At the end of his 1959 short story “Seymour: An Introduction,” J.D. Salinger mused about the ending of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “What ever became of that stalwart Fortinbras? Who eventually fixed his wagon?”
The query was in regard to Fortinbras, prince of Norway, who found the Danish royal family dead at his feet and Hamlet’s close friend Horatio offering him the crown.
Thirty-three years after Salinger’s musing, and several hundred years after Fortinbras eulogized Hamlet on stage for the first time, playwright Lee Blessing answered that question in his 1992 comedy, Fortinbras.
Under the direction of Robin Aronson, Cabrillo College Theater Arts’ production of Fortinbras opens April 11. Blessing’s play explores what happens when Hamlet’s characters return as ghosts and haunt Fortinbras.
While full of fantastical elements, Fortinbras tells a potent story of a leader who refuses to face reality and his insignificance.
“Fortinbras, the country’s new ruler, takes power and concocts a big lie to legitimize his claim to power,” director Aronson explains. He attempts to “deny and replace the truth of what happened, manipulating and gaining the support of the populace before facing the inescapable consequences of his actions.”
Some of these consequences include the runaway butterfly effect of sending his army on conquests to solidify his rule and quickly losing said army on pointless marches for glory.
“Fortinbras’ flawed military judgment spins his army out of his control. At first, it seems like a big party as the Army conquers one country after another, but the fun inevitably ends,” Aronson says. “This makes me think of all the modern technological innovations that initially enthrall and thrill us. but later keep us up at night worrying about the potential for unintended dire consequences.”
Turning Cabrillo’s Black Box Theater into a ghostly castle is the job of Skip Epperson, department chair and resident scenic designer. The cast of veterans and newcomers includes Sebastian Hardison as Osric, courtier turned political goon, Cody Balcomb Bartok as the titular character and Elektra Schrader as Ophelia.
Aronson could not be happier with the cast and crew. “I never had any idea who was going to audition for this play and the perfect cast and crew showed up,” he says. “I’m very excited for the community to see this show. Because as a director you’re there for every single moment and you never really know if something works or not until an audience is there to see it. So please come see it; we can’t do it without you.”
Fortinbras runs April 11-27 in Cabrillo College’s Black Box Theater, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. Tickets: $19-$22. cabrillovapa.universitytickets.com
Disclosure: Mathew Chipman is a cast member in this production.
Life is asking you to be a source of generosity and strength for the people and animals in your sphere. I hope you will exude maximum amounts of your natural charisma as you bestow maximum blessings. Soak up the admiration and affection you deserve, too, as you convey admiration and affection to others. Here’s a secret: The more you share your resources, help and intelligence, the more of that good stuff will flow back your way.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
Ceramicist Jun Hamada says that trying to force harmony into her art leads to sterile work. “The most beautiful pieces come from the moments I stop trying to make them beautiful,” she notes. “They emerge from embracing the clay’s natural tendencies, even when they seem to fight against my intentions.” I recommend her approach to you in the coming weeks. Your best results may emerge as you allow supposed flaws and glitches to play an unexpected part in the process. Alliances might benefit, even deepen, through honest friction rather than imposed peace. What will happen when you loosen your attachment to enforced harmony and let life’s natural tensions gyrate?
GEMINI May 21-June 20
Gemini-born Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was a prolific architect who orchestrated many daring designs. Among his most audacious experiments was a project to build a house over a waterfall in Pennsylvania. “It can’t be done!” experts said. But he did it. Before he was ready to accomplish the impossible, though, he had to spend months studying the site’s natural patterns. I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are ready to consider your own equivalent of constructing a house over a waterfall. Prepare well! Do your homework!
CANCER June 21-July 22
In the early phase of his illustrious career as a photographer, Edward Weston (1886–1958) cultivated a soft-focus, romantic style. But he ultimately converted to stark, uncompromising realism. “The camera,” he said, “should be used for recording life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself.” If there is anything about you that prefers warm, fuzzy illusions over objective, detailed truth, I suggest you switch emphasis for a while. If you like, you can return to the soft-focus approach in June. But for now, a gritty, unsentimental attitude will be essential to your well-being.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
Here’s my mini-manifesto about change, just in time for a phase when change is most necessary and possible for you. 1. Real change is often a slow and subtle process. There may be rare dramatic shifts, but mostly the process is gradual and incremental. 2. Instead of pushing hard for a short time, you’re more likely to change things by persistently pushing with modest strength for a sustained time. 3. Rather than trying to confront and wrestle with a big problem exactly as it is, it’s often more effective to break the seemingly insurmountable challenge into small, manageable pieces that can be solved one at a time through simple efforts.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Textile artist Mei Zhang wondered if the synthetic dyes she used on her fabrics were limited. Might there be a wider variety of colors she could use in her creations? She discovered that her grandmother, using age-old techniques, had produced hues that modern dyes couldn’t replicate. “The most sustainable path forward,” Zhang concluded, “often involves rediscovering what we’ve forgotten rather than inventing something entirely new.” I recommend that counsel to you, Virgo. The solution to a current challenge might come from looking back instead of pushing forward. Consider what old approaches or traditional wisdom you might call on to generate novelty. Weave together fresh applications with timeless principles.
