Year: 2006

California Gold

A Cyclist’s Diary of Traversing the State

For several months after college at UCSB I moved back home to San Francisco and lived the idle life of day jobs, stale air, and silly little rat races. But I fast grew bored with it all. I turned to the violin for a while, and then dabbled in painting, and out of desperation I modeled for art classes. But when I took up adventuring I knew I had found my calling. Any given day in this vocation might find me riding my bicycle across a terrible desert, romancing a damsel, or outwitting enemies. In fact, there is scarcely a dull moment in my occupation. There’s no money either, but it beats a day job.

Cockeyed Conspirators

COCKEYED CONSPIRATORS: The Sheriff’s Department raided a cockfighting operation on a Lompoc Ranch and found about 150 birds, mostly roosters in fighting trim.

Three Pickles

Shop of the Sub Genius

When it comes to sandwiches, Santa Barbara’s never been a bad place. The biggest problem has always been that the best are more money than you want to spend, and the affordable ones far less than remarkable. But now there is immediate relief for the cruel cost/taste dilemma. It’s called Three Pickles, which does not mean an automatic trio of cornichons will adorn your every purchase. The three guys who run the place call themselves such. “These are the pickles,” a friend said by way of introduction to Bob Lovejoy and his crew.

SAND AND SERVE

The three-ring circus that is AVP volleyball made its annual stop on the sandy shores of Santa Barbara’s West Beach last weekend, in the 50th local installment of the tournament. The action was hot and heavy, despite the fact that most matches-including the highly anticipated men’s final-were plagued by unseasonably wet and dreary weather.

‘I Don’t Have Any Snappy Sayings’

Bill Cosby

At the Chumash Casino, Thursday, May 11.
I’ve spent 85 percent of my life waiting for this moment. Bill Cosby-a voice from my childhood (Fat Albert and the Gang), my adolescence (Jello Pudding and The Cosby Show), and my adulthood (discovering the sublime hilarity of his comedy albums)-live and in-person. This is like meeting magic, or Magic, or the person who invented the Ferris Wheel. Something on the scale of meeting God. Am I overstating the situation? I don’t think so. I’m willing to bet that Bill Cosby is one of the most recognized voices and faces in the world. So it was all I could do not to skip from the far end of the Chumash Casino parking lot, through the throngs of sloe-eyed slotters, and into the auditorium to my seat.

ANGLING ANGELIDES

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Phil Angelides (pictured) stopped in Santa Barbara on Monday as part of his statewide tour leading up to the June 6 primary election. A sun-soaked Goleta Beach Park provided the perfect backdrop as the current state treasurer tooted his own environmental horn.

Making Headway

MAKING HEADWAY: The Santa Barbara City Council approved reducing the wait time for cross-town and uptown buses to 10 minutes during peak hours as part of an effort to attract new riders and boost convenience for those who already depend on buses.