Divisadero

divisadero @ 2008-10-31T09:46:00

2008-10-31T17:14:05Z

Here's an interesting look into the actual sponsors of Prop 8, which would amend the California Constitution to prohibit gay marriage. In sum, about 90% of the donors are from out-of-state, particularly Texas and Utah.

As a Californian, I'm growing weary of our place in America.

California pays America's bills. We make make much of the money that the Red States spend by paying the taxes that they complain about. And we do this while having our patriotism questioned.

What do we get for our ingenuity and hard work? We sure as hell don't get any attention from the presidential candidates because of the fucked up electoral college system. We got defrauded by Enron during the energy crisis earlier this decade, essentially transferring a lot of dot.com money from the Bay Area to Houston. And, worst of all, we get told how to live. We don't stage gay pride parades through the Main Streets of Provo, Colorado Springs, or Lubbock. We may seek separation of church and state in our schools and government, but we sure as hell don't try to control your religious practice in private. Nevertheless, our democratic process has essentially been co-opted by the fundamentalist citizens of other states.

This does not please me.

[Edit: Jeff Kent has donated $15K in support of Prop 8. People, can it get any clearer which side is good and fair and intelligent, and which side is backwards and bigoted and dumb? Would it help if Lord Voldemort did stump speeches for Prop 8?]

Work Is Laborious and Stressful; I Want to Be Young Again

2008-10-08T21:28:40Z

Tina Fey for President

2008-09-14T15:43:03Z

Two weeks from now

2008-08-23T20:06:16Z

I'll be done with my asylum hearing.

The family and I will be here:

And we'll be playing with our (my) new toy:

All White People Look Alike

2008-08-21T17:26:03Z

This reminds me of when I lived in Japan and one of my Japanese coworkers insisted that I looked exactly like Tom Cruise. The coowokered didn't make this remark once or twice, but nearly every time we spoke. I wasn't offended or anything. I just thought it was funny.

divisadero @ 2008-07-04T13:34:00

2008-07-04T21:00:24Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDY
(Yesterday. Happy birthday America today.)

Genji's present: a birthday snuggle. (This photo was not set up. They do this regularly.)

Addy's big present: an expensive, German-made, and very yuppy tricycle. She has pretty much been pottering about on it since yesterday. Indeed, she only slept about 5 hours last night she was so excited.

Her present from her paternal grandfather was this very cool puzzle.

Her favorite food was served and eaten.

Happy birthday, Adelina!

Photos from my three-day trip to Japan for my sister-in-law's wedding.

Photo of the Day

2008-07-03T17:53:22Z

**Cue Europe's "The Final Countdown"***

(from Deadspin)

divisadero @ 2008-07-02T01:02:00

2008-07-02T08:08:20Z

Baron Davis to the Clippers makes me very sad.

The good: At least Baron didn't go to the Knicks.

The bad: Golden State needs a floor general and will kind of suck in the interim. (Monte isn't there yet.) I'll continue to root for Baron, but I can't bring myself to root for the Clips.

The ugly: Golden State, my favorite team, was too cheap to give Baron a decent offer. Baron, my favorite player, was too greedy to negotiate for a less extravagant contract than the one given to him by the Clippers.

divisadero @ 2008-06-16T18:30:00

2008-06-17T01:42:55Z

OH NO! MY MARRIAGE IS LIKE TOTALLY INSTITUTIONALLY UNDERMINED BY THESE CRAZY BROADS!!!

I can't decide whether I should get a torch and pitchfork, a divorce, an embarrassing constitutional amendment, or a gay relationship???

divisadero @ 2008-06-15T13:58:00

2008-06-15T21:23:05Z

CALIFORNIA
While I've been missing Alaska recently, I also realize that California ain't so bad. San Francisco is stupid expensive, and people here work too hard. That said, it has a lot to offer.

Last Week & This Week:

Last Week & This Week:

Last Week & This Week:

Of course, San Francisco can get a little too . . . .

divisadero @ 2008-05-22T07:56:00

2008-05-22T14:59:55Z

STILL SKIING: SONORA AND TIOGA PASSES (5/17-18)

Day 1: Sonora Pass

Goal 1: Mt. Leavitt, 11, 569', and Y Couloir (look for the "Y" in the top middle)

Hiking up Mt. Leavitt.

