Tonight I went to see Beck at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal, formerly known as the Universal Amphitheatre. Universal Citywalk is only a few blocks from where I live, but once you head up that hill, you’re transported to a crowded neon world where everyone’s a tourist. To get over to the “Gibson Amp” (as some lady from KROQ called it), you have to walk the strip of theme park craziness. It wasn’t the best way to start the night.

When we walked into the amphitheatre, I realized that a) our seats were about thirty rows further back than I thought, and b) I had no interest at all in the opening band. Le Tigre came out next. They had lots of energy, but they were so small and far away, I didn’t get that into it. When they played F.Y.R., they said “Let’s do it karaoke style,” and put the lyrics up on the big screens so the audience could sing along. From the back of the audience, I couldn’t read the words even if I squinted.

At first I thought it was the distance from the stage that was bugging me, and then I blamed the hot day for stealing all my energy. But by the end of the night I realized the problem:
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In my friend Carmen’s recent blog entry about her trip to jury duty, she mentions a cool part of the MTA website that I never noticed before: an interactive map.

If you’re trying to get somewhere, the trip planner is more useful, but this Flash map is fun to play with. Click on a station’s name to see a photo and find out the name of the person who designed the art there. Some of the stations have pretty crazy decor, and this is an easy way to peek into lots of them at once. (My favorite so far: the metal palm trees at Hollywood and Vine.)

And in case you’re wondering, the MTA says they’re heightening security in the wake of the London attacks. Not to the point of bag searches like the NYC subway system, but they do offer a few security tips including this one:

DONÔøΩT FORGET to take your personal belongings with you when getting off a train or bus. When you forget that backpack, lunchbox, purse, briefcase, not only have you lost it, but that same item could be mistaken for a suspicious package and end up DELAYING THOUSANDS of other traveling customers.

Seriously. If I saw someone leave a package behind, I’d probably freak the hell out.

If you have no car and no AC and it’s way too hot to walk to Starbucks or the Coffee Bean, you can make a halfway decent ice-blended drink at home:

-Make a cup of coffee
-Let it sit in the freezer for a few hours
-Mash up the icy parts with a spoon
-Stir in some hot chocolate mix

Yum. It’s not quite as good as the real thing, and it took several hours to make, but I’ll take what I can get. (And now I appreciate that when I spend $4 or $5 on a coffee beverage, I’m paying for the convenience of having it instantly.)

Normally, I’m all about public transportation, but the Natural Resources Defense Council (an environmental organization that I know and love, and do some web work for) sent out a newsletter yesterday urging California activists to speak out against a proposed bullet train route along the Los Angeles River. This is the first I’ve heard about the project.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has proposed a bullet train route that would spoil newly created and planned recreational areas at Taylor Yard State Park, near Cornfield State Park and along the Los Angeles River. Although high-speed rail will benefit all Californians, there is no need for the system to fracture communities or degrade open space, particularly in one of the nation’s most park-deprived urban areas.

More here

(And if you’re into this stuff, you can subscribe to the newsletter, which covers environmental issues around the state.)

If you cringed when they gave Ryan Seacrest a star on the Walk of Fame, I’m sad to say it’s about to get a lot worse.

Long available to celebrities with $15,000 and a project to promote, a version of the iconic symbol will be given for the first time Thursday to a company: Disneyland is receiving the pink terrazzo-and-brass star in honor of the Anaheim theme park’s 50th anniversary.

Yuck. The L.A. Times article goes on to explain how the committee managed to get around a city ordinance that you can’t put commercial names on the sidewalk. Though some might say exceptions have already been made — I remember noticing that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen share a star, and I feel like whenever their names are said together like that, it refers to their billion dollar empire, and not them as individual people.

A few weeks ago, I was poking around on the MTA website and I noticed that in addition to the online trip planner, there’s an 800 number to call if you need help while you’re out and about. I programmed it into my cell phone, figuring it would come in handy. Later in the week, I was sitting on a bench, waiting what seemed like ages for the bus to come, and I decided to call to double check the schedule. Instead of an operator, I got a computerized voice: “The number you have dialed cannot be reached from your calling area.”

At first I figured that’s just what I get for keeping my NYC phone number, but then I realized if they’re blocking out of town numbers from calling the helpline, they’re also blocking most tourists from getting transportation advice on their cell phones. So I decided to complain.
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My inner hipster and I have a love-hate relationship, so I can’t decide how I feel about the official US Air Guitar Championships, taking place on Thursday at the Key Club. Normally if I’m going to pay $12 for a rock show, I want to see some instruments, but the video of last year’s winner on Conan O’Brien is pretty funny.

