Thursday, March 27, 2014

One of the Best Chicken Kebabs I Have Ever Tried


1135 W Glenoaks Blvd
Glendale, CA 91202
(818) 500-4005

Cafe Bravo  

Categories: Middle EasternMediterranean
Neighborhood: Glendale
They say hunger makes the best sauce.  Plato is the person originally credited with the quote, and sometimes it is attributed to Miguel de Cervantes.  Whoever said it was a pretty smart fucker.  See, I had been at Brand Park a little earlier with my wife completing a very difficult and lengthy run with lots of elevation gain and loss.  I was so famished by the time we finished that I probably would have eaten Filipino food.  Luckily, I drove by here and saw about ten people leaving with takeout while I waited at the traffic light.  So thankfully I parked and we came in because this place has one of the best chicken kebabs I have ever tasted.  It is boneless and skinless dark and white meat marinated in what I suspect may be dilaudid, expertly grilled by someone who has a lot of broiler experience.  Brillat-Savarin was correct. Grilling chicken perfectly is an artistic feat no less delicate than a charcoal drawing by Goya.  Or a Harvard-trained cosmetic surgeon performing a magnificent breast enhancement and racheting up sagging vagina so it no longer hangs like sleeve of wizard.  These guys have PhD in grilling chicken.  I chose eggplant and tomato salad, tabouleh and rice.  The eggplant was good and the tabouleh was fresh.  I ordered it with an extra kebab and it was a hell of a lot of quality, healthy food for the ridiculously low price of ten bucks.   My wife got a gyro sandwich which actually was two sandwiches with Chris Christie approved quantities of two different salads.  Fuck yeah.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

I Advocate 5150 WIC Holds for the Morbidly Obese and Institutionalization in State Mental Hospitals

It was Reagan who as Governor began the process of de-institutionalization, but I was surprised to learn that it was actually that turd, Pete Wilson who closed Camarillo State Hospital.  The issue of mental health treatment is an issue that is very dear to me.  It is an issue that is inevitably very dear to anyone who has cared for a relative suffering from acute paranoid schizophrenia or a variety of other serious mental illnesses.  As caretakers, we have all traveled down the same path.  Some are still suffering while their loved ones refuse treatment and go through cycles of homelessness, self-medication, and victimization by predators.  Others have been able to provide a modicum of stability for their mentally ill loved ones and create and maintain a support network.  There are a million other permutations that could apply to a situation where you care for a loved one with a serious mental illness.  I only mentioned two of them.  Hospitalization is of course, another.

All of us noticed something different in our mentally ill relatives from an early age, most likely between the ages of 10 and 13.  Then, there was the manifestation of the illness and a major increase in symptoms during the teenage years and into young adulthood when a hospitalization inevitably took place.  Most likely, the first treatments and therapies were not effective.  There was the self medication. Alcohol, stimulants, opiates.  Chronic smoking.  It helps make them feel better.  But it also involves them in the criminal justice system, exposes them to blood born illnesses, and once again, predators.  Compliance with medication is always a problem.  It is hard to identify what is happening.  You have no idea what the fuck a paranoid schizophrenic is unless you are a mental health professional or a student.  It is not something that even the smart layperson can identify.  The same goes for the many variants of serious mental illness. Unless you know what to look for, you have no idea what is going on.  You may just think that they are doing it intentionally.

Then comes the first time that your relative is hospitalized and the psychiatrist actually gets the diagnosis correct.  What a shock to learn about something so serious!  And it may go hand and hand with a criminal case, or concurrent diagnosis with another serious illness such as HIV.  Facing a judge in criminal court is not an appropriate mechanism for the treatment of the mentally ill.  Controlled substance possession, sales, and prostitution are all part and parcel to serious mental illness so our prisons are crawling with untreated individuals who are exceedingly ill.  Prison is only going to make them more self destructive and more dangerous.  Any type of coerced outpatient treatment program imposed by the criminal justice system is likely to fail.

But there are good doctors out there with heavy clinical experience.  County mental health programs and mental illness free clinics in large cities are typically good places to begin, and are usually free.  The problem is getting the people to go.  They are not going to want to go in most cases.  Even after a hold, their participation is simply voluntary, and they are free to go back out on the streets and harm themselves.  Thank you Mister Reagan and Mr. Wilson.  I believe Dante has a seat for both of you in a deep ring of hell.  But there is hope for those that want to get better, have a support network and are lucky enough to encounter a good Psychiatrist with clinical experience that can help you get to the bottom of things.

