Spotted this at the grocery store. The plate frame says “P-Bal in the Mouth”. My son (the 9th grader) said it means the same as teabagging. Of course his coming up with that raised a few eye brows. The Urban Dictionary didn’t have a direct match. Is this a case of Motorist: 1, the DMV Editors:0?

Pic by me with the trusty cell phone camera, get’s a tidge bigger but all you see is the pocket lint better.

They had to tie the white drapery down when the winds kicked up, but the illusion is still pretty great.

Do you listen to NPR in Los Angeles? Then I know you listen to either KCRW or KPCC or both. You have to have your news and excellent local programming plus Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and Le Show and who could live without This American Life? But do you find yourself groaning and switching stations when the pledge drives come along? Well, here’s a way to embrace the pledge drive: Be a part of it.

KCRW in Santa Monica and KPCC in Pasadena both need volunteers when it is time for their twice yearly pledge drives. KCRW’s Winter Sign-Up drive starts January 25th and runs until February 4. They need volunteers to answer the phones and take pledges. There is always free food and drink, the staff is friendly and fun and full of energy and when you volunteer, you get so into it that it’s actually fun to listen to the pledge drive when you are not there! (This happened to me a few years ago when I volunteered — I become invested in the outcome, I needed to know what number they were up to!)

KPCC’s drive is later in the spring and I’m sure the there is camaraderie to be had there too. Sign up here for KCRW. And sign up here for KPCC.

If you can’t make the time to volunteer, at least become a member (if you aren’t already) to one or the other to support the high quality programming they put out. If you have listened for years and have never joined, make it priority to do so in the 08.

Gotta love the high of 70 degrees this afternoon!!!!!!

Now that I’ve gone vegan, the Traditional Jewish-American Christmas of chinese food-and-a-movie has an added wrinkle. While it’s sometimes a challenge to find an LA chinese restaurant open on Christmas, finding one to serve my meat-averse, soy-loving, un-Christian behind makes it even harder. Oh, what’s a pinkocommieveganyid to do?

Thankfully, there are some options if you head on out to the San Gabriel Valley:

Vegetarian Wok: 529 E. Valley Blvd., #128, Alhambra, CA 91801. Open until 3pm

Fine Garden Vegetarian Cuisine: 841 W. Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776. Open until 11pm

Happy Family Restaurant Vegetarian Food: 111 N. Atlantic Blvd., #351 (Third Floor), Monterey Park, CA 91754. Open until 8:30pm

Closer to the city proper, there’s the old standby Kung Pao Bistro:

Kung Pao Bistro: 7853 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046 // 11838 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604. Open until 10:30pm

P.F. Chang’s has some veg-friendly options, and while I wasn’t able to confirm if they were open, with the amount of movie theater traffic tonight, I’d be surprised if they stay closed:

P. F. Chang’s: Burbank Town Center // Beverly Center // Paseo Colorado // Sherman Oaks Galleria.

In all cases, I recommend calling to double-check how late places stay open, as I met with a lot of confusion on.

Happy whatever-holiday-you-celebrate. I intend to have some sort of veggie lo mein dish, so I can properly honor my ancestors with tradition Jewish Chinese food, as well as pay homage to the FSM’s culture-spanning noodly appendage

People lose their hair for many medical reasons. The reason we all think of most often is cancer patients going through chemotherapy treatment. There is also a condition called Alopecia Areata that over 5 million adults and children in the US have. No matter how it happens, losing your hair can be traumatic, especially if you are a kid. (My mom first got Alopecia when she was 13–all her hair fell out. Can you imagine already feeling like a weirdo at 13 and then losing your hair? Nightmare.)

Locks of Love is a national organization that helps disadvantaged kids get free human hair wigs while they are in the middle of any kind of medical hair loss. You can donate your hair and send it to them and they will have wigs made and give them to the kids so they can get their confidence back. Donating is easy if your locks meet the requirements. Check their Donations Page to see if you can donate.

Pantene hair products are also donating human hair wigs specifically for cancer patients who have lost their hair. You might have seen Hilary Swank cutting 8 inches of her hair on Oprah for this hair drive. Read more about how this program works and who has benefitted.

If you’ve been putting off a haircut and you meet the required lengths to donate, consider one of the above hair donation groups. Or if your hair is not quite long enough, consider not cutting it for the year and then donating later. Think how stunning you will look and how good you will feel in a fresh shorter haircut after donating!

