Pictures Featuring Me From DMTC's "Bye, Bye Birdie"

Jasper And His Brother Teddy, At Play

Zombie Ants!

Reading about zombie ants:

To find the world’s most sinister examples of mind control, don’t look to science fiction. Instead, go to a tropical country like Brazil, and venture deep into the jungle. Find a leaf that’s hanging almost exactly 25 centimeters above the forest floor, no more and no less. Now look underneath it. If you’re in luck, you might find an ant clinging to the leaf’s central vein, jaws clamped tight for dear life. But this ant’s life is already over. And its body belongs to Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the zombie-ant fungus.

More Free Speech Bullshit

Conservatives always complain that free speech is being impeded on campus, yet when they are in a position to implement free speech policies, they inevitably choose to introduce mechanisms to police free speech on campus:

But, it seems, these existing policies are not good enough for the province. The Ford government wants each institution to conform to a specific set of criteria and demands, including the introduction of a “monitoring and compliance” mechanism. Furthermore, if an institution fails to meet these new standards, they are threatened with “reductions to their operating grant funding.”

Gyllian Phillips, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, warns that “threatening to withhold funding from post-secondary institutions will only serve to undermine the quality of education at our universities and unfairly penalize students.”

Surprise BikeParty!

I ALMOST decided to go see Stormy Daniels Friday evening, but I couldn’t justify leaving Jasper, the insecure Pomeranian puppy, alone for hours.

This turned out to be a good decision. Hundreds of people associated with BikeParty Sacramento passed by the front door, then parked directly behind my house, and jammed to fireworks and loud music. Jasper is scared out of his wits.

Dirty Tricks, 2018:

It could be worse, I suppose:

A neoconservative foreign policy group appeared to try and get audio recorded claiming erroneously that Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-TX) Senate campaign was endorsed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

The campaign appears to have not made it into production, and maybe never will, as the site where the group posted a call for voice actors took down the solicitation on the grounds that the script was clearly false.

Entertainment Question of the Weekend

See Stormy Daniels, or pass her up?:

Stormy Daniels’ Sacramento-area strip club appearance is on, and the porn star is drawing immense interest just as her tell-all memoir hits retailers.

“She has a special following because of her interaction with Donald Trump, and now, kind of the world,” said Mark Boyles, co-owner of Gold Club Centerfolds in Rancho Cordova, where she’s set to perform this weekend.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will perform two back-to-back striptease shows this Friday and Saturday night, with showtimes commencing at 9 p.m. and midnight. Afterward, she’ll be available for “meet-and-greets” with patrons, who will be able take photos with her, Boyles said.

The Trump Administration Fans the Flames of Violence

Even as National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn represented the Turkish government, and it looks like one of its agents decided to pay a call today:

Police were called to Fethullah Gulen’s longtime home in the Pocono Mountains after a security guard fired a “warning shot in the air” around 8:30 a.m., according to a statement from the New York-based Alliance for Shared Values, a group that promotes Gulen’s philosophies.

The man, “who appeared to be armed, attempted to enter the retreat center,” and the guard responded by firing the shot, the statement said. No injuries were reported.

The Pig Race

Like the rat race.

Pencil In Playtime

Introducing My New Companion, Jasper

The first few hours with my new dog, Jasper. He is more independent than the rest of his siblings, and I hope he adjusts well to being away from them. He took the 40-mile drive down from Placerville well. He wandered the truck cab and spent time standing in my lap as I drove, but it was all good.

Jasper’s mystified by virtually everything. He watches every single thing I do and keeps me in sight. He doesn’t like being picked up and figured out that no one can get him if he sits under the kitchen table. He doesn’t like steps, but figured out the two steps into the bedroom.

Jasper’s personality is much closer to that of a Papillon than a Pomeranian. We took a brief walk in the back yard, the back alley, and a parking area. He peed on the concrete rather than the lawn, but thats good enough for now.

Minutes after retiring to bed, there was a sudden crash somewhere in the house. We all started searching for the origin of the sound, and Jasper joined in the hunt. Turned out a hanger failed, and the painting it supported fell to the floor. It was a weird fluke, but Jasper didn’t bark. For all Jasper knows, it’s the new normal.

Jen Broke The Rules And Took A Few Photos Of Me Performing in "Bye, Bye Birdie"

She even took a video, but I can't embed it.

Here Comes Rosa

Maybe Heavy Rains for the drought-stricken Colorado River Valley and Arizona.

