Sacramento, CA

Today would have been a gorgeous summer day if it weren’t for the thick smoke that has filled the Sacramento Valley. The hundreds of fires that have been sparked by lightening are very unfortunate, and pose health risks to sensitive groups (those with heart coinditions and breathing problems) as well as small children.

I am sure the subject of the fires is all over the evening news, but since I do not watch local news I still have to get my information somewhere. I have been referring to the www.sparetheair.com website several times a day just to see if our air quality here in the Sacramento area has improved. It seemed to improve this evening, although earlier I dared not venture outside. Every time I went outdoors my eyes would water- not a good sign.

Young children should be kept inside when the air quality is really bad. They are included in the “sensitive groups.” I think many people forget that little children are more sensitive to bad air because they actually breathe in more air than adults do, and their lungs are still developing. I have had a number of children knock on my door earlier in the day asking if my child could play outside, and the answer was a kind, but firm, no- with a reminder that the air is just too smoky.

I truly hope that all of the residents that were evacuated from there homes will be allowed to return, and that they will be able to go on with their lives as they used to.

Thank you to the hardworking firefighting crews from all over the state who are working on putting the fires out. Be safe.

Once again, I am amazed and disgusted by the level of cruelty that humans can exact on other creatures without giving it so much as a second thought! Exit Urban Shoes and Oglivy Advertising have come up with a new set of ads which feature impossible situations with the slogan, “They’ll find a way out.” Supporters say that the ads “appeal to the scenester type who is always out on the town…[and that their] strangeness works naturally with the brands urban-hip positioning, provoking just enough curiosity, yet are simple enough to satisfy it.” Frankly, I am one of those scenster types and I think the ads are repulsive and degrading. One of the worst by far though is this one of a helpless and bound dog. (I couldn’t bear to put the whole thing on here because it is just too disgusting, but I do encourage you to see for yourself so you will know exactly why something needs to be done about this!!)

Some people have even dared to say that the ads are profound and artistic which really just begs the question, what the hell happened to our moral conscience?!! In addition to the apparently dead dog, the ad campaign also features images of a porn star that are so explicit they have to be blurred on the site itself!! The company called that their most risquee and avant-garde. I call it tacky and demoralizing…but that’s just because my mother raised me with morals!

Anyway, thank God there are other people out there who think this detestable. There are all kinds of petitions circling on various blogs across the internet where you can voice your displeasure and disgust as well. Furthermore, you can also email the companies themselves at alma.sa@chello.be and maryse.dhaene@ogilvy.com. However, I think it would eb even better to boycott the stores that sell Exit Urban Shoes as well. That way it’ll be much easier to effect change and get the ads removed–along with punishing the parties responsible for the abuse of this dog. After all, if stores aren’t willing to sell their product for fear of being boycotted themselves, then it will be much more likely that the companies will take this issue seriously! I don’t know of any shoe stores in Sacramento offhand that sell them–they’re not a favorite of mine to begin with. However, if anyone does, please feel free to let me know so we can spread the message around to everyone else too…maybe even stage a little picket or something of that nature if anyone is interested!! Thanks in advance…

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Against all odds, the missing Dominguez family was blessed with their own Christmas miracle when they were found alive and well yesterday afternoon. They had been missing since Sunday when they got lost looking for the perfect Christmas tree. Many people believed that they would not be found alive as the mountains saw a ton of snowfall over the past couple of day. Somehow, by some miracle they managed to survive with only mild hypothermia.

The family didn’t have any food or water and no survival skills. Yet somehow they managed to live through their ordeal anyway. They apparently camped out in a concrete tunnel underneath a mountian road. They wrote the word “Help” in the snow and a helicopter pilot–who wasn’t even supposed to fly because of the weather–found the father waving his hands in the air next to it. Anyway, I won’t go into more details, but you can read them yourself in today’s Sacramento Bee.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who prayed for their safe return. Few people believed that they would be found safe and sound–yet somehow it still happened. It just goes to show you how much can be accomplished with the power of prayer. In any case, because of this little miracle, this is certain to be the best Christmas the Dominguez family will ever have!!

