new blog book beckons

The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil comes out on
Thursday. She believes that corporate blogs will become a
new form of marketing vehicle, even though she admits
that the most provocative blogs tend to be be published
by individuals. At the end of this post I'll link you to one
of the best-read blogs in Europe, according to Ms. Weil.

"Blogs are no fad. They are cheap and easy to do. And
blogs fulfill that deepest of human needs as defined by
psychologist Abraham Maslow: self-actualization. People
write blogs because they want to know themselves and
want to be known by others and because they want their
lives to count. When a communications medium is...
tapping into a deep need, it's no fad."
                              Richard Karlgaard, publisher of
                              Forbes magazine, on his blog,
                              December 26, 2005

OK, here's the link to Hugh Macleod's blog ~ it's a good one.
gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards" by hugh macleod

no phone, no bucket, no service

We are dealing with AT&T aka SBC aka Pac Bell because
our land line home phone is dead and has been since we
arrived home Friday morning. I punch many buttons on
my mobile and from work today and basically I get that
tedious bureaucratic run-around that we all know so well.

There is a problem in one of the outside cables and the
man in the bucket won't be here until Tuesday, maybe
Wednesday. I'm lucky that our nabes want me to use
their Wi Fi connections otherwise I'd really be up the creek.

I endured my first day back at work today. 204 emails
about a vast assortment of subjects and issues. My friend
Michael told me a few years ago that God gave us the
delete button in the hopes that we will use it freely and I
did so today. Amazing how many problems dissolve with time.

take me to the ferry building

take me to the ferry building
Originally uploaded by the omster.

If I didn't work most Saturdays I would be here at 8am as we were this morning. The best breakfast is from Rose Pistola sitting right out here next to the Bay. Today there was a buzz amoung the vendors because Tony Blair is in town and who knows where he'll show up? After breakfast we bought many pounds of colorful tomatoes, basil, peaches and an unusual melon for me to ball for tomorrow's breakfast. I also bought a huge bunch of flowers for $5.00 and admired the many strange and colorful people and dogs. A ton of toddlers too, many eating fruits and vegetables!

Our land line is down and Bossman thought I had unplugged the phone, but alas, he reached me by email. I have been "borrowing" the nabe's Wi Fi in order to keep up with friends and blogs. Also Round Robin #10 has started and I am doing daily 10 minute writes again. Next vaca is not until September. Can I stand it?

planes, trains, taxis...

finally home
Originally uploaded by the omster.

OK, good thing we've had some experience traveling. Here was our yesterday:
Noon ~ check out of hotel & check in bags at train station
1pm ~ lunch at the fabulous Portland Grill (30th floor, SW 5th & Yamhill)
5pm ~ climb on train that was supposed to leave at 2:25pm
8pm ~ during bad dinner, conductor announces that train must turn around but first lights and AC off for 2 hours
1am ~ train arrives back in Portland
3am ~ we FINALLY get refund and head for airport, Amtrak pays for taxi
6am ~ travelers take last two seats on United flight to SF
8am ~ taxi home from SFO
Still no sleep, sort of a West Coast only kind of jet lag, I guess.
It's good to be home and the fog looks and feels luxurious.
Only 3 semi-important pieces of mail in this mess on our garage floor.
I miss having a cat or two welcoming me home, Husbando doesnt.

keep portland weird

I've seen that bumper strip on lots of cars up here (not
on the SUVs, of course) and it expresses my thinking
completely. Not this weird, of course ~ we were at the
zoo when the following occurred yesterday. Safely in the
shuttle bus, otherwise we would have helped:
Zoo sex predator attack thwarted, police say

The box of blueberries was larger(!) than the ones we
all love at the fruit store at 30th and Church. Honest.
Or at the fruit store we all love at 30th and Church.
Your choice of phraseology.

