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Tipped off last night by our blogger Jason Burns, who was in turn tipped off by a tweet from City Councilman Eric Garcetti, I made a point of snapping a few pictures last night as the rarely-lit Lindbergh Beacon shone over Downtown.

It was a little difficult to find an authoritative online source for info on the Beacon, but apparently the intensely-bright light with a lighthouse-style rotation was installed originally in 1928, named after the decade’s big celeb (flyboy Charles Lindbergh) and switched on by President Calvin Coolidge himself from a remote control situated in the White House. The web site aerofiles.com then explains that

“…its original purpose soon became outmoded by advanced air navigation technology. The beacon was eventually turned off, removed in the early 1940s, and it quietly disappeared—no one seemed to know for sure where it went. Then, by chance, in the early 1990s it was discovered at a city warehouse, where it was regarded as an odd piece of junk, but members of the Project Restoration group recognized its historical value, and rescued the relic. Funded by the city’s Cultural Affairs Dept, the beacon underwent electrical rewiring and metal restoration for subsequent return to the top of City Hall in 2001. Project Restore held an initial rededication ceremony for the restored Lindbergh Beacon on April 22, 1992 in the LAX terminal, where it was relit in demonstration after its then 50-year absence.”

Apparently the thing is now only lit rarely, so it was a real treat to see it going last night! Sorry for the crappy picture; I had pulled over into a restricted section of Spring Street & was endeavoring to take the photo out the car window without stepping out into the cold, or into a traffic citation. Flickr has a better collection here (but be aware that another Lindbergh Beacon resides in Chicago atop the former Playboy Magazine building).

Here you can watch a very brief video by KPCC’s John Rabe taken from the top of the tower, which contains the tiniest shot of the back of the beacon (I think), and Rabe saying “Take a good look ’cause I’m not coming back up here again.”

If any City Nerds, Map Nerds, or Nerds of other stripes know more about the Beacon & can provide us links to further information I’d be indebted to said Nerds.

In Santa Monica, chickens (technically, roosters) drive around with their heads.  And their tails.   And a large sedan in between.   At left is one spotted recently in the neighborhood.  Yesterday, I saw another one, a yellow 1970s Oldsmobile with Earl Scheib advertisements, parked in a nearby alleyway.

Local folklore has it that at least one of these cars was used for a television commercial or other filmed production some years ago.  I don’t know about that, but whenever I see these cars, I am reminded of the amazing spoken word lyric “Evidently Chickentown” by John Cooper Clarke.  Here’s the version that I like (warning: prodigious f-bomb droppings): evidently video after the jump

There are so many holiday activities going on this weekend. How does one choose? I recommend going where you find the highest concentration of holiday fun, and on Saturday that is going to be in Echo Park.

Saturday at noon you’ll find Grand Marshall Bob Baker leading the annual Echo Park Holiday Parade down Sunset Boulevard. The parade will also feature local high school marching bands, dance troupes, and other surprises. I have it on good authority that the L.A. Derby Dolls will be skating in the parade. I’d bet there will be an appearance by a certain white bearded man in a festive red holiday suit, as well.

The parade is only part of what’s happening, though. Local businesses have decided to stretch the fun all day long with the Echo Park Holiday Shop Hop. The parade may begin at noon, but other festivities start as early as 10:00am and will go on until 2:00am. Many businesses will be offering specials throughout the day, as well as various performances and workshops.

My favorite Echo Park business, 826LA, will have things going on all day long. There will be free gifts with purchase at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart. They will also be accepting donations to support the great programs they offer; if you donate $5 (or more,) you’ll get a book written by Echo Park kids. I’ve read their work, and it’s really good.

At 3pm 826LA will present “A Guy Walks Into an 826LA…,” a stand-up comedy performance by 826LA students. At 8pm, it’s “Dead Author Readings with Charles Dickens.”

This is only the beginning. Get complete details of special offers from local merchants, activities, performances and donations for local charities at the Echo Park Holiday Shop Hop page.

This Saturday, December 12, get yourself to Echo Park and get all of your holiday fun and shopping in one place.

So I was like, ORLY? And the guy was like Tewtally! So this is hilarious but I guess Adam Freeland recorded his latest album down the street from Hillhurst Avenue’s “Best Fish Tacos In Ensenada,” the fish taco stand, and he wrote a song titled “Best Fish Tacos In Ensenada,” and now he’ll play a show there at “Best Fish Tacos In Ensenada.” It’s this Sunday from 3-8pm, and it’s BYOB. Walk there, bring cerveza, and party. With some fine-ass fish tacos, apparently.

I was gone for over two months, LA, and I missed you so much! The dependable weather, the 24 hour grocery stores and pharmacies, the huge variety in restaurants and coffee places. Coffee places that open earlier than 7am, even! And I want to thank you for a few of the little things you accomplished while I was gone.

