by Christina Waters | Oct 17, 2012 | Home |
From emerging filmmaker Sasha Friedlander comes that rare documentary film managing to combine cinematic savvy, memorable subjects, and jaw-dropping visuals. Where Heaven Meets Hell—sure to be the hot ticket at this year’s Pacific Rim Film Festival—follows the treacherous livelihoods of four young Indonesians who work the toxic terrain of sulfur mining. Six months of filming has produced an indelible document of hope and heartbreak.
For those familiar with documentary work that manages to merge photographic grandeur with social consciousness—Ed Burtynsky and Werner Herzog are two giants of this difficult screen genre—Friedlander’s sensitive filmmaking instincts (more…)
by Christina Waters | Oct 16, 2012 | Home |
Since childhood I have been in search of the ultimate crab cake. Call it a harmless obsession. A mild culinary neurosis. Whatever. I dream of a crab cake so utterly packed with fresh, sweet lump crabmeat that only the barest trace of seasoning is required to hold it all together.
The search for the ultimate crab cake has led me deep into the Chesapeake region many times, and one unlikely Irish pub in Annapolis almost provided me with my dream crab cake. Almost.
The search is finally over. It ended overlooking the atmospheric marshes and waterways of Manahawkin New Jersey (why would I make this up?) at a rustic crab shack known as Mud City Crab House. Here was my heart’s desire. A crab cake so moist, so deeply satisfying, so full of lump crab meat as to be almost baroque in its perfection. The surrounding nautical atmosphere, from weathered ship’s lanterns to faded wainscotting set exactly the right tone.
If you’re even remotely close to the Atlantic City region of the Jersey shore, stop by Mud City Crab House and understand what divine crab is all about.
by Christina Waters | Oct 9, 2012 | Home |
With the face of a gaunt, young Richard Burton by way of Neal Cassady, Paul Newman, and Montgomery Clift—Joaquin Phoenix sails beyond mere Oscar contention in The Master, and into an electrified circle of hell. The latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson—who has mined existential murk aplenty in There Will Be Blood and Magnolia this magic realist variation on the master-slave theme offers up its uneven insights in whopping 65mm, with cinematography by Romanian magician Mihai Malaimare.
It is a war of masculine wills, between WW II veteran and über loser Freddie Quell (Phoenix) and oleoginous cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who meet as improbably as they part. Without revealing the interconnective tissue, let’s just say that Quell stows away on Dodd’s ship one night, a ship that is sailing through the Golden Gate toward a fundraising tour of the East Coast. Quell is such a lush that he mixes dangerous alcoholic cocktails out of anything handy, including kerosene and other toxic ingredients. Dodd takes to the cocktails, and also to Quell—for reasons that only a psychiatrist well-versed in Nietzsche could grasp. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Oct 8, 2012 | Home |
On October 13, Santa Cruz non-profit Homeless Garden Project welcomes California cuisine czarina Alice Waters to their Natural Bridges Farm for a Fall Farm Supper benefit. Local chefs including Michael Clark of Michael’s on Main, Katherine Stern of La Posta, Santos Majano from Soif, and chef Alyssa Twelker will create the family-style dinner for a truly memorable evening.
“The evening will not only be a delicious one, but delightful and entertaining. This supper, inspired by Alice’s philosophies of simply prepared locally grown food will connect our community with social interests and positive intentions,†said Patrice Boyle, owner of La Posta and Soif.
The evening will include music, wine pairings, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Oct 8, 2012 | Home |
From the looks, and aromas of it, Saturday’s Pepperfest at the Westside Farmers Market was a big, colorful success. Every farm booth was overflowing with red, orange and green peppers of every size and variety. Gorgeous!
Orin Martin, of the UCSC Chadwick Garden, was on hand to deliver a few choice tidbits on peppers, their colorful history and their growing habits. Mateo Maderos was on hand with his hand-cranked pepper roaster to provide delicious samples from many of the rare varieties of pepper available.
The Rangells played their irresistible folkloric music and the market grounds were packed with neighbors who seemed to linger just a bit longer than usual at this ancient new world gathering concept.
The farmers market tradition here in Santa Cruz just gets better every year. Kudos to Nesh and company for all of their creative work!
by Christina Waters | Oct 3, 2012 | Home |
Mark your calendars now!
Pacific Rim Film Festival – October 22, 4:30pm.
That’s when you’ll be able to enjoy the ethnographic journey of a new documentary on Peruvian fireworks makers, called Jugando con Fuego, a collaboration by photographer/explorer Keith Muscutt and award-winning filmmaker Gustavo Vazquez.