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
The moon rises about 50 minutes later every day, and always at a slightly different place on the horizon. The amount of light it shows us is also constantly in flux. And yet where and how it will appear tomorrow or ten years from today is completely predictable. Its ever-changing nature follows a rhythmic pattern. I believe the same is true about our emotions and feelings, which in astrology are ruled by the moon. They are forever shifting, and yet if we survey the big picture of how they arise, we will see their overall flow has distinct patterns. Now would be a good time for you to get to know your flow better. See if you can detect recurring motifs. Try to develop more objectivity about how your precious emotions and feelings really work. If you do this correctly, you will deepen and enhance the guiding power of your precious emotions and feelings.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Research reveals that interludes of productive uncertainty may strengthen our brain’s neural pathways—even more so than if we consistently leap to immediate comprehension. The key modifier to this fortifying uncertainty is “productive.” We must be willing to dwell with poise in our puzzlement, even welcome and enjoy the fertile mystery it invokes in us. Neurobiologist Aiden Chen says, “Confusion, when properly supported, isn’t an obstacle to learning but a catalyst for understanding.” These ideas will be good medicine in the coming weeks, dear Scorpio.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Persian American author Haleh Liza Gafori translates the poetry of 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi. One of their joint books is titled Gold. She writes, “Rumi’s gold is not the precious metal, but a feeling-state arrived at through the alchemical process of burning through layers of self, greed, pettiness, calculation, doctrine—all of it. The prayer of Sufism is ‘teach me to love more deeply.’ Gold is the deepest love.” That’s the gold I hope you aspire to embody in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You are in a resplendently golden phase when you have more power than usual to create, find and commune with Rumi’s type of gold.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
The coming weeks will be an excellent time to reframe the meaning of “emptiness” in your life. To launch your quest, I will remind you that quiet interludes and gaps in your schedule can be rejuvenating. Sitting still and doing nothing in particular may be a good way to recharge your spiritual batteries. Relieving yourself of the pressure to be endlessly active could be just what you need to open up space for fresh possibilities.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
There was a time, many years ago, when I consulted a divinatory oracle every day of my life. Sometimes it was the Tarot or the I Ching. I threw the Norse runes, did automatic writing, used a pendulum or tried bibliomancy. Astrology was always in the mix, too, of course. Looking back on those days, I am amused at my obsession with scrying the future and uncovering subconscious currents. But employing these aids had a wonderful result: It helped me develop and fine-tune my intuition and psychic powers—which, after all, are the ultimate divination strategy. I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I believe you now have an enhanced power to cultivate and strengthen your intuition and psychic powers.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
The fovea is the part of the eye that enables sharp vision. Humans have just one kind of fovea, which gives them the ability to see clearly straight ahead. Eagles have both a central and peripheral fovea. The latter gives them an amazing visual acuity for things at a distance. This extra asset also attunes them to accurately detect very slow movements. I suspect you will have a metaphorical semblance of the eagle’s perceptual capacity in the coming weeks, Pisces. You will be able to see things you wouldn’t normally see and things that other people can’t see. Take full advantage of this superpower! Find what you didn’t even know you were looking for.
My palms stretch toward the sky. I whisper, “Love, Love, Love…” for 15 seconds.
“Pink elephants,” I continue. “This means anything can happen. Infinity can happen.”
I’m melting into a pink chiffon boa as I slip into a ketamine-infused dream state. I bring my hands to my heart. “I don’t know what I’m doing right now, but I feel my power,” I say. This is according to notes taken by Amanda Edwards, owner of Innate Integrative Medicine, during our session. She is a licensed clinical social worker as well as a sex and intimacy coach.
Psychedelic therapy has been steadily re-emerging over the past decade as a way to improve the lives of those struggling with mental health. Stories of renewed perspective and life-changing results have bolstered the trend, with healthy people from all walks of life coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life.
When the founder of TOMS Shoes pledges $100 million to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) to conduct research, and celebrities like singer-songwriter Halsey proclaim ketamine infusion therapy helps reduce stress and anxiety and combat depression, it’s no wonder the substance has become the rising star of the psychedelic renaissance.
After an experience with ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic brewed into a tea, TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie felt “changed,” experiencing a relief he had felt with no other therapy, he said in an interview with MarketWatch. “It cracked me open, and it connected me more to my faith in God, made me feel that we were all connected and everything was fine and perfect,” he said. “It’s important that people like myself put their name out there and their money out there to show that this really is a path forward.”
Singer-songwriter Ashley Halsey said on the podcast SHE Md, “It helped to process really difficult thoughts and feelings in a way where I felt really safe.” It also helped Halsey cope with chronic pain and postpartum depression.
With the first session, “a lot of trauma can come out,” says Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, “and the first sessions can be scary.” Anderson, known as Dr. A, says that during the first session, “a lot of trauma comes out…a lot of people get scared and don’t want to do the second one, but by the third session they start feeling better and better.” This is why doing a minimum of three to six sessions is recommended by most practitioners.
Hasley said there can be fear about using psychedelic drugs, that “you’re gonna lose yourself,” but she really wanted to stress that “she still felt like herself” after the sessions.
As a fast-acting antidepressant, ketamine has long been a drug of choice and doctor’s favorite, used regularly in emergency rooms since its Food and Drug Administration approval as an anesthetic in 1970, explains emergency room Dr Darragh O’Carroll in an article for Vice titled “Why Ketamine Is The Best Drug On Earth.”
But ketamine has recently reached new heights of public awareness. One of the most famous current users is Elon Musk, of Tesla, SpaceX and DOGE fame, who told journalist Don Lemon that he has a prescription from “an actual, real doctor” and finds the drug “helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind.”
On the darker side, last summer the news was filled with reports on the overdose of actor Matthew Perry, who was receiving ketamine-infusion therapy. Carla K. Johnson of the Associated Press reported, “prosecutors said the actor turned to other sources when his doctors refused to give him more doses.” The dangers of buying the drug outside of a clinical setting is that it is difficult to know how pure or cut the ketamine is, O’Carroll writes.
With growing interest in ketamine, private practices that offer a safe clinical setting for those seeking to try this experimental medicine are popping up across the United States.
The owner of the cozy Live Oak office and therapy space where I went for my ketamine-assisted therapy session is Amanda Edwards. The clinic—Innate Integrative Medicine—opened in 2021, one of the first of its kind in the region. Amanda Edwards is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 20 years of experience in various fields, from substance abuse and recovery to domestic violence. She works in collaboration with Prentice Steffen, MD, who spent three decades working in emergency departments and now oversees the administration of ketamine doses for the sessions at Innate. Steffen and Edwards met through the alumni network of the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI), where they were both trained.
Edwards takes a multidisciplinary approach to healing and coaching, integrating breathwork and a connection to one’s body and nature. “My work with clients during the medicine journeys—and in our pre and post sessions—are highly informed by somatic therapy,” says Edwards, explaining that she’s referring to the process of “dropping into the body” and “tapping into the wisdom” inside yourself. The point is to calm the chatter in your mind, she continues, “—and coming back to feelings are feelings, and desires are desires. And they don’t have to be rational.”
