far flung/down home

GOOOOOAAAAAAAL!

2010-06-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

In honor of the World Cup.

Look at those legs! This guy is so strong he spans two boxes.

Two Great Tastes

2010-06-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

First, you look at this sign and think, "Good lord! That is just exactly what my life is missing! Tacos! And Ice Cream! Together!!"

And then you take a step back, and it gets even better. TEXAS Taco and Ice Cream.

What makes this even EVEN better is that we found this in Beacon, NY last fall.

Climbing Trip - El Cajon Pics

2010-05-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

After a 2 hour approach from down at the base of the valley, we climbed a few pitches at El Cajon, and it was epic. Epic in all the good ways.

As you can see, there is are quite a few vertical feet between where we were, and the base of the valley. Stairmaster has got nothin' on El Cajon.

It has been raining a lot due to an El Nino year, so the grass was quite lush. Love was in the air.

Once we got up at the base of the climbs, a fierce breeze picked up. Hats were donned under helmets, polypro under shells. We layer like champs.

I managed to cram my helmet on top of a warm hat.

A few pitches up, that wall below me is just a bit off vertical.

This pic was taken after I climbed past Ian and his awesome hanging belay. It is looking down the cliff to the valley below.

Awesome hat head at the end of the day!

We were treated to a lovely sunset at the end of our adventure.

Nighttime, Daytime, and Chicken Boxes

2010-05-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

Aquatic, marshy goodness in evening blue hues. Damn kids got to this one, too.

I like the simplicity and the elemental, almost guilelessness of the shapes and colours.

Similar vibe, possibly the same artist. It is representative of local banana palms and offers the daytime partner piece to the above shown evening interlude.

Holy cow! This is a contemporary utility box MASTERPIECE!!! Look at the ornamental framing, the use of bright colours, the fantastic portraits of foul, the perky comb, the festive and impressive overall vibe. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. This one takes the cake. Well, the second cake, since the first cake will go to all the utility boxes we paint with the Texas flag.

Really Bad Public Art

2010-05-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is some really bad public art, and not in the "it is so bad it is good" way. It is just bad.

It is a fountain in the courtyard of a fancy pants hotel in downtown San Diego.

Granted, I am not the world's biggest fan of dolphins and swordfish as motifs in art, nor do I tend to adore tall plastic and metal obelisks, and I have a bit of a bias against the Tuscan La Quinta Inn style of architecture, but really. Come on. This is just so very bad!

Chipped Out at 115

2010-05-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Big news! Huge windfall! Astounding good luck! No, it isn't luck. It is skill. It is mastery. It is awesomeness.

I chipped out with this pile in Ian's crib.

Add that up.

I am certain IQ is sharing in my delight, as rooting for each other and being thrilled with each other's successes is one of the sweet and steadfast cornerstones in our relationship. He loves it when I win win win.

Bachelors Flat

2010-05-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

This is where IQ will have to move if that "IQ loves HB" crap doesn't get cleaned up. They are so cheap and crappy they don't even have an apostrophe.

Utility Boxes - I Keep 'Em Coming!

2010-05-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

This ethnocentric/ingredientocentric box was found outside a little mom and pop Italian restaurant. I love the cascading ravioli and the garlic heads. I am not a fan of the graffiti. Damn kids.

If you are wondering what kind of ingredients they use, just check out the box!

What's up, teeth?

Nice, bright designs here. I, of course, love the peacock. What is up with that tiger? I think he is mad that he is placed between two things he would love to eat, but can't get at due to his confinement on the box.

This box is in Hillcrest.

This box is in Barrio Logan, a few blocks from Chicano Park, home of awesome murals, community history, and great food. It depicts a super cool pinata, and papel picado decorations.

The damn kids got to this one, too and tagged it. Grrrr. I feel like the tiger in the above depicted box.

I find it interesting that this box is showing pictograph and petroglyph style images, and that the top of the box is basically a heading for the sides of the box. What is not surprising or terribly interesting is that this box is in a super over-educated white person neighborhood.

This box shows people hanging out with dinosaurs. I looked around the other side of the box for Pakune and Sleestacks, but they must be on another utility box that got swallowed up by an earthquake or fell over a water fall on a rafting trip.

Cruisin'.

Here's a factoid for you - I was a roller skating waitress at a diner for a little while in college. My hair never looked as good as this waitress' hair looks.

I don't know what these people were thinking. Maybe it is some sort of impressionistic abstract seascape?

It doesn't seem to add to its environment.

I'm thinking of painting our own utility box. I've studied the great masters of utility boxes. Maybe it is time to venture forth and leave my mark on San Diego. -On San Diego Utility Boxes. IQ and I are thinking of painting one to look like the Texas flag. Actually, I mislead you, my dear reader. We are actually thinking of painting dozens and dozens and dozens of utility boxes to look like the Texas flag.

You and I both know this is a totally awesome idea.

Today! International Respect for Chickens Day!

2010-05-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

United Poultry Concerns wants you to stick up for chickens.

http://www.upc-online.org/respect/2010/

IQ and HB, You Are So Busted

2010-05-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

IQ loves HB?? OH REALLY??? There better be another IQ out there, otherwise heads are gonna roll.

Get Your Own Hobby

2010-04-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

In response to one of our Loyal Readers who suggested I get a hobby and quit photographing the Painted Utility Boxes of San Diego, I say this:

Get your own damn hobby.

That said, I now present you with even more of my utility box finds.

This box portrays a rather industrial-looking building with one heck of an antennae, somewhere in front of a mountain range. While this box lives in North Park, I think it is portraying the San Diego East County government building.

I think the design would have been more strong had they incorporated the safety label into the building itself, rather than design the building around the label.

This utility box tells the story of the agrarian life on the family farm being encroached upon, divided up, and parceled out by modern life and highway culture. What was once all pastures is now chopped up by highways stuffed bumper to bumper with cookie cutter identical vehicles. The drivers of these vehicles are emotionally stunted by their lack of connection to the land. This fact is symbolized in the art by the lack of any portrayal or depiction of the drivers. The only wildlife are carrion birds.

While this isn't a utility box per se, it is a street light, and street lights are part of the overall utility infrastructure. It is a stretch, but I'm going with it.

This very cool looking stenciled bit of art is on the base of a street light outside and Italian coffee shop in North Park where I had a really lousy chai and a really awesome pastry. Anybody know who this is supposed to be?

The top of this utility box shows a good sized common king snake. King snakes are common in many of San Diego's little canyons and ravines, and do a heck of job of keeping the rodent population down. They probably also keep the lagomorph population down, but I'm not going to ponder cute little bunnies being suffocated by the constricting coils of a cold blooded predator. That thought bums me out.

Aquatic theme, lots of eyeballs, Mac the Knife.

Adjacent box, still aquatic, still some eyeballs, and how small is that surfboard if it is the right size for a seahorse?

Wow. What a babe. This hot utility box was photographed in IB. That 'hood is not afraid of sultry sirens.

Even the mermaids get Restylane here in SoCal.

My Census Job

2010-04-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

To riff on this past year's theme of my bizarre employment or lack thereof, I have been in training for the past week or so for my deeply glamorous and fulfilling new work gig with the the US Census. We all have preconceptions about what a bunch of idiots the census takers are, and I'm here to share with you just a few little gems from my training with the census.

Our census worker training sessions met in a temporary building, unironically referred to "The Outhouse", situated behind a union workers' meeting hall. Our outhouse sported dark faux-wood paneling and metal folding chairs which created a cozy rec-room pizza party vibe. The cool vibe almost, but not quite, cancelled out the musty veterinarian office odor wafting up from the wall to wall indoor-outdoor carpet. That carpet really tied the room together.

Here are a few bright and shining highlights from census training:

When covering a training module regarding personal safety, our instructor gave us the very reasonable guidance to avoid areas that are known to be dangerous or areas we feel could might even maybe possibly be dangerous. Don't go into apartment buildings where the hall lights are burned out, don't go into condemned buildings, don't do your work after dark, don't get yourself tangled up in the fangs of a fierce attack dog. All of these points are valid and reasonable.

One of my fellow census workers then asked, "As a census worker, can I carry my firearm?"

Two points: 1) I don't know! CAN you? It is MAY I carry my firearm, little Mr. Poor Grammar Militia Guy! 2) Really?? Are you really asking that question? Why on God's green earth would a census worker need to carry a firearm?

Seriously, we are counting people in households. We are not on the SWAT team. The gun carry question then metastasized into this fellow informing all of us at census training of our constitutional rights, his concealed carry permit, and the California law that allows all of us to carry unloaded weapons, which we all know are really really useful. This topic was workshopped for a good twenty minutes, handbooks and training manuals were checked and rechecked, phone calls to superiors were made, and the conclusion was reached that since the census training manual does not explicitly overrule our constitutional rights to keep and bear arms, then it looks like we are good to go on the weapons carrying. Good to know.

My second favourite census training moment came when we were covering the training section wherein it is explained that it is not our job, as census workers, to report illegal activity and that no negative ramifications can come to an individual as the outcome of complying with the census. The point, no matter how convoluted the presentation in training, is that all census info is confidential, census data is not used to cross reference with immigration information, no deportations will occur as a result of participating in the census, and no personal information is made public for 72 years after the gathering of said personal information. The census takers are counting how many folks are in the household, not who has a green card and who doesn't.

One of my fellow census trainees then asked, "What if you go to a door and some guy is killing some lady?"

Excellent question, to which I ask, "Do you really think if somebody is murdering somebody else they will come to the door to answer your census questions??"

Knock! Knock! "Hi, I'm Joe from the US Census! How many people are in your household?"

"Well, it was 2, but now we are down to 1."

"OK, thanks! Hmm, since you are killing that lady right now, I'm wondering how many people were in your house as of April 1, 2010?"

"Oh, I see! Since I just killed this lady today, it would be 2 total in household back on April 1, 2010."

"Thanks for your participation in the US Census! Goodbye!"

I imagine more gems will present themselves soon enough, and I"ll be sure to tell you all about them.

Tito Gaona Utility Box

2010-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a circus on their box?

You Can't Hold a Good Utility Box Down

2010-04-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Our tour of found-art and colorful improvements of utility infrastructure continues!

While this first picture isn't really a utility box, it is a concrete pylon that has been beautifully rendered into a luscious depiction of California Poppies. The artist's use of complementary colors in delicate, almost pastel hues lends a softness to this hard and dried up corner next to a car repair shop. This photo was taken in North Park.

Wow. While I do like the multi-culti depiction, this one just makes no sense to me. Is that a piggy bank, or is it a plastic shopping bag? Or the weird love-child of a piggy bank and a plastic shopping bag? This gets the WTF award out of this particular batch of utility boxes.

This is the backside of the same utility box. The person's head is wrapped in an old-timey mumps scarf, and the teapot/brown paper bag seems to be the epicenter of a big red snake/sausage.

The dog playing with a ball is sporting some large and blank Special Moments eyes, while the other dog looks like he is wearing glaucoma glasses and a circus dog tutu-like collar.

I am willing to be that these 2 sides were done by the same artist who was exploring different techniques and motifs.

Adjacent to the above pictured utility box we find this other multi-culti family and earth themed utility box. The colors are bold, and all the people portrayed have weird noses and no eyelids (with the exception of the older gentleman in the bottom left of this utility box) yet are cute and not too weird or creepy. The overall effect is a charming and eye-catching utility box. The Keith-Harring-esque style works well here.

The little angel is chubby, eyelid-free, and sporting quite a leaf.

While the colours have faded and the details have flaked and weathered a bit, the spirit and joie de vivre of this utility box shines through.

The fun Vaudeville-ey pictures really spice up this corner of El Cajon Blvd. I do love the curvy dame in front of the mic, and the jester who keeps 5 balls in the air through rain, foul weather, or 148 blearily sunny San Diego days each year.

The back side sports a grumpy looking Chaplin-like ringmaster, and a little girl with the bunny she just pulled from the top hat. Or maybe she is trying to stuff the bunny into the top hat. One mustn't assume.

