Sunday, June 29, 2008

A box full of happiness.



Woobies are apparently hard to find. I couldn't get them locally, so I wound up finding some place online. I figured I should stock up. Or else the bunnies might disapprove.

The first company I ordered through couldn't deliver. And, I think Google Shopping might have exterminated them. I mean.. the last person you want to piss off is Google Shopping. Right? They have the satellite view of your property. They probably even know what you look like from Google street view.

At any rate... Google handled the problem quite quickly. But, I had to order from another company.

The woobies are now here, and bunnies are very happy.

And you think I have neighbor issues.

You know that old saying "if you think everyone in a room is an asshole, maybe it's really you that is the asshole"? Well Readers, I've just had a gut check.

Back to the fence issue.

To get my fence fixed - I actually have to deal with two neighbors. Since the properties are offset, I share a fence with cheap ass neighbor, and then a 15 foot segment with another neighbor. Since I wasn't going to ask him to pay anything - he hasn't been an issue for me. Most neighbors don't care when they don't have to pay.

I've never seen this guy. Didn't know anything about him. The only thought I've ever had about this guy is when I hated him once because he had tree trimmers in at 8 in the morning. Other than that - he was my favorite neighbor. I know someone lives there, but for all I know he's a vampire and only exists in the dead of night.

Now that cheap ass neighbor had signed onto the project - I got my guys lined up to start on Monday. So, Mr S. went over to let both neighbors know whats going on.

He comes rushing back into the house in a very excited way and says "you have got to sit down". Immediately I think "fuck - which one of those assholes changed their minds"?

This is what he tells me.

Corner neighbor (who I now have to make up a nickname for) tells Mr S. "Don't let Cheap ass neighbor into my yard". Cheap ass neighbor steals from him, and has even been into his house. He also blames him for the dead spots on his lawn.

At this point I'm loving that Mr S. is dealing with these people. I'm curious by nature and would have probed further - because that all sounds crazy to me. But, Mr S. is smart and understands that if he knows more details we will be expected to take sides.

We just want our fence fixed dammit!

Anyway - it makes my issues seem not even like issues. They mostly involve wanting to walk around in my underwear in my house without having to see a neighbors head above the fence line.

All I know is that I'm glad I have a violent urge to move every 5 years because these people are sort of crazy.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Craft mafia.

I do this mainly to put MDG's overachieving gene on tilt. You know you are!

And.. I can't imagine how much back breaking work these women stick into this stuff. It's really impressive. Even dudes dig them.











Stacation.

Alright!

Today I had to get my corn dog on. I think my phase is evaporating though. I'm pretty sure it was the cheese on a stick that did it. I've never had cheese on a stick. Which is pretty much like a corn dog with cheese. But, that put me over the edge. Way too much cheese.

But, I also wanted to see if people really were having stacations. A word that drives me batshit. I hate when the press finds a new word.

So anyway. It started out with a car fire.



Someone clearly was not going to have a good day. Since other people had stopped to help him, I just took pictures. See how unhelpful I am?



Then the fair. They had all the usual suspects.



Maniacal caterpillars.



Freaky clowns.





Tall people on stilts.



Creepy doll collections. I think I understand the whole horror film thing about dolls now. I'm not sure I like all those eyes staring at me.



Mosquito's. Why? Because.



And Readers.... every time I go to an event these days, there is some kind of food that blows my mind. Remember last time it was the giant corn dog. And I go to these things to eat really crappy food. But, even I'm slightly appalled by what they are serving.



I want you to know this is no visual illusion. That is a full sized cash register. I was so shocked I asked the woman if that was the size they actually sold. It's like a half a freezer bag of fries. And, I saw a bunch of people ordering them.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

I'm giving in.

I think what I'm experiencing is evolution in action.

I'm not quite as bothered by the smoke. And.... I'm starting to enjoy the soft red hue the sun gives off. Its an amazing halo of light. I imagine it to be very similar to what it would be like living in a bio dome. Long gone are the days of blue skies. Even one of my girlfriends was saying it was making her house look beautiful. Like mood lighting.

