Lucent Dossier by Curious Josh

So, it’s December 31st 2009 and you’re sitting in your pajamas working from home watching cooking shows and wondering what the hell you’re going to do tonight. C’mon. I know I’m not the only one.

Fret not. Here are my picks for events that will not suck, that aren’t grossly overpriced, that you should still be able to get into–from wild costumed ravey revels to punk at a pirate bar, from Russian rawk by the beach to a hoedown in the high desert. Read on for info on The Zeros & The Dogs at the Redwood, Nexus, NYE Rox at the Roxy, Henry Clay People at Spaceland, the Reverend Horton Heat, The Red Elvises, Bootie LA’s Bootleg Ball, Lucent Dossier’s Haute Cirque, and Pappy & Harriet’s All-Stars.

(Photo of Lucent Dossier by LA Metblogs pal Curious Josh courtesy of the very kind LA Weekly.)

The Zeros & The Dogs at the Redwood Bar & Grill: Classic LA punk doesn’t get more authentic than this, and it’s in an incredibly cool venue: downtown’s “pirate bar,” the Redwood (also a classic hang for LA Times staffers since time immemorial). Don’t know the Zeros? Step down, boy, and get taught a lesson from the 1976 punks. Info

Nexus: Even if you’re not an e-tard, this tribal-arty-electro-rave will have you drooling with ecstasy by 11:59… Read the rest of this entry →

While at the AKC Dog Show a few weeks ago, I managed to capture a few choice moments on our handy Flip Cam.  Our amazing editor, Lucinda, patiently and awesomely pieced together the too many mini-videos I shot and this here is the result.  Happy new year’s eve.

The old Fox Hills mall in Culver City, where I have been many times, was a somewhat sleepy place.  Not any more.  In time for this past Christmas, the expanded and renamed Westfield Culver City shopping center unveiled itself to huge crowds.  The mall appears to be doubled in size, and now includes Target, Best Buy, H&M, Coach, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Manna Korean Barbeque, and a completely redone food court, er, “dining terrace.”  And it now has room for key elements of any good shopping mall: a giant Christmas tree, and new cars on display.

take a tour, after the jump

Remember that kids’ movie that came out a few months ago? Something about Chihuahuas and offensive Mexican stereotypes? It was called, like, Viva Chihuahua or something. And like most movies about cute dogs, it resulted in a slew of parents buying Chihuahuas for their squalling little larvae, which in turn resulted in a slew of Chihuahuas being deposited in animal shelters when those same parents realized that it’s harder to teach kids to housetrain a dog than it is to just get rid of the dog and ply the kids with Hannah Montana crap until they stop crying.

Which is why — and this is the cool part — the SPCALA is doing a Chihuahua airlift today. Let’s say that again in all caps for good measure: CHIHUAHUA AIRLIFT. Awesome.

Chubbers, one of the dogs making the trek.

Because Chihuahuas are the most popular breed of dog in LA, the SPCALA, which has shelters in Hawthorne and Long Beach, has more Chihuahuas than any other type of dog. It’s been that way for the past three years, and the problem is only getting worse. With shelter space at a premium, there weren’t many options available.
Read the rest of this entry →

It is with sincere regret and disappointment that I’m making the call to effectively cancel the “Metblogs Grinch of the Year” contest. Read the rest of this entry →

If Metro gets its way, you may soon be playing @foursquare deep in the bowels of the L.A. subway.

The Source is reporting that the agency is moving forward on the development of a request for proposal that will be sent out to private firms to outline the agency’s requirements.

I cannot wait until the day when I can tweet about meth-induced stupidity on the Red Line.

KCRW’s Marc Porter Zasada has a Huffington Post wish for the 10’s. In the next decade, he would like to see Los Angeles become more of a city. A real city. To…

try to cease being a collection of freeways and malls, a sprawl of half-imagined neighborhoods, or a loosely-shuffled deck of cluttered boulevards and cultural icons.

I want to find it harder and harder to get around in a car, and easier and easier to get around on foot.

Give it a read. It is not by any means a slam on our city. Nor is it the cliché “we should be more like New York” nonsense. It is a wish that many of us have expressed to one another at a bar or restaurant, just minutes before getting back into our metal cocoons on the 405.

Just yesterday, Blogdowntown reflected on a bygone tradition of half a million people crowding Broadway to ring in the New Year. What happened to that? What happened to the thousands of Angelenos that descended on Pershing Square for the lighting of a singular Christmas tree? Or the crowds of proud citizens who would take a streetcar to witness the groundbreaking of… anything?

Zasada issues a challenge to L.A.’s wealthiest citizens to help this city “evolve into a coherent metropolis.”

Perhaps they could start with finding a Mayor who will stay in town long enough to do the job.

Los Angeles can be better. It should be better. And we should get to work immediately.

Photo by Renee Rendler-Kaplan from Metblogs Photo Pool

The LAPD would like you to know in which parts of town it is not OK to drink and drive:

• North Hollywood
• Hollywood
• Downtown

Everywhere else is a go. Happy New Year!

