inglorious wanderer

The Santa Cruz Island, along with the archipelago of other volcanic islands off the Santa Barbara Channel has often been compared to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.  Showcasing the beauty of isolation where endemic species thrive,  the island is also home to island foxes that almost went into extinction in the 1990's after non-natives golden eagles started eating them. The Nature Conservancy,  whose mission is to protect a world where diversity thrives and conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends,  led the successful recovery effort of the Santa Cruz Island fox population through the relocation of golden eagles and reestablishment of the bald eagles on the island and the total eradication of feral pigs who were left behind from the livestock ranching of the island in the 1850's. "If you think they're cute, wait till they steal your lunch." Volunteer Ranger Jim asked everyone not to leave their backpacks unattended. The island foxes r...

I never heard about hoodoos until I was on my way to the Bryce Canyon National Park. I was on a guided tour and James Marvin Phelps was the tour guide. He also  drove the minivan that I  was on with 7 other tourists. I took notes of what James Phelps explained about places we were passing thru, all the way from Las Vegas  Nevada to the town of Bryce in Utah. "Who was  Bryce Canyon named after?" James asked the group. He offered a free bottled water to the person who could give him the right answer. "George!" Tim Smith, the gentleman from Minnesota who used to live in upscale  La Jolla  and went to UC San Diego for college answered. I did not hear any reaction nor  comment from James.  James went on to say something about cattle that belonged  to Mr. Bryce getting lost among the hoodoos. James sort of reinforced what came to mind when I heard the word hoodoos. The Paiutes (pronounced as pa-i-yot),  the Native American tribe ...

San Francisco has been known for its gayness: its state of being lighthearted and carefree. Said to be ruled by love and celebration of diversity, the city by the bay is also known to be the world's gay mecca where Harvey Milk rose and died to prominence, for being gay.  The rainbow flag was  also designed in the city by bay by Gilbert Baker, another gay. Tens of thousands of rainbows in every shape, form and orientation lined the Market Street  of San Francisco and  I was just as ecstatic as everyone. The effect of this spectacular phenomenon  caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in a drizzly morning, resulting to a multicolored circular arc, has dragged me all the way to San Francisco to see more of the world renowned San Francisco Pride Parade. I have always wanted to see for myself the fabulously famous queer parade and I finally did it, and seen all it's nakedness. The parade is also known as the San Francisco LGBTQIA  ...

Richmond, a city northeast of San Francisco, was already a bustling industrial town before the break of the 2nd World War. The city's harbor which had been dredged, filled and expanded and the vast shipping port terminals had already enticed substantial industries from wineries, canneries and automotive assembly plants to relocate in the area. The onset of World War II further gave rise to the shipbuilding industry in Richmond. Kaiser Shipyards, one of the biggest shipbuilding operations in the West Coast moved their operations to the city's south shoreline and Richmond emerged as a boom town for wartime industries. The wartime industries also gave rise to migration of job seekers into booming industrial towns like Richmond for good paying wartime industries. The enlistment of men of working age opened opportunities for women who would later be referred to as Rosie based upon a song popularized in 1943. The widely held fixed and oversimplified image of wom...

Las Vegas is not just about night life and city lights in the same way as BLM is not just Black Lives Matter. BLM is also Bureau of Land Management, a US federal agency within the Department of Interior currently headed by Secretary Ryan Zinke. BLM manages outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development and energy production on public lands.  The Red Rock Canyon located in the northern part of Las Vegas is just among the many public lands under BLM.  It’s my second visit to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a place I don’t want to be stuck in. At least, this is what I have always thought.  I have always associated Las Vegas  with all the  “good stuff” that an as old as old school Third World immigrant would never learn to deal with. The first time I was here,  Q wed  A. It was a quickie wedding done in a private chapel operating as an LLC, a limited liability company, that is! The marriage had since ended after almost three long years of meth and booz...