giants sweep rockies
punked them all along the way
tied for the wildcard
new rubber on car
norm wear plus a nail in tire
ready for road trip
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
let them eat cake! - a review
so, yeah, the blog has been dominated by this little event this week. i admit, i was excited about it and wanted it to succeed. so, here are three shots taken of the bands last night and some thoughts on it all.
i didn't really know what time the bands were playing, but since the event was only four hours long i figured they had to come on sort of early. but then again, there were only 3 bands, and i knew the dj's would be spinning on a different floor. so, we showed up around 8:30 and had a bit of hanging around to do. but, that allowed us to eat some candy (banana runts i believe) and sample the vittles. i was right that they had cupcakes from cupcakes bakery, and the one i had was delicious. very creamy frosting. but, i was wrong up charlotte's bakery providing stuff. the memory failed me on that. instead, they had food that was donated by veni vidi vici's. it was good stuff.
after a little while the aircrash played:
i've seen the aircrash a few times now, and their sound is growing on me. they remind me of someone, but i can't exactly remember who. i guess it's good that they have a sorta familiar sound because it draws you in. they also feature two songs where they are clapping. i thought this a bit odd, but monticore assures me it is because chicks dig songs with clapping.
next up was rademacher:
yes, yes, i know, i'm a rademacher fanboy. but you know what? this wasn't their best show. in fact, they played a great set on wednesday night and this was nowhere close to that. eli was out of town for a fay wrays gig, and eden davis, who had a brief stint with the band, sat in on the drums. she's not the reason the show wasn't the best, as she filled in fine. i'll just say that it seemed the band enjoyed the met's hospitality and it affected their set. having said all that, the band seemed to get better as the set went along, and they closed out with a very good rendition of 'they are always into that' which i always think is called 'cool kids.'
the last band to go on was le switch, whom i took a very poor picture of:
i admit, i didn't see all of their eclectic set. the songs i heard were cool, but i was ready to do something different.
now, for the rest of it. i thought this was a pretty cool event. i know the staff all worked their tails off to make it fun, and to get a ton of stuff donated. honestly, i'd love it if the met did stuff like this once a month, or maybe every other month. at least quarterly. i'm not sure how they are measuring the success of it, but in my opinion it was. people seemed to be having fun, enjoying the food and drinks, and the bands. sure, there could have been more people, but it did draw a nice crowd. and, if you had dropped a bomb on the place you would've wiped out many of fresno's bloggers. one last thing: i love being able to look out over fresno. we were only four stories up, but i still was able to look out and see our skyline. nice view from the met.
what could have been better? well, the sound was a little mushy in the main room. and the dj aspect seemed sort of unincorporated in the night. but other than that i thought it was a nice night.
i didn't really know what time the bands were playing, but since the event was only four hours long i figured they had to come on sort of early. but then again, there were only 3 bands, and i knew the dj's would be spinning on a different floor. so, we showed up around 8:30 and had a bit of hanging around to do. but, that allowed us to eat some candy (banana runts i believe) and sample the vittles. i was right that they had cupcakes from cupcakes bakery, and the one i had was delicious. very creamy frosting. but, i was wrong up charlotte's bakery providing stuff. the memory failed me on that. instead, they had food that was donated by veni vidi vici's. it was good stuff.
after a little while the aircrash played:
i've seen the aircrash a few times now, and their sound is growing on me. they remind me of someone, but i can't exactly remember who. i guess it's good that they have a sorta familiar sound because it draws you in. they also feature two songs where they are clapping. i thought this a bit odd, but monticore assures me it is because chicks dig songs with clapping.
next up was rademacher:
yes, yes, i know, i'm a rademacher fanboy. but you know what? this wasn't their best show. in fact, they played a great set on wednesday night and this was nowhere close to that. eli was out of town for a fay wrays gig, and eden davis, who had a brief stint with the band, sat in on the drums. she's not the reason the show wasn't the best, as she filled in fine. i'll just say that it seemed the band enjoyed the met's hospitality and it affected their set. having said all that, the band seemed to get better as the set went along, and they closed out with a very good rendition of 'they are always into that' which i always think is called 'cool kids.'
