Sacramento, CA

Weather.com is forecasting another wet week for us here in Sacramento, with a high chance of showers through Wednesday. I’m admittedly the last person in the world who would complain about this–I adore the rain and wish it would rain every day. However, I know that the weather will produce all kinds of mischief in children who are bored and have nothing better to do. (It’ll do the same for some adults out there too for that matter!) Thus, I’ve put together a few ideas for fun things that you can do with your children to keep you from driving each other absolutely insane.

The first is simply to get them out of the house so they can’t destroy it Cat in the Hat style. My personal reccommendation would be to cart them off to Fairfield to tour the Jellybelly Factory. It would make an excellent selection for three reasons. The first is that it is a walking tour through a factory–what better way could there be to tire out your kids and let them vent all of their pent up energy? The second is that admission is free so that everyone can have fun without straining the bank accounts too much. The best part though is that it is in Fairfield and not too close to the city itself. It’s about 45 minutes away which makes it close enough to drive and yet far enough away that it probably won’t be too busy or crowded–especially during the weekdays!

If you don’t want to leave the house, then you could always find something creative and time consuming to keep their little minds busy. My personal choice would be scrapbooking. Kids of all ages love arts and crafts projects–especially ones that involve pictures of themselves. They may not get tired out from it, but since it is so time-consuming this is not likely to matter very much. Plus, Teresa McClary has some really wonderful ideas up here at (Scr)apropos so you won’t have to go searching too far for page layout ideas. Her site also has a variety of digital how-to videos that–as I know from personal experience–will help prevent a ton of stress and guarantee that everyone has more fun in the long run…

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A woman was waiting for the bus Monday morning on the corner of San Juan and Truxel Road when she was approached by a teenager with an infant. The girl reportedly asked the woman if she could hold the child while she prepared a bottle for him. When the woman agreed and took the baby, the teenager took off running. Police took the child to UC Davis Medical Center and he is supposedly in good health. They are currently looking for the mother. The Sacramento Bee describes her as “white, 5-foot-3, with a small build and strawberry blonde hair.” Eye witnesses say she looks to be about 16 years old. Anyone with information pertaining to her whereabouts or identity is urged to come forward to the police at 916-443-HELP. Charges may be brought against her, but at the moment they are only looking to talk to her.

It’s terrible that this type of thing is still happening in California. After all, the state legally allows mothers to drop unwanted children off at any hospital within three days of the child’s birth with no questions asked. We obviously need to further educate our youth on teen pregnancy and the options that are available to them since–hopefully–this girl didn’t know that this option was available to her…

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Yesterday, the Elk Grove police department broke up yet another marijuana network in what is supposed to be the perfect suburban family neighborhood. They raided over twenty homes and confiscated 6100 mairjuana plants, 10 cars, and $200,000 in cash. They estimate that the plants could be capable of producing $24 million dollars worth of marijuana. In addition to the high qauntity of production, police also expressed concern that the people growing the plants are becoming more educated and finding crafty ways to elude detection. For instance, most of the homes raided were the perfect image of suburban bliss. They had well-manicured lawns and furnished living rooms, appearing for all intents and purposes to be the perfect neighbors.

I found this to be extremely sickening and disturbing. People move to suburban areas in order to give their families a better life. They seek to get away from the high crime rates of larger cities and now here it is at their doors–a veritable wolf in sheep’s clothing. Finding out that your neighborhood is full of drug dealers is sure fire way to shred even the hope for safety and security. The worst part though is that it allows them to become commonplace and almost even acceptable in the eyes of the public. The message that it is normal and alright for dealers to reside alongside families also equates to the message that perhaps doing drugs really isn’t all that bad. In particular, it sends mixed messages to our children–ultimately effecting whether or not they will choose to use drugs in their own lives. Frankly, this is the last thing that they need when there are already enough confusing messages coming from various research labs–such as UC San Diego–which argue that marijuana does not harm brain cells. Some experiments are even geared towards “proving” that marijuana actually HELPS GROW NEW BRAIN CELLS!!!

