One of the perks of my company is that we get free bottled water (Crystal Geyser) and sodas. About a month ago, I stopped drinking the water because it smelled and tasted… funny. The more I smelled the water, the more it smelled like phlegm. I was beginning to think I was coming down with something because every bottle I opened tasted like phlegm. So I stopped drinking the water at work and began downing diet soda, instead. (Yes, it’s as healthy as it sounds.)

But then when I bought a bottle of Crystal Geyser at a liquor store on my way to a screening the other day and it had the same phlegmmy taste, I knew it wasn’t me!

Thank you, intarweb for solving the mystery of the Phelgm Water‚Ñ¢! Too bad I’m still afraid of the bottled water, even though I know it wasn’t really phlegm.

Here are some key snippets regarding the Crystal Geyser recall, explanation for, and apology of the Phlegm Water‚Ñ¢. The full text can be found at http://www.crystalgeyserasw.com/recall

First and foremost, we would like to emphasize that there is no health or safety issue with our product. Nonetheless, this situation was of great concern to our company from a consumer satisfaction perspective as we pride ourselves on bottling the highest quality alpine spring water.

Immediately after receiving complaints we began investigating. Our investigation has revealed that we were unknowingly supplied bottle caps containing resin which did not conform to our company’s specifications. Although these caps were made from food grade materials which are approved by the FDA, they contain materials which may be susceptible to taste or odor problems. It is for this reason that it is our company policy not to use caps containing this grade of resin, even though these caps are widely used in the beverage industry.

When these caps are exposed to adverse storage conditions, such as excessive heat or light, they may breakdown and transfer a taste or odor to the water. We believe that this summers’ heat wave in southern California caused this problem. Again, this resin is made from food grade materials which are approved by the FDA, and therefore, the off-taste does not pose health or safety risks to our consumers.

If you have 8-oz or 16.9-oz product produced by our southern California Olancha plant from July 17th through September 30th, 2006 -whether opened or unopened- we suggest that you return it to the store where it was purchased. Your product will, of course, be replaced with the good tasting alpine spring water that you are accustomed to drinking. It is very important to us that we provide you with water of the highest quality and satisfaction.

The only bottles that may be affected have code that begin with “O1, “02″, and “O4″ and “Sell By” dates that range from 07/17/08 through 09/30/08. Remember, only 8-oz and 16.9-oz product with these specific codes and “Sell By” dates may have been affected and should be replaced.

That’s right folks, our 50th city is live now. Swing by Graz and see what the bloggers there are up to. Of course this is our 2nd Austrian blog joining our friends in Vienna. For new readers who want some trivia, this whole crazy Metroblogging project started right here in Los Angeles back in November, 2003. And now here we are, 50 cities later. Welcome Graz!

I paid a visit to Silver Lake favorite gallery Junc two Sundays ago and, as usual, was delighted in the presentation of a group of young, talented artists early in their careers. Even better, Junc’s current show Off Sets features four female artists – Nolina Burge, Alika Cooper, Amy Ross and Rachel Salomon.

Pranks Turns Tragic When Shopping Cart Falls on Woman

PASADENA, October 24, 2006 – A shopping cart that had been hoisted atop a supermarket flagpole by pranksters fell on a Ralphs employee and broke her neck.

“The cart fell on (her) when she untied the rope to raise the flag, something she did every day when she went to work,” police Lt. Lisa Perrine said Tuesday. The accident occurred Saturday morning outside the Ralphs in the 300 block of West Colorado Boulevard, she said. Someone apparently raised the empty cart aloft during the night. Perrine did not know how much the shopping cart weighed or how it was attached to the top of the pole.

Shantie Marjal, 62, of Eagle Rock has been hospitalized in serious condition.

I wonder if this is a Halloween prank gone seriously wrong? Not to be a killjoy, but while many pranks are harmless, some do have the potential to maim and kill. I hate reading tragic stories about people who are injured or killed because of some “seemingly harmless prank.” Don’t people know there are consequences for their actions?

