San Diego Leaders: Sorry to Disturb Your Weekend, But Some Shit Is Going Down In Case You Hadn't Noticed

Crowd Leaving Waterfront Park For 4th of July In Other Times (Taken 7.4.2017)

I pulled some tweets and Facebook posts from my elected officials around 9pm on Sunday night, so the time stamps are accountable from that point backward. All weekend I've been trying to follow our leaders for meaningful comments, and while a few did, the silence of our City is absolutely deafening. After seeing what was going on in La Mesa on Saturday, why weren't they all over social media on Sunday with a unified message? Why isn't there someone offering information and guidance for the protesters who wanted to keep things peaceful, organized, and still within the boundaries imposed by the City? It's a shame many of them were just nowhere to be found or merely offered the equivalent of "thoughts and prayers" with generic pleas for unity.

County of San Diego Facebook: Last Post 5.29.2020 5:41pm
City of San Diego Facebook: Posted on 5.31.2020 about POETRY and 5.30.2020 about the automotive museum.
San Diego Police Department: Posted around 4pm on 5.31.2020 to enact Unlawful Assembly order and to complain about protesters.

Protests Amid Pandemic: Curfews & Unlawful Assembly Orders In San Diego | Police Tensions |

Downtown San Diego at Night during Comic Con (Taken 7.18.2019)

I'm still watching events transpire downtown and things appear to mostly be calm and peaceful. With so many types of protesters, there have been some differences of objective even among the participants and it's hard to watch. I appreciate everyone's comments and sharing my posts. I'm so impressed by the vast amount of thoughtful dialogue happening and I hope we can get to the policy changes and advances in legislation and the healing without prolonged and additional damage and injury. As someone who documents everything, it is challenging not going out and shooting photos, but it's easy when I think of my family and friends and my responsibilities. Be safe out there.

Despite Pandemic, La Mesa and San Diego Join A Chorus Of Protests Against Police Brutality Across The United States

Forgive this picture of Mission Trails from 12.10.2019.
I never use stock photography or any photos I don't have direct permission to share. 

I recently started reading a book called Writers & Lovers by Lily King and things have been moving a million miles a minute, so I haven't gotten too deep, but I already know I love it. Through the protagonist she says, "I don't write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don't, everything feels even worse."
And I guess that's where I am today.
I'm speechless at the images and live video I witnessed last night. Locally and nationally it is so much to take in, and on the one hand, "silence is violence" and on the other hand, there is so much listening (reading) to the voices of the people who are in so much pain that needs to be done. On one hand, seeing people's businesses destroyed is heartbreaking, on the other hand, those same business owners calling people "animals" and "thugs" and "cockroaches" demonstrates how many of us just don't get it.
There are more calls for peaceful protests today, and if you choose to go, please be safe and plan ahead. In the time I've taken to compile this post, news is already coming in about protests in San Diego and street and freeway closures as a result.
We are seeing images from all over the country and even from La Mesa that law enforcement has seen "unlawful assembly" or minor vandalism as cause enough to openly attack with tear gas, pepper spray, and other chemical agents, as well as rubber bullets, wood pellets, tasers, batons, and other means of violence. We are also seeing image after image of "instigators" and "accelerators" which may include law enforcement, anarchists, and alt-right operatives creating havoc.

I've read dozens of articles and stories in the past 24 hours, and I'm going to share much of that below. after the jump.

The Country Is On Fire. La Mesa Is On Fire.

SDPD Tactical Vehicle (Taken 9.2.2017)

I was copying posts onto my blogger earlier today because I thought it was important to save writings in case Facebook starts deleting posts, but I never would've predicted that the violence and damage would hit the City of La Mesa. It feels very different when this sort of thing hits the areas in which you live. By several accounts including on the ground reporters from NBC, the protest in La Mesa was peaceful for over three hours until the police responded to vandalism by spraying tear gas at the crowd and shooting a woman in the face with a rubber bullet. There are also numerous accounts that suggest that people who peacefully protested in the daytime are not the same people who are wreaking havoc tonight.

I've been watching streams for five hours and it is just heartbreaking. La Mesa brought out the "bearcat" in La Mesa Village and were pushing all people out around 1. Vons at La Mesa Blvd and University was completely looted, as were most businesses in the same strip mall, Walmart in La Mesa, BevMo in Grossmont Center. La Mesa Lumber, Randall Lamb Architecture and Union Bank and Chase Bank in La Mesa were all completely engulfed in flames. Sprouts, Game Stop, Target, San Diego Reef and dozens of other businesses have had windows broken and/or were looted. It's heartbreaking to watch, but it feels impossible to turn it off. If you want the links and other posts, click after the jump.

Farewell, SoundDiego

Photographer Albert Rascon, me, and Eric Page at the Casbah. Photo by Vito de Stefano 1.23.2020

My time with SoundDiego has come to an end, and I would like to talk about it.
After the jump.

Let's Talk Music: Waxahatchee Livestream | Jason Mraz Releases Track With Tiffany Haddish | Switchfoot Sells Out Drive-In Concert | Casbah Videos

New Years Eve with the Creepy Creeps 12.31.2019

It's been awhile since I've really posted anything about music. Obviously, part of the reason is that music has shut down, so it's a little painful to think too much about it, but also I had been so busy writing for SoundDiego and still doing newsletters and socials for the Casbah that I kinda let the pandemic take over my site. And no offense to readers, I appreciate all the support, but though I may seem quite angry or stressed out, I've found the exercise of watching the daily briefings and aggregating important articles to be quite therapeutic for me. If I can write it down, I can release if from my mind and be free of the worry. So anyway, there are a lot of things happening in the music world, and there are plenty of ways to follow all of the livestreams and free things that are coming out....Consequence of Sound, Bands In Town, Paste, KCRW, NPR, Noisey and many many others are keeping running lists, so you can find all of that on your own, but I'm just sharing a few nuggets below. After the jump.