They’ve obviously never met any of the plethora of potheads I encountered while attending the University of the Pacific in Stockton. My friend’s college boyfriend smoked so much weed that to this day he cannot function in society. He can’t hold an intelligent conversation–or any conversation that requires more than a yes or no answer for that matter. He can’t hold down a job because he either fails the drug tests or screws up at work because he’s too high to take anything seriously. He’s only 25 and he already has a slew of drug charges and convictions. He just recently violated parole and is likely on his way back to prison and all he can say do is giggle and say, “I sure showed The Man.” Sadly, he isn’t the exception to the rule either. I have also known a number of people who were willing to engage in prostitution in order to earn money to buy marijuana.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just so opposed to it because I’ve never tried it. (At least that’s what people constantly try to convince me of.) I admittedly can’t even begin to fathom the attraction of smoking away your intelligence and acting like an idiot. However, that doesn’t make it any less sad that when you search for marijuana images online all you find are jokes and rainbow covered pot leaves declaring that it should be legalized. Perhaps they’re right on that count though. At least then it could be regulated and taken out of the neighborhoods where our children go to school and play. It would certainly eliminate the need to arrest 14 people while little kids are getting off the school bus across the street and having their innocence and naiveté permanently ripped from them. What do you think?…

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San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno recently helped draft Assembly Bill 43–The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. The bill basically argues that allowing the voters to decide the fate of a minority group–in this case the gay and lesbian community–goes against the State Consitution, and that, as such, the passage of Proposition 22 in 2000 should not be a legal determining factor in deciding the fate of gay marriage in California. They alos cite groundbreaking earlier actions of the California Supreme Court which paved the way for the elimination of such discrimination for other minority groups. For instance, in 1948 California became the first state to abolish laws prohibting interracial marriage, stating that,

“marriage is … something more than a civil contract subject to regulation by the state; it is a fundamental right of free men … Legislation infringing such rights must be based upon more than prejudice and must be free from oppressive discrimination to comply with the constitutional requirements of due process and equal protection of the laws“ (Perez v. Sharp).

Assembly Bill 43 seeks to eliminate discrimination by ammending various California Codes–such as Section 300 and 301 of the Family Code–to redefine marriage as a contract between two persons instead of between a man and a woman. However, the Bill will not effect Section 308.5 of the Family Code, which incidentally happens to be the Code directly related to Proposition 22’s refusal to acknowledge gay and lesbian marriages from OTHER states. Unfortunately, by purposely not addressing passages directly related to Proposition 22, drafters of the Bill have cast a suspicious light on it as a whole. Instead of noticing all of the positive things that it could accomplish for the gay and lesbian community and its likely ability to pave the way for such futue legislation in the Federal Government as well, all that the public sees is a crafty way of getting around legislation that was decided on by the majority of voters in 2000. It doesn’t matter to anyone that such legislation should never have been brought before voters. It doesn’t matter that “You don’t put a minority group’s rights up to a vote for the people,” or that “It’s up to the Legislature and courts to ensure that minorities’ rights are protected in this country” (Geoff Kors, Director of Equality California).

It certainly isn’t fair, but the fact of the matter is that the State of California ALREADY DID let Californians decide!! They can’t now repeal that decision without causing Californian voters to lose faith in their votes EVER meaning anything. This would be a dire mistake to make in a state where so many young people already feel that their vote is meaningless. The passage of Proposition 22 is the perfect example of this actually. When it was on the ballot, I was a senior in high school and everyone there believed that it was destined for failure. We all felt that in a state as liberal as California, there was no way that something like that would pass. On the day the results were given back, I remember sitting in my French class and everyone was left agape in shock when our teacher told us that it had passed. It was completely unfathomable until he also explained that the election had one of the lowest voter turnouts in the state’s history–especially amongst young adults who typically vote more liberally anyway. No one really thought that their votes meant anything so no one really voted. To repeal it now would be akin to saying, “Even if your vote does accomplish something the government can always overturn it with an Assembly Bill.”

