30th Anniversary of a Difficult New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve, 2025.  That means it’s the 30^th anniversary of a horrible event that illustrates just how temporary this passage called life really is.

 

New Year's Eve, 1995. I had traveled from Sacramento, California, and was visiting my father in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He lived in the Green Acres mobile-home park, located north of Osuna Road, off of Second Street NW, a street that runs parallel to the Second Street Drain, an irrigation ditch during the growing season but empty of water in the winter.  I went out early in the evening (to a short-lived Albuquerque institution called the Ice House) but returned to my dad’s trailer before eleven p.m.  My dad wanted to retire early, so I took out the leash and prepared to walk my dog Sparky for the midnight hour. 

 

Sparky and I walked south, beside the dark and empty ditch.  About 11:45 p.m., an engine suddenly began thundering in the distance. A pickup truck inexplicably careened off the street, rolled out-of-control across an empty no-man's-land, and then plunged into the empty ditch, at a place almost across from the Newstand (a decades-old Albuquerque institution; an archive of sorts, but which doesn’t carry anything that might be called news). Sparky and I ran to see if we could help.

 

Arriving first at the scene, I scrambled into the dark ditch.  The truck was pointed downward at about 60 degrees, and canted over to the right.  With difficulty, I climbed onto the vehicle and opened the driver's-side door, looked inside, and saw - nothing at all. No one appeared to be in the vehicle. Where did the driver go? What was going on?

 

I could hear a distinct mechanical gurgling sound, however, that I attributed to coolant escaping from the broken truck's radiator onto the hot engine block. I decided to climb out and check the passenger side of the vehicle.  Before I could fully-explore that side, however, emergency personnel began arriving, so I climbed out of the ditch and let them go to work.

 

Later I learned that the driver, who had fallen asleep at the wheel, had passed halfway through the windshield, fallen backwards, caught his throat on the broken glass and been slashed from ear to ear. He had then fallen under the passenger-side glove compartment, which is why I hadn't seen him when I looked into the dark ruck. The gurgling sound I heard was his last bloody breath. And from what I understood from the emergency personnel there was blood EVERYWHERE!

 

I told the cops what I knew.  Later, I received a call from the cops asking me to talk with the driver’s family.  They were recent immigrants from Mexico, weren’t cooperative, and didn’t trust what the cops were telling them about the accident.  Surely accidents like this just don’t happen.  Was the driver chased off the road by gangsters, or maybe by cops?  What happened?

 

I called the family and asked to talk with them.  I went to another trailer park (a larger, more-anonymous park in the North Valley).  I learned the driver was eighteen years’ old, and had been married just a week. He had had just one beer, given to him by a male relative at work, and apparently the first and only beer he had ever had IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE.  After a hard day at work, one beer was enough to make him groggy, and a danger to himself and others.  His 18-year-old bride/widow got upset during the conversation and left to cry in the bedroom; I kept talking with her sister, and the fellow’s father (who looked just like the driver in photographs).  I told them I didn’t see any other vehicles; no cops or gangsters were involved.  Apparently it was just a sad, sad accident.  They asked me if there were any last words from the driver.  Unfortunately, there were none.

 

The victim was labeled by the local news media as the first Albuquerque fatality of 1995, but I knew he was the last Albuquerque fatality of 1994. Not that it mattered.  Poor guy; just tragic.

 

Tonight, don’t be this guy.

 

Why Not A Tsunami?

I was explaining to my skeptical prepper sister that Sacramento was unlikely to experience a tsunami because we are so far inland, but my argument wasn't particularly convincing, since my house is only 24 feet above sea level.

This map suggests that tsunamis are unlikely to penetrate past the Highway 580 bridge at Martinez, but I'm still bothered, because the terrain farther inland is as flat as a pancake. Why not penetrate further? Nothing to stop an energetic tsunami. 

The only thing I can think is that the close confines of the Carquinez Straits imposes additional contraints and much friction on intrusive tsunamis. 

 Or at least I hope so.

The Walmart Effect

Monopsony: Apparently just the presence of a Walmart impoverishes a community:

What’s going on here? Why would Walmart have such a broadly negative effect on income and wealth? The theory is complex, and goes like this: When Walmart comes to town, it uses its low prices to undercut competitors and become the dominant player in a given area, forcing local mom-and-pop grocers and regional chains to slash their costs or go out of business altogether. As a result, the local farmers, bakers, and manufacturers that once sold their goods to those now-vanished retailers are gradually replaced by Walmart’s array of national and international suppliers. (By some estimates, the company has historically sourced 60 to 80 percent of its goods from China alone.) As a result, Wiltshire finds, five years after Walmart enters a given county, total employment falls by about 3 percent, with most of the decline concentrated in “goods-producing establishments.” 

Once Walmart has become the major employer in town, it ends up with what economists call “monopsony power” over workers. Just as monopoly describes a company that can afford to charge exorbitant prices because it lacks any real competition, monopsony describes a company that can afford to pay low wages because workers have so few alternatives. This helps explain why Walmart has consistently paid lower wages than its competitors, such as Target and Costco, as well as regional grocers such as Safeway.

I Do Like The Mall!

I do like the mall! Arden Fair quite busy. 

Those three girls chose to wear the exact same outfit. Clever! Last time I saw that was 40 years ago. 

Thinking the two young men in front me on the escalator need sartorial advice. Ski mask on one and hoodie on the other does not inspire confidence. Choices, people! 

Santa looks trapped. Babies and strollers everywhere block his exit. 

OMG, everyone packed into Sephora! Compressing all the teen girls together until at last crystalline order spontaneously emerges. Is Adolescite a conductor or an insulator? 

