Sacramento, CA

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m a tad bit obsessed with movies so i thought I’d let everyone know all of the details for the best place to see Rob Zombie’s reinvention of Halloween. According to people who’ve seen the advance screening of the movie, it’s actually pretty decent too–despite the fact that Rob Zombie directed it! I’m not a huge fan of his–House of 1000 Corpses kind of ruined any good thoughts I may have had for him–but I DO love the Halloween movies. There’s just something very fascinating about our dear old friend Michael Meyers. I’ve always been captivated by him and I’ve always wondered what made him into the monster that we all love to hate. As such, I am very much excited about seeing this latest installment in the series. After all, I don’t think even Rob Zombie could ruin such a brilliant creation as indicated by the trailer…

Anyway, as always I would suggest that you go to Century Stadium 14 to see it. The showtimes for today are as follows: 12:00PM, 1:15PM, 2:35PM, 3:50PM, 5:15PM, 6:25PM, 7:55PM, 9:00PM, and 10:30PM. There’s pretty much a time to fit in everyone’s schedule so you shouldn’t have to settle with a lesser theater like United Artists Market Square. Enjoy, and remember, it’s just a movie…

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The recent approval of the new state budget eliminated $14 million in public transit funding. To complicate matters, the number of riders has been in decline the past couple of years and local sales tax revenue is down $2.6 million. As a result, Sacramento Regional Transit decided to eliminate four different bus routes and also to cut the number and frequency of stops on some of the other routes. Changes are scheduled to go into effect on January 6th, 2008. The four routes eliminated were routes 64, 91, 105, and 76. Route 64 serves downtown and Sacramento City College, running from Meadowview to 24th Street. Bus 91 is a Citrus Heights route that runs from the Sunrise Mall on Sunrise Blvd to Louis and Orlando. Route 105 serves the Madison area and runs from the Sunrise Mall to Watt Avenue and I-80. Number 76 mainly serves students traveling to and from Sacramento State and runs from American River and La Riviera to the light rail station at University and 65th. I can see this elimination to be particularly irritating to Sacramento State students as many of them live on La Riviera specifically because the bus runs past their apartments. They will still have the Hornet Express, but it is a much longer route and it will take them longer to get to school than it does on route 76.

If tihis wasn’t enough to irritate bus riders in Sacramento, they have also made significant cuts on other routes. For instance, they will no longer be providing Sunday service on 6, 28, 36, 61, or 62. This makes no sense whatsoever for route 6 in particular as it provides service to the Land Park area of town. Land Park is where Fairytale Town, the Sacramento Zoo, Funderland, and Tower Theater are all located. Considering that these are all big tourist spots, I think it’s ridiculous to cut service to them on the weekend when there are likely to be more tourists than there are during the week. It makes me wonder if any of those businesses are aware of this decision yet since they would have surely been against it! (Especially since route 61 to South Land Park was also cut on Sundays!) In addition, it is also one of the only routes that goes to the Pocket/ Greenhaven area of town. Do they not realize that people who live in these areas often need to work on Sundays too? On that note, I wonder if they bothered to inform Mather Airport or any of the businesses at Mather Field that they would be cutting Sunday service for route 28. How about students who pick up route 36 on Folsom to get to Sacramento State? How about all of the people who rely on the Freeport route 62 to get to work downtown on Sundays?

They are also cutting Saturday service on routes 9, 10, 18, and 36. Route 9 and route 10 both service the Carmichael area–apparently the city has decided that people in Carmichael don’t need to get to and from work on Saturdays. What are they supposed to do? Say, “Sorry Boss but I’m no longer able to come to work on Saturdays because it isn’t financially feasible to the city of Sacramento”?! Do they not realize that there are classes scheduled on Saturday mornings at American River College? I’m glad I don’t ride route 10 since my chemistry class is on Saturday mornings! It makes me wonder if they’re trying to get rid of all of the poor college students who rely on free transportation to get them to class. If you look at the cuts on route 18, you’ll see that this trend continues further throughout the bus cuts as well. Bus 18 serves people in Del Paso Heights–people who just so happen to be extremely poor. Many of them can barely pay their rent and now they’re expected to buy cars since they can’t rely on public transportation anymore?! The whole idea is completely ridiculous!

