Hello, Is This Thing On

Two years and four days since my last post?  Really?  And I haven't even been in the klink during this time.  Time passes, Facebook happens. But now, it's election season, so maybe I'll post a little more often than every 24 months. Or not.

Talismen or Talismans?

I've been married legally to my husband for almost 14 months, but we've been together a little more than 19 and a half years.  Yeah, I know.  We don't look that old.  Gays don't age like straights, so sue us. You get everything else. 

Anyway, last month we were in Palm Springs for a weekend, where Carl picked up a used book of Irish short stories. He's from Ireland, he writes short stories, it was meant to be.  Tonight, in front of the tv and the gin and the tonic and the red wine - really, just one drink each - Carl mentions that the book is filled with papers.

One falls out. It's a ballot receipt from Palm Springs dates, April 4, 1990.  The first day we became a couple (I'll leave the rather sordid and amusing details to your imagination).  The second drops out. It's a handwritten tag which reads "God Bless the business of wine forever."

WTF?  Well, ok, then. Duely noted. 

LAPD Atwater Community Relations Officer

Kenneth Aragon crashed his motorcycle at Larga and Fletcher yesterday and died shortly thereafter.  RIP.

Holiday Fireworks at the Americana?

That better be or Armageddon has come. Last year they didn't warn anybody either.  Jesus.

Soupy Sales

I well remember watching repeats growing up. RIP.

Atwater Police Activity

Holy shit. Piddling around facebook, all of a sudden I heard sirens and  a helicopter and for the next 45 minutes, my house was under surveillance for some reason. Helicopter lights all over it, police and detective cars parked in front, people with flashlights running back and forth and just me and the doggies. Lights out, sit in front, watch in dark and hope for the best and be grateful for the half a xanax I popped half an hour before. And now it's mostly silent. Not sure how I can possibly sleep soundly tonight.

Los Angeles Times

Though the LA Times has been actively disminishing itself over the last few years, today's edition proved once again that there are some really amazing writers working there. Read these three articles.

Dan Neil's review of a new Mazda is splendid and proof he deserved the pullitzer. Kenneth Turan's review of "Education" is also spectacular. And, of course, Bill Plaschke does a tremendous job at summing up the Dodgers victory.


I think I'll keep my delivery - it's money well spent.

Best. Poll. Question. Ever!

OMG, in the middle of my franks n beans dinner (no lie, I had a craving), the NRA called ME for a poll. A woman asked me to listen to a message from Wayne LaPierre (sp?) - about the UN forcing the world to ban guns - and then a guy got on the horn and asked me (I shit you not): "Do you think third world dictators AND Hilary Clinton should dictate our gun policy?" My response: "Absolutely." He gasped, chuckled and said ok and hung up. I think they may have gotten the wrong number.

Best. Poll. Question. Ever!

Police Activity

With helicopters hovering nearby for hours, I figured either the expected Santa Anas were engulfing Silver Lake or something else. It's something else, alright.

milesandhisdog

milesandhisdog
Originally uploaded by sardrinks ©

Ah, Hot Dogs. A love story.

Be Prepared

With fires raging around Southern California and the ever-present threat of a terrible earthquake, now is good time to remember to create an emergency kit, if you haven't already. Find out how.

Ted Kennedy

Rest In Peace.

LA Dogs Need Rescue

If you live in LA and you're hunkering for a senior German Shepard (or 3), the West LA Animal Shelter is looking for families to adopt them. Contact Samantha Westbrook at West LA Shelter

213-485-0494 (or 0495/0496)if you are interested.

Different Book Ends

With work reaching a crescendo today and tomorrow, I couldn't sleep very well. Not very unusual, but still worth noting. So, I got up relatively early after squeezing another hour of blood out of the rock that is my sleeptime and headed off for a walk around the Silver Lake Resevoir.

About a 1/6 of the way around, on the east side, I heard an impact and picked up head to search for the cause. I saw a kid on the street, his bike lay flat on the street and an older gentleman in the car right in front of them. The kid had a friend, also on his bike, who stood looking at him. Now, I don't know if the impact I heard was the car hitting the boy on his bike or the boy on the bike falling to the pavement just before almost getting hit by the car. All I know is everyone looked dazed. There even was a man in car behind the other car -- all seemed frozen, but I kept walking towards them.

The boy picked himself up, picked up his bike, moved off the street and after looking at what seemed like a couple scratches, hopped back on his bike and joined his friend on his way to school. The man in the car remained dazed and the car behind him slowly moved on. I felt like I wanted to call across to the kid, "Are you alright? If you're head hurts, go see the nurse." But, I didn't. It actually reminded me of a time when I was a kid and got hit riding my bike to school. I was shaken, but I picked myself up and rode on to school (after getting the person's info). I had a term paper due or something.

So, that was bookend number one. Bookend number two happened near the end of my walk where I encountered that very old lady, who's always dressed to the nines, walking around the resevoir. She clearly has some kind of dementia, but everytime she sees somebody, she could not be more ecstatic to see them. Today, it was a middleaged african-american woman and her dog. The old woman cooed at the dog and gave a wonderfully warm embrace to the other woman.

I guess the bottom line is I hope the kid is alright and I wish I could be as sweet and loving as that older woman is now.

Neglecting Blog

Man, I've been bad about keeping up with the blog. I've been pretty well focused on Facebook, but will try to turn my attention back here this week.

Meanwhile, do check out the Militant Angeleno who has (always) some interesting posts up...

Cancer

Leroy Sievers is hopefully resting in peace, but what he started, continues. Read more.

Little League Celebrates 70th Anniversary

Well, at least steroids haven't spoiled little league...yet. Beverly Hills celebrated in style, says the once great L.A. Times, and I tip my hat to the B.H. Cardinals, a team I once belonged to so many years ago.

Earthquakes

With the big swarm down south in Imperial Valley and the Alaska Volcano and the other earthquakes, I've gotta say earthquakes are definitely on my mind.

It's been 15+ years since the last "big one" in L.A. (it was huge if you were here, but not huge compared to how big it can be) and I can't help but think we've been experiencing earthquake weather (L.A. natives, you know it, you've sensed it).

Pack up the water and batteries, that's all I'm saying.

Natasha Richardson and Defamer

With all due respect to the late brilliant actress Natasha Richardson (R.I.P.), I cannot help but be befudddled by Gawker/Defamer's very poor (hopefully accidental and not contextual) same page advertising.  Oy.  There are systems in place to avoid something like this, people.

Gay Rights Are Civil Rights