CoVid-19: Governor Newsom Addresses Racist Cops | 1 in 8 Daily Deaths in US is Covid-related | Solnit on Toxic Masculinity

San Diego Sea Lion at La Jolla Cove (5.29.2019)

No kidding, I spent until almost 4 o'clock today thinking it was Thursday. Oops. Trying to catch up with all my Friday things, had to scramble together a Casbah newsletter. News has been particularly grim this week; the pandemic wasn't enough and now we're blowing up further with numerous racist incidents by law enforcement (including in La Mesa) and the support of violence by the covidiot-in chief. So instead of commenting and sharing all of that here, I'll just share some inspiring words from President Barack Obama. Today's news, links, and long reads after the jump.

CoViD-19: San Diego Beaches To Reopen | Blood Needed | Face-Coverings Matter | Swap Meet Reopens | Private Equity Is Killing Us All

Starting on Tuesday, passive activities can resume at San Diego County Beaches (Taken 3.9.2020)
These sea lions are me, screaming at strangers to social distance and put on their goddamn masks. 

Darren and I had a fun little night in the speakeasy. We didn't end up going for photos yesterday as we ran out of time, but maybe after I publish this we'll head out since Nova's soccer Zoom is canceled today. Things are opening up around the City and the State and I'm trying to quell my anxiety about that. This pandemic sure hasn't made me trust any of my fellow humans. I'm already freaking out about going to see the sea lions and getting pissed that even though we all know very clearly what 6 feet of distance looks like, people still get way too close to the pinnipeds. Anyway, my last SoundDiego post published today, and I've been working up to a post on that, but until then, be safe out there.

CoVid-19: Wear A Goddamn Mask, 'Patriot' | Mass Reopenings Planned | MoMM Undergoes Renovations | San Diego Announces Visual Art Initiatives

San Diego Zoo, You're In My Dreams. (Taken 1.19.2020)

I know that nobody wants to hear anybody else's dreams, but for my mood context today, I'll just say I had 2 weird/bad dreams. In one I got in a massive fight with my sister over the dumbest little thing and in the other, I found out the San Diego Zoo had invited frequent photographers to come act like 'comfort humans' to the lonely animals before they could open to the public, and I wasn't invited and I was butthurt about it, so I showed up and crashed it anyway. This is what I get for trying to get a full night's sleep; last night I was in bed by 9pm, and was the kind of tired where I barely had enough energy to change from my 'day pajamas' to my 'night pajamas'. This morning when I did wake up (and recovered from the dreams) I was catching up on some Lefsetz and Seth Godin and political and Covid emails and just got further bummed out. 

But it's been a nice day in the yard, there were no state or county briefings today, and we're going to go play with my tripod and flowers at a park in a little bit. There's a mourning cloak butterfly who has been visiting the same time the past few days, though it has yet to land on me so I don't think it is the same one as before, but we've also been getting daily visits from some cabbage crawlers, a monarch, a hummingbird who does a low flyover everyday around 5pm, and BunBun has been hanging around a lot, too, so we're probably gonna go a little nuts buying some plants for pollinators in the yard. Also, Superhero Darren did like 15 loads of clothing and bedding at the laundromat, so I'll have all the 'day pajamas' and 'night pajamas' I'll need for a least a few weeks. Today's links and information of note after the jump.  

CoViD1-19: County & City of San Diego Briefings | San Diego Music Awards Go Virtual

My photo subjects have been super limited these days

I know Costco doesn't really count as getting out of the house, but that's as far as I made it today. Also hit Petco and Petsmart but neither carries the prescription NexGard we give Ficus so I'll check PetMeds. The press briefings were par for the course today, mostly the County and City just reiterating and clarifying what the Governor said this morning, but I have to say, Kevin Faulconer has been pretty good about seeming impartial, but over the past two weeks has just thrown that out the window. I've said it's like a game of chicken, the City and County "demanding" to open and the Governor being like, 'yo, chill out, I was gonna do that anyway' and then when the governor loosens things that he was already gonna loosen based on data then the County and the City peacock and puff their feathers and are like, 'yeah, we stood up to the Governor and got our way.' It's pretty comical if you watch it everyday like I've been doing. As things loosen, the 'whatabouts' increase, too. With haircut salons opening, 'whatabout' nail salons? With tennis courts opening, 'whatabout' doubles badminton? With churches opening, 'whatabout' gyms? People just really show their ugly self-interest and it's gross. The hardest part of the pandemic will be the cementing of the notion that a significant portion of human beings are pure garbage. I had to block one of my dad's childhood friends from Facebook today because of the stupid memes he was posting. It's not pretty out there. Links after the jump. 

Covid-19: Church Guidelines Released | City Libraries Open For Pickup | State Briefing Forecasts Looser Guidelines In Coming Days and Weeks

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We stayed home to avoid the throngs of people out and about, though we did make an "emergency" run for ice cream at Rite-Aid on Saturday night, which was doubly convenient because I scored some new outdoor chairs that were 50% off. Funny enough, we were the only customers at 10pm. I'm hoping we'll get out and about at some point this week, but I just get too pissed off when people aren't following the rules so it's better for me to just stay home with my people and not have to interact with people who don't think they need to follow the rules. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time in the backyard playing games and kicking back, and we also watched a bunch of movies, including Jaws, which I'd never actually seen before. Me and Nova finished "Sweet Magnolias" on Netflix which is super cringey with the awful fake southern accents, silly sayings, and the unsubtle Christian overtones, but for family programming, I suppose I've seen worse. It sounds like there are going to be a lot of announcements and new loosening of stay-at-home orders, so it's a good time to pay attention to the direct messages from the State, County, and City and filter out the unnecessary noise.

