B eBay

Cruising around eBay recently I decided to do a search on “Bakersfield.” (Actually, Amy gave me the idea.) There’s some pretty cool stuff out there. Here are a few items currently up for bid.

There is a couple of old Kern County Fair posters.

A 1929 ‘folder’ of the “Famous Ridge Route” between Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

Several old postcards.

AND!
Baseball cards featuring Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez playing for the Bakersfield Dodgers. (How cool is that?)

W.U.D.

It looks like the rain they’ve been predicting all week is finally here. It has been raining for hours and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of it letting up. I haven’t seen this much rain since El Nino. Remember how the baseball field at Patriots Park would fill with water and people would drag their boats out there to float around? That was cool.

The forecast shows rain every day for the next five days. I can’t help but think they’re being overly optimistic.

C.S.O.B.

Guess what truck I saw cruising down Rosedale Hwy last night? Yup - it was the Crazy Ass Cracker. I might have to start a whole new feature. C.A.C.S. - Crazy Ass Cracker Sighting.

A B.B. Q&A for W.H.

After a brief go a round on the trash talking circuit Waist High recently praised Bake Town for doing a “superb job.” But not before challenging me to answer “the tough questions” - which I did in short order.

I believe it is time for W.H. to stop dancing around the truth and face some tough questions herself. Questions like:

1. How does it feel to be the No. 2 Bakersfield blogger?

2. Why don't you write about where you live? Does it suck that bad?

3. How in the hell do you know the birthday of every single 80’s rocker?

4. Why do you think you developed OCD over West High?

5. What is your favorite thing to do when you visit Bakersfield? (Besides get drunk and going to Mexicali.)

6. Do your friends in Oregon think you’re as strange as your friends from Bakersfield do?

7. What is your fondest memory of your time in Bakersfield?

8. What do you miss most about Bakersfield after you haven’t visited in a long time? (Besides getting drunk and going to Mexicali.)

9. What is your reaction when you hear someone talking crap about Bakersfield?

10. Oh, Keeper of the Sacred High School Memorabilia - When are we going to have our 1st blogger convention?

Lesson Learned

A teacher at Fruitvale Jr. High has been put on paid administrative leave for poking his students with a push pin. The creative first year teacher was delivering a lesson on poetry. According to the article in the paper, parents were “outraged” and angrily “stormed the school.”

I’m not sure I’d be pleased to learn my son’s teacher ran around jabbing his students with a push pin. After all, there are diseases that can be spread. Duh. And I’m also not really sure how stabbing kids teaches them poetry. I do give him credit for trying something new. Nonetheless, a mob of angry parents storming the school seems like a bit of an overreaction to me. I keep thinking of that old salsa commerical and imagining one of them looking crossways that the others while saying “Po-e-tree! Somebody git a rope.”

I remember all of us sticking tiny needles in our thumbs in Biology. Do they not do that stuff anymore? I think I heard a lot of schools cut out the dissection portion of the curriculum. If so, that’s a shame. Trust me, I was not thrilled about trying to cut open that rubbery, stiff, smelly, little piglet. But there is something to be gained by the experience.

I think the thing I learned most is that we’re all in the same boat. Sometimes things get rough, but all you have to do is hang in there and before you know it you’ll be looking back fondly on the experience you never thought you’d live through.

Speeding is dangerous

Speed dating is coming to Bako. I wonder if people will stand in line like they did when Red Lobster opened. I’ve been hearing about this speed dating thing and it sounds kind of fun. Of course, I’ve been practicing my own form of speed dating for some time now. A typical speed date for me would be accepting a dinner invitation, listening to him go and on about how Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best television show ever, then going home and shutting off my phone for a week.

The Californian article did confirm some of my suspicions. Apparently the reason there are no decent men to date is because they’re all married! According to the article “marriage rates are higher in Kern County and Bakersfield than throughout the state and the nation.” Yikes! In addition to this, “Bakersfield people also tend to hang in the same groups from high school on into married life and beyond.” Obviously this is true, but I still don’t get how keeping your high school friends translates into there is no one in town worth dating.

Who knows, maybe this speed dating thing will work, but to tell you the truth I’m skeptical. I mean, as we all know, everybody already knows everybody.

