Labor Day | US Surpasses 40 Million Known COVID Cases | Clock Is Ticking: Vote No On California Recall |

 

(Taken 8.31.21)

I'm really going to try to handle my business tomorrow. My laptop is bricking on me and won't charge beyond 46% so I'm probably going to have to order a new one so that I can take this one somewhere to get a new battery and get the charging port reinstalled. I guess I also have to call ATT and get a new phone because not being able to take or post photos is kinda inhibiting my actual job. So frustrating. 

But I do have to admit, that the laptop situation kinda makes me focus a little more on getting a post up and then walking away. I finished watching Clickbait on Netflix and midway through I was irritated that the killer was so obvious and then the big reveal was shocking. Definitely didn't see it coming, so now I'm glad I watched. 

I went down a twitter rabbit hole today about Dr. Fauci. People are seriously insane. But even doctors and public health people seem to think he's really missing on his masking messaging, but if you have to think that he's just trying to get universal masking compliance, his "any mask will do" philosophy may be right, even though all the infectious disease and aerosol scientists are saying that cloth is definitely not enough, especially in indoor settings like schools. But man, try reading and not commenting, because you'll find they're mostly bots with 0 followers anyway.  

I also went down a rabbit hole about the Murdaugh family of South Carolina. Holy shit. I included a link below but you should also specifically look for the podcast called Murdaugh Murders by Mandy Matney. Such a crazy story...dad was shot two days ago, but will survive. Mom and Son were killed 6 months. Son was going to go on trial for 3 felonies related to the death of Mallory Beach while he was drunk driving a boat that crashed. Then that unravels that the dad had already settled a wrongful death suit for his housekeeper falling and dying from her injuries. Then it resurrected a cold-case of a gay kid who may have had a relationship with the older son. And literally every investigation is compromised because the family basically is the law there. Intriguing and gross. Worth a read/listen. 

Stay safe out there. The election is a week away. Drop off, mail in, or vote in person asap!!

CoViD-19: CA Capitol Outbreak Includes Breakthroughs | Psaki's Latest Doocy Disses | 4th of July Safety: Pets, Booze, 'Works | Busy Biden |

Southern White Rhino Mwezi at San Diego Zoo Safari Park  (Taken 7.1.21)

Today's post is just kind of a recap of the past day or two of news. I was gonna post last night but then got super tired after our big Costco adventure and had to be somewhat coherent this morning because *drumroll* our new couch was delivered today! I was so sick of shopping at furniture stores and seeing how backlogged they were. You may or may not remember that once upon a time I worked as a media buyer for Mor Furniture and at my agency before that we had Jerome's as a client, but I couldn't bring myself to buy from either, especially when you'd look online and they'd say "this item is on back order and will take 8-12 weeks for delivery." So I ordered sight unseen from an online merchandiser who I'd prefer to leave nameless because their ex-CEO is a creep. Our couch before wasn't the best, we bought it gently used from a furniture store in North Park, but the pandemic really sucked away any life it had left and we were constantly cleaning and pulling escaped down feathers from our hair, our laundry, everything.  

And anyway, today's news isn't really news at all...just more stuff about Delta, lots of action in the White House, and a bunch of warnings about staying safe this weekend because (1) fireworks are dangerous (2) drinking and driving is bad (3) this is now the busiest travel weekend since before March 2020 (4) many pockets of the country have low vaccination rates and the virus is still very dangerous to the unvaxxed. The news keeps saying "the White House missed their goal" of vaccinated but I'm kinda sick of hearing it already. At least here in San Diego, you have no excuse to not have a vaccine by now. It's been made available in numerous places with numerous incentives and no appointment, late-night, around public transit clinics throughout the past six months. It isn't the White House's fault if you're willfully choosing to listen to conspiracies, anti-vaxxers, and general misinformation that comes from people who do not wish you well. So yeah, I said what I said. 

