Earlier this week I made an earth shattering announcement. OK, so maybe “earth shattering” is a teeeeny bit of an exaggeration. But it’s certainly cool. Because I said so. We’ve got this new thing were you can sign up and once a day get an email with all of the posts we wrote here that day sent right to you. A bunch of people signed up for it and I’ve heard from a few of them that it’s “rad” and also “works great!” but I know we’ve been posting a lot of stuff recently so that post might have been missed by some of you. All the more reason to sign up for something like this, so you don’t miss anything! So, if you are the kind of person who read this site and also the kind of person who gets e-mail, maybe this is right up your alley. You can sign up here if you want to check it out. Enjoy!

No I’m not talking about the Weiss v. Trutanich run-off for city attorney. In my mailbox yesterday — just two freakin’ days after this last election — I find yet another  official sample ballot, this one for the “26th State Senate District Special Primary Election,” scheduled for March 24.

Owing to how only a whopping 15% of those voters registered bothered to cast ballots Tuesday, I get the feeling this race might literally be decided by one of the eight candidates’ mothers.

Seeing as these election things cost MONEY, which my city/county/state is in reeeeeeeeally short supply of right now, and seeing how it is taking place a mere 21 days after the last one, here’s what I wanna know: Why the hell wasn’t this election combined with the one we just had. Sure, there are no doubt chapter-and-verse regulations and rules that clearly lay out the logical and bureaucratic reasons for keeping the two ballots inefficiently separate, but I’ll tell ya: as a diehard chronic and habitual voter it’s getting dangerously close to the point where you can stick a fork in me because I. Am. Done.

I’m also guessing that if none of this field pull a majority of the votes, we’ll have yet another election between the top two finishers –  and it’ll probably be three weeks to the day after the city attorney run-off.

For answers I went to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website at lavote.net and clicked on the 26th State Senate District Special Primary Election – Fact Sheet. Not surprisingly I got their equivalent of 404 error — which I predict will be the number of voters who go to the polls March 24.

UPDATE: Looks like the County Registrar fixed the link. Turns out the state senate elections gonna cost an estimated $2.2 million, but the good news any run-off vote will take place May 19, the same date scheduled for the City Attorney and 5th District council seats.

Colin Hay, Topanga Days, 2005 by Jodi

I had the pleasure of seeing Colin Hay perform at Largo at the Coronet last week. Over the past several years, I went to many of his shows at the original Largo, but this was the first, and I believe his, at the new digs. As usual, the former lead singer of Men at Work regaled us with many anecdotes between songs. Hay is quite the storyteller and his tales rival his impressive guitar skills and amazing voice.

We heard about his recent trip to Australia, where he had lived since leaving Scotland as a young teen. He was chatting with a local who said something to the effect of, “You live in L.A. now, right?” Colin confirmed and the guy replied, “Oh, I could never live there. It’s full of [widely used expletive in Oz]. Sure, there are a lot of [same expletive] here, but there are a lot more there.” He laughed off the impression the stranger had of his home of the past 20 years. In spite of not quite achieving the original goal of moving here, which was to “return to superstardom,” Hay said, “I love L.A. Things happen here that don’t happen anywhere else.”

Read on to find out why Colin Hay thinks L.A. is great…

If yours claim at MPD.

I spotted it on a walk this afternoon.  Remnants of a quick chop or impromptu “Midnight Auto” parts yard.  If you are missing a pair of tan leather power bucket seats, the rear seat, and what appears to be the deck lid of a late model Acura Integra, please contact Monrovia PD.  They have it in storage for you in their evidence locker.  Don’t I find the most amazing things on my daily meanders?

Christianity: Now for English Speakers

This sign struck me on an evening walk on Olympic, near Fairfax. Not quite Korea Town, but heading in that direction, linguistically and geographically. The sign, which read “An English Speaking Christian Congregation,” had a reminiscence of bad old discrimination/ exclusion signs, but I think its intention is almost exactly the opposite.  Next door to these Lutherans is a Korean Episcopalean church.  That one was written mostly in Korean (which I don’t read, nor speak, unfortunately), but with a small caption saying “English services in basement”.

While I certainly cannot see any good in anyone in whatever linguistic community receiving religious indoctrination, I like the addition of factual consumer warnings to their signage, roughly:  “If you want the benefit (or harm) of religion, here’s an ingredients label to evaluate.”

First she was a Lakers Girl. Then she broke out and became Chef Marilyn. Forward 20 years she’s giving LA a present for her big cookery anniversary. “99 Cent Soul Food Buffet” with a whole slew of new stuff on top of her regular menu.  ”99 Cent Gumbo” got my attention but per the vid we can expect a lot of creole treats as well as traditional ‘weezeeanna soul food cooked up special for this weekend.

Chef Marilyn’s Soul Food Express in South LA is celebrating March 6,7,8 from 6AM to midnight (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with a 99 cent only menu. That’s right, huge fillets of baked catfish, smothered oxtail and collard greens are just some of the entrees for this anniversary. Read the rest of this entry →

BlindOldFreak, Cyrusrex, DJ Anon

Having seen Cortini perform with both modwheelmood and NIN, I fully recommend checking him out as BlindOldFreak on Tuesday, March 10 at Knitting Factory Hollywood. Closing out his 2009 “It’s Going to be a Cold Winter” Tour, BlindOldFreak will be joined by Cyrusrex and DJ Anon (of Booby Trap fame) Tuesday night. This may be your last chance to see him perform an intimate show before he explodes into mega fame. Don’t miss it.