A Sad Story

On January 16th an inmate at Wasco State Prison was shot by a guard in the head with a foam projectile. The incident is under investigation, but so far the story is there was an altercation of some sort and he did not lie on the ground as instructed, so he was shot. Shortly after being admitted to the hospital Daniel Provencio was pronounced brain dead.

Since then he has remained on life support, shackled to the bed and under 24-hour guard. Yesterday the 28 year old was finally released. The State Board of Prison Terms finally saw it fit to return the man to his family.

The family feels they are being pressured to “pull the plug.” Because he has no medical insurance the bills will be paid by Medi-Cal. The hospital has told his family to find a new hospital to take him, but so far all those they appealed to have turned them down.

The family has said that they are planning on leaving him on life support “until God says it’s his time” and that they don’t just want to find a hospital to take care of him, they want “people who will put in effort to try to make him better.”

I feel terrible for this family and what they are going through. I hope I never have to try to deal with something like that. However, in my humble opinion, the family is not being very realistic about the situation. He is not in a coma. Brain dead means he’s a body with a brain that is dead. That is not ever going to change. I found it interesting that there was an article in the local section today about a family in Lake Isabella who recently faced a similar decision.

A 14 year old boy from Kern Valley High School was pronounced brain dead on Monday after being hit in the head by a piece of wood. His family and his community were shocked and saddened by the news. He is described as a “nice kid” and “well liked.” It goes without saying that the parents must be devastated by their son’s death. He was described as being “the center of (his mother’s) universe.” Nevertheless, a decision was made by Tuesday afternoon to donate his organs.

I hope that Daniel’s family can step back for a moment and think about what they really want. The best way to keep him alive at this point is to not waste his death. His organs might be able to help save the lives of several people. They could take comfort in knowing his life was not lived in vain and that his death was not meaningless.

And then, hopefully, they can find some peace.

Fighting Back

Having been ripped off recently and having to pay $150 bucks to replace a tiny little window, has made me particularly sensitive to those who are robbed. It also made me want to post a sign telling the thief that the damage he caused cost more than the items he stole. IDIOT! Today I found a guy who did post a message. He’s asking for help to find his friend’s tools.

I don’t have much interaction with tools and such, but if any of you do, maybe you could help a brutha out.

Bakerswood

Someone recently asked if I could remember a film with Bakersfield in it. I could only think of The Onion Field, that movie about a truck driver and his chimpanzee and when the porta potty washed to shore in Cast Away. Help me out here – what am I forgetting?

Looking for some answers I found this website. These films may or may not have Bakersfield “in it,” but they were all filmed in or around Kern County.

I Won, I Won, I Won, I Won, I Won!!!

Remember when I told y’all about the Bakotopia Valentine’s Day text rap contest? Well..guess who won the iPod? That’s right – uh huh, you know it. I’m da man. Maybe I missed my calling. Maybe I’m supposed to be out there rapping with Snoop Dog and Notorious BIG (wait – he’s dead.) Okay, maybe not.

The contest rules said the rap had to be 100 characters or less (including spaces) so I had to get a little funky with some of the words. Here’s my rap exactly as I entered it:

Lookin 4 a d8 this V-day 1 that I ain’t got to PAY Want sum1 I can woo Sum1 who don’t smell like poo

W.U.D.

The five-day weather forecast predicts rain every day this week. When you look at the Weather section in the newspaper, it shows five gloomy images of dark clouds and pouring rain. From the looks of it we should all be covered in raincoats, galoshes and hiding under umbrellas. Since I don’t own any of those things I just wore flood pants.

Yesterday and early today it did actually rain – Bako style. There was some moisture in the air and the sidewalks momentarily appeared damp. If I hadn’t read the forecast I would have thought someone was watering the lawn.

A B.B.Q&A

(A Bake Town Blog Interview)

Back in January, I discovered something in Bakersfield I had never seen before. Bakotopia. Hoping to promote new ‘cool’ Bakersfield sites (and longing for a free T-shirt) I posted a blog about my discovery. Since then Bakotopia has been nothing but encouraging and supportive. I was a little dumbfounded at first, but then I just got excited. After meeting with Dan the Man behind Bakotopia, I decided that adding a ‘Q & A’ (also known as a BBQ&A) feature might be a good idea. And so… after much anticipation - here is my first interview with a newly active member of the Bakersfield scene.

What did think about Bakersfield when you first got here?