Me, dropping into the left arm of the Y from the summit of Mt. Leavitt.

My next turn.

Casey ripping down the Y.

Done and done.

Goal 2: Deadman's Couloir

I was able to get this photo because I was about to die and everybody in the group passed me up.

I felt better when my skis were on and pointed downhill though.

Matt coming down Deadman's.

Chris.

Casey.

Chris hiking out with Deadman's in the background.

Casey avoiding certain death: a subsurface torrent.

Waiting to hitch a ride up to the top of the pass.

Day 2: Tioga Pass. Gas prices = stupid.

Mobil Gas Station's Whoa Nelli Deli = crazy good. It's only open seasonally, it's in the middle of nowhere (near Mono Lake, actually), and it's part of a gas station, but for some reason this place offers incredible food. I had fish tacos and a mango margarita Saturday and lobster taquitos and a local draught beer on Sunday. Very highly recommended.

Kel skinning up toward False White with Mt. Dana in the background.

Looking east toward Nevada, Mono Lake, and Mo Mart.

Me skiing.

Me skinning.

Skiing again.

Driving home via 395.

Epilogue: When you go to the beach, the sand gets everywhere. When you go to the snow in May, the sun gets everywhere. I'm actually sunburned inside my ears and nostrils. Gross and painful, yet true. I'm hungry for more skiing though. Next up: Shasta.

There & Back

2008-05-22T03:53:49Z

divisadero @ 2008-04-23T10:54:00

2008-04-23T18:22:15Z

PHOTOS: FANCY COFFEE, KIDLETS, DOGS & SKIING

(1) The missus and I visited Blue Bottle's new cafe to try coffee from their fancy custom-made $20,000 coffee machine. (See the NY Times story here.) Best coffee ever? Maybe not, but it was still pretty good.

(2) I feel like I've posted photos of these two before.

(3) Kids who do not fear Genji adore him.

(4) Addy, near a red bridge.

Skiing: Yep, still skiing. In fact, I plan to continue skiing through July. From May forward though, I'll be hiking for my turns at places like Tioga Pass, Mt. Lassen, and Mt. Shasta. Last weekend was the first weekend I didn't go skiing (conditions were terrible) all season. The following photos were taken near Kirkwood:

Cookie Monster > Elmo (x1000)

2008-04-20T19:04:54Z

*Hat tip to texaslawchick whose post reminded me how great Cookie Monster is.

divisadero @ 2008-04-09T13:45:00

2008-04-09T21:04:53Z

So the anti-China/pro-Tibet protesting is going on literally below outside my office window. My Tibetan asylum client and interpreter are surely involved.

Personally, I think China (the government, not people) sucks in regard to Tibet and their general civil rights record. But I'm also a fervent supporter of the Olympics and the international good will it engenders (or at least should engender). So, my stance is that it's fine to protest in way that brings recognition to the cause, but there's no need for the douchebaggery. Booing the runners, any forms of violence, or attempting to extinguish the flame, in my mind, clearly qualify as the latter.

The Olympics aren't the enemy people! Don't crap on the good thing so that you can also besmirch the bad thing.

Microwaving Tuna in Public Places Should Be Banned

2008-03-21T22:33:54Z

It smells like one of my coworkers is having freshly heated catfood for lunch.

Yum.

divisadero @ 2008-03-19T15:11:00

2008-03-19T22:12:48Z

I'm totally conflicted on this one: Bill Simmons likes UCLA and compares them to the Celtics.

divisadero @ 2008-03-10T08:19:00

2008-03-10T15:23:32Z

OMG! I'M BLOGGING AGAIN! LOLZ!

The Great ~~Vegetarianism~~, er, Pescetarianism Experiment: Going strong, you lot of flesh-eating heathens. That's right, I'm judging you! I jest. The missus went to Austin in January and brought back some extra-moist brisket from Rudy's. Those who know me or who have known Rudy's extra-moist brisket will understand that there could be no greater test of my wussy/pinko/PETA-luvin' principles. I passed.