I'm gonna get back to lounging on my new couch and will catch up tomorrow. Maybe. Both the State and County didn't update numbers today, so I suspect that will be true through Monday. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: More Pressure For Aerosol Guidance | San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: New Name, Jacked Rates, Blockout Dates | Voting Rights Act Under Threat |

San Diego Zoo (Taken 2.18.2021)

I had so much email on Tuesday, I decided to do an in-between post to get it all out of my system. Unfortunately that also meant I was awake when I got the press release about the newly renamed San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and it triggered a flashback: a couple years ago we were at a party at the zoo and overheard a conversation from a guy who worked for the Zoo and he was bragging about all the ways he was planning on increasing revenue streams. I have blogger ears and I remember how much his comments pissed me off because he was clearly of a higher income bracket than most people at the event. I remember feeling like this person was so out of touch and how everything he was bragging about would literally make the zoo inaccessible to a wide swath of San Diegans. 
And now here we are. I love the San Diego Zoo and I'll do what I can to maintain the level of membership that I have, though there isn't a direct equivalent, but it also really, really pisses me off. I love the organization, I love the conservation efforts and partnerships they have around the world, but jacking up their prices right now feels super tone-deaf. All that said, I'll probably make a visit later today. We'll see. In the meantime, stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Case Rate Drops To 15/100k Residents | San Diego Unified: All Schools, All Grades To Return In April | CDC Gets More Pressure To Dangers of Aerosols |

 

Mwezi Is Everyone In My House Right Now (Taken 2.21.2021)

It's been a ho-hum day around here. I think Darren gets into a little funk around his birthday and with Nova gone and me just lazing around watching news or napping or reading email leaves him pretty bored. I was fascinated with today's briefings, and also watched my share of coverage of Tiger Woods' massive rollover crash. I don't really care so much except in watching the ways celebrities are treated so different than the rest of us. We would've been drug tested on the spot, especially if it was known that we just had another major back surgery 5 weeks ago and a history of reckless driving and DUI. It very much appears he fell asleep or the thing nobody wants to say, was suicidal seeing as he never hit the brakes. Whatever, at least nobody else was involved. I can't decide if that is actually good advertising or bad advertising for the 2021 Genesis GV80, but it looks like everyone on the scene is saying he could've died, so I guess that speaks to the safety of the vehicle. 

I also watched the governor and Jen Psaki and just the same dumb questions as always. I watched some of the Capital Insurrection hearings but that's why we have news to just edit the informative and revealing parts. Now I'm watching Nat Hub's "Daily Dose of Nature" on Youtube and it's on Tropical Photography. Maybe I'll practice his techniques in the Zoo aviary at some point this week. All I know is if I don't get Darren out of this house, I'm gonna have a sad panda on my hands. 

Today was a big news day locally because SDUSD released their reopening dates, City Council passed the short term rental restrictions (which don't go far enough, in my opinion, but it's something), and our case rate has once again dropped significantly to 15 cases per 100k residents. That is good news. I don't think we'll see any more major drops, I believe they'll be more incremental, but barring any crazy variant outbreaks, we could actually get out of the purple tier in the next month or two, and that will be amazing when we do. 

Stay safe out there. 

CoVID-19 California Lifts Stay-At-Home Order; County Maintains Curfew | San Diego Zoo & Safari Park Reopen Reservation System; Winston Recovering | Sign Up For MyTurn | More Variant News |

Looking forward to San Diego Zoo Reopening (Taken 11.23.2020)

Last night felt like Christmas Eve all over again. Watching the local news at 11, NBC San Diego announced that Governor Newsom was expected to lift the stay-at-home order. I can't stand not knowing stuff, so I was trying to get sleuthy and decided to check the San Diego Zoo website, and voila! The reservation system was up and running starting on February 2nd. Naturally I made multiple reservations for multiple days and the thought of walking around and taking photos again and seeing new babies just makes my heart explode. 

