We like odd yard art here. Here’s an example. What better example of americana can you imagine than a decorated rusting American car, neatly displayed with a metal pine tree? As seen on Verda Street in the Garden Tract. It’s Really Redding.
Summer is for swimming kids
Coldwell Banker C&C Properties 30th anniversary barbeque
Our Asphalt Cowboy Pancake Breakfast music video
As promised, we took a few more shots of the 2010 Asphalt Cowboys pancake breakfast at Roaring Gulch in Redding.
The music we used is something of a funny story. I am very sensitive about using another artist’s music on a video without permission, since I’ve had that happen to my music. YouTube has a library of songs in different styles that the artist has given permission to use in advance. That option was broken when I was downloading this video, so I couldn’t pull up a Country & Western type tune, but the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button functioned. It pulled up this song, and after getting over the style, and watching it a couple times, it seemed to fit the images appropriately. See what you think.
For more images of this great weekend, Paul Heath, a Redding photographer we admire very much, did the definitive Redding Rodeo Week slide show here at A News Cafe. Nice work, as usual. Paul makes a brief appearance in our video trying to get a shot of the photogenic Chita Johnson of KRCR.
Thanks to Redding and the Asphalt Cowboys for a very cool tradition. It’s Really Redding.
Pancakes!
Loved this shot of Chita and Erin at the Asphalt Cowboys Pancake Breakfast from a few minutes ago. They hope for 11,000 breakfasts served this year. Wow.
Took a bunch of shots, more to follow, no doubt. It’s Really Redding.
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?
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.
Sacramento enjoys the government stimulus
We spent a few days in Sacramento. Not by choice, but on matters pertaining to real estate training. The visit to the city was enlightening. The same traffic, the same lack of parking, the hustle. Although housing was a large part of Sacramento industry, the downturn hasn’t impacted them as much as it has our town, with many looking to realty agencies similar to carlile realty & lending to help with their housing issue. Obviously, a larger part of their economy is based on government spending. And spending is up. A lot. Just few hours south, Sacramento has a much different feel than Redding.
Coming from Redding, another thing noticable is how many languages are spoken there. At a shopping mall, I heard Russian, Chinese, and Spanish, often combined with English. A language mashup. Emblematic of the Sacramento culture, this mall cart sells language training by Rosetta Stone. Not a business model that might ‘translate’ to Redding, or so I think. I set up the shot while the cart vendor looked the other way, but he got that creepy “somebody is looking at me” feeling, and turned his head to look as I hit the shutter.
As though to drive the point home, a woman approached me in the mall and asked if was looking for work. I was bit taken aback. “No?” she went on, “Well do you know anyone who is?” Well yeah. I do. About a quarter of Redding, by my estimation.
11 months of unfair housing comes to an end Thursday
This downtown Redding banner across windswept Pine Street proclaims it thus: April is Fair Housing Month. So ends 11 months of presumably grueling unfairness. Until May.
Actually, Fair Housing isn’t just a month, its the law. But we need a month to celebrate the law, I suppose. It’s ReallyRedding.
Free legal services for low income folks in the Redding area.
I posted an article over at A News Cafe about local free legal services available to low income individuals and families. It’s pretty comprehensive, so I won’t repeat it all here. Here’s a link to the article about the free legal services in the Redding area. If you don’t need these services right now, perhaps you know someone who does, and can pass this information on to them Thanks!
Above, their office on West street in Redding. Here is a link to the Legal Services of Northern California website for more information.