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On Sunday afternoon, Frederick Dominguez and his three children–Christopher, Alexis, and Joshua–disappeared in the mountains near Inskip where they were looking for a Christmas tree. None of them were prepared for a long trip out in the snow. In fact, they were only wearing T-Shirts, jeans, light jackets, and sneakers.

They certainly weren’t prepared for the snow storms that have been hitting the area over the past couple of days. As of now, rescue teams are hoping that they managed to find someplace to hide out during the storm–like one of the many cabins that dot the area. However, tehre has been no trace of them so far and Madde Watts of the Butte County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team said that “The elevation ranges from 4,000 to 6000. It’s been really cold up there. The weather has moved in, the terrain is difficult. It’s desperate, all right.”

In any case, their future isn’t looking too good right now so I would entreat anyone who believes to pray for their safe return. It would be such an immense tragedy for their mother to lose her entire family so close to Christmas–especially over a Christmas tree. Frankly, I think there have been quite enough tragedies this year already…

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Is it just me or is Roseville full of the most random crimminals ever? First there was the Golf-Ball Thief earlier this year, and now we have little old ladies robbing banks. Normally, I’m as conservative and hard ass as they come, but this just screams to the world that our elderly community isn’t being as well-cared for as it should be. I mean really how many little old ladies do you know that rob banks?

When I saw her picture it made me think of my own grandmother who doesn’t yet qualify for her social security benefits because she’s only sixty-four. She also very unhealthy and has to take a plethora of medications just to avoid having more strokes. Due to these stroeks, she is blind in one eye and colorblind in the other. However, there aren’t many options to help her out with the medications that she needs just to live. One of her pills is $100 for just one pill!! She is so poor that she and her husband can’t even buy each other Christmas gifts this year. They’re basically lucky to just scrape by enough to keep on living.

You just know that the poor woman who robbed that bank did it because she is in a similar situation. Witneses even said that she was shaking and it looked like she was debating whether to do it or not. In my opinion, she doesn’t sound at all like a career criminal. It sounds like she is just a desperate woman in a desperate situation. However, if you’re enough of a scrooge to give her up, police are asking that “Anyone with information about the robbery can call the FBI in Sacramento at (916) 481-9110, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department at (916) 874-5115, Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP, or the Roseville Police Department at (916) 774-5000.” Frankly, I hope she gets away with it…

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The Westfield Downtown Plaza Ice Rink has been open sicne November 1st and I didn’t even know it. This makes me sad to think of how many times I could have been out there already. It’s the only outdoor ice skating rink in Sacramento and it’s pretty much the single most awesome thing that you can do in these parts during the winter. Granted, the rink isn’t the greatest I’ve ever skated at and the employees can be a bit horrible, but there’s just something magical about skating under the open night sky that is just unimaginably incredible to those who’ve never done it before. It’s even one of those things that just gets better and better every time you do it.

The rink is conveniently located next to the K Street Mall so you can even stop by on a break from your holiday shopping at a mall that isn’t as overly crowded as Arden Fair is every year! During holiday hours, they are open everyday from 10AM to 10PM with the hours varying a little bit before December 10th and after December 30th. It is also incredibly cheap at only $6.00 per person for two hours of skating, plus a $2.00 rental fee if you don’t have your own skates. I have heard a lot of people complain about the availability of skates before so be advised taht you might want to bring your own if you have them. Also be advised that they only accept cash–weird I know given that we live in the age of credit. Anyway, go out and have a lot of fun. just don’t end up like this poor lady…

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Lately, the city has been exerting extensive effort towards rennovating these historic areas of Downtown with mixed results. I have noticed that when they fail it is usually because of lack of community involvement and awareness. They try to keep the people in the dark and then everything ends up being one giant f**k up. Thankfully, they seem to have taken a much different approach to rennovating one of the most historic areas of Downtown Sacramento.

One of the things that Sacramento is most known for is its history as a railroad town. In particular, it is the birthplace of the Central Pacific Railroad’s contributions to the Transcontinental Railroad. For years, the area surrounding the downtown railyards has fallen into disuse and succumbed to the same sort of degeneration that sadly so often happens in big cities. However, it was recently decided to extend the city’s efforts to clean up the downtown area to include the railyard. Furthermore, plans for reviatlization include the addition of a main thoroughfare for shops and boutiques which will bring business to the area and hopefully keep it clean for years to come.