As for why the state is lifting the stay-at-home order I was being sleuthy, too. Certainly there's a combination of the ICU forecasts, the R-effective dropping, and vaccinations ramping up, and faith in the Biden administration to get some shit under control, but I imagine behind the scenes there's also huge pressure from restaurants and school districts and also from counties who just couldn't enforce 'peaceful protest' restaurants anymore and if lawsuits go to the Supreme Court, we can predict how that turns out. Still, in the Monday briefing, when asked if the change has anything to do with recall efforts or lawsuits and suggesting it is arbitrary, Newsom responded that is "complete utter nonsense." For those that think it's still too soon, just keep doing you. Don't make unnecessary trips, stay home when you can, mask up, social distance, don't mix households, keep away from activities that involve contact with non-household members exceeding 15 minutes. I still feel safe at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, but you won't catch me eating at any restaurant or going to outdoor performances until I get those shots in my arm. 

Anyway, of course today the stay-at-home order was, in fact, lifted. The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are reopening on Saturday and I've got my reservations for a few dates in February. San Diego Zoo Global also gave an update on the gorillas, and particularly Winston. The press conferences were all over the place today. We watched Governor Cuomo, San Diego County, Press Secretary Psaki, and news (until I passed out on the couch.) But main takeaways: we're back in purple tier, but they've added outdoor entertainment (12 ft from patrons and other performers, patron tables must have 6 feet between them) and some limited youth sports. Additionally, they're kinda tweaking the vaccination rollout just to make sure counties aren't being so rigid that they're not vaccinating enough. But San Diego is still only doing health care workers and seniors 65+, which combined is over 1,120,000 people. (Tier 1A Health Care Workers in San Diego County 620,000, Approximately 500k San Diegans are 65+ according to Nathan Fletcher, Media Briefing, 1.13.2021) Nathan also says there are a couple programs to vaccinate homebound seniors, so I'll be following up with details on that when I can find them so I can make sure my daddy gets the jabs. 

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm out there.

CoViD-19: "Totally Under Control" | 400,000 US Deaths On COVID-19 Memorial Day | More About L452R Variant | Warp Speed Chaos | Biden Inauguration in 12 Hours! |

Rhino Momma and Babe at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 11.26.2020)

Darren and I watched a kinda funny but mostly dumb movie called Save Yourselves! last night but then after he went to sleep I watched the documentary Totally Under Control (Hulu) about how the exiting administration has handled the pandemic and it is so unbelievable. Even as someone who has tried to follow it closely since shutdowns first started happening my jaw was to the floor. What's more infuriating is how much was known long before the American public was becoming aware, and how the corruption of this administration is even deeper than you can even imagine. Today the US has surpassed 400,000 deaths (50,000 more than I estimated by Inauguration Day) and all of those deaths lie squarely on this administration's hands. They all need to go to jail and never be allowed any positions in government ever again. The only reason I could even watch was knowing that they'll all be gone on Wednesday and hopefully we can get on track to get our broken 'new normal' lives on track to some forward progress.

Other than lots of news and email, nothing really going on around here. I was up late last night so I slept late and just spent the day getting through all the daily emails. Nothing super exciting. I did watch a lot of news including today's briefing with Secretary Ghaly. It's so funny because he has a tell when he doesn't really want to say what he's thinking, like when people are asking about youth sports while San Diego's cases per 100k hit an astonishing 97.4 unadjusted. Remember that we have to get below 28 for schools to open and below 7 to move back to the red tier, and that's only once our regions projected ICU capacity gets back above 15%. Anyway, we have a lot to look forward to on Wednesday barring any psycho surprises. I'm not the praying type, but let's send positive vibes in the universe and hope the crazies stay at bay and the inauguration and transfer of power is the most low-key boring thing we've ever witnessed in our lives. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Reaches 53.4 Cases Per 100k; Reports 32 B.1.1.7. Patients | New Dem-Majority Board Will Rescind All "Nonsense" | Dems Projected To Take GA Seats | |