the last band to go on was le switch, whom i took a very poor picture of:
i admit, i didn't see all of their eclectic set. the songs i heard were cool, but i was ready to do something different.
now, for the rest of it. i thought this was a pretty cool event. i know the staff all worked their tails off to make it fun, and to get a ton of stuff donated. honestly, i'd love it if the met did stuff like this once a month, or maybe every other month. at least quarterly. i'm not sure how they are measuring the success of it, but in my opinion it was. people seemed to be having fun, enjoying the food and drinks, and the bands. sure, there could have been more people, but it did draw a nice crowd. and, if you had dropped a bomb on the place you would've wiped out many of fresno's bloggers. one last thing: i love being able to look out over fresno. we were only four stories up, but i still was able to look out and see our skyline. nice view from the met.
what could have been better? well, the sound was a little mushy in the main room. and the dj aspect seemed sort of unincorporated in the night. but other than that i thought it was a nice night.
Friday, August 28, 2009
stuffwaffle.com
so, i was checking myspace today, which was a rarity, and saw a friend request from stuff waffle, which was formerly chameleon's cafe, fresno's home for chicken & waffles. anyway, i was checking their site out, and saw that they've got a review of mine under press. nice.
let them eat cake!
i'm reposting!
this week the met will be hosting a cool musical event, perhaps the first one since the re-opening shows (i can't remember). if features a cool out of town band, le switch, along with several notable fresno acts, like rademacher and the aircrash. the bands will all be playing on the fourth floor, and i hear that they will positioned in front of 180 degree western windows that will be open to show off fresno's night time skyline. the dj's, taffy and heinz, are two of the dj's that have hosted fresno's longstanding dance night of meatball magic.
cool music, and i hear there will be some delicious treats. i've forgotten exactly what the rumor i heard was, but i think it was desserts from charlotte's bakery and cupcakes from, well, cupcakes. but i may be remembering that wrong. what i do remember was that they'll have $5 drink tickets that can be used for cocktails. yeah, boy!
make some plans, you're headed downtown to the met this friday night.
this week the met will be hosting a cool musical event, perhaps the first one since the re-opening shows (i can't remember). if features a cool out of town band, le switch, along with several notable fresno acts, like rademacher and the aircrash. the bands will all be playing on the fourth floor, and i hear that they will positioned in front of 180 degree western windows that will be open to show off fresno's night time skyline. the dj's, taffy and heinz, are two of the dj's that have hosted fresno's longstanding dance night of meatball magic.
cool music, and i hear there will be some delicious treats. i've forgotten exactly what the rumor i heard was, but i think it was desserts from charlotte's bakery and cupcakes from, well, cupcakes. but i may be remembering that wrong. what i do remember was that they'll have $5 drink tickets that can be used for cocktails. yeah, boy!
make some plans, you're headed downtown to the met this friday night.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
riverpark death knell
so, i heard these stories on the news last night about stuff closing over in pinedale...err...riverpark, and thought about righting a post about it. but i didn't, and our good friend the fresnan wrote up a smashing post on the topic. it's all very tongue in cheek. and the early commenters got it. but some of the later, not so much. i know that all of my regular readers hit up the fresnan, but i recommend that you click over there and read it.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
let them eat cake!
this week the met will be hosting a cool musical event, perhaps the first one since the re-opening shows (i can't remember). if features a cool out of town band, le switch, along with several notable fresno acts, like rademacher and the aircrash. the bands will all be playing on the fourth floor, and i hear that they will positioned in front of 180 degree western windows that will be open to show off fresno's night time skyline. the dj's, taffy and heinz, are two of the dj's that have hosted fresno's longstanding dance night of meatball magic.
cool music, and i hear there will be some delicious treats. i've forgotten exactly what the rumor i heard was, but i think it was desserts from charlotte's bakery and cupcakes from, well, cupcakes. but i may be remembering that wrong. what i do remember was that they'll have $5 drink tickets that can be used for cocktails. yeah, boy!
make some plans, you're headed downtown to the met this friday night.
