Eastward Ho! (Eastward Hobble?)

The saga of a planned two-day move, in two cars, with two cats, from L.A. to Denver.

Day one (Sunday). The cars are loaded and ready to go by 1 PM. But one of the cats is missing. Tiger is tranqued and in her cage, but Kid took one look at his cage and went off for parts unknown. So we make the rounds - the yard, up and down the street - calling kitty-kitty, and after six hours Kid emerges from under the house, looking around for food.

He gets a tranquilizer instead, and we finally pull out at 7 PM, I driving the Honda, Robin following behind in the Saturn. We make it 200 miles to Baker, where the World's Largest Thermometer reads 98 degrees (at 10 PM), and have a meal at the Mad Greek Cafe. Meanwhile, Tiger's dope has worn off, and we decide to stay there in the town hotel - Bun Boy, a dive next door to Bob's Big Boy.

At the Bun Boy, there are three large barn owls sitting on a billboard above our room, screeching. Inside, a roach scuttles behind the bed, and a sign on the door warns of snakes. It's stifling. The window air conditioner does little more than blow hot air. Thank God for Ambien.

Day Two (Monday). Hoping to make up for lost time, we still have a chance to make Denver by late evening. But on a desolate stretch of I-15 seven miles north of Jean, Nevada, the Saturn's left front tire quite literally explodes, blowing away the wheel well and front side panel, littering the road with debris as Robin struggles to maintain control. Fortunately, no one was on the right, and she managed to steer the car over to the shoulder. Whew! Neither she nor the cats are hurt, but it's sobering to consider how it could easily have turned out worse. As it is, she's stuck on the shoulder in 109 degree heat with two cats in the car, and the blow-out has also killed the air-conditioning.

She reaches me by cell phone, and it takes me a good twenty mintues to loop back to join her (there aren't many exits out there). We transfer the cat carriers into the air-conditioned Honda, and spend the next hour waiting for a AAA tow-truck to arrive. He tows us (for $185) to Dave's Body Shop in Las Vegas. Dave thinks the body work will come to $1200-1500, not counting the tire and whatever happened to the air conditioning. We'll get an estimate Tuesday or Wednesday, and with any luck, the work will be done by Friday or next Monday. Interestingly the tires are relatively new - the three others look just as good as the one that blew.

The problem, of course, is that I'm due at work in Denver on Tuesday (tomorrow!), and we've got all our stuff - enough to last us through a three-to-four month move - packed into the two cars. So I rent a Jeep from Enterprise, and (still in 109 degree heat) we transfer all the cargo from the heavily-stuffed Saturn into the Jeep. Enterprise insists that we have to drive the Jeep back to Las Vegas when we return to pick up the repaired Saturn. By this time it's six pm, and all that time in the withering heat has us (and the poor cats) completely frazzled. I regard heart palpitatons as a time to ease off a bit - so decide to get a good night's rest here in Vegas, ending up at the Wild West Hotel (Days Inn) on Tropicana Blvd.

Tomorrow is another day, and we'll take it as it comes.

Dead Reckoning (1947)

Disappointing. Humphrey Bogart in a piece of heavy-handed film noir: over-complicated, over-serious, and over-the-top, with cringe-worthy howlers. Not even Bogie can save this one. But Marvin Miller (Michael C. Anthony in TV's "The Millionaire" series, and voice of Robby the Robot in "Forbidden Planet") makes a good sadistic villain.

In a Lonely Place (1950)

Fine 1950 film noir with Gloria Grahame falling for Bogart the screenwriter with a dark side, set in a wonderful Hollywood courtyard apartment complex. Directed by Grahame's true-life husband Nicholas Ray, who caught her in bet with Ray's teenage son (Graham's stepson) during the filming of the movie. Graham later married the boy.

January 29, 2010

Oracle completed the takeover of Sun. I have mixed feelings, because some of my friends(Carol Thom, Michael Lucero, Shrini in QA) survived this round of layoffs. But their future looks tenuous, at best, and six months down the roead... who knows??

Wonderful to be alive in a new year. Robin and I are marveling that for all the negatives - being unemployed- we've both experienced a resurgence in creative activity, and that's worth more than "job satisfaction" any day of the week!