CoViD-19: United States Forest Service | California State Parks | San DIego County Parks | City of San Diego Parks

Mt Soledad with Ficus (5.8.2019)

It's Memorial Day Weekend, and since beaches still prohibit sitting, sunbathing, or otherwise chillin' on the sand, people will be looking to recreate elsewhere. But just like we have to listen to different rules from our City, our County, and our State, there are numerous agencies that manage trails and canyons and forests and open spaces. Some areas have opened. Some areas have not. Some are open if you walk or bike in, but no driving or parking. And in reality, if you want to go explore nature, why would you do it on Memorial Day Weekend when everyone else will be trying to do the same??? But be that as it may, there are lots of different directives coming from the US Forest Service, California State Parks, and County and City parks. They're not messing around and rangers and law enforcement will be out to control crowds and make sure people are observing regulations. If you must go out, don't expect any kinds of facilities to be at your disposal, so plan ahead for adequate gas, food, supplies, and makeshift bathroom situations. Also, we're supposed to be entering a high heat week. Leave your dogs at home. Snakes are out like crazy, they're forbidden on many trails anyway, and you would never forgive yourself if you killed your own dog from heatstroke. Some FYIs after the jump.

Covid-19: City of San Diego Briefing | Public Safety for Memorial Day Weekend | City and County Will Honor Church Closure | City Libraries Offer Pick Up

Hiking Slot Canyon in Anza-Borrego in 2019 (3.26.2019)
I do NOT recommend this hike this time of year, whether or not it's open

Alright, I've been up way too long, so here's the last briefing for the day. A lot more of the same stuff about safety, and extra law enforcement this weekend to enforce the public health order. Faulconer also announced that 11 San Diego branch libraries will open starting Tuesday for reserved pickup of books. All that info is below.

CoViD-19: County Health Shuts Down El Prez | Sheriffs Step Up Enforcement | Contract Tracing Explained

San Diego Zoo Safari Park  5.27.2019

I gotta tell you guys...the County press briefing felt like when the whole class has to miss recess because some idiot caused a disturbance during class and the teacher is not.having.it.one.second.longer. Also, Nathan Fletcher (yeah, I've started calling him Fletch, what of it??) had no qualms about calling out El Prez by name as willfully violating the County Health Order. So basically if you don't want to read all the fine print on this one, the overall point was that law enforcement in all jurisdictions will be stepping up over the Memorial Day Weekend to make sure people and businesses are following the County and State Health Orders. They'd were still pretty soft about encouraging compliance but will use interventions if necessary. More after the jump.

CoViD-19: Governor Newsom Shrugs Off President | County Testing Expands | Westfield Malls To Reopen May 29 |

I have been up all night but haven't been outside.
This is the sky from 3.22.2020. How different could my balcony view really be two months later??

I thought it was going to be a slow or no news day and then covidiot-in-chief decides to challenge all Governors to open all churches, synagogues, mosques immediately, deeming them "essential." (They're not and are not part of the FEDERAL guideline identified by CISA for essential services). So, I'm gonna post this one in the Trump vs Newsom battle of religion, which is SUCH A JOKE if anyone believes there is ANYTHING Christian about Trump, but besides that, all of Governor Newsom's response is after the jump:

CoViD-19: Memorial Day Weekend | Stay At Home Still In Effect | SD Job Portal

Memorial Day Weekend Hike at Kumeyaay Lake 2019

I spent the evening finishing my final post for SoundDiego and going through the remainder of my emails for the day. I'll be tuning into the press briefings on Friday, but I'll only post them if there are major changes. I can't imagine the Governor will approve Stage 3 pilot before the weekend because businesses just aren't ready. Many of the stage 2 restaurants and retail are pushing back openings as it is. It is possible the County or City could expand beach & park parking lots or open up Balboa Park and Mission Bay, but again, I don't see either of those things being ready without more safety protocols and guidelines in place and unfortunately they just lend themselves to gatherings, which are still strictly prohibited with non-household members. A friend of mine got stopped for riding her bike through Balboa Park, so I wouldn't push your luck. Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Some reminders and a job portal after the jump.

CoViD-19: San Diego County Restaurants & Retail Re-Opening Protocols | Support San Diego Zoo & Safari Park | Slow Implementation Caused Unnecessary Deaths

I love these guys at San Diego Zoo. No idea what they are. 1.8.2020

Early in the pandemic, I was sent a bunch of free trials and links to all kinds of virtual things. The ones I can share, I added to the Quarantine Activities Page which you can access from your laptop or desktop underneath my title banner, or with the little triangle pulldown menu on mobile. One of the private things I got was a three month free trial of the streaming service Topic. I will say that I don't love the interface, and I wish all streaming services would include the language of the movies or shows because while I love foreign films, I'm almost always writing while watching and can't follow subtitles when doing so. But besides those things, I've been enjoying some of the programming and last night burned through the 2 seasons of Birds of North America. The episodes vary in length from a few minutes to regular tv show length, but they're well done, the host is funny and knowledgeable and as a person of color from the Bronx, the show addresses the generally narrow demographics of birding and highlights different groups that are more inclusive nationally. The show is also on YouTube, where the episodes are actually numbered backwards from how they appear on TV but they don't necessarily need to be watched in order, either. Anyway, today's briefings mostly clarified the rest of the movement through phase 2, and the news has continued to pivot from how bad outbreaks and the numbers of infections and deaths are to PARTY PARTY PARTY USA #1!, CELEBRATE MEMORIAL DAY NO MATTER WHAT. So yeah, get ready for those spikes in numbers in the next 2-3 weeks. Today's links after the jump.