Hummingbird Pollinator of Africa Rocks at San Diego Zoo (Taken 10.20.2019)

It was really hard to leave the house today. I had a headache from my indulgent wine consumption on Monday and I wear pajamas like they're a uniform, but I felt like we had to do a Costco run before Wednesday and the bonkers election certification that's going to go down, plus potential madness from the Georgia senate runoffs (which at the moment appear to be going to the democrats.) It almost feels like I can breathe again. But not before all the crazy shit goes down first. Somehow I'm on Roger Stone's email list (which goes straight to spam) but this time I read it and DC could be insane tomorrow and who knows if that will fan out across the country. So anyway, we've got ourselves some rations to get us through till inauguration day if necessary and that also explains why this post is going out so late tonight. I recently realized I could have the CNN streaming on our Roku so I've been obsessed with these election results, but there's a ton of other news today, too, so check it all after the jump.

CoViD-19: California Enlists O2 Strategy To Aid Overwhelmed Hospitals | Georgia Official Sterling Shuts Down Election Lies With Legendary ASL Interpreter | LA: If CPR Doesn't Save You In 10, You're Dead |

I miss the sea lions during pupping season. (Taken 1.27.2020)

I don't have press credentials and I've never tried to get them and I don't think I'd get them if I applied, but sometimes the media briefings are so infuriating. The media people seem to coattail each other, asking the same questions about the same things, even when the answer is already promised for some future announcement, like the California governor promising vaccine distribution updates coming out on Wednesday and his new promised budget on Friday. I want to know how the state scientific advisory group will handle vaccines if the FDA gives approval for half doses or mix and matching like the UK is doing. I want to know why the tests that can detect the S dropout aren't used on every COVID test. I want to know if the new science from the UK about the variant is concern enough to change the recently rolled out plans for safe reopening of schools. I want to know how he thinks things will look when the new administration comes in. 

Anyway, Mondays are always full on news junkie days for me. I watched Governor Newsom's briefing, then watched the Georgia election briefing, then NewsHour, and NBC local and national news, so there are lots of notes today. But you have to do yourself a favor and watch the Georgia briefing. I hope it isn't making fun of hearing impaired by saying that the ASL translator IS AMAZING. His expressions, his whole body usage, and at times what seems like mockery and incredulity is so, so good. You can see some of his highlights starting here. 

We officially made it a full quarantine, too. We hadn't left the house since Christmas, but Darren had to break to do our laundry today, but as I said, we were all negative tested as of 1/1. I plan on doing some shopping, but it was so cozy in the house today, I figured I could wait it out a couple more days, though I also kinda feel we should bunker up in case there's like crazy rioting on Wednesday. So maybe Tuesday is the day to do it. Before they start calling Georgia. I have certainly become quite the doomsday prepper and need to make sure the speakeasy is fully stocked through inauguration. Be good out there. 

CoViD-19 California Sets Highest Daily Death Record | Stay-At-Home Lawsuit On Hold Until January: Stay Remains In Place | I'll Take "One-Term Lunatics" for $2,000, Alex (RIP)

Goofy Ass Picture of Me and My Sister at Sea World Christmas in the Before Times 12.13.2019

I fell out of the habit of sharing what I'm reading and watching because I'm still reading Becoming by Michelle Obama, my checkout of Barack Obama's A Promised Land is going to run out before I can listen to the whole thing, and everything I've been watching on streaming has been news, media briefings, Bravo or just crappy brain junkfood. I thought I'd be 50 cheesy Christmas movies in by now, but we don't have Lifetime or Hallmark, and the ones on other services have been meh, though I loved Jingle Jangle, Happiest Season was pretty good on Hulu, and You Are My Home was not typical sappy fare, pretty tragic actually, but good. I started watching a movie from the early oughts the other day and had to turn it off because Chris Brown was in it. I don't have to make a big to-do about it, but I realized just how many actors and musicians I won't watch or listen to because they're such pieces of shit in real life. The list is long, my friends. 