The best part though is that the developer, Thomas Enterprises, is letting the community become a part of the project in a way that is creative and fun. They are holding a contest to name the streets that will run through the area. They will be looking for names that “represent the character of the Sacramento region and reflect our historic past” while also creating “a fresh, contemporary feel” to fully embody what Sacramento has become–a place of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Of course, some people will be upset because there is no monetary prize for “winning.” However, I think that you get something much better from entering the contest–a chance to be a part of living history. You get to truly be a part of Sacramento itself and I don’t think anyone could argue for a better gift than that!

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Today (as I’m sure you are all aware) is Black Friday, otherwise known as the year’s biggest catastrophe for shopper’s wallets and a giant salve for merchants everywhere. Fortunately, I had to work at my real world job today so *alas* there shall be no shopping for me. However, if you’re not like Candy Hollowell over at Tulsa, OK or myself then I’m sure you’re already out and about instead of reading this. However, when you get back it’s still something you should know about as it’s likely to continue through the holiday season.

Anyway, this morning I heard on KCRA that Arden Fair Mall has greatly improved upon its security system. They have employed more security guards and, more importantly, also done some major technological overhauls to the previously existing system. The single biggest improvement is an increase from 19 security cameras to 128. Furthermore, many of these new cameras can rotate and zoom in close enough to read specific license plates. I am so exstatic about this taht it’s really not even funny! FINALLY they are doing something to deter thiefs who target holiday shoppers!!! All I can say is taht it’s about time!

Regardless of the improvements made, I would still advise you to be cautious when shopping at any big mall this season. The local paper where my parents live published some great tips that I thought I’d pass along.

1) Ladies, don’t carry around a big bulky purse. They are attractive to purse-snatchers as they know they can hold all sorts of goodies. Instead, just bring along a small handbag or carry a couple of cards in your pcket instead. Also, if you are carrying a purse be sure to wear it with the strap diagonally across your chest. It makes it more difficult to grab.

2)NEVER leave merchandise in the front seats of your car where people can see them. This is just asking for trouble. Instead, make sure that you put them in your trunk so that they won’t become a homing beacon fro crooks. Also, (and I’d never heard this before!) it’s better if you are willing to park your car somewhere else when you drop off a load of purchases. In theory, this deters anyone who is staking out your vehicle because they wil assume that you are leaving the mall and returning home.

3)Do not park far away from the mall doors if you will be out late at night. If you have to park in these areas, check periodically to see if you can move your car before it gets dark outside.

4)Many malls have secuirty guards who will walk you to your car if you are out alone after dark. Take advantage of them!

Feel free to add more if you know of any so we can pass them around and insure that everyone has a safe and happy shopping season!

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I know I haven’t written much of anything since Veterans Day, but it’s been one heck of a week. A friend of a friend was murdered in Dixon and I’ve been doing a lot of praying over that lately. She has two young sons who are going to be without their mother for the first time this Christmas and it’s really just too horrible to imagine. Anyway, if you could please remember them in your prayers this week–and especially today–that would be so very thoughtful and wonderful. I would be very thankful for the added prayers that her boys get to see justice served quickly and efficiently.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving and feel free to add to my Thanksgiving prayer if you feel so inclined!

Dear God,

Thank You for giving humanity the idea of family. To know that there are those who will love you unconditionally is the most liberating thought that any of us can ever have. Thank You specifically for my family. We may not always get along–and we are certainly far from conventional–but there is no family in the world whose members love each other more. It may take a crisis for us to realize this, but we are as fiercely protective of one another as You could ever possibly have hoped for. On that note, thank You for also giivng us those who do not have family and the knowledge of families who aren’t as close. For it is these people whose desperation reminds us of just how blessed You have made the Springer clan in giving us one another.

Thank You also for the incredible friendships that You have allowed me to forge. More importantly, thank You for showing me that it doesn’t matter how many you have so long as you have one or two who have somehow crossed the line and become family. Some days I don’t think I would surrive if it weren’t for their support and love. Above these, thank You for those friendships which are not as solid. Whether they are new friends or merely those who have somehow become out of touch, these are the people who remind me to keep trying. They constantly illustrate that good things come to those who are willing to wait–yet, also, to those who refuse to wait forever.

