2021: 128 posts.

• 02-Jan-2021
  “You ain’t a local if you don’t snorkel”
• 02-Jan-2021
  San Diego Botanic Gardens (called Quail Botanic Garden from 1970 to 2009) was awesome
• 04-Jan-2021
  NO DIVING
• 05-Jan-2021
  Dawn Patrol/Spring Valley
• 06-Jan-2021
  Of course there’s still good in the world. But you have to put in work if you expect to see more of it.
• 07-Jan-2021
  Temperature differential
• 07-Jan-2021
  Morning light is underrated. Pre-shave.
• 07-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! From the 2010 Adult Swim Flash game “Robot Unicorn Attack.” No matter what, the Robot Unicorn (with a rainbow mane and tail!) charges forward as long as they can! Learn from the Robot Unicorn and forward gallop into the future and stomp on evil. Giddy-up!
• 08-Jan-2021
  with fog
• 10-Jan-2021
  Sic transit gloria mundi
• 11-Jan-2021
  New year, new sweater.
• 11-Jan-2021
  angles
• 13-Jan-2021
  3FT 6IN NO DIVING
• 13-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! MOGUERA (1994) stands for Mobile Operation Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-type—it was built by the United Nations out of leftover pieces of Mechagodzilla and was designed to fight SpaceGodzilla. It can transform: Land Moguera & Star Falcon. I took a hiatus for new bots over the holiday: now they’re back!
• 14-Jan-2021
  morning lighting
• 15-Jan-2021
  Poolside
• 16-Jan-2021
  Stuff on the wall.
• 16-Jan-2021
  Beat the heat
• 17-Jan-2021
  Sunday slot because I missed Tuesday or they’re closed Monday. 73 hours to new President.
• 17-Jan-2021
  Malcolm killed in ‘65. Bobby and MLK killed in ‘68. This movie: ‘80. 40 years later and cops are bastards and computers are against you and Nazis suck and you gotta hustle to beat the system. We’re on a mission from god.
• 20-Jan-2021
  Inaugural Swim
• 21-Jan-2021
  Not quite “bright” and early. But it is early!
• 21-Jan-2021
  I don’t hate or love this photo but it is fun to see what I seem to be at 0615.
• 22-Jan-2021
  Get out the Brilliantine and dime cigars
• 25-Jan-2021
  Jennifer Simpson, Rest In Peace

  (originally posted to Facebook on December 14, 2020): Reckoning with and making sense of loss was Jennifer Simpson’s topic of choice. I read remembrances of her this morning on Facebook, not quite yet believing that it could be true that she has left the material world. In 2018 I started making short autobiographical comics and…
• 25-Jan-2021
  Windy as heck
• 26-Jan-2021
  G’mornin’
• 27-Jan-2021
  Waiting for the lifeguard
• 27-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! Robo-Chi orange bear robot was a McDonald’s giveaway in 2002 and brightens up any morning out.
• 28-Jan-2021
  Sunrise in 40 minutes
• 29-Jan-2021
  Rain has passed for now
• 29-Jan-2021
  New Bot Day! Daiapolon from 1976 animated tv show UFO戦士ダイアポロン (UFO Robo Dai-Apolon) — sort of football themed because the “pilot” Takeshi kind of plays football but it’s made of 3 ships from an alien world and I love robots because they’re weird!
• 29-Jan-2021
  Robot Selfie Time #AstroBoy
• 01-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Cylon Raiders are robotic spacecraft debuting in 2007 in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. This biomechanical robot is nicknamed “Scar” by Colonial pilots, known for fearsome combat. These Cylons are not as intelligent as the humanoid types, but they are still expertly deadly.
• 01-Feb-2021
  OUTDOOR
• 02-Feb-2021
  No swim today: hit the auto service joint, felt the sting of the service estimate for the car, left the auto, caught a bus, walked the final half mile.
• 03-Feb-2021
  “Oh what a beautiful mornin’!”
• 03-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Zambot 3! From 1977’s Super Machine Zambot 3 (無敵超人ザンボット3) piloted by aliens living on earth after escaping their destroyed planet. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino’s nickname was “Kill ‘Em All Tomino” because during the story several protagonists are killed. I dig Zambot’s design. 76-79 were great years for colorful bots!
• 04-Feb-2021
  pool-selfie
• 05-Feb-2021
  “Speak, friend, and enter.”
