Various things seen while walking home tonight

I was walking down Wilshire near the corner of Bixel when I saw this.




Those news boxes have been there for at least four years, probably much longer. And the city is only now getting around to flagging the code violation? Nice timing given how screwed newspapers are at the moment.

A few minutes later, down on 6th Street, I saw this.



I want to know what hit that light. Probably movie related.

At 6th and Broadway I got a nice angle on the KRKD towers.


Finally, I was able to get a snap of the interior of the soon-to-open D-town Burger Bar.



Wow, it looks great! The Hayward has really undergone an amazing transformation over the past year.

February Art Walk

A little late loading these, but here are some pics I snapped at this month's art walk.

Them doors at the Stock Exchange

They're still working on the doors at the Stock Exchange / Versus. At this point I have no idea if that's a good or bad thing.

One Wilshire

Boogying in Chinatown

Today I took Kidlo to something called Baby Boogaloo, which is a monthly event for kids that's held in a jazz club in Chinatown. They had a DJ and a lit-up dance floor, an arts and crafts corner, an area stuffed with toys for the really young kids...and a fully stocked bar for the parents (ahem). The DJ was really good and Kidlo had a blast.

By no stretch of the imagination could you call downtown kid-friendly (no parks and a crappy elementary school), but there are a lot of great activities for families. This Baby Boogaloo thing, puppet shows at the Central Library, music classes at Disney Hall, tons of museums just south of downtown. It's pretty cool to have so much to do with Kidlo close by.

Another fun thing was that during our time in Chinatown I got to see this building, which was once featured in Dwell magazine (click the link to see photos of the stunning interior).

This loft is amazing and if I had a spare $3 million I'd buy it.

Moonrise

I want to run away and join the circus

MB and I went to see Lucent Dossier at the Edison last night. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G., kind of a steampunk hipster circus troupe. The show opened with a woman singing in a cage suspended from the ceiling. There were aerialists, magicians, acrobats and just plain freaky looking people tricked out in gorgeous pseudo-Victorian costumes (and not all of those people were part of the act). At $15, this show is a major bargain and worth being bleary eyed at work today (though next time I'm taking the next day off so I can get my circus on without worrying about work).

ETA: I forgot to mention they had an absinthe cart pushed around the club by a woman wearing fairy wings. The absinthe came in tiny bottles with tiny corks. It tasted pretty good--sweeter than I expected. But I think I'm feeling it today--there's tiny hammers banging against my skull from the inside.

Crane at sunset

Ay chihuahua

This doggie belongs to the owner of the newsstand on 6th Street just west of Broadway. He usually barks like hell anytime I get near him, but he's getting old and at this point I think he just wants to chill in his crate.

I'll just leave this here...

Yah, the Pizza box doesn't fit down the garbage chute. But if you just leave it tucked behind the garbage chute door, you run the risk of being mocked on your neighbors blog.

Heroes in the rain

A friend of mine is working on Heroes this season so I hung out with her a bit on the set last Sunday. Even though it was raining on and off all weekend, they still brought a crane and hose to make sure they had rain for the shoot.

P.S. I saw Ali Larter and she's just as gorgeous in person as on screen.

DLANC Education Meeting Tonight

From a DLANC email:

Hello all,

Tonight you are invited to the Education Committee's Townhall Forum to share your thoughts on what we should be doing for you.

The education committee has been one of the most active committees in the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council. In the support of all learners the committee helped to sponsor the Skid Row 3 on 3 Streetball League, the Skid Row Photography Club, the annual Book Giveaway at the Project Homeless Connect Day, a dictionary giveaway, and helping sponsor community members in other various projects.

Now, we would like to decide what projects and events we would like to support and sponsor from now on. We have developed a mission statement and a set of core values that will guide us, but we need your help! What does the community want from the Education Committee?

What do you want? Classes and workshops? Clubs or support for your organization? Tutoring or mentoring for your kids? Information on local schools?

Please join us tonight from 7:00-8:30 at The Exchange at 114 W 5th Street (5th between Spring and Main) to share your opinion and help us decide what direction we take for the remainder of 2009. Please email education@dlanc. com if you would rather share over email or if you have any questions.

Danielle Duran
Chair, Education Committee

Starting the year in Pershing Square

I saw these guys in Pershing Square last week. They are apparently recruits for City Year. From the website:

City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world.

As tutors, mentors and role models, these young leaders make a difference in the lives of children, and transform schools and neighborhoods in 18 U.S. locations and Johannesburg, South Africa. Just as important, during their year of service corps members develop civic leadership skills they can use throughout a lifetime of community service.

Major corporations and businesses participate in our mission by serving as strategic partners, team sponsors, and national leadership sponsors.

Together we’re building a citizen service movement that is larger than our organization, our lifetime, and ourselves.

Back to the weight room

I've mentioned that I recently joined the 24 Hour Fitness at Fifth and Flower. One of the unexpected benefits of working out there has been seeing women in the weight room who are lifting what I call the Big Boy weights. I saw one woman who was squatting 75 pounds, another woman who was doing a rapid-fire clean and jerk sequence with a 30 pound barbell and yet another woman bench pressing a 45 pound bar. This is amazingly cool for me since I've been weight training off and on for about four years and until now I've always been the only woman in the weight room lifting anything heavier than a 10 pound dumbell.

Most people are pretty surprised when they hear that I'm into weight training because A. My name is not Helga, B. I don't have a mustache and C. I don't at all resemble our Governor. It's unfortunate, but most people assume that women who are into weight training are ugly or less than feminine. But when you think about it, weight training for women makes a lot of sense. Women get pregnant and have to haul around extra weight for nine months, and then they have to carry around their babies, not to mention the laundry, groceries, etc. I mean, we're lifting heavy weights already, right? So why not train for it and make your day-to-day life easier?

I first got into weight training when I had to stop running because of a bad knee. It was scary going into the weight room for the first time because as I mentioned above it tends to be men only. But I found a website devoted to women's weight training (Stumptuous.com) and decided to take the plunge.

As it turns out, I love lifting more than any other sport I've tried. It takes a lot of concentration to lift weights with proper form and without hurting yourself, and I really enjoy the mental aspect of it. I also love what it does for my body. Women think that weight training is going to turn them into gorillas but unless you're taking steroids, you just aren't going to get big. What you will get is a more toned body that looks better in clothes. Even though weight training didn't cause me to lose weight, people thought I'd lost weight because muscle looks better than fat.The other nice thing about weight training is that it doesn't require a big time commitment. You can lift as little as 30 minutes twice a week and see results. So if you're busy and don't have a lot of time for the gym, weight training is a great option.

I had to take a workout break after a tough pregnancy and I'm just getting back to the gym a year and a half after my son's birth. I've got a way to go before I get back into fighting shape. But it's really cool to see other women in the weight room with me, women who also don't resemble the governor but who are strong and kick-ass and not afraid to do something a little unconventional.

What did people do before teh Inter-Webbie?

This guy...

Posted this newsletter on a tree at 9th and Olive.
I think it speaks for itself. (click for large readable version.)