Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads. Join me in crossing the county line (by a few blocks at least) at the Edwards Cerritos Stadium 10 for this week’s Flash Back Feature: Back to the Future.

The show starts at 9:00 PM Thursday 01/18/2007. You may want to arrive early for a good seat, as the screening of The Goonies did sell out. If you see me (and my beautiful red-headed mate) before the show, please feel free to flag us down so we can have an awkward IRL encounter that I can later blog about.

Hope to see you all there!

There are a couple of reasons I don’t subscribe to the Orange County Register, and this editorial published yesterday is one of them.

To compare the actions of The Piecemakers, whom I wrote about a while ago here, to Martin Luther King, is ludicrous to me.

To suggest that the efforts of those ladies to thwart the Health Department from inspecting their business for cleanliness as well as proper food preparation and storage, even slightly compare to the efforts of MLK to end hundreds of years of systemic racial discriminatiion, really takes some creative, er, thinking.

Bascially, they are saying that anyone who protests a law they think is wrong is practicing civil disobedience. Well, why don’t we all just selectively choose the laws we personally don’t like and don’t think should apply to us and go out and deliberately not do them. And then, when we are caught deliberately not doing them, act as if we are the wronged parties? Uh, that would be called anarchy.

Are all our laws are perfectly just and fair? Not necessarily. However, our society functions on the assumption that laws are usually made for a reason, and that they should be followed. These women, for almost a decade, felt that the law did not apply to them. In my opinion, the leader’s sentence was more than fair.

When newpaper editorials begin equating ladies who won’t let Health Inspectors do their jobs to ensure the safety of the public’s health to efforts to end discrimination based solely on skin color, it reminds me why I refuse to give them my money.

Drop? Drop what? The ball? Their pants? No? Drop in price! Really? Quick, everyone run for Santa Ana!

Seriously, Santa Ana is number 4 on Fortune magazine’s list of 10 housing markets ready for a fall. Stockton, Bakersfield, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland and Fresno were also on the list.

It’s not surprising that 6 of the 10 markets at risk are all here in California. It’s a real bummer if you are an investment realtor but for those of us who would just like to buy a small affordable home in Orange County it’s a step in the right direction.

According to the Weather Widget, in Anaheim it’s 35 degrees!

I can never remember it getting this cold here in the OC.

Comparing temperatures:
London 9 Degrees C at night = 48.2 Degrees F

It’s colder here then it is in London, yikes!

Back to freezing and hoping I have an ice-rink instead of a pool in the morning…

Betty,

You were behind the cash register at the craft store on the south-east corner of Katella and Tustin in Orange. Do you remember me? I was the tall blonde man standing in line on a frosty evening not so long ago. Do you also remember the nice Asian lady in front of me who needed your assistance? I’ll bet you don’t.

Let me refresh your memory Betty. The nice Asian lady asked you a question in halted but intelligible English. Her question was a simple one yet you responded with a long-winded answer about this and that and so forth and so on. You never answered her question; you just pretended like you didn’t understand her and acted as if you had been put out in some way. I understood what she was saying Betty, why couldn’t you?

Does this ring any bells at all? Do you remember being unreceptive and dismissive to this person? Do you recall how you loudly proclaimed that you couldn’t help her over and over again? Apparently you felt that increasing your volume would help the nice Asian lady understand you better. Do you recall talking to her slowly with draaaaawn out s-yll-ab-les as if she were a child or an imbecile? Do you recall your nasty tone? No? Well I do. It was dismissive. It was a “quit-bothering-me-you-stupid-ching-chong-China-woman” tone. It was a rude, offensive and pandering.

I was going to say something but the nice Asian lady gave me an “it’s-not-worth-it” look and went off to find another sales clerk. So, I put down my purchases and left your store. As an employee of this retailer you should be embarrassed for yourself and the company you represent. You should be ashamed of your behavior in front of me, your other customers and the nice Asian lady who you seemed hell bent on humiliating. Let’s face it Betty, you disgust me.

January 15th is an entire day set aside for our fine county to come together to strengthen communities and acknowledge dignity and respect for all human beings. In the spirit of that noble goal I am going to forgive you, but I will not forget your actions. Please take this time off to reflect on your own personal accountability and how your inexcusable actions affect everyone you come in contact with. Please learn something from the Martin Luther Kind Jr. Day of Service. It’s the least you can do.

Thanks,

Jon

All county, state and federal government offices will be closed. Libraries, the USPS, public schools and banks will be shuttered as well. Metrolink will be running business as usual, but I cannot find information to indicate if buses will be on holiday schedules or not — if anyone knows please feel free to post in the comments.

