Me. July, 2008. San Francisco. BlogHer. Instead of attending the conference with my wife of the time I tooled around San Francisco. This is on my mind because I learned today that Heather “Dooce” died yesterday. Heather spoke at BlogHer’08 and was at the time in the whirlwind of being perhaps the most well-known blogger on the planet. She was surrounded by people every time I glimpsed her, then. Mental health is hard to maintain; harder still with the pressure of entertaining an audience. Deepest condolences to everyone rocked by the tragic news of her passing. And if you’re struggling: reach out, there’s help out there. RIP Heather.
SDSU Backdoor—a venue that no longer exists—is where I first saw this band 35 years ago. I bought that ticket at Tower Records on Sports Arena Blvd. I bought tickets for last night’s show show 3 years ago. COVID delayed it again and again and again. It was worth the wait. They Might Be Giants. A favorite.
Blog Refer
BarCampLA5 – 15 years later.
Part of moving house means you get to box and unbox your things. Sometimes, one finds artifacts one does not remember. These are stills from 2 minutes of a silent black and white Super 8 film. I had it scanned by ScanCafe and found footage I took of my pal Chris at the Dana Point Concours d’Elegance. Pelican Hill Golf Club. I think it’s 1996±1. At the time Chris loved vehicle design and was practicing his craft and working odd jobs. I was still thinking I would work in film, taking classes—soon enough the World Wide Web would change my career path. Chris developed a career in graphics, illustration and industrial design: art direction, fabrication, and process. A nice surprise from an unlabeled reel of film.
August 2007 … March 2023
What did I do for my birthday yesterday.
This was my 12th birthday party i think. I’m pretty sure it was a video arcade in Gretna, Louisiana—across the Mississippi from New Orleans. That lightning bolt hat I have on wasn’t a Chargers hat, but it wasn’t NOT a Chargers hat. The Space Invaders shirt wasn’t retro at the time, it was state of the art.
The last time I was in this theater was for a Comic Con panel for a new animated tv show from Matt Groening of Life in Hell and the Tracey Ulmann Show shorts called “The Simpsons.” I’ll let you Wikipedia up what year that was.
I’ve moved so much I’m not totally sure how many. 22. Depending on how long you have to live somewhere to make it count as a move. My most recent move happened fast. I lived in that apartment longer than I’ve lived anywhere else in my life, and this is the longest years in a row I’ve ever lived in any city. It feels good to have a home I like. Moving is dislocation and disruption; it’s hard in any circumstance. I’ve moved broke, depressed, divorced, unemployed. Here at the end of 2022 I’m happy and working and creating and I’ve got family and friends and the means to take action and a I have a terrific girlfriend I’m moving in with. Here’s to 2023!
Expatriate
I have no idea how many times I’ve walked through San Diego’s Santa Fe. Arriving and departing from L.A. as a kid, one time alone, when we lived in Echo Park and Alhambra; as a term, playing hooky; trips to Fullerton to see my pal Chris at ages 17 until now; trips to events: concerts by @stewtnp and the “Live from the Blogosphere” event where @evhead announced Blogger dot com was sold to Google; trips to and from Comic-Con; Little Tokyo; up to Moorpark when I lived there; walking though it many times when arriving by Coaster from Carlsbad where @leohblooms dropped me off, I worked at Emerald Plaza, then; picking up and dropping off more people than I can remember, traveling; once went to a plein air drawing event here; wandering downtown when I worked at the original @sdpubliclibrary Central Branch; and Avencom, and jury duty 2 years ago; which is why I’m here this morning.
My grandmother sewed me a cape. #Superman #1970s
It was 21 years ago today… (happy birthday blog)
Me and my cousin Michael a few years back. At a Tweety Bird-themed party maybe.
Dad’s words about Mom
Cousins and TI-99/4a
This morning I connected to my cross country flight to Virginia via LAX. I saw the dawn. I saw places that mean a lot to me. There’s my apartment! On the hill behind it was where my high school once stood, now replaced by condos. There’s Mission Bay where I’ve swum and kayaked and not-successfully windsurfed and jet ski’d. Beyond: Navy housing we lived in when I was a teenager. Had I been on the left side of the plane I’d have seen my favorite spot: Mission Beach Jetty. But take a beat on my right is former favorite swim spot La Jolla Cove. Shores. Del Mar. Solana Beach where I worked at failed dot com EduPoint. Orange County. Los Angeles County. Beaches, apartments; jobs and job interviews; car accidents, fights, train rides, romance and catastrophe. Southern California is my home; imbued with meaning. Onward.
Resume View Tracker from 2010
Remember .sig files?
Cabbage Salad (the Crawford family recipe)
Nuclear Exclusion Clause
Literary Journal: Chiricú Journal
Fry’s Closing; Memories of Fry’s
of course i like to say hello!
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