Anthony Ciccarello @ciccarello.me

Original post on ciccarello.me

The backlash to the NFL Bad Bunny halftime show announcement is problematic for so many reasons:

* Bad Bunny is a top artist with 3 Grammys and 9 nominations
* Bad Bunny is an avid sports fan, playing in MLB and NBA celebrity games
* Bad Bunny is a US citizen by birth because Puerto Rico […]

11.10.2025 04:34 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

If all goes well this will be tagged on octothorp.es using a custom microformats2 harmonizer and my webmention sender. It’s pretty cool to see the progress the Octothorpe project has made and I love seeing more discovery channels for personal blogs.

10.10.2025 04:35 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A white, stepped pyramid structure topped with white pumpkins and barrel cacti and a colorful Mexican cut-paper decoration behind.

Some pictures from our time at the Dallas Arboretum last month. There were _so many_ pumpkins and pumpkin structures! I loved seeing all the Oaxacan inspired art!

![A closeup of a plant with long green leaves and bunches of small purple berries […]

[Original post on ciccarello.me]

06.10.2025 07:19 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Cinnamon Orange Our signature MarketSpice Cinnamon-Orange Tea, with its very unique, naturally sweet flavor, has become famous world-wide. Because of that popularity, we have integrated that same flavor combination into our Green Teas, Rooibos Teas, White Teas, Tea Cookies, and even in our Candle scents.

I’m really enjoying MarketSpice’s Cinnamon-Orange tea (both hot and iced). But it is NOT forgiving if you forget it’s steeping. That cinnamon gets angry and bites. 😅☕️

03.10.2025 21:52 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Used my digital driver’s license for the first time today at the airport. There’s a long way to go before a physical ID isn’t needed though. Seems like a chicken and egg adoption problem so I don’t see much movement on that front.

20.09.2025 22:34 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

A wet, happy dog on a beach with the sun setting in the background

A nice doggy sunset after running around on the beach. Now we’re both worn out. 😄

10.09.2025 05:23 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Waterpik should be marketing their water flosser as “a pressure washer for your teeth.” That sounds like a much more satisfying product than “a better dental floss.”

09.09.2025 06:26 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Jellyfish floating in a dark, blue aquarium.

We went to the Seattle Aquarium for the first time last week. There were some pretty impressive displays. The large tank at the new pavilion is quite impressive.

08.09.2025 22:13 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

black and white photo of geese flying overhead of some pine branches in migration formation like when they fly south in the fall.

Time to fly

06.09.2025 05:44 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I’m so glad to have access to places like this. Even if I have to share it with mosquitoes.

05.09.2025 06:31 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Looking down on a light blue lake surrounded on all sides by evergreen-covered slopes with a mountain peak visible in the distance.

We made the trek to North Cascades National Park this weekend. This remote park in Washington was very fascinating to drive through. We stopped for some short excursions and learned about the complex geology and history.

So much of this natural beauty is […]

[Original post on ciccarello.me]

31.08.2025 08:02 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

A large evergreen tree 12 ft in diameter rising impressively up to the sky.

On our way to North Cascades national park we stopped at an old growth forest. The scale of these trees was really staggering. It’s also cool to see how in a forest that old, you have generations of trees growing out of the downed trunks of previous generations […]

[Original post on ciccarello.me]

31.08.2025 07:39 — 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Original post on ciccarello.me

I’ve added a new lighbox feature to pages with multiple photos. In theory it should make viewing those photos a little better by giving you a slideshow you can click through if you click on the image. It also makes it easier to view some of smaller images in my blog posts.

It was an opportunity […]

31.08.2025 07:34 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Detailed photo of a Barred Owl in a tree.

Had a special visitor today. Thanks for hanging around the house. It’s nice when the birds come to you instead of the other way around.🦉

30.08.2025 05:37 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A black and white photo of a white dog on the floor of a hallway with another dog in the same position in the background.

Ten years ago, we picked up the sweetest dog I’ve ever known. She was excitable and loving; opinionated yet caring; goofy but always wanting to make you happy. The last couple months without her have been hard, but she is not forgotten. We wish we could have […]

[Original post on ciccarello.me]

16.08.2025 17:43 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

night photo of a white owl on a nesting box.

Followed some strange noises at the park after our softball game and found a few of these guys chatting.

12.08.2025 18:13 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

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10.08.2025 02:30 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

View from an airplane with all of Manhattan visible through scattered clouds. Central Park and the sky scrapers of midtown stand out.

I was super pleased to have gotten this photo on the flight into NYC. I love how much is recognizable at this elevation.

10.08.2025 01:09 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Yellow taxi cabs driving through a city street with a mix of architectural styles.

Grabbed some shots of the city on a work trip last month.

