Tiffany's Birthday

I marvel how we city dwellers share the city with homeless people.  Two communities living together, sharing the same space, but not interacting with each other very much.  It seems wrong, somehow.  We have common interests in safety and self-respect.  We should interact more, and help each other in times of need.  We don't, though, mostly because of the gulf of means, which encourages dependency and inappropriate relationships.

I get nervous when a homeless tent appears too close to my back gate.  Such folks are able to monitor my presence, and investigate weaknesses in security.  Indeed, several years ago, when I was gone for a number of hours, someone dismantled my back gate and stole a bicycle.  There had been someone camped nearby, in a perfect spot to know my comings and goings. And I still remember February of 2022, when a strange woman entered my house and police were required to remove her.

So, in early November, I got nervous when someone camped in a tent near my back gate.  I stopped feeding the birds, because they were also camped near the bird feeding spot.

Then, on the evening of November 9th, someone knocked on my front door.  It was the homeless person camped in the tent; a woman complaining that her clothes were wet, and wondering if I could dry them out with my clothes dryer.  She seemed somewhat mentally-challenged, but also in some trouble.  Wet clothes are a menace in the November chill.  I told her I would meet her at her campsite and see what her needs were..

Meeting her out back, she said someone had thrown water on her clothes, but I didn't believe her.  She was using a two-wheeled rubbish bin as a transport vehicle for her belongings, and I think that the bin had collected rainwater from a storm several days prior.  There was no other way for her clothes to get so wet.  I determined it was probably best to wash and dry the clothes. So, that's what I did, taking mostly jackets and jeans, and washing and drying them.  Her name was Tiffany, and she was tracking the time, because at midnight it would be November 10th, and her 38th birthday.

I took Jasper out for his late-night walk.  When we returned, after midnight, she was rolling her belongings away, including clean, dry clothes.  She did not return either.  So, no dependency or inappropriate relationship to worry about.  I was able to help her out of a jam, as a good neighbor should do.

Fun at the Howe at Arden Protest - November 29, 2025

Good times and general impressions, particularly of the periodic Honk Countdown.

 

Wolf Alice - "White Horses"

I love stumbling across indie rock/pop groups that I've never heard of before, singing songs with geographical references. Love this song! 

I just missed their tour this year. Something to look forward to in the future!

“If I Were a Rich Man”

I had a strange dream. “If I Were a Rich Man” was a TV Reality show based in Annetevka, with all the residents acting out with rich wardrobes, luxury yachts, and private jets.

"Bugonia"

November 22nd, I saw the film “Bugonia,” featuring an all-too-complicated conspiracy theory, and starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. Excellent movie! 

The next day, listening to KVMR (Grass Valley) on the radio, this song came up. Seemed apropos!

 

Roseville Theatre Arts Academy's (RTAA's) 5th Annual Champagne Gala - November 15, 2025

"A Titallating Cabaret, Redux - Sierra 2 Center - November 14, 2025

Jennifer Rineman and her tales of surviving breast cancer.

River City Theater Company (RCTC) - "Cinderella" - November 8, 2025

Various Bumper Stickers and Signs

From Sacramento:

General Protesting Impressions, Howe at Arden, November 15, 2025

 

New Signs for Saturday:

RIP, Max Aragon

Max! My first cousin! He was seven years older than I, so we didn't really hang out together at any time, even as kids, unlike Ernie, and even Freddy. 

I recall how Aunt Senaida liked how my mother would line up my sisters and I on Gramita's couch, so we looked so cute. So, Senaida tried to do the same with her four robust sons. It was hard, and it didn't last very long, but she finally got cuteness from her sons too. 

I recall the world of Bernalillo in the early 60s. I'd see Nehi Cola there: something that seemed unavailable in Corrales, just ten miles away. Max and his brothers would collect empty glass bottles and recycle them for probably about a penny each at the Iceberg Cafe, at the south side of town, where San Ysidro met El Camino. And the Aragon family was on San Ysidro. 

 Max was a bus driver in San Jose, CA, and in Albuquerque, NM, too. Good times!

