Squirrel Gets Revenge

Take down a politician:

Howard Brookins Jr., the alderman for Chicago’s 21st ward, had publicly spoken out about a toothy menace plaguing the city’s garbage carts: urban squirrels, which in Brookins’s view were “aggressive,” and aggressively damaging the trash cart lids.

...Brookins was biking along Cal-Sag Trail on Nov. 13, when a squirrel darted into his path. The squirrel cut Brookins’s bike trip short by wrapping itself in the spokes of the alderman’s bicycle. The alderman flipped over the handlebars and landed with such a severe impact that he fractured his skull, broke his nose and knocked out a handful of teeth, the Chicago Tribune reported. A woman who passed by called 911. Brookins was only able to leave the hospital Thursday.

Secret Spaces

Painting yesterday in parts of the basement I haven't seen in a decade, I uncovered a secret nest built then by Cloudy the Bunny. Made me smile to see how carefully it was hidden! Bunnies love secret spaces.

Been Upgrading "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" Posts

Next April, or so, I will issue a new version (4th Edition) of my "Guidebook to 'Breaking Bad' Filming Locations". I've been busy doing rinky-dink improvements to street and episode references in my blogposts and the draft Guidebook, to help lift the general level of the works. Since there are roughly half-a-million words in the reference blogposts, and nearly 70,000 words in the book itself, even the rinkiest-dinkiest of improvements take a long time to implement. Once Season 3 of "Better Call Saul" starts (sometime in February?) changes will come fast and furious. I have to be ready.

A holiday time is perfect for that effort. It's taken me two full days - I expected it to take two full weeks. Kick ass!

I have two books coming from Amazon in regards to the 1933-34 Chicago "Century of Progress International Exposition". Those books likely contain crucial information for the talk that I'm going to give at the SWPACA conference in Albuquerque in February. I will read with excitement!

I can hardly wait to give that talk in February!

Made a major financial adjustment today. Time to prepare for that fucker Donald Trump becoming President. I'll make more adjustments after the New Year starts.

There are other events coming up. Maybe a trip to Hollywood with Jetta. I have reservations about that trip.

Then, maybe in March (my host Andrew has requested a postponement), a trip to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia! Check out the scene there. Laugh at kookaburras and startle burrowing echidnas!

Donald Trump's Conflicts of Interest Will Come Fast and Furious

Everywhere you turn:

“The question for us is: Will Trump as president use the power he has to interfere given he has a financial interest in the outcome?” says Bethany Khan, a spokesperson for the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas.

The NLRB is an independent federal agency with no enforcement power. Its ruling that Trump and Ruffin must begin to bargain with the union will be enforced or overturned by the D.C. Court of Appeals. Incidentally, the chief judge on that court is Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court. As a candidate, Trump had encouraged Republican senators not to hold hearings on Garland’s confirmation. Now, Garland will rule on Trump’s hotel while Trump will fill what might have been Garland's place on the Supreme Court.

Trump will also (in time) appoint judges to the D.C. Circuit, which rules on cases brought against federal agencies like the NLRB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Finally, Trump (the hotel tycoon) could choose to appeal the D.C. Circuit's judgment to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court would probably not agree to hear the case. But if it did, the NLRB would be represented by the Justice Department, whose head would be appointed by Donald Trump (the president of the United States). Trump v. Trump.

DMTC's Upcoming New Year's Gala, 2017

An evening of food, fun, dancing and hilarity!

Enjoy a great show, delicious dinner buffet and then dancing on the DMTC Stage.

The evening includes:
-Full show
-Dinner buffet catered by ABC Catering
-Live DJ & dancing
-Champagne, sparkling cider & desserts
-Only $50/person

Catered buffet dinner from ABC Catering includes chicken, beef and vegetarian options, salads, rolls, desserts,
a chocolate fondues, and more.

After the show enjoy our live DJ, champagne, sparkling cider and dance the night away on our stage!!!

