Three totally unrelated things

First unrelated thing:

Actually, a cleanup from the Boring Travelogue that I forgot to include at the time. One night in New York - I think it was a Saturday night, but I'm not sure, we went to the theater and saw this play that was kind of meh but then afterward we walked over to 9th Avenue to get a drink. There are a ton of restaurants and bars along there but they all looked a little too loud and crowded and stuff and we wanted something a little more mellow.

So we walked into this place that had its door closed on a very warm night (WARNING SIGN NUMBER ONE). It was kind of an Irish bar. Let's call it "McFrightening's." Very dark inside. Blaring music. About three patrons at the bar. Bald, Irish bartender. The Wife goes back to the bathroom and I order before I realize that McFrightening's is not going to be the ideal place for a relaxing drink. It's more like the place where three patrons glare at you while you drink your drink as fast as humanly possible and then pay and get out. Just as we were leaving (after, say, 5 1/2 minutes) another couple came in and ordered and then we could tell they realized their mistake too. They looked at us kind of pleadingly but we were like "Sorry, you poor bastards. We can't help you." On the way out, I noticed that the enormous fucking guy at the barstool by the door had a jagged scar from his ear down his neck. I'd hate to see what the other guy looked like.

Second unrelated thing:

We got back Sunday night late and I had the day off yesterday too because I believe in always having a day off between when you get back from vacation and when you go to work. I turned on Channel 2 around 9 and Fox was showing NASCAR racing. Somewhat odd, but I figured that a race had gotten rained out the day before and that was why.

(SIDE NOTE: For the life of me, I cannot understand the attraction in watching NASCAR. I don't want to get into a whole thing about it, but it seems terminally boring to me. I understand that some people don't like baseball, which is retarded, but de gustibus non est disputandum and all that. Still.)

So I posted one of my wry observations on the Twitter machine:



HI-larious, right? Guffaws all around at the absurdity of it all. And now let's move on.

But wait! Maybe not. One "Smokey_14" is committed to fighting misapprehensions about NASCAR. And misapprehensions r serious bizness!



Sigh. I'll try to keep it on Larry the Cable Guy level from now on, Smokey_14.

Third unrelated thing:

Local free paper/front stoop litter/would-be right-wing organ/sad shell of its former glory The SF Examiner reports:

A Mega Block Party planned for North Beach that has the potential to draw thousands of unruly partyers to the troubled stretch of Broadway could bring violence and mayhem, police and neighborhood groups say.

[blah blah blah]

Recent violence in the area includes a case in which a car allegedly ran down a pedestrian while driving away from a shooting. The Feb. 19 incident killed San Francisco resident Luis Prieto.

The issue of police staffing for the upcoming Broadway Mega Block Party has police and city officials pressing nightclubs to help pick up the costs of the additional security.

The event, which is planned for May 29, allows people to buy a wristband and have total access to at least eight participating clubs in North Beach — including Fuse, Dragon Bar and Bamboo Hut — according to event promoter Papa Entertainment.

Oh yeah, this seems like a good idea. North Beach on Saturday night is already basically an Ed Hardy date rape tequila shots block party. This idea is like hanging a huge "Free Drakkar Noir in North Beach" sign in every mall in Antioch. I hope "Papa Entertainment" gets stuck with the bill for this.