Any other day, if I arrived at work breathing heavily, coated in a sweaty sheen, hair sticking out crazily in all directions, shoes covered in dirt and dust, and blood streaming down my leg…well, I and my coworkers would be very worried about my state of mind.

When it’s a day I’ve just ridden my bike 11-12 miles to get there, my coworkers still question my sanity, but I feel a lot better about myself. :) I’m just glad I live in Southern California where I can do this sort of thing year round–barring earthquakes, West Nile mosquito attack-swarms, or “ash days” during wildfire season when you don’t just see or taste the air, you also wash the air off your body when you get home.

The blood, by the way, is from gouging my calf on one of the pedals, and not from fighting off some rabid pack of dogs or something, although I was thinking of trying to pass it off as an X-Games injury.

Xian is a standup DJ dame I know, and she’s spinning at this all-ages club called Funeral every first and third Friday of the month. I just thought I’d pass the word along, since the all-ages club seems to be an unfortunate anomaly in this city. Sure, I’m well-past worrying about being of legal age to get into venues of my choice (well, except for Boardner’s. Ahem.), but that’s not to say that other fine readers in Los Angeles might not be able to make use of such things. And, hey, the 21-and-over crowd doesn’t have to feel slighted, either: there’s a full bar (“if you’re into that sort of thing,” as Sean would say) if you can provide proper identification. This week’s theme is Halloween in Summer!

FUNERAL DETAILS:

ALL AGES ~ Every 1st & 3rd Friday
The Elk’s Lodge, 11412 E. Stewart St.
El Monte (L.A. County), CA 91731
Phone: (626) 448-1739
CLICK HERE FOR A MAP & DIRECTIONS

HUGE FULL BAR FOR 21+ (ID Required)
$5 Entry w/ Dark Angel Society Badge ~ $8 without
Sodas ~ Snacks ~ Merchandise Available
Free Parking in Lots
http://www.bubastis.com

Pamela anderson will be having a book signing in century city tomorrow evening. She writes? Who knew. But she does talk. Heres a good quote about her book. “My life is been filled with so many wild and wonderful things that people might have trouble believing it…some of the stories will be made up” That doesn’t make any sense at all. Well, I guess it kinda does. The book is fiction.

But bless our pam, she also reads. According to her website, these books are in her library or is currently reading.

Einstein. Seriously now, did she really read “einstein”. Is this suppose to be irony or something. Props to her webmaster.
Jung and the problem of evil: Well, jung was pretty big into dream interpretation and like most people, pam probably sleeps alot too.
Power of the praying woman: Probably trying to ask God where her career went. Oh, my bad, she’s been spending her time writing her book.

But hell, maybe she really does read, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist and my own reading list currently consist of streetfighter, the comic book and the pottery barn catalogue.

Besides, I’ll be there standing in line. Hey, I was a fan of barbwire. What can I say.

Like many, I believe there is a special circle of hell reserved for SUV owners. It’s not so much the ridiculous gas mileage, as it is that when you are behind one of these tanks, there no way to see anything going on in front of them, making driving a much more dangerous pasttime. And really, who needs to haul THAT much stuff. So yes, when I see one of those 4-toed sloths change lanes and almost take out three other cars, my righteous indignation begins to flare and I dream of legislation.

Well, according to Slate, California may have already unknowingly banned them.

Is there such thing as giving a Citizen’s Ticket?

From the Experience LA Newsletter (an “online resource for exploring the LA Region’s wealth of cultural attractions” put together by a coalition of various city & county agencies), I found out that:

Los Angeles is home to over 32 Farmers Markets, spread out over our diverse and sprawling city. Check out all the wonderful Certified Farmers Markets (CFMs) available in Los Angeles County. Certified Farmers Markets (CFM’s) are “the real thing,” places where genuine farmers sell their crops directly to the public. [complete list of L.A. Farmers Markets]

What’s cool about this list is that in addition to the times, dates, & websites of these farmers markets, they provide links on how to get to the exact location with the Metro Trip Planner. Oh, and you can see a list of markets by day of the week, too.

I’m glad they note that this is a list of genuine farmers who sell their real crops, as opposed to those annoying fake Hollywood* farmers who only sell plastic fruits and vegetables…

*This is not to imply that the farmers at the Hollywood Farmers Markets sell any/only plastic fruit.

I was just instructed to swing by CheeseStore of Silver Lake and ask for the Garroxta. It came all the way from Spain!

Okay, I’ve seen some pretty horrific-looking automotive eyesores out here, but I swear, if anything resembling *this* happens to appear out here, just put me out of my misery. :o

CIA Asks Bush To Stop Blogging

Sean, I didn’t know you had that kind of access.

