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That Statue Being Installed, 1964: That's sculptor Ron Boise on the ladder helping to place his what-was-to-be-very-controversial bronze statue of a naked couple over the entrance to the Hip Pocket Book Store. The bookstore was on Pacific Avenue in the old St. George Hotel. The picture was taken Sept. 10, 1964. Boise, who spent his time all over Northern California in those days, was not prepared for the public outrage the statue caused. It was removed and reinstalled on the roof of San Francisco's Steam Beer Brewery, where it remained for many years. I have no idea where it is now. Bruce Bratton PARKING-LOT WORK FORCE. I just noticed, last Sunday, the sign at San Lorenzo Lumber on River Street that said, "Do Not Hire or Pick Up Here." It stated three issues: (1) There are safety problems involving drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. (2) Businesses are affected negatively by congestion and behavior problems. (3) Police will enforce state and local laws if anyone trespasses, blocks sidewalks or engages in inappropriate behavior. It's probably just me, but I haven't heard any complaints from folks who have hired workers from our parking lots--have you? It seems to me that if folks are happy getting temporary workers, and the workers are happy with it, what's the problem? The other interesting thing is the point about the police enforcing all these laws if anybody does anything inappropriate. The drummers at our weekly Farmers Market are really ruining an excellent community tradition, and in that instance, the police say they can't do anything about it. What's up with all this? Somebody like the Santa Cruz City Council or the police chief should get it in gear and rearrange the city's priorities. GOOD-BYE, PAULINE KAEL. The famed New Yorker movie critic, who set new standards for honesty and directness in discussing movies, died last week. I knew her when she and her husband ran the Cinema Guild on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley back in the '50s. Her deadly accurate movie summaries in their monthly theater calendars forced her to be amazingly accurate, concise and funny, and I've saved a bunch of them. Her nephew John Kael, mandolinist of Roanoke bluegrass fame, is (or was) a local who operated the espresso cart in front of Logos for many years. We'll probably not read her quality of writing again for many years. DARK PLEASURES. Mark Wahlberg's performance in Rock Star is about the only reason to see this trite piece of Hollywood fluff. Maybe if you know the difference between Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard and Judas Priest, you could enjoy some of the mid-'80s rock showbiz backstage craziness. Wait and rent it. It's my journalistic duty to repeat what I read in the San Francisco Chronicle last week (and already reported on my little KUSP movie-review segment): You can't see them in this film, although he even has one of them pierced while you almost watch, but Wahlberg has three nipples!! I wasn't sure of the best way to spread this information, but I knew you'd care. COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION NEWS. I just learned from this month's newsletter that members of the Credit Union can do four ATM withdrawals per month at any ATM with no charge from the Credit Union. They can get cash with no surcharge at Washington Mutual ATMs and at ATMs with a Co-op network decal. The Co-op network is working to make a larger system of free ATMs available. The next board meeting is Sept. 27, 7:30pm, at 512 Front St., Santa Cruz, where the Credit Union is located; of course, all members are welcome. If members want to get anything on the agenda, call staff members ahead of time: 425.7708. THAT'S DR. WATERS NOW. Metro Santa Cruz's Christina Waters was just awarded her Ph.D. in philosophy from UC-Davis. She's proud, her aunt in Felton is proud, everybody's proud--except probably Thomas Kinkade after he read her fine article in last week's issue. One Kinkade thing I've always wondered is, How he can claim to be such a renowned and collected artist when no reputable museums, galleries or serious collectors would touch his paintings? Anyway, congratulations, Christina. LOCH LOMOND HIGHLAND GAMES. Now's the time to plan on attending this wildly successful Celtic gathering (now in its sixth year). Eat, drink, shop, watch them toss the caber, put the stone, fling the Scottish hammer and do the Farmers Walk. Naturally, you'll hear some of the finest bagpiping anywhere. There will be three stages of Celtic music all day long. This organization needs volunteers. It's great fun; you'll meet new people and learn a lot about early Scottish history. It's all happening Oct. 6 at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond, 10am-6pm, with Welcoming Ceremonies at noon. Remember, too, that you have to take the free shuttle at the San Lorenzo Lumber Yard on Graham Hill Road next to Roaring Camp or Metro Bus route no. 35, because you can't park along Highway 9. For information, call 457.6716 (and leave a message, in case they're out watering the haggis) or email [email protected]. (Full disclosure: John Tuck and I will be emceeing on the main stage from noon to 4pm, and we'll meet you there). S.C. DOWNTOWN AREA RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION. The next meeting of DARA will be Sept. 28 at 6pm in the mezzanine of the Palomar Hotel. Remember that all Santa Cruz residents living on Pacific Avenue, Front Street and the 100-300 blocks of Lincoln, Cathcart, Walnut, Cooper and Locust streets can become members. Call 420.0316 for the latest news. NEW BOOK ON COAST REDWOODS. Sandy Lydon and others have written a book about the coastal redwoods, from Big Sur to the southwestern corner of Oregon. It's titled Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History, and it has 230 color and 100 historic black-and-white photos. It even tells about the evolution of redwood logging and management issues in redwood parks and timberlands. Local historian and bon vivant Lydon wrote two of the chapters. I haven't had a chance to see or read the book yet, but Metro Santa Cruz editor Michael Gant sez it's beautiful. I can only guess at its take on logging, but I will wait. Sandy will be doing a lecture and slide presentation this Friday (Sept. 14) at 8pm in that new Parish Hall next to Holy Cross Church. Proceeds from the sale of the books go to Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and Mountain Parks Foundation. "The Friends of" are affiliated with the Adobe Coalition and the Friends of Wilder. I have no idea what those groups do, so this evening should be an eye-opener. TWO NEW FILM SERIES. Earl Jackson Jr., whose Summer of Love Crimes film series was one of the most thought-provoking, carefully planned series I've ever attended, starts up two new free series in two weeks at UCSC. The series are sponsored by UCSC's literature department and are free and open to the public. On Mondays, Sept. 24-Nov. 26, at 7:30pm in the Media Theater 110 (near the Main Stage and the box office on campus), Jackson presents Monday Noir. Earl calls film noir the genre that never was, and he will explain why during the course of these screenings. The films include Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past, Anthony Mann's Raw Deal and T-Men, Irving Pichel's They Won't Believe Me and plenty more. On Wednesday, Earl presents Two Way Spectacles, a series that plays on the double meanings of spectacle. He'll show Dziga Vertov's Man With a Movie Camera, Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack's Chang, Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly and others. These films show at 7:30pm in Social Sciences II, Room 75. This series runs Sept. 26-Nov. 28. It would be a good idea to go to www.anotherscene.com to get a more complete idea of how and why Earl constructs these series. BUMPER THINKERS. I saw "Don't Believe Everything You Think" on Chestnut Street last week as I returned from a few days in Alpine, Calif. Dean Silver saw "All Generalizations Are Wrong" and "Red Meat Isn't Bad for You--Fuzzy Green Meat Is!" Bruce critiques films every other Thursday on KUSP-FM (88.9FM). Reach Bruce at [email protected] or at 457.5814, ext. 400. [ Santa Cruz | Metroactive Central | Archives ]