Wood Duck © Robert Sommers 2026
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Robin Adler & Mutts of the Planet
River - Dizzy's 11.06.11 with Max Bennett
The spectacled chap on guitar is my longtime friend and teacher, Dave Blackburn. Musician's musicians.
Ali, we hardly knew ye.
Yemen's hated strongman, Ali Abdullah Saleh, signed an agreement in Saudi Arabia today transferring executive powers to the country's vice president, Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi. Saleh was Yemen's authoritarian ruler the last thirty three years. Never finishing elementary school, he was part of a military junta that seized power in a coup in 1974. Don't let anyone tell you that you need an education to succeed. Ali never got past sandbox and ran the whole joint for thirty three years.
Saleh made his mark by mastering the game of tribal rivalries. It takes real talent to forge a coalition amongst groups that hate each other with the kind of enmity you see in the middle east. That whole side of the continent is so strange, straight up to the Balkans.
I found myself wondering for a second about these tribal states and the leaders that flourish in such climes. Monarchs, thugs, autocrats and your standard garden variety dictators. Quick, name a middle eastern democracy or countrystan that has a democratic system that is not rigged... Finished?
Can we name one? Saddam Hussein, for all his admitted faults and barbarities, kept the Kurds, Sunni and Shia from civil war. Who knows if the incipient model will be able to avert such an occurrence? Who but Tito could have kept the divisions together in Yugoslavia. Maybe I am looking at this wrong, maybe the answer is peaceful divorce, like those old bickering Czech's and Slovaks did. Smaller countries if you really can't stand each other.
Maybe only a prickish dictator can function effectively in some of the more bristly geographies on our globe?
I found myself wondering for a second about these tribal states and the leaders that flourish in such climes. Monarchs, thugs, autocrats and your standard garden variety dictators. Quick, name a middle eastern democracy or countrystan that has a democratic system that is not rigged... Finished?
Can we name one? Saddam Hussein, for all his admitted faults and barbarities, kept the Kurds, Sunni and Shia from civil war. Who knows if the incipient model will be able to avert such an occurrence? Who but Tito could have kept the divisions together in Yugoslavia. Maybe I am looking at this wrong, maybe the answer is peaceful divorce, like those old bickering Czech's and Slovaks did. Smaller countries if you really can't stand each other.
Maybe only a prickish dictator can function effectively in some of the more bristly geographies on our globe?
Rocky Mountain Hate
"A scan of a full-page advertisement in a recent edition of the Flathead Beacon, the local paper, with photographs of 47 babies newly delivered in the Kalispell Regional Medical Center. All but one are fair-skinned with light-colored hair. "Wonderful white babies being born in Kalispell," the website reads. "What do the babies look like being born in your town?" Another item on the Pioneer Little Europe site depicts white families relaxing on the shore of a lake. A caption reads,"This is how white our beaches are, and I'm not talking about sand.' "
Media Matters has published a chilling four part series on breakaway white separatist and supremacist communities in the Flathead region of Montana. Here is a link to the first article on the Pioneer Little Europe movement. Two, three, four.
U-T Shenanigans
Mythic Union Tribune Editorial Writer
Those of us wondering about the propriety of a powerful local developer buying the San Diego Union Tribune didn't have to wait to long to see the potential ramifications of such a sale. Will Doug Manchester, the publisher of the largest San Diego media concern, merely use the newspaper as a mouthpiece for his own parochial business interests? Can we expect any semblance of journalistic integrity at the hometown rag?
Don Bauder at the San Diego Reader wrote an article last week that discussed the deal. I quote from Matthew Potter's recent column that raises even more questions:
"On November 5, the Union-Tribune, without mentioning any prospective deal to sell the paper, editorialized in favor of going ahead with Manchester's redevelopment project with the Navy, saying coastal commission rejection of the plan "does not have to mean the death, or even the overly long delay, of the project, the thousands of jobs it would create and the hundreds of millions of dollars in economic stimulus it would spark for San Diego over the next decade."
"The biggest obstacle is the desire of commission staff for the 2.9-million-square-foot office-hotel complex to be scaled back by eliminating one of the four office towers and one of three hotels.
"The Manchester team views them as key components that would make the project economically viable while still providing the Navy a new headquarters building for free.
"What's needed, said Perry Dealy, Manchester 's consultant, is 'a reasonable and fair balance - and I'm willing to do that.'"If the commission, its staff and project opponents adopt a similar spirit, Pacific Gateway can breathe new life."
A few days before, on November 2, the U-T had vigorously urged the commission to proceed with the project, saying, "Enough is enough...If Pacific Gateway goes down, lost with it would be thousands of jobs and economic stimulus. That is unacceptable. "As San Diego struggles to break out of the economic doldrums, government should be doing what it can to help, not get in the way. Projects like this can't sit on the sidelines.
"The commission overruled its staff in approving the project 20 years ago. It should do so again today and let this project go forward."
Only after his project with the Navy was finally shot down by the coastal commission did Manchester go public with his desire to buy the U-T, telling the online news website Voice of San Diego of his interest on November 7.
And today, at the top of its front page, the U-T features a large color graphic with five yellow stars, touting the Grand Del Mar resort as the "the first in the county to receive Forbes Travel Guide's top rating."
A glowing story inside says the designation, "puts the Grand Del Mar in the same league as the esteemed Beverly Hills Hotel and the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco." Manager Tom Voss is quoted as saying nice things about his staff.Does anybody remember the trouble that Oceanside ran into with Manchester on the botched hotel deal? The broken promises to the neighbors and residents at Liberty Plaza? Methinks this new ownership group will not be a positive and fair player for our region, let alone an ethical purveyor of news to our community.
But one seemingly important detail is missing: the resort was developed and is run by Manchester Financial Group, Doug Manchester's holding company, whose website features a smiling portrait of him and top executives, including Voss."