I love this utility box. It could be may favourite on in all of San Diego. I am a sucker for the Vaudeville theme. But, you know, I really love all the painted utility boxes. They may be bush league, but they are a delight. Who would have thought that such a conservative military town would have such an widespread and unsung cultural and artistic bounty such as this?

Why oh why am I driving a Toyota?? Pics from the Lowrider Show

2010-04-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

Why the heck am I driving a Toyota??? It is fuel efficient, paid for, compact, easy to park, and it has no soul. None.

IQ and I went to the 40th Annual Chicano Park Day festival and Low Rider Show. Good Lord! There were panty-droppers everywhere you looked. This is one super awesome event that truly put all of Texas to shame.

Here are some highlights from what we saw:

FYI: My Toyota has no airbrushing on the hood.

No dragon slaying, bow and arrow sporting magnificent airbrushing exists on my little Yaris.

No semi-nude babes adorn the front of my car.

I have no skulls or curlicues.

My little Yaris has no stylin chrome. It is not as sexy as this one.

My Yaris lacks heft, style, and brawn. It also is not nearly as shiny and fancy as this old car.

Nobody wants their picture taken in front of my Toyota the way they do in a front of a classic Chevrolet.

Nobody looks super stylish and cool just for sitting in my car. This car, however, adds a heavy dose of bad-ass to whomever comes near it, much less sits in it or owns it.

Gorgeous hood ornament. Do you think I could special-order one of these for my car?

Sweet paint job on an old caddy is way cooler than my gray Yaris.

Gather round, y'all. This car won "Best Paint Job".

I May Be Poor, But This City is Painted-Utility-Box Rich

2010-04-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while; it is because I have been in a deep, dark, lousy surf, unemployed, jury-duty-serving malaise. There is only one thing that can lift one's spirits after such a string of mediocre weeks. Well, two things, and since we don't have jobs and friends and a great house lined up in a city that is an awesome match for us, then you know what I am talking about: PAINTED UTILITY BOXES.

Bring. It. On.

Here is an exuberant, yet not overwrought, art-deco inspired box near Hillcrest. It is caddy-corner from a Starbucks that serves stale cupcakes.

Here is the back side of the same utility box. I like how they seemed to incorporate the actual shape of the utility box with the tall building motif.

This box has a nice vibe reminiscent of 70's colour block/flower power pieces. It is simple, has little depth, but dresses up the utility box nicely.

This box is right outside a school playground in Hillcrest. It looks to me like what a grown-up envisions when they think of art done by kids. It is fake kid art.

Is the art fake or is the kid fake? Both.

This utility box is also outside the elementary school in Hillcrest. Some not so clever vandals changed it up some, leaving it almost as cryptic as it was pre-tagging.

What kind of an angry animal is that? The head shape suggest a kitty, but the teeth are not cat teeth. This critter's dentition is totally lacking in incisors or canines, and the whole set of teeth look more like an herbivore's teeth.

This is the partner piece utility box of the mysteriously-toothed kitty creature utility box. This critter is less fierce looking, and kind of looks like a skunk or maybe a cartoon of a sports fan who has painted their face. The teeth on this one are so indistinct they offer no help in identification.

Worst Highway On-Ramp Ever

2010-03-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

The historic Highway 110/ Pasadena Freeway not only connects our favourite and most used highway, The 5*, with our second or third favourite place to get pie, Pasadena's Pie n Burger, but it also has the most terrifying and ridiculous on and off ramps EVER.

The Pasadena Freeway was established in the era of the Model T. As an aside, and we do love our asides here at Far Flung, the Model T got 30 MPG. The Honda Civic also gets 30 MPG. Hummers get 12 MPG. Moving on, the 30 MPG Model T also had a top speed of up to 40 miles an hour, which is still a lot faster than the speed of cars on this freeway during morning rush-hour. Back in the non-rush-hour days of the Model T, the road was shared with horse carts, so the car speeds were probably slower than 40, but still faster than today's rush-hour stand-still. Nowadays, highway speeds during non-rush-hour times are usually in the 70's.

I tell you this not only because it is an interesting factoid, but because it puts some things in perspective. I could go off on a rant about fuel efficiency, but instead I give you this: The on- and off-ramps have not gotten any longer, straighter, or better since the early 1920's. Go ahead and read that again. Given the increased usage and speeds on The 110, it is amazing that length and design of the on- and off- ramps have not changed.

The off-ramp is about the size and angle of a parking space at the grocery store.

Wow. I may be a total hayseed, but I find that extra terrifying.

So, on your next trip up to Pie n Burger, there is no need to go to Lego Land or Disney Land. Just keep up with the speed of traffic on the 110, then exit. Buckle up! Have fun!

*In California, highways always have a definitive article before the name or number of the freeway. One would not say, "Take 5 all the way north to LA," but would instead say, "Take THE 5 all the way to LA."

Beware Giant Robots!

2010-03-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

The end days are coming. The four horseman actually are a metaphor for the four cruel and powerful limbs of this giant robot.

Run, Scientist, run!!!

Yeti Sighted, Smiled At

2010-03-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

We saw this yeti outside of Julian. I wish we owned rather than rented, because I sure would love to adopt this gentle giant. Check out my favourite bigfoot organization to learn more about these noble creatures.

Partner Piece to Heavy Metal Rooster

2010-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

Techno Chicken

Text Where it Doesn't Belong

2010-02-23T17:02:00.000-08:00

I am a fan of the written word, found poetry, and an appreciator of fonts and texts. Today's post highlights my latest little discoveries of the written word in unlikely places. More specifically, unlikely words in unlikely places.

First off, the word "gizzards" as seen stenciled on the curb. It was not repeated anywhere in a 2 block radius. I checked.

Might this be marking somebody's parking place? Maybe it is the parking spot of The Gizzard Fairy, that mythical folktale hero who delivers giblets to all the good little gravy making boys and girls of the world?

Next up on our short tour of text in unlikely places is the stenciled graffiti on the uppermost corner of this 2 story industrial building in Tustin. If you can't read it in the picture, it says "Fart Barf". If that is someone's tag, I am really sorely disappointed in their creativity.

Finally, we have this concrete lawn pig that has the name "Bobby" painted on it in, after close examination, appeared to be white-out. Maybe the pig's name is Bobby. The flamingo did not wear a nametag.

Send us your unlikely text in unlikely places, and I'll make another post out of it!

Hot Crib

2010-02-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

Drop by Far Flung Headquarters any evening and you are likely to find us tossin the bones and going to bed by 10 pm (35 is the new 50). While the scientist and I have been keeping a running score on this dominoes tourney for 2 1/2 years, we have yet to see a crib with such a massive, prosperous, preposterous, weighty, fruitful, imposing, and yes, embarrassing yield.

Add up those pips. It comes to 98. Yes indeedy, yes sirree, 98.

This is how the scientist felt about my win.

Happy Groundhog Day!

2010-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhog Day, team Far Flung!!

The prophet has spoken. -Or growled. -Or whatever it is that groundhogs do. Phil has done his job, and seen his shadow. Six more weeks of winter. Here in SD, I guess that means six more weeks of wearing a long-sleeved rather than a short-sleeved T-shirt.

Your Groundhog Day cards are in the mail (unless we don't have your address, in which case give it to me and I'll send you the best Groundhog Day card you have ever received, designed by Ari Stiles, graphic designer, yogini, artist and human extraordinaire), and to keep your cyber-experience groundhogged up, check this link for the official Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. You can watch the video of Phil's prediction! You can send e-cards! I, for one, am happy to see they are finally getting on the bandwagon. I've been sending Groundhog Day cards for more than 10 years now, and am glad the benchmark Groundhog Day club is finally getting their acts together to do so, too.

Spread the Groundhog Day love, and enjoy 6 more weeks of winter!

San Diego Finaly Gets Some Weather!!

2010-01-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

For two days now, San Diego has NOT been 70 and sunny. We have actually had a little rain and lots of wind.

Our neighborhood, Ocean Beach, is a wide swath of beach community butting up on ocean and one side and topped by the San Diegito Estuary. In the past 2 days our 'hood has been transformed by Mother Nature from a picture postcard beachy palm tree oasis into a windswept, soggy harmattan littered with blown-off palm branches and battered by super hight surf.

Our mediocre neighborhood paper has some good photos taken by folks in our neighborhood:

Shown above is a pretty typical medium sized day at our pier down a few blocks from Far Flung Headquarters. Take note of the cafe on the pier, and where the water is in relation to the pier down below the cafe.

Here is the massive wind and storm swell driving over the TOP of the pier. Take note of pier cafe here.

Ladies and gents, that is some high surf. Far Flung Headquarters is sitting tight, a good third of a mile inland and maybe 20 vertical feet up from the beach. We are enjoying the meteorological variety this is providing. It sure is nice to have a break from the oppressive sunshine and get some gusty, crappy weather for once!

Where? Right here.

2010-01-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

Right here. There it is. What, you may ask? Who knows, but it is right here.

Amazing Holiday I Wish I Had Known About Earlier

2010-01-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

This amazing tidbit was shared with us by AQ, one of team Far Flung's only confirmed readers. If anybody else happens across this blog, or any other citing of this holiday, I strongly encourage you to mark your calendars and celebrate next year.

No Pants Subway Ride - Jan 10, '010

In SD:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-380772

Bye Bye Love! Bye Bye Happiness!

2010-01-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

It is a major week for the Far Flung home team. We experienced a major loss, a major good-bye. IQ's truck, which he has had for longer than he and I have been together, was sold to some dude.

Said truck was a '93 Ford Ranger that had been IQ's somewhat vaguely trusty chariot for many an adventure. Ian drove this truck all over the fine country of Texas, it went to Colorado and California and all the hot and dusty lands in between.

It was his work truck for caving and unexploded ordnance-hunting on Camp Bullis. It was our adventure truck on camping and climbing trips. It was our construction truck on many garden and hen-house project.

This good friend of a truck's slave cylinder for the clutch pooped out for the 4th or 5th time in 150,000 miles, and the costs outweighed the benefits of repair.

The departure of the truck is a not just the shedding of 3,000 pounds of non functioning machinery, it also portends of the death of possible selves, and possibly actual death of dudehood. We are now a single compact car family, not a couple who have a truck (and an additional little hatchback). The symbols of Ian's pre-Jessica days are dwindling, and that means it is all nagging and dentures from here on out.

Bye bye truck! Bye bye love! Bye bye carefree youth and days of no responsibility! Bye bye joy, freedom, and all things good! Hello loneliness! Hello receding hairline and increasing waistline and decreasing interest in anything cool!

Truck, you were good to us. Now we will just have to quit playing around, and buckle down and get boring grown-up jobs to which we will drive our little compact hatchback. Maybe a job in a lab measuring things or counting things or something. Oh wait. . .

What I Love Today

2010-01-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Death Metal Rooster

One More Reason I am Proud of the ATX

2010-01-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

One of my latest favourite bands, The Portland Cello Project, had a Hey Ya contest wherein they would play "Hey Ya" by Outkast in each city to which they toured, and the highest scoring town won.

Austin kicked New York's ass. Of course it did. (Lubbock beat Austin, but they could study up because they don't have Ocote Soul Sounds live shows, The Broken Spoke, and a hell of a lot of good bar-b-q to distract them.)

Check out the scores. Chicago and DC, I am just embarrassed for you.

Joshua Tree, Tetherball Truck, IQ Gets Eaten by a Saber Toothed Tiger

2010-01-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

This weekend brought all sorts of wondrous happening. IQ did some science, I did some yoga, and then we drove up to Joshua Tree to meet with KA and "climb". I put "climb" in quotation marks, because I have probably climbed 4 pitches in the past 2 years, so what I did in Joshua Tree was far from climbing. It was a lot closer to flailing around on the rope and skinning my knees, then telling IQ and KA to go do do some actual climbing together while I found a nice a sunny spot to do some more yoga and read a book. It was a fantastic little 2-day trip.

This is a little baby Joshua Tree nestled near a yucca, or maybe it is a teddy-bear cactus. Either way, it is not for hugging. Do not hug sharp things.

IQ surveys the scene.

This is some of the rock at Josh. It is a lovely, pretty slabby granite slope with a more vertical chunk on top. The dark spot on the slab is not coyote poo, it is a pair of climbing shoes. The little dark vertical thing on the top left of the vertical chunk is also not poo, it is Ian.