This morning we watched the Jon Stewart rerun as we
pack up to go. No rush, no hurry. All of our clothes are
dirty, so it's easy to squish them into the suitcases.
Now I think a final walk around town after a truly special
vacation. Next post from Frisco...

our last full day of vaca

portland farmers' market
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Blueberries ~ $2.50 for a large box, how's that One Foot? We started our busy day walking up to Mollie's, then taking the bus up to the Portland Zoo. From there a free shuttle down and around the unbelievable lush and green Washington Park and another stop at the Rose Garden. It was mercifully cool and refreshing today. We had a marvelous/fabulous lunch at Park Kitchen (artichoke soup!) and then walked over to this impressive Farmer's Market. So far I do believe that Portland has everything that a city needs, and it does seem like an easier city to live in than SF. Of course we aren't here for the endless winter rainy season. This has been such a fine vacation, tomorrow we're back on the train for the LONG trip home with bad food.

why I love Portland

salmon st. fountain
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Now isn't this just a great idea ~ a play fountain in the heart of the city? In the background the river is just barely visible. We drove for more than 3 hours over more and different moutain roads, but it was such a joy to return to Portland, that I really didn't mind it at all. We couldn't wait to get out and walk around again once we checked back into "our" hotel Mark Spencer. Tonight we are heading back to sit outside at Jake's and tomorrow Mollie has booked us, so we will have a little time with Jon Stewart tonight and then an early to bed. Now I'll try to see if I can find our Giants ~ they are playing on the East Coast and I have pennant fever once again. I'd better stock up on Advil and Pepto when we get home to SF. It is a lot cooler here than it was, by the way...down around 70 degrees, I think. Lovely city!

sisterhood

the 3 sisters
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Here are the three Sisters, a beautiful sight indeed

lunch spot

McMenamins
Originally uploaded by the omster.

there is a great court yard here, but it was still too hot to be outside

sisters, brothers, words & boxes

We started our day buying gas ($3.05) and then heading
for the Sisters, 20 miles from Bend. It's a rather precious
little town, but we found a delightful coffee place (photo
to follow) and sat out on the big front porch and listened
to the locals chatting to each other and recapping their
weekends. Very pleasant. I should mention here that the
roads here in Oregon are extremely well maintained,
nothing like our pot hole ridden ones in California.

After walking around town for an hour or so, we got
back in the Malibu to drive a little further and take a
better pic of the 3 mountains. Then we met our friends
back in Bend at the McMenamin Brothers' restaurant
and wolfed down our well done "rare-please" burgers.
The McMemamins are a big deal here in Oregon and
Washington with hotels, restaurants and theaters.
All very clever and extremely popular.

Husbando and I walked some more around the Drake
Park and then at the spur of the moment, decided to
see a movie! There were 4 of us in the audience to
see Word Play, a delightful film about crossword
puzzles, Will Shortz and the fanatics who enter the
yearly contest in New York. We both enjoyed it
thoroughly and recommend it to all word people.

Now, after a little ice cream, we are watching tv
and pre-packing for our trip back to Portland in
the morning. OK, time to fuss with iPhoto. I do want
to mention that one of the pluses of traveling with
msBook is that I can transfer the photos every
night while the memory is still somewhat fresh.

salvation

salvation
Originally uploaded by the omster.

things are looking up!

the town

precious
Originally uploaded by the omster.

called Sisters ~ lots of shoppes like this one.

a tree in the middle...

pine tavern
Originally uploaded by the omster.

We had prime rib here last night at this famous restaurant that has a big old tree (it looks fake) in the center of all the tables. It is next to the Deschutes River and would have been fun to sit on the patio, but it was still too hot, even after 6pm last night. Today Husbando and I are going to the Sisters (3 mountains cleverly named North, Middle and South) and then we will have a late lunch with our friends. I can hardly wait to get back on those mountain roads!

honk if you're in a hurry!

Our friends here in Bend say the drivers are even worse
than in California, and I believe it. When we were driving
to exclaim over the parks, mountains and rivers today,
others were speeding by and honking in their HUGE trucks
and SUVs. Where are they going? To the river to relax?

It is still v. warm here ~ about 100º. We did go "to town"
this morning and had coffee at Mirror Lake and walked
around Drake Park. Then drove to Butte Point or Point
Butte and admired the Deschutes River which is glorious
and runs through and around Bend, always popping up
to surprise the tourists.

Just let me mention that I want to be watching the Giants
right now. I know that's short sighted and insular of me,
but the Blogmaid just wrote that we are moving ahead
and I know that we have won 5 games in a row. Oh,
happy day...thanks to everyone who keeps emailing me
with these important details!

MsBook likes the Comfort Inn, thank you for your concern.

OK, I need to send a couple more photos and give you a
few more Bend details here.

how could anyone...

deschutes river
Originally uploaded by the omster.

not be in awe of this river?

geezers in the park

retirees in bend
Originally uploaded by the omster.