"Manchester, who started his professional life as an insurance salesman and rose to become one of the city's most successful real estate developers, thanks in part to exclusive bayfront leases granted by the San Diego port commission, is famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for a variety of undertakings, such as his financial backing of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that overturned same-sex marriage in California, and a big waterfront development deal with the U.S. Navy that triggered environmental outcries and a recent rejection by the state coastal commission. Until the mogul announced he was selling off his Hyatt Regency twin-tower bay-view hotel next to Seaport Village, the hostelry was the target of a lengthy boycott and noisy picket lines led by bullhorn-wielding opponents, discreetly observed by a cadre of San Diego city and port police."
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Partisan Bash
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Megyn Kelly on Fox on pepper spray, "It's just a food product, right?"
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Amazon pepper spray reviews.
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Another personhood push in Georgia.
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Debtor's Prison
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Romney distorts and mischaracterizes Obama in ad. Deceptive dirty pool.
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New Fairleigh Dickinson poll shows how dumb certain news viewers are.
"People who watch Fox News, the most popular of the 24-hour
cable news networks, are 18-points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their
government than those who watch no news at all (after controlling for other news
sources, partisanship, education and other demographic factors). Fox News watchers
are also 6-points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their
government than those who watch no news.
"Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by
Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News," said Dan Cassino, a
professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson and an analyst for the PublicMind
Poll. "Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that
leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at
all."
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Road Wear
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| flaming bella vista © Robert Sommers |
Gary, my mechanic says that I am lucky to have never changed the trans yet, being the week link on these Chryslers, it should be on number three by now. Rolling around with 156,000 plus miles, I feel so lucky...
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My gall bladder is killing me this week, first time in my life I have actually ever noticed it. How do you do? It will be an interesting experience to see which konks out first, the Chrysler or my gall bladder.
ed. note - I am purposefully not allowing comments on this post so that I can spare myself the freaking "you've got to start taking care of your self" stuff. Thank you for your kind thoughts. I will go see a Doctor soon.
Rooting around in Fallbrook
Last night a bunch of my foodie friends once again got together to make a memorable feast, at the home of Dixon and Connie. It was great to see so many great cooks working together to produce such a meal. Dixon went to San Diego on Saturday to get the drop on the fresh truffles from a swarthy man in a trench coat in a parking lot. Customs had seized all the black truffles from Sabatino in New York, so we had to order another ounce of the pricier white. After he made the score, he drove to Renée's so she could start on her truffle puree for our main course.
Everyone outdid themselves, wine flowed and conversation was as usual, delightful. A few new cast members joined our fray, excellent company and most welcome. Leslie started the evening off with her take on duck confit tacos, delicious with cilantro, la crema and the yummy bits of micro planed truffle to give the dish a special twist.
Renee "O" was up next with her crostini, delectable morsels that were wonderful and gave us a momentary and needed truffle break.
Dixon followed up with his posh poached eggs over polenta cup with truffled hollandaise and shaved truffle to boot, gorgeous, could have been served at 21, as tasty as it was elegant.
In a dinner full of masterpieces, Renée had what was consensually acknowledged as the dish of the night, really the most incredible pork loin you could ever hope to eat. Complicated, but well worth it. She made up a plate to bring her mom.
Kim concocted a three cheese macaroni with truffle, awesome comfort food with a kugel like texture that made me think of grandma.
We finished with Jerri's dessert. It was awesome but the truffle honey was so intense that I had to eat around it. Jerri also brought the nicest bottle of wine of the night, something we had drank drunken drunk at Bella Vista a few weeks ago whose name momentarily is escaping me. (ed. It was a reserve Rosenblum.)
I really have to thank our hosts, and all of this year's participants. If you couldn't make or swing an invite to this one, there will be another, don't fret.
Monday, November 21, 2011
New owners at the U-T.
They also both happen to be catholics. Manchester was a big supporter of the Yes on 8 anti gay marriage campaign. I would expect the already conservative paper's editorial voice to become even farther slanted to the right on social policy. It is their money, I guess they can do what they want. Platinum has to be commended for really turning the paper around. Will be interesting to see what changes with the local fishwrap. I still miss John Sinor's column.
Brave the new world
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| Rene Magritte - Le double secret - 1927 |
Read this interesting article today - Natasha Singer, New York Times. New facial recog program gauges passerby's age, sex and attention level. I wonder what processes are involved to check attention level? Perhaps it is a retinal thing or do we have an unusual heat or infrared profile when we are concentrating? Anyway the company tailors the specific information you get to see on the screen according to your demographic and data profile.
Another company, Scene Tap, has an app that gives you the scoop on bar scenes, men to women ratios, slut index, what have you.
Many of these facial recognition applications store your information in a database without your consent. Based on the Obama administration's position that one is not entitled to privacy outside your home I would have to think that they will accede to all of these new technologies without a glance. Frightening, really.
Parallels
"We can not be fooled by the propaganda of Western nations that try to deceive us that separation of church and state is the "modern" and more civilized way of life."
Suspected terrorist bomber Jose Pimentel
"So you're telling me the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?"
Christine O'Donnell
“The reason why clergy are afraid to be involved is because of an amendment that former President Lyndon Johnson passed when he was a senator from Texas… that stops 501(3)c [sic] organizations from saying anything political from the pulpit. Now, churches can be political from the pulpit. They can talk about issues all they want. What they can’t do is endorse a candidate from the pulpit. But the ACLU has been all over the backs of churches… Christian and Jews and people of faith are not second class citizens… but these radical leftist organizations have been intimidating Christians for so long and pastors don’t generally now that they do have the right to speak out from the pulpit. Congress should repeal that amendment from Lyndon Johnson… We need to repeal that and give Christians back their first amendment rights to free speech in the church.”
Michelle Bachmann
Muslim Muftis (legal authorities) agree that the contract of the Zimmis should be offered primarily to the People of the Book, that is, Christians and Jews, then to the Magis or Zoroastrians. However, they disagree on whether any contract should be signed with other groups such as communists or atheists. The Hanbalites and the Shafi`ites believe that no contract should be made with the ungodly or those who do not believe in the supreme God. Hanifites and Malikites affirm that the Jizya may be accepted from all infidels regardless of their beliefs and faith in God. Abu Hanifa, however, did not want pagan Arabs to have this option because they are the people of the Prophet. They. must be given only two options: accept Islam or be killed.
