BC in Carpinteria has an ornate lamp, and it was, in the late 19th century, considered an exquisite newel post gas lighting fixture. In its day (1860-1880) it was as beautiful as it is deadly. Firstly, let us talk about the symbolism of the design. Lighting in the late 19th century was novel and figural. […]
Stop, hey, what’s that sound? Oh wait, there aren’t any. Save maybe for the gentle whoosh of air going in and out of your lungs, or the chirping of birds in the trees, everything is pretty much quiet. Hopefully, your mind, too. The outer silence is what allows us to come to inner quiet, a […]
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Another dance at the high school gym. So predictable. The punchbowl, the bored chaperones, the colored lights borrowed from the theater department, all that dangling dime store chiffon. But the Jets and the Sharks are using the dance as a pretext for some sort of war council. Righteous, daddio! Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, is […]
“Santa Barbara has always been more of a maverick type of region,” winemaker Karen Steinwachs tells me. “And that certainly has helped female talent to flourish.” Steinwachs and I are discussing the remarkable number of women winemakers in the area, a cohort which has grown solidly over the decades. These days, female leadership drives some […]
For Week Three of Black History Month we are blessed with a healing poem by Dr. Leonie H Mattison, EdD, MBA, President and CEO of Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria. I asked her how and when her poem came about. She said she wrote it this year, and shared, “This season has been very thick with […]
Gloria, who wishes she were as lucky as the picker who found a so-called Van Gogh, sent me a Wall Street Journal article about a small 18×16” painting at the center of a $15 million dollar battle. Is it a real Van Gogh? The world of scientific art analysis says it is a Van Gogh […]
“Take a conscious breath,” instructed Rhonda V. Magee, a professor emeritus at the University of San Francisco, during her February 13th lecture at UCSB. “And as you do so, put your feet on the floor,” she continued. Magee gestured her arms around the room as the audience breathed in and out. Magee is a mindfulness […]
This week I sat down with Eric Seale, the 2025 appointed Board Chair of SB Cottage Hospital (SBCH), to talk about his role, SBCH’s strategic plan, directives, and a new President & CEO to arrive in the spring following the retirement of Ron Werft. (My interview with Werft here) We met at the SBCH Library […]
Dive into a unique Reiki-infused sound bath with guided hypnosis in Yoga Soup’s ongoing Sunday Soundscape series every third Sunday of the month (February 16; $35). The 75-minute journey with Danielle Elese focuses on harmonizing our internal waters, the element that comprises most of our bodies. Sound has a profound impact on water, affecting its […]
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For week two of Black History Month, we bring our focus to Healing Justice SB, a nonprofit organization that will celebrate its five-year anniversary this May. Founded May 2020 by Krystle Farmer Sieghart, Simone Akila Ruskamp,and Leticia Forney Resch,their mission is, “To uplift all Black African Americans to affirm that they are deserving of safety, […]
A class in international politics during his first semester at Westmont inspired David Shiang to consider a career in public service. Now a senior, he serves as student body president following a prestigious summer internship at the White House. The son of Taiwanese immigrants, David grew up in Los Angeles and chose Westmont largely because […]
It’s going to be extra festive at this year’s World of Pinot Noir event. The annual party celebrating Burgundy’s most famous red grape – a multi-day affair that has been luring industry bigwigs and thirsty consumers alike ever since it was launched along California’s Central Coast in 2001 – turns 25 this year! Fêted across […]
‘Looking at Women Looking at War’ If you read just one book, read Victoria Amelina’s Looking at Women Looking at War. When Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago this month, Amelina was a novelist living in Kyiv with her husband and son. War changed everything for the young woman who felt she had to do […]
This object that was once the rage tells delectable stories: here is an 1880s cruet stand. HU sends me a round, swiveling carousel of silver plate inset with five crystal cruets, topped by an elaborate silver figural handle featuring a nude putto. By the late 1880s every upper-middle-class and most middle-class aspirational families of the […]