In addition, there will be further cuts as follows:

~ Route 50E will not come as frequently and thye have yet to announce how much they will be reducing it.
~ Freeport route 62 will only be running hourly.
~ Route 63 will now be servicing both 16th Street to the Meadowview light rail station and Sacramento City College to the Power Inn Road light rail station.
~ Route 83 will now only run from 14th Avenue to the Power Inn Road light rail station.
~ Route 21 will be causing mass confusion by having its route extended only at “certain times” whatever that’s supposed to mean…
~ Route 140 will only operate during peak times. They have defined this as every fifteen minutes for three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. However, they have not bothered to tell us specifically when these three hour blocks will be.
~ Finally, route 143 will now only run on the weekends. Tourists want to be especially aware of this since it is currently the most convenient route for both Old Sacramento and the Convention Center.

I’m not trying to say the cuts weren’t needed–because it’s obvious that $16 million makes a huge difference. I just think that the public should have at least had a partial say in which routes to cut back on. They could have held a public hearing or something–maybe allowed us the option to increase the fare rates a little bit in exchange for getting to keep our bus routes to and from work.

The other thing that bothers me is that they are playing it off as being the sole fault of Governor Schwarzenegger. This is disgusting to me because it indicates one of two things. Perhaps the public transit officials are complete imbeciles with no working knowledge of the government–after all, they would have to be in order to say that the Governor is solely responsible for making all budget decisions. The alternative is even more sinister–they are simply trying to defame the Governor and the Republican Party in any way that they can. I’m not at all implying that everything the Republican Party does is good or right. However, I do know that it IS wrong to pass all of the blame to them when they are not the only ones in charge of running California! Furthermore, it is extremely evil to do so. After all, there are people in this country who have not had the requisite education to make their own informed decisions and opinions. They lack the ability to formulate their own educated thoughts and thus rely on others to do so for them. All too often, this means that they are brainwashed into believing whatever is popular instead of being given the means to decide for themselves–turned into little more than mindless voting zombies for whoever and wahtever the sun currently shines on. It is foul and underhanded in a way that makes me shudder to imagine what it means for our country in the long run…

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Funderland is a relatively small, old-fashioned amusement park geared towards children from 2-12 years of age located in the Land Park Drive area at 1350 17th Avenue. There is no cost for admission to the park. You only have to purchase tickets for the rides. Each ride is one ticket per person. The tickets cost $1.50 each Monday through Friday and $1.75 on weekends and holidays. During the week, you also have the option to purchase an unlimited wristband for $13.50.

The amusement park offers ten different rides and attractions to excite every youngster: The Funderland Train, Dragon Coaster, Airplanes, Oscar the Fish, Himalaya, Back Road Buggies, Tea Cups, the Log Flume, and two carousels. Be advised that there are limitations on who can ride some of the rides. Expectant mothers and individuals who are in casts are NOT permitted to ride any of the rides due to safety concerns. All of the rides also have size limitations at the discretion of the ride operator. The only rides which specified the exact weight allowed were the two carousels–both of which allow riders up to 175 pounds. Many of the rides also have warnings for those who have recently had surgery, those with heart problems and high blood pressure, and people who have had recent back or neck injuries.

In addition to rides, the amusement park also offers a snackbar which is open from 11-5 on Monday through Friday and 10-6 on Saturday and Sunday. They serve a vairety of carnival favorites including corndogs, snow cones, and churros. Just don’t expect to find anything even remotely healthy to eat–it is an amusement park after all. The park also hosts birthday parties for two hours blocks. The price is $124.95 and includes unlimited riding for ten guests and ten free tickets that can be used either at the party or at a later date. You may bring your own food and drinks into the party area, but be advised that you will not be able to cook anything at the park or bring in any alcoholic beverages. For more information, you can contact the park online or call 916-456-0115.

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As we all know, I’m not really much of a sports fan. However, I thought it would only be fair to at least give passing mention to the hardwork the Sacramento Monarchs have put forth in 2007. Their season was sadly cut short on Monday when the San Antonio Silver Stars beat them 80-78 to win the Western Conference playoff series. This is the first time in five years that the Monarchs will be unable to advance to the first round of playoffs. In addition, they were the favorite to win the series. Since they were the WNBA champs in 2005 and the runners up in 2006, it comes as an even bigger shock for players and fans alike. In my opinion, this was probably a result of over-confidence. They went into the series “knowing” that they were going to win. When leaving for Texas, one player even joked that she was only packing one pair of underwear because she thought they were going to have a quick and easy victory. It seems like they just let their heads get too big and lost focus of actually playing the game. Anyway, I feel kind of bad for them since their expectations were cut so short. It just goes to show that nothing in life is ever guaranteed…

