Ever have one of those moments where you realize you’re mortal? No, I’m not joking–really, one of those moments of crystal clarity?

This morning, while driving in to work on the I-5 in the rain, I had one. Bumper to bumper traffic, maddening lane changes–don’t people know how to check their mirrors and use their blinkers? I drive a small vehicle, about the size of a Ford Focus or a Toyota Yaris. I was surrounded, left lane, right lane, front, back…by big rigs.

Should one of those drivers have made a critical mistake, I would have been the filling in a Big Rig sandwich. Scary thought. My hands were clenched on the steering wheel all the way in. Drive carefully, everyone.

Today we braved an ominous sky and went for a long canal-centered walk. I really enjoy the maze of canals here in the Greenhaven/Pocket neighborhood of Sacramento. The local ducks from “Duck City” have been populating like mad, and tiny to medium sized ducklings are practicing their swimming skills in the oil-slicked water.

If ducklings and the mating habits of ducks bore you, the turtles with outstretched heads, sunning along the concrete canal embankments, might catch your eye. They range from the tiny to moderate-sized, and somehow I suspect they are the offspring of someone’s former pet. This is the first year we’ve seen them.

During the walk, my attention was caught by the splashing of about five grey carp–very large–fighting over something. Perhaps it was a stale cracker? I hope so. Last week, we saw 15 ducklings in a family unit. This week we saw only thirteen.

I love penguins. Adding them as temporary residents to the Sacramento Zoo is going to mean a mandatory trip to ogle them sometime soon.

But these birds are just in from the city. Or should I say “The City” for all you SF snobs out there? I can’t help but think that this little Magellanic penguin family, just in from the cool coast, is in for a hot summer. It’s as cruel as putting a desert snake into the freezer. (Don’t try this at home.)

But I gotta hand it to the zoo-marketers in Sactown. I’m already researching the best time to visit. You have to make good plans these days, because it’s a real zoo over there (and now they have penguins!).

The debate is on: which is okay–shoot to kill the guy in your home, or shoot to hinder the guy who is breaking into your car? Is either okay, morally? Is one okay in certain circumstances, and the other…not? I love the legal system. It’s the very questions like these that get all tangled up for the public to debate, and the law to decide.

For background, the Bee has an article here on the latest shootings in the area.

My own opinion on the first case (and it’s a strong one) is thus:

If a woman comes home, and comes across an attacker in her home and shoots to kill him…good for the woman. Bad for the attacker–he happened to choose a deputy officer’s home. Most of us civilians don’t carry a weapon, and couldn’t remain calm and cool enough to shoot a person in the head if they were trying to attack us. Word to the criminal: if you don’t do your research, you die. It’s Darwin and natural selection. And on another note–there will be one less sexual predator in prison (and we’re already overcrowded here in CA). I say give the Deputy Sheriff a medal.

On the second case…I have a lot of questions, as well as opinions.
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It’s opening night for the Sacramento River Cats. There are still seats available. Why not make a memory for your children to hold close and cherish in later years?

I’m an avid River Cats (and Oakland A’s) fan now. But growing up I was a casual fan of the Cincinati Reds. The era? Johnny Temple, Gus Bell, Roy McMillan, Ted Klasuzki, Frank Robinson, Veda Pinson. The venue: Crosley Field. I went to one opening day with my father, and one world series game. Both memories are vivid. When my own children were old enough we bought a 20 game package to the Oakland A’s. Our opening night seats were far down the left field line, high enough so we had to duck passing satellites. But both boys vividly remember the game and both remain baseball fans to this day.
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Opening day for the Oakland A’s was on the road last Monday. They played in Seattle, a 3:30 start. I thought I’d listen to the game so I fiddled with the radio, looked in the Sacramento Bee for some stations, fiddled with the radio some more . . . and came face to face with the sad realization that I couldn’t actually LISTEN to free broadcast radio of the Oakland A’s, parent club to the AAA Sacramento River Cats, in the Sacramento area.

After messing around with Google, IMing with my son, more Googling, I finally got the name of a guy who knew the guy who was in charge of the A’s radio network, such as it is. And I learned that the A’s do have affiliate here in Sacramento, it’s just that that station, KHTK 1140 AM, is too busy doing other things during the weekdays to actually broadcast A’s baseball. So suddenly Sacramento has become a second tier market for the A’s. The sad part: it’s not really the A’s fault. The problem lies with the corporate nature of radio these days.
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From the Tower Theater, to local apartments, to random architectual elements on any given building in town, Art Deco (and its cousins, off-shoots, and progeny: streamline moderne, arts & crafts, partially a reaction to Deco, craftsman, etc) are all around us here in Sac - from downtown to Midtown and beyond.

Seen any lately? We’d love to share your favorite shots of buildings, details, signs, anything at all with that industrialization-inspired flair that marked much of American - and Californian - design from the 1920s, 30s, and beyond.

Show off your stuff - join our Metroblogging Sacramento Flickr Group! And don’t forget, the group pool is always there to share any interesting shots of Sacramento life you’d like to share.

I’ve got to come clean here. This latest trip out of town, to Salt Lake City, Utah, was a wake up call. Not only does the Sacramento downtown have a much more prosperous air to it–note construction everywhere and revitalized shops and homes–than Salt Lake, but it’s pretty too. Trees and bushes and GREEN are everywhere. I never was so proud to say I was “from” Sacramento, until now.

When we stumbled across a little mini art display at the Rio Grande depot in SLC, the security guard asked me where I was from. I said…Sacramento. He said…Oh, I’ve heard it’s pretty there. I nodded and said…yes, we have a lot more trees than you folks… (Understatement of the year–there are about two spindly trees in downtown SLC–no joke)

But really, what a reminder of how lovely the city is in spring….allergies aside…at least it’s pretty. And there’re birds chirping in the trees and turtles in the canals near the river. Allergies are nothing–it could be worse. You could live in Utah.

I’ve been out of town, so when I came back and opened my inbox, I found this passionate letter, waiting to be approved as a comment on my earlier blog about midtown tattoo shops. I guess there’s a hierarchy of shops…unbeknownst to moi, the tattoo-shop-critic amateur. And believe me, I’ll be the first to say I am no expert on these shops. I walk by, I read the sign, I make a judgment based on what I see…from the outside. I noted the seemingly excessive amount of tattoo parlors in midtown, and in passing singled out one of the newer, more visible shops. This elicited the following letter (copied verbatim from my inbox):
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It kinda snuck up on me last week.

I was strolling through the Target on Riverside, picking up some odds and ends, and found myself in the cosmetics department, pondering whether I wanted to waste more money on eye shadow I’ll never wear. The cosmetics section - as you may or may not know - is generally divded by brand: Revlon, Cover Girl, Neutrogena . . . Boots.

Wha?

Yep - there above the kiosk was this logo:

I didn’t realize it was out of place until I placed it in my mind: Boots is a British drugstore chain - or “chemist” as they call ‘em in old Blighty - that sells all manner of products, including its own brands. Now Target’s got ‘em, which has the British ex-pat community chattering with delight.

I’ve never really shopped at Boots when I’ve been in England, so I can’t imagine starting to go brand-crazy now. But if you’ve always wanted rosy English cheeks and perfectly British-moisterized skin (and didn’t feel like saving money on the discount Kate-Moss-hawked Rimmel brand), then you may be in luck!

Now, if only they’d stock products from Superdrug*:

Because their logo is cooler and I can’t say the name without saying like superfly or superstar - with all the inflection those superwords require.