Darryl's band on stage at The Airliner

Darryl had two of his bands playing tonight: Sonic Wave Society (9-10 PM), and Melic Sub Rosa (10-11 PM), at the The Airliner, on North Broadway in Lincoln Heights.

Darryl is a superb musician, arranger, and producer, but his music is "challenging" to his parents and their cohorts. We love to see him perform - the live performance, with all the body language, brings the music to life - but the be-bop stuff of late Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, fused with rock, is difficult for this baby-boomer to wrap his head around. But intellectually, if not emotionally, I "get it", and am as proud of Darryl as can be, sensing that his Redline Park Lable has a chance to take off big time!

Finished reading The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed. It was repetitive and overly speculative, but very good over all, well worth reading. The Jefferson-Hemings saga is a fascinating story, this is well researched and documented.

Deming, NM to Fort Stockton, TX

Morning in Deming, New Mexico. Enjoyed an hour around the pool, reading, then checked out and continued east on Interstate 10.

Eherenberg, AZ to Deming, NM

Morning in Ehrenberg, Arizona, breakfast across the parking lot at The Cookery, a coffee-shop. It was mediocre food in a chain-restaurant setting, and we vowed not to do it again during the trip.

continuing east on Interstate 10, we stopped for gas at a TA Travel Center in Eloy, and again at a rest stop (exit 318) in Cochise County, at the southeast corner of the state. We crossed into New Mexico just before 6 PM, crossed the Continental Divide by 7:30, and stopped for the night in the Luna County town of Deming, at the Grand Motor Inn. Ate dinner at a local steak and ribs joint.

Leaving on a 4-Week Grand Road Trip

Had the Hybrid serviced in the morning. R & I finished packing and taking care of last minute business, and were able to pull out on our trip by 4 PM. I t was a bad time of day to leave, but we didn't hit traffic on the 118 or 210 until we hit Pasadena. From there it was slow going through to the 57 in San Dimas, and out the 10 through Pomona and Claremont. Traffic was behind us by the time we reached the wind mills in the Coachella Valley, at Sunset. We stopped in Indio for gas, and dinner at a fairly good mom and pop greasy spoon frequented by locals.

Back on the road, we listened to the Angel game (Jered Weaver pitching his first complete game!) and XM radio music of the 50s on our way east to Arizona. We crossed the Colorado River near midnight, and stopped to spend the first night of our journey at the Best Western Desert Oasis in Ehrenberg, Arizona. It occurred to us that we'd stayed at this same motel once before, on a trip to Sedona (12/26/2000). Not much to say about it - it's one of those two-story jobs with interior halls and elevators, but it's a perfect place for a quick overnight stop.

We're on our way!

Site of the Flying Saucer on Miracle Mile

Site of the Flying Saucer on Miracle Mile
Originally uploaded by Snap Man

I was in the old neighborhood on Sunday, and stopped to take a photo of the old Flying Saucer site, on the northeast corner of Wilshire and Cochran.

From the 50s into at least the 80s, the Flying Saucer restaurant was an institution on the Miracle Mile, at the northeast corner of Wilshire and Cochran - serving barbecue spare ribs, chicken, and burgers at reasonable prices. The spare ribs, with cole slaw and fries, were the preferred local takeout for my family when I was growing up, two blocks away - and as Andrea Graham (a fellow devotee) has noted, the place never changed, never remodeled. That cole slaw - tangy, no mayo - was the best I've ever had.

It was torn down in the 1990s, replaced by a Staples office supply store, which paid homage to the original site by maintaining the Flying Saucer motif (pictured here).

Photo August 5, 2007 (by klk).

My 60th Birthday party

My 60th Birthday party
Originally uploaded by Snap Man

I knew only that David and Kenlyn were coming over - but then the food and drinks started rolling out, and came a knock on the door: Darryl, Angela, and Kaitlin, with Liz, Gary, and Jeanne, saying "Surprise!" Now I knew what Darryl meant the other day when he said he and Angela had "plans" for the weekend! Robin proceeded to lay out a spread of chips, veggies, dips, clams, mussels, sardines, and fruit. Then grilled portobello mushrooms and salmon off the grill. Finally, cake, ice cream, and watermelon. Thank you sweetheart! I had a GREAT time!