Monday, August 24, 2009
where are you from?
where are you from?
i find that to be a very interesting question. i think that how you answer the question can reveal a lot about a person. sometimes. i also know that the context of asking the question can change the answer. if i'm in brazil and someone asks where i'm from i'd say the united states. if i was in missouri, i'd say califoria. if i was in pasadena, i'd say fresno. in fresno, i say the tower district.
today, i asked the question of my students and received varying responses. most were pretty standard responses, but a few were mildly creative. nothing memorable though.
as i was driving home and thinking about the question, i remembered a college dorm mate from my freshman year named hans. hans stevenson go go. (i'm not sure if that's how his name was spelled, but good enough). hans had a lot of interesting qualities. he loved basketball. he said one time that eating too much ice cream would give you diabetes. he also said that it was hotter on top of mountains because you're closer to the sun. no lie, he said these things, and really believed them. he wouldn't stack plates on his tray or the table in the cafeteria because that meant you had as many wives as plates stacked (i realize that this was a cultural thing). it went on and on. we made a list of hansisms and put it on a bulletin board in the lobby of our dorm. hans had a very thick accent. he had a pretty different name, as you've probably noticed. he was also a shorter, asian looking man. so, at the start of the year i asked him where he was from. he said new york. that didn't seem like the full answer, so i asked again. turns out he was from the philippines. lived there pretty much all his life. six weeks before he started college he moved to new york to live with family. then, he came to california for school. for hans, the last place he was from, even if it was only a brief time, was where he was from.
this still intrigues me.
so, where are you from?
companion question - why are you here?
i find that to be a very interesting question. i think that how you answer the question can reveal a lot about a person. sometimes. i also know that the context of asking the question can change the answer. if i'm in brazil and someone asks where i'm from i'd say the united states. if i was in missouri, i'd say califoria. if i was in pasadena, i'd say fresno. in fresno, i say the tower district.
today, i asked the question of my students and received varying responses. most were pretty standard responses, but a few were mildly creative. nothing memorable though.
as i was driving home and thinking about the question, i remembered a college dorm mate from my freshman year named hans. hans stevenson go go. (i'm not sure if that's how his name was spelled, but good enough). hans had a lot of interesting qualities. he loved basketball. he said one time that eating too much ice cream would give you diabetes. he also said that it was hotter on top of mountains because you're closer to the sun. no lie, he said these things, and really believed them. he wouldn't stack plates on his tray or the table in the cafeteria because that meant you had as many wives as plates stacked (i realize that this was a cultural thing). it went on and on. we made a list of hansisms and put it on a bulletin board in the lobby of our dorm. hans had a very thick accent. he had a pretty different name, as you've probably noticed. he was also a shorter, asian looking man. so, at the start of the year i asked him where he was from. he said new york. that didn't seem like the full answer, so i asked again. turns out he was from the philippines. lived there pretty much all his life. six weeks before he started college he moved to new york to live with family. then, he came to california for school. for hans, the last place he was from, even if it was only a brief time, was where he was from.
this still intrigues me.
so, where are you from?
companion question - why are you here?
infowars
i was walking to the post office today and saw this poster:
now, i don't think it's racist or anything like that, although some people are claiming that. i clicked over to the associated website, infowars.com, and although i haven't really dug into it, it's pretty conspiracy theater odd.
now, i don't think it's racist or anything like that, although some people are claiming that. i clicked over to the associated website, infowars.com, and although i haven't really dug into it, it's pretty conspiracy theater odd.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
ted leo & the pharmacists in visalia!
continuing his impressive work bringing acts to visalia, aaron gomes hits us with another i think i'm going to have to go to.
Tuesday, August 25
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
@ The Cellar Door
(101 W. Main St., Visalia )
$10 (21+) 9:30pm
tickets: www.ticketweb.com
Tuesday, August 25
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
@ The Cellar Door
(101 W. Main St., Visalia )
$10 (21+) 9:30pm
tickets: www.ticketweb.com
star wars design fails
most people i know enjoy the star wars movies, although there are always little digs you can get in about aspects of the films. a blogger over @ amc has created a list of the biggest star wars design fails. pretty funny stuff.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
things i'm geeking on
ah, fall is almost in the air. who am i kidding, fall is nowhere close. we'll see fall in november. but i am excited about a lot of things right now. of course, now that i'm trying to list them i will only be able to think of two or three.
so here's what i'm geeking on:
-united states men's national team. our side is doing well, and looks like we should qualify for south africa in twenty ten. but, more to the point, i get to see my first qualifying game ever. i've seen the usmnt play in a friendly (usa vs brazil in the rose bowl) but i've never been to a game that really mattered. so i'm stoked that i get to go to rio tinto stadium in salt lake and see them play. and, i've got sick seats for a fairly inexpensive price.
