Good morning and greetings, February fans. Well, once again, the skies over Monterey Bay have been clearer than the broth in Golden City’s wor won ton soup so for today’s photo entree we’re going to have to go back into the archives.

We’ve had very little precipitation in January. Friday’s headline of the San Francisco Chronicle screamed, “Forecast: Worst Drought Ever.” That’s a scary proposition for us Californians. January is supposed to be our rainy season. Instead, we are having Donna Summer conditions when it is supposed to be Johnny Winter weather.

On to the photo ensemble for today. Yesterday was Super Sunday and I should say congratulations to the New York Giants for being the best team in football yet they didn’t appear in the Super Bowl. They beat the Steelers and crushed the Cardinals during the regular season but found themselves, like the rest of us, watching yesterday’s game on TV. No, I’m not bitter, but Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress, you owe us.

Today’s series of photos culminates with the final shot, which I call “Super Sunday.” This sunset harkens back to February of 2006. I shot it on West Cliff Drive from my old haunts along Stockton Avenue. You could feel something special was brewing in the sky from the texture of the clouds and the hundreds of spectators lining the cliff that night were not disappointed. I haven’t seen that deep shade of red since my no sunblock days back at Jones Beach in the 70’s. It was in the words of Davy Jones and company, “Another Pleasant Valley Sunday” although “charcoal was not burning everywhere.”

On to some late night political humor. Our former Commander-in-Chief is back in Texas. “This is kind of an awkward time for President Bush. He’s too young to retire, yet still too old to destroy the moral and economic infrastructure of another country.” -Jay Leno. And “Bush is not worrying about the country. No, it’s like he’s still president.” -David Letterman

And let’s not forget Joe the Plumber’s newest best friend, John McCain. “Did you know this? We have a brand-new Miss America, Katie Stam, from Indiana. They choose Miss America based on personality, how the young woman looks in a swimsuit, and how she looks in evening gowns. That is the competition. It’s the same way that John McCain chooses a running mate.” -David Letterman. And “The official temperature at the inauguration was 18 degrees. John McCain said it was so cold his teeth were chattering, and they were in his pocket at the time.” -Jay Leno.

And one more for the McCainster. Hey, earlier this week, all the e-mail service in the White House completely collapsed. No e-mails coming in, no e-mails going out. Everything had to be written down on paper by hand. It was like if John McCain had been elected president. ” -Jay Leno

But of course there are problems . “Listen to this. They’re closing Guantanamo. That’s how bad things are, ladies and gentlemen. That’s how bad the economy is. You know it’s tough, you know the economy is bad, when even the terrorists are being laid off.” -David Letterman. But there is hope. “Looks like the Obamas have already helped the economy. J. Crew stock has gone up 10%, because First Lady Michelle Obama has been spotted wearing their clothes. Which begs the question, Mr. Obama, how would you feel about wearing a Buick?” -Conan O’Brien

Cruising along, “President Barack Obama gave his first sit-down interview as president to an Arab TV network. He’s reaching out to the Arab world. In fact, he even made a cameo appearance on one of the biggest sitcoms in the Arab world, ‘How I Met Your Mullah.’” -Jay Leno. An finally, “President Obama still has not gotten used to the White House, apparently. This is true. Today, on his way into the Oval Office, he tried to mistakenly open a window that he thought was a door. That’s true. Yeah. White House employees said at first it made them laugh, then a wave of nostalgia washed over them.” -Conan O’Brien

I should really thank the folks at www.politicalirony.com for allowing me to spend less time transcribing from my TiVo so can I bring you the best in late night political humor at a time when most of us are in dream mode, or in my case, break dancing with the stars.

Since we all love kids, here’s a joke from one of the greats, Milton Berle. I think it will touch your hearts. Realizing that she’s been too permissive with her three youngsters, a mother decides to take them in hand by starting with their tendency to curse. On the next school morning, as the three wild ones sat a the breakfast table, the mother asks Teddy, “What do you want for breakfast?” Teddy says, “I’ll have some of that goddamn cereal.”

