may/june undercurrent article

here's our latest undercurrent article. sorry it took a little time to post:

Adam: Spring brings young life, a rebirth, a new cycle. Yes, we're talking about Adam's birthday at the end of April. No, not really. Besides that, this is a time of anniversaries, both for The Undercurrent (turning three) and also for The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno (turning one). Yeah, we really are a bunch of babies. Waaah.

But more than that, these are examples of how a lot of energy, time, and money can go into something you care deeply about and you still don't get paid. For Ed and I, it's been a journey of amateur journalism. We've blogged, Ed has acquired the equipment for us to record audio shows that assail the ears, and recently The Undercurrent has generously offered this 800 word column space for us to pretty much do whatever we want. We're here mostly because we think Fresno has a lot of great stuff going on and more people need to be talking about it, hearing about it, and participating in it. You can bitch and moan...or you can do something about it and put your money where your mouth is.

Ed: And let’s not forget, when you’re doing something about it, putting your money where your mouth is, and all that stuff, you can still complain about the state of things in Fresno and the world. To me, doing something gives you the street cred, or the impunity to back up your complaining. But let’s focus less on the complaining aspect and more on the doing. Why do we do what we do? I’m still doing this amateur journalist thing because I really do want to contribute to and change the culture of Fresno. I love the city, and really want to see it continue to evolve into a shining example of city life. A part of me thinks, “People know what’s going on in Fresno, they don’t still think there’s nothing to do,” and then I run into people that still don’t know what’s going on. Just recently I ran into several people that didn’t know even 1/10th of the cool things that are going on. So, I pointed them towards some good information sources and hope that they can see how good, how exciting of a city they live in. What keeps you blogging and podcasting? And how are you going to keep it fresh over the next year?

Adam: You know, right now, there isn't a lot keeping me blogging. I've always kept a pretty personal blog that didn't deal with Fresno directly (as in reviews of shows and restaurants, or letting people know upcoming events, etc). I've blogged diversely, but right now it's kinda been reduced to bitching about work and commentary on some of the most asinine letters to the editor of the Fresno Bee. I've been thinking a lot about how I can better contribute to the blogosphere. Some time soon, perhaps, I'll come up with something new and exciting and fun. Podcasting is just good, clean (except the language) fun. It's a great way to interact with other people doing awesome things in Fresno and just shoot the breeze in a very casual manner. I've got some ideas about how to liven up the podcast or make it more fun, but I won't divulge here. You'll just have to listen and see.

Ed: Damn, I was going to ask what you were thinking, and then I read the rest of the sentence. Shoot. But I hear you, podcasting is pretty fun. I’m not sure why, but hearing a voice seems more alive, more important than reading a blog. They’re both pretty similar content for me, but podcasting rocks. And that’s why we keep doing it. That and I’m very self-important.

But seriously, let’s get down to some Fresno brass tacks – aka stuff you should be checking out. Of course, you should be listening to our podcast. And, it goes without saying that you should be at the Undercurrent birthday show. Get your rear out to older staples of the community like Arthop and hit its newer cousin Archop. What are you recommending right now Adam?

Adam: Well, I've checked the schedule and nothing is posted yet, but there's bound to be some roller derby happening again soon. Be sure to check the local blogs, find out when, and get thee to a bout. Also, if you haven't been there yet, take a nice drive out 180 into the hills and somewhere near Dunlap, take a left turn into the Cat Haven Wild Animal Park. There's a big sign. It's the best $9 you'll spend to see some fantastic animals. Lions and tigers and cheetahs and leopards and jaguars, oh my!

Ed: Well, if there’s nothing else, I think I’d like to say peace out.

episode 27 of the view looks good from here, fresno

once again striking while the iron is hot, tvlgfhf is back with another episode. in episode 27 we're joined by patrick contreras. he's a local musician, crazy violinist, and a musical phenom.

we discuss a bunch of stuff including:
patrick's upcoming cd release show on June 20th behind the Tower theater
about his other shows
the upcoming cd
venues, festivals & charity shows
what it's like to be a "different" type of act
playing Fresno vs other places
the philharmonic, Chris Kattan's wedding, beer
shark vs bear
the Patrick Contreras Band song "Belmont"


hope you enjoy. There might be language that some find objectionable so be warned.

episode 26 of the view looks good from here, fresno

we've celebrated our first year and are back with guest reza assemi. reza's an artist, downtown developer and super duper guy. it's episode 26.

we discuss:
downtown develepment
iron bird lofts/fulton plaza
what got reza started - the pearl building
the cultural arts district and master builder status
the met & money downtown
what would get downtown going, the PBID & perception
what's holding downtown back
debts II society, sega, swede fest & litigation
reza's art
gardening
where reza eats dinner
& finally bear vs shark

as always, there are words and ideas that some find objectionable. be warned.

be on the lookout for another episode soon from tvlgfhf, interviews taped during our anniversary party.

the view looks good from here anniversary party

we're a year old and so we wanted to have a birthday party and invite everyone who's been on the podcast and a few other friends. sadly, not everyone could come, and honestly we didn't really try to invite the out of town guests. here's who could come:


mike from rademacher


mike from mikewiseisundecided. he's actually one person we've asked to be on the pod and he declined.


friend of the podcast kuffy.


adam was there.


yours truly was there, natch.


our friend kasey, who was scheduled to be on a podcast (episode 4)but she declined.


friend of the pod brian, who was on episode 8


aileen imperatrice came, and she did alright in croquette.


monticore joined us (it's her house, too).


nick nocketback rolled in, complained about a lot of things, and had a good time.


hmac graced us with her presence, giving us more blogger cred.


celeideh from our last episode came, and yes we got her started on scarjo again.


jonathan from rademacher/circles and circles stopped in for a bit.


this guy mike, that i've never met before came with jonathan and celeideh.


eli from fay wrays & rademacher regaled us with stories


ben from the fay wrays enjoyed himself. both he and eli will be on a future episode.


tanya oz was all smiles.


mike oz showed that yes, he can go to backyard parties


i honestly believe that joy is made of sugar.


corin, guest from episode 8, whispered sweet newsiness to us all.


brodiemash, recent winner of the blogger olympics saluted our podcast.


reza assemi, downtown guru/builder/all around swell guy was the last guest to arrive. he wins the prize. the prize? being on an upcoming episode of the view looks good from here, fresno.

thanks to everyone that came out.