So, what are you planning to do to enrich a life (maybe even your own) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? My better half and I searched and searched for something to do in OC and the pickings are slim. Looks like if you want to do something civic for the holiday you may have to leave the county.

You can head north to the Kingdom Day Parade, go to a museum or celebrate in your own way. So watch a film, or read a book, or light a candle or have a meaningful discussion about human rights and personal freedoms with your loved ones. If all else fails you can watch the parade coverage on TV and attend a screening of Freedom Writers (there’s so much drama in the LBC). Whatever you do, you may want to bundle up, the high is supposed to be 62 degrees.

I know it sounds cheesy but don’t let the day pass you by without some sort of thoughtful observance. We get a day off from work for a reason: to celebrate the life and vision of a great man. It’s an excellent time to remember that the fight is not over.

I occasionally go through the craigslist OC ads, because you never know what you will find. My favorite category happens to be the “Free” section. The fact is, I actually get a good laugh out of what people think other people would be willing to drive and pick up, even if it is free. I suppose if you were a college student on a budget or a person who is experiencing some tough times, some of the things might be useful. But mostly, I see it as a dumping ground for things that people are too lazy to get rid of themselves. I am well aware of the “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” but some people take that a bit too far.

However, one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen would have to be this.

I mean, really, a fifth of a gallon left? Are they kidding? If you’ve already used up that much, why not just use the rest? And I love the use of the word “inherited” for a gallon of soap. I don’t know why anyone would use that term for a gallon of soap, perhaps they are trying to make it seem valuable? I recommend they find a homeless shelter or something similar to donate it to.

But that might require a bit too much effort…

For the next few nights, temperatures are supposed to dip to freezing or below.

This also happens to be the same week which started out with temperatures in the 80’s. I have lived in SoCal my entire life, and cannot ever remember such odd weather patterns. I have never worn spring/summer clothes in January, ever.

You might want to consider taking in some of your more fragile plants, or even covering them with newspaper in order to keep them warm. I have this sinking feeling that my large potted bouganvilla is going to bite the dust. It’s too big and heavy to move, and much to big to cover. There is some concern about the crops up in the Central Valley being destroyed as well, which is much more devastating than the loss of my bouganvilla.

And if you have outdoor pets, do them a favor and let them sleep inside for the next few days as well.

Can anyone say global warming? People who are in denial say that the odd weather is part of an El Nino weather pattern, but we had a much larger El Nino back in the late nineties (I’m too lazy to check the exact year, ok?) and nothing like this happened. In fact, normal El Ninos traditionally deliver heavy rains to our neck of the woods, and we are on track for an extremely dry winter.

So, you can either stick your head in the sand and keep driving that Hummer, or do everyone, including yourself, a favor and go out and buy some compact flourescent light bulbs, ok? Better yet, actually install them in your lamps and bask in your monetary savings. Because even if you don’t believe in global warming, you have to believe in saving some money, right?

If you have piles of money and saving is no big deal, then email me and I’ll tell you my address so you can send me a check.

Irvine, California based Blizzard Entertainment just announced that there are now more then 8 Million subscribers worldwide on World of Warcraft.

Yup, 8 Million of them!

I wonder how many make a living off of mining gold pieces?

The Seattle Times today ran an interesting story with an Orange County Connection. It’s a story of Ivy League Schools, False Identities, and a shouting match on the steps of a courthouse in Kent, Washington. It reads like something out of a movie plot.

Esther Reed was a high school drop out, a person who was accused of possession of stolen property and used her sister’s checks. Both charges that she pleaded guilty to. After the Court appearance she closed down her e-mail account, never contacted her family, and simply vanished. Her family believed that her sketchy lifestyle may have lead to her death.

The only death that occurred was not physical, it was the death of the identity of Esther Reed.

Last fall Sheriffs deputies from King County approached Edna Strom (Esther’s sister) with the story of Esther and how she found her way in to Ivy League schools. The path to those schools went right through California State University, Fullerton.

Esther attended CSUF under a false name and identity, taking courses in Philosophy and Public Speaking under the assumed name of Natalie Bowman. She even managed to have a professor write her a letter of recommendation which eventually got her accepted into Harvard. From Harvard she left and attended Columbia University under the name Brooke Henson. The admission into Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Columbia has caused all three schools to re-evaluate their admissions process.

Every-time the authorities closed in on Esther she would suddenly vanish, taking everything with her.