Hmm. It’s fun to mess with the meaning of a headline by not capitalizing or punctuating properly.

• The Ninja tells some stories about Dodger’s Security

• CandyBlog.net informs us that See’s has limited edition Pumpkin Spice Lollypops that should be available until Thanksgiving. Yay!

• Kara and her friends go see a movie solely because their friend is in it.

J Keith’s van Straaten’s photo stolen from jkeithdotnet

I have heard twice today on KPCC that tomorrow (Saturday evening) there will be the following things happening:

5:00pm USC playing Oregon at the Coliseum

7:07pm Dodgers vs. Cubs Game 3

7:15pm UCLA vs. Washington State at the Rosebowl

8:00pm Neil Diamond at the Staples Center

There is also an Obama thing downtown with Hilary Clinton speaking in the evening as well.

So if you are heading down there for any of those things — ride a bike, take a bus, take a train, get there early, carpool, etc etc. If you were just going to head downtown for no good reason, I would avoid it like the plague!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

LA, you know I have much love for you, but some days…some days lady, you really work my nerve.

I’m trying to make some cheese.  It’s really basic: salt, milk and rennet. It’s finding the rennet that is making my head explode. When I was a kid, we learned how to make this cheese from an Egyptian lady.  Luckily the halal meat market in Diamond Bar (shout out to the Jibanis!) carried it, so it was no problem to get it and we made this cheese almost weekly. But all the Eid ul-Fitr festivities are this weekend so there is no way in hell I’m driving out to Diamond Bar for some plant extract. So, I turned to the internet.

I didn’t want to order it online, because I wanted to make the cheese today. Yesterday, I figured if I posted the question to Twitter which also feeds directly to my FriendFeed account then I’d get a response and pick it up in the afternoon. You’d think with all these self-described LA-based “foodies” who follow me on both services, that someone could have pointed me to a local store. I received exactly zero whole responses.

Read the rest of this entry →

click will take you to larger google map for directions

One of my favorite groups to support where I can is the Foothill Unity Center.  With offices here in Monrovia and Pasadena they serve the Foothill Communities poor, homeless or just plain in need.  This weekend they are holding a yard sale in a parking lot across from the Expo Home Center.  People all over the community are donating clothing, furniture, misc kitchen stuff even a TV or two.  All of the proceeds will go to benefit the many projects the Foothill Unity Center has going on all year to benefit our communities.

Sadly, I won’t be able to be there as I’ll be down in Mo Valley for basketball tournaments.  However, I have several bags of teen/pre-teen and womens clothing, bedding and a TV all for sale to help the “unity center” as we affectionately call the group.

Details: Saturday 10/4 West Maple Avenue, Monrovia CA.  Between Maple and Alta Vista in parking lot on North Side of Maple, across from Expo.

Spotted this tweet from Metro. What did I miss?

Did the Red Line go dark? Is it because California is broke? Is it because we need more nucular power? Is it because one of them doggone mavericks tripped a breaker somewhere over there?

Explain.

Susannah Breslin at The Frisky is reporting on leaked info that Hustler Video is at work on an adult film inspired by GOP VP nom Sarah Palin entitled Nailin’ Paylin. I can’t help but wonder if this is the possible source of the racy “Palin Lookalike for Adult Film” Craig’s List post that Julia stumbled across this week? Given that the CL post specified “no anal required” and one of the leaked tidbits that Breslin reveals is that Nailin’ will feature “the Russians, who come knocking on her back-door,” it seems there must be multiple Palin-themed adult films in the works. Quelle surprise.

Via BoingBoing

Lost among the voluminous chatter about talking and texting while driving earlier this year was a tidbit that I think is especially good to know in light of our beleaguered economic sitchyashun: as of January 1, 2008, California law requires merchants to provide cash back to the purchaser or holder of any gift certificate with a balance less than $10. Of course, there are a number of loopholes that card issuers can use to extract value from your card balance (keep an eye out for “dormancy fees for non-use” in particular), but if you’ve got less than $10 left on your Starbucks card and want to exchange it for cold, hard cash in lieu of a warm, satisfying Caramel Dolce Latte you’re good to go. And, just in case you forget, some Starbucks like the one I haunt at Glendale and Fletcher even sport a convenient counter sign giving you the lowdown! For full details on the ins and outs of getting your cash, check out the California Department of Consumer Affairs’ “FAQ and Tips and Gift Certificates and Gift Cards.”

It was like an armored ice cream truck, without the tasty exchange for your money.

It was a roving bank teller from the Seaboard National Bank in Los Angeles.

The year was 1929.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

click to open the video

Frank Girardot is the Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley News.  Frank also writes the Crime Scene Blog.  He made a flippant analogy of the flailing economy and a cigarette butt tossed over a wall in an oped piece a few days ago.  Readers ripped him a new one on his blog post “Tossing butts in the gutter.” as well as letters to the editor.