Lots of LA in the news with LA Weekly’s Must See Art and Holly Myers on the Wolfgang Tillmans’ show, LAT on Orange County’s lemon: cultural assets and David Pagel on “The Collectibe Moment: Photographs in the Norton Simon Museum”, and MAN on Tom Crow to leave the Getty (which he did)…continue reading

My friends and I returned to Disneyland last week to go on the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion (link goes to Doombuggies). And, of course, it was awesome. I expected a few random movie references scattered in the ride – sort of like what was done with Pirates of the Caribbean. But it was actually like being on a different ride, except where the existing ride features could be worked into a Nightmare context.

If you haven’t gone yet, this is your last weekend for the Disneyland Hallowe’en. Aside from pumpkin motifs throughout the park, not much else has changed. But Disneyland isn’t so much trying to compete with Knotts Scary Farm or Universal Studios as it is providing an alternative to those places. According to an L.A. Times article last month, (“Theme Parks Are Dying To Feature Hallowe’en“), Disneyland is trying to bring the fun back to Hallowe’en without the “ghoulish stuff”: pumpkin carving and Disney villains feature prominently. Their take is more of a harvest festival feeling (especially on Main Street) than a Hallowe’en celebration, which really isn’t too bad, philosophically.

There’s a list of which L.A. parks are doing what at About.com as well. I’ve heard mixed commentary about the Universal Studios Horror Nights – despite having a well produced website, friends have proclaimed it “not much more frightening than Knotts Scary Farm”. Commentary on those parks is encouraged especially, as I’m curious. But while it is the last week for Disney and other theme park Hallowe’en’s, the Nightmare Haunted Mansion Christmas is around for another two months (until Xmas). If you’re a fan of the dancing ghosts and Jack Skellington, you have some time to take a weekend day (or a “sick day”) to go check it out in Anaheim.

(post edited to correct ending date of Nightmare ride – thanks 5000!)

It’s been officially announced Thomas Crow, Getty Research Institute Director, has accepted a post at NYU and is leaving the Getty next summer…continue reading

Today’s front-page article in the Los Angeles Times about one family’s struggle to find affordable housing after being forced to vacate their long-time Echo Park residence does much to illustrate the need for affordable housing, but also contains a common thread that I often see in articles about rising rents in previously low-rent areas:

She and Sanchez talked for a while about what was happening to them. The whites were moving in, they agreed, pushing out the Latinos, the immigrants. “It seems a little bit like discrimination, doesn’t it?” Sanchez wondered.

It is discrimination. But on the basis of cash, not on the basis of race. I feel that too often race enters into the equation when talking about housing. Yes, it is a side effect that more whites are moving into areas that were predominantly Latino, but is that the real issue? I am still trying to decide if turning an economic discussion(property owners want to increase profit, renters want to decrease spending) into a racial issue(whites want to move in, Latinos have to move out) is actually counterproductive to finding a real solution. Does it prevent an open dialogue about what is actually happening(lack of affordable housing)?

I am still trying to develop my thoughts on the issue(if there even is one), and I invite your comments.

Last Sunday I went to my first award show taping and it was very exciting considering it was Fangoria’s first taped Chainsaw Awards! My love of horror movies is intense and even though the Chainsaw Awards is geared towards horror films of the last year (whereas I prefer horror films of years’ past) I was in heaven…or hell…which ever you prefer.

Awesome celebrities seen: the Ghouls Girls Next Door, Ron Jeremey (!!!), the drummer for No Doubt, Robert Englund, Danny Trejo, Rob Zombie, Sherri Moon Zombie, Jordan Catalono (oh wait, I mean Jared Leto), Shamus aka the new Damien, Anthony Kiedis, and more I’m sure I’m forgetting. No Sid Haig or George A. Romero which was a total bummer.

We got there in time to watch the black-carpet arrivals – black hearses pulled up with zombie valets. Sexy.After we got inside and waited until the opened the theater I had the distinct pleasure of having Freddy Kruger walk by me in the beer line. Sigh. The stage itself was decorated a little cheesy with a pseudo Damien Hirst-like severed bloody limbs in plastic boxes but the category award graphics were awesome – very old school. The presenters were properly cheesy and the bands (30 Seconds to Mars, Chingy, and Avenge Sevenfold) took themselves very seriously. And though I still can’t condone all the re-makes (Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or the numerous sequesls), some of those I saw and who won reminded me that the avante-garde spirit of horror films is still, ahem, alive and well.