Lured into Lululemon. One glance at a price tag and quickly lured out of there again. 

Note to woman in hijab frantically texting on phone: your daughter is playing hide-and-seek behind you. 

People dressed nice. That one old guy in a T-Shirt looks out of place. A bit of dementia maybe? That would explain it. Probably born in the 60s (of course, I was born in the 50s, so I would know.) Thank goodness security is buzzing about. Need to keep up appearances in a place like this. 

Infants everywhere, but no crying. Disciplined youth for a brighter future. 

Fathers look really relaxed. Probably not fully informed about the cost. 

Floor crew either ask you if you need help or place boxes between you and the display you’re looking at. Just busy. 

Last year, I carefully studied how they fold T-Shirts at Zumiez - it’s the wave of the future! - but returning to the shop I can see I badly need a tutorial. Hard for lessons to stick. 

Hickory Farms pop-up shop is surprisingly antiseptic. Not farmlike at all. No hay; no pens; no cozy animals. A surgery ward feels funkier. 

Puzzled by the surprising heat while waiting in line for a shot at the restroom. This isn’t Kilauea. We aren’t approaching a magma chamber. (Or maybe we are?) 

Everyone in a good mood. A good holiday season.

Anh Phoong Backgrounder

I thought this article was interesting. Anh Phoong is THE Saul Goodman of urban Northern California: Sacramento and San Francisco. How do you start with little and become a boss? (I was hoping there's no paywall here, but apparently there is):

Phoong, 43, lives her life by a simple yet powerful ethical code: Go all in. The Phoong Law Center annual holiday festivities were an abundant manifestation of that motto. It was as much family friendly, with go-karts, Build-a-Bear workshops and face painting, as it was camp extravagance, with a Michael Jackson impersonator, Chinese lion dancing, a mariachi band and approximately one metric ton of shrimp cocktail.

“I didn’t even get to sit down,” she said a few days later at her office on leafy Riverside Boulevard. She didn’t get to eat, either, despite a buffet replete with the aforementioned shrimp, Korean beef ribs, platters of salmon, fajitas, and more.

“I wasn’t even hungry,” she said. “There were so many people I was so excited to see.”

Some of those people included California State Treasurer and Lt. Governor hopeful Fiona Ma, who mingled with guests at the bar as Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho chatted with friends at a table nearby. Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty arrived around 9 p.m. with Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, taking photos with Santa and dining with Ho.

Phoong’s husband Anthony Salcedo, Phoong Law Center’s general manager, wore a white tee that read “ANH PHOONG IS MY LAWYER,” and was everywhere all at once, greeting and entertaining guests. Her extended family, many of whom are part of the Vietnamese and Chinese communities in Sacramento and its surrounding areas, enjoyed the festivities as well.

...Friends from college showed up, as did Phoong’s would-be rivals in the business of personal injury. Moseley Collins (of “444-4444” and “InGodsLove.com” fame) brought his entire family, including a newborn grandchild. Ashley Amerino (“In A Crash? Call Ash!) and Jelena Tiemann, of Tiemann Law (whose billboards boast her record-setting $66 million settlement), attended, too.

“I mean, they’re at my party, so we’re good,” Phoong said with a shrug. “I don’t feel like we’re in competition with each other. I don’t feel like I’m in competition with anybody.”

It was the party of the season, a veritable who’s-who of Sacramento’s most random corners of influence. Beneath all of the fanfare, it represented the unexpected reach of the self-described underdog, the People’s Princess of Sacramento, who turned rejection, failure, and her family’s own checkered past into billboard ubiquity, status, and ultimately, substantial community connection and influence.

“If you knew my whole story,” she said in the interview later, taking a serious tone. “I think it’d be hard for you not to give me a little bit of respect.”

...Phoong grew up in Antelope, and after graduating from Center High School with the class of ‘99, she enrolled at American River College. She later transferred to Sac State, where she pursued a Business and Marketing degree.

“It makes sense now, but I was so interested in commercials,” she said. A criminal justice class changed everything for the listless Phoong, who grew up loving “Law & Order.”She changed her major in her final year of college, crammed the new major into less than four semesters, and decided that she wanted to pursue a Juris Doctorate after graduating with her B.A. in 2005. The years she spent between Sac State and Lincoln Law School were not, she admitted, her most ambitious.

“I wasn’t trying my best,” she said. “I was still in that party stage in my life, let’s be real.”

Unsurprisingly, when she took her first LSAT test, she bombed. The Dean of Lincoln Law School, a university known for admitting students with lower test scores, laughed in her face, she said. She begged him to admit her, and promised she would work harder than anyone. He told her to come back with a 25% increase in her LSAT score and he would reconsider.

She did, increasing her score by 27% — and later graduating as the Valedictorian of her class in 2011.

“I might not be the smartest,” she remembered telling him, “but I will be the hardest working.”

Phoong had a straightforward goal: finish law school, pass the California Bar exam, and become a public defender at the Solano County Public Defender’s office. She worked 40 hours a week in the office as a law clerk, driving back and forth between Fairfield for work and Sacramento for classes.

But when she graduated, and passed the Bar in 2012, it wasn’t able to bring her on.

The Law Office of Anh Phoong was born shortly thereafter, with Phoong doing the bulk of the work, even intake calls. Phoong Law Corporation was formally established in 2013. A car accident her last year of law school helped nudge her in the direction of personal injury.

Her husband suggested they invest in some marketing for the firm, and a trip to Miami inspired Phoong to build a brand for herself.

“There’s this firm down there and from the airport, to the shuttle, to the hotel, on billboards, TV, you just heard their jingle everywhere. I thought, ‘Sacramento doesn’t really have that. Maybe we should do that.’”

