Remember a few months ago when Los Angeles freeways and Hollywood Blvd. were shut down, causing gridlock all in the name of a Will Smith action film?

Well, here’s the trailer…

“Hancock” opens July 2nd, 2008, making it one of two L.A. based superhero films next summer (the other, of course, is Ironman). [h/t Slash Film]

Only two more weeks until New Year’s, everyone! Are you excited yet? Do you have plans?

Of course you don’t. No one EVER makes plans for NYE, unless they are buying tickets to one of the ridiculously enormous NYE parties (which is actually in the plural this year) and need the advance planning. The problem with NYE is that it’s a high pressure holiday – clearly, if you are a not at an awesome party, on this night of all nights, you are not socially successful.

On the bright side, if no one you know is throwing a house party you want to go to, there’s often other events in the city. Last year, the future husband and I went to Xian’s Theatre des Wyrm at Nicotine in Hollywood, which was actually pretty fabulous. The tickets were limited, so there was enough space in the tiny club, we liked the DJ’s, and we could hide out in the secret room above the bar, with the hookah smokers, and watch the crush for absinthe at the bar. We were holding out hope that there would be a similar event this year. And there sort of is. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a lot more crowded than last year’s, because this year’s dark-culture New Year’s even is at…Bar Sinister. And, more shocking – it’s a collaboration between the three biggest operations that run Dark Los Angeles: Evil Club Empire, LA Dead and Bar Sinister itself.
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I drove up to Malibu for an audition this afternoon. It’s the first time I’ve been up there since the fires devastated the city, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I mean, I figured the hills would be blackened, but I wasn’t prepared for just how close the destruction actually came to businesses. I knew that over 50 homes had been destroyed, and when I saw the news coverage of it live my heart ached for the people who lost them, but it wasn’t until I saw what was once Castle Kashan that it became real for me.

I know that sounds incredibly insensitive, but I don’t mean to minimize in any way the very real losses so many people suffered. What I mean is, watching it on television it became an abstract montage of tragedy after tragedy, but seeing with my own eyes the empty space where Castle Kashan used to be made it more personal.

When I was a kid, my dad surfed in Malibu all the time, so we drove over Malibu or Topanga or Kanan-Dume at least once a week. When they were old enough to know what was going on, my brother and sister and I would play two games: first to see the ocean, and first to see the castle. Now, it’s gone, and with it goes a touchstone from my childhood. Again, I know that pales in comparison to the massive losses of homes and businesses, and I’m grateful that this picture represents the only “loss” I personally have from the fire.

It was grey and starting to rain when I drove away from my audition today, and I noticed a lot of traffic as I waited to make my turn back onto PCH to come home. There were a lot of residents shopping, eating, and walking from one place to another. It was good to see that, though they were surrounded by tragedy and destruction, they were going on with their lives. I hope the people who lost their homes are able to do the same.

The men who are charged with starting the Corral fire were supposed to be arraigned today, but it’s been put off until February 14th. I hope they get a fair trial. If they’re convicted, I hope they’re held accountable for their actions.

This bit just popped up under the head line “Leno, O’Brien Return Without Writers” on mail.com just a bit ago.

It doesn’t say exactly how the decision came about, like maybe who prompted them both to return. Just a bit from the story : “Both NBC hosts indicated it was a torturous decision for them to come back, torn by their support for the writers and knowledge that several dozen other staff members would be laid off if the shows remained dark. Some of the late-night stars covered employees’ salaries during the holiday season.

Leno said that with talks breaking down and no further negotiations scheduled, he felt it was his responsibility to get his 100 non-writing staff members back to work.”…

“In a statement, the guild chided NBC. “NBC forcing Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien back on the air without writers is not going to provide the quality entertainment that the public deserves. The only solution to the strike is a negotiated settlement of the issues,” either by the studio alliance or individual companies, the guild said.”.

If recollection serves me correct, during the last big strike in the 80′s none of the talk shows returned until after the strike. Anyone have better recollection?

There you go. Some indirectly affected will go back to work. Since I am an early crasher someone else can watch and do a review on both performances once they return. Speaking of crashing time to get the youngest one moving towards tub and reading.

