In case you didn’t already know, that is the theme for this year’s Orange County Fair, being held July 13-Aug 5. It never fails that I want to go to the OC Swap Meet Marketplace when the fair is in town, and I get all disappointed. Stupid, I know.

With the fair always comes the concert series, and I was gong through the listing page, when I almost got whiplash doing a double take at one of the performers. Bob Dylan, my friends, in all his creepy Victoria’s Secret B&W glory.

Other than Mr. Dylan, whom I totally fail to get, they have a pretty good hodgepodge of artists, from Fergie to Earth, Wind and Fire, to Daughtry. Add in some Queens of the Stone Age, She Wants Revenge and Ziggy Marley to get yourself a nice cross-section of musical styles.

As for the fair, I have to say I enjoy it much more than the LA County Fair. I like the fact that it is smaller, and the last few times I went to LA, it seemed that there was much more retailing than exhibits. I mean, how many times can I see a CalSpa display? I counted something like five, which seems a bit excessive.

My son always looks forward to going, and they have a very nice kid’s section that he would be more than happy to stay in all day. Somehow, the promise of seeing a cow in another part of the fair never seems to work in persuading him to leave.

I’m raising a city kid, for sure.

According to the OC Register, the petition to recall Orange Unified School District Trustee Steve Rocco is making the rounds.

You can go here to find out a bit more about the man who has driven all these people to object to his presence on the Board. And I have to say, anybody who wears sunglasses and a beanie to a meeting is somebody I don’t trust. Heck, I wouldn’t even hire someone who dressed like that, much less vote him into public office.

Although some are saying that OUSD parents got what they deserved, charging that many voters boosted Rocco into office due to his non-Hispanic name. His bio had no information, while the other candidate had an extensive bio and credentials, but a Hispanic surname.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least, sorry to say.

As I was driving home, after a long night, I noticed a glow of tv’s and computer screens in front of the local at&t store out in the AH. As I drove closer, it was apparent what was forming in front of the store: a line.

Yup, a line for a freaking phone! But mind you, not just anyphone…the iPhone.

There were six people in line playing games, surfing the web on laptops, and one even had their truck backed up to the store with the tailgate open.

This line was way, way, way ahead of the 6pm launch of the iPhone. Expect the line to be longer tomorrow.

(While I would like to take credit for the picture above, alas I cannot. The picture is from BoingBoing.

I’m back from a vay-cay in the lovely Bay Area. I love the Bay Area, the beautiful trees, the easy-going vibe; there are lots of things to like. For a year I went to school and lived in Northern California, but I was too much of a SoCal girl at heart to be able to be truly happy there.

Am I totally biased in saying that I just love Orange County?

Despite the traffic and the hot weather and all the dang people everywhere, I’m glad to be back.

What is it about the OC that makes you glad to live here?

I was squeezed onto the grass Friday at the Gwen Stefani concert in Irvine. They (VZW) tell you to bring a lawn chair or blanket and some snacks. They tell you you’ll have fun, even if the performers are the size of ants. What they don’t tell you is that other people don’t like your lawn chairs, don’t care if the blanket is yours and you won’t be sitting on it anyway.

“The Lawn” at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine is a complete and total nightmare. I mean it. Nosebleed seats are one thing, but the gassy area that the venue hugely oversells, is steep, jam-packed and muddy! That’s right, I said “muddy”. Why is it muddy when it didn’t rain? Because drunken teenagers spill so much beer that it whips up the dirt into a frothy stinky shit hole. It was basically a miserable experience for anyone over 30.

There are two types of Gwen Stefani fans: Those who love No Doubt and those who love glam-pop-dance-diva Gwen. This really spans the spectrum of age and income. However, we noticed (and I am not making this up) most of the older folks cleared off The Lawn about an hour into GS’s set – to make room for the screaming, stoned, dancing youth who literally took over the joint.

First Lady Sovereign played (Zzzzzz) and then after a 30-minute intermission Akon came out and made an ass out of himself as usual. He sang some songs for his “Konvicts” (blech) and then he really lost me when he dedicated a song to the soldiers and the war and his “sexy ladies” (yikes). Then he ripped off his shirt and the gays and 14-year-old girls went nuts.

After another 30-minute intermission Gwen finally took the stage. The wind was blowing, the pot smoke was wafting and The Lawn went from civilized blanket seating to full-on mosh pit. She sang Wind It Up and the place came unglued. Lots of costume changes and a special encore with No Doubt brought down the house.

Next, time I’ll skip The Lawn and just watch it on You Tube – I think I am too old for this particular kind of venue.

Video of the No Doubt reunion after the jump…
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*but it will cost you.

Tonight at Angel Stadium of Anaheim the Stanley Cup made an on field appearance, but I didn’t get to see that, nor did I see the first pitch, or for that matter the first two innings. I was in a line since 5:30pm to take a picture with the Stanley Cup.