-road trips - well, i get to road trip to the above game with my brother, which will be cool. i think i'm going to go up through sacto and head to slc via route 80, which i've never done. not like i've driven to slc ever, but i did roll sorta that way on a trip to colorado, but we took 15 through vegas. not really wanting to roll through vegas if i don't have to, even though i loves the vegas. speaking of vegas, i'm already geeking on my planned vegas trip for new year's. it's going to be a blast.
-fantasy football. mmmm, the ffl season is about to start. my long time league is about to have our draft this friday night. it'll be good to see some guys i haven't seen in a bit, and i'm excited to see how our auction draft turns out. and, i'm also prepping for the second fresno blogger bowl. adam and i chatted quite a bit last night about ffl, and i imagine that he, i and mike wise charlie will have more in the future.
-finals. today is the last day of a term @ my job, which is always nice to finish up. next week, new classes.
-family. for those that don't know, my brother and his family are in fresno for like the next ten months. it's cool, and they'll soon be living pretty close to me (walking distance). it's always nice to have family around, and my bro and i haven't lived in the same town since 95ish. i'm excited to spend a lot of time with them before the head back to south africa. also, monticore's brother, sister in law and their twins are living in fresno now. that's cool. it's been fun to spend time with them, and i love that on facebook he calls the twins midgets. i think this next year with all sorts of family around will be very nice for us.
-refinancing. we're in the process of refinancing our home loan which is going to save us some cash. always good.
UPDATE: sheesh, i forgot that i'm also geeking on track and field right now. it's the world championships so i've been able to watch a lot of track lately. it has me excited for our off season training sessions. seriously, i was spellbound watching the top hammer guys throw the other day, even if it was only briefly shown.
so, what are you geeking on?
so here's what i'm geeking on:
-united states men's national team. our side is doing well, and looks like we should qualify for south africa in twenty ten. but, more to the point, i get to see my first qualifying game ever. i've seen the usmnt play in a friendly (usa vs brazil in the rose bowl) but i've never been to a game that really mattered. so i'm stoked that i get to go to rio tinto stadium in salt lake and see them play. and, i've got sick seats for a fairly inexpensive price.
-road trips - well, i get to road trip to the above game with my brother, which will be cool. i think i'm going to go up through sacto and head to slc via route 80, which i've never done. not like i've driven to slc ever, but i did roll sorta that way on a trip to colorado, but we took 15 through vegas. not really wanting to roll through vegas if i don't have to, even though i loves the vegas. speaking of vegas, i'm already geeking on my planned vegas trip for new year's. it's going to be a blast.
-fantasy football. mmmm, the ffl season is about to start. my long time league is about to have our draft this friday night. it'll be good to see some guys i haven't seen in a bit, and i'm excited to see how our auction draft turns out. and, i'm also prepping for the second fresno blogger bowl. adam and i chatted quite a bit last night about ffl, and i imagine that he, i and mike wise charlie will have more in the future.
-finals. today is the last day of a term @ my job, which is always nice to finish up. next week, new classes.
-family. for those that don't know, my brother and his family are in fresno for like the next ten months. it's cool, and they'll soon be living pretty close to me (walking distance). it's always nice to have family around, and my bro and i haven't lived in the same town since 95ish. i'm excited to spend a lot of time with them before the head back to south africa. also, monticore's brother, sister in law and their twins are living in fresno now. that's cool. it's been fun to spend time with them, and i love that on facebook he calls the twins midgets. i think this next year with all sorts of family around will be very nice for us.
-refinancing. we're in the process of refinancing our home loan which is going to save us some cash. always good.
