Photo by me, while nomming delicious -free- ice cream.

Though I’m not getting the scoop on anyone (see what I did there?,) I thought it important to let b.LA readers know that Ben & Jerry are in town. Well, at least their truck is.

As noted around the Intertubes, Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Truck is in Los Angeles. They arrived today, and will be here for the next six weeks passing out free scoops all over town.

I’m headed over to Hollywood Blvd. & Vermont, where they will be until 1:00pm, but you can find them wherever they may be by following them on Twitter.

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream!

Photographer J Bennett Fitts has a pretty fantastic series of images called “No Lifeguard On Duty” depicting abandoned pools around the country, many of which are in SoCal (above is from the Inland Empire). I find these image both haunting and captivating – forgotten dreams in many ways. Especially since so many of these appear to be at closed hotels, you can imagine families going on vacation and being excited to stay at a hotel with a pool – and what’s become of those now. I love these.

Full disclosure: I’m not currently a mom, but I am an auntie and have many friends with offspring so I do know one thing. Those little guys grow pretty fast!

If budgets are tight and you love recycling then Goo Goo Swap could be just for you. It’s sorta the Southern California Craigslist for all things kinder. There are listings for everything from toys to clothes to furniture and even listings for services like photographers and mommy and me yoga classes. There is a also section for mom’s on the nest with postings for gently used maternity clothes and exercise dvds.

Goo Goo Swap looks like a good way save a few bucks (or make a few bucks) on that pair of shoes that Junior might only wear once in his easter portrait.

Click here for: Goo Goo Swap

click to embiggen

2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season kicks off this weekend, February 11-14, with the 50th running of the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals.   If you love loud and fast cars this is the weekend made for you.  I’m not kidding, invest in good ear protection for this as after the Pomona Finals in November my ears were ringing for a good hour after the event and I had good plugs with me.

To mark the milestone 50th running of the Winternationals, NHRA has scheduled a series of events to transform the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona into a virtual hot-rodding amusement park for the weekend:

• The Golden 50 Corral Car Show, effectively a museum displaying the cars including Roland Leong’s Hawaiian and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s Hot Wheels Funny Car that laid the foundation for today’s 7,000-horsepower, 300-mph dragsters.
• Daily cacklefests, featuring top cars from the last 50 years in one of the oldest traditions in drag racing
• Autograph sessions with NHRA legends, including Shirley Muldowney, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Bob Glidden, Kenny Bernstein to drop a few names.
• Exhibition runs by legendary tribute cars on the Auto Club Raceway track.
• The unveiling of the Greatest Moment in Winternationals history (the complete list of moments can be found on NHRA.com).

All the details can be found at the Fairplex web HERE.

Pic by me from the 11/15 NHRA Pomona Finals.

And as Travis pointed out yesterday, the Times does love to take its shots at LA, which its writers (and much of the east coast) seem to believe is populated entirely by Latin Kings, the supporting cast of Beverly Hills Cop, and Angelyne (“Hollywood types?” Really, Times? Really?).

But the Times redeemed its harsh words recently when it named Los Angeles #11 in the 31 places to go in 2010. Sure, it focused a bit much on our many art galleries, and utterly ignored the incredible diversity of neighborhoods, restaurants, night spots and shopping districts. And to the comment that LA has a “lack of an old-fashioned cultural neighborhood,” I’d point our friends at the Times to Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia, Boyle Heights, Los Feliz, Thai Town… well, you get the idea. Sure, we may have absolutely no culture or history whatsoever when you compare us to The City That Never Sleeps Because It’s Too Busy Constantly Reminding Us How Totally Totally Awesome It Is, but we make do.

But we’ll take it as a compliment that our turtleneck-wearing friends to the east seem to think that our hopeful little hamlet is worth a visit. Here’s to ya, New York Times!

Photo by me! I even upgraded from my usual cell phone camera for this special occasion.

Thing is, much like the Rose Parade last week, I’ve never gone to the Rose Bowl as just a spectator, either, so it was a completely new experience for me. I went crazy taking pictures inside and outside the stadium and reveling in the gorgeous weather and how easy it was to simply walk there from Old Town Pasadena. But as I took in the tailgating scene and then settled into my seat for the game, I realized… I was, like, the only person who actually lives here.

