Another thing Ive noticed here in Florida.

Here, far away from epicenter.. there arent that many flags flying.

Oh, sure - there are flags stickered onto cars, and the occasional free-flyer.. but no.

Not on the cop cars, fire-engines or buses.

Not even.

No. Not that you'd notice.

It isnt like epicenter, where you cant turn a head and see a flag out of the corner of your eye, in store windows, apartments, houses.

The attitude seems to be.. "Its a tragedy, but it didnt happen here".

Granted, who needs to be reminded 24-7.. but the longer Im here, the more it bothers me.

Especially as I can now go days without thinking about it.

I'd like to see more flags, frankly.

Because, shit, I want to be reminded.
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Random flags..

































I hope California isnt being as lassez-faire as Im seeing in Florida....

Today's horrorscope:

You'll stubbornly insist on doing things your own way, no matter what the experts might tell you, and that's good, because not only are you more likely to be right than wrong, but you need to establish your freedom to make your own decisions, and your own mistakes.

Let others know in no uncertain terms that you won't put up with interference.

Sounds good, but its still a haul.

Rough work, iconoclasm.

Like SF residents who howl at the liberties Nash Bridges takes with their city, New Yorkers like to pick apart the shows that are ostensibly filmed in NY - but reside almost entirely on sound stages in LaLa land.

And it shows, in ways small and large.

Like Friends , NYPD Blue,Spin City, Will and Grace, Everybody Loves Raymond etc etc.
Some of these shows even film exterior scenes in VANCOUVER AND TORONTO for chrissakes!

The only ones I can think of that keep the authentic faith are Law and Order, Third Watch (a GREAT show now), Da Sopranos and even Sex and the City.

(Although Sex and the City is considered fake because according to that show - Manhattan is a world of young, white non-ethnic women. Few asian, hispanic, black, Italian or New Jersey folk...)

Part of the fun is to catch the non-obvious ways that these shows show their non-New Yorkerness.

Ok, lets take Friends, ostensibly set on the lower East Side:

- The characters only wear black on special occasions. At most, they might don black jackets.

WHAT THE FUCK??? Black is the UNIFORM of New Yorkers.

Its not that theyre allergic to color co-ordination or pastels, by any means - but its a crowded, dirty city.

Black is easy to take care of, and looks stylish under almost any situation.

Thats why.

- The people in the coffee shop arent reading. Or if theyre reading, it aint what New Yorkers are normally reading.

Contrary to what people think of the New York public school system and teh New York Post.. everybody READS in New York.

If you watch Friends.. no one is clutching a newspaper or book.. or if they do, they have some odd choices.

On one episode, all the extras in the coffee shop scene are holding and intently scanning authentic, bright yellow copies of.... LOOT. LOOT????

Will someone raise their hands if theyve ever seen New Yorkers reading the shopping paper Loot in public? I didnt think so.

Walk into almost any coffee shop in Manhattan, and the newspaper of choice is... anyone, anyone... thats right: The New York Times.

(Thats seems also to be true of Berkeley, but for thats another argument altogether.. heheheh )

Throw in a Village Voice, Wall Street Journal, Daily News, New York Post and you got it.

And on the subways, if theyre reading, apart from newspapers, theyre reading ... anyone, anyone.. yes.. books.

Partly to take a quiet chance to catch up on some reading, as well as to avoid making eye contact.

Oh yeah, and another one.. the writers never have the characters referencing a New York street, neighborhood or subway letter.

Unreal.

Oh yeah.. and to tell just how fake it is?

Where the hell are the Greek coffee cups??

- No one is clutching a 10 oz cuppa coffee in the morning.

This series makes millions and they cant even get the details right!

You see why my indignation is so high?

Heh.

Im only about twenny miles from Cape Canaveral, so I can see the shuttle launches from here.

Guess when I finally went asleep after being on dawn patrol?

You guessed it.. when countdown to shuttle launch started at 5:45 am.

GAH.

Granted, anticipated once-in-a-lifetime experiences are often over-rated, but this woulda been nice.
------------
JT: Are you insane???
Me:What?

(I had just walked in the door after a late night walk...)

JT: Its fucking FREEZING outside.
Me: Whaddya mean??!! Its nice outside!!

It was. Granted, freezing temperatures have visited Central Florida during the night.. but Im northern conditioned.

I didnt even have a jacket on, just a denim shirt, with a turtleneck shirt underneath.

A brisk walk on a chill night is invigorating.

Although I havent gone riding since 30 degree temps have entered the area...

Heh. JT isnt really a northerner anyways. :-)

It was funny watching daytime WGN news with the reporters outside in 30 degree CHICAGO weather.

Trust me, it aint your stylish over-coats and scarf that the NY reporters wear, or the jackets and caps the Orlando correspondents have. Oh no.

We are talking hevvy duty goretex down parkas, wool caps and MITTENS.

Can we say 'wind-chill' boyz an' goils?

Oh yes, I remember The Hawk. (Ask any Navy vet who trained at the Great Lakes naval station in the winter what thats like.)

So, this is a nice cool weather. I aint complainin'.
---------------
Oh it is?

Oops.

Happy birthday Winnie. :-)

As I said, loyalty is a very very big deal to me.

Even tho Pisces folk have this rep as being.. you know, that F word that Kellog's uses a lot.. my fishies tend to be true blue - heh, sometimes in spite of themselves. ;-)

And we've been friends I think, in spite of ourselves me sometimes.

Even with the ups and downs we've both been through.

Sometimes I look up and wonder how we've *stayed* friends through the years.

We're an odd pair, really.

I know why.

Cuz, in the end, loyalty does matter.

So, Happy Birthday Kate.

You are a good friend.

Which is the F word that matters.

Ok. To clear up the confusion.

Im not in New York. Im not yet in California.

Im still in Florida, wearing out my welcome.

Didnt intend to be here this long.

My camera is dead. Ergo, no pictures of God's own sunsets and StonerCat.

And yes, Im headed to San Francisco, just not sure as to exactly when.

But very soon.
----------------


JT and I were talking about the different chinatowns in the US.

His comment about SF's chinatown is that it reminded him of Hong Kong.

Specially the the Street of Tea and Ginseng. :-)

Frankly, I was disappointed with it.. cuz it didnt seem like New Yorks chinatown.

Still, in its own way - fascinating.

Particularly when I escaped the orbit of the plastic looking tourist part, and decided to find the real deal one night....
















Instead of a teeming example of a historic gateway, the place just seemed like a clean tourist trap.. until it got dark, and most of the tourists disappeared, and the street began to fill with people taking care of the basics.
























Then I turned a corner, and it was over.

For me, loyalty is a very very big deal.

And its mostly why I cant stop smiling. :-)

I met her months after I came to New York, where she was my boss.
Stern, stubborn and gruff. Who endeared me with her loyalty. And gained mine by showing it.

She has always had my back.

She is EXACTLY the kind of woman I secretly wish to find.

Im here to tell you.. women like her are hard to find.

And so, the guy she has stuck with over the last coupla years through thick and thin - specially the very thin times, came to his senses when she came back from global airport hopping.. and proposed.

Heheh. About fucking time.

So Im smiling. For a one in a million woman. :-)

Today's horrorscope...

Which is more important, your money or your freedom?

If you're true to yourself, it's freedom, but the approaching full moon warns that you'll attach great importance to what you own and earn today, to the extent that you may be tempted to trade your independence for more financial security.

Don't do it. You'll regret it.

I have a lot to say about it all.. but I can eloquently express it all this way...

GAH.

*sigh* .. more difficult choices. And hopefully the right ones.
Jeez, this is a haul..

Eh, nothing I havent been through before tho.