Around Town Around Town (September 07, 2005)

NOT GIVING UP ... Locals aren't letting go without a fight. The sudden closure of Kepler's Books and Magazines on Aug. 31 -- first announced publicly on www.PaloAltoOnline.com -- has sparked loyal customers to create a community bulletin board on the store's front door last week, with writers both venting their emotions and asking to aid in any plans to restore the Menlo Park institution. "If there is any way that this community can help this phoenix rise again from the ashes, please ask," one person wrote. One person simply drew a small sobbing face; another penned a large open book with a heart in the center. "This is unbelievable! We'll miss you," SJ wrote. Meanwhile, the blogosphere served much the same function for the larger Kepler community. Google employee Rick Opaterny started the Web site www.SaveKeplers.com on Friday, which he spawned from his blog, "The litter in litterateur." Author and graphic novelist Neil Gaiman was one of the first to post the news on his blog, after his upcoming appearance at the store was cancelled. "It was one of the stores I always looked forward to signing in, with nice, smart staff, good books, and a terrific clientele," he wrote. "Sigh. I'm sad it's gone, and so suddenly." He warned others: "Remember, if you have a local bookshop you like, buy your books there. Otherwise it could happen to you." By Friday, the PaloAltoOnline.com story was the second most-viewed post on the Weekly's community Web site in its history, even topping last year's report of a police officer shooting a mountain lion in residential Palo Alto. Still the No. 1 most popular story is a report in November 2004 of a man shot and killed by a bicyclist.

GOT TIME? ... Perhaps inspired by the Italian street painting at the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts earlier this month -- or by kids in their neighborhood -- the wacky folks at IDEO in downtown Palo Alto recently decided to put chalk to the sidewalks in an exploration on the essence of time. Or maybe they were just bored; we don't know for sure. On the ground next to one office, someone had sketched a schedule of the week, which included categories such as "eating," "thinking," "thinking about food" and "doing stuff." Down the street, at a second IDEO location, another chalk artist took the concept one step further, humorously adding: "thinking about doing stuff" and "filling out your time card." Both renditions agreed on one important "to do" item. Under the column indicating the weekend, both wrote: "FREEDOM."

IN THE RUFF ... We haven't known press release authors to have great senses of humors about their work but last week a Palo Alto Police Department employee tried to have fun with the city's announcement about the upcoming Responsible Dog Owner's Day. The event, FYI, will feature animal massage therapists and low cost vaccinations, among other canine treats. At the end of the press release, the author wrote: "Dogs should make sure their human's have them on a leash." Anybody howling with laughter? The upcoming event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Palo Alto Animal Shelter at 3281 East Bayshore Road. For more information, call (650) 496-5971.

DEEP THOUGHT OF THE WEEK... The following bumper sticker was spotted on a car driving by Palo Alto High School this week: "What if the hokey pokey is what it's all about?" Hmmm ...

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