This is a view of some adjacent rocks. The little dark spec on the top of the tall rock, about a third of the way across the top from the left is a person.

On the drive back, IQ and I found some of the best roadside sculpture we have seen in a long time, arguably the best we have seen in CA.

We were really lucky it didn't break the skin. Saber toothed tigers are FIERCE.

This was in a Veteran's Memorial traffic circle. I know we owe a lot to our vets, but I honestly had no idea we could also thank our vets for keeping us safe from these ruthless Pleistocene threats.

Hands down, the most bizarre and striking thing on this trip was a sight we observed, stalked, and then caught on film during the drive back. Look closely in the back of the red truck. That is a tetherball pole, fully stocked with a tetherball. They didn't even take the tetherball off the pole for highway transport.

For safety reasons, no one was playing tetherball at the time of transport. Or, maybe nobody was playing because both players had already fallen out of the truck a few miles back. Either way, nobody was winning.

New Computer, New Year, New Painted Utility Boxes

2009-12-30T15:02:00.000-08:00

After just over a month away from SD for business (what kind of business, you may ask? The exciting kind. The kind where you get paid so you can fly places to visit family. That kind.) I returned to a veritable smörgåsbord of good things. Not only did we just get an awesome hand-me-down laptop to replace the old hand-me-down laptop that committed a slow and dramatic electric and electronic suicide therefore rendering Far Flung updating impossible, but I ALSO found a bevy of previously unphotographed utility boxes. What a delight!!!

All utility boxes were in North Park and photographed at night while IQ patiently accompanied me while I ran block to block squealing with glee upon discovering each new utility box. Just try to diagram THAT sentence. I dare you. Hope you enjoy these latest additions to the collection as much as I do.

This one is super'80's boom-box retro. I love the cassette motif. I wish that they had painted the adjacent utility box to look like a huge boom-box, but no such luck.

This one combines the city's seaside identity with some excellent bold color and simple graphic repetition. Well done!

This one was probably better left as a doodle on a teenage girl's trapper keeper.

The side shows a weird lack of continuity in style and theme. Only the colors used in the piece tie the two sides together.

Very cool color wash under intricate pen and ink style outlines. I love the shape repetitions and loose geometry of the constituent patterns.

Another Miro-esque theme. This town loves it some Miro.

This one shows a San Diego landmark: the water/gravy tower in North Park (reputed to be the gravy receptacle for Chicken Pot Pie shop which is just across the street). In my imagination, the fish in the bottom of the painting are worshiping the water tower full of gravy. I love how this utility box has faded and peeled. The resulting texture is striking and lovely.

Mountain scene. Maybe Provence, maybe Poway. Wherever the inspiration for the scene, taggers could not leave well enough lone. Savages. Miscreants. Teenagers.

Kind of a blurry photo, but cartoonish and funky representation of SD. The bridge is probably the bridge to Coronado.

Saxophone is not shown to scale.

This one pays homage to Bird Park, a sweet little neighborhood patch of greenery and fun in North Park that hosts summer concerts. Bird Park also has some really really fat squirrels that are not portrayed on this utility box.

Bold florals are a pretty safe bet. Kind of a loose nod to Warhol's flowers.

This was a very large utility box. And yes, that is a purple fake fur jacket I am wearing. It actually dropped below 70 degrees here.

A+ for theme. C for execution. Bowling is a pretty great theme. There is no Bowling Alley called Aztec bowl that we know of, but I think this was a play on the SDSU Viejas Arena also called the Aztec Bowl. No bowling happens there, but you could see a basket ball game or a Judas Priest concert (not shown on utility box).

Starry, starry starry box.

Scientist added for scale.

Even the inner faces of the cooling fins on the back of the starry starry utility box were painted. I love a thorough job.

Happy New Year!!

what I love today

2009-11-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Office-WM-01-Laptop-Steering/dp/B000IZGIA8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Read the comments.

Excellent Costumes

2009-11-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

OK, ok, ok. So I am a week behind.

These are some costumes we saw in our neighborhood last week.

Nun with a a case of beer. Always good. Especially if the nun is a dude.

Classic. I asked him where his Meatwad was, and he looked a little offended. Turns out he just liked the costume and is not an Aqua Teen Hunger Force fan at all.

Nice yard decorations. Not very energy efficient; there was no Energy Star sticker on it. Californians prove to be all talk and no rock once again.

She said she was dressed as "Inner Beauty", which is a lovely concept. I don't quite get the costume representation, but do love the idea and her attitude was bubbly and hilarious.

This guy had an interesting concept. On the outside he looks like a Tibetan Monk/ SoCal dude. Then, his robe slips off and his "true" role is revealed. . .

Turns out he is in the creepiest panty- hose suit of all time. He is dressed as a a ridiculously well endowed porn dude. The picture doesn't do it justice. Out with the Tibetan Monk; that was just the set-up.

I think it is funny how he drew on pectoral muscles, and they end far below his actual pecs, making him look a little droopy.

Pirates are big this year.

This is our neighborhood buddy, Puppy, who dressed as a SWAT team cop.

That's not light beer he's packing. Watch out.

Whole family trick-or-treating on Newport Ave. . .

. . . at the body piercing shop

The bee and the Pope are hanging out on the porch. . .

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat.

IQ waiting for our table at Hodad's

Dead Elvis.

Son of God.

SoCal lady with HUUUUUGE fake breasts. Hilarious!

Dirty Martini.

Count Dracula and his hippy dippy consort. They seem to have the biting thing backwards.

Super Awesome Robot!!! Bike reflectors for the eyes has a smashing effect in flash pics. Well done, robot dude!

This was our waiter. He made quite a show of dropping of our ticket.

Magnum PI.

Possibly the most clever costume of the evening.

Nice Package.

Self portrait, the Ape and the Cheerleader. It is a match made in heaven.

A Christmas tree!

Is the dude next to the Jolly Green Giant in costume?

Santa and Ms. Claus.

These guys look JUST LIKE Hare Krishnas!! They even have the harmonium, and were chanting and handing out little pamphlets. They stayed in character ALL NIGHT, and even stay in character at other times during the week. I'm all for stretching the taffy on a holiday, but guys, come on.

More Amazing Painted Utility Boxes

2009-11-03T10:53:00.001-08:00

This box has an Asian-esque theme, with the vaguely Shinto Shrine looking builidings, and the Karate Kid style sun. Are those dolphins the now-extinct Baiji/ Yangtze River Dolphin? Is the only place you can now see the Baiji on this painted utility box in South Park, SD? Thanks a lot, China.

Weird samurai and snaky dragony adorn back side of the box. They don't really tie in with the rest of the piece.

This lovely and vibrant box shows a representational, if not abstract, picture of people playing music. The bold colours, wavy outlines, and simple graphics reveal that this utility box artist is strongly influenced of the European art greats of the late 1930's through early '50's. There are echos of Compostion Fond Bleu and of The Three Musicians . This box photographed in Hillcrest.

Just around the corner, we find another Matisse and Picasso inspired utility box, possibly by the same artist as the box pictured above. The pipe smoker image on this utility box might be an homage to Magritte. Ceci n'est pas un boite du utility. It is a PICTURE of a utility box.

The utility box's neighbor box is also nicely decorated in bold colors and strong graphics. They did a nice job of not covering the important utility stickers and warning labels.

The artist's intention is a mystery to the viewer. Is this supposed to look like brick? Is it just a study in tone and pattern within the constraints of parallel lines? Is it cubist camouflage? Photographed in North Park.

Some ideas are best left as ideas and not as actions. Photographed in Hillcrest.

Cartoonish, strong-jawed glamorous lady who cleaned her plate. Good for you, headless good eater!

On the other side of the headless cafe lady, we find some shadowy dudes in hats. While it is the same box, I think it was different artists. Box in Hillcrest

Wow! This monkey is meditating, while being served an umbrella drink by a crab, while his lovely lady friend demurely sips tea and the squid swings by with his top-hat on. Fantastic! Box lives in Hillcrest.

Hey, Coolaid! Let's all play in a band! Yeah!

Is the blond cowgirl hitting the keyboard player with a pork chop?

Very dreamy and full of luscious colours and organic lines. The overall design concept seems muddy and lacking direction, but it is a bit more pleasant than a plain utility box. Photograped in North Park.

This most excellent utility box depicts schnauzers playing fiddles. What can't these fine dogs do? This utility box shows a nice use of background color to support, yet not distract from the image. The expressiveness of the schnauzer's faces really holds the gaze of the observer. Schnauzer box located in South Park.

What I love today

2009-10-30T17:57:00.001-07:00

The First Lady of Cameroon

Why Do These People Have a Lawn Mower?

2009-10-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'm serious. Why on earth do they have a lawn mower? Look at that yard. Nothing to mow.

I Went to Red Lobster. No, Really, I Went to Red Lobster.

2009-10-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

Years and years ago, I dated a man who was (and probably still is) a PI. -As in Private Investigator, not Process Integration or Protease Inhibitor, as you might initially think. This particular handsome (thought not as handsome as my husband) and ridiculously amusing (though nowhere near as amusing as my husband) fellow occasionally had really bland investigating assignments in Bakersfield and Fresno and Stockton; things like staking out suspected naughty husbands who were really just working late, and "following" plaintiffs of personal injury cases who were too hurt to leave the house, and most fun and odiferous, stealing people's trash to sift through it for clues. (As an aside, is it theft if they have already thrown it out?)

On occasion, I got to go along for the ride and take a lovely weekend trip to scenic Fresno and stay in a plush-lacking La Quinta Inn, and eat the food that fuels the private investigations industry: Red Lobster. We were really living it up. What high rollers we were in those days.

Well, who would have thought that the most luscious of chain restaurants would again present itself in my culinary circle? The lovely SL brought it up the other day when we were driving to Target.

The conversation went like this-
SL, in rapid-fire excitement-induced speed-talk: "OMG! You have a Red Lobster in your neighborhood! They have THE BEST cheezy biscuits. Really. Have you had them? They are so good! I want SS (her husband) to go with me, but he never will! OMG! Do you want to go to Red Lobster?? I worked there all through high school and part of college, I was even a team lead and would train other waitstaff- Did you know their fish goes through 7 steps of quality control to ensure that it is fresh and of the highest quality? It is never frozen, and their cheezy biscuits are insane, they are so good, we have to go! I bet you would like the shrimp basket. We can get that! And some cheezy biscuits!"

We went to Red Lobster. The cheese sticks were amazingly crisp on the outside, and this crispiness camouflaged their very high grease content well. The marinara dipping sauce was not terribly robust, but was pleasant.

I had the scallops and fish, with coleslaw and a salad. The coleslaw was nice and crunchy, and innocuous in its seasoning. I don't think it had any onion in it at all.

The fish was flaky and not overdone or rubbery, and the scallops were strangely delightful. They were pretty good, just like everything else was really just kind of pretty good. Was it just the butter flavoured sauce that coated my tongue in a lab-perfected film of gustatory OKness? Was the lack of any stand-out feature blinding my culinary judgment? Since everything was just so adequate, did that deafen me to the actual mediocrity and make me think everything was really somewhat good?

Our waiter, Ethan, was a doll. He even posed for a picture and refilled my Arnold Palmer without my asking.

We did partake of a basket of cheezy biscuits, which were pretty awesome.

Ray at Night - Totally Forgettable Art

2009-10-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I finally roused Ian from his incessant sleep (he is fighting one hell of cold that has been keeping him down for 2 weeks now) to check out Ray at Night. There are a bunch of art galleries and studios on Ray Street, and one evening a month they open their doors to show their mediocre wares.

Years ago, Ian dated an art curator who schooled him in art criticism and themes, balance, color, blah blah blah. Under her tutelage, he learned a thing or two about all artsy and fartsy. Well, bust him out on Ray at Night; he let his catty art critique fly, and made some searing comments about the palm tree silhouette paintings and the surfboard themed prints. Meeeeeow!

The one thing we were excited about were these chairs made from the wood of wine barrels from some vineyard. They were nice smelling, and had nice curvy shapes.