Late yesterday he did a video tour of the other side of the wall in a post “Checking butts in the gutter.”  Picked up a butt that could have been his.  He also found a lot of business cards for a “relaxation specialist” which we all know would have had better luck advertising her “tension release” services on Craig’s List.  Not quite an apology but an interesting audit of a gutter.

The pic is a screen shot but does link to the video itself.  Enjoy, it made me chuckle over my morning coffee.

Sigur Rós is an anomaly in the pop/rock music world these days and their concert last night at the Greek Theater illustrated just how much so. The Icelandic band asks its audience to witness, rather than participate in its performances; odd in this age of shallow American Idol-style pap that tries (and fails) to compensate for inherent blandness by encouraging its listeners to chime in.

A brief, cautious request to “clap, but please stay with the rhythm” or contribute a brief “oo-oo” backdrop for the band to quickly overwhelm was about all they needed from their respectfully quiet fans. Everyone seemed happy to comply, even the stoner next to me.

Opening with a typically lush rendering of “Svefn-g-englar” from 1999′s Ágætis Byrjun, Jónsi Birgisson’s keening vocals cut through the slo-mo roiling emotional sea created by (could it be?) just four musicians. At the same time, he bowed his electric guitar in wailing counterpoint and I just about lost my mind– and this is only three minutes into the show.

Most bands hold back their best material for later in the evening. Sigur Rós, with great poise, cut right to the quick, sending the crowd into swift rapture as the sound washed to the back rows of the Greek, lulling everyone into a blissful state. I looked around at peoples’ faces and saw serene, half-lidded smiles and couples leaning into each other.

Further into their 90-minute set, newer songs like the upbeat (for them) “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” and “Vid spilum endalaust” from Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust, their latest album, got a cooler reception than their older material. But there wasn’t anything like discontent happening, perhaps just quiet absorption and studied pondering from a dedicated turnout.

An hour and a half later, delicate moments of shimmering beauty faded; crashing waves of swirling keyboards and drums calmed. We all woke up, even though we knew we hadn’t been sleeping. We’d been dreaming, our eyes wide open.

After experiencing a few small to moderate L.A. area earthquakes since moving here, I have tried to pull together a basic emergency kit for my home and my car.  The kit includes water, some dry foods (including beef jerky and peanut butter), flashlights, hand-crank radio, matches, and candles.  Last night, my part of the Marina experienced a blackout, which gave me the chance to test my disaster skills in a relatively safe environment.  The results were mixed.

Read about my earthquake dry run, after the jump

LA Times reports that House Peters Jr who played “Mr Clean” a Proctor & Gambles cleaner from the 1950′s forward has passed.  Folksy, silly commercials from back in the day.  RIP Mr Peters, you may have had an acting career that spanned decades but we’ll always remember Mr Clean best.  The jingle still rings through my head:

‘”Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute.

Mr. Clean can clean your whole house and everything that’s in it.

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean!”

Inner-City Arts, the non-profit arts education center smack in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles’ skid row, held the grand opening for their newly expanded campus today. A parade of children wound around the gleaming white complex on Kohler Street carrying kites, pinwheels and other artwork they created.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa led a group of community leaders and donors in a ribbon cutting ceremony that gave way to performances by musicians, dancers and puppeteers and a walking tour of the campus.

Opened in 1989, Inner-City Arts has been serving thousands of LA’s most at-risk elementary, middle and high school students each year, using the arts as a tool in teaching academic subjects. The organization serves at no cost to students.

Photos: Keith Knueven

Anthony Hislar, the 27 year old Monrovia man arrested at Disneyland after “a five-day crime spree across three Southern California counties that includes carjackings, home-invasion robberies and attempted murder” has an even longer rap sheet, as revealed by a cursory Google search.

In September of 2001, a 19 year old Anthony Hislar was arrested along with his brother for robbing a Los Angeles area Bank of America. His brother, then 21 year old Peter Hislar, was also wanted for suspicion of killing two teenagers in a drunk driving accident the month prior.[LA Times]

And in April 2005, a 23 year old Anthony Hislar was nabbed after a high speed chase that went through the campus of UC Santa Barbara. Hislar was charged for driving on a suspended license. [Daily Nexus]

Now I’m wondering if his most recent alleged crime spree was prompted from the knowledge that a third strike could prove for a very long prison term, so he just went all out… capped with a visit to Disneyland. But the more important question is why does our criminal justice system allow a scumbag like this more than one second chance?

This sweet pupster was taken in by a foster family a while back, but now they’re moving & can’t keep her. Emily has been a busy dog, clearly advanced in years & bearing the marks of much puppy-rearing. She’s sweet as pie and mellow and good-natured–she just needs a loving home. I’ve been following her progress over the months and I really hope she finds a new home. The poor thing has been bounced around enough.

Can you help? Go here and follow the directions at the bottom of the post. Or if you can’t take her in, maybe you can pass this on.

Emily is being placed by the Bill Foundation, a center that works to adopt out dogs to good homes.

Hat tip to the Slackmistress for this post.