Underneath the exterior of every homeless person is someone's brother, sister, son, daughter, mom or dad.  They don't want to have those things going through their heads.  Trust me.  If they could be more like everyone else, they would elect to.  Their recovery is usually possible.  Don't give up on them.   The de-institutionalization of the seriously mentally ill was and is a crime against humanity.  Placing defenseless people on the street and exposing them to predators, narcotics, and early death is not an indiction of a compassionate and sane society.  How dare we force democracy down the throats of other nations and carpet bomb when they refuse to follow our orders when we cannot even take care of our own population of mentally ill people.  Instead of several thousand 1.5 million dollar Tomahawk Missiles, how about spending some money to treat these people and open up places where they can be safe and hope to lead a better life?

Morbidly obese people fall into the category of mental illness.  Endocrine problems my ass.  It is self-destructive, uncontrolled behavior.  They are victimized by predators such as Hostess, Jimmy Dean, Paula Deen, Oscar Mayer and Ronald McDonald.  The amount of resources consumed by the fattest Americans contributes to the destruction of the earth and makes things quite expensive for our health care system.  Like others with serious mental illness, the fattest people in California need to be placed into institutions under WIC holds and treated for morbid obesity forthwith.  Even if you are a staunch conservative and Rush (Limbaugh) is music to your ears, you have to realize that at the rate we are going, there are not going to be any people fit to serve in the military in the near future if America keeps up its eating habits.  So we got to do something quick or we may even be eating borscht, because the Russians are going to take us over.

I propose an Atascadero for fat people.  A new Camarillo with a focus on a healthy lifestyle.  And the cessation of any business that contributes to the poisoning of America.  And of course, the expanded availability of mental health treatment and the re-opening of State Mental Hospitals across California.  We could just get the hell out of Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, get rid of a couple of aircraft carrier groups and send some of those dumb-ass generals into retirement and have plenty of money to fund everything a million times over.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Grand Fucking Canyon in the Snow




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Obama Sits At The Children's Table

When I cast my ballot for Obama, I sure did not envision him starting three wars and starting shit with the Russians.  Fortunately, he lost both Syria and Ukraine while they were still in the attempted war stage according to Pepe Escobar.  Libya is another story, but let's talk about the Ukraine for a moment.  

I completed a Bachelor's Degree in History from a prestigious university, and a Master's in Library and Information Science from one of the top Universities in the world.  I know a thing or two about the history of the United States during specific periods, and a bit about modern Latin America.  While I took a one year survey in Russian history as an undergrad, I know very little about Russia, and even less about the Ukraine and other places in Eastern Europe.  But what I do know is exponentially more than 98% of Americans.  So give me a little respect here.  

The Ukrainians that had been here for some time and assimilated between 1890 and 1985 are not the Ukrainians that I am about to talk about.  I have had some experience with established Ukrainians but my contact with them has been limited.  My dealings with them have not been particularly noteworthy. My only lasting impression was that they were not very friendly.  A little cold.  

Since the dissolution of the USSR, I have personally met about a dozen Ukrainians who have come over since 1990.  Let me say at the outset that I do not like to make blanket statements about groups of people, especially people like Ukrainians that I am not too familiar with.  The following observations are limited only to the dozen or so that I have personally met and done some business with on some level or another.  Let me tell you what I observed.  

Firstly, each and every one of the Ukrainians went through great lengths to explain to me that they were not Jews.  I am not usually interested in another man's religion.  All of these people without exception wanted me to know they were not Jews and furthermore questioned me about any prospective Jewishness.  It made me feel very uncomfortable.  The assertions.  The questions.  The outright anti-Semitism when they discovered that I was Catholic and let them keep talking.  Or spewing hate, rather. 
Then they wanted to talk about how they hated Russians.  By that time, they understood that I had a rudimentary degree of knowledge about their history and that I knew that they were not Russian and furthermore hated the Russians almost as much as they hate the Jews.  So these are the people on the ground that we are supporting and that the Russians are opposing.  To call all of the Ukrainians that I am talking about Fascists would be an understatement.  They are more like National Socialists or Nazis.  
I am sure there are many upstanding individuals from the Ukraine are tolerant and not anti-Semitic.  I have not met any personally over here, however.  