Devin Nunes' Family Moved To Iowa More Than A Decade Ago

Very curious. The dairy-farmer family of Congressman Devin Nunes of Tulare, CA, moved to Iowa more than a decade ago:

So here’s the secret: The Nunes family dairy of political lore—the one where his brother and parents work—isn’t in California. It’s in Iowa. Devin; his brother, Anthony III; and his parents, Anthony Jr. and Toni Dian, sold their California farmland in 2006. Anthony Jr. and Toni Dian, who has also been the treasurer of every one of Devin’s campaigns since 2001, used their cash from the sale to buy a dairy eighteen hundred miles away in Sibley, a small town in northwest Iowa where they—as well as Anthony III, Devin’s only sibling, and his wife, Lori—have lived since 2007. Devin’s uncle Gerald still owns a dairy back in Tulare, which is presumably where The Wall Street Journal’s reporter talked to Devin, and Devin is an investor in a Napa Valley winery, Alpha Omega, but his immediate family’s farm—as well as his family—is long gone.

There’s nothing particularly strange about a congressman’s family moving. But what is strange is that the family has apparently tried to conceal the move from the public—for more than a decade. As far as I could tell, until late August, neither Nunes nor the local California press that covers him had ever publicly mentioned that his family dairy is no longer in Tulare.

Finally Got A Newspaper

Sometimes the question is asked, how can we arrest the decline of newspapers?

My Sacramento Bee newspaper subscription ran out in March, and I was shocked at the doubling of rates, so I hesitated renewing. In the middle of May, I renewed my subscription, but for weekend delivery only, to moderate the cost.

And the paper was never delivered. Not once. Every weekend, when delivery inevitably failed, I either called their complaint line and left a voicemail, or sent an E-Mail. The Bee offers a redelivery option, and I opted for it, but since delivery or redelivery never happened, I eventually opted instead for them to credit my account. After awhile, I forgot about the subscription, and the account balance dwindled.

Today, September 30, 2018, and once again faced with no delivery, I sent a complaining E-Mail asking for them to credit my account. To my vast surprise, they actually redelivered the paper. For a newspaper subscription obtained in May, I finally received my first newspaper!

Saving newspapers is not a hopeless task, but first there has to be a willingness for newspapers to engage with the task. Nevertheless, there are rumors the Sacramento Bee will cease with a paper option altogether in a year or two. Of course, no one will ask the subscribers about their opinions about the matter.

Big Early Leaf Fall

Not sure I believe in portents, but I'm surprised by the size of the early leaf fall from the California Valley Oaks. Usually leaf fall starts early, in August, and then there's in a pause, before starting in earnest in late October, ending after Christmas. This year, though, there's no pause, just a sharp acceleration. An early winter? Climate change? Trump?

I Had A Second Theater Anxiety Dream

Several theater companies were going to stage a special performance of “West Side Story” together, and even though everyone knew their lines, the cast hadn’t rehearsed together, or indeed, hadn’t even met one another. One of my jobs was to open a manhole and pour volatile hydrocarbons down a pipe in order to heat the performance hall. I suddenly began to get a feeling of foreboding about this special performance.

Kavanaugh

Pretty interesting stuff. The GOP is committing slow-motion suicide, and doesn't even realize it.

Not Much Posting Of Late

"Better Call Saul" Season 4 has only two more episodes to air, and so I'm getting TWO books ready for release. A myriad of details!

Third Weekend of "Bye, Bye Birdie"

Good weekend (with the exception of Katherine's injury - the best of healing to her).

On Saturday evening, an errant thought crossed my mind as I prepared to come onstage. It proved my undoing.

I'm supposed to come downstage center, alone, and proclaim, "Harvey Johnson, I want you home this minute! Harvey!"

Instead, I said, "Howard ... Johnson, I want you home this minute! Harvey!"

I think I'll just go drown myself.....

Donating Furniture To Carr Fire Recovery

Pepper came by on Saturday, to relieve me of some of the household clutter.

Maybe in two weeks, I'll donate more. The best way to move things along.

Greenland Sharks Live A Long Time

Fountain of Youth under the icebergs:

Scientists have made a startling discovery where they have found a shark whose age was estimated to be at least 392 years. Yes, a Greenland shark has been found in the Arctic region and could very well be the oldest living vertebrate on the planet. The research is published in the journal Science.

The researchers have measured the creature and estimated that it could be born as early as 1505. Known to live in temperature less than -1 degree Celcius, these creatures can swim as deep as 7,200 feet and weigh more than a tonne.