The President's Oath

Andrew Sullivan has it right:

It needs to be stated again and again that the fundamental job of the president is not to protect the people of America, but to protect their constitution. This president has gotten things exactly the wrong way round. In a terror war, we have to acclimatize ourselves to the fact that many Americans may have to die as a consequence of a collective decision not to become a police state or a presidential protectorate. A free country that remains free in the face of terror will necessarily have many casualties. A police state would have fewer casualties. Given a choice between a loss of life and retaining constitutional liberties, what would you pick? And what would the first Americans have picked?

We've slid a long way, haven't we?

L. A. Times to put ads on the front page

More evidence of the sad decline of a once-excellent paper.

More bad news about our food supply

In The Dark Side of Soy, Mary Vance offers words of caution:

Soy is indigenous to Eastern Asia, where it was once considered toxic and used only as a cover crop. It was eventually fermented for better digestibility; it had long been known that soy caused extreme digestive distress if consumed raw or undercooked. Fermenting soy deactivates these harmful constituents and creates health-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria our bodies need to maintain digestive and overall wellness.

...Asian populations may have had success with soy because they are consuming primarily the fermented forms.

Soy is everywhere in our food supply, as the star in cereals and health-promoting foods or hidden discreetly in processed foods...

Agri-giant Monsanto obtained FDA approval to market GM soy in 1996, and by 2004, a staggering 85 percent of the US crop was genetically modified...

Soy's naturally occurring phytates block absorption of essential minerals such as zinc. This is most worrisome for vegans and vegetarians consuming soy as their main source of protein, and for women in menopause who may be further upping their soy intake through supplements. The highest risk population is infants...

Idyllwild

It seems like it hasn't changed since the last time I was here, in 1990 - still quaint, arty, and quiet - no chain stores or restaurants allowed. We stayed two nights in a one-bedroom "rustic cabin" that had a stone fireplace, kitchen, and wireless internet connection(!).

Picnic dinner at Barnsdale Park

We packed a picnic and set out for one of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Screenings -but the cemetery was so jammed that we had our picnic at Barnsdale Park instead, and then went to see "Sicko" at the Arclight. Robin, James, and Cynthia, June 30, 2007

April in the West Indies

A Caribbean cruise, and a few days in San Juan, Puerto Rico, celebrating Robin's and my 15th anniversary. I took a few pictures, of course.

Looking for someone to love

Peter Rashkin writes

I'm getting excited about politics, and that's rare for me. The thing is, my congresswoman died, and there's a special election June 26 to replace her in this totally safe Democratic district. Some liberal SoCal Dem is going to congress, where she'll probably stay for the next 20 years. So for the first and perhaps only time, I get to have some input into who will represent me in Congress.

Right now there are two leading Democratic candidates, and I just met one and talked to her briefly. I told her I wanted to be involved and I was preparing some questions to help me decide who to support. She took my card and said she would get in touch with me. I will try to contact other leading candidates as well.

I've started a blog about this at 37th Congressional District - 2007 Election. I've posted my list of questions there, but I'm still working on them and would appreciate any input on them at this time.

You'll notice that there's nothing about Iraq, abortion, gay rights, healthcare or labor rights. These are all moderately liberal democrats or they couldn't be viable candidates here. I assume they will all basically agree on these core issues. (Maybe I should include a few questions on these issues to be sure I'm right.) I could try to tease out nuances, but I'm looking for issues I care about where there may be some differences. For example, if I could send someone to congress who could lead in getting us out of the drug war quagmire, that would be the greatest thing.

If you do or don't think these are good questions, I would be very glad to hear about it now, and to hear your suggestions. I basically agree with Susan Sontag, that if you study history you can't take politics seriously, but if I ever can, this is it!

I agree with Peter: this is an interesting opportunity.

Celebrating Darryl’s birthday

Unbelievably, Darryl is 38! A good caliber year.

James & I joined Darryl, Angela, Kaitlin, and Cynthia at D & A’s place in Sherman Oaks – and walked from there to the Clay Oven, an Indian restaurant on Ventura Blvd., for dinner. Good food, good conversation, and good behavior on Kaitlin’s part (considering that she’s just eighteen months old).

Kaitlin’s such a cutie! She's on the verge of talking: babbling, nodding, and gesturing, as if she knew what we were talking about.

Meanwhile, Robin's recovering from a back spasm that has her taking it easy until Monday...