I pretended to be taking a photo of Husbando here so you could see these two with their "fortune finder" machine thingies that zoom along on the grass or sand. I was hoping they would smash into each other. When I pointed them out to Husbando, he said, "they advertise those in the AARP magazine." I don't want to spend my Golden Years searching for quarters in a park...

drake park, bend

all in a row
Originally uploaded by the omster.

How's this for a serene Sunday morning? It is quite beautiful here and I regret all the snide comments that might fall into the blog later.

dam 1 of 2

dam 1 of 2
Originally uploaded by the omster.

It was a thrill to see such power up so close.

from timberline lodge

from timberline lodge
Originally uploaded by the omster.

click on this photo to appreciate
the incredible beauty (or not)

3 waterfalls, 2 dams, a few "issues"

I'm reporting from Bend, Oregon ~ the Comfort Inn, to be
exact. It's still warm, but it's good to settle in after driving
for 4,000 miles on winding mountain roads. Today AND
yesterday. Yikes.

So yesterday we got our gold (color) Malibu rental car in
Portland and when we discussed traffic to/fro Bend, the
agent said, "The traffic will be heavy at rush hour because
of all the people from California". This was a few moments
after she asked Husbando if he is Jewish.

Oh, by the way, it is amazingly beautiful country. We drove
East on 84 and stopped at every waterfall within 80 miles.
We had bad burgers for lunch at Cascade Locks along the way
and to our amazement, every seat faced the huge Columbia
River and it turned out to be a visual treat just to sit there
for an hour and not mention the food.

We toured the Bonneville Dam (a WPA project) and then
the navigator wanted to see Timberline Lodge, so the
sweet (yet beleaguered) driver got lost about 45 times
trying to get there. Even though I am the Queen of U-turns,
it is not easy to do those on mountain roads. It was getting
late and nerves were frayed when we finally reached that
destination, right at the bottom of Mount Hood. Beautiful.

Last night we stayed at a Shiloh Inn in The Dalles, a seedy
town where the main activity might be drunk driving. We
scored a balcony overlooking the Dalles Dam, so we just had
room service and stared at the dam and decided we had
both been snappish during the long and difficult drive,
so I apologized for both of us and the evening was really
quite pleasant.

But, Mon Dieu! This morning I was sending waterfall photos
to Flickr® for commano and the spinning beach ball of
death appeared and would not stop. I mean NOT, for all
the bourbon in The Dalles. So I took her to hospital (the
Windy River Computer Repair Shop on 2nd Street) and
of course she worked fine. I decided that traveling with
msBook is not unlike having a dog (I never toured with a
child) because I have to worry about the heat, the Wi Fi
and what if someone steals her?

Now, however, it is so nice to type away and I dread
trying to send photos to the blog. I've read some emails
and will answer them shortly. We are going to have
dinner at our friends' home here in Bend (ex-Californians!)
tonight. Oh, our bad lunch today was at the Big Bear in
Redmond and the AC was on too high and I had to wear
my Giants jacket because it was colder than notthat's
office. Sheeeeesh. We suspect that a lot of Mormons
live here, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.
This is not a diverse area by any stretch of anyone's
imagination. At lunch I whispered too loudly to Husbando
that I wish I had my "I'm so glad I live in San Francisco
T-shirt" on and he pretended we didn't know each other.

There was a bike race on these mountain roads today,
can you imagine? Up and down and around...it's bad
enough in a car, ask the navigator.

food, culture & foot work

I started out the day doing my favorite new city thing ~
walking all by myself with a map and camera. I expected
to get lost, but didn't, and by the time I reached Mollie's
I had this "oh, I know how this city works now" feeling of
confidence and pleasure. Mollie lives about a block from
Washington Park ~ it is well worth a trip here just to enjoy
this beautiful spot. Lots of walking paths, playgrounds and
gardens. We didn't have time for the Japanese garden,
maybe next time.

Returned to pickup Husbando and the three of us walked
some more, this time down to Dan & Louis' (see photo) in
the Old Town section for lunch. We did stop at Pioneer
Square along the way where they were having a concert
with music not to our liking.

After nap we visited the Portland Art Museum ~ a poorly
designed building with a confusing and unwelcoming feel
to it. No visitors either, but they did offer a couple of
pieces worth seeing. So why can't I remember what they
were? Anyway, we were not impressed, obviously. But
it was cool, have I mentioned that it is HOT here? It is,
but that's OK, no problem with that.