Bibliophilia Redux: Last year, many of the books I read drudge-worthy--e.g., Moby Dick (enough whale anatomy already!); The Wasp Factory (depressing); Blood Meridian (dull, morbid, and depressing). But recently, I've really been enjoying reading. Not every book I've read recently has been great, but a lot of them have been very enjoyable.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: Actually, this is probably my least favorite major Russian Novel. The problem is that the narrative thrust peters out about midway through: Levin marries and Anna is clearly on a downward spiral. I didn't find Anna's descent or Levin's strange existential dilemma particularly gripping.

The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin: Toobin provides a pretty good account of the Rehnquist Court and it's justices, but he is a little more advocative than I would have liked. I would have preferred a more objective take.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell: Mitchell is my new hot writer.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: The narrative thread isn't really picked up until 100 pages in, which made for a bit of a slog. But once the story got going in earnest, I loved this novel. It's a great, exciting story, and Dickens, shockingly, is a hell of a writer. Russet was right--he's like a British Mark Twain.

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn: At first I loved this book, and then I merely enjoyed it. It's got a great conceit though: the competition for affection among a family of intentionally conceived carnival freeks who seem to prize abnormality above all.

The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg: Good but not great. It's about the development of the English language.

Atonement by Ian McEwan: Great book. I thought Amsterdam was good but kind of fizzled out by the end. Atonement is much more balanced. I haven't seen the movie, but I don't think the book would lend itself well to celluloid.

I'm now reading The Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and Middle March by George Elliot.

Work: Work hasn't been bad. It's actually been pretty damn slow, thus the ample reading and skiing. (Same paycheck though, suckers!) Sadly, things are about the heat up again next week.

The Beastie Boys Approve: Amidst the slow down, I picked up a couple pro bono cases. In one of them I'm representing a Tibetan man and former Buddhist monk who is seeking asylum in the U.S. The trial is still far ahead, but it's been very gratifying personally and professionally so far.

Skiing: I've been skiing 30 days so far this season. I love skiing. Love it. I still can't believe I walked away from it for three years of crappy law school. Anyhow, for my birthday, I bought the missus some new skis. It was kind of a selfish plot to further selfish motives cloaked in a selfless action.

I need to start taking more photos and have more photos taken of me though. Most of the time I'm too excited to stop though.

Oh no he didn't!

Rotate and grab. (The photo was taken by Kirkwood's House Photographer. Only $30 for a lame print!)

I like chutes.

It's like my skis are procreating!

The Family: The family is well. Here is the photographic proof:

Ha ha, my child looks dumb. PWND!

One's first Mr. Potato Head is always the best.

Useless beast!

I try to be open minded, but, really, Christmas is the best holiday ever and kicks the shit out of all other holidays. [Go away, Ghost Dog of Christmas Past!]

Russet is jealous.

There's a kidlet hidden in this photo. Can you find her?

Away thee from yon pagan beast!!!

If I say "shit," "fuck," "damn," or "stupid," Genji, sensitive soul that he is, hides like this and looks pitiful.

Illuminati.

Getting cute photos is more than just dog-lounging, fish-watching, and goat-touching. It requires commitment and, sometimes, real tears!

Facebook Redundancy: So I've been posting photos and book reviews and whatnot on Facebook that often overlap with my posting on livejournal. So there you go.

divisadero @ 2008-03-07T15:49:00

2008-03-08T00:17:21Z

Having not posted anything in a month, you'd think I'd come up with something better, but, no, I'm just going to link to this sappy, yet touching story of boxer awesomeness:

Paternal dog Billy takes on an unusual kid

(hat tip to herbovitz)

I always tell people that boxers are good with all kinds of kid(lets)s:

[Edit: On closer inspection of what I initially thought was a cute photo, it looks like Addy and Genji have just murdered poor Tickle-Me Elmo. Their expressions clearly belie their conspiratorial guilt.]

divisadero @ 2008-02-06T16:25:00

2008-02-07T00:26:12Z

If we had a laziness-at-work contest, I'm pretty sure I'd win right now.

divisadero @ 2008-02-05T12:12:00

2008-02-05T20:13:53Z

It's not easy to hate all the Oakland Raiders.