I also really liked the brownies one of the studios served. The other food was crap, but the brownies were quite nice.

What I thought was kind of neat - today's edition

2009-10-09T17:49:00.001-07:00

http://www.industryoftheordinary.com/html/manifesto.html

Me, Myself, and I Ching

2009-10-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

While I was working for JHU this summer, I had the unbelievable good fortune to work with a new friend who is just lovely, and fascinating and inspiring. He had just retired from two decades as headmaster at a very fancy-pants private school, and was using the JHU gig as his transition out of running his school and into the next phase of his life. He and I spent more time talking about bhodisattvas and really good restaurants than actually doing our work, hence our month-long gig was super fun and delightful.

This new buddy turned me on to Anita O'Day, for which I am eternally grateful, and he also gave me a copy of the I Ching. We talked a lot about the similarity between Patanjali's sutras, the Gita, and the Diamond sutras, and he said the I Ching is a similar book of good advice. I'm down with that.

In the past week or two I have busted out my new book several times, and have asked several folks for a number between 1 and 64 (the number of hexagrams in the book). Pick a number, any number! Lo and behold, folks keep telling me the same number. Hmmm. How can I keep getting the same number? I figured it was just an easy number to choose. So, I got online and found a random number generator. Got the same number.

Turns out, we all avoid 13, and everyone, even the random number generator, picks 3. Three is a magic number. (If you don't believe me, then revisit School House Rock.)

Here is my hexagram of the week, and quite possibly of my year:

#3 Chun/ Difficulty at the Beginning
If we persevere a great success is at hand.

"The literal translation of 'chun' is 'a blade of grass pushing against an aobstacle as it sprouts out of the earth'. Recieving this hexagram is a sign that beyond the difficulties and pressures that surround you, a success lies waiting. In order to bring it fuly into the light, you must be patient and persevere in nonaction."

Oh good lord. This lesson again. Please note that I didn't get #35, Chin/ Progress "You progress like the rising sun. The brighter your virtue, the higher you rise". Nor did I get #16, Yu/ Enthusiasm "Proper enthusiasm opens every door." I got #3, the nonaction one.

Well, I'm off to persevere in nonaction. Maybe I'll take a nap.

Super neat

2009-10-06T11:29:00.001-07:00

Check out this very awesome link!

Design for the Other 90%

Salking it Up - The Salk Institute

2009-10-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

While Grupo Q was visiting, we took the opportunity to go on the architectural tour of Ian's place of employment - the Salk Institute. Turns out it is not only a place where the elite meet to eat reheated treats (on days I am in La Jolla, Ian and meet up to savor last night's dinner leftovers/aka today's lunch), but it is also a serious architectural destination for the design minded.

The Salk institute, built in 1960, was designed by the architectural bad-ass Louis Kahn. He and Jonas Salk, of the famed polio vaccine and namesake/godfather of the Institute, worked closely together to build am effective, adaptaptable, and low-maintenance structure that would inspire collaboration between great thinkers as well as impress and delight Pablo Picasso. *As an aside, while Picasso never made it to the Salk, his longtime mistress, the wildly talented artist Francoise Gilot, married Jonas Salk after she left Picasso. They were married from 1970 until Salk's death in 1994.*

The stunningly sculptural outside structure is poured concrete with travertine marble walkways. The steel rebar struts for the poured concrete are plugged with lead bungs to not only aesthetically cover the reinforcement, but to resist rusting, thus maintain the uniform color of the concrete. No rusty streaks! The exterior wood is all teak, and needs only an annaul scrubbing down to maintain uniform color. In several of the outdoor walkways, there are slate slabs mounted to the wall. It was Salk's vision that these could be used as chalkboards for scientists to hash out their ideas together while enjoying the ocean breeze and soaking up inspiration from the view.

Each floor is completely and totally open; there are no walls, partitions, hallways, or dividers. This open floor design is intended to promote collaboration between scientists and labs. Go egalitarian ideals influencing design!

What I found super fascinating about the design of the building is that there is an 8' tall "floor" above each actual floor of the building that houses all the duct work, electrical, ventilation, and plumbing gadgetry for the floor below. It is sort of like floor 7 1/2 in "Being John Malkovich", but it is full of the mechanical guts of the lab above which it sits, not a portal to John Malkovich's head. This wildly brilliant design allows for incredible flexibility of equipment in each lab on each floor. The necessary upgrades in electrical (the laser-based confocal microscopes of today have a different power need than the microscopes of yester-year) have been a breeze, and the electricians can go up to the floor above the lab, upgrade and maintain what needs work, and drop the necessary connections down through the ceiling of the lab below. No crawling in a basement crawlspace, or crouching in an attic; it is all designed to make for easy and accessible updates of equipment. Very clever!

Bisecting the monolithic courtyard is a single stream that pours into one of the first "infinity pools" designed. Each equinox, this stream lines up exactly with the setting sun.

Tours of the Salk are daily at noon. Come on out and I'll take you there and then we'll go eat sandwiches as the glider port.

Snapshots of SoCal Housing Bubble Burst

2009-09-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

As we know by now, there was a housing bubble, and prices were inflated, and lots of people bought too much house on too little money down, and these mortgages that were a bad idea to begin with were bundled up and sold, and then bad decisions were made by lots of bankers and by lots of consumers, and markets shifted and homeowners found themselves in situations of negative equity and foreclosure and then it rippled out and affected everything and we have the mess we are currently in. We all know this.

So, instead of telling you something new, I am just showing you some local snapshots of things you already know. These pictures show so clearly just one specific result, in SoCal, of the economic crisis.

The first picture (above) shows the architect's dreamy rendering of this awesome house-to-be, complete with amazing view of the ocean.

This second pic shows the larger context of dreamy architectural sketch.

The third and then fourth pic shows the whole lot, fenced off, weeds growing, some construction started, the rest just partially done, left to weather. There have been no changes since we first arrived in March.

Make a Wish, Tie a Twine

2009-09-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Since birthdays only come once a year, and shooting stars are challenging to catch due to urban light pollution, there are precious few valid opportunities to make a wish. Unless, of course, you live in our covenant-free neighborhood and happen across the Wishing Arch.

Some kind and quirky soul constructed an arch out of branches, installed it over the gate into their side yard, dubbed it "The Wishing Arch", and thusly facilitated thousands of wishes. While it is aesthetically more like a woolly pachyderm, in spirit it is quite lovely, moving, and somehow very touching. There is something beautifully human-scaled about this project. Each knot was hand tied, by one single person, as they paused on their walk. Each twist of string is a tiny physical token of a single person's longing. Each knot is one single little hope, one single little wish, one single little bit of proof that someone is hoping for something better.

Send me your wish, and I'll be thrilled to go tie it on to the Wishing Arch.

Dog Surfing Comp

2009-09-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

After a week of computer trauma (broken keyboard that types 2-3 letters for every one letter you want to type. . .) our technology issues are mostly solved and we are back on-line posting the important details of our explorations.

Last weekend brought not only the great company of some wonderful visitors to our fair city, but also an outing to the Dog Surfing Competition.

The dogs all wear PFDs, and get pushed into the waves by their human. They get points for staying on the board, hanging 10 or 20, turning around, and length of ride.

I could go on about the scene, but really, you just need to look at the pictures. The smaller pics above are courtesy of A. Quigley. I, unfortunately, can't get them to enlarge. The one that looks like it is just surf is actually of a small dog post wipe-out. Also, check out the one of the acrobatic dad and two daughters with pooch on the tip!

The portraits below of are the contestants in the 21-40 lb. heat.

Here are some links to great youtube videos and other photos of said sport. FF/DH is committed to helping you waste time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7nS5ldE0M
http://www.petsugar.com/3355088
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-yfMJ8OLcM

Nobody's in a Hurry but the Horses - Daybreak at Del Mar

2009-09-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

My previous dabbling with ponies at Austin's Manor Downs has metastasized into a sizable and riveting mini-obsession at Del Mar. While both Manor Downs and Del Mar have notable histories, the league and caliber of Del Mar leaves Manor Downs in the dust back at the starting gate. Manor Downs is Texas' oldest track, and will always have a spot in the winner's circle in my heart, as that is where Ian and I went on one of our first dates. He bought me a frito pie and I knew it was love. The grandstand at Manor Downs is a huge and rickety old bleacher and offers just enough shade to watch the quarter horses. Manor Downs is fine and dandy, and well loved by all.

That said, Manor Downs doesn't hold a candle to Del Mar. Del Mar is oozing with old Hollywood style and glitz. Del Mar has hosted some of the most famous horses, jockeys, trainers and owners in horse racing. Del Mar Racetrack is in, well, Del Mar. It is ridiculously gorgeous in Del Mar. It is insanely stunning in Del Mar. It could not be prettier in Del Mar. The racetrack is situated a few hundred yards from the beach, and has views of the ocean, the mountains to the East, and most importantly, views of lots of amazing racehorses. It is heavenly.

Del Mar Racetrack was started by Bing Crosby and some of his buddies back in the mid 1930's. It opened in 1937, and Bing himself was the first fella through the doors. It was started as a pure leisure party diversion for Bing and his Hollywood pals, as their lives of fame and fortune up in LA were trying and stressful.

Many of the folks who hung out Del Mar came down from LA on the special Santa Fe Railroad racetrack train, which was just one big rolling party. If the train was late arriving in Del Mar, the races would start late.

The Del Mar track was the very first track to apply the technology used in film-making to document the horses crossing the finish line of the race. With all its Hollywood connections, it only makes sense that at Del Mar, film making would get its peanut butter in with horse racing's chocolate. Modern versions of the photo-finish technology pioneered in 1937 by del Riccio, a camera engineer at Paramount Pictures, are now used at almost every horse track in the world. Even Manor Downs.

On to our adventure! For the second week in a row, I had a pre-dawn bike load-in. This time, MK slept in at her own home and Ian resumed his position as my primary adventure buddy and partner in crime. We rode bikes from the Salk Institute to Del Mar along historic highway 101, a relaxed and stunning little 7 mile ride fondly referred to as the "Waves and Babes Commute" by some unnamed person *ahem cough cough Ian* who works at the Salk.

Every morning, a portion of the 1500 thoroughbred horses stabled at Del Mar for the racing season get their exercise. The exercise shifts start at 4 am, and run until about 10 am, when they clear the track to rake it flat and get it ready for the early afternoon post.

On the weekends, you can go to the racetrack, be seated in the fancy grandstand tables, eat an overpriced buffet dorm-food-esque breakfast, and watch the horses run. Lots of horses. Non-stop trotting, cantering, running, walking, exercising.

If you love horse racing, you can imagine how awesome this was. If you don't love watching beautifully perfectly fine-tuned athletes (both equine and human) push themselves to go faster, then this outing would have bored you to tears. The lousy breakfast would not have helped matters.

The videos below don't really show the amazing amount of muscle, strength, grace, and beauty each horse has, or the thrill of watching them exercise. To remedy that, you really should just come out and go to the track with me. Come on out, I'll teach you how to read the race form and place a bet for a trifecta.

Recommended Reading:
_Seabiscuit: An American Legend_ by Laura Hillenbrand
_Handicapping 101_ by Brad Free
_Horse Heaven_ by Jane Smiley (fiction)

Bike the Bay - More Sightseeing in Our Town

2009-09-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, while Ian was in Woods Hole
drinking Offshore's Presidenti-ale Ale to the Chief with the Obama family, he missed out on the annual Bike the Bay community ride. Since we had both registered for the ride, and he was out hobnobbing with nobel laureates and the leader of the free world, MK scooped his registration and pedalled in his place. Lucky MK, sad Ian.

We loaded up MK's minivan pre-dawn, and made it downtown by about 6:15 am. The start was packed, and they released the riders in waves. We started around 7:30-ish.

The annual ride is a very sweet, very mellow, very flat 25 mile ride around the San Diego Bay. The big attraction to this ride is not only the free t-shirt, and option to buy Bike the Bay socks (somebody in their merch department is so clever! When will bands start selling concert socks instead just the same old concert t-shirts?) but that you get to ride your bike over the Coronado Bridge. The curious may check out this lin k for bridge stats and details. It is only during this one community ride each year that bicyclists are permitted to ride across this huge bridge that connects downtown SD to Coronado, spans the bay, and arcs way up over the shipping channel. Rad.