At that eptihet, the mother sees red and hauls off and slaps Teddy halfway across the room. She asks her second, Freddy, what he wants. Freddy says, “I’ll have some of that goddamn cereal.” Once again the mother goes wild and bounces Freddy off one wall and into another. The mother turns to Eddie, her third son. “What do you want for breakfast?” Eddie says, “You can bet your ass it won’t be that goddamn cereal.”

That’s all she wrote for today. I hope you enjoyed your Super Sunday, an afternoon and evening in America where more pizza is consumed than on any other day in the universe. I believe this festival of snacks and alcohol also includes the consumption of 130 trillion pounds of chips, guacamole and chicken wings and that’s just during the pregame show. It was quite the game, featuring everything that NBC, football fans and PETA activists could hope for. So enjoy the incredible sky, pray for rain and we’ll catch you on the baseline. Aloha and glory days, Bruce Springsteen fans.

Good morning and greetings, NFL playoff fans. It’s been a week of chilly mornings and clear skies here on the central coast so we’ll have to journey (or is it Foreigner?) back to December of 2008 for today’s photo highlights. But before we hit the North Coast, for a little taste of politics, let’s head to our nation’s capital. “Barack Obama’s daughters started at their new school in Washington, DC. Yeah, their teachers are really impressed and said that both girls are already reading well above President Bush’s level.” And earlier this week, Obama met with all three living ex-Presidents and one current brain dead President. Thank you, Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. I’m going to miss our Commander in Chief. Our as the bumper sticker says, “Somewhere in Texas a village is missing its Idiot.”

Within ten miles of my lovely abode on the upper westside lie many spectacular North Coast beaches. We’re talking Wilder Ranch, Laguna Creek, Panther Beach, Bonny Dune, Shark’s Tooth and Davenport Beach, among others. But my personal favorite is Four Mile Beach, which according to the way the Black Crowes fly, is just four miles up the coast. As I mentioned in this blog before, it’s a beautiful feeling pulling off of Highway 1 and being the only car in the lot. As Dave Mason would say, “Alone, Together.”

I then hop out of my car and sprint like Usain Bolt to the railroad tracks where I always stop to take a couple shots and perhaps score a few brussel spouts that have swan dived off the passing trucks. You can see two of the tracks of my dreams moments in today’s photo display. The cloud cover on these two mornings was thicker than the swarm of golden raisins I add to my morning oatmeal which created a pleasant backdrop to highlight the always present groups of gulls that like to party at Four Mile.

But my favorite shot from this December cloud conference would be the first photo. The reflection of the clouds in the stream the feeds into the very surfable Pacific really works for me. Back in 2004 I saw a photograph of a sunrise by the now deceased photographer Galen Rowell. The sky was on fire and it was reflected in a lake in a mountain setting. When I saw that picture I said to myself, “This is what I want to do” and since than have always been fascinated by the reflection action. I believe I nailed it in this photo. Then again, I voted for Mondale.

What would be a blog without some jokes? Once again the credits go to my favorite son Jason. Two women were arguing over whose dog was smarter. The first woman said, “My dog is so smart that every morning he waits for the paper boy to arrive, then he takes the paper from the letterbox and brings it to me.” The second woman said, “I know.” “How do you know?” asked the first woman. The second woman said, “My dog told me.”

This next one is a little long but definitely worth it. A man was passing a pet shop when he saw a talking monkey advertised for sale. He was so impressed by its vocabulary that he bought it on the spot. That evening he took it to his local bar and bet everyone ten dollars that the monkey could talk. A dozen people accepted the challenge but despite the new owner’s coaxing, the monkey refused to say a word and the man had to pay up. When he got home, the man was puzzled to hear the monkey chatting away merrily.

The next evening the man returned to the bar and bet everyone twenty dollars that the monkey could talk. Again there were plenty of takers, but to the man’s anger, the monkey remained silent. After paying up, the man took the monkey outside. “I’m taking you back to the shop, ” he screamed. “You’re a complete waste of money.” “Chill out,” said the monkey. “Think about the odds we’ll get tomorrow.”

That’s the end of our programming for today. And the dream is over for the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants as Eli Manning and the Giant offense put on a pathetic display in the Meadowlands yesterday as they lost to the Eagles. I’m not a big Philadelphia fan but I do love their cream cheese. Shot that beautiful full moon rising on Saturday night that we’ll check out in our next blog. So until then, enjoy the magic that comes from living along the edge of the contintent and able being to see, hear and experience NBA basketball. We’ll catch you in the lockeroom. Aloha and later, LeBron James lovers.

