A Family Of Eight Saves Gas

This article made me laugh today after being stuck in traffic. Talk about saving money...

"How does a large family commute anywhere if they have no car and little money?

As this picture proves, there are no problems, only solutions.

What appears to be an entire family of eight have all piled cheerfully on to one motorcycle."


Read and see more over at The Daily Mail UK.

Around The Garden - Foshan, China

'Skripette' finally arrived from her week-long China business trip. She brought a ton of photos and I would like to share some of them with you.

This special set of garden pictures is from the Fontainebleau Hotel in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China. What a place! This 5-star hotel goes for about $65 a night!

enjoy...

Chinese Copycats

China is a haven for 'fake' spinoffs of items such as watches, purses and electronics. Some are actually very well done with better quality materials. But for some reason, some are not well done, and in this case, the naming of the product by switching a few letters around is simply entertaining. Check out a few of these silly products:







I definitely want my Dolce & Banana glasses!

You can see even more over at The Daily Mail UK.

Mr. Mom And China

What a hectic week! My wife is in China on business and I'm Mr. Mom for the week. Yes, work and school pick up, plus they also need food. It doesn't help the situation that it's a friggin' 100 degrees out there either... phew!

She has sent me some beautiful photos of China, but she put them on some html-hosted protected viewer, so I can't link or save them. I'm sure there's a way, but the Laker game is coming up and I don't have time to sit here and figure it out. I promise I'll post tons when she returns!

Rain Gods, where the heck art thou?
MAKE IT RAIN! IT'S APRIL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!
I CAN'T STAND THIS HEAT! NOT YET!

The Pomona Fox Debut, TONIGHT!

Also, after dining at Joey's yesterday, strolled across the street to check out how the Fox remodel has gone so far. The wife and I believe that it will not be done by tonight, we knew they were gonna burn the midnight oil for sure. But I hear that there will be some areas such as the bar and lounge that are not to be completed for tonight.

cool picture by REN
Anyways, I'm sure this news is plastered all over the paper media and internet. But here's a link to the Friends of the Pomona Fox.

A story on the opening for tonight is also at Pomona Now.

Friday Evening At Joey's BBQ

I went out to dinner yesterday and took the family over to Joey's BBQ in Downtown Pomona. I've never eaten at this Joey's before, although this is the place where I tasted my first Pomona Queen Brew during my first ArtWalk. Anyways, we stuffed our faces with Beef and Pork ribs, along with chicken and steak. To my dismay, they were out of Pomona Queen. They had the Dale Bros. seasonal, so I went ahead and tried it. It's not bad, kind of a Hefeweizen taste. The place wasn't crowded, but it had a cool laid back family atmosphere. I recommend for those who haven't tried this particular Joeys, to make the time to come check it out.


some random picture of someone at Joey's BBQ Pomona by the photographer
All in all, I felt like a good citizen, pouring some money into the city I live in (sorry Joey's in Upland and Chino, you've had plenty of my $$$, and I will be back).

New Job, Slow Blog

Damn, for a 1/2 a second I thought the title here would rhyme. Oh well...




Yes, it's been a hectic first week of training in beautiful Western Downtown L.A., beautiful of course if you're looking up at the skyscrapers and upscale condos that is. Training week consists of working during Southern California's worst time slot, 8am to 5pm! It is Spring Break for many private and some public schools this week, so traffic is a bit better. It takes me approximately 50 minutes to an hour every morning to get there from this edge of Pomona (which is tolerable). I do leave a bit early and arrive early enough to park and go out for breakfast before time starts.

But coming back, Dear God, add another 1/2 to a full hour to the morning time, yikes. I've made it clear that I won't work these hours starting next week. They said they'll work with me. Good, cuz im working 6am til 3pm, or even til 2:30pm, thats it, if not, then bye bye... yeah economy sucks and it's tough, but I will go insane if I keep this up at this rate.

There's a guy who commutes from nearby Covina, has those hours and he says its about 45 minutes each way. That, I can live with. I mean, I go to many Lakers games during the season, and I'm there in about 30 minutes everytime when I leave at 6:30pm.

Why does all the money have to be in Downtown L.A., Century City and the Westside? Which also can include Pasadena, but I love working in Pasadena more than DTLA.

I think I'll soon take a pay cut and do something between the San Gabriel Valley and West of San Bernardino instead. Sheesh...

Plant A Tree.. Inside Yourself

This is definitely one of those 'weird' news item. Guy goes into hospital thinking he has a tumor and... well, the picture is a little too gross to post (I hadn't had dinner yet):

Doctors x-rayed his chest and found a tumor in one of the lungs. Suspecting cancer, they made a decision to perform biopsy, but when they cut the tissue, they were amazed to see green needles in the cut.

