Sometimes I go have McDonald's and sit outside at the mall near my work. I always share my fries with the birds out there, making sure everybody gets some. Yesterday there was a woman bird just really pissed at another bird - I couldn't tell if it was another woman bird or an immature man bird - not enough black feathers to be sure. So I don't know if this was a sex thing or what. Anyway, this pissed off bird was just hollering and spritzing her feathers all up and chasing the other bird around. I tossed them some fries - the bird being hollered at grabbed a piece. The mad bird tried to calm down but just sat on the fence getting madder by the second. Finally she could stand it no longer and she got on the ground and commenced her hollering again. The picked-on bird did a very interesting thing. He/she walked calmly over to the pissed bird. and put his/her fry right in her beak. Just handed it right to her. She calmed down right away, I gave him/her another fry, and all was right with the world again.
BI BI BIRDIE

Since I am too poor to go anywhere but work, I have another beach story. The beach is a block away so I don't have to use any gas to get there. You may have heard about the whale on the beach. I went to check it out. Ew ew ew ew ew. Head bitten mostly off, various items hanging out of the holes. Chewed on big time. Lotsa sharks reportedly out in the waters (not many surfers, needless to say). The whale was getting knocked around by the tide, and eventually one of the holes broke open and blood came out. Did I mention it was decomposing? There were a jillion people out there, parents showing their kids the whale or paying homage to this great beast or whatever. One little girl got pretty close - a future marine biologist, or coroner more like. Mostly the kids were begging their parents to get them the hell away from the stench. I mean, if you want your kid to see a whale, a dead one on the beach is not quite the ticket. Just let the sharks have it.
IT DON'T MATTER...JUST DON'T BITE IT!

I was feeling a bit pent-up the other day so I went out to the beach and decided to plop down and build a sand castle. Had been a while. Didin't have any construction equipment so had to do it all manually (side note: there is a piece of construction equipment parked down the street made by Putzmeister - I mean, would you have faith in that??). It was a small but worthy structure, with a central dome on a square building, with small corner domes. It was moated in front and walled in the rear. For the recreation and convenience of the castle dwellers, the back yard had a pool, a hedge maze, a tennis court, and a vegetable garden. All in all a fine bit of construction, and even stood up to beng tramped on by an enthusiastic labrador. SANDY SEA SLUTS

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO #3: I am having an art show this weekend and then for a month in Pacifica with my art group, Tangerine Arts. This weekend: Fogbelt Studio (it's a house) 2528 25th Avenue (between Ulloa and Vicente) Friday, 5 to 8:30, Saturday 12 to 6, and Sunday 12 to 6. In Pacifica at the Salada Beach Cafe at 220 Paloma (at Oceana) in Pacifica, from July 15th to August 17th, reception August 17th from 3 to 5:30. Come by if you can - I will be at Fogbelt on Sunday if ya wanna see me. The art monster really grabbed me this week and I was channelling art from some weird place. Painting with my face an inch from the canvas, scrubbing away, beads of sweat on my fevered brow. Got obsessed with feathers, painted lots of them. Where these things come from I'll never know. Last time this happened it was tornados. Got obsessed with tornados, made a few prints and a big painting, had cows flying around and such. About 3 weeks later I read a small press release announcing that Michael Crichton was making a movie about tornados. We all know what he did with the cows. I had been reading his book "Travels" which is a wonderful book and far from his usual potboily science thriller stories, siince it has to do with his travels both on the planet and into his own psychic self. Well I musta reached out to his psychic self and pulled out the tornado concept is all I can think. So if he comes out with a book or movie or something about Native American ritual magic I will be convinced there is a link. THE BEAUTIFUL MOON GOD AND HIS SEX MAGIC