ARS GRATIA ARTIS

I was quite thrilled when I was recently contacted by local portrait painter Paul Morin, who asked if I had any interest in a sitting.

As you can see, I said yes, and above is the final product.

LA MISSION

Since I had to spend a little time in traffic court yesterday, I decided to make it into field trip and spent a little time at the Mission San Rafael Archangel, in downtown San Rafael.

It's the 7th mission I've visited so far and with 21 of them scattered between San Diego and Sonoma, I've got some catching up to do.

Although originally built in 1817, what stands on the site today is a replica, rebuilt in 1949.

KANGAROO COURT

So that damn CHP officer showed up yesterday, causing me to lose my bid to have the speeding ticket he gave me on Thanksgiving day dismissed. 

$366, plus $52 for traffic school (sigh).

I suppose the only positive in all of this was that it went down in a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed courtroom, which as an ardent FLW fan, was kind of cool.

Oh yeah, the judge did commend me on a 28-year spotless driving record, and immediately followed up with:

I'm assuming you'll want to do traffic school so you won't have the point on your record?

Well, duh.

DISCO INFERNO

As the winner of the Camp Cazadero Saturday Night Fever Award - 1979, I guarantee that I would have totally burned up the dance floor, had this dandy little diddy been played.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting MSFB's T.L.C (Tender Lovin' Care)

You're welcome.

BEST PICTURE

It is not enough that President Obama pops up at every sporting event in the nation . . . Now the first lady feels entitled, with military personnel as props, to intrude on other forms of entertaining this time for the benefit of the Hollywood glitterati who so lavishly paid for her husband’s election.

-- Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin

Oh brother, really Jennifer?

Repugnican patron saint Ronald Reagan appeared at the 1981 Oscars -- via pre-recorded tape -- so I'm not really sure why you're making it such a big deal that Mrs. Obama did the same thing, live.

Find something more important to be pissed off about, Ms. Rubin.

MY OZ

Manhattan, as seen from Brooklyn

Oh New York, you sexy bitch!

PORTLANDIA

Along with Robin and special guest Nick, I attended some sort of event at the Market Street watering hole Rebel this past Friday evening that left me a little puzzled. It was a poorly attended and organized event to celebrate something about the IFC hit show Portlandia. 

Actually, it puzzled all three of us.

Anyway, they showed an episode that had already aired and then gave away posters to those who had checked in as attending on the stalking-friendly internet service Four Square. Also scattered about were hidden Blu-Ray copies of season one.

I scored big, as I found one that had been duct-taped to the floor right next to my feet, which explains the damaged packaging. I don't care, because the show had me laughing the fat part of my ass off during my little Saturday morning mini-marathon.

My inner-psychic has me thinking I will have seasons two and three in my collection in the very near future.

SHOE WHORE

Oh man, anyone who came between me and these very fine-looking shoes would most definitely draw back a bloody stump.

For those in a gifting mood, size 8.5 works for me, thanks.

IN MEMORIAM

Every year during the Oscar telecast, few moments spark more controversy than the In Memoriam tribute because more often than not, there are glaring omissions.

This year was no different.

The word iconic may be a bit dramatic of a word to use here, but everyone remembers Mongo, and everyone remembers that is was Alex Karras who played him so brilliantly in the classic Blazing Saddles.

Too bad Oscar didn't remember.

IT'S A WONDERFUL NIGHT FOR OSCAR . . .

. . . Oscar, Oscar, who will win?

FOODIE CALL

Mine - Granola with soy milk

His - Buckwheat pancakes, scrambled eggs and some sort
of salted cured pork product

First, the day started with an awesome late-breakfast thing with "The Jaguar" at the popular Mission District eatery, Boogaloos.  Then, it was on to . . .

ROADTRIP

"The Jaguar" at the wheel of his, well, Jaguar

Half Moon Bay

. . . Half Moon Bay, for a another little nosh, a little swoon, and a whole lotta great conversation.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND

It's gonna happen, whether you like it or not.

-- Former San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom

It's been reported that the Obama Administration is considering filing a Friend of the Court brief with the Supreme Court, as the justices begin to hear arguments on California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. 

For those not in the know, a Friend of the Court, or Amicus Curiae, is someone who is not a party to a case who offers information that bears on the case, but that has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. This may take of the form of legal opinion, testimony, or learned treatise, and is a way to introduce concerns ensuring that the possibly broad legal effects of a court decision will not depend solely on the parties directly involved in the case. The decision on whether to admit the information lies at the discretion of the court.

Interesting.

While I have little doubt it will change any one justices opinion, the fact that the government is speaking out in favor of striking down the ban, I think, may carry some weight with the court.

The court is scheduled to hear the case on March 26.

TEABONICS

Hey teabagger, maybe you should READ a dictionary.

President Obama not only read the CONSTITUTION, but he taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1996 to 2004.

No brain, no pain.

FIRESTARTER

I have, on occasion, gotten so pissed of that I thought I was going to burst into flame. However, I wasn't aware that it was actually possible until I read on NBCNews this afternoon that Oklahoma officials are looking into the death of a local man they believe may have died from Spontaneous Combustion.

Seriously.

BOOB TUBE

Seriously, don't ask. Just enjoy it for what it's worth, like I did a few nights ago.

FOODIE CALL

Courtesy of Monica AND Groupon, Cookie and Irving found themselves noshing the night away at the venerable Mission District eatery, Luna Park.

A burger plate, a chicken plate, and s'mores, oh my!

MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD

It's hard to believe it was 45 years ago today that Mister Roger's sang "won't you be my neighbor" for the first time on national television.