Thank You for wonderful meal that my mother will be slaving over all day and that my father worked so hard to provide for us. There is no greater gift than a home cooked meal prepared in love. This is especially the case for one such as this which will be composed without so much as a thought to all of the stress and anxiety that holidays so often inadvertantly bring about. Thank You also for all of the million sof people who will not be enjoying such a magnificent feast this Thanksgiving. Their suffering is never far from mind during the holidays. Nothing more fully teaches the value of a meal than the plight of those who go without it. Furthermore, nothing else could be as poignant a reminder as this comparison to jolt us into the act of giving that You would have us all aspire to.

Thank You also for giving me the gift of an incredible church family. In particular, thank You for giving me such powerful role models as Shirley and Miss Bea. Their constant effort to bring the gift of Christ to those who do not know Him is beauitfully motivational. I can only hope to someday be able to spread the message of Your love as far and effectively as they have.

More than any of these though, I thank You for the gift of tragedy. Though I may not always understand Your reasons I do always come to appreciate the lessons that I gain from them. Though it is hard to admit sometimes there is no greater gift than the death of someone that we know and love. It sounds heinous even typing that, but it is true nonetheless. Nothing else in the world could possibly shout more clearly “LIVE, LIVE, LIVE!!!” So often in life we get too caught up in doing the things that keep us alive that we forget to truly live. However, when someone dies, the urgency is brought back and we realize that there are no guarantees for tomorrow, and that instead we must sieze each moment and cherish it as though it could be our last. To me, there is no greater way to honr the life AND death of a loved one than to allow it to breathe new life into you once more.

Always Yours with love,

Jenny

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and may God bless you and yours today and always!

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After a rather dry October, there are *gasp* actually a few concerts scheduled for November. Sadly, due to the weather, none of them are at Sleeptrain and concert-goers will be forced to endure the crowds at Arco Arena instead. The first one scheduled is for the live tour of So You Think You Can Dance. The top ten finalists including the winner–Sabra–will perform on Saturday Novemeber 24th at 8:00PM. Doors will open at 7:00PM with the parking lot available starting at 6:00PM. Tickets range in price from $35.00 for the upper levels to $54.50 for seating on the lower levels or the main floor, so it’s really not going to be all that expensive.

The next concert of the month will be the following day (Sunday, Novemeber 25th) when the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be having two different performances at Arco Arena. The first will be at 3:00PM and the second at 7:30PM. Tickets begin at $35.50 for the upper level and go to $49.50 for the lower level and the main floor. Their Winter Tour is an incredible tribute to the Christmas Season which I would highly reccommend everyone to see at least once in their lifetime. They employ a special combination of rock and roll and classical music that somehow manages to create the most unique and beautiful synthesis that I’ve ever heard. If you can’t afford to go to one of the concerts, at least stop by and pick up a CD or two from your local Wal-Mart. (I would personally reccommend A Mad Russian’s Christmas!!) They’re only around $5.00 and the website has samples of their songs that you can listen too. I promise you won’t be disappointed, instead becoming just as fascinated and as enthralled with them as I am.

Arco Arena will also be hosting Van Halen on Tuesday November 27th. Tickets for the 7:30PM concert range in price from $49.50 for the upper levels to $149.50 for the main floor. I’ll be the first to admit that I would love to see Van Halen. Furthermore, I know I’m not the only corny girl out there who still adores Pretty Woman. However, I just can’t bring myself to advise anyone to pay that much to see them. I’ve been very disillusioned the past couple of years by older rock bands who just don’t sound the same anymore–*cough* The Rolling Stones at the Super Bowl *cough*–and I don’t think it’s fair for them to charge so much only to let our expectations fall flat. Perhaps I’m being too cynical, but I just don’t think it’s worth the risk for that price. Sometimes, I think it’s just better to let bygones be bygones…

The final Arco Arena concert for Novemeber will be on Friday, November 30th. 107.9 The End is putting on their annual Jingle Ball show. This year, the Sacramento lineup will include Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Plain White T’s, and Cute is What We Aim For. Tickets range in price from $29.25 to $34.25. Granted, this is a pretty good deal and Fall Out Boy is inarguably amazing. However, I would reccommend that you save your pennies and go the second Jingle Ball instead. It’s going to be at the Stockton Arena on December 1st. They have a much better lineup (in my opinion anyway) for around the same price. Avril Lavigne, OneRepublic, Sean Kingston, and Natasha Bedingfield will be performing at that concert. The tickets are a couple dollars more and it is certainly a lot farther to drive, but it’ll still be worth the extra effort!