I'm sure in a few days I'll feel claustrophobic - but I'm trying to be in the moment.

Then... listen up crafty chicks! I hope to have something interesting for you this weekend.

Send in the diplomat.

This morning the doorbell rang. It was cheap ass neighbor. He wanted to talk about the fence. Yes..... this is still going on.

I have since stopped talking to the guy. Because, basically I just want to be nasty, and that isn't a way to deal with people you have to live next to for a while. Apparently.

Anyway, Mr S. told him he would talk to me, and be right over to talk to him about it. This is the point I vent on Mr S., and he has to extrapolate the most important issues. Which went a little like this:

Me - this whole thing just pisses me off.

Him - I know.

Me - I think we gave him some really fair prices on the fence, and if he doesn't want to pay what our guys quoted, then let him get his own quotes. I still want him to pay as close to half of the fence cost as I can get him to pay. And I'm not even convinced he is going to do that. If he thinks he can get someone in to salvage some of that wood, let someone else tell him if he can, or can't.

Me - okay, tell him we don't want him to feel ripped off - so we'd really like it if he gave us some of his own quotes.

Mr S. leaves, and I brace myself to be pissed. I just wish the whole thing would go away at this point. I tell you - there is nothing I hate more in the world than having to deal with neighbor fence issues. Every single time - it just sucks.

So, a little while later Mr S. comes back and says "okay - call our guys".

Me - what? How did that all go?

Him - he said he doesn't have time to get quotes, and that he just wants to get it done.

I was totally shocked and happy. Now if he feels its unfair, he only has himself to blame. Mr S. also told him that we wanted to raise the fence height, but we were eating the cost on that. He was fine with it.

It sounds like he is also getting rid of the dog. At least it seems like he is trying to find a home for it, instead of just sending it to the pound. No one would adopt that dog, it needs to be on a ranch or something. It has way to much enegery.

I guess when the dog is escaping, it is injuring itself quite badly. And it's smart enough to let out his other dog. So, he just can't take it anymore. Which is kind of too bad. It's a good dog.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Nothing to see here.



It was really difficult getting pictures today. How do you capture "hey - over there is a hill - but you can't see it"? Every mountain is obscured by smoke. There is even a normally visible mountain range in this shot.

There is a haze down every street. The sun makes the sidewalks a reddish hue. I'm still trying to figure out how to capture that.

Overnight allegedly, the fires quadrupled. The numbers are so staggering - it's hard to believe actually. I'm not even sure how many fires there actually are today. More than 500, less than 2000? I'm also not sure how the firefighters are going to make it through this year. They have been working almost non-stop since the season started.

It also looks like it will be a while before my eyes stop burning. Sucks. But hey, at least today the air smells like wood smoke, and not house fire. It is somewhat pleasant. Sort of like being at a campfire all day. And night. And morning.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Ring of fire.

It all started out a little like this.



These clouds just came in from nowhere. At first I didn't think anything about it. I was just excited. I'd all but ruled out rain for the year.

But, these clouds seemed to be dropping rain, but it was all evaporating before it hit the ground. I was hoping that even if only a few sprinkles hit the ground it would lift my spirits. We haven't gotten any measurable rain in 4 months. Even though I bitched up a storm about the lack of rain last year, this year is so much worse. The fires are happening so often now, I'm barely even motivated to go out and take pictures.

The clouds were especially interesting, because it was over a hundred degrees. We never get rain when we are in a heat wave. I mean never.

Everything became oddly humid, and all I could think about was - those people back East are always mocking us. It could be 112 here, but they'd say "oh, but its a dry heat". You're fine. Yet, when it's 85 back East, they are moaning it feels like a hundred. So, what does it equate to when its over a hundred and humid?

Anyway - I was hoping for rain. I said that. I was sure I'd see unicorns first.. but whatever.