Funeral service will be on November 18, 2025.  I won't be there, unfortunately.  Here is the obituary, which seems to contain several glaring errors:

Maximulano “Max” Aragon

April 6, 1949 – October 29, 2025

Max was born and raised in Bernalillo New Mexico . He led a fulfilling and happy life. He believed in living each day to the fullest and valued the little things in life and loved making everyone happy.

He was called home October 29, 2025 . He was surrounded by family and loved ones.

He was preceded in death by his parents Felicito and Zenida Aragon , his 2 brothers Ernie and Olie and his beloved wife Lucia .

He is survived by Max Jr and Monica Aragon from Bernalillo – Jimmy and Brandy Trujillo and Clarence and Susan of Sandia Pueblo – as well as 12 grandchildren and was blessed to have 4 great grandchildren and numerous nieces , nephews, cousins and other extended family whom he loved dearly and never hesitated to show how big his heart was .

He had such a big part in all our lives , He lives on in all of us

He will be dearly missed

Services will be :

Rosary – Funeral Mass

Tuesday November 18, 2025 @10:00 am

Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Bernalillo, NM

Burial to follow at Placitas Cemetery

Reception to follow at :

Sheriff Posse in Bernalillo

Pallbearers

Max Aragon Jr

Phillip Aragon

Karina Aragon

Gabriel Aragon

Paul Aragon

Jimmy Gutierrez

RIP, Linda Mitchell

Along with the Celebration of Life for Tom and Helen Austin, Linda's passing just shows that time is moving right along. 

Poor Linda, and Dwight.

"After The Hunt"

I saw this movie last month and and I forgot to write about it. It's a curious movie, where the actors cast accusations and aspersions against each other, yet the audience doesn't have enough information to evaluate the claims. It boils down to what you believe. The epilogue of the film is interesting, yielding a happy ending, and the definite understanding that none of what came before really mattered. The Woody-Allen font aids this process of downplaying the high-tension of before. 

So, it's curious. Here is a review of the film:

Of course, Hank vehemently denies any wrongdoing, but is quickly fired by the teaching department, after Alma’s testimony supports Maggie, and the higher-ups believes it is the right thing to do, optics-wise. The movie then begins to veer in a direction that isn’t at all what its introduction promised to the audience, offering no answers to whether or not Hank did what he was accused of, and if Alma’s current beliefs are perhaps the cause of a past experience she had with an alleged sexual assault. Instead of giving easy answers to anything, Guadagnino confronts the audience’s values – and their conception of cinema – with an often contradictory object that always fascinates in how he never gives the audience lines of thinking to the questions and themes he and screenwriter Nora Garrett treat within this fictionalized story of an event occurring in the middle of the #MeToo movement.

 

Rachel Rycerz at Twin Lotus Thai Restaurant - October 16, 2025

Commemorating AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top" Video

A very Australian thing, jamming every available bagpiper into Melbourne's Fed Square to commemorate rock and roll heroes, AC/DC, on what I believe is the 50th anniversary!

@carolineangel_ucat42 The world record is set for the most pipers of laying AC/DC (Fed Square). It was awesome. #ACDC #highlandband #bagpipes #fedsquare #fedsquaremelbourne ♬ original sound - CarolineAngel

 

Big, Beautiful Bill!

My Reaction to Newer Technology

Rosalía - Berghain

Pluribus Filming Locations - Season 1

Links to 28 different "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" posts can be found on the sidebar of the Marc Valdez Weblog desktop website.  Choose the link that works best for you.  

This post focuses on Season 1 filming locations for "Plur1bus," or "Pluribus" (updated on November 26, 2025).

Let me know if you have any problems or questions (E-Mail address: valdezmarc56@gmail.com).

--------------------------

To avoid unnecessary friction, I have redacted the addresses of all single-family homes in these books. (These addresses are still available at Marc Valdez Weblog, however.)  The pictures in the print editions are black-and-white, in order to keep costs down. 

"A Guidebook To 'Breaking Bad' Filming Locations: Including 'Better Call Saul' - Albuquerque as Physical Setting and Indispensable Character" (Sixth Edition)

Purchase book at the link.                                                                                                                   This book outlines thirty-three circuits that the avid fan can travel in order to visit up to 679 different filming locations for "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" in the Albuquerque area.  Some background is provided for each site, including other movies that might have also used the site for filming.

