When Caryn and I got home last night we heard a band playing outside somewhere. Actually at first we thought it was some cats fighting and then when it was followed by applause we realized it wasn’t cats but people making that sound. We ate dinner and watched a movie and kept hearing this sound coming from outside. Now, living on a hill in Silver Lake if some dude down the block has a party the sound travels and we know it, which is what we figured this was. Until we turned off the movie and listened for a minute. Caryn spotted it first – “is that the same song they were playing before?” she asked. Yes. Yes it was. And when it was over, they played it again. And again. That was the one song they had been playing since before 8pm, and it was now past 10. And they were still playing it. That one same song, and then people would cheer. And that’s about when we put the pieces together and figured out that it wasn’t a party, but someone filming some dumb rock video. And it was echoing all through our house. Of course, now that we knew what it was and what was going on there was no way to avoid it. TV on, music on, no matter what we did we could still hear the racket and the following applause. Crap. Finally just before 11 it all came to a sudden stop and we were able to go on with our lives.

This morning I noticed a half a block or so several streets away from us with “no parking, filming” signs up and down the street so that’s where this must have come from. I can only hope they got all the shots they needed yesterday. We were talking about how completely annoying it was on the way in to the gallery this morning when we hit tons of traffic on the 110 just south of the 101. What was the cause of the traffic? Oh, the 4th street exit ramp was blocked off because some bullshit was being filmed on the overpass. Awesome.

Thanks to The Wireless Weblog for pointing to a report by the MayorÔøΩs WiFi & Beyond Executive Advisory Panel on the future of WiFi in LA. Much of it is bureaucratic “encouraging” and “survey conducting” and whatnot (necessarily, I suppose), but it’s good to see something on the horizon. Here’s the mission statement from the report PDF:

We believe the City of Los Angeles, within the next five years, should ensure that high speed access to the Internet is available and affordable for any one who wants it anywhere in the City. In addition, we believe it is possible to implement strategies to accomplish that mission in ways that address the MayorÔøΩs goals of:

• Helping to close the digital divide,
• Accelerating economic development, and
• Making our CityÔøΩs government more efficient and accessible.

Granted, it’s not exactly “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth” but it’ll do for now. :)

I’ll be posting cam phone images to my flickr account from the Tiger launch at The Apple Store at The Grove. Good times.

Today’s absolutely mind blowing Star Wars Nerds / Line news is that at some point in the last 24 hours it seems that some of the waiters-in-line has started asking “What’s the point of the line?” Opinions are still rolling in by the minute but so far The Line itself seems to be the most popular reason for the line, followed by the charity thing, with only a few linesters even considering Star Wars as a reason for their waitingness! So, at this point, is it even safe to say these are Star Wars fans waiting for the movie? Or is it a bunch of loiterers-for-charity?

But wait! There’s more!!

The Nerd called “Obi Geewhyen” has made a heartfelt posting claiming that the line is dead to him. OK, he didn’t say that exactly, but you can tell that’s what he means. He says…

“It never felt like the line to me, because -with the movie not playing at the Chinese- it is my sole and personal opinion that the event on Hollywood Boulevard is NOT the Star Wars line.

“It’s a great charity fund-raiser, and a helluva party that’s so darn fine line-themed it could be a ride at Disneyland. But, with apologies to anyone who may be offended by my personal opinion, staying on Hollywood Bouelvard because Star Wars played there HALF the time is very convenient bullshit. Home of Star Wars and Star Wars Mecca and Where the Movie Should Be just don’t add up to the Star Wars line for me. I’ve lined up for Star Wars at the Chinese and I’ve lined up for Star Wars not at the Chinese … and the lineup for Star Wars should, imho, be at a theater where Star Wars will be playing.

“I understand the reasons and the rationale for not moving the line. But it’s beyond all of our control. With the “line” not moved, what you have is not the line. You can call it what you will, you can (most importantly) have just as much fun as if it were … but – to me – what’s going on there is not the line. I guess it’s the place where everybody is waiting around for Star Wars to happen somewhere else. And it’s got a certain rebel coolness that the waiting place is where the movie’s not.