Long story short - or long... the storm basically set Northern California on fire. They are all about 50 miles or more from me - but this is like the 4th major fire in a month. We got smoke on the first Santa Cruz fire. And the second. It was slightly worse with the Monterrey fire. We got ash. This one is a complete sun blocker. And while my area hasn't been directly affected, we are surrounded on all sides by mountains, so the smoke just sits in the valley. And sits.

It is just wearing on me. My eyes have been burning for two days. When I did the orbiter this morning, my lungs burned. Everything is covered in a layer of dirt. Even all the trees. Washing cars is futile. The fog just rolls in, and makes the ash heavy and drops it.

And we still have 3 more months of summer. I'm seriously considering vacationing in the Midwest.

Friday, June 20, 2008

I swear, anything can make me jumpy.



It is almost a hundred degrees here today. So when I look up into the sky and see a magnificent rainbow. You know I have to take notice.

I'm totally fascinated by it. Then I think... hey... these sort of look like those rainbows on youtube right before the China earthquake. I'm sure its nothing.

It pisses me off I didn't have my filter on the blocks out IR light. But the rainbow was transfixing. That is why everything looks brown. Well, browner than it is in reality. The rainbow is also much less colorful because of this.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Why ask why?

Still to this day, I'm mostly not sure why people read my blog. Sure, occasionally over time I can figure it out. We read the same blogs, we have a few of the same interests. But mostly I'm at a loss at how I manage to attract people that seem so opposite of me.

Even in my personal life, I often don't understand why the same people seem to hang around in my atmosphere. But, it is something I've really grown to value. Maybe there is no other reason, than I find people not like me - so completely interesting. Maybe other people like that in me. I'm not sure I'll over know.

Anyway... the reason I bring this up, is because I've gotten a few new commentors lately. Most notably Kasia from The Clam Rampant.

I went over and read her blog, and I was convinced this was an error. When I started getting trackbacks I realised she had linked me. Thank you Kasia. Which also made me a little uncomfortable. She seems so clean of virtue, I was sure her readers probably were getting the vapors, and having to take a shower in holy water after reading the blog. But she continues to comment, so I'm guessing the cussing with the close proximity of the word God doesn't bother her that much. Anyway. Welcome.

Wait... she does know I do that. Right?

The same goes for Daves Whiteboard. He is much too brainy to read the crap I post here. But, I enjoy that he does.

And finally - I've been a complete asshole for not adding Warrior Knitter to my blogroll. She has to be one my oldest readers, and I thank her for that. I'm not into the knitting thing myself, but even I can appreciate a good knit. Plus, she's into gadgets. What's not to love?

I'd pay to tase these people.

The Berkeley tree huggin' hippies are at it again. It seems like very once in a while, this is all my local news can cover. Which is kind of annoying, because it's been going on for about two years, and it never gets resolved.

From NBC 11.

"BERKELEY, Calif. -- A long-term tree-sitter was forcibly taken down from the oak grove at the University of California at Berkeley Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokesman for Save the Oaks.

A woman who goes by the name "Millipede" was pulled from one of the trees at about 4:30 p.m. and was placed in police custody, Doug Buckwald said.

"They grabbed a woman and took her down from the tree as she was screaming," Buckwald said
"


Does this remind anyone of the Simpson's Screamapillar episode? Of which I would have linked - if all the video links hadn't been shut down. Did I mention that one of the tree sitters names is "Dumpster Muffin"? No - I'm not shitting you. Watch the video at the NBC 11 link.

I have two questions. Why do hippies hate jocks? And why does America not have water cannons? Oh wait.. I have a third question. When did our police become so pussified that these people can throw bottles full of urine and not be tased to the ground and arrested?

At least a few of them have fallen on their own.

From The Chronicle.