Whenever local people ask me this, they never believe my answer. The first time I walked into downtown Bakersfield, it reminded me of downtown Colorado Springs in Colorado. It must have been a clear Winter day or something, but I remember walking down Chester and just barely seeing the mountains off in the distance, and old buildings like the Fox Theatre. I think old western downtowns share a lot in common, so this was my first impression. And no, I'm not making this up :-)

What did you find most surprising about Bakersfield?

I was surprised at how nice, polite and open-minded people were. You can walk down the street and people make eye contact and say hello to you. Contrast this with people in Washington D.C., which until recently I called home, and Orange County where I've done some work, and it's like night and day. I think people in Bakersfield are very real and honest about who they are. After years of living and working around people who are really into power and status and wealth, I like that. It reminds me more of the people I grew up with.

Had you ever heard of Bakersfield before you came here? What had you heard?

I had heard of it, but mostly from a colleague who began working here a few years ago, and believe it or not everything she told me was good and inspiring. If it hadn't been for that, I probably never would have thought of working in Bakersfield. After reading Baketown, I know that people like Johnny Carson used to poke fun at Bakersfield and that must have seemed really lame to the people who live here, but when I didn't live in Bakersfield I never really heard about it. This reminds me of a weird experience recently where I had just flown into Bakersfield and checked into a hotel. I turned on the TV and there was this hilarious (but rather disparaging) episode of the Jamie Kennedy Experiment that seemed to be all about making fun of Bakersfield. Some L.A. lady from the audience was piloting a talk show (which she had learned of 5 minutes before) about people who sleep with their spouse's friends. All of the fake guests were from Bakersfield and had all slept with each other. All I could think of was -- OK, so here are some Hollywood people complaining about the sexual mores of people in a conservative, traditionally agricultural area to the north, when everyone knows Hollywood is pervert central? It was interesting.

I think L.A. people love to hate Bakersfield because it's easier than acknowledging the morally bankrupt, environmental disaster that they call home. And it's funny that the people to the north of Bakersfield complain about the air quality when it's their pollution that you're breathing. Why do people love to hate Bakersfield so much? I don't get it.

What has been the biggest challenge in getting Bakotopia up and running?

Boy, that's a hard one! Honestly, the hardest thing has been to work so hard to get the site up and have to wait for people to find it, but that's not really answering your questions, is it? ;-) I guess the best answer is that it has been hard to find time to do everything that needs to be done! But that's just part and parcel of launching a web site. I have done this many times in the past, and it's a lot of work every time, but eventually things calm down and go into "autopilot" mode. It's also been hard to find time to properly market Bakotopia and get the word out. We have focused so far on grass-roots methods, but we hope to do more visible marketing in the future -- probably after we improve the site a little more.

We have actually been very lucky in that there have not been any big, hairy, insurmountable problems. The whole process of getting Bakotopia out the door -- while laborious and taxing at times -- has been surprisingly easy compared to other projects I have worked on. We built this site with a ragtag team comprised of myself, part of another Mercado Nuevo employee's time, and three contractors who were not even close to full-time. And all of them have been fabulous! Someone once told me that the secret to success in business is choosing the right people, and that cannot have been more true in this case. We have a few Bakotopia heroes who I would like to publicly acknowledge (in alphabetical order):

Christina Blanton, project manager. Christina does all the things that I don't like or am not good at, but fortunately she likes doing those things and is VERY good at them! This includes things like managing a project schedule, mailing T-shirts and stickers out to fans, printing up magnets and flyers, going to Costco to get stuff that we need, and so forth. Christina fell into our lap right when we needed her, which I took as a sign that things were going to go our way. It was like fate or something.

Jonah Gallon, promotion designer. Jonah creates all of our flyers, newspaper ads, stickers and a lot more. As a former band member and band "flyer guy," he's also our link with the local band community. When I first met Jonah, I thought of that scene in Almost Famous where the old rock writer tells the young kid that "You want to be around these people because they're cool, and you and me, we're just not cool!" Jonah simply secretes coolness, and you can see it in his work (www.bakotopia.com/flyers). Jonah's Web site is www.lucidchild.com.

