Remember two weeks ago, when I posted this?

The Edwards South Coast Village 3 plays “old” movies (for my generation, anyway) every Wednesday night - I went for the first time for “Ghostbusters” two weeks ago, last week was “Office Space”, and tonight is “Spaceballs”. Quite the following for these screenings, too - last week’s show was a sellout, and the week before was very close. The crowd’s geeky and typically in their 20s, so I tend to fit in.

If you plan on going, show up about an hour early for tickets, then head out to any of the local restaurants in the South Coast Plaza area (there’s a Wahoo’s on Bristol and Baker, the Gypsy Den at the Lab, and Native Foods at the Camp, if you’re into Vegetarian California food, like me). Tickets are cheap, too - only $6! See you there!

Well, I was wrong about the date two weeks ago, but I’m right this time- , it’s tonight. I’m not sure if I’ll be making it, but I’ll do my best. Also a fine lass named Veronica turned us on to a myspace page she runs, dedicated to the theatre - it’s at http://www.myspace.com/hothousecorn. Check it out, and enjoy!

This morning the L.A. Times reports that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has opened an office right here in Orange County. Maybe it is time we updated our image. Despite being home to such arch conservatives as ‘B-1 Bob’ Dornan, and known in some quarters as the birthplace of modern conservative politics in the United States (see Suburban Warriors : The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr), lift the sheets and the picture isn

Tonight’s debate among 14 of the 17 candidates in the running for the 48th congressional seat took place in the city council chambers of the City of Irvine and was sponsored by UCI.

The debate format was three sections based on questions written by the moderator ( I think) with the candidates chosen at random to answer the question. Questions from the audience were put to the candidates at the end.

Some of the topics covered tonight were:
- The proposed tunnel
- Expansion of John Wayne Airport
- Mass Transit (And I was shocked to see a couple republicans in support of a light-rail/high-speed rail, guess oil prices will do that)
- Leadership in the aftermath of Katrina
- Stem Cells
- Construction of a new airport (this one will probably never die, it’ll just get more expensive as it peculates in the political system)

Most of the night the candidates were in agreement with each other (gee, no surprise). The real fireworks occurred during the closing statements when a person from the audience shouted something at Jim Gilchrist (I didn’t catch what was said, but Gilchrist looked like he was going to jump over the table). This was also around the time that Jim went after the only Green party candidate (he called her the Greenpeace candidate, which probably was not a Freudian slip of the tongue).

Tom Pallow discussed his quality economic plan (albeit in short one-minute segments as that was all of the time that the candidates had to answer). Bea Foster reiterated her stance against the Iraq war. The Libertarian candidate sounded like he used his campaign stump speeches from the 2004 election. In addition, the rest of the field, all Republicans (among them was Brewer) riled against Lawyers, never offered a plan to get us out of debt, and simply said we should stay the course.

Notably absent from the debate was the top two candidates in the race: Steve Young and John Campbell. According to the host both had “Prior engagements to attend to.”

I don’t think that readers from the Midwest or South understand how awesome this weather is. It doesn’t thunder and lightning in Southern California. At least, until the very rare times that it does.

Last night’s sunset in South County was beautiful and terrible at the same time.

I’m headed to Tampa (which is on the west coast of Florida, on the Gulf, as a reference for those with a California sense of geography) first thing tomorrow morning for a conference. All eyes are on Tropical Storm Rita which could churn things up in the Gulf over the next few days and into the weekend.

It was even loud enough to set off a few car alarms in my neighborhood.

For ye who be stuck in a cavern, with no view o’ t’ sky or t’ ground under it, it be rainin’. There be also lightnin’ and thunder. Probably just t’ Flyin’ Spaghetti Monster signalin’ t’ us faithful t’ celebrate on this greatest o’ all days.

If we want t’ get our normal weather patterns aft I think we will need more pirates so we can stop global warmin’.

First you say it

There

When I opened up this mornings copy of the LA Times, the front page had a ‘Boring’ (get it?) article on three tunnel projects which have been proposed to ease traffic flows in the Southern California region. Among the projects listed was the proposed connecting tunnel between Riverside and Orange Counties. If these projects ever see the light of day they will be the largest American transportation projects since the ‘Big Dig’ in Boston.

Engineering projects have always amazed me. On my first trip to Europe I paid a premium above my euro rail pass just so I could ride the Chunnel train from Waterloo to Guard de Nord. That was an amazing experience, especially when you consider that I was reading the book “Band of Brothers” in the dinning car underneath the British channel. When I worked in Boston my commute took me through the Big Dig on a daily basis. As you approach the tunnel system into the city you immediately see all of the air conditioning plants that were built to keep fresh air in the system. As with both of these projects they did have their fair share of disasters, a fire on a truck car shut down the Chunnel and leaks occasionally occur in the big dig tunnels.

Returning to the proposed tunnel in Orange County, this tunnel will be built under the Cleveland National Forest and connect the inland empire with the coastal communities of Orange County. In the proposed design for the tunnel, it calls for one main double decker tunnel design with freight traffic and a light rail commuter system going in opposite directions in a corresponding tunnel. The main tunnel would be a bi-tunnel design for commuter traffic similar to the 31-mile long Chunnel tunnel. According to the TriTunnel Express the tunnel would start in Riverside County at Caljaco Road and I-15 and end at the 241-133 interchange in Irvine.

With workers living in affordable housing in Riverside but the jobs in Orange County the traffic problem will only get worse. Any construction project, be it a tunnel or a new freeway will only serve as temporary solutions to this constant transportation problem. Living next to the 91 I’ve learned to avoid it at all cost in the morning and any time after four in the afternoon, and don’t even get me started on the 91 express lanes as they are just as congested in the afternoons. Even the 241 toll road is starting to see some of the congestion of its freeway counterparts.
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Over at Art.blogging.la (the art spin off of the LA Metroblog) they have linked to the Orange County Museum of Art’s benefit auction.

The event is on September 29th.

So if you have a couple thousand lying around and you like to live the philanthropic high life check out the catalog and give generously.

Thanks to art.blogging.la for linking to the auction.