Now that our plan for ultimate civic domination has commenced via our legitimizing appearance within the sidebar of a recent not anti-biking article published by the Los Angeles Times, I’m not gonna pimp hard our next International Association of Armed Librarians/Mobile Assault Force (IAAL•MAF) bike ride other than to say it’s laidback, somewhat impromptu and you’re more than welcome to come along with us this Tuesday night.

A contingent of your fictionally and nonfictionally oriented cyclistas will be gathering at the Felipe de Neve branch of the L.A. Public Library adjacent to LaFayette Park (map) for an 8 p.m. departure that will send us along the entire length of fabled Fourth Street Bike Boulevard to our destination of Indulge Cafe at 5101 Pico Blvd., recently opened by the original owners of the long-dormant, muchly missed and mightily mythologized Mo’ Better Meatty Meat Burgers (previously posted about here).

The five-mile one-way route is viewable here. And if it weren’t incentive enough just to bask in our shiny presencesses and winning personaliteez while cruising across Burger Town to the corner of Hot & Juicy, check it: I’ll even be packing several of these some-of-a-kind shirts to give away to whoever wants one while the short supply lasts.

P.S. On the STORMWATCH!!1!!1! tip, I won’t speak for the entire group, but personally I’m for rescheduling should there be any of the alleged measurable rainfall that’s being forecast for tomorrow afternoon/evening.

[click for bigness]

At Burbank and Woodman -

This Shell station is consistently the cheapest gas I’ve found. Today it’s between 20 and 40 cents cheaper than stations in Silver Lake.

Yow!

Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Is capital punishment what Superman had in mind?

New Jersey has joined the ranks of states banning the death penalty in favor of life without parole. According to deathpenaltyinfo.org:

This is the first legislative abolition of the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1976. Iowa and West Virginia in 1965 were the last states to vote out capital punishment.

So where is California on the issue? Fun facts:

Death Penalty? Yes
Number of Executions Since 1976? 13
Number of Executions before 1976? 709
Current Death Row Population? 660
Women on Death Row? 15
Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder? Yes
Method? Choice of Injection or Gas
How is the Sentence Determined? Jury

Should California follow suit and ban capital punishment?

Photo of Florida’s Idea of Justice

Come Celebrate Comics, Freedom of Speech and, y’know, The Holidays and Stuff

Stalwart Defenders of the First Amendment, The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, are having their Los Angeles Area Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 19th at Golden Apple Comics.

A bunch of Comics luminaries will be there, charity auction to benefit the CBLDF, gift bags for the first 50 members, renewals or new members at the door, and 10% off all purchases at Golden apple for current members, matched by another 10% by Golden Apple themselves. More details Here.

Pretty Darn Spiffy, I say.

The CBLDF is a great organization with even greater T-Shirts.
(I have the Frank Miller one and the one with the text of the First Amendment printed on it.)

They’re the kinda thing you’ll dig if your one of those “I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it,” types, as I am. (I also stand up for my right to ridicule any stupid crap you might happen to say, but that’s part of the deal.) You know, little matters like Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment, that’s all. Little stuff like that.

Wednesday, December 19th
Golden Apple Comics
7018 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
6-9PM

From United Hollywood:

On Wednesday, December 19th, the Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee of the Los Angeles City Council will be meeting to discuss the impact of the strike on Los Angeles.

In the next two days, we have a chance to weigh in with those council members and ask them to help us end the strike.

I know a lot of readers are impacted by the strike. People are losing jobs all over town. Writers are out of work, grips are out of work, assistants are out of work. I can’t even begin to imagine the full list. And it doesn’t matter who you blame for this – the fact is that resumed negotiations are the only way to fix it.

I’m not entirely clear on how the city council might proceed after their meeting. But since this meeting is happening anyway, let’s all send an email letting them know we want this matter resolved!

Behind the cut is an email for non-WGA members to copy and paste (or use as a basis for your own). WGA members can get text from United Hollywood here.
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There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wonder what Welshmen think of Los Angeles. Do they like the City of Angels? Do they find us cheeky or dodgy? Do they like our radio stations?

Mathew Parry writes home to Wales from Los Feliz to talk Charlie Brown, his Armenian hairstylist, and Christmas shopping with the stars.