The ride goes all the way around the bay, so lots of shore birds and bunnies were out being cute. We also pedalled past the South Bay Salt Works in Chula Vista. Who doesn't love pedalling past a mountain of salt? How often do you get to see that?

We saw dogs in paniers, kids on mountain racks, and one very relaxed and lovely grandma on a cruisey beach bike sporting the bike licence plate "QNLATIFAH". That gal has some style.

At the end of the ride, there were lots of free bottles of Vitamin Water XXX flavor. Don't get the wrong idea; there is nothing that naughty about hydration. While there was a beergarten, there was a sad and disappointing amount of other free merch. Subaru was one of the sponsors of the ride, and I was hoping they were giving away free Subaru's. Unfortunately, they were stingey with the car give-aways. They didn't even give away free bike lights. I did get lots of coupons and a tiny tube of free Aquaphor and half a bagel.

If you check out this link, and go to time 7:40:12, you can see the ride photos of MK and I up on Coronado Bridge.

Bitchy Bingo - A Different Kind of Garden

2009-08-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Let this be known: transvestites take their bingo seriously. For real, bitches, for REAL.

Last night's adventure in our fair city took us to Bitchy Bingo at Lips. This was a garden of glitter, an orchard of organza (or fauxganza, as the case may be), a vineyard of sparkly beaded shimmery spandex and feathers and fake eyelashes and chi chi's, and probably some duct tape under all that. It was a real Victor Victoria thing, minus Julie Andrews and all that amazing show(wo)mansip. There were many fruits in this fair garden, maybe even a few nuts, but no vegetables.

The waitresses gave us quite a talking to, as there were some shoes worn by a particular person at our table which were not up to drag-queen standards. "Listen, bitch. . .you are too pretty to be wearing those ugly thangs on your feet. I don't care if you got bad knees! Get you some heels, and just walk real slow. Just creep! Just move slow and smooth! My feet hurt like hell but at least I look good!! Take it from me, little miss ugly ass shoes, you need something new. Why don't your girlfriends take you shopping? What, don't they love you?" and on and on and on.

A few of performers were amazing, a few were less so, and all were bitchy.

CC won the first round of Bingo, and got a free T-shirt and some plastic tumblers. Tres chic. MK won a huge ration of crap from some very tall and glamorous ladies about her shoes. I ordered a virgin pina colada and got not just a fluffy drink with whip-cream and a cherry on top but many doubles entendres to boot. We all left winners.

Today is a Special Day

2009-08-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

August 26 is a very special day.

It is Women's Equality Day , a day where we commemorate the women's suffrage movement, highlighted in this documentary film clip.

August 26 is also National Dog Day, which should never, ever, ever be confused with National Corn Dog Day, which is March 21.

Celebrate accordingly.

Building a Garden - Literally, not Symbolically

2009-08-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

This week, I started my garden. It turns out that residents of SD can go to the Miramar Landfill Greenery and pick up as much compost as you can carry. . . FOR FREE. My tax dollars at work! Yes!

The Miramar Landfill Greenery collects, shreds, and composts yard waste, old Christmas trees, and other plant matter scraps and goodies. These goodies get bulldozed into huge piles to compost for a few months, then bulldozed into another huge pile to be picked up in large batches by a bunch of really strong and intimidating dudes in a big truck who looked like they knew what they were doing, and in small batches by over-educated white ladies in fuel efficient cars.

I took home one Yaris of compost, and started on the garden. A "Yaris" is a measurement of volume that is larger than a cubic cubit, equal to several bushels, and is less than a pick-up or a mini-van.

Follow up to follow soon. Stay tuned to Far Flung! We'll keep you posted even when there is nothing much to post!

Sightseeing in Our Town - Part II

2009-08-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sightseeing in Our Own Backyard - Part II,
also known as
The Amazing Painted Utility Boxes of San Diego.

San Francisco might have the famous Painted Ladies, Mexico City has the famous Diego Rivera murals, and painting horses is all the rage at fancy rehab hospitals (check out pg. 5 of this article), but none of that holds a candle to the Amazing Painted Utility Boxes of San Diego.

These works are simultaneously transcendent and utilitarian. They transform the typical utility box from an easily overlooked, gray, metal, boxy and forgettable obstacle into an everyman's gallery; a unique canvas upon which the people of our fair city can express their vision, their identity, and their creative prowess. These utility boxes cease to be just a big hunk of city-works stuff that is in your way while you are on your way somewhere else, they instead are a destination in and of themselves.

I apologize for the weird spacing. Keep scrolling down. You'll live. The last picture is of firemen, so it is well worth the extra effort.

This utility box is just fierce. Look at that leopard, so confident and aggressive in temperament. This painting would be perfectly at home on black velvet. Look again. . .it took a moment to even notice it is on a utility box, didn't it? This utility box was photographed in University Heights, near my new favourite restaurant, Chicken Pot Pie Shop (blog post about this starchy wonderland is upcoming).

What are those zebras doing? This utility box is in Hillcrest.

This cloud is crying rain tears. Maybe it is crying about the litterbugs who left trash in the gutter.

Scooby is about to be beamed up by the mothership. On the other side of this utility box, Daffy is riding a magic carpet, and Yosemite Sam is bar-b-q'ing over a wash tub. My instincts tell me that a bunch of stoners painted this utility box. Photographed in Ocean Beach. Yup, probably was a bunch of stoners.

This nature-scene-themed utility box shows a delicate and sandy environment full of tombstone cacti and Mt. Fuji-esqe mountains. While we are in a drought, and this is the desert, the pictures are more fanciful than they are a true and accurate representation of this area of the country's flora and fauna. I do like the bird that resembles an osprey, and I really love the jackrabbit eyeing the "warning high voltage inside" label. Photographed in Roseville.

The painted birds of paradise flowers really make this bus stop more scenic and pleasant. They are much easier to maintain than real flowers, too. You almost can't tell they are utility boxes and not real flowers at all! Majestic floral utility box photographed in Loma Portal.

This sunset-inspired utility box is lovely. I like the beach break with 2 lines of white water, and I really enjoy how two of the palm trunks merge and then abruptly end, and how one of the palm tops is magically suspended on no trunk at all. It is as though the brilliance of the sun, or the high-voltage utility box innards seared right through the tree. Photographed near Old Town.

Dr. Seuss lived out his final years in San Diego, so it is appropriate that his contribution is commemorated on this respectable canvas.

More Seussiness, just down the block from the other pic.

White Rabbit, and next utility box down the block is sporting a Cheshire Cat. Guess the neighborhood. Get it right, and I'll send you some cookies.

This one is Dr. Seuss meets TeleTubbies.

This whimsical little number has Humpty Dumpty sitting on, well, it doesn't at all look like a wall. It looks like a dirt pile. Humpty does look tense and his legs are all tangled up. There were no king's horses nor were there king's men. Maybe this is just some Dumpty cousin, and not Humpty at all. This utility box gets extra points for painting its protective poles to match the palm trees lining the block. You almost can't tell they are just drunk-driver deflecting bollards!

This beautiful utility box also incorporates its guard poles into the overall design. I enjoy how small the scuba diver is compared to everything else. Maybe he is just far away.

This one is my personal favourite. This huge and well-fed octopod is reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The building behind our octopod buddy is not Atlantis. It is our neighborhood library.

Bringing up the rear in our tour of glorious painted utility boxes is this doozey of a box outside the San Diego Fire Department Station 15. I love how on one side, the fire truck is coming right at you. On the other side, there is a swirling menace of flames and smoke. But, fear not, because on the last face of the utility box there is a strong firefighter, shown in dramatic silhouette, fighting a huge blaze, and, dare I say, winning against the flames because fire fighters are heroes and they save the day.

Feel free to start up a heady debate on the artistic merit and thematic resonance of the work, its multiple dimensions, how pop culture and fine art intersect in post-post-modernist contemporary art, the influence of primitivist stylings in an "anything goes" medium, or if you just like the pictures.

In Case You Were Wondering

2009-08-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, I am a total bad-ass of home improvement.

In my current phase of unemployment/job hunt/soul searching/sleeping-in/ going to the gym in the middle of the day, I have spending a good part of my time upgrading our shit-hole rental apartment into a more livable and stylish space. If I am not working for money, I might as well be working for improvement in our quality of life.

We moved into this particular shit-hole because it met many of our criteria: lots of windows, few shared walls, space for me to grow some veggies and flowers, walking distance to the beach, and most importantly, affordable in one of the more expensive cities in the US on one paltry post-doc income.

One of the striking design elements of our shoebox by the sea was the liberal use of indoor-outdoor carpet. The carpet not only was ugly, but had a distinctive odor. There is a reason why eau de mildew, pet accident, and old dirt are not used in aromatherapy blends. They are nasty, that's why.

Knowing that our landlord is a very nice and lovely woman who is not the least bit interested in putting any money into our shack, we (meaning just me) decided it was better to apologize for after the fact, like when we move out in a few years, for changing the floor rather than asking her for permission, being told no, and having to live with the carpet that gave me a rash.

One of the benefits of being unemployed is that it gives me lots of time to stalk good deals. The internet is a horn of plenty for those willing to put in the legwork. I found a contractor who installed a laminate floor all over some fancy-pants house in Rancho Santa Fe and had a few hundred square feet left over. Oh really? You don't say! Hmmmm. . .I live in an apartment that is only a few hundred square feet! I bought said laminate floor from said contractor for about $ .55 a square foot. What a deal.

I tore out the indoor-outdoor carpet to find a slowly decomposing, somewhat moist, very sandy carpet pad. Did I mention we are 4 blocks from the beach? Who in their right mind thought carpet was a good idea near the beach? The carpet pad was choc full o' bad smells and about 8 lbs of sand.

After tearing that out, I found underneath the pad some carpet cutting utility blades left over from the installation of said atrocity, circa 1988, some old-school asbestos 9x9 tile, and what was probably once a very decent wood floor. The wood floor had lots of water stains. Let's hope those were water stains and not stains from other wet things. Sanitized the floor with industrial strength restaurant floor sanitizer just in case.

I stuffed as much of the old carpet in our trash bin as possible, but even though our apartment is tiny, our trash bin is tinier and could not hold all our old carpet. I loaded the rest of the carpet into my little hatch-back Toyota. Once night fell, I disposed of the evidence. I drove around the neighborhood looking for unlocked dumpsters behind big apartment complexes, bars, and Jiffy Lube. I would pull up, leave the car running, and unload just one or two strips of carpet into the dumpster, then drive away. This way, I didn't fill any one single dumpster with our detritus, and if, for some reason, our landlady was checking dumpsters, she wouldn't notice the carpet and recognize it as HER indoor/outdoor carpet. "Hey! I recognize that stain! That is from the crummy apartment with lots of potential I am renting to the scientist and his currently unemployed wife!"

The big error in this plan was leaving the carpet in the car all day while I finished working on the floor. The car cooked in the sun for hours and then was thick with dirty old cat-box/mold smells. I don't recommend it.

Installed the foam sub-floor vapor barrier layer thingy. I didn't know which side to face up, and found instructions on the internet saying silver side up, as well as silver side down. Excellent! I am right either way!

Installed the laminate floor, did a kick-ass job, and then put on new molding and quarter round. That's right, I totally installed a new floor and new molding. I know my way around a power saw.

Also found on the internet - several ceiling fans for $12 a piece. I replaced the kitchen light with a little ceiling fan. Check out the film. That is the ceiling fan, totally working, lights on and everything. The house has not yet burned down, as my task of wiring in the fan was not faulty. It rocked.

So, in case you were wondering, I am, in fact, a total bad-ass of home improvement.

That's the Spirit!

2009-08-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, at least we are in agreement on the problem.

from SD Weekly Reader, Aug 6, 2009.

Prophetic Lawn Art

2009-08-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

Stunning. Just stunning.

