The Search Begins

In a new series of hard-hitting and under-your-skin investigative reports, this author will put his very life on the line to discover the best Fish ‘n Chips joint in Sacramento. Be not worried, fine readers, for I will pit my cast iron stomach against any poorly prepared creature from the sea and come out victorious.

My first foray into Sacramento’s Fish ‘n Chip jungle was made yesterday at our indefatigable Downtown Plaza. On the second floor of the Plaza, west end, next to Johnnie Rocket’s is the Blue Sea Fish ‘n Chips establishment. The Korean couple that ran the place was very friendly and served my order up right away. What they served up could definitely be defined as “Fish ‘n Chips,” but the quotations in this case imply a certain irony in that definition rather that the author directly quoting the company’s sign and therefore indicating that quotation in this article. The fish and fries were tasteless and flavorless and odorless. It was like eating unscented deodorant. To top it off, their tartar sauce tasted of miracle whip and pickled steel-toed boots. All in all, it was a lack luster show by the Blue Sea folks. If I had paid more than $5 for my meal, I would have asked for it back. But, seeing as I was the only person in the shop on a busy shopping day, I bit the bullet and absorbed the loss.

My search continues. Wish me luck, and pray that I don’t have a breading induced heart attack before the mission is accomplished. Cheers.

Blue Sea Fish ‘n Chips
Downtown Plaza , Sacramento
Food* Ambience* Service**

“We’re past the scheming”

In her “State of Downtown” address today (who knew?) Mayor Fargo waxed enthusiastic about the direction downtown Sacramento is taking:

I have to say that it’s under construction. We’re past the dreaming and past the scheming, and we’re really full-blown into implementation.

I have to say, why the rush, Ms. Mayor? I mean, it’s only been 157 freakin years. Are there people who walk around, you know, the actual post-post-implementation downtown we currently have and say, gee, I hope they implement something around here soon?

Insert song title pun here

In light of the recent success of the Sac Rag’s new category, “Make Us Laugh”, we found another story that may solicit hilarity.

From news10.net:

The City of Stockton has its fingers crossed that the $1 million it’s paying singer Neil Diamond won’t be a “song sung blue” Sunday night.

The City Council revealed Tuesday it has paid Diamond $1 million to perform the first concert at the new arena. The arrangement was secret until The Stockton Record filed a request for the information.

A new wrinkle in Arnold vs. DMV

I think there is a larger issue involved in the current Arnold Schwarzenegger illiegal motorcycle driving scandal. What this means to me is that one of his most famous actions in his former life as Arnold the action hero, namely the Los Angeles river chopper vs. big rig chase scene, was filmed under false pretenses. I smell class action action!

What’s next, are we going to find out that Robert Patrick‘s uncanny ability to show up in friggen everything is not due to his being composed of a mimetic polyalloy? Help us, Santa Claus.

Co-ed washrooms at Mason’s: swanky or skeevy?

From Graswich today I read that the restrooms at Mason’s have 1 set of sinks and mirrors to be shared by men and women. Graswich’s reader, a female, understandably brings up only the makeup issue, but that’s part of a larger issue here: separating the “business side” of the restroom from the sink and mirror means that when you exit the “business” wing it’s clear, you know, what you’ve been doing in there. The great thing about restaurant restrooms is supposed to be that they are multipurpose–powder room, shirt-tucking checkroom, middle-of-horrible date face wash and/or hair pat-down station, in addition to the infamous #1 and #2 that everybody knows takes place in there but thankfully when you exit, no questions are asked. In other words, ew gross, Mason’s! Where do you think we are?

Legal Guide for Bloggers

Following up on CoolDMZ’s post from yesterday I thought this site would be of interest. I especially enjoyed the section on defamation:

Can my opinion be defamatory?
No — but merely labeling a statement as your “opinion” does not make it so. Courts look at whether a reasonable reader or listener could understand the statement as asserting a statement of verifiable fact. (A verifiable fact is one capable of being proven true or false.) This is determined in light of the context of the statement. A few courts have said that statements made in the context of an Internet bulletin board or chat room are highly likely to be opinions or hyperbole, but they do look at the remark in context to see if it’s likely to be seen as a true, even if controversial, opinion (“I really hate George Lucas’ new movie”) rather than an assertion of fact dressed up as an opinion (“It’s my opinion that Trinity is the hacker who broke into the IRS database”).

There is one thing, however, I’ve learned about web logs in my short time in the game: people want to be pissed off first and entertained second. A simple review of the comments on this site will support this opinion.