Cat Scratch Fever

Ted Nugent has Covid, but no worries, he's still dead-set against vaccines:

"I was tested positive today, I got the Chinese shit," Nugent added. "I've got a stuffed-up head, body aches. My God, what a pain in the ass. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days… So I was officially tested positive for COVID-19 today."

RIP, Fritz Mondale

Best President we never had:

When Walter Mondale — the pioneering vice president under President Carter — ended up on the losing end of Ronald Reagan’s landmark 49-state landslide in 1984, he fretted that it would dominate, even warp, his legacy.

But in reality Mondale, who as a senator was a spokesman for racial justice and an opponent of the Vietnam War, was a fiery reformer who selected the first female member of a national political ticket; an introspective populist who tried to rally Americans to care for the poor during the Reagan-era ascendancy of industrialists and bankers; and, in retirement, a beloved senior statesman of the Democratic Party and sober-minded prairie practitioner of common sense.

“Many politicians look for personal advantage,” said Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who counts herself among the many Mondale proteges in his native state, “but he always wanted to do the right thing.” 

Known simply as Fritz to both friends and foes, Mondale died Monday at age 93, his family said in a statement. No cause was given.

Make It Make Sense

Mirage?

Sacramento hit a record-high temperature for the date on April 18th (91 F), and yet the weather models have been teasing rain in a little more than a week, for at least the last week. It's like Lucy with the football. People in other places don't worry about stuff like this. No one in the UK posts excitedly about the mirage of some rain in a little more than a week. 

And yet, the mirage is there....  It does look like it will rain on Sunday....

Cleanliness is Next to Dogliness

Just washed Jasper. Afterwards, he raced outside and rolled around in the dirt. Goes to show, cleanliness is next to dogliness.

Lost in New Mexico: The Strange Tale of Susan Hero (2007)

Link to map

Last updated: April 4, 2021


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Link to Top-Level Map





Notes on Individual Scenes
-----------------------------
Sandia Mtns, near Embudo Canyon

Carniceria Chihuahua (unclear. There is one at 7850 Zuni Rd. SE, but thinking it's an older location in the film)

Power facility - Rail Yards - about 1105 2nd St. SW

Thunderbird Restaurant Equipment - 2nd & Hazeldine

Driveway/Teddy Bear

Jim's 66 Muffler, 4600 Central Ave. SE

De Anza

Zia Motor Lodge sign

Hiland Theater

Walking - unclear

Home

East Central

The Just Shall Live By Faith

Octopus Car Wash

Back of business

Near 2 Marble Road, in Mesita  35.014324°-107.327828°

Little house - George Bull

Dion's near Hiland, across from Dollar General

Shave - Unclear about this building

Near Golden?

Horse ranch

Hiland

Office with Pineapple

Home

I-25 - Signage has changed just enough to make determination of exact location uncertain - near Jefferson exit

Mesita country again - guessing maybe roughly 35.020194°-107.330688°

In Mesita - asking for money

KRQE News 13

Somewhere on I-40

Motel room. 

Office with pineapple

Motel Room 

Flute - Room 1202

Albuquerque - Washington & Central - NB, turn WB

Central, EB at Jackson

View of Jimmie's Oriental Restaurant

Travelodge next to octopus Car Wash

Motel - Downtowner Motel - Room 247

View of Furr's Cafeteria, J.D. Byrider,

Dog House!

View of Circle K, It's Tyre Time, SoLo Food Warehouse

Dog House

De Anza

Shave Place Again

View of Surplus City

KRQE

Mesita again? Or To'hajiilee?

Various views of buildings

Caristos Black Powder Guns

Driving

Water Tank, and road 35.011810°-107.337036°

Mall parking lot - thinking Winrock  35.100760°, -106.561958°

Driving past Dion's - Chinese place?

Motel again

Shaving place

Driving past Lazy H Motel, 5601 Central Ave. NE, EB

Driving near Santo Domingo?

Hills near Madrid?

Behind bowling alley

Driving on I-40/Rocks

Lakebed - approximately 34.580954°-105.969889°

View of mesas  35.012621°, -107.322045°

etc.

View of Laguna Pueblo - roughly  35.033839°, -107.376836°

Rose's place at Laguna 35.031489°-107.382442°

Domingo St. NE?  

