Good morning and greetings, December fans. We’re fortunate here on the central coast, as while much of the country is blanketed under snow and ice, we’re quietly relaxing in our flannel shorts. Personally, I would prefer a tropical lifestyle because if I never put on a jacket again that would be too soon.

For those of you keeping weather maps at home, it recently snowed 95 straight hours in Syracuse, New York. The snow then stopped briefly before starting again. Oh, how I long for those early college days in the snowfall capital of the U.S.. The only blizzard I want these days can be found on the menu at the Dairy Queen.

So let’s cut right to the chase. Yesterday was my 58th birthday. Holy almost six decades, Batman. Of course, that number, like my dreams of not being prepared for tests, falls somewhere between disconcerting and terrifying, but I’m so glad it’s not yet 60, because that just semi-freaks me out. And yet, I sense that 870 days from now that gift will too arrive on my doorstep.

So what have I accomplished in my first five decades plus eight years on earth? Well, I have known my wife for 31 years and we’ve been married for 22. Yes, I may have been a tad impulsive rushing into marriage after nine years, but like John McCain, that’s just the maverick in me.

When I first met Allison she was 19 and I used to make her go sit in her teenage corner. Now she makes sure I don’t leave the house without my AARP card. It’s the whole ying and yankee thing. In three decades we have never argued, disagreed. raised our voices, or even had a fight. Well, maybe there was that one spat from from 1980 thru 1992, but that was nothing a federal mediator couldn’t have solved with a little arbitration.

I think the secret has been our interests. She has always been a sports nut, while for me, if a game is on I’ll watch it, but it’s not like I’m going to spend every week and weekend of every year for the past thirty watching some form of sports. I mean, what kind of life would that be?

So in the words of the Captain and Toni Tennille, love has kept us together, but to quote Ringo Starr, you know “it don’t come easy.” Our marriage is still a work in progress, and it’s a pleasure going to office every day.

As far as I know, our union has produced two children. Jason is taller, smarter, more sensitive, a better shooter, driver, leaper, jump server, spiker, no-look passer than his father, although I may have had a slight edge in defensive intensity on the basketball court back before there was history. He has been like a son to me and his future is so bright, his AP biology teacher has to wear sunglasses.

Aimee is my youngest and my blondest. Although she is a lefty, I see so much of her in me, from her love of lotions, sense of humor and most importantly, sense of fashion. She has the bluest eyes since Sinatra, and has the gift of evoking laughter.

I always knew that one day she would be a woman. What I didn’t realize was that she would be a teenager before that. But I am slowly adjusting to the fact that she is now a young woman and that I can unload the shotgun in my trunk. She is quite the character and is going to grow into someone really special.

These two are my greatest accomplishments. I regret that I never finished law or medical school, but that was because I never applied. When I think about what I’m proudest of, it’s all my children. They are both unique individuals, not two peas in a pod like me and Allison, and to watch them grow and discover what this world is all about, for the most part, is a fascinating thing to see. And I’ve got a front row seat.

Now I could go on and on for at least two or three more sentences listing my accomplishments, but this is a blog, not a book, so enough’s enough. Let’s move on to the photography front, as I have saved these particular images for the celebration of the day I left the warmth of the amniotic fluid, exited the birth canal, came into this world in a breached fashion and declared, “okay, let’s see what this breast feeding deal is all about.” But just my luck, access denied.

Two weeks ago, we were treated to back-to-back days of phenomenal sunrises and sunsets. The first two images are from the color explosion from the last morning of November. It was a great way to close out the month, as orange was served for breakfast.

For the rest of the day, the clouds went wild in the sky. Even without consulting my psychic, I knew that evening’s sunset would be off the charts. But at the same time, I was aware that Jason had his first basketball game that night, and with an early tipoff, something had to give. But that’s okay, because sports trump nature and only God can make a three.

So as the sun started its journey towards the horizon an amazing thing happened. No, the game wasn’t delayed an hour. Before the sun actually set, the clouds starting changing color. This was something I cannot recall ever seeing, as they were so full of aerial pigmentation that they needed to get a headstart on their twilight performance. At this point, I had to enter the gym, but my friend Dan sent me some shots from Seacliff Beach of the root beer-colored ocean followed by a brilliant crimson red sky that was just outstanding.

The first dawn of December brought us the next two images. Nothing really needs to be said besides, “wow”. It was just a spectacular morning. And we wind up the photo finish with the sunset from that evening, which in retrospect, was not the worst way to begin or end the day. I guess you could even call it liveable. I love those daily doubles in the sky, because unlike George Costanza from “Seinfeld”, we’re allowed to double dip.