Samuel Shahid
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Suspected terrorist bomber Jose Pimentel
"So you're telling me the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?"
Christine O'Donnell
“The reason why clergy are afraid to be involved is because of an amendment that former President Lyndon Johnson passed when he was a senator from Texas… that stops 501(3)c [sic] organizations from saying anything political from the pulpit. Now, churches can be political from the pulpit. They can talk about issues all they want. What they can’t do is endorse a candidate from the pulpit. But the ACLU has been all over the backs of churches… Christian and Jews and people of faith are not second class citizens… but these radical leftist organizations have been intimidating Christians for so long and pastors don’t generally now that they do have the right to speak out from the pulpit. Congress should repeal that amendment from Lyndon Johnson… We need to repeal that and give Christians back their first amendment rights to free speech in the church.”
Michelle Bachmann
Muslim Muftis (legal authorities) agree that the contract of the Zimmis should be offered primarily to the People of the Book, that is, Christians and Jews, then to the Magis or Zoroastrians. However, they disagree on whether any contract should be signed with other groups such as communists or atheists. The Hanbalites and the Shafi`ites believe that no contract should be made with the ungodly or those who do not believe in the supreme God. Hanifites and Malikites affirm that the Jizya may be accepted from all infidels regardless of their beliefs and faith in God. Abu Hanifa, however, did not want pagan Arabs to have this option because they are the people of the Prophet. They. must be given only two options: accept Islam or be killed.
Samuel Shahid
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| Cairo |
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| U.C. Davis |
Mister Rogers - I'm a Man Who Manufactures
This song was on my answering machine in the eighties. My friend El Griffo loved it.
Eye of Newt
Republicans counter that dems didn't give enough on entitlements. Now they are trying to carve cuts tot he bloated defense industry out of any new automatic cut.
Newt wants to fire a bunch of union members and bring back child labor. Just like Upton Sinclair. We can be like those factories in Pakistan that chain children to their looms.
"It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in, first of all, child laws, which are truly stupid," said the former House speaker, according to CNN. "Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they'd begin the process of rising."
"You're going to see from me extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America," he added.
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Newt also is the champion of the semantic finesse duofecta with the simultaneous slamming of Freddie Mac while parsing his work for them as a lobbyist, from 1999 to 2007. He says he was merely acting as a historian and providing strategic advice. Hey Newt, you didn't get the million six because of you're being a brilliant historian, you were giving them access to political power.
But for him to monday morning quarterback Fannie and Freddie is a little bit specious. Back then, he defended Freddie Mac's role and said, "every American should be interested in expanding housing opportunities."Historian likes to be on both sides of history.
From HuffPo: In last Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, Gingrich sought to explain his role at Freddie Mac as that of an "historian" sounding dire warnings about the company's future. He said Freddie Mac officials told him "we are now making loans to people that have no credit history and have no record of paying back anything, but that's what the government wants us to do." He said his advice was to tell them, "this is insane."
"I said at the time, this is a bubble ... this is impossible. It turned out unfortunately I was right," Gingrich said.
Former Freddie Mac executives dispute Gingrich's description of his role.
Four people close to Freddie Mac say he was hired to strategize with his employer about identifying political friends on Capitol Hill who would help the company through a very difficult legislative environment. All four people spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to discuss the personnel matter freely.
Freddie Mac executives hoped that would speak positively about the company and its business model as he circulated among conservative groups and help to build intellectual support within his party.
Freddie Mac executives were looking to Gingrich to offer up new, inventive ways to think about old problems, the officials said, but that didn't materialize.
11.21.11
Although the last two shows, Del Mar and Hillsborough, were both pretty lousy for me from the monetary standpoint, I have to say that it has been a good week, The psychic rewards have been great. We'll take whatever we can get these days.
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I will try to describe the man the best I can. He was one of those characters that existed on the periphery of the frame, always appearing a bit glum and emotionless. The antique business is a tertiary hierarchal affair and I suppose that I always viewed him as a Steatocranus Casuarius while I am one of the larger pelagics or something.
The guy was a dealer with a fairly good eye but a definite lack of people skills. I never saw him interacting with anyone on a personal level. And then one day he disappeared.
I saw him resurface last week after a couple years of being out of sight. You know how people are suddenly gone from the landscape and you don't really know if they have died or not, they are just not there anymore? And since they were merely bit players in life's movie you don't give it much of a second thought. Although we never talked beyond me getting a price from him on one of the small objects he specialized in, I walked over and greeted him and asked him where he had been?
He looked at me and told me that he had been ill for two years. Nosily, I asked him the nature of his malady and he unhesitatingly told me that he had been diagnosed as bipolar. He had been hospitalized and the doctors had sorted out his chemistry with some drugs. It was at that point that I saw a little gleam in his eye that I had never perceived before. I smiled at him and it was returned! This nameless fellow had climbed out of years in a dark solitary cave like Rip Van Winkle and he was experiencing joy for possibly the first time in his life.
We talked for a few minutes and the innocent smile on his face was so fantastic, the one I had never seen before. I made sure to greet him every chance I could the rest of the show. Definitely the greatest gift that I had this week.
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There is a certain dealer who called my wife a very unflattering name in a parking lot dispute several years ago. Resisting the urge to pummel him, I have frozen him out with death stares for the last couple years. Eased up on him, was even pleasant, a visible weight off both of our shoulders.
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It was a cathartic week. I had worked with a very successful couple in my business a number of years ago and wrote for their magazine on occasion. I had done a bunch of an appraisal work on an estate that they were tangentially involved in and a third party informed me that they had, well, screwed me on a deal. I was very pissed, abused and felt exploited and have never spoken to them since. I summoned the courage to open up to them about my ruffled feathers and feelings the other day and it turns out that the third party had manipulated the whole thing and that they had nothing to do with the situation. I am glad that it is all healed now after being brought out into the open.
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I know that coincidences have to occur in an infinite, random universe but sometimes the confluences are so incredible that I definitely feel that they are somehow directed. I will leave by who or what to the theologians.
I had no sooner walked into the show on wednesday when I ran into my friend Rich, an ex private investigator and twenty year Los Angeles vice cop who now deals in modern silver. "You ever hear of a guy named B--------?," he asked. "Why yes," I responded. "I had dinner with the ex CEO last night."