The photo is from a Presbyterian Chruch in Arlington, Virginia. They have a couple of interesting ways they support their community and world.

Due to work and travel schedules, I found myself alone on Christmas here in Los Angeles about ten years ago. I liked the solitude but was glad to be going to a friends for Christmas brunch. Christmas day was one of those Santa Ana days, calm clear skies and 80 degrees. As I walked to my car, the streets and sidewalks had that holiday-empty feel except for a boy about 8 or 9 years old cruising down the sidewalk on brand new roller blades. As he got near me I said, all excited for him, “Hey, did Santa bring you those for Christmas?” As he passed me he yelled “I’M JEWISH!”

Sorry dude.

Merry Christmas.

(click on the images for a larger version)

Resurrection has got to be one of the liveliest most active cemeteries around; it’s always packed with people during the holidays and they never seem to be mourning. I’m sure a few are but mostly it seems like visitors come to be closer to their departed, do a bit of grave site cleaning, and maybe even have a one way conversation with the loved ones. On this recent trip I saw a guy hold a cell phone to the patch of grass so some other relative or friend on the other end could say a few words to whomever was buried on that spot. I don’t dare imagine the roaming charges for dialing up the dead. But one of the most striking features of Resurrection is the way many families decorate the graves, no matter what the holiday may be. This time around, there are lots of tiny christmas trees all over the place, and more than a few large ones as well, like the one in the picture above. I only took a few pics this time which you can view by clicking ahead. I hope to come back soon and do some extensive nosing about, like taking a pic of the sign that sez ‘no drinking, no lawn chairs, no party atmosphere.’ The need for that sign makes me proud to be Chicano!
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I wish I had more time to research but here’s the bit that came across a feed for David Markland who is points east celebrating the Holidays with his family. (I’m between family events and just have a short bit of time to put this up).
This from LAFD.org”
*Structure Fire* 1750 N. Argyle Av.; TG 593-F4; FS 27, 2 story church fully involved with fire. No reported injuries at this time. Additional companies requested.; Ch:7,12 @ -d’Lisa Davies###
–~–~———~–~—-~————~——-~–~—-~
LAFD_ALERT messages are *not* official instructions or authorization to take action. We do not guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of LAFD_ALERTs.

CBS2 also has a bit HERE.

If you are in the area drop some hot cocoa to the Fire Dept as a quick thanks for working while the rest of us are with our families.

You may have heard a song played around this time of year called “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” You know, the one about partridges and pear trees, french hens, ladies dancing, swans-a-swimming (wtf?) and FIVE GOLD RINGS!!! ? Even though the song is over 300 years old, it fits right into the shopping frenzy that seems to happen around this time of year. (By the way, to actually purchase all those things for your True Love will cost you $78,100 in 2007 dollars according to CNN/Money.)

The actual 12 days of Christmas, called Christmastide, begin on December 25 and end on January 6th. These days represent the time between Jesus being born and when the Magi arrived bearing their gifts. The last day is called Epiphany (also called Twelfth Night) and depending on which Christian sect you belong to, you may celebrate Christmas anywhere along in those 12 days.

We can all get a little lost about “The True Meaning Of Giving” at this time of year what with all the shopping, cooking, wrapping, working, traveling and stressing, so we at MetroBlogging LA are going to spend these next 12 days suggesting ways you can give in even more meaningful ways. Perhaps by the end you will have your own Epiphany about your New Year’s Resolutions and will add to them with a promise to give back in the 08.

Merry Christmas (for those who celebrate) and Happy Holidays to all.

photo from Worth1000.com12 days of Christmas theme.

Given my worship of the misunderstood and maligned creatures, the remarkable The Daily Coyote has become a must-visit blog on my regular routes around the internest.

I had my own encounter with one yesterday biking back from Burbank along Zoo Drive. About halfway between Victory Boulevard and the zoo’s parking lot calmly stood a relatively not-half-starved-nor-mangy ( i.e. almost healthy-looking) specimen of Canis latrans so nicely camouflaged against the spread of aging mulch along the ground upon which it stood that I almost missed it though I passed it not much more than 15 feet away off my right shoulder (and so poorly pixelized at right, sorry).