10.08.2025 01:04 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Finding a Voice in Politics _TL;DR: I’ve decided to participate in thoughtful political discussion on my site._ I’ve been afraid to post anything political on my site. This is a very personal space, and politics is divisive. Sharing my political views could alienate readers or lead to bad-faith arguments. I’ve also personally been turned off by very loud political discussions. It can be quite unsettling to realize that someone else not only has a different opinion, but that they have a fundamentally different understanding of reality. I’m not afraid of politics. I’m an active voter and am willing to engage family and friends in political discussions. Still, I’ve seen so many bad examples of political discourse online that it hasn’t felt worth the risk to share my own views online. But I’m becoming increasingly uncomfortable with complete silence. Across the world, it seems that leaders are becoming more authoritarian. This trend is supported by people who are so dissatisfied with the current political system that they are willing to undermine democratic principles in favor of leaders that take decisive action. I am not an expert in politics but I’m deeply troubled by this shift and see many ways it could go wrong. However, all leaders need some form of political support, and public opinion matters significantly for democratically elected leaders. That is part of what motivated me to stop by the No Kings protests on June 14th. I want those with political power to see that the public won’t blindly accept abuses of power. There was power and camaraderie in coming together. In a world where my state senator–my official representative to government–is being arrested for asking questions at a press conference, I think it’s important to have peaceful demonstrations. I also want to acknowledge that I’m in a position where I historically haven’t had to worry about my rights. When politics has been particularly draining, I’ve been able to disconnect with little negative impact on my life. But there are many people who have had to protest because their rights were already under attack. While I can pick and choose my engagement with these issues, others have a lot more to lose. I hope that by speaking up on what I see are important issues, I might spur someone else to action. I doubt my words will be read by anyone in power, but if I can encourage someone else to interact with politics differently, that could start a chain reaction. I can’t even say that I have anything _new_ to add to the political discourse. But I don’t want to cede the national discussion to the loudest voices. Particularly as someone who identifies as a moderate in this divided political climate, I think it’s important to reiterate that we don’t need to oscillate from one extreme to another. We don’t need to give leaders unchecked power to have political change. We can expect more from our leaders. Protesters at a ‘No Kings’ protest in San Diego county on June 14, 2025 While I have many grievances with the government, I don’t plan for politics to become the main topic of discussion on my site. But I am giving myself permission to publicly discuss the topic. I don’t want to purely regurgitate article headlines like the various re-share formats on social media platforms. I’ve been inspired by how Ben Werdmuller usually adds his own commentary that stands on its own, without relying on the article. I really like the format. I hope that my commentary is broader than American politics or one administration and can speak to principles that many people can relate to. I can totally understand if people do not want to engage with politics. I intend to tag politics posts with the #politics tag. If you consume my content through Mastodon or a feed reader, this may be helpful for setting up filtering rules (though exact configuration options will depend on the platform). On my own site, I’d also like to set the tone for how to read my politics related posts. I’m adding a disclaimer to politics articles to acknowledge my own fallibility, that there is space for other opinions, and that my own views may change. Rather than waiting until I get things “perfect,” I may publish and later make edits to improve my posts. It should be clear when reading the post if/when significant edits were made. I also reserve the right to remove or disable responses if I consider them harmful. I encourage others to find their own spaces online to share even if I don’t want to amplify their words. I’m frankly nervous about where this will lead, but I hope I can contribute meaningfully to the way we talk about politics.

16.06.2025 06:07 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Losing Bailey Just over a week ago, we lost the sweetest dog. Bailey was always happy to meet people from the day we got her from a shelter in Ohio, to the morning before she passed. She had the softest fur and warmest heart. She loved anyone who came to our house to the point that seeing people she knew would send her spinning in excited little circles. Bailey loved coming with us to places. Even the morning before she passed, she happily came with us and sat on the patio of the coffee shop with us while we worked on our laptops, greeting everyone going through the door and getting lots of compliments. She would jump in the car any chance we gave her. Especially if we were loading the car up for a trip, she would make sure we didn’t leave her behind, sometimes sitting in the open car for 30 minutes before we were ready to go. She’s gone all over the US with us, from coast-to-coast and from San Diego up to the Canadian borders. As sweet as she was, she was also clumsy. She had an impressive knack for being in the highest traffic location and she wasn’t nimble so I’d often end up stepping around her. Any time she made an uncoordinated or goofy move like bumping into things or completely missing a treat tossed her way, we’d compliment how pretty she was as a way of deflecting from her faults. But she really was the prettiest. She had the longest, pointiest head and the biggest grin. Her fur was so thin and soft. Anyone we’d meet in public would be impressed with how soft she was. Because of how thin it was, it would float all over the house leaving wavy white hairs high and low. The fur behind her ears was particularly wavy to the point that people often asked if we crimped it ourselves. Bailey had puppy energy for the longest time. She couldn’t wait to greet anyone who came through the door, usually after barking because she assumed there was an intruder at the door. One time we ran a 5k race with her, only to come home and have her run laps around the back yard. Even when she was older she would get the zoomies and need to run circles around the yard to get our her energy. But she also entered what I called her old lady phase. She had her routines and wasn’t interested in anything outside of that. She’d be excited to go on a walk; poop in her designated spot; and then would start pulling back towards home after we’d one gone only a few blocks. She would groan loudly when laying down. When other dogs would come over, Bailey was NOT interested in anyone getting in her face. A few months ago, she started huffing at us when we were on the couch at 10 PM because it was late and she wanted us to go to bed. Bailey was always a “people dog,” and could care less about other dogs. She took months to warm up to the annoying puppy that Denver was when he joined our family. I remember how hard he would try to lay down next to her as a puppy. But he annoyed her so much she would get up and move as soon as he laid down. It took a months of inching closer till she let him be next to her. But even as he got older, most evenings he would egg her on, shoving a toy in her face until she got worked up and started to play tug-of-war, her favorite game. Unlike Denver Bailey could care less about a ball, but she would play tug-of-war whenever. We have too many memories of her to recount them all. Just in the last week it’s felt like everything reminds me of her. Opening a peanut butter jar reminds me of how she could hear that jar lid from the other side of the house even as she got old. Driving past Coronado dog beach reminded me of when she ran around the fence onto the military base to chase some shore birds. Or driving past Ocean Beach where we would frequently go when we first moved to San Diego because she got depressed living in an apartment with no yard. When I come inside from the garage, I expect her to be curled up against the door waiting for us to come home. It’s really hard to say goodby to a pup who’s been with us for most of our adult lives. No matter how we were doing, Bailey’s sweetness was always there; she was always happy to see us. It’s crazy to me that someone gave her away nearly 10 years ago. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer dog, only to have gotten more time with her. Bailey loved coming to the park when I’d play ultimate frisbee. As if she wasn’t clumsy enough, her cone was always bumping into things when she had injuries. Bailey with Denver and my in-law’s dog Ellie The time she got dirt on her nose at our nephew’s soccer game. 😂

