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.