I’m about to turn in so I can wake up early (I’m going in to work at 6 AM tomorrow and you know what? I don’t mind one bit) but I have to report a couple great links I found today: The Daily Monkey (via) and Greencine (thanks, Kim!). Marinate on these, I’m going to bed.
P.S. Sorry, my loyal horde of readers, for the state of disrepair that my site’s tagging system has fallen into. Apparently updating to Wordpress 2.0 wasn’t kind to my semi-proprietary hack. I’ll fix it soon.
I took a trip to the beach yesterday, and it was a success. The LA public transportation, while not quite as user friendly as Trimet (no credit cards at the ticket machines, not every bus has bike racks), gets the job done.
As I’ve become accustomed to, the place was picturesque if crowded. I had chosen Santa Monica because I wanted to find a place with decent microbrews, and a place called The Library Alehouse fit the bill. It was a great spot, if expensive ($5 pints…youch!). I foolishly filled up on fish and chips, leaving painfully little room for the Racer 5 and Arrogant Bastard I enjoyed. Nonetheless, after travelling across LA on an empty stomach and walking the 15 blocks from the pier, it was completely worth it.
I’ve also noticed that b-boy street performers are the norm down here. This guy had a modest following, and exhibited showmanship by praying loudly that he wouldn’t break his neck busting a move for only a dollar. God smiled on him and the audience coughed up wads of money.
Another crazy part about the pier is the rings. These rings aren’t for kids. I’m pretty sure that I saw Newton’s laws being broken repeatedly yesterday.
I’ll close this post with some thoughts on cycling: how do I do it here? This is an open invite for anyone who knows good places to ride in LA to let me know about it. I’m foaming at the mouth trying to figure out how to ride down here, especially after yesterday in Santa Monica. I saw mobs of cyclists there, but here in NoHo it’s pretty scary. Back to the point about not all LA buses having bike racks, I’d be happy to take my bike there and ride all day but I don’t see how to do it. Ideas?
Anybody?
I’m enjoying my first weekend here in southern California, and decided after doing some organizing that I’d visit Hollywood proper. It was an interesting trip. On the way to the subway I walked past The Academy, which is three blocks from my house. I also walked past the sushi bar/karaoke joint that I can see myself frequenting in the future. I took the subway and three stops later I was at the notorious Hollywood and Vine intersection. First I should comment on the subway system: it’s beautiful. It’s also underground. Shocking, I know. The NoHo (that’s short for North Hollywood for all you northerners) Subway station is decked out with murals.
I got off the subway and strolled around. Finding the Hollywood/Vine signs was pretty easy since, well, that’s where the subway stop was at. My next course of business was to take a shot of the sign and get the Capital Records building in the background (I can’t believe they made a building just like the one in GTA: San Adreas! They must really like that game). Then it was off to Borders to pick up a Thomas Guide for LA county so I’ll never get lost.
Now I just need to get a car. Or not. I sort of like the idea of living here and thumbing my nose at all the cagers stuck in traffic.
After picking up the Thomas Guide, I aimlessly wandered Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards for several hours, taking in all the sights. I observed that there are warring factions in the Hollywood area. Those are Lingerie/Stripper supply stores, tattoo shops, head shops, and Scientology centers. I’m not up on my Scientology trivia, but I believe Hollywood may be the sort of Scientologist Mecca, and the faithful are expected to make a Hajj here at least once in their lifetimes.
Tomorrow I think I’m going to go to Santa Monica and the beach to check things out there.
Be sure to check out the rest of the shots I took in my Flickr account.
Meanwhile, rest assured more pictures of scenic, pastoral Los Angeles are fourthcoming.
Spammers know that a high-traffic site like mine is pure gold if they can spam their links into my comments section. Fortunately I’m a savvy webmaster and keep a close watch on my site, or all you poor readers would see is v1agr4 ads. I use all the latest technology to be sure that my site is spam-free and delivers nothing but the highest quality content.
Unfortunately, a few bad apples in China have circumvented my automagic spam detection. These busters have forced me to deny a vast swath of the Chinese population the enlightening banter. Yes, I’m looking at you, 218.153.39.48. You’ve forced me to block out most of China. For what? The link you spammed into my site is already dead.
I’m normally a fan of rational responses to those who break society’s basic rules, but something about spammers really lights up a devious and perverse side of me. If there were a cable channel which played nothing but shows featuring outrageous punishments for spammers, I would change my ways and start watching television again.
“Bob has been found guilty of sending ‘a4dable v14gra 4 u!’ emails to over 10,000 people. What has he won?”
“Well, Bob is going to have to eat 100 viagra pills. After that, we’ll strap chicken breasts to each limb. Finally, we’ll be throwing him into a pit of crocodiles!” (*applause*)
Yeah, I’d like that.
Until that day, I’m going to resort to banning large parts of Asia from my site. Sorry.
One of the first things I learned about my new place down here in LA was that it came with a garden. Not a flowerbox or a little patch of dirt, but a 15′ by 20′ garden, already planted with strawberries, tomatoes, kale, and other assorted goodies. This comes on the heels of endless grief with my former landlord over our attempts to convert the tiny patches around our home into garden space. Also, apparently my new landlord is a hippie. Life is hard.
Last night, I’m already ashamed to admit, I went to the Ikea store and bought home furnishings. I can already feel my soul dying, but it feels so good. Damn it. I already want to go back and pick up one of those giant persian carpets.
Alas, this comes at the expense of having an incredible selection of beers within walking distance of my home. Also, the Ralphs just doesn’t come come close to New Seasons.
Work, of couse, rocks. I’ve got the smallest cubicle in the building and it’s still bigger than the one I was in last week. In keeping with my tradition of not going into details about my job (and also my non-disclosure agreement) I’m not going to give away all the details. Suffice it to say I have difficulties imagining a better job right now.
Dogs. Electronic music. Flying. Lasers. Watch it now! Then change your pants. Trust me.
Update: More flying dog!
I got a great present for my 28th birthday: A new job! I think I’m going to like it here. Disney is an outstanding company, and I’ll say this again: I would’ve taken this job if it was in Iowa. The fact that it’s in LA is a bonus.
I had a great birthday, met a bunch of cool people, and had a fun night out on the town. I ate a Fatburger, and I’ll fall asleep tonight listening to the sound of my arteries hardening. Delicious. We rolled out of Fatburger to Dresden and listened to some fantastic lounge singers imported directly from 1982.
LA is crazy, I don’t know if I mentioned this. It is.
I’m here in LA. Apparently I live in the NoHo Arts District. It’s kind of like the Pearl District in Portland, only way cooler. It’s great. Check it out.
