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.

Kamala Harris is Great at Answering Questions

@brynodc Empathy. Policy. This is absolute perfection. #harriswalz @Kamala HQ #election2024 #demsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Bryan

Another Morning of Bloody Mayhem

Who is that deftly winging through the treetop this morning? It’s the local hawk, looking forward to another morning of bloody mayhem. I can hear the doves cowering in their hiding places.

Anthony Davis Speaking the Words of Nate White on Donald Trump

@americasorangeproblem #fiveminutenews #comedy #trump #maga #trending ♬ original sound - orangeisthenewred

MAGA and the Home Rule Crisis

I believe in the value of looking to history for parallels to our current difficulties. The author of this article compares the challenges of MAGA to Britain's Home Rule Crisis more than a century ago:

Consider this scenario, unfolding in a country that views itself as the world’s leading democracy:

• A cynical but charismatic demagogue emerges as a disruptive force in politics — a person of wealth, privilege and fame who claims to represent a mass movement of ordinary people, but uses it for his own purposes.

• He leads a right-wing, ethnic nationalist paramilitary force with more than 100,000 members, which proclaims itself more loyal to the true spirit of the nation than the actual elected government, and threatens armed rebellion.

• The leader of the mainstream conservative opposition party pledges full support for the paramilitary movement’s campaign of resistance, up to and including civil war.

• Conspiracy theories rooted in a long history of ethnic and religious bigotry spread widely in support of the potential rebellion, including claims about the savage, superstitious and bloodthirsty behavior of previously disempowered groups now out for revenge.

• A leading government official is told to cancel all public appearances because the risk of violent assault or assassination is too high.

• Dozens of high-ranking military officers, in collusion with senior commanders and right-wing political leaders, stage an open mutiny, pledging to resign or be dismissed rather than obey the lawful orders of the elected government.

 

... Because everything on that list really did happen, just over 110 years ago in the United Kingdom, which despite its peculiar political history and lack of a written constitution was abundantly confident in its democratic credentials — and, not to drive the point home too hard, was given to lecturing other countries about the superior wisdom, tolerance and flexibility of its system.

Things That Don't Seem To Work So Good

I seem to be a witness to things that don't seem to work so good. 

One day last week, I opened the front door of my house to go out and get the mail, but I hesitated to open the screen door, because there was an argument going on between a couple on the sidewalk. A woman was towing a Radio-Flyer-style wagon loaded with belongings. Behind her, a man was sitting in a wheelchair, towed on a leash by a single Golden Retriever. They were likely homeless. The overall effect was of Mr. and Mrs. Claus as refugees. The woman was very tense. The man was shouting, in effect, that she wasn't very attractive. The appropriate response, of course, would have been to push him into traffic. Nevertheless, a couple of hours later, I saw them sitting quietly and working cooperatively together in the park. 

On Friday, I saw a young man wearing a hoodie and walking down the sidewalk. The shell of the hoodie looked exactly like the front of a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Branded! A walking advertisement! I wonder what the rest of his wardrobe looks like? 

I went to eat lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. I've been wondering how much of a shoestring operation it had become. It had opened with fanfare earlier this year, but then a couple of months ago the entire crew was replaced with a skeleton crew and the menu was dramatically shortened. Now you can't even get a printed menu. I suppose it's too expensive to produce. They just point at a QR code on the table. The only item on the new menu that I knew I liked was the "Rice Bowl," so that's what I ordered. They apologized and asked if vermicelli would do. They had run out of rice. 

On Saturday, I approached a pizza takeout restaurant but I was momentarily blocked from entering. A homeless person was pushing a shopping cart in a circle in front of the door. The person started taking off their pants. They removed the right pants leg, but their other pants leg got hung up on their left sock and shoe. It would require additional attention to clear the left pants leg. Exasperated, the person just pushed the shopping cart down the sidewalk with their pants all bundled up on their left foot. Despite the fact the person was partially-naked i couldn't establish whether they were male or female. 