"‘Breaking Bad’ Signs and Symbols: Reading Meaning into Sets, Props, and Filming Locations” (Second Edition)

Purchase book at the link.                                                                                                        “‘Breaking Bad’ Signs and Symbols,” aims to understand some of the symbolism embedded in the backgrounds of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” in order to decode messages and stories Vince Gilligan and crew have hidden there.                                                                                                    A series of tables are used to isolate how certain (particularly architectural) features are used: Gentle Arches, Tin Ceilings, Five-Pointed Stars, Octagons, etc. Daylighting innovations that were either pioneered or promoted in Chicago are examined: Glass Block Windows, Luxfer Prismatic Tile Windows, and Plate Glass Windows.

Certain symbols advance the plot: foreshadowing symbols like Pueblo Deco Arches, or danger symbols like bell shapes and stagger symbols. Other features, like Glass Block Windows or Parallel Beams in the Ceiling, tell stories about the legacies and corruptions of modernity, particularly those best-displayed at Chicago’s “Century of Progress” (1933-34). 

In addition, a number of scenes in the show are modeled after Early Surrealist artworks. The traces of various artists can be tracked in both shows, including: Comte de Lautréamont, Giorgio De Chirico, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, René Magritte, Toyen, Yves Tanguy, Remedios Varo, Paul Klee, and in particular, Salvador Dalí.

--------------------------

Inaugurating Pluribus!

Episode 101 - "We Is Us"

Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescopes, San Augustin Plain west of Magdalena, NM (also used in the movie 'Contact,' starring Jodie Foster.

Bookstore - Barnes and Noble Bookstore, 6600 Menaul Blvd. NE, at Coronado Mall (FB friend Xandra was in the scene, so any questions can be forwarded to her). 

USAMRIID labs - Appears to be CNM Rio Rancho campus, 2601 Campus Blvd. NE, Rio Rancho, NM.

ABQ Sunport - on landing, view looking northeast along SW/NE runway, towards Sandias

Sunport parking garage - Row I, Level 3?  This parking garage is holy ground in the Gilliverse.  Essentially, the parking garage is a map of the ancient American Southwest, featuring the ancient Pueblo Meridian, represented by the skylighted north-south open space within the garage.  All parking-garage filming locations in BrBa, BCS, and probably Pluribus too seem to be chosen to be as close as possible to the skylighted open space, which represents the Pueblo Meridian.  It will be important to nail this location down to the exact foot (see my discussion here).

Vicinity of Bar - Vicinity of Vernon's Speakeasy, 6855 4th St. NW (where the 2013 Walter White burial plaque is memorialized). 

Police car - on Bobby Foster Rd., near "Q" Studios.

Carol gazes over city on fire - Bobby Foster Rd, at almost exactly the same place where Kim Wexler has her car crash in "Better Call Saul."

Hospital - College and Career High School, 940 University Blvd. SE.

Street scene - Approximately 1500 1st St. NW.  Vicinity of Kinley Ave. and 1st St. NW.

Cul-de-sac where Carol lives - Roughly six houses on the slope of the JA Volcano (35.165335°, -106.746240°). I tried visiting there in February, 2025, but I could see security waiting for me, so I didn't visit. 

Episode 102 - "Pirate Lady"

Islas Canarias (Canary Islands)

Approximate location of Car Crash - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Barranca Guiniguada (28.102771°, -15.429149°)

Zosia climbs on motorbike - up above previous site? - C. Cruz de Piedra

Painted pavement - Camino Nilo (28.104666°, -15.422091°)

Near rug shop - 

Motorbike descends towards port - C. Sierra Nevada (28.104243°, -15.424704°)

Coastal drive pedestrian overpass (28.067770°, -15.417158°)

Airport - For some reason, this location is hard to determine.  Was it actually filmed somewhere else entirely?  Indeed, in the Pluribus Facebook Group on Facebook, this location is claimed by the Belen Regional Airport.  So, what is the model for the airport terminal?  I don't know!

Cul-de-sac again 

C-130 at Sunport - on landing, view looking northeast along SW/NE runway, towards Sandias

Shower at Hotel (thinking Sandia Casino, but who knows?)

