A California Online Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal
Earth Day is a big deal around here. It’s not just one day out of the year to raise awareness and make new environmentally friendly resolutions, it’s a celebration of a way of life and proclamation of deep convictions. We care about the planet and believe every individual’s actions make a difference.
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When you’re first introduced to a successful person’s work, it’s hard to imagine them as anything but a success; confident in their gifts and unquestioning in their abilities. What I have found, though, is that it is not an immediate recognition of their obvious talent that brought them success, but it is their perseverance and almost blind determination to push past rejection and failure. To keep on going even after years of negative feedback and discouragement-fueled by a passion for what they do. Instead of taking rejection as a “no”, they show us how to embrace it, learn from it, and keep moving forward. Stephen King is one of those people.
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It was 1928 and Agatha Christie was on her own, newly divorced and traveling to the Middle East on the Orient Express. It was a kind of test for herself; she wondered how she’d do without anyone else to help or keep her company. Once there, she met some new British friends, the Woolleys, who invited her to stay with them and made her promise to come visit again the next year.
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Agatha Christie spent her Christmases as a Child at Abney Hall, a picturesque, grand estate in the North of England. The entire family would come together to celebrate. She recalls it as a very happy time. The cousins would have a contest to see who could eat the most at Christmas dinner and they could have their fill of candied fruits and chocolates. The grounds of Abney Hall were a wonderland with gardens, a stream and waterfall, and all kinds of places to explore.
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Self- proclaimed coffee “connoisseurs”, “geeks” and “aficionados” abound in Santa Cruz. They don’t just want an expertly crafted and unique cup of coffee, they want an atmosphere in which they can savor both good coffee and good conversation. Santa Cruz offers several different experiences for those who want it all: a thoughtfully designed space and a unique or maybe daring take on their most favorite beverage.
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“I personally had no ambition. I knew that I was not very good at anything… How much more interesting it would be if I could say that I always longed to be a writer, and was determined that someday I would succeed, but, honestly, such an idea never came into my head.” Agatha Christie, An Autobiography
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Santa Cruz has many spots that, because of their beauty and very low (or no) cost, are favorites among the locals. Most of these can be visited for free or for a slight fee if you choose to park in the parking lot. Go for an hour or two, or bring a picnic and hang out longer-and they’re all great for photo ops. (And they’re family friendly if you’ve got kids in tow).
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Thirty years after Agatha Christie’s death, her grandson, Mathew Prichard, was cleaning out one of his mother’s rooms shortly after she had passed away. In a cardboard box he found his grandmother’s dictation machine-an obsolete “Grundig Memorette” reel-to-reel.
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In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith tells the “real” story behind the war that ripped a nation apart. Following the huge and unexpected success of his first mash-up, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in 2009, Grahame-Smith uses the same formula and interjects stories of vampires at various points along the chronology of Lincoln’s biography.
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Sunny, mild weather and ocean breezes; a love of the environment and local art and a laid back feeling of “what’s the hurry”–people in Santa Cruz take time to enjoy their surroundings. Downtown, you’re likely to run into a variety of characters on Pacific Garden Mall, the outdoor shopping area that runs mainly on Pacific Ave, which has adopted the motto of “Keep Santa Cruz Weird” (t-shirts are available at Bookshop Santa Cruz). On any given day you will run into students, professionals, hippies who never made the transition to yuppie, surfers of all ages, intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals and street performers.
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One of Agatha Christie’s best loved characters is the fussy Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Though I’ve known many people to give me that blank-eyed “I have no idea what you’re talking about and I’ve already lost all interest in what you’re saying” look when I bring up the name of Hercule Poirot, he actually has, and has had, quite a following. He’s the only fictional character to ever get an obituary in the New York Times, and of Agatha Christie’s more than 80 novels and short story collections, he appears in 33 novels and 51 short stories.
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China is a Pug/Chihuahua mix female around 3 1/2 years old. She is gentle & plays well with our other dogs, is crate trained, potty trained, walks well on a leash & she loves to stay right by your side when you are walking outside or doing chores in the house. China is available through Animal Compassion Team.
Cheeto is a 7 month old male orange and white tabby. He gets along with cats and dogs and loves to just play and hang our. Cheeto is available through Cat House On The Kings.
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