Yep, I’m one of that certain percentage of us Los Angies who get antsy after more than a day or two of stuff in the air that occludes our ready visual access to other stuff up there — like the sun and blue sky and planets and stars and natural orbiting satellites…

… like the moon, for example.

Thus it was with shock and relief that I looked out my window this pre-dawn and grabbed my cam to debunk the rumors in my head that the moon had gone missing since Thursday and prove that in fact it is still up there in its usual place and shining like it was making up for lost time.

Between the Grammys, the Oscars and the World’s Greatest Dads, the sickening season of shameless self-congratulation is upon us.

For a breath of fresh air, look east to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which is hosting the 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) dog show.

For all you noobs, the WKC dog show is America’s second oldest sporting event (only the Kentucky Derby is older) and attracts breeders from around the world. Over the course of two nights, American Kennel Club judges bestow awards to dogs in seven distinct groups: hound, terrier, non-sporting, herding, sporting, working and toy. On Tuesday night, a “Best in Show” is named. Last year’s winner was a Beagle named Ch K-Run’s Park Me In First (aka “Uno”).

Part one is broadcast tonight from 8 pm to 9 pm on USA and then on CNBC from 9 pm to 11 pm (synergy!). Part two airs tomorrow night from 8 pm to 11 pm on USA.

And please remember that pure-bred dogs may look beautiful as they trot obediently around the Garden, but most of them are a royal pain-in-the-ass and prone to all sorts of debilitating genetic ailments.

If you’re interested in a canine companion, you’d be far better off following Obama’s lead and rescuing a dog from your local shelter.

Image: Some dude and his dog.

Those of you in the know are already following trafficLA on twitter, though hopefully not with text notifications on because damn that would be a crazy flood. This is something they know as well, and have split the account into 11 different subsections that focus on different sections of town like Central or West LA. This is direct from the CHP so it’s packed with useful info for all those commuters out there.

Photo by Larry Johnson, used under Creative Commons

Wrapping up in Long Beach this afternoon is TED2009.  If you’re not familiar, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.  It is an annual conference that brings together an incredible group of thinkers and doers from those fields and others to talk about “ideas worth spreading.”  Sadly, the $6,000 cover charge precludes me (and I imagine most of us) from attending the conference, but TED still provides a wonderful rabbit hole for the rest of us to fall into.

Clickity-click past the jump to discover why you’ll love TED, too.  Also how you can (sort of, virtually) join the audience at the conference.

Read the rest of this entry →

Apres moi, le deluge

Last night, I had my writer’s group over for a soiree, and a couple of people didn’t make it due to the rain.  I’m still getting used to the intense amount of discussion and hand-wringing in Los Angeles regarding rain.  And I don’t mean mudslides, I mean just driving on the highway.  Then my friend Chris, a fellow transplant from D.C. (a literal swamp where it rains all summer long) explained it thusly:

“Rain in L.A. is like snow in D.C.  We get an inch, and people become irrational.”

Maybe that’s it.

Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey was arrested Friday night in Boston on two outstanding warrants for tagging property with graffiti. Fairey was in town for the opening of his first solo museum exhibition, “Supply and Demand,” at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

According to today’s LA Times:

Two warrants were issued for Fairey on Jan. 24 after police determined he’d tagged property in two locations with graffiti based on the Andre the Giant street art campaign from his early career, police Officer James Kenneally said Saturday.

Fairey willl be arraigned on misdeameanor charges on Monday in Brighton District court.

Blogger Eric A. Morris has set out to dismiss popular misconceptions of L.A.’s transportation system… and by “set out” I mean written a post in the New York Times. A snippet with his challenge here…

(I should also note that per Morris’ bio he’s “a doctoral student in UCLA’s department of urban planning and a researcher at UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies.” Yep, another city nerd!)

Exactly one of the following statements about transportation in Los Angeles is indisputably true. Two are (at best) half-truths, and the rest are flat-out myths. Can you figure out which of the following is accurate?

1. Los Angeles’s air is choked with smog.
2. Los Angeles has developed in a low-density, sprawling pattern.
3. Angelenos spend more time stuck in traffic than any other drivers in the nation.
4. Thanks to the great distances between far-flung destinations, and perhaps to Angelenos’ famed “love affair” with the car, Angelenos drive considerably more miles than most Americans.
5. Los Angeles is dominated by an overbuilt freeway system that promotes autodependence.
6. Los Angeles’s mass transit system is underdeveloped and inadequate.

He’ll post what he believes are the answers in the near future at Freakonomics.

I’m refreshingly surprised that Morris didn’t mention the whole “nobody walks in L.A. thing.” But are there any other cliches or myths that he missed?

A year and a half into a five-year contract, David Beckham is leaving Los Angeles’ the Galaxy for AC Milan. After the attempted force-feeding to the American public of major league soccer, as well as him and his wife, Victoria, as yet another addition to the celebrity set, I guess we just weren’t having it. Apparently, the feeling was mutual.