Why I'm Not Crazy About Obama

2008-02-05T18:33:51Z

This story sums it up. To summarize, Obama refused to have his photo taken with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004 when he was running for the Senate and Newsom had recently and controversially sanctioned gay marriage in San Francisco.

I'm not saying that I prefer Clinton or that she would have been more courageous around Newsom than Obama was. But Clinton has been (rightly) thrashed from the left for voting for the war, while Obama has smugly thrown stones at the war from a distance. Of course, Obama was in the politically convenient position of not having to vote for or against the war when that decision was made. So his post-2004ish anti-war stance, which I approve of course, seems to me to be less sagacious and principled than he is sometimes given credit for. In essence, his image doesn't always match his record.

I'm not crazy about Obama because he's afraid to be liberal. He is charismatic and a gifted orator who waxes poetic about "change" or "reform" without the balls much less the substantive framework to initiate such change. (His speeches are models for motivational rhetoric without substance.) I mean, for fuck's sake, he wasn't asked to marry a gay couple on the steps of San Francisco City Hall for The Today Show. Obama, according to Newsom and former mayor Willie Brown, refused to share the same room as the same-sex-marrying mayor. I'm sure it wasn't a principled decision, but a carefully calculated political one.

And that is what pisses me off: Democrats making political decisions based not on principle but on electability calculations. I don't support the Democrats because they're "Democrats" in name; I support them because more than other parties they represent my own generally liberal beliefs. Of course, I understand that some concessions must be made lest we allow the nation to elect another Bush Administration. But there must be some bedrock universal principles to which the democrats adhere--opinion polls be damned--that give the democrats their identity. Otherwise, we're just a bunch of star-bellied Sneetches. Moreover, the spineless and frequently unsuccessful (See Kerry's 04 campaign) do-anything-to-get-elected-so-that-THEY-don't-get-elected approach is less than inspiring.

Notwithstanding everything said above, I support Obama. I think he's got more potential than Clinton. I like his charisma, his background, and, most of all, his intelligence. Like most, after Bush, I am desperate for an intelligent and articulate leader. It's just that I find myself constantly disappointed by Obama. He's like the genius student who cruises through high school with B grades because he'd rather do pot than homework.* I just want to grab Obama (and most other Democrats) by the lapels and shout: "Be liberal! Publicly embrace liberal principles, and be proud of these principles** you pussy motherfucker!"

Of course, he may actually be a wussy moderate in his heart of hearts, in which case my imbuing him with liberal potential is a total waste. But after our nation's three-decade-long goose-step to the right, I can hope for a proud liberal leader, right?

*Alternative analogy for those who sympathize with underachieving potheads, like tbaggins:

Obama is like a fine old-world wine run by the Mondavis. As raw material, the wine has great potential to be complex, deeply nuanced, and truly delicious. But the problem is that the Mondavis run a profit-oriented business, and they are skeptical whether America is ready for such complex and bold old-world wine. For this reason, they've decided to oak the living shit out of the old-world wine to make it "smooth" for what they perceive to be the palate of the American public. They're also considering changing the complicated multi-varietal make-up of the old-world wine, so that they can label it as a simple "cabernet" or "merlot," rather than under the traditional old-world regional name, which they think will confuse Americans.

In the end, the Mondavi's wine is tasty yet dull. It sells pretty well, but inspires no one. If only the Mondavis took a chance at producing a truly great wine with such fine grapes! Such a wine, though relatively different from the plunk to which most Americans are accustomed, might actually inspire the American wine-drinking public both in their enjoyment of the wine and in their willingness to spend on the wine. Yet, rather than producing a potentially transcendent wine, the Mondavis have decided to make a blandly enjoyable wine because they believe it's safer for their profit margin.

Obama appears to be the Mondavi merlot to Thomas Jefferson's vintage Lafite. Such a waste!

**Such as equality for gays.

divisadero @ 2008-01-25T09:42:00

2008-01-25T18:05:26Z

YEAH, I'M STILL ALIVE
I've just been skiing a lot: January 11, 12, and 13 in Utah; January 19, 20, and 21 at Kirkwood; and this Wednesday (1/23) at Kirkwood. So, I think I've skied 11 times in January and will most likely add two more days this weekend.