Good morning and greetings, New Year’s fans. Well, according to my Laura Bush Memories calendar, 2008 is now just a fading memory as 2009 is upon us. And much like the day I strolled down the wedding aisle, there is no turning back. I have to admit, I’m going to miss 2008, just like I’m going to miss trips to the doctor, dentist and the free throw line. Speaking of which, not to toot my Lena horn, but my son Jason is 27 for 32 from the charity stripe for the PCS Pumas so far this season. I shot the same percentage (84%) in my playing days, but that was shooting layups by myself in practice.

Returning now to our regularly unscheduled program, the last trimester of 2008 was not the most glamourous or titillating when it came to brilliant colors in the sky. Of course, there were a couple of nights I missed due to Security Council meetings but on the whole this was not a year that will go down in the Hall of Flames.

But the last week of December did have its moments and today we will take a look at the most colorful and enchanting sunrise from that post Christmas Day action. These shots were taken on the final Sunday of 2008, the most 28th of December. I arose from a restful night of sleep, having had my usual arrary of dreams, which included not having studied for a test, not being able to find my car and not being able to dunk with my left hand. As I looked outside I could see a red tinge in the early morning clouds and took that as I sign that we were in for something very good this morning.

So I tore of my George Jetson pajamas, packed up my aura and camera and headed down to Its Beach. It was still kinda dark and the sand was as cold as a frozen mozzarella stick but one look at the sky said something special was on the way. And yours truly was not disappointed. As you can see from the photos, red was the color of the day as the sand blazed with the rouge from the Monterey Bay sky. It’s mornings like this that make me want to leave the cozy confines of my upper westside sports sanctuary to captures moments of early morning Santa Cruz magnificence that I can later share with you cyber readers and members of the NCAA, the NBA, the most importantly, those listening in with the NSA.

Now that we’ve got those photos out of the way, on to the comedy section of our program. This one courtesy of my Spanish-language loving, pre-med 9th grader Jason. Old Doctor Morris went to see a patient in her home. “Could you fetch me a hammer from the garage?” he asked the woman’s husband. The husband fetched the hammer. “Right,” said the doctor a couple of minutes later. “Now I’d like you to get me some pliers, a screwdriver and a hacksaw.” The husband became alarmed at the last request. “Just exactly what are you going to do to my wife?” he asked. The doctor replied. “Nothing until I can get my medical bag open.”

Love this one. A man walks into a psychiatrist’s office with a pancake on his head, a fried egg on each shoulder and a piece of bacon over each ear. “What seems to be the problem?” asked the psychiatrist. The man said, “I’m worried about my brother.”

And for you religion fans and canine lovers, a man lived alone in the country with his dog. One day the dog died and the man went to his parish priest and said, “Father, my dear dog is dead. Could you possibly say a Mass for the poor creature?” The priest replied, “I’m afraid not. We cannot have a service for an animal. But there’s a new denomination down the lane and there’s no telling what they believe. Maybe they’ll do something for your dog.” “Thank you, Father,” said the man. “I’ll go right away. Do you think five thousand dollars is enough to donate for the service?” The priest exclaimed, “Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus. Why didn’t you tell me your dog was Catholic?”

So in the words of Chicago Transit Authority, this is “only the beginning” for 2009. We have more photo highlights from 2008 that will be coming down the pike during the month of January. And of course, lots more jokes. Until then, enjoy the winter sky, savor your friends and family and remember to take things day by day. We’ll catch you in the Meadlowlands. Aloha, mahalo and later, Darren Sproles fans.

Good morning and greetings, vacation fans. I normally spend the first part of the winter break meditating along the lovely fairways of the Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert , but due to programming changes we decided to stay here at home on the central coast. I miss the desert experience-nothing like cascading waterfalls, palm trees swaying in the wind and orange, grapefruit and tangerine trees in full bloom in late December. Throw in the San Jacinto mountains changing color as often as Henry Paulson changes his plans for use of the bailout money and you can imagine what Moses saw when he first ventured to the desert on a horse with no name. It must have felt good to get out of the rain.