According to today’s LA Times:

So what did he accomplish in 18 months? Thirty games played for the Galaxy. Five goals scored. A lot of squealing female fans. A lot of Galaxy jerseys sold. A few more fans in seats. A bit of media buzz.

He joined the Galaxy in 2007, making $5.5 million a year on a five-year contract that was said to be worth as much as $250 million with endorsements and profit-sharing.

Photo: Creative Commons/Wikipedia

Most of us know about the “not-so-secret” secret menu at In-N-Out. But, did you know that Poquito Mas also has a secret item that is not well publicized? The catch is that you can only take advantage of it when we’re having the wet weather we’re currently enduring here in L.A.

When it’s raining and with any $5 purchase, you can get a free bowl of their tortilla soup. They even ring it up as “Rainy Day Soup.” It’s a tomato broth chock full of veggies with chips and cheese on top. In other words, perfect for a cold damp day. You’re welcome.

Thanks to commenter dziga on this post for bringing this to our attention. It seems that Mannie Garcia, the photographer who took the photo that Shepard Fairey based his illustration on was not working for the AP when he took the photo in question, says that the AP has no rights to it, and doesn’t want to fight with Shepard over the usage. Photo District News spoke with Garcia and says:

Garcia also questions whether the AP even owns the copyright to the photo. He says that he was not on the AP staff at the time the photo was taken, and never signed the AP’s freelancer agreement. He said he has had several conversations with AP managers in recent days about ownership of the image, adding, “I never wanted to fight the AP.”

Garcia says he worked for the Associated Press as a temporary Washington photographer for six weeks in 2006. He says he was not considered a staff member, and that he has never signed an AP freelancer agreement because he doesn’t approve of the terms in the contract. Asked if this punches a hole in the AP’s copyright claim, Garcia said yes.

Yesterday while transferring between the Green and Blue line I encountered a group of officers enforcing fare payment armed with card readers for TAP.  I used a day pass on that occasion so I didn’t get to see them in action.  Plus, I was in a hurry.  So, this is a heads up to everyone out there using the TAP card.

As a side note, it seems logical to allow TAP card owners to buy a day pass and load it onto the card.  One of their selling points is the eco-friendly nature of the card.  Perhaps that is a feature to be added in the future.

Three brief items for fans of Rorschach and gang…

1) Midnight and opening day tickets for “The Watchmen” at the Arclight Hollywood and Sherman Oaks are now on sale.

2) On Tuesday, February 17th, director Zach Snyder and visual effects supervisor John Des Jardin will be at the Apple Store at Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade at 7pm. (h/t /Film)

3) A giant ad for “The Watchmen” was installed on a building last week near the National exit off the 10 Freeway, in spit of a city wide moratorium on the installation of new billboards.

Two stories with an LA angle from Metblogs sites in Calif.:

* American Apparel gets  some flack in Los Angeles, mainly from people objecting to its sexually charged ads, or for what the arrival of one of its retail stores signals for a locally beloved commercial street balanced on the edge of transition. But overall, I get the sense of a certain hometown pride LA takes in the company’s success.

It’s not the case further north in California. San Francisco recently succeeded in stopping a fourth AA from opening. (Has this ever happened in LA?) SF Metblogs has the story.

* On OC Metblogs, Gina points out how Orange County ranks fifth in the nation for job losses, right behind fourth place LA County. So really, we’re both losers.

Can’t say as Silver Lake is sporting debris flows the likes of those in Sierra Madre that our San Gabriel Valley Stromwartch Correspondent Frazgo just reported on, but I can be absolutely certain of the measurements taken at the previously bone-dry Dogbowl Precipitation Registration Station (DPRS) Between noon yesterday and 6:45 this morning, we’ve had two inches liquid refreshment, as shown clickably biggifiable at right. Reports of the dogs drinking some are entirely erroneous.

Further deluge developments as they happen. Or sometime thereafter.

If like me you are crying yourself to sleep every night over the loss of Doomies, you might get some solace this weekend! According to Doomies MySpace Page they will be serving a special menu tonight in Pasadena (Pasadena at 580 N. Lake St.) for a $5 donation. The Vegan Collection blog is also announcing that they will be serving food on Saturday and Sunday though I can’t find that info on Doomies own site. Either way, if you missed it before you have a limited chance at hand – don’t pass it up!

UPDATE: Weekend infos received (sort of). Saturday Doomies will be serving the goods from 3 – 8PM at 5140 Firestone Place in Southgate, CA (that’s between downtown and Compton in case you’ve never heard of it) and Sunday’s location is still not yet announced. 1770 glendale blvd. in 90026 (4pm to 10pm) Flyer for that with menues can be found after the jump. (Thanks Tom) Read the rest of this entry →