While there are some definite downsides to living in a smallish town like Santa Barbara-connections can grow a bit incestuous and the 2 a.m. bar closing time can be a drag, not to mention the utter lack of places that’ll serve you a grilled cheese sandwich after you’ve vacated your drinking establishment of choice at said closing time-the upsides more than make up for it.
There are those who believe an automobile should be groomed and cleaned and those who view dirty as its normal state of being. A tiny but unceasing tension exists when these two opposing types are married. My husband is of the washing persuasion. Crumbs on a seat depress him, objects not battened down are both hazards and annoyances, and a windshield should be utterly unblemished.
Calling all eco-warriors, buns-of-steel seekers, and die-hard competitors: It’s time to sign up for this year’s Team Bike Challenge. Throughout the month-long bicycle-riding competition, which takes place each June, teams of five individuals track the number of days they take a trip by bike rather than by car. Eschewing the car in favor of the bike earns points, and the highest point-earners are eligible for prizes.
n its fifth year, the UCSB New Plays Festival flaunts its dedication to exhibiting the talents of current students in 12 brilliant settings-six new plays and six solo performances involving a broad range of student actors, directors, and playwrights. The festival stays true to the voices of the university in both the dialogue and setting of the works, and in the creative energy of its participants.
The 14 dancers of Compa±-a Nacional de Danza 2 (CND2), ages 18-21, are extraordinary movers-no doubt about it. Their supple, streamlined bodies effortlessly wrap around even the most demanding technique. And yet, there was something profoundly missing in much of their dancing, something that comes only with age or prodigious maturity. It isn’t easy to say exactly what that missing quality looks like.
While Coachella, Bonnaroo, and other music festival giants rage in the outside world, the UCSB Associated Students Program Board has worked to bring a taste of the festival season madness to UCSB’s campus, resulting in the delightfully eclectic Extravaganza 2007.
As summer approaches and clear skies are more frequent, there’s no better time to visit the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s Gladwin Planetarium. The planetarium’s Digistar 3 SP full-dome digital projection system provides a top-of-the-line tour through the galaxy during the following programs:
In the blockbuster film Legally Blonde, the bubbly, vivacious heroine Elle Woods is every girl’s envy: viciously smart, outrageously cute, gutsy, and utterly unstoppable. Well, step aside, Elle-here comes Jackie Rotman.
The feel-good movie theory is fairly standard operating procedure in Hollywood, in which cliches and cookie-cutter sentimentality are clinically proven to push emotional buttons in paying customers. But it doesn’t have to be a dirty word. This year’s brightest case in point: writer/director Adrienne Shelly’s irresistible Waitress, a sparkling, smart, and, in its own way, feel-good modern fairytale about female empowerment.
The instinctual need to categorize music into genres is repeatedly under attack in the 21st century, and no one is fighting this battle better than San Francisco’s Rondo Brothers, who work with everyone from The Killers and New York Dolls to Jurassic 5 and Gorillaz.
