Oddly Enough

News of the odd

It’s March, month of Spring, basketball madness and weather that is either lion- or lamb-like (and a predictor of future precipitation). The month is only a few days in but so far it’s been pretty mild weather-wise — like a lamb — so according to the old saying we should have a wilder ride by month’s end (though I hope not, since that’s close to when the garden tour takes place). Anyway, in this first week of March some interesting items have captured my attention and I thought I’d share them …

Aguas de fruta!

The March issue of Sunset magazine has chosen Riverside as its ‘Southern California Weekend’ item and all of our favorite local spots are mentioned, including the new Culver Center for the Arts, the historic Mission Inn, the renovated Fox Theater, Back To the Grind’s eclectic coffee house/performance space (ukelele circle this Sunday!) and Division 9 Gallery (where I’ve shown paintings in the past) … so what’s so odd? Well, local landmark Mexican restaurant/outsider art installation, Tios Tacos, is mentioned but the only picture shown is of colorful fruit waters. Working in newspaper design I understand the limitations of space on a page, but I’m disappointed there was no shot of an amazing junk sculpture or one of the awesome found object-encrusted buildings. Still, I hope the piece brings attention to Riverside’s always-improving, historic downtown arts district. For my Tios Tacos post, click here.

*@!!XQ#!

How odd: The Huffington Post ran the results of a Foursquare survey which named the rudest cities, and Riverside came in at number 5 out of 20! And, the US had the most rude cities of all!! According to Foursquare’s Engineering Blog, rude citizens used curse words in their “check-in tips”, or recommendations from Foursquare users who have visited a location then posted advice for other users. In my experience Riverside is no ruder than any other place, and in fact, Paul and I have found most people who live here to be very nice … The number 1 rudest city? Manchester, England … Read all about it here.

Head or tail?

With an odd bod (is that a head or a tail?), this prehistoric “walking cactus” hails from China. According to the fossil record, 520 million years ago, creatures like this — lobopodians or ‘walking worms — minus eyes and heads but with spines and assorted legs, traipsed around doing, er, what …? NPR’s ‘sciencey’ blog, Krulwich Wonders, has the post; read it here.

That's odd

Oddest of all, the official first day of Spring 2011 is just over 2 weeks away and already the mohawks are in bloom! Spotted enjoying a bagel at Union Station on the first morning of March, this shrinking violet was reluctant to have his photo taken as I passed through on my way to work … shy, this one.

I can’t wait to see what else, odd or otherwise, March holds. Daylight savings time jumps our clocks forward on the 13th and on the 20th Spring sashays in, hopefully bringing with it mild temps and garden tour-conducive growth spurts!