Last night we had sturgeon, salmon and trout at Jake's
and TGP finally gets a food photo of our appetizer. The
crawdaddies were almost as good as the ones we had
in New Orleans, the rest of the fish was excellent. And
we enjoyed sitting outside and watching the world of
Portland go by. Lovely day and evening!

Today we go North to the River Gorge area for some
more adventure. Rental car with many buttons & knobs.

first break off the tail

first break off the tail
Originally uploaded by the omster.

an appealing appetizer

sturgeon too

sturgeon too
Originally uploaded by the omster.

dinner (too much) outside

lunch on ankeny

here since 1907
Originally uploaded by the omster.

washington park

washington park
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Here are some of Portland's famous roses. This is an unbelievable place to walk, filled with people and dogs enjoying the thousands of trees, green/green grass and flowers.

from mollie's roof

from mollie's roof
Originally uploaded by the omster.

This is on SW Main, about a block away from Washington Park. There is a pool, flowers, etc. up here ~ but mostly it's all about the view. Fabulous.

every meal ouside, please

every meal ouside, please
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Note construction across the street and a little traffic to keep things interesting. Fine food and not expensive.

what's a city w/o a river or ocean?

what's a city w/o a river or ocean?
Originally uploaded by the omster.

this is at the end of the street car ride,
also (we think) at the end of the
delightful River Walk, which is one
of the "must do's" here in Portland.

it's clean, but not boring

Portland has a few nut cases and non-yuppie types, I'm
happy to say. Yesterday we asked Mollie to show us how
to use the street car (free for everyone!) and bus, so
we enjoyed those experiences. On the bus to lunch some
woman who had worked 50 years at Meir and Frank was
holding court and Husbando said, "I've ridden with her on
the 27 Bryant".

We started our day searching for a laundry ~ it's not like
NYC with three on every block, and we noticed that there
are no Walgreen's and Rite-Aids downtown. Only one big
and expensive Whole Foods. The stores are pretty much
the same as SF, with an emphasis on furniture stores, so
I guess folks are nesting here. Lots of construction going
on everywhere, street repair too.

After Mollie arrived we hopped on the street car outside
our hotel and went down to the river (photo to follow) and
walked some there. Lots of growth and change since we
were last here. Many condos, more restaurants and always
the coffee shops. Then we took a bus to 28th St. (the
Laurelcrest area) for scrumptious Cuban food on a brightly
painted patio, then back on the bus to hotel for nap time.
We had walked a lot, talking the whole time, of course.

Naturally my camera batteries had died because I had the
audacity to take 3 photos, so I'm missing some good pics,
but I have recharged all batteries and today will be better.

Last night we had a pleasantly late (for us) dinner outside at
the Everett Street Bistro with shrimp and steamed clams and
good salads (photo of the street sign to follow - lucky you!).

Also hit Powell's yesterday, I had forgotten how huge it is. But
it seemed more organized this trip and the booksellers looked
tidier and actually said "thank you" when I bought my postcards.

Today after breakfast hiding in the room, I'm going to walk to
Mollie's and we'll do our "girl walk" and gossip about folks we
know and don't know. Then to the Portland Art Museum, I think,
and maybe a few more sights, but no pressure.

here we are in...

big pretty lake
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Who knows? Dunsmuir?
Shasta Lake?
Albuquerque?
But oh so very beautiful.

strap me in

starlight, not express
Originally uploaded by the omster.

I took the top bunk.
I am a Good Wife.

think of it as a movable 24 hour B&B

The train was six hours late, I will start with that. Always
being positive, that's me. Good god, what a long day, good
thing we had an itty bitty sleeper compartment (with v.
tiny bathroom) or there would have been Big Trouble on
that long train ride. It was late leaving Emeryville and by
the time we stopped for every freight train (why?) we
finally arrived in Portland around 10pm last night.

I had my little used cell phone and was able to call Mollie
and the hotel along the way to warn them of our late
arrival. The meals were agony ~ shitty food and then being
forced to make conversation with strangers in shorts. Ick.
I should have taken a photo of Husbando's chicken fried
steak last night, with the one bite only and forever eaten.
He finished my chicken while I concentrated on the baked
potato and chocolate cake.