I’ve been living in the stone age the past few days since moving just north of our old residence here in Silver Lake to a smaller but charming flat. Without DSL until this morning, trying to work as a freelance graphic designer with dialup was akin to pumping gas thru a soda straw. The former resident of our new home, one Dr. Siegfried Rogy (just one letter off from Vegas fame), wasn’t likely ontop of internet connectivity from the looks of how this new place is wired. But its all good in the hood now that a phone wire splitter has been bypassed and the DSL connection is now working hunky dory, thanks to a friendly SBC technician.

This whole dialup constipated connectivity reminded me of something I read a few days ago online about Verizon rolling out Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) in California starting at $34.95 for a 5 Mbit downloads/2 Mbit uploads. The “Fios: service also offers customers 15 Mbits/s downloads and 2 Mbits/s upstream for just $49.95 a month, or $44.95 a month as part of an existing package. And if you’re packing heat in the wallet, there’s is a 30 Mbit that has yet to be priced. That’s mighty competitive consider I pay $27 for “up to 1.5 Mbps” for DSL, and would actually be worth the cost since I rely on online speed for my line of work. For now, Verizon plans to pass about 100,000 homes and businesses with FTTP technology in the Huntington Beach area and in other parts of Southern California. Why can’t I live in one of those “other parts of Southern California”?

Halfway down this page on the left hand side, you can find a link to legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully talking about his reaction to the passing of legendary Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy.

(OK, OK, so maybe it’s a tenuous LA connection. Whaddaya want from me? I’m mouring the end of the Happy Recap.)

Not a lot of the art hipsters that I know are familiar with Crewest, and it’s too bad. Just a short jaunt east on the 10 from downtown, the gallery’s purpose is (in their own words) “to promote gifted artists who’s work may be too edgy and non-conventional for other elitist venues. We cater to art that speaks to the heart and soul as well as the mind. We believe in bringing raw and powerful artwork to the people of Los Angeles.” That usually translates to something grafitti oriented. Indeed, aside from the gallery there is also a store stocking the latest and dopest in graff paraphenalia and accesories (including Belton and Montana paint if you’re looking for it).
On Friday, Crewest opens Undocumented Ground, described as “an extensive collection of LA’s finest urban, underground photographers.” The roster includes a few names you might know, such as Eriberto and Estevan Oriol, Eric Coleman and B+. There will also be a nice printed catalogue for sale, designed by one of the Barnstormers. If you want check out a different scene than what the LA Times covered so lamely, go east young man.

Crewest: Store and Gallery
2703 W.Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, Ca 91803
(626)458.2465 ph/fx
Opening Reception: Friday, August 8, 6-10PM
Artists Talk & Booksigning: Saturday, August 28 @ 6PM
Click on the thumbnail for a larger version.

Yep, a decade passes since the NFL left, and we have another soccer team. Is this just another sign that L.A. is the West Coast’s International City? Do we really need American Football when we have such good Futbol?

MLS adds Los Angeles team for 2005

Major League Soccer added a team, some international flavor and a rivalry all in one fell swoop.

The league announced Monday that it will add a team in Los Angeles by the start of next season and that the owner of the club will be Jorge Vergara – who also owns the legendary Mexican Club Chivas. The team will play in The Home Depot Center in Carson, California and share the facility with the Los Angeles Galaxy….

Fogarty and I ran into these walking crap factories in Hollywood yesterday. We stopped them and talked to them for a minute and they said they don’t have a regular beat. They just go where Herr Kommandant orders them to go and wave the flag. Oh yeah, and drop a few tons of horse shit all over the town they’re visiting. Way to make the locals really dig ya.

Click the thumbnail for a fullsize image.

Please put down the crack pipe.

Seriously. Almost 10 of you bitches* damn near ran into me this morning between the 101 and the Adams exit. If it wasn’t for my extra sweet evasive driving maneuvers Caryn and I would be toast. What the hell? Knock it off already, ok?

Thank you.

-sean

* Note: the word “bitches” is used to describe a small group of crack smoking reckless drivers, not women with bad attitudes or female dogs.

I cannot tell a lie: I have pooh-poohed theatre in Los Angeles. That’s probably because I assume (and I think, not entirely wrongly) that actors in Los Angeles do not want to be theatre actors. Actors in Los Angeles want to be in film and television, otherwise they’d be on stage in New York or London. But then we have South Coast Repertory and A Noise Within, the latter of which has just sent out its 2004/2005 season schedule.

To paraphrase Cole Porter, I love brushing up my Shakespeare, so I think I’ll be making the short drive to Glendale for at least “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Julius Caesar,” and maybe even Moliere’s “The School for Wives” and Pinter’s “The Homecoming.” Why the heck not?

But submitting to the lure of the glossy brochure is easy. My question for those of you in the know is this: Where else can one find consistently good theatre in L.A.? (Will, I can hear you typing already…)

Oh, and why don’t L.A. companies roll out the histories more often? Where all my Henrys and Richards at?