The reason behind this ski glut is fact that I have no work right now. I haven't billed a single hour to a client in two weeks. I went from crazy busy in December to crazy slow in January.

Shockingly, I don't mind the crazy slow so much. Skiing 9 days in 18 and billing 0 hours works for me. A work-life balance that is lopsidedly weighted toward the life end of the scale is pretty awesome.

So I'm pretty content at the moment. I like skiing all the time. It's been about 36 hours since I last skied and I can't wait to go again this weekend.

divisadero @ 2008-01-09T14:09:00

2008-01-10T00:21:22Z

LIFE SPEW
So, I've kinda been neglecting the ol' livejournal, huh? Well, all the sudden, I've got some free time at work, so I figured I'd vomit out a multifarious update.

The Roller Coaster Of Work: I worked a lot in December. It was stressful. Now I have no work, except for the occasional reply to the comment on the work I've already done. In sum, here's how I feel about my job: when it sucks, it really, really sucks bad; when it doesn't suck, it's tolerable; at it's best, it's mildly interesting, but it's never awesome; literal perfection is desired in most work-product, and so I'm in constant fear of fucking up, which is exceptionally easy to do; responsibility is a double-edged sword--I really wouldn't mind getting a large document review project at this point; **platitude warning** but the pay is good. Anyhow, I don't really see myself in this gig for the long term. My career, I've come to accept, just isn't that important to me. I'd rather be an idler/family man/dilettante/outdoors enthusiast/tv watcher than a partner with a million gazillion dollars. Not that I wouldn't having a million gazillion dollars.

Alaska: I kinda miss it. The missus does too. I'm not saying that we're considering moving back there. But I'm saying that were not not considering moving back. I'm just saying that Alaska holds a special place in our hearts.

I'm A Better Person Than You: About a month ago, I decided to go vegetarian, with the rather large exception of fish and seafood. It's not because I don't like meat; because I fucking love meat. But I can't in good conscious eat industrially produced meat any longer. My reasons: (1) the absolutely inhumane manner in which livestock is forced to live; (2) the negative impact on the environment; (3) the idea of breeding and slaughtering an animal (the more intelligent the worse) is somewhat repugnant to me. The exceptions: (1) I'll allow myself to eat anything I kill (in which case the animal would have had a vigorous life and humane death); (2) chicken noodle soup when I'm sick; (3) fish, because the method of growing and slaughtering salmon is a little less offensive to me, although I'm aware of the numerous logical and moral flaws in this exception I've carved out for myself.

The heading of this section was meant to be a joke. Telling people that you're vegetarian is often tantamount to challenging to their way of living, or eating as it were. Of course, I do think people should know and think more about the ramifications of their diet. Food, as it's presented to most of us in meal form, is totally disconnected its source. It's easy for us, myself certainly included, to neglect the fact that our diet requires Hummer-esque amounts of oil to sustain, that it poisons the land, or that it causes animals to live the most nightmarish of lives. (The last point being the one that resonates most strongly with yours truly.) It's not a corn-fed cow from Brazil; it's a Big Mac, right? Well, I finally decided remove the veil of quasi-ignorance and align my eating habits with my beliefs. I wouldn't criticize anybody for having different beliefs than me. But I do think that criticism is warranted where people--whether through stupidity, inertia, or complacency--make no effort to inform such beliefs.

The Family: The family is well. The kidlet is a superb runner, climber, disorganizer, and get-into-things-erizer. She has a pretty good vocabulary in English, Japanese, and baby sign language. The missus is doing well too.

Recently Read Books: The Crystal World, JG Ballard; Number Nine Dream, David Mitchell; The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan; and Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald. My favorite of the bunch was Number Nine Dream, which is a kinda like a well-done Murakami knockoff. The Omnivore's Dilemma is also a worth-while read. I'm now two-thirds of the way through Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

Skiing: Despite my demanding job and the 180 or so miles that separate me from the mountains, I've managed 8 days so far. Tomorrow afternoon, I head for Utah to participate in this ski camp, where I'll get to ski with some of my ski heroes.

divisadero @ 2008-01-04T13:54:00

2008-01-04T21:56:17Z

This photo from South Africa is amazing:

Story here.