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As a pre-med major, I found a place of particular interest to me here in Sacramento–the Sierra Sacramento Valley Museum of Medical History. The museum was built in May 2001 after the city opted for the closure of the Paul Guttman Medical Library and Information Center. The city wanted to be sure that their rare texts would be preserved so they chose to build the SSVMS to take its place. They decided to keep medical journals dating from the late 1800’s to the 1950’s along with hundreds of medical texts from the 1700’s. In addition to the texts, they have sixteen different displays of medical artifacts that were donated to the society. The displays depict collections of Surgery, Clinical Diagnosis, Infectious Disease, Pharmacy, Radiology, Chinese Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Medical Quackery (which sounds the most interesting to me!). The museum is located at 5380 Elvas Avenue #100 and is open daily from 9:00AM-4:00PM. You can arrange for tours by calling 916-452-2671 or by e-mailing info@ssvms.org.

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I know this is kind of random, but I was browsing through some of the other 451press sites and I found one called ShoppingTipsOnline.net. Today, the writer (Lana) posted a link for a free coupon for a free Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwhich and a medium drink. It takes between six and eight weeks for delivery, but it’s still worth checking into. After all, our Chick-Fil-A is rumored to be pretty nice and it’s still fairly new. It is located at 2101 Alta Arden, west of Cost Plus World Market. Their phone number is 916-922-2814 if you need directions.

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Now that the weather here in Sacramento is heating up again and we are seeing those atrocious high-nineties to low triple digits, I figured it’d be nice to find a way for everyone to cool off without having to sell your first-borns to pay your SMUD bills. Normally, I’d tell you to go and check out Raging Waters at CalExpo. However, right now they’re probably extradordinarily busy since the California State Fair is still in full swing. Thus, I decided to do some research and I found another water park in the Sacramento area–Golfland SunSplash in Roseville.

SunSplash has a number of waterslides to choose from. Some of the more popular attractions include Stormrider (the Valley’s first four-person waterslide and the first of its kind in the world!), Master Blaster Water Coaster (the only water roller coaster in California), and the two Dark Holes (where you slide in complete darkness). For the more faint at heart, there are also three pools to choose from. Adventure Island is a three and a half foot deep wading pool with small slides for kids to play on. Thunder Bay is a gigantic wave pool which creates waves the are 84 feet long to board on. The third, Bermuda Triangle, is a lazy inner tube raft where everyone can relax and float along the “river.”

In addition to waterslides, Golfland has a number of other attractions to keep you busy all day long. There are two 18-hole miniature golf courses–Adventure Golf and Lost Continent Golf–which they claim are the best miniature golf courses in California. Since it is a miniature golf park, they also have the standards that seem to come with all parks of this sort. They have Go-Karts at the Fastcars Raceway, Lazer Tag in their 5000 square foot arena Lazer Knights, and an arcade with over 200 games to choose from. You can also grab a bite to eat at either their pizza parlor or Subway.

The park is open Monday-Thursday from 10:00AM-10:00PM, Fridays from 10:00AM-midnight, Saturdays from 8:00AM to midnight, and Sundays from 10:00AM-9:00PM. You can purchase tickets online for special discounted rates. They currently have three internet specials running. You can purchase the 4 For Fun Lazer Tag for $20.00 which will save you $6.00, 4 For Fun Mini Golf for $24.00 which saves you $7.00, or Golf and Games which includes one game of mini golf and 10 arcade tokens for $8.00. In addition, you can also purchase entrance tickets to the waterpark itself. The prices are as follows:

General Admission (48” or taller): $24.99
Junior Admission (under 48” tall): $18.99
Toddlers (age 2 and under with an adult): $1.00
Senior Admission (age 62 and over): $12.99
Evening Admission (from 3:00PM-6:30PM): $18.99

They’re kind of pricey, but in comparison to other parks out there the rates are pretty standard for this area. In any case, it’d be much better to pay them then to try and deal with the crowds at Raging Waters. It’d be less of a hassle and probably more fun in the long run…

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Hello all!! Today, August 20th, is the 25th birthday of the great and wonderful me!! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am out of town and that I will return to regular postings shortly! Sorry for any inconveniences and hope everyone is having a grand old time!! *muah*