I’m not at all saying that we should just let things be. After all, I completely support gay and lesbian marriage. Everyone has a Constitutional right to be happy. However, I don’t think that this is the right way to go about it. Supporters of gay and lesbian rights need to make the public aware that their actions are only designed to help the homosexual community–not to hinder or harm the heterosexual one. To do so, they need to bring the issues back into the public light and have everything out in the open for examination. It is the only way to keep people from being suspicious of some secret nefarious agenda. This sadly cannot be accomplished by waving a magic wand and passing an Assembly Bill behind people’s backs. It has to happen by bringing the matter back up for the public to decide on. Officials have to admit that it was a mistake to draft the legislation in the first place and the public has to admit that it was a mistake to pass it. Since the problem was created by giving the issue over to public scrutiny, it can only justly be ammended by allowing the public the chance to rectify it.

Furthermore, I think that this is the reason behind the Governor’s reluctance to pass Assembly Bill 43. He is likely to veto it because he knows that it cannot be solved by slipping it in so nonchalantly. In addition, I think it is disgusting that people are trying to bully him into signing it when he has already done so much for the gay and lesbian community here in California. Over the past few years, he has expanded civil rights protection in the employment and housing industries. He has also extended various domestic partnership rights to the community, including the ability to check the “married” box on state tax forms. It made me sad to see pictures of signs calling him a coward for trying to help the community as much as he is legally able to. In my opinion, he is doing everything that he is capable of doing. This is not a case of rallying Republican support or playing the political field, it is merely an instance of doing what is legal and just. That doesn’t mean that anyone has to like it–it NEEDS to be opposed. People just need to be aware of the right arena to oppose it in. Instead of protesting the Governor’s decision to DO HIS JOB by supporting state voters, they should instead be focusing on educating those voters so that the problem can be solved where it was created. For now, all I can say is that Governor Schwarzenegger is completely justified in saying, “It would be wrong for the people to vote for something, and for me to then overturn it…I don’t do that, I will not do it. And so they can send that bill down as many times as they want, I won’t do it.” And frankly, we shouldn’t want or expect him to do otherwise…

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Since I know there are very few people in Sacramento who subsrcibe to the TriValley Herald, I thought I’d share a story with you that I read in there today. Stefani Ruland of Carmichael was arrested in January for identity theft. Prosecutors in Pleasanton have recently added additional counts bringing the grand total to seventeen felony charges. She is being charged with eleven counts of identity theft, three counts of possession of stolen property, and three counts of burglary. At the time of her arrest, officers found a large quantity of merchandise from Nordstrom at Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton that had been purchased using someone else’s credit card. She was also in possession of twenty fake driver’s licenses with her photograph on them and five authentic licenses that she had not yet altered.

The most astonishing part to me though is that she was on probation at the time of her arrest. What was she convicted of you ask? Well, that would be none other than…IDENTITY THEFT CRIMES!!! It made me so angry to read that. It brings me back to all of the tirades I’ve been on lately about our criminal justice system. I really don’t want to start that again though–since it’s likely to sound like a broken record anyway. Suffice to say that something needs to be done because this is crystal clear evidence that slapping someone on the wrist with admonitions to “never do it again” simply isn’t working. All I’ll say for now is that we need to take a much more firm stance with ALL criminals if we are ever to win the war on crime. If you do want to read a further explanation, check out one of my earlier posts on either Michael Vick or Gregg Michael Pistochini. Anyway, have a great day and don’t do anything to earn yourself five seconds of fame in the local police blotter!

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So, I just thought I’d give everyone a quick heads up. I’m in the process of moving so I won’t be able to update as regularly as I normally do this week. Everything should be back to normal by Monday though. Hope everyone is having a good week…

Everyday, we hear about just how stupid criminals can be. You know, there are the robbers who cover their faces in duct tape as a cheap disguise without realizing how painful this will prove in the long run. Then there are people like my best friend’s brother who leave their cell phones at the scene of the crime and then have their home phones show up on the caller ID when they try to find where they lost it. These criminals come in every shape and size and from every walk of life. Out of all of them though, I think that our own Golf Ball Criminal wins the cake just for the sheer randomness of the crime.