Rich had gotten into an estate sale and found honorariums for the late founder of the company, a major world player who had lived to the age of 102. Diplomas and plaudits from Salk, Cal Tech, and many other major institutions. I called my recent dinner companions. The CEO's wife's father had worked for the man starting in the thirties, both of their lives had been inextricably woven into the firm. Now I had been chosen to act as a conduit to replace items that never should have been disseminated back to their rightful place. I called my friends and they quickly arrived to pay for the documents, which I passed on without profit.
My friend is South American. One of my other friend's was in the room whose husband is from the same country, Chile. I introduced them. Then somebody gave me object from the small country mere minutes later. The syncronicities kept occurring throughout the week. I met a friend of a friend the next morning I hadn't seen in some time. Unbeknownst to me he had a house in Region 7 of Chile and had just returned.
Leslie and I have been talking about visiting Patagonia for several years. Maybe we are being called? The whole thing was just an amazing experience, with all the people in their proper places and perfect timing on everyone's part.
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Loaded out in a fierce rainstorm. Hope that all my prints are all right. I am a bit afraid to check.
*
I will try to describe the man the best I can. He was one of those characters that existed on the periphery of the frame, always appearing a bit glum and emotionless. The antique business is a tertiary hierarchal affair and I suppose that I always viewed him as a Steatocranus Casuarius while I am one of the larger pelagics or something.
The guy was a dealer with a fairly good eye but a definite lack of people skills. I never saw him interacting with anyone on a personal level. And then one day he disappeared.
I saw him resurface last week after a couple years of being out of sight. You know how people are suddenly gone from the landscape and you don't really know if they have died or not, they are just not there anymore? And since they were merely bit players in life's movie you don't give it much of a second thought. Although we never talked beyond me getting a price from him on one of the small objects he specialized in, I walked over and greeted him and asked him where he had been?
He looked at me and told me that he had been ill for two years. Nosily, I asked him the nature of his malady and he unhesitatingly told me that he had been diagnosed as bipolar. He had been hospitalized and the doctors had sorted out his chemistry with some drugs. It was at that point that I saw a little gleam in his eye that I had never perceived before. I smiled at him and it was returned! This nameless fellow had climbed out of years in a dark solitary cave like Rip Van Winkle and he was experiencing joy for possibly the first time in his life.
We talked for a few minutes and the innocent smile on his face was so fantastic, the one I had never seen before. I made sure to greet him every chance I could the rest of the show. Definitely the greatest gift that I had this week.
*
There is a certain dealer who called my wife a very unflattering name in a parking lot dispute several years ago. Resisting the urge to pummel him, I have frozen him out with death stares for the last couple years. Eased up on him, was even pleasant, a visible weight off both of our shoulders.
*
It was a cathartic week. I had worked with a very successful couple in my business a number of years ago and wrote for their magazine on occasion. I had done a bunch of an appraisal work on an estate that they were tangentially involved in and a third party informed me that they had, well, screwed me on a deal. I was very pissed, abused and felt exploited and have never spoken to them since. I summoned the courage to open up to them about my ruffled feathers and feelings the other day and it turns out that the third party had manipulated the whole thing and that they had nothing to do with the situation. I am glad that it is all healed now after being brought out into the open.
*
I know that coincidences have to occur in an infinite, random universe but sometimes the confluences are so incredible that I definitely feel that they are somehow directed. I will leave by who or what to the theologians.
I had no sooner walked into the show on wednesday when I ran into my friend Rich, an ex private investigator and twenty year Los Angeles vice cop who now deals in modern silver. "You ever hear of a guy named B--------?," he asked. "Why yes," I responded. "I had dinner with the ex CEO last night."
Rich had gotten into an estate sale and found honorariums for the late founder of the company, a major world player who had lived to the age of 102. Diplomas and plaudits from Salk, Cal Tech, and many other major institutions. I called my recent dinner companions. The CEO's wife's father had worked for the man starting in the thirties, both of their lives had been inextricably woven into the firm. Now I had been chosen to act as a conduit to replace items that never should have been disseminated back to their rightful place. I called my friends and they quickly arrived to pay for the documents, which I passed on without profit.
My friend is South American. One of my other friend's was in the room whose husband is from the same country, Chile. I introduced them. Then somebody gave me object from the small country mere minutes later. The syncronicities kept occurring throughout the week. I met a friend of a friend the next morning I hadn't seen in some time. Unbeknownst to me he had a house in Region 7 of Chile and had just returned.
Leslie and I have been talking about visiting Patagonia for several years. Maybe we are being called? The whole thing was just an amazing experience, with all the people in their proper places and perfect timing on everyone's part.
*
Loaded out in a fierce rainstorm. Hope that all my prints are all right. I am a bit afraid to check.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
American Tune - Eva Cassidy
KerryB sent this over and I will post it, sound unheard. I also got this letter from Kerry this morning which is cool and informative.
Remember when I said Ray Manzarek didn't play all the bass parts on The Doors albums ?
Of course he did play the bass parts on stage but, according to the 2006 remastered CDs liner notes, there is at least some bass guitar on all six studio albums.
On The Doors Larry Knechtel "doubles the piano bass lines" on some tracks ( Manzarek gets credit for playing organ, piano and "bass" ).
Strange Days credits Douglas Lubahn with "occasional bass".
On Waiting For The Sun; Leroy Vinegar plays stand up bass on 'Spanish Caravan'. Douglas Lubahn plays electric bass on the same track and is credited again for playing occasional bass. Kerry Magness plays bass on 'The Unknown Soldier'.
Soft Parade featured Harvey Brooks or Doug Lubahn on bass.
For Morrison Hotel Lonnie Mack plays bass on 'Roadhouse Blues' and 'Maggie McGill', Ray Neopolitan plays bass on other tracks.
Elvis Presley's bass guy Jerry Scheff plays on L.A. Woman ( Mark Benno from Leon Russel's Asylum Choir plays rhythm guitar on that album ).