That’s a slight exaggeration, of course (I’m pretty sure I did see Jason Schwartzman. He’s an actor, he does live here, right?). I’m sure there’s Alabama fans in LA, and there are tons of Texas alumni in this town. But damned if I wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of tourists the entire night. The people I sat near were dudes who flew in from Austin, people who possessed awesome/ridiculous Southern accents, or were the brothers (one a Crimson Tide fan, one a Longhorns fan) who drove up from San Diego.

I should’ve expected as much, though. College Bowl games are designed to draw in tourism, banking on fans to travel across the country to support their teams. And it doesn’t just benefit restaurants and hotels in Pasadena, the whole region gets a boost – the out-of-towners flock to attractions like Disneyland, and my friends remarked on the crazy amount of Crimson and Burnt Orange seen at Hollywood and Highland Wednesday night. The game itself is designed for them, too.

So, much as I went along learning the words to the songs and cheers of the Alabama fans (what else? I was rooting against the Longhorns), I went along with the whole tourist thing. I paid too much for food, took pictures at an annoying rate, gawked at celebrities on the sidelines (I’m not usually star-struck, but Lee Corso!!), and even got lost trying to get out of the place.

Though I was a stone’s throw from home, while I was there, I pretty much was a tourist (just one a bit less prone to purchasing souvenirs). Up until I got back to Old Town and resumed my regular role of giving people directions, explaining to a poor drunk Tide fan left behind by his friends just how long it would take him to get back to North Hollywood, and briskly bypassing the crowds because I’ve seen it all a thousand times before. Oh, and kind of lashing out at people on the bus who complained that there wasn’t a “celebrity” halftime show, just marching bands. Come on, people, it’s still the Rose Bowl, what did you come for?

These lumps of blanket are actually people (mostly) sleeping at 5:30 this morning

As I write this, I am camped out on Colorado Blvd. (in front of the Apple Store for easy WiFi, natch), having braved the chilly night with a friend with whom I’ve marched in five Rose Parades. It wasn’t enough to just watch on TV or pay for a seat for our first time on the sidelines; we decided to go all-out and spend the night on the streets of Pasadena, finally experiencing this ridiculous tradition we’ve so far only known by the aftermath seen in the morning. I thought by now I’d be an expert in all things Rose Parade, but as a n00b, it turns out I had a lot to learn about this “spectator” thing.

Lesson #1: Getting a good spot is much less stressful than you think it will be.

The City of Pasadena says you can start staking out your spot at Noon on the 31st. You don’t need to be there that early. I got here at 9:00 PM, which was good for people-watching while Old Town was still full of restaurant- and bar-goers. Even at my pretty prime location near the beginning of the parade, There was still space for a few people to set up camp. Lots of people had set out dozens of folding chairs, though, which still have yet to be filled (turns out nobody really enforces this supposed “no seat-saving” rule). Lots of parade viewers start to arrive after 3:00 AM, after they’ve celebrated the New Year elsewhere, and after many of the parking structures open for parade parking only. And though I thoroughly enjoyed the company of the fellow Apple nerd and his Chihuahua sitting next to us, I felt kinda bad that he had been sitting there a whole 10 hours more than us to get pretty much the same view.

Lesson #2: There is actually some method to the Silly String and projectile food madness.

For some reason, New Year’s Eve is the one occasion it’s totally OK to vandalize cars right in front of cops. In fact, parents regularly encourage their children to do so. It seems most who dare drive down Colorado Blvd. are prepared for the barrage of marshmallows, Silly String and tortillas (with whipped cream – so they stick to your windshield); some even honk and ask for it, and throw the food back at the crowd. The totally unsuspecting ones are hilarious to watch, though, as they duck and swerve and are generally aghast at this behavior. It’s usually little kids who are relatively harmless, but the ones you have to watch out for are the teenagers with no manners (who spray Silly String at people’s faces) and, apparently, college kids from Ohio who are totally new to this concept and take to it like excited nine-year-olds, except they’ve added alcohol and they start throwing food into the interiors of convertibles with their tops down. Also, I’ve decided that the kids who just drive by throwing stuff at the people sitting on the curb should only be allowed to do so if they’ve also sat outside overnight for the parade one time or another; we’re like sitting ducks here, it’s only fair that they pay their dues before pelting us with marshmallows.

