It's Fuffer Time in Sacramento!

Fuffer refers to the fluffy oak florets that rain down from the various oak trees in Sacramento, particularly the Valley Oaks.  Katherine Arthur dubbed these florets "fuffers."  In this photo, the fuffers litter the ground.

"Everybody on the Floor" - Tokyo Ghetto Pussy

The universe of pop music is so large. I guess this tune is 2000 nostalgia now, but it's the first time I ever heard it, so it's brand new to me. It's got a beat and you can dance to it.

 

On Running The Country Like a Business

@orange_stallion Replying to @Common sense ♬ original sound - Mustang-Dad

U.S. Army Graduation

Congratulations to my nephew, Aaron Browning, upon U.S. Army graduation (starting at 12:00). I also like the Soldier's Creed and the Army Goes Rolling Along (about 16:30).

(Since the embedded video is unavailable, try the link.  It's intelligence, after all.)

 

"A Chorus Line" - Rocklin Community Theatre - May 11, 2024

Saturday night, Rachel and I saw "A Chorus Line" at Rocklin Community Theatre. This is the first time I've visited Rocklin Theatre since 2018, and so saw some people for the first time since the pandemic..  

I've been in three separate productions of the show, so it's a welcome and familiar place.  It's interesting that they now drop birth years in the show when discussing the dancers' ages.

How many people do I know here?  Cassie March directed the show, and also played Laurie.  Cassie's longtime good friend Haylie Bedal (nee Roberts) played Kristine.  I was surprised that Dani Hansen was in the cast, playing Val.

Carly Yorde (Maggie) was in the cast too.  She has just recently played Adelaide in Sierra College's "Guys and Dolls," so she must be incredibly busy these days.

I liked Angel Riley, who played Bobby (which I played in 2003).

I had problems with Amanda's portrayal of Cassie.  Amanda does not have sufficient dance training to do the role justice. Nevertheless, she executed well the dancing that she did do.  Dani Hansen played big-bosomed Val despite having a small bosom, proving that attitude and confidence are the most important possessions when tackling this sassy role.  There were some problems in quite getting the mid-70s vibe of the show.  Haylie's costume featuring boy shorts would not have been seen in the 70s. The stage is small at Rocklin, and sometimes things just got too close up there.
 

Darryl Strohl-De Herrera (Zach) and myself.  Darryl did a fabulous job, as he does with all roles he takes on.

Rachel together with Amanda Bistolfo (Cassie).  In last September's "Fiddler on the Roof" at Lincoln Theatre, Amanda played Hodel.  Jack Fidler (Mark) was also in last September's Fiddler.

"The Hallelujah Girls" - Lincoln Musical Theatre - May 11, 2024

Saturday was rather busy - two theatrical shows on the northern fringe of the Sac Metro area. 

We saw the afternoon performance of "The Hallelujah Girls." Rachel knew several people in the show. I didn't know the players, but I did know the director, Gary Giurbino.  I had some problems understanding the Georgia Southern accents, which may be more my challenges with aging hearing than anything to do with the cast.

A reunion of some of the cast from last September's "Fiddler on the Roof." Rachel (Golde), the young woman who played Schprintze, and Gary (Tevye).

Where Are The Real Patriots When You Need Them?

These people (smh): 

Katie Britt: Introduced a bill to create a federal database of pregnant women. 

Also Katie Britt: Opposes federal database of gun owners.

(see video at link above)

Tricksy, Tricksy Police

I caught this story on the radio. 

Cops have a duty to inform you if they (purposely or incidentally) kill members of your family, but what they do these days is turn that visit into an informal interrogation, not because they are chatty and it's a nice day, but in order to learn from you the best ways to bolster their own wrongful-death lawsuit defenses.  When cops come to your house first ask them why they are there, and then remain as SILENT as possible! Reveal nothing:

Bruce Praet is a well-known name in law enforcement, especially across California. He co-founded a company called Lexipol that contracts with more than 95 percent of police departments in the state and offers its clients trainings and ready-made policies.