KB
Friday, November 18, 2011
Energy Company Hijinx
Not only are they not paying the taxes, the energy companies are getting the tax money from consumers, pocketing it and then getting a refund from Uncle Sam. Brilliant. The old capitalist's mantra: Privatize the profit and socialize the debt.
Gustatory Pleasures
The restaurant is beautifully appointed, low slung, with an ample amount of space between tables. There was a large table directly behind hours with a small flotilla of wine glasses, serious imbibers doing a special tasting, with their own menu. Quite impressive.
We started off with the fritto misto with calamari and vegetables. Had my first deep fried lemon, quite a zing. Two sauces, a red and a garlic aioli, quite nice. For dinner I had the tagliatelle, simmered in a ragu that the menu says takes six hours to simmer. The marinara was absolutely gorgeous, the tomato so fresh and wonderful. Freshly baked bread was replenished at our table, in a variety of hues.
Stanley had the duroc pork, a giant spread that looked and smelled delicious, Tracy sampled the equally good skirt steak. Not in the mood for drinking, I ordered mint tea from their extensive selection. We skipped dessert as well. I really was impressed with the place and recommend that you try it. My only tiny complaint was that the server wanted to talk and I just wanted to eat but he got the message.
Check Crush out.
- 437 S. Hwy 101, Suite 112
- Solana Beach, CA 92075
- P. 858-481-CRUSH (2787)
- F. 858-481-3290
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I am exhibiting this weekend at the Del Mar Antique Show. One of my fellow dealers from Phoenix asked me where they could buy good bagels yesterday. I thought a moment. "Montreal?" The reality is that due to idiosyncrasies with the water and the dough, it is pretty much impossible to get a decent bagel west of Jersey City. The puffy creatures that pass in these parts are pitiful and not suitable for toasting.
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Which leads me to my next beef. I had lox and eggs at Milton's this morning, an expensive and sort of faux Chicago jewish deli. As a deli maven from way back I think there should be a requirement that at least one person on the floor be a yid. I know that I sound bigoted and narrow minded but all latin speaking servers does not a jewish deli make. We need starched white uniforms with a few wise cracking older waitresses whose fat triceps (hadassah's) hang over their sleeves creating the necessary ambience and mood. Don't make me ask you again for the pickles either.
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Monday is our group's second annual truffle night. I think that we are dialed in for a dozen people, all making a separate dish with the glorious fungus. Truffles went up big time this year, we get them flown in from Italy courtesy of Sabatino, so we are going with one ounce of white and four ounces of the much cheaper black. Leslie is making duck confit tacos with shaved truffle, cilantro and la crema.
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With the new arrival of Estrellas in Fallbrook, I am about to undergo and exhaustive survey of cheap Mexican food in the area. Wish me luck.
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Leslie had to go to Florida last week to help settle a deceased aunt's affairs. I drove her to the airport and than had a great deviation on the way home. Jasmine, our favorite dim sum restaurant on Convoy, has a little express take out store next door. I stopped and got a lb. of honey glazed roast pork and a roast duck. Both warm and fresh, chopped it up in front of me, whole thing cost me twenty bucks and a little change. It was outrageously good.
Jasmine Express To Go
4609 Convoy St Ste A (between Dagget St & Opportunity Rd) San Diego, CA 92111. (858) 268-0888. www.jasmineseafood.com
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I passed a restaurant called Loïc this morning in the tony burg of outer Rancho Santa Fe. I thought, just like these pretentious bastards to have a restaurant whose name nobody can pronounce. I looked it up. I was wrong. Loïc is the chef's name. Apologies.
Loïc Restaurant Patisserie and Coffee Shop
18021 Calle Ambiente, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Telephone: (858) 759-4409
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Just don't get sick.
While many of my conservative pals consider me a wild eyed lefty, I have been taking a few shots from the liberals too lately for daring to traipse across party lines and take a look at a few of their sacred cows. My welfare blog was "simplistic, stupidly stereotypical and lacked empathy for the plight of the downtrodden", at least according to a few of my liberal friends.
I opened my big mouth again last night. I dared to question this whole Obamacare insurance plan, wondering aloud if it was really such a good idea.
You see, I got a notice last week that my premiums are going up once again this year, another 16% to be exact. I have a PPO for my small business that covers my wife and I and the premiums are now close to tripling in the six or so years that we have had the coverage. We have raised our deductible so high that our policy is almost solely catastrophic coverage at this point.
Because insurers are no longer able to limit pre-existing conditions and are required by federal mandate to cover a whole bunch more conditions, the money has to come from somewhere. Where is it coming from? Apparently me and the many small businessmen like me. Because we are in a financial mess and there are less and less people working, the money for the indigent and unfunded mandates has to come from the pools of the people like me.
One of my hosts last night got a little ticked when I mentioned my angst at the ever increasing costs of coverage. "It's the rich man, the millionaires should be paying for this, those bastards in the 1%." Now that may or may not be true, but at this point they aren't writing the check for it, I am. And while I am glad that more people will now have insurance coverage for life's travails, I have to admit that I am a little suspicious that the cost of providing for said service is going to once again fall on the shoulders of the already struggling small businessman - the one who works on Main St., not Wall St..
There are a lot of things that I think that we can do to bring medical costs down, allowing the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and make deals would be a good start as well instituting some sensible tort reform and caps on abuses of the system like big ass rewards emotional pain and suffering. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Supreme Court now that they have agreed to look at this issue of mandatory insurance. I always thought that the old Oregon plan made a lot of sense, not so sure Obamacare with its attendant high risk pools and exchanges does. The money for all this free stuff is going to have to come from somewhere.
I opened my big mouth again last night. I dared to question this whole Obamacare insurance plan, wondering aloud if it was really such a good idea.
You see, I got a notice last week that my premiums are going up once again this year, another 16% to be exact. I have a PPO for my small business that covers my wife and I and the premiums are now close to tripling in the six or so years that we have had the coverage. We have raised our deductible so high that our policy is almost solely catastrophic coverage at this point.