From a New York Times article written by one of the competitors:

Air guitar is not about pretending to be a rock star. You must be that rock star. You might not need to put dry ice in your armbands to create smoky contrails as you strum, but it helps. As far as other wardrobe options go, nudity is an obvious attention-getter and has become a performance staple, but so far it hasn’t won any competitions.

I was thinking I’ll probably skip it and check on Friday for a flickr set, but if these kids play air guitar, does that mean they also use air cameras?

For those of you who arrived at the Golden Gopher late, here’s photographic proof that there really was sushi at one point. Bloggers apparently suck that stuff down at lightning speed, so I’m glad I got there early.

I had lots of fun hanging out with my co-bloggers (including Cindy Mosqueda and Jozjozjoz, who I had never met before), and all the other LA bloggers and blog-readers who showed up to drink and play Ms. Pacman. Ooh, and I got to meet Eric Garcetti! If you live in his district, I’m totally jealous that you have a councilperson who comes to blogger meetups. That’s freakin’ cool.

I went to Hollywood & Highland today to run some girly errands with my friend (buying eyeliner at Sephora, etc.). It’s a good thing we took the subway, because our shopping trip coincided with the premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Hollywood & Highland is packed with tourists no matter what day it is, but this was the first time I’ve ever had to push through a crowd of crazed fans just to get to the American Apparel store.

(View from inside the store after the jump)
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Last summer, on one of my first ever LA Metro rides, I stupidly succumbed to peer pressure and didn’t buy a ticket. (If anyone says you don’t need one, because “they never check,” that person is wrong. I see MTA police checking for tickets all the time.) Instead of buying that $1.25 ticket, I ended up paying a $110 fine.

Since then, I’ve been trying to follow all the subway rules. But last night when I visited the MTA website to check the times for getting to Wilshire/Western, I noticed it showed the fare as $2.50. I was confused at the doubled price until I realized it was because I’d be switching trains. In NYC, once you pay the fare, you can ride as much as you want until you leave the system. Until yesterday, I treated the LA Metro as if it worked the same way, but here a one way ticket is only good for “a single boarding on a single Metro Rail line.”

Ooops. I’ve done the free-transfer thing a ton of times, so I guess I’m just lucky I didn’t get busted again. I would’ve been a repeat offender, which I think involves a giant fine and community service. From now on, I’ll stick with the $3 day pass to be sure I’m nice and legal.

An unrelated plea to my fellow Metro riders: If you see me on the subway, please don’t offer me candy. I like candy as much as the next girl (unless the next girl is Cybele), but I find it very creepy when strangers offer it to me on the train. Yesterday wasn’t the first time this happened, but it was the first time someone offered me the lollipop he was already eating. Yuck.

Today I went to the Empress Pavilion for lunch in Chinatown. The dim sum was delicious (and I’m pretty sure I didn’t eat anything with meat in it). After we ate, my friends and I wandered around and took a bunch of photos, including this one of some kids playing outside:

More photos are here.

Between this and my trip to the Getty on Sunday, I’m having a pretty touristy week without even leaving town.

I know the 4th of July is supposed to be about blowing stuff up with loud explosions, but since I didn’t buy any fireworks from the guy I saw selling them in the Universal City subway stop, the closest I came was blowing bubbles.

The other day at Bed, Bath & Beyond, I fell under the spell of the Hover Bubble, a battery-powered bubble making contraption. The packaging claimed I’d be able to make “super miracle bubbles” with “no dipping.” I thought it would be fun to play with at my friend’s 4th of July party, and it sort of was, once we got the hang of it. Looking over my photos just now, I realized that while bubbles by themselves are pretty, using the Hover Bubble makes people look kinda retarded.
(A few more photos are here.)

I haven’t started the 4th of July part of my day yet, but here’s a photo from when I went to see the Mae Shi play at the Smell last night. As you can see in the bottom left corner, some guy in the audience was wearing a TV on his head. (He kept it on the whole night, even while dancing.) I don’t know if maybe he was in one of the bands that played earlier, or if this is just what the kids today consider stylish. Anybody know if he’s a regular there?

Today I finally had a chance to check out the Getty Center. Normally I like art museums, but after walking around in the gardens, all the exhibits at the Getty felt dark and gloomy to me. I guess even great art has trouble competing with a beautiful summer day.

I took a few photos, including one of the smoggy view. (That’s the one thing that still totally grosses me out about living in Los Angeles. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to it.)

Is it still a vanity plate if you use it for self-deprecation?