Month: September 2009

Arden Fair officials defend hoodie banning


© Tribune Interactive, Inc

Fox 40 follows up on its report last week about the new Arden Mall dress code.

Arden Mall officials came out with surveillance video on Monday, that shows an alleged robber wearing a hood – the reason they’re banning hoods from being worn inside the mall, because they they said it has everything to do with protecting their customers.

Apparently they have a robber on camera but his identity is completely hidden because his face is covered. Which raises a question: is a camera feed the only means of security in use at the mall? Don’t they have a report of a robbery shortly after the robber has fled the store? Wouldn’t he be able to be described as “the guy running down the mall right now wearing a hoodie?” Are they Tivo’ing the security tapes and watching them on the weekend when there’s no good TV on?

Again, I do sympathize with law enforcement trying to stay ahead of the bad guys. I also sympathize with mall employees who must be afraid of this kind of thing happening. But that’s no excuse to go La Fours-crazy at Arden Fair.

New favorite blog: Perfecto Taco de Sacto

taco taco taco
Creative Commons License credit: katypang

I just discovered my new favorite blog via Urbanspoon: Perfecto Taco de Sacto…

We’re just two hungry kids on the lookout for Sacramento’s best taco. Soft or crunchy, flour or corn, pollo, asada or carnitas: if they’re tacos we’ll try ’em.

The hungry kids in question, Pablo and Tara, have hit up dozens of restaurants in the area. While I’m more of a burrito man myself, their chercher d’taco is a quest I can get behind.

Hey, that’s not funny

When our beloved Peet’s at Lyon Village took a car through the window earlier this year we took our medicine. Accidents happen, right? However, anyone that has been to that location and has seen where the car entered the store may wonder HOW exactly it happened, but I digress. It’s been repaired, no one was injured. Press on.

Well, Sacramento, it’s time to officially send out a “WTF!” now that our favorite burro spot, La Fiesta Taqueria, has taken one on the chin.

Surveillance video from inside the business shows two customers exiting the building through the front door less than five seconds before the car slammed through it from the opposite direction. The car ended up completely inside the building, coming to rest after hitting the counter near the cash register …
The La Fiesta Taqueria boarded up the new hole in the building Sunday evening and will remain closed for about 10 days.

People suck.

Crooks don’t rob people, hoodies do

No women's health diagrams
Creative Commons License photo credit: Robyn Gallagher

Almost nothing is not funny about this Fox 40 story about Arden Fair Mall’s new dress code, which bans baggy pants and hooded sweatshirts.

“That’s retarded,” one shopper told FOX40’s Rowena Shaddox. “I should be able to wear anything I want. I’m a person.”

I’d only really quibble with part of that statement. Though I do agree that the policy has a cognitive disability — it is divorced from reality in a major way. Arden Fair is sticking to their hoodies on this one, though…

Continue reading “Crooks don’t rob people, hoodies do”

Congrats local brewers!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL BEER!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL BEER!
The Great American Beer Festival was this weekend in Denver, CO. Beer lovers from around the world converge annually as this event is beer heaven, with 2100 beers from 457 breweries across America served over three days. The only people happier than the attendees are the brewers who get to pow-wow with their brethren and sistren (sistern?) brewers and, hopefully, bring hope some accolades.

This year, Sacramento has two winning breweries at GABF. Rubicon Brewing brought home the Silver Medal for their multi-award winning Winter Wheatwine in the Strong Beer category. Sacramento Brewing Company won the Bronze for their Collaborative Evil in the Belgian and French Style category. This is currently on tap sold out but coming back in the future at SacBrew and is delicious.
Continue reading “Congrats local brewers!”

Take that Columbus!

Who doesn’t love a list? What about a list pertaining to Sacramento? Not you? Great, because here’s one that should have you scratching your head (especially if you’ve been to some of the cities that took us down. Riverside?).

Sacramento has the 32nd-largest economy in the nation, and the sixth-best in California, according to a new federal report … GMP measures the total output of goods and services within a given area in a given year.

Not bad for a “middle of the road community“, right?