Because insurers are no longer able to limit pre-existing conditions and are required by federal mandate to cover a whole bunch more conditions, the money has to come from somewhere. Where is it coming from? Apparently me and the many small businessmen like me. Because we are in a financial mess and there are less and less people working, the money for the indigent and unfunded mandates has to come from the pools of the people like me.
One of my hosts last night got a little ticked when I mentioned my angst at the ever increasing costs of coverage. "It's the rich man, the millionaires should be paying for this, those bastards in the 1%." Now that may or may not be true, but at this point they aren't writing the check for it, I am. And while I am glad that more people will now have insurance coverage for life's travails, I have to admit that I am a little suspicious that the cost of providing for said service is going to once again fall on the shoulders of the already struggling small businessman - the one who works on Main St., not Wall St..
There are a lot of things that I think that we can do to bring medical costs down, allowing the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and make deals would be a good start as well instituting some sensible tort reform and caps on abuses of the system like big ass rewards emotional pain and suffering. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Supreme Court now that they have agreed to look at this issue of mandatory insurance. I always thought that the old Oregon plan made a lot of sense, not so sure Obamacare with its attendant high risk pools and exchanges does. The money for all this free stuff is going to have to come from somewhere.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Things ain't so bad
With all the crap out there, maybe we need to look at some of the better stories that are happening in our world as we speak.
Who would believe that some of the Han Chinese are starting to embrace tibetan buddhism? Talk about Beijing's worst fears being realized. Read about it here. It's the equivalent of a spiritual stuxnet, a zen strike coming from the least likely direction.
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Myanmar's recently released Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is actually commending the autocratic regime for making some small progress. That is truly wonderful. In recent months, the new government has eased censorship, legalized labor unions, suspended an unpopular, China-backed dam project and began talks with Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement.
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Kazakhstan is shunning nuclear weapons.
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A bit dated, but cell phones might reverse Alzheimer's in mice. Just what we need, a bunch of know it all mice.
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Jordan's King calls on Syria's Assad to step down.
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New Zealand company LanzaTech is working on a microbe based technology that converts carbon monoxide laden syngas to fuel. Works on biomass as well, supposedly.
Remote Viewer
Remote Viewing is a technique of seizing impressions of distant objects, events or targets, using paranormal or extra sensory means. Research into the phenomenon started in the 19th century under Michael Faraday. The techniques were explored heavily by the Russians during the Cold War, with the Americans (having a strong premonition that they were going to be left behind), soon to follow.
From Wiki:
In the early 1970s, Harold E. Puthoff and Russell Targ joined the Electronics and Bioengineering Laboratory at Stanford Research Institute (SRI)[11]. (Holy MK - Ultra ! - Editor)
In addition to their mainstream scientific research work on quantum mechanics and laser physics, they initiated several studies of the paranormal. These were supported with funding from the Parapsychology Foundation and the newly-formed Institute of Noetic Sciences.From World War II until the 1970s the US government occasionally funded ESP research. When the US intelligence community learned that the USSR and China were conducting ESP research, it became receptive to the idea of having its own competing psi research program. (Schnabel 1997)
In 1972, Puthoff tested remote viewer Ingo Swann at SRI, and the experiment led to a visit from two employees of the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology. The result was a $50,000 CIA-sponsored project. (Schnabel 1997, Puthoff 1996,[14] Kress 1977/1999[citation needed], Smith 2005) As research continued, the SRI team published papers in Nature,[15] in Proceedings of the IEEE (Puthoff & Targ, 1976),[16] and in the proceedings of a symposium on consciousness for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Puthoff, et al., 1981.
The initial CIA-funded project was later renewed and expanded. A number of CIA officials, including John N. McMahon (then the head of the Office of Technical Service and later the Agency's deputy director), became strong supporters of the program.
In the mid 1970s sponsorship by the CIA was terminated and picked up by the Air Force. In 1979, the Army's Intelligence and Security Command, which had been providing some taskings to the SRI investigators, was ordered to develop its own program by the Army's chief intelligence officer, General Ed Thompson. CIA operations officers, working from McMahon's office and other offices, also continued to provide taskings to SRI's subjects. (Schnabel 1997, Smith 2005, Atwater 2001)
Under the banner "Stargate project", SRI managed a number of "natural" psychics. The most famous results from these years were the description of "a big crane" at a Soviet nuclear research facility by Pat Price's (Kress 1977/1999, Targ 1996[citation needed]) and Joseph McMoneagle,[17] a description of a new class of Soviet strategic submarine by a team of three viewers including McMoneagle,(Smith 2005, McMoneagle 2002) and Rosemary Smith's [18] location of a downed Soviet bomber in Africa (which former President Carter later referred to in speeches). By the early 1980s numerous offices throughout the intelligence community were providing taskings to SRI's psychics. (Schnabel 1997, Smith 2005) In 1984 viewer McMoneagle was awarded a legion of merit for determining "150 essential elements of information...producing crucial and vital intelligence unavailable from any other source".[7]In the early 1990s the Military Intelligence Board, chaired by DIA chief Soyster, appointed an Army Colonel, William Johnson, to manage the remote viewing unit and evaluate its objective usefulness. Funding dissipated in late 1994 and the program went into decline. The project was transferred out of DIA to the CIA in 1995.
In 1995, the CIA hired the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to perform a retrospective evaluation of the results generated by the Stargate project. Reviewers included Ray Hyman and Jessica Utts. Utts maintained that there had been a statistically significant positive effect,[19] with some subjects scoring 5%-15% above chance.[20] Hyman argued that Utts' conclusion that ESP had been proven to exist, "is premature, to say the least."[21] Hyman said the findings had yet to be replicated independently, and that more investigation would be necessary to "legitimately claim the existence of paranormal functioning."[21] Based upon both of their studies, which recommended a higher level of critical research and tighter controls, the CIA terminated the 20 million dollar project in 1995.[8] Time magazine stated in 1995 three full-time psychics were still working on a $500,000-a-year budget out of Fort Meade, Maryland, which would soon be shut down.[8]
There have been various other cloak and dagger attempts at harnessing these purported abilities, all easily accessible in your search engine. I, for one, have both had these type of intuitions and experiences. I am a believer.