Subdivision street - unclear.  Possibly Retablo Rd. NW

Crane - According to Frank Sandoval: "First Baptist Church on Paseo Del Norte east of golf course, north side of the building. They used the backside of the Baptist Church for the scene. 4101 Paseo del Norte Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114"

Driving on street - thinking around 9101 Retablo Rd. NW.

Cul-de-sac  

Helicopter 

Airport at Bilbao, Spain 

Estate in northeastern Spain - Getaria, Basque Country - Iturregi Hotela, 20808 Askizu, Gipuzkoa, Spain.

Episode 103 - "Grenade"

Sprouts (interior) - According to Apple TV podcast, this is the old Sears Store at Cottonwood Mall, same as location used for a department store in "Better Call Saul," episode "Nippy.".

Sprouts (exterior) - Sprouts Farmer's Market store #707, 13150 Central Ave. SE, 87123

Parking lot - Carol watches trucks approach not far away from the old Sears store location, over more by Dillards, at (35.197336°, -106.655171°)

Hospital - CNM Westside Campus, 10549 Universe Blvd. NW.

Episode 104 - "Please, Carol"

Storage units and house in Paraguay - Interior is on set, according to Apple Podcast.  Exterior, storage units in ABQ, off 4th Street, near Vernon's.  Perhaps Chamisa Self Storage, 7010 4th Street NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.  These place are all near the El Camino Motor Hotel, which was an important filming location in "Better Call Saul."

CNM Open Space?

Cul-de-sac

Hospital - CNM Westside Campus, 10549 Universe Blvd. NW.

Episode 105 - "Got Milk"

Hospital - CNM Westside Campus, 10549 Universe Blvd. NW.

House Interior

Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1901 University Blvd. NE.

(Rooftop built in studio)

Stairwell

City Vista as seen from top of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Cul-de-sac

Street corner

Near playground - milk containers

Duke City Dairy

Cop car scraping bottom - 

Builder Materials, 1707 Commercial St. NE

Driving on the street

Sprouts at night - 

Agri-jet (exterior) - Monumental Studios, 1235 Aspen Ave. NW.

That's all I got at the moment!

Jasper Update

Since Jasper was featured in Nextdoor.com for doing his own self-directed walk around the neighborhood he's become even more-celebrated. People I've never met before now seem to know his name, and have heard of his exploits. 

Halloween came, and once again I was faced with the problem that no one comes to my house for Trick-or-Treat. Part of the problem is that there are no kids in the immediate neighborhood.  Also, my house stands considerably-higher than the street, making it a formidable, almost haunted, destination for little kids. So, this year, I grabbed my bag of candy as I took Jasper for his evening walk, and went searching for parties of the little kids. I was able to meet a number of them that way, and I gave away most of my candy. 

I wanted to make some comfort food, but didn't account for how slick the skillet was on top of the stove. Suddenly, there was a crash, and Hamburger Helper was piled in a smoking ruin on the kitchen floor. Jasper entered the kitchen. His smile seemed to say: "Best idea ever!"

Tuesday Kindergarten

Last week at the elementary school, I spent most of my time becoming acquainted with what the Special Education folks do. We'll see how it evolves. 

On Tuesday, November 4th, which was a short day at the school, I spent all day in kindergarten. The day was filled with various class projects. The teacher played a video about Canada, and assigned a project to use red crayons and maple leaves in order that everyone could make their own Canadian flags. Quite nice! 

I escorted the kids to lunch. As the kids stood in line for food they started rocking back and forth, particularly their shoulders and arms. "Six seven!" they all chanted. I saw a clip from "South Park," showing kids at their elementary school doing the same, and that looked exactly like this (except the Peter Thiel part). 

I monitored recess as well. One of the girls presented me with a gift: a wood chip cut into the shape of a Perfect Rhombus. It was striking, and sweet. There is something almost ethereal about this girl. 

Meanwhile, a few girls were playing a favorite game: chasing boys and making them kiss them. The boys ran away, but not very hard, and they were frequently caught. 

