grass roots

grass roots, originally uploaded by jasonmlott.

this woman wanted people to sign a petition, calling for the people of farmington to impeach the mayor because electric rates are too high('cause, you know...the mayor is responsible for such things). ironically, it was in a gas station/minimart parking lot where gas is being sold for close to 3 bucks per gallon, being fed into a steady stream of big trucks and suvs. along with the gasoline being purchased, a huge percentage of the patrons were leaving the market with cases of milwaukee’s best.

h20

h20, originally uploaded by jasonmlott.

Click through for pics from our weekly hike. This lil loop has more ahhhhhhs per mile than anything I've seen since east clear creek, in arizona, when i was in college. Which says a lot: things looked a lot more...um...interesting those days. That clean desert air and all, I'm sure.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Stumbled upon Vanity Fair's "Green Issue," which discusses threats to the environment and what celebrities are doing to help save the planet.

The magazine is made of 100% NON recycled paper. Who said hollywood is out of touch and maybe-just-a-little-bit full of shit?

SL Headlines 101

"Child who went missing from Dellwood gas station found unharmed"
article

In Missurah, if your car is jacked with your child in the safety seat while you pay for gas inside the station, your child has “gone missing.”

Thankfully she was dropped off unharmed before the jacker wrecked the SUV, but doesn’t the headline infer that the kid wandered off someplace, maybe chasing butterflies or such? The girl didn’t innocently go missing; she was inadvertently kidnapped as a result of negligent parenting.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, headline rule #1: skew everything to make the situation appear less bleak or less besmirching to the region.

Traveling

I've been traveling quite a bit for work these days. I am absolutely fried, sick of airports and hotels. A few quick notes:

• When planning a business trip to the metropolis of Lincoln, Nebraska, do your research beforehand and try to avoid going the same time that the Future Farmers of America are in town for their annual convention. 10,000 screaming teenagers cut loose in the Big City do not equate with a pleasurable hotelling experience.
• The Cornhusker Hotel is, in fact, exactly how you imagine it. Less the screaming teenagers, above.
• Flying Southwest can be a soul-crushing experience. I have real issue with the people who put their bags in the "A" line, and then go sit in a chair. If you want that space you have to stand and be miserable like the rest of us.
• Ordering Chardonnay at a bar in Nebraska gets you dirty looks. Having a conversation regarding how much you miss San Francisco while drinking chardonnay in the same bar could, in fact, get you killed.
• Note to self: more beer and steak, less wine and talk of california cuisine. When ordering said steak, the bloodier the better. Extra points for saying something along the lines of: "I want that steer almost breathing," or (to quote Dennis Leary), "I'll cut off what I want and ride the rest home."

Weekend Update

dog is my copilot, originally uploaded by jasonmlott.

Weekend update:

• Went to Atomic Cowboy for dinner and drinks on Friday. We love this bar, seeing as it resembles something found in California more than the Lou. Good dj's, a nice patio with bonfire, an eclectic mix of gays, striaghts, diffferent races. And people: they actually have a better-than-decent fish taco here. Full on baja-style, with shredded cabbage and lightly breaded fish. The guacamole is homemade and fan-friggin-tastic. It's no Yuca's, but not bad for SL.
• Saturday morning we went for a hike "out 55" (read: south on highway 55) to a beautiful limestone slot canyon. Nice little walk, with a lot of water and muliple stream crossings. Payton was in doggie heaven, spending more time in the creek than on trail.
• Saturday night I drank wine and watched the NCAA basketball tourney, which ends this evening. Melissa is happy about this, as is my kidneys. But, alas, baseball season starts today. The Cards are a religion in this town, not just a sport, and I have happily joined the bandwagon.
• I mentioned below our crazy-drunken-hermit neighbor, and her puzzling disappearance. Shortly after my posting, she returned (from either her stint in rehab or Florida) without fanfare. On sunday morning, we were awoken with a crazy thunderstorm before dawn. Melissa woke up and looked out the bathroom window, which overlooks her yeard. She was OUT IN THE RAIN, in a bathrobe, cleaning up the newspaper pile I had previously mentioned. Thunder and lightening were crashing around her while the crazy old bat collected newspapers in the semi darkness. Did she read my blog? Is there a neighborhood spy alerting her to my post? If so, let this stand as a formal invitation to Crazy Hermit Neighbor Lady to come over and introduce yourself over cocktails. It's only been a year, it would be nice to get to know you.