“But, to me, the refusal to be adaptable, the inability or unwillingness to change entrenched plans to match realworld cirumstances, means that there simply is no Star Wars line this time.”

I don’t even know what else to say at this point. Nor do I have time to think of something since I’m headed out the door to go wait outside the Apple Store for the release of Tiger (which will in fact be available at the Apple Store). Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

UPDATE: The Nerds now have their own blog!!!

[full blogging.la star wars line coverage]

Since art.blogging.la is the art-loving sister to blogging.la, we are now going to post a brief wrap-up every Friday here with links to what went down on abLA. Here’s some of the things that happened this week…

ïArt Events this weekend :: Can of Montage opens tonight at LACE and for tomorrow Under Fire book launch and gallery receptions.
ïReview of Chinatown galleries Jack Hanley and Acuna-Hansen by Valerie.
ïMy Fecal Face interview with Pirate Cat – meow.
ïPost-its celebrates 25 years.
ïNew York gallerist Zach Feurer teams up with LA dealer Neils Kantor to create Kantor/Feurer gallery.
ïJerry Saltz on Artforum.com’s Diary
ïBig announcement.

Image: Katie Pratt (reception @ Kontainer Gallery tomorrow night from 6-8pm)

Everyone is talking about Coachella. Coachella this, Coachella that. Are you going to Coachella? What do you want to see at Coachella? How excited are you about Coachella? LAist even has some suggestions on things to keep in mind while enjoying the show. Since more than a few people have mentioned it to me, I decided to put up a list of my own suggestions for people who want to have a good time at Coachella, here they go, I hope they help.

1. Don’t go.
2. No, really. Don’t go.
3. If you decide to ignore the first two tips, be sure to smuggle in some razorblades which you’ll need to have access to in order to slit your own wrists a few hours in to the ordeal.
4. If #3 sounds too harsh, refer to numbers 1 & 2

There you have it. I mean, if being stuck in the middle of the satanically hot desert with a billion sweaty dirty people who are packed in so close to you that you can’t move and you have to buy water and eat sand and generally get roasted alive while having your ears pounded by crappy music because you can’t get anywhere near the good stuff sounds like fun they have at it but otherwise stay the hell away. Music festivals in their own right rank high on my “never go anywhere near” list but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do less than go to a music festival in the middle of the desert. I’d rather drink shards of glass.

Just heard a caller on the radio saying there’s some kind of chaos going down at LAX. Cars jumping fences, money blowing down the street, and bodies cut in half. Callers are saying a cop is dead and this might have started as a robery turned hit and run. More soon.

More details are up at ABC Local and Officer.com and a slideshow of images is up on NBC4.

I’m not usually one to point to a CafePress store item, but this one is actually pretty cool, and the person is as well. From Chef JoAnna, LA caterer and blogger comes this restaurant rating shirt. Now if we could only require the B and C rating people to wear theirs, life would be a lot easier. Oh, and the people who fail the inspection would have to stay home until they get their shit together.

As always, be sure to read the small print.

Flickrís krazydad was referenced in a previous post, but in addition to his work with squaredcircle and the creation of his Experimental Colr Pickr, heís also got a really good selection of traditional LA photography.

Some favorites? Sun Valley Cherry Pickers, Sun Valley electrical tower sign (create-a-caption), and something called the LA Bunny Hop.

(potentially more information on that bunny hop thing here or about the bunny hop and that couch you threw out last weekend here)

Further to and in conjunction with Robert’s post below about the upcoming BikeSummer 2005-related activities, I wanted to point out that L.A. County Bike Commute Week is May 15-21, highlighted by the 5th-Annual Los Angeles River Ride set for May 15, and the 11th Bike To Work Day taking place May 19 ó so there’s plenty of time for you to dust off and tune up that dormant two-wheeler you haven’t rolled with since… way too long ago.