It’s Winter Solstice, Which Means It’s Time to Head Off to the Mall for….

We Need a Sacramento Version of This

@citiesbydiana Day in the Life of a Santa Cruz Leftist 🏄🌲🎢🌴 #satire#meme#americacore🚘🏈🍔🇺🇸#americantrucksimulator #santacruz#california #santacruzmedicinals ♬ original sound - 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙖

And here it is!

 

@citiesbydiana Day in the Life of a Sacramento Transplant 👨‍🌾🚜🍽️🛣️ Game: American Truck Simulator #satire#americantrucksimulator#meme#tiktokpartner #sacramento #sfbayarea #california#916#916tiktok ♬ original sound - 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙖

Split Force

I found it very interesting to watch the machinations around the recent short-term federal budget extension and the near governmental shutdown. The closest parallel I could think of was Custer at the Little Bighorn, who unwisely split his forces in the face of an enemy whose size he couldn't properly perceive. 

Even though the GOP has, and will have, the smallest majority ever in the history of the House of Representatives, both Trump and Musk felt they could forge a mighty hammer out of that tiny majority and keep it unified by making threats to primary disobedient congress members. Trump/Musk wanted to simply roll over their split force, the GOP conservative majority and the faction of budget-conscious ultra-conservatives. That conservative faction, however, has a very long history and listens to no one. Not even good cop (Trump) and bad cop (Musk) could sledgehammer their party into a unified force. Their threats lacked credibility. And the Democrats are still there, with their very large minority. 

Trump/Musk is at peak strength now. That team is bound to fade quite quickly. Like Custer, their arrogance will lead to big mistakes.

2024/25 California Rainy Season, to Date

A quick summary of the California rainy season, to date. Northern California is very wet (rainfall is 144% of normal for the season for Sacramento Executive Airport). In stark contrast, Southern California, the land of rampaging fires, is very dry. 

Starting on Saturday we'll start seeing a lot more rain in Norcal (with lots of rain on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas), but there's no indication any rain will fall at all in SoCal until New Year's Eve.

Major Lunar Standstill Sunday Night Moonrise

[Sunday night, December 15th] The full moon is nearly overhead - about 28 degrees north - and about as far north as it ever gets, in this year of major lunar standstill. Enjoy! 

More on the major lunar standstill at the Griffith Observatory in LA:

 

I Always Figured Life in California Would Be Like This

But somehow never was.

 

@sandiecameron

♬ 365 - Charli xcx

Grammarian, Under Pressure

@elle.cordova

Grammarian vs Errorist, a supervillain showdown

♬ original sound - Elle Cordova

All The Leaves Fall Down, Go Boom

Go Greeks!

Monty Python Video.

Everything Gets So Jammed at Year's End

Via Dave.

Ok, Was That Worm Sign, or Are The Tectonic Plates Doing Their Thing?

A 5.7 quake from out in Yerington, NV.

It was interesting how I heard the quake before I felt it. A tick-tick-tick sound as the house was quietly swaying.  I’m sure it was the quake proper; it just grew in intensity as time passed. But yes, we can be like the animals and notice these things as they happen.

Starting to Release the Inmates in Syria's Saydnaya Prison

This is extraordinary - starting to release the more than 100K political prisoners in Syria's Saydnaya Prison.

#Syria: those are the first moments after Rebels reached the infamous Saydnaya prison N. of #Damascus and started to liberate prisoners. pic.twitter.com/OprYkMN8r2

— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) December 8, 2024

Green Valley VerteFée Cabaret - Let's Get Elfed Up - December 6, 2024

It was a good time, at First Christian Church, 3901 Folsom Blvd., just a short distance where I once lived (1992-1995). It was great seeing Rachel perform, and also seeing old friends like Nick Thompson and Tilly O'Laughlin. Plus, Ashley, and I didn't realize Dana was in the show. Dana used to be a ballet regular; need to make her a regular again.

The description of the show says much:

We love the holidays, which is why we eviscerate them from the inside out! We hope you’ll join us for the The VerteFée Cabaret’s special brand of holiday cheer! Green Valley Theatre Company has revived the time-honored tradition of the cabaret. In this ever-changing and evolving show, some of the most talented (and depraved) performers from Sacramento and beyond cast aside convention (and often their bras). The VerteFée Cabaret is a bohemian, absinthe-soaked extravaganza in spirit of French cabarets and the raunchy, satirized Weimar shows of 1930’s Germany. In keeping with the vaudeville tradition, The VerteFée presents unique yet classic humor that straddles the line between witty and blasphemous, where offense is not intended, it’s just a bonus.

I particularly liked the segments on the Nutcracker, and Dad Jokes.

I Didn't Feel That Earthquake on December 5th

I was driving to my new job, so didn't feel it.  I bet my dog Jasper felt it, though.  The wood frame of my house amplifies vibrations, and I've felt tremors that others didn't.

Emily Wilson on "The Iliad"

Speaking of the classics, here is Emily Wilson, our translator of "The Iliad."

 

"The Return"

Since I'm in Gabe's classics book club, I suppose it's mandatory to see this! The return of Odysseus to Ithaca. Now showing at the Tower Theater. It stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (who also starred in my favorite movie of this century, "The Clouds of Sils Maria").

Which reminds me, the book club will meet again on Tuesday evening.  Must reread Chapter 14.....

 

"Wicked": The Movie

 It's good - go and see it!

Substitute Teaching Assistant

I haven't had a regular job for more than eight years. Still, there's no denying that some kind of regular, part-time job could help with finances. But what job? After a false start earlier this year, I found something that I hope will be suitable, at least for awhile: Substitute Teaching Assistant for the California Montessori Project. So low on the totem pole that I'm subterranean. And today (December 5th) was the first day of work (at their Capitol campus; all grades). 