First thing I noticed — no more construction on the 405 North between the 90 and the 10 freeway and the carpool lane is open!  Well done, it only took five years. (A few more details about the 405N and S here.)

The bonus part of this section of the 405 being done is that the under pass at National is wide open and without construction. This is like dream for a Westside/Rancho Park gal such as myself.

Then there was the newly paved Pico Blvd between 20th Century Fox and Rancho Park Golf Course — Smooth! It was like gliding on ice and made my trip home from a meeting in Hollywood that much sweeter.

I did hear that the Expo line is delayed. Hmmm, that is not so sweet, but as long as you keep moving forward with that, LA, I’ll be here to ride and cheer it on when it’s up and running to Culver City. At least there is good news in the bicycle front with the LA City Council Transportation Committee passing the Bicycle Anti-harassment ordinance. It still has a way to go, but it is also moving forward.

LA, you were missed. Thanks for tidying up before I got back, I really do appreciate it!

We’ve got tickets! Read on to see how to win.

This time of year sees lots of “Nutcracker” productions, but City Ballet’s Nutcracker Swings is possibly the most unique. Transporting the original ballet by Tchaikovsky to 1940s LA, Swings tells the story of Maria, an orphan taken in by the Shook family of Hancock Park. She works as their maid, but is secretly in love with the eldest son, Jim, who’s about to return home from WWII for Christmas.

Cue the sugarplum visions, dancing dolls, a battle between the Nazi-esque Rat King and the prodigal war hero Jim, add a bunch of authentic folk-dance companies as Maria’s dreams take her & her beau through exotic lands around the globe, and then end it all with Duke Ellington’s swingin’ Nutcracker Score for a seriously fun time. I’ve seen a lot of Nutcrackers, but this one is so sparklingly original it demands a visit.

There are only two performances: Dec. 19th, at 2pm and 8pm. They’ll be downtown at the appropriately-festive Orpheum. And we have a family 4-pack of tix (to the 2pm matinee) for a lucky family who wants to get in a groovy holiday spirit.  To win, leave a comment telling me your favorite holiday memory. (It doesn’t have to be Christmas. It can be any holiday at all.) We’ll pick one winner to get the 4-pack. You should also check out City Ballet–they do a lot of urban outreach and touring to expose those to ballet those whom may not otherwise have the opportunity, offer scholarships & more. Nice.

Can anyone confirm with a picture?

A few weeks ago, I had the displeasure of riding the Metro across from a girl who was plucking her eyebrows. This week I found an even more offensive character who clearly has zero regard for his fellow passengers. Based on this debonair gentleman’s devil-may-care attitude, I assume that he somehow came under the mistaken presumption that the city bus is not a shared ride, but rather his own personal mode of transportation upon which he can do whatever he likes, such as kicking back, taking up several seats, putting his wet shoes on the seat (it was raining that day) and horking down an extremely pungent container of fried rice. This guy is a class act all the way. I can only imagine the lucky girl (or guy) who gets to come home to this every night.

Those of you who ride the Metro are surely familiar with the rules they announce over the PA on regular intervals – don’t place your feet on the seats, no eating, drinking or smoking allowed. In fact, for the latter three, you could apparently be fined up to $250, that is if there were Metro officials who actually enforced these rules. However, since I do not have the authority to fine individuals like this, nor do I think it’s a good idea to confront strangers on public transportation, I will do the one thing I am comfortable with. That is, mocking jerks like this in a public forum in the hopes of shaming people in general into being considerate. I’ll let you know how that all works out.

Heading into the parking lot of the Food4Less on Huntington Drive, I spied one enterprising guy selling Christmas trees out of a U-Haul. The truck, as you can see, is half full, so he must be doing brisk business assuming a full truck this morning.

Congratulations, sir!

I’ve loved this band for years, despite their faults and shortcomings. And yes, they have them. The tunes can be repetitive. Frontman Jay Farrar’s songwriting style sometimes seems like that of an overenthusiastic short-order cook, stuffing a bit too much into every line. And their personal struggles are legend. But for what they are, there’s nothing as good as Son Volt. It’s pure, unadulterated Americana. There is no better soundtrack for a road trip in the dark through haunted country between the black rattling hulks of eighteen-wheelers on a two-lane highway, when you’ve been driving alone for too long and the gold lights from the trucks and the road begin to smear in your eyes. Son Volt kept me focused.

Wanna go? Tell me about the most epic road trip you ever took (or plan to take). We’ll pick a few lucky winners. Show info is here.

Yes, I know–it’s last-minute. But what former or current goth/industrial or goth/industrial-curious kid would pass up this chance to see the BRUTAL awesome grandfathers of the industrial genre?