09.06.2025 07:33 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

exterior of the shade structure with a pool in front with lilly pads and palm trees.

Saw the newly renovated Botanical Building in Balboa Park. They did a great job reviving the place, though I miss some of the larger trees. Can’t wait to see how the building fills out over time.

31.05.2025 18:40 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Zoomed in photo of a prickly pear with a series of flowers from red to orange

I can’t decide which catctus flowers I like more.

31.05.2025 06:14 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

I’m grateful for friends making space to hang out this week. I’m not the most social butterfly but it really does feel good to be around people who care about you.

17.05.2025 06:31 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I am now a “bought these clothes at Costco” person but I’m not entirely comfortable with that fact.

$25 jeans in my size seemed worth it.

07.05.2025 05:50 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis Listen now on your favorite streaming service. Powered by Songlink/Odesli, an on-demand, customizable smart link service to help you share songs, albums, podcasts and more.

🎵 Listening to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

This is of my favorite jazz albums of all time. My parents got it for me when I was a kid playing trumpet in the school band. Compared to some of the other music I listen to, this album feels restrained but no less powerful.

06.05.2025 00:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Flat rock shoreline with a pile of dozens of sea lions, some sleeping, others fighting, a large male stands in the foreground.

I love how in La Jolla the sea lions (currently) get to do their own thing. Some people want to get close to them, but those 800 lb (350 kg) males terrify me. Please treat the animals respectfully.

05.05.2025 07:12 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

View from a wildflower covered clifftop out over water to a small ocean beach with seals protected by a pier.

Always love the views in La Jolla. 🌻🦭🏖️

04.05.2025 07:56 — 👍 0 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

SD Legion Rugby The San Diego Legion are a Major League Rugby team. They currently use the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. Legion games provide a high quality fan experience with an engaged fanbase, play-by-play announcers, branded signage, halftime entertainment, and great food and merch available for purchase. My introduction to rugby was primarily through my brother, who played in college but generally the sport is a lot of fun to watch. If you trust what one of the fan’s I overheard said, it’s the fastest growing sport in the country (citation need 😅) The team is actively trying to bring new fans to the sport, giving Rugby 101 packets with the game day programs. If you’ve never watched rugby, the sport has similarities to football, but less stoppage time, few substitutions, and the players not wearing pads. The action is mostly continuous outside of scoring, a couple stoppage times, and gameplay violations. It’s an intense sport, with muscular players running full speed into each other and bodies often bloodied by the end of the match. The team branding and announcements lean into this atmosphere with “We are legion” chants and people dressing up in Roman soldier costumes. But the environment was still family friendly and respect for the players shown by the crowd quietly giving a thumbs up or down during extra point attempts depending on which team was kicking. We had seats on the end of the field, but I’d recommend sitting closer to the midline if possible to get a better view of action on both sides of the field. But no matter where you are in Torero stadium you shouldn’t be that far from the field, even with the playing surface dropping off quite a bit below the front row seats. The team also does a good job of connecting with related organizations. The night we went, the USA Women’s National Rugby team was there to make an appearance. We arrived early to meet the women and there was such a line that we almost didn’t get a chance to meet them. There was also a showcase of a local Polynesian dance group both before the match and at halftime. Many of the Legion’s players are Polynesian and it was cool to see the team celebrating the cultural roots of such a prominent contingent of the sport.

04.05.2025 05:42 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Two colorful birds with long bills on a branch

We went back to the San Diego Zoo this weekend and I came home with some fun pictures. I think my favorite animals to look at were the White-fronted Bee-eater. Though the weaver birds in the same aviary exhibit were also impressive. Despite a short downpour of […]

[Original post on ciccarello.me]

28.04.2025 04:37 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

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