The “treatment arc”—as Edwards and Steffen term their methodology—entails a two-hour prep-session, typically followed by three medicine sessions with ketamine. Ideally, the sessions are carried out once a week for three consecutive weeks. Each medicine session is followed by an integration session with Edwards the following day.
You start off with a sublingual dose to allow the body to ease into the dose, swishing it around for 12 minutes. You are then given an intramuscular injection in your deltoid, allowing quick absorption. The ‘journey’ lasts up to two hours, during which you are lying down, eyes covered with a mask, and immersed in a curated soundtrack created by practitioners who are also familiar with ketamine.
Being immersed into a ketamine-infused psychedelic state creates new neural pathways that can lead to change and relief from trauma or PTSD. Ketamine is said to quiet “that part of the central nervous system that worries and frets,” according to documentation available for clients.
THE SESSION Amanda Edwards, a social worker at Innate Integrative Medicine, accompanies the author through ketamine-assisted therapy. Photo: Credit
My Personal Trippy Trial
I might’ve felt more prepared for my journey had I first read Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind, in which he documents his use of psychedelics. His observations about consciousness while on psychedelics have sparked interest in the intellectual world about their potential use to gain insight into, as he puts it, “what we don’t know we know.”
The first step for me was to undergo a prep session. As Edwards explained to me, the purpose includes “expectation management” but primarily is the time for the client to set intentions for their therapy. One’s medical and psycho-social history is reviewed during the medical intake with Edwards and Prentice, and clients are screened for any schizophrenia in their family. Seeing as how my time to prep was limited and I hadn’t initially intended to do ketamine therapy, my main intention for this experimental session was to come to a deeper understanding of the inner workings of this trendy chemical.
I was briefed on the administration of the first intramuscular dose possibly followed by a second dose after 20 to 25 minutes if the client does not seem to be at the optimum level of dissociation. At the time my headphone was lifted off of one ear to ask if I would like a second dose.
I remember somewhat acknowledging it but only recall grinning. Up until this moment, I was floating in a pink fluffy world of cotton. As I look down at my hands, I see oversized, octagonal incredible hulk fingers, also pink. I talk out loud, describing my visuals to the therapist, who had told me she would be taking notes. I improvise a very positive song. I seemed to have immersed myself into the poster of Nan Goldin’s film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed—floating in her fluffy pink feather boa.
The second dose is administered and takes effect, I am no longer light and in a fluffy pink decor, but in total darkness, the sky above me. My position in reality is a reclined position on the ground. I begin to feel that “oneness with the universe” that others have described on psychedelic trips. However, this warm feeling dissipates and I then feel very alone and anxious as I grasp to understand where I am in the universe. Having no interaction from the physical realm, my eyes covered by a mask, a curated music experience melting through the headphones, I had nothing recognizable from the real world to connect to. Nothing to ground me in the familiar. I may have experienced the famous “ego-death” described by others in their psychedelic journeys, but this oneness with the Earth was not a happy feeling. Rather, it was overwhelming.
Funnily enough, I saw no one else in my dark world where I was lying down. I heard no other voices but my own, and was attempting to figure out why I felt stuck.
I assumed I was the Earth, a feeling that I was it in its entirety, but then I felt more as if I were the pistil of a flower. I was linked to the skin of the universe, the space and sky, and I was the one breathing life into the universe. I was overwhelmed by that feeling and confused as to my connection to life or death, or even the universe. This may be what is described as the k-hole, when one is unable to move—the dissociative aspect—and in my mind, I could not get out, and I didn’t know what was going on, and had no idea who I was. Was I even human? I felt the pressure of having to breathe life into this dark universe to be an overbearing task and was feeling exhausted by this feeling. I was grasping at a way to get out. I then remembered one thing from real life. The mind is in control. The mind is powerful and can create realities. Ah, so then I could change this one. Whew! That’s how I got out.
For me, I was too far gone into a fantasy world of unknown existence to really participate in this new point of view. It was existential to the max…I thought I was dying (compared to what many experience when taking DMT). I felt very alone, as there was only the dark star-studded sky and me that I could see (in my mind, that is). No voices. No real feeling of “oneness” aside from feeling completely alone and anxious. Not fun.
Hero’s Journey
I will say—I could have avoided watching The Matrix the night before. I thought it would put me “in the mood” for my trip. Screen time had been mentioned but I hadn’t taken it seriously, or thought too much of the subject matter. Oops. My bad.
Edwards says when a patient is struggling or feeling unpleasant, she tries not to interrupt the treatment. The challenging experience can help the tripper on her own move to a better place—“the hero’s journey,” in her words. I can go with a more spiritual take and say I had an ego-death with a messianic twist. After all, if it was me that was breathing life into the universe all on my own.
From the therapist and doctor’s point of view, this is my personal journey and it was up to me to deal with my inner thoughts and visions and find a way out of wherever it is I was. It is all part of becoming “unstuck from circular repetitive thinking and releasing old patterns so that other voices can be heard,” explains Dr. Steffen.
At the introductory session, Edwards and Steffen discuss the importance of the process and work following the psychedelic journey, commonly called “integration.” It’s a way to stay connected to the lessons of the trip when you return to daily life.
Ketamine therapy may not be for everyone, but this may be a telling example of why some should undergo several ketamine sessions over several weeks—a method called “stacking”—as you begin to better understand the power it holds to allow your mind to change and process trauma or change depressive thought patterns.
In reflecting on my journey, I did not feel that I had any great revelations on my life or past trauma, but I did manage to assign some meaning to that overwhelming feeling I had during my session. (In the journey I was ‘breathing energy’ into the universe and feeling completely depleted and overwhelmed.) The takeaway from the ketamine session was that I was moving in the right direction in my life, energy-wise—in deciding to focus more on myself and my personal journey than on people who did not add to my life, give back, and help me grow.
