Want to be on Oprah? As for me, I don’t own a historic home. Heck, I’d settle for owning *a* home in the L.A. area.

Anyway, the call for submissions is below…

Are you in the process of renovating your historic home? Do you love the charm of an old house but have trouble keeping it updated? Does your historic home look more like a run-down shack? Are your floors scuffed and the walls peeling? Do you lack the skills to turn your house into a lavishly restored gem featured in an architectural magazine? Do the words “restoration project” or “architectural preservation” make your blood pressure rise?

Please write a descriptive email below telling us about your historic home. Print out and send the email along with a 5-10 minute video of you and your historic house — both inside and outside the home. You MUST be seen on camera giving us a tour of your house.

Please send to:
The Oprah Winfrey Show
Team JK: Historic Home Show
PO Box 618180
Chicago, IL 60661

When they opened they offered 3 hours of free parking. When they started showing the Lord of the Rings movies (3 hours each) they upped it to 4 free hours. I’ve been half expecting it to drop back to 3 hours, but yesterday we went and now it’s $1 for 4 hours. I’m not complaing, $1 for 4 hours still a steal, but not quite the steal that free was.

There was also a bunch of security guards walking around, eyeing us, and peering into car windows which was kind of odd.

RES MONTHLY SCREENING SERIES – LA
After a packed and exhilarating full-blown Resfest hit LA last month, our ongoing screening series is back for November.

This month we will be featuring new work by Spike Jonze for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Stylewar for Blues Explosion as well as new music videos for The Streets, UNKLE, The Faint, Gift of Gab, Swayzak and more…

Guest directors in attendance will include Shafei & Levitz, the duo behind the Gift of Gab split screen video “Rat Race” as well as Talmadge Cooley, director of the popular “Pol Pot’s Birthday” who will be showing his Interpol Short Film Contest winner “Dimmer”.

Afterwards join us for a drink and aural sensations with resident DJ Kiino Villand and very special guest DJ Adam12 who has rocked the party for everyone from Prince to Perry Farrell to DCShoes. After party location will be disclosed at the screening.

Tuesday, Nov. 16th 8:00 pm
Egyptian Theater, Hollywood
6712 Hollywood Blvd.
$10

Purchase tickets at the door or in advance @ Res or Ticketweb

Sometimes people complain about how fake the denizens in los angeles are. I can see that. I’ve felt my share of fake breasts and passed by guys with a lot of aftershave potion trying to hide their body odor or personality. A lot of them exists.

Six space was having their anniversay show and although I’m not a big fan of parties and art openings…well, like i don’t really need to see canvas or paper with a bunch of strangers and if i need to see friends in general, I kind of just call them up – this telephone things works really well for me. But with the chance of stalking staring at jason lee or wil wheaton, who have visited the gallery before, why the hell not. And than as I parked my car and saw the plethora of people spilt out into the sidewalk, and despite the possible celebrity spotting, jessica alba not withstanding, its doubtful I would have enjoyed myself. Lot of people. A chance for a lot of fake people. As I stood outside without a cigarette that I don’t smoke, artist seonna hong came over to say hi. We know more of each other than we actually know each other – we have mutual friends. And for a brief moment, we chatted about shit and everyday life. That was nice and inspiring. We said our good byes and I looked over inside the gallery.

Over three million people live in los angeles. Its a crowded city but it seems like its easy to be lonely too. Maybe we really shouldn’t care how many people who aren’t like us are out there. Maybe we really just need to talk to the one who is. They’re here. They’re really not that hard to find. Maybe jessica alba.

It’s a losing battle getting people to stop using their phones in the car. I recognize that. So here’s another approach: don’t be afraid to put the phone down.

Something’s going on? Need to merge? Need to make a left turn? Tell the person to whom you’re talking to hold on and then PUT THE PHONE DOWN. Yes, in that cup holder, or between your legs. But put it down until you have completed the taxing task at hand. Then pick it back up when you’re on the straight and narrow and continue that important conversation.

I was in the parking lot at work on Friday and someone was trying to park as I was walking and they were on the phone and THEY BACKED INTO ME. Yes, me, the pedestrian who was walking towards him when he drove up and he could have seen me if he were paying attention when he was going forward, he jockeyed into a spot and then backed up. I put my hand out onto the trunk and yelled and he stopped (pretty sheepish when he heard me, I’ll admit), but HE NEVER PUT THE PHONE DOWN! So folks, please, let’s get some priorities.