CoViD-19: State Approves Stage 2 Restaurant & Retail Opening | Innovation Week | Drew Andrews Donates Antibodies | County & City Briefings

Today is World Bee Day (taken 3.23.2019)

The big news tonight is that San Diego has met the 'attestation' metrics issued by the state, so we can move into the rest of stage 2, which means dine-in restaurants and remaining retail shopping can now open (Though as KPBS reports, dining in is going to be very, very different.) The announcement came Wednesday night, long after the media briefing was over. I've been waiting to shop at IKEA so hopefully in the next few days they roll out their opening. I'm watching this show on a streaming network called Topic about people being treated for phobias or PTSD called A Cure For Fear and it is intense. And I know it's not nice to laugh when people are genuinely suffering, but there's a dude afraid of spiders and one of mice and their reactions are priceless. Anyway, lots of information came down today, so check it all after the jump.

CoViD-19: San Diego County Board Creates Human Relations Commission | Not Winning, Just Moving The Goalposts | EDD ID Theft

Gonna go emulate this napping foosa at San Diego Zoo on 2.3.2020

The San Diego County Supervisors meeting has picked back up and it's mostly budget items on how to spend CARES money, and Gaspar floated through a bill that removes transparency for Neighborhood Reinvestment Funds and Grants and got a lot of calls about it because she has allocated funds to non-profits and community organizations of her supporters and got shut down with a 3-2 vote (Cox/Jacob/Fletcher vs Gaspar/Desmond). It was Item 17 if you're paying attention to their agenda. Fletcher spoke extensively about racism, hate-crimes, and anti-immigrant rhetoric for the establishment of the Leon L Williams Human Relations Commission because, once again, he's on a mission to prove he is #wokeaf, and I'm not complaining about that. (Leon called in and it was beautiful. You should definitely go back and watch this item on the agenda and listening to the callers for Agenda Item 26. The item passed unanimously.) The rest is really specific budget stuff, I just recommend checking out County News tonight or tomorrow to see the result of the meetings. More stuff after the jump.

CoViD-19 Funny: "You Can Kick Their Balls, But You Can't Touch Them" -Tennis Rules Get Embarrassingly Specific

We have been playing a lot of backyard tennis lately, which limits us to volley rallies, but it's been pretty fun, so we've been waiting on tennis courts to reopen and some are and some aren't but we're holding out a little bit for things to settle down.
The other day, I shared the very specific rules that Los Angeles was implementing for various activities, including tennis. Those included physical distancing of six (6) feet must be maintained at all times, only singles play will be permitted, and each participant must bring their own bucket of balls with their initials on each ball, specifying that participants will only be permitted to handle their own tennis and pickleball balls, among other rules.

Today my sister shared this with me from Nassau County. Too, too funny.

CoViD-19: ABC Offers Regulatory Relief | San Diego County Passes Motion to Accelerate Phase 2 and propose Phase 3 Pilot for Reopening

Adios, mariposa maravillosa

Oh, man. Today's post is gonna be super long. I think I'm going have to get out of the house today because the past two days of hikes really changed my overall mood and demeanor and I'd like to keep that going. Until I do that, I'm working outside for a little bit and listening to the County Supervisors meeting. I also spoke with Tim Mays this morning, so for anyone wondering, I've been "rehired" and ended my EDD/UI claim and we've got some Casbah stuff cooking for the near and distant future. For anyone following along with my posts, my butterfly is gone. I hadn't seen it at all over the weekend, but figured it was because of my late sleeping hours but it has either moved on or died and now we've got a couple monarchs hanging around. It was a beautiful little relationship while we had it. Anyway, the Supervisors just adjourned for lunch and it was a doozy, so I'll cut off this post now and continue with a new one when they reconvene.

CoViD-19: State Loosens Local Variances & Guidelines | County To Push for Pilot Program to Open | Karen Complains About Karen Meme

Sunset at Clairemont Mesa Mission Trails Rim Trail 5.19.2020

Couldn't sleep again last night. On Sunday night, we went to Scripps Pier and there was no more bioluminescence, but it was still nice to get some time out and listen to the ocean. If you've never been, there are about a thousand stairs to get down to the beach (depending how you go) and there were a lot of people spaced along the water, so we hung out on the overlooking cliff instead of mixing in with the public. I got bit all over my legs, either there or at home, by mosquitoes or a spider or some other cruel critter and my legs were itching all night long. I tried to watch "The Wrong Missy" on Netflix, but it is crushingly horrible. Then I tried to watch "The Great" on HULU, but I found it unnecessarily crass, so I switched to a movie called "The Half of It" on Netflix that was a sweet, modern high school version of Cyrano de Bergerac. Then I read until the sun came up and my family let me sleep in the day while a plumber dealt with our broken bathroom faucet, which had broken off entirely over the weekend. In the evening we went on a hike on the Clairemont Mesa rim trail side of Mission Trails and got five miles in, which is sadly the most of anything I've done in two months. Today's news is economically optimistic, but I feel like we'll be right back to a lockdown again in a matter of weeks and I don't like it one bit. I hope I'm wrong. Today's news after the jump.

San Diego Radio Tributes to Steve West to Air Sunday, May 17 from 6-10am

photo by Ciro Sepulveda

Last week, we got the sad news that Steve West lost his long battle with cancer. Throughout the week, several radio luminaries took to the airwaves in tribute and to honor his legacy. You can listen to a 91X tribute with Marty & Danielle here and with Hilary and Halloran here. On Sunday, ALT949 will be running a Legends of the Alternative tribute from 6-10am. At the very same time, 91X will be running a special episode or Resurrection Sunday which will be accompanied online with a live Zoom and Facebook Live feed, so fans can chat and share memories. More info from 91X after the jump. Also, take the time to read George Varga's long-form obituary in the U-T if you can get past the paywall and check out Yew!'s podcast.