“From the biological perspective, ketamine produces a cascade of effects that are beneficial for short and long-term repair and flourishing of the cells, neurons and synaptic connections that healthy, balanced brains need,”says Eric Brown, author of the article “Why Ketamine Is An Effective Treatment for Depression.” Brown is program creator at Mindbloom,a telehealth platform that offers ketamine therapy via home-delivery in 30 U.S. states.
Medical doctor Scott Shannon, in an article titled “The Culture of Psychedelic Medicine,” writes that medicines like ketamine “carry the capacity to catalyze an inner healing process. That unique power imbues these medicines with a sacred quality.” The inner healer accompanies the voyager in their experience. “The mindset is one which poses the individual as having the power to heal itself with the help of the medicine which can initiate this healing process,” Shannon writes.
Unlike conventional psychiatry, which “has ignored our ability to heal and has focused instead on prescribing medications that limit our distress and mute our experiences of suffering,” Shannon writes, psychedelic therapy “has been showing positive results as a more integrative approach.”
In the late 1990s, I recall an antidepressant-frenzy taking root at UCSC, where I was a student. Everyone seemed to be in a daze, with their new stress meds taking effect. This diagnosis could be made in as little as one session with an on-campus psychiatrist. However, this conventional blueprint for treating mental illness is now fading. Some critics say pharmaceuticals like Xanax and Adderall are merely treating symptoms rather than getting to the root causes of mental instability, while for others their depression is “treatment resistant”—meaning that classic pharmaceuticals do not seem to improve their mental health.
Practitioners like those at Innate have been looking for alternatives to this conventional psychiatry. Their integrative approach to health and well-being is a development in the use of psychedelics in an assisted therapeutic mind-altering experience in hopes of gaining insight into one’s life. The idea is one of “cultivating that confidence in trusting your body and listening to those sensations. What are they trying to tell you, and how can you follow them?” says Edwards.
For the long-term durability of ketamine therapy, it is recommended to do more than one session, and through a series of treatments “stacked” or placed closely together, the aim is “to build up a solid foundation of the substance in your system,” explains Leonardo Vando, MD, a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Addiction Psychiatrist at the forefront of clinical research on microdosing for mental illness. As regards the telemedicine route, there can be greater risks if ketamine “is taken chronically in high doses, which can happen when it’s taken at home in an unsupervised manner. It can cause severe bladder damage,” said Lantie Elisabeth Jorandby M.D. in her Psychology Today article, “Update on Ketamine via Telemedicine Delivery.”
Maybe the biggest downside of all is that there is virtually no data on the long-term health effects of taking ketamine daily or every other day, as many who get it delivered via telemedicine do. (Many people receive their monthly dose of lozenges or tablets, take more of the medication each day than is prescribed, and run out early.)
“Microdosing” ketamine can be an option for those not comfortable with a full dissociative experience and who prefer not to experience a psychedelic journey. Microdosing is when a smaller portion of the drug is taken to experience a milder effect of the “high”—in the case of ketamine, giving one a euphoric mood, without the heavy feelings, complex thoughts or visuals that one can experience with higher doses.
It can provide subtle therapeutic changes that may improve mental health and motivation, although it may take more time to work than full doses. However, some clinics like telemedicine company Mindbloom believe that microdosing does not provide the insight and depth a full ketamine dose will offer to clients.
Ketamine has a clear dose response curve, so people can dial in the type of experience they would like to have: mild, verbal, and lightly dissociated (somewhat like peyote); moderate, some verbal capacity but mostly gone (more like psilocybin); high, non-verbal and totally disconnected from this plane (similar to DMT).
But as ketamine gains popularity—and many patients claim life-altering benefits—others have questioned just how effective this new treatment option really is.
In a 2023 NBC health news report, Dr. Smita Das, associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and chairwoman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, expressed concern with these new clinics where “people are getting treatments that haven’t been well-proven, well-studied or following any guidelines.” Das said that she was concerned that “people who need treatment will spend their money and energy in these ketamine clinics that aren’t well-proven.”
Price Points
Considering the effects are short-lived, ketamine isn’t cheap. Depending on the treatment approach, costs per program or session will vary with ketamine infusions ranging from $400 to $2,000 per infusion, (and three to six recommended sessions at most clinics), and a one-month supply of the FDA-approved intranasal spray Spravato, averaging $800 for a 1-month treatment, according to a 2023 article by Rebecca Hill of Zinnia Health.
Cheaper variations exist, like the home kits ordered online at Mindbloom, or other telemedicine health clinics, and are delivered to your door. Their initial program consists of six sessions of oral ketamine tablets, averaging $418 per month, and are recommended for three months.
As is often with the emergence of health trends, ketamine therapy falls short in its universality with its high price point. Depending on the mode of administration, treatment prices can range from $50 per dose through a telehealth clinic to in-house assisted therapy at $1,200 per session, or more.
The high price point leads many to “opt to save money by buying ketamine on the street,” claims Hill. From one of my sources interviewed for this article, it runs $70/gram, so about $25/ a pop to microdose.
To that point, I spoke with a Santa Cruz local, a single father in his late 50s who has been taking ketamine for two to three years. He discovered it through a community of like-minded individuals who use the substance for its mind-opening and healing qualities and a general enhanced feeling of well-being. He preferred to remain anonymous to protect those in his community—as well as himself—considering that recreational use of ketamine is not legal.
When I ask him if he would recommend it to his college kids, he replied that he had actually microdosed with his daughter for her first experience and it had allowed them to connect on a deeper level. “We were backpacking by a river, and she started talking about her life and really opened up about topics that I’ve never discussed with her. She talked for an hour straight,” he recalls.
In his opinion, marijuana was holding him back, and ketamine was very beneficial for his life. “It has helped me in my connections with people and allowed me to be a ‘time traveler.’ It allows you to connect with the past which I feel is unique to psychedelics,” he explains. “It’s not a particularly visual high, but it’s more profound in your mind, and you can tune it like a knob. After these experiences, I have the stories (lived during my high) that have influenced my life in a significant way,” he expressed.
