It doesn't happen in Los Angeles.

There's the myth that in Los Angeles one bumps into movie stars at every Trader Joe's or walking to the ATM one bumps into Sid Caesar. Perhaps the dreamers who don't live here imagine themselves driving through a parking lot in the San FernandoValley and seeing the members of Love & Rockets standing around after exiting a Red Lobster. I'm saying, this doesn't happen! Stop dreaming! Don't believe the hype! One can't just look out the window of their office and see filming in process going on... One of the most absurd musings would be to imagine that one would almost run over Kevin Bacon standing in the street "scouting" a location when driving one's hearse to work in the morning...

[If you want to see some photos of the real Los Angeles, go visit The Jimson Weed Gazette.]

LAFitness

LACMA 2007.12.28

[SoCal: Southern California Art of the 1960s and 70s from LACMA's Collection]

The Beast

The Beast is hungry - a villager offers a child in hope of not having their hovel burnt, food stocks pillaged and livestock raped.

When the Best hungers - the Beast is unstoppable.

I took this photo quickly and sprinted off - not wanting to attract the Beast's attention. It's is said that men have turned to stone under the disapproving gaze of the Beast.

eDoodling (?) - Doodling In the Post-Electronic Age

A friend has discovered the joys of the cell phone and sending pictures with it - I guess I'm the lucky recipient on an almost daily basis. These three showed up yesterday. I have no idea where they're from, but I suspect they had something to do with what he was doing in the morning. I thought about putting them here as just an image - but in reading a blog post, Requiem for a doodle, they sparked a thought.

Perhaps the multimedia message through the cell phone is the new doodle - I wouldn't know if the kids are doing it because I don't really know any (kids, that is) - but perhaps they are. It's not quite the same as sitting in a classroom - eyes about to glaze over - and with pen in hand, doodling whatever comes out of the subconscious - yet, in some ways it can be. The images snapped are not random and something has compelled the individual to take them and send them off to friends or family or perhaps upload them to a website, instantaneously. Doodled thoughts that used to end up in a drawer somewhere, maybe now are posted for all to see - those that would take an interest to anyhow - on the web.

In school the only thing that would keep my eyes from glazing over during a lecture delivered in a monotone voice was to doodle - I must have pages and pages somewhere. I still doodle in work meetings - it actually helps me concentrate on what is being said. I also carry a cellphone with a camera - one of the features that sold me on the particular model is that I can use it with one hand and it doesn't look like it's in use. I take snapshots of things that catch my eye whenever possible. The two (doodling and the e-snapshot) are not the same, but they are perhaps linked in that the mind is trying to capture, express and preserve a thought. Maybe.

Sunbathing in a Parking Lot

As I traversed the parking lot across the street I noticed these two people - apparently sunbathing - against the south east corner of the CitiBank at Fairfax & 3rd. There was no homeless gear to be seen stashed anywhere. One of them looked like they were trying to nap and the other was either lighting a cigarette or a crack pipe. Curious. At least they weren't naked.

Oscar's Red Carpet or The Day After

There ain't much on the TV on a Sunday afternoon - since I'm home doing a bit of relaxing and have the TV on there are a couple of choices at 15:00. Watching the red carpet pre-show of the Oscars or watching The Day After on Sci-Fi channel.

I was in elementary school when The Day After came out (1983) and I didn't watch it, but I remember kids the next day talking about it and being really freaked out about the possibility of nuclear war. By that time I think most Americans had come to their senses and realized that all out nuclear war was not survivable for anyone living anywhere but in the most remote of locales - and certainly, a city like Los Angeles - which still had a considerable manufacturing base for the defense industry - was right at the top of the targeting list...

I remember doing emergency drills, but not anything specific for a nuclear attack. The air-raid sirens (which can still be seen around Los Angeles, but are not disconnected) did go off a few times for tests, if my memory serves me right.

Though the rhetoric that had everyone on edge during the Reagan Era is not present anymore - the count of nuclear warheads stockpiled is still just as lethal - and in this case, out of sight out of mind is not a good thing. No nukes is good nukes...

Vehicle Under Duress

[vehicle was located on Hauser Blvd. just north of Wilshire Blvd. next to Ralphs]

The facts of the vehicle in question are self evident - what I wonder is whether the vehicle was abandoned, spray painted and then booted or was it booted first and an angry owner decided to spray paint and abandon it?...

Oh yeah... WGA Strike is over.

Indeed, the WGA strike is over.

Here's one of the nicest guys you could meet on a picket line - Lieutenant Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon). Thomas Lennon and his writing partner, Robert Ben Grant (Deputy Travis Junior) were the only two "famous" people I was impressed meeting during the strike.

Back & Forth

Amazed by Stuffed French Toast

Kevin is so amazed by his first encounter with Swinger's Stuffed French Toast (stuffed with cream cheese & topped with fruit) that he feels the need to document the plate for posterity.