Anyway, it’s been clear and cold here in Santa Cruz as the rest of the nation has been bombarded by snow, ice and blizzard conditions. It’s been particularly frigid in New York. How cold has it been? It was so cold in New York City last week that Bernard Madoff asked if he could actually go to hell early to warm up. And it was so cold that the Statue of Liberty was actually holding her torch under her dress. Thank you, Jay Leno and his staff writers.

Staying in the area has allowed me to catch some coastal highlights that I normally miss at this time of year. Our photo funhouse today features moments from our twelvest of months. We begin and end with sunrise splendor from Lighthouse Point. The rainbow hails from Christmas Eve. The skies had been gray all day but just before sunset the sun dropped thru and horizon was suddenly flooded with bright yellow light streaming from the north. At the same time, a vivid double rainbow appeared in the east which I shot over the trees at Natural Bridges State Park. I hit the coast as the colors of this beauty were fading but seeing the rainbow flowing into the ocean with the plethora of white water was just an amazing sight. It would have even been more amazing if I had recorded it digitally rather than in my offshore memory banks.

2008 has been an challenging year, with the mortgage crisis, the stock market crashing and the Yankees not making the playoffs. And according to Conan O’Brien, “The White House staff has been briefing Barack Obama’s team on a series of worst-case scenarios that could face the country after President Bush leaves office. Apparently, the absolute worst case scenario is that Bush doesn’t leave office. On the positive side, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl, the Giants won the Super Bowl and the Giants won the Super Bowl. I’m really hoping for good things in 2009, like the Giants repeating as Super Bowl champs but I’m not holding my Eli Manning breath on that one. But fortunately, Ford Motors is working on a brand new car called the Fusion. It’s a hybrid that runs on a combination of gas and bailout money-Jay Leno.

Now here’s some more good humor, these jokes courtesy of my weight-training (he says it will make him quicker) son, Jason. A man walks into a psychiatrist’s office with a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. He says, “What’s the matter with me?” The psychiatrist says, “You’re not eating properly.” And a woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: “That’s the ugliest baby that I’ve ever seen. Ugh!” The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: “The driver just insulted me!” The man says: “You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I’ll hold your monkey for you.”

So that’s our last blog for 2008. I hope you’ve enjoyed these stream of unconciousness postings as they have been picked up by my medulla oblongata for the 2009 season. Yesterday (Sunday) was this year’s daily double as I shot both a gorgeous sunrise and a dazzling sunset. Combine that with ten hours of NFL football and some Kobe Bryant NBA action and I’m a happy camper. So bring on the NFL playoffs and congratulations to the Golden State Warriors for knocking off the world champion Boston Celtics last week. Now go back to Maui, Don Nelson. So enjoy the final days of 2008, have a fantabulous New Year and we’ll catch you in 2009. Aloha, mahalo, peace and later, Sunrise Santa Cruz fans.

Good morning, late fall weather fans. On Tuesday the Santa Cruz Sentinel featured a three shot photo spread under the caption “Chasing Rainbows.” Unfortunately, I have been on a different journey that could be called “Missing Rainbows,” or simply put, “What Is Happening With My Photo Karma?” Actually, that’s not altogether true as on Saturday I saw three and photographed one but the gold medal shot eluded me as I was in my car and want to shoot these multicolored moments of brilliance over the ocean, not along Soquel Drive.

As I was shooting the sunrise on Sunday morning a rainbow appeared to the north but it wasn’t bright enough to alert the National Guard or forwards. Then on Monday, the calls starting coming in faster than Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich put out bids for Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Reports and sightings of double rainbows were everywhere, but by the time I hit the streets they were gone or in the federal weather protection program. A West Cliff DRive walking friend said she saw a rainbow that was reaching into a beautiful white cloud before touching the moon. I thought to myself, “Cloud, moon, rainbow, nah, I didn’t miss much. I’ll just catch that in another century.”

Which brings us to today’s photo series. After missing a sunset last Thursday night that was a cross between spectacular and Michelle Obama, I decided to head down to Its Beach on Friday to take in the extreme low tide experience. Although the skies were Linda gray, the low tide exposed my favorite little cove inside the arch and my daughter and I were able to photograph some friends and anenomes.