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Okay, so I know this is going to sound totally malicious and evil but I just couldn’t help but laugh at how far the mighty have fallen. I’m talking of course about the Sacramento Kings whose longtime sold-out record was shattered on Tuesday–officially dethroning them from a title they have been building since 1999. Until Tuesday, the Kings had a 354 home game streak of sold-out games. Not only have they fallen, they have fallen HARD. Instead of being sold-out, their opening game has the record for the lowest attended opening game in the NBA this season.

Melody Gutierrez at the Sacramento Bee wrote a really graet article about it today. She listed all kinds of reasons that sellers have been giving for the severe decline in ticket sales. All the usual suspects were there–you know, not being in the playoffs last year for the first time in ages, poor organization in the advertising department, etc, etc. However, I think it’s safe to say that we all know the REAL reason they can’t sell tickets anymore–and it has nothing to do with any of the lies they’ve been spewing.

Frankly, it’s because the fans have become disenchanted as a result of arrogance which the team has displayed over the past year or so. The entire franchise let itself get way too big headed this past year. First there was that whole issue with wanting the city to pay for a new arena when Arco Arena is perfectly fine. Everyone knew they just wanted to have a bigger arena so they could sell-out with an even higher number of tickets. After all, goodness knows 17,317 tickets per game just isn’t enough! They just wanted to make more money and have the tax payers pay to let them do so.

When you add to that the fact that they didn’t make it to the playoffs, it really just adds further insult to injurey. I know this will sound stupid, but a lot of people I know stopped going to the games this year because they took the loss as a personal offense. To them, it was almost as if the Kings had lost on purpose because they hadn’t gotten their way. It was like a way to punish their fans. Now, I know this is illogical–but then when have the masses EVER been known for their superior grasp of logic?

Personally I think this is the funniest thing ever. I think that athletes NEED reality checks and that they don’t get them nearly often enough. Frankly, I think it’s hillarious when they have their plans and pathways shattered because they seem so shocked about it. Their gigantic egos won’t allow them to accept–or even really understand–what has happened to them. Then they try to explain it away as someone else’s fault. In the end, the spectacle is just the most entertaining part of professional sports.

For me, this was almost like the proverbial icing on the cake. After all, at the end of last year, the Sacramento Monarchs just had a spectacular dethroning at the end of this past season too!!! I know that sounds mean, but it’s just nice to know they’re still human too you know? Besides, reality checks are motivational. I mean look at the Kings–they WON on Tuesday…

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So, I was reading the Sacramento Bee this morning, and I think I can honestly say I won’t be the only person thouroughly ticked off by what I read.

At the end of August, news broke through that the city was planning on cutting several major bus routes and significantly shortening others. These plans are still going to go through in January of 2008. All along, they have been telling the public that the cuts are being forced upon them because ridership is down. They have told us over and over that they just don’t have the money to keep up with these routes–which just so happen to run in poorer neighborhoods in Sacramento.

However, they now magically have enough money to add a new light rail track that is going to cost $46,000,000!!! The new track runs from Eigth and K Streets to the Downtown Amtrak and is the most expensive light rail track in Sacramento. Furthermore, costs were never expected to be that high in the first place! In this morning’s edition of the Bee, officials try to play it off as something that was beyond their control:

Transit officials say they were naive about the difficulties of digging up downtown streets for a rail line. They set an aggressive construction schedule they never came close to meeting. The project took 30 months, more than twice what was expected.

It was slowed by discoveries of unmapped underground utilities that had to be moved, numerous unearthings of American Indian artifacts, intense spring rains in 2006 and a late-hour demand by federal judges that the line be rerouted farther from their courthouse.

