I don’t know wether to laugh or cry at this but we’ve hit our 15,000th post published mark this week! The post in question was from frazgo titled Buy clothes that fit… mildly nsfw. The post stirred up a little dust on the merits of blogging in general but all in all good fun.

I can’t believe we’ve made it this far. There have been some incredible writers through our doors over the past 7+ years and we’re going to be opening up the floor for more people next week so if you want to join in on the Granddaddy of LA blogs get your links handy and I’ll be posting details on Monday on how you can become one of the crew.

Here’s to the next 15k!

Between GOOD Magazine’s launch party for its LA issue and CicLAvia, there’s a whole lot of community spirit this weekend.  Go on, make your neighborhood a friendly place.

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L.A. Animal Services issued a press release today stating that they are canvassing Los Angeles City neighborhoods checking for current dog licenses. Not only is it the law, but being in the system may increase your chances of a reunion with your dog should it ever get out. I know first hand that your dog that you are sure will never get out WILL.

Since 2008, the city has required dogs, and cats, over the age of four months to be spayed or neutered. Therefore, to get your $20 dog license, your pet must be altered. There are a few exemptions and if you qualify, you pay $100 (plus a possible $235 breeder’s fee if applicable) for the license. A current rabies vaccine is also required. The various applications can be found here.

Your dog will not actually go to jail if caught without a license. You won’t be fined, but you will be asked to bring any licenses current. Little Guy, pictured above, isn’t really behind bars. He just fell asleep that way in my dining room. (Rescued from East Valley shelter over 10 year ago. Neutered and licensed).

Just yesterday I noted that our new header image was a famous mural off Fairfax. This photo is from earlier today when a truck from Graffiti Control Systems removed the locked gate from the private property where the mural is located and buffed it. The mural was completely legal and commissioned by the building owner, who can be seen in the photo as well obviously upset that artwork she had on a building she owned had been destroyed. LA Taco did some research and found that Graffiti Control Systems is based in North Hollywood (also on Facebook and yelp) and contracts with the city of LA to remove graffiti – though something is definitely out of the ordinary here unless they are in the habit of buffing anything they see regardless of where it is. You may recall a few years ago a very culturally significant mural of Ed Ruscha was painted over “on accident” and Saber’s Guiness Book of World Record holding LA River piece was wiped without notice.

While there is much ongoing (and forever ongoing) debate about the artistic value of graffiti, the city clearly need to do some work on educating it’s clean up crews on the difference between a tag on a garage door and a legal and commissioned mural. Especially since Los Angeles is so well known for it’s murals which a huge part of the life of it’s residents. Seeing artwork like this destroyed is disgusting. I hope Lynda, the owner of the building this mural used to be on, files a law suit against the city for trespassing and vandalism.

UPDATE: GCS has admitted this was an error and will be paying to have it fixed.

The other day leaving work, I eased out of the driveway to make a right turn and head home, but I was so busy looking left for a break in street traffic I didn’t see the bicyclist on the sidewalk coming from the right. He subsequently yelled in my car window about watching where I was going and I yelled back about getting the hell off the sidewalk. Because that’s how I roll, yo.

I think sidewalk bicyclists are both annoying and dangerous, and lately I’ve noticed a marked increase in their numbers. I don’t know if it’s the high price of gas forcing more and more people to self-locomote, or if there’s some sort of bike-on-the-sidewalk-to-work campaign I haven’t heard about, or if it’s just part of the secret plot to make my commute more ever-more obnoxious. Regardless, I had a whole bloggy rant planned today about scofflaw cyclists and how you shouldn’t expect motorists to be looking out for you if you’re not obeying the traffic laws.

And then…I actually researched the traffic laws.

Who knew? Apparently you are, in fact, legally allowed to bike on the sidewalk in L.A. So go on with your bad self, bicyclist. Ride that vehicle on the sidewalk. Hell, take your whole family with you. Annoy everyone and endanger yourself. Because L.A. law allows it. We can’t legislate good manners or common sense.

(Daquella manera’s photo used through creative commons license.)

Chicago is known for its L – a heavy rail transit line that is elevated through its downtown core. But, did you know that Los Angeles almost had it’s own L?

It would have been on Wilshire, the transit corridor currently known for its underground Subway To The Wiltern. It would have been part of the Red Line, from Union Station to the Miracle Miracle, up through West Hollywood, back to Hollywood, and on to NoHo.

The plans were drawn up in 1983. Twenty-eight years ago.

Metro has put up the renderings and maps for what could have been.

I love this wall off Fairfax. After our meeting the other morning I pointed it out to Jason. He snapped a shot, and next thing you know… new image for the header! I completely support this. LA Pride.

Hey Y’all!

I’m looking to move, likely somewhere that’s a 20-minute drive from Santa Monica, but I’ve lived in “Los Angeles” since 1982 and know that just a block or two in any direction can mean the difference between Just Fine and Oh No You Di-Int.

So, Peeps, anyone care to give a little info? Mar Vista? Culver City? Museum Row?

Elsewhere?

Looking for the Try Heres as well as the Stay The Hell Away Froms.

Need 2 bedrooms and secure parking.

