That's All, Folks...

It's quiet around here...

...too quiet for my taste.

Quoth the Ellerbe "and so it goes."

Quoth the Mel Blanc "that's, all folks!

Quoth me, "I've got ninety-nine problems, but a blog ain't one, hit me!"

Miscellaneous...

...emphasis on the "aneous."

Paging Sarah Tonein.
Paging Sarah Tonein.
Please come to the Write Procrastinator blog right away.
Miss Sarah Tonein, please come to the Write Procrastinator blog right away.

Pussi...er, wimps. Running with the bulls? Trying running through the bullshit like I do at work, every single day. Yeah, thought so, go back to quietly eating your tapas in the corner, you don't want none of my job.

Let's face it, given a choice of the two, the majority of us wouldn't watch the "grass roots rugby."

There's a certain website lets me buy movie tickets in advance and until last week (with the lines we get in certain theaters), I'd tell you that was almost worth its weight in gold. Then I was dumb enough to sign up a contest that they sponsored and now? I am in spam hell, with at least fourteen spam a day. Let me thank the person the person at the company who let this happen with my hearty foot in their "aneous."

I'll be glad when these brush fires are over. Not only for the poor people whose home and livelihoods are in the path of this destruction, but also the end of this sepia pall that bathes all of the Bay Area with an unnatural light, like Michael Bay gone amok.




From Curbed SF, who got it from What I'm Seeing. Indeed, a noble sentiment, until that humongous SUV with the driver that is driving while texting runs the light...it's then that I want my subcompact car with its crumple zones, side-impact beams, airbag, and its side-air bags around me. No offense.

Did Someone Say "Tikki?"

For Bubs and other Tikki aficionados, Forbidden Island Alameda. They also have a bumpersticker that is definitely up Bubs's street.

God, I miss the Original Trader Vic's.

My District Is Bigger Than Yours

My district is bigger than yours, seriously. It starts just from around the corner of my house and it doesn't end until some forty-nine blocks later, at the Great Highway. That's 48th Avenue, then La Playa and then the Highway (where hedgehogs count Elton Johns?).

It spans alphabetically from Lincoln to Ortega, if we don't include the Parkside District and it would go to Sloat Boulevard if we did (which comes after Wawona and no, I don't know why the streets on the west side arbitrarily follow the alphabet. I'm not a city planner nor do I play one on television).

We have all kinds of restaurants, spanning: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, American, and Middle Eastern cuisines. Not to mention that there isn't a bad burger to be had within these boundaries, because if you did serve one up, you'd be drummed out of the neighborhood.

If there is anything this neighborhood is, that it is underrepresented on the web. Well Janice is going to put an end to that. At Sunset Style, the outside world will finally get to see the Sunset District in all its glory.

We're talking houses and buildings. Victorians, Edwardians, Arts & Crafts, Rousseaus, and my favorite, Deco. Not just that, she has an eye for the details that escape even those of us that live here.

Pop on over and take a peek.

Rock City On Mount Diablo

Anybody remember that Saxon song, "Rock City?"

So we went hiking in Rock City, on Mount Diablo. This is a wonderful area and unfortunately, our experience was spoiled somewhat by the brush fires that have been happening just south of the Bay Area. This forced the gnats to seek moisture and when they weren't flying into your mouth or ears, they would fly into your eyeballs.

Check out this Jimmy Durante-like formation. "Good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are..."

Some of these sandstone formations have taken on almost a lunar-like quality, though of course you have some vegetation to dissuade you of that association. Here below is all the pertinent information about the "Wind Caves" and how old the formations are-

Some of the formations are grouped close together and some are a hundred feet away.

I climbed this Jabba The Hut-looking hill and did you ever have a hill wink at you?...

...well I did. I climbed this one right below, as well. The beauty of Rock City is that you don't need climbing gear at all, just a good pair of sneakers with a reasonable amount of grip. The handholds and footholds are easy to find and the sandstone is forgiving enough that it doesn't cut into your fingers, as evident by these footprints.

I wonder if Dana married him or her...

Without any perspective, this tunnel looks bigger than it is. It's actually fairly small, a German shepard would bump its head on the roof.

You can just visualize how a section of this rock just split, eroded and crumbled away one day. We'll be back up here, probably after the second rain of the season and next time, we'll bringing insect repellent.

George Carlin's Last Interview

I found George Carlin's last interview with Psychology Today, via the N.Y. Times blog, Papercuts.

I Beg To Differ

Vincent D'Onofrio?? Did you ride that thing so many times that you couldn't see anymore?

Um, what I was referring to, was his resemblance to D'Onofrio when he was in a certain Kubrick movie, called "Full Metal Jacket." Not the D'Onofrio that is currently starring in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

Do you kind of see what I mean, now?

Odds & Ends From Our Santa Cruz Trip

This ride is the "Cliffhanger" and it's a lot of fun.

It is as close to flying as you are going to intentionally get in an amusement park. Note, the dude in the middle pod on the top, looks a little like Vincent D'Onofrio.



Here is the bluff, overlooking the Boardwalk from the north. There are some nice hotels and motels up there. There is one in particular that is under renovation and it has given me a great idea for a story. The apartment building down below is also very inspirational.

I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"

Actually, I didn't hear a mission bell, Don Henley, but I did hear Sublime, the first time we walked by. It wasn't colitas I smelled either, but raggediest of ragweed. Yet, La Bahia apartments are a fine representation of the Spanish Colonial-style and they definitely give off a Hotel California-vibe.







Nice balcony, eh? If a great writer is not among the current tenants or has not ever lived there before, it's not the fault of the building, for it teems with motivation...or is that Ghost of Unrequited Writing Past?




Here is a bed and breakfast on the left, a new townhouse condos with a Victorian flair in the middle and a railroad bridge on the right. At the bottom of the pic you can see the dedicated bicycle lane along with the rubber baby buggy bumpers...I mean, the rubber bumpers to keep cars off of bicyclists.


There are somethings that Santa Cruz does better than any other city in California and this dedicated bike lane with protection, is one of them.

Finally, Good News This Week

Quin's blog hits the big 400th post.

She spent some time in New York, so hopefully she won't wind up making me cry.