At the Bike To Work Day website you can pledge to participate and be entered into a contest for REI bikes, accessories and gear, and if your commute is substantial be sure to incorporate Metro buses and/or trains into your trek because bike commuters ride free on the MTA all day.

I’m actually going to sit out this year’s river ride and instead volunteer with Bicycle Kitchen, which will be helping staff the event at the ride’s L.A. River Center aid station. On May 19 the plan is to first pedal on down the the Good Samaritan Hospital May 19 for the 2nd-Annual “Blessing of the Bicycles” (between 8 – 9 a.m.) before heading on to work.

So get on your bikes and ride!

Note: I am NOT endorsing this, just passing along info. – Josh Kamensky just forwarded me some info about a proposed class-action settlement case for any patient who may have been in any Tenet Healthcare-Affiliated Hospitals between June 15, 1999 to Dec. 31, 2004. If that’s you, keep reading after the jump.

Continue reading Get your Hospital Lawsuit on →

BikeSummer 2005 is starting up in LA at the moment — a series of spiffy cycling-related events promoting the best way to get from place to place EVAR. The first couple of events are this weekend.

Tomorrow (Friday) there’s a Critical Mass ride starting at 6 pm at the Wilshire and Western metro station plaza. On Sunday the 1st, Bike Out is holding a Trike Out event in Silverlake.

On the 8th is the Cinco de Mayo Noncompetitive Fun Tour “Celebrating Downtown L.A’s. Architectural Heritage,” which starts at 7 am at the Shrine. Details here. And there’s more going on all May.

There’s a BikeSummerBlog and a PDF newsletter.

Given the cost of gas at the moment, how can you *not* get on your bikes? ;)

Franklin Avenue reports that Chicago-based shock jock Mancow Muller is coming to L.A.

Let me tell you a little something about Mancow.

Back in 2000 when I was living in Chicago I made this little flash animation called “Elian – Wazzup!!!” that you might have heard about. It was on the news and stuff. Anyway, when the shit hit the fan about it I released it onto the web and asked other people to host it on their sites. One of those people who hosted it was Mancow. I never spoke to the guy and I suspect his web people were behind it, but one way or another it ended up on his site. Which was cool. What wasn’t cool was him implying that he or his team had created it. Which he did. On several occasions. I never listened to him so I don’t know what was said but there was a day in the middle of all that when I got about 500 e-mails from people saying Mancow has said the animation was his and asking if I’d made it for him or if I was lying about my involvement with it. I also got asked in several interviews what his connection to it was, and if he’d hired me to make it for him.

It was pretty lame that this guy was totally trying to steal the credit for something he had nothing to do with. But I guess that’s his claim to fame anyway, biting other people’s ideas and pretending they are his own. *cough* Howard Stern *cough*

I wrote before about AB 352 and how stupid it is but that didn’t seem to help as the bill as passed onto the Assembly floor. As I pointed out in that previous post the technology which Assemblyman Koretz wants imbedded in semi-automatic
handguns simply does not exist. He may as well try to legislate Star Trek transporters into existence. But I covered all of that already and want to point out something else. This is from the Bill Analysis which includes some quotes from Assemblyman Koretz. He says:

“Microstamping provides an opportunity for greatly easing law
enforcement’s task in solving gun crimes and greatly reducing
the cost to state and local agencies that rely on ballistic
identification systems.

“Moreover, with microstamping, state and local law enforcement
agencies do not have to acquire or maintain costly computer
equipment or databases. Cartridge cases recovered at crime
scenes will quickly lead investigators to the guns that fired
them simply by using our current crime gun tracing system.”

I argued before that this bill would make us less safe, and I think this is the perfect example. Assemblyman Koretz actually thinks law enforcement officers won’t need computers anymore if this law passes because the cartridges collected at the scene will point directly to the gun that was used. This just goes to show he hasn’t even considered the fact that revolvers do not eject cartridge casings or that criminals, knowing the information that would be then printed on the shells, might consider picking up the shells when they leave. Reality factors aside this bill will make it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs by giving them less to work with. It’s really disturbing that our representatives are just blindly signing off on something so detrimental to the people of CA.