In the late seventies I was drilling a well on a large property I owned with a partnership. The first attempt, made in concert with a dowser, came up dry and it was getting very expensive for us. The dowser returned and made a second sighting. We drilled again, very deep - over 500' and were about to give up hope.
My friend, the late Douglas Monroe, had a mother who was an exceptional psychic who lived with a group of gay psychics in Berkeley. The group had once located a wallet I had lost, group thinking at a table and telling me it was under something brown. (It was.) I sent them a map of the property and the well. Did you know that dowsers can dowse off a map? The answer came back quickly. Only five more feet, lo and behold, they were spot on. An incredible clean spring, right where they said it would be. I like most of us, could talk all day about these sorts of lucky coincidences we probably dismiss on a daily basis.
It is my understanding that John has a special gift and I look forward to watching the upcoming program.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Wayside Cafe
Fallbrook is not exactly bustling with great restaurants, we have a few really good ones and Robert's Le Bistro can be great at times, although decidedly old school and you have to know how to handle Chef Robert.
I went in a few months ago and a doctor I know, Chip, who likes good food that doesn't cost an arm and a leg was sitting at the counter and bought me lunch. Good, not totally memorable, maybe I had a reuben or something.
I am not a big breakfast guy. A microscopic roll in the morning with my joe. But I woke up one day about two months ago just jonesing for hash browns. I don't go into that other place anymore so the Wayside was my only real non Denny's alternative.
I ordered the Wayside omelette, replete with chicken and avocado and swiss. It was freaking amazing. And beautiful. Who the hell puts chicken in an omelette? Sort of barbaric when you think about it, decimating both sides of the matrilineal link. You never get chicken in an omelette and this was just sublime. Perfectly moist, a culinary rembrandt! I looked over the counter and wanted to get a look at the cook. Who the hell was this guy? Looked rather ordinary but mega serious chops.
Robert's was closed and I cajoled my brunch group to try the Wayside a few sundays ago. Wouldn't you know it, okay but not great, a pesky fly flying around, this was cold, blah, blah, blah, the problem of eating on a busy sunday. But I knew how good the place could be.
I went back today and thought that I would try on a burger. I ordered the garlic feta burger, medium rare. It was served with a balsamic laden spring mix, with a generous heap of sautéed mushrooms, crisp tomato, on a legitimate bun.
I enjoyed watching the two professional countermen dance around each other, skilled pirouettes, artfully keeping out of each others space and zone in the small space. I was presented my lunch over the counter, the hefty plate steadied by both hands, a hand crafted burger that stood with the giants. I motioned to the quiet chef, Jeff and asked him his thoughts about putting mayo on his gorgeous concoction. Over my shoulder I heard the owner, fresh from sparring with favorite foil Carl, "Doesn't need it, don't do it, that's my favorite burger." She was right of course, the feta did its job perfectly. It was an exceptional burger.
We all started talking food and I told them that I was impressed with the two pickle spread, the slices of bread and butter pickle contrasting sharply with and complimenting the underlying dill. Fries were good as well. Whole spread set me back about ten bucks with tip, the standard rate for getting lunch these days in these parts.
I know that these people are committed to good food, I can see it in their attitude and by talking to them, go in and try it, it has changed. Tell them I sent you, let's keep this place around, I have been really impressed. This ain't the ritz, it's clubs and burgers and omelettes but there is something different going on here that should be checked out.
11.14.11
I have had several letters from a few of you, some of you dear friends, gently prodding me about my health and being out of shape. And the alcohol consumption thing. I appreciate your concerns, I will be fine. Eventually. The sinus trigger the lungs, which toggled the asthma, which limits the cardio, etc. Which has been causing me to lose my cookies on a regular basis, graphic details of which I will not post, suffice it to say that corn beef quesadillas are something you only want to envisage on the way down. Happened night before last, the beer gave way to Jamison's, I drink the catholic whiskey, it was an experiment doomed to failure.
Everyone knows that jews don't drink. I am a decided lightweight. Anyway, for your information mr. you know who, vodka is not hard alcohol, they make it from potatoes. I am not much of a drinker but there are times you have to indulge in order to be neighborly. Last night I had a glass of a very special 2006 french Grand Cru something or other that was delicious courtesy of Jan and Jim.
The truth is, my back is in one of its annual, left sacral, L4 and 5 let's fuck with Robert moods again and I have been looking at life from the vantage of a medium baked bavarian pretzel. And it's not my spare tire, and its not the booze and its not my bad attitude, it is this;
I dragged my tormented body out of my contorted position and drove to Temecula, to look at the chairs at Staples and hopefully solve my back problem. I sat in about 30 chairs from armless modernist numbers that look like they would break if you looked at them wrong, to backless zen like chairs that keep you in the perfect satori state, to the chair equivalent of the new camaro with racing stripes, massage chairs, the whole gamut. Really liked the Posturpedic chair but it was padded like grandma's sofa and had a floral print and looked kind of dowdy. I ended up picking up a slightly more expensive cheap office chair. Hey, they all break anyway, right?
I did my best Festus impression and coaxed the box up to the register. The young checker asked me if I wanted to spend another $4.99 on the extended warranty? "Well how long is the implicit warranty," I asked? She said, "One year but you have to ship it back to the manufacturer and the shipping will cost more than the chair."
I stood there a bit dumbfounded and said, "What you're telling me is that the actual warranty is a scam and that Staples doesn't stand behind its products." I saw the cashier behind her nodding vigorously in assent. I went into a mini dissertation of the sadness of living in an age when such poorly made necessities are designed for built in obsolescence and to be throw aways and I saw a glazed look coming over her eyes, I had lost her.
"So you want the new warranty?"
I bit my lip and shuffled my tired self and my new chair out the door.
Everyone knows that jews don't drink. I am a decided lightweight. Anyway, for your information mr. you know who, vodka is not hard alcohol, they make it from potatoes. I am not much of a drinker but there are times you have to indulge in order to be neighborly. Last night I had a glass of a very special 2006 french Grand Cru something or other that was delicious courtesy of Jan and Jim.