I interviewed another local ketamine proponent, a 40-year old mother in the throes of divorce. She also requested anonymity, concerned her ketamine-use could be used against her. As she navigates a difficult divorce, she reserves time once a month to slip into a ketamine state in the confines of her home. She invited me to observe her during her 2-hour session.
An intention is set beforehand, breathwork is practiced throughout, and each session is followed with a journal entry that will help her—the voyager—track her emotions and insight, she explained to me. Eyes covered and a personally curated playlist, she lets the lozenges—also called “sublingual troches”—melt in her mouth, retaining the spit (the hardest part) until it’s time to spit it out and let the medicine take effect. This self-administered ketamine therapy has helped her manage her stress and find inspiration and positivity moving forward.
“It allowed me to see what I already knew in my mind, but for some reason that reality was blocked. The truth was there all along, I just wasn’t facing it. The message was clear: ‘this is not going away, this is what’s here and you need to deal with it.’”
SILVER BULLET The best way to deliver ketamine is a bullet, a little metal cylinder that has a knob on it, says one user. Photo: Credit
Silver Bullet
The rapid onset of its effects and its relatively short durability—30 to 60 minutes—have made ketamine stand out from other psychedelics as a more controllable substance, and this aspect has catapulted it into becoming a popular party or clubbing drug. “The best way to deliver ketamine in my book is a bullet, a little metal cylinder that has a knob on it,” explains the local father and ketamine user who preferred to remain anonymous. “If you use a bullet you have constant dosage…and do it anytime you want. It takes about 30 seconds to do,” he explained.
Note: one use of a snuff bullet is 1/4 of a full dose, he explains. This helps with micro-dosing—as opposed to when a much larger dose is taken when administered in a clinical setting. “People talk about knowing what they are taking when they do lines, and you can judge it by how often they fall down,” he says with a chuckle. This is why it is important to be in safe surroundings, and also not to drink alcohol when taking ketamine as it further inhibits one’s awareness of the body, and obviously slows reflexes. Definitely not recommended to drive on it, or attempt to do anything involving heat or fire.
As we search to escape the malaise of the modern world and our own minds, growing interest and funding in psychedelic therapies for mental health has allowed ketamine to gain ground as a viable therapeutic drug when used in a medically assisted context.
With the evolving landscape of psychiatric care, could it become the new antidepressant?
Maybe we’ll find ketamine-assisted therapy lounges at airports for those who have a fear of flying, or doctors will prescribe you three ketamine-assisted sessions to process your break-up. Psychedelics are not for everyone, or so we thought. Maybe it’s all about the intentions you set for your session, the dose, the playlist, and the setting. The new question may be: who will be your guide? A shaman, a therapist? Or will you go the do-it-yourself route,with a supply you order online, including a self-monitoring safety kit, 24/7 access to live chat guides, a journal, eye mask, playlist and headphones.
Lucky for us Santa Cruzans, this beachy paradise on the Pacific Ocean remains a place of healing at the forefront of experimentation in alternative healing and spiritual growth, a place to wander and explore in and outside of our minds as we make our way to enlightenment.
Songwriter Siri Undlin is the catalyst of Humbird. The project began as a folk-infused improvisational outfit, but with the group’s latest release, Right On, Humbird has moved decidedly in a rock direction. Yet in doing so, the trio (featuring bass, synthesizers and percussion from Pat Keen and Pete Quirsfeld on drums) hasn’t left its playful, unpredictable character behind; those qualities—plus flavors of Americana—are fully integrated into the more rocking approach of the new material. An honest and visceral lyricism informs the group’s music, and Right On’s live-to-tape approach captures that immediacy. BILL KOPP
When people think of California, country music isn’t the first—or fifth—thing that comes to mind. However, the state has a rich country music history rooted in its past and solidified with styles like the Bakersfield sound. Not to be outdone by Southern California, the Bay Area is home to several country, folk and bluegrass artists, with some being all three rolled into one, like San Francisco’s the Brothers Comatose. No strangers to Santa Cruz, the Brothers Comatose have had a fan base here since the beginning. Their blend of roots bluegrass with modern themes reminds all that despite what the Nashville pop scene says, real country and bluegrass are still alive and well. MAT WEIR
Benjamin Franklin mightn’ve said, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes,” but Santa Cruz locals know the truth: it’s really Death & Saxes. The beloved jazz quartet is back this week, and they are ready to lay down the law the only way they know how. Featuring John Bouwsma on tenor sax, Harrison Brand on guitar, James Brudnick on double bass and Ben Sibley on drums, Death & Saxes explores the classic standards of the ’50s and ’60s while respecting the genre by giving the songs their own twist. Everyone knows the best way to enjoy jazz is with a cold beer on the Discretion patio. MW
Drama. Glamour. Seduction. The queer variety show is about to start! The all-queer contestants and performers will compete for love—well, maybe. In an unapologetic expression of queer joy and sexuality, the Sugar Rush variety show offers the most dazzling drag performers, sultry burlesque dancers and stunning aerialists. It promises a night of equally campy and tempting performances that will leave everyone thoroughly sticky-sweet and covered in glitter by the show’s end. From shibari rope bondage to circus acts, it’s a grand variety show fit for anyone with a major sweet tooth. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7pm, 418 Project, 155 River St. S, Santa Cruz. $20–$165. 466-9770.
SATURDAY 4/12
ROCK
SKELETON KREWE
Some might think traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar added to Grateful Dead-esque jam band rock music is a bit like putting pineapple on a pizza. It sounds like an odd combination at first, and some will insist it’s just wrong, but sooner or later, they’ll admit it’s just so dang tasty. Skeleton Krewe is a five-person jam band featuring psychedelic pedal steel, keyboard, bass, drums and a healthy dose of the slack key guitar. They’ll be playing original compositions and indulging in some Dead interpretations, and there will undoubtedly be some wild improvisational flights of fancy. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
What started as a Lower East Side underground favorite has emerged as a fiery, Dirty Hit-signed powerhouse. NYC’s Pretty Sick brings their gritty alt-rock sound to Santa Cruz. The magnetic Sabrina Fuentes leads this increasingly acclaimed trio. As a plucky teen, Fuentes founded the band at age 13, and though the lineup has changed over time, the band maintains its grunge bass tone. Fusing grunge, riot grrrl and post punk elements, Pretty Sick delivers dark production and colorful, chaotic visuals that nod to their experience of big city culture. Fans will enjoy immersing themselves in the raw, melancholic vocals and energy of Pretty Sick. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 9pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, $25. 713-5492.
