Tonight, and only tonight

Castro Valley has long been a good breeding ground for garage bands. Though Your Boulevardier cannot personally name any that have broken through to become international stars, many teenagers have nursed the dream. (Thanks in part, it should be noted, to the high quality music education in local schools.)

Meitnerium, is, one is certain, no exception.

The band fills a niche: The slot for Meitnerium is, so far, untaken on the Musical Periodic Table. One can almost be certain that the band chose its name because the element's abbreviation, Mt, evokes the emptiness and loneliness that adolescents form bands in order to escape (or glorify). It must be said, though, that the downside of choosing an element's name as one's band name is that doing so makes Internet searches more difficult. Indeed, chemists and their ilk seem to be monopolizing the top spots, according to our friends at Google. (The band, at this writing, does not appear to have set up shop on MySpace.)

Another downside: Meitnerium's dismissive detractors can point out that the element has a half-life of between 2 and 20 milliseconds -- hardly long enough to perform a song, much less mount an assault on Rock and Roll Stardom.



The band announced a performance on a hastily prepared, illegally posted flyer, encountered by Your Boulevardier this morning in the Castro Village. ("Be there or be damned" is the tagline.) One can't be certain from the advertisement, but Your Boulevardier believes the band is of the standard two guitars, one bass, and one long-haired drummer configuration. And its performance, as you can see, is ... tonight. Unfortunately, one cannot tell precisely when tonight is; perhaps it is already past. If so, Your Boulevardier hopes that the performance was successful, and wishes the band all success.

The Painting's (not) In The Mail

Until recently, the only good thing about the Castro Valley Post Office was a painting that hung on the wall to the left of the service windows. It was a low-key piece of artwork; you may not have even noticed it. It depicted an old-fashioned mail delivery Jeep parked in an empty parking lot. The painting (artist unknown) was a welcome patch of hand-wrought humanity in a sea of government-issued posters and advertisements.

Now, however, the painting has been removed, along with all other signs and printed materials. One hopes that they've been taken down so that the office can be painted, and that the painting will be returned to its rightful place once the work is completed.

Does anybody know what the story is behind the painting, and behind its removal?

New Tool Against Ne'er-Do-Well Teens

Your Boulevardier just returned from downtown Castro Valley and noticed three military recruiters walking the Boulevard, speaking to young people who were hanging out by the fast-food joints and piercing parlors. Your Boulevardier welcomes these new uniformed pedestrians to our broad sidewalks, and he applauds this new approach in keeping the young loiterers moving along.

Castro Valley's Most Hostile Crosswalk

Your Boulevardier was running his errands downtown today -- on foot, of course -- when he was once again reminded that this is the most hostile, pedestrian unfriendly crosswalk in town.



You may recognize it as the crosswalk from Castro Village to the west side of Santa Maria Avenue. (The one that was moved from about ten yards west not too long ago.) Your Boulevardier finds this crosswalk hostile for at least two reasons: first, it has no curb cut (fancy-talk for wheelchair ramp) on the south side; second, it ends in dirt on the west side.

The first problem is an obvious one. Persons with wheelchairs -- or baby strollers (there is a toy shop at one end of this croswalk) -- can't safely get to the crosswalk without entering the street.

The second problem will become more clear when the winter rains arrive, and that dirt landing becomes, instead, a mud landing. Then, even the able-bodied among us will have to bypass the crosswalk to keep from ruining our shoes.

Castro Valley has a long tradition -- if that's the right word -- of spotty sidewalks. Some even take it as a source of pride -- a tip of the straw hat to our chicken-farming heritage, or somesuch nonsense. Whatever the case, the crosswalk pictured above is a hazard.

Hair Oil

Your Boulevardier wishes to recount a story that is a few weeks old but that remains on his mind.

As usual, the queue at the Village Barber Shop was several persons long, and the conversation was lively. In addition to four barbers working, another addition to the shop could be seen: a mountain bike was leaned in the corner of the room. Eventually, the question was asked: Whose bike is it?

"It's mine," responded the barber Al. (Not the barber Al who owns the shop, but the other barber Al, the tall one who often sports a burgundy smock when he works.) He said that he had ridden the bicycle to work. "I don't want to give any more money to the oil companies than I have to," he said. There was some discussion, but general admiration of, and agreement with, the value of the choice he had made.

It must be said that Your Boulevardier doesn't walk on The Boulevard just for exercise or recreation. Walking in a suburban community is, in its own way, a political statement: a conscious decision to leave the car at home, save some money, and spend some time in a slower mode. That is the mindset Your Boulevardier maintains when he walks on Castro Valley Boulevard -- yes, it's pleasant, but it's also worthwhile in the global scheme of things.

However, walking and other energy-saving activities can also be frustrating. Not long ago, Your Boulevardier rode his bicycle to the Safeway, and while locking the bike he saw a large black sport-utility vehicle circle the parking lot several times, looking for a parking space closer to the store's front door. This person likely counteracted, in one lap of the lot, any benefit that Your Boulevardier riding his bicycle may have made. But consider further: if Your Boulevardier had also parked at the Safeway, the SUV might have circled even longer because one less parking space would be available for it.

Each of us chooses his own path among the mixed messages we receive daily -- save energy and spare the air on one side, versus save time and stimulate the economy on the other. As often as possible, Your Boulevardier prefers to walk on that path rather than drive.

Catch-up Is Played

Your Boulevardier apologizes for the long drought of posts. It has, as they say, been a busy summer -- yet so little has been accomplished. This is one of the ironies of modern life.

The dearth of missives does not mean that Your Boulevardier has not been plying the streets of the City of Lite. Far from it. In fact, he just returned from a walk to the grocery, and has a few general comments.

Generally, things on Castro Valley Boulevard seem to be perking along nicely. Some of the vacant storefronts are showing signs of life, including a studio offering "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" and another, soon to open, that will provide head-lice removal. Of course, we would all rather see stylish shops and upscale restaurants, but commerce tends to seek its own level, and these are the needs that some entrepreneur has decided need filling.

Safeway was its usual overcrowded self tonight. It amazes Your Boulevardier, and the dozens and dozens of families in long queues, why the store doesn't have more checkers in the early evening hours. Any thoughts on what might be done are welcome.

Peet's has, predictably, turned out to be a popular meeting-place. Your Boulevardier has found himself there several times, at various times of day, and always found interesting people-watching: a crew of Spandex-clad cyclists, a well-dressed gentleman driving a right-drive Rolls-Royce, various professors from the local University.

Your Boulevardier is pleased to note the return of manager Josh Caudle to the Chabot Cinema. Our town's single-screen gem is dreading the opening of the downtown Hayward multiplex, but seems to be taking steps to reinforce the loyalty of its hometown base -- the free screenings of Ice Age II over the Labor Day weekend, for example.

With that, Your Boulevardier wishes readers a pleasant end-of-summer and resolves to increase the frequency and quality of postings in the near future.