Kevin - Thinking Hard

The thought of having to do jury duty coupled with the pressures of a strike may just be enough to push him over the edge... Will it?

In the van...

...down by the river.

Would you send your child off in a van advertising "The Man Plan" on it's back door?
Just saying - something don't seem right about it.

He Made Me America!

I decided to drop by Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You) website... and as the URL promises, he made me America (after registering of course...)!

It's a very clever website with plenty of opportunities for YOU to interact.

• Submit a video of you reading of a portion of the book!
• Submit photos of your sightings of the book!
• Sign the petition to get Stephen Colbert on Oprah's book club list!

It's your duty as a patriotic American to help Stephen Colbert out! What are you waiting for? GO NOW!

[Don't forget to buy his book!]

The World Is Safe...

Hazel Prepares for Halloween

After Halloween comes her favourite holiday - Thanksgiving... She gets her own dinner plate (with all the fixins) and there's always leftover meat for about a week to take her pills with instead of the usual cheese slice.

Peculiar Product - Toxic Waste [candy]

"CAUTION: Consuming more than one within a brief time may cause irritation to mouth. Sensitive individuals should not consume this product."

If I were a kid, this warning would sound more like a dare to me.

Perusing the package I spotted a URL for the Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy website - it's actually pretty masterful in it's kitschy design with colour and little noises on the buttons. Check out the "On the Tube" section where you'll find links to "eater submitted" videos where kids make faces, squirm and gag as they put the Toxic Waste into their mouths. The packaging also says "Manufactured for Candy Dynamics" which made me wonder where the hell this is actually made - my first thought was China - but further reading of fine print said "Made in Pakistan"... This truly is a masterfully conceived peculiar product.

Burbank Road

[Ryan Hopeless & Rich Bitch @ Burbank Airport 1991 - photo:AArtVark]

Sparklets vs. Arrowhead

I was driving to work one morning - heading down my residential street - when I came upon this. A face-off between the Sparklets Man and the Arrowhead Man. The two were out of their trucks, each standing next to their respective vehicles. I was kind of hoping to see them lunge at each other - locking hands around throats - settling the question of which water is more pure like real men - with a fistfight to the death! No such photogenic luck... As I passed between the trucks I noticed they were yucking it up about something - perhaps about how the bottles are filled with tap water?...

Ingrid Newkirk of PETA on behalf of bullies?!?

Originally posted @ HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher forum in regard to Ingrid Newkirk appearing on the August 31, 2007 show.

Ingrid Newkirk of PETA on behalf of bullies?!? Are you kidding?
Posted: Sep 1, 2007 2:51 AM (271 of 272)

I am shocked that out of all people possible you picked Ingrid Newkirk of PETA to speak on the Vick/dogfighting topic - in the eyes of rescuers and those that are the boots on the ground trying to give a second chance to these most abused, abandoned, slandered and misunderstood dogs, Ingrid Newkirk and PETA are no real friends.

As far as I am aware, PETA SUPPORTS BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION (BSL) targeted at criminalizing the ownership of all dogs perceived as "pit bulls". The statement on their website does not address the fact that BSL will only drive the fighters and breeders underground and make it impossible for new adoptions to responsible and loving homes. BSL rarely (if ever) "grandfathers" in existing dogs. If as PETA states they support BSL just for the spay/neuter component, then why not work to put a law into effect for ALL breeds (with mandatory registration of breeders and those who do not alter their dogs for breeding)?

PETA has never been at the forefront of finding homes for discarded bullies or speaking up in their defense. Now that there's attention to be gained from the Michael Vick media frenzy it seems that they're trying to elbow past all the people that have been doing the real work... Where has Ms. Newkirk been for bullies before now?... Speaking against "the breed" is most likely where.

Using the PETA BSL logic, all the bullies rescued from New Orleans (and there were many, some of which made it on the news as poster dogs for the rescue efforts) should not be accepted into foster homes in other cities and would have to be euthanized regardless of temperament, age or anything.

Perhaps PETA should stick to their more lucrative mainstays of fundraising, like naked movie stars in fur stores, and not try to leech publicity and money from those that have put in years of work at no personal profit in order to really advocate for bullies and their rescue.

If I am somehow wrong, how about having a discussion about this on your show at some point and challenging the allegations? Here are some from Diane Jessup. Though her allegations are pretty strong, they don't seem to be too off the mark.

I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the ASPCA and the great efforts they have gone to explaining the realities of bullies and now are actually doing something to help the dogs seized from Michael Vick's farm instead of trying to capitalize on his "repentance". I was wondering if Ms. Newkirk head heard the same lame Larry King Lite contrition that I heard coming out of Vick's mouth.

I believe that you, Mr. Maher, are indeed able and willing to give bullies a fair chance, so why not have a true advocate for their cause on your show?

ASPCA Elaborates on Pit Bull Evaluations - Announces Bad Rap as Partner

BAD RAP SF

Diana Nyad - Vick Off the Mark