• 06-Feb-2021
  Jesus Arthur Silva—“Art”—was born on this day 100 years ago, February 6, 1921. I remember visiting him at grocery stores in San Diego like Big Bear or Food Basket, where he got assigned to whip their produce departments into shape. I wish I could ask him about working in a town that went from 80 thousand people to over 2 million in his lifetime. I want to ask him if it’s true he sold tamales on the streets of downtown. I want to ask him what kept him going when times were hard, working multiple jobs. How did he and Nanie raise 7 great kids? I was 17 when he died. I don’t have a photograph of him working. I’ve drawn him how I imagine he would have looked. Sharp, kind, diligent. After he passed, my mother missed him terribly. A great man. 100 years ago today.
• 07-Feb-2021
  Rose.
• 08-Feb-2021
  I like being in the pool when the lights come on.
• 09-Feb-2021
  New day
• 09-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Old B.O.B. appeared in Disney’s The Black Hole (1979). BOB stands for BiO-sanitation Battalion. He’s old and cantankerous but tells the truth and is key to the story. Slim Pickens’ distinct voice perfectly establishes the character, as does the shabby design. I have great memories of this too-dark, unsettling, hard-to-recommend movie, but I love the bots!
• 10-Feb-2021
  Up and at them!
• 12-Feb-2021
  4x
• 13-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! V.I.N.CENT is from The Black Hole (1979) and I’ve been seeking this fella to replace the toy I got at a Woolworth’s on Canal Street in New Orleans in 1981. I loved VINCENT for his earnestness and expressive design. Also I wanted to be able to retract my eyes into my shell to protect myself. “Vital Information Necessary CENTralized” is his terrible acronym but my nostalgia is activated when I look at him.
• 14-Feb-2021
  Happy Valentine’s Day to the very very very special Kelly! [photo taken a few months ago as we wandered around San Diego] & Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!
• 15-Feb-2021
  Meanwhile, in Mission Valley
• 16-Feb-2021
  Rained a bit since I was here 12 hours back
• 16-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Fugitoid was introduced in a 1985 black and white comic Mirage Studios. Fugitoid was a worker bot called Sal who is fused with scientist Dr. Honeycutt. I remember Fugitoid on the stands at Comic Gallery. I didn’t buy it. The comic lasted one issue, but the character was added to the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe.
• 16-Feb-2021
  Happy Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday precedes Ash Wednesday, we party before Lent, a time of solemnity. Part of being a kid who was moved around a lot is taking part in local traditions wherever I was—This was a King Cake I bought several weeks ago. And I got the baby with the first piece! Had that cake shipped all the way from Louisiana. Quite an indulgence. Worth it!
• 17-Feb-2021
  Chilly morn/steamy water
• 18-Feb-2021
  Cold, but not ice-storm cold
• 18-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Welcome Pocket Bot by Tomy from 1978! I think I got one as a stocking stuffer at Christmas. I acquired this one-and-three-quarter inches tall wind-up recently. It has a sharp design despite being a mass-market, cheap toy. A perfect small toy for a kid to bring along when they’re dragged along on parental errands. “Yes, you can bring a toy.”
• 19-Feb-2021
  I’m in with the in crowd
• 20-Feb-2021
  “YOUR CRIME ROBOT GOES TO THE JUNK PILE!”— from a 1978 Superman paperback book. I think 1961 originally.
• 21-Feb-2021
  Air temperature 77F. Water temperature 58F.
• 22-Feb-2021
  Sunset here
• 23-Feb-2021
  They cleaned overnight
• 23-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Cometroid E-05 transforms from egg to robot. Created for Japanese toy line Tamagoras (タマゴラス); the waning He-Man franchise ingested him and other egg-bots in 1984 and called them Meteorbs.
• 24-Feb-2021
  Fry’s Closing; Memories of Fry’s

  Archiving text from their website for posterity. After nearly 36 years in business as the one-stop-shop and online resource for high-tech professionals across nine states and 31 stores, Fry’s Electronics, Inc. (“Fry’s” or “Company”), has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in…
• 24-Feb-2021
  Rare daylight swim time!
• 25-Feb-2021
  Dawnish
• 25-Feb-2021
  New Bot Day! Rusty the Boy Robot is from the 1995 Dark Horse comic in which Rusty idolizes The Big Guy. Rusty is clearly inspired by Astro Boy in the best ways. Alongside Rusty is non-robot hero Lady Maxx, a vinyl creation by Mark Nagata and Max Toy Company. Be earnest & heroic today!
• 26-Feb-2021
  Happy Friday
• 27-Feb-2021
  We drove north 💙
• 28-Feb-2021
  Barts Books is the “world’s largest outdoor bookstore” in Ojai. When I worked on a programming temp job in Ojai 15 years ago I used to be able to wander through it on my lunch hour. I’ve had a remarkably large set of work experiences. Yesterday was great.