OK so you really want to smoke this sucka, and you know he’s having a Baby Shower so you figure this is a great time to bust out a drive by. You can pop him and maybe his family too right? But crap! Your car has a flat tire, what do you do? Call a cab apparently.

Jimmy Drisdom, 35, was fatally shot on the sidewalk outside of a house in the 2600 block of Raymond Avenue about 5:45 p.m. yesterday, said Los Angeles police Lt. John Pasquariello.

The shots were fired from a taxi, witnesses told ABC7. The gunman had a semiautomatic rifle, and bullets pierced a metal security door, wounding the three inside, police said.

Does a taxi charge extra for that? I know sometimes there’s extra fees if you cram a buncha people in, or have a ton of luggage, but I’ve never seen a sign about extra charges for shooting guns out the window at people. I wonder if the cab company is responsible for that? Or can they say they were just hired to drive from point A to point B and what the people do in the car between the two places isn’t their problem? Is this the first time this has ever happened? If so, honestly, I have to say I’m shocked it didn’t happen in NYC just because they have way more cabs than we do.

Los Angeles is a city full of funny and pun-oriented business names. However The Drain Surgeon has to be my favorite so far. Love it!

For more than 28 years, The Drain Surgeon has served greater Los Angeles as one of the area’s premier plumbing and drain cleaning companies. The Drain Surgeon team of experienced plumbing professionals is committed to providing unsurpassed service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From small residential emergency repairs to complex commercial contracts, The Drain Surgeon delivers quality, commitment, and peace of mind.

Can’t…stop…giggling…

Today my puppy is a man. Well, he’s a graduate anyway.

Today marked our final Devil Dog Ranch puppy class which means that my little Quint has the certificate to prove he knows how to sit, stay, lay down, and has, what they call, basic manners. He’s still a long way from being a little gentleman but he’s fast on that path. Unfortunately there was no cap and gown but there is that certificate – which is now proudly displayed on the fridge next to his brother, Lebowski’s, certificate.

Congrats to little Bella too – a sweet little pooch (part of the “LA Pinchers”) who also graduated today.

Oh, they just grow up so fast, do they?

I’ve blogged before about the Banana Espresso smoothies at Silver Lake Coffee before and how much they rule the planet. I even had one this afternoon. But when I went back to there again this evening with Jay they were out of bananas. No bananas means no banana espresso smoothies. CRAP! What’s a guy to do in a situation like that? Well here’s a short list of things that should you find yourself in the same banana shortage we did this evening that you can order instead and still be psyched on the coffee house goodness.

- Soy Chai Latte. This is Caryn’s current obsession and the people behind the counter there agree that the soy version is way better than the regular milk version. That’s what I opted for this evening and I wasn’t disappointed.

- Vanilla Soy Latte. This is my usual, and I go for the soy because of the whole vegan thing but I go there with people who don’t take the soy road and they are blown away as well. They just have some damn good coffee there.

- Ice Blended Vanilla Espresso. This is the choice on a hot day when the bananas are no where to be found. It’s what you think, vanilla, ice, and a couple of shots all blended together into a frozen dream drink. I don’t order this enough really.

To be honest, I’ve never had something bad there, and have never gone with someone who didn’t like whatever they ordered so I’m pretty sure you are safe with any of the options. Some dude in front of me today ordered an Oreo Smoothie which sounded damn good. I wonder if I can bring them in vegan oreos and get them to whip that one up special?

BoingBoing posts the most valuable link of the year: How to combine BitTorrent and RSS so that you never miss a TV show. I’ve already been relying on BitTorrent to get the UK-airing-only episodes of the new, fracking-incredible Battlestar Galactica, and for when my TiVo inexplicably decides that Lost airing at 8:00 and The W(or)st Wing airing at 9:00 constitues an overlap.

Now somebody tell Manny Perry to quit whining and go make Jerry Bruckhiemer pay him more. Argh!

Dave Winer Hates LA. He says:

I hate LA. Always have. Esp today. It’s a sucky trashy city, but unlike NY (also sucky and trashy) this place is flat and insincere. I’m sitting outside using some free Wifi, nice, after staying in a hotel with no heat, hookers operating all night out of the room next door, the shower didn’t work, reeked of cigarettes, and it’s in LA, which makes it all suck all the more. But now I have a Starbuck’s venti iced coffee, I’m in the heart of what they call tinsel-town, and it’s kind of pretty, even if one in every four people seem like they must be trolling around trying to get discovered.