Now here’s some late nite fun. “Willie Nelson was arrested for possession of marijuana. Nothing yet on bin Laden, but we got Willie Nelson.” –David Letterman “Because of a printing error, a billion new $100 bills have to be destroyed. They’re going to burn $100 billion dollars — just like they did with the last stimulus program.” –Jay Leno “Iran began holding talks with the six world powers. Participants were the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France, and Oprah.” –Conan O’Brien

“‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ was just on. According to a recent poll, most Americans think Charlie Brown is a Muslim.” –David Letterman “Part-time Governor Sarah Palin shot and killed a reindeer on last week’s TV show. And that was her Christmas special. Took her three shots. Well, she’s rusty. Last thing she brought down was John McCain.” –David Letterman “It looks like the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich will continue, due to a strong Republican leader, Barack Obama. Today Obama changed his slogan from ‘Yes we can’ to ‘Yes, we caved.’ It’s so bad for him, now Democrats want to see his birth certificate.” –Jay Leno

So that’s our first blast for December. Birthday wishes go out yesterday to my former radio partner and wing man Jerry Hoffman, who’s celebrating up in Whistler, British Columbia and probably flying down the slopes on a toboggan as we speak. And today’s it’s my old westside friend Carol Conta, who when she used to roller skate by my house on West Cliff was always awarded a ’10′ by the Russian judges. And on Wednesday it’s my basketball buddy Jim Berry, who few people know actually taught Kareem the sky hook and was recently named the nicest guy living in the south county.

So we may blast out one more blog next week or just shut it down for the year and return on January 4. Shot a another beautiful sunset last week that we may have to close out the year on. Either way, enjoy the sports week and we’ll catch you in the left flat. Aloha, mahalo and later, Amar’e Stoudemire fans.

Good morning and greetings, NFL fans. Today, we are gathered here in holy matrimony to celebrate, commerate and exonerate the 200th posting of this blog, known world-wide as Sunrise Santa Cruz. That’s right, sports fans, what started back in August of 2007 as a simple cry for help has seemingly come of age. I like to consider this site a forum for the posting of the important issues of the day, like my unbridled love of jellied cranberry sauce, ABC’s new hit comedy “Modern Family,” and scores from Division V high school basketball. It’s a think tank for us Pepsi generation people, you know, for those who think Neil Young.

So what have I learned after a double century of blogging away like a Mark Twain on methamphetamine? To quote Edwin Starr, when asked what war is good for, “Absolutely nothing.” Well, that is not completely true. I already knew that I like to make people laugh, a trait which also functions as a great defense mechanism. We’ve heard that laughter is the best medicine. Funny, I always thought it was penicillin or tetracyline. And they also say the pen is mightier than the sword, yet, I don’t see myself entering a duel with a Bic Fine Point.

Over the years, I have found that I enjoy giving straight answers only out of necessity, leading friends, family and my court-ordered psychiatrist to often ask, “Really?” So what I’m doing today is just looking inside myself, going introspective, kind of a self x-ray or a colonoscopy of my soul. What it means is that I enjoy putting the written word down on paper, or in this case, my computer screen. That and I’m just incredibly lonely.

I guess my point is, after two plus years of blogging away without a sponsor, I am still enjoying this ride on the ferris wheel of life. I love capturing moments of nature’s magnificence, something that only God, National Geographic and Kobe Bryant can create, and sharing it with you cyber viewers. I want to thank everyone who has has been along for the ride and say that I may have already written my best posts, although my rabbi insists I still have a few good ones left in me. And for those of you who tune in for the photos, I still have the passion, the drive and model good looks to keep this site going for a long time, or at least thru the end of Hanukah.

So to celebrate this sacred occasion, or what one critic called, “The emancipation proclamation of the written word,” we are going to journey to my favorite street on planet Earth, West Cliff Drive. Or as one long-time resident told me last week, “The one thing Santa Cruz got right.” This is from the morning of November 10, back in a time when the world was filled with love, peace and happiness. Wait a minute, that’s not two weeks ago, that’s back in 1968 from a double album released by the Chambers Brothers. Not to be confused with the Isley Brothers and their 1973 hit, “Who’s That Lady,” an early tribute to Michelle Obama.

Anyway, when my brother Brad, better known on this site as the “King of Comments,” complained to me about the lack of diversity of sunrise shooting sites, I decided not to venture to the chilly sands of Its Beach at Lighthouse Point for this occasion, but instead, Bird Rock along the cliff. Yes, Brad’s scathing comments took me out of my comfort zone, but like a cat, I always land of my feet, so moving a few hundred yards down West Cliff was well worth the price of admission. And I have forgiven my youngest brother, as I know he is always looking out for my best interests, although I now refer to him in conversations as my half-brother.

I loved the colors in the sky this morning, particularly the orange-gold, creamsicle look of photo #4. The waves were smacking up against the coast as you can see in image #5. All in all, not a bad way to start the day on the left coast, for a half hour later, the sky was as colorless as a Governor George Wallace breakfast fundraiser. And just is case you’re keeping score, I shot three sunrises in November that I thought were blog worthy. And shockingly, zero sunsets, which I plan to use as a tax write-off under emotional expenses.

