Blogs

  Last Friday night (Halloween eve) I attended my second Guerilla Drive-In event.  I went with some trepidation because this Guerilla Drive-In was being held in San Lorenzo Park as a challenge to the ordinance which says that all public parks are to closed after sunset.  I envisioned a large crowd ready for confrontation for when the police would inevitably

Here is chapter two of my novel, Heart's Delight.  This is a shorter chapter than the first, and is more of a bridge into the longer third chapter.  The action takes place on the following day during the late afternoon.  We see the protaganist, Jason, at his job and get a more detailed view of his personal life during a phone conversation with his

This is the first chapter of my novel, Heart's Delight.  The story is set in San Jose, CA during 1990, and this chapter takes place in the late spring/early summer.  The central character is named Jason, and we join him as he's driving home from work.  This is the first time I've shown any part of my novel publically, so feel free to send me any kind of

Last night President Barack Obama was on Late Night with David Letterman.  Among other things they discussed pending health care legislation.  When Obama talked about how the new plan was going to set up co-ops and help people buy medical insurance, dead silence throughout the Ed Sullivan Theater.  When Letterman almost apologetically mentioned Canada,

   As the health care dedate drags on, President Obama is now back pedalling on the public option and is focusing instead on reform that ensures "competition", as if health care is nothing more than a business and a way to generate wealth for corporate stock holders.

No doubt Obama and other middle of the road Democrats feel the need to compromise, and in

  I was at the health care reform Town Hall meeting being given by Congressman Sam Farr last night, an what an event.  As I was biking up High Street, I noticed a steady line of traffic heading in the same direction.  The hot setting sun glared down as I pedaled hard to get my heavy bicycle up the incline (my own insurance plan, stay healthy), and I

  I'd heard of the local Guerilla Drive-In for some time, last Friday night I finally partook of this event, and I'm glad I went.

The idea is simple, local people find a spot here in town where they can project a movie at night for the enjoyment of the community.  People bring something to sit on, something to eat and drink, and enjoy the movie.  It's like

Ignorance is bliss

But it won't make you

  There have been quite a number of deaths of famous people lately, more than I can remember at any single time during my stay here.  People die all the time, many cruelly and for no good reason at all, but when someone of notoriety dies, it has a greater affect because the deceased touched so many lives beyond their own physical existence that their

On Saturday I went to my car to put my old monitor into the trunk, and discovered that my new registration tag was missing.  My guess is that someone with expired tags saw my current tag which was precariously stuck atop a large stack of old tags, removed it thusly, and placed it onto his own delinquent license plate.

I have no problem with people beating

  Last week, the Senate Finance Committee held hearings on reforming health care.  Present were representatives of the health insurance companies, pharmaceutical industry, hospital owners, and the American Medical Association.  Uninvited were advocates of single-payer health care, which most U.S. citizens favor according to recent polls.

The committee

   The TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) which I wrote about in previous posts is getting better.  My jaw is more aligned, my teeth are straighter, and my bite is more even than it's been in years.  I'm also getting out of my apartment a little more often these days. 

I'm not out of the woods completely however.  Loud noises still grate on me

   As the few of you sports fans who live in Santa Cruz have heard by now, John Madden has announced his retirement from football broadcasting after almost 30 seasons of commentating on the game.

As a broadcaster, Madden had a thorough and complete knowledge of football which he energetically conveyed to the audience with his multitoned Bay Area cadence. 

   I saw a lot of people out yesterday commemorating tax day and the Boston tea Party by making a connection from that time to now in one anti-tax/anti-government loathefest.  It's important to remember that the original participants in the 1773 event were not just protesting the injustice of being taxed by Parliament even though they couldn't vote for

I've been hearing a lot of ads on the radio for the new Whole Foods store on Soquel Ave., and friends and acquaintances of mine have been raving about it, so I pondered visiting the new store.  Then I hear that Whole Foods is campaigning against the Employee Free Choice Act, so now I'm a quandary. 

I am a supporter of the principle of competition.  When

A Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all on this glorious Tuesday, the day when Americans of Irish descent and their allies throw aside temperance and let loose with Guinness drenched, springtime abandonment.  I myself have all kinds of Irish ancestory; Catholic, Protestant, black, red, teetotaler, drunken, angry some of the time, angry all the time, some

The middle of life

Is if

And the middle of dysfunctional

Is fun 

      At last, legislation has been introduced into our state legislature that will decriminalize cannabis so it can be sold and taxed like alcohol.  This will start the dominoes falling that will one day topple prohibition.  It sucks up our resources, our civil liberties, and other things I can't mention because this is a family website.  It just plain

    I love the rain because it nourishes the earth and all the plant and animals that live upon it.  I love the rain because it washes away the dirt and dust and clears the air.  I love the rain because its pouring sound is the rhythm of the life cycle.  I love the rain because it fills the river outside my window and washes away the stagnancy.  I love the

     Hearing all this negative talk about protectionisn has really got me to wondering how language can be twisted to suit just about any opinion.  If you lock your door when you leave your house, isn't that protectionism?  How about if you live in a gated community with a high fence, entrance checkpoints and 24 hour a day security  If you have the