It’s last-minute! And we only have one pair of tickets! But if you’re stoked on seeing this local band tear it up onstage tonight at the Mayan (to a sold-out crowd), well drop me a line. Just leave a comment telling me why you have nothing else to do tonight but go see this show. We’ll pick one winner to get the pair of tix. Please be able to check your email throughout the day, because I will be emailing the winners back but will need you to provide me with your name as it appears on your ID, in order to add you to the list.

Okay, so it’s not, “Milk, milk, lemonade,” but Really?

“Number One and Number Two?”

Pretty amazing.

(spotted at the Disney Concert Hall downtown)

Went to the Disney Concert Hall again yesterday, for the annual Sing Along With Handel’s Messiah.

What fun – we all left feeling thoroughly ex-ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-alted, and of course, please to remember that photography is STRICTLY prohibited there at the Hall.

Getting fluffed for show.

I never thought I would be one of those people, but here I am:  I went to a dog show yesterday.  The 2009 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship started Saturday at the Long Beach Convention Center and finishes today, Sunday, with the Best in Show being crowned at some point tonight.  There also is a highly entertaining agility contest – disproportionately attended by lesbians (not that there is anything wrong with that; I was there too) – in which big and small dogs race their way through an obstacle course.  If you have no plans on a lazy (and hopefully dry) Sunday and have a spare Andrew Jackson in your wallet, tickets at the box office are $20 and free for kiddies.

I know what you’re thinking: Best in Show and one of Jane Lynch’s finest performances outside of Glee. And, really, it is hard not to mock the entire event, or any event in which a group of obsessed people congregate to out-obsess the other.  But, for dog lovers, it’s also a nice chance to see all sorts of different dogs like the Xoloitzcuintli, learn about different breeds, and see how they fluff the bichon frisee’s fur.  It’s electric.

If you can’t make it, no fear: a full recap will be up next week for those who live vicariously through their computers.  The pictures might be the best photos I have ever taken.

We’re low on firewood, so I thought I’d check out Craigslist to see if anyone was giving the stuff away. That’s when I stumbled upon the following ad:

free 1 day of work (Los Angeles)

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Date: 2009-12-11, 10:11PM PST
Reply to: sale-88eqz-1506414551@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

Hello I would like to ask someone to give an opportunity to my husband. He has 10 years of experience working as a painter. He knows how to paint with sprayers, rolls, brushes, and cloths. He also has two years of experience working staining fine furniture. He needs a permanent job. I understand the economy and business is extremely slow. If there’s anyone that may know someone that is hiring for a long period of time. We would appreciate. He also has some experience driving forklift. Any job as a painter, stainer or forklift will do! Christmas is coming and we would like to have a secure coming New Year! If there’s anyone that can give him an opportunity please email us back. The only bad thing is that he doesn’t have a work permit and his English is not so great. I will give 1 day free to demonstrate my work.Thank you

Kind of a kick to the gut. A reminder of how lucky some of us are.

12/26 Will Be Kicks' Last Day in Silver Lake

Strolling by Kicks on the way home from work this evening I noticed a banner advertising a huge moving sale. I didn’t realize that the store is relocating so I stopped in to see what is up. Apparently, Kicks will be moving out of the neighborhood altogether to join forces with their other store located at 141 N. Larchmont. This is sad news indeed for Silver Lake, but happy news for your wallet! To prepare for the move they have slashed prices up to 70% off clothes, shoes and accessories. Their last day at the Silver Lake location will be December 26, so go on and get your kicks while you can still trot on over there from Intelligentsia, kiddies.

It’s another week of that most wonderful time of the year gone by and I’ve been hard at play pedaling around town pointing my digicam at all sorts of holiday displays, some austere and some awesome.

This time around a major-league tip o’ the chapeau needs to geau to Tara, one of our newest L.A. Metblogs authors, who after last week’s inaugural set of sparklies said “Get ye to the canals of Venice!” So I did, biking the long way home to Silver Lake from Westchester Wednesday night via Marina Del Rey and Venice and Santa Monica on what my ass tells me was the coldest night its felt in a long time — but damn was the house Tara directed me to well worth the detour and the frostbite. Give ya one guess which one it is below.

(Left to right and top to bottom) Mar Vista, McDonald west of Mesmer; Culver City, Duquesne south of Braddock;  Crestview, corner of Garth and Cadillac; Marina Del Rey, at the intersection of Water and Land; Venice Canal Zone, Carol Canal near Eastern Court; Historic Filipinotown, Vendome south of Temple; Faircrest neighborhood, Crescent Heights between 18th Street and Airdrome.  Click thumbnails to enlargify:

Week One viewable here.

On Tuesday, December 8th, 38 year old Eun Y. Kang, pregnant with twins, was brutally raped and killed by murder suspect Boneetio Kentro Washington at her Venice home on Electric Avenue. Her landlord described the horrific incident in this LA Times article.