Lesson #3: Yes, at some point, the honking, screaming and shouting do quiet down.

During the parade, there’s always lots of shouting of “Happy New Year!”, cheering, honking and noise-making, and throughout much of the evening prior it’s the same thing. All the kids are still awake and hyper and enthralled with their megaphone-like toys, and bar-hopping girls just stop in the middle of crosswalks to scream at each other. This all culminates in the hooting and hollering that accompanies the clock turning to midnight, and it goes on for about an hour afterward. Somewhere in there, people realize there’s still seven hours until the parade, and they get bored and/or tired and start settling into their sleeping bags (or air mattresses, or fold-up chairs, or, in at least one case, their big freakin’ camping tent). The majority of parade-watchers get at least a little bit of sleep sometime during the night. That’s not really my style, however, and I’ve managed to stay awake, though it got harder after everything got calm and quiet.

Lesson #4: Hey, Big Ten fans: You may think you’re tough, but you still need to dress for the weather.

It got down to about 46 degrees tonight, and is just now finally starting to warm up again. When you’re sitting outside, not moving, and quite possibly asleep, even for Midwesterners, it gets cold! This is chillier than most years, but I can’t even imagine how awful it must have been three years ago when it rained so badly the day of the parade. From my personal experience, I recommend layers, multiple pairs of socks, a sleeping bag (more than just a single fleece blanket), and a good friend who brings you hot chocolate without prompting. I would also say get one of those portable gas heaters or campfires, but apparently that would make me insanely jealous and hateful towards you.

Lesson #5: Parade viewing hygiene and you!

Unless you’re one of those who paid for grandstand seats and have the luxury of showering before getting here, you’ve just got to accept that you’re not going to look that cute. But it’s OK – everybody just woke up, half the people are in pajamas, and I still haven’t found a place to brush my teeth, so it’s likely no one else has, either. There came a point during the night where everybody was kind of haggard-looking and walking around in blankets, and I couldn’t always differentiate between actual bums and those of us who were, as a friend of mine adeptly put it, “simulating homelessness”. So, get comfortable with this slumber party look, since everyone else is in the same boat. But most importantly, if at all possible, avoid the porta-potties. They are few and far between, and, as a result of overuse, are the most awful, disgusting porta-potties I have seen in a long, long time.

Lesson #6: In the end, you can say you’ve taken part in something special… just like everybody else.

I set out to have a hi-tech camping experience – I got the laptop, internet access, WiFi-equipped iPod, and some friends even used my Facebook posts to track me down and visit my “campsite”. But the bare bones of it are pretty low-tech, and have been for over 100 years. People gathering together and watching a parade featuring traditions including marching bands and equestrian teams and floats made almost entirely out of plant life – this is what it’s all about, and is nearly the same as it was decades ago. It’s an experience shared by all those in attendance, and I am proud to be able to check this one off my lifelong “To Do” list. Though, to be fair, there probably haven’t been a ton of people before me who passed the time blogging, and I’ll totally be the one following the parade online rather than from the printed-out programs. So, I guess I can still make it a unique experience for myself, too.

Crenshaw’s Hayes Pullard avoids Narbonne coverage in the Los Angeles City Sectional Championship game, Dec. 12, 2009. Photo by Robert Helfman

Many of our state’s most promising young athletes will converge on the Home Depot Center in Carson this Friday and Saturday for the California State Football Championship games (proudly representing Los Angeles will be undefeated Crenshaw – Go Cougars!).

But for 80 years, California didn’t even crown a state champion in high school football. It wasn’t until 2006 that the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the state’s high school sports governing body, created a small “bowl” system in which some of the best teams play each other for championships in four divisions (determined by school enrollment). And this year is the second the top two teams from all divisions will play each other in an “Open Division” bowl to determine who’s the greatest in the Golden State.

