Wave. Chalcedony St.
Handlers
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.
Further back
Morn!
“Where the water’s running free / it’s waiting there for me and you” (shoutout to my late former father-in-law)
Even the subdued sunsets are groovy
Boats!
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!
Overcasty
“They’ll need a crane / They’ll need a crane”
“Love like that / can’t be measured anyway”
Noon, after.
California Sea Lions. #captaindave
Cetacean Ops
Sunset, above the train tracks
View
Dawn, facing west. San Clemente.
North and South from the San Clemente Pier
Springtime.
1 down 1 to go.
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!
“A change of speed, a change of style”
“Carry on my wayward son”
Luncharooni
“It’s a Monday/it’s a Monday/what exciting things will happen today?”
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
b. 1970
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 ❤️
“The sky turned light blue / while we were inside”
No sunscreen required
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.
Lucky but not green
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!
“Looked at my watch it was six ‘n tha mornin’”
Fine line between dedicated and foolish ( rainy as heck)
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
Noon!
The sky is crying’ / Can’t you see the tears roll down the street?
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!
a break in the rain?
a luta continua
Monday’s not bad
Overcast Sunset on Sunset Cliffs
I’m told the heater is out. I guess I’ll see how that feels.
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
Post-rain
Six
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.
“‘neath the marquee moon—hesitating”
Shine up the Battle Apple
NEVER x3 GIVE UP! (Seen off the 405 Saturday)
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.
We drove north 💙
Happy Friday
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!
Dawnish
Rare daylight swim time!
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.
They cleaned overnight
Sunset here
Air temperature 77F. Water temperature 58F.
“YOUR CRIME ROBOT GOES TO THE JUNK PILE!”— from a 1978 Superman paperback book. I think 1961 originally.
I’m in with the in crowd
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.”
Cold, but not ice-storm cold
Chilly morn/steamy water
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!
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.
Rained a bit since I was here 12 hours back
Meanwhile, in Mission Valley
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!
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.
4x
Up and at them!
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!
New day
I like being in the pool when the lights come on.
Rose.
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.
“Speak, friend, and enter.”
pool-selfie
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!
“Oh what a beautiful mornin’!”
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.
OUTDOOR
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.
Robot Selfie Time #AstroBoy
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!
Rain has passed for now
Sunrise in 40 minutes
New Bot Day! Robo-Chi orange bear robot was a McDonald’s giveaway in 2002 and brightens up any morning out.
Waiting for the lifeguard
G’mornin’
Windy as heck