• 01-Mar-2021
  NEVER x3 GIVE UP! (Seen off the 405 Saturday)
• 01-Mar-2021
  Shine up the Battle Apple
• 02-Mar-2021
  “‘neath the marquee moon—hesitating”
• 02-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Robbie the Dog Robot is from DC COMICS! He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #29 in 1944. Robotman built him to be a companion. He can signal Morse code with his eyes and has high intelligence. I’m happy to have him join the other canine-bots in my bot collection.
• 03-Mar-2021
  Six
• 04-Mar-2021
  Post-rain
• 04-Mar-2021
  Once again it is March, and it’s time for #MarchMODOKMadness. (MarchMODOKMad on Twitter) MODOK is for Masking or Distancing or Killing! MODOK WILL KILL YOU IN DUE TIME, WHELP! #MODOK
• 05-Mar-2021
  I’m told the heater is out. I guess I’ll see how that feels.
• 07-Mar-2021
  Overcast Sunset on Sunset Cliffs
• 08-Mar-2021
  Monday’s not bad
• 09-Mar-2021
  a luta continua
• 10-Mar-2021
  a break in the rain?
• 10-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Robo Shark is from a Super Friends 2012 Aquaman playset for ages 3-8. I don’t think Aquaman needs a robotic shark to travel with though the marketing materials says that’s what happening. Had I gotten this as a kid I’d have made them fight which I suspect kids today do too. I do like Aquaman though, particularly the Brave and the Bold egotistical version, and I dig the Jason Momoa version too despite the DC movies not being rewatchable for me. I love to swim and had I had these toys in the decade I was 3 to 8 I’d be playing with them in the bath, at pools, and in the ocean. Welcome Robo Shark!
• 11-Mar-2021
  The sky is crying’ / Can’t you see the tears roll down the street?
• 12-Mar-2021
  Noon!
• 13-Mar-2021
  Back in 2004 I posted photos and MP3 of this record to my blog on artlung.com. My mom left a comment “Joe, you were only 2 years old when you started reading and playing the phonograph!!!! we lived in student housing in Riverside 😉 Love, Mom” I have always loved and listened to recorded music. I cared deeply about assembling thoughtful sequences of music and sounds onto cassette tapes for myself and for my friends. Particularly @missewon and @chrisgreazel. 1989 was the year my vinyl collection stalled, I had great stuff but I bought David Byrne’s “Rei Momo” on compact disc. I still bought extended remixes on vinyl, and the one I miss most is green vinyl 12″ of A Tribe Called Quest’s “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo.” Most of that collection has since been sold, lost, broken, or (mostly) stolen from a storage locker in Moorpark, California. But Joseph, Joseph I’ve kept. The #SMARCHVINYLCHALLENGE prompt today is “I forgot I had this” (thanks @brandudesrecordvault) so here’s MY NAME RECORD featuring the track “Joseph Joseph” which is really catchy. I loved playing this song. I really listened and internalized the song and every aspect. “Vic Marantz” is the singer and I would recognize that voice anywhere. I think I realized as a kid that when they first say the name “Joseph” that’s an edit, the basic track is shared for other records, when I look at ebay or discogs I see Bob, Christine, Annie, Heather, Chad, all probably produced in the same scheme. And there’s a little coda by Captain Kangaroo at the end. The last time I saw live music was at the MTL Concert Venue and Lounge in Riverside where @brandudeworms was playing the drums with @thecineramas with aplomb and panache. Here’s hoping we can all get to some live music before the year is out. #MARCHVINYLCHALLENGE
• 15-Mar-2021
  Fine line between dedicated and foolish ( rainy as heck)
• 16-Mar-2021
  “Looked at my watch it was six ‘n tha mornin’”
• 16-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Welcome Vulgar The Destroyer! Vulgar is a bad guy, fully armed and mean as heck! Beware the drill in his head and the mace blaster he carries! He’s from 1984, where the ROBO Force toy line was a failure, beaten by those Robots in Disguise. ROBO Force robots have suction cup feet which was not the fun selling point some guy thought it could be. Vulgar follows Hun-Dred, leader of the Cult of Dred robot army. Welcome Vulg!
• 16-Mar-2021
  Cybertronic Spree

  THANK YOU FOR WATCHING LIVE FROM INSIDE FEATURING THE CYBERTRONIC SPREE ON DECEMBER 11, 2020 This was so fun! Loved seeing the robot-based band The Cybertronic Spree back in December. Check out this version of Barracuda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTTT0iarzI8
• 17-Mar-2021
  Lucky but not green
• 17-Mar-2021
  Watching Jerry Beck speaking truth about the importance of animation history and preservation on Stu’s Show. Missing his SDCC “Worst Cartoons Ever” presentation two years in a row sucks.