However, with such a limited numbers of bowls, not even all Section champions get to play in these big games. Unlike other large states like Texas or Florida, or, well, any other state in the union besides New Jersey, there is no state playoff in California. And, just like in big-time college football, not everybody’s too happy with that.

Did I mention that the bowls only match up a team from the Northern half of the state with one from the South? Even if the two best teams were both from SoCal, they couldn’t play each other for the title. This just adds to the controversy, as Ben Bolch pointed out in the LA Times Tuesday:

Yet, none of those teams will play one another under the format that matches section champions from Southern California and Northern California. A proposal to add a regional playoff round was shot down last year by the California Interscholastic Federation’s state federated council.

“Because of the way we’re structured, the size of our state, you can’t have a true champion unless you legitimately start playing everybody off, and we’re just too large to do that,” Marie Ishida, CIF executive director, said Monday at the Home Depot Center in Carson. “This is our next-best thing, and so far it’s worked for us.”

Exclusive invitations to the bowl games are handed out by the Section Commissioners, based on criteria including record, head-to-head competition and common opponents. And then there’s the more subjective qualities – “strength of schedule” (nobody measures that the same way) and the greatest phrase I have ever read in a football championship handbook, “Suitability to represent the State in a Bowl Championship with regards to Pursuing Victory with Honor and acceptable standards of sportsmanship.”

Whatever that means, it’s basically the high-school equivalent of the open-to-interpretation merits discussed in all the top-secret meetings that decide who goes to what college bowl each year. These commonly include your team’s reputation, how much money its visiting fans will bring to the host town, how many people will watch the game on TV, decades-old conference affiliations, and how good some dude and his computer deem your team to be. In fact, those computer rankings are even more important in deciding who gets to play for the BCS National Championship (The NCAA doesn’t actually award a national championship in football. But whoever those BCS guys are, they sure do.).

High school football has even adopted other college bowl rules like barring a team’s margin of victory over another from consideration when evaluating teams, and driving fans to create intensely detailed hypothetical playoff systems. Though on their website, the CIF does try to distance itself from the chaos that is the BCS a little bit by stating, “Media input and computerized rankings will only be used as a guide in the selection process.” I guess it’s a start.

Want to go support the Cougars in the big Open Division game for all the marbles? Check out the schedule for this weekend’s match-ups below. You can also watch all the games live on TV on FSN Prime Ticket. And as an added bonus, the state cheerleading championships will be held at the tennis stadium next door on Saturday (some real-life Bring It On action)!

Friday

4:00 pm: Small Division Schools Championship – San Diego Parker vs. Modesto Christian

8:00 pm: Division I Championship – Oceanside (San Diego) vs. San Jose Bellarmine Prep

Saturday

12:00 pm: Division III Championship – Gardena Serra vs. Kentfield Marin Catholic

4:00 pm: Division II Championship – Servite (Anaheim) vs. Rocklin

8:00 pm: Open Division Championship – Crenshaw (Los Angeles) vs. Concord De La Salle

Admission is $15 for adults, and $8 for kids and students.

"Burn Joe, Burn!"

The Bruins of UCLA and the Trojans of USC will be competing on the football field tomorrow night. The Los Angeles Universities have a long-standing rivalry that is important to a lot of the city’s residents. Personally, I’m not really interested in the sport or who wins. Maybe I should be since the company I work for is highly affiliated with USC. In spite of not being a fan, I somehow ended up at The Trojans’ big pep rally, called Conquest, last weekend. (I was solely there to see the closing band, OK Go).

The event, held on the USC campus, was a big deal complete with a ferris wheel, food trucks, Jamie Kennedy introducing a variety of the school’s sports teams and coaches, and a very impressive fireworks display. Most of the “Yay Team!” (or “Fight On!” as they say at USC) stuff was lost on me, but I did thoroughly enjoy The Trojan Marching Band, otherwise known as The Spirit of Troy. They are excellent and their rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” was a huge treat.