Berkeley Tree-Sitter Falls, Breaks 2 Limbs

"A protester broke his arm and leg after plunging at least 30 feet Sunday night while trying to exit a tree in an oak grove that the University of California at Berkeley plans to raze, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Nathaniel Hill, 24, mistakenly thought he was connected to a cable when he stepped from his perch to see his father, who had stopped by to visit. Mr. Hill was among a group of protesters who are living in the trees in hopes of blocking the university from felling them to make way for a $125-million athletics center. He is not the first protester to take a tumble; a woman broke her wrists in a fall earlier this year"


You must go read the comments. They are the only thing that restores my faith in humanity.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Day after day of oppressive fire.

People who have read this blog for a long time, know that when fire season starts I practically start pissing my pants. I'm sure a few of you have wondered what the unhealthy fascination is. And believe me.. it is an odd fascination.

So - this is what it is. The family house burned to the ground when I was a teenager. And this is why you have to put up a summers worth of lame fire photos.

This summer will be no exception. No rain since February, and the impending doom of not being able to water my lawn makes me more nervous than a Chihuahua. I've done all I can do to protect my property.. but the neighbors. They don't have the unhealthy fear I do.

Anyway, today I was out seeing what houses were still on the market. I glanced up and went "what the hell is that".

I ran home and got the camera, and went out to the edge of town. I didn't really feel like finding the fires location today. If there is anything I've learned about fires. They look deceptively close. Plus, it looked like they had gotten a handle on it. So I was on my way back home, when I noticed the fire planes out, and it looked like the fire had whipped up again.

Out I go for a second time. I get to the edge of town again. Only to have it look like the fire was under control. Get almost back to the house, and see the fire flare up again. I'm thinking "f this fire". So I found a neighborhood and took this crappy shot.

Monday, June 16, 2008

The Arts.



While we were over in Sausalito, we went up to the Marin Headlands. It was sunny on the Sausalito side, and the fog was rolling in - so I thought it would be a picture taking opportunity. As soon as we found a parking place I felt my bladder starting to talk to me. "Shut up bladder" I said, and we proceeded up the hill to the overlook.

Half way up, the wind turned hurricane force. The temperature dropped 20 degrees, and my bladder was talking all kinds of smack. "You're pretty cold " it was saying. "I bet that makes you want to pee".

I think it was at this point I completely lost my mind, because I spotted the headlands toilets. Not a porta-potty. Which I will never ever use anywhere on earth. And frankly, I won't even use most public restrooms. Which makes my decision all the more perplexing. I have the cleanest most sanitary ones mapped out all over the Silicon Valley. Only in a rare emergency will I ever even consider using one off the list.

As I was approaching the door, a guy was going into the men's side. I knew it was a bad omen when the guy said something like "Oh my God this is fucking disgusting". Yet, I still opened the door to the female side. A completely irrational move. There I saw the 95 layers of hell. It was like some kind of perverted contest had occured.

Listen, I've seen a bunch of funky female restrooms, but no woman on earth would use this thing.

Partially searching for an acceptable restroom, and partially distracted by how pretty the water was at the Palace of Fine Arts - we wound up stopping. They were closed, or we might have never made our way home.

Anyway... they had a clean restroom, and I got a couple of nice shots. They were renovating the dome.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Robogames 2008 review.



Look - I'm not going to bitch (much) about the games this year. They've gotten my money 3 years in a row. Chances are... I'll be there next year. This is why.

It is more important for me to see how robotics are being marketed and where the industry might be headed. I can go to the same event year after year, and the focus is always different. It is somewhat more interesting to see the vacillation of the industry to gain a foothold. As meager as those footholds are.

This year the Robogames seemed all about robot kits. With a big focus on walking robots. Which is actually what I was most interested in anyway. But, also what depressed me the most. On one hand - they have made them look much more marketable. But act much less functional.



If you want a toy to wave and make hand gestures. Well, they have you covered. If you are actually interested in something that doesn't spend most of the time on its back. Move along people. Nothing to see here. There really has been very little progress from a year ago.

These bots were saying "hey - first you fall over, then I'll fall over". I swear, they spent very little time on their feet. And for 300 - 700 bucks.. I'd think people might sort of like that.



Thankfully children have a huge capacity to right things that have fallen over. They never seem to get bored with it.