Since it’s still technically a Monday (even though it’s not on my stupid clock on here!!!) I figured I’d go ahead and treat you with one of my favorite versions of “Happy Birthday.” After all, the combination of The Simpsons, The Ramones, and Mr. Burns celebrating is just too much fun to pass up! So, here it is in all of it’s glory courtesy of YouTube.com…

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The 2007 California State Fair starts tomorrow, August 17th and runs through Labor Day. The primary theme of the 2007 fair will be the whimsy of childhood, focusing on reminding us all about how and why it was so wonderful to see the world through the eyes of a child. To that effect, some of the new features at this year’s fair include Toytopia: World of Toys, Californian Green Dream, the Nerveless Nocks Thrill Show, Monster Shop Bump’n Breakdancers, and the Treetures. Toytopia looks like the most entertaining as it features interactive displays, costumed characters and celebrities, and of course enough toys to please every child and child at heart. California Green Dream takes a more educational approach, exhibiting new and innovative ideas to improve conseravtion efforts and environmental awareness.

There will be numerous celebrity guests at the fair this year, but the biggest name is probably Guy Fieri from the The Next Food Network Star. He will be cooking with kids on August 31st at 3:00PM on the PG&E Center Stage. Others include Susan Maxwell Skinner (the Royal Family Press Corp member for Princess Diana), Bill Farmer (the voice behind such beloved characters as Yosemite Sam, Foghorn, Bugs Bunny, Goofy, and Pluto), and world-renowned artist Gregory Kondos who is most famous for his beautiful California landscape paintings like the above shown Lily Pond. In order to keep the kids interested, there will also be a plethora of costumed “stars” including characters from Star Wars, Transformers, Superman, Spiderman, and Batman.

There are also an array of activities geared towards all of us adult children. The standard horse races will of course be going on throughout the fair. However, they will also be having a few more abnormal races as well. The 8th Annual Dachshund Derby is on August 25th. The sixty-four canine contestants will be competing for the $500.00 prize. On the Saturday prior to the race, the dogs will compete in harness racing in order to dwindle the group down to eight finalists. I personally think those dogs are kind of creepy, but it still sounds like an intriguing concept nonetheless. The horse races will also be adding a little bit more excitement to the proceedings with a contest allowing fair patrons to name a yearling standard bred racehorse. Whoever suggests the winning name will even receive five percent of the horse’s stakes earnings as a 2 and 3 year old racehorse. In addition, every person who suggests a name will be entered into a drawing to also receive five percent.

Along with all of these, there will also be the typical State Fair exhibits and attractions that keep us coming back for more year after year. Terry Strokes will be performing his famous hypnotist act. The midway will have the same exciting carnival rides for “kids” of all ages. There will be TONS of animals (including my favorites the Budweiser Clydesdales!) and agricultural exhibits everywhere you look. The concert line-up is awesome and features musicians from pretty much every genre. And, of course, the food will be as fabulous as ever with all of the corn dogs, funnel cakes, and fried twinkies you can stomach! Be sure to try out the two newest fares: the Elvis Sandwich (a deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwich) and the fresh fruits and veggies at the Certified Farmers Market. Anyway, have fun and be sure to plan your trip ahead–especially if you have to stay the night in Sacramento as many hotels will be sold out! Get one while you can…

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It looks to be an awesome lineup of concerts this year at the California State Fair. They will all take place at 7:30PM on the Golden1 Stage. All of the concerts will be free with admission to the fair on a first come-first serve basis. However, there are also tickets available should you desire reserved seating. Prices vary depending on who will be performing…

The first concert will take place on opening night–August 17th. Tesla, an early 80’s rock band will be performing. I think this is a pretty appropriate choice as the band orginated in Sacramento in the days when they still called themselves City Kidd. Their music is kind of like Glam metal without the synthesizers, leather pants, and flashy make-up. Touring with huge Glam Metal names like Poison, Def Leppard, and David Lee Roth stuck them into that same category as well–despite their resentment to the classification. These days they’re still recording and touring with the newest member of the band, guitarist Dave Rude. Rude replaced the former guitarist Tommy Skeoch permanently in 2006 when Skeoch’s wife had a baby. Rude also joins them on their newest album Reel to Reel–a covers album which was released in June 2007. As an admitted sales gimmick, they sold it as a double CD album. The first CD came with the purchase. The second recording is advertised as being available for free to concert goers with the price of admission. Tickets.com says that they will be handing out the CD’s at the fair with the purchase of the $45 reserved tickets only. This may not sound expensive (and for a cocnert ticket alone it really isn’t…), however, you must also purchase admission to the fair. General admission to the fair is $10, so realistically you’d be looking at $55.00 per ticket. In the grand scheme of things, that’s still a pretty. Keep in mind though that there are a ton of other performers coming to the venue as well. Many of them are also asking much less for reserved seating.