Airport Parking sign

'1066 Western Dr.'  Cavendish Pl., dogleg,  

Parking lot - Behind Premier Motel - Silver & Solano

Albuquerque Collection Service Inc.

AAA Premier Motel, 3820 Central Ave. SE

Parking Lot/ Sidewalk/Driving

Silver Ave. & Madison, near HHS.

Murals

Found money

City street

Inside shaving place

On mesa

Nighttime view of Central?

Lab

Driving near Mesita

Road reminiscent of Shooting Range Access Road

Zia Motor Lodge sign

On Central, with Desert Sands sign in background

Country Vittles Cafe - near Bank of the West/ Monroe & Central

KRQE

Credits say shot on location in Albuquerque, Willard, Estancia, Mountainair, and Santa Fe

Uncut Gems - Gigi D'agostino - L'amour Toujours

I've hated just about every film Adam Sandler was ever in, except one: "Uncut Gems," which is something close to a masterpiece. Among the many reasons for loving it is the end-credit music: Gigi D'agostino's "L'amour Toujours." Back to 90s House music!

Unclean

The partisan divide is a big problem when it comes to Covid-19, and the likelihood of getting vaccinated.

"How do we ever get to herd immunity if a quarter of the country has already decided to never get vaccinated?"

We won't. Society will split further. Covid-19 will soon transform into partisan leprosy. We'll do our vaccine-passport best to shun Republicans. Unclean! Unclean!

Bladeless Wind Turbines

Cool!:

The new turbine, which has also been called the “Skybrator” due to its phallic shape, is capable of harnessing energy from winds without the sweeping white blades everyone associates with wind power. It generates wind energy thanks to vibration and without generating the environmental and visual impact on the fauna of the large wind farms. 

About 3 meters high, it is basically a curve-topped cylinder fixed vertically with an elastic rod, specially designed to withstand both bending and stress. To the viewer, the turbine appears to waggle back and forth. However, it is designed to oscillate within the wind range and generate electricity from the vibration.

Mexican Mask Collection on Good Day Sacramento

Larry Hoover's collection!

Love This Blog!

I need to write like this:

As limp and embarrassing as the whole sordid show has been, we should still make note that Republican officials no longer even hesitate before threatening to bring the full unholy fury of the state down upon the heads of uppity private sector dissenters, and like, I know I come off like a broken record sometimes, but this is yet another Thing Republicans Do That’s Indistinguishable From What Fascists Do. 

Another Trump-administered lesson in authoritarianism swiftly internalized by the entire GOP is that when it comes to their credulous, grievance-crazed base, there is simply no limit to the power to fool some of the people all of the time. New polling shows alarming numbers of Republicans blindly believe every dumb, crazy lie the Velveeta Vulgarian and his enablers told about the 2020 election, because gaslighting and victimhood are two whiny wingnut tastes that taste great together.

Panic!

Lindsay Graham is completely panicked by the U.S. withdrawing from Afghanistan. Panicked! 

Nevertheless, I'm not panicked. Egging on permanent war creates its own risks. Sometimes it's better to withdraw. The Taliban can't change, won't change, unless the conditions change, and an American withdrawal will change the conditions.

 

What A Mess - April 11, 2021

As the W-X freeway-widening project begins in earnest, many of the homeless camps that proliferated during the last five years under the freeway are being cleared out. Five years ago, I remember thinking, ‘If I were homeless I’d stay here, because of protection against the rain.’ Others thought the same. By last year, these camps had become crime hot beds. I tried to help one young woman who was pepper-sprayed in the face by a young thug. And now, wave a wand, back to square one.

Today, most of the people at the 22nd Street camp have departed. Looks like there is much assorted debris for the taking. There is apparently a ‘safe-space’ area close to I-5 that has been designated for them, but I don’t know if it’s big enough to accommodate everyone.

Meanwhile, the 23rd Street camp emptied at the start of the month. The orange bat-removal gear is visible at each weephole under the road bed at 23rd Street. I worry whether bats were displaced by construction near the light rail overpasses last year, and whether they’ve returned. I worry about these bats. I worry a lot, in general. I have my bat Echometer. I need to get out to these places and see where the bats went.

22nd Street on April 12th. What a difference a day makes!