The truth is, my back is in one of its annual, left sacral, L4 and 5 let's fuck with Robert moods again and I have been looking at life from the vantage of a medium baked bavarian pretzel. And it's not my spare tire, and its not the booze and its not my bad attitude, it is this;
My cheap office chair, my broken cheap office chair, my third in a year, this one a loaner from Renée. because I am too cheap to spring for something decent I have become a sore backed, ibuprofen laden, zombie and a shadow of my former self.
I dragged my tormented body out of my contorted position and drove to Temecula, to look at the chairs at Staples and hopefully solve my back problem. I sat in about 30 chairs from armless modernist numbers that look like they would break if you looked at them wrong, to backless zen like chairs that keep you in the perfect satori state, to the chair equivalent of the new camaro with racing stripes, massage chairs, the whole gamut. Really liked the Posturpedic chair but it was padded like grandma's sofa and had a floral print and looked kind of dowdy. I ended up picking up a slightly more expensive cheap office chair. Hey, they all break anyway, right?
I did my best Festus impression and coaxed the box up to the register. The young checker asked me if I wanted to spend another $4.99 on the extended warranty? "Well how long is the implicit warranty," I asked? She said, "One year but you have to ship it back to the manufacturer and the shipping will cost more than the chair."
I stood there a bit dumbfounded and said, "What you're telling me is that the actual warranty is a scam and that Staples doesn't stand behind its products." I saw the cashier behind her nodding vigorously in assent. I went into a mini dissertation of the sadness of living in an age when such poorly made necessities are designed for built in obsolescence and to be throw aways and I saw a glazed look coming over her eyes, I had lost her.
"So you want the new warranty?"
I bit my lip and shuffled my tired self and my new chair out the door.
Rubberneckers
But a large amorphous blob of people without a clear unifying message, coherent set of demands, let alone potential solution or roadmap, sounds suspiciously like the Tea Party and in my opinion doomed. Every Tom, Dick and Mary anarchist wannabee can now hook themselves to the occupy bandwagon. Every act of violence, rape or craziness will be owned by the whole group. Kill the whole thing now. It can only get a whole lot worse and you will find yourselves continually apologizing for the few bad apples. Which the opposition will blame you for. Plus you are becoming a big nuisance and financial drain in terms of fire, police, cleanup, etc. Company and fish, things are starting to stink.
The point has been made.
Several of my friends have had their business absolutely ruined due to their proximity to an occupy group. Don't hurt the small businessman right now, we are on the ropes already.
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One of my cohorts read my latin america/germany post the other day and mentioned that Volkswagon located their manufacturing facility in Puebla, the town with the largest native german population concentration in Mexico. I had never considered the tremendous german influence on the latin population until very recently. Damn you for that Banda music!
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Heard an interesting thing on NPR this morning about the"Bystander Effect." This is a term coined after the Kitty Genovese murder to describe why bystanders are oftentimes incapable of reacting when they see a violent or sordid crime being committed. Genovese, 28 years old, was stabbed to death on March 13, 1964 in New York before a reported 38 eyewitnesses who did nothing (a number that has been factuall disputed as excessive.)
People are piling on the Penn St. assistant coach for not going to the cops, an unfair target if you ask me, he has received multiple death threats. According to Wiki during the Bystander Effect "the probability of help has in the past been thought to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. The mere presence of other bystanders greatly decreases intervention. This happens because as the number of bystanders increases, any given bystander is less likely to interpret the incident as a problem, and less likely to assume responsibility for taking action."
According to the NPR spot, which I will try to find and link to, people say that they would always help in these situations and then don't. Researchers hired actors to create simulated violent scenes and the same people who pledged to help ended up doing nothing as well.
I was in a situation once in an airport, when I was young and strong and at the top of my martial arts game when I saw a man verbally abusing and pushing his wife around and I did nothing. I had remembered something I had heard or read about the danger of involving yourself in a domestic squabble, the possibility of being attacked by both parties. I felt bad for my lack of action for some time. Should have got a cop.
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President Obama is going into campaign phase with great vigor, woe that he doesn't approach his job with the same gleam in his eye. We thought we were electing a man with radical new ideas, we instead received an accommodator who wants to show everybody his willingness to meet his enemies halfway.
I think that the President is a very cynical man. He knows that because of Roe v. Wade I will be forced to hold my nose and vote for him. It's all about the Supreme Court, baby. But talk about a disappointment. So eager to take on the GOP, Romney may be right when he complains about Obama's early election ranting and attacks. Stop apologizing for your ineptitude and stop campaigning and try leading this country.
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Another arch conservative, Fred Barnes at the Weekly Standard, has an interesting take on the President today Obama ♥ the Big Guys. Strange when the conservatives go after Wall Street.
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Was talking at dinner the other night about strange bedfellows and role reversals. My dinner companions were talking about how the Republican Party was the original party touting birth control, during the eugenics movement popular in the early twentieth century. Now they are the religious moralists. Somewhere along the line there was a shift.
Republicans like to tell you that they were the original emancipators and they are also largely correct. Lincoln and in the sixties, segregation was the battle cry for lots of southern democrats like Russell and Wallace. Need a scorecard to figure the whole thing out sometimes.
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Rich sends along a conservative blog, Gates of Vienna that gets it right occasionally and that you might want to peruse.
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Bravo to John McCain for not selling out. He bucked his GOP candidate cronies and went after them for their stance on waterboarding. I may rarely agree with the man but he is true to his convictions.
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Ron Paul called Elizabeth Warren a socialist the other day. When queried, he said that she supports public education. Like every other semi-rational candidate, Ron. I guess they are all commies, huh?
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My mom called today. I saw her on the phone but it was sort of an inconvenient time to talk to her. In another minute I heard the electronic sound announcing her voice mail pinging on the server. I looked at the google voice translation and it transliterated, "Bob, I have to talk to you." Shit, maybe it was serious, the family? So, I called her back.
"What's up, Mom?"
"You know, you are an incredible writer."
I was shocked and highly complimented. My mother is a writer and an ex high powered New York editor. She gave me a few more accolades that I am too embarrassed to divulge. She told me that she always loved my photography but thought me a better writer. She was a little bugged when I called her a hypochondriac.
So now my mother is reading the blog. Shit.
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