Encounter with Donna Baker

Donna Baker is everywhere. When I first came to Monrovia I looked at a house and she was sitting on the front porch. When I took a home tour Donna Baker was there selling cookies, when I go grocery shopping her image accompanies me on the basket. The other day I saw her in the Pavilions parking lot and I couldn't help but blurt out her name, "Donna Baker!" She turned and said, "Hi, have we met?" I explained that I saw her every time I bought groceries. She smiled. "So those ads really work!" Well, I didn't buy a house from her but she is practically a household name. Monrovia wouldn't be the same without her.

Pepto Van

Saw this fab-u-van parked on a side street near Old Town. Just couldn't resist a snap. What a color combo!

Psychic Reader

I always drive past this little psychic reader house on Foothill when running errands, though I've never had a desire to go in. It's funny how every town seems to have one. They never go out of style.

Happy Year of the Dog!

Today is Chinese New Year and I stopped by the meditation temple (formerly an Elks Lodge) on Foothill. They had just finished their ceremonies and a nice man showed me around the rooms. The main prayer room is gorgeous and has a giant golden buddha on the far wall, and you are bathed in golden light with red accents. In addition, everything smells wonderful, as they have incense burning in abundance. I found the offerings of fruit to be quite pretty.

Apparently, people born in the Year of the Dog (1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) have specific traits:

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people's confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.

Gratuitous Puppy Shot

I spotted this shot by CathieV on Flickr. I haven't been out shooting for a few days, but hate to let too much time pass without posting. I couldn't resist this little guy. Click on the pic to go to her photostream to see more of him! AARGH, doncha just want to bite your knuckles he's so cute?

Hello World!

I've been wanting to introduce myself here. I'm deeply flattered Amanda has invited me and hope I don't disrupt too much, at least when it's uncalled for.

One of the many similarities between my hometown of Burbank and Monrovia, where I work, is how the city is often used for filming TV and movies. I love coming down the offramp, or going to lunch (as in this case today) and being greeted by these odd little directives.

On and off, on and off, on and off.

I love windy days, but when the power won't stay on that's enough for me.

Gnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaawwwwnnnnnn

I finally made it to Monrovia's newest restaurant, Ice Spice Indian Cuisine on Lime Street. This little gem is tucked away in a theater alcove, and you can actually see the inside of the theater corridor from the dining area. Not sure if this is one-way glass or not. In any case, I would love to give it an A++ for the naan (I had onion-sesame). It was super fresh and delicious. Cooked just right. I also ordered two of my favorite dishes, vegetable curry and Aloo Palak, seasoned spinach with potatoes and spices. I was pleased overall, but the carrots in the curry tasted a bit woody, as if taken from a plastic bag with lots of other carrots. Although I'm usually a "medium spicy" eater, they didn't ask me how I wanted my curry and it was on the high end of what I'd consider medium spicy. In the end, I committed the sin of mixing some of my very spinach with the curry sauce, thereby calming it town to acceptable levels of hot.

They've been super busy, and I hope that they are able to make a go of it. I suspect they get a lot of take-out orders as the dining room was on the spare side, but I imagine after they have lived in this new space for awhile they will begin to make it more homey.

Meaning of Life TV

I'm happy to have found Meaning of Life TV. Even for a skeptic like me it's quite nice to watch.

Gold Line delayed?

According to an article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, construction on the Gold Line could be delayed to 2008 because of the problems in calculating potential ridership when it comes to getting federal funding. Maybe we need to get signatures....not sure if any of you read the Monrovia Weekly, but I was quoted in the last issue about my enthusiam for this very topic.

Rest in Peace

The horror of the war in Iraq has come to Monrovia with the death of Raul Mercado, a 21-year-old Marine lance corporal who resided in Monrovia. Read more in the Star-News. This type of thing is hard to even write about in a blog. I am hardly equipped, but thought it should be mentioned. I have a friend who is there right now and I dearly hope that he is doing all right.

A real web "log"

Har, I'm feeling punny. Here's a pic of one of the wackier gifts I have gotten this year. It's a mushroom log. More specifically, it's a shiitake mushroom log. At first I laughed at it. Remember the "log lady" from the old David Lynch series? It was kind of like getting a pet rock, I thought, but then when I investigated further, I realized that this log actually is infused with spores of said mushroom, and can keep producing them for weeks at a time for a number of years. Whew! They are my favorite mushrooms, and I've never had them fresh, and they are so good for you.

As it happens the instructions are rather involved. I had to soak it for 12 hours in water, thump it three times on each end to "activate" the growth, and then keep it in a shallow bowl of water at all times. One the mushroom babies start to appear you must keep them misted. Quite an involved process. For now I have placed it on the dining room table as a rather rustic centerpiece. I will post updates to this weblog as soon as I get some of the little guys. If my cat is any indication, they should be pretty good. My cat was chewing a bit on the log before I submerged it.

Mind your p**s and queues?

I am happy to read that more builders and cities are thinking over the relative unfairness of the men's and women's "equal" space allocation for doing their private business. As we all know, woman have much more to fuss with in there, especially if they wear stockings or fancy undies. Then there is hair and make-up. To read more on this topic, check out this article on "Potty Parity."

My Dream

I am in love with Dreamlines. I typed in my name and snatched a quick screenshot when this came up. It's really amazing. I think that it could be a great fortunetelling tool. So much fun. Here's what the creator, Leonardo Solaas, says about it:

"Dreamlines is a non-linear, interactive visual experience. The user enters one or more words that define the subject of a dream he would like to dream. The system looks in the Web for images related to those words, and takes them as input to generate an ambiguous painting, in perpetual change, where elements fuse into one another, in a process analogous to memory and free association."

Who knew cats love baseball!