• 18-Mar-2021
  No sunscreen required
• 19-Mar-2021
  “The sky turned light blue / while we were inside”
• 19-Mar-2021
  Jennifer Simpson’s Pozole Recipe

  Jan 27, 2010: better late than never! I have a vegan version of the soup– but the recipe is not perfected. Here goes anyway. Maybe you can experiment with it. Ingredients for the soup: a block of firm tofu, onion (chopped), a couple of carrots (chopped), garlic (1 or two cloves chopped) 2 cans of…
• 20-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! iBoy was given to me today, my birthday! A terrific find from Kelly and made by @classicbot_toy! I have nearly 200 bots and it’s hard to surprise me but she did! Flanked by greeting cards! I am so lucky ❤️
• 20-Mar-2021
  b. 1970
• 21-Mar-2021
  Blooper is a terrific band and since it’s my only /other/ vinyl record it is my second submission for @brandudesrecordvault #SMARCHVINYLCHALLENGE — Adriano sings and plays guitar in Blooper. I met @theboycalledcrow in web design and creativity circles many years ago. Blooper has a terrific sound. Dick Dale or the Ventures in a more contemplative vein, maybe? You gotta listen. I enjoy a Southern California surf guitar vibe very much. @theboycalledcrow is now back in Italy I believe, matching the #worldtraveler prompt for today. I haven’t seen new music from Blooper in a bit—Adriano now makes beautiful pedals under the @veritonepedals which match the craft and care of his photography and music! This lovely limited edition vinyl 45 is very special. Thanks for letting me share @brandudeworms! #marchvinylchallenge
• 22-Mar-2021
  “It’s a Monday/it’s a Monday/what exciting things will happen today?”
• 23-Mar-2021
  Luncharooni
• 24-Mar-2021
  “Carry on my wayward son”
• 25-Mar-2021
  “A change of speed, a change of style”
• 25-Mar-2021
  New Bot Day! Claw is a part of a 1970 toy robot series called Ding-A-Lings. Claw could ride on the Super Loop Skyway a kind of battery powered monorail that could do loops. An interesting cross of robot toy and toy train set. I love finding about robots I had no inkling existed!
• 25-Mar-2021
  1 down 1 to go.
• 26-Mar-2021
  Springtime.
• 27-Mar-2021
  North and South from the San Clemente Pier
• 28-Mar-2021
  Dawn, facing west. San Clemente.
• 28-Mar-2021
  View
• 28-Mar-2021
  Sunset, above the train tracks
• 29-Mar-2021
  Cetacean Ops
• 29-Mar-2021
  California Sea Lions. #captaindave
• 30-Mar-2021
  Noon, after.
• 31-Mar-2021
  “Love like that / can’t be measured anyway”
• 01-Apr-2021
  “They’ll need a crane / They’ll need a crane”
• 02-Apr-2021
  Overcasty
• 02-Apr-2021
  New Bot Day! Space Robot (No. 902) is a toy from the late 1960s. He’s a windup toy who walks and has a radar dish on his head that spins. I don’t know much about his manufacturer or origin but love the chrome plastic look. He’s a kitschy addition to my collection!
• 05-Apr-2021
  Boats!
• 05-Apr-2021
  Even the subdued sunsets are groovy
• 06-Apr-2021
  “Where the water’s running free / it’s waiting there for me and you” (shoutout to my late former father-in-law)
• 06-Apr-2021
  “Where the water’s running free / it’s waiting there for me and you” (shoutout to my late former father-in-law)
• 07-Apr-2021
  Morn!
• 08-Apr-2021
  Further back
• 08-Apr-2021
  After my 6am swim in City Heights I hankered for a concha. Panchita’s Bakery @panchitasbakery in Golden Hill (I lived a few blocks away after my first divorce) had the goods. Left and saw that Influx @Influx1 on Broadway was open. Still great. Oh, and New Bot Day! I think of this guy as “Carl” – the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 (T-800) from Terminator: Dark Fate who grows a conscience. My prior 101 has a broken leg. Feeling a lot of positive vibes lately. Grow a conscience. Be funny. No fate but what we make. But always be ready for SkyNet to come after you.
• 09-Apr-2021
  Handlers
• 09-Apr-2021
  Wave. Chalcedony St.
• 11-Apr-2021
  Squirrel!
• 12-Apr-2021
  63water-61air-mostlyCloudy. First non-holiday weekday without a pool visit. Ocean swimming is BACK.
• 13-Apr-2021
  “Express yourself / You gotta be you and only you, babe”
• 14-Apr-2021
  Lunchtime.