Posted by paulrivas on: November 20 2008

First, my profuse apologies for not having kept you the readership current on developments at Rivas Cultural Services, where we've been held up in muck for the last couple weeks somewhere between Too Busy to Write and Outright Sloth.

Our Lompoc desk is reporting that my cousin Bonnie and her boyfriend Bugsy just had a baby boy, Bo. Details pending confirmation at Thanksgiving. Our Catastrophe desk is reporting that my aunt Marsha and uncle Keith's house was one of two that didn't burn on their part of Conejo Road. Everyone from Santa Barbara must know 10-20 households who lost everything. Our Vice desk is reporting that Club Social San Antonio hosted a 19% charity poker tournament last Friday. Nineteen dudes and one chick paid $40 to get after prizes of $450, $150 and $50. $150 more went to a rogue student group whose name no one asked. White Power for Obama, Sodomites for Prop 8 and Level 5 Vegans for Dolphin Slaughter are all penciled in for future charity action.

I've heard two interesting things about the fire: 1) Elizabeth Robinson on 91.9 KCSB said we should realize that those who worked in the homes that burned are now out of a job, and 2) the president of Dyrenforth Acquisitions said that the fire was the best thing that could have happened to the economy in Santa Barbara, and that all the tradesmen will now have all the work they want for the next five years. It's tough to argue with either, I think. Housecleaners are unlikely to be eligible for unemployment benefits, and there are now probably close to 500 structures (my estimate of 250 "homes" times one legal and one illegal structure per home) that need to be rebuilt bigger and better than ever. Remember what happened on Sherwood after the Painted Cave fire? A bunch of broke-ass shacks burned and were replaced by castles. I wonder if this will happen on Conejo, where there were more than a few places that had seen better days.

Next, a review of the epic Café Tacuba show at the Ventura Theatre theater in Ventura.

Rivas Cultural Services

Santa Barbara - Mexico City - Buenos Aires

Categories: Locals

Tags: tea fire, outright sloth, level 5 vegan, aunt marsha, uncle keith, bonnie, bugsy, bo, tradesmen