The August 21st performance of Huey Lewis and the News will be a little bit cheaper at $40.00 for reserved seating. Considering that the San Francisco band has won Grammy awards and even been nominated for an Academy Award this is really a very good price. Hits like If This is It and Jacob’s Ladder made them one of the biggest bands of the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Their nod from the Academy was for The Power of Love which was featured in Back to the Future. They also achieved a degree of fame for a scandal involving the the theme song for Ghostbusters. The group was originally asked to record tracks for the sountrack. When they turned the studio down, Ray Parker Jr. was hired instead. The resulting theme song that we all know and love led to a lawsuit because the band said the song too closely resembled their song I Want a New Drug. They agreed to settle the matter out of court. However, since then Huey Lewis has made statements about the settlement which have led Parker to file his own ongoing lawsuit. In addition to these legal troubles, the band has been busy touring and writing songs that may or may not one day be released. In any case, the sheer drama alone would be worth at least the $10 fair admission price–if only to see if and how it has affected the band’s overall performance.

If you’re willing to pay a little bit more, you can also see Daughtry on August 22nd for $59.00 for reserved seating. Frankly, I think this is a bit outrageous. However, Chris Daughtry has become quite the phenomenon since his stint on American Idol. In addition, he is the newest act to be performing at the State Fair this year. In light of that, I suppose it could be considered worthwhile. Chris Daughtry won instant fame as the fourth runner up during the fifth season of the show. Since then, he has wasted no time in bursting onto the rock music scene. His debut album sold over 1,000,000 copies within five weeks, making it the fastest selling debut rock album of all time. He has a brilliant voice and his single Home is fast becoming one of my favorite songs. In short, while I wouldn’t pay for the advanced tickets in this case, I would still very much reccommend that you go and see him for the nice, cheap $10.00 a ticket. After all, in all likelihood you won’t ever have the opportunity to see him perform for this little again.

Aside from Daughtry, the most popular performer will probably be country music’s mega-group Lonestar. The August 24th performance will have tickets available for $40.00 for reserved seating. Since the release of their first single, Tequila Talkin, the band has had nothing but success and turned out numerous songs that have become immensely popular across various musical genres. This was especially true for their hits Amazed and I’m Already There. Amazed was even covered by rock icon Bonnie Tyler! Sadly, the group’s popularity has begun to decline over the past few years. In fact, lead singer Richie McDonald has even announced that he will be leaving the group at the end of this year to pursue a solo career. This is heartbreaking for the many of us who know that the band won’t be the same without him. For that reason alone, I would highly reccommend that you go and see them before they lose the unique and talented voice that has made them what they are today.

Another performance you won’t want to miss is the August 28th performance of Third Day. It is incredibly rare for a Christian band to appear at a fairgrounds so it is sure to be an undeniable treat. The three-time Grammy Award-winning group has become quite the favorite among Christian music listeners. I’m definitely going to try to go and hear them sing. After all, so many of the songs that we sing in church were first sung by Third Day. My two all-time favorite Christian songs happen to be theirs–God of Wonders and Took My Place. There is just something very raw and honest in their music that puts my more in tune with my own spirituality and I would totally encourage you to go and check them out if you are a Christian. Plus, the reserved tickets are only $20.00 so you really can’t go wrong on this one! =)

Tickets are also only $20.00 for the August 29th performance of KC and the Sunshine Band. They are world famous for their fun (if also a little campy) combination of funk, R&B, and disco. They rose to stardom in the early 1970’s with hits that EVERYONE knows–regardless of whether or not they choose to admit it. Some of the most famous ones include That’s the Way (I Like It), (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty, and Get Down Tonight. I so cannot believe I just typed those titles–and even worse, the songs are now running in a continuous loop in my mind like a bad record. In case you couldn’t tell, I really can’t stand them. Their music is the kind that makes all of us cringe and die a little every time it is played. Yet, we keep on coming back for more and they are subsequently just as popular today as they were 30+ years ago. (For that matter, so are The Commodores who will also be performing their own annoying songs like Brick House on August 31st).