I can’t believe how irresponsible this is!!! To waste so much money and then to try to gloss it over as an act of God is completely uncalled for. The worst part is that they know that!!! This morning, an RT Board Member–David Sander–even admitted, “These are taxpayer dollars, and it is extremely important we invest them as wisely as we can…Cost over-runs are a sign we are not doing the best we can managing projects.” All I can say to that is no s**t Sherlock! I mean really, who do these people think they are fooling? Do they honestly think we are stupid enough to buy this crap?

The Chief of Transportation even had the audacity to say, “I’m getting an education in how complex it is”! Well, frankly, we don’t give a damn about your education Mr. Zlotkowski. We DO care that you have succeeded in wasting millions of dollars on a project when you claim to be unable to pay to keep existing lines open!! You can argue all you want about these lines being necessary, but no one believes it. We still don’t have routes to Natomas–or even the airport for that matter. I seriously doubt there are any other major cities in the country that have airports but no way to get to them. It’s a ridiculous example of how easily officials in this area manage to get away with wasting our tax dollars. They have no problem with spending money on outrageous things like stakeouts for golf ball thieves and rail lines they will never complete, but they can’t seem to be bothered with any of the numerous severe issues this city faces everyday. All I can say is disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!!!!

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Okay, so I’m pretty sure that a fair number of you are already sick and tired of hearing me rant and rave about breed discrimination, but I just couldn’t help myself this time because the proposition seems so innocuous. It even sounds really intriguing to those of us–like myself–who are nerdy enough to be totally turned on by things like the Human Genome Project. It’s funny, but it never really dawned on me that such areas of science could potentially be used for nefarious purposes.

Then, I discovered the following ad whilst browsing on craigslist this morning:

Its a DNA Swab-a-thon!!! An exciting new product that uses DNA to pinpoint the breed-mix of a mutt will be demonstrated during a weekend “DNA swab-a-thon” Nov 2-4, 2007.

Representatives from the Canine Heritage™ Breed Test will be on-hand at eight PETCO stores in the Sacramento area to answer questions about the test. Kits will be available for purchase($10 off the internet price!) and representatives will be there to swab your pooch and process the paperwork. The only thing left to do is to wait for the results in the mail!

Quick and painless, the Canine Heritage™ Breed Test is a step forward in DNA technology yet remains very simple to administer. It requires only a simple cheek swab that is mailed to the lab in Davis, CA, with results coming back to the pet-owner in about 4 weeks. The current test can identify 38 breeds which represent about 75% of the most common registered domestic breeds.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this seems like a harmless bit of fun. You know, you and your boyfriend have always argued over whether Fido is secretly part lab or part golden retriever. Now, you can finally settle the argument once and for all. However, right after that thought came a second one–this could help to further facilitate breed discrimination in America. Just imagine the possibilities. It will be much easier to determine if a dog is a member of a bully breed or not. This in turn will make it much easier for landlords to dictate which dogs can live on their properties and which ones can’t. It will set in motion a chain of events that–I predict anyway–will eventually lead to the eradication of bully breeds.

We already have issues where states and cities can ban dog owners from having pit bulls. Authorities in those areas can go into peoples’ homes and sieze their dogs for no reason except for their breed. (How they can do this and then wonder why people are willing to support people like Michael Vick is beyond me–but that’s a whole other issue that Susan Mead at My Friendly Pets and I have both already covered so I’ll say no more on it for now!) The dogs are not dangerous and have done nothing wrong. However, these dogs then go on to be euthanized merely for existing. Until now, owners have been able to hide under the cover of declaring their four-legged friends to be mutts. The government could not murder them unless the owners admitted that they were pure bred dogs–or if the animal really had attacked someone. I personally know of at least thirty dogs who have been spared because of this little convenient glitch. However, now the authorities will eventually have the power to demand owners to give them a sample of the dog’s blood so that it can be tested.