In one of Praet’s training webinars, posted online, he offers a piece of advice that policing experts have called inhumane. It’s aimed at protecting officers and their departments from lawsuits.

After police kill someone, they are supposed to notify the family. Praet advises officers to use that interaction as an opportunity. Instead of delivering the news of the death immediately, he suggests first asking about the person who was killed to get as much information as possible. 

Reporter Brian Howey started looking into this advice when he was with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He found that officers have been using this tactic across California, and the information families disclosed before they knew their relative was killed affected their lawsuits later. In this hour, Howey interviews families that have been on the receiving end of this controversial policing tactic, explaining their experience and the lasting impact.

The Late Ken Sanchez Honored

A plaque was unveiled in Albuquerque celebrating the life and career of former city council member Ken Sanchez. Nice. Strangely enough, we went to high school together, but our paths rarely crossed. We had different politics.  We did do a conga line dance together at the West Mesa High School 40th reunion in 2014, though. What I'd like to know is why he passed away. After all, we are classmates, and it bothers me when my classmates just keel over.

Traffic Accident on Fair Oaks Blvd. - May 5, 2024

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?” Dubya’s thought crossed my mind last week when I was passed quickly on the freeway, on the shoulder on the right, by a car emblazoned with the slogan: “Be patient: student driver.” 

No worries, I’m patient, but - is our children too impatient? 

Sunday evening, I was driving north on Fair Oaks Blvd. in Carmichael, at the sharp turn just south of Marconi Ave., when I heard (and saw in my rear view mirror) the car in the left lane sideswipe the car in the right lane (and apparently bumping into a traffic island in the process). At first, given the noise, I thought I was involved in the collision, but apparently not.  I pulled over, as a witness. 

No one was hurt, even though both vehicles were full of people. Phone numbers and insurance info were exchanged. The sideswiped vehicle was still drivable, but not the sideswiper vehicle. 

I talked briefly to the young driver of the sideswiper vehicle. The young driver didn’t have a driver’s license, but instead had a driver’s permit - a new driver. He explained that he didn't see the traffic island and that he was in a hurry. You could hear the urgency in his voice. I’m sure he had to go somewhere. And he was going nowhere. He seemed honest, entitled, and bewildered that he couldn't get what he wanted.

(According to the driver of the sideswiped vehicle, the young driver had tried to cut him off and couldn’t even keep his vehicle in his own lane before even reaching the sharp turn.) 

There are various sharp limitations on the ages and number of people who may be driven by someone with a driver’s permit. The young driver had three or four other people about his own age in his vehicle. Every single limitation in the law appears to have been broken here. 

Is our children too impatient?

Walking with Jasper and Joe the Plumber

Usually Joe the Plumber comes to my neighborhood to walk with Jasper and myself, but given the fact that his vehicle guzzles gas, he invited me to come to his neighborhood instead.  These days, he lives near the American River Parkway.  

Jasper was totally amazed!  Lots of big geese.  Quail and rabbits.  Plus other dogs, of course.  A dog's dream!

Joe doesn't like being photographed.  I got this photo entirely by accident.  I've known him for 24 years.  This is the only photo I have of his face.

William B. Pond pond.

Bridge over the American River, looking northeast towards Gothe Park.

Bridge over the American River, looking southwest.

"Damn Yankees" - Woodland Opera House - May 4, 2024

On Saturday, Rachel and I went up to see the Woodland folks do "Damn Yankees" (I did the show myself at DMTC in 2004).  It was fun seeing seeing old friends in the roles (Nathan Lacy as Joe Boyd; Rick Eldredge as Mr. Applegate; Jeff Nauer as Van Buren; Erik Catalan as Eddie; Scott Griffith as Bouley, Omar Ernesto Huerta as Smokey; Jackie Smith-Induni and Alexis Velasquez in the Women's Ensemble) plus new folks too. (I might know Ryan Gordon-Morgan as Rocky - I knew Ryan Gordon in the 90s - plus I know Tomas Eredia as Henry - we are at odds right now, however.)