I also have to put in a good word for opener Baseck, who I first saw play in the sagging second story of a punk squat over a home-decor hop in K-town in like 2002 or something. The entire dubiously-structurally-secure room was whirling with kids dancing to his amazing electronic grind-post-grime-core-something-mashes. Two filthy thumbs up.

To win, tell me the silliest hyphenated musical genre you’ve ever heard. But you can’t steal “amazing electronic grind-post-grime-core-something-mashes,” because that’s mine. Show info is here.

Photo by Robbiework, used under Creative Commons.

Willie Nelson’s tour made its annual stop in Los Angeles last night. Willie and family, along with Austin favorites Asleep At The Wheel, played before a packed house at Club Nokia at the L.A. Live complex. The two bands are touring together in support of their recent album, Willie and The Wheel.

Asleep At The Wheel began the evening with their signature western swing. About half-way through their opening set, Nelson joined the band on stage to perform “Bring It On Down To My House,” as well as other numbers from the recent album and his classic, “Pancho & Lefty.”

After a short break and stage reset, Willie returned with his own band (with Ray Benson of AATW sitting in on guitar.) He started his set with “Whiskey River” and with only a couple of momentary breaks to introduce the band, he rolled through 25 other hits including “Crazy” (which he wrote for Patsy Cline,) “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Me & Paul,” and “Beer For My Horses.” Not one to stand for the silliness of walking off only to be called back for an encore, when his set was finished he thanked the audience and waved goodbye as he left the stage.

Willie Nelson seems to tour incessantly and tirelessly, but at this show his 76 year old body seemed to be showing its age a bit. While still in great shape for a man of his years, Willie had a bit of a paunch evident beneath his tight t-shirt which hasn’t been noticeable in previous years. That aside, his voice is as strong as ever, his guitar picking seems to get even better with age, and there’s a gleam in his eye which suggests he’s not stopping any time soon. Nothing lasts forever, though, and this is a show you don’t want to miss. You should probably see Willie Nelson again (or for the first time) as soon as possible.

Willie Nelson and Asleep At The Wheel perform tonight at the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks.

Spotted on Hollywood near Gower (in the parking lot of the relatively recently reopened Museum of Death)

Allow me to toot my horn a little bit about something with which you might not give a shit: the Midnight Ridazz All-City Toy Ride was my idea. No lie. I pitched it at the end of a group ride in Hollywood October 2006 when my friend “Roadblock,” one of MRs original posse who’d recently stepped up to take the baton and keep Midnight Ridazz rides running, told me he was looking for people to bring him themes for future rolls.

So right there I said to him something along the lines of “We should totally do something in December that’s like a Ridazz version of Toys For Tots.” Roadblock’s eyes got wide and he said “No shit. Hell yeah!” And he was off. Not long afterward he cracked the whip, got other ridazz enthused and organized and before long they had it all fucking set. There were multiple rides developed from starting points all over the city, with hundreds of ridazz converging at the Plaza gazebo by Olvera Street. Arrangements were made for L.A. County Department of Childrens Services to be the recipient of the donated toys, and there was a venue next to the Cornfield for an after-party with beer and a DJ. Someone even got Der Goobernator to record a PSA promoting the affair (no kidding, sorta!).

The subsequent 2007 and 2008 All-City Toy Rides, under the awesome and tireless guidance and energy of the extraordinary Patrick Miller have kept what was started in 2006 going strong. And with each one, I never fail to stop and take a look around and just enjoy of the role I had in it no matter how tiny. I did little more than light the match, but it’s still a point of pride knowing that from the suggestion that Roadblock ran with three years ago, the bike community has repeatedly come together each holiday season to make sure it’s a little brighter for others.

Does it get any better than that? It does this Friday, December 11, with The 4th Annual Midnight Ridazz All-City Toy Ride. Thanks to the hard work of a whole buncha people it promises to be the biggest and bestest of them all. Once again, rides will depart from all over the place (start times vary; more info here), to converge on the Plaza gazebo around 10 p.m. Participants are strongly requested to bring an unwrapped toy ($5-$25) to be donated to the East L.A. Women’s Center, not only because it’s the nice and right thing to do, but also because your gift grants you access to the after-party at Nucleus Event Center in the shadow of the 6th Street Bridge where there will be bands playing, food vendors, cash bars and lots more. And on the weather tip: rain does not — repeat: does not — cancel. Ride On!

Ever since I first learned of the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook back in 2007 when it was still very much under construction, I’ve been looking forward to climbing up and checking out the day-after-a-storm view of the city.

I’ve been up several times since it opened earlier this drought-stricken year, but storms have been few and far between. Then came yesterday’s drenching, and this morning I couldn’t resist the urge to detour from work, heading on up to the park’s plateau (perhaps being the first person to carry his bike cyclocross-style up the park’s famed killer staircase) to pixelize the spectacular city panorama with my digi camerama (you’ll wanna click for maximized biggification):