It was a sensory overload kind of day. My job today was to assist with lunch and recess, for kindergartners and older kids too, plus monitor them prior to their parents picking them up towards evening. Lots of time on my feet. 

Most of the kids were a bit wary of me at first, which I expected. I'm a new man, much older than anyone else in the school. Still, some of the kids approached me, as kids will, out of curiosity. I talked to one ten-year-old boy. He was the classic lonely boy in a new school, having troubles with adjusting.  We talked about long-duration space flight.

Still, the 5-to-6 year old kids were the most charming. One girl explained that she was the Queen of Hearts and that she daydreams a lot. Another girl, with a slight Russian accent (Sacramento has a large Russian community) explained that she has three birthdays (about which I still need clarification). In midafternoon, a boy felt overwhelmed by fatigue and tried to nap by kneeling at the foot of a slide and using the slide as a pillow, which caused problems when the other kids used the slide as designed. Several girls spilled dirt across the tops of several basketballs, added wood chips and pine needles, and played hair stylist. Several kids showed me loose baby teeth, absent baby teeth, and new permanent teeth. 

All pretty charming. And if I'm good at this maybe I can aspire to the lofty goal of Substitute Teacher. 

(It’s interesting to be the rule enforcer when I have no idea what the rules are. “Can I go outside?” Well, why not? It’s a free country and it’s a beautiful day outside.)

Cult of the Five Turkeys

The Five Turkeys of the neighborhood found Jasper intriguing and started following him. His faithful little avian cult.

Simulation of the Formation of the Moon

Blue America Props Up Red America In So Many Ways

Time to kick out the props.

Balloon Crashes Into Radio Tower

I missed this news from Albuquerque last month. These towers are pretty tall and dramatic parts of the skyline.

 

Donna Summer - "Sunset People"

Memories from the halcyon days of 1979.

 

RIP, Fred Harris

John notes that former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris passed away.I didn't realize he had been living in Corrales since 1976. The neighbor I never knew. One of the good guys:

Harris ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976, quitting after poor showings in early contests, including a fourth-place win in New Hampshire. The more moderate Jimmy Carter went on to win the presidency.

Harris moved to New Mexico that year and became a political science professor at the University of New Mexico. He wrote and edited more than a dozen books, mostly on politics and Congress. In 1999 he broadened his writings with a mystery set in Depression-era Oklahoma.

Throughout his political career, Harris was a leading liberal voice for civil rights and anti-poverty programs to help minorities and the disadvantaged.

“Democrats everywhere will remember Fred for his unparalleled integrity and as a pioneer for instituting core progressive values of equity and opportunity for prosperity as core tenets of our party,” the Democratic Party of New Mexico said in a statement.

Along with his first wife, LaDonna, a Comanche, he also was active in Native American issues. 

“I’ve always called myself a populist or progressive,” Harris said in a 1998 interview. “I’m against concentrated power. I don’t like the power of money in politics. I think we ought to have programs for the middle class and working class.”

Worst Walk Ever

Jasper and I were walking along 21st Street on a rainy evening, approaching the intersection with Broadway, right next to Creole Soul Restaurant. At the same time, the driver of a northbound car decided to turn left onto Broadway, and didn’t account for the fact that the southbound driver had the right of way. 

BOOM! 

I jumped back. The southbound car was coming straight for us on the sidewalk. Fortunately the car stopped about thirty feet away from us, but the crunchy plastic debris from the collision sprayed forward about twenty feet away from us. The northbound car spun around and faced nearly south. 

And so we waited for the emergency vehicles. Witnesses tried to help. Air bags had gone off, filling the cars with worrisome smoke. The southbound driver complained about neck and shoulder pain. Jasper sat in the plastic debris, thinking this was the worst walk ever. A woman came over (emergency contact for the southbound driver), fussed over Jasper, and told him “this must be your worst walk ever!” 

The police didn’t need my witness statement. Other witnesses had better views. Jasper and I walked on.

Just Look at Those Pervs

Precipitation Map of Recent Rains

Here is a map of rainfall over the past week (Nov. 17-23). Rainfall was very uneven, concentrated on high elevations in the Coast Range, and also around Redding and just east of Chico. Local rains were substantial - 2.68 inches at Sacramento Executive Airport - but they pale in comparison to other places. There are isolated places that got more than 20 inches of rain: 24+ inches, northwest of Santa Rosa.

They Have Their Master; So Do You

Jasper and I were walking along 21st Street and saw that the door to the Aikido Studio was open. Jasper stopped, looked in, and tried to grasp the scene. Twenty students dressed in white robes were kneeling in a perfect line as they listened raptly to their master. I tugged Jasper's leash and whispered, "Come, Jasper. They have their master; so do you."

Mika and Joe - Complete Capitulation to Trump

Paging Through The Binders

A Temperature Bump

That's kinda cool. Here in Sacramento we are in the "warm sector," in advance of the approaching cold front. Despite the usual pattern of temperatures dropping after sunset, at about 10 pm, temperatures bumped upwards by two degrees before dropping again. Some of that warm air from the south is getting pulled north as the storm approaches. It's not as cold as last night. If we could just lock the storm in place maybe we could lose some clothes.

Jasper Reaches Safeway!

Today is a landmark day. As part of his ongoing effort to explore the Newton Booth neighborhood, Jasper walked all the way to Safeway. I thought it was too far for him and his little legs, but I was wrong. He may be a silly dog, but he is in robust good health. 

Safeway was the favorite destination of Bella, my previous dog. Bella loved finding food in the bushes at Safeway, including that one time she found an entire, intact rotisserie chicken. When Bella passed away in 2016, I buried her tags under this rock.