CoViD-19: Misinformation Continues | Obama Inspires with #GraduateTogether | Order FIDO Masks | More State Parks Open | Biden 2020

Yesterday was #EndangeredSpeciesDay, so here's a rhinoceros taken at SDZ Safari Park on 3.13.2020

I am having a much better day today, thanks to all who reached out in different ways. Losing a job sucks but the work I've chosen (or that's chosen me?) requires me to be more nimble and less emotional. I shouldn't be throwing a tantrum when I spend time to work on something and it gets scrapped to do something in a different direction, and I should be more grateful to have my main job. So yeah, I took the night off, watched the end of season 1 of survival show "Alone" on Amazon with the kid, then binge watched the Mindy Kaling produced "Never Have I Ever" on Netflix after she was in bed. I highly recommend both and I'll probably go back and watch "Never Have I Ever" again with Nova, I just needed to pre-screen for age appropriateness. It's warm and funny and emotional and is an accurate portrayal of high-school friendships and all of the awkwardness we felt at that time in our lives. And seriously, the male lead is hot af, and I don't feel funny saying that because he's 29 irl. And his actual name is Darren. Ha! Anyway, obviously no press briefings today, so I'm just gonna go watch the Obama (HS) commencement (HBCU) speeches online and cry silently. Some informative links after the jump.

CoViD-19:House Passes HEROES Act | County Expands Testing | Wooten Shuts Down KUSI | Farewell, SoundDiego | Frances Quinlan Tiny Desk

Taken 5.10.2020 along the Imperial Beach segment of the Bayshore Bikeway

Can I just call a do-over on today? Some rando broke into our yard at like 4 in the morning, had a dumb work fiasco this morning, then got cut from SoundDiego this afternoon. Now I have to motivate and still muster up another week of articles and I don't know if I have it in me. Today's briefings were pretty chill, and as I predicted yesterday, we'll get them less frequently, though I had it backward and it's actually the County ones cutting to 3x a week, not the City, though I expect them to follow suit as Kev seems to be in lockstep with Cox. My neighbors have officially declared war for the summer, after crossing over my fence and slaughtering our bushes, they attempted to do more today until I screamed at them, and they've blaring their shit music all day long every day, not stopping until 9 or 10 at night, and sometimes beyond that. It's kind of one of those days where you feel powerless as everything spins out of control and it blows. Today's news after the jump.

Wonderfront 2020 Is Postponed To 2021

Wonderfront has bravely posteponed to 2021. Read the full press release below.

SoundDiego: Ryan Foxe Turns Rescuer for Those Affected by Pandemic

A few weeks ago, I wrote a story about Ryan Foxe delivering goods to people in need for SoundDiego and the news side of things at NBC San Diego decided to pick it up and they followed him around and did this rad little story on him. Check it out. (and if you've got some funds to spare, help Ryan accomplish his mission via a small Venmo donation.)



And here's the original story:

Extraordinary San Diegans: Rocker Turns Rescuer for Those Affected by Pandemic (4.25.2020)

CoViD-19: County Libraries to Open For Pickup | City & County vs State | Reservoirs To Open | Nathan Fletcher #WokeAF | Covid-19 4eva! | The Shell Opening Postponed to 2021

Miramar Reservoir 3.17.2019

Okay, today was actually kind of a long day of briefings because the Governor went so long this morning and then the County and the Mayor had some very specific things to say about everything and there was definitely a different tone today of what felt like resignation...that we're never going to beat Covid-19 nor eradicate it in any meaningful way, and it's going to keep mutating so prepare for the new normal and expect to wear a face covering for ever and ever and don't expect to hug or kiss or shake hands again, amen. Of course, nobody said it outright, but that's certainly how it felt. Never forget the covidiot in chief said, “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” I'll share some more links, too. I guess the good news of the day is that Lake Murray and Miramar Reservoir are both reopening on Friday. It just occurred to me while reading through all of the rest of the newsletters that Memorial Day is coming soon, which is yet another arbitrary deadline officials are using after Easter and Mother's Day both passed. And big shocker, my neighbors are having another party today. Anyway, lots more stuff after the jump.

CoViD-19: California Budget Revision | Cats & Bunny Disease Dangers | Soda Bar Hoodies | LA County To Open More Recreation | Covidiot Ammosexuals

It looks like today is going to be a big news day, so I'm gonna just share this now and I'll work on another post for the City and County briefings, plus a bunch of news articles I've gathered since last night. I finally caught up with sleep with a late afternoon nap, then vegging on the couch to catch up on my Bravo shows while Darren was in the studio recording, and then reading for a bit before going to sleep by 2am...much more in line with my normal Casbah lifestyle than staying up until 8am. It's been a chill couple days, we haven't left the house at all since my early week Costco trip, but I think we may go for a coastal drive or walk or hike or bike ride at some point this evening because I've literally gone from walking 3-5 miles a day to big fat zero. I know the picture I used today isn't the best, but that little bird was so bright and I'd never seen it around before and it gives me a goal for a new camera and better lenses, which was supposed to happen in 2020 but may just have to wait until 2021. I'm off to see my butterfly now. Lots of info after the jump.

