Now that the six months are up I’m taking my newly chemically-cleansed liver out for a little recontamination session involving red wine, sashimi, beer and unprocessed cheese. I’ll probably be gone for a few days. Red wine and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Therefore I’m going to be lazy and do another photo post. I figure I have way too many photos piling up in the ol’ Flickr account lately and who better to put to sleep than the fine group of alcoholics who read my blog? Not that I believe for a second that all of you are alcoholics. I’m guessing that quite a few of you are potheads. I may even have a handful of closet painkiller addicts in here.

…but who am I to judge? I’m off to the nearest barstool where I plan on slurping margaritas until my liver is brought to its fleshy brown knees, so trust me when I say I’d be the last person to condemn the Mormon housewife up the street for popping a few vicodin in the morning to help her get through another day without abusing her seven offspring.

Anyway. Photos. Here.

I’m throwing you a bone Jay, since I know you are an enjoyer of the feminine curve. This bellydancer was dancing on the sidewalk in front of her studio as part of a larger community art festival held once a month in Sacramento.

A starfish adhered to the side of an aquatic column.

This one’s for you Neisel, I’ve never been able to go to an art show without thinking of you. This is a close-up of a gorgeous metal sculpture on display as part of Second Saturday.

At first I had wished that this photo had not been so horribly out of focus but after a while I came to like it better this way. A soupfin shark circles directly above my head while a bat ray and yellowfin tuna tool about closer to the water’s surface.

My local readers should recognize this vantage point immediately. It’s an east-facing view of the J Street Corridor taken from the north side of the street at Caesar Chavez Plaza.

Sunlight glints off a school of mackerel as they swim around and around and around and around and around and around. Hey, anyone else dizzy?

Detail of the hood joint on a Morris Minor parked as part of a larger display of vespas and unique automobiles at Second Saturday.

 A gaggle of stuffed snakes hang at a game booth on the boardwalk in Santa Cruz.

This one’s for you LL and DNR. This Harley was parked as part of a larger display illustrating how these bikes double as moving art.

Speaking of moving art, these fleshy little jellyfish are part of a display in Monterey in which the movement and color of the simple-minded invertebrates was highlighted.

A telephone box hangs next to a posted plea on the Golden Gate Bridge as part of an unmanned effort to waylay potential suicides. The text of the sign reads: Crisis Counseling – There is hope make the call – the consequences of jumping from this bridge are fatal and tragic.

Early morning in Pajaro, California.

A view during a luscious bike ride along the Pacific Coast Highway.

A banner commemorating one of my favorite authors.

That’s it, I’m out. There’s raw fish to be eaten and tequila to be swilled. See you folks on the other end of the coming weekend.

Ok, it’s not really winter. Not around here anyway. Raise your hand if you’re from Michigan and that last sentence made you want to kick my ass.

Moving right along, let us all bow our heads in remembrance of the Berlin Wall. That monstrosity fell eighteen years ago and I was lucky enough to finagle a piece of it during a trip to Europe that now hangs in my office. You have no idea how many starving socialists I flashed at Checkpoint Charlie for that damned bit of concrete.

Today I was running errands, one of which involved going to Capitol Aquarium. While we were there my daughter started pointing at the tanks which were fully stocked with the latest shipment of saltwater fish. Since I’m always game to blow $50 on the next critter to buy the farm in my big tank I indulged her curiosity and we browsed the selection.

So mesmerized was I with the sea anemones and corals that I completely ignored the sucking sounds coming from knee level until I felt a cold, wet hand go up my shorts. As I turned around I was horrified to see my daughter stick her hand into a ground-level tank, pull out her saturated sleeve and suck the brine right out of it. For the record, the fish were probably more traumatized than my daughter.

Oh, and the controversy surrounding this woman reminds me of an incident that occurred during my second pregnancy. I was two weeks away from my due date and working out on a stairmaster at the gym when a guy next to me said “If you were my wife I’d be damned if I let you go to the gym while pregnant.”

To which I felt obligated to reply, “And if you were my husband I’d be damned if I gave you a blowjob until you got rid of that attitude.”

Asshole.

To all the people I owe e-mails, I’m sorry. It’s been hell around here the past few days and I promise to answer. It might be January, but dude, I swear I will answer.

Denise, you rock. You’re a damned talented artist and wonderful human being and I adore you. Especially since you have yet to let my husband know what a dork I was in high school and college. You’re not going to tell him are you? Because I totally think I have him snowed.

Jenn, I just love you. Love, love, love you. In that totally platonic I’m-already-married-but-if-I-weren’t-I’d-seriously-consider-switching-to-chicks kind of way.

Kevin, you’re thoughts on our faith and life blow me away. You are probably the most cerebral person I’ve encountered in matters regarding all things God and music and life and you make me happy to be Catholic.

Blondie, good luck with your move. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately and hoping that you are able to sharpen your ninja-like wallpaper removal skills before taking up residence in Omaha.