Mark Jackson, programmer. I have known Mark since I was a kid, and he and my brother used to do nerdy things like hack into high school computer systems and create their own graphics rendering engines. One day I ran into him again, so I invited him to my daughter's 2-year-old birthday party. Somewhere between "Happy Birthday" and opening presents, we got to talking and I learned that he had exactly the skills that I needed for Bakotopia. Plus, he was available! I took this as a sign and we hired him to build Bakotopia. He has since exceeded all expectations, and we're now working with him to create "Phase 2" of Bakotopia, which will be a lot cooler in so many ways that I unfortunately can't tell you! Mark is an absolute software genius, which you can tell from the posts about his experience on his blog here: http://www.educomgov.org/marks2cents/

Rachael Miller, designer for Crooked Tail Productions (www.crookedtail.com) who we contracted to do the site's visual design. Rachael worked with us tirelessly and provided so many logos and design concepts that I quickly lost count. Surprisingly, she still talks to us after that experience. She's a real trooper, and I look forward to working with Crooked Tail in the future.

Do you think Bakersfield is ready to support two online bulletin board thingies?

What do you mean "two?" At my last count, there were at least 5, and that's only the ones I know about. What everyone needs to understand is that people all over the world -- and yes, that includes Bakersfield -- have been using the Internet more and more over the last 10 years. The single greatest thing about the Internet in my opinion is that it helps people connect with each other in ways they could not as easily before, and people in Bakersfield have been finding ways to do that even though you don't hear about it on the street.

Everyone likes to focus on whatever is talked about in "The Media," but I see a lot of online community interactions taking place among Bakersfield residents that are totally under the radar. One day more of them will get enough critical mass to be visible to the Powers that Be.

However, there's a saying that "Once Time Magazine says something is cool, it's already passee." I think that applies to what people in the local media have to say about online community, too. To be honest, I think most of these people don't have a clue of what's going on in these communities and they only write about what their friends at other media organizations in other towns write about. It's follow-the-leader journalism, which is kinda lazy if you ask me (and this is coming from a former journalist). I totally expect some of the smaller, more organic Bakersfield online communities to "grow up" in the next few years. And yes, I think there is room for all of them because they each have their own unique demographics and following. Don't forget that Bakersfield is growing like gangbusters, too, and the people who move here will bring with them the online experiences that they're comfortable with.

Where would you like to see Bakotopia five years from now?

I recall being asked something similar at several job interviews, and my answer was always, "how can I possibly predict what I'll be doing in five years??" But here's a stab for Bakotopia.

In five years, I hope that Bakotopia will be known as THE place for young people in Bakersfield to find others of like minds, interests and goals and share information of any type -- whether that be to buy or sell something, meet the lead singer of a local band and listen to his or her MP3s, or find a good Italian restaurant that other people also like. I want Bakotopia to be all about local connections. And I want it to have a reputation of being free, open and safe. If you look at history, very few societies have achieved all three of those things, but I believe that the online world offers tools that make such a Utopian world more realistic and attainable. And if we can't have Utopia, maybe we can at least have Bakotopia! Sorry, had to get that in there ...

What is your favorite place to eat and what do you like to order?

My current favorite is Miyoshi Japanese Restaurant in the Trader Joe's shopping center at Stockdale and Coffee. The guys who make the sushi and waitresses are really nice, and their Unagi and avocado roll rules! Second to this, I'd have to say Fishlips fish tacos. Third, I like the BLT at Renee's even though I should stop eating it. I'm a slave to bacon! Fourth, I like this garlicky pasta salad at Renee's, which is even worse because it makes my co-workers gag.


A big thanks to Dan for taking the time to be interviewed. You rock! B.T.

Another blog is born

I don’t know how I missed this (the link is right there on Noveltown’s blog) but I discovered another female Bakersfield blogger. It’s always fun to find a new blog to read. Personally, I like to go back to the beginning and read up, but sometimes that’s hard to do.

Either way, I would like to welcome Matildakay to the Bake Town family.

Digging up the past

The Spirit of the Golden Valley, local news station KGET ran a story yesterday about some interesting things construction crews have uncovered recently. Crews working to repair and replace old pipes are digging up the area near 20th and L streets. It's the same area the old Chinatown was located. Yesterday they unearthed an old safe. Their excitement was quickly dashed when they ripped off the door and found nothing inside. Besides the safe they have discovered old bottles, inkwells, and opium pipes.

Makes me want to take a shovel to my back yard.