Second Opinion

Spent yesterday getting a second opinion on E.'s health issue at Kaiser Permanente. She's waffling between minimal surgery and telling the surgeons where to insert their scalpels.

Theater Anxiety Dream

A common-enough theater anxiety dream, but first time I ever had it. Intermission started, so I went home, got into pajamas, and started watching TV. Suddenly remembered Act 2 should have already started, hurriedly dressed, and couldn’t recall any specifics about the opening scene except that it was supposed to start with my soaring solo performance of a song whose lyrics escaped me.

...

Here's the cheerleader anxiety dream....

Checking In On The Ted Cruz Campaign

"The Addams Family" Premiered in 1964

Andres' Birthday

Moose Migrates to New Mexico?

Very unusual sighting. Efforts to introduce them in Colorado have apparently been too successful:

Walking along State Road 522, the visiting moose was the subject of several photos and phone calls to wildlife offices in the area as the sighting marked a rare occasion in New Mexico wildlife history. A moose was sighted in Chama in 2017 and for the first time, Costilla welcomes a moose to its environs.

"This is the third moose that I have heard of in Northern New Mexico in 23 years,” said Clint Henson, captain of northeast field operations for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. "It's definitely not unheard of. Young bulls like that tend to move and try and find new territory," Henson said. "I think moose are much more adaptable than we think."

Moose originally come from the northern parts of the Americas and are scarcely seen in the wild in the southern parts of the United States. Colorado introduced the Shiras subspecies of moose in the 1970s to some of the state's northern reaches in an effort to expand the roaming area of the animals. Shiras moose are slightly smaller than moose found in Alaska and have slightly smaller antlers than their northern cousins.

Efforts were made to introduce 12 moose into Colorado in the late 1970s and continued when the population began to thrive in their new environment. Dozens of moose were brought from Wyoming and Utah over the years, and the Colorado population rose as the decades went on.

Biker Lives Matter

Some Buzzards in Dixon

Birthday Party For Amaralyn

(Coming)

Amaralyn blows out her 15th birthday candles.

DMTC YPT "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Memorial Service For Alex Henderson

Second Weekend of "Bye, Bye Birdie" at DMTC

Driving to Davis Friday evening, I braked sharply while crossing the Sacramento River on Highway 50. After that, I couldn't quite reach highway speeds again on the freeway, like something was slowing me down.

Approaching Davis, I realized I was also having trouble braking.

When I reached Davis and parked, the right rear wheel assembly was smokin' hot. I was also spilling brake fluid. Uh, oh!

During the weekend, I patched together rides to get back and forth to Davis.

Sunday evening, I called AAA for a tow back to Ellis Automotive in Sacramento. Hopefully they can repair the damage.

But the weekend of shows went pretty well.

Manny Aragon's House Burns To The Ground

Caption: Bernalillo County Fire Department officials investigate on Thursday after a fire engulfed former New Mexico Sen. Manny Aragon's house in Albuquerque's South Valley. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal)

Oh, this is a loss. Manny Aragon's house in the South Valley burned down. That house was one of the most remarkable houses in all of Albuquerque. To me, the project looked demented, as if designed by an utterly-mad architect. The South Valley will be saner, but drabber, for the loss:

Bernalillo County Fire Rescue spokesman David Lujan said firefighters showed up around 7:30 p.m. to find the 5,000-square-foot home at Second and Camino Cuatro SW engulfed in flames.

He said crews used a “surround and drown” technique to extinguish the blaze and nobody was injured. One firefighter and two neighbors were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The fire is “suspicious,” but the cause is still under investigation, Lujan said.

“At this point, we don’t have any evidence that’s leading to one cause or another,” he said.

I'm trying to figure out how to get in contact with the fire investigators. For the last week or so, there has been a lot of activity on my blog regarding a post I wrote regarding Manny Aragon's house. I'm thinking it's an arson conspiracy.

Don't Mess With Australian Spiders

Arise, Cats

Bite Someone

Life in Florence's Fire Hose

The folks in New Bern, NC are getting the worst of it. Not only is there the powerful storm surge to deal with, but the storm's most powerful rain band is sitting right on them, and isn't budging. It's like trying to live in a gushing fire hose.

Protest on Thursday Against Joe Arpaio in Carmel Valley

Siobhan gets air time regarding the protest she's organized tomorrow in Carmel Valley. If you are down that way, stop by, boo America's most-dangerous sheriff, and celebrate freedom:

Carmel Valley resident and mom Siobhan Wolfe helped organize the “No Arpaio” protest via Facebook.