While I don’t really give much of a crap what other people think of my city, I think Dave’s drinking the same Kool Aid that a lot of people are when they go to LA, end up in Hollywood and think that is LA. Guess what? It isn’t. It’s Hollywood. Very different. Very, very different. Doc has our back and comes right out with an “I love L.A.” and also links to some of the best bloggers in town, or anywhere for that matter (but by some mistake I ended up on that list too).

As for Dave, next time you come to southern California, try to avoid Hollywood but soak in LA, you’ll find it’s an entirely different world than what you think.

By the way, it’s called a “large.”

Or blocking them off at least. This morning we got tipped off to Rye
Street.com which focuses on a bit of a problem growing over in Sherman Oakes. Here’s what I can gather. There’s the river. One one side is a bunch of houses that people own. On the other side is places people rent. There was a footbridge between the two neighborhoods but the people on the owner side started complaining about people parking over there and other general riff raff so their city council person closed the bridge. Which pissed off a lot of people, and maybe caused a bigger problem. Now everyone is pointing fingers and talking and not talking and it’s kind of a big mess.

From the site:

Councilmember Wendy Greuel ordered the pedestrian bridge at Rye Street in Sherman Oaks†closed on July 21, 2004.†Although she now claims it was a public-safety decision, we forced her to turn over internal email messages, which all show that her decision was based on overflow parking complaints.† And she has†made other misleading statements about the closure.

A Los Angeles Daily News editorial calls it "segregation,"†and states, "Greuel ordered the closure of one of the few things in the city that actually works."

Can’t we all just get along?

The summer of no raw almonds is over. I know, you’re thinking, “I couldn’t get raw almonds this summer?” It’s true. There was a recall in May that affected Trader Joe’s and Costco. The world’s largest almond supplier, Paramount, no longer sells raw almonds. They now sell pasteurized almonds. Yes, as Trader Joe’s likes to call them, “Really Close to Raw Almonds.”

And why do I mention this? Well, in investigating why my Trader Joe’s package said “Really Close to Raw” I found some things I want to share:

Did you know there’s an Almond Board? (Their vision is to be the healthiest crop in the world.) California alone produced over 1 billion pounds of nuts in the 2002-03 growing season. California produces 80% of the world’s supply of almonds. It’s California’s top export by value. See this fascinating report from the Almond Board.

It’s obvious that almonds are the key to the future success of the California secessionists. It’s true, the nuts will set us free.

As the former office monkey for this awesome L.A. based women’s choral ensemble, I’m letting you know that if you’re interested in hearing some truly beautiful voices, you need to check out one of the performances this weekend of Vox Femina Los Angeles.

Kicking off their 8th concert season, this concert is their first season performance since their standing ovation performance at the Place des Arts in Montreal, Canada this past summer. Vox Femina Los Angeles has received national & international recognition for their fine musicality in all kinds of genres. And they are just plain fabulous.

If you love choral music, or just want to try something new, here’s a great group to check out. And the concert features one of my favorite songs, What Matters, which was composed by Randi Driscoll in memory of Matthew Shepard.

And they will even do Singing Phone-grams for the Holidays, too! (link goes to a pdf file)

The concerts this weekend explore the role music plays in transcending our lives. Sing Me to Heaven features songs which guide us to appreciate sheer beauty and inspire us to act from our noblest selves.

Saturday, November 13, 2004, 8pm
Zipper Theatre (reserved seating)
The Colburn School of Performing Arts
200 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

or

Sunday, November 14, 2004, 4pm
First Congregational Church
464 E Walnut St, Pasadena, CA 91101

*This concert will be ASL interpreted*

www.voxfeminala.org

Did anyone listen to KPFK this morning? If so, then you may have heard Eric Garcetti on Uprising (with my favorite radio host, Sonali Kolhatkar ) talking about the new ordinance passed unanimously by the L.A. city council. This ordinance, called No Sweat, is designed to ensure decent working conditions and at least minimum wage for factory workers in Los Angeles. It is designed to work along with the Responsible Contractors Ordinance to create better, safer working environments for all people living in Los Angeles. After two long years in the making, this proposal was finally passed, making Los Angeles the first major city to pass an ordinance of this nature and will hopefully set an example for other cities in the nation (New York? Where are you?)