UPDATE: sheesh, i forgot that i'm also geeking on track and field right now. it's the world championships so i've been able to watch a lot of track lately. it has me excited for our off season training sessions. seriously, i was spellbound watching the top hammer guys throw the other day, even if it was only briefly shown.
so, what are you geeking on?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
barney frank schools lady at town hall meeting
barney franks gets all, 'oh no you didn't' on some lady @ a town hall meeting.
Monday, August 17, 2009
monday haiku
watching track world champs
steeple chase is going on
love the water jump
bolt nine point five eight
insanely fast new world record
he can go faster
steeple chase is going on
love the water jump
bolt nine point five eight
insanely fast new world record
he can go faster
dog vs man break dance battle, brother ali's new song
so, here are two videos to check out, and they actually work pretty well together. the first is the official first song off brother ali's next album (thanks mike oz's twitter!).
i recommend you start the song playing, and then scroll down and load the next video:
this next video doesn't really have sound worth listening to, hence the brother ali track to enjoy, but there was a dog (guy in a suit) dancing on a corner, as what i assume was an add for some pet shop or something. dude runs up and starts a break dancing battle against the dog (thanks boing boing).
what a battle. the dog is rather impressive for being in a big mascot suit.
i recommend you start the song playing, and then scroll down and load the next video:
this next video doesn't really have sound worth listening to, hence the brother ali track to enjoy, but there was a dog (guy in a suit) dancing on a corner, as what i assume was an add for some pet shop or something. dude runs up and starts a break dancing battle against the dog (thanks boing boing).
what a battle. the dog is rather impressive for being in a big mascot suit.
Friday, August 14, 2009
u.s. men's national team vs el salvador
anyone interested in a road trip sept 4-6 to utah?
the u.s. men's national team is playing there against el salvador.
tickets as low as $38.
twelve hour drive.
tempting, yes?
the u.s. men's national team is playing there against el salvador.
tickets as low as $38.
twelve hour drive.
tempting, yes?
frank black in visalia
i had a really great time in visalia last night. black francis, aka frank black was amazing. so many good songs. and radioactive cauliflower was hella cool as well. anyway, this isn't an in depth review or anything, just a brief holy crap that was fun. and woody shook frank black's hand as he was leaving the stage.
here's two photo's of frank black's gear.
i took this second photo because i wanted to get in the wine glass. apparently, black francis drinks wine during his set. different sort of rocker.
here's two photo's of frank black's gear.
i took this second photo because i wanted to get in the wine glass. apparently, black francis drinks wine during his set. different sort of rocker.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
pet pigeon
2ND UPDATE: the pigeon is alive. there is a metal latticey thing on our back fence, which creates a space between it and our back fence. there is some dead grass, and the pigeon was hiding in there. heather says that the pigeon has found its own pigeon coop.
UPDATE: the pigeon is gone. and there are a few stray feathers, so i think one of the neighborhood cats "adopted" him.
yesterday i noticed a pigeon chilling out on my back porch. because i'm a mean jerk, i decided i would shoo the pigeon away. when i opened the door and went out there, the pigeon started to run away, but he couldn't fly. it seems the pigeon may have something wrong with a wing. i wasn't going to pick him up and throw it out of the yard, but i did figure it was only a matter of time before the pigeon would be gone. i mean, there are a lot of cats in our neighborhood, not to mention the one that lives in my house. (remember this post?)
but, the pigeon remained. last night, i was looking for our cat and checked the back yard. she was back there, not too far from the house, rolling in the dirt. and about mid way across the yard sat the pigeon.
today, the pigeon was still around. in fact, the pigeon made it all day long without our cat, or any other, having it for a meal.
tonight, i needed to water the lawn, so i set up the sprinklers and turned the water on. i wondered what the pigeon would do? would it try to fly off? would it just find a spot in the yard outside of the sprinklers?
it seems the pigeon was thirsty, because it pretty much just chilled out by the sprinkler, drinking water off the ground.
so, anyone want a pet pigeon? it seems pretty docile, and may be losing its fear of people.
