December 17, 2008
Dogs Chasing My Car in the Deserts
The San Ysidro border station is now the busiest on earth. Although it looked fairly busy even in 1925 with 4 or 5 lanes of queuing cars, these days it has a whopping 24 lanes of northbound traffic for those traveling through from Tijuana to San Diego and another 6 southbound lanes for those going the other way. Every day up to 50,000 vehicles pass through this gate, plus another 25,000 people on foot, and that's just into the United States…
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Dogs Chasing My Car in the Deserts, John Divola 1996-2001
Not from California: Gigantic hearts from above. (Thank you, David)
Huge Depositories of Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
December 17, 2008 in California | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 03, 2008
The Iron Zoo
As you travel Highway 5 — that long, straight, flat, never-ending highway that cuts through all of California, from Oregon to the Mexican border—you would never imagine that magical critters lurk just four miles off the highway near the Coalinga turnoff. The Iron Zoo
“Detonating a nuclear device within Chico city limits results in a $500 fine” and other Crazy Laws of California
A Huge Depository of Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
February 3, 2008 in California | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 16, 2007
Take our Money, Please
The Marijuana Producers and Distributors of California Ask: Let Us Pay Taxes! Please sign the petition to let marijuana producers and distributors pay taxes
The 2007 "Six Man" Volleyball Tourney in Manhattan Beach
Far away from home, Michelangelo Antonioni makes a home movie
The Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel
Darwin, California, a ghost town. (Warning: Music!)
(Faultline bronze above by Mark Stevenson)
A Huge Depository of Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
September 16, 2007 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 23, 2007
Nuclear Survival
John Cleese selling his Santa Barbara County horse ranch for $28 million. Stalloreggi, or ''King's Stables'' has a 16,000-square-foot barn, Mediterranean-style main home with three bedrooms and four bathrooms, a view of the Santa Ynez Mountains and a swimming pool. Also, llamas, alpacas, an emu, chinchillas and nearly a dozen cats
The Salton Sea is a strange place
California Dreamin' bed prototype
Nuclear Survival in California. (From Numlok)
A Huge Depository of Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
July 23, 2007 in California | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 28, 2007
Such a lovely place
“I was in Baker. A truck-stop of a city in the south-eastern chunk of California and I got hungry. I was on my way home. Baker sits at the mouth of Death Valley to the south and is the small podunk between Primm and Barstow. Not that Primm is any bigger, but at least it has some rollercoaster's.
One thing Baker is home to is an internet legend. One of those "Funny Signs!" pictures that's circulated its way through chain mails and internet forums. Zzyzx Road. lol.
I had passed the road and the famous sign on the interstate plenty of times, but this time was different. I had it all figured out. After I finished my sandwich, I was determined to find out...” - The Mystery of Zzyzx Road
Fort Ord, a deserted Military base occupies an area as big as San Francisco
Re-post: We are all just prisoners here, of our own device
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February 28, 2007 in California | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 29, 2007
Zabriskie Point from Space
Heading up to the Cheep Beer Mine, you've got to be good and drunk to drive this road. The Cheap Beer Mine is named after a Fine American Beer, so sit back grab a beer, and......... (From a wonderful site called Ghost Town Explorers)
Death Valley from space. (Click on corner to biggify)
Detailed descriptions of all California state highways on Wikipedia
Silicon Valley by Gérard Pétremand
Photos of San Jose, CA in 1977 and 2006
Unrelated: Enter your birth date and then scroll down for fun statistics
By the way, it seems that YahooMail does not deliver all emails sent to me, so if you’ve sent me an email recently and did not receive an answer, please re-send it; I probably did not get it.
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January 29, 2007 in California | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 15, 2006
Roadgeekery
Mendocino County's finest rest area, just outside Laytonville on California Hwy 101
Timelapse movie of night shots in California
RE-post: Sand samples
Historic California US Highways and The Bridges of Terminal Island. Found on Cameron Kaiser’s site of dead or dying routes
The Water Channel at The Salk Institute, La Jolla. (Click on bottom right to biggify)
Historic photographs of all 21 California Missions, from as early as 1895
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October 15, 2006 in California | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 01, 2006
C.A.C.T.U.S.