Putting my own insecurities aside, I managed one brief foray onto another famed Beverly Hills shopping and celebrity thoroughfare – Robertson – in search of the perfect T-shirt for my nephew; a necessary incursion as my local branch of the store in question didn’t have the required size/colour combination. Fighting through paparazzi swarming on the sidewalk isn’t to me the quintessence of fun that it is to Britney, Posh and Paris, but I survived and, thankfully, I got just the right T-shirt. Six-month-olds can be so picky.

Must be a very special T-shirt for a very special little Welshman.

Enjoy the holidays, Matthew Parry. Say hi to Ross & Rachel for us.

The brand spankin’ new Qio boutique and gallery, which features casual and street couture with a Japanese flair, underground brands from Tokyo, and an art space that hosts local artists (deep breath) is having a party, and you’re invited! All kinds of free goodies will be given away, as will a raffle with prizes from Hysteric Glamour, Kunna, and Orthodox. The event is being sponsored by Asahi, so there will be lots of free beer, as well as mixed drinks. My friend the Rameniac, a co-owner of Qio, will be DJing, so put your party pants on and get ready to groove to the sounds of the 60s and 70s.

Mark your calendars: It’s all happening this Thursday, Dec. 20, from 7-11 P.M. at Qio: 11614 W. Pico Blvd., 90064. Click on the flyer and it’ll get Bigger.

On Saturday, Dec. 8, the annual Santacon Santa Rampage took place in Los Angeles. It was a banner year for the Red Tide. Why? Five little words: DETAINMENT FOR POSSIBLE TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.

Click through to ride along with Santa and experience the TRUE glory of Christmas!

Photos by Kevin Rolly and Paynie.
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The Getty Center is one of my favorite places in all of Los Angeles. I think it’s perfect. I love the constant changing of exhibits and the richness and depth in which they are presented. I love the grounds and gardens, the way that the focus is on local plants, the way that the surrounding terrain seems part of the landscape design. And I even love the way the museum sits, above the city, a literal ivory complex, those gleaming white buildings that are a world of their own – and yet so much a representation of Los Angeles.

There is a fantastic article in the Times today that talks about the Getty Center, and how our perception of the place changes as Los Angeles changes around it. It is, after all, an architectural icon, but an icon representative of a rapidly changing city. It lends “instant, old-fashioned respectability to an institution that craved it,” to quote the Times article. It is a world-class building and museum, in a city perceived to be so new, and so transitory, that it lacks such things. I highly recommend checking the article out here.

But what does the Getty Center mean to you?
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At the center of the storm regarding the Chinese float is local resident Yaning Liu. Her mother is imprisoned in China and she has raised the issue at a council meeting she was escorted out. Now her written request that Pasadena Mayor Bogaard “help free my mom” has been rejected.

The complete story can be found in the Pasadena Star News article Woman works to free mother held in China Bogaard refuses request to help. The folks at Pasadena’s Political Underbelly chimed in first and alerted me to the Star News article. Great job – then again they do an excellent job of writing up on their blog the crazy stuff that makes up Pasadena politics.

If anything should cinch the nomination for Grinch of the Year it is this little bit:
“I want you to know that I understand fully your concern and desire for help, from any and every source, in attaining your mother’s release,” Bogaard wrote. “This must be a very difficult time for you and for all of the members of your family.”

Bogaard on Friday said granting her request would be unlikely to have an impact and would open the gates to similar requests that would “discredit” his role as mayor.”

The banner is from Reporters without Borders and will appear as a billboard near the Rose Parade Route.

After a careful nomination process, the possible recipients of the Los Angeles Grinch of the Year award has been whittled down to a manageable five choices.

Nick Counter and the AMPTP, the LA Unified School District, Pasadena Mayor Bogaard, The Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association, and, surprisingly, the LA City Nerd (who awarded blogging.la the title of his 2006 City Nerd Blog of the Year – perhaps his nomination is merely an effort to shame him into returning?)

Please vote (at right) by 11:59pm, Wednesday, December 19th. The “winner” will be announced this Thursday.

After the jump, a brief summary of the nominees.
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