Anyhow, Christmas is only two days away and it is so hard not to run out to Costco and Vons and Target and Big Lots and Ross and buy all the things, but we're trying not to be part of the problem over here. It's like when you're in traffic complaining about traffic without acknowledging that you are the traffic. I'm also a little sad because we love spending the holidays at the Zoo or Safari Park, but that is obviously not an option right now either, and probably won't be well into February or March the way things are going. As it is, I'm in a major quandary if we should even go to my parents' house on Friday, but I'm saving that for a separate post because the decision making is really taxing. 

Today Governor Newsom did a short briefing before having a little conversation with Dr. Shirley Weber and Alex Padilla, so notes on that are below. After watching all of that, my neighbor dropped by with her dog so we chatted for a bit (masked/10 feet apart/outside) and then I watched the County's Media Briefing. They had an administrator from Scripps health as a guest and he was much more straight about the crisis around us and it is dark. Meanwhile, I said to keep an eye out for the Pacer's vs San Diego County/Gavin Newsom/State of California Case (Superior Court Case #37-2020-00038194-CU-CR-CTL) and I'm not gonna spend money to get court documents nor do I really understand legal speak, but if I'm reading it correctly, today's hearing was canceled ("ex parte was vacated") and the next "motion hearing" isn't until January 22, 2021, so strip clubs and restaurants, for the time being, must follow the current stay-at-home orders. I think. I'm also gonna guess that somewhere in the ROA (Register of Actions) is where KPBS got ahold of the outbreak information (if it wasn't just from the county with a wink, wink and a 'you didn't get this from me.') I can't be sure, both are just suspicions. Anyway, lots of stuff today. 

CoViD-19: SD County Tops 52.7 Cases Per 100k Residents | Governor Gets Grim: State Activated 'Coroners Mutual Aid & Mass Fatality Program' | State Issues Sports Guidance |

California Sea Lion Pup (Taken 9.14.2020)

I had such a lovely Monday night. After Nova went to bed and while Darren was working on music with his bandmates (via chatroom and texts) in the speakeasy, I watched a cheesy Christmas movie on Netflix (Christmas In California), drank some egg nog, and painted some ornaments Nova and I made a couple weeks ago. 

Today I decided I had to go on a 'therapy cruise' which I haven't done in ages, partially because for years I didn't have access to a car and partially because it's ain't really cool to just go burning gas around the city for no particular reason, but these are not normal times and one has to do what one can to maintain sanity. I've been reading Becoming by Michelle Obama and I had put holds on Obama's book, but I didn't expect to get it so quickly with the year plus waiting lists at some libraries, but the County library came through with the audiobook. Darren came with me but maybe he didn't believe me when I said I was literally just going to drive around and listen to the Barack Obama audiobook because he was just wasn't feeling it. I'll go alone next time, but next time probably won't be anytime soon. Still, it was nice seeing some of my favorite places, even if we didn't get out of the car. 

By the time I got home, I watched part of the state media briefing before we finished The Wilds on Amazon. We finished watching the briefing after Nova went to bed. It was really intense. I found the page with the California Forecast models and it is terrifying. Earlier in the day, I found out an acquaintance's parents are both in dangerous shape after contracting COVID-19 in their assisted living facility, I'm starting to see more and more people with family members sick or dying. I'm also seeing friends on my socials with family members dying of non-COVID causes, which is also scary because it seems that the level of care could slip as staffing becomes strained and also people are not going to hospitals and doctors when they should because they are scared of being admitted and being alone, or worse, dying alone. Today's media briefing touched on this...reporters really want to catch Governor Newsom or Secretary Ghaly saying things like they were saying in Italy in the spring-- that doctors are going to have to start deciding who is worth saving. They won't say it, but Dr. Ghaly came close, "the point where we have to make some hard decisions on who might receive care," but didn't really finish the sentence other than continuing the non-pharmaceutical interventions we've been doing to prevent getting there. Meanwhile, there's the infuriating story about the White House security official who got really, really sick, is now an amputee, and his friends have organized a Go Fund Me. Like WHAT?? Dude works at the WHITE HOUSE. How is every expense, down to the penny, not covered??? I feel like I'm less afraid now of catching Sars-CoV-2 than I am of the crushing medical bills that could come if I were to be in that unlucky 12% who require hospitalization (or worse.)

