Olive Garden Opening In Fresno Is A Good Thing…There, I Said It.

img_1980 Olive Garden Opening In Fresno Is A Good Thing...There, I Said It.
I don’t go to Olive Garden. Well, I haven’t for a long time. I went to the Modesto Garden years ago because my Grandma wanted to. And yeah, I have been to the Clovis one. I’m embarrassed to admit I brought a date there once. There was no second date.

I purposely have not Gardened for a long time. Waiting an hour for a table to eat chain “Italian” food in Clovis is not my idea of a good night out – I don’t care how many unlimited bread sticks you throw at me.

giphy Olive Garden Opening In Fresno Is A Good Thing...There, I Said It.

So why the hell should I care or think it’s a good thing that Olive Garden is about to open up its first Fresno location? [Located at Marketplace Shopping Center, BTW)

Because the Highway City area of NW Fresno does not have a sit-down, waiter comes to your table, restaurant. If the first one has to be an Olive Garden, so be it.

I would rather it be a local restaurant or something we have never seen in Fresno before. But it’s not. It’s an Olive Garden. Highway City will have to accept it. Something tells me they will and there will be an hour wait there too.

Some advice, though. Don’t take a first date there, dude. Impressed she will not be. Unless you can do a dance routine with your bread sticks.

Finally. A Guide To Help Us Be Like The Palm Avenue Bikers

img_1934 Finally. A Guide To Help Us Be Like The Palm Avenue Bikers
I have a bike (pictured). It can get dusty. But I have one. It’s just a fixie. Which means I was cool 6 years ago. And now? Well, I have a bike only good for beer & Redbox runs. And I can only stop Flintstones style.

I need a new bike. A road bike. I may even want to be like one of those people with the bike outfits, riding down Palm Ave. But it looks like a whole thing, ya know? Like work or something.

Well thanks to IFHT, there is an entertaining step by step guide to show me and you how we can be like a Palm Ave Biker:

I definitely need a Recovery Beer just watching that.

If you’re ready to start adding road bikes and putting “yourself” on display riding Palm Avenue, make sure to hit up local places like Steven’s, Sunnyside, Fresno Schwinn, Rubber SoulHerb BauerCyle Path, and get riding.

Pot Is Making You Lose Your Damn Focus, Fresno!

img_1832 Pot Is Making You Lose Your Damn Focus, Fresno!
Our Mayor is thinking he will defy a state law and probably not allow pot dispensaries in Fresno. Screw the millions in revenue. Don’t need it. We got all them millions already. We good.

Even the SO-CALLED liberal newspaper, The Fresno Bee, doesn’t support legal pot.

Welcome to California’s Bible Belt.

To be clear, this rant is coming from a NON pot smoker. [for realz] I don’t inhale.

giphy Pot Is Making You Lose Your Damn Focus, Fresno!

Mayor Brand sent two Fresnans to Colorado to check out how things were doing there with the legal pot. Turns out, they couldn’t figure out if it was good or bad. 

So police chief, Dyer (one of the people the Mayor sent) just gave a blanket “No, bro” reco to Brand. This was enough for our Mayor to conclude he’s going to say no because that seems safe.

Is Dyer running the city or Brand?

Come on, Fresno. Wake up to the fact we are in California. We need to be progressive.

“Oh golly, I hear a pot dispensary might get broken into every once in a while.” THIS IS YOUR CONCERN!? We’ll be ok, snowflake. Fresno can handle this.

Do you realize children get shot in this city for being in their front yard at the wrong time of day AND YOU’RE FUCKING WORRIED ABOUT A BUSINESS GETTING BROKEN INTO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!? As if other businesses don’t get broken into.

Holy shit, man. It’s called priorities. Get them. Maybe take care of our meth, poverty and gang problem before focusing on shutting down LEGAL pot.

Have you ever heard of a guy in Fresno carjacking somebody or shooting somebody because he was super fucking baked? No, of course you haven’t!

Reporter: What happened here, officer?

Policeman: The male suspect was seen getting super high earlier and then started stabbing everyone and stole a car.

You hear how ridiculous that sounds, right?

Please worry about real stuff, Fresno. Take advantage of being in California and mellow out. 

Stop Doing The “I Don’t Say FresNO, I Say Fresyes” Joke – An Open Letter To Touring Bands

Hey. Frontman for [insert any band name here], listen up! If you are coming to Fresno for a show and you’re working on your “between song banter” we have some advice for you: Please restrain yourself from changing Fresno’s name to FreYES.

It was never clever. It was not funny the first time we heard it, 30 years ago, and it is not funny today. Come up with better material.

For example. Blake Shelton was at the Save Mart Center last week. He pulled this little gem (you can stop it at 5:40):

Come on, man.

It’s not just the big acts either. I have seen so many small touring bands at Audie’s/Club Fred, or Strummers/Starline or Fulton 55 or you freaking name it, do a version of the joke. It’s lame. It’s eye rolling. We have heard it all. Enough.

The Fresno Bee’s Joshua Tehee and I, discuss it in this month’s Flowing. Here is a clip:

So please. I beg you. Stop doing the “It’s not FresNO it’s FresYes.” … unless:

Alright. If you incorporate “FuckYeah” I can convince myself to be ok with it.