Robotis seemed to be the biggest vendor at the show. The company confused me. The toy bots seemed to be geared for a 5 year old, but to be able to put the kits together - it seemed like you needed to be at least 12.



The sad thing is that Hitec is there every year. They do walking really well, but they have all but given up marketing their product. They normally have one guy, and you are lucky if they have one bot running. If they hadn't impressed me so much at RoboNexus years ago - honestly, I wouldn't have much good to say about them.



I thought I had pictures of the RoboNexus demonstration on the blog. Until I find them, you will just have to watch the You Tube video here.

They did have something new this year though. I guess they are trying to capitalize on the theory everyone wants a remote presence robot. So tons of robots now have mini cameras in them. The product from Hitec was no exception.



Stuff for little kids seemed to be a big focus. This was also from Robotis.



None of the people who supplied any of the loosely categorized robotic art were there this year. And, honestly this was the best I got.



Now, the art stuff isn't my thing - but integrated circuit boards with blinky lights. Really? That's the best they got? And... I'm ... into ... blinky lights! I can see all that stuff at flea markets. So I didn't even take any pictures.



These guys are a hold over from Maker Faire. But - I like balls.



I'm not really sure what this thing is, but I've seen a a few times. It does have a description. But ya'all know I'm illiterate.

Now onto what the Robogames are really all about - the battlebots. I'd long since given up on trying to get photo's of them. Trying to take pictures through scratched up lexan doesn't make for very useful pictures. It might have been better this year because they stated a photo policy on the entry door about the use of flash. Which I loved. More places should post their photo policy. But, the battlebots were the main draw this year, and I couldn't get close. They actually had much more people in the stands than the years I've attended. Good for them. You can see last year here.

Oh! I almost forgot the Star Wars guys.

Obviously not painful enough.

One of the reasons I like to go to events is because I'm fascinated by peoples spending habits. Often it's as fascinating as the event itself. I even have a big ol' crush for economists, and how the economy moves.

I view most large groups of people like a school of fish. They move the same way. When times are good, they all swim cohesively together. When something freaks them out, they scatter the same way. And - I love to watch that in action.

Anyway - I figured there was a better than 50% chance that this years RoboGames was going to suck. But, it was a good opportunity to see how much gas prices were affecting people. If they were driving. If they were still spending money. And, this is what I found:

Gas prices piss people off - but not enough to get them to stay off the roads. This is what it looked like on the freeway at 7:00 Saturday night. Roughly what it would look like during weekday commute hours. I was shocked. Bumper to bumper all the way from San Fransisco to the East Bay. In both directions. It took us almost 2 hours to get home. On a weekend it should take about an hour.



It wasn't just the freeway. We didn't stay at the games long, so we went to get lunch in Sausalito. It was still sunny over there. The downtown area was similarly packed. So much so, we got lunch and left. Most of the places we went in San Fransisco were also packed.

I know this isn't a scientific study or anything, but gas prices don't seem to be affecting people as badly as most people seem to indicate.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Racist, racist, whitey.

It has been a super long day. I have a lot of things to post about, but I'm tired. So, I will leave you with this:



You've got to know how excited I was when I ran across a Goth pinata party.

Don't they know pinatas are racist?

Robogames today.

Stay tuned for developments.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Skeptics corner.

I think one of the biggest things I dislike about myself - is that I have a hard time trusting people. It's probably one of the harder things to change. It isn't like you can just say "trust people". And everything is all better.

So today when a guy comes to the door asking me if I wanted to sell my truck - it got the side of my brain that doesn't trust people all up in a bunch. After all - I don't have a for sale sign on it.

So, let me summarise how this went.

The guy - I've driven by your house a few times and noticed the cobwebs on the truck. I was wondering if you wanted to sell it.

This is a work truck BTW, and I'm not motivated to wash it until I can't see out of the windows.

Me - Well, it has a lot of problems. The ABS is going out.

I'm thinking this would immediately turn the guy off. To be honest, Mr S. I and have been discussing getting rid of it lately because its having so many problems. But it doesn't turn him off in the least.

