Dear Three Pilots Of Those Single Engine Aircraft Who’ve Been Repeatedly Flying Over My House Yesterday and Today Pulling Banners Across The Sky Advertising The June 27 Release Of A Certain Sequel Starring A Certain Guy Who Used To Be Married To A Certain Gal Who’s Now Married To Another Certain Guy Who’s Like 20 Years Younger Than Her,

Yeah, you!

Seriously, I get it. The movie’s opening tomorrow. Mission Accomplished. You can go land now and celebrate. Or at least if you must circle around for the umpteenth time, whichever one of you is doing that weird throttle-down thing so that the engine sputters a bit and makes the plane sound as if it’s totally ready to stall a couple hundred feet right over my head? Stop it.

Kthnxbai!

Seven days to go till the end of June — how are your scripts coming?

With a goal of 20,000 words (about 100 pages) I imagine that ideally you’d be on about 13,000 words, or page 66.

So, how’s it going? Is your word/page count where you want it? Is your story what you thought it would be? How about your characters? What do you hope to accomplish in the next week?

(By the way, I am not participating in Script Frenzy because I already write screenplays and didn’t really think I needed to add another one to my plate. But I am an enthusiastic bystander and cheerleader.)

Los Angeles area Harry Potter fans have plenty to occupy themselves with before the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, exactly one month from today. 

Here’s a cauldron full of events, including a new local blog, dedicated to all things wizardly…

Two days ago the Daily News launched “Portkey to Hogwarts”, a Harry Potter blog by Tim Haddock and Sharon Kaplan (h/t LA Observed)

Next Tuesday, June 26th at 6pm the concept rock band “Harry and the Potters” will be performing at downtown’s LA Public Library. The reader who gave us the heads up about this described Harry and the Potters as “punk-rock-library-Hogwarts-save-Ginny-Weasley fun”.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” has its world premiere at Mann’s Chinese Theatre on Sunday, July 8th. Cast and crew arrivals begin at 2pm for a 5pm screening. (source: Daily Prophet)

Harry Potter hand and foot print ceremony: After going full frontal during his stage debut in “Equus”, you’d think actor Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) would keep it in his pants… instead, he’s planning on sticking his wand into the wet cement in front of Chinese Theatre. He’ll be joined by co-stars Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) on July 9th at 10am. (source: HP Los Angeles via Upcoming.org)
Read the rest of this entry →

Our fave L.A. nightlife anthropologist, Caroline on Crack, is throwing herself a birthday party Saturday night at our fave bar in town, the slim volume of terrifying power known as Seven Grand. I’m going to swing by, if I can tear myself away from packing for my imminent move. I’m gonna move downtown, mainly so I can be closer to Seven Grand. Is that wrong?

If you go, I recommend the CompassBox Peat Monster. Yummy.

(photo from Caro)

Just a heads up that we’re experiencing some difficulties with the hamsters that run the wheels that run the back end here at Metroblogging. You may experience some weirdness when reading and commenting today.

Didn’t see Magoo this morning. Was hoping it meant he as out and about learning to do hawk things. Those of you just tuning into the saga, Magoo is the young hawk (been told its a Coopers Hawk but I’m not certain what it is) who is the latest offspring belonging to a nesting pair that adopted my street a few years ago.

This evening I did my gardening chores and spotted Magoo, the sibling and the parents in the tree just perched, hanging out. This last pic I used Paintshop Pro to just add in some arrows to help you see the 4 hawks…not that we have giant arrows hanging in the trees up here in outer monrovia. Of course you know the drill…rub the tail or tummy feathers with your mouse for a bigger version.

Just a quick update. Magoo, named because of his myoptic habit of flying into things has made it back up into the tree and nest. Spotted him a couple of times attempting to fly back up, hit a garbage can, skidded down the roof of a parked car, clotheslined itself on a flag pole and some other antics all the while I was without camera.

I did get a picture of him up on a branch next to the nest near the top of the Chinese Elm his parents built a few years ago. (you know the drill to make it bigger).

We have managed a glimpse of the sibling still in the nest as well and waiting for them both to start hunting. With luck they’ll both be out at the same time and close enough I can photo them together.

[click for - isn't it time you came up with one of these jokes?]

Are you sensing a theme to my drink recommendations? Because really I have no agenda.

That said, here’s this week’s drink, which should give you that little extra pep and refreshment we’re all so eager to find at the bottom of a bottle:

The Lazarus
1 1‚ÅÑ2 oz Blue curacao
1 1‚ÅÑ2 oz vodka
1/4 c Lemonade
1/4 c Orange Juice
1/4 c limeade
Splash of 7up

Certainly you can use the fresh juice in the produce department to save time. Extra credit to you if you use Lime Ice or Lemon Ice Cubes in the glass.

It should look pale green if properly made.

Next week a drink I made up myself….

I live on a pretty quiet and narrow street, but in the past year, three cars have been left abandoned on the street to die a quiet death. It’s always been tedious to get rid of them, taking numerous calls to get the parking violations people out to ticket and then finally remove the vehicles.

Well, those days are over! Because I was out of the country and my neighbors were apparently too lazy to deal (umm…. yeah, me too) this van languished for 4 months without moving. Finally, last week when I got home, I was sick of it being in the way and decided to try the online route to notify the city and Voila! the very next day it was ticketed. Then a couple of days later… gone! Wow! Impressive. One email and it vanished.

