With Halloween falling on a Wednesday, it seems students and others moved the grown-up partying to this past weekend. Young adults in costumes were definitely out in force in Davis and in Chico this weekend.
I know others have pondered this in the past, but it’s amazing how some can take a holiday now geared for kids and totally make it inappropriate for said children. I know some alcohol awareness groups deplore how Halloween is now a drinking holiday.
On the costumes, I’m not really complaining. As a relatively young man, I certainly enjoy how some of the outfits look. In my limited observations, “sexy” costumes are most often worn by women. That’s not to say that men couldn’t get involved.
It’s always been my belief that someone can take any costume and make it “sexy” — often by tightening something here or loosening something there. Sexy cop. Sexy cat. Sexy nurse. And on and on for almost anything.
But is it true? Are there some costumes/occupations out there that can’t be made sexy?
Taking a look at a list of the worst jobs in the country (via a CareerJournal article on the “Jobs Rated Almanac”), it seems like many of them could, surprisingly, be made sexy:

• 1. Lumberjack
• 2. Fisherman
• 3. Cowboy
• 4. Ironworker
• 5. Seaman

It might require some ingenuity for some of these occupations, but they could all work. There are four more on the list that might work. However, I don’t think “Sexy Stevedore” will come up soon.
I guess in the end, I could only think of one career/occupation that would be hard to “sexify”: Hazmat crew member.
Do you know of any occupations to add to the list of bad costumes?

Driving can be a challenge. It’s compounded when you have some bad-mannered drivers on the road. For lack of a better name, I’ve decided to call them “The Guild of Douchey Drivers.”
And, man, the guild was out in force over the weekend in the ‘mento. Two drivers got impatient and leaned on their horns. In another incident, one driver left the scene of a property damage accident without leaving his information — although there were two witnesses.
Twice Saturday, I was stopped at a light waiting to turn right. Both times, some male driver behind me impatiently honked his horn raising my ire.
The first time, I shrugged my arms at the guy and he gesticulated back. I was a little angry, but I tried to keep cool as I finished my turning motion. I was slightly amused to see where the gentleman was in a tremendous hurry to reach — Super Wal-Mart.
It happened again later in the afternoon. Stopped at a light, trying to keep an eye on the traffic lights and vehicles before making my move. Again, some young man decided that honking his horn would magically clear the way. When he didn’t get the desired result, he honked his horn another two or three times.
I definitely kept my cool this time. I just waited until traffic cleared and the light changed. The guy kept honking even as the oncoming traffic was turning left. Sorry, man. I’m not willing to drive into oncoming traffic for you.
First of all, I don’t understand what the horn-honking is meant to accomplish, especially because it’s a non-emergency situation. I’m always going to come to a complete stop and wait for the intersection to be clear before moving forward. I’m not going to short-circuit that approach and risk my safety for the driver behind me.
In fact, the horn-honking is going to make me drive more safely. From a safety standpoint, I have to look behind me when a horn goes off to see what’s going on. It’s a distraction I have to account for.
Additionally, the driver’s impatience tees me off. My first thought is to do the opposite of what this boorish man wants. I don’t want him to think that such an inconsiderate tactic actually works. I also don’t want to give the satisfaction of him pushing me (and others) around.
Although I try to avoid it, I may have been a member of the Guild during my driving career. I can only control my driving so I resolved to not let these drivers get under my skin. It’s still a sad statement that these types of drivers are on the road.
Here’s the kicker. I walking from a parking lot in Davis Friday night when I hear a loud crunching noise. It turns out that an older SUV pulling out of a space backed into a nice, newer Volkswagen, leaving a nice big dent in the left rear bumper. The SUV driver got out and inspected the damage as a witness and I headed back toward the scene.
The SUV driver asks the female witness if the damaged car was hers. It wasn’t — well, sorta. Her vehicle, just to the left of the damaged car, was slightly scratched.
The woman asks the driver if he needed paper to write down his insurance information. He doesn’t seem to reply before he walks casually back to his vehicle and gets in. I didn’t quite know what to expect — was he grabbing some paper or was he going to park his car so he could better handle the situation?
He does neither. The SUV gently backs up and pulls out of the parking lot.
I’m flabbergasted. I ask the woman if she was doing what I was doing — writing down the SUV’s license plate number. Yep, we both got it.
Who leaves such a relatively innocent accident scene when there are two witnesses? All one needs to do is leave insurance and contact information.
Turns out the woman is a retired cop and she calls the police. We both give statements to the officer who arrives on the scene.
While we’re recalling what happened, other officers pull two vehicles in separate, unrelated incidents. That was part of five pull-overs I saw during my first hour in Davis Friday night. Three of the pull-overs seemed to be because the vehicles didn’t have their lights on.
It looks like Guild membership is increasing.

