Vote for Pete

Some of you may have heard that former congressman Pete McCloskey, 78, is coming out of retirement to challenge Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, for Republican nomination for the congressional seat. While it’s cool that this dude is fired up enough at 78 years old to get back in the ring to right some wrongs, what I found especially compelling about this story is the way he’s going about it. If anyone saw this piece on the news the other night, you’d know what I’m talking about. His signs, for example:

“In my campaign, we don’t pay very much. My mother-in-law made up these posters last night. I think there are other things than money that win elections,” McCloskey said.

You can get an idea of what he’s talking about in this photo I “borrowed” from KCRA (expressed written consent be damned, the Rag keeps it real, too!).

Oh, and did you read Pete’s quote closely? His mother-in-law whipped those signs up for him…dude is 78! Now that’s something to vote for…

Peja Traded; Rap Mogul/Noted Player Ron Artest Coming to Sacramento

UPDATE: Rumors are swirling that the deal is off. Damn unstable players and their psychotic tendencies.

Extra, extra, read all about it.

Even the most casual fans know Artest, possibly because he was suspended for most of last season after inciting a massive brawl in Detroit’s Palace of Auburn Hills. Also, you may know him as the guy who shaved the name of his record label into the back of his head.

Peja spent 6+ seasons here in Sacramento. He’s off to the Indiana Pacers, presumably to get his stroke back and become an All-Star caliber shooter again.

Lock up the women and children. Or at least do that when the Kings are next scheduled to come home, a week from today.

Is it just my imagination?

Photo of The Fireside sign

The Sac Rag
never forgets

I don’t take H or J street to or from work as often as I used to, but on occasion I like to mix it up and give it a go. Lately I’ve noticed that there is a lot of remodeling going on near the college and/or East Sacramento. For example, a few days ago I stopped at the light on H & 53rd and glanced over to my left and noticed a Starbucks. Seriously, when did this happen? I swear, these joints pop up like those inflatable rafts you’d always see on old 60’s sitcoms. And for the life of me I can’t remember what was even there before. These places ARE everywhere. Speaking of, check out this dude that has taken it upon himself to visit every Starbucks in the world. And how soon before the Yahoo! lawyers come calling the YaketyYak cell phone store next door? But, I digress.

What’s going on, Sacramento? Are local coffee houses dead? It’s no secret that I’m a coffee chain lover myself, but I’m all for patronizing a local establishment when possible. Speaking of, what happened to Mace’s? Man, this town can get away from you if you’re not paying attention.

Hitchhikers Guide to the NorCalaxy

California is the place to be, apparently. The Wharton School of Business over at the University of Pennsylvania (home of the Trump, don’t ya know) has released its idiot’s guide to Northern California, Southern California, and California in general. What would you add to their list?

No mention of CoolDMZ’s birthday, though. Obviously they didn’t do their research.

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”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I don’t think I’m taking too much liberty in using this forum to wish our fearless co-leader COOLDMZ an amazingly happy birthday. I thought about putting something clever like “It’s Yo Birfday” until I realized that that wouldn’t actually be all that clever. So I’ll just go with a simple “Happy Birthday” and leave it at that. Anyone care to join me?