The Venice Community is holding a Candlelight Memorial Service for her on Monday, December 14th, 6:00PM at 1660 Electric Ave., Venice, CA.

Now that the Venice Canals are lit up with sparkly Christmas Lights, it’s time for the 28th Annual Venice Canals Holiday Boat Parade!

This Sunday, Dec. 13th at 4:00pm go to Carroll Canal and Eastern Canal and watch the costumed boaters make their way through the canals. For more information on the parade route and contact information to enter your own boat, head over to Voice of the Canals.

Granted we are wusses when it comes to cold for the most part, but c’mon its not so bad that the local Pavilions store had to have not one BUT three racks of gloves, mittens, hats and scarves in the frozen food section.  Or was this their not so subtle way to warn you that section of the store gets a little nipply at at times.

Pic taken with the trusty cell phone and does get bigger with a click.

“We’re going to get killed [on the blogs] tomorrow.” — Kristine Lefebvre

“*%*)#(*$(&%(*&$)(*$)(*#$#!!” — Chef Ludo Lefebvre (translated from French)

I think Wednesday night’s LudoBites was the closest I have ever been on a reality show.  The same thing would have been said for Chef Ludo and his wife, Kristine, but silly me, they both already actually have been on reality shows – Ludo was on Top Chef Masters not too long ago (and just finished filming a Top Chef Masters reunion in Puerto Rico this past weekend), and Kristine popped up on The Apprentice (and was fired 14 wanna be Donalds later).  Who knew that that experience actually would be very helpful to dealing with a very rough night?

Let’s back up.  LudoBites is the restaurant version of those Christmas tree lots we see everywhere: seasonal.  Chef Ludo, formerly of high end restaurants L’Orangerie and Bastide, pops up somewhere, creates a killer, fantastical menu, and executes.  But, like a J.Crew coupon code, it lasts only so long.  At his last pop-up, at BreadBar, he was resident chef for a trifle three months.  LudoBites now is at version 3.0 at Culver City’s Royal/T (former home of the super kawaii Hello Kitty exhibit that Jodi wrote about a few months ago), and Ludo is there for only 13 days.

Given the very short stint, reservations for LudoBites 3.0 were probably one of the hottest tickets in town outside of tickets to Michael Jackson’s funeral.  So, when a friend of a friend mentioned that she and a few others had an empty spot in their group reservation and asked me if I wanted in, I jumped at the chance.

The meal, the service, and why Kristine Lefebvre declared, “Miss Irene doesn’t matter” after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry →

The tallest building in town was under construction. It would rise 454 feet into the air, made with sand from each of California’s 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions. It would become the new home of local government and civic pride. It would become Los Angeles City Hall.

The year was 1927.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

Classic Eats is back in 2010!

Save the date: Saturday, January 23, 2010. We’ll start at our normal early hour of 5 or 6 pm (Depending on where we end up).

Voting opens in early January. We still have plenty of places on the list to go to. I’ve had one direct plea to add Cole’s to the next round of voting. No matter where we end up, I can’t wait to see you all there!

Talk about a quiet storm! I was very surprised to find more rain fell last night upon the Silver Lake Meteorological Substation / Regional Civic Precipitation Division Headquarters, than did the downpour of December 7. Total measured from whenever the hell it started raining the evening of December 10 to the recalibration of the rain collection apparatus (i.e.: “emptying of the minibucket” for you laypeople) at 7:42 a.m. December 11: 1.25625  (3.21001 cm):

You know how sometimes you’re in those business meetings or school functions where there’s a whole bunch of new people, so you all have to engage in some ice-breaker function wherein you tell everyone your name and one interesting fact about yourself, and the whole time everyone is talking you’re not listening because you’re trying desperately to think of something notable about yourself, and you start to get depressed because the best thing that you can think of is that one weekend you watched three seasons of Alias and ate nothing but frozen Marie Callender’s dinners? That’s sort of how I feel right now.

At this point you’re asking yourself: Who is this silver-tongued young buck using the power of the internet to spread such merriment? My name is Kevin Ott, and I’m a new blogger here at LA Metblogs. I’m here to bring you charming and informative stories about the sun-kissed and cosmopolitan land in which we live.

Some things about me: I’m a freelance writer; I tell people I live in Los Feliz even though technically I don’t, because many people don’t know where Greater Griffith Park is; I live with my girlfriend, who for the most part thinks I’m pretty cool; I’m originally from Philly, but spent a few years in Boston as well; I worked for daily newspapers a few years before print journalism started looking like a pigeon with a broken wing; and I’m into trivia — like, did you know that John Tyler, our 10th president, has two living grandsons? Seriously, look it up.

It’s great to be a part of LA Metblogs. I plan on giving you guys some good stuff.