Rock n Roll: My Not-So-Close Brushes with Fame

2009-08-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

Good job, Team Far Flung! Thanks to many votes from many friends, our little buddies, Darling New Neighbors, made it up to the big show! -or at least to a less bushy bush league. They won the contest! Way to go, Neighbors!

The resurfacing of DNN in my thoughts, and their brush with fame long after I left the band has brought up many a reminiscence about my time spent in bands, in bars, in Austin. These little trips down memory lane into my ill-advised rock n roll history brought to the front of several friends' minds the story of my only other not-so-close brush with fame. Since the statute of limitations on shame is probably well up, and the hilarity of the story outweighs the humiliation, I will now share with you a classic and personal rock n roll moment.

When I lived in Austin the first time, over a decade ago, I was in a band called Superba. Superba the band shared names with my super-hero alter-ego, also named Superba. (This Superba has everything to do with public displays of rock and freedom and power punches and yelling, "GOOD NIGHT AUSTIN!!!", and has nothing to do with the new fangled superba that is some sort of carpet treatment. Don't confuse the two.) Superba the band was an all girl, heavy-drinking, heavy-hitting, mish-mash of little talent and tight t-shirts. We had a few noisy, high-energy train wrecks of a show at a few clubs and opened for some friends' band in Houston, and then I decided to move to San Francisco to pursue my career as a circus star.

Once in San Francisco, I satisfied not only my deep seated desire to study the circus arts, but also to work in the accounting department of JP Morgan Chase. At said job I wore grown-up office lady clothes and occasionally had to run paperwork over to the other office in the other building down the block. Both buildings are in the financial district in downtown SF, where the streets are packed with cabs and bike couriers and buses and cars and more bike couriers and more cabs.

While waiting for the light to change, I stood near a bike messenger who was adjusting his messenger satchel/dispatch radio set-up, and lo and behold, on his helmet, right in front of God and everybody, was a Superba sticker. An awesome, shimmery piece of merch from my band! My band! He had a Superba sticker on his helmet! Right in front of me!

Playing it real cool, I caught his eye and said, "Hey. Nice sticker." In my mind I was already playing out the conversation where he says it is his favourite band, I say I am the drummer, I am showered with fan adoration, both our lives seem so much more glamorous and awesome from our chance encounter on a San Francisco street. How great is that?

Well, reality ensued.

He said, "Yeah, it was this shitty band I saw once. The sticker is really cool, though."

I said nothing. I nodded nonchalantly. I looked at the walk signal. The light changed, I crossed the street, and went back to work.

That, my friends, is my other underwhelming and not-so-close brush with rock n roll greatness.

Sightseeing in Our Own Backyard

2009-08-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

While San Diego is not known for its art scene, or its culinary delights, or its job market, or its vineyards or its liberal and tolerant culture, it is known for its awesome climate, historical sites, and military history. As part of my new mission to sight see in my own backyard, Ian and I rode our bikes to Point Loma Lighthouse.

Since the weather rarely varies from its cloudless/ low 80's pattern, it is unnecessary to point out the perfect cycling weather.

We rode from our Shoebox by the Sea out along Sunset Cliffs Blvd in Ocean Beach, then up over the appropriately named Hill Street, and then south on the 209, through Fort Rosecrans, to Cabrillo National Monument. Here's a map of our bike route.

We rode through Fort Rosecrans, which is still an active military site, past the famous and scenic Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, and past some really huge scale models of battleships and aircraft carriers. They were 6'-14' long, and choc full o' details, like little satellite dishes and stairwells and little poles that stick up with wires coming off of them and little portholes and little turrets and little cannons and all that.

For what are these amazing models used? Do new recruits go out and learn their way around an aircraft carrier by moving a to-scale GI Joe action figure around the model of the ship? Is this a Barbie Kitchen for military dudes?

Ian and I are looking into getting this aircraft carrier model and using it as our patio table. I think the bridge would make a great cup holder.

While I failed in my online search to find what these models are and who uses them, I did find this link which is really neat. Check it out.

As it turns out, the most scenic and lovely spots have also been, typically, the most strategic spots to sport a military base (Fort Point in SF, the Presidio in SF, the Presidio in SD, Fort Steilacoom, Fort Moultrie, and Tripler, to name a few) (disregard Ft. Hood). Point Loma is no exception. It is a gorgeous, elevated point that looks out over San Diego Bay, Coronado, and out to the Pacific. Even the "Deliveries Only" door has a great view.

At the visitor's center, I posed with a statue of Cabrillo the Conquistador, and then we watched a short movie in the visitor's center about the biology of the tide pools. As a biologist, Ian was appalled at the inaccurate information and poor/flat-out-wrong explanation of evolution. I took it with a grain of salt and appreciated the effort to educate the vacationing retired folks from Arizona about conservation and stewardship of delicate ecological areas.

After sighing through our noses during the well intended but, ultimately, underwhelming ecology lesson, we got back on our trusty steeds and bombed down a huge hill from the point down to the coast. It was very fast, and very fun!

At the bottom, we were sad to realize our visit corresponded exactly with high tide, so no tide pools for us. We did, however, meet 2 old dudes who were working on a photo project. Our chat about filters and shutter speed and digital vs. actual film was lively and fun. You gotta love two old guys who dork out over cameras and flirt with a married lady half their age.

The huge hill that was a thrill going down was a bitter mistress on the way up. I made it about half way up on my bike before thinking I was going to liberate the sandwich I ate. My handlebars don't need that kind of shower. The rest of the hill was conquered on foot. Slowly. Sans vomiting.

I think we can count the outing as a success.

Your Good Deed for the Day

2009-08-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, and happy summer to you, my beloved Team Far Flung!

Years ago, I was in a band called Darling New Neighbors. I was their less-than-talented drummer. I had the good fortune of playing around Austin clubs and parties, cutting the demo in a moldy sound studio in a building that was condemned shortly thereafter, and going on the magical, mythical Hot Wet Deep South tour with this pack of musical, literary, library and scientific geniuses back in 2004. Here's a picture to prove it .

Since my level of commitment to other non-band things was way higher than my bandmates commitment to DNN, we cordially parted ways and they upgraded to a drummer who can actually keep a beat and learn songs and so forth.

Their awesomeness shows - DNN is a finalist contest to be the theme music for NPR's music blog, which is headed up by the amazing Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney fame!!

If you ever suffered through a show where I played drums and made up entirely brand new and unrepeatable time signatures, if you ever drove to South Carolina from DC to see your daughter's crappy band play in a really seedy bar where people were dressed as space explorers and vampires and vampire space explorers, if you ever saw your friends get better and better at what they love, if you love seeing the little guy win, if you have ever rooted for the underdog, if you have ever dreamed of being a rock star or a literary star or a science star, then you must vote for Darling New Neighbors. They are most awesome.

VOTE FOR DARLING NEW NEIGHBORS

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/

Some people go to Mecca

2009-07-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

Some people go to Jerusalem, or to Bodhgaya.

I plan to go to this Chainsaw Art contest.

News in Oklahoma

2009-07-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is what I'm talkin' about when I think "news".

From Tulsa World, 7/21/09

Eric Bailey: Noodling with TU's Bryan

Mike Bryan, 21, puts a large catfish into a live well during a noodling trip. Sunday July 19, 2009 SHERRY BROWN / Tulsa World

By ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
Published: 7/21/2009 2:28 AM
Last Modified: 7/22/2009 10:21 AM

I spent Sunday morning with Mike Bryan on an area lake, watching him "noodling" for catfish.

Bryan, a TU senior linebacker, took a Tulsa World photographer, a KOTV photojournalist and me to display his talent for catching 30-pound-plus catfish with his bare hands.

An upcoming feature will talk about how his group (including his girlfriend and best friend) caught eight fish. Seeing them plop big fish after big fish in the boat was amazing. His girlfriend even caught two herself.

Bryan was a very hospitable host. In dealing with him for four years, I expected that, but he made sure that everyone was comfortable and got everything they needed. He even asked if we wanted to try it (no thanks!)

Bryan said his adventure was one of the last he'll have this summer because once two-a-day practices start, he won't have time to get on a boat.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20090721_29_B2_Ispent626899

Another not-post post

2009-07-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

I am in Oklahoma, where they still have dial-up, and I just let my 3 1/2 year old niece paint my nails. They look pretty awesome in that paint-all-over-your-hand style that is all the rage with pre-schoolers. The color is sparkly pepto pink. What a time for my camera to konk out.

More posts to come. Far Flung is just sleeping right now, and not in that "no honey, that racoon by the side of the road is just sleeping!" kind of a way. We will wake from our slumber and the onslaught of minutiae from my wildly pedestrian life will resume.

Go outside and enjoy your summer. You shouldn't be spending so much time on the dang computer anyway.

4H Animals

2009-07-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

Far Flung is back! After my month-long stint of working long hours with limited to no internet access at a nerd camp (all geeks, no bullies), I am back to posting.

I have heard from one brave member of Team Far Flung who missed us, and much like the Nielson TV rating folks, I will imagine that for each person who bothers to actually contact me, there are millions and millions of like-minded Americans. So, since I had one letter informing me of being missed, I am assuming everyone, and I mean EVERYONE missed me. I may also be able to assume that this one particular reader is a crack-pot, but I doubt that is the case. She has proven in the past to have impeccable taste and plenty of good sense.

Our latest Far Flung outing was to the San Diego County Fair, where I met an amazing girl who won the Best Dressed Sheep contest. She and her sheep dressed as members of the band Kiss. I think Kiss had broken up long before our winning gal and her sheep were born, but quality music once again proves to have lasting value.

Although the outfits did impress me, what I was absolutely most taken by was this young woman's complete understanding of the economics of livestock production. Our hero is in the 5th grade, and took out a loan from the bank to buy this sheep as a baby sheep. When the baby sheep was just a few weeks old, she locked in a selling a price with Tip Top Meats in Carlsbad. -On her own. She negotiated with the buyer at Tip Top by herself.

When asked why she locked in a selling price per pound a few months ago, this 5th grader explained market fluctuations to me.

After learning a bit about how livestock and meat prices have been very reactive and unpredictable lately, she then told me how much it cost, per pound, to raise and fatten up her sheep. She knew the cost of feed. She knew how much she needed to fatten up her sheep for its sale to be profitable. She knew that if she didn't sell the sheep she would still have to re-pay the loan. She knew that it was better to lock in a safe profit early rather than gamble on the possibility of a big payoff/no payoff later. Did I mention she is in the 5th grade?

Here is my proposition - ever person running for office as a policy maker, board member, congressman, or senator must raise and sell a 4-H animal before they can be considered a viable and legal candidate. If everyone setting fiscal policy in California were as clever and reasonable as our new 5th grade friend, we would not have our current budget issues.

Not much time to post

2009-07-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

since I am actually working a contract for a month with long hours and crummy pay, but I do leave you with this little gem:

Heroes of the Torah Drinking Glasses

While in Baltimore Last Week

2009-06-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

That's right. That's me in front of Charm City Cakes. Duff and Jeff and I are all BFFs now. We all hung out and talked fondant and butter cream for HOURS. Then we went for a beer and watched a ballgame.

Actually, they don't know I exist and this is the closest I got to any of them. The windows have dark plastic over them so there is no ogling to be done, and there is a big lock on the door and lots of security cameras.

This was, however, one of the highlights of my Baltimore jaunt.

I Have Worms

2009-06-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

I may not have a job, but I do have worms. (please note - there is no causal relationship between those two facts.)

Despite Team Montgomery-Quigley's trend to uproot and relocate every 10 or 12 weeks for the past year, I am grounded. Well, I am pretending to be grounded. I am encouraging myself to be grounded and rooted. -And yet, still mobile. A movable groundedness is my focus.

With the plan to be grounded, rooted, and mobile set firmly, yet fluidly, in place, I am composting. I am not just composting in a pile (compost piles are SOOO pedestrian). Oh no. I am venturing into the mysterious and satisfying realm of vermicompost. My compost project is in a bin full of worms I can put in the back of the car in 10 weeks to move to our next crappy temporary apartment.