Despite 14 cops of coffee, I napped most of the day, although
I did read:
1) one New Yorker with great article on the South Dakota
abortion mess and the vote-of-the-citizens pending
2) one Smithsonian ~ all articles read and forgotten (swell)
3) the Amtrak® schedule ~ 46 times (so amusing)
4) Allegra Goodman's Intuition book ~ an A-OK read
5) Oregonian newspaper discussing current heat wave

The scenery? Spectacular! Really made it all worthwhile, It is
glorious country and I cannot say enough about that. But
I will, although I will send a couple of photos via Flickr. A
mountain, lake or forest from every window. We skipped
the free wine tasting yesterday in the parlor car ~ I am
well aware of their desire to blunt all rational thought and
numb out the customers so they will stop reading the
train schedule and staring at their watches. Plus they so
want the strangers in shorts to bond...

But let's start today! Great hotel right in downtown
Portland. It's old and the walls are sturdy, so we can't
hear the people next door ~ and it's 100% nonsmoking
and I love that. We have a junior suite (?) and I've had
some much, much needed solo time along with two cups
of coffee and a bunch of nice emails to answer. There
was the momentary struggle with Wi Fi which included
me lugging poor msBook to the front desk, but all is well
now. It's the Mark Spencer Hotel and it is The Best, and
reasonable, too. A block from Powell's bookstore, yeah!

Today is lunch with Mollie and some fine walks. The heat
won't bother us and Mollie has a pool on the roof of her
condo building. And we need some FOOD, and I mean it.
And, yes, I'm really happy to be here! Let's vaca....

next ~ posting from Portland!

Everything is almost packed and I've only had to remove
about 10 must-take items so far. One Foot mentions that
they wash the streets every night in Portland, so I probably
won't need shoes that weigh too much. When I Amtrak'd
to Santa Barbara last year, no one seemed eager to help
me with my baggage and it's not easy going up and down
those train stairs with a 300 lb. suitcase, 60 lb. carryon, my
msBook and the large purse that the Blogmaid gave me
a few merry Christmases ago.

I will write from Hotel Wi Fi tomorrow. Now which way's the
dining car?

think of it as a daily write

I have nothing to say, but I was carefully taught to apply
fingertips to keyboard no matter what. Most of the letters
on msBook are worn off (this amazes friends and strangers
alike), so it makes it a little more difficult to type sometimes.
But that isn't the official reason that I have writers' block.

No more getting up at 4am for the next two weeks ~ vaca
has officially begun. I pushed today to get everything
finished, but I'm not tired tonight. My friend Michael is in
town and we had a fine chat over coffee after work,
then I came home to finish Weeds (first disc, season 1)
and pre-pack a bit. The train (well, bus-to-train) leaves
from the Ferry Building tomorrow night at 8:30. We will
arrive in Portland Tuesday afternoon. Amtrak is always
late, or so everyone warns us. Almost "all aboard!"...
Amtrak

there's a pink one and a green one...

I knew I'd like this program because it opened with Malvina
Reynolds' crackly voice singing about the ticky tacky
little houses. Our heroine (Mary Louise Parker) lives in
a mythical suburb and sells marijuana to support herself
and her two sons. I've always liked her because she
seems to have her own secret joke going on. So I'm
going to watch the next 5 episodes of Weeds which is
available on DVD from the Flix®. Some have described
this as a Desperate Housewives program only a lot
better. How's this for me trying with all my might to
ignore the horrid mess in the Middle East?




Click Here: Check out "Weeds on Showtime: Official Site of the Showtime Original Comedy Series, Weeds"

stealing, yet giving credit

...so maybe it's not really stealing. I don't mind the logo
for the 2007 All Star Game, but I am bogged down in
confusion because I thought this little-watched event
went from the AL to the NL and back. Am I thinking of the
wrong sport or living in a past decade? The Pirates ARE a
NL team, correcto? (Yes, mscommano, don't act dumb.)

I don't know how to actually cut and paste this logo, so
I want you all to rush to notthat's blog which I am linking
here with gratitude. I also don't have anything else in the
WORLD to write about, other than my observation that
there are lots of tourists in SF right now. The streets are
packed and the new fashion stores (H&M, Forever 21, etc.)
are bringing in the under 20 set ~ half baked and half
dressed, but having lots of fun using the credit cards of
their parental units. They travel in fours, it appears.