Photo credits of the crab go to my daughter Aimee who has her father’s eye and her mother’s internal organs. The final photo of the birthday greeting was created by the renowned sand artist Paul House. You can see his work quite often on low tide days at Its Beach. He creates his sand magic with his hands and a stick-it’s amazing work and was quite the treat on anniversary of the day I stopped playing Michael Phelps in the amniotic fluid and entered the world of New York Yankee baseball.

Here are some fun facts I’ve written before about sea anenomes but I thought were worth repeating. Yes, I’m actually quoting myself. Sea anemones are polyps that looks like a plant but, much like friends from Greenpeace, are really voracious meat eating animals. In order for them to dine they cannot order out-they must wait for their food to swim by and when the prey touches one of their tentacles, it mechanically triggers a cell explosion that fires a harpoon-like structure which attaches to the organism that triggered it and injects a dose of poison in the flesh of the prey. Ironically, this is the same way I met my wife. This gives the anemone its characteristic sticky feeling while at the same time paralyzes the prey which is then moved by the tentacles to the mouth for that day’s entree. And of course, all entrees come with your choice of soup or salad, rice or potatoes and ice cream for dessert.

That brings us to our the comedy review, this segment courtesy of the NBC’s new 10 o’clock man, Jay Leno. “Insiders say that President Bush and his wife have already bought a home in Dallas to move into after the leave the White House. If this turns out to be true, this is the first time in his Presidency he’s actually had an exit strategy. Barack Obama says he is promising not to smoke cigarettes while in the White House. I don’t know, is that a big issue for the American people? Let me tell you something, if he can fix the American economy, he can smoke a bong in the White House.” And finally, “A 70 year old woman in India gave birth to a baby. The amazing part is she went into labor, delivered the baby and never missed one tech support call.”

That’s our midweek show. I shot a sunrise, sunset experience over the weekend along with some snow on the mountains and lots of wild-looking clouds on Tuesday. We’ll be seeing those down the road. And belated birthday greetings go out to my basketball playing buddy Jim Berry, who I believe taught Kareem Abdul Jabbar the fine art of the sky hook. So enjoy the anenomes and be thankful for the simple things in life, like TiVo and the NBA League Pass, which brings me every NBA game on the satellite. NBA action, it really still is fantastic. Aloha and later, Rajon Rondo fans.

Good morning and greetings, music lovers. Today (December 12th) is my birthday. It is also the birthday of my longtime friend and former radio partner, Jerry Hoffman, as we both share the 12/12 experience with Frank Sinatra, Bob Barker and the Allman Brothers’ Dickey Betts. ” Lord, I was born a rambling man.” I’m not going to share with you how old I am but put it this way-I would kill to be 26, 36 or 46. Or as I recently told a reporter from Sports Illustrated for Kids about my basketball playing, “I’ve got a great future behind me.”

They say it is better to give than receive (except in football, where it is better to receive than to kickoff.) Thus, being such a giver, on this day where I popped out of my mother’s womb backwards I thought I would give to the cyber audience a look at my favorite December sunrise. Thoughts of my early childhood harken me back to an old Rodney Dangerfield line, “My mother never breast fed me. She said she liked me as a friend.”

This Lighthouse Point experience took place back on December 8, 2006. What made it so interesting was that there had been a big swell the day before which created a rather large pool of water by the steps at Its Beach. So in shot number two which shows the reflection of the lighthouse, 362 days of the year this sand would be as dry as my midday martini. But the pool created some tremendous reflection action that you rarely see. The fifth shot is looking west at sunrise so as the sky is exploding with clouds to the east it is going pink to the west. In all my sunrise adventures I’ve never seen a brighter sky to the west. I hadn’t seen that much pink since I went to Mervyns and became lost and disoriented in the young girl’s clothing department.

For today’s final photo I moved on to Steamer Lane to shoot the sun coming up over Monterey Bay. All in all, a tremendously inspiring morning on the photographic front. “World class” sunrises like this really showcase the magnificence and spectacular beauty of Santa Cruz.