A group of four girls were hanging upside down from the bars at one end of the play structure. Their tops fell over their heads and they showed off their nipples to each other. I didn't need to see this, and so monitored more-boisterous play at the other end of the play structure. Still, I could hear much of what the four girls were saying. The leader of the four girls wanted to correct her playmates, who were making no distinction between boy nipples and girl nipples. As she explained: "Boys have nipples, but girls have boobies." 

After recess, a strange thing happened. A kindergartener from a different class was moved into the classroom - usually done to throw a misbehaving kid off-balance, and thus more compliant. The teacher asked me to take this boy along with three other kids into the recess yard for an extra recess. 

The boy immediately began misbehaving, with language and action - acting more like a 12-year-old rather than a four-year-old. He started trying to climb the fence surrounding the recess yard. His first attempt failed. I pulled him off the fence (contact with the kids is discouraged, but escape from the recess yard is even more strongly-discouraged). The boy started climbing again. Each time he failed, but he was getting faster and more assured. The boy then turned began attacking the other boy in the yard. I stopped that, but then I got distracted - I think another adult had entered the area - and suddenly, on the fifth attempt, the boy was gone. 

The office responded very quickly. They were alarmed. What is it with this boy? 

Post-school recess then started. The boys particularly liked a game on the slide they called "You Can't Catch Me Old Man!" The boys went down the slide as I lunged clumsily after them, with the pretense that I couldn't touch them. As the kids slid down the plastic slide they became charged with static electricity, so as they escaped my grasp I was still able to zap them with electric shocks. 

And, as sometimes happens, by the weekend I had come down with a fever and a cold. Working with kids can take a toll.

 

The Biggest Damn Exododus Anyone Has Ever Seen!

Howe at Arden Anti-ICE Protest, Sacramento, CA, Nov. 1, 2025

Birthday Missive

I'd like to thank everyone for their well wishes on my Halloween-Eve 69th birthday. 

It's kind of a sober birthday. Back in 1992, my mother passed away, two days short of her 69th birthday. I've now hit her mark. I'm looking over the crest of the rainbow and seeing days that she never saw.

Several other friends and relatives also died recently. The older you get the more likely this state of affairs becomes. Memorial services crowd in. 

But I'm also a Boomer (albeit a late, Generation-Jones version of a Boomer). And Boomers have problems acknowledging reality. 

So, here's to a cheerful future, and the fulfilling 69 years yet to come!

A Long Winter Approaches

Jasper Makes it on Nextdoor

Jasper made it on Nextdoor (October 28th).

"Brown and black fluffy dog running around 24th and 2nd. Many Good Samaritans tried to catch it but they’re fast."

Jasper made it home safely. The back gate was open, or nearly so. I guess he got bored, pushed the gate open, and took a trip about three blocks away, where he attracted attention, so he returned home. 

Walking Jasper the morning of October 29th, I met the woman who wrote the Nextdoor post. She said she chased him for about an hour, as he dodged traffic at the 4-way stop. Drivers cooperated with her, trying to keep him safe. She tried enticing him into her yard, but just couldn’t catch him.

Celebration of Life for Tom and Helen Austin

Celebration of Life for Tom and Helen Austin, October 25, 2025, at their home on the far side of Folsom Lake. In attendance were various friends, family members, and associates, from Sierra Research, the California Air Resources Board, and the Iron Butt Association of long-distance motorcyclists. 

You can feel the time slipping away...

Thursday School Activities

Last Thursday (October 23rd), I went to the elementary school, first substituting as a teacher, then as a special education teacher, then as a teaching assistant assigned to the kindergartners. 

The substitute teaching was quite pleasant. The teaching assistants in the class knew exactly what to do to keep on schedule, so all I had to do was preside and keep order. The teacher returned earlier than expected. I was sent to special education. 

This was my first brush with the special education folks. I was assigned to help one student, who seemed reasonably capable, so no problems there. 

Then I was sent to keep watch over the kindergartners, particularly at recess. I seem to have an unusual energy with the littles. I'm less a minder than a big, clumsy, ancient playmate. They are endlessly curious about why I have a mole on my face, or hair in my nose. They try to scare me, and insist that I try to scare them. They incorporate me into strange storylines and games. 

