I found out five minutes ago that, despite having changed my address with the DMV when I moved a year ago, I’m not registered at the correct address to vote. Since today is the last day for voter registrations to be mailed in (they must have today’s postmark in order to count for the upcoming November election), I figured I’d better get on that, and put my vote where my mouth is.

So here’s how I figured everything out:

1. I called the L.A. County Voter Registration office, at 1-800-815-2666 (or (562) 466-1310) and asked if I was registered.
2. Upon finding out I was still registered at my old address, I asked if I could still re-register, and was told that was fine so long as the registration was postmarked today
3. I downloaded the registration form at the California State Voter Info site, and addressed it to the LA County Registrar at: P O Box 102, Norwalk, CA 90651-1024.
4. More info is at the LA County Voter Registration Site

There. Now I am ready to participate in democracy, and exercise one of the most important rights of my American citizenship. I’d better go catch up on the entirely too many propositions on the ballot this fall.

EDIT: Forgot to add, for those of you with Google Earth, there is a new election-related layer today.

We are one step closer to more light rail on the Westside, according to the Venice Paper. New studies are being initiated by Bill Rosendahl about reviving the LAX Green Line stop, as well as a stop on the proposed Expo line that could connect to a light rail line running up Lincoln Boulevard to Santa Monica (!)

These are studies, mind, so these may not be things which come to pass. But it gives a little more hope of light rail on the Westside someday. The Expo Line fact sheet, by the way, is here.

In other Metro-related discussion, last night, the boyfriend and I were explaining the L.A. metro system to a recent transplant from New York. We got to the part about how yes, L.A. has a subway, and then had to admit, they could be more useful if only they ran longer hours. If the Metro Gold and Red lines only ran to 3am on weekend nights, we’d use them all the time to get to and from Hollywood, and the clubs out there. I know that the trains actually cut back service in 2005 due to low ridership after hours, but couldn’t any attempts at awareness be made to bring more people onto trains when they’re going out? It would be awesome! It would cut down on drunk driving! It would mean not having to deal with Hollywood parking!

I emailed Metro asking about this, as a result. I hope they write back. I especially hope that someday, they re-consider a test of the late night hours on weekends. It will be years before I can ride the trains regularly from the Westside, but I’d sure like to ride them more right now when I go out in Hollywood.

Just got an email from the intrepid Defenders of the Ball that the Beloved 76 Ball at my favorite cheap gas station is slated for replacement with the dreaded flapjack:

“The 76 ball at Beverly Boulevard / St. Andrews Place in L.A. has yellow tape around it and signs of excavating around the base of the pole. I HAVE EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THIS SIGN WILL COME DOWN, PERHAPS THIS WEEKEND, TO BE REPLACED BY A NEW HUBCAP 76 SIGN.

St. Andrews Place is 2 blocks west of Western Avenue, on Beverly there is Schaeffer Ambulance and the 76 station is on the south side of the street one block further on.”

PLEASE go and sign the petition!

It’s that time of the week again – we made some posts and you had something to say about them. Here’s the most commented on posts of last week:

• M-O-M dismissed – What started as a brief follow up news blip about an earlier post has spiraled into an all out war of the words in the epic fight over the difference between graffiti and gang tags. If the motivation, process, and result art different, are the two the same thing just because they both utilize spray paint?
• Hit and Run in Silver Lake – My car was parked outside of my house when a Hummer H2 plowed into it and then took off. Security cameras caught the whole thing, this is still developing and lots of great suggestions here.
• A New York State Of Mind – What to do with the cornfield? A New York firm has put up a proposal, except they some how made it 640% too large, suggesting a chunk of downtown including Dodger Stadium get leveled. Reactions are not exactly what you might expect.
• Petty Theft - Heathervescent’s continuing saga of trashmongers taking things out of her garbage bins, and readers arguing about how right/wrong/legal that is.
• Keep Burning Man Segregated – Los Angeles Burners took over downtown last week, including some places that weren’t delighted to see them. Comment thread is full of “Hippies!” and “Nuh uh!”

There are times I consider myself a half-assed native angelonian, or at least a glacially paced one. I’ve known about Musso & Frank’s practically all my upright life, but it took me some 37 years of it before I set foot inside for the first time a few years back. And ever since good ol’ Huell Howser did one of his “Visiting With…” shows on the Hollywood landmark way back in something like 1994 and marveled over the eatery’s history as well as its signature flannel cakes I’ve been jonesing for a plate of ‘em ever since.

