Saturday, July 29, 2023
"Barbie"
I saw “Barbie” last night. I saw it in the same space where I saw “Oppenheimer” last week - just a few seats over.
Like all movies that rely heavily on analysis, I thought “Barbie” was a little off-putting: in danger of becoming too heavy-handed. In some ways, “Barbie” reminded me of the movie “Godspell,” which is a little more successful in its analysis, because it relies on an existing book whereas “Barbie” has to make up its own almost from scratch. “Barbie” relies more on the theme of restoration than resurrection.
Still, the movie is fun. I loved the tribute to Stanley Kubrick. I loved the colors. I liked Kate McKinnon’s character. I’m going to start calling my house the Mojo Dojo Casa House.
I was struck by the politics. Multiracial democracy is in great danger in this country. The Battle of the Kens is great political advice heading into 2024. In contrast, the advice in “Oppenheimer,” regarding the International Control of Atomic Weapons, failed immediately. Good timing in “Barbie.”
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
K-9s
This evening, Jasper tugged on his leash and dragged us over to a favorite place, a quiet campus for the California DMV, where he likes to bark at rats, cats, and other small animals as he pleases. Usually it’s quiet there, but today in the parking lot there was a conclave of ten police vehicles - ten K-9 units. The alert police dogs in the vehicles could see Jasper, and started barking in unison. In clueless response, Jasper started barking at the unseen dogs behind their tinted windows. Better not to pull this dragon’s tail. I eased us away before anyone opened a vehicle door.
California State Fair - Visit 1 - Midway - 07/25/23
Rachel, Jack (9 years old, going on ten), and I went to the California State Fair at Cal Expo - specifically to the midway. They tell me I overpaid, buying unlimited rides for the evening, for $40. Oh well. Here is a picture of what, for a better name, I'll call the Big Swing.
The familiar monorail.
Jack was keen to ride Turbo first - the most badass ride on the entire midway. We had recently eaten dinner. I was hoping I wouldn't puke. This thing was quite vigorous. It was invigorating to feel the air rushing past my face. Jack and I whooped and hollered.
The Ferris Wheel.
We didn't ride the spinning Starship 3000, and that was OK. Last year, I got somewhat nauseous on this in the bright sunshine and heat. There's a reason the aliens haven't visited Earth.
Sunset from the Ferris Wheel.
Plume from a distant fire.
Rachel and Jack.
Me and Rachel.
The Big Swing. Rode this. Much more sedate than Turbo.
Fireball. Didn't ride this, and that's OK.
We rode the Scrambler. I sat on the outside and got squished as a consequence.
The Zipper. Didn't ride this, and that's OK.
Rode White Water.
The Turbo seemed to go a bit haywire towards the end of the evening. Hope it's back to good health.
A Sacramento Walk
I took my car in to John Ellis Auto Repair (which I started using when I worked in this neighborhood. I proceeded to walk to the light rail station, rode on light rail, then got off and walked home. So, here is that walk.
Pictured first is a painted quail above the back door where I was employed from 1994-2106, at Sierra Research, and which is now something else. The most memorable time at this back door was about 2012. I heard a thud, turned around and discovered a kestrel had flown into the canopy above the back door. I tried calling the Wildlife Care Association about the bird, but I turned away, and the stunned bird flew away.
It's hard to summarize the history of something as complicated as a city, but I've been in Sacramento long enough now (33 years: 1990-2023) that I feel like I finally have something to say.
Lots of murals painted along the alley between I and J Streets, from about 17th to 16th Streets.
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Here is the Lady Bird Mural, featuring Saoirse Ronan. I'm very happy Sacramento-native motion picture director Greta Gerwig has a new hit on her hands, "Barbie."
Also at Enterprise Rent-a-Car.
Sierra Research's previous digs, at 1521 I Street, and where I worked from 1990-1994. The most notable thing I remember here was getting annoyed by drug sales in the alley behind this location (crime rates reached their zenith around 1990). I'd stay after work, and after sunset, when sales accelerated, I'd watch unobserved from inside and call the cops when business was brisk. It was fun!
The old Governor's Mansion, behind the old Sierra Research. My understanding is that Jerry Brown had his bedroom in this building on the left when he was a kid.
The Memorial Auditorium looms above I Street.
Mike's Bikes.
Ooh, I like this emptiness here.
