Dialogic

I sat down with Miguel Reyna to talk about his production of The Thin Place at the Actors' Theater in Santa Cruz.

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Juneteenth, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Solstice, and more! This may be my best solo podcast yet. I discuss the Juneteenth event organized in Santa Cruz by Thairie Ritchie. I delve into the issues surrounding the Black Lives Matter mural that was defaced in front of the City Hall and Abi Mustapha's search for meaningful reconciliation. I talk about my visit to Santa Cruz Shakespeare and the great interviews that I was lucky enough to do there with Charles Pasternak, Mike Ryan, and Paul Whitworth. I delve into what Summer means to me.

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In this podcast, I discuss the power of supporting local businesses, artists, and media. If we want to build a bright and hopeful future, we must start at home by supporting the efforts of those within our own communities.

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The Little Mermaid’s remake as a live action movie improves upon the original in several important respects. The racial diversity of the movie not only helps to invite more people into the fantasy, but it also makes it a more interesting story and one that is truer to life. The ocean scenes are rendered more realistically, are sure to please ocean lovers, and might even entice some people to care more about the seas. The brilliant acting also takes this film to another level and allows viewers to empathize with all the characters and to respond emotionally to the narrative arc of the story. All in all, this version of one of Disney’s beloved classics has blown its predecessor out of the water in a big way. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/support

SJSU’s MFA program held an opening for their exhibition “Liftoff” at Radius Gallery on Thursday and will participate in First Friday Santa Cruz on June 2nd 5-8:00pm with Artist Talks scheduled for Sunday the 4th at 3:30pm. 13 recently graduated artists are showing some of their work at one of the most compelling contemporary art galleries in Santa Cruz. With a wide variety of media, concepts, and artistic styles on display,this show is a great opportunity to experience some of the new energy in the South Bay art world. Discover a favorite emerging artist, explore a cutting-edge gallery, and feast your eyes and mind on artistic content at Radius Gallery’s events this weekend. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/support

MAKING THE UNCONSCIOUS VISIBLE The Radius Gallery at the Tannery in Santa Cruz recently hosted a group show entitled “What’s Home” organized by Andrew Purchin. This important and elegant exhibition sought to generate a conversation about one of the biggest problems in Santa Cruz County and beyond: housing. The inspiration for the show came from a painting Purchin did of the homeless encampment in Santa Cruz during the pandemic that went by the name “The Benchlands.” Purchin invited a selection of contemporary artists to create work along this theme. TAKE COVER: LINDA COVER’S INSTALLATION I had the pleasure to visit the exhibition twice while it was open, and on my second visit I was able to speak with one of the installation artists, Linda Cover. The center of her installation was a series of prints made by artists answering the question: What does home mean to you? The prints featured nature, people, and things they loved. She displayed this elegant collection like freshly laundered garments hanging to dry on a clothes line. She also had a small garden of plants in pots, and a stack of sand bags. This minimalist display elegantly reminded us of the challenges faced by people when they lack one of the basic elements of survival: a home. CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION The exhibition is down, but the dialogue continues. Purchin told me that he is submitting one of the films made during the course of the show to a series of festivals, and you can check out the ongoing efforts to keep the discourse vital on the website, what’s home.org --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/support

I start the podcast out listening to a couple of minutes of Fog Machine by White Reaper from their new album "Asking for a Ride."

Next, I read a little bit from Don DeLillo's novel White Noise, recently made into a movie on Netflix that eerily foreshadowed the events that have taken place in East Palastine, Ohio.

Finally, I share some stories and information about the pieces I have available for purchase in a silent auction till 10:30am Thursday February 16th. If you want to place a bid, head over to my Instagram: https://https://www.instagram.com/jakejthomasphoto/

I will be doing a silent auction the 15th of every month for the rest of the year. Thanks for listening!

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I start the podcast out listening to a couple of minutes of Fog Machine by White Reaper from their new album "Asking for a Ride."

Next, I read a little bit from Don DeLillo's novel White Noise, recently made into a movie on Netflix that eerily foreshadowed the events that have taken place in East Palastine, Ohio.

Finally, I share some stories and information about the pieces I have available for purchase in a silent auction till 10:30am Thursday February 16th. If you want to place a bid, head over to my Instagram: https://https://www.instagram.com/jakejthomasphoto/

I will be doing a silent auction the 15th of every month for the rest of the year. Thanks for listening!

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/support

I have three big announcements to make.

1. I am moving from the Westside of Santa Cruz after 8 fun-filled years of living here.

2. I am clean and sober having given up alcohol and cannabis.

3. My dear sweet father sadly passed away and I have been grieving.

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Today, there is a crisis in the world. Well, actually there are lots, but I just want to focus on one to begin with. A solution to this particular crisis might offer auxiliary positive results for other problems. Drought is an existential problem in much of the world. In California, and probably elsewhere, we are mostly advised to conserve. I'm sorry, that is untenable, giving up and even deleterious. We need to supply water through desalinization--massive amounts of water. The water would not only supply human needs, it would benefit wild animals, trees, plants--our environment. We are partners in this endeavor. It is more ambitious and vital that super fast trains and trips to the moon or Mars. A plan that could be feasible is piping ocean water far enough from the shore. Once on the shore, solar panels would be placed on the pipes powering heat and pumps. These pipes would run twenty to one hundred miles to areas that could be created into reservoirs and at that point over the constant heating would be opened into the reservoirs. It would be necessary to add natural chemicals to make the water healthy and suitable for people and plants. The next phase would be to send the water to cities, towns, rivers, aquifers, forests and farmlands. This is a rough idea, but I am counting on your brain power, hard work, and will to solve the problems. Let me go over some of the problems. As the water is being pumped and heated there must be immediate safeguards for rips or tears. We can't have saltwater spilling on our land. There will be an enormous amount of salt. Some of it can be used commercially, some maybe for power stations, but most of it will have to be secured safely. The next problem is work force and funding. These jobs will be meaningful with many facets and skills. Plus, there could easily be training to improve people's job skills. Unions, the military, private enterprise, the federal and state governments could all coordinate and work together. The funding should also be cooperative--federal, state, local, insurance, manufacturers, Wall Street, agriculture, pharmaceutical--anyone who has a stake in the survival of us all. In California, we will need to be aware of our restrictions. Be careful, but move as fast and as much as we can. Right now, the super forest fires are destroying more plants and trees than ever before. If we give these environments enough water on the ground and in the aquifers, we will still have forest fires but they will be less powerful. We will give them a fighting chance.

https://jakejthomasphoto.com/2022/10/01/a-message-from-my-dad-water/

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