Month: January 2007

“The Sports Show” cringes out of the gate

Gary Gelfand - The Sports Show
Gary Gelfand, The Sports Show
cbs13.com

The only redeeming feature of “The Sports Show,” CBS13’s new half-hour sports show featuring Arran Andersen and Gary Gelfand, is that it occasionally features sports footage. While I originally thought this show had premiered in September (based on reporting of its original launch date on 21Q), I managed to completely by chance catch the premiere broadcast on Friday night. (Hat tip to new reader anaughtymouse)

Let me start with the inexcusable logo, which is either a blatant ripoff of The Man Show’s logo, or a cheap reference to that show’s logo (see what I’m talking about in the lower right corner of the screenshot). Either way, seriously, that’s all you’ve got?

Continue reading ““The Sports Show” cringes out of the gate”

Railyard cleanup on the fast track, or pile that asbestos in the closet

According to the Bee today, Thomas Enterprises, Inc., new owner and developer of the railyard, are going to be moving as fast as possible to clean up the toxic areas of that site.

The faster the cleanup, the sooner Thomas will get city approval for development. The sooner the company sells parcels to developers, the faster it can pay off loans and turn a profit.

My mom always loved this approach to cleaning my room. Why on earth would you attempt to portray your handling of a gigantic environmental mess as proceeding as fast as humanly possible? It’s one thing if there are just a few big-box stores going in there, but there are going to be thousands of homes on that site.

Now we’re cooking

The latest rounds of buyouts and departures at the Best Newspaper on Q Street has been all over the news, with R.E. Graswich milking his swan song for all it’s worth on every media outlet that’ll let him talk about his departure.

But the fact is The Bee has been a great place to be from for a long, long time, with a list of folks who’ve gone on to win journalism Pulitzers (including medical reporter Diana Sugg at the Baltimore Sun, photographers Caroline Cole and Michael Williamson, at the L.A. Times and Washington Post, respectively) National Book Award writer Pete Dexter, Letters and Drama Pulitzer winner and Friend of Springsteen Dale Maharidge, Tour de France expert James Raia and many, many more.

On any list of notable Bee alums would have to be Elaine Corn, former Bee food editor, top-selling cookbook writer, teacher and current Capital Public Radio (and NPR) food reporter. Elaine is married to top chef David SooHoo, and together they have run restaurants like the late and still much missed Bamboo in Midtown. They’ve a 17-year-old son who hardly knows what fast food is, but can certainly talk knowledgeably on any gourmet subject. Poor kid. Continue reading “Now we’re cooking”

Spammer infringing The Sac Rag’s copyright?

Free traffic counter is breaking our copyrightAnybody know a good copyright lawyer out there? I can’t tell but I think The Sac Rag’s copyright is being infringed by “ralph myree,” registered owner of “Free Traffic Counter” which as pictured is reprinting an article by sac-eats without attributing it to our site. However, the link for “Original post” does point to our post. Is there a name for this type of site? I assume it is just built to generate Adsense revenue. Maybe I’ll sue Google too, for allowing its service to be used in such a manner!

Sacramento’s sexy wildlife

There’s not much I can say to introduce this, save that it was an email to us Sacramento Zoo members and I thought it would make a great start to the week for all of us:

Greetings Zoo Members!

Looking for something to do on Valentine’s Day? Check out SWING WITH
YOUR SWEETIE AT THE ZOO on Wednesday, February 14th from 6 pm to 9 pm.

Treat your sweetheart to a unique evening of fun, fur and feathers as we
transform the Kampala Lounge into the rockin’ swing era of the 40’s!
Join us a Coconut Mary’s for a swanky reception and buffet dinner. Then
travel to the Jungle Room where Zoo Keepers give up the little known
secrets of some very sexy, saucy wildlife!

This event is adult in theme; only 21 years of age and over will be
allowed to attend.
Single tickets are $40 and couples tickets are $70 for Zoo Members.
Contact the Membership Office at (916)808-5888 or use the link below to
RSVP, for more information and for a full menu:

Get your huntin’ gear here

Get wet! SplashDogs at Cal ExpoAs one of a really small subset of political animal — an urban liberal with guns, an account at Cabela’s and a freezer full of ducks — I find myself both delighted and appalled by the International Sportsmen’s Expo, which wraps up today at CalExpo.

Delighted because I love my huntin’ retrievers, and I love being outdoors with my huntin’ retrievers. And I love looking at gear for huntin’ retrievers. The ISE is a great place to do that, better than the biggest Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop combined. For me it’s all about the dogs, the celebration of the bond between a working dog and handler, and a retriever doing what he was bred to do, with enthusiasm and style. I have come to accept rather grudgingly that what my dogs do involves the occasional demise of some very pretty waterfowl. Sacramento, by the way, is smack dab in the middle of some of the best waterfowl huntin’ areas in the nation.

Continue reading “Get your huntin’ gear here”

The 411 on the CRV

For those of you not up on your recycling news, as of January 01, 2007 the California Refund Value (CRV) paid to consumers when they recycle containers at recycling centers is 5¢ for each beverage container less than 24 ounces and 10¢ for each container 24 ounces or greater.

Folks looking for a place to recycle their goods can search here. From the FAQ page:

Customers will continue to pay the current 4¢ for beverage containers under 24 oz. and 8¢ for containers 24 oz. and greater through June 30, 2007. Beginning July 1, 2007, if an overall recycling rate of 75% has not been achieved for calendar year 2006, consumers will pay 5¢ for beverage containers under 24 oz. and 10¢ for containers 24 oz. and greater that they purchase in California.

Hear that, Sacramento? There’s money to be made out there. Sure, you could enter a radio contest and sue when things don’t go your way or mingle online with registered sex offenders, but those of you with that “can do” spirit know what I’m talking about. Don’t let the homeless and less fortunate have all the fun, get out there and collect those bottles and cans. They won’t recycle themselves you know! Or wait, maybe they will…

Continue reading “The 411 on the CRV”

MySpace & personal responsibility

While we are on the topic, I wanted to mention this story about a lawsuit that has been filed against News Corp. (the owners of the popular social networking site MySpace.)

Four families have sued News Corp. and its MySpace social-networking site after their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met on the site, lawyers for the families said Thursday.

I know, shocking right? Nevertheless, the debate rolls on whether society should hold organizations like MySpace or 107.9 The End accountable for incidents like this. The site provides the forum for chaos and mayhem, but people themselves actually provide the chaos and the mayhem, right?

“In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users,” said Jason A. Itkin, an Arnold & Itkin lawyer.

Ah, interesting. But, shouldn’t the underage girls know better than to visit the site and chat it up with older dudes? I mean, no one puts a gun to these girl’s heads (if you read the story you’ll find that comes later) and forces them to log on.

Continue reading “MySpace & personal responsibility”