Hair Battle 2016

So Saturday was the epic Hair Battle 2016 right here in Sacramento, featuring the top four salons that had won the competition in previous years. Erika's Hair Gone Wild was judged first place, and so all their hard work payed off. Erika and the rest of the girls had been working tirelessly for the last couple of weeks putting together the wardrobes, hair sculptures, and make-up, squeezing everything they could into each spare moment.
   The show its self was marred with technical difficulties from the d.j. to some cast not being ready, so unfortunately it ran long with big dead spaces of waiting for the show to begin again. Hair Gone Wild was the last to present, but it was worth the wait to see them accept the trophy. Congratulations to Toni and her whole team for exceeding expectations.
   Below is a clip of the award presentation.

Backyard Diddle

The first day of fall. I was in the mood for some Grateful Dead, so I cranked up a YouTube playlist and took a little after work excursion to the patio. I swept it, so I might as well use it. Dog monitoring and scheming.

Just Admit You Were Wrong

   Today Donald Trump admitted that Barack Obama was born in the United States. That's apparently a really big deal judging by today's standards. It takes a lot of guts to admit that  you were wrong. Oh wait, he never confessed to being wrong. He just admitted that the president was born in the states.
   It doesn't much matter to me what the plan is, when it's coming from a birther conspiracy theorist. There is a reason why credibility matters, and why you must protect your reputation. It was rather inconvenient for many people to have to endure Trump's baseless presumptions during the 2012 election cycle; that we needed to see a proof of Obama's birth. That Obama even produced it at all was a sad day in our history. The day a president gave lip service to an idiotic conspiracy theory generated by a glib actor playing the part of someone who cares.
   Fast forward to today and Donald expects us all to just move forward as though it never happened. But it did happen, so forget about us forgetting. It was important enough at the time that we had to hear about it every day for months. Words matter. And Trump's words are not carefully chosen. He ought to dig deep for the inner strength and intestinal fortitude to say, very carefully, "I was wrong. What I did was wrong."  Owning it is what a real man would do.

Beer Dawgs at Swabbi's

I originally didn't want to go, mainly because I hate the winding levee road called Garden Highway, which snakes it's way along the river for miles to the Swabbi's restaurant and bar, located just below the I-5 overpass near Woodland. I just hate that road with it's narrow lanes, and foot wide shoulders that pan off into the abyss. Not a place a like to travel to, or a road I like to travel on. I had little choice however as Erika informed me that I was going whether I wanted to or not.
   Still, we arrived without incident and even lucked into the only handicap parking space left. That was fortunate because the terrain is very uneven and challenging for a guy like me who is somewhere between being able to walk and needing a wheelchair. Swabbi's is a very enjoyable place to eat, drink, and enjoy live music. It's nestled right on the bank of the river, with shady trees, and grass on a wide open lot. Great beer and okay food.
   The Beer Dawgs are led by singer/guitarists Steve Wall and Bob Pearce, and joined by former bassist Joe Lev. Though not still together since Bob moved to Texas, they have been playing their home grown tunes mixed with some tasty covers in Sacramento for decades. They even played our wedding. So any time they get together locally, Erika makes sure to attend. She took a few clips of the gig, so I thought I'd share them here.
   After all, it was a successful outing, and we found a faster, less nerve racking route home that swings by the metropolitan airport. Would definitely do it again.

Rockin' and Rollin' and What Not

What a week it has been. After a great three day weekend, the shortened work week has passed by painlessly, and Friday is upon us. We are getting ever closer to the election, or what I call the end of it all. I thought it would never get so close, time wise and poll wise.  Yet here we are only six weeks out. My instincts say to bury my head in the sand, but we know that isn't possible. So instead I am going to embrace our national train wreck for it's pure entertainment value. Anything else is depressing, and to quote a friend, "Support is a strong word right now."

   Erika and I went to see a good suspense thriller called Don't Breathe, which started off as a mediocre, run of the mill, Netflix style sadist flick, but quickly evolved into a legit nail biter. I give it credit for being creative using highly played out scenarios. The book report is incomplete. Still plugging away at the Devil's Chessboard, and woefully short on details. I will definitely pass along anything earth quaking after digesting this CIA expose. I have finished the first of four parts of the audio book: Antiquities of the Jews, as told by Flavius Josephus. I recommend this to anyone who wants the Old Testament laid out in terms that are familiar, with emphasis on the morals to each story, which is lacking in the scriptures themselves. Librivox is a great source for such historical audio books for free. Look for the link in my other people's places section.
   I want to add that the current theory about Sandra Olsson being dead in Grease is poppycock. No sale on that fan theory. It says clearly in the first song that she was saved from drowning so yeah.

Sandy waves goodbye on her way to heaven

Mind Numbing Memes and Vitamin D

Checking in. Talking Vitamin D, book reports, dog farts, and a bit of reminiscing. Salutations and good day to Gene Wilder.