The Chainsaw Awards aired on Fuse this past Sunday, October 22. If you look real close you might see our horrified faces on the small screen!

On September 26th I attended the inaugural event that introduced LACMA’s new Acquisition Committee for Contemporary Works on Paper. Since I have such an affinity for drawing/paper (and realize along with many others that this medium has been significantly viable and desirable in the past decade) I wanted to find out more about what the ACCWP entailed and how it will contibute to the emerging artists in Los Angeles who are geared towards this medium. So I asked Leslie Jones, the Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings at LACMA to shed some light on this new committee…continue reading

While coming home from a few shows last night I drove down Riverside between Glendale and Los Feliz Blvds. There’s been a lot of construction on Riverside and I remembered seeing firetrucks and the entire street being blocked off by a rather disheartened looking police officer last Sunday so I kept my eyes open to see if I could see signs of whatever went down.

I saw a sign, wreaths and candles up on a fence near the entrance to the 5. Something bad had apparently gone down on Sunday.

I turned my car around and drove by again, this time more slowly, reading the sign memorializing LAPD Officer Landon Dorris. I quickly went home and consulted the LAPD blog and found that Officer Dorris was killed after he was hit by a car on Sunday night. You can read the report about the incident here. It’s kind of shocking to read about death so close to your home, especially when it is someone in a position of authority.

My heart goes out to Officer Dorris’ friends and family and the entire LAPD family.

Filling out applications isn’t done after you get accepted into college – with art fairs, exhibition submissions, artist portfolios, and grant proposals, those of us in the art world have to become masters in form-filling. This evening (October 24) at 7pm, LACE is presented a grant information session…continue reading

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Like you, I get at least one or two “adopt this dog or else” emails a day. They’re heartbreaking but there’s only so much anyone can do.

Well here’s an exception – a really special event -

A 5K Run/Walk (dogs welcome!) or Kids 1 Mile Race to benefit
The Rescue Train, Best Friends Animal Society,
Pacific Coast Dog Rescue, Kitten Rescue, Animal Alliance,
A Dog’s Life Rescue & Molly’s Mutts & Meows
Each year these 7 non-profit animal rescues save, house, give medical treatment and find loving homes for approximately 1,280 once-forgotten animals.

October 29th, 2006
8:30am ~ 1:30 pm
Area H immediately south of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Read the rest of this entry →

Thanks to Yosi for pointing out a really cool free Secret Machines concert downtown tomorrow that’s part of the Public Displays of Affection series. Why’s it so cool? Because instead of buying a ticket, you have to take a train to Union Station and present your Metro ticket stub at the door to get in. Neato.

Public Displays is part of “a series of events designed to show public transportation in Los Angeles a little love,” and if you ask me this is exactly the kind of thing they need to be doing to educate a broader audience about using the Metro. A cool band, hip sponsors and popular special guests will go a lot farther persuading some kinds of people than lectures about civic responsibility.

Halloween night is about a week away – do you know what you’ll be this year? I’m having a difficult time deciding. Right now I’m exploring the following options:

1. Aeon Flux? This is my old standard and I’ve worn it the past two years. Of course the boys love this one. Unfortunately my awesome boyfriend has limited my gym time this year and my abs are not so ripped this year. I think this one will stay in the closet, however I’ve written up some tips on being Aeon here. If you dare.

2. Zombie Cheerleader? I’ve donned this costume twice this month so far, and zombies are so mainstream these days….

3. Banana? It seems like a strange costume possibility, but it’s more fun than you might imagine.

4. Santa? Ok. I have a Santa suit. It might be a little early for it, but hey – it’s a costume! Talk about mixing up Holidays. Santa gives out candy on Halloween!

5. Gothic Nurse? I won the impromptu costume contest at the Art of Bleeding show last month, so I know it is a crowd pleaser. But then I might just break it out for the upcoming show on Thursday, which means I couldn’t possibly wear the same costume twice in one week!

6. Pippi Longstocking? She was my character study in high school drama class and although I’d have to put her together from scratch, she’s my favorite possibility in this list.

I could also do some kind of Zombie Banana Santa giving out candy. So, what do you think? What should I be for Halloween this year?