UPDATE: the pigeon is gone. and there are a few stray feathers, so i think one of the neighborhood cats "adopted" him.
yesterday i noticed a pigeon chilling out on my back porch. because i'm a mean jerk, i decided i would shoo the pigeon away. when i opened the door and went out there, the pigeon started to run away, but he couldn't fly. it seems the pigeon may have something wrong with a wing. i wasn't going to pick him up and throw it out of the yard, but i did figure it was only a matter of time before the pigeon would be gone. i mean, there are a lot of cats in our neighborhood, not to mention the one that lives in my house. (remember this post?)
but, the pigeon remained. last night, i was looking for our cat and checked the back yard. she was back there, not too far from the house, rolling in the dirt. and about mid way across the yard sat the pigeon.
today, the pigeon was still around. in fact, the pigeon made it all day long without our cat, or any other, having it for a meal.
tonight, i needed to water the lawn, so i set up the sprinklers and turned the water on. i wondered what the pigeon would do? would it try to fly off? would it just find a spot in the yard outside of the sprinklers?
it seems the pigeon was thirsty, because it pretty much just chilled out by the sprinkler, drinking water off the ground.
so, anyone want a pet pigeon? it seems pretty docile, and may be losing its fear of people.
frank black in visalia
umm, so frank black, aka black francis, the lead singer of the pixies is playing in visalia tonight. opening for him is r.c. (radioactive cauliflower) from el olio wolof. $12.
and yet i'm not sure if i'm going. i should be. i mean, this is an amazing opportunity. but will i go?
i think i will. especially if i can find some chums to carpool with.
and yet i'm not sure if i'm going. i should be. i mean, this is an amazing opportunity. but will i go?
i think i will. especially if i can find some chums to carpool with.
work related grrrr
the stupid is overwhelming me today.
most days i can put up with the people i have to work with. really, i generally enjoy my job and the work that i do. but sometimes, it kills me to be here. today is one of those days.
(hmm, how to say this without going into too many details that could get me in trouble?)
i emailed a set of directions to a group of people. they are pretty simple directions that involve uploading a document (like attaching something to an email). so far, about 40% of them have been able to follow the directions without any problem. 10% have needed some help to follow the directions. 5% have needed a little more help than the previous group. 5% seem to be almost unable to use a computer, which is essential for these directions, and this baffles me. the other 40% have yet to upload anything so i don't know what's going on with them.
i just want to go home right now and pretend that everything is alright. sadly, the work day is not close to being done.
most days i can put up with the people i have to work with. really, i generally enjoy my job and the work that i do. but sometimes, it kills me to be here. today is one of those days.
(hmm, how to say this without going into too many details that could get me in trouble?)
i emailed a set of directions to a group of people. they are pretty simple directions that involve uploading a document (like attaching something to an email). so far, about 40% of them have been able to follow the directions without any problem. 10% have needed some help to follow the directions. 5% have needed a little more help than the previous group. 5% seem to be almost unable to use a computer, which is essential for these directions, and this baffles me. the other 40% have yet to upload anything so i don't know what's going on with them.
i just want to go home right now and pretend that everything is alright. sadly, the work day is not close to being done.
Monday, August 10, 2009
riverpark word assocation
let's do a little word association for my fresno based and fresno familiar readers. what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, "riverpark?"
please leave an honest answer of your first thought as a comment.
please leave an honest answer of your first thought as a comment.
deceptive deceptions
what if all the conspiracy theories were true?
and connected?
oh college humor, you silly people.
and connected?
oh college humor, you silly people.
it's an icicle's last show
there are last shows, and then there are last shows. which one is this going to be? i don't know. but i saw a myspace bulletin that this would be fresno indie band it's an icicle's last one.
don't have any details why, or if it's completely over for the band, but it's too bad, they had an interesting sound and it seemed they were on the rise in the fresno scene.
don't have any details why, or if it's completely over for the band, but it's too bad, they had an interesting sound and it seemed they were on the rise in the fresno scene.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
jamaica my weekend
it's jamaica my weekend and i don't care.
let me explain: for the last eight years i lived in an apartment that we loved most of the time. it wasn't ours, there was noisy nights, and some other random stuff. but we did enjoy the place.
