Plus Letters to Good Times…
That Health Care Bill
If The Shoe Fits
WEW Revisited
Holiday Deadlines
It’s the giving season, but I’d be remiss in not pointing out some things we could give our attention to in 2010, particularly climate change. As you may know, the United Nations Climate Change Conference is taking place in Copenhagen through Dec. 18. Representatives from 170 countries are expected to be in attendance, and it’s estimated that about 8,000 people—from journalists to activists to government reps—will attend.
Why is this happening? In 2012—just two years from now—the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming expires. That means, there is growing—some say, dire—need for a new climate protocol. That’s an understatement. This will be the last time officials meets on a government level before a climate agreement will be revamped. I recommend checking out http://en.cop15.dk for more information about the conference.
Curiously, a recent report noted that President Obama’s climate action plan may fall short of expectations within the international community—really, our country could do so much more on the lines of renewal energy. Meanwhile, here in Santa Cruz, local supporters of 350.org have been busy over the last few months. They’ve held vigils and other events—the recent Climate Action Day generated buzz—and are clearly doing their part to raise the level of awareness about what’s happening with climate change. (Catch video coverage of a recent event online at GTv.) FYI: 350 stands for the amount (parts per million) of CO2 that is considered—what’s the term?—safe for the atmosphere. Recent reports indicate we’re past 380 ppm and 350.org’s mission is to generate a ripple effect that will lower the ppm.
Happy Holidays, indeed. But I suspect that, being the unique folks that we are here in Santa Cruz County, there is something we all can do to combat climate change. After all, the alternative is not really that attractive.
Until next week …
Greg Archer
Editor
Letters to Good Times Editor
That Health Care Bill
I was intrigued by Sam Farr’s recent column in which he said that the new health care bill would, “end the vile practice of insurance companies dropping coverage if Americans get sick; it would eliminate the ability to discriminate for pre-existing medical conditions; it would remove all co-pays for preventive care; it would put in place out-of-pocket caps while ending caps on insurance company payments; and it would create a public option that will introduce cooperation into the insurance market while helping lower costs for all Americans.”
Bravo. So true. I’m still a bit perplexed why everybody seems to be in an uproar about the health care bill and why President Obama continues to get slack over it. We’re progressing, people—get a clue.
John Anderson
Santa Cruz
If The Shoe Fits
Your eye-catching ad for Ugg boots prompted this letter and this question: Is it just my imagination, or has virtually every young woman in Santa Cruz fallen for the fashionably hip look of snug jeans tucked into Uggs? I mean, if you ever wanted a perfect illustration of the power of memes–those synaptic “viruses” that leap from brain to brain in the form of fads, fashion, catch phrases, etc. Look no further than the Ugg phenomenon. Like mushrooms following the rain, Uggs have sprung up everywhere.
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Not at all. In fact, I’m forever fascinated by woman and her innate ability to pull off “the look,” any look, without any apparent effort (and I know I’ll catch flak for that “effort” remark). Point being, unlike us boys who squeeze into Speedos and fancy ourselves the catch of the day, women can throw on a man’s shirt or painter’s coveralls and it’s like, ‘Hello, gorgeous.’ Is ensemble-building gender specific?
Anyway, thank you winter, thank you denim, thank you ladies, thank you Ugg–you really know how to stuff a stocking.
Tim Rudolph
Santa Cruz
BEST OF THE ONLINE COMMENTS
WEW Revisited
The music of ’80s group World Entertainment War, spotlighted in a recent cover story, is the mana I fed myself with. These were my people, and the trance-inducing music they played was like a group spell we cast across the world undoing the brainwashing of the normal world … dancing with our true whole selves … we remembered who we really were. There were some truly memorable moments over the years, and I tried to be at each and every show because no two were ever alike. Even if you knew a song they sang … it had new meaning each and every time. They were always fresh, fun, they fed and tickled your intellectual funny bone … those were the days, indeed.
I now live in Oregon and am married, two days’ notice for the show in Marin, I wimpered—dang! You had all better go and dance for me.
–Roxanne Sterling Astor-Falkenstein
Holiday Deadlines
GOOD TIMES offices will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 23 through Friday, Jan 1 in observance of Christmas and New Year’s. Deadlines for Dec. 29: Display, Class Display, Bulletin Board and Classified ads: 4 p.m., Friday, Dec. 18. Deadlines for Jan 7: Display, Class Display, Bulletin Board and Classified ads: 4 p.m., Monday, Dec. 21; Calendar: noon, Thursday, Dec. 17.
Clarification
A quick note about GT’s Gift Guide. The editorial copy listed on page 16 was instituted by GT and not Pacific Cookie Company or other businesses listed there.
