Big Casino asks for your help

While I was a Sophomore Sociology student at UCSB, I was very taken by one of the studies we reviewed that surveyed a large group of women who had had multiple sexual partners and concluded that the women rated their Jewish lovers as the best.  I have often quoted this study and recently have been dismayed that some people doubt its authenticity.  Despite my cursory efforts using Google, I have not been able to locate the study.  If anyone can find it for me they will get a prize!  I know that there is a raging debate between the hard sciences and the soft sciences (my children for example who mock my status as a "social scientist") but I always felt that the study mentioned above gave credence to the validity of the research my fellow social scientists conducted.

Big Casino Supports Cultural Arts

I'm very excited about this summer's Shakespeare Santa Cruz plays and plan on attending two of them, Shipwrecked and Midsummer Night's dream.  I already have tickets and suggest you support Shakespeare Santa Cruz and grab up your tickets soon.  (I'm going to skip Julius Caesar, mostly because of the trauma it caused me during English class as a Junior in High School.  We were all required to memorize the "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech and stand up and recite it in class.  If you got the first couple lines right you got a courtesy D and if you got all the lines right you were awarded an A.  Knowing my limitations in the memory department I was going for a B and worked overtime to learn all the lines necessary for the grade.  Unfortunately, when I stood up in front of my fellow Coltonites to recite the lines, I got just past C- and forgot everything else, leaving me with a grudge against the bard.  I hope the guy from SSC gets at A. )

Big Casino's Favorite Ten SC County Restaurants

I was asked today where one should go for seafood in Santa Cruz County and was kind of taken aback because I couldn't think of a seafood restaurant that I would recommend wholeheartedly. Yes there is Rivas and other places on the wharf  but none that I particularly care for - nor do we have anything with a cool name like Franks Fish Grotto or something like that.  So if you have any suggestions let me know.  I recommended Hula's Island Grille downtown which, coincidently, appears on my top ten list and has excellent fish served in a variety of sauces etc.

1.) Sabieng - everything is the best ever

2.) Khyber Pass (the chicken tikrit is amazing and "like sex" according to my friends daughter)

3.) Tacos Morenos (burrito with BBQ Pork)

4.) Little Shanghai

5.) Ristaurante Italiano

6.) El Alteno - Downtown Watsonville 

7.) Coles BBQ in Live Oak - very tasty BBQ sauce

8.) The new Greek place where Cymbaline used to be.  The lamb shanks are killer.

9.) Hula's Island Grille (great fish dishes)

10.) Tie between two old favorites - Tampicos and King Schwan

Santa Cruz Geo-Political Geography

Few things irritate the Big Casino more than the ignorance displayed by those who misrepresent the geographical boundaries of Santa Cruz.  The Westside is the University side of Mission Street and the Circles.   Then there is Downtown which is Mission to San Lorenzo River.  Then there is a region with no designation, San Lorenzo River to Ocean Street.  Finally, from Ocean Street to the Santa Cruz Eastern Border - the Eastside.  Live Oak is Live Oak - not Eastside Santa Cruz!

Where is the Center of the Universe?

Me and the MABS spent three nights and four days in San Diego and had a great time.  We stayed just a half block from Pacific Beach and enjoyed sitting in our rental chairs on the beach and reading and enjoying the wonderful weather, walking along the cliff path along the ocean, and visiting the amazing museums.  The restaurants were great and had lots of fun things to do. Actually, the Big Casino recommends you visit and don't miss the Air and Space Museum with the Blackbird spy plane mounted in front - an epic sight!   But I still prefer Santa Cruz (and to cut to the chase, the center of the universe is not just Santa Cruz, its the Westside just past Mission Street within walking distance of downtown).   We're surrounded by a green belt, you can walk or ride your bike to almost everywhere, there is amazing live music in multiple venues almost every night, a vibrant "real" downtown, great public schools, Staff of Life and other organic food stores...well there you go.