On that note, let’s move on to the August 30th performance which won’t make us shudder so violently–The All-American Rejects. For a mere $35.00 you can get reserved seating to see one of the funnest and most hillarious bands around. My personal favorite is their original single Swing, Swing. It has this amazing vibe to it that is just very fresh and fun. Plus, for some strange reason it really just makes me think of Curious George–and let’s face it, who doesn’t love that adorable little monkey?! I’m also pretty fond of Dirty Little Secret because it is very clever and witty–especially compared to some of the other garbage recording artists have been putting out lately. Anyway, they’re fabulous so I order you to go and see them if you’re going to be going to the fair that day anyway.

From that point on, it’s nothing but good singers and good times at the fair. One of my favorite bands of all time–Chicago–will be performing on September 2nd. Reserved seating is $40.00 per ticket and they are worth every penny too. They are one of the longest running and most sucessful rock bands in the United States. Furthermore, in terms of singles and albums they are second only to The Beach Boys and they WERE the leading singles charting band of the 1970’s. They have powerful songs with moving lyrics and unforgettable melodies. I think the best part about them though is that they have stood the test of time over and over again. Everyone can enjoy their music regardless of where they come from or how old they are. My 21 year-old roommate has You’re the Inspiration as her ringtone on her cell phone. My 45 year-old father knows every word of every song–and made sure that we all did too. My 60 year old grandmother and my 10 year-old brother listen to old records together. Chicago is simply amazing and I will sell my limbs if I have to in order to see them play.

Strangely, they’re not even the act that I am looking forward to the most. That honor goes to Weird Al Yankovic–and yes, I know this makes me just as weird as he is. There’s just something very compelling amid all of the insanity. I love that he has no problem poking fun at other people and at himself because it reminds us that music–and life for that matter–doesn’t have to be serious all of the time. In fact, it reminds us that sometimes it’s much more important to just revel in the silliness of the absurd. I guess, in a way, it reminds us that growing up doesn’t mean we can’t still look at the world through the eyes of a child. As for the songs themselves, each one is better than the last. If I had to pick an all-time favorite (as a matter of life or death) it would have to be Weasel Stomping Day. It is the most ridiculous song that I have ever heard in my entire life but the outrageousness just makes it that much more special. I’m hoping that he’s going to sing it at the fair since I am so going to be there. I’m lucky enough to work for Best Western where we contract fair tickets in exchange for rooms to certain vendors. Thus, I plan to use mine so that I’ll only have to pay $20.00 to see Weird Al in all of his glory. I wouldn’t miss it for the world and neither should you!

Anyway, I think I’ve made it blatantly obvious that this year’s State Fair has a concert for everyone. Furthermore, they’re cheap and the venue is nice and small so that you can see and hear everything much better than you could at a bigger place like Arco Arena. Did I mention they’re cheap? So, you have no excuse not to go and pick at least one or two and have a fabulous time now do you? =)

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Tomorrow (August 11th) from 11:00AM to 3:00PM Fairytale Town will be celebrating their 48th Anniversary with a birthday party for Humpty Dumpty. Kids can meet the world famous Nursery Rhyme star and help him celebrate “his” birthday with special activities, party games, and even birthday cake for everyone! In addition, the Hipwaders will also be present from 12:00PM to 2:30PM on the Mother Goose Stage. They will be performing family fun friendly music and helping kids sing “Happy Birthday” to Humpty. It’s sure to be a blast for all of the little ones. =)

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The Jelly Belly Factory is open daily from 9:00AM-5:00PM at One Jelly Belly Lane in Fairfield, CA. Tours are also offered daily from 9:00AM-4:00PM. However, this is one of those rare places that you should really go to during the week. The factory line does not operate on the weekends so instead of getting to see the candy made in person, you have to watch the process on television screens throughout the factory. Part of the magic of visiting a factory is seeing how it functions so it would be best to go when it is actually open.

The tour itself is a 40 minute walking tour and is completely FREE. Tours are scheduled to leave every 15 minutes. Most days there isn’t a very long line, but waiting times can be up to 90 minutes during peak seasons such as summer, Spring Break, and during the Christmas Season. Strollers and wheelchairs are both welcome on the entire tour as everything is accessible. They even have hearing impaired devices available. The tour teaches the secret to baking up their 150+ varieties of candy and explains why it takes up to twenty days to create one jelly belly bean!! They also demonstrate the creation of taffy, chocolates, and wild gummi critters. At the end of the tour, they give out a free bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans as a complimentary gift. The gift shop also offers free samples of any of their candy.