So we shall continue the staycation to the extent we can. It pains me because it's pupping season at La Jolla Cove and Casa Beach and I haven't been since we pulled Nova from soccer, but I'll wait until this thing starts to see some control. Hopefully with vaccinations beginning, the new administration coming in January, and that long gap of holidays between New Year's and Memorial Day that we start to see some drastic reductions in cases. Until then, be safe out there. 

CoViD-19: CDC Doesn't Give A Fuck If You Die | California Develops New Testing Partnership | Numerous Leagues Strike For Racial Justice | #JusticeForJake

Wednesday was National Dog Day, so here's Ficus at Fiesta Island Dog Park (Taken 7.14.2020)

On Wednesday the first piece of news I read was that under pressure from the administration, the CDC changed guidelines on who should be tested, and I was infuriated. Our health should not be a political issue. I was comforted by watching the State and County media briefings where it was stated that these new guidelines do not change anything for who, how, and when tests happen within the county or the state.

But as the day went on and I dove into my emails and the news cycle, it was one more upsetting thing after another. If you don't click all the links and reading I'm outlined today, please at least take the time to watch Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talk about the shooting of Jacob Blake, who is now paralyzed from the waist down after being shot 7 times in the back by Wisconsin police. I've included his interview below. (The actual video of the shooting has been shared widely but I don't watch such things.) 

So I've been trying all night to find good news and gathered a couple cool music happenings, but I'll give them their own post so as not to contaminate it with news of this very bad, no good day. One bright spot, however, is that if you have a Chula Vista, National City, or Escondido library card (I'm sure there are other cities, too), you can now access Hoopla via app or Roku among other formats. It allows you to "check out" up to six movies monthly. I haven't fully explored but found a Bill Nighy movie that I'm gonna dive into now to clear my head. Lots of reading and links after the jump. 

CoViD-19: California Dials Back Openings | SD & LA: Schools Not Returning In The Fall | Global Testing Shortage | Navy Ship Fire Continues

Momma & Baby Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Taken 6.28.2020)

What a day of news. There was a lot of it so there's quite a bit of detail after the jump, specifically that indoor activities related to gyms, salons, malls, personal care, non-essential offices, and worship services have to reclose, SDUSD & LAUSD issued a joint statement that in-person classes will not resume in the fall, and there's a global testing shortage. I'm actually so relieved about schools because it was a decision we didn't want to have to make. It's bad enough that Nova's soccer league is trying to join some statewide petition for guidance on youth sports, a move I can't support. Distance practicing is just fine, thank you very much. I kind of base everything on my parents...if I can't visit and hug my parents, why would I want Nova making contact with some teammate, breathing in their breath, exchanging sweat? If I can't sit inside my parents house for an hour, why would I want Nova in six different classes for an hour everyday or even one or two days a week? I'm reading The Down Days right now (as recommendation by Wired) and it's about a deadly outbreak and it made me realize that not only should we continue to emphasize the deaths by COVID-19, but they should be talking every night about the sickness, how basically your lungs fill with pus that hardens and makes it impossible to breathe while all of your organs shut down. Or that your blood gets choked of oxygen and gets thick and clots and is spiking strokes, even after the patient is considered "recovered". Or read any online support group for COVID-19 patients where they're sharing stories of being sick for months, not weeks. But sure, go to Disneyworld. 