Coming to a complete stop to admire it further I flipped the camera to unsteadycam video mode and in the course of capturing that footage (after the jump; and pretty much equally craptastic to the still above) I opted to dismount and approach the fearless coyote in an attempt to scoot it — if only temporarily — back up into the hillside away from the road it might have been thinking about crossing and to reinforce that we humans suck and should be avoided at all costs.

I scare because I love.
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bigcar, originally uploaded by Wildbell.

Maybe it has something to do with the proximity to the freeway, otherwise I’m not sure how this stretch of L.A. River’s east bank through Atwater Village became a canvas for car art. Whatever the reason, this marvelous behemoth is the best of the bunch and for awhile now I’ve been wanting the right conditions to capture this big fella and I found them while biking up to Burbank along river’s bikeway yesterday afternoon on my way to do some last-minute Christmas shopping.

I couldn’t tell you specific height and length, but to give you some sense of scale, vertically this thing covers more than half the length of the riverbank wall, basically from water level up to the access road.

Another downtown landmark goes the way of the gentrification Dodo tomorrow: Craby Joe’s, that diveyest of dives, the holiest of holes-in-the-wall, closes its doors for the last time on Christmas Eve. I always felt that a marker of a good bar was (a) it was named after its original owner or (b) it was named after an unpleasant animal. Quite possibly covering both (a) and (b) in one fell swoop (although I don’t know the original proprietor’s name, alas), Craby Joes was a bastion of crustiness in a rapidly sterilizing downtown.

The historians & cultural/literary archivists behind 1947project.com will be lifting their final pints at Craby Joes in a celebratory wake tomorrow. I suggest y’all swing by on your way to or from your respective holiday celebrations, or, should you lack one, let this be your wassailing headquarters for the night.

Click through for the full invite from 1947project.com.

I wonder what will come to replace Craby Joes…let’s see, maybe another Katsuya? Pinkberry? Golden Gopher 2? Upscale dog-clothing boutique? Le sigh. Kim Cooper says “Craby Joe’s has served as a watering hole to John Fante, Charles Bukowski, and many other great souls who drew from this well of characters and atmosphere from the wrong side of the tracks…This fragile coral reef of artists, galleries (the hub of Art Walk is two blocks away at 5th and Main at Bert Green’s), SRO hotels and their long time residents will suffer a severe blow with the close of Craby Joe’s…” Photo from the venerable www.latimemachines.com.

I don’t mind downtown’s gentrification as much as, say, one of the artists who lived in the Tomahawk building or the “Dancing Girls” building across the street from it–just some of the folks who lost their homes to the “artist’s lofts no artist could ever afford” wave. I like being able to walk around downtown feeling safe[r]. I just wish we didn’t pave over our history quite as much.
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The FAA Delay website for Los Angeles International Airport reports that due to weather, delays from LAX are as follows:
Newark: 3-4 hours
JFK: 3-4 hours
Minneapolis/St. Paul: 1-2 hours
Chicago Ohare: 1-2 hours

It is 2:30ish pm on Sunday, December 23 (also called Christmas Adam). My flight was supposed to depart at 2:30 (LAX to DFW) but it is delayed until 4:05pm, therefore I blog. What amazes me is that the drive coming into LAX around 12:30pm was effortless and traffic in the departure areas practically empty so unloading at Terminal 7 was a snap. I had checked in online yesterday afternoon so only had to go to the bag check-in kiosk and sorry David, then went to the faster line at security. I’m not flying business class but since I have “premiere status” from flying so much for work, I got to go through quickly, only to discover my flight is delayed. Oh well.

Obviously, check with your airline directly for any possible delays to your flights. Be prepared for delays, bring lots to read and do. If you are here and you see a woman in terminal 7 with a Santa hat on, it could be me…
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What do you do with 30 lbs of chocolate, 10 lbs of butter, sparkly sugar and such when your neighborhood friends are workaholic D.I.C.Ks…Dual Income Coupla Kids? For me its easy.

As they rarely have time to do the holiday baking and candy making, I grab my supplies and start baking and candy making with my kids. In the end all I do is get a gift bag and fill it up with all sorts of baked goodies like peanut butter swirl cookies, Stupid EasyFudge,and hot cocoa mix for the kidlets. I round it off with gift cards to California Wine and Cheese to make sure they get a “date night” tossed in and voila, my gifts to them are done.

What do you do for your special friends in your ‘hood?

Pic by me, get’s bigger with a click and a little elfin magic.