Read the rest of this entry →

In case you missed last week, I posted that Coop would be DJ-ing at Silver Lake’s newest hotspot, Stinkers.

Entertainment at Stinkers

Well, as luck would have it, Coop took ill about 5pm and although he sent his iPod (and technically he DID present the evening’s music) he wasn’t actually on the premises.

Tonight, however, the fever’s broken and he’s rarin’ to go.

See you there?

Stinkers is on Sunset in Silver Lake, 2939 W. Sunset Blvd, across from Cafe Tropical, and the fun starts around 10pm.

The oral arguments over the constitutionality of Proposition 8 is being streamed live RIGHT NOW from the California Supreme Court’s California Channel website here.   The Sacramento Bee also has set up an alternate site here (requires registration).  Arguments are scheduled to end at noon.  No matter what side of the fence you’re on, it’s likely to be one of the biggest cases in our lifetime.

As of the time of this post, Shannon P. Minter, the attorney for the side disputing the validity of Prop. 8, is being grilled by the justices.  Stay turned for the return of Kenneth Starr…

UPDATE: In response to the Constitution’s role in protecting the minority from the majority, Kenneth Starr says,  “Each of us is a minority of one. “  This is maybe the best quote of the arguments, quite surely one of the top 10 of the year.

They call themselves the Unextraordinary Gentlemen. None of that is true. They are quite extraordinary and they aren’t all gentlemen – one is a gentle lady. I discovered them via friends and heard their music for the first time on a local internet radio show that happens (mostly) every Friday afternoon on Theory Radio presented by MP3JSark. Even in their rough cuts of music it became apparent to me that they had something. More to the point – they had a lead singer (Malcolm Schreeck) with a powerful  and unique baritone voice to front the magical world of Victorian intrigue they weave within their music.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the mysterious front man and pick his brain a little bit.

VL: So, I think I heard you created your band as a result of karaoke at Andrew’s Monday night alternative karaoke Ground Control.

MS: Well, that’s where Richard aka Prof. Mangrove approached me, yes.

VL: Serendipity. I assume he’s the tall drink of water I see out at the gothy events.

MS: Symmetrical Chaos.  Yes, tall drink of water.

Read the rest of this entry →

Los Angeles area gamers can totally pwn some good deedage next Friday, March 13th by donating blood at the World of Wonder gallery on Hollywood Blvd.

Resident Evil 5

Capcom will usher in the launch of Resident Evil 5 on Friday, March 13th by partnering with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive. On the way to pick up their very own copy of Resident Evil 5, gamers in the LA area will be invited to give back to the community by donating blood at the World of Wonder gallery on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, Calif. from 11 am – 5 pm.

In addition, fans of the series will have the chance to get exclusive limited-edition Resident Evil 5 Blood Drive collectibles, win copies of the game, enter a raffle for one of several exclusive red Xbox 360® Resident Evil limited edition consoles and most importantly, do their part to help a good cause.

Drop-ins are welcome but Capcom is asking gamers who plan to attend to sign up in advance at capcom-unity.com. Read the rest of this entry →

There is something that has gone wrong in the last 40 years of the gay-rights movement, albeit for generally well-meaning reasons.  The justifiable outrage over the passage of Proposition 8 has accentuated this fact in my mind, as did seeing Milk a couple months ago (not because of anything in particular about the quite good movie itself, but just because of the times it chronicles).

By way of background, I have something a familial boast: my mother wrote the first gay rights ordinance in the USA, when I was in my first years of elementary school. This ordinance, like most of those that followed in the few years after it, led to a recall of much of the city council, … Read the rest of this entry →

Hello Metblogs Community,

I’m thrilled to join the madcap Los Angeles Metblogs team and hope you will relate to whatever it is I decide to contribute each week. My posts will likely be about shopping around Los Angeles, things chicks might like, innocent gossip and tips on the best bars to pick up the dudes (please let me know if you have any leads). Maybe I’ll even drop some names of people you don’t know and drop some mad cash in your store – so look out! I’m a coming!

(Photo courtesy of Courtenay Gasking)

On the personal side, I moved to Los Angeles from Atlanta in 2003 where I received a B.A. in Communications from Oglethorpe University. I’m left handed, have a motorcycle license and enjoy vintage clothes, good scotch and bad poker players sitting on the other side of the table.

Thanks for having me. If you want to keep up with the mundane goings on in my life, I invite you to follow me on twitter.

Love,

MissRFTC

This Saturday (3/7,) Create:Fixate is hosting its first event of 2009, “Wisdom Within Us.”

Click to magically magnify.

Now, I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m an art neophyte. I couldn’t tell you what qualifies as “good.” I just know what I like when I see it. This event seems tailor made for me, because it features a lot of different artists working in various mediums (ie. lots of variety for a guy like me to enjoy.)

I say “event” because this isn’t going to be just an art show.  Oh, there will be art in the traditional sense – painting, photography, sculpture, installations – but there’s more. A lot more.

Follow me past the jump to find out just how much more, and how you can join me for the fun (and, you know, culture and stuff.)

Read the rest of this entry →

What’s up, pussycat? I’ll tell you. TOM JONES. Tom Jones will be belting out tunes from his new album, “24 Hours,” as well as subjecting himself to much panty-tossing during “It’s Not Unusual,” this very Friday. Info is here.

We’ve got a couple pairs of tickets to give away, but you’re gonna have to work.

You can:

Tell me about your favorite Tom Jones-related experience and why it rocked your world.

or

Using seesmic (which is in our comments), record a video response in our comments of you singing a Tom Jones song. The first two people to do that automatically get the tickets. Yep! Now….GO!