Secondly, I had a certain kind of work that I was doing for each of these people.  It always takes about a year to complete the task that they paid me to do.  Over the course of the year, there is nothing to talk about.  It is something that I always disclose at the outset, and on my contract, I always have them initial that they understand that the process takes one year.  Each and every one of the Ukrainians that I entered into a contract with were not satisfied and made it very hard to do my job.  I spent more time putting out fires than doing what I was paid to do.  When it was done, they were NEVER happy.  I am glad I am in a different business these days.  You know what I am trying to say.  

I am sure that the prospect of NATO getting control over Sebastapol is worth supporting nazi gangsters over.  No wonder Obama sits at the children's table, and the adults in the room like Putin are able to stop his GW Bush style wars when they are still attempted wars.  At least that has been the case in Syria and in the Ukraine.  

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Brand Park South Elevation of Mt. Tongva (not the fire road)
















Mt. Tongva can be approached from all 4 elevations, but the southern one is by far the shortest and the steepest.  It is akin to climbing an industrial staircase and if you are able to run, it is going to take you about a half an hour to reach the summit even thought the actual distance is not too great.  In contrast, the South Beaudry Fire Road is five miles from the top to the trash dump in Brand Park.  Some people may consider this more of a scramble than a hike, but I have been accustomed to running up and down.  It took me a couple of years to work my way up to the fitness level necessary to run this little trail.

As for the scenery, you are going to get a pretty good view of Glendale and the North end of Griffith Park as well as the Verdugos.  The entire area is exceptionally dry and the only other thing you will encounter on the trail is vegetation and scenery.  Very few people take this route, and instead opt for the much easier fire roads and the Eastern approach which is steep, but not nearly as steep as the West ridge leading up the South side of Tongva.

When you arrive at the top, there is a radio tower and views of the San Gabriels and sometimes a glimpse of the Three Saints when the air quality is decent.  You are going to enjoy this workout, as it will strengthen your legs, core, and mind.  To reach the trailhead, go up the paved road past the Doctor's House and when you get to the fork in the road, keep going up past the dump and up to the little trail that leads up to the area with the dozen large pine trees and benches.  Before you get to the switchbacks leading up to that area, there is a steep embankment to the left with a narrow dirt path leading straight up.  It is steadily steep almost the entire way up.  When you are almost at the top, keep to the left.  Enjoy.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Kamala Harris and Open Carry vs Concealed Carry in California

At the outset, I want to express my admiration for Kamala Harris.  I do not believe that California has ever had a more qualified Attorney General.  She is the antithesis of some of the two-balled bitches that preceded her such as Dan Lundgren.  Although most black attorneys in law enforcement positions are Toms, I believe her Tom Factor is rather low.  I do not want to discuss my reasons in detail because they exceed the scope of this article.  I think that despite being the top law enforcement employee in the State, I would actually want to buy her an ice cream or something and have a friendly but brief chat with her.

Many of the Deputy District Attorneys that work for Los Angeles County are among the most unethical individuals that I have ever encountered.  I am not making blanket statements because some DDA's are fine, dedicated individuals.   Most are not.  Especially the African Americans.  They are among the most incompetent, self hating and bitter attorneys that have ever been admitted to the bar.  Shame on them for contributing to the demise of their own race by participating in drug crime prosecutions. Harris checks out in my opinion.  She is not a Barak Obama or Susan Rice-like insecure, affirmative action pinhead standing with her dick in her hand while the adults in the room laugh at her out loud.  If I were standing in her shoes, I would visit more criminal court rooms and talk to defendants, judges and all the other parties and court personnel.  I would travel from Del Norte to Imperial, but spend the bulk of my visits to counties where they should stop giving people the shaft and start a medical approach to treating substance abusers and people that repeatedly get busted for theft crimes to support their habits.

But anyway, I am way off course.  This post is supposed to be an appeal to legalize open carry in California in consideration of the recent San Diego case and Harris' decision to appeal it.  First of all, we are all adults here.  Some of us have been employed in some aspect of the criminal justice system or one of its many tentacles, so we can just call a spade a spade for god fucking sakes.  Take gun crime, for instance: Plenty of registered gun owners use their firearms in crimes of passion, violence, and stupidity.  However, there is no way that anyone can dispute that nearly all gun crimes are committed by individuals that could not give a flying fuck about any gun laws, including gun control.  The only thing that criminals in California have to do with gun laws is breaking them.  Of course a felon cannot lawfully possess a firearm.  That sure does not seem to stop them.  Many felons conceal carry or carry in their cars.  The idea of obtaining a license and waiting 15 days would be absurd to them.  They get their weapons through straw buyers, theft of lawfully purchased guns, and the saturated black market in Los Angeles.

