To paraphrase those Dos Equis ads, the Pacifica Institute doesn’t usually hold art exhibits open to the public, but when it does, it has to be by Carl Jung. After all, without psychologist Jung, this double-campus Institute would probably not exist (all due respect to Joseph Campbell, et al., but you catch my drift.) The irony here is that up until only the last decade, nobody really knew that Dr. Jung was much of an artist.
Read More
Month: March 2014
ON STAGE: Tales of Transformation – ENSEMBLE THEATRE’S NEW PRODUCTION REVISITS OVID’S CLASSIC MYTHS
For viewers in the front rows for Ensemble Theatre Company’s latest production, you might just get wet while watching “Metamorphoses.” But don’t worry, director Jonathan Fox has the audience covered … literally, with rain ponchos. It’s can’t be helped when a great part of the stage will be a wading pool, built per stage instructions included in Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of Ovid’s classic tales of myth and transformation.
“It think the audience getting wet is part of the experience,” says Mr. Fox. “It’s the kind of piece that doesn’t work if you’re watching on video. You need to be surrounded by people.”
Read More
Shoot for the moon : Deepak Chopra will speak on his Moonshot Project designed to make the state run on 100 percent renewable energy
Alternative medicine and holistic health guru Deepak Chopra thinks big and hopes big. And now he has a vision to heal our ailing Earth and it starts with California, top down and bottom up.
In a series of lectures at the Arlington Theatre and elsewhere sponsored by the World Business Academy on Thursday and Friday, he will speak about the California Moonshot Project, a collaboration between the Academy and Dr. Chopra’s nonprofit Chopra Foundation. The plan is to make all of California’s energy renewable and to have it done in 10 years. The name comes from the original moonshot project, President John F. Kennedy’s plan to send a man to the moon and have him safely return to Earth. (President Kennedy gave it 10 years as well — it turned out to take less time.)
Read More
DRINK OF THE WEEK: Cafe Del Sol’s Strawberry or Mango Blended Margarita
Remember spring? No, we don’t either. It was a scorcher the other day, but as it started to cool down, we here at Drink of the Week got on our bikes for a ride alongside our fabulous beach, down toward the Bird Refuge. It was just another reminder that we’re lucky to live here and do not have to only visit for the weekend.
Our ride ended at Cafe del Sol, which has a very nice happy hour during the weekdays and a beautiful view over the estuary every day. And they remembered us from our visit many years ago. Even bartender Kyler Barbee remembered our faces and told us he’s read every column since.
Read More
IN CONCERT: Ensemble’s Composer John Zalewski on bringing sound to ‘Metamorphoses’
When “Metamorphoses” opens this weekend, one of the stars behind the scenes is its composer, John Zalewski. It’s not often that the Ensemble Theatre Company has such an element in their plays — there’s been music in between scenes and in intermissions, and sometimes music has been used very sparingly to accentuate moods and such, but bringing in Mr. Zalewski is something new.
The Los Angeles composer came to the attention of Ensemble Executive Artistic Director Jonathan Fox through set designer Francois-Pierre Couture. After some email exchanges, the two set to work.
Read More
ART REVIEW: Derelict Dreams – Larry Mills Jr.’s witty snapshots ache with loneliness
Full disclosure up front: Larry Mills Jr. only shares this reviewer’s family name, not his DNA. For a while, Mr. Mills left Santa Barbara for colder climes out east, places that his wife knew well. The move seemed permanent, but as those of us who have waved goodbye to old friends leaving Santa Barbara know happens often, they returned. (Maybe it’s the kind of weekend we had last Saturday). Fortunately for us he brought back his photographs of that time, and very droll they are, for the exhibition, “I’m Over Here,” at Art Resources Framing & Gallery, through March 29.
Subtitled “Two Years of Getting Lost in New England,” this collection of 40 or so photos discover the odd, trash-strewn and God-fearing backside of the region far outside its usual cliches. Hardly an orchard, or a multi-colored autumn tree, is to be seen in Mr. Mills’ work. These are shots of neighborhoods and back alleys, backwaters and abandoned lots that the tourist bureau would rather you not see.
A Bit of Faith – Local Christian Filmmakers premiere their first feature at Arlington
Road Less Traveled Pictures
Indie filmmakers work years to see their projects through to the premiere date. They enlist friends, family and co-workers to help. They scrape together funds to start and they further scrape to finish. But it’s all worth it for the love of creativity.
“Redemption of the Heart” ‘s filmmakers, Isaac Meeks of Santa Ynez and Sandon Yahn of Oxnard, have had a similar experience with their film, but the twist here is that they’re also doing it for the love of Jesus and their church, Calvary Chapel.
Read More
DRINK OF THE WEEK: Dargan’s Patrick’s Pride
Ah, the luck of the Irish! Or, shall we say, the luck of the Drink of the Week team, to walk into Dargan’s when bartender Patrick Owens was tending to his flock. Indeed, to impress a birthday girl over at a corner table, we watched him fold up a napkin and tuck it under his black shirt collar, making him look like a vicar. We knew right then that this witty man would rise to our St. Patrick’s Day challenge of an appropriate cocktail.
Read More
Drink of the Week: Bar Seven’s Old Fashioned
A year in the life of a bar in downtown Santa Barbara is like dog years: impressive. The fickle forces of commerce, that right combination of newness and familiarity, the magical price point to draw in customers, keep them, and also to keep paying rent is a tricky thing to do. And to do it in the rapidly gentrifying and expensive Funk Zone? Well, that’s a thing all to itself.
Read More
Thanks for the memories : Survivors gather to honor loved ones at annual Cottage Hospital event
A group of around 40 mourners gathered on Sunday afternoon for Cottage Hospital’s annual memorial service, “A Gathering of Remembrance.”
The event provides families and loved ones of those who have died in the hospital’s care in the last year another chance to say goodbye. Started four years ago by members of the hospital and its nondenominational clergy, the memorial is a short service with numerous texts read by staff and a chance to place an origami crane with a message to a love one on an altar.
Read More