Somewhat Bland

Illustrator Amber Share turned bad Yelp reviews of national parks into posters and they’re amazing. She’s on Instagram as subparparks. 😄

Posted by Bridget Kiley Caletka on Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Ira is Ill

I learned on Sunday April 4th that my good friend, Ira Gershin, is very ill, and might well pass away by the middle of May. I hope to go to Las Vegas to see him soon, but there are a variety of obstacles that will likely delay or complicate that trip. So, until matters clarify, I will start looking for pictures and other information chronicling our 34 years of friendship.

Ira Gershin, at Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, NV, about May 21, 2011.

In 1978, in the company of friends Jeff Anderson and Ira Gershin, I tried to reproduce my 1975 Grand Canyon trip with David Baltz, but we met powerful obstacles. The temperature was much hotter than on the 1975 trip, and we lost valuable time trying to puzzle out a descent after we lost the trail. We ran out of water on the burning south-facing cliff faces. So, we retreated and opted instead to travel to Zion National Park, in southwestern Utah.

Ira Gershin, early June, 1978.

Just as we had run out of water at the Grand Canyon, we began to run out of money in Zion. We decided to go to Las Vegas, in order to get closer to 'civilization'.

In Las Vegas, we decided to phone home for money if necessary, but decided to first try self-reliance. We pooled what money we had left and gave it to Ira to try his luck at the blackjack table. Ira was successful! He more-than-doubled our money!

The previous day we had to brush ants off of cheese blocks in order to eat anything at all, but now we were in the lap of luxury. We saw Bill Cosby perform his comedy act (I think it was at the old MGM Grand, before the big fire, and now called Bally's), and we ate our fill at the buffet lunch, before returning to Albuquerque.

Daniel Gershin's Bar Mitzvah Celebration, October 25, 2008, following the Orthodox Bar Mitzvah Service At Chabad Of Summerlin, earlier in the day. Left: Mazeltov to Daniel Gershin! On the left is his Uncle, Sam, and on the right is his Father, Ira.

Beth Gershin's Bat Mitzvah About January 22, 2006.  Beth's friends help her light the last of the candles in the candle-lighting ceremony.

Time for a conga line! Pleasant and fun celebration with the extended Gershin clan at the Santa Fe Casino in Las Vegas. Two DJs/MCs led lots of party games, including Coke/Pepsi races across the dance floor, the Limbo, a Conga Line, and numerous other diversions.

Marci and Ira at daughter Rachel's Bat Mitzvah, January 17, 2004.

Gasp! The Orchid is Blooming!

Well, this is concerning. I usually traumatize most orchids I get with my patented overwatering and underwatering regimen. All their flowers fall off early, and stay off. Except this one....

Demons Took The Baby

Not dingoes, like last time.

VASTNESS: A Socially-Distant Film for a Global Pandemic

White Sands National Park. Abiquiú Lake. Valles Caldera National Preserve. These are the locations that National Dance Institute of New Mexico chose for its film, “Vastness, A Socially Distanced Dance Film for a Global Pandemic.”

 

The Biden Boom Is Nigh

It's going to be nuts:

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Taco Bell wants to hire at least 5,000 employees in one day, it said on Tuesday, and is adding benefits for some general managers to sweeten the pot as restaurants struggle to hire enough workers to keep up with a surge in sales amid a broader U.S. economic recovery.

..."Total nightmare" is the way FAT Brands Inc CEO Andy Wiederhorn describes the staffing situation for franchisees of his company's restaurants, which include Johnny Rockets and Fatburger.

"The most recent stimulus check and unemployment benefits have been a catalyst for people to stay at home" instead of looking for work, he said. U.S. job openings in the accommodation and food service industry increased by 104,000 to reach 761,000 on the last day of February from the prior month, according to federal data on Tuesday.

Though fast-food companies and some other restaurant chains did well through the coronavirus pandemic as their customers turned to drive-thru, carry-out and delivery, they are seeing greater sales now that the weather is warmer, many limits on dining room capacities are lifted, and people with stimulus checks are eating out. 

A measure of U.S. services industry activity surged to a record high on Monday amid robust growth in new orders, the latest indication of a roaring economy boosted by increased vaccinations.

First Moderna Vaccination - April 6, 2021

Gabe sent this. This is exactly right. Hilarious!

   

By May 18th, my Multipass will be fully-functional: