Angel at the Fence -- The Comedy of Robert Schimmel
There's nothing as fun as watching a great comedian. And I love talking about comedy. I've been arguing with my girlfriend about Chris Rock. She thinks he's great. I think he's okay, but overrated. For some reason, black comedians can …
Jesse
Donovan's
If it's Thursday, it must be Donovan's. We had reservations for 4 but a last minute change made it 5. The hostess indicated it was not a problem and we took a circuitous route to the mezzanine, where we were …
Sinking on an Airplane
I thought I could do a blog about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner doing what celebrity couples do best. No, not getting divorced. But giving their child a crappy name. They went with Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. Their first daughter Violet …
How to Boil Water.
Fact. We are the fattest developed nation on the planet. 30% of us are classified as being obese with over 4 million americans topping the scales over 300lbs. A big part of the problem is our total disconnection with the …
A May Day in January -- Pilot Faking His Death
When that businessman crashed his plane and faked his death, a few things popped into my mind. First, that there were people that believed Jim Morrison and Elvis faked their deaths. Or that the Beatles covered up for Paul dying. …
More on Restaurant Week
Remembering which night/which restaurant brought up the saying, "if it's Wednesday, it must be Fleetwood", our own rendition from the movie, "If it's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium". When we arrived, we were greeted by a lovely hostess with a …
The Dark Roast
I work for the largest corporate coffee chain in the world. I’m your smiling friendly cheery-eyed barista making triple grande two pump vanilla non-fat no foam 180° one and half raw sugar high-maintenance lattes for half the working staff of …
Buying Brides With Beer
I heard on Headline News that a woman was auctioning off her virginity, and the bidding was in the millions. But these stories pop up ever few years, and everything that can be said about 'em already has been. What …
Food
Well, it happened again, a wonderful dining adventure. With the onset of Restaurant Week, a friend went with me to Marble Room on Monday. This was a different experience as it was a 3 course menu, instead of the "serve …
Delaying the DTV Deadline?
So with the Feb 17 deadline just a mere five weeks away, there is talk in the radio gossip communities about President-elect Obama considering putting the pause on the Digital TV mandate. Tom Taylor of radio-info states in his radio …
'And yet, when I look up at the sky,'
'... I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.' --Anne Frank My situation is absolutely incomparable to what Anne Frank went through during the …
The Kami-Sabi
I read of this concept from the book "Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing" by Frederick Franck. He tried to explain it as “the perception of a sacred presence in all things…perceptible only as long as it is not verbalized". I believe …
Shake it Up -- A great local band, crazy animals attacking
I did a music feature on a local band called The Shake Ups. I really dug their sound. A nice mix of poppy sounding tunes, like the Cars and B-52s, put in a blender. And they covered a Nick Lowe …
Sirens
Bad Customer Service
Well, since the blog the other day got some people talking about a doctor or hairdresser working on you, and instead talking with other people, I thought about the bad customer service I've gotten the past few days. In the …
Heaven's Door @ Otay Lakes
It was about the day after I got laid-off in October of 2008 when I took this photo at the lake (also, my profile pic). I woke up early as usual. I dropped off my son Kristof at Eastlake High …
Redevelopment Agency Block Grant Scandal: No Quick Resolution Here
There's about $13 million in ineligible and "unsupported" community development block grant funds that passed through the hands of the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation (SEDC). We already know that SEDC was generally the personal sandbox of fired SEDC executive Carolyn …
God Save the Queen
I saw The Wrestler the other night. It was good, but not as great as the critics say it is. And Maresa Tomei is badly miscast. Don't get me wrong, seeing her naked I'm fine with (although it was a …
Redevelopment Agency Block Grant Scandal: the Carolyn Smith Legacy
In a recent article published in our distinguished daily paper, it was disclosed that "nearly $2 million" in federal community development block grants (CDBG) may have to be paid back by the City of San Diego's Redevelopment Agency as a …