Erin McGoldrick was great as Lola, and Rich Eldredge was great as Mr. Applegate.

During intermission, I was approached by a man who thought he recognized me.  It was Trevor Hoffman, the Boy Wonder of 2008 at DMTC!  I thought he had vanished, but he had relocated apparently to the Greater Bay Area.  These days he's a major presence at Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma.

Good times!

Jasper's Birthday - April 29th

OK, Jasper, you win, no little hat today, on the occasion of your sixth birthday.

"The Beast"

I headed to the Tower Theater on May 3rd to see "The Beast": a French/Canadian project. 

The film basically follows the same couple over three distinct periods: Belle Epoque France (basically Paris) in 1910, Los Angeles in 2014, and Paris in 2044. The stories are interesting, with several common themes: the presence of dolls, the presence of pools of water, and a spiritual adviser.

The Beast (French: La Bête) is a 2023 science fiction romantic drama film directed and written by Bertrand Bonello from a story he co-wrote with Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit, and loosely based on Henry James's 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle. It stars Léa Seydoux and George MacKay, with Guslagie Malanda and Dasha Nekrasova in supporting roles. 

It is a co-production between France and Canada. The film is produced by Les Films du Bélier and Bonello's My New Picture in collaboration with Arte France Cinéma, AMI Paris, and Xavier Dolan and Nancy Grant's Sons of Manual. The project was announced in 2021 and principal photography took place in Paris and Los Angeles between August and October 2022.

Léa Seydoux is a good actress, but I was wowed more by George MacKay. He has a monologue as an insecure, well-dressed American incel that is so over the top that people laughed. It was great!  Apparently he's British and learned French for the role.  Amazing!

The California scenes are both menacing and absurd. Just right, in my opinion.

I suspect the movie works better for French audiences.  The 2044 world features three nightclubs meant to evoke nostalgia for specific years: 1980, 1972, and 1963.  The 1980 club is familiar, but the music in the 1972 club must be what was popular in France in 1972, not the U.S., and so was unfamiliar.  The 1963 world might as well have been a different planet.  It's a demonstration how the world of pop music became internationalized towards the end of the 20th Century.

See the film if you can!

 

Shopping Affirmation of the Day

You’re good enough, tough enough, and come in several varieties.

Theater Dream

Theater dream. I dreamt I was in a courtroom in a musical. I resembled Mel Brooks dressed as the King of France in "The History of the World - Part 1." 

Action slowly ground to a halt. Apparently I was supposed to start the singing - so the hushed voices in the wings muttered - but I didn’t know the cue because this was the first time I ever had this dream and didn’t know any of the songs. So things just kept getting more and more awkward until I woke up.

 

Ukraine War Drone Footage - May 5, 2024

Mesmerizing, and high-quality footage:

 

Don't Worry Toto, We're Not in South Dakota

April 27th Train Derailment at AZ-NM Border

From Reddit:

trucker video of train derailment. veer left!
byu/WillingnessOk3081 inTruckers

All that propane and gasoline!

Report Cards are a Dumb Metric

The American Lung Association (ALA) is like Mommie Dearest - beating the Sacramento area with a wire hanger despite our diligent efforts hanging clothes up. 

Apparently our air pollution levels are among the worst in the country. Regarding ozone, the Sac Metro area placed 7th-worst in the country for 2024. Still, 20 years ago, in 2004, the area placed 11th, despite ozone levels being notably worse than they are today. 

The paradox is that as pollution levels decline, the areas that have geographic impediments to improvement (as every city in California does) will stand out for their slow progress. 9(Particle levels have recently reemerged as a problem, which could be addressed if we can somehow stop burning down forests every other year next to the city limits.) 

Report cards are a dumb metric. 

Here are the top 10 most polluted metropolitan areas in the United States in terms of ozone, according to the American Lung Association: 

Los Angeles-Long Beach

Visalia 

Bakersfield 

Fresno-Madera-Hanford 

Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona 

Denver-Aurora, Colorado 

Sacramento-Roseville 

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 

Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, Utah 

Houston-The Woodlands, Texas