There is a $2 per ticket facility fee on all tickets

Tickets and information available at http://www.dmtc.org/

DMTC's "Chess" Promo Video

Trump Lost Most of the American Economy

Interesting:

According to the Brookings analysis, the less-than-500 counties that Clinton won nationwide combined to generate 64 percent of America's economic activity in 2015. The more-than-2,600 counties that Trump won combined to generate 36 percent of the country's economic activity last year.

Clinton, in other words, carried nearly two-thirds of the American economy.

Here's how the researchers, at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, visualized that. You can see immediately what's going on: With the exceptions of the Phoenix and Fort Worth areas, and a big chunk of Long Island, Clinton won every large-sized economic county in the country.

Laure Courtellemont Is Coming To Sacramento On December 2nd!

She is AMAZING! I can hardly wait!:

Laure Courtellemont (Ragga JAM creator) is coming back to Northern California!

THIS TIME THERE WILL BE THREE LOCATIONS: Sacramento, Oakland, Corte Madera (bay area)!

Experience Laure's unique ragga style and learn the basics of dancehall! This will be an experience not to miss! All dance levels welcomed, but come ready to be MOVED & INSPIRED!
DANCE.LEARN.EXPERIENCE.INSPIRE.MOVE.LIVE.EXPRESS YOURSELF.FALL IN LOVE WITH THE MUSIC! Laure's energy and spirit is contagious! These classes are OPEN TO ALL!

What is Ragga Jam? Conceptualized in Paris in 1996, Ragga Jam was born from a profound desire to democratize and to bring this very rich culture, through dance, to the grand public.It’s a pedagogic concept and choreographic vision of the Jamaican culture.For more info visit http://www.ragga-jam.com/rj-definition/


There will be 3 LOCATIONS and 2 90 minute sessions at each location.

EARLY BIRD SESSION PRICES ARE $30 FOR 1 SESSION
AND $50 FOR BOTH.
(excludes PayPal fee)

PRICES GO UP AFTER NOVEMBER 1st to $35/$55

****SPACE WILL BE LIMITED IN ALL LOCATIONS****

❤️SACRAMENTO❤️
Friday December 2, 2016
Step 1 Dance & Fitness
1920 T Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
7:30-9:00pm Workshop #1
9:00-10:30pm Workshop #2

SACRAMENTO TICKET LINK:
http://tiny.cc/2016RAGGAJAMSAC


❤️OAKLAND❤️
Saturday December 3, 2016
Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
1428 Alice St.
Oakland, CA 94612
3:00-4:30pm Workshop #1
4:30-6:00pm Workshop #2

OAKLAND TICKET LINK:
http://tiny.cc/2016RAGGAJAMOAKLAND

❤️CORTE MADERA❤️
Sunday December 4, 2016
NOW: New OM World
67 Tamal Vista Blvd
Corte Madera, CA 94925
1:00-2:30pm Workshop #1
2:30-4:00pm Workshop #2

CORTE MADERA TICKET LINK:
http://tiny.cc/2016RAGGAJAMCORTEMADE

Hosted by Presenter's Toya & Cat
Toy/Cat Dancehall Mash-Up
Info: toycatproductions@gmail.com

Just You Wait And See

This Is Going To Go Viral

A Beautiful Poem About Growing Old

I Can Watch This All Day

GIF at the link.

Just the Beginning

There will be a lot of these confrontations in the days and years ahead. A friend went to the Rally Against Hate yesterday at the Oklahoma State Capitol, and some haters showed up too.

Kanye West Is So Done

I was never a fan, but never denied he was an incredible musical talent. Now he's done. The decay has been evident for years. When I saw this at the end of 2013, I fell off the couch laughing so hard. Next up, the incredibly-talented Chris Brown.