The British Look Forward to Working with Donald Trump

Hilarious video at the link.

Beautiful Lunar Display

We are in the year of maximum lunar standstill, the culmination of the 18.5 cycle, whereby the Moon swings to the maximum northern and southern paths that it can possibly reach. 

The last four nights, the full Moon has put on a magnificent display. It's so far north now (+27.5 degrees) that it passes almost directly overhead here in Sacramento. It's wonderful! We have about eight more months of this. It'll be 2043/44 before we see the like again!

Favorite Top 10 Pop Song List For 2024

I was thinking it's about time for 2024 end-of-year lists, and I wanted to do a favorite Top 10 pop song list for the year. I ran into two problems: 

1.) It's hard to keep the list to just ten songs; and, 

2.) Most of the songs were released well before 2024. 

Oh well! 

I've been tracking pop tunes since 1969. My head is jammed with various pop tunes and genres. Pop music is evanescent by nature, and should expire fairly quickly (thus, I loathe the Classic Rock format, which keeps zombie songs going for decades and ignores older tunes that never got much air play.) 

Anyway, here are my fave pop tunes from 2024 (or actually 2023, as it may be): 

It was a Chappell Roan year. The Midwest Princess' "Hot To Go" and "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl (both from 2023) are great! 

Other tunes: 

Sam Fender "People Watching" (2024) 

Olivia Rodrigo "Bad Idea Right?" (2023) 

Taylor Swift/Ice Spice "Karma" (2023) 

Taylor Swift "Anti-Hero" (2022) 

Malandra Jr. "Sveva" (2021) 

Sabrina Carpenter "Feather" (2023) 

Young Fathers "I Saw" (2022) 

Doja Cat "Agora Hills" (2023) 

Rema/Selena Gomez "Calm Down" (2023) 

And for honorable mention: 

Rosalia - "Con Altura" (2019) 

I wouldn't even mention Rosalia except George Morales had the uncommon, unbelievable luck of serving her on a transatlantic flight earlier this year. Plus, even though she sings reggaetón, she grew up in flamenco culture, and her songs feature many flamenco references. It's fun to tease them out (De Las Islas).

We’ve Been Here Before

@nowthisimpact ‘Bueller? Bueller?’ — This iconic scene with Ben Stein might be 37 years old but feels like essential viewing as we all argue about tariffs #taxes #trump #economy #films ♬ original sound - NowThis Impact

ISS Alert!

Jasper and I stumbled out into the wet Sacramento streets for the early-evening walk. Jasper turned unexpectedly on a nearby street. We approached a man standing motionless on the sidewalk there in the dark murk. 

"Do you want to see the International Space Station?" the man asked. He pointed upwards at a bright star - brighter than Venus - moving rapidly northeast across the sky broken with clouds. "Wow!" I said. (I used love watching satellites as a kid.) "How do you know it's the ISS?" "I have this app," he replied. "It dings 15 minutes ahead of time. Usually the ISS isn't quite so bright, but the sun has barely set, so it's catching the full rays of the sun." 

He was beaming and happy to share his interest.

Never Underestimate the Power of a Duck

Matt Gaetz Tapped for Pervert-General

Matt Gaetz for Attorney General! Hard to imagine! It’s like the Jefferey Epstein Child Sex Memorial Act of 2024! Child sex for everyone! 

I enjoy listening to the Tik Tok videos of the Knitting Cult Lady, who grew up in the Children of God sex cult. She says that all organizations run as cults will inevitably degrade into child sex cults, because there is no better way for the cult leader to demonstrate their power. Trump is demonstrating just how that works. 

The Senate used to have leaders, but these days they are just cringey wraiths. They will not resist Trump’s plan. There used to be people in this country outraged by child sex trafficking, but most of them joined Trump’s cult, so they won’t resist either. Republicans will be split on the issue. 

No, once again it’s up to Democrats, and Democrats alone, to remind people that sex with children is immoral and illegal.

A New Tropical Depression

There is a developing tropical depression forming in the Caribbean, likely to be called Sara when it reaches tropical storm strength. Modeling over the last day is fairly consistent, showing the storm meandering for awhile but then breaking free and reaching the west coast of Florida around Wednesday, November 20th. It’s as if Milton and Helene will get together and have a daughter. Something to keep an eye on.

Family Guy in Middle America

@yaoboix Family guy trump 2024 #familyguy #bestmoments #funny #random #trump #2024 #maga ♬ original sound - Family Guy Best Moments

"The Room"

Even though I saw "The Disaster Artist" in 2017, a comedy about the making of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 "The Room," I had never actually seen the movie until last night at the Tower Theater. 

There were about thirty people in the audience, all ready to see, by popular agreement, one of the worst movies ever made, but for that very reason, something of a modern masterpiece. There was a Rocky Horror ambiance about it. Everyone seemed to have plastic spoons to toss at critical times. Interludes that featured San Francisco Bay were met with chants of "water, water!" Views of Golden Gate traffic were met with chants of "go, go!" Views of the city were met with "meanwhile in San Francisco!" And, of course, the classic meme, "Oh, hi Mark!"

 

Could We See a Revival of the Klan?

The recent texts to Blacks and Hispanics telling them to report for cotton-picking duty caught my attention. It struck me as an update to old-fashioned Ku Klux Klan terror tactics. 

Perhaps we are going to see a revival of the Klan, perhaps the fourth surge in its history, or if not the Klan, some organization like it. The second revival of the Klan came after WW1 and was driven by anti-immigration and pro-Prohibition sentiment; similar to today's border frenzy and stricter abortion laws. 

