If A Hippie Falls In The Forest…

Anthony Pignataro:

So as I’m sure everyone in the western world knows by now, famed singer Joan Baez fell out of her Woodside treehouse yesterday. She had been up there, according to this San Jose Mercury-News story, “because she wanted to sleep with actual birds” (click here for a 2006 Independent story that contains a photo of Baez holding court from another tree entirely). She apparently suffered only minor injuries, will be undoubtedly soon be back in her tree sleeping with the rest of the birds.

Kidding! Hey, comedy’s cruel. Anyway, I mention Baez because though Baez’s treehouse may lack walls, it’s still a place to sleep, and that’s a lot more than many people in California have right now. The state Employment Development Department‘s latest jobs data are out, and for yet another month, California’s unemployment rate is a solid 12.4 percent — up two-tenths of a percent over the October 2009 rate.

Seriously folks, this is messed up. But as usual, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is standing tall and defiant. “California continues to experience a slow recovery, but I am proud that we passed a budget that held the line on tax increases and pleased that the California voters upheld vital employment incentives on the November ballot,” Schwarzenegger said this morning.

He’s out Jan. 3, I keep telling myself. He’s out Jan. 3…

Photo of Joan Baez courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

NOV. 19, 2010