“Joe Arpaio is a criminal and he's a racist. And Carmel Valley is all about love. He has a right, his First Amendment right to speak, but we also have a right to say, ‘yeah, your message does not resonate with Carmel Valley’,” said Wolfe.

According to the “No Arpaio” Facebook page, more than a hundred people will attend the protest outside the luncheon venue at Carmel Valley’s Palo Corona Regional Park.

[UPDATE] Siobhan got some air time on the NPR affiliate!

A Strange Security Mystery in Sunspot, NM

John brings this to my attention:

SUNSPOT, New Mexico - The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot New Mexico has been closed since last Thursday.

The post office near Sunspot also remains closed. Its employees have been temporarily transferred to the post office in Cloudcroft, a USPS official told ABC-7.

ABC-7 has confirmed the post office in Sunspot will not be re-opened until further notice, and cannot be re-opened until approved by local law enforcement officials.

...The FBI did speak with local law enforcement about the length of the observatory closure.

"They spoke with my sergeant initially and they said that they would be down for a few days so that could be anywhere from a few days to months, from my past experience," said Sheriff Benny House.

The FBI did not tell Sheriff House the reason for the closure.

Sheriff Benny House did tell ABC 7 that his local law enforcement did not have anything to do with either the observatory closure, or the Sunspot post office Closure.

A spokesperson for the United States Postal Service told ABC 7 that they were given specific instructions. "We were told on September 6th that we would be evacuated along with the surrounding area, we were not told why," Rod Sturgeon said, "We were told just to be out of the area."

Dyer notes:

Hmm, Sac Peak been mostly closed for more than a year. NMSU is still operating the Vacuum Tower Telescope and the post office has been closed for a couple of years, I think.

[UPDATE] I agree with this article, that espionage is the most-likely issue:

But given AURA's statements and what else we know about the situation, there is a distinct possibility that "security issue" is actually related to espionage or a similar operational security concern. The National Solar Observatory's site enjoys a wide and largely unobstructed view of both the U.S. Air Force's Holloman Air Force Base and the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range, both of which regularly host a very wide array of U.S. military research and development programs.

Hurricane Florence Drives For The Coast

The hurricane-path forecasts have been remarkably stable, showing Florence's initial landfall in North Carolina, with enormous storm surges along the coast, even into Virginia. Then, Florence stalls, and wanders a bit, perhaps wandering into northeast South Carolina, with accompanying heavy flooding.

Initially, forecasts showed Florence moving back over the Atlantic, and heading northeast, but more recent forecasts show Florence staying inland, creating a punishing flood event in the Appalachians in southwest Virginia, and heavy rains throughout Virginia and Maryland, before heading northeast.

Some, but not all, weather forecasts show there is a possibility that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Isaac might divert from its current western path, start moving northwest, and follow Florence's path into the coast. It's still unclear how likely that change in path might be.

There's also a developing tropical low that may afflict Houston with rain over the next week.

A rather complacent Pat Robertson counsels prayer for Virginia:

“In the name of Jesus, you Hurricane Florence, we speak to you in the name of Jesus, and we command the storm to cease its forward motion and go harmlessly into the Atlantic. Go up north away from land and veer off in the name of Jesus. We declare in the name of the lord that you shall go no farther, you shall do no damage in this area.”

Medallion Trees of the Sandias

Historical perspective:

Have you seen them? By some counts, there have been as many as 88 documented medallion trees, maybe even twice as many more once, scattered along the trails throughout the Sandia Mountains like secret little jewels of history.

At present, the locations of 84 medallion trees are known.

Each medallion – an aluminum or brass or steel washer about 1½ to 2 inches in diameter – is screwed into the tree over the hole where a core sample was taken to determine the tree’s age. A historic event that corresponds with the germination date, or GD, is stamped on the medallion.

Buried Treasure!

Cool!:

Archaeologists are studying a valuable trove of old Roman coins found on the site of a former theater in northern Italy.
The coins, at least 300 of them, date back to the late Roman imperial era and were found in a soapstone jar unearthed in the basement of the Cressoni Theater in Como, north of Milan.

"We do not yet know in detail the historical and cultural significance of the find," said Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli in a press release. "But that area is proving to be a real treasure for our archeology. A discovery that fills me with pride."

Whoever placed the jar in that place "buried it in such a way that in case of danger they could go and retrieve it," said Maria Grazia Facchinetti, a numismatist -- or expert in rare coins -- at a Monday press conference.