I think it's unlikely that any mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, or mass crackdowns on young women, will succeed, in part, because local police will be required. Many agencies won't cooperate, because they are already busy enough. Still, militant, engaged civilians could step in where the police won't:

From the beginning, Prohibition was tied up with anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic biases. Many of its advocates were white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants who thought only people like them could be “real Americans.” They believed the country was under siege by Catholic immigrants from countries like Italy, and that these people threatened the U.S. with their foreign drinking habits and saloons. 

“It was really a battle for cultural supremacy in a country that was changing,” says Thomas R. Pegram, a history professor at Loyola University Maryland and the author of One Hundred Percent American: The Rebirth and Decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. “Prohibition became a way in which that could be enforced in local communities.”

The Most-Annoying, Gobsmackingly Asinine Justification I Saw For Voting For Trump

This fellow is a Facebook Friend, but right now I want to dropkick him to New Caledonia. Should I Unfriend him? SOOOO STUPID!:

My fellow Americans,

I am but one person, who, like at present count, over 130 million others, let his voice be heard last evening. As we begin this journey into tomorrow, I offer you this:

I am a father, a brother, a Christian, bi-racial, a cousin, a neighbor, and a friend. In a word, I’m an American. Remember that as we move forward from today. I can’t begin, in my limited concept of language, to convey all the reasons some made the choice they made – and while others didn’t. I can, however, speak to my house.

I am lucky enough to have a job that provides for the things this life demands. I am lucky enough, to receive regular raises in that job. To date, since this current administration has taken office, I have received eight. In that time, regrettably, I, like so many others I have talked to – have found it harder and harder to make ends meet. I, through the grace of God have been able to keep the lights on, so to speak, but I have felt the tightening of the belt. This is the first time, in my adult life, that I have had such an experience.

I have a relative that was not born here. She, legally, immigrated to the land I call home, has made a life for herself here, and is a part of our family. I have watched, in recent times, those who cheat the system, seem to get a better handout than those who have resided here their entire lives.

On college campuses throughout America, a hatefulness (burning American flags, threats to Jewish students) has stemmed from the war. When I first joined the voting public, I was a registered Democrat. As I have journeyed through life, socially, I have become more of a moderate, and fiscally, conservative. This shift brought about a change in my party affiliation in recent years. Another deciding factor for the change has been, my perceived belief that one party deals much more in identity politics. As a member of one of those ‘tribes,’ I felt labeled. My question was – why are we not looking for an American answer?

What am I saying? For those whose party affiliation is not the same as the presumptive nominee – your worst fears did not materialize in 2016. I again believe, your worst fears will not materialize as a result of this election. I am ever hopeful that America, not demographics, will prosper in this new/old administration. I am ever hopeful that we as a people, can focus on our similarities, not our differences. I am ever hopeful that prosperity will return to the corners of our lives that has lost it in recent years.

Stay positive my friends. Different isn’t bad. Different isn’t evil. I have no hate/ill will toward those who disagree. My vote was not an attempt to do anything more than return this land to a better time. A time where I felt more productive, more financially sound – where the outlook of tomorrow was brighter.

If you are part of a group that has fear – know I hear you, know I care, but also know – prosperity for some is not prosperity for all. That is my hope. All. 

I chose to rise above demographics this election – and shoot for the greater good. I hope you will stay positive for that outcome as well – and we can together keep those appointed accountable for that achievement.

Let this be our prayer. 

All my love,

The Simplest Explanation

The big mystery this month is accounting for Trump's victory. Most of the explanations I've seen have so many counter-examples that they aren't persuasive. This essay has probably the simplest, most-useful explanation:

Despite the trauma and death of Covid and the isolation of lockdowns, from late 2020 to early 2021, Americans briefly experienced the freedom of social democracy. They had enough liquid money to plan long term and make spending decisions for their own pleasure rather than just to survive. They had the labor protections to look for the jobs they wanted rather than feel stuck in the jobs they had. At the end of Trump’s term, the American standard of living and the amount of economic security and freedom Americans had was higher than when it started, and, with the loss of this expanded welfare state, it was worse when Biden left office, despite his real policy wins for workers and unions. This is why voters view Trump as a better shepherd of the economy.

I think people will be shocked by what the Republicans have in store for them now!

The Erasure of History Has Already Started

@tadstoermer Colonial Williamsburg’s deletion of their ‘OurAmericanRevolution.org’ site—an invaluable, honest resource on the American Revolution’s complexities—feels like ‘obedience in advance’ to those who’d rather see history sanitized than examined. This was more than a website; it included crucial perspectives on slavery, Indigenous histories, and insights from leading historians. Now? Gone. This erasure isn’t accidental—it’s a warning. Are we about to see more sites, more resources, vanish in favor of a ‘comfortable’ narrative? Watch closely, folks, because history doesn’t disappear by itself. #honesthistory #colonialwilliamsburg #publichistory ♬ original sound - Tad Stoermer

I Updated My Yard Sign

First and Foremost

Election Day Night

I’m going to get up tomorrow morning and be the best damned anti-fascist I can be. The hell with this rule by lunatic traitors.

Chappell Roan - Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl

How Can Climate be Predictable if Weather is Chaotic?

Election Day

Just returned from morning walk around the neighborhood with Jasper. 

An unfamiliar homeless guy was tottering silently around the dumpster for nearby apartments. He looked way, way gone. 

A woman was picking up her “Harris for President” signs that had been torn down and tossed. I told her I was pleasantly surprised that I hadn’t seen ANY Trump signs in the neighborhood this election season. “No one would dare put up a Trump sign in THIS neighborhood,” she replied, as she reassembled her signs. And it’s true, this is the bluest precinct in the entire city, with 90% of the voters typically voting Democratic. 