On to the joke of the week, this courtesy of my son Jason and the late, great Milton Berle. . A rabbi and a priest were at a picnic. As they rode in one of the boats on the lake, the rabbi stood up, stepped out of the boat and walked over the water to the nearest stretch of land. Astonished, the priest decided to see if he could duplicate this miraculous feat. He stepped out of the boat and immediately sank but luckily managed to swim to shore. As he dried off, the rabbi walked over and said, “If you’re a nice guy, next time I’ll show you where the rocks are.”

And in honor of the birthday here’s one more from Uncle Miltie. To improve his virility, an older man went to Europe and had an implant of monkey glands. In time and after many attempts, his wife became pregnant and ultimately went into labor. After an endless wait in the reception room, the father was thrilled to see the doctor appear. “Congratulations,” the doctor said. “You’re the father of a fine baby.” “Is it a boy or a girl?” “We don’t know yet. It won’t climb down from the chandelier!”

That’s our show for the week. I would write more but I have to go strangle the guy who coined the phrase, “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better.” I also want to send birthday wishes out to my good friend Carol Conta, who celebrates her special day tomorrow. Rumor has it last night’s sunset was phenomenal-unfortunately, yours truly was at a basketball tournament  in Los Gatos.  So enjoy the sky, have a fabulous sports weekend and we’ll catch you at midfield. Aloha, mahalo and later, Dwyane Wade fans.

Good morning, December fans and welcome to my 150th post, or blog for you sports fans. A beautiful sunset graced the skies above Monterey Bay on Saturday night (a friend described it as “endless”) but unfortunately yours truly missed it as I was vacationing in lovely Pescadero at the time. I was going to go with an array of sea anenomes for today’s photo display but decided that it has been too long since we’ve seen any arch action from Its Beach. But don’t despair friends and anenomes fans, they are on the way.

I love Its Beach. Before it was closed off to Swedish tourists and dogs, (much to the dismay of my golden retriever Summer) I would visit this spot eight days a week. I love shooting around the arch if for no other reason than, much like my outside shot, it will not be around forever. The constant wind and waves bring on the erosion that is always changing the look of the coast. Just like Natural Bridges once had three arches there is now one. And as Three Dog Night says, “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.” I always feel that when I’m shooting at Its I’m not just capturing the moment but also documenting history.

The first shot is the initial photo I took at low tide with the view of the lighthouse through the arch. This was taken at around 10:30 in the morning. The next shot was taken on a late fall afternoon at the golden hour. Shot #3 was taken from the other side of the arch looking west. I caught a perfect reflection as the water was as still as the brain waves patterns coming from the oval office. The next shot features the beautiful aqua color in the pool of water beneath the arch. I have hundreds of shots of this arch as the rock and water change color with the sky, clouds and price of oil.

The arch is covered with all types of sea life that we’ll check out later in the month. While shooting the fifth shot I was waist deep in water which was helpful since my wallet and cell phone were still in my pocket. But I loved the look of the white water, the clouds and the fog so I didn’t mind getting a little moist. If you look really closely you can see a chain of pelicans and a UFO flying by in the far right hand corner. The final shot shows the contrast between a blue and gray sky day. And you know what they say, “Gray skies are gonna to clear up. Put on a happy face.”

On to some comedy. Today’s segment once again courtesy of Jay Leno. And this joke I can really relate to. “The economy is bad these days. How bad is it? The airlines are now charging $15 bucks for each of the bags under your eyes.” Now readers of this blog know that I’m a New York Giants fan, despite yesterday’s pathetic performance in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “As you know, Giant’s superstar receiver Plaxico Burress was arrested last week after his unlicensed firearm went off in his pants at a nightclub. Mayor Bloomberg wants to throw the book at him. Today he was given a choice. Either 3 years in prison or he has to play for the Detroit Lions.” And finally, “Hookers in New York are getting very creative with the economic crisis. They are now offering the Plaxico Burress special. For $100 bucks, they’ll make the gun go off in your pants.”

That’s the Monday experience. Coming up on our next blog I’ll be showcasing a sunrise that you’ll want to tell your friends, neighbors and pet sitters about. The reason I missed Saturday’s spectacular sunset was because I was attending my freshman son’s basketball tournament in Pescadero (who even knew that had a high school?) Jason’s varsity PCS team took third place as my point-guard playing son had 12 points, 9 assists, 9 steals and 3 blocked shots in the final game to earn all-tournament honors. It just goes to show that if you nurture your child, build their self-esteem and feed them the right combination of chewable steroids that the triple-double sky is the limit. So enjoy the arch and Veronica and we’ll catch on the goal line. Aloha, mahalo and later, Derrick Rose fans.