This disgusts me because of the complacency with which it is likely to be carried out. No one really seems to notice the nefarious hidden implications that it could have for humanity as well. How much longer will it be before UC Davis sets up medical tests to determine a person’s lineage? Those curious about their heritage will flock to labs around the world like lambs to the slughter. Never mind that somewhere out there, the next fascist tyrant will be biding his time and waiting to exterminate various ethnic groups on a whim. I predict it will be much worse than what Hitler managed to accomplish too. After all, he only had Star of David patches and the word of other people. The next despot will have DNA evidence to back up his personal vendetta–evidence made all the worse because it will have been given willingly! i can’t believe how foolish science can be sometimes–never stopping to even consider the future consequences of their actions! Or perhaps I should instead be chiding the everyday average Joes–after all, WE are the ones who are going along with it without a second thought…

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This won’t be my normal type of Music on Mondays post because, sadly, there aren’t any scheduled concerts for October. However, the Sacramento Ballet is putting on A Woman’s Journey: The Tamsen Donner Story which I think is quite fitting for the Halloween season.

The show is a special brain child of the Sacramento Ballet’s Art Director for the past twenty years–Ron Cunningham. The ballet has been a work in progress for the past thirty years and Sacramento is to be treated with it’s world premiere on Thursday October 25th at 7:30PM. It tells the story of the infamous Donner family as told through the journal entries of Tamsen Donner.Their infamy stems from centuries of accusations suggesting that the family resorted to cannibalism while they were trapped in the mountains on their way to California. The sheer gruesomeness of such a deed makes it ample “entertainment” of the Halloween sort–especially when considering that the characters involved are real.

In the same token, scientists have reently begun debating the validity of these accusations. Thus, it will be extremely interesting to see which direction Cunningham takes with his ballet. My personal opinion is that the cannibalism will have to be dealt with since his inspiration was from the diary of Tamsen Donner. The allegations of cannibalism stem from letters and diaries from the party so to base a ballet and completely omit it would be absurd at best. In any case, it is efinitely worth checking out just on the chance that cannibalism will be an issue. There is little else in the world that can so readily remind us that human beings are also animals and can be just as barbaric and inhuman as any other creature. In short, it is a perfect Halloween activity for those of us who want something a little bit more frightening than pumpkin patches and corn mazes…

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According to Guinness World Records, the world’s largest corn maze is now located at Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon, CA!!! The farm is run by the Cooley brothers who started their pumpkin patch in 2000. The corn maze itself has grown progessively every year, now spanning across more than 40 acres. The brothers refer to it as “a kind of test…[where] you have to have enough patience and problem-solving skills to make it through…enough resolve to solve the puzzle and get out.”

The Sacramento Bee eloquently referred to the maze as ” an emerald green world of 7-foot cornstalks and damp clay walkways, where visitors can see only to the next turn, and disembodied voices float through the air.” The owner himself admits to reluctance to enter the center of the maze where the twisting pathways are the darkest and most confusing! As if this weren’t enough to make you suitably terrified, they even allow people to enter the maze at night for an extra bit of eeriness. The combination makes it the perfect activity to get the whole family into the Halloween spirit.

There are also a plethora of other family activities aside from the gargantuan corn maze. To begin with, there is a small one acre corn maze for the little kids to enjoy. They have a $3.00 hay ride as well as Big Tricycles and Pedal Karts to ride around the pumpkin farm. They are also hosting a Scarecrow Contest. There are already some pretty terrifying–and amazing–pictures up of some of the entrants on their website. And, of course, the highlight of the day is picking out the perfect speciman from the pumpkin patch to trasform into your Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. You might want to pick up an extra pumpkin to do a little baking. Jackie at Kids Dish has an amazing recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies up that I am already addicted to. They are relatively healthy and still manage to be absolutely delicious!

When you set out to obtain your perfect baking pumpkin, make sure that you enter the pumpkin patch at either 8550 Currey Road or 8700 Sievers Road both of which can be accessed from I-80, about 30 minutes west of Sacramento. The farm is open every day until October 31st from 9:00AM to 9:00PM. Be sure to bring your own falshlight if you will be entering the maze in the evening and plan on spending anywhere from one hour to three hours inside the maze depending on how good your navigational skills are. Also, you may want to keep in mind that the weather here is still likely to be wet during the early part of the week. However, the weather is set (fingers-crossed anyway!) to warm up a bit when the sun comes out this weekend so I’d recommend that you plan to embark on your adventure Saturday-ish. Have a wonderful time and be on the lookout for other fabulously frightening things to do this Halloween season!

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