Some recent exploits.

Our campaign to do something about the disgusting trash problem on Santa Cruz's main beach is well under way. I spoke about the issue at a city council meeting, and have since been playing phone tag with a government employee who's charged with dealing with the issue. The council members listened respectfully enough, but I get the feeling it's going to take some more grassroots pressure before they decide that it's actually important to do something about this, as it source of the problem is the culture of the cash cow tourist economy that's central to so much of how Santa Cruz operates. Tourists get a free pass because they pour so much money into the town, I'm sure that if one of the Establishment's favorite scapegoat groups (who could that be?) were dumping half as much trash as the tourist do, you'd be hearing it proclaimed from the rooftops....
And of course the coastline clean ups go on almost every day.

Finally met in person Laura Rice, someone who's existence I'd been made aware of previously thanks to the her own savvy self-marketing over the internets (it's a series of tubes....), and who I was keen to talk to because she's quite the entrepreneur. We talked about dark and light that's inside every person, and about marketing oneself. She suggested that I could convince people to exchange currency with me for what was nebulously defined as "helping people get in touch with their dark side", something to the tune of life-coaching - we didn't have a lot of time to hash out details. I'd be good at giving art and writing lessons... She also brought up the idea that a blog who's purpose is to sell the author should be laser-focused on the objective of communication the product or service that you're selling, and that blogs that cover many topics scatter-shot (like this one, I cringed to myself) are less effective. I supposed that when I do someday launch my whatever-it-is business that consists of a monetizing of my ability to make perceptive analysis of the human character and condition, that I will then write a blog that's just about selling that. In the meantime this blog - which is intended to be a repository of many ideas, as well as document of my own personal evolution, a rags to riches narrative - will continue to traipse willy-nilly into the meanders whenever I happen to find a topic interesting.

The Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studio is a exciting new business venture that I've the privilege to peruse, smartly located in close proximity to both the Tannery Arts Center, and to that crucial way station for many talented musicians, the friggin' homeless shelter. They had a great art show there last month - Art of the Band T-Shirt, and it's run be really nice folks. I look forward to recording there some time.