Him - Well, I hate to admit this, but I've fallen on hard times. My truck just died, and I need a new truck. If you were going to sell that truck, do you have any idea what you'd ask for it?

Me - I haven't really thought about it. I mean, we were thinking of getting rid of the truck or donating. But, we haven't really talked about how much we wanted for it. Besides, if you are in hard times I don't really think I could sell it to you. I'd feel bad if it broke down on you.

Him - Well, that doesn't matter. I know a lot of mechanics. If it needs to be towed, I can have it towed.

Me - No its runs. But honestly. The ABS is bad. It has a check motor light indicator on. The dashboard expanded in one of the heatwaves and is completely cracked. Really - I don't think I could sell it to you. Do you live in the area?

At this point he tells me he lives in the Modern Ghost Town. And he keeps persisting on trying to get me to sell him the truck.

Him - You know.. I'm really embarrassed. But I'm a gardener. Maybe God brought me to this house. I'd be your gardener for life. Do you have any idea how much you'd want for the truck? Any idea at all? I have cash in the car. I could sign over my drivers licence, and we can sign a bill of sale.

Me - No. I'd have to talk to my husband. Give me your number, and I'll call you.

The guy was so freakin' persistent. I wasn't sure if there was some part on that truck that is valuable right now. Catalytic motor, or what. But it made me get my ladder and anything worth value out of the bed.

It's things like this that make me so conflicted. Maybe he is just a guy down on his luck.

Role reversal.

Oh! Now I'm the creepy neighbor? Yes.. I... Am.

It all started about 6:00 last night. I hear my neighbors dog whelping. At first I don't think much about it. But eventually the dog starts making enough racket - I go out to my backyard. It sounds like the dog is literally flailing itself against the fence. Which sounds dramatic, but the last time it got into my yard it managed to shimmy up a one foot space in between the fence and the neighbors shed. Six full feet of it. I don't know when dogs evolved to climb, but they are getting scary good at it.

So anyway, flailing against the fence - I already said that. But, in between the flailing, I could hear the dog panting really loud. It was like 97 degrees. It sounded like he'd just run a mile. In 97 degree heat. So I stood out there for a minute.

Through the cracks in my fucked up fence, every once in a while I could see about half the dog. I thought the dog was jumping on top of something and was just trying to jump the extra span to get over the fence. I couldn't figure out what the dog was on - so I peeked through one of the larger fence cracks, and saw that my neighbor had built a dog run. Which I don't understand. He knows this animal is dogdini. I thought he'd built a metal run the last time it escaped. At this point I'm thinking the dog is just jumping on top of the dog house/run.

When Mr S. comes home, I tell him about the dog. We place bets on if it is going to get into our backyard that night. It isn't there yet, so its none of my f-ing business. But, Mr S. is tall enough to just look over the fence. This is when he sees the dog is trying to escape through a hole in the metal roof. I snap a couple of shots over the fence line.



Almost immediately the dog is quiet. When I'm reviewing the pictures I ask Mr S. if he thinks they saw me taking pictures. After all.. I wasn't over the fence, just my camera was. And that's kind of creepy. In my defense, if you came home and saw your doghouse in this condition, wouldn't you be "what the fuck"?

Mr S. says "I hope they did". Why, I ask. "That will motivate them to do something about the dog - because that is kinda creepy. People get all paranoid about stuff like that". I tell Mr S., the sad thing is they will probably just take this dog to the pound because the neighbor is too cheap and lazy to fix things right. The neighbor told me he was going to do that once. Mr S. confirms the neighbor told him that once as well.

At any rate - I don't hear the dog today. And I can still see the metal all curled up over the fence line.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Two peni better than one?

This is the conversation Mr S. and I had last night.

Him - I sent you a lot of great links today.

Me - You did? Which ones.

Him - There was the one with the baby that had penis on his back.

Me - Whaaat?

Him - Oh, you didn't see that one? The baby had some kind of conjoined twin dysmorphia.

