ROCKIN' SPACE: A rock musical, Galileo: The Emotional Life of a Spacecraft, was written and produced by Max Evjen, son of Lynda and David Evjen of Monte Sereno. The musical and its author were scheduled to be highlighted on CBS Sunday Morning and ABC's Nightline last week.
Max grew up in Saratoga, went to Bellarmine, class of '94. Since college days he's appeared in four plays and is now a member of Redshift Productions, the company that produced Galileo. The musical pays tribute to the spaceship's mission to observe Jupiter and its many moons.
A blend of rock, folk, funk and pop provides the background for the poetic lyrics. Through spoken word and song, narrator and orbiter engage in a dialogue about Galileo's quest and the knowledge gained thereby. A large projection screen shows images created by Galileo, the Jet Propulsion Lab and Moey Inc.
Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, writes, "Redshift Productions has once again raised science to an art." Giving Galileo the voice and words we all know it would have (if it could) to tell us of its cosmic journey.
The spaceship was deliberately set to self-destruct this week for fear of contaminating Jupiter with earth microbes. It's been in orbit for 14 years.
FALL FESTIVAL: Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups will host a Fall Festival Oct. 5, 10:30 a.m.4 p.m., at the Quinlan Community Center in Cupertino to raise funds for Women and Their Children's Housing, which provides housing and other services to victims of domestic violence.
Los Gatan Karen Phillips and Saratogan Carolyn Tom are two of the coordinators of this fundraiser. Other organizers are Jennifer Edwards Feasby, Lenore Sanborn and Nancy Ozawa.
The festival will feature crafts, home-based businesses, children's activities, free massages from Royal Touch, a raffle and silent auction. One bid item is a 180-hour massage certification course valued at $1,200. For more information, visit www.lasmadres.org or email LMFallFestival@aol.com. For WATCH go to www.watchworks.org.
NO RAIN ON THIS PARADE: Carol Schrager is back from Milwaukee, where she rode in the mammoth Harley-Davidson parade celebrating the bike's 100th anniversary. She saw "jubilant people six deep along the whole parade route—waving, smiling, holding up babies. Milwaukee is very proud and I am proud that there were no incidents."
Carol, a Davidson granddaughter, was ensconced in the sidecar of the Legacy Bike driven by son Jeff, who had ridden the bike from Visalia to raise money for muscular dystrophy. So far he's raised $27,000. The Legacy Bike he rode on the celebratory journey is now for sale through eBay. Money from that sale will also go to MDA. Legacyride.org shows Jeff's diary and photos.
In other H-D salutes, The Harley-Davidson Family Recipes cookbook has just come out, written by Carol under her maiden name, Carol Lange. Her collaborator was Margo Manning, whose mom was a Harley. She'll have a cookbook signing at Cafe Rouge Sept. 28 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Carol also raised $1,500 for MDA by selling a photo pin of the four founders of H-D at $5 per pin.
ADOPTION: Early Morning Rotarians are helping furnish the Los Gatos Habitat for Humanity house for the homeowners, the Kelete family. Besides helping build the house, the early birds furnished the kitchen and bedroom with small appliances and linens, thanks to local merchants and their own fundraising.
Jean Beaulieu-Wang of Sur LaTable hosted a reception following the last Jazz in the Plazz performance. Admission was a donation to Habitat or purchase of a kitchen item for the house. Net result of the evening: cash and items close to $7,000. Early birds capture more than worms.
CHANGING TIMES: Is this a sign of the times or what? The site that housed Lisa's Tea Treasures will soon be occupied by a Transylvanian restaurant. Talk about culture gap: this one sounds more like a chasm.
A transition from something that suggests a roomful of little old ladies presiding over tea cozies to one where patrons consume cuisine wrested from the birthplace of Count Dracula and his ilk—well, it's quite a leap. Wonder if they'll feature blood sausages, blood oranges ...
FAIR: Lisa Meddows and Diana Frances will sponsor a fair Oct. 5, 1-5 p.m. at the Serra Shopping Center, 540 N. Santa Cruz Ave., to raise awareness of breast cancer—and money for research and treatment. There will be face painting, massages, haircuts, and auction items, plus info from Los Gatos Community Hospital. Meddows runs a home-based personal assistant business; Frances owns Delphi Salon. For more, call Meddows at 408.356.8278.
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By Mary Ann Cook