CoViD-19: Daily Briefings | Avoid CoViD Risks | Trump Doesn't Care If Poor People Die | More Than Half of San Diegans Have "Underlying Conditions"

I did not sleep at all last night. I was up all night long and then the painting crew did the rear of the house, which happens to be our bedroom wall and windows and they were blaring their radio and singing along and it was 7:11 in the morning and I was just not having it. Eventually I fell asleep and got maybe 5 hours of sleep. My butterfly was back in the yard today as I listened to the daily briefings. Sometimes the City ones are unnecessary as they are just a bunch of shout-outs and thank yous. Worthy to the people being thanked but a waste of time for the rest of us. I would imagine the City starts to wind-down the briefings and maybe reduce them to just a few times a week. I've been "rehired" or "unfurloughed" from the Casbah, which means I'll have to report earnings to UI. I'm one of the people who is currently making more on UI than my normal paycheck because of the $600/week CARES bonus, but it's a requirement of the PPP if the Casbah wants the loan to be forgiven so hopefully that means more for everyone else. Or maybe Darren's will kick in. Who knows. Anyway, today's reads and briefings are after the jump. ​

CoViD-19: Support National Independent Venue Association Fight To #SaveOurStages

The empty Casbah stage with a sold out room. This is from the Nada Surf show in January

You may or may not know that I'm responsible for the content of the Casbah's weekly newsletters. This week, I was tasked with taking a little bit of the Belly Up's newsletter and a little bit of Joe Rinaldi's Music Box newsletter to create the Casbah's newsletter. Please take action to contact your representatives. It's preformatted and easy to do. Click here to take action:

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT VENUES.

If you love live music and have wanted to help your favorite small venues, NOW is the time YOU can help in a major way!

Casbah joined the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) when it formed in response to the COVID-19 crisis.  NIVA has linked 1,200 independent venues and promoters across the country, and has joined their voices at the level necessary to get the attention of our congressional leaders.

This organization has a step that asks you, our fans, to use the link below to send an email to your congressional leaders to remind them that it is not only the venues and artists, but the fans they serve that require congress to support the venues put at risk by this crisis.

This email process is very quick to complete, and allows you to tell your representatives that Casbah, Soda Bar, Bar Pink, Music Box, Belly Up,  and every other small venue in town need to have every possible chance to reopen on steady footing at the end of the COVID-19 crisis.

It’s going to require that we show a substantial amount of support and initiative to explain to members of congress (who may not actively participate in live music) that our industry will require special attention, as one of the most challenged sectors of the San Diego economy, in order to survive and continue to be an asset to the community after the crisis.  We sincerely think you are our best advocates.

Thank you for everything, and just know that we can’t wait to reopen and host your favorite bands in our rooms.

We've been told that we only have until Wednesday to gather support, so please click and join our fight.

#SaveOurStages

Some articles for reading:

• My post on NBC: National Organization Asks for Support for Local Music Venues
• Our Industry isn’t coming back like yours is. - Medium
• Without Federal Aid, More than 1,000 U.S. Music Venues Are in Danger of Closing - Rolling Stone 
• Dave Grohl: The Day the Live Concert Returns - The Atlantic

CoViD-19: New State Industry Guidance | Daily Briefings | Joshua Tree Virtual Fest | Interesting Reads | Peel Sessions Released

Tijuana River Estuary 3.29.2020 (before it closed to the public)

I had a great Monday and felt great today. Must be the fresh squeezed lemonade Nova made from a gifted mason jar of lemon juice from our pal Jess (who also hooked up some outdoor patio furniture.) Today we got notification that Nova's school will be reopening on August 18th, and she's pretty stoked about that, though we really can't know if that will actually happen. There was a lot of news today and lots of interesting and infuriating articles. I selected some to share, plus local news from today's State, County, and City briefings per usual. Check it after the jump. 

Photos: Happy (Belated) Mother's Day: Zoo Mamas & Babes

For Mother's Day, I really wanted to do a San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park post of mamas and babes, but like everything, time got away from me and I vacillate between finding the 'perfect' shots versus the blurry, over-exposed, under-exposed, messy ones. But isn't that what motherhood is? Blurry and messy and sometimes over-exposed and sometimes under-exposed? And you all know by now I have no talent nor time for any kind of editing. Occasionally I suppose I'll crop a photo, but even that gets exhausting with the sheer volume of photos I take. These are all posted as taken, and this is just one of my Zoo folders from the last 8 months or so, since I've had this particular laptop. I didn't even get to the other seven. But I'm having some late night cocktails and wanted to share these. I cannot wait until we can get back to the Zoo and Safari Park. You may or may not know that non-profits didn't qualify for PPP funds, so even though I think the Zoo has a lot of sources of income, the cost to maintain and feed all of the animals is immense and maintain their conservation efforts around the world are certainly suffering like the rest of us. If you care to donate to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Conservancy, you can do so here.

CoViD-19: Diary Update | RIP Legendary DJ Steve West | Mexican Beer Deemed Not Essential | Sick Of AirBnB Parties? Call 211 | Kroger Cuts Hero Pay

Our Butterfly Was Back Today Feeling Quite Territorial Against Other Winged Creatures

I will not let Monday win today. In fact, it's been a pretty great day so far. I ran to Costco to refresh our produce and they had at least a truckload of TP, and as we've not eaten out this entire quarantine, I picked up a pizza. It was heavenly, to be honest. I respect everyone who is supporting local businesses and restaurants at this time, and if you feel they're safe enough and you have it in your budget to continue doing so, by all means, do what is right for your family, but for us, we're watching every penny in and out as we wait to hear if Darren is going to get any kind of PUA and knowing Casbah won't be back for some time. My UI certainly won't last forever. But beyond that, I was concerned about my butterfly and yard rabbit and both have been back, and the sparrows whose bushes were slaughtered by my neighbors have relocated to the other side of our house. The butterfly was even following as as Darren and Nova tossed a football back and forth. It was a nice and chill mother's day, we did a distanced visit with my mom and sister, and I fell asleep earlier than I have in weeks. Some links for today after the jump.

Mother's Day 2020 | Pushback On Plandemic | Mom Pics

Took A Short Walk on the Bayshore Bikeway

This kid turned me into a mom when I least expected it. Darren was a super smart single dad and didn't really even let us meet until we were six months into our relationship, and even then it was in small doses. She was already in my life by the time she finished kindergarten. Little did we know that her mom would move across the country when she was in third grade and we'd get to have the kid full time. Times have been good and bad and easy and tough and things are especially weird right now, but I wouldn't have it any other way and am trying to do the best I can to make the most of this pause and reset of life. To my mom, my sisters, and all the other rad moms out there, I hope you had a perfect day. Normally we would have spent the day at Gator By The Bay but hopefully we're back in 2021. I hope everyone enjoyed the day in whatever way warms your own heart.