“I blinked three times, and thought I was seeing things. Then I called the assistant to have a look,” says Vladimir Kamashev, doctor at the Udmurtian Cancer Center.

The five-centimeter branch was removed from the patient’s body.

“They told me my coughing blood was not caused by any disease,” Sidorkin says.

“It was the needles poking the capillaries. It really hurt a lot. But I never felt like I had an alien object inside of me.”

The article with picture can be found HERE.

Pomona's ArtWalk Tonight & Early Claremont Event

It's that time, yes the 2nd Saturday of the month!



photo of 2nd street shops by Sally Egan

Get your info for tonight over at:
Metro Pomona's ArtWalk section.

And to get more specific gallery info, visit the:
Pomona Art Colonists Website.
Now, as I always state, everyone who likes art and perhaps a good drink, you must come to check this Arts Colony out. Don't believe the old bad Pomona 'stereotype', this place is safe and happening. Just get on the 10 freeway in any direction to Pomona and exit on Garey Ave. Make sure you go South on Garey Ave, as soon as you go under the railroad bridge get to your right and make a right on 2nd street (there will be a Joey's BBQ on that corner). Congrats, you're in the ArtWalk town. Starts about 6pm.

Make sure you PRINT THIS MAP and take it with you so you're not lost! I recommend starting at the DA Center for the Arts.

I plan to be there about 7:30-8:00pm. Last time I arrived around 10:40pm, incredibly late, with people from Montebello & Mar Vista (West L.A.). This time I'm hoping a few friends from Ontario, Rosemead, Fullerton and Glendale can come by with us. If not, it'll be me and the wife.

--ALSO EARLIER TODAY IN CLAREMONT--


I have just learned from the Claremont Insider that the International Place of the Claremont Colleges is hosting its 31st annual International Festival, featuring Authentic Food and Live Entertainment, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Located at 850 Columbia Avenue, between 8th and 9th Streets; on the main quad at CMC.

It's free to attend and sounds like fun for the whole family! Rain or Shine! Park wherever you can find parking. I'm gonna go check this one out with the kids. The prices for the food are to be 'moderate'.

The website for the event can be found HERE.
The Claremont Insider article for the event is HERE.

See you all there!

Hello Koreatown & Wilshire District

I just got back a several hours ago from a government job interview with a 'board of supervisors' in the Wilshire District/Koreatown area of Los Angeles. I am to sit in front of 3 people as they ask me whatever they want. I arrived early so I decided to take a stroll around the area before the interview. Snapped up a few shots.

I went to a Quiznos nearby and ate some food in my car. While I ate, I watched this crazy lady who stared, talked and petted the flowers on the wall for more than 20 minutes. Actually, 'crazy' is kind of mean, it was actually kind of sweet perhaps. I mean, this day and age with all the problems our world faces, its nice to know she can forget it all and think of a pretty little flower. Either that or she's really nuts.. LOL.



Anyways, saw the famous 'Gaylord' Apartments. It's just a name, yes, but the little Beavis & Butthead in me did a 'Uh-Huh-Huh' and took a picture:



This is another view up towards the Gaylord. I thought the tree canopy was quite cool.



I love the way the street looked in front of the Gaylord from this angle. That Frog N Grog place looked like a cool place to have a brew. But I'm here looking for work, and I was tempted to go after the interview, but with L.A. traffic, I said no way, some other time!



That big building in the back is where I'm supposed to go. This area is definitely very KOREA-town. Sorry I didn't take pictures of everything Korean around here, tons of places to eat Korean BBQ. I had a few minutes and didn't want people to think I'm some kind of investigator or something. I still don't see where this 'Little Bangladesh' would fit in. All in all, a great place to work with tons of places to eat (and drink, after work of course).



As I got home I get a phone call. The board of supervisors liked me and told me I start Monday! Woohoo! Not bad for less than a month of work search!

A special thanks to you guys and fellow bloggers who gave me some positive encouragement on this blog as well. I'm very lucky this day and age, I thought I'd never find anything for a long time! This is seasonal and not long term, but they said they liked to contract me out for longer if possible.

Over The L.A. Skies On A Thursday Afternoon

Got a quick message from a cousin who went flying on his 1st Cessna 4 seater flight around Los Angeles. This is a quick snapshot he took while over Downtown Los Angeles. This looks like fun...



Wait, and I'm sitting at home typing away on a laptop? Hmm, I'm hanging around the wrong place today.

Another Pomona Postcard

What a busy past couple of days. Spring is here and the fake threat of rain that never materializes as usual is here with us once again. I've been job hunting, plant buying, rock gathering, and going to my kids school's 'open houses' the last few days, all at once. I'm tired but I'm looking forward to this weekend's ArtWalk.