Jasper and I passed by the neighborhood voting location. Two women with the “Cofer for Mayor” campaign chatted with approaching voters just outside the 100 foot limit signs out front. Things looked orderly.

The Inimitable James Carville

@realjamescarville

Professional Truth Tellers 🤦‍♂️ @politicon_news | Get tickets to Matt Tyrnauer's documentary "Carville: Winning Is Everything Stupid" at CarvilleDoc.com/tickets or through the link in my bio 🎬🍿 #politicstiktok #politicalnews #political #documentary #jamescarville #carville #politics #news #carvilledoc jamescarvilledoc #carvilledocumentary #politicstiktok #funny #fyp #foryou #bts #behindthescenes #politicon

♬ original sound - James Carville

Elon Musk’s America PAC Door Knockers for Trump

The abusive conditions under which Elon Musk’s America PAC Door Knockers for Trump work under in Michigan. Somehow you just knew it was going to be this way:

Muldrow and the rest of her canvassing group of roughly a dozen people had just been fired en masse, after WIRED reported that they had been tricked and threatened as part of Musk’s get-out-the-vote effort. Speaking publicly for the first time about her ordeal, Muldrow says that the canvassers in her group were fired with little explanation beyond a complaint that someone had spoken with the press. Many, including her, were still owed money. Muldrow had to find her own way home; others are still stranded in Michigan.

Getting to the Essence of it All

Getting to the essence of it all. Someone I know once told me “People keep saying Trump is a racist, but I don’t see that at all.” The guy keeps skating.

@convosfromtennessee These two absolutely crush it when talking about “white privilege” and how we simply give Trump a free pass for all the terrible shit he says and does because of it, a pass that noone else could ever get. #moveon #kamalaharris #white #whiteprivilege #fame #wealth #genz #fyp #greenscreenvideo #vanlathan ♬ original sound - A-Aron

They Are After Me

Jasper and I walked over to V and 19th Streets this evening. Jasper was keen to explore the neighborhood beyond, called Newton Booth: new smells, new dogs, and an expanse of lawns never visited before. I pulled him back. “It’s just too far away,” I said. Despite his pleading we began returning home. 

Passing the Broadway light rail station, a woman approached and asked, “Can I walk with you? I was over by the Catholic store, and I’m worried about all these black men. They are following me! I should have gotten on that light rail train. Should I have gotten on that light rail train? Can we walk, maybe towards the McDonalds? They are after me.” (She seemed to have a kind of nervous, paranoid energy. I looked around. There were several black men nearby. They were all shuffling along while looking at their shoes and didn’t reveal or express the slightest interest in her. I said, “It looks pretty safe right here.”) 

“Can we pray?” she said, and paused for a few seconds of prayer. 

“You don’t understand,” she said. “I have an envelope with money in it. Five thousand dollars! They know I have it!” (I wondered how anyone might know she had lots of cash?) “They’ve taken my purse and my car and my belongings” she said. (Who are ‘they’?) “I need a place to stay. I was staying in two motels in West Sacramento, but all they had there was cold water. The Econo Lodge was better, but they wanted a deposit.” 

“A deposit? I’m afraid I can’t help. I don’t have any money,” I said. (And it’s true, I rarely walk Jasper while carrying a wallet.) “No, you don’t understand,” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t want anything like money. I need to explain. I wish I had my wig with me. I’m quite the good looker!” (Really? Something seemed up with her teeth.) “Maybe I should find a place to couch surf?” she said. 

She continued: “My father is a billionaire. A billionaire! But he doesn’t let me take out more than a hundred – no, fifty - dollars a day.” (“Oh, so he’s just parsing out the money,” I said.) “Yes!” she replied. (Then I got distracted, because parsing was clearly the wrong word. What is the right word? English has so many words. I must be tired. It’s all this walking to reveal to Jasper a tantalizing new neighborhood.) 

“My father is one of those corrupt billionaires,” she said. (“Ah, a corrupt billionaire. Not one of those straight-arrow billionaires,” I thought.) “Yes, he tried to kill me in prison!” (“That’s interesting,” I thought. “Was it her prison cell or his prison cell? Or were they both in prison together? And why? Maybe it was all that close company? It can drive anyone bonkers.”) 

“What I really need is a place to stay,” she said. “Can we pray?” (And she paused for prayer again.) 

“I’m afraid I can’t help,” I repeated. So, she walked off to wait for the light rail train, surrounded by various inattentive but I assume menacing black men, and Jasper and I headed in the opposite direction for home, clearly not fully understanding her plight. 

(The well of human need is infinitely deep.)

The Concept of a Landfill

Birthday Dinner and Show at Twin Lotus Thai, Featuring Vivian Lee

Rachel took me out for birthday dinner and a show at Twin Lotus Thai (TLT), featuring jazz singer Vivian Lee. It was an excellent time! I didn't know about this place before. Almost a stone's throw from last week's burning homeless encampment.

The History Of This Neighborhood Is More Complex Than I Realized

Happy Days Are Here Again

I think people are getting overly-nervous about the upcoming election. Modern technology gives us the illusion of omniscience, but in the days before television people just had to accept that there was a lot they just didn’t know, and that it was all right. It’s still true! 

The 2024 presidential election is already the best of my lifetime; maybe the best ever. Never have the differences between tickets been starker. Kamala Harris/Tim Walz are the best set of candidates I’ve ever seen: Donald Trump/JD Vance are the embodiment of evil. Can’t get better than that! 

Most American historians think the 1896 clash between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan was the most exciting election in American history, with up to 90% turnout of eligible voters. I hope we can get turnout like that! 