The last victim of the Unabomber died approximately here, on April 24, 1995. It made a big impression, since it was just a few blocks away from where I worked.
Fire Station 2.
Jim Denny's Hamburgers. Are they closed now?
Catching the light rail on 12th Street.
Morton's Steakhouse, where lobbyists and legislators schmooze.
An old Victorian.
The California Secretary of State's office, where elections are organized and which was an important locale for me in my 2003 gubernatorial run.
The Safeway where I shop.
I saw a surprisingly-well-dressed woman coming out from her little hovel next to the Catholic Store on Broadway. She needs more pay.
The Trail eatery was taken over by Shoki Ramen, which suffered a fire just after opening. Then there was Covid. People are starting to eat here again.
The Catholic Diocese headquarters where Ron DeSantis' goons dumped a number of immigrants, many of whom were from Venezuela.
Sol Collective, which I've never visited, but hosts cool acitivities, like Native American dances.
My house!
Registration Angst
It's been about a year since I bought the bright yellow, 2002 Mazda Protege vehicle. It was time to renew the registration, but I wasn't getting any notices for it. A Fastrak fee from for crossing the Crockett Bridge in the Bay Area was apparently delayed required two months to reach me. So, upon investigation, I discovered I didn't have any registration for the vehicle at all. The point had escaped my attention. So, why not?
Apparently, last year's sale to me had never been registered with the State of California. So, I had to get proper registration.
I had to track down the previous owner. I had his address and workplace, but not his phone number. So, I started stalking his home. I finally found him, and he readily signed off. (He thought he had taken care of the registration on the Internet. but apparently not.)
The effort to properly register the car required three extended visits to DMV and cost $584. I still don't know why it cost so much, but at least finally, legally I now own the car.
And now, time to take the vehicle in for mechanical repair!
Monday, July 24, 2023
How New Mexico Became a Blue State
It wasn't one until recently:
Republicans, meantime, continue “to advance these individuals that don’t necessarily represent the makeup of New Mexico,” said Dan Foley, who served 10 years in the Legislature, including two as a GOP leader. “When our candidates continue to be 60-year-old millionaire Anglos, which make up less than 1/10th of 1% of New Mexico, who wants to listen to you?”
Sunday, July 23, 2023
We're All In This Together
Late at night, after watching “Oppenheimer,” I got on the Capital City Freeway at Exposition Blvd. to head south over the American River bridge towards downtown Sacramento. I discovered the entire freeway was at a standstill. I didn’t know why the traffic was jammed, but brake lights were all you could see.
After awhile, some people decided to leave the imbroglio by reversing direction and exiting the freeway on the Exposition Blvd. on-ramp. So, I did too.
As I headed the wrong way up the on-ramp, a semi-trailer barreled head-on towards me, then abruptly stopped. The driver let loose a klaxon of doom, just to inform me that I was in error, doing the sort of thing only drunk drivers do. I pulled up beside him and let him know the freeway was paralyzed, saving him from that particular hell. Cause we’re all in this together.
"Oppenheimer"
I had five hours to kill Friday evening, so I saw “Oppenheimer” (3 hours for the movie, and the rest for previews, advertising, and a mysterious traffic jam). Magnificent movie! Five stars! It’s a very verbal movie, though, and it helps to be right on top of your nuclear history. A parade of giants: Einstein, Szilard, Rabi, Lawrence, Teller, Bohr, Heisenberg, Fermi, etc. Even a very young Lomanitz is there (who was a professor at NM Tech in Socorro when I attended there in the mid-70s). It's actually surprising how Lomanitz gets so much attention. The movie doesn’t get preachy and the motivations of all the actors are clear and sincere.
In the 90s, a great deal of Manhattan Project material was declassified, and some of those special moments make it into the film, such as shortly before the Trinity test, when General Groves tells the meteorologist that he will be hung if it doesn’t stop raining.
Cillian Murphy is great, Edward Downey Jr. Is great. Matt Damon plays General Groves. Groves was known by contemporaries as the most humorless man who ever lived, so when Damon’s Groves smiles once, I knew he was too affable for the role. I’ve had a grudge against Emily Blunt for her Sicario movies, but she does well here. I thought the portrayal of President Truman was all wrong (played by the best actor ever, Gary Oldman). Some kind of writing failure there.
And seeing NM on film was great too!
Go see it!
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