Then, as the afternoon wore on, the energy seemed to shift. The play got more boisterous. I think they were getting crankier with fatigue, as school ended and parents began arriving to pick up the kids. At one point, they snagged my iPhone and played keepaway with it. Kids began stumbling more and scraping knees. 

As the number of students dropped off with various pickups, it was time to leave the playground and consolidate everyone in one of the classrooms. It was time to collect the remaining kindergartners and move on. But they didn't want to go. A group of kids gathered at the top of the playground's play structure, and started resisting. 

Suddenly, a boy reached up from below and pulled on the pants of another boy, exposing his bare bottom. The boy apparently liked the suggestion, and quickly removed his pants and underwear. Since anyone approaching the school on foot could clearly see the top of the play structure, this was a significant problem. A girl quickly copied the boy and removed her tights. They were both experiencing the thrill of complete rebellion, intoxicated by defying all the rules, and challenging anyone to stop them. 

I could hear the call go out over the walkie talkie, asking for assistance from the office. The kids didn't seem to understand that time was running out. I did my best to peel off the kids, one by one, and urge them to leave. A second appeal for assistance went out over the walkie talkie. The power structure was slow in responding, but it was responding. Come on kids! We're out of time! Let's go!!! 

The boy heeded the call to leave at the last possible moment, and vanished, leaving just the girl. Then, suddenly it was all over. The girl got hauled to the office and suffered through the Stern Lecture. 

You learn a lot in kindergarten.

This Saturday's Protest

You never know exactly what you are going to get in a protest. It can be tedious at times. Still, there are some things that are a given. This Saturday at the intersection of Howe and Arden in Sacramento, I got four; maybe five, middle fingers thrown my way. Probably not enough. I should try harder to rile folks up. The Sacramento crowd in general is quite supportive of our anti-ICE protests. It makes me smile. These days, the fuck-your-feelings crowd has hurt fee-fees, and is beginning to be afraid of looking uncool. We're beginning to drive the Trump pestilence back under rocks, where it belongs. 

There were three notable encounters today. The first was earnest discussion with a man who described himself as a political independent. He stressed the need for compromise between opposing factions. It was hard to find much fault with anything he was saying. He hadn't heard of ICE's use of the John Moss Building on the Capitol Mall in Sacramento as a makeshift detention center. It puzzled him. He is a contractor for providing water-related chemicals to several prisons and is familiar with the needs of prisons. An improvised prison simply didn't compute with him. How does that work? 

The second encounter was with a couple in their fifties idling in the left turn lane who objected to the sign I was carrying saying "Don't Idolize Charlie Kirk - He Was a BAD Man!" The woman said, "How dare you insult the memory of a dead man!" In the absence of traffic I walked into the street to talk more with them. She said, "Get out of the street! You're such a dumbass you're going to get hit!" I replied, "Charlie Kirk was an EVIL man!" The woman's husband replied "Charlie Kirk was a good Christian." I replied, "NOPE! Evil!" Traffic began moving, so I couldn't provide examples of Kirk's evil to them. 

The third encounter was fairly alarming. Waiting for the light to change, a man jumped out of his vehicle's passenger door and shouted that I must have an incredibly-small penis. Apparently this encounter wasn't about the signs I was carrying. Then he raced up to me in the right-turn lane in a highly-aggressive way, stuck his middle finger an inch in front of my nose, and dared me to touch him. "No way I'm touching this guy," I thought to myself. Clearly he wanted the excuse of an assault in order to hit me. I sized him up. Dyed, curly, short blonde hair. Taller than me; fairly muscular. A beach bum look. Looked a bit like Barbie's Ken, but on drugs. Probably doesn't have a penis at all, but a plastic lump in its place. So, we had a shouting match right there in the right turn lane, just inches apart from one another. In the driver's seat of their vehicle, his wife seemed embarrassed and kept calling for him to return to the vehicle. This was all performative bullshit. No way was I backing down against Mr. Perfect-Teeth-In-Need-of-a-Gap. Fellow protesters began to react. A woman I hadn't seen before came into the street to warn him away. Eventually the traffic light changed, so the guy got back in his vehicle and they left. 

Just another day in service of the truth at the protest.

Various Sacramento Signs