Every couple of years, Congress gets it into its head that the key to balancing its budget is to cut, or even cease, the funding of PBS. Back in 1969, Rogers testified at a congressional hearing regarding the cut in funding of $20 Million the Nixon Administration wanted. With his trademark soft-spoken eloquence, his passionate and moving plea that funding not be cut and reasons why it should not be cut, PBS funding was instantly restored.

This clip absolutely moves me to tears.

I can't imagine what television would have been like without Mister Rogers.

AMBER ALERT

You remember Mark Sanford, don't you? He's the douche bag former governor of South Carolina, who told everyone he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. After a two-week search, when he was reported missing, it turned out Sanford had flown to Argentina to be with his mistress.

Anyway, Sanford has decided the time has arrived for a return to politics, and has officially announced his candidacy for Congress. Nothing amused me more than to hear him brag about how when he was the governor, he cut spending, reduced debt, and made government accountable. I was amused because of the amount of money spent searching the trails he claimed to be hiking on, as well as the cost of flying to another continent to carry on his extramarital affair, all of which he initially tried to stick to the taxpayers of state he represented.

Um, nice try, Mark.

DIG IF YOU WILL THE PICTURE

About last night . . .

HEART ON

Happy Valentines Day

MY OZ

Oh New York, you sexy bitch. You're my only true love.

SILLY LOVE SONGS

Don't read too much into this post, folks. They're just a couple of really good songs.

THE WALKING DEAD

During a recent broadcast of The Steve Wilkos Show, the local emergency alert system for KRTV in Great Falls, Montana was hacked. Viewers were then warned that the bodies of the dead were rising from their graves and attacking the living.

Local police say they received four calls asking if the alert was true.

Four calls? Really??

Well, considering these are people who were watching Steve Wilkos . . .

MY OZ

Oh New York, you sexy bitch!

Seriously, this photo of the Manhattan Bridge is awesome.

GOLDEN GLOBES

FOODIE CALL

first up:
Organic Spinach and Humboldt Fog Cheese Salad

50/50 Burger - 50% beef, 50% bacon -
100% decadence

I'm in a serious food detox today, courtesy of the Forbes Mill Steakhouse, in Danville.

A SERIOUS detox.

SAY WHAT?

Hunter S. Thompson

I just haven't learned to write like me yet.

-- Hunter S. Thompson

I love this quote.

MY OZ

Oh New York, you sexy bitch!

PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACK

Candlestick Park, as it appeared on opening day in April of 1960

So it was recently announced that when the 49ers play their final game in 2013 (or possibly 2014), the rundown Candlestick Park will be imploded, and replaced with exactly what San Francisco needs:

another shopping mall.

(sigh)

Anyway, SFGate ran a little piece this morning about the long-shot possibility of having the San Francisco Giants play one more game at The 'Stick, for old time's sake.

As an unashamed sentimental old fool, let me just say this is an idea that I'm totally down with. After all, the stadium was originally built for them, and having seen a few games there back in the day, it might be fun to spend of few more hours out there with a couple of hot dogs, a couple of beers, and say goodbye to a stadium that people just loved to hate.

RUNNING SCARED

So because a few democrats recently suggested that actress Ashley Judd run as a candidate against Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell when he comes up for re-election in 2015, bed-wetting conservative and douche bag Karl Rove's Super PAC, American Crossroads, released an ad as a preemptive strike against her undeclared candidacy.

It would be easy to say that as a resident of Tennessee, Ms. Judd would be ineligible to run for that particular office. However, former New York Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton wasn't even a resident of   The Empire State when she became an unofficial candidate for the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's senatorial seat, and she eventually won that race, so I guess I can understand why Rove and McConnell are already pissing on themselves about the 2015 race.

What I don't understand is the fear of Ms. Judd and her undeclared candidacy. I mean, what are they so scared of? Is there a possibility, at least in their minds, that she could actually win?

Gee, maybe there's some truth to the old political saying that goes You run unopposed or you run scared.

Also, you have to admit the ad is pretty laughable.

MY OZ

When Manhattan's grand tribute to railroad travel, Pennsylvania Station was torn down in 1963, architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote:

We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed.

Touché.

So even though Manhattanites continued to mourn the loss of such an architectural gem, I was surprised to read many years ago that a little over 10 years after Penn Station was razed, Grand Central Terminal almost suffered the same fate. A half-hearted attempt to save the aging and decaying structure was begun, but it wasn't until Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis got involved that Grand Central was eventually saved.

Grand Central Terminal turned 100 this past weekend and having walked through it hundreds of times during the 10 years I lived there, I can't even imagine what New York City would be like without it.

Happy Birthday, GCT.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

I wouldn't normally post anything on the overly-hyped Super Bowl commercials, but there were a few that amused me, and here they are:

Clearly, this was the funniest commercial of the bunch. I have no plans to visit a Taco Bell anytime soon, but still.

Maybe you thought the same thing I did when this dandy little diddy popped up: What. The. Fuck?

Buy an Audi, and you'll grow a set.

SOLANGE

I was first introduced to singer Solange, via the song T.O.N.Y., which appeared on her 2008 album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams.

Seriously, listening to this song is like getting a warm hug from 1975.

Her latest effort, True, which dropped in November of 2012, proves her previous effort was no fluke. I'm just sorry I waited so long to post the first single released from that album, because Losing You is also a damn good song.

Enjoy.

DIG IF YOU WILL THE PICTURE

Glen Canyon Park, as I saw it during an urban hike earlier this afternoon.

HIZZONER

Few people love New York City as much as I do.

Former New York mayor Ed Koch, who passed away earlier today at age 88, was one of those few people. A native New Yorker, Koch loved the city I call My Oz so much that he spent nearly $20,000 on one of the last available cemetery plots located within the borough of Manhattan.

I have to admit I became a little jealous when I read that little bit of trivia, but seriously, if that ain't love, then I don't know what is.

So long, Ed.