Let's get our shit together. Info after the jump. 

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. 

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: California 4-Phase Reopening | Pandemic Proposal | Best Coast Beer Fest | PUA Crashes EDD

Sea Lion at La Jolla Cove, Taken 4.29.2019

I'm literally crying right now. If you haven't watched I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story on Amazon Prime, do it right away. Today was kind of a a slow day for me. Darren and I had a fun and late night in the 'speakeasy,' I gave away some things in the Buy Nothing -Normal Heights group, hung out in the yard to get some sun for part of the day, and then went down a rabbit hole researching my next story for SoundDiego (hint: it involves UFOs.) The governor addressed a four phase plan to get California working again, but I can't figure out where Zoos, active sports, and chilling on the beach come in. Lots of interesting links and things today, after the jump.

Rosey's Diary: March 18-25, 2009

My last diary post left off at St. Patrick's Day and all I can say is that waking up the next day wasn't nearly as awful as I expected. So let me catch you up with the week after St. Patty's Day. Click 'keep on reading' for all the Pho King goods.



3.18.09: Gavin Newsom Townhall; Jamuel Saxon, The One AM Radio, Tapedeck Mountain @ Soda Bar

After St. Patrick's day, I had another experience that made me glad to be a Twitter user. The Burger Lounge (@Burger_Lounge), which happens to be across the street, had another special for their Twitter followers, this time free frings. Nothing better than a grass-fed burger with fries and onion rings to soak up the rest of the booze from the night before. Later that afternoon, I made my way to a school in City Heights were Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco wooed a crowd of mostly progressive supporters. I was going to do a full write up about the talk, but I realize I was so receptive to everything that he said that I didn't consider that perhaps he's just talking like a politician. I was definitely in my "hope and change" ra-ra-ra mode. Instead, here's a link of Dave Rolland's response to the evening. I will mention that there were representatives from The Nation of Islam who have some big issues with Newsom in San Francisco and made for a few tense moments. Mostly though, I liked what Gavin had to say and I'll be watching as he likely will run for Governor in 2010.





After the townhall, I made my way to Soda Bar excited to see Dangerbird Records artist The One AM Radio along with locals Tape Deck Mountain and Jamuel Saxon. I thought it was a strange lineup because the album I have from The One AM Radio is slow and quiet and always reminded me a bit of Elliott Smith, which was confirmed last time I saw him perform at Che Cafe. So Tape Deck Mountain played and sounded great as usual then The One AM Radio came on and were so different than I expected. They were upbeat, happy, and more than anything, no longer a one piece, now a full band. I liked the change and thought the band was great, it just took me a little by surprise. I only snapped a couple photos of the night because of prohibitive lighting, but here's The One AM Radio in their latest incarnation.

Jamuel Saxon finished off the night including a pretty sweet Michael Jackson cover. I also have to say I'm really a fan of the vibe at Soda Bar. I love getting a booth and being able to hang out and watch good bands, drink any of the great beers on draft, and just chill out. It helps it's so close to home for me.

3.19.09: 91X @ The Field, I Love You, Man @ Reading Gaslamp 15, Dinner at The Field, Tiltwheel @ Beauty Bar

I had planned on going to a couple events that were media type schmoozefests but fortunately I was saved when I saw Mat Diablo from 91X tweet that they were at The Field in Downtown giving away movie passes to "I Love You, Man". I don't see movies often, but I heart Paul Rudd in a big way and the movie came highly recommended by Daye, who had been to an early screening of the film a month before it's release. It lived up to my comedic expectations. Before the movie I got the chance to talk to Josh and Mat from 91X who hooked us up with scrip for The Field, so after the movie we returned to get some bar food before moving on to the next destination.