Good morning and greetings, post-holiday fans. As the captain of this photographic ship of fools, I continue to search for truth, justice and the American way along with magnificent color in the morning and evening sky. In a trend that continued throughout our eleventh month, the dawn experiences as of late have been weak, listless and dull, much like my performance on my high school math achievement test.

Each morning I awake with fresh and renewed hope that, along with getting dial tone, the day will bring the colors that my mind, body and digital soul so yearn for. Instead, it has been fog city with a marine layer sitting on the coast that prevents the red, orange and yellow light show extravaganza that the month of November has so often brought.

The one exception to this party cloudly, fog party was last Tuesday morning. Like a reptile smuggler going thru customs I hurried down to West Cliff and positioned myself like an Eagle Scout along Bird Rock. As you can see from the first three shots the sky put on a pretty good pre-sunrise performance as the Russian judge scored it as a 9.5. I would normally have driven over to Steamer Lane to shoot the clouds and the inspiring reflection over the wharf and Boardwalk but it was getting late and I heard my children’s french toast calling me.

The next three photos are from Monday night’s sunset on a day where we saw very little sun until it dropped thru the clouds in late afternoon. There has been some color in the evening sky but nothing to really text message the Weather Channel about. At this point in my first lifetime I am seeking only the spectacular, when the sky is just exploding with color and you just want to savor the moment and think, “Yeah, there is no other place I’d rather be.” Except Hawaii. This low tide sunset, much like a trip to the Hindquarter for the best burger in town, had it’s moments. Thus we are going with the sunrise, sunset, theme as tribute to “Fiddler on the Roof.” If only I were a rich man.

On to our comedy section of the show. Here’s the best thing I heard coming out of the late night monologues last week, courtesy of Jay Leno. “Looks like the government is going to bailout CitiGroup but they don’t want to bailout the auto companies. See, I don’t think this is fair for blue collar workers who make our cars, they don’t get the bailout but the white collar guys who work on Wall Street, they get the bailout. You know what I think they should do? I think they should work together. I think the guys in Detroit should keep making the cars and the guys on Wall Street should make the license plates.”

We continue with some bonus Thanksgivng humor. I used this joke last year but I thought it was amusing enough of bring back for a return engagement. A turkey farmer was always experimenting with breeding to perfect a better turkey. His family was fond of the leg portion for dinner and there were never enough legs for everyone. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was relating the results of his efforts to his friends at the general store. “Well I finally did it! I bred a turkey that has 6 legs!” They all asked the farmer how it tasted. “I don’t know” said the farmer. “I never could catch the darn thing!”

That’s it for another week of what’s in the skies above Monterey Bay. I hope it was a pleasant Thanksgiving holiday for all of you out there in cyberspace or New Jersey. With the tragic news out of Mumbai it’s just another reason to be grateful for all we are blessed with. This includes the defending Super Bowl champion New York football Giants, who are now 11-1 on the season. Unbelievable. So as we bid farewell to November, let’s bring on December, which will hopefully be filled with peace and prosperity. We could use a good month to end this year. Aloha, mahalo and we’ll catch you on the end around. Later, LeBron James fans.

Good morning and greetings, transition team fans. The skies of late have been clearer than the broth in my wife’s matzoh ball soup, so instead of a sunrise or sunset experience we are going to the aviary card. The first shot of the gulls along the Main Beach at the Boardwalk was taken in October of 2005. The rest of the gulls just wanting to have fun were taken in the month of November. Thus, this is a pre-Thanksgiving salute to our eleventh month-you might say the calm before the cranberry sauce storm.

Shots two and three were taken along the Main Beach in mid-afternoon. The sand was loaded with gulls with provided me with lots of birdshot. When I came back the next day to check out the scene there were just a couple of dozen birds playing bridge. It’s just another example of capturing the moment-I wish they all could be California gulls.

