Author: CoolDMZ

"X-ray vision to see in between / Where's my kimono and my time machine?"

To the guy in the rust-colored Humvee

When I showed you one of my fingers, it was because you sped around me when you should have seen that I needed to get over because a bus had stopped in front of me. When you showed me one of your own fingers, I laughed, because clearly you wouldn’t have cared if I was stopping to let Ghandi cross the street. I don’t think anyone but you and I saw you then also spit on my car, but I don’t think anyone needed to see you actually do that to know that you were capable of it. I’ll go you one further: a meer glance at your car and people know you’re an a-hole. Nice one, tough guy.

Spider-Man backpacks: the new Swatch?

spidermanbackpack.jpg

This morning when I got on my bus (50E, the fastest ride from the Southside to downtown) I saw three young men–about 12 or 13– all with Spider-Man backpacks like the one shown at right. I thought it was sort of cute, like maybe they were way into Spidey when the blockbuster movie came out and they aren’t ready to grow up yet, or mom wouldn’t shell out for a replacement. But it was three of them. And then waiting for my return bus after work, I saw an older high school gal, perhaps even 18, sporting Spidey on her back. What is the deal? Anybody hip to the youth of Sacramento and their customs? Should we be worried? Was it 2 separate sightings with no connection and no implication?

Elk Grove co-op floundering

According to Bob Shallit, the new Natural Foods Co-op in Elk Grove is not faring well.

…[T]he only signage that people can see from the parking lot – the words “food, inspiration and community” – is confusing.

“Some people think we’re a church,” says GM Paul Cultrera.

But the folks in charge are confident that “things will improve as a result of signage changes, increased advertising and visits by co-op staffers (some dressed as giant veggies) to schools, churches and neighborhood associations.” Not sure how that’s gonna go over with those “co-op is a cult” people, but good luck, hippies.

Dessert contrarianism

All this birthday well-wishing today has given me the confidence to post something I had wanted to hold back on–it’s too controversial, too inflammatory, simply too far. But I must.

Earlier this month, when the folks at my office got a birthday cake for me (and two of my co-workers who also have Jan birthdaze), I was given the choice of cake flavor. I chose lemon cake, since I figured most people had probably eaten their annual allotment of chocolate over the holidays and would appreciate a lighter cake. My choice was almost universally lauded as very wise. When the cake was delivered, the stakes were upped even more–lemon with buttercream frosting from no less lofty an establishment as Rick’s Dessert Diner. Well friends, things turned sour (so to speak) just as the cake was cut–two layers, and skimpy ones at that. And then the frosting-to-cake ratio was way off, like more than 1-to-1. To top it off, the frosting tasted like salted butter had been used rather than unsalted (as I assume you’d want to do).

I’m not saying Rick’s is not the best place in town to get dessert, I’m just saying that in this particular instance, the lemon cupcakes my wife and daughter made me today from a storebought mix were far better than Rick’s lemon cake.

(Another of CoolDMZ’s helpful research findings: Davis Wiki.)

Fusion is in at Isabella’s

Yes, CoolDMZ eats the food. And occasionally it is prepared by someone other than himself or his wife. Isabella’s Friday night was one such occasion. This is the joint in the spot formerly occupied by I believe an American Legion bar and across from the place that I dare not name again because the punks have schooled me good.

Our meal took place nice and early (toddler time) so we had the place to ourselves–a great opportunity to get a feel for the space. Yeah, that’s what we did. The fact that Isabella’s is raised off street level a few feet and is just one giant room makes for a great space. Columns, tall booths, perfect lighting and tasteful decor–it’s a great space. This is why I don’t review restaurants. The food? Pretty good–a fusion of Mexican, Spanish and Italian with some other stuff thrown in there (I’m not big on fusion). I had Chicken Mole, which has chocolate in it, so it’s like dinner and dessert at once.
Continue reading “Fusion is in at Isabella’s”

How bout them Kings?

My recent addition of Kenny Thomas from the waiver wire to my fantasy hoops squad ended up being a major coup. (I have McGrady, Yao, and Corey Maggette, so things are not looking good right now.) 22 and 15 over Matrix? Nice. Triple double last night? Triple nice.