In the 19th Century, open carry was common in cities like Boston.  A robber would have to carefully consider whether or not it was worth it to steal someone's wallet.  Or to enter a business and restrain the owner while a theft crime was taking place.  If men wore a pistol, you would of course have some fools who would be talking a lot of shit, but when the shit hits the fan, a real fighter is going to take that gun away from the guy and stick it up his ass.Then you will have your George Zimmerman sociopath bullies and people who mentally torment others and would use legal open carry to terrorize their opponents.  So many bugs would have to be worked out.  Obligatory biometric safeties would eliminate many of these problems. Open carry seems to work pretty well in rural counties, and it is virtually shall issue in many places.   Trinity County, with a population of around 12k people has less problems and less violence than LA so it is like apples and oranges.
I am sure it could eventually be successful.  There would have to be stiff penalties for carrying while under the influence of alcohol, that is for sure, but I am optimistic that open carry is a better option than concealed carry in the Golden State.

Open carry became illegal in the late 1960's because of intense fear of the Black Panthers being able to possess loaded rifles in Sacramento within firing distance of Governor Reagan.  It did not present a great deal of problems prior to that.  Open carry was not traditionally a threat to public safety since California became a state.

Of course most criminals conceal carry illegal handguns.  There would be no scientific way to predict how many crimes could be prevented by open carry, but I have no doubt that it would be a lot.  People in the 19th Century were not victims of armed robbery with the same frequency that they are in this day and age.  I can see the potential for an answer to the average wait time for the police of sometimes as long as an hour, open carry could solve a lot of problems and crimes.  The primary goal of regulating and requiring coursework and annual testing would certainly reduce the number of individuals that may attempt to act like Charles Bronson.

The current laws enable your law abiding citizen to ride with a pistol grip equipped shotgun anywhere inyour vehicle provided that it is unloaded.  You can carry a box of buckshot next to the gun and a couple of shells in your pocket legally.  With practice, the gun can be loaded and ready for action in a few seconds anyway.  It is tantamount to open carry in your vehicle.  It would be easier to shoot if it were already loaded, but effective nonetheless.  We do have the right to bear arms.

I would like to carry around a medium framed pistol and a couple of extra magazines.  The 10 shot capacity limit here in California is fine by me.  Three magazines is 30 rounds and more than enough for almost any situation.  Most of us without a psych history, a history of child abuse, and no felony convictions should be allowed to open carry our pistols.  I do not see it as an imminent threat to the safety of Californians and is far less expensive and problematic than issuing thousands of conceal carry permits in our State.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

La Tuna Canyon Park


La Tuna Canyon Park  

La Tuna Canyon Exit off 210 FWY near Tujunga 
I had passed by here numerous times on the way to the shooting range, vowing each time that one day I would stop and run up that steep trail and back down again.  Today was that day.  You head up a paved fire road until you see the first big dirt hill.  This is a steep path, at times you can hold your arm out and touch the hill but there are a few segments where it evens out and you can catch your breath.  It is not as difficult as the face of Tongva Peak, for instance, but it is still a challenge.  The scenery of the 210 Freeway below, the Crescenta Valley, and the San Gabriels about 2 miles in front of you is good, but the other side is a little bit more interesting as you can see the DTLA Skyline.  Here, the best views are at the top.  There are a few canyons with old growth oaks and some nice, lush, green sycamores totally worthy of a hug if you are a filthy hippie and listening to the Jerry Garcia Band on your I-Pod.  I did not see very many people hiking at the time I went, but the area is heavily used by other recreation enthusiasts.  You can bring your dogs here and let them run around off the leash and nobody will give a shit.  Your children can safely run amok here too.  The usual cast of characters, mostly ravens and hawks, was flying overhead.  The run down was noteworthy in that there are plenty of good places to land and not a lot of loose dirt and rock.  You can get going pretty fast and still be safe.  On a final note, I picked a tick off my forearm.  It did not bite me, but I am sure it was planning on it.  Take the necessary precautions.