This is a question that’s always on the back of my mind. Chico’s a pretty decent city, but how does it compare to other entertainment centers? When can you can say Chico has crossed over into the realm of “big city”?
Of course, Chico doesn’t compare when held up against the ‘mento or San Francisco, but I see things that I would view as “big city” elements. Having big-city elements can be a good or bad thing. On one hand, it could mean a wider array or entertainment. It could also mean more violence.
Case in point — street advertising. I noticed a truck and several scooters advertising a national brand of rum last weekend. I thought driving around in circles all night might be one of the worst jobs to have on a weekend evening.
Although a little tacky, one generally doesn’t see that in a small town. Chico’s party culture might be the key factor on this.
It might be a taste of the big city in little Chico, but here’s a counterpoint. I ran into the truck driver taking a photo outside City Plaza Saturday. He said he came up from San Diego for about two weeks for the promotion. Asked for his impression of the area and the downtown “scene,” he said it was quiet.
Perhaps the advertising cart is before the horse in this case. What do you think?

I’ve noticed two small local changes that have have been on my mind over the past few weeks.

• When the heck is Cold Stone Creamery’s downtown location going to reopen? It’s been closed for weeks with just a sign on the door saying they’re working on stuff.

  I’d be worried the company might be easing its way out of the area because I’ve seen it happen with restaurants elsewhere. However, I’ve seen signs of progress in the location. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

• While shopping at the local grocery store, I’ve noticed Butte Creek Brewing Co. redesigned its logo, cases and overall look.

  My first impression — it’s a bold, streamlined look that adds some design consistency across the product line. They’re definitely emphasizing their organic brewing method. All and all, a simple label might stand out better against the colorful clashes one sees from many other small breweries.

  The company’s Web site has a teaser image showing the new logo and look.

… and only one leaves.
You would expect more violence when you read about dueling pianos, but both performers survived. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I walked into 33 Steaks, Booze and Jazz last Friday, but I was quite pleased with what I found.
It was a rousing, high-spirited affair as the dueling pianists played different standards over the past couple of decades. “Yellow Submarine” lured me into the Main Street establishment. The next few songs kept me wanting more.
The energy of a live music performance was encapsulated within the two baby grand pianos, but there was none of the insistent overwhelming wall of sound a full band normally produces. The singing is lounge-y but a lot of fun. One could listen, sing along, dance or chat with others.
I guess you see things like dueling pianos in bigger cities like the ‘mento or San Diego, but their act seems pretty new for this area. Although I’ve heard Chico has played host to such performers in the past.
The dueling pianos play at 10:30 p.m. Fridays at 33. I’m definitely planning a return trip.

If you read my entry on Normal Street, you would’ve gotten some of the first skinny on the situation before today’s story in the Enterprise-Record.
While I would pat myself on the back for this “scoop,” I realize even a wrong clock is right twice a day. Unless it’s digital and then it’s something else.

Pop quiz, hot shot. Without looking on a map, what’s the name of the missing road in this sequence:

Broadway Street, Salem Street, ????, Chestnut Street.

If you get your geography lessons from taverns and bars, you’d identify it as Normal Street. However, the road’s correct name is Normal Avenue.
Unfortunately, it appears Chico’s signmakers may have been spending too much time at the bar and not looking at their maps.
Signs hung at the newly signalized intersection of Normal Avenue and West Second Street say the road is “Normal Street.”
All of this raises several questions — How did this mistake happen? How much will this goof cost to fix? Was it a conspiracy? Perhaps it was a clever publicity play by the owners of the Normal St. Bar to further ingrain their geographically incorrect name among the town’s denizens.

Over the weekend, I was driving past El Rey theater and noticed a large, tan bin filled with what appeared to be trashed seats. I felt a little regret at the cushy seats being tossed aside, but I’m glad to see the theater come back to life in some form. The first show is Friday, according to the Buzz editor’s column.
I wrote about the El Rey’s last night as a movie theater on my personal blog. At the time, I was pretty sure the former cinema would be reconfigured into office and residential space. The plans changed and now the lights will shine on El Rey for some limited performances.
I wonder what the final outcome is for El Rey. It’s been a struggle to save downtown performance spaces in many cities, including Chico. Overcoming long-term issues about an aging building or site is important.
A couple of issues I’ve heard about El Rey is that is has a musty smell and there were some water leaks (both I hear have been addressed). The seats were an issue of mine — several weren’t in good condition when I saw a film there in 2005.
I’ll be interested to see if people can successfully restore the space into a living, useful environment for the community.