Walkin’ the line

I’m sure you’ve heard that Joaquin Phoenix performed at Folsom State Prison yesterday, as a sort of tribute to Johnny Cash. During his performance, Joaquin is quoted to have said:

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve messed up like 40 times,” Phoenix told the inmates. “I’m all over the place.”

To which, an inmate exclaimed, “That’s funny man. We done messed up just one time to get in here, and we got in dis place.”

Ok, I just made that last part up.

Re: No place like home

I’m always late on the game in posting News & Review linkage. From last week’s, here is a list from the guy from Retrocrush (Probably NSFW) of the 10 most annoying things about Sacramento.

And there’s the cover story, too, about other Sacramentos in the USA. Apparently in Sacramento, PA they call it “SOCK-ruh-MEN-dough” which, not to pile on “AD,” reminds me of the time Maeby tells her parents she’s on a field trip to Sacramende.

Partay?

Let’s hear from the people–where was the place to be on New Years’ Eve 2005? In my house, the place to be was the couch, where the main attraction was a good chunk of “Arrested Development” Season 2. I’m aware that there may have been other things going on outside my house, but did any of the town’s hottest parties have spicy club sauce? Well, probably.

Keyword fun

I just noticed somebody ran across The Sac Rag searching for the phrase “Eileen Javora boobs.” And just in case, they turned the “safe filter” off. Nice try, sicko, this is a family site. And in that regard, if Squirty Tip is in your family, we extend our best wishes.

How to pronounce “Goethe”

Our local traffic reporters have endured many beatings here on the Sac Rag, but I’d like to pile on a bit — not for their lack of timely information, but for the varied pronunciations of our region’s roadways. Please give your input on your preferred pronunciation of these streets and locales:

Seamas Avenue: Most reporters say “See-mus,” but the actual pronuciation is “Shay-mus.” Then again, if we all used the proper ethnic pronunciations, people living 300 or so miles to our south would be inhabitants of “Lohs Ahn-heh-lays.”

Goethe Park: For years I thought this was named after the 18th-19th century German poet/dramatist, but then I read a book on local history, and it’s really named after a Gold Rush-era land speculator.
Continue reading “How to pronounce “Goethe””

The Katrina effect

Still not sure what to make of this flood season hullaballoo. At first it seemed a bit overblown–especially on the day when it didn’t rain a drop and yet all the news was doom and gloom. At one point, I kid you not, Dirk Verdoorn smirked and compared the situation to New Orleans pre-Katrina. Seriously. And I frequently see news anchors begging on-the-spot reporters for confirmation that we were indeed, all going to die, and getting little in response. As I returned on 12/31 from Home Depot shopping for equiment to fix my sump pump (there’s a flood on, didn’t you hear?) I was informed by my wife that Dann Shively was in LiveCopter 3 cruising around looking for trouble spots and reporting back that he couldn’t find any. The other night Grace Lee was in Rio Vista, which is apparently getting hit pretty hard, reporting from the high school which was acting as an emergency shelter for evacuees. Head count? One family.

But even the national news does seem to be indicating this is going to be bad. Things may indeed get worse before they magically get better, so I’m reserving most of my snark. But I’ve been through quite a few flood seasons (though I went to college in L.A. so I was always heading back down to 75-degree weather when the shit was starting to hit the fan) and my hunch right now is that we are having a normal Sacramento January, and that we are experiencing a Katrina effect on the news media. Any thoughts?

It’s the law

Never to buck tradition, we at the Sac Rag feel compelled to link to SacBee.com‘s brief listing of the new laws that take effect today. We live in the Capitol City afterall and these babies are written and signed here. Here some highlights:

Senate Bill 1028 – Prohibits killing birds or mammals via a controversial Internet technology linking a computer mouse to a camera and rifle.
{Oh, this can’t miss: “We are offering a limited number of ‘I Shot OSAMA’ t-shirts for sale. Purchase one along with your membership and shooting session. Put up to 10 holes into a target printed on the shirt and then wear it with pride.”}

Assembly Bill 405 – Restricts the use of experimental pesticides on school campuses.
{Restricts? Good for you, Legislature, no need to get crazy here. Baby steps}

Assembly Bill 121 – Bans the sale of candy containing excessive lead, as was detected several years ago in a batch imported from Mexico.
{Excessive? Again, baby steps, what’s a little lead in your Snickers, anyway? It’s not like there’s an excessive amount in there, sheesh.}

Senate Bill 670 – Apologizes to U.S. citizens or legal residents of Mexican ancestry who were forcibly relocated to Mexico in the 1930s.
{Oops, our bad.}

But seriously, props to Assembly Bill 1328 which designates a 31-mile stretch of Cache Creek, primarily in Yolo and Lake counties, as a state wild, scenic and recreational river. Who knew there was an actual Cache Creek? And knowing is, of course, half the battle.

The ought six

Tonight is the night for you to hit the town and act the fool. If you missed St. Patrick’s Day, now’s your chance. SacTicket.com offers a comprehensive listing of activities. For those of you who tend to lean toward the road less traveled, myself included, I think I’ll take the Ticket up on bullet number two under “LET’S STAY HOME ON NEW YEAR’S EVE”:

Spend an evening with the most curmudgeonly of the curmudgeons and watch a “Curb Your Enthusiasm” marathon on HBO starting at midnight.

In addition, The Sac Rag also wishes to thank you for making our little blog/ezine/website thingy a mild success in 2005. The powers that be here at the Rag had no idea it would be received at all. Look for new features in 2006, some of which hopefully rivaling the popularity of the Rag Board.