Rump Shaker

I just felt an earthquake. The apartment shook but it wasn't the big one.

Funny, I went to the latimes website for info and this article was on the front page.

Major earthquakes on San Andreas happen more frequently than previously thought
LA Times, 4:34 PM, January 23, 2009

Prophetic!!

The USGS has the skinny.

A minor earthquake occurred at 7:42:44 PM (PST) on Friday, January 23, 2009.
The magnitude 3.4 event occurred 2 km (1 miles) WNW of Marina del Rey, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 7 km ( 5 miles).

Slated for Removal

I'm deleting the, Kissing Suzy Kolber link. It never makes me laugh. I still love the title though.

This Land Is My Land

Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen - "This Land is Your Land" - The Obama Inaugural Celebration Concert

I must have watched this video ten times today. It should be the National Anthem. Today was a special day. We finally have a President that understands the song.

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
That side was made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

Thanks to DB for hipping me to this Pete Seeger article.

Rerun

After watching a movie the other night I was flipping through the channel guide.

From 10 P.M. until 2 A.M., Channel 58 was was broadcasting a, Los Angeles Board of Supervisors meeting from 1997.

Really, four hours of a twelve year old Board of Supervisors meeting, from ten until two, who the hell is watching that?

Another Sunny Day

It was in the 80's yesterday so instead of going home after the creek restoration I went to Venice Beach. I stuck around until after the sunset. To all my friends and family who are currently in the grips of negative temperatures: I'm sorry! All are welcome to visit if you need to thaw out.

No idle hands

"It's not a day just to pause and reflect — it's a day to act," Obama said on King's national holiday. "I ask the American people to turn today's efforts into an ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of others in their communities, their cities, and their country."

I began my day of service a day early. Yesterday, I volunteered at a creek restoration at Malibu Creek State Park, that was organized by Heal the Bay. We removed non native plants (mainly mustard) and replaced them with native bunch grasses.

For those that are interested in participating, Heal the Bay Stream Teams do creek restorations once a month. You can sign up to volunteer via the Heal the Bay website.

Here are some photos from the day.


Volunteers removing invasive plants.


Volunteers planting native bunch grasses.


The Heal the Bay truck.


A mixture of volunteers and park visitors.


At PCH & Sunset on my drive home. I started noticing tsunami evacuation route signs near the beach a few months ago.

A Superior Creature

For Christmas, my parents gave me Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's book, Charcuterie The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing.

From Thomas Keller's introduction:

A final reason for Charcuterie is important: it recognizes the pig for the superior creature that it is. From a culinary standpoint, the pig is unmatched in the diversity of flavors and textures it offers the cook and the uses it can be put to-from head to tail, from ham to tenderloin, it's a marvel.

This is a very hopeful time for the pig in America . . .

The pig might disagree.