Sacramento’s higher-than-average cost of living and modern-day record jobless rate, coupled with lower earning potential after graduation hurt the capital region on the top 20 list, according to the American Institute for Economic Research. But Sacramento fared much better than Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City and Las Vegas, which suffers from a dismal number of college graduates and staggering low research funding.

Columbus you say? Owned. Seriously though, is there a connection to be made here?

SF Mime Troupe in town this weekend

Michael Gene Sullivan performs a song from Too Big to Fail
Michael Gene Sullivan performs a song from Too Big to Fail
The fantastically awesome San Francisco Mime Troupe will have their annual free Sacramento area performances this weekend. For those who are unfamiliar, these are not the creepy non-speaking Marcel Marceau-type mimes with the white painted faces, trapped in a box, walking against the wind, pulling the invisible rope… you know, the ones you want to whack with an olive loaf. No, these are revolutionary mimes that perform physical comedy and feats of agility, talk and sing, and educate their audiences about complicated political realities that affect us all.

This year, which is the 50th anniversary of the SFMT, they have written a wacky comedy about the economic crisis. Titled Too Big To Fail, the show concerns a goat herder and his struggles to build his small business enough to support his family, make his village proud and keep a home for his favorite goat named Bamusa. As he becomes a goat kingpin, he encounters bankers, lenders, mortgage brokers, Wall Street tycoons and ponzi-scheming scalawags. The story is presented in the style of the West African Griots, who have an famed oral storytelling tradition and are known for their talented traveling bards.
Continue reading “SF Mime Troupe in town this weekend”

Thrill the World!

Thrill the World with your zombie bad self!
Thrill the World with your zombie bad self!

Since 2006, a strange worldwide phenomenon has been growing. Once a year, people around the world perform the Thriller dance to benefit charities for kids and to break the World Record for largest simultaneous dance. Some dress like zombies, others might actually be zombies. Last year, more than 4000 dancers in 72 cities in 10 countries broke their own record and are shooting for even more this year. The 2009 Thrill the World has additional poignancy because of MJ’s passing earlier this year and has turned into a “tribute” to MJ’s music and his love of children.

So, Sacramento, are you ready to Thrill the World? Rehearsals are already happening every Monday night, 7:30 PM at the Southside Park Bandshell. There is a local website set up by Event Manager Donna Fultineer, who has designated the Meadowview Family Resource Center as the local charity. Organizers emphasize that the only requirement is a soul for getting down and that people of all ages and physical ability participate. To join in on the fun, check out the website or simply show up on Monday! If you want a head start, there is a tutorial video to help you out.

All About Walken

The Cast of All About Walken
The Cast of All About Walken
The longest running comedy show in LA is coming to Sacramento for only one night. All About Walken, which plays at the Guild Theater this Saturday, features seven Christopher Walken impersonators, including St. Francis alumnus Amy Kelly. The show is not traditional theater, but an interactive experience that tells the life story of Walken through audience participation, crazy hair, music, improvisation, multimedia and, of course, dancing. Tickets are $20 at www.brownpapertickets.com, call (888) 227-2285 for info.

All About Walken: Conceived and directed by Patrick O’Sullivan. Starring O’Sullivan, Kelly, Kyle Cadman, Kenzo Lee, Dionysio Basco, Joe Dallo, & Aryiel Hartman.

This just in in in: Chk Chk Chk Friday at Townhouse

!!!
Creative Commons License photo credit: benjaminlansky

I have just learned via mt. st. mtn. that Sacto expatriates Chk Chk Chk will be playing at Beatnik Studios The Townhouse this Friday at 9:30 9:00 P.M., as part of a North American tour that started on the East Coast. They will be playing in the Bay Area, LA and Arizona and of course the Austin City Limits festival next weekend.

The lineup for Friday’s show also contains Sacramento’s Mayyors, whom I have not heard, but they got a pretty decent writeup by the Austin Chronicle when they played SXSW earlier this year. Sounds like the place to be Friday night if you like art pop and/or art punk and are currently not experiencing any hearing loss.

UPDATED INFO:
!!! (Chk, Chk, Chk), MAYYORS
The Townhouse: 1517 21st Street
9:00 PM, $5, 21+