CoViD-19 Diary: The Grief Is Real | Remembering Scott Huchison | Creating Public Spaces

Scott Huchison of Frightened Rabbit at the Belly Up 5.21.2016

I had a rough day. Darren and I had a speakeasy night in the studio last night and I was still up at sunrise, so that was fun, but in the meantime, my neighbors assassinated the bushes that are on our side of the fence. Yes, they have the right to cut anything over the fence, but they did this horrible hack job that literally looks like they did it with kitchen scissors and cut way into our side, where the bushes originate. This is not the first time they've done this, yes they'll grow back, but they're always full of sparrows and I'm pissed. And on World Migratory Bird day!! This is coinciding with my landlord's repainting without notice, so the painters have moved all of our stuff and I was afraid they'd scared Bun Bun off, but luckily we saw him/her next door in the empty lot, so at least there's that. I didn't see my butterfly today, either, but I wasn't in the yard until late afternoon so hopefully it comes back around tomorrow. But my mood is so all over the place, triggered by missing butterflies, sparrows,  and the yard rabbit, seething at neighbors and distant relatives, and raging at covidiots online, and then just falling into this incredible sadness because today is the 2 year anniversary of Scott Huchison's death and his brother Graham wrote the most heartbreaking tributes on his blog and Instagram that just broke me. I still have a draft post that I wrote when he'd gone missing and was subsequently found that I've never been able to finish, and certainly never posted, now two years later. More after the jump.

CoViD-19: California Releases "Resilience Roadmap" & Endorses Statewide Vote By Mail | Local Music News | Phase 2 In Effect

Strawberry, Tikka, Kitty, Monster, Strawbs, Bubba, Babushka

I was trying to fall asleep last night and kept thinking that maybe I should get out of bed and write a happier post so I didn't leave that last one lingering and seething with negativity. Instead, I decided today's post will only be positive even though sometimes the bad stuff just screams out with a louder voice. I can go back to complaining tomorrow ;) California continues to see a modest decline in hospitalization and ICU stays (.6%) though cases continue to rise daily. My house is getting repainted (not surprisingly, without any notice, but keeping it positive so no dwelling on that today) so I was worried my butterfly would be scared away but it was back today so we had a moment this afternoon before Nova and I went for a drive to Harbor Blvd to pick up some fresh ahi from Haworth Fish to make poke bowls at home. It was a little sad to see Spanish Landing empty when normally this weekend would be filled with Gator By The Bay, but I'm certain the state is being proactive enough that those big events will be back by 2021. Lots of new info and State/County/City Health Order clarifications after the jump.

CoViD-19: I'm Pissed | Chicano Elefante In The Room | LiveNation Plans Post-Pandemic | Tourist Attractions Lay Out Future Protocol | RIP Raina | Unequal Access To Nature

I've been enjoying my daily visits from this Mourning Cloak, bringing joy and beauty every day. 

You know what? I'm pissed. All of us are going through this time in our own way, some have it much worse than others and our feelings can run the whole gamut of grief and loss and sadness and confusion, but today my mom called me while she's out shopping because she 'needed to get out of the house'. WTF?!? All of this push to reopen is communicating to people that things are safe. And she lives in 91911, a ZIP code with one of the highest counts, and it feels like the majority of people are refusing to wear facial coverings. Numbers are not in control. People are still dying in crazy numbers. The infection rate is still climbing. 
So yeah, I'm pissed. More after the jump.

CoViD-19: Uber & Lyft Sued By State & Cities | Red Tide Is Dying | SoundDiego Stories

Bun Bun lives under our studio and occupies our yard at night. We leave her carrots daily. 

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I took cinco-de-drinko to all new heights yesterday, but obviously not too embarrassed to share that here. I had a fun chat with Matt from The Bronx/Mariachi El Bronx for a story I was supposed to write last night (before the sauv blanc really hit.) I'm working outside today and it's nice we have a partially shaded backyard because otherwise it is hot af. I just want to go snorkeling at La Jolla Cove, but like the old days, when we could go on a weekday afternoon and it would mostly be empty. I haven't even done a driveby since March so I have no idea what it's like these days. I wish that seal cam was still working. Apparently the red tide is dying, too, so if you didn't catch the bioluminescence at night, tonight might be your last chance to do so...I recommend Law Street (park on Mission Blvd and walk) or Windansea. Steer clear of Sunset Cliffs and OB. I'm slowly working through email today and have yet to watch any daily briefings, but I think I might just skip them today since Thursday is supposed to be the big news day. My 15 year old backyard furniture is falling apart beyond repair, so I hope Ikea can reopen and sell me a cheap replacement set, although if my pay isn't secure past July and my job won't come back for months, is it a justifiable expense? I have this depression-era image in my brain of people boiling leather shoes for soup stock and it terrifies me daily.
Newsy stuff after the jump.

Covid-19: SaveOurStages | Fuck Guilty Gilead |Day Cares Opening | Free Mental Health Apps Exist

The last day we could experience San Diego Zoo Safari Park Before Covid Shut It Down

I woke up feeling great and then spent the afternoon sitting out in the backyard and letting the sun wash over me. Our butterfly is back today, but we've seen two more come and go and the three flutter around in a tussle, so while the little one I think is the repeat visitor briefly landed on my phone, my forehead, and my shoulder before I could snap another picture, I believe it's either mating time or defending territory time before its life cycle comes to an end. I watched a super great movie last night on HULU called Hector and the Search For Happiness (2014) starring Simon Pegg and Toni Collette and it had me laughing and crying and feeling all the feels. It has a very Walter Mitty vibe if you're into that self-deprecating middle-aged-white-dude-trying-to-find-himself vibe. Apparently it only has a 37% on Rotten Tomatoes but I really enjoyed it. I slept well and am just getting on with my day, staying isolated with my household in our backyard. For my own sanity, I'm gonna do the jump here.