Me - Was it functional? Wait! Did they have pictures?

Him - Yeah.

Me - Okay - if it was your kid, would you have it removed?

Him - yeah.

Me - Really? Why? I think I'd keep it.

Him - Well, its going to get uncomfortable after a while.

Me - You mean to tell me, men have been complaining forever they don't get any say about their foreskin, but you are going to remove a whole penis?

That basically shut the conversation down. That's right. I ran circles around him logically.

This of course was before I saw the picture. Now I'm not so sure if I'd keep it.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

2008. Or 1970's?



Today - was I thinking about all the ways it seems like the 70's. Which is how I found myself at the water temple. It is my new place of worship. While I was there I took a few shots, and came up with these items.

1. 1970's - Gas crisis. 2008 - Gas crisis. Huh.

2. 1970's - California water crisis. 2008 - the same. Creepy.

3. 1970's - Environmentalism is born. 2008 - environmentalism is reborn.

4. 1970's - Horrible women's fashion. 2008 - ditto

5. 1970's - The US was in a recession, but Japan and Germany were prospering. 2008 - China and India are prospering.

That's all I got for now. Feel free to add or call bullshit.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

About my titles.

It has come to my attention that my titles are nondescript - and basically suck.

If it bothers you - say something. Otherwise.. everything is fine. Just fine.

You can do it!

See.. here is how. "Yeah, your titles suck".

I am completely serious here.

When did pinatas become racially offensive? And why? Is it the candy? Or the club you beat them with?

What? Tell me! I honestly don't know.

I initially heard about this story on my local news. You can read about the whole story here from the L.A. Times.

"Everyone's an art critic when it comes to a $195,000 mural for the LAPD's new Hollenbeck station.

The tile mural was meant to depict a quaint Sunday in Boyle Heights. Many angry residents say it makes their neighborhood out to be a crime-ridden dump filled with fat women, stray dogs, beer-swilling men and illegal street vendors. And don't get them started about the pinata.
"


I was mostly ignoring the segment. Everyone seems super sensitive about everything these days - so I tune a lot of this stuff out. Until I heard the East L.A. residents were upset about the pinatas depicted in the mural. That gets your attention. Right?

I mean.. don't get me wrong. The piece does look in bad taste. But what do I know. I'm not enlightened enough to understand art. Ask any artist you critique.

And let me just say - I really dislike tile murals. But really? Pinatas?

Personally - I think tax dollars should not be used for art. I've felt this way since my own city commissioned an art piece for one of our libraries. The only problem was - the art was about famous people in history. But, the artist couldn't spell. There were 11 misspellings in the piece. It was a little embarrassing, and made national news. When our city wanted the artist to fix it - she refused.

For me - there was an even larger issue - California has a law that you can't rip out a piece of art without the artists consent. I think for the amount taxpayers contribute to city art, they should get to rip out whatever craptacular art they want.

Monday, June 09, 2008

Not to sound snobby.

My First thought is:

Who paints a Ferrari this color?





My Second thought was:

How crazy is it that I see enough Ferrari's, that baby shit brown is a problem?

Back in the day - it could have been Spackle colored and you would just say "wow - it's a Ferrari". But I have to admit, I've seen 3 Ferrari's this week.

Nope - still sounds snobby. I'm still thinking this one looks better. Oh wait! Mr S. says this thing is a 12 cylinder. I think that means Zero to - In debt for the rest of your life in 3.5 seconds. That is a quarter of a million to you and me. I'll shut the fuck up now.

Lets all go "ooh". Even if it is baby-shit brown.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Relax.



Paisley has had an extended period of allergy issues this month. This normally involves disinfecting her chin with Chlorhexadine. Then the area needs drying.

This is where she lets me tie tissue bows around her muzzle. It is therapeutic. What? You don't believe me?

Saturday, June 07, 2008

We'd like you to meet your replacement.

Everyone knows when you bring a new pet robot home - there is an awkward period of adjustment.

We've named him Shemp.