however, the back yard of our duplex backed up to a little green area in the tower district, which is owned by st. theres' church. every year they rent out the lot to a reggae concert called jamaica my weekend. it's a cool show if you're into reggae. but if you're a neighbor it can be a bit of a hassle. why?
well, like all concerts it can be pretty loud. that's a bit to be expected, but it sucks when you're sitting in your home and can't really watch your own tv, carry on a conversation, or maybe even think. it starts with sound checking around 3 pm and carries on until after 10 pm when it shuts down. then you noise of everyone walking away from the event.
even though it was loud and annoyed me, i lived with it. you accept these sorts of things to live in the most vibrant neighborhood in fresno.
about a year ago we moved a few streets over from our apartment into a lovely little house. i've been relaxing on my couch all afternoon and decided that i wanted to go out and turn on my sprinklers in my back yard. what did i hear?
reggae music. from blocks away. and i remembered it was jamaica my weekend. and it didn't bother me at all. what a nice feeling.
let me explain: for the last eight years i lived in an apartment that we loved most of the time. it wasn't ours, there was noisy nights, and some other random stuff. but we did enjoy the place.
however, the back yard of our duplex backed up to a little green area in the tower district, which is owned by st. theres' church. every year they rent out the lot to a reggae concert called jamaica my weekend. it's a cool show if you're into reggae. but if you're a neighbor it can be a bit of a hassle. why?
well, like all concerts it can be pretty loud. that's a bit to be expected, but it sucks when you're sitting in your home and can't really watch your own tv, carry on a conversation, or maybe even think. it starts with sound checking around 3 pm and carries on until after 10 pm when it shuts down. then you noise of everyone walking away from the event.
even though it was loud and annoyed me, i lived with it. you accept these sorts of things to live in the most vibrant neighborhood in fresno.
about a year ago we moved a few streets over from our apartment into a lovely little house. i've been relaxing on my couch all afternoon and decided that i wanted to go out and turn on my sprinklers in my back yard. what did i hear?
reggae music. from blocks away. and i remembered it was jamaica my weekend. and it didn't bother me at all. what a nice feeling.
Friday, August 07, 2009
the high cost of free parking
generally i don't like to just cut and paste articles or blog posts from other places, but i saw this post on boing boing and thouht it was an interesting piece and worth considering in fresno's parking question
UCLA urban planning teacher Donald Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking makes the case that urban parking has a high, hidden cost:
The free parking that Americans love isn't really 'free' at all. A recent parking garage project in New Haven, Conn., for example, cost more than $30 million for almost 1,200 spaces - that's more than $25,000 per space. If you were to finance it using a mortgage, the actual cost would be over $40,000 per space. This breaks down to roughly $135 a month, or $1,600 a year per space - not including externalities like the air pollution and congestion created by increased trips drawn by cheap parking. Even when garages and meters charge for parking, they rarely charge the real value of the parking space. (In Vauban, by contrast, drivers must purchase a parking space in the garages at $40,000 each.) All this amounts to a massive subsidy. Shoup calculates that in 2002 the total subsidy just for off-street parking was between $127 and $374 billion (for comparison, the budget for national defense that year was $349 billion).
Who pays for this? Everyone. The cost of building all that parking is reflected in higher rents, more expensive shopping and dining, and higher costs of home-ownership. Those who don't drive or own cars thus subsidize those who do.
Free parking can become a drain on city coffers. According to a study (PDF) by Bruce Schaller, deputy commissioner of planning and sustainability at the NYC Department of Transportation, the city was losing more than $45 million in parking meter revenue annually as a result of the free parking privileges commonly offered to city employees. But the costs are more than economic: free parking also changes behavior, encouraging us to take more trips and drive alone more often. According to the same study, without that free parking, 19,200 fewer vehicles would enter Manhattan every day, easing congestion.
first disclosure - boing boing's original source. it goes in much more depth and is really worth checking.
second disclosure, i posted this over @ fresno famous, and if you'd like to comment, feel free to do it there (and here if you want).