PUNK
LAURA JANE GRACE & THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICALS
With a catalog that blends outspoken political critique with personal liberation themes anchored in American folk rock and punk traditions, Laura Jane Grace brings her distinctive voice to Santa Cruz. Going public with her gender transition in 2012, Grace continues to detail her journey in her outspoken, earnest and charged lyrics. Fans can expect positive energy, swelling punk chaos and Grace’s lively, charismatic crowd banter. Grace is joined by the Mississippi Medicals, featuring Matt Patton on bass, Mikey Erg on drums and Paris Campbell Grace with vocals. Cathartic energy and authentic storytelling create an unforgettable live experience. SN
Frankie and the Studs combine elements of pop punk, indie rock, and glam. Their music features catchy, upbeat melodies and infectious hooks delivered with equal parts a smile and a sneer, reflecting the group’s rebellious attitude and punk sensibility. Electrifying guitar riffs, punchy drums and bold vocals covey the band’s sassy, irreverent character. Drawing from ’70s glam and punk, Frankie and the Studs channel memories of New York Dolls—their press materials even suggest that they’ll either hit the big time or flame out disastrously; it remains to be seen which path they’ll follow. BK
Santa Cruz is lucky to have such a vibrant music scene. Thanks to venues like the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, locals have access to world-renowned jazz players like the Kenny Barron Trio. Heralded by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the top pianists in the world,” Barron has had an illustrious career. The legendary Dizzy Gillespie hired Barron for his band without hearing him play a single note, which opened the door to play with other greats like Freddie Hubbard, Buddy Rich and Stanley Turrentine. He even tenured at Rutgers University tutoring new generations of players like Regina Belle, Terence Blanchard and David Sánchez. MW
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $64. 427-2227.
A downtown Santa Cruz go-to just got a glow-up, and is ready to reintroduce itself.
The Hindquarter Bar and Grille (303 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz) reopens April 10 after a furious week-plus remodel.
But the things that make it great aren’t changing one bit.
What is changing: The old-school bar area, classic dining room and some exterior elements, with refreshed paint, lighting, signage, furnishing and more.
“A full remodel and update,” reports HQ’s answering machine—itself a nod to the vintage flavor that makes this place magic, and one of the oldest restaurants in the area, up there with Shadowbrook and Stagnaro Bros. Seafood. “We’re excited for you to come back and enjoy wonderful food, drink and hospitality.”
What isn’t changing: the vintage vibe; the full-bodied range of herb-butter hanger steaks, baby back ribs and ground-chuck cheeseburgers, hand prepped and smoked in house, under the direction of master griller-smoker-meat wizard Sam Yanez; nightly specials like Monday’s margarita steaks or Thursday’s smoked pork chops ($25-$31), plus prime rib Friday-Saturday, ($39); or arguably the best happy hour in the vicinity.
From 2:30-5:30pm Monday-Saturday, well drinks, house wines and draft beers from the likes of Discretion and Humble Sea are $6, as are small plates like spicy barbecue meatballs, mini corn dogs, spicy green beans, a house mini burger, garlic fries and a daily surprise dish.
Another unchanging element would be the most important: the rare bond between staffers and a loyal clientele.
The vibe starts at the top. Co-owner Yanez, who began there as a dishwasher in the 1980s, anchors HQ’s long-tenured leadership, which includes multiple managers with close to 20 years on the job.
Manager Ashley Byrd, for example, has been there for 17 years, and she’s the least senior manager, which doesn’t happen often in hospitality.
“We’re just a family unit,” she says. “We all get along so well.” thehindquarter.com
STAY CONNECTED
The Murray Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit and Barrier Replacement Project is a good thing, full stop. It will make the stretch more resilient to earthquakes, incorporate 6-foot-wide bike lanes and a 7.5-foot-wide sidewalk and transparent barrier rails, allowing for better harbor and ocean views. But it will take a while, and lay a wallop on a number of Surf City standout restaurants who call the Santa Cruz harbor area home, from Johnny’s Harborside to Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant to the Crow’s Nest and beyond. Let’s rally to keep them cooking. They’re still accessible, and merely require a little extra effort. santacruzharbor.org/restaurant-listing.
NIMBLE NIBBLES
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced it will close the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries using vertical fishing lines south of Pigeon Point—including Monterey Bay and Morro Bay—effective April 15, to prevent further whale entanglements; areas off Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, and Bodega Bay will remain open, wildlife.ca.gov…ICYMI: The Downtown Santa Cruz Farmers Market is moving to a temporary location on Cedar Street between Walnut and Church Streets in May, and will also fill the parking lot next to the downtown Santa Cruz Public Libraries branch, aka Lot 16, santacruzfarmersmarket.org…The N.Y. Times reports the revolving restaurant, “long regarded as a mid-century novelty,” is staging a resurgence, with spinners in New York, Atlanta and San Francisco…Legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer, please top us off: “The most important thing you can do is make the distinction between customer service and guest hospitality. You need both things to thrive, but they are completely different.”
Having each lived twice in both China and Santa Cruz, husband and wife team Stacy Liu and Yunteng Li recently came back into town and opened Noodle Time. Born and raised in China, they initially moved here and lived for 20 years while owning a local restaurant.
Liu says when they decided to close, they soon found themselves wanting a return to the industry. But first, they moved back to China for two years to perfect their passions, Liu’s for boba tea and Li’s for making handmade noodles.
Now they are back in Santa Cruz and showcasing their cuisine at Noodle Time in what Liu describes as an ideal high-traffic location on Ocean Street. She says the design is simple, clean and casual with a half-open kitchen and a menu full of Asian favorites with strong Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese influences.