Make sure you also check out the Jelly Belly Cafe. They are open daily from 11:00AM-3:00PM. They have really nifty pizzas and hamburger which are shaped like jelly beans. They also have a variety of decadent ice cream flavors and an espresso bar for when you simply can’t stand the taste of one more sugary substance. There is literally something to please every palate.

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The 8th Annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival is coming to town August 8th through August 11th. All films will be shown on the mammoth screen at Crest Theater located at 1013 K Street in Downtown Sacramento. 2007 event highlights include a special showing of Ryan Eslinger’s When a Man Falls in the Forest and Q&A sessions with Larry Meistrich and Joe Carnahan.

When a Man Falls in the Forest, playing on August 8th at 7:30PM, is a drama detailing the identity crises of three men and one woman…

“Karen tries to create some excitement in her frustrated married existence by going on shopping sprees and breaking taboos. Bill has never been able to interact safely with the world around him - he prefers to exist in a lackluster state of self-imposed exile, a world where his dreams proffer a different sense of self. Frozen in a moment in time, Travis is able to reach to others but not within since he bears the guilt for a terrible tragedy which has scarred him forever. Gary is also desperate to make a connection - he strives to bridge the gaps and find what is lost. In one defining moment he makes a startling and irreversible decision which irrevocably changes everything”

In addition to the film, Ryan Eslinger will be present for a Q&A session. That same night, they will also be presenting Shawn Sullivan with the Inaugural Sacramento Film and Music Festival Arts Service Award. Mr. Sullivan is a teacher at Sheldon High School in Elk Grove. He is being honored for “inspiring the next generation” and for his “exceptional contribution to his students’ success, to the industry, and to the art form.”

Producer Larry Meistrich will be appearing on Thursday, August 9th at 7:00PM. He is most famous for films like Sling Blade and You Can Count on Me. He will only be giving a special talk on Thursday. However, he will also be appearing on Friday, August 10th from 2:00PM to 7:00PM to meet individually with filmmakers and writers to discuss their own prospective films. There are still places available to meet with him yourself if you have a film project that you would love to see produced. The cost for this is quite a bit more than for anything else at the festival, but it is definitely worth it as a foot in the door for anyone interested in beginning (or continuing) a career in the film industry.

Later that day at 9:00PM, director Joe Carnahan will also be speaking. The Sacramento native is famous for his work on films like Narc and Smokin’ Aces. If I weren’t absolutely broke I would definitely be going to hear him speak. I loved Smokin’ Aces and thought it was one of the most brilliantly directed and cleverly thoguht out films of 2006. The tickets aren’t even that expensive at only $10.00 per person. I highly reccommend that you check it out if you are even remotely interested in film.

There are also numerous other films scheduled, including a variety of student films. Throughout the festival, there will be live music performances from Taylor Neal, Hardy Harr, Larisa Bryski, Xenophilia, and Ditching Mindy. In addition, the Sac Music Seen is showcasing some pretty fabulous collaborations between local filmmakers and bands. All in all, it looks like a lot of fun so you should definitely check it out if you have the time…

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There aren’t really that many concerts left for August. Thre are of course the State Fair Concerts which I will be showcasing on next week’s edition of Music on Mondays. Other than that, there are really only four worth noting. The first is India Arie’s upcoming performance at MontBleu in Lake Tahoe. She will be performing on Saturday, August 18th at 9:00PM. Since MontBleu is a casino resort and alcohol is served there, you must be 21 in order to attend the concert. You can opt for either table or booth seating with prices ranging from $44.00 to $60.50. The casnio will also provides free parking and free valet parking as well if that’s your preference.

On Tuesday, August 21st, Marilyn Manson will be performing with Slayer and Bleeding Through at the SleepTrain Ampitheatre in Marysville. Doors open at 5:30PM with the concert itself beginning at 6:30PM. Tickets begin at $25.00 for lawn seating to $47.50 for pit and reserved seating. They also offer a four-pack of lawn tickets for $79.00. I’ll be honest and say that I would so never be there–he kind of creeps me out. However, if you do like that kind of thing is does seem like a pretty good deal.