When I see potential in the morning sky I head down to Lighthouse Point to experience the grandeur, pagentry and fresh baked pastries . When the clouds are really exotic I then hop in the car and follow the Yellow Brick road to Four Mile Beach and gull city. That’s where the next three photos were taken. If you look at the last shot you’ll see hundreds of birds in the sky. Many people believe that birds are good luck and I was feeling quite fortunate in the moment.

My Zrii loving, Marin County-based sibling Paul was here this weekend and I asked him to join in selecting the subject title for today’s blog. Here are his top three selections. “Jethro Gull on Tour,” “Way to Gullible” and my personal favorite, “The Gulls of Ipanema.” It’s always good to see him because he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

On to our humor selection from the small screen. This week’s comments come from one of my favorite vocalists of the day, Bill “I’m Hussein in the Membrane” Maher, who appeared on the Tonight Show last week. He’s got a program, “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO and is not afraid to take an occassional shot at the administration. Here’s a few zingers. Of the election of Barack Obama he said, “It’s a new chapter in America. Unfortunately, it’s Chapter 11.” Of John McCain calling Obama a “celebrity” who could fill stadiums, “Well, the Republicans can fill stadiums-like the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. And finally, of Sarah Palin, he said it was the men of the Republican Party that loved her-they thought she was a MILF. And she was a MIFL-a Moron Who I’d Like to Forget.”

That’s our show for today. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday and we’ll catch you after the turkey, stuffing and sweet potato along with hours of NFL football with some NBA basketball thrown in for desert. Enjoy your families and this special time of togetherness with the ones you love or can barely tolerate. And lest we not forget, the New York Giants fans. 10-1. After last year’s Super Bowl shocker, this year is all gravy. Which is also the key to the Thanksgiving dinner. Aloha, sports fans and we’ll catch you next week on the goal line.

Good morning and greetings, NFL fans. We’ve had a beautiful week of weather here on the central coast, with clear skies and unseasonably warm weather. The thermometer hit 86 on Saturday and that was followed by a Super Sunday. Not bad for a mid-November weekend. We’re talking Donna Summer weather in the late fall. George Carlin, in his weatherman days as Al Sleet, would have said “these conditions were due to a Canadian low, which is not to be confused with a Mexican high.” In fact, it was so hot on Saturday that I saw a dog chasing a cat-and they were walking.

This week also featured a full slate of lunar action here on the coast. Ideally, when the full moon is rising, or there’s a bad moon on the rise, I like to head down to Steamer Lane to experience the lunar moment. Today’s blue moon is from this past Wednesday. I was driving along Delaware Avenue when I saw the moon shrouded by the red clouds. Nothing like shooting a full moon rising between the telephone lines. And then a cow pole vaulted over the moon.

The sunset is from the previous Wednesday along West Cliff Drive. There haven’t been many clouds in the sky to bring on the necessary drama for the dusk delights but Saturday night’s sunset was just gorgeous. It was low tide and there was a exotic red glow in the sky as the sun dipped into the Pacific. I hadn’t seen that kind of glow in the sky since my first Grateful Dead concert and I was indoors at the time. Sunshine, daydream.

Another incredible week for the world’s crashing economy. I just can’t seem to catch a break. While I waiting for a package from DHL, I received a gift card from Circuit City and American Express offered to extend my line of credit. It’s such an incredibly stressful time for so many people. But at least those bailout packages are working.

On the subject of our faltering economy, courtesy of Jay Leno, here’s how bad the economy is. China had to cut back on the amount of lead they’re putting in our kid’s toys. Exxon-Mobil had to lay off 25 congressman. And parents in Beverly Hills are being forced to raise their own kids. And speaking of kids, Jewish children are asking their parents about Hanukah. The parents told them, “Ask Santa.”

That’s it for the Monday experience. As I write this Southern California is on fire as hurricane force Santa Ana winds over the weekend drove these blazes wild, destroying people’s homes and the sacred memories that go along with them. Just a devastating scene for all those Laker fans in SoCal. So try to be grateful for the little things, like Eli Manning and the New York Giants having a record of 9-1 through week 10 of the NFL season. So enjoy the warm skies, the autumn breeze and we’ll catch you across the middle. Aloha and later, Brian Williams fans.