A+ apps are the juicy popcorn chicken with salt, pepper and basil and Liu’s personal favorite, the chargrilled chicken and beef skewers with red pepper cumin seasoning.
A noodle favorite is pho with long-cooked beef broth base complemented by rare steak, braised brisket, beef tendon, meatball and usual accoutrements. Another is the braised beef noodle soup with handmade wheat noodle, baby bok choy and chopped scallion, as well as the housemade chow mien.
Drink offerings include hand-punched lemon lime tea, slushies and signature boba teas like the tiger’s milk, with fresh taro and hand-mashed purple potato.
Spill the tea on your boba.
STACY LIU: When I went back to China to learn how to make boba tea, I was inspired because me and my family love it and I wanted to learn how to make it healthier. Other places often use a powder instead of real milk, but here I use organic milk and real fruit. I just really love boba and it’s very popular right now too, so it’s fun to offer an authentic preparation.
What makes your noodles special?
All we use is water, egg, salt and high-gluten flour. This is how my husband was taught to make the noodles in China. There are no preservatives, and all the noodles are made fresh from scratch every day. The texture of them is very chewy and rich; they have a nice nutty flavor and also take on the flavors of each dish’s other ingredients.
With co-president Elon Musk, or whatever his title is, championing the power of the hallucinogenic drug ketamine, we were very curious about its possible positive and negative effects. Writer Lucille Tepperman volunteered to try the drug in a controlled setting and gave us her impressions.
The good news is that there are professionals trained in guiding people on their trips of discovery here in Santa Cruz, unlike the old days when people simply dropped LSD and other drugs for fun and frenzy. In fact, one of the first group trip festivals—called the Acid Tests—was conducted at the Soquel grange hall, according to Tom Wolfe’s book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Music was provided by the band of rogues now known as the Grateful Dead.
Tepperman’s guides at Innate Integrative Medicine told her the experience is part of becoming “unstuck from circular repetitive thinking and releasing old patterns so that other voices can be heard,” which sounds like an important therapy for people feeling stuck in bad habits.
Have you tried it? Will you try it? We’d love to hear about your experiences and share them with our readers.
Ever wonder about that haunted-looking house off Highway 1’s Riverside exit? Todd Guild updates us on the Redman-Hirahara house and what’s going to happen to it next.
Looking into the possible futures of Shakespeare’s minor characters has been a hobby for modern writers. (Remember Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead?) Cabrillo Theater brings to life another player from Hamlet, Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, who found the Danish royal family dead at his feet and Hamlet’s close friend Horatio offering him the crown. Playwright Lee Blessing answered that question in his 1992 comedy, Fortinbras, which opens at Cabrillo’s theater April 11 and is covered in a feature by Mathew Chipman.
It says so much about William Shakespeare that centuries later playwrights are still speculating on his characters and bringing them back to life with humor. We need a new one about Lady Macbeth turning up in the White House.
We are saddened by the death of the great soul, jazz and gospel singer Tammi Brown Saturday of ovarian cancer, which she had fought off for some time. She was chosen as the County’s Artist of the Year in 2024. More details to come.
Don’t forget to pick up our Best of Santa Cruz magazine out this week! It’s a must.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
SIGN O’ THE TIMES This hand-painted sign was spotted Saturday outside the courthouse during the “Hands Off” protest. Art by Maureen McConnell. Photograph by John Koenig
GOOD IDEA
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement after two Senate Republicans broke with President Trump to support his amendment reiterating the importance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its role in providing nonpartisan disaster relief to disaster survivors in all states, territories, and Tribal nations.
Padilla forced this amendment vote in response to Trump Administration proposals to eliminate FEMA and condition wildfire aid on their political demands. Following a 48-51 vote, the amendment was not adopted.
GOOD WORK
The Downtown Library & Affordable Housing Project has reached the milestone of the Building Permit being substantially complete and is preparing to break ground in June 2025.
The project received a $55.1 million tax credit award through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and a $55.6 million bond award through the California Debt Allocation Committee. The Farmers’ Market will relocate to Lot 16, on Cedar Street between Church and Center streets, by early May as part of this project.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The ‘evidence’ against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie.”
District Judge Paula Xinis on a mistakenly deported and jailed immigrant
The Trump administration’s proposal to reconsider the EPA’s endangerment finding is reckless, anti-science, and a huge step backward for climate action. This decision isn’t just about politics—it puts our health, environment and future on the line.
The endangerment finding, established in 2009, is based on clear scientific evidence that greenhouse gases harm public health and the planet. It’s been the legal backbone for policies that reduce emissions from cars, power plants and industry. Without it, we lose a key tool for fighting climate change—and that’s exactly what polluters want.
The reality is that climate change isn’t some distant threat. It’s here. We’re seeing record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and hurricanes that devastate communities. Our state is not immune from these catastrophes and the Trump Administration’s actions would reverse progress. Gutting this policy ignores science and common sense at a time when we need stronger action, not more rollbacks.
This also sends a terrible message to the rest of the world. While other countries are working toward clean energy solutions, the U.S. risks becoming a climate laggard instead of a leader.
We can’t let this happen. We need to push back against this dangerous move and demand real climate solutions. The health of our planet—and future generations—depends on it. The EPA should scrap its plan to undo this regulation and maintain the rules that are protecting all of us and the air and water we rely on.
Richard Gallo | Santa Cruz
GUTTING EQUALITY, DIVERSITY
As you know, our current president is eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs that are intended to have the federal workforce represent ALL of us. He believes that nonwhite men and/or females hired under these programs to be incompetent.
You may remember that during Mr. Trump’s first term, despite his claim to hire “only the best people,” his main criterion for Cabinet appointments was not their competence, but their loyalty to him. This is called nepotism, a form of corruption, and resulted in numerous Department of Justice investigations and subsequent resignations. Seven of those disgraced hires come to mind: Secretaries of the Interior (Zinke), Transportation (Chao), Labor (Acosta) Energy (Perry), EPA (Pruitt), HHS (Price), and VA (Wilkie). Government scandal and corruption on this scale is unique in US history.
