Bubbling Beauty

For the umpteenth time, the fountain at El Rancho STEAK House was soaped again yesterday. And for the umpteenth time, Your Boulevardier has decided to report on it.



Perhaps this particular bit of mischief attracts Your Boulevardier's eye because soaping a fountain is one of the few harmless pranks -- one might say acts of vandalism -- that he played in his all-too-tame adolescence. (The steakhouse fountain did not exist then, of course; his soaping was done to the waterworks, now a planter, by the Hayward Public Library.)

This fountain, it's believed, does not contain ichthyic life, even though it is maintained by Connie's Pond & Garden -- just up the Boulevard -- which also sells fish. So perhaps the occasional spate of suds is not a bad thing. Certainly, it's a hassle for the good Rancheros. But it also certainly can be day-brightening to a pedestrian passer-by.

The Drink's On Me

This juxtaposition of billboards on Castro Valley Boulevard caught Your Boulevardier's eye this morning.



One would not suggest that alcohol and soda are equally bad for young people (or for adults, for that matter). However, a good case can me made that neither one is very good for a person. Soda in quantity -- the billboard advertises 100 ounces for a family of four as a possible serving size -- provides a great deal of carbohydrates and little else. Those 25 ounces would deliver 75 grams of carbohydrates -- largely in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which some say is worse than good old glucose.

We have excellent tap water in Castro Valley. Perhaps that's the best choice of all.

As Autumn Arrives

Your Boulevardier made an after-dinner circuit of downtown Castro Valley this evening, walking first to the Chabot Cinema to view a truly bizarre movie, All About Steve, and then completing a few errands.

The warm evening air and the fingernail moon were, it seems, enticing to others as well. For a weeknight, the town was buzzing with people. Starbucks, Yogofina, and the Ice Creamery all had crowds; packs of teenagers wandered the streets (clumps of boys in their big shirts and cockeyed hats, trying to look hard, trailed by equally sized clumps of girls in tanks and flipflops, texting as they walked). Bicyclists practiced tricks in the parking lot by Blockbuster, while car buffs admired each others' vehicles near Safeway.

Among his errands: Your Boulevardier took a few cuttings (for rooting, even though this is the wrong time of year to do so) from the lantana in front of Chateau Fiebig. The building itself may be an architectural monstrosity, but the colors of the flowers in front of it are wonderful.

The Upcoming Jenny Lin Concert

One wishes the Jenny Lin Foundation, and the loss it represents, did not need to exist. But the sad event that led to the creation of the foundation is very real, and the good that the family has made of this tragedy is no less real.

One of Your Boulevardier's favorite projects of the Foundation is its summer youth music program. A free summer band, orchestra, and choir give our musical young people a chance to meet new people, have fun in a safe environment, and improve their artistic skills. A good friend of Your Boulevardier is conducting the orchestra.

The groups begin rehearsing on June 22, 2009 (twice a week) and will perform on Friday, July 31 at 7:00 p.m. at Redwood Chapel. The concet is always impressive, and Your Boulevardier encourages residents to support the program and attend the show.

The Night Before the Dedication

Your Boulevardier walked past the new skate park on San Miguel Avenue, in front of the Adobe Art Center, late this afternoon. The place was crawling with teens (all boys) on bikes and skateboards, along with a goodly number sitting and watching. The flat-topped structure with ramps on two sides was most popular, with a handful of dudes hanging out atop it (one on a broken office chair); the ramp was second-most popular, with several bikes and skateboards rolling up, turning about, then rolling down it. Other boys tried flipping their boards in place; nobody seemed to be riding the scraping rail. It can be noted, too, that none of the boys seemed to be wearing helmets or other protective gear, but none seemed to be doing anything beyond their skill levels. Still, it's probably not unintentional that the park is practically across the street from the fire department.

HARD will dedicate the park (and the adjacent bocce courts, lawn area, playground equipment, and picnic sites) on Friday, June 5.

Hipster Night at Trader Joe's

Your Boulevardier popped into the Castro Valley Trader Joe's on Monday evening at around 8:00 p.m. It appears to have been Hipster Night at the store -- the place was chock-a-block with young, attractive couples. Most of the pairs fit a theme: she in studious glasses, long straight hair in a ponytail, and cute jeans; he in two days' growth of beard, a fitted logo ballcap (some, but not all, worn backwards), and saggy jeans with holes in one knee. Boys and girls alike sported elaborate winter scarves and (probably expensive) sneakers, and all couples seemed thoroughly, and happily, engaged in their food shopping. They would not have been out of place in Berkeley or San Francisco's Mission District.