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Star's Signs By Karen Reardanz HERE'S A STORY of local guy gone way beyond good. The alternative press's astrology guru--and former Santa Cruz resident--Rob Brezsny has conquered the final frontier. Yes, his "Real Astrology" column appears in more than 60 alternative weeklies, yes, he's in over 100 papers worldwide (including Italy's La Strada, which recently picked him up), but just two weeks ago, the mother of all newsweeklies, New York City's Village Voice, added him to their bountiful pages. Brezsny's column should be more than familiar to Santa Cruz. (Remember him from the Express days?) He now appears every week right here in Metro Santa Cruz--and has since our beginning. The Village Voice is actually a major coup for Brezsny, who says that the Voice was not a paper he expected to be in. "I was shocked because they've been immune to an astrology column in the past," he recently told me, "because of their political leanings. But I consider myself to have political leanings, so I guess it makes sense." He laughs, "I guess my days as a stealth celebrity are over." On the Job Art doesn't come with a guarantee, but it's good to know that some artists stand behind their work. Or in this case, in front of it--which is where we found James Aschbacher and wife Lisa Jensen Aschbacher last Thursday. Jim, fine-point brush in hand, was touching up a bit of scratched blue paint on Adventures in Paradise, the mural that he and Lisa created last summer for the side wall of Benten on Plaza Lane. That's what we call follow-up. Odds at the End For all the wannabe Hollywood types, Dan Bessie kicks off his acclaimed screenwriting classes this week, for both beginners and established writers. Call Dan for sign-up info at 459-9814--but hurry, space is extremely limited. ... One-time Santa Cruz resident Dawn Atkins, founder of the Body Image Task Force, returns to town on Monday night, when she'll sign copies and read from her books, Looking Queer and Lesbian Sex Scandals: Sexual Practices, Identities & Politics, at Bookshop Santa Cruz. The festivities begin at 7:30pm. ... Playwright and indie film newcomer Don Thompson is shooting his first film in Capitola through this week. The movie, Clouds, is the philosophical journey of a physics professor, a mysterious woman and a quest for inner meaning. Several sites in Capitola will figure prominently, I'm sure, when the film hits screens in the fall. Got tips? Arts-world gossip? Email me at [email protected] or call 457-9000. [ Santa Cruz Week | MetroActive Central | Archives ]