Here's another Pomona postcard I've put together from my garden:


(Click to Enlarge)

Around The Garden

Giant Palm in the back seen between a 7 foot Hopseed Bush:

Mandarin Citrus blooms ready to explode:

A President Hibiscus bloom:

Goodbye, Michigan!

The Detroit News is reporting that people are leaving Michigan at a staggering rate.

"The state loses a family every 12 minutes, and the families who are leaving -- young, well-educated high-income earners -- are the people the state desperately needs to rebuild."

Some people in Michigan would probably disagree with this article. Could be exaggerated for all I know, but if it is mostly true, that can't be a good thing, right?

Yikes... perhaps they should change the state name to just 'Detroit'.

11 Extinct Animals Photographed Alive

This is very sad, but at least we have a photo of these animals that are forever gone from the face of the earth. Bryon Nelson over at Eco Worldly.com wrote this story.

Here's a sample of one of these extinct animals:



"The Bubal Hartebeest was a magnificent, tough beast which was once domesticated by the ancient Egyptians as a food source and for sacrificial purposes. The creature was even mentioned in the Old Testament.

Although it once roamed throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East, the deep-rooted mythology which surrounded the animal was not enough to save it from European hunters who began hunting them for recreation and meat. The last Bubal Hartebeest was probably a female which died in the Paris Zoo in 1923."

Check out the rest of the collection by CLICKING HERE.

Going Postal Today

I've noticed that it seems to be 'tradition' with many blogs to post only ONE POST/SUBJECT per day, if you even post daily. Very few blogs post perhaps about 3 or 4 posts on the same day. Naturally, this is fine, as there is no rule set in stone, and if there was, I wouldn't care.

My point is that at times I catch myself posting 2 or 3 items in that one day and wonder, "Are people even looking past the latest post for the day?" Am I wasting a post or two away that I could probably save for another day? Maybe, or maybe not... 'wasting' is too harsh of a word, since I'm wasting time and other things doing this anyways. Perhaps I am thinking about this too much... yeah that's it.

Well, I'll see it this way: If I post 4 topics on that one day, then that's what I felt like mumbling about to the internet world THAT day. If I post one or none, oh well.

So there... I'm not being paid for this, I have no commitment or contract, and I'll stick to what I originally intended to blog about, "Thought Farts". And while I'm at it, I also try to be a good community member. It doesn't hurt.

And no, that's not me in the picture!

Don't Forget - Sustainablity Seminar Tomorrow!

Annual Sustainability Seminar -- Saturday, April 4, 2009,
8 a.m.-midnight
Join us for a fantastic day of free workshops abouteverything sustainable from green building and green cities, to sustainable social relations, to home farming and cooking!

For more info on this free event for all, please go to:
The Regenerative Cooperative of Pomona

MG3 - Tonight At The Press In Claremont

MG3 - "Matt Gerovac 3"


"The Press favorites MG3 are back with their excellent funk, reggae and soul music - great music from some great guys."

I've heard these guys play a while back in Hermosa and I remember their music was great. It's good to know that they're gonna be in town tonight. If you get a chance, come check them out. I know the music they produce goes great with some Pomona Queen on tap, or a nice glass of wine.

You wanna hear a sampling of their tunes?
Check out their MySpace Page.

They will be performing at 10pm.

The Press Restaurant
129 Harvard Ave., Claremont, CA 91711
Phone: 909-625-4808

Da World 'Cordin To Amurcans

This caught my eye a while back and it was just way too funny to pass up... Reminds me of quite a large segment of our voting population, whose unintelligent vote had an effect into the mess we're in now. In a joking sort of way, of course. ;-)


Click to enlarge

Source: JoeMyGod

Little Bangladesh in Koreatown?

I ran across an article on Newsday.com by Amy Taxin regarding the possibility of a new "Little Bangladesh" section to the famous "Koreatown" in Los Angeles. Apparently, it seems some people are not too happy about this:

"The proposal has shocked and angered Korean-American leaders who have worked for years to turn Koreatown into a Southern California cultural destination. "There is a pride in calling this Koreatown," said Chang Lee, chairman of the Korean-American Federation of Los Angeles. "The residents and businesspeople, when they heard the news, they were appalled."

But there is also another view such as the one from Han Dong-yeop, a Korean sushi chef:

"Why not?" he said. "We live together anyway."

It looks like it might happen, but the location and size is still being debated:

"As first proposed last year, the district would have cut a half-mile swath through the heart of the nation's largest Korean enclave, a bustling area of Buddhist temples, restaurants and businesses a few miles west of downtown.

Since then, both sides have agreed to create Little Bangladesh on the fringe of Koreatown instead of within its core. But the actual boundaries are still being debated, and a final agreement has yet to be reached."

Read the rest HERE.