Join the Shasta SOB (Society of Brewers) on Saturday May 1 for National Big Brew Day. See home brew being made. Across from the Library in Redding.
Click to the Shasta Society of Brewers webpage for more. Big brews, it’s Really Redding.
Say hello to my leetle friend…
Ornamental Manzanita
Manzanita is truly ubiquitous around here. The hardy bush thrives in solid clay, hard rock, and parched earth. I’ve sometimes heard harsh language used to describe this tenacious plant, for all sorts of reasons. But then I’ve seen the leaves sparkle in morning frost and dew. And I’ve admired the sculptural reddish wood as it gnarls and flows into resilient branches. Both loved and hated, Manzanita is just a fact of life around here. But this ornamental use of it is unique.
Located on Highway 299W, you’ll see these fanciful beauties on your right, just before Swasey Drive as you head toward Whiskeytown. I’ve admired these for a long time.
I just think these specimens are fabulous. Disciplined trimming reveals their inner beauty. Given this plants hardiness and ability to adapt under Redding’s often extreme climate, it’s odd that we don’t see this use more often. True Xeriscaping. I’ve seen folks go to bizarre lengths to keep a lawn green around here, as though Redding was somehow the British Isles. Really, they could just visit https://www.lawncare.net/ if they want to make sure their lawn looks its best. Meanwhile, you could plant these ornamentals in your yard and likely never water them. Just fertilize occasionally with chunks of cement and broken glass, and watch ’em grow. It’s Really Redding.
4-20 Time again to consider abandoning prohibition
I wrote on this same topic a year ago. This year, we may vote to remove the marijuana prohibition. Probably, you will soon see campaign rhetoric heat up. When you see arguments against removing prohibition, I ask you to consider who will benefit most from leaving the status quo in place.
Illegal drug cartels
Marijuana dispensaries and their landlords
Alcohol manufacturers and distributors
Pharmaceutical manufacturers
Lawyers and courts
Hydroponic gardening stores
Prisons and their unions
Police eradication budgets
When you see or hear the campaign advertising against legalization, please consider the source carefully. The prohibition has been a complete failure. Criminalization of marijuana has been used as a means to ostracize minorities in the United States, incite fear against them amongst the general populace and to deprive medical patients of the medicine they desperately need. The Florida dispensaries are doing all they can to ensure that final point becomes a distant memory. Clearly, now is the time for the entire country to try something new. If you don’t believe that it could actually be time to end prohibition and allow people that suffer from a whole array of illnesses, whether physical or mental to have access to medical marijuana that could have the potential to improve their lives, then perhaps do some research into locations in which medical marijuana has been legalized. It doesn’t even have to be completely legal for medical or recreational reasons, for instance, if you were to visit a website such as https://cannaunion.com/product-category/cbd-vaping/ or somewhere similar, you’d be able to see that within the UK (where it is still, in fact, illegal to possess or cultivate cannabis) people that wish to benefit from CBD (cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid prevalent in the marijuana plant) can actually still do. This could be just one-way patients can benefit from medicines while still being inside the law. If cannabis is legal where you live and you want to try it, do some research into it first. For example, how would you like to smoke your marijuana? There are many different ways to smoke cannabis nowadays, including bongs, dab rigs, and pipes. You need to make a decision on which tool you’re going to use and how to utilize it, as well as how to look after it correctly. There’s usually many resources online that can help you with things like this, such as this article on cleaning your pipe by fat budda glass. It’s highly recommended that you do this before looking into where you can get your cannabis from. There are already many services offering legal cannabis to patients, for example over in Canada they have many different delivery services such as canadawideweed and others that will complete same-day deliveries for online medical marijuana orders. Such sites are also educational points for those that wish to learn more on marijuana use, benefits, and more. Click on the image for more thoughtful info.
A classic Redding weekend
I'm shopping for a Volvo now. Thanks RS!
Couldn’t let this one slide. Of all the weekends in Redding to pay attention to the Auto section, Kool April Nights is when the RS allowed this fairly major and seemingly obvious misprint slip. That’s one mighty purty Volvo. I wonder if Porsche is aware that the 2011 Volvo S60 looks so similar to a Cayman?
I live in a glass blogger house, where the copy writer has has a fool for an editor, so I shouldn’t throw stones with impunity. And I hate playing the grammar police. But in truth we’ve noticed a recent spate of fairly obvious bloopers in the local paper. Did this task get outsourced too? Hello in there! Asleep at the wheel?
A Day at the Races – a few Kool April Drags 2010 images
Just a few of Friday’s racing images. Come out tonight for MORE!
Bob has some seriously fast cars out this year. Amazing machines.
The track conditions should be better today than Friday. Records will be broken…
Samie Felker hit the wall at speed. Yikes. She’s OK. Her Renault, not so much…
F-16s fly in and out of Redding Airport? Who knew? Very impressive in itself.
“No Bar Too Far,” says the sign on Ralph Lederer’s motorized barstool. Friendly culture in the pit area belies serious competition on the track.
It’s Really Redding.
Car photos manipulated to look like miniatures
Those darn *insert enemy name here*
It’s April 15. A special day, ahem. Nobody wants to pay taxes, but everybody wants more services. Before you go off on *insert enemy name here* you may enjoy this classic video from John Cleese:
The enemy list may change, but Monty Python remains. I know when I think about extremists and other irony-challenged individuals and groups, they are such very bad persons, and if it wasn’t for them, I’d actually be good-natured, and courteous, and rational all the time.
Kool April dragracing images reflect our car culture
My involvement with the Redding Dragstrip came about because the track president is a neighbor. The Dragstrip is truly a shoestring operation, mostly run on community enthusiasm since the early 1960s. Bob learned I had some web skills and volunteered me. Which is fine, really. Happy to help. The world’s oldest NHRA dragstrip is quite a unique asset for our town, and brings in loads of out of town money. The pro racers, and volunteers like retired policeman Ed Ochoa of WeLike2Race, ultimately support the Street Legal racing nights that keep local hot rods from staging unsafe clandestine races on your streets. And that’s a good thing indeed.
The strip operates on City owned property east of the airport. But Redding charges for the use, and doesn’t offer subsidies of any sort, even though we clearly subsidize other marginal tourist attractions who shall remain nameless. That’s okay, but our track is very much reliant on this one big weekend for most of its meager operating revenue, and the weather is notoriously fickle this time of year. Rain this weekend can kill their whole year. Fortunately this year, it looks very good for the races. I took some pictures and video for the track website at last year’s 2009 Kool April event, and you can click on either to view. Come on out Friday or Saturday. It’s Really Redding.