Well today was finally that day, prompted in part by recent talk among th IAAL‚Ä¢MAF ranks of doing a full-dress Musso’s Martini Ride sometime soon, and coordinated as a prelude to a visit for Halloween stuff to the Hollywood Toy & Costume Shop across the street that Heather posted about a few days ago. We opted to sit at the long counter rather than a booth.

Some things to know should you go: 1) Parking in the lot behind Musso’s is only $2.25 with a validation from the restaurant and there is a rear entrance to the place that takes you down a few steps and past the kitchen into the dim rear of the dining room making it a a bit reminiscent of a condensed version of the long tracker scene in “Goodfellas.” 2)Though Musso’s serves breakfast around the clock, they stop serving flannel cakes at 3 p.m. 3) Everything at the place is a la carte. So if you just want flannel cakes ($6) that’s all you’ll get. The wife and I shared orders of bacon (four crispity strips for $3.25) and hashbrowns (enough for two at $4.75). For whatever reason iced teas run $2.75 a piece. In other words the place ain’t easy on the wallet nor should it have to be — it’s Musso & Frank.

Having had a life-long love affair with pancakes (my faves are at the Pantry downtown), I definitely savored Musso’s take. You get a stack of three but “stack” isn’t quite the right descriptive as they’re wafer thin almost like crepes. But despite their wafer thin appearance, they’re very substantial and flavorful too.

Flickr photoset of the restaurant can be viewed here.

I agree with Curbed LA that talking about H&M coming to Los Angeles is beating a dead horse. So I’ve put my entry about my visit this weekend behind the cut to spare those who may not be interested. For those of you wanting to know how bad the lines and inventory shortages are…entry is below.
Read the rest of this entry →

Edwin Goodgold (attributed author of the above quote) may have his opinion but the trivia played tonight at Trivia Bowl XXII hosted by the Asian American Journalists Association, Los Angeles Chapter (AAJA-LA) was anything but child’s play.

This ultra-competitive, team quiz-style event drew hundreds of people including journalists, lawyers, and other members of the Asian American community to go through 5 rounds of 20 trivia questions ranging from surprising easy (What is the name of the default friend on myspace.com?) to obscure. Most questions (not all) were tied to some sort of current event. Hosted by David Ono, each round was punctuated with his “biting wit” and raffle/auction/fundraising efforts done by other well-known folks such as Tamlyn Tomita, Ted Chen, Susan Hirasuna, Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls), and others. In the photo I took above, you’ll see Tamlyn auctioning off a lunch with David Ono (winning bid… $50… if it’s lunch WITHOUT David Ono).

This is my second time competing on the KTLA team (though next year I could be pursuaded to defect!) and our goal was simply: do not go home with the Ramen Cup (last place). That distinction went to City News Service with a final score of 12 (out of 100). First place went to the Japanese American Bar Association (JABA) with a final score of 77.

A recreation of some of the questions… (try to answer them with no help from the intarweb)
1. Current Events – A team of Russian and American physicists says it has created three atoms of a new element. The as-yet-unnamed element, element 118, is the heaviest yet discovered. What other element did scientists bombard with billions of calcium ions to create this new element?

2. History & Geography – The Michelin Man was created as a mascot for Michelin tires. What is his name?

3. Arts & Entertainment - Ronald S. Lauder, the art collector and cosmetics heir, bought a 1907 Gustav Klimt painting for a record $135 million last June, making it the world’s most expensive painting. What is the name of the painting?

4. Science & Literature – On September 1, 1914, the last known passenger pigeon species died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden. What was its name?

5. Sports & “California Living.” – Located in Landers, California, structure is described on its website as “acoustically perfect tabernacle and energy machine sited on a powerful geomagnetic vortex.” What is its name?

Answers below the jump…
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Did you know there will be 13 propositions on the ballet November 7th. I can never understand which side the proposition is on, because they are usually written in esoteric politi-speak. Do you vote on these things? Luckily my friend Peter Stahl goes through the propositions and rates them. His list for the upcoming election is here. Of course he has his own opinion, however even if I don’t necessarily agree with all of his views, his reviews make me think about the propositions. Peter has been doing this since 1980! and has a great list of resources.

You can still register to vote for a few more days. But don’t wait much longer, October 23rd is the cut-off.

An update on the Mom that was busted in August for chauferring her son around to graffiti.

