Who Is Uglier Than Me?

         Just imagine you had to go to grandmas late on Christmas morning, and the woman pictured above is your Grandma. I think I would be terrified of clowns AND Christmas for the rest of my natural life. Seriously. Why do old Mexican women wear make-up and paint on surly looking eyebrows that make them look like pedophile rapists? Do they think they’re still in Mexico, where brighter lipstick equals higher status?

Pigeons Drinking

        A goodly amount of the time I spend waiting for buses and trolleys while at a San Diego transit stations is spent watching pigeons. They seem to have evolved in tandem with people because they only eat what we throw away, drop and spill. The puddle of fluid the pigeons above are drinking above had dripped from the tail pipe of a bus a few minutes before.

San Diego Trolley Is About To Change

        The two models of San Diego trolley cars you see above will be a thing of the past by the summer of 2013. San Diego will have taken delivery and implemented use of 57 brand new Siemens S70 light rail vehicles. They are the same model as the green line LRV’s we have now, but customized to be shorter, giving them a length that allows them to travel to downtown station without blocking intersections.

Sunset At The Southern End Of Bayshore Bikeway

        At southern most part of the Bayshore Bikeway, there is a metal bench that had me facing north, towards the Coronado Bridge and downtown San Diego, with the bike path directly behind me. The shot above took place while looking over my left shoulder, to the southwest.

South Bay Power Plant At Golden Hour

        To my right was the scene above, the South Bay power plant, bathed in golden hour light. I keep hearing conflicting reports as to what is ever going to happen to the power plant; some say it’s coming down because of permit trouble or because it isn’t needed to ensure reliable electricity for the city anymore, and others say it’s going to stay because it has a relatively neutral environmental impact and California needs all the electricity it can get.

Dinosaur Cage Sunset In June

        As the Earth orbits the sun and spins on it’s axis, the seasons change and the relative position of the sun rising and setting slides along the horizon. The photo above was taken from the same bench as the top photo in the post, but back in June 2010. During early summer, the sun sets directly behind the dinosaur cage, relative to the bench at the southern most part of Bayshore Bikeway.
        Anyway, I’m trying to decide if I want to pay to have my 5 year sitting outside neglected 1970′s Free Spirit 10 speed bicycle fixed up or by a new bike altogether. I want to start riding my bike to work but not having a bike to ride is the first, most important obstacle to overcome.

How We Make Garlic Bread

        I can’t really tell you that I have a secret for great garlic bread, but I can tell you how to make great garlic bread. It’s pretty simple. Start with a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery, sliced to a thickness that suits your personal or situational needs. Butter the slices liberally, then top with minced garlic, salt, pepper, grated parmesan & cheddar cheese. Place the bread in a 350 degree oven for 3 minutes, then switch the oven to broil while moving the bread to whatever position is dictated by the broiler for 60 highly scrutinized seconds, then pull the bread out in great haste. That’s it.

Zombies At Technomania Circus

        Technomania Circus entertained us last night with a performance of the 2nd annual ZOMBIE SHOW!! This show is perfectly timed for Halloween with fire and an entire cast of zombies. For those of you that have never been, Technomania Circus lives right next to the west-bound orange line trolley station at 25th & Commercial.

        This was my first Zombie Show, so I wondered what the Technomaniacs would have in store, beyond a zombified theme. It turned out the entire cast performed the entire show as zombies… Brilliant. We got to see zombies dance, match wits on a game show, play musical instruments, juggle and play with fire.

(Above) The Newlydead Game

Dr. Techno Performs

        Dr. Techno is the guy and the guy behind the guy at the home of Technomania Circus. He is the magnetic force that attracts and holds the circus together, working tirelessly and guess what? Today, (October 24, 2010) is Dr. Techno’s 65th birthday! Happy Birthday Dr. Techno! The world thanks you for all the laughter & joy you’ve brought us.

        Not to be out-done, Willy Bologna played the harp, rocking us out to a zombified version of The Cranberries song, “Zombie.” Anton the zombie juggled for us, which was amazing considering that he was after all, a zombie.

