I lost the picture

I took a picture of a really great T-shirt that said

2 + 2 = 5

for extremely large values of 2

You'll have to take my word for it.

I was walking the promenade at Music Circus...

...looking at my cell phone, when I started walking up this piece of Into the Woods scenery and almost fell. For God's sake, don't ever use your cell phone unless you're stationary and preferably strapped down.

Scooters lined up in front of Espresso Metro

Nickname from the 80s

This is an article about a zine from the 80s called Spork. Rachel is from the 80s and her nickname used to be Spork.

This is for Pilates, or...?

Better living through chemistry

Carl Naluai dies

We just found out that Carl Naluai died three weeks ago. I knew him through playing at Elizabeth Cole's bat mitzvah, from tuning the piano at the synagogue, and through a wonderful production of Candide at the synagogue. He could be scary but had a big soul.

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Tim Diener

Today I drove to San Jose to see Tim Diener, who had come from Pennsylvania to see his sister. I hadn't seen him in 28 years, but we had a great time. Another friend came over who happened to live five minutes away and Tim also hadn't seen in many years.

Don't tell my wife I was eating Beaver

Heinz Edelmann, ‘Yellow Submarine’ Graphic Designer, Dies at 75 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

Heinz Edelmann, ‘Yellow Submarine’ Graphic Designer, Dies at 75 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

Piano player gets life in prison for murders :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Chicago Crime

Susie Marinescu burst into applause when the man she refers to as “the animal” was escorted out of a Cook County courtroom today to begin serving life in prison for the brutal murders of her mother and sister.

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Commercial art car

Outside dumbwaiter...

...the only one I've ever seen.

Sprinkler system

When I was growing up in Philadelphia, no one had a sprinkler system; in Sacramento, everyone has one. On Monday, we finally replaced the ancient metal pipes (clogged with rust) with modern PVC. I lent the sprinkler guys Jennifer's garage door remote so they could get to the sprinkler control inside the garage. They left it on top of Jennifer's car; when she went out to run an errand, she drove off with the remote on top of the car. The sprinkler guy found it down the street later, crushed. He cheerfully went to Home Depot and got a replacement; I paid him for the sprinkler system, which is spectacular. "You'll notice a big savings on your water bill!" he said. (Probably not; like many older homes in Sacramento, we don't have a water meter and pay a flat monthly fee.)

Jerry Springer starring in "Chicago" in London

click here

Moon

Instead of seeing Star Trek for the third time, go see the movie Moon. It's a thoughtful, low-key thriller with a brain, a throwback to the science fiction of the 70s. You will be surprised and fascinated.

New sandwich place

A new Sandwich Spot opened in the formerly empty storefront near Espresso Metro. To celebrate the first day, they had live music. The sandwich I had was good — I think they're going to make it. Later we saw Moon, a new science-fiction movie starring Sam Rockwell. It's a throwback to the 60s and 70s... no aliens and no action. Philosophical and emotional. Super performance by Rockwell.

Whipped cream parodies

At Ashland, I saw a wonderful comeddia dell'arte show called The Servant of Two Masters. One of the characters, Dottore, a ridiculous professor in cap and gown, had the album cover for "Whipped Cream and other Delights" as his mortarboard. I mentioned it to some people at the coffeehouse and found out that almost everyone knows and loves this album cover.

http://beautymusique.blogspot.com/2009/01/covert-art-and-other-delights.html

Martial arts dummy

I totally kicked his ass.

A check from Ireland

I think it's only redeemable in beer.

Rachel and her continuity book

Rachel holds up the wardrobe continuity book for Little Blue Pill.

Tonight we saw the local premiere of the latest Harry Potter movie. I don't remember much about it, except that the crowd was great!

One of Molly's college friends just got back from the Temple Abroad program in Rome, the same one I attended 30 years ago. She loved it just as much as I did.

One of many, many great posters in Portland

Moustache contest, Portland

Night ride

I went on the 15-mile Night Ride in Portland. Hundreds of people took part, many in costume. There were two rest stops; the first featured outdoor bike-themed music videos with free popcorn, and the second had disco dancing (Y!M!C!A!) plus free candy. I hadn't ridden a bike in a big city since I was a college
student in Philadelphia.

The fame of Voodoo Doughnuts

Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts has become almost as famous a local landmark as Powell's Books. The line frequently reaches around the block (although, in fairness, Portland blocks are smaller than average). We ate lunch at a restaurant that featured a burger inside a sliced Voodoo doughnut.
Not only that, street kids sometimes buy doughnuts and scalp them to people on the street who are too busy to wait in line.

Cute pirates

Dozens of people dressed as pirates...

...throwing bread at each other.

Don't you wish you could be seventeen again?

Art project puts pianos all around London

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/arts/design/11pianos.html

Country club piano

The piano in the ballroom at the Rancho Murieta Country Club. Some young man was having a CD release party.

From a Christian game show

David Cross as Alan Ginsberg

I just watched the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There. Not for everyone; required viewing for fans of Bob Dylan or Cate Blanchett. In this scene the great comedian David Cross has a cameo as Alan Ginsberg.

Long lost

I drove my mom to Suisun City to see her friend Francisca who she hadn't seen in 52 years! She had some interesting stories. For example, if you are a rich Filipino-American returning to the Philippines, you may be "KQ" — kidnap quality.

This is the piano room.

No, it's the tent room. No, it's the piano... fine, it's the tent room.

I hear they don't use real monkey glands any more

At UC Davis they engineered an organic compound that tastes pretty similar.

When you walk, you notice things

Here's an amazing restored Victorian at 18th and N that I never noticed before.

Street art near 18th and Capitol

I bought a tiny crowbar today...

...for breaking into very tiny houses.

The future of social networking

I punch into one of these boxes to get into a gated community. Soon, all human interaction will involved metal boxes.

My one Music Circus show this summer:

Cats. Considering changing the title to Cash.

Neighborhood sculpture park

This neighborhood near the El Camino exit on I-80 is full of these sculptures, mostly with musical themes.

Put three kids through college

My customer actually makes a living playing this.