If you want to report an abandoned vehicle just go here and fill out the form. Or you can call 1-800-ABANDON (1-800-222-6366). Make sure you have the car’s location/street address, the license plate number, the make and color of the vehicle, and zip code.

Mayor Villaraigosa is now officially swingle according to the LA Times.

“I want you to know that I take responsibility for what is happening and I feel a personal sense of failure about it, and that’s all I’m prepared to say on this question,” Villaraigosa said at the news conference, where he was joined by his brother, sister, nephew and two adult daughters.

That gives credibility to this anecdote from an otherwise questionable Rush Limbaugh:

It turns out it was the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and so we chatted for a while, and while I’m chatting — now, this is hilarious. While I’m chatting with Villaraigosa, I kind of slid to the right in my half-moon booth, and as I did that, that created some distance between me and my guest. I’m talking with Villaraigosa, and when I’m talking to somebody in a very loud place like this, I have to devote full attention. I had to turn my head to my left, away from the action behind me, to hear what the mayor was saying. At some point during the conversation with the mayor, I looked to my left, and the former president was intently chatting up the woman that I was sitting with. He had leaned down, and his elbows and arms were on the railing of the booth, and they were in intense conversation.

Hopefully our mayor can avoid the shenanigans of Mayors Newsom and Guiliani.

…photo by StewartJames, used and modified under Creative Commons…

A week or so ago I wanted to take a hike and photo shoot up into the Sawpit Trail that eventually works its way up into Monrovia Canyon. I got to the entrance I usually take and it was locked up with a shiny new gate. Bummer, figured it was some sort of effort to keep us out of a potential fire area and went elsewhere.
Todays Monrovia Weekly had an eye opening explanation. Turns out a property owner erected the gate on his own denying hundreds of San Gabriel Valley Residents access to the trails that have been ours to enjoy for decades.
In reading the article I understand that a portion of the trail runs across the edge of his property next to a flood control channel. I don’t see any signs of “vandalism”, not even an urban artist has visited that area as it is very overgrown with a variety of plant material. I don’t get it. Will keep you posted when the trail reopens as it is a nice place to hike and take in some vistas and interesting rock formations and lots of green stuff.

Ever wonder what kinda freaky fucked up shit is going down in your neighborhood when you hear copper sirens and/or helicopters buzzing your house? Well, now you can find out the downlow via LAPD Crimemap’s awesome website @ http://www.lapdcrimemaps.org/. Today was a good day, only a few “thefts from vehicles” in my area.

Speaking of, it’d be a crime if you missed The Duke Spirit play their rock n’ roll music @ Spaceland on Tuesday night this week. They slay, I promise.

Are you a filmmaker who’s concerned about water conservation and could use an extra few thousand bucks? (Yeah, yeah–I know what you’re thinking: “Aren’t we all?”). Well, dehydrated directors take note: The Intelligent Use of Water film competition is accepting shorts that inspire action and awareness around water conservation.

The Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition seeks short films (1-20 minutes in actual or excerpted run time) that focus on the topic of water conservation. Narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and/or student-made productions should explore approaches and ideas to intelligently manage and efficiently utilize the Earth’s most precious resource.

Perhaps we should assemble a Blogging.la production company and blow the competition out of the water. All entries must be submitted on DVD or VHS in NTSC format or as a .mov, .wmv or .mpg file and received by Aug. 15, 2007 for consideration. Finalists will be selected and invited to a screening event on Sept. 30, 2007, in Los Angeles at the L.A. Arboretum, where the winners will be announced and awarded cash prizes of $6,000 for judges’ selection and $3,000 for audience’s pick.

UK Giant Tesco is opening its first “Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market” this fall in my ‘hood, actually in nearby Arcadia at the corner of First and Foothill. I got to experience the “Tesco Express” which is vaugely similar to the “Fresh and Easy” stores in London last Month and was impressed with both the quality and the value for food on the run.

Why is this news or should anyone notice? Plenty of reasons. First off put aside your concerns that this huge retailer has beaten Walmart at its own game in the UK. The “Fresh and Easy” stores are going to redefine how we look at convenience food. The stores will be around 10,000 square feet, bigger than 7-11 and much smaller than the usual grocery store. It will be stocked with the good stuff for quick meals when you are too rushed to cook yourself.

Hmm….Convenience Store News and Forbes have reported that our domestic chains better be ready for this huge change in how we look at convenience food. (I think they need to come up with a better name than convenience as it rings of roach coach grub).

The initial plans are that this is going to be big, in the hundreds of stores very quickly in So Cal, NV and AZ and is even hinted at in Financial Times it could rival the 1,900 stores in the UK.
Read the rest of this entry →

Ruth666 blogged the Happy Hour Theater Group’s fund raiser event a few weeks back here http://blogging.la/archives/2007/04/part_fundraiser_part_party.phtml
It was a raging success and they got the cash needed to purchase 4 one act plays and props. The props are a riot and take this in a direction that may well earn its “NC17 rating” given some of the props come from the Pleasure Chest on the Boulevard in good old Studio City. We’re leaving the kidlets home and venturing down into the Valley to see it ourselves the last weekend it runs. The important details:
Read the rest of this entry →