We got to Tiltwheel at the Beauty Bar as they'd just started but everyone there was well, um, lubricated?, and it made for a fun show, including Josh Mosh taking the stage for a song so Davey could smoke and drink his beer. It made me realize it had been a long time since I'd been to show with the fast crowd and it was a really good time. And I certainly never thought it would be at the Beauty Bar. I was especially happy that night because a friend of mine gave me a Blind Lady Alehouse hoodie. Score!

After Tiltwheel, the bulk of the crowd moved on to the Ken Club and it turned out that Miggs was DJ-ing and my old upstairs neighbor was in town. Needless to say they came over for an after party that got pretty ridiculous because Miggs' volume is always at 11. My current upstairs neighbor didn't get much sleep that night and I feel shitty for it, but there's no turning Miggs volume down.

3.20.09: Grand Ole Party, Ale Mania, Dirty Legs @ Soda Bar

Come Friday I was pretty excited to finally see Grand Ole Party as it had been some time since I last saw them play. Peter had asked me to help get the word out about ticketing because it was the biggest show Soda Bar had planned and they didn't want to overwhelm the space. The show sold out within about an hour of going on sale at 6 pm. In retrospect, they probably could've allowed another 50 people in the bar for the show, but we got there early, got a booth, enjoyed the Mission IPA on draft and just enjoyed the show and the fact that people weren't shoved into the bar like sardines. The Dirty Legs was an all chick band that played bratty punk, wearing their influences on their sleeves. Ale Mania appeared to be a new project of some of the guys from The Sess, but to be honest, I stayed in our booth and couldn't really see over the crowd. And even with earplugs, I couldn't really make out the band all that well. Grand Ole Party played late in the night and played entirely new material for the whole set. At this point in the night we sat up on the back of the booth to be able to see Kristin but I knew photos would be a disaster, so I just kicked back. The band left a couple days later to go record in Atlanta, so expect their new album later this year.

3.21.09: Album Release Party for The Long and Short of It, Kill Me Tomorrow, Fing @ Casbah

Saturday was one of those San Diego days with absolutely perfect weather. I had lunch with a my sister, b-i-l and niece at Lefty's and then met up with Todd and some friends for some beers at Blind Lady. Inevitably, a couple beers and a walk home and I took a brief nap before heading down to the Casbah to see Fing, Kill Me Tomorrow, and The Long And Short of It. You can see photos from Natalie or Michael. My camera just couldn't take that lighting. Also, I was kicking it over near the bar because Joe from The Roman Spring came out for the first time since his accident and it was just really good to see my friend getting better. All three bands delivered aggressive and powerful sets. The Long And The Short of It played their entire album from front to back- "if you wanna know the setlist, you can go buy the record." The band is always loud, but it was mixed so well, Ben's vocals were clear and his lyrics particularly powerful. It was a great night to be certain. I love nights when nearly the entire Casbah staff comes out to support one of their own.

3.22-25.09: The next couple days for me were catch-up days. I caught up on e-mail, posting, listings, watching shows I'd missed, seeing movies I'd not seen. I planned on seeing These Arms Are Snakes at Casbah on Tuesday, but I had a birthday dinner at Ponce's with my friends, some cake and ice cream at my house afterward, then made my way to the Ken Club where I got sucked in to karaoke night and never left. No complaints though, my neighborhood friends were there and even though I don't participate in karaoke, I still like being a witness. Abraham and I tried to connect but since it didn't happen Tuesday night, he showed up at my place on Wednesday afternoon with a 6 pack and we caught up before he, Todd and I decided to grab lunch. We tried to hit Minh Ky in City Heights (Menlo & El Cajon, just east of Hoover High), but were surprised to see it was closed on Wednesdays. So we crossed the street and went to Pho King. Let's just say we couldn't stop laughing. "Give me a Pho King menu." "Where is the Pho King waitress." Can I have some Pho King water?" Sometimes it's okay to act like an adolescent. I would love Pho King to sponsor this website. The food kicked ass, too. And that leaves me with Wednesday night, the first night of the Luce Loft. That will be another diary post.