        There was a smattering of fire and blacklight at Technomania Circus during the Zombie Show, as well as an appearance by The Welderman. The zombie above sang to us while slowly ripping off pieces of his own flesh and throwing them into the audience. Halloween is a great time of year!

Blacklight Theater At Technomania Circus

The Welderman At Technomania Circus

        And that’s a wrap! Once again I had a great Saturday night adventure at Technomania Circus, and this show took place under a full moon, which helped to make the night night extra scary and extra lively. Check the Technomania website for future shows and special events. There’s at least one show per month, and sometimes even more so you are never too far away if you happen to be in need of a fix from the circus. Above is a video that shows a minute or so of intros and Dr’ Techno’s famous balancing act and wraps up with zombies rocking out to the L7 song, “Pretend That We’re Dead.”

Cutting Down Trees At La Mesa Blvd Trolley Station

        There is a lot of construction going on in La Mesa, CA right now, with roads being torn up, buildings being torn down and even mature eucalyptus trees falling victim to the next phase of La Mesa’s history When I first heard the chainsaw and then saw what was being cut, I questioned why these trees couldn’t be spared and built around for the La Mesa Downtown Village Streetscape Improvement Project, but ultimately thought better of it because I began to wonder about La Mesa’s past and what was going on the day the tree above was planted. I came to think about some long ago time when natural vegetation at this very spot was cleared to make way for the planting of the eucalyptus tree that I now witnessed being cut down and the road behind it. Was there some one back then standing in the same spot I was standing when I took these photos, momentarily lamenting the same thing as me until realizing that something better was probably on the way?

Preparing For Progress

        I see the La Mesa Downtown Village Streetscape Improvement Project as something better than we have now and I’m pretty sure the trees above are being cut down in preparation of the January 2011 construction start date. I’m especially excited for all the improvements that will make downtown La Mesa even more pedestrian friendly than it is now as well as all the new shade trees that will be planted. It’s progress for a purpose, not just for the sake of it, so I’m supporting it.

Arlington West Afghanistan War Memorial

        This weekend, which marks the start of the TENTH year of the war in Afghanistan, San Diego Veterans For Peace & Vietnam Veterans Against The War have set up an Arlington West Memorial on the lawn of the Midway Museum in Downtown San Diego, in honor of the service men and women who have fallen in this conflict. As I write this, the number of Americans killed in the Afghan War stands at 1317. To raise awareness of the human and fiscal toll this war is taking on our country, members of these two organizations have placed 1317 tombstones and candles, one for each fallen American, on the Midway Museum lawn

Today (October 10, 2010) Begins The Tenth Year Of The War In Afghanistan

        The Arlington West Memorial is a sprawling, emotional display of exactly how big a number 1317 is. As one walks through the memorial, the first thing that crosses your mind is that there are A LOT of tombstones. Shortly thereafter, it starts to sink in that each marker represents a dead American soldier, and that’s when the emotion takes over.

Arlington West Memorial In Front Of The Midway Museum

        At this memorial, the veterans that set it up and staff it through the weekend have other displays detailing the fiscal cost of the war over the last 9 years, which is currently just over $1 trillion. That is a number that might be hard to wrap your head around so I offer the following analogy: $1 trillion dollars is enough money to give every American man, woman and child a check for about $3300, which means everyone in our country could be paid $2.50 every time an American is killed in Afghanistan.

After Sunset At The Arlington West Fallen Soldier Memorial

        As a veteran and a patriot, it can be hard to stomach some of the things my country has done since starting the war on terror, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. The main problem for me is that the government and the military inflexibly believe that I should just trust them to do what is best, even though they both have track records that show they can’t be trusted, believed or held accountable if either one does anything wrong. I offer the Bradley Manning case as additional evidence of this.

1317 Dead Americans In Afghanistan… And Still Counting

        This memorial will be in place on the lawn of the Midway Museum until sunset tonight and is open and free to the public. Feel free to walk through the memorial and talk to the veterans that set it up. They have a guest-book in which they invite the public to share their thoughts or art regarding the memorial or the war in Afghanistan. The book will be mailed to the White House, with the intent of helping to wake congress up to the fact that Americans are sick of war, distraught over their sons and daughters dying and would like our democracy to actually function again.

