YEEEEHAAAWWWWW!!!

Hide your women, horses and cattle.  The Cattlemen are a-comin’, partners!

SACRAMENTO — The California Cattlemen’s Association and California CattleWomen’s Association will be holding their 90th Annual Convention at the DoubleTree Hotel and Convention Center in Sacramento from Nov. 15 — 17.  

This year’s convention features two major fundraising functions — a kickoff dinner and auction for the Livestock Memorial Research Fund, and Protecting Our State’s Stewards, Economy and Environment committees. The fundraisers will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

In addition, the Allied Industries group will be hosting a wine and cheese social prior to the convention kickoff and will follow up with their bingo night on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Proceeds from the function will go towards the Allied Industries Scholarship Program, which last year paid out over $11,000 to California college students. 

Clean-up and deodorizing will continue through the weekend.  If you get cornered by one of these varmints, here’s a primer on Cattleman small talk.  Ask them about the foreign trade of beef, or if California should allow the slaughter of horses for food.  You’ll be in for quite a treat.

 

Video game lovers can’t wait

News10.net reports that the Sacramento Best Buy store has asked folks to leave who are camping out hoping to get their hands on the new Sony Playstation which goes on sale Friday (I know, today is only Wednesday, crazy, huh?).

The property owners forced the campers to move out. But all is not lost. Best Buy did take the names of everyone in line and gave them a number so when the PS3 goes on sale Friday they won’t lose their spot.

While this may sound like a great idea at first, I can’t help but wonder if this will only create a mad rush to “pre” camp out the next time some fancy electronic gizmo is released with the hope of grabbing a number so they can jump to the front of the line once the product is available. However, this apparently is one fancy gadget:

“It’s pretty much like the ultimate game machine — 60 gigabyte hard drive. And blue-ray players so it plays all your high definition movies. And then all your games are at the highest resolution…”

It’s pretty much like? Gee, why didn’t you say something earlier, let’s get out there then.

The Local “Scene” & Weekly Improv at the Capitol Garage

I just got a little survey from sacbee.com asking me what changes I’d like to see in sacticket.com, the online version of the Bee’s “Scene” section. In thinking about it, I realized that what I’d really like to see is more coverage of local bands, comedians, theaters, artists, writers and performers and less focus on movies, TV and national celebrities which, let’s face it, have become the territory of bloggers, national news outlets and omnipresent marketing campaigns. Honestly, when was the last time you looked to the Bee to plan your movie viewing strategy? And Rick Kushman’s writing on TV? That guy should have a national column.
That being said, here’s a quick note on a new series of improv comedy shows that just started at the Capitol Garage. Every Wednesday, from 9-11, the Sacramento Comedy Spot is hosting an improv show at the Capitol Garage at 15th and K. Cover is $5, but the laughs are free.

Spending RT’s money is a “Tall Order”

I’m not really sure why they called it that, but the Metropolitan Transportation Plan is holding “Tall Order: Moving the Region Forward,” a one-night, eight-venue simulcast town hall to hear from the public on how MTP might invest $36 billion over the next few decades. The event is being held tomorrow night in locations from Freeborn Hall to the El Dorado Office of Education and offers free food. It looks like you have to register to attend. Might I suggest that free food on the bus be priority #1?

Sully don’t surf

In my house, it’s notable when Sacramento is mentioned on TV or in a movie, even in passing. When it happens during one of my favorite TV shows it’s practically cause for a gala event at Spataro. On last night’s “Veronica Mars” our gal is on the case of the missing boyfriend: Sully, from Sacramento. Don’t think we didn’t cross our fingers and hope V, Wallace and the gang had to make a field trip to pick up some clues from the downtown plaza or the Crocker!

Are there any other kind?

Snark is not always fun and games. Sometimes the camera must be turned on the less savory parts of life. For example, the Bee’s coverage of the man currently being sought for several assaults on women contains a sidebar about other serial offenders that includes their media nicknames, like Anthony Ray Starks, nicknamed “Cowardly.” You know, unlike the courageous men who typically commit this particular crime.

Guess the city! (And it’s not Sacramento)

From a piece in the NY Times:

The owners […] had warned that the team would leave unless the city provided a new arena.

The vote delighted Citizens for More Important Things, a group that, with the help of a statewide health care union, spent $60,000 to sponsor the initiative. Other cities “may be so desperate to lure tourists there that they have to overpay for an N.B.A. team,” said Chris Van Dyk, a founder of the group. “[We don’t] have to lure anybody.”

Mr. Van Dyk’s priorities are schools, transportation projects and health care, and he openly disdains wealthy people who buy professional teams, pay huge salaries to players and then demand handouts. Owners who threaten to take their teams elsewhere, Mr. Van Dyk said, are no better than “the neighborhood crack cocaine dealer.”

Guesses? The answer is here. (Need a log-in?)

Transit Tales Redux

The Sacramento News and Review is running a cover story this week about “life that exists every day on Sacramento’s buses and trains”.  Sound familiar?  It should if you’re a frequent visitor to this here web log.  Sac Rag authors/commenters CoolDMZ and HeyMeg have been posting and commenting about their daily observations on the RT for quite some time.  While SNR did a fine job with their piece, it just doesn’t compare to HeyMeg’s recounting of the discussion between “Eye Patch” and “No Teeth”.

Family style eats at Giusti’s Place

Giusti's Place
Casual family dining
at Giusti’s Place

My sister was married last weekend in the romantic Sacramento river delta. As part of the weekend festivities a big group of us headed over to Giusti’s Place, a family-run restaurant on the river in Walnut Grove that has been serving casual family-style Italian since 1910, making it the oldest bar and restaurant on the delta. Giusti’s is located in a rickety, cobbled together building propped up on a riverbank, and the atmosphere inside is of your typical bar and grill. The bar’s notable feature is that the ceiling is covered with hats (and apparently the inside is covered with cool dudes).

Continue reading “Family style eats at Giusti’s Place”