Kanye West Has Canceled The Rest Of His Tour

Mystified. You can't pull this crap even if you're just singing at the mall.:

Kanye West had a good thing going. His Saint Pablo tour was receiving rave reviews, his floating stage created an atmosphere and an energy at his shows that was unmatched by anything this side of Beyonce’s formation tour in 2016, and after all of the success, he even added additional dates to the tour. Then, well, Kanye went Kanye once he hit California. And now, apparently the tour is over, as The Los Angeles Times is reporting that he has canceled the 22 remaining shows between now and the scheduled New Years Eve date at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Things all started when he abruptly ended one of his Los Angeles shows. Then in San Jose he went into a political rant where he confessed that he would have voted for Donald Trump, if he had voted. Finally, in Sacramento, the proverbial sh*t hit the fan, exploded into a million pieces, and flew right back into his face.

Snoop Dogg reacts to the Sacramento disaster.


[UPDATE: And now Kanye is hospitalized:

Sources connected to Kanye tell us he was getting checked out by one of his doctors for severe sleep deprivation while he was at Pasternak's place ... and someone decided to call police.

The hospitalization comes on the heels of Kanye abruptly cancelling the remainder of his Saint Pablo Tour, and launching into a verbal attack on Jay Z and Beyonce.

As we told you, Kim Kardashian flew to NYC early Monday for her first public event since the Paris robbery ... but she's now officially bailed. It's a good bet she's wheels up for L.A.

]

My House Resembles a Haunted Mansion

Woke up from a disagreeable dream. Mysterious people are living in and dismantling parts of my house that I didn't know existed.

When it rains a lot, I dream about powerful rivers flowing in deep caverns below my house.

My house resembles a haunted mansion. Expect to bump into the dancers from CORE. Or Jack Nicholson with an axe.

Arthur's Birthday Get-Together

Dannette found an impressive-looking cake for Arthur's birthday get-together.

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" - DMTC YPT - 11/19/16

Some pictures of bows for Saturday's opening performance of DMTC's YPT's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat":

"The Bubble"

5.5 Meters!

The northeast coast of New Zealand's South Island near Kaikoura jumped out of the sea with the recent 7.8M earthquake. There is a small piece of the coast that rose a shocking 5.5 meters:

A piece of coastline rose around 5.5 metres during the Kaikoura earthquake, startling survey teams measuring the extent of uplift caused by the magnitude-7.8 quake a week ago.

The amount of uplift along the coastline was highly variable, GeoNet said.

"The startling uplift of ~5.5m at Waipapa Bay is a localised block pushed up between two traces of the Papatea Fault and is thankfully not representative of the whole coastline."

"Arrival"

Saturday evening: Went and saw the new sci-fi, first-contact movie "Arrival". Loved it! Here is the theme music:



Sunday evening: It was Joe the Plumber's birthday, so we went to see "Arrival". I saw it last night, of course, so I ended up seeing in twice in one weekend. Excellent music, especially this:

Fun Dancing Today With Travis Algarin, Pepper Von, and Barreto Brothers Zumba

Start of the Serious November Rains in Sacramento

We are about two inches behind for the month for rain, but since the forecast for the rest of the month is pretty rainy, we'll probably catch up.

The Sacramento Angle on Why There are So Many Vietnamese Nail Technicians

Had to start somewhere:

Forty years ago, the Hollywood actor traveled to Hope Village, a Vietnamese refugee camp near Sacramento, California, to meet with a group of women who had recently fled the takeover of South Vietnam by the armed forces of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Hedren was aware of the difficulties the refugees had faced and had been trying before her visit to think of a skill or trade she could help the women learn so they could support themselves in their adopted country. When she met with the group, she was surprised to find they were enamored with her manicure.

“We were trying to find vocations for them. I brought in seamstresses and typists—any way for them to learn something,” she told the BBC. “And they loved my fingernails.”

Thuan Le was there for the lightbulb moment. “A group of us were standing close to her and saw that her nails were so beautiful,” she recalled to TakePart. “We talked to each other and said they looked so pretty. I looked in [Hedren’s] eyes and knew she was thinking something. She said, ‘Ah, maybe you can learn nails.’ And we looked at each other and she said, ‘Yes, manicures!’ ”

Can Dish It Out; Can't Take It