Another animal story...this one is about a man and his HDTV loving kitty, Snoopy. Apparently this phenomenon, of the kitty having trouble distinguishing HDTV from the real thing, is common to pets of other HDTV owners. Read about it here.

fab pre-fab

I'm not sure if this has been discussed by the Library Board yet, but perhaps Monrovia could look into some kind of modular and fabulous pre-fab structures that would allow for it to be continually expanded. I think these have been estimated to cost about $87 per square foot. Or perhaps there is some really large structure that needs rescuing? Of course, they could always get another Starbucks and put it in as part of the new library and get some corporate sponsorship. Eek. Did I just say that?

Via Inhabitant

Kong!

Sushi got her first Kong tonight, and she's quickly figuring out it is an indispensable toy! She's enjoying (vet approved!) frozen peas, which come out quite easily. Next: kibble.

Barn Cat

Ok, so I'm a sucker for cute stories. I have a fabulous cat of my own, who has won over many a non-cat person, so this story really appealed to me. Oddly, enough, the author's name is Katz.

Last FM

I spend a lot of time looking for interesting things on the web and found a great music source for those of you who love hearing new music. I don't listen to the radio much, unless it's internet radio (Secret Agent Radio is my favorite). I have abused the iTunes store quite a bit, and when I play my songs on shuffle, it's almost like listening to the radio, but I still can't get the best part, which is when you hear a song for the first time and really love it.

I have discovered something that might fill this gap, and it's called "Last FM." It not only analyzes the music you already have, but will cull music from others with similar tastes to yours, and then make recommendations for you, and from this you can listen to your own personalized radio station. What could be better than that besides having your own DJ?

Goldwin Kitty

Originally uploaded by marak35

Dang, I wish I'd thought of that! Wait, I have thought of it. Just never did it. I found this cute short video while searching for free video hosting for blogging. I've signed up with two services (like Flickr, but for video), one is called You Tube and the other is Daily Motion. Even though Daily Motion has mostly French tags, I think there will eventually be more English speakers using it because it is very easy. With You Tube one must cut and paste tags into a post. With Daily Motion you just click through and type in your entry. NICE. Next I will have to try one of my own. Don't worry if it's black for several seconds when you click on it. The whole thing loads first before it plays. Worth the wait!

Cat Scan!

Today Maji had his cat scan. They give you a CD with all these "slices" of images that make for a very strange little movie when you watch them all in sequence. I have posted just one slice here. It makes him like almost like a Saber-Toothed Tiger. In reality he looks more like a teddy bear. Naturally, my vet will have to make sense of these images. I posted a mention awhile back that my poor kitty has ear polyps and will need surgery. Today was his big day for diagnosis, and he bravely suffered through a biopsy, this cat scan and a long ride in the car. After we got home he curled up next to me for quite awhile while I stroked his little cat head. He's usually too restless to be a lap kitty, so I am thinking he was seeking out a bit of extra comfort. Next week: his surgery. :( I won't be posting photos of that, though.

State of the City

I attended the city's second annual "State of the City" event on Tuesday night. It was very similar to last year's event, held at the Krikorian theater, but more people came this time. In fact, the theater was almost full. Prior to the talk, people milled in the theater's upstairs room and partook in appetizers and drinks. The mood was cheerful and friendly, and I met some new people that I plan on inviting over for our next cocktail party. Although I am not the type to parade around in a business suit, organizers did request "business attire" so I borrowed a nice faux fir-trimmed plum business suit and didn't feel nearly as out-of-place as last year when I came in jeans.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I don't have a photo to post. Well, you all know what a man at a podium looks like. Mayor Rob Hammond talked about library funding, and it seems that the latest tactic will be to seek a local bond to cover the cost of a scaled-down library. Personally I'm looking forward to the start of the Colorado Commons development later this year, a mixed use project at Primrose and Colorado. Hammond also discussed the Station Square project, an 18-acre transit oriented development near Myrtle and Duarte Road; Monrovista, a redevelopment of a commercial area into new homes south of Duarte Road; additional parking near Old Town; and improvements at the corner of Huntington and Myrtle.

Cheese, oh where art thou?

I'm not sure how many cheese aficionados there are out there in Monrovia, but if the selection at the local Trader's Joes is any indication, not many of you are griping about it. When I want cheese, I head to the Whole Foods on Foothill, but sometimes I don't want to go all the way down there and so rely on Jarlsberg from Pavilions. Neither Pavilions nor TJ's, however, has a very good selection. If you are fond of domestic cheese, it's fine, I suppose, but I buy strictly imported or small farm organic domestic cheese, so you could call me a cheese snob if you like.

I had a bout with lactose intolerance a few years back, and the only way I was able to get over it was to slowly incorporate the more intensely flavored imported cheeses into my diet. The more flavor, the less you need to eat. I am convined that eating a lot of domestic cheese contributes to a fatter mid-section, as you have to eat so darned much of it to get any flavor. Well, that's my flame for the week.

Valley Grain 2

Another shot of the Valley Grain building from the car.

Valley Grain

I've always loved this building, especially the pattern on the roof. I was coming to a stop when I saw the red car turning left. I'm lucky to have gotten it in the frame at all.

Monrovia Canyon Park Waterfall

Just another pretty pic from Monrovia! This one is by KeithJ. See more of his pics on Flickr....

Blogger tools

The glory of shiny: My fabulous Frieling French press reflecting my phone and Powerbook. Naturally, I have the blog on screen. Can you see me all squished in the reflection?

Foot-tucking mechanism spotted

While gazing through the dark living room I spotted the rarest of beasts: the golden-eyed carpet creeper. In addition, I lucked out in managing to capture on film the never seen heel-to-wrist foot-tucking mechanism in practice.

Water

Need more be said? I can't take credit for the snap, but thought it expressed the last couple of days perfectly.