Eager to hear ~

This may or may not be the biggest thing since Banksy brought an elephant to a Downtown warehouse: starting Saturday, UK street/pop culture/etc artist D*Face will be showing off a “multi-media vault of aPOPcalyptic new works” in a solo exhibit at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City.  D*Face has quite a portfolio – from the above street art that graced downtown in 2009 to the cover of a Christina Aguilera album to a (solicited) portrait of the pope.  For his “Going Nowhere Fast” exhibit, he’ll showcase new works more or less connected to theme of celebrity and our fascination with it.  Charlie Sheen’s 1 million+ Twitter followers, are you listening?

There also will be an installation entitled “Flutterflies”, in which actual bugs meet spray can caps.  Tying everything together, D*Face told Brand X that they’ll try to resurrect “three celebrities from the grave in a séance before the opening reception.”  Whether or not those specific celebrities are resurrected, I’m guessing there will be a ghost of someone floating around throughout the night.  Maybe the dead bugs will buzz back in to see how their bodies are now being used, kind of like how I imagine the spirits haunt the Body Worlds exhibits.  Anyway, the exhibit runs until April 27, but – and fair warning – the seance seems to be a one-time only deal.

D*Face’s “Going Nowhere Fast” opening night reception, Saturday April 9 from 7:30pm to 10pm at the Corey Helford Gallery, 8522 Washington Boulevard, Culver City. The exhibit runs until April 27.

Photo courtesy Lord Jim via the Blogging LA Flickr pool.

What could possibly be coolest school in the world opened in LA last week. It’s called the ‘Tempest Freerunning Academy‘. If you don’t know what Freerunning is here’s the definition from Wikipedia:

Free running or freerunning is a form of urban acrobatics in which participants, known as free runners, use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as tricking and street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas (such as cities or towns) that are cluttered with obstacles.

Freerunnung reminds me of skateboarders ripping through a city on a day they forgot to bring their boards with them. It can be beautiful and terrifying and if I was 25 years younger with working knees I’d be signing up for classes immediately!

Their 7,000 sqft facility was designed by famed ramp builder Nate Wessel and looks like a dream world where Mario Brothers, Tony Hawk Pro Skater and an Olympic training facility had a weird 3-way. It has built in foam pits, trampolines, a spring floor and my personal favorite… a 14ft warped wall right out of Sasuke!

They offer classes from beginner up to advanced (although the advanced classes are by invite only) but if you just want to go and play on their gear they have an un-monitored open gym for the adults and a monitored open gym for the kids.

Check out their amazing trailer video after the jump.

Oh, such a bummer.  On Friday – yes, April Fool’s Day, except it wasn’t a joke – one of the better food trucks out there, the Filipino food-slinging The Manila Machine, announced it no longer was going to operate the food truck side of its business, at least for a while.

Nastassia Johnson and Marvin Gapultos launched the truck last June and really was one of the very few trucks to be actually quite good.  Based on their first statement (there are two, the second of which we’ll get to in a hot second), the two will focus on catering so they can pursue other opportunities: Gapultos is looking forward to writing a cookbook, and Johnson is weighing her next venture.  And (maybe most importantly), now that they don’t have the 23/7 job that is running a small business on wheels, they can get some much needed family and friend time.

Their explanation, and all the gossip fit for your elementary school playground, after the jump.

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make the jump for uncensored

It caught my eye not in a good way.  Seriously, if you’re buying clothes, buy clothes that fit.  Nothing is worse than sitting down to dinner and having a big hairy butt crack staring at you when you look up from the menu.  Or plate.  Seriously its a total what not to wear moment.

Pic by me with my trusty cell phone.  To see it in its still blurred maximum glory you need to make the jump.

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I’ve come to consider last October’s inaugural CicLAvia something of the Los Angeles cycling community’s Woodstock, both in the fact that it was a defining and shining moment for our city and also because as the years go by I get the feeling that a lot more people are going to say they were there than actually were.

Whether you were or you weren’t a part that street party spanning between East Hollywood and Boyle Heights, your chance to get out and enjoy the second CicLAvia is imminent. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday, April 10, the same 7.5-mile route as the first one will be closed to vehicular traffic and open to all manner of self-propellers. Be it bike, skateboard or just your feet you really should set aside some time to soak up what is such a unique and sensational experience.

Here’s a slightly remodeled version (higher res with an original soundlayer I created with the iPhone Bloom app) of the timelapse I made during part of my CicLAvia’ings from Boyle Heights back to East Hollywood:

For LAers traveling on JetBlue Airways, Long Beach Airport (official initials LGB, not to be confused with sexuality categories) is often the only departure option. I don’t mind that at all. Pulling up to LGB always reminds me of the final scenes of “Casablanca”, which is appropriate given the airport’s extensive history.  For instance, the airport’s main terminal was built in 1941, making it a year older than the release of “Casablanca”, and the airfield itself dates back years earlier. Read the rest of this entry →

Sign announcing new park feature.

I have to admit this stopped me in my tracks for a bit.  For the first time in ages I went onto the Lario San Gabriel River Trail via Encanto Park.  I’ve blogged in the past about this great little park, now they have a new feature.  A man made “river trail” replete with crane sculptures and nice little seating areas.

What a great place to take kids without the risks associated with the river itself to teach them about the rivers in the area.  Of course ripping out a bunch of grass and putting in native species will help with the water load created by that park in this Mediterranean climate of ours.

Pics by me with my cell phone or “toy camera”…more of the park and San Gabriel river after the jump.

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