The Spirt of Troy

It appeared that the highlight of the night for the students and alumni was the burning of Joe Bruin, UCLA’s mascot bear. There were chants of “Burn, Joe, burn!” It can only make me wonder what they light on fire at UCLA. Hopefully, it’s not what we all think of when we hear USC’s mascot because the smell of burning rubber is rather unpleasant.

There have been shenanigans this week with UCLA’s Bruin statue getting painted with Trojan cardinal and gold. So much for sportsmanship.

Are you into the big game and if so, who are you rooting for? I really hope your team wins.

#2:  The General Population:  By and large a good part of the population is cool, friendly and really work at making a difference.  Maybe it’s in catching the perfect wave, maybe it’s trying to make medical marijuana accessible, maybe it’s creating and sharing the coolest movie on earth, maybe it’s brewing the best espresso.  But we have hardworking people here who are groovy.  Thanks everyone.  I appreciate how wide the variety of opinions, options, colors and types of all the people who live here embody.

#3:  The Biz:  Face it.  We live in the Entertainment capitol of the universe and we get major benefits from it.  From glitzy openings, to industry gossip, we’re on it first and get the glitter.  It’s practically a Renaissance city.  So many highly creative creatures roam around that between the writers, the dancers, the musicians, the DJ’s, the artists, the actors… somethings is always entertaining.  Just walking down the street is a treat.

#4 The Men.  They are simply more fun in LA.   I met my fiancee, Dan Mapes here, and he’s the quintessential LA Guy.  Hi-tech, low-maintenance, fun, intellectual, artistic, open-minded, good looking, sensitive, spiritual.  He embodies all the cool daddy qualities of the classic “LA MALE”.  Yes, he also embodies many of the not so cool qualities…. massive flirt, uber sensitive…. but those are also what makes him and all LA men, so great! Go figure.  The things we like the most about LA men, drive us mad!

#5:  The Women.  Okay.  I’m putting this in for all you men out there.  Every prom queen from around the nation seems to end up here so girl watching is a national past time.  Yes, I admit, most of us are pretty and fun to watch.  Blonde hair, boob jobs, trainers, hair extensions… and because of the weather, not so much clothes to cover the flaws.  Because of that, us normal dames have to keep our game up.  We can’t get fat, have to keep our eye on the latest hem lines, and going to pot is not an option.  I admit it, it’s interesting to check-out what our glamorous sistahs are up to.  Oops, there it is.  We’ve turned into one of them.  LA women rock!  We’re smart, beautiful, funny, open-minded, wild, creative….. the list goes on and on.  Home of the original goddesses. Yay!  LA Women!

#6:  The Food:  Fresh, fresh, fresh.  The farmers market make getting perfect, organic produce possible every single day.  The Hungry Cat always delivers the most awesome meals and drinks.. and there’s ten more, that are in their league.  You can find perfect espresso in just about every neighborhood.  The food rules here.

#7  The Ocean.  It’s awesome.  A bit cold, but still.  It’s a wonderful addition to this city.  So fresh, so calming.  Really a grounding natural force to enjoy.

#8:  The International Flair.  Every type of person from every part of the world can be found here.  That gives us such an awesome view of other cultures, languages and points of view.  I cherish that this forces us to stay open minded.  We have a beautiful melting pot to swim around in.

#9  The Openminded Vibe.  It’s cool.  I love that people think outside the box here.  And I love that there are more yogis and yoginis here than any place on earth.  At least it seems like it.  There’s a class for every spiritual POV and you can’t help but be influenced by it.  We are so lucky to live in a place that, just by living here, makes you realize there is more in the universe to explore than your own upbringing.  Such joy!  Thanks for that LA, thanks….

#10:  The Lakers.  Okay.  I know.  Putting in a sports team is weird, especially for me.  But somehow, I’ve fallen in love with these guys.  Watching Kobe is like watching a cool, modern ballet.  He’s brilliant.  And so are his team mates.  Watching Phil Jacksons zen like smile, his teddy bear force of nature, it’s wonderful and different and you can see it in the players.  Being a fan has really been fun.