When I get fidgety about the election I pull out my copy of journalist Jay Franklin’s “What We Are About To Receive,” published in 1932, and a follow-up to his 1931 book, “What This Country Needs.” The country desperately needed a new direction but would this set of candidates rise to the occasion? Jay Franklin was beside himself with anxiety. 

President Herbert Hoover: “Whatever the facts are, Herbert Hoover is himself. He does not pretend to be a hero, saint, or second Lincoln. He is neither an imitation Roosevelt nor a synthetic Wilson. He may or may not be a good President, a great man, or even a good engineer, but he acts and talks like no one else on earth and does not hesitate to follow his own line, against all advice and all indications of public opinion. … He is as undramatic as a porcelain bathtub, as unspectacular as a cash register, as unmagnetic as a telegraph pole….” 

Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “He is an irrepressible candidate. Scarcely a day goes by or an issue bobs up but Roosevelt hits the front page with a statement, or something. … There is a widespread conviction that Franklin Roosevelt lacks guts, that he can’t force the pace or take punishment, and that when cornered he will play dead dog. He is not a fighter. … Roosevelt represents the all but forgotten strain of chivalry, untempered by self-righteous morality, in the tradition of our public life. … On every other issue – tariff, farm relief, disarmament, foreign policy, banking policy, social unrest – he is as hard to pin down as a live eel on a sheet of oilcloth.” 

Franklin also looked at Al Smith and a number of other politicians. 

Franklin concludes: 

“We shall survive and the world will survive, no matter who is elected President of the United States on November 8, 1932. A hundred years from now our race will still be here, the petty problems of today forgotten, our ridiculous worries over taxation and prosperity rendered insignificant by the march of science and the progress of human events. To paraphrase Macaulay, sources of energy which are still unimagined, machines not dreamed of by inventors yet unborn, laws not even suspected by our wisest legislators, and new ways of thought and standards of conduct which will regard our most profound statesmanship as childish, will reduce our present miseries to a chapter, then to a paragraph, and finally to a footnote in history. 

Future schoolchildren may be compelled to memorize the name – together with those of our other presidents – of the man whom we elect in 1932; it is doubtful, nonetheless, that in 2032 more than one educated man out of a hundred will be able to state, offhand, what he accomplished in office or what his election signified. For we are still too young to have learned the only lesson of history, which is that politics, though lots of fun, is only the result and not the cause of human progress.” 

For myself, this is how I feel about this election:

 

The Trump Campaign Is Now Trying To Deny Its Obvious Hatred of Puerto Ricans

Can't run; can't hide:

Travis Akers, a retired Naval Intelligence Officer and Newsweek opinion writer, responded to that by saying, "That rhetoric from the Trump rally absolutely reflects the GOP values. This is exactly who your party under Donald Trump has become."

Dissonant Messages

"Marriage of Figaro" - Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera - October 25, 2024

Judging from Facebook, almost everyone I knew was there, but the only person I recognized was Eileen, the Usher (and my neighbor from two blocks away).

It was hard to quite figure out what was going on.  At intermission I hastily read the program to catch up.  Apparently this is the second opera in a series about Figaro (The Barber of Seville is first).  It had a musical-theater feel to it, with even a trendy cause for 1786 (getting rid of droit du seigneur), like many modern musicals have.

A good show!  Thanks to Gabe and Eleanor for the ticket.

People Are Finally Beginning To Call Out The Media’s Bullsh*t

The Rule That Got Me Bounced From The Eighth Grade Spelling Bee

Doctor Humor

Thinking about doctor humor this morning (October 24, 2024). 

I visited the doctor who gave me my cardiac catheter ablation three months ago. The most common difficulty is that the procedure doesn’t quite hold and has to be done again. So far, though, I’ve had no trouble. 

I’ve found this doctor to be somewhat awkward- maybe more comfortable with video games than with people - but I’m still grateful to him and glad his procedure is holding and also surprised at the procedure’s effectiveness. So I said, “Who would have thought how relatively easy it all was?” His jaw dropped, he started laughing, and said, “Maybe for you!” 

I like doctor humor and the idea of relegating cardiac problems to the past.

Up In Flames

Driving, I reached Folsom Blvd. and turned east instead of west, as I should have, and was startled. I saw a young blonde woman walking west beside the road, in sturdy walking shoes and a two-piece black bathing suit. But even more striking, behind her, an intense fire had erupted in a homeless encampment across the railroad and light rail tracks.

I stopped, as did an excitable young man (long, flowing dirty-blonde hair and big floppy hat). We both clambered across the tracks (light rail trains coming from both sides!) The young man called 911. They asked for the address. He didn’t know - there was no address - but it was across from the Folsom Blvd. Flea Market.

The fire was burning near a tent, and adjacent to a fire circle, so it was adjacent to a possible ignition source, but it was unclear why the fire was burning so damned hot. There must have been some kind of petroleum product there; maybe plastic tarps or some kind of fuel. We both shouted into the tent in case anyone was asleep or unconscious there. There was a minor explosion. We pulled back a bicycle and some crates from the flames and started to dismantle the tent in order to save the bedding at least. Fortunately, firemen arrived quickly. The firehouse was located nearby.

So, we all went our separate ways, but the Tarantino corner of my brain still wondered if the young woman was somehow involved.

I posted about this fire on Facebook and lots of people sensed that there was a cinematic aspect to it - like, we've all seen this movie before. "Kill Bill" came up. I was thinking maybe "Natural Born Killers," "Sin City," or "Terminator 2." Then, in passing, I saw this drawing on JO’s post. It reminded me of the young woman. But who is this character? M. recognized the character instantly as "Tank Girl." So, yeah, Tank Girl. The woman I saw was Tank Girl in the making. Not so rough around the corners, but soon.