Ah, but there were no signs or fine print anywhere telling fans who or what may take your photograph with the cup and how much the photo will costs. Add to the fact that I waited two hours in line for a picture, just to be told I had to buy it when I had my own camera made me as mad as hell. I’m not blaming this on the Anaheim Ducks or the NHL, as I’m sure this wasn’t their idea of a fan experience with Hockey’s Holy Grail, but the work of the Angels Baseball Club LLC.

Nice going Arte. You change the name of the Angels by adding Los Angeles (when there not even close to LA) and you nickel and dime the fans to death. It must be the fact that another team wins a title with Anaheim in front of the team name that bugs you.

Also reading the draconian photo release (far from a standard photo release), which I had no opportunity to read prior to the picture, you basically sign away any intellectual property rights to your likeness to the Angels Baseball Club LLC, FanFoto, and Major League Baseball. Looking at the photos on the FanFoto site, they are locked down from the right click “save as” method and the originals have “Proof” stamped across the front. Ugh, maybe this is one for the Electronic Frontier Foundation to take a look at?

Legal notice should have been posted or notice of a professional photographer would be available to take your photo, even the pregame announcement said the cup would be available and no one had prior knowledge of how the cup would be presented or what time it would be on display until game time.

With the Cup taking a tour of the Southland and the Anaheim Ducks taking it on a tour of Orange County hotspots to thank their fans, I’m sure I’ll run into it again, just not at the costs of $9.99.

From what I know of this situation, which is all from media reports, I totally support the former Lietenant Hunt in his lawsuit.

If eveyone got demoted or fired for criticizing their boss, even in public, nobody would have a frickin’ job!

It seems to me that Carona abused his power as Sheriff and curtailed Lt. Hunt’s right to free speech. To say that Lt. Hunt’s comments about Carona were bad for morale is ridiculous. That means a lot of the time, the truth might be considered “bad for morale.”

I hope he wins.

How’s that for a blog post title!

That title perfectly sums up a perfect Orange County Father’s Day for my dear old Dad. First stop was the Beach Pit Barbecue in Newport Beach. Awesome Barbecue! Just off the main street and hidden back off the street, the Beach Pit Barbecue had awesome pulled pork, sausage, and even good Blueberry Cornbread. The Big Love sandwich had all of the meat a man could need to roll out of the place in a wheel-barrow. Each piece of blueberry cornbread was a desert in itself, not too dry, just moist enough, and the berries added an excellent burst of flavor. The Beach Pit Barbecue even has a location at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

From there it was a short jaunt down PCH through CDM, past NH, and then across the street from FI in NB. To translate: PCH = Pacific Coast Highway. CDM = Corona Del Mar, NH = Newport Harbor, FI = Fashion Island, and NB = Newport Beach.

When we arrived, we found a line snaking out the door of a small shop called Sprinkles. No, it wasn’t for ice cream, it was for cupcakes (this was the Mom’s idea and a good one at that). The smell of the cupcakes wafted through the entire shopping center like a siren’s call (OK, that was probably a little too over dramatic, but it did smell really good). With my Pop buying the half-dozen, which required a small investment to purchase (they are not the cheapest cupcakes in town), leaving with them in front of the long line almost seemed like you’d get jumped. Sprinkles has locations in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Dallas, and Scottsdale. I might want to classify them as “Food 2.0.” Along the lines of Pinkberry and The Counter, these chic-type (in some cases, “Chick” may be more like it) food places seem to mirror the “Web 2.0” look and feel.

Seeing how I still had Barbecue still simmering in my stomach, I chose to hold off on the cupcake until I got home. Pictures after the jump…
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Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!

Cal State Fullerton returns to Omaha tomorrow taking on Oregon State in the first round of the College World Series tomorrow. On the same day, UCI (you mean they actually have a good baseball team, besides having the national champs in volleyball. Wait, they won and no one noticed? Not surprised) plays Arizona State.

The Titans basically live in Omaha:
15 CWS Appearances (out of 33 seasons in division 1)
5 CWS Titles
29 Regional Appearances
Best record for on the road wins in Regional and Super-Regional games
CSUF Fans Party and BBQ at the Titan House
Kevin Costner … “Field of Dreams”
Knocked out UCLA!

UCI – Baseball built from CSUF talent (Current Head Coach Serrano was an assistant under Horton)
0 – Previous CWS Appearances
1992 – Year baseball was axed due to budget cuts
1998 – Year Students voted to bring Baseball back to UCI
8 – Number of Players drafted in the MLB draft this year
4 – Number of blocks from the Titan house where UCI will have their BBQ

Since we don’t have Division 1 football at both CSUF and UCI, Baseball has become the marquee sport for Division 1 NCAA schools in Orange County.

Go Titans!

Could we see CSUF v. UCI at the College World Series?