Mr. Trump is doing it again. The incompetence of his Cabinet secretaries is becoming obvious. As usual, when they screw up, Mr. Trump first claims to know nothing about it and then vilifies and fires them. The buck stops nowhere.
Lester Estate produces superb wines, and their vast property is absolutely stunning—with lush grapevines yielding some of the best fruit in the area.
Their top-notch winemakers produce outstanding elixirs, and winemaker John Benedetti’s 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir ($32) is simply gorgeous. “This vintage glows with an alluring copper-tinged blush,” Benedetti says. “And the wine’s juicy wild strawberry, watermelon and guava intertwine with bright citrus notes on the palate.”
Sante Arcangeli is Benedetti’s own label, with a tasting room in Aptos Village—where his splendid wines await you.
In August 2026, winery proprietors Steve and Lori Johnson will lead a seven-night river cruise in France, pouring Lester’s superb wines on board while stopping at beautiful towns such as Arles and Avignon. Contact Margaret Miner at Dream Vacations for info: mm****@dr************.com.
Lester Estate Wines, 2000 Pleasant Valley Road, Aptos, 831-728-3793. Lesterestatewines.com
Carmel Culinary Week
Treat yourselves to mouthwatering events during the delicious Carmel Culinary Week. Locals and visitors are invited to the one-square-mile village of renowned cafes, restaurants and wine-tasting rooms to enjoy an abundance of culinary experiences. The events include: Party in the Plaza; Culinary Showdown at Carmel Farmers Market; La Dolce Vita on Dolores Street; Soirée-by-the-Sea; Boho Bites & Beats. Carmel Culinary week is from May 30 to June 7. For more info and tickets, visit carmelculinaryweek.com
Activated You
A good morning boost of prebiotics, probiotics and green superfoods comes from a Santa Monica company called ActivatedYou. Their Morning Complete Mixed Berry dietary supplement has a bright freshness, and comes with energy nutrients such as leafy greens. It’s a healthy way to start your day. To check out their other products and to order online, visit activatedyou.com
A friend recently mentioned that her partner always seems to be getting sick. I asked if it might be diet-related. “He gets plenty of protein,” she said with a shrug, “so maybe he just has a weak immune system?”
But knowing that most Americans are severely fiber deficient, I asked whether whole fruits and vegetables ever appeared on his plate. Turns out, not so much.
Later I sent her an article from Harvard Medical School explaining that the microbiome is immunity central, and fiber is its favorite food. A diet rich in fiber is key to a strong immune system. New research suggests that eating more fiber in our diet will support the growth of good bacteria and significantly reduce the risk of illness.
But I also knew that no matter how solid the science, cultural trends are more powerful. The protein obsession has been deeply ingrained. The U.S. protein supplements market size is calculated at $11.36 billion in 2025.
Now, let me be clear: I’m not anti-protein. I just know the “not getting enough protein” panic is mostly manufactured. Here’s a recent quote from the Mayo Clinic: “Contrary to all the hype that everyone needs more protein, most people in the U.S. meet or exceed their needs. This is especially true for males ages 19-59. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 indicates that men in that age range exceed their protein recommendations, especially from meat, poultry and eggs.”
And the side effects of this obsession are actually more problematic than the so-called risk of deficiency.
If you look past the screaming headlines, you’ll see that most Americans not only meet but exceed their daily protein needs—without even trying. According to UN data, Americans rank close to the top in terms of meat consumption.
Meanwhile, fiber—the unsung hero of gut health and immunity—is in dangerously short supply. Only 5% of the population meets the recommended intake. And the consequences? Weakened immune systems, chronic inflammation, and higher risks of everything from heart disease to digestive disorders.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, especially not here in Santa Cruz County, where Cabrillo College Extension offers a variety of classes to help you boost your fiber intake, prepare simple Mediterranean style meals and create your own plant-based protein favorites.
With summer right around the corner, several local wellness guides are finding new ways to correct the protein-fiber equation through user-friendly information. Talya Lutzker is a certified Ayurvedic practitioner, health and lifestyle expert, and the author of four cookbooks, including The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen. Lutzker has delighted students with her fun approach to food, health and cooking for more than 20 years.
Lutzker’s upcoming workshops at Cabrillo College Extension cover topics from burgers to chocolate, including Super Nourishing Veggie Burgers, which comes with this invitation: “Stretch your burger imagination as you learn to prepare mouth-watering options like Black Bean & Oat Burgers, Portobello Mushroom Burgers, and Chickpea Burgers with Pickled Cucumber and Onion.”
Looking for more ways to get inspired in the kitchen? Join Zoë Chertov for Vegetarian Meal Prep in Cabrillo’s professional kitchen and learn to plan and prepare vegetarian entrées, hearty salads, and tasty grab-and-go snacks, and leave with prepped meals for the week. You’ll create connections with fellow foodies while learning ways to save time on shopping and cooking during your busy week.
Finally I have to mention the Mediterranean Makeover Workshop led by yours truly, designed to help you discover how to transform your plate with plant-based Italian food. And since tasting is believing, there will be plenty of time for savoring a range of Mediterranean-style foods.
If, like my friend’s partner, you’re all in on the protein craze but constantly getting sick, I invite you to take a closer look at your fiber intake.
Cabrillo College Extension is located at 6500 Soquel Drive, Bldg 2100A, Aptos. Find a class catalog at extension.cabrillo.edu.
Humbird has moved in a decidedly rock direction, but the trio hasn’t left its playful, unpredictable character behind. Playing The Crepe Place, Thursday, 4/10
What isn’t changing: the vintage vibe; the full-bodied range of herb-butter hanger steaks, baby back ribs and ground-chuck cheeseburgers, hand prepped and smoked in house.
There are professionals trained in guiding people on their trips of discovery here in Santa Cruz, unlike the old days when people simply dropped LSD and other drugs for fun and frenzy.
The Trump administration’s proposal to reconsider the EPA’s endangerment finding is reckless, anti-science, and a huge step backward for climate action.