"They were stacked in rolls similar to those seen in the bank today," she said, adding the coins have engravings about emperors Honorius, Valentinian III, Leon I, Antonio, and Libio Severo "so they don't go beyond 474 AD."

"All of this makes us think that the owner is not a private subject, rather it could be a public bank or deposit," Facchinetti added.

We're the Millers (2013)

Link to Map

Last Updated: May 30, 2019.

Link to Top-Level Menu
Link to Top-Level Map


Comedy about a pot dealer who assembles a fake family as cover for a large shipment of drugs. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms, Thomas Lennon, Jason Sudeikis, and Molly C. Quinn. Filming locations: Albuquerque Sunport, Cerrillos, Jemez Dam Road (Jemez Pueblo), Laguna Pueblo, Rociada, Santa Ana Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo (Border Set on Hwy 22), Watrous, Villanueva, Zia Pueblo.

https://moviemaps.org/movies/mw




Notes on Individual Scenes
-----------------------------

Pender’s Burger, Wilmington, NC?

Albuquerque Sunport, as seen from the Parking Garage at the Albuquerque Sunport, Level 4.

Highway travels – various roads

Fireworks Booth

Fireworks Roadside

Near Cerrillos

Santo Domingo Pueblo (Border Set on Hwy 22), (35.477837°, -106.311818°)

Incidental House

Village (Villanueva?)

Stone Building

Inside Stone Building

Traffic Stop

Stone Building

Walk After Breakdown – Jemez Dam Road (35.383629°, -106.538991°)

Auto Repair

Campsite

RV Park

Hospital (NC?)

Carnival (NC)

Suburban Neighborhood & House

Take A Knee

Doomed

I approached the western end of the I-80 Yolo Causeway as I drove to Davis on Thursday evening. I was driving at 70 mph in the right lane in a close cluster of vehicles including large semi-trailer trucks. Suddenly, I saw something that made my heart sink. A stunned-looking hawk was standing on the white line separating the right lane from the center lane. The hawk was alive, but doomed, absolutely doomed, and there was no way to save it. Could. Not. Stop.

Still, on subsequent recrossings of that patch of pavement, I see no body. I hope that hawk was able to figure out an exit from that horrible place.

Southwestern Amorous Tarantula Migration Starts

Caption: Photographer David Tremblay said he thought about placing his hand next to the tarantula for a size comparison. The spider is about 5 inches across. (David Tremblay/For The Ruidoso News)

Watch out!:

“Male tarantulas live 10 to 12 years. Females can live twice as long,” he said. “Predators of tarantulas include lizards, snakes, spider-eating birds, coyotes and foxes.

“Tarantulas are nocturnal hunters. They feed primarily on insects like grasshoppers, beetles, other small spiders and arthropods, and will sometimes eat small lizards.”

Tarantulas are found worldwide. Those in North America live in the southern and southwestern states, with many other species to the south throughout Mexico, Central and South America.

They are very sensitive to vibrations in the ground that may indicate the presence of prey or danger, Tremblay said. They are equipped with urticating hairs on their abdomen that can be released by kicking with their back legs; these hairs irritate the nose and eyes of would-be attackers.

“I’ve read that they are docile, but they can leap nearly five feet into the air,” Tremblay said.

Venn Diagram

Sometimes You're The Car....

Love Ranch (2010)

Link to Map

Last Updated: May 30, 2019.

Link to Top-Level Menu
Link to Top-Level Map


Drama. A married couple open the first legal brothel in Nevada. Starring Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, Gina Gershon, Bai Ling, Taryn Manning, M.C. Gainey, Scout Taylor-Compton, Bryan Cranston. Main set near San Ysidro; other filming locations: Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Sandia Park, Zia Pueblo.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/282557nm02-04-08.htm



Notes on Individual Scenes
-----------------------------

Love Ranch: Approximately (35.519880°, -106.768653°)

Doctor’s Office: Unresolved

Gym interior: Unresolved

Mobile Home Park: Unresolved

Modern Development: Unresolved

Gypsum Mine: (35.537276°, -106.809766°)

Precipice: (35.537805°, -106.811455°)

Working Out – San Ysidro (35.567184°, -106.770985°)

Dead Coyote: Approximately (35.548294°, -106.824653°)

General Location of Drive (35.571294°, -106.863968°)

Get the Fuck Out of the Car! (35.587090°, -106.883275°)

Junkyard: (35.520570°, -106.770626°)

Boxing Arena: Unresolved

Hospital: Unresolved

View of Sandia Crest, and city as seen from the Crest.

Love Ranch II: Unresolved.