Vermicompost is all about using red wriggler earthworms to eat your organic waste, and catching the castings for use in the garden. I bought a 1lb bag of red wrigglers, and split it with my friend MK, who now is vermicomposting like a fiend, as well. If you are curious about the fascinating ins and outs of vermicomposting, check out this site . It does a better job of explaining the mysteries and amazing wonders of vermiculture far better than this humble writer ever could.

In my time spent at the library (where all the unemployeds go during the day. . .I am getting to know the local homeless guy, the wacky retiree, and a few of the young moms with little kids. We all haunt SD Public.) where I pore over garden magazines and horticulture design books, I came across this lovely quote:

". . .one of the things I have been doing for myself is composting, which is quiet, private, slow, it has every hope for future beauty. Composting is the equivalent for prayer." - Becky Cohen, photographer.

So, in my large Tupperware bin, I have a half pound of prayers nibbling away at my salad scraps. I am praying for ease and health and happiness for everyone I know and for everyone I don't know, too. I am praying for a sense of belonging here in our new home. I am praying for prosperity for all of us. I am praying for good compost and a sense of groundedness. -Oh, and a job. I am totally praying for a job.

One way in which Texas is different from California

2009-06-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

While in Texas last week, we went to a very lovely, sophisticated, elegant wedding followed by a lively, gorgeous, and abundantly wonderful reception at the Driskill Hotel. In the sitting room off to the side from the ballroom, there were coffee and tea urns set up up, complete with all the typical coffee and tea fixins.

This picture is of the sugar dish. All the regular sugar was gone. The fake, no-cal sugar was hardly touched. That right there shows you one of the ways in which Texas is radically different from California.

As an aside - mad props to Ryan and Emily - y'all threw a heck of a party and it was just lovely. May you continue to learn and grow and love with each other for years and years and years!

Graduation

2009-06-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in 2 weeks, not because I am happily heading off to work every single day and my time cannot be allocated to FF/DH, but because we were out of town, and my time was allocated to eating bar-b-q and going swimming.

We headed back to the ATX for Ian's official graduation. It seemed pretty anticlimactic going in, as we moved away in December, and Ian is well on his way to scientific Salk-ey awesomeness, but it actually was quite climactic, deeply moving, weighty, and choc-full-o'-emotion.

There are plenty of airport bookstore bestsellers written by plenty of educators and armchair psychologists who lament the decline of rituals and our dreary lack of rights of passage. Being well steeped in new-age ass-hattery (I am a dedicated yogini and long-time yoga teacher and meditation practitioner, after all), I tend to shy away from such conversations as they usually end up with groups of people sitting on the floor in a circle, passing a talking stick around, and sharing their issues that they really ought to just share with their therapist. After this graduation ceremony, I will still eschew the talking stick and amateur group therapy, yet I will quietly and discreetly join the camp of folks who are all for ritual and rights of passage.

There is something primal, and so deeply satisfying to having a group of people come together en masse, wear special outfits, and have a conceptual, theoretical change in status actually be marked by physical, observable actions. Ian worked so hard, at such lame hours, for so long, with such dedication, and focus, and obsession, and got a nice piece of paper in the mail that said he was done. It did not feel very complete.

Yet, when we flew back to Austin, and Ian put on the special outfit, filed in to a huge concert hall full of families and friends just oozing with pride, joy, affection, and relief, and he walked across the stage, was hooded by the dean of his school, and handed his (stage-prop) diploma, it felt truly transformative. He left the stage looking noticeabley different than when he started. His outfit was different. He had a diploma in his hand. The announcer said his name out loud, in front of God and everybody, and said he was done. It felt so very complete.

Walking across the stage was such a literal, physical symbol of moving from one stage of life to another. It spoke to something buried deep in my bones and way back in my brain. It was quite satisfying. So, pass me that talking stick. I've got something to say - Ian, I am so proud of you, and impressed by you, and am just thrilled that I know you and am married to you and that you are my best friend. Well done.

You know how I said yesterday was the nadir? Maybe it wasn't.

2009-05-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

Maybe today is the nadir.

But, maybe it will be like all the stories of addiction and recovery that populate Oprah's book club; maybe I have to hit rock bottom before I can actually rise like a phoenix. I have to hit job-hunt rock bottom, then pull myself up my bootstraps, find a higher cause, and then I'll be employed at some awesome, progressive, smart, lucrative business that utilizes my particular traits and skills in the most harmonious, pleasing, and awesomely excellent ways. Maybe that is up next for me, because here is what I woke up to.

A check for $2,850.00

Now, I know we all think that this would be a good thing, but unless I want my full time job to be repairing my credit, dealing with identity theft, or explaining myself in court, this check is probably not a good thing. (As an aside - if you steal my identity, the joke's on you. Seriously.)

Here's the background:
Got this email after responding to a post (Craigslist? San Diego Works? Monster? Definitely not UCSD or Scripps). The red high-lighting is mine.

Detailed Job Description – Account Receivable Manager Our Company Name is Dawissa,We are a swiss based trade association that deal in the sales and distribution of wrist watches. The primary goal of the Administrative Officer is to provide local customer assistant to our clients within North America. You will be assisting our clients within North America, the assistance to be provided will include: payment collections and customer service. Your duties will include: - Collecting Local Payments When a buyer in United States decides to purchase an item through an online auction from our sellers he has the following payment options: pay pal, international wire transfer, international check, or local wire transfer. The quickest option of these is local wire transferring. Local wire transfers are the option that the sales support representative will provide to the clients. - Managing Data Along with the payments received from buyers you will be receiving details for these sales. These details will include items sold, price, and buyer's information. You are to file and maintain these purchasing records and transactions. - Forwarding of the Payments Once you receive each payment you will be keeping 10% as commission and forwarding the rest to the seller or representative, whose information will be provided prior each transaction. It is crucial to complete forwarding of the payments in a time efficient manner. Here is an example of a brief report: Date: August 8, '06 Buyer: Laura N. Smith Item: Movado Watch Price: $ 1,921.27 10% Commission : $ 192 Fees: $ 85 Total Forwarded: $1644.27 Forwarded to: Margo Narenzo, Barcelona, Spain Reference Numbers: 2349783981 - Fees, and Transferring Procedures All fees are covered by the company. The fees for transferring are simply deducted from the payments received. No client will contact you during initial stage of the trial period. After three weeks of the trial period you will begin to have contact with the buyers via email in regards to collection of the payments. For the first three weeks you will simply receive all of the transferring details, and payments, along with step by step guidance from your supervisor. You will be forwarding the received payments by wire transfer. Additional Information Salary During the trial period, you will be paid 2,000USD per month while working on average 3-4hours per day, plus 10% commission from every payment received and forwarded. The salary will be sent in the form of wire transfer directly to your account. After the trial period your base pay salary will go up to 2,200USD per month, plus 10% commission. Taxes You will receive a monthly invoice stating your total income. All applicable taxes are covered by the company. Your First Primary task (Collection of Payments): 1. Receive payment from our Customers or Clients. 2. Cash Payment at your Bank or any cashing facilities near you. 3. Deduct 10 % which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed 4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the offices you will be contacted to send payment to, you'll have a lot of free time doing another job, because this job schedule is flexible, you'll get good income .But this job is very challenging and you should understand it. Please kindly fill your details below, so that you can get started. Personal Information Full Name: Address: City: State/Province: Postal Code: Residential Phone Number: Mobile: Regards

Dodgy, yes? Totally. Especially since their email makes no sense. Especially since Dawissa is not a company I could find ANYWHERE on the internet. Especially since they are talking some serious crazy talk about the "local wire transfer". Especially since I sent them a resume, so the had my name, address, etc etc etc.

So, just to see what was up, I sent them an email asking for their company's website, to which I get this response (Posted yesterday as an example of the crap email's I have been getting).
Dear Applicant This is to inform you that you have been formally appointed by our organization.This is based on the achievement of all requirements needed to work for our Company. I want to seize this opportunity to congratulate you and welcome you to the organization.This is a part time job work from home.I have verified all the information's you provided and they are valid. Please we will like to know how honest you are and how can we trust you with our funds. Once again,I say congratulations and Welcome to the company. I also want to seize this opportunity to inform you that your information's have been forward to our customer / Client, I have instructed one of our clients in the USA who is ready to make payment to issue out a check to you on our behalf. I will later update you with the full details about the payment you will receive from our client. You must follow the instructions below:

1. Receive payment from our Customers or Clients.
2. Cash Payment at your Bank or any cashing facilities near you.
3. Deduct 10 % which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed

4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the offices you will be contacted to send payment. Regards.

More dodgy crap.

I forwarded both the emails on to spam@uce.gov, felt like a good citizen, and forgot about it.

Today, we wake up to a UPS Next Day Air Envelope, addressed to me, with a nothing in the envelope save a $2850.00 check.

Here are the things that are totally ridiculous:

The check is made out to me.
I've never talked to these people.
The UPS was sent from Mercer Island, WA, but the check is from Cincinnati, OH.
The address for for the company on the check does not match the address for the company shown on their website. Tres sloppy.
The font on the check is Comic Sans, which is just lame.
The best thing of all, the company name on the check is Pro Scope Systems. Wow. They sell used endoscopes.

Basically, that last little detail is the lovely tidbit of this whole story. I could make all sorts of tasteless analogies to "one taking it in the *ss", but I'll refrain.

As for the "what comes next" part of the story, we passed this little gem of a story on to our dear friend who worked for many years as a Forensic Accountant in law enforcement. I am waiting until I hear back from him before I shred the check and move on to my next awesome job opportunity.

UPDATE:

We heard back from our favourite cop and forensic accountant! His reply:

One word: COUNTERFEIT! This is one of the newer scams going all over the place.

My brother almost got sucked into this too. His wife was looking for a gig and ended up receiving one of these UPS/FEDEX packages with a check for $1,500 the day after her inquiry. You will find if you go onto the UPS website and track the shipping label number you will find where the package was actually picked up from (or dropped off).

Tomorrow you will receive the e-mail telling you to cash the check through your bank account, to keep a portion, and then send the rest of it by a Western Union money gram to some non-descript location - possibly foreign location.

The MICR info on the bottom of the check will be a legit routing number and the account number may even be real. But more than likely the account number belongs to a completely different company. The person cashing the check is left holding the bag once the check is returned as a forgery.

A visit with the PD will be a good idea. The problem with this is that it will get a low priority rating because of the shear volume if these type of cases.

You should send a photo of you handing the check you received to the nice policeman and a copy of the offense report to whatever address they send you.

Job Hunt, SoCal Style

2009-05-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ian's job at the Salk Institute is fantastic. He is learning a ton, is rubbing elbows with famous science dudes, getting to work with gazillion dollar microscopes, and gets free bagels from vendors.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have my employment situation. Despite the fact that I am well educated, skilled, have great judgment, commitment, focus, and proven good work habits, I am still unemployed.

Turns out that the SD area is particularly hard-hit in these current economic times. Check out this really great NY Times article has a fantastic interactive map (FYI - The map shows our area at 8.6% unemployment, but as of May, we are looking at 9.5%. It is the highest it has been since 1970. It is the highest it has ever been IN MY LIFE, and my life is such a meaningful and pertinent measure of things.)

The current state economics translates into many businesses being wary of hiring out of fear of what the next quarter will bring, and a huge amount of government, tech, and education jobs have been laid-off in this region. I have not had huge luck in finding a permanent job gig.

Here is one of job emails I have received (it is long, feel free to scroll down past it) (please do keep reading, the last one is a real kicker):

Dear Applicant
This is to inform you that you have been formally appointed by our organization. This is based on the achievement of all requirements needed to work for our Company. I want to seize this opportunity to congratulate you and welcome you to the organization. This is a part time job work from home. I have verified all the information's you provided and they are valid. Please we will like to know how honest you are and how can we trust you with our funds.
Once again, I say congratulations and welcome to the company.
I also want to seize this opportunity to inform you that your information's have been forward to our customer / Client, I have instructed one of our clients in the USA who is ready to make payment to issue out a check to you on our behalf. I will later update you with the full details about the payment you will receive from our client.
You must follow the instructions below:

1. Receive payment from our Customers or Clients.
2. Cash Payment at your Bank or any cashing facilities near you.
3. Deduct 10 % which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed
4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the offices you will be contacted to send payment.
Regards.