Click Here: Check out "Giants Got It Right! (Mostly...)"

the chips are homemade

the chips are homemade
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Back in the old days when we first moved to San Francisco, this was about the only restaurant in the Mission that brought folks from Pacific Heights and the Sea Cliff areas to our nabe. Now, of course, there are hundreds of fabulous restaurants and no real reason to venture far from home. First, pardon this photo, I was blinded by the rare sunshine. The Tamale Parlor has gone through a re-mo and is open for business again. Of course the tamales are the best, but do not miss the chips and guacamole to start. Some special blackberry/mint concoction to drink and very fine service. About $10 each for lunch yesterday. We'll be back. Roosevelt Tamale Parlor - San Francisco, CA, 94110-4213 - Citysearch. I'm typing this through Flickr, so I'm not sure the link will link.

two bags full

The Trader Joe's vaca bags in the hallway are filling up
and there is excitement in the air. It has been some time
since our last getaway and we both need some adventure.
A week from right now I'll be walking with our friend Mollie
and I will beg to head for the river area. Yes, msBook
travels with me and I will write an amateurish "my summer
vaca" kind of post everyday. Our hotel has Wi Fi, of course.
Those of you who know me will understand that I loathe
Bed and Breakfast Inns because I don't want to meet with
strangers in shorts and discuss where they are from and
what they do over sherry or tea. I like big and anonymous,
sort of city vs. small town thinking on my part, I suppose.

Yesterday was my official good-bye coffee with my friend
Mary who is moving to Bisbee, Arizona. On my walk back
home I started listing the number of friends who have moved
away from this way too expensive Bay Area. Then I felt a
depression overtaking me, so remembered that with our
computers, we are still quite close. Mary is an extremely
talented writer and she will be a faithful correspondent.

This morning she wrote that the Mission Police Station offers
a Meditation class and this is the sort of thing she will miss
about our less-than-urbane urban wonderland.

four more days

No immediate harm from the chicken! Now we are rolling
into serious pre-vaca planning. A week from today we
will be in Portland. That means that I only have 4 work
days to contend with and I've pretty much reached the
point that when I walk out the work door, I stop thinking
about all the projects, issues, people and irritations of
that world. Not every day and night perhaps, but
certainly for weekends and longer. Something I wish I'd
learned many years earlier. Robin Williams was in the
store yesterday, he was so subdued that few recognized
him. But with walkie talkies, instore news travels quickly.

Hmmmmm, seems to be some thick marine layer this
morning. Sun is for sissies.

success! congratulations!

Click Here: Check out "Lenore's Diary"
The brave and beautiful Loren completed the Avon Breast
Cancer walk this past weekend. I got goosebumps when
I read her blog. Women are so powerful. I am so, so proud of
you Loren, and I thought about you often. Great job!

the colonel comes to dinner

the colonel comes to dinner
Originally uploaded by the omster.

I had KFC once when Karen brought it to our memorable writing group retreat in Inverness. Husbando has never tasted it, but today he decided to buy a bucket ($10) for dinner. We both think it smells great, but we are SF food snobs (what else?) and I'm sure we'll find something snide to say about this chick. He's also serving corn on the cob with chipolte butter (w/ sea salt, cilantro, lime, etc.) and a green salad to maybe, hopefully, counteract the grease del colonel. Then toniight we'll watch the 2003 comedy roast of Dennis Leary, thoughtfully provided by Dr. J. If I don't write tomorrow, call an ambulance.

caché ~ tres compliqué

After watching an exciting baseball game yesterday, we
settled in to the Flix® equally shall-I-look-or-hide? French
movie Caché. Even though the acting is so spectacular
that in a few scenes I probably didn't even need subtitles,
it ended leaving us both with enough questions that I went
online and read aloud what others thought about the film.
Several people suggested seeing the movie twice, but
that did not appeal to Husbando or to me at this time.
Am I glad I saw it? Yes. Warning ~ this review is a spoiler:
Cache - Movie Review - Stylus Magazine

did jeffy hurt his big toe?