LAPD Sobriety Checkpoints:

Thursday, December 31, 2009, 8:00 PM – 3:00 AM
Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood

Friday, January 1, 2010, 6:00 PM – 1:00 AM
South Figueroa Street between 8th and 9th Street, Downtown Los Angeles

KNX is also reporting that a sobriety checkpoint at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards will go into operation at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

I don’t know what compels people/us to compile year end lists.  Maybe it’s a way to organize 12 months of discombobulated memories.  Maybe it’s our very few articulations of hope – that even though you didn’t get the girl this year, you’ll have your shot in the next.  Or maybe we’re just hoping that our bit scraps of experience piece together with someone else’s, and that, in the shot-in-the-dark mentality that is Los Angeles, we’ll make a connection, if only for a starved minute.

So, even though I haven’t made a year-end list in something like a decade, here is mine.  Are mine.  Inspired by a friend – and by “inspired,” I mean “blatantly stole the idea from” – this is the first of a three-list round up of some my least favorite, most favorite, and most meh LA-specific discoveries I made throughout the year.  I’ll start off on the bad foot with my Least Favorite Finds of 2009:  the demise of parking in Los Angeles, the closure of my favorite dyke bar, and really bad Korean BBQ.

Read the rest of this entry →

Nice to see an honest vanity plate on a car in LA.  This little Hummer’s plate says it all.

Pic by me with the trusty cell cam, it does get bigger with a click.

Reader Roky spotted this outside his apartment and took a pic.  Not so much a tard as assholian

FedEx ParkingTard by Roky

in my book  as he could have just as easily double parked in the street like the guys in brown do regularly on my street.  Seriously, taking up 3 spaces in an already crowded apartment lot is pretty cheesy.   As he attempted an angle park couldn’t he just finish the job right?  Roky’s exact email…

I just shot this photo from my apartment balcony in Hollywood.

I would be thrilled if you posted this on la.metblogs!

thanks, Roky

As good as done Roky, keep ‘em coming, especially the ones in handicapped spots that don’t belong there.

I’m actually quite pleasantly surprised that it took a full four days before finding my first curbside Christmas tree carcass. But I’m even more surprised that the inaugural corpse pictured above has a celebrity connection seeing as it’s pronated where it was pitched on the  parkway outside none other than Beck’s Hancock Park residence.

Go crazy with the Cheeze Whiz, but first: remember to recycle your tree!

What a way to ring in the new year! This accomplished cavalcade of musicians returns in full form with its original members, including the showstopping Katharine Whalen and Jimbo Mathus. After lots of side projects for the various members–solo records, touring with the Dickies, collaborating with Buddy Guy, Comedy Central series, Dixieland bands and dancing through Morocco (for real)–they’re coming together again for a show that’ll leave the El Rey chandeliers swinging.

Wanna go? Tell me your New Year’s Resolution in the comments. Don’t have one? Me neither. In that case, tell me the most outrageous resolution you never kept. I’m right with ya on that one.

Show info is here.

I know, it’s only three days after Christmas, but it’s the most wonderful time to discuss Christmas Tree Recycling in the City of Los Angeles. Let’s prepare for 2010 by doing the right thing with your tree.

First of all, if you live in a house with a green bin, the best thing to do is saw the tree into pieces that fit easily into your green bin. Remove all lights, tinsel, decorations and the stand before hand. Then the tree gets collected, composted and mulched as your normal yard trimmings would. Think of the sawing portion of the recycling as a jump on your New Year’s Workout resolution. The key thing is: don’t leave the tree standing next to your green bin on pick up day — it won’t get picked up and we may take pictures and post them here.

If you live in an apartment building, you are encouraged to place your spent tree curbside on collection day. Again, take all lights, tinsel and decorations off first. Visit the City website: www.lacity.org or call 311 for collection day information in your area.

If you prefer to take your tree to a drop off location, there will be only one weekend only of LA City tree collection this year and that is this weekend:
Saturday January 2 from 9:00 to 4:00
Sunday January 3 from 9:00 to 4:00

Click here for a full listing of drop off sites. Please note some sites from last year are closed and there will be no tree or light bulb give-aways this year.

If none of those things sound appealing and you have a minimum of $25 to spend, click here for a tree removal service. They donate part of their fee to Tree People.

Get those trees recycled and all the best in 2010!

I will be doing a rundown of NYE events for those of you who, like me, get around to the “Hmm, what should we do for New year’s Eve?” convo on December 30th, but before I do that here’s one solid option where I can even get you in the door for free.

Chromeo is a solid dancey duo with retro reverence and new-school tricks that never fails to not only get the party started, but sees it through to the epic end. And with Peanut Butter Wolf, VEGA, & Gaslamp Killer plus Mike B on the bill, all with Club Nokia’s stiff drinks and solid soundsystem, this will be a seriously bangin’ way to start the new year. (The club’s drink are not cheap, though: I advise pre-partying at home & taking public transpo to LA Live.)

Wanna go? Tell me about the best New Year’s Eve you’ve ever had. We’ll pick a few winners to get a pair of free tix to the show.

Show info is here.