santa cruz county fair

little 24 hour diner in arcata, calif.

See the cows there, up under the ceiling?

what is an amendment? what is the name of the ocean on the east coast of the US?

I'm studying for my citizenship interview. Here are the questions I need to know.

salinas, calif.

I am an american now

I finally agree that mint equals Christmas. The Häagen-Dazs Limited Edition Peppermint Bark is pretty good.

thanks to evan I found this clip

happy birthday, mexico

It seems there are white people in the US who don't like having a black guy in charge.

And I think the fear that the president isn't up for the job is nicely balanced by the fear that he will actually succeed.

true story

Someone told me a story a little while ago, about a black man who had gotten a ticket for driving 36 mph in a 35 mph zone. This is what happened when he appeared before a traffic court judge:

- Sir, why are you here?
- Because I am a black man and I drive a Porsche.
- I am so sorry, you shouldn't be here. Case dismissed.

I'm an american now

Evidence:

1. I've already started planning my Thanksgiving decorations (=dried mini ears of corn). (I grew corn this year, but it never made it to adulthood.) (But maybe the fact that I have no idea what went wrong actually disqualifies me from being an American?)
2. When I saw turkey footprints in the park today I thought "yum".
3. I just made creamed corn.

the president is black (II)

LA Times today: The measured and cautious Obama that Americans have come to know might have demurred when, at the end of his prime-time press conference, he was asked about the arrest last week of Henry Louis Gates Jr., a prominent African American-studies scholar and friend of the president's.

But Obama was surprisingly emotive and unequivocal when answering the question and concluding that the Cambridge, Mass., police had "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates, who is black, after he tried to pry open a stuck door to gain entry to his own home.

Obama said he did not know what role if any race played in the matter. But he also seemed to welcome the opportunity to teach a larger racial lesson. Obama used the question to recall his sponsorship as an Illinois state legislator of legislation to crack down on racial profiling, noting that "there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped" disproportionately by police. (Read more.)

sugar

One of my students gives tours on campus for prospective students and their families. The other day she told me that a grateful mom had presented her with a bag of homemade cookies after one such tour. Job well done.

This reminded me of when one of my gay students had decided that he wanted to come out to the class. So one day he did, and as he was speaking the room was dead silent. Everyone, me too, was affected by his courage and honesty.

The next time the class met a girl brought him a plate of cookies. He accepted, puzzled.