves, soil, or mulch collect around or cover up that big, lumpy tuber.

Randy’s Quick Pick If you want to share you passion for native plants, natural history, and to foster the conservation of California’s flora, you may want to serve as a guide at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Docent training for the garden is held from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm from Saturday, January 10, and continues for four consecutive Saturdays, including February 14. Join the garden’s community of enthusiastic and knowledgeable docents. Information and registration is at: www.sbbg.org/classes-events/classes/docenttraining-public-tours

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