For a while I was crazy in love with the Toasted BMT sandwich at Subway --- it reminded me of the grinder sandwichs I ate at Ardmore Style Pizza in my boyhood. But it's over. I was in denial for a while, but I finally had to admit that what was once passion had turned to contempt.

I almost got rear-ended today. On the Sutterville bridge, the car in front of me suddenly decided to turn left. I stopped, the car behind me stopped, the one behind stopped, but the one behind that didn't stop. So in the category of Car Health, today was a pretty not-horrible day.

A nice Buddhist shrine in a customer's house. 

As if it never happened

Today I did all kinds of fun things... I played the three kids' shows for Best of Broadway. We were worried about the third (high school) show, because last year only seven kids showed up for that. This year it was packed, and they were the best audience all year!
In the evening I went to Davis to talk about my cartoons to John Kloss's Pen and Ink class. I think it was the best teaching experience I've ever had. One of Kloss's students used to be a jazz record producer. He produced Stan Getz's last three albums.
But since I forgot to bring my camera anywhere today, it's as if the whole day never happened.

Cousin Russ sent this picture of the Bushes on a fishing trip. 

Who knew that Sacramento had a Yacht Club, established 1916? It's on a stretch of the river that looks (thanks to the height of the levees, obscuring the houses behind) much like it probably did 100 years ago. But the tract homes in West Sacramento should reach it in about five years.  

This telephone pole has been dressed up with Christmas tree-style fake branches. 

A reminder that a school band room is a nexus of art, commerce, and politics. 

A nice copy of Guernica on a wall at Hiram Johnson West Campus High School.

From another customer's house. 

My customer's kid collects McDonald's Happy Meal toys. He gets two of each -- one to play with and one to stay in the bag. 

Bob Lenzi playing guitar in the We Will Rock You section. He is an architect by day and gave us advice on our kitchen remodel.

New Office Slang

A funny list of expressions from cubeland.

A halfhearted art car in the Tower parking lot. 

Terri Taylor getting her microphone put on for the flapper number ("Happy" from Grand Hotel).

Dave MacDonald, the producer/director of Best of Broadway, in his costume for the Napoleon section. The sound system finally worked properly Saturday evening and we had a great performance.

Basye's kids made these ceramic cell phones. Very Claes Oldenburg/Red Grooms.

This is Paul Basye, who I met today at Espresso Metro. He teaches art to developmentally disabled kids. There is a show of his kids' paintings at the coffeehouse, and Robin was buying one of them. It turns out that Basye is the other cartoonist in Alive and Kicking. He also plays bass, so we have a lot in common.

A teacher at Sacramento City College dies

Obituaries - Obituary: Music professor Derrill Bodley's personal 9/11 tragedy spurred a quest for peace - sacbee.com
I used to talk to Derrill at Espresso Metro in the mornings sometimes. He didn't seem like a daredevil or thrill seeker. A really nice, intelligent guy.

From the menu at Tower Cafe. 

A new level of notoriety

Yesterday I got several emails from people wanting to use my cartoons, and one flame. The flame came from a guy named Jack Masters, who actually is a very talented guy who likes to rework Garfield comics.
According to Rachel, you've really made it when you get flamed. I say I won't have made it until someone starts a website called markstiverssucks.com. (Doesn't exist yet, but please keep me posted.)

A homemade antenna ball with pigtails. 

I tuned a piano in the theater at Sacramento City College. There are graffiti on the walls going back to 1938.

A woman in the Netherlands is writing a book on unibrows and is using my unibrow cartoon. She paid me by Western Union. With all the forms and ID required, it took me about half an hour to collect it. A very secure way to send money, but too much trouble for small amounts.

Only funny because a naked old guy actually said it to me

I was in the hot tub in the men's locker room at Riverside Athletic Club this morning when an older gentleman got in. Gradually he submerged his body, groaning with every inch. "Are you stiff?" I asked. "Yes," he said. "There's only one part of my body that doesn't get stiff every day."

A wall of artifacts in Stan's office. 

"Vexations" is a rare piece by Eric Satie which John Cage found somewhere. It is only available in this version in Satie's own hand. Stan's friends once performed it as intended -- repeating it over and over for 24 hours. 

This is the Chromatron (sp.?) which was supposed to turn AC devices on and off, or something, based on some esoteric system or other, I'm not sure. It never worked. But it looks awesome in Stan's closet. 

We had the first meeting of the Finale Users Group at Stan's house. We were evenly divided between Windows and Mac users, and no fights broke out. "Windows, " I said, "is a valid lifestyle choice." 

Proof that the human race is doomed

Music Circus produced Grease this summer, and there are three community theater productions up at this moment.

Rachel went out to dinner with Susan, Pat, and their kids Jaden and Belle. Jaden kept dropping his little car on the floor. Each time, Rachel picked it up. Finally he dropped it in the crack between the bench and the wall. It took great effort, but Rachel reached in to retrieve it. She came up with someone else's little car, but Jaden didn't care. He had a car. 

Last night a fire alarm went off in the middle of the Napoleon medley in Best of Broadway. At first we thought it was a car alarm or someone's extra-loud pager. At the end of the song, Dave, who was in the song, asked the audience to leave and come back after the fire department had turned off the alarm. The alarm kept up its ear-splitting ring for ten minutes or so while audience and performers waited outside. Then we started the show again. Nearly the entire audience came back. But with the fire alarm and all the microphone problems, it was a tragic night. Unfortunately, this was the night that Jennifer came, bringing Robin, who had never seen the show before. And I heard someone say that the Bee reviewer was there too.
Later I heard that someone broke into the school during the performance, looking to steal computers, and may have set off the alarm.