The Sacramento stop of the Vans Warped Tour is also coming to the SleepTrain Ampitheatre in Marysville. There are a ton of bands who will be performing including Flogging Molly and A Static Lullaby. Tickets will be $29.75 each and are all general admission. Keep in mind that you will not be allowed to bring in any camcroders or cameras…which I believe includes camera phones. The concert will begin at 11:00AM and is kind of an all day kind of thing.

The final big concert of the month will be Beyonce’s August 30th appearance at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena in Lake Tahoe. She will be performing as part of the Ladies of Lake Tahoe performances. Tickets start at $57.00 for bleacher seating and go up to $127.00 for the main floor. The concert starts at 7:30PM and will be outdoors near the lake itself. The venue sucks soundwise, but the views are breathtaking. Again, I’m not really into Beyonce so I won’t be there. August looks to be kind of a blah month for me concert-wise. However, the State Fair performances look like they’ll be infinitely more entertaining. Stay tuned to next week’s Music on Mondays for more information…

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The Melting Pot is a fabulous fondue restaurant located at 814 15th Street. I went there last September for my friend Laura’s birthday and it was probably one of the best restaurants that I have ever been to. The menu consists of a four-course fondue meal, each of which is prepared fresh at the table. Everyone even gets their own color of fondue forks so that you will always know which tasty morsels are yours!

You begin with a selection of traditional cheese fondues. It is $16.00 per fondue for two people and $8.00 for each additional person. We had a large group of ten people so we chose two different fondues–the Cheddar Cheese and the Fiesta Cheese. They give you a wide selection of bread, fresh vegetables, and apple slices to dip it in. The next selection is a salad–which will run you $6.00 per person. You can choose from their Mushroom Salad, Chef’s Salad, Calfiornia Salad, and their new Athenian Salad. I had the Mushroom Salad which was pretty good. However, it did have a TON of mushrooms so be careful if that’s not really your thing.

For the entrée course, you first select your cooking style. We chose two different fondues–the Coq au Vin and the Mojo. The Coq au Vin combines fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, imported spices, and a rich burgundy wine. The Mojo Fondue is a Caribbean-themed bouillon with fresh garlic and citrus flavors. We also chose two entrée platters–the Signature Selection and the Surf & Turf. The Signature Selection consists of choice tenderloin, shrimp, teriyaki sirloin, marinated chicken breasts, fresh fish fillets, and fresh salmon. The Surf & Turf consisted of lobster tails, filet mignon, and Portobello mushrooms. All of the meat was very fresh and lean. They also served a variety of vegetables with this course including mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and even onion slices. They also had a variety of things to dip your marinated tidbits in–the horseradish one was amazing.

The cap of the meal though was definitely the chocolate fondue. We again chose two selection. The Cookies ‘n Cream Marshmallow Dream was incredible. It is dark chocolate covered in marshmallow cream and chopped oreos. It was flambéed at the table too which was a pretty neat touch. We also chose the Yin & Yang–a combination of white and dark chocolate made to look like the Yin & Yang symbol. It was very elegant and creative…and, more importantly, it was absolutely delicious. They provided us with an incredible array of delectables to dip in the fondue as well including strawberries, bananas, pineapple, cheesecake, marshamllows rolled in nuts and coconut, pound cake, and brownies. It is basically Heaven personified for those of us with a sweet tooth!

Right now, they are also doing a wide variety of summer specialties. The first is their new Mediterranean Cheese Fondue. It is made from a combination of Fontina and Gruyère cheeses. They are specially blended with roasted garlic, dates, shallots, and white truffle oil. As I mentioned earlier, they also have a new Athenian Salad. It is comprised of crisp romaine and iceberg lettuces, ham, pepperoni, roasted red pepper, Kalamata olives, and Feta cheese tossed in a light white balsamic vinaigrette dressing. They also have new selections of entrées such as Balsamic-Marinated Sirloin, garlic and herb chicken,citrus pork tenderloin, roasted red pepper rigatoni, wild mushroom raviolis, and succulent white shrimp. The most mouth-watering itme on the new menu though is defintiely the Raspberry Dark Chocolate Fondue. It is a decadent swirl of dark chocolate and raspberry purée with just a hint of hazelnut.

The only drawback is the price, which can quickly become ridiculous. For our group we ended up paying $50.00 per person. However, if you can afford it you should at least try it out once. The food is incredible and the service is fabulous. It is one of those places where you will certainly leave feeling that you have gotten your money’s worth…

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