Let’s procede to the late night action. “The ratings just came in for Sarah Palin’s appearance on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ It earned Oprah her highest ratings since the episode where she reunited the Osmond family. Yeah, viewers who saw both episodes say Palin’s more likable but that Donny and Marie are more qualified to be president.” –Conan O’Brien “John McCain, Sarah Palin’s former running mate, read the Sarah Palin memoir. After 23 years of military service, five years as a prisoner of war, 22 years as a U.S. senator, I’m sure that John found Sarah’s story very inspirational. “A lot of people are saying that it’s too soon for Sarah Palin to write a memoir. They say she should wait until she had at least ten more years of inexperience.” –David Letterman

“The George W. Bush library design was unveiled this week by former First Lady Laura Bush. Did you know that she was a librarian when she first met George? In fact, she’s the only thing he ever checked out of a library.” President Obama is getting ready to pardon the White House turkey, the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. I don’t want to say Geithner is not doing a good job. But, today, God asked for his name to be taken off the bill.” –Jay Leno “On Friday, President Obama pardoned the White House turkey. Mmm-boy. Dick Cheney didn’t miss an opportunity. It proves that Obama is soft on poultry.” –David Letterman “In a long-standing Thanksgiving tradition, President Obama is scheduled to pardon the White House turkey this coming Wednesday. ‘Hey, that’s great,’ said Joe Biden. ‘I didn’t even know I did anything wrong.’” –Seth Meyers

That’s our post Thanksgiving report. In summation, I started writing this blog because there was so much going on at the time with wars, monetary stress and health issues that I wanted people to have a chance to take a moment and get away from it all. While all these things were happening, the sun was still rising and setting, the birds were singing and the Golden State Warriors were still losing. I wanted people to look, laugh, and maybe learn a little something before asking themselves, “Is he serious?” and then go back to the their lives. I hope I’ve been semi-successful. So I hope it was a pleasant holiday weekend and let’s roll into December as November is soon gone with the wind. We’ll catch you down the fairway. Aloha, mahalo and later, Tiger Woods fans.

Good morning and greetings, post-holiday fans. As the captain of this photographic ship of fools, I continue to search for truth, justice and the American way along with magnificent color in the morning and evening sky. In a trend that continued throughout our eleventh month, the dawn experiences as of late have been weak, listless and dull, much like my performance on my high school math achievement test.

Each morning I awake with fresh and renewed hope that, along with getting dial tone, the day will bring the colors that my mind, body and digital soul so yearn for. Instead, it has been fog city with a marine layer sitting on the coast that prevents the red, orange and yellow light show extravaganza that the month of November has so often brought.

The one exception to this party cloudly, fog party was last Tuesday morning. Like a reptile smuggler going thru customs I hurried down to West Cliff and positioned myself like an Eagle Scout along Bird Rock. As you can see from the first three shots the sky put on a pretty good pre-sunrise performance as the Russian judge scored it as a 9.5. I would normally have driven over to Steamer Lane to shoot the clouds and the inspiring reflection over the wharf and Boardwalk but it was getting late and I heard my children’s french toast calling me.

The next three photos are from Monday night’s sunset on a day where we saw very little sun until it dropped thru the clouds in late afternoon. There has been some color in the evening sky but nothing to really text message the Weather Channel about. At this point in my first lifetime I am seeking only the spectacular, when the sky is just exploding with color and you just want to savor the moment and think, “Yeah, there is no other place I’d rather be.” Except Hawaii. This low tide sunset, much like a trip to the Hindquarter for the best burger in town, had it’s moments. Thus we are going with the sunrise, sunset, theme as tribute to “Fiddler on the Roof.” If only I were a rich man.

On to our comedy section of the show. Here’s the best thing I heard coming out of the late night monologues last week, courtesy of Jay Leno. “Looks like the government is going to bailout CitiGroup but they don’t want to bailout the auto companies. See, I don’t think this is fair for blue collar workers who make our cars, they don’t get the bailout but the white collar guys who work on Wall Street, they get the bailout. You know what I think they should do? I think they should work together. I think the guys in Detroit should keep making the cars and the guys on Wall Street should make the license plates.”

We continue with some bonus Thanksgivng humor. I used this joke last year but I thought it was amusing enough of bring back for a return engagement. A turkey farmer was always experimenting with breeding to perfect a better turkey. His family was fond of the leg portion for dinner and there were never enough legs for everyone. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was relating the results of his efforts to his friends at the general store. “Well I finally did it! I bred a turkey that has 6 legs!” They all asked the farmer how it tasted. “I don’t know” said the farmer. “I never could catch the darn thing!”

That’s it for another week of what’s in the skies above Monterey Bay. I hope it was a pleasant Thanksgiving holiday for all of you out there in cyberspace or New Jersey. With the tragic news out of Mumbai it’s just another reason to be grateful for all we are blessed with. This includes the defending Super Bowl champion New York football Giants, who are now 11-1 on the season. Unbelievable. So as we bid farewell to November, let’s bring on December, which will hopefully be filled with peace and prosperity. We could use a good month to end this year. Aloha, mahalo and we’ll catch you on the end around. Later, LeBron James fans.