Local Bites: Sushi Dominates the Landscape

Perhaps, long ago, in a land far away, there was a time and place where you could drive a block and not see a sushi restaurant. What a cold, barren, ludicrous place that must have been. I knew that sushi had completely taken over when I saw them popping up in Fresno. Once you’ve penetrated the heartland of California, you know you’ve arrived. So, since there are so many sushi restaurants in the are, I thought it wise to separate out a few as standouts or flops. Feel free to pitch in your own reco’s as well:

Taka’s Sushi
1730 S St, Sacramento
Food *** Ambience*** Service****

I usually hit Taka for lunch, so I don’t normally have the dinner fare there, but the fish is always wonderful and the service is on top of things. The only odd thing is that the head sushi chef resembles 49’s fullback Tom Rathman. I’m not sure if this is offputting or if it adds to the charm. Is this a factor of globalization, or are we still too narrow minded to not trust sushi from a guy named “Buck?”
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Spinning out of control

No, not the allegations of word speculation. I’m talking about the fact that the Rag has become the place to go to bitch about KOVR’s lack of Paul Joncich and Jennifer Whitney. As evidenced by the most recent comment on my post from December, I believe it has erroneously come to be believed that The Sac Rag is the Web site of KOVR. If you haven’t been following that comment thread, it’s worth a read, especially in how it slowly evolves into the sentiment expressed by the comment from this morning, which seems to be either addressing KOVR management using the “open letter” format or as actual viewer feedback aimed at the wrong comments box. For the record: CBS13.com.

Right Awn! Friday: Get your paws off me!

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This week Right Awn! Friday would like to remind you all to be careful out there. There are a lot of scams floating around. People get you coming and they get you going.

But, before I continue, here’s another shoutout to MyMotherLode.com, which is quickly becoming a Sac Rag favorite.

After all, they brought us this story…
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IKEA made EZ

With an upcoming cocktail party, I needed to get my hands on some fun napkins, candles, and other festive accoutrements. Having been a past IKEA customer, I knew they’d meet my needs, but I was sore afraid of the throngs of people.

Braving the elements, I pointed myself toward West Sac and was in and out of IKEA within an hour – heavily laden with giant bags of party wares, and not having spent too much money.

Here’s how you can have an easy IKEA experience, especially if you’re going in primarily for their Marketplace items:
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The future of law enforcement?

News10.net reports that the Manteca Police Department has for the first time used an automated telephone calling system to alert a neighborhood of a violent crime in their area.

I’m wondering if this is the future of law enforcement? How effective do you think a pre-recorded message can be in informing the public of criminal activity given our constant barrage of telephonic spam (this would totally be the name of my band if I had, like, musical talent and ambition and stuff) we experience everyday. Don’t get me wrong, I see the intent behind this system, I just worry that law enforcement is one of those areas where automation like this is not really needed.

The computer program is a reverse of the 911 emergency system. “It sends out a recorded message for a emergency situation,” said the department’s crime analyst Linda Silva. “I can pick out a certain area, and it brings up those numbers and just calls that area.”

Reverse of 911? How so? When you call 911 do you speak with an automated voice response system? I don’t think that you do, although that would be great and would really make my point.

911 IVR System: Hello, you’ve reached the 911 emergency system automated call center. Your emergency is very important to us. Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received. If your emergency involves an assault, press 1 now. If your emergency involves a…

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This year’s model

I know I’m not the only heterosexual male–even on the Sac Rag staff–who would tell you that “America’s Next Top Model” is one of the most fun reality game shows ever. But if you’re not watching, now you have another reason, that’s right, The Local Angle. Her name is Sara from Davis, as in Davis, the city down the highway where you go to get used books and organic kale. She made it through the first two cuts in the Cycle 6 premiere last night, so she’s a regular on the show until she wins or gets booted by a panel of fashion celebrity judges including Tyra Banks herself and Twiggy (seriously).

To you fans out there: Do you think Sara has a chance? No clear front-runners in this cycle (for the record, I had Bre all the way last time around, and my wife correctly predicted Nicole early on). Sara got major props from Tyra during the first judging, and you do want to get on Tyra’s good side. Unfortunately Tyra will also turn on you like a friggen top, so anything goes. I’m gonna go out on a limb right off the bat and pick Leslie.

The Missing Piece

I’m sure many of us took a look at yet another Bee piece on the rail yard development issue. It’s so damn alluring because it’s such a huge tract of land just waiting to be pillaged by developers; it’s tailor made (or Taylor made if you were to be punny) to be an extension of both downtown and Cal Expo (did I hear monorail extension?); and it taps into all the things that make us Californians, our history (the railroad), our mentality (get rich quick scheme for everyone involved) and our morality (manifest destiny).

Let’s stop for one moment though to think about what this site actually needs. Do we need more high-rise housing, more entertainment, more Paragary’s and Mikuni’s establishments, more places at which to buy things? With housing developments already folding in downtown, what makes developers think that people actually want to live in overpriced downtown apartments? We’re Californians, we like space. The only people that want to live together, drink together, party together, sleep together and cheer together, all in the same neighborhood are college students. Yes, that’s right, college students.
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Sacramento News and Rag-view?

Ever since I’ve been involved in this endeavor to create a local alternative media it’s a struggle to keep up with the competitors. Here, for example, is a little bit in the News & Review that I missed last Thursday:

Arts Feature
Our baloney has a first name
Four snarky Academy Awards articles and one serious one

Come on! That’s our word. Some fun articles though, if a little last-minute seeming.