Category Archives: Travel

Social, Travel

CA High-Speed Rail Fail

I’ve ridden the TGV between Laussane and Paris. I rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. I love high-speed rail.

In 2008, California voters approved a $33–45 billion bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles by 2020. Fast-forward eighteen years: Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and other politicians have done Photo Opps with laying fake train tracks and standing in front of banners claiming progress.

The only thing traveling at high speed is the cost estimate—now a cool $126–231 billion. Actual track laid that can carry a paying passenger? Zero. Not one mile. Not one foot.

Keep that in mind as you head to the voting booth this November. Whether you want to believe you’re “fighting the Trump Agenda” or making America Great Again, if you vote for more spending and vote for incumbent politicians in California, you’re voting for more red tape and wasted money. Good luck.

Learn more https://www.reformcalifornia.org/

Travel

Academy Awards Museum: Studio Ghibli Ponyo

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened in 2021 with a Hayao Miyazaki retrospective. Four and a half years later, they exhibited Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo.

Ponyo (2008) is Miyazaki’s reinterpretation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Little Mermaid. A tale of a magical goldfish princess named Ponyo and up, a five-year-old boy named Sōsuke.

The movie is almost entirely hand-drawn. Studio Ghibli donated more than 100 pieces to the Academy Collection: art boards, Japanese release posters, key animation drawings, Miyazaki’s own sketches, and an actual Ghibli animation desk.

Social, Travel

Weird Al: Bigger and Weirder Tour

https://youtube.com/shorts/XHlLqTc9W1c?feature=share

I went to the Weird Al at SMC (Fresno State’s Save Mart Center arena). It was part of the Bigger and Weirder Tour with Puddles Pity Party as the opening act. Unlike most music concerts I’ve been to, it felt more like going a table-top-gaming convention.

Weird Al and his band sang in sync to projected footage of his music videos. Visually, his concert was somewhat underwhelming, leaning heavily on projected footage of the music videos of his songs. Al’s vocal abilities are often overlooked and underrated, especially his rapping ability. The musical performances were excellent, and the evening was one of the most fun and positive concerts I’d attended.

Sadly I had to cut out some of the footage from my videos because of Copyright limitations.

Social, Travel

Fresno: Puddles Pity Party

https://youtube.com/shorts/it6hjaNhqgQ?feature=share

Like many people, I’ve grown to hate and fear clowns. But one clown has a mesmerizing tenor voice.

Weird Al’s “Bigger and Weirder Tour’s” opening act was Puddles Pity Party. Puddles is a 7ft tall Pagliacci clown and an amazing singer. Puddles is concept performance act created by musical artist Mike Geier. He first gained attention as part of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live Tour in 2010. In 2013 his video went viral after fronting Postmodern Jukebox’s cover of Lord’s “Royals”. And in 2017 he appeared on America’s Got Talent.

I still hate clowns.

Travel

Martin Guitar Factory

https://youtu.be/i4B4nFfla5E

The C.F. Martin guitar factory is located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. They offer tours for a modest cost of $5/pp but the tour groups sell out quickly. Advanced online reservations are imperative, especially for popular summer months.

The guided tours are groups of 12 led through the working factory and meet workers. The tour ends in the Picking Room where visitors can try out guitars on the wall and order them at a modest discount.

You can visit the Museum inside the factory without a reservation. The Museum contains guitars and instruments from the breadth of company history, from C.F. Martin’s first guitars to its 1-millionth guitar.

Travel

The Etruscans exhibit: Legion of Honor SF

I visited “The Etruscans” exhibit at the Legion of Honor art museum in San Francisco. This is the most comprehensive U.S. exhibition on Etruscan culture in decades, featuring over 150 rare artifacts like bronze sculptures, gold jewelry, and the longest-surviving Etruscan linen text.

The Legion of Honor is one of San Francisco’s oldest art museums, located atop a hill overlooking the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, next to the Presidio.

Travel

NYC Muji Store 5th Ave.

Muji is a Japanese retail brand known for minimalist household goods, apparel, and stationery. Unlike traditional home goods stores, Muji also offers a rich selection of stationary and art supplies. Muji is renowned for their high performance pens, mechanical pencils, and premium paper notebooks.

Travel

NYC Gray’s Papaya

On Broadway, near the corner of 72nd avenue is a modern day legend of cheap eats. Founded by a former owner of Papaya King, this clone was founded in 1973. It serves hot dogs and home made tropics flavored drinks. When I lived in NYC it was known for being a cheap lunch. You could get a drink and hot dog combo for $1.99. Today, its now $5.99 but still cheaper than most lunches you can get anywhere in NYC.