Solar Two in Daggett, CA. 1800 heliostat mirrors on 72 acres arranged around a 300-foot high solar tower. More about CACTUS
Delightful Downey. As you all know, Downey is known as the place where world famous and very talented recording duo The Carpenters lived and grew up and did things
Giant Rock is now fractured
Northen California Folk Music from the Thirties
Repost: Bridgeville - first town to be auctioned on eBay (Again)
Newsfilter: The city of Berkeley will let voters decide whether to call for the impeachment of Bush-Cheney
California's Spiritual Landscape. (From Boing Boing)
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July 1, 2006 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 28, 2006
County seat Alturas
Fallen Californian Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Balboa Park Reflecting Pool, San Diego. And other large-format photographs, at the GigaPXL Project
Next week's hot link: The 109 unique rooms of The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo
Desert paintings by Mary-Austin Klein
Photographs of the bizarre, the unusual, the sublime, and the beautiful found in my travels through the deserts of California (and Nevada) by Matt Jalbert. (Also there, photographs of skulls)
A Californian’s conception of the continental United States
Santa Barbara Sunrises and 'sets by blogger Doc Searls
Modoc County is the most rural county in California. Population 9,599
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
January 28, 2006 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 02, 2005
The History of Rock and Roll
Death Valley Moving Rocks. The actual migration of the rocks has never been witnessed by anyone as far as we know. Extreme weather could explain this desert enigma. While the force of gravity easily explains how dozens of rocks - weighing up to 700 pounds - could have fallen from the adjacent hillsides onto the margins of this long-vanished ancient lake, it cannot explain how the rocks have moved far out onto the perfectly flat surface. (Thank you, Michael)
Learn all about the California Condor. Only 215 left. (From Metafilter)
Photograph shows a flower-splashed hillside near Tehachapi, California
Tom Killion's Japanese-style wood block and lino-cut prints of the California landscape. (From the always-unique ”Information Junk”)
Scott Haefner’s kite aerial photography of the Hotel Del Coronado
Wikipedia’s List of songs about California , from the Dead Kennedys to The Eagles
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
June 2, 2005 in California | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 13, 2005
Megan’s Law
California In the 20's. Images of marathon dancing, state society picnics, silent films and junk car races re-create that celebrated decade which secured California's reputation as a social trendsetter. Important, too, are the photographs of daredevil young pilots, industrial and manufacturing workers, dock hands and small businessmen. (From The Los Angeles Public Library)
A giant Floral flag in the city of Lompoc
Megan’s Law: Sex offenders are all around you and you can find out exactly where they live
A Walking Tour of Greg Brown's Trompe-l'Oeil Murals in Palo Alto (From “Jimwich”. Buckethead here is one of many)
Because of the heavy rains, Death Valley is blooming right now
From the people who brought you, “Weird New Jersey”, now comes Weird stories from California: Midget village, Gravity Road, more
Search The Largest Free California Counties Public Records Directory
20 questions, California Quiz
Real headline from The Contra Costa Times: Hercules' Wang goes for glory. Charlene Wang of Hercules, named Miss Asian America in 2003, competed Friday in the Miss Chinatown USA Pageant in San Francisco, sponsored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco. (A fake registration may be required)
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
March 13, 2005 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 30, 2004
California snoring
A colorful mosaic gracing the entrance of Livermore's new library is of a genre known as naןve art because of its whimsical design and childlike nature. Maybe that explains why 11 of the 175 names and words on the piece are misspelled - from "Eistein" and "Shakespere" to "Van Gough" and "Michaelangelo"
Northern California Light and Structure, photography by Edmond Leys
Thousands of Nature Scenes from Northern California, by Photovault
Zero Gardens Nudist Colony. From “Weird San Diego”
California Rare Fruit Growers
You, me & the Salton Sea. In Los Angeles, some people's idea of traveling is to brave traffic to the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Not at Ostrich Ink. There are a lot of odd places to travel to that aren't very far from LA, and in this issue, we take you to one of the oddest of all, the Salton Sea. Click on the dead fish to advance
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
November 30, 2004 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 26, 2004
Giant California Garage Sale
Magnificent obsession - Photos of California Telephone Books!
How one brave man built his own State of California Costume
The Gum Wall of San Luis Obispo
The father of blogger Denise Howell runs Little River Inn, a family-owned destination hotel and resort on the Mendocino coast. The way she always writes about it, makes me want to go & visit
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
August 26, 2004 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 15, 2004
Quick Western Dreaming, No comments
Telephone Poles at the Salton Sea, by Kurt Easterwood
Formation of the California Missions, by Ed Stephan
The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, 160-room Victorian mansion with ghosts
What’s cool in Desert Hot Spring?
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
On a completely differnt note, here's a thought found at "Capital of Nasty": "When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. In a way, the next move is up to him."
April 15, 2004 in California | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 26, 2004
California Dreaming
California to use Feng Shui to help budget crisis? A San Francisco Assemblyman is pushing a legislative resolution that urges the state and municipalities to consider adopting design standards that incorporate the ancient Chinese art of geomancy. Feng shui principles hold that one's physical surroundings and the flow of chi, or energy, can be arranged to attract harmony, wealth and good luck.
Don’t miss the Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs this weekend, if you are into that kind of thing. Here are where the Palm Springs parties are
Leisure World is the first US city exclusively for the elderly. (From “Sachs Report”)
Historic San Bernardino postcards (From “Penny Postcards”)
Salvation Mountain in Niland, California
The story of California's Underground Railroad
Many More Unusual Stories From California, from Hawaii and from Iowa Here
March 26, 2004 in California | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
