Around The World To Castro Valley

Your Boulevardier spotted a flyer in the window of Eden Bicycles for a program that looks fascinating. On Saturday, April 10 a t 7:00 p.m., Castro Valley native Rick Gunn will present "Soulcycler" at the Center for the Arts. This multimedia program will feature words and images from Gunn's three-year, 25,811-mile bicycle journey around the world.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 for students. Check Rick Gunn's website, linked above, for more info about Soulcycler.

Castro Valley Resident Has Letter Published In NY Times

A letter from Castro Valley was published in the New York Times a couple of days ago. The letter's author is one Wesley J. Smith; a scan of his Wikipedia biography shows that he is an attorney and an expert in bioethics, with a broad publishing and research background. (Not to mention the husband of San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders.)

Which leads to a question or three: is Mr. Smith a Castro Valley resident? Is Ms. Saunders? Returning to Wikipedia, they are not listed among our town's notable residents, but such lists are typically made up of athletes, entertainers, and rock musicians, rather than intellectuals and journalists. Your Boulevardier will leave it to the reader to decide if that's a statement on Wikipedia, on American values, or on something else.

Light Up The Valley

Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou caught a showing of the High Voltage Christmas last Sunday night. (He intended to write about it sooner, but various delights and pressures of the season have filled the days since.)

The synchronized light-and-music show, first launched in 2004 by teenager Jeff Stevens, is at 18199 Carmel Drive in Castro Valley. Showtimes are 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00 p.m. A new feature this year is projected cartoons, along with family photos and videos, on the garage door.

Your Boulevardier doesn't know how true this story is, so he posts it only as hearsay: A FOB -- a person who lives in the neighborhood of the High Voltage Christmas -- says that Mr. Stevens is away at college this year and was not planning to create a holiday display. Fortunately gentle pressure from friends and neighbors caused him to relent. (It's also interesting to note that Mr. Stevens is studying Civil Engineering, not Electrical.) Readers who can confirm or correct the veracity of this tale are encouraged to do so in the comments.

Whatever the story, the efforts are magnificent and well worth a trip. The synchronization and cleverness of the display are wonderful, the scale is impressive, and the spirit is heartwarming. Mr. Stevens personally supervises each show and is available to answer questions before and after.

A tip of the beret, and a merry Christmas to all.

A Saxophone is Silenced

Your Boulevardier was saddened to read the obituary in the Daily Review for John Almond.

Regular shoppers at Castro Valley's Pete's Hardware will likely remember John, who (like all Pete's employees) was knowledgeable and eager to help. His English accent may have given away a bit of his exceptional nature, but not the most important nugget: as Johnny Almond, he was one of the most important and influential blues-rock saxophonists of the 1960s. Someone has already updated the Wikipedia entry on his band, Mark-Almond, to reflect his demise.

Mr. Almond's memorial service is scheduled for December 12 at Neighborhood Church. One imagines and hopes that the music at the service will be most impressive -- though it can never be as wonderful as it would have been if Mr. Almond himself were playing.