The charges against Victoria Villicano were dropped “in the interest of justice,” but her 20-year-old son was prosecuted for spraying graffiti along Sunset Boulevard in late August, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

I’m glad the charges were dismissed. I thought it was a little silly for the LAPD to bust her, even if it wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

He swore they were the last tours he would ever give, back in the spring – but Charles Phoenix is giving his Downtown Disneyland Tours again! I went on one in April, and had a wonderful, hilarious time rediscovering Los Angeles. I’ve always been fascinated with downtown L.A., because the external image of the city is always that it has no center, and no history. But seeing it through Charles Phoenix’s eyes, with his love of architecture and the absurd, was an amazing experience.

Part of the tour is, obviously, the comparisons with Disneyland, which makes things even more interesting. Some parts of downtown, when built, were as artificial and crowd-pleasing as Disneyland. And sometimes, the comparison just shows the greatest extreme in Los Angeles, by putting a sanitized, carefully planned environment, against the misguided decisions and eventual decline of downtown. The film created on the tour (link goes to the 15 minute version up on YouTube) shows a lot of the sort of nostalgic hopefulness of the mid-century Disneyland era, juxtaposed against the modern despair and poverty filmed in downtown on the day of the tour. I can’t explain it better than that – you just have to watch the clip.

Or, better still, go on the tour. Tickets are on sale on the website for the 11/5 and 11/12 tours – and they WILL sell out. Soon. As I’ve written before, Charles Phoenix is a cult unto himself, and a very funny, brilliant, colorful cult at that. His popularity is growing, and extremely well deserved, and I look forward to seeing more histo-tainment over the holiday season.

Jelly Belly has released word that they’re buying Ben Meyerson Candies, which is based right here in Los Angeles. Ben Meyerson is known for their Big Cherry and line of Sunkist Fruit Gems (sold at Trader Joe’s in the little tubs).

The Meyerson family has been running the company for three generations, beginning in 1937. In 1955 Ben Meyerson aquired Christopher’s candy, which was started in 1887 (one of the oldest candy bar companies in the country). I’d dig up more on them, but their website isn’t even up any longer.

The manufacturing jobs will not stay here in LA, instead they’ll be moved to Jelly Belly’s facilities in Fairfield and/or Illinois.

Link to full story.

My trashmonger rants got me more heat than any thing I’ve posted here before. In the comments of my original post I noted that in the past I have witnessed trashmongers flat out stealing other people’s property. The other morning, I experienced it first hand.

In my enclosed patio (which is not that far from the dumpster in the back of the building) there were several yard statues left from the previous tenant. A crumbling Buddha that couldn’t be moved lest it fall apart, a bronze looking Indian statue with a prostrate worshipper, two yard gnomes and a black bear. They were strange yard fellows but I enjoyed gazing upon them over my morning coffee. However, a few days ago, the Buddha and Indian statue vanished! Who would climb over my fence to steal these religious relics? Why did said person only take the crumbling Buddha and Indian statue? Why did they do this under darkness of night? Should I expect to get photographs of the crumbling Buddha in exotic locations? Or is it just time to string up the barbed wire?

Looking for something to do tonight?

Magician Misty Lee is mixing it up tonight at WOMEN’S NIGHT OUT the M Bar. If you might like to see two lovely ladies tie up a third and then brutally savage her with a giant saw — oops, have said too much?

Call for a reservation!

M Bar and Restaurant
1253 Vine St
(in the El Pollo Loco minimall at Fountain)
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 856-0036

No cover, 7pm seating, 730 show.

Other acts tonight include

DJ Mary Kay Riley
Stacy McQueen, Craft Whore
Dr Patti Britton, Doctor of Sex and Love
Emily Wasser, Comedian
SUMO!!!
and more

If you want to see some funny on Saturday (before you head up to South Pasadena to crap your pants watching the midnight showing of Poltergeist, that is), I’m going to be in a show at the ACME Comedy Theater called ACME This Week. It’s a sketch comedy show, similar in format to SNL, with a celebrity host and a news segment.

This week’s celebrity host is Alex Borstein, and the news segment is written and performed by yours truly.

Because the show changes every week, the sketches are hit-and-miss (more hit than miss, but when they miss they, uh, miss) but I know that some of the stuff this week is going to absolutely kill, including some stuff I’ve written for the news.

So if you want to come see us do our thing, we’re on at 8PM on Saturday, at the ACME Comedy Theater, which is between Beverly and 1st on La Brea.

Although I’m not interested in being on TV, if you have such desire, the opportunity is here and the time is now. yourLA is looking for original video content for their daily segment on life in LA. Submit your video on any aspect or experience of living in LA (it has to be half-way decent content and quality) and you’re almost guaranteed to have your 5 minutes of fame.

What are you waiting for? Get that video camera out!