Excellent job opportunity, no?

The job hunt has gotten just absolutely ridiculous. After being told I am perfect for a job, but they found an intern to manage their clients for free (call me when you need your databases fixed!), or that I am a great candidate but they found somebody who will do all their State Ed Board compliance for $9.00/hour, or that they are waiting to fill that particular position until next quarter, I have started casting a larger net for smaller fry.

Today, we have hit the nadir of my job searches.

Today's job fair really takes the cake. I responded to a posting (which has since been removed, oddly enough) looking for a capable office manager/admin. Here is what I still had saved in my files:

Immediate opening for office manager / administrative assistant / receptionist. Applicants should be enthusiastic, personable, dependable, professional, well dressed, and a team player. Must have good communication skills, be organized, detail-oriented and be able to multi-task. Computer skills not required. Experience a plus but will train.
Please email the following information:

1) Best phone number to contact you.
2) Your current resume.
3) Your ideal start pay. (based on your experience )

Job fair to fill position Tues May 19, 11:00 address omitted so I don’t get sued on the impossible chance that somebody at the job fair actually reads this

What would you think that job was for? My guess would be for an office manager/ admin.

Thinking I can ALWAYS get an office monkey job, I show up early, decked out in my business lady threads - full on cream colored Talbot’s skirt suit get-up, with the nice looking heels that match the nice leather handbag, with the conservative jewelry, with the extra copies of my well constructed resume showing what a bad-ass I am, to the maze of tall office buildings and parking garages, to the specific suite where said Job Fair was to happen.

The front office was fairly empty, save for about 25 folding metal rental chairs, and a garage-sale looking front desk that had no computer, no office plants, no paperwork, and no in-box.

There was no company literature on the end table, because there was no end table. There is probably no company literature.

The room was populated with about a dozen other folks with their job hunting garb on, carrying their little resume folios, and a few younger just-out-of college types who are busy texting while we waited, and about 4 few really buff and fake-tanned dudes who all sat together clustered at the far end of the front office/reception area whispering and flexing their muscles for each other.

We were greeted by a very doughy, sweaty guy in a pair of ill-fitting Dockers and a golf shirt who thanked us for coming and told us there was a coke machine down the hall if we wanted a coke. Gee, thanks, guy. This is really feeling like an awesome job opportunity.

Turns out they don't need an office manager at all. They need someone to PLAY an office manager in their porn.

Feel free to read that sentence again.

They wanted someone to LOOK like an office manager/admin person in the porn they were shooting. I guess their business is all about getting the amateur/non-porn star corner of the market. The crappy office and clump of tan muscley dudes finally clicked.

Upon re-reading the job posting, I still found nothing in it to tip me off that I was walking into a porn casting call. Knowing now that it WAS a porn casting call, it did make me wonder what they mean by team player and multi tasking.

I asked the woman sitting next to me if she new it was an amateur porn business opportunity. She was as surprised as I was, and had the best response to the situation ever:

"I really don't think this job is a good fit."

Saturday Climbing Outing - Mt Woodson

2009-05-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

It is springtime, we are still in SoCal, life has thrown no curve balls at us. Things are good. Saturday provided us with a good adventure opportunity- scenic drive, ostrich gawking, a short uphill hike, and short but fun crack climbs on big boulders.

On the drive out, we saw loads of veggie and orange plantations, except they are not called plantations here. Since the underpaid workers are Mexicans, it isn't called a plantation, FYI. It is a farm or an orchard.

We also saw a hand-written sign advertising Ostrich Eggs For Sale. I was stoked to make a really big omelet, but we realized the only cash we had in the car was a whole slew of pesos in the cup holder. As close as we are to the border, nobody here traffics in pesos. What's up with that? There was more peso commerce in Austin than there is here. Interesting, no? We drove by, leaving my dream of an omelet of epic proportions for another day.

Mt Woodson is really just a big hill with big boulders strewn about. There is paved fire-road all the way to the top, so the approach to the climbs is a total cake-walk. Ian and I talked to his bro and sister-in-law on the cellular telephone on our way up. It was not really a back-country experience.

Once you stroll a few feet from the paved fire road, there are lots of fun, short, steep, knuckle grater cracks to climb. We set a few of them up with top ropes, and made a day of it.

If you look closely at the pictures, Ian has resurrected the Manor Elementary shirt that was his uniform in Panama. Apparently this shirt has seen to much to simply be retired. I am, as per usual, sporting a sun hat. Y'all can keep emailing me about how I look like a dork, but when I don't die of skin cancer we'll see who looks the dorkiest. (That was one of the worst sentences ever written; it makes no sense, but I am leaving it. All 2 of our readers can chastise me later.)

After negotiating my way up a fairly vertical crack, we saw the most amazing caterpillar making its way up the rock with much less sweat and issue than my performance required. The little guy looked quite feathery, had snappy red and grey colouration with white accents, and had two plume-like tufts coming off its head. I took it as a good omen. -For what exactly, I don't know. Seeing a plume headed-caterpillar has to be a good sign for something. . . hopefully not for fertility, but maybe for prosperity or employability.

Check out our award winning short films below. One is of an ostrich walking. The plot is pretty easy to follow and there is no surprise ending. Our other short film is of Ian looking at the guide book. That one is quite artistic, if I do say so myself.

Do we know her?

2009-05-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Found on Craigslist - If you have virgin ears or eyes or don't like ranting profanity, skip this post.

There. You've been warned.

Punk rock Martha Stewart baker will tear your kitchen apart

Reply to:
Date: 2009-02-17, 3:01PM

…figuratively, of course.
Ok I have the fancypants resume. I have the cover letter. I pimp that shit out and make it all special and fancy for each and every job I apply too. I have the little outfit which I iron on the floor of my hovel on top of a cutting board and towel. Not that it matters, because I DON’T GET ANY CALLBACKS FROM YOU PEOPLE.
WHAT THE FUCK.
Listen, I KNOW times are tough but! You post the jobs, I send the resume, and I KNOW I’m hirable. I got hired at four, that’s right, 1234 baking jobs before the economy tanked, and I turned them all down. Cocky? Perhaps. I didn’t know the stupid economy would take a dump right when I was feeling confident about waiting for a job that was juuuuust right. So, now I’m paying the price. Fine. I accept that it was a dick move. And now I’m applying left and right for baking jobs, any baking jobs, shit, food prep jobs, whatever, piece of crap industrial sweatshop baking jobs, and I get nothing. WTF do you people want from me? Here, here’s my fucking resume. Here’s the real shit, not the kiss-ass garbage I spend hours laboring over on my 2nd hand laptop at the free wifi café.
OBJECTIVE
To bake the living shit out of shit.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Take all the bile and outrage in this resume. The food I make is as sweet as these words are bitter. The cupcakes I make are cuter than a puppy’s ass. A whole tray of puppy’s asses. I was genetically engineered by the US government in a covert project called BakerBot4000-R. I don’t know what the 4000-R stands for but it’s as impressive as is sounds. I crank out bread like that crazy ass Mormon family on TLC cranks out babies. One time my boss walked in on me at work and I was sleeping but guess what? He couldn’t say SHIT cause I was baking at the SAME TIME. Anyway I wasn’t really sleeping, I was meditating on the next AWESOME savory scone that could make you forget how to speak your first language. One time I took a tray of scones out of the oven that were so golden and perfect it was like staring at the face of God, and maybe God was involved because the oven wasn’t even PLUGGED IN. Are you one of those bosses who needs to sit on a stool in the kitchen and tell me about your love life til 3 am? I will solve that shit like Dear Abby and Dr. Drew and make you feel good about being such a dumbass. Are you tired of stupid ass stoner bakers who can’t bake without being “baked?” I eat those fools for breakfast. Are you yourself a pothead? Hey, I don’t judge. Would you rather not even know I exist, and just want the baked goods to magically appear without having to deal with anyone’s needy, personal bullshit? Wow, that would sure be refreshing. Don’t question my methods. Just stick a muffin in your mouth and shut up. Also I sweat 100% pure vanilla extract and I poop marzipan which really cuts back on costs.
JOB HISTORY
Come-&-Get-It soup kitchen: At this job I baked bread so fucking perfect that the local hobos would eat it and instantly transform into one of the following: super hot firemen, solutions to global warming, or just piles of diamonds.
I had a dream about crossaints and this somehow resulted in a fold in space-time, resulting in their invention sometime in the middle ages.
Government contract as BakerBot4000-R: I can’t tell you much about this job or I would have to kill you (and I totally could.) I had to leave this job because, I was told, my rate of productivity was making the president “look bad” in comparison. However, it was the Bush administration so I refuse to take responsibility for this. A Pet Rock could make that guy look bad.
REFERENCES
God taught me the whole manna thing, but I’ve promised not to abuse my power.
I invented Martha Stewart and when I refused to give up my secret recipe for a cake that causes the consumer to attain a state of perfect bliss, sometimes referred to as nirvana, she went temporarily insane and ended up in jail.
Inspired by Steve Madonna. Luckily for you all, I am married and Steve and I shall never meet. Otherwise we would spawn monster beast children that would tear you all apart and render the employment system (aka “capitalism”) even more obsolete than it already is.

Location: seattle
it's ok to contact this poster if you are a potential employer or other principal
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job seeker.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Original URL:http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sea/1039001084.html

Who doe we love? JUDD!

2009-05-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Where do we love him? Texas, New York, and now California! Go, Judd, Go!

Pie n Burger

2009-05-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

There's a great joint in Pasadena called Pie N Burger. I went there. It was AMAZING.

Most of our gentle readers already know I have a serious pie fetish. I can't go somewhere without trying the pie. Even if I know the crust will disappoint, I cannot pass up pie. I love me some pie; berry pie, savory pie, meringue pie, meat pie, onion pie, whatever. I love it. I make pies for people I love, and will gladly make pies for people I don't know if you pay me or just ask real nice.

A love of pie and pie making has been a sweet and wonderful bridge in several fledgling friendships. Back in our ATX days, we would have lovely Pie and Wine parties every few months where I would make a few pies, other folks would make a few pies, we'd all eat pie and drink some wine. It was fantastic.

In last week's stint as a South Pasadena Dog Walker (picture me wearing a designer sun hat, big sunglasses, talking on my blackberry, walking 2 purebred cairn terriers) I learned about my new favourite place for pie. OK- my second favourite place, since my first is my own kitchen. OK, actually, it is my 3rd favourite place, since my second favourite place is my mom's kitchen. Her lemon meringue pie is the best, hands down. Everyone who has tasted it agrees, even Ian, who is on contract to adore my culinary creations until death do us part. Even Ian agrees that my mother's lemon meringue pie rocks the house more than seems humanly possible.

Pie n Burger is now my 3rd favourite place for pie. That's saying something.

The whole setting also spoke to something deep inside me. It might be because my grandfather had a dairy and, as high school aged kids, my mother (the Pie Maven) and her siblings all helped run the family ice-cream shop/soda shop/burgers n pie diner counter. The Reese Dairy is has such a presence in family lore, it almost feels like another cousin.

This place is how I imagine the old family dairy counter soda shop to have felt. Pie n Burger is a great old-school diner kind of a place. Not only were there real honest-to-goodness regulars, but the waitress literally knew the regulars' names and asked after their families. I almost felt like I was intruding on a family dinner.

They have about 9 kinds of pie daily. I asked which is the freshest, and the waitress looked at me and said, "They're all fresh. You think we actually have some left at the end of the day??!?!?"

The crust was a part crisco (I know it is deadly and all, but it makes for a flaky crust) and part butter, and the berry filling was not too sweet. I appreciate it when cooks and bakers let the ingredients speak for themselves. Too much sugar in a pie kills it.

It was a generous slice, served at room temperature. You could get it heated up and a la mode if you wish, but I am a room temp girl when it comes to pie. I like the filling to stay put and not ooze.

The burger was really good, too.

Go check it out next time you are in Pasadena. It was mighty fine.

Here's a pic of one of the dogs I was watching in Pasadena. He is hell on tennis balls.

We know good art - Huge Sloth

2009-05-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ian rides the sloth, I cuddle and make the same face as the sloth. We bond.