I find this interesting because Mt. Rubidoux is just a few miles (give or take) from my house.  It’s a place I’ve driven past many, many times.  I always knew that Easter services were popular, but I wasn’t aware how far back this yearly ritual went.  Imagine trying to make your way down this bumpy one-way mountain road in your Model ‘T’ after the sunrise services.

Another interesting thing I discovered while researching this clipping is that Wikipedia has this photo on their Mt. Rubidoux Wiki site.  Comparing the cars in the Wiki photo with this newspaper clipping, it became apparent that, if Wikipedia has their dates correct then my newspaper photo is actually from 1913.

Would anybody out there with an affinity for automobiles be able to pinpoint the date from which this photo was actually taken?  Call me curious…

Little did I know that others have a more pressing, and more exact date for our demise:

I spotted this doomsayer on the freeway, and according to him the end times are an exact science.

God’s wrath on the unbelievers will occur on May 21, 2011.

Pulling out my handy dandy 2011 calendar (ya know, the one with the pictures of fluffy sea otters), this supposed extraterrestrial event is to take place on a Saturday.  One question…will I have time to watch my cartoons before said event spirits us away to destinations unknown?  I mean, I’d just lose it if I missed my Scooby Doo…

Anyway, being a veteran myself (U.S. Air Force) I’m taking this unexpected free time to get my MAME arcade machine back up and running (thanks go out to House Of Husar for rekindling my long-smoldering classic arcade game obsession).  Its been in pieces ever since we moved into the new home, and lately I’ve been itchin’ to get in a few sessions of Robotron and Gauntlet 2.  

Usually I draw the short straw at work and am forced to put in a few hours on Memorial Day, so it’s nice to have these few fleeting days off of work

I’m heading out to Sea Ranch for the week.  I’m told that there’s internet access up there, but if you don’t see any new posts next week, don’t fret…I shall return on the 18th.

In the meantime, see if you can spot Jesus in my Kit Kat:

A woman in Florida claims to have discovered the name of God spelled out in her salami.  Now, I’m not a psychiatrist, so I can’t vouch for this woman’s state of mind, but a couple things about this story instantly jumped out at me.  

1) Taking a look at the pictures, It appears to me that these “letters” spell out the word “Goo”, which happens to be the name of an amazing album by Sonic Youth.  Perhaps this particular hunk of meat was a massive fan?

B) Let’s assume that the letters do indeed spell out “God”.  Exactly what god are they referring to?  The God of thunder, war, or perhaps rock ‘n’ roll?  I have a cousin who (as the story goes) once took some PCP and LSD, declared himself “God”, then ripped out one of his own fingernails with his teeth.  Could this be the god this salami was alluding to?

Now, I’ve written about this subject before, and it amazes me what some people are willing to believe.  I can’t accept that any god, regardless of design, would deem it fit to reveal himself via the compacted innards of a tube of salami, in the wool of sheep, or even in the logo of an ice cream company.  I would think that any god, no matter the point of origin, would have better things to do with his or her time.

I mean, where’s the miracle?  Where’s the blinding light and the sound of trumpets ushering in a glorious new dawn for mankind?  I want crashing lightning, awe-inspiring ethereal angelic choirs, and Hollywood special effects.  But instead of the supernatural, we’re meant to infer that the power of (whatever) god we’re accustomed to is limited to questionable miracles and cryptic signs in our bowl of Cheerios?