Missing Laningham

There’s a big article in the paper today about one of the counselor’s at West High. The article describes all the things a high school counselor does from placing students in the correct classes to encouraging them to think about the future. I couldn’t help but think of my own high school counselor Mr. Laningham. He was the greatest. He helped me so much and in so many ways it is quite possible I would not be where I am today were it not for his support. Mr. Laningham helped so many of the people in my class I'm pretty sure we all thought we the greatest.

It takes a great man to make a couple hundred 18 year-olds love him.

Searching

One of my new favorite past times is checking out what types of things people were searching for when they found my site. I have shared some of them with you before but lately I have just been keeping a list of the ones I found most funny or interesting.

Some of them (like the first one) I have actually seen several times. Here they are exactly as they were found.

•Bakersfield sucks
•Overalls craigslist
•Backwardsfield
•Bakersfield whores
•Gigantic Bakersfield, CA
•"bhs" "gossip" "bakersfield"
•WHO IS MISS BAKERSFIELD 2005?
•too many new homes in bakersfield 2005
•bakersfield crawdaddy
•smiths bakery recipe bakersfield ca
•elvis on a tortilla
•Zingo's Food Ad
•rabobank abortion
•graffiti pictures in mexicali
•wool growers ass. Restaurant
•OILDALE HIGH YEARBOOK 1986
•no bake bars with fritos
•imagine me as a...
•worms step on them"
•my car was stolen bakersfield

Bakersfield Blogs

I had heard something about the Californian’s blogs, but I hadn’t seen one until today. They seem pretty cool and interesting so you should check ‘em too.

Not as cool as mine, of course, but still good.

THE Old Time Movie Theatre

There’s an article in the Local section today about a man and his wife who bought and restored the Granada Theater on Kentucky Street. I remember the first time I saw the old theater – I think I was about 20 years old. I just didn’t get over into that part of town very often. It always makes me sad to see the old theaters rotting and vandalized. Luckily enough people were interested in The Fox Theater to do something about it. The Nile and The Tejon were not so lucky. After reading the article today, it appears The Granada is the luckiest theater of all.

The Granada, the oldest remaining theater in Kern County, first opened in 1929. Set just off Baker Street, it was in middle of all the action. As development spread west and modern theaters were built, the Granada was left to transients. Jim Spohn and his wife Lucy purchased the decrepit theater ten years ago and began a “labor of love” to restore it. From the looks of it, they did an amazing job. I think it’s extraordinary that they spent all that time and did all that work just because they wanted to save the old building. Spohn himself plays the pipe organ along with the silent films he shows. Sounds like an awesome experience.

The next show is scheduled for May 1st.

Much worse than a smashed window

A 31-year-old Bakersfield woman was shot and killed while driving down the street yesterday morning. The woman and her cousin where driving near 4th and R Streets when gunfire erupted from a crowd of people standing on the street. She was struck with a bullet to the head. Trina Beavers died a short time later in the hospital. Even though there was a GROUP of people standing there when the shooting occurred, there are no suspects.

I recently joked with my son about being afraid to drive around the neighborhood surrounding Emerson Middle School. The baseball field where my son and his fellow Drillers practice is on P St. It’s a rough area, but I didn’t think it was that rough.

I think it's time for BHS to get a new field.

You have GOT to be kidding me

I just spent the morning calling glass repair shops to get an estimate to repair the window broken on my car. The first place I called told me the price for the part – the tiny, little, triangle window that does not move – was $417.63. I just about messed myself.

You see, I paid off my car about a month ago I decided to sell the car and buy another. Then I found out I wasn’t going to be able get the car I was planning on buying so I called my insurance and asked to return my policy to full coverage. They told me I had to drive the car by a shop so someone could look at it to prove there was no damage. Before I was able to get by the shop, my window was smashed. I called the insurance and they confirmed I have to pay.

I spoke to a few people who told me they had their entire windshield replaced for a couple hundred bucks, so I was thinking the cost to replace my window couldn’t be more than a hundred. WRONG!

After calling the first place I called four others. The estimates got a little cheaper, but the best offer was still $300. Then I talked to a few people who told me to call a shop out on South Union. When I spoke to the woman, she asked me what the best offer I had so far. She came back a little while later and told me they’ll do it for $136.00

I don’t know what they’re planning on using to replace the window but at this point I wouldn’t care if it turned out to be wax paper.