Which reminds me of when my family first traveled to California and we kids, my sisters and I, first saw the Pacific Ocean, in 1970, at San Diego's Mission Beach. It was overcast and chilly but some people were entering the water. We watched a topless person enter the surf, but my sisters and I couldn't establish their sex. Some body shapes are just ambiguous. We wondered if it was a California thing. In the 90s one would say it was an "It's Pat!" moment.

Great Opening Night For RCTC's "Chicago" - October 18, 2024

Bows.

The Family Nachmanoff.

Marc and Larry Rycerz (Mary Sunshine, Jazz Cast) at the Truxel In-N-Out (Photo by Rachel Rycerz, who is volunteering on soundboard for a number of the shows)..

If They Can Hang On For Six Months They Can Enjoy Some Good EDM!

It's Halloween Time Again!

Neighbors are decorating all around!

Lowe's Home Improvement in Citrus Heights, CA, has the wrong idea right now.

Gunther's Ice Cream Parlor has the right idea!

Signs

Knowledge Massage.

Coming out of the Tower Theater after seeing the movie "Lee" and seeing my car alone in the parking lot.

The Tower Theater's tower at night.

Someone's security system.

Meeting the Burmesters

While in Davis, CA, Rachel wanted to leave a birthday card for David Burmester, who was celebrating his 86th birthday that day. David was her theater instructor at Davis High School in the late 80s, and a founding director of Acme Theater Company. The Burmester family has been and still is one of the leading theatrical families in Yolo County. 

As it turned out, one of her high-school co-actors was in town; James Burmester had flown in from Hawaii. Tom Burmester, Executive Director of the Woodland Opera House, wasn't at the party (likely because as an Exec Director he has a lot of things to do). 

The Burmesters graciously invited me in too.

A hawk came into the yard to inquire into the health of the chickens in the back yard's chicken coop.

David Burmester blows out 86 candles (or at a representative sample) on his birthday cake.

Marc Valdez, Rachel Rycerz, David Burmester, Libby Burmester, and James Burmester.

RIP, Steve Thorpe

On Tuesday, October 15th, I was up on my roof, making minor preparations for the next rainy season, when Rachel arrived unexpectedly. Steve Thorpe had died.

I had never met Steve Thorpe - he was a Facebook Friend - but Rachel had a number of fond reminisces about him.  Steve had been her baby sitter in the 70s and very early 80s, in Davis, CA.  He was watching his own son and he watched her too.  He even included her in a novel he wrote.

Sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, Steve Thorpe moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where he became a well-known folk singer there.  The folk-singing community there is in mourning over his death.

We traveled to Davis, CA, to honor Steve's memory.

The house at 6th and C Street, where they had all once lived back in the day.

I like the "Dream of the Trees" (below).

I'm Intrigued by Tiny Hurricane Oscar

I'm wondering why we don’t have more tiny hurricanes.

Lewis Black on Undecided Voters

The New Middle Ages

An empire under stress. The GOP is slowly degenerating into fiefdoms, where it now makes perfect sense to run Colorado campaigns from Arizona (apparently membership required for full article):

So here’s the deal. The Colorado GOP appears to be under the control of one weird dude, Dave Williams, who spent most of the party’s money on preventing people from firing him as party chair, trying and failing to get himself nominated for a House seat and … oh yeah, one other thing, Lauren Boebert. Other Colorado Republicans tried to oust Williams but a judge ruled against them. El Paso Country District Judge Eric Bentley ruled against state party chair pretender Eli Bremer and confirmed that Williams is in fact the chair of the Colorado Republican Party. In any case, the point is that, for the moment, the Colorado GOP is basically the personal property of this guy Williams. Once that happened, Coloradans in at least two congressional districts started getting mailers for the local Republican candidate coming from the Arizona state Republican Party. 

So what’s going on here? Why is the Arizona Republican Party, which has a contested Senate and presidential race, among others, funding campaigns in Colorado?