San Diego’s Bridge To Nowhere In October 2010

        It’s been a solid 3 months since my last post and photo of San Diego’s new pedestrian bridge to nowhere, so I thought I’d do a quick post with a new photo, as well as a comparison of the progress since my first post and photo of the bridge to nowhere back in October of 2009. Above is a photo that is just a few days old and below are some pics of the bridge that I’ve taken over the last year. I very much enjoy taking photos of an event that unfolds in slow motion over a long period of time, charting progress that is too slow or imperceptible for us to normally see.

San Diego’s Bridge To Nowhere In June 2010

        Don’t let the cloudy skies in the photos above fool you… San Diego has great weather all year round with WAY more sun than the above photos may lead you to believe.

San Diego’s Bridge To Nowhere In January 2010

        Above we have a quintessential San Diego sunset happening right behind the bridge. San Diego has some unique geography that allows for the viewing of sunsets AND sunrises over the water. Obviously you can see the sunset if you are at the beach facing west, but from Point Loma and The Silver Strand, you can face east in the morning and see the sunrise over the water too. There are not many places you can do this. I’ve personally only been able to do this twice before, and that was in Hawaii and the southern tip of Florida.

San Diego’s Bridge To Nowhere In December 2009

        The photo above was taken just after Christmas of 2009. Note the sunny skies and the warm ambiance of the photo, and then compare it to where you live in December. San Diego is a great place to live, with 3 great seasons per year, since we skip right over winter.

San Diego’s Bridge To Nowhere In October 2009

        And that’s a wrap. If you would like to read my posts over the last year with some additional photos of San Diego’s bridge to no where, click here.

Fun Times At Oktoberfest 2010

        My second journey through La Mesa’s 2010 Oktoberfest was during the late afternoon yesterday. I started wandering around about an hour before sunset, hoping to incorporate golden hour into the shots. I didn’t quite get the wow shot I was hoping for, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time. As I waited for the sun to reach the horizon, I snaked through the crowd to a food vendor I had seen the night before, but didn’t try. This particular vendor was advertising something called a FIRE DOG.

Crossing Spring Street During Oktoberfest

        On Friday night, I had a bratwurst, but it just didn’t have enough kick, so something extra spicy was the main thing on my agenda this time. The fire dog did not disappoint me. It was a spicy polish sausage, served with a soft bun, with the option of grilled peppers, onions and sauerkraut as toppings. I went with a plain fire dog (I hate peppers, onions and sauerkraut) with lots of mustard and a couple dashes of ketchup and it was awesome.

La Mesa Blvd Trolley Station During Oktoberfest

        There are a lot of people (200,000 over the course of the weekend) converging on La Mesa during Oktoberfest, but the event is very well organized and has a pretty smooth flow. Trolley security guards are all over the trolley station and police officers are very visible throughout the rest of the event. You cannot carry alcoholic beverages as you wander through Oktoberfest, you must keep the booze in one of 3 beer gardens or in the restaurant where you bought it.

        So far, I’ve seen only one arrest and one person that was shit-faced enough to draw the attention of the police (pictured above). I used to LOVE getting stumbling drunk in public, but not anymore, so it’s comical for me to watch those that do now, what I did 15 years ago. The police made it very clear to the guy above that if he can walk away, they’d let him go but if he continued to sit drunkenly on the curb they would arrest him. It took a few minutes, but with the help of his lady friend, he was able to leave the area. Above on the left are a couple kids enjoying one of the half dozen or so rides at Oktoberfest. There really is a little something for everyone on La Mesa Blvd during this event.

Playing With Bubbles

        Today (October 3, 2010) is the final day of Oktoberfest and with a nice, partly cloudy day in store, the weather will be perfect so try to make it on down there. If you missed my last post with additional commentary and photos from Oktoberfest, you can view it here. Below is a short video of the crowd making their way across the La Mesa Blvd trolley station.

Oktoberfest 2010 In La Mesa, CA