Thursday, August 06, 2009
post art hop dub step show @ audie's olympic
lotta cool stuff going on around fresno tonight. here's one of the things i'm going to:
and i'm completely serious when i say hd4000 is one of the world's best dj's.
and i'm completely serious when i say hd4000 is one of the world's best dj's.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
his master's voice
today in my classes the students were reading an essay by maya angelou title, "champion of the world." it's taken from i know why the caged bird sings, and is about listening in a group to joe louis fight.
in the essay she uses the phrase "master's voice" in an apparent allusion to the old rca promotional slogan "his master's voice" featuring the dog sitting and listening to the old timey phonograph. anyway, i had the students answering a question about the phrase and its context in the story. as the students were discussing it became apparent that some were familiar with the ad, and some were probably even unfamiliar with rca as a company. for the sake of disclosure, i actually own an rca television, but i'm not sure they're still making them.
during my second class i decided to draw the ad to aid their discussion:
so, i was an art major in college, but i was working with white board markers, and wasn't all that concerned with perfection. however, when i started drawing the dog i realized that i didn't really know how to draw a good dog. i put up what i thought might look like the dog in the ad, but when i looked at the finished product it reminded me more of a chihuahua.
i also thought i'd share a pic i took last night. rademacher played @ audie's olympic for free, and i had been told they'd be playing around ten. i thought it would make for a nice evening. unfortunately, rademacher didn't actually go on until 11:43. the good thing was that it was a really nice set. and, a song that that has felt pretty slow and dragging during recent sets, arkansas, popped up in pace. not quite as fast as it appears on the live album, but maybe a hair faster or at pace as it is on stunts. overall good set. the picture is eli's new drum head (adam bought it) that features a print of animal from the muppets on it that i screened. looked pretty good in the club, if i do say so myself.
in the essay she uses the phrase "master's voice" in an apparent allusion to the old rca promotional slogan "his master's voice" featuring the dog sitting and listening to the old timey phonograph. anyway, i had the students answering a question about the phrase and its context in the story. as the students were discussing it became apparent that some were familiar with the ad, and some were probably even unfamiliar with rca as a company. for the sake of disclosure, i actually own an rca television, but i'm not sure they're still making them.
during my second class i decided to draw the ad to aid their discussion:
so, i was an art major in college, but i was working with white board markers, and wasn't all that concerned with perfection. however, when i started drawing the dog i realized that i didn't really know how to draw a good dog. i put up what i thought might look like the dog in the ad, but when i looked at the finished product it reminded me more of a chihuahua.
i also thought i'd share a pic i took last night. rademacher played @ audie's olympic for free, and i had been told they'd be playing around ten. i thought it would make for a nice evening. unfortunately, rademacher didn't actually go on until 11:43. the good thing was that it was a really nice set. and, a song that that has felt pretty slow and dragging during recent sets, arkansas, popped up in pace. not quite as fast as it appears on the live album, but maybe a hair faster or at pace as it is on stunts. overall good set. the picture is eli's new drum head (adam bought it) that features a print of animal from the muppets on it that i screened. looked pretty good in the club, if i do say so myself.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
tv in my head?
i admit, sometimes i wonder if i'm going nuts. i'll be in parts of my house, which isn't very big, and think i hear a radio or tv on. there isn't. but it's like i can faintly hear one, but can't locate it. and i'm 99% sure it's not some neighboring tv.
maybe my fillings have decided to start picking up radio frequency.
or i'm nuts.
maybe my fillings have decided to start picking up radio frequency.
or i'm nuts.
cheetah at work?
what's that you say, you're a cheater at work? lionel machida was at your job?
no, no, there was a cheetah at my work today.
do i know where it came from? well, not exactly. there were signs around work, but i didn't actually read them. all i know is that the students had raised money for it's haven.
no, no, there was a cheetah at my work today.
do i know where it came from? well, not exactly. there were signs around work, but i didn't actually read them. all i know is that the students had raised money for it's haven.
Monday, August 03, 2009
monday haiku
podcast with fay wrays
recording in a few hours
will scharton be next?
paintings off the wall
at milano and in storage
wishing i sold some
recording in a few hours
will scharton be next?
paintings off the wall
at milano and in storage
wishing i sold some
Saturday, August 01, 2009
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