Gregg Michael Pistochini is accused of stealing $19,000 in golf balls and then reselling them on Ebay. He was arrested on Tuesday in Roseville by an undercover policeman who sold him golf balls. First of all, WHO DOES THAT?! Secondly, not only is this whole scenario kind of bizarre, but it also almost seems like a waste of police efforts to me. I don’t really get why they needed an undercover policeman to arrest someone that they knew was dealing in stolen merchandise. It seems like a waste of manpower if you ask me. They can’t catch or stop all of the murders, drug dealing, and gang violence here in Sacramento, but good golly gosh, they sure can stop people from stealing them darn golf balls!!!

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Okay, so call me crazy but I’ve always really liked Whoopi Goldberg. I looked up to her as a little girl because she is such a strong and independent woman. However, her public defense of Michael Vick on The View has left me so disgusted with her that I can’t even think straight. How dare she defend him and pass off his dogfighting as no big deal?! How dare she give him an excuse that some clever defense lawyer will be quick to jump on in court?! So what if “‘where he comes from in the south’” dogfighting isn’t that unusual.” So what if “there are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country.” The fact of the matter remains that they are still wrong regardless of how you look at them. I found it particularly disturbing that an African-American woman would make those comments as well. After all, there are certain other things that are also indicative of the south. By her own logic, she has just made racism and hate crimes acceptable because “they aren’t that unsual.”

Justice is not gray; there is a strict line that cannot be crossed. It doesn’t matter if you know better or not. It doesn’t matter if you are raised to think that something is acceptable. If you are breaking the law, then you should be punished. Furthermore, this goes double for celebrities and sports stars. They are automatically in a position to be idolized by children everywhere. Thus, by the very nature of their careers it is their responsibility to be model citizens. When they break the law they MUST be punished for it because otherwise it sends a terrible message to America’s children that they are either above the law or the law itself is somehow unjust. Society cannot continue if it is continually undermining itself by letting celebrities off the hook. Those who advocate leniency are effectively also advocating anarchy. Thus, I urge you to boycott The View until such a time as they either remove Whoopi from her post or she makes a formal and sincere apology for her insensitive and illogical remarks!

Frankly, I am completely appalled by ALL of the people who seem to think that what he did was acceptable. If you go on any website there are countless people who seem to think that what he has done is somehow excusable. There is even a site dedicated to saving Michael Vick! It is a vile and underhanded attempt to undermine all of the good that has recently been accomplished by animal rescue groups and the ASPCA. Sadly, they have been very successful at making pit bulls look evil and worthless in civilized society. In fact, many humane shelters will no longer keep pit bulls–or even dogs that may have pit bull blood. These shelters automatically euthanize them.

Thankfully, the Sacramento SPCA is not one of these. Their refusal to discrimintae against a dog solely based on breed makes me proud to live in Sacramento. They currently have seven different “bullies” available for adoption. If you are considering bringing a furry friend into your family I urge you to consider adopting one of these dogs. They are highly personable and wonderful with children. Plus, since they are rescue dogs you know that they are going to be very loving because they aren’t used to being treated with affection. My family has a rescued pit bull who has become the delight of the family over the last seven years. He sleeps with the kids, lets the babies play with his ears, shares his food with stray cats, and even lets the parrots beat him up without even batting an eye. He’s our 95 pound angel and we wouldn’t give him up for anything!…

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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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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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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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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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The Boxing World Cup is coming to Arco Arena on Saturday, August 11th at 4:00PM. The defending world champions–Mexico–will square off against the Philippines in a series of fights. Whoever has the most wins at the end of the seven-fight tournament will receive an engraved trophy crafted by IceLink. The line-up includes two World Boxing Organization championship matches, two title-eliminators, and also three other fights. HBO Boxing After Dark will be televising the title championship fights. The big fight of the night will be the junior-featherweight fight between Daniel Ponce de Leon of Mexico and Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista of the Philippines.

Normally, I’m not really into sporting events–in case you hadn’t noticed from their complete absence from my page–but this one actually sounds remotely interesting. It is only the second year that they have had the Boxing World Cup and I think it’s kind of an interesting idea. If nothing else, I’m sure it will be a stunning display of nationalism on both parts. Remaining tickets range in price from $41.75 to $276.75. However, they do have group discounts available for the $41.75 and $61.75 tickets. All you have to do is call the Arena directly at 916-928-3650 for more information.

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