CoViD-19: California To Roll Into Phase 2 Openings Starting Friday | County Expands Testing | Some Thoughts On Golf

Someone's Got A Case of the Mondays

Man, it is so hard to watch the daily briefings and NOT look at the comments. Ug. And then I couldn't resist a comment, not directed at any one person mind you, but still got grief over it and now I'm stewing on it and super annoyed at myself for having commented in the first place. Whatever. It was a good day otherwise.
Tim Burgess of the Charlatans UK (the first concert I ever went to) has been doing "Tim's Twitter Listening Party" for a decade and the concept is that everyone starts a designated record at the same time and then the artists and fans chime in and comment as the record plays on, listening together apart. So this morning kicked off with James "Living In Extraordinary Times" and then went right into Starsailor's "love is here" so that was kinda fun.
I watched all the briefs today but it was both a big news and no news day because while we're going to start rolling into "phase two" of reopening, there are a lot of guidelines that need to be worked out before Friday, and neither the governor nor any of the local politicians will be specific about punishment or penalties for non-compliance, besides to say that 80 bars that had stayed open were threatened with losing their ABC licenses permanently. We spent more time in the yard, our butterfly returned for a little visit, we played some more yard sports and made cheeseburgers and hand-cut fries for dinner.
A very simple but satisfying day.

Covid-19: Crasher Debuts EP | Watch 80s MTV | Paying The Price For May | Costco Changes Policies | More Beach Openings

We've been loving the daily visits from this Mourning Cloak butterfly

I had a really excellent weekend. Everyone always tells us how important it is to exercise, but life is really hard right now and you should pat yourself on the back just for getting out of bed, for taking a shower, for cooking a meal. But I guess I have to admit the experts know what they're talking about. We took advantage of the beautiful weather playing some backyard volleyball, badminton, football, and I decided to attempt tennis lessons for Nova, but then I served up a couple baskets and it felt so good to get my heart really pumping and breaking a sweat. We had a nice dinner in the yard and the mourning cloak butterfly who keeps coming back every day returned and landed on Nova. The night got a little weird as there was some gnarly arrest at the gas station on my block, but it seemed t have resolved without incident. Still, that many cops and the helicopter and the yelling is very nerve-wracking. Don't forget that all the SXSW Film Festival movies are on Amazon Primeright now. "Quilt Fever" is a short and it's super cute and will give you the warm fuzzies. Everyone is talking about "My Darling Vivian," too, so that one is added to my queue. I think we all saw pictures and stories about that piece of shit at Vons in Santee wearing a KKK Hood, but I'm trying not to give the story oxygen. Still, some links after the jump:

Rosey's Covid-19 Diary: #Adulting | Taxes Filed | Yard Fun | Boy Girl Party Offers Self Care Gifts | Hijas de Maiz | Chicano Nuevo

I was completely off the news cycle today. It was more of the same---states reopening, spikes in national cases, nearly 3,000 new deaths nationwide in 24 hours, covidiots protesting and flouting the laws and guidelines. Instead, we hung tight at home. I super-slept in because my bed felt so nice, then I buckled down and filed my 2019 taxes. My personal financial health has always been one of my biggest personal flaws. My dad worked in finance for over 30 years in the government, still I've always felt so poor and uneducated in this area for so long. So it was a nice little gratification to deal with that one portion at least. Props to free filing at TaxAct which seamlessly navigated me through W-2s, 1099s, and deductions. Going to still have to deal with past issues and whatnot, but as Erika Jayne said in a recent RHOBH episode, problems have a way of getting bigger the longer you avoid them. So while my plans to buy a new fancy camera are put off indefinitely, I feel a little better that I won't wake up in the middle of the night with cold sweat tax nightmares.

Once that was done, we played in the backyard. A little volleyball, then some football. My dear friend Jeff dropped by with some goods for the 'speakeasy'-- some Alpine beer, a bottle of Bulleit Rye, some ginger ale, the new Heavy Hawaii and Hazel English albums, and some gum for the kiddo. Then we made a nice dinner of links, corn on the cob, and sauteed baby bellas. It was definitely a good day and my spirits are up. Now I'm in the speakeasy with Darren having some cocktails and we're trying to decide if we should keep the smaller window A/C unit or set up the larger one we were gifted. Absolutely feeling 'hashtag blessed' at the moment. We'll eventually start getting out of the house for some time at a park or the coast or a bike ride, but we're just waiting for the weekend to pass and see how things suss out. For now, the backyard will serve us just fine. I'll share a couple links after the jump just for good measure.

Rosey's Diary | Nova's 13th Birthday | CoViD-19 Updates | Canada Bans Assault-Style Weapons | Covid Confusion

We had a physically distant backyard birthday for Nova

I had a late, late night last night. It was really fun doing a Zoom with Brian and Tyler from The Kabbs for today's SoundDiego story, then Darren and I had a speakeasy night, and I caught up with my pal Tony on HouseParty, too. Today is Nova's 13th birthday, so we made a decision to allow my sisters and nieces to come hang out in the yard, distanced and using common sense and all that, and it really set in how lucky we are to have the space we have. I guess we're in violation of the rules, but I assure you we had way more space between us than anyone is giving or getting in grocery stores or at MayDay protests and even public parks and beaches. I didn't watch any of the daily briefings live today, mostly because all the drama this week already happened, but now that I've watched them, I wish I had the time back. No new news, really, but I've still got a couple links to share after the jump.