I was up too late last night with our exceptionally
delightful writing group ~ a full house for the first
time in many months.  And then I was on my retail
feet most of today, so I am indeed one tired chihuahua.
But instead of going to bed at 8pm, I will probably
stay up until I'm sure that our Giants have taken a "W"
from those scum sucking blue Dodgers down in L.A.
Alas, that dang Jeff Kent won't be in the lineup tonight.
We did win last night. In case you're wondering, yes,
we were at the game when Brian Johnson hit that
spectacular home run that won the game and sent
us to the playoffs. That was '97, right? What a season
that was.

a cheery little cartoon

ouch...
Click Here: Check out "Shiv - Wednesday, July 5, 2006"

melissa and tommy lee

One of the best ever tv series was/still is Homicide:
Life on the Streets (1993) and the beautiful red haired
Melissa Leo played the smart and salty Detective Kay
Howard. Well, to our great surprise she appears in The
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, a recent movie also
starring Tommy Lee Jones. And bless her middle aged
heart ~ she appears in a nude scene and features a less
than perfect body. This is an unusual film and I certainly
recommend it because of the acting and (always) the
writing. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

10,000 plus you say?

That's how many hits I've had on commano since I
started this project. Of course, 9,000 are probably mine
since I never quite get over the pleasure of seeing MY
words in print everyday and reading the comments,
which are often a lot funnier than the post. The Dr.
Demento note from yesterday is an excellent example.
Anyway, this is a FREE service for bloggers ~ my friend
Michael installed mine, but I guess most people who
don't overreact to the spinning beach ball of death (like I
do) could handle this technical task.
Click Here: Check out "StatCounter Free invisible Web tracker, Hit counter and Web stats"

the godfellas threaten

don't jump, angela!
Originally uploaded by the omster.

Great day yesterday under blue (pause for exclamation point) skies and bountiful Vietnamese sandwiches thanks to The Plotniks. Note how Mission High in the background really quite an impressive building. The Mime Troupe reminds us again that we have to work to keep Democracy in America, especially during these times when some want to combine church and state. It was a splendid day and crowd was large and appreciative. And today I will send a check to the ACLU.

walkie talkie talk

We have a big problem (surprise!) with the homeless who
camp out in our store. I'm sympathetic, but way less so
than I used to be, because they can get belligerent when
we ask them to move on. Also they smell. Here is a
conversation we all participated in yesterday, via our
handy walkie talkies:

Emp. #1 - there is a naked guy in the men's room.
#2 - was that the one with the red mittens?
#1 - no, it's the bearded guy who carries the sock monkey.
Me - alas, I'm the wrong gender to help here (my stock
  answer for the constant men's room problems)
Male Mgr. - I'll go in (deep sigh signifying that he isn't
  paid nearly enough for this kind of stuff).
All Employees - good luck! (etc.)
Male Mgr. - he had his bare ass up against the
   electric hand dryer and there was water all over
   the floor. I told him that this isn't a hotel and to
   get the hell out.
Emp. #2 ~ well, maybe he won't smell as bad as before.

Every retail worker has horrible public bathroom stories,
I'm sure, because this is where we see the worst of the
worst. But, what the hey, it's a holiday.

Time to dig out our aged Leontyne Price God Bless
America tape that gives even this caustic left wing woman
goose bumps. We play it every year on the 4th.
About Leontyne Price
We saw her once on California Street, all dressed up and
looking gloriously elegant. Happy Holiday, dear readers.

insomnia ~ my turn

Each of my fellow managers at work has been struck, so last
night it was my turn to toss/worry. What did I do before the
computer? Too tired to read and the stuff on tv is horrid,
I suspect, this time of night. Husbando says that back in
the days of cave people, this is when the wild animals would
try to sneak up and kill the unsuspecting sleepers. I guess
folks trained themselves to wake up, grab big rocks and wait
for upper-upper management to snarl and growl and bare
their very sharp glistening white fangs.

a woman of few words

It is Sunday morning, still dark and I'm gulping coffee and
trying to wake up. We watched two more episodes of
Deadwood (Season Two) last night and I am even more
impressed than I was before. Perhaps it's the character
development (no one is purely good or evil), or all the
authentic details, or maybe because everyone gets to
drink from sunup to tomorrow...but without the writing,
the words and nuances, it would just be a dirty mining
camp in South Dakota, instead of this multilayered ultra
colorful world where I am currently residing. Thanks to
Dr. J for loaning us his precious DVDs!

long weekend (for some)

This morning I'm already planning for a rare holiday off next
Tuesday. Of course I have to work the next 3 days, but we
will go to see the San Francisco Mime Troupe at Dolores
Park on the actual 4th of July. I'll just concentrate on that
while I struggle with customers and their strange questions
in many different languages. So here's the information on
our local treasure:
Click Here: Check out "The San Francisco Mime Troupe - America's Theater of Political Comedy"