Month: December 2009

Who doesn’t like Discount Jazz?

Those chickens were mighty tasty
Those chickens were mighty tasty
I was hungry, so my trusty dog and I were chasing the wild chickens that inhabit hobotown on the North side of Boulevard Park. Hot on the trail, we crashed under a chainlink fence and were surprised to find a musical combo practicing their hot licks. We sat in the dirt and enjoyed their raising a ruckus for the local hobos that tolerated their caterwauling so they could cop a squat next to their barrel fire and catch a whiff of their manly musk. We passed a jug, kicked the dirt and roasted chickens until the night became blurry and uncomfortable.

Thankfully, I had forgotten most of that night until today, when I saw an ad for a hootenanny at Luna’s tonight. Sure enough, it was those two fine smelling gentlemen grinning out from the photo, bringing back terrible memories of undercooked poultry and a two week battle with the hobo flu. The only good recollection I have of that night is the toe tapping tunes and sharp wit of the Freebadge Serenaders that had me holding my belly with laughter and indigestion.

Keith Lowell Jensen’s Wednesday Night Comedy
at
Luna’s Cafe and Juice Bar (1414 16th Street)
8pm, $5

This Second Saturday Help Bring Art to At-Risk Kids

DelgadoThis Second Saturday, enjoy your art and share it, too. Head over to Raphael Delgado Art Studio, 1018 22nd Street, for a unique pairing of art and the spirit of giving. But don’t show up empty-handed! This party is for the giver, not the Grinch. Bring along some art materials to donate to the Stanford Home for Children’s annual Crayons to Canvas art supply drive.

This drive provides materials for the nonprofit’s art therapy program helping teens from at-risk families. They are specifically in need of art supplies for youth ages 10-18.

With art provisions in tow, Continue reading “This Second Saturday Help Bring Art to At-Risk Kids”

City wins $20 million stimulus for Railyard move

Next Stop Hogwarts
Creative Commons License photo credit: Brave Heart

The City announced on Friday that it had met a December 1 deadline to get shovel-ready on the project to move and realign the tracks at Sacramento Valley Station.

I trust that even though they were “scrambling” to get it done, Kevin McCarty and the other city council members made sure to scrutinize the environmental and logistical work before proceeding with requesting taxpayer money to fund the project on behalf of Thomas Enterprises. Or is it only important to scrutinize when a private company wants to spend its own money?

Continue reading “City wins $20 million stimulus for Railyard move”

Christmas at the Farmers’ Market

FoodNov09 717When farmers start decorating their wares for the holidays, you know Christmas has arrived! At the downtown Sacramento Sunday farmers’ market, Tadlock Landscapes wins the prize for most festive. Donned merrily in bright bulbs and shiny beads, they’re selling this fully-decorated living tree for $60. That’s a bargain price for a tree you can keep around year after year.

Looking for something cheaper? They’ve got lots of sizes and prices from which to choose. If you love the scent of pine, but can’t bear to cut down a real tree, a living tree is a delightful way to celebrate the holiday. And buying it from a local farmer?—Double brownie points for you. Your name is sure to land on Santa’s “nice” list this year!

H1N1 Update: Clinics open to all

The Sacramento County Public Health site has been updated with new free H1N1 vaccine clinics. In Sacramento County, there are no longer restrictions on who can receive the shots. Follow their Twitter page for the latest.

From the Bee article:

To avoid waiting in long lines at the public clinics, call your doctor’s office to see if they have the vaccination.

Hmm. A lot can be read into that statement, huh?

Holiday-themed employee meal: Sam’s Hof Brau


cc, by flickr user Willscrlt

My work colleagues and I had our annual holiday outing on Friday afternoon (we’re past the point where I have to make cutesy jokes about how I work at “Sac Rag World Headquarters,” right?). A few weeks ago I had been able to exert my considerable influence over the group to steer the selection process away from the standard trendy and/or awkward fare and as a result, I took my work mates to Sam’s Hof Brau.

I know our fans are familiar with sac-eats’s love of the Hof, and I second everything he says. If they’d let me purchase a dedicated booth I would scrape up the cash to do so. On this particular day the hofmeisters had cooked up some mac ‘n’ cheese, so I had a roast beef sandwich with a side of mac and a green salad. The place was packed with retirees so there was quite a queue and the joint was jumping. The banquet hall in the back was even full.

Afterward, we went bowling with the retirees. The only thing not awesome about the whole thing was how depressing it is walking past the carcasses of the Tower stores (with “Thanks for the memories” still displayed on the marquee at Tower Books). Although a pretty great Goodwill store has opened in the former location of Tower video.

The Big Chill

We have some colder weather coming to our beloved city today and tomorrow. As such, temporary shelter for Sacramento’s homeless will be opened tonight.

I won’t even comment on the comments because I am all about the “Hide comments on sacbee.com” feature. It’s like you get to read about what’s going on in Sacramento and form your own opinions! Imagine.

The article did use my favorite phrase:

Homeless advocates have been scrambling to find emergency housing since funding for the Cal Expo winter shelter was closed because of budget cuts.

In other news, the CIM sold out five and half weeks early…because of these hard economic times.

It’s all about how you look at it, right?

At any rate, being homeless has to suck in pleasant conditions. Being homeless when it’s 28 degrees and snowing…

Weekend Thoughts: Holiday Road

The other night I fell asleep with the TV on. I had this odd dream about National Lampoon’s Vacation and the John Candy Wally World scene. Very strange. I woke up around 3 a.m. and turned the TV off. I got to thinking about it in the morning and discovered why I was having that dream (or least partly why) …

Man, that’s catchy.

For additional entertainment be sure to check out Rashida Jones singing the “I Love Stuffing” song. Or at hulu.com. She is great. You may remember her in the “Prop 8: The Musical” video featuring Sacramento Community College.

A random post about a dream I had to a Sacramento connection in 8.6 seconds. A new record!

Polar Express Tickets are SOLD OUT

While the Kings may be suffering from the lowest attendance in franchise history it sure was refreshing to learn that, for the third year in a row, the “Polar Express” train ride in Old Sacramento is sold out for the season.

From News10.net:

“We don’t advertise. We do promote ticket sales to our members, but it’s just a word of mouth event over the last three years,” said Mello.

Of course, people have to be people and some have scalped auctioned tickets on eBay (tickets are normally $24 for adults, $16 for children).

At any rate, this is good news for Sacramento and for our otherwise crappy economy.

(For the 2010 Polar Express train ride, members of the California State Railroad Museum will have the opportunity for advance ticket purchase before the general public. For more information on becoming a member, call the Membership Office at (916) 445-5995.)