Under the Alexandria

Eye of Sauron Coffee.

2011-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Eye of Sauron in a coffee bean. Now available at Big Lots for something like $3.50 Too bad it's not very good.

This stuff is also at Big Lots, for not as cheap as the Evil stuff above. It claims to be "Made in Germany", and I imagine thousand-hectare coffee plantations along the Rhine. This coffee is entirely inoffensive. You will find no nuttiness, no hints of black current and leather. It is quite yummy. It's a Kraft product, so you can feel bad about supporting an engulf-and-devour multinational corporation while you enjoy the yumminess.
It is also, although the package gives no hint of this, an Espresso grind. So break out the Moka Pot!

Why is this shit still here?

2011-03-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

meh.

Waaaay back on November 17, 2010, I spotted this bit of graffiti painted in the crosswalk at 6th and Spring.

What is it? Who are the Destroyers, a new gang of stencil artists? Or just low-rent taggers, bound for juvenile hall?

A raging band of Nike advertising execs, it seems.

Hmm, I see there was one on Fifth and spring, too.

So Nike spray painted "LA DESTROYERS" on our beloved streets, and then photographed it for an ad campaign. How edgy. It's delightful when multinational corporations earn the "Street creds".

So here it is, four months later, and this crap is still on the street. Faded, sure, but not due to any efforts of Nike Corp.

So, let me get this straight.

Our Mayor Villaraigosa, Councilmember Huizar, City Attorney Trutanich, LAPD et. al. have announced a graffiti tracking program aimed at eliminating graffiti and apprehending vandals. Graffiti artists are routinely arrested and prosecuted. Guys like "Buket" get three years in prison, "Trigz" gets six years. And four months after pooping on the streets of downtown, Nike reports strong fiscal 2011 third-quarter earnings of $1.08 per share, up 7% from the year-ago earnings of $1.01 per share. See kids? Break the law and suffer the consequences!

Because I like banging my head on hard objects, I'm going to ask Nike about this. I'll let you know what they say.

Oh never a dull moment. (liveblogging the crime)

2011-03-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

So, I guess somebody shot someone? In the Jewelry Center building at 610 S. Broadway?

I overheard the radio of the undercover dude standing next to me say that the guard at the Hayward said the guy may have run in there...

Then some guy who looked like Gary Oldman yelled "Bring me EVERYBODY!", and more cops showed up and expanded the perimeter another block out.

The swat team was lining up to run into the Hayward, but I needed to get the milk in the fridge, so I went upstairs at that point.

-- MB

Drugs for sale inside!

2010-12-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Really? At Spring For Coffee? I had no idea 'til now.

A holiday tradition of incompetence.

2010-11-29T06:09:00.000-08:00

A year ago I wrote this: Beep beep BEEP, the upshot being that one year ago during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, loud and obnoxious fire alarms went off at the Mercantile Arcade building and stayed on 'til after midnight, presumably due to the alarm contractor having gone home for the Holidays and no one at the management company knowing how to operate the alarms.

A year has gone by, and a lot has changed. There are large banners proclaiming "Now LEASING!", and presumably construction is done, systems have been approved by the City, and people are actually living in the building. I feel sorry for those people, as sometime mid-yesterday, the fire alarms went off, and as of this writing, 6:00 AM the next day, they are still running. The noisemaker part of the alarm did stop but the strobes are still going, bright enough to illuminate my loft right through the curtains.

It's my understanding that the City requires alarms to have a timer that automatically shuts them down within half an hour. Although the noise alarm did shut off, the strobes are obviously still out of compliance a year later. Made me wonder, as I watched the weird shadows the strobes made on my ceiling last night, how stupid could the folks at Fifth Street Funding be? Hell, I've known for over a year that Thanksgiving would be celebrated again in 2010. They had a whole year to plan to have someone available during the holiday weekend trained to push a goddamned button. Question is, was that task too difficult for their little minds, or do they just not care? Don't look at me, I don't know. Like Glenn Beck, I'm not saying that Fifth Street Funding are all a lot of incompetent douchebags, I'm just raising the question.

Overheard at 6th and Lindley Place...

2010-06-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Overheard at 6th and Lindley Place...

"Back, back, Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" *CLUNK*

At least he parked the truck before it got all wet.

As Kidlo said, "¡Agua!"

LAFD, always their efficient selves. By the time I had returned from the Market, they had the hydrant bolted back into place, with nothing other than a brand new cap to show that anything had happened to it.

A pleasant noontime diversion for all...

Or almost all. "Dude, why you don't listen to me when I say 'Whoa?'"

-- MB

Rain, rain, go away...

2010-02-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Rain, rain, go away, come again as snow on the Eastern Sierras, please.

Wednesday rain update

2010-01-20T11:45:00.001-08:00

Storm rain total, noon-ish update: 2-13/16 inches (with more expected, of course.)

What happens when your mail carrier goes on vacation

2010-01-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Just some of the mis-delivered mail

hand-sorted by my neighbors last weekend.

MB here...

Last Monday I was pleased and surprised to find the daily "Food 4 Less" circular missing from my mailbox. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that pretty much all my mail was missing from my mailbox. A few days later a client called to ask for my new address, as the check they had sent me had been returned bearing a yellow "NIXIE" sticker reading "Return to sender - attempted - not known - unable to forward". Yes, somehow, my little mailbox which had happily accepted mail for me for close to two years suddenly is refusing to accept checks. To protect me from the corrupting influence of teh filthy lucre, no doubt.

Calling the USPS 800 number yielded nothing but a promise that someone "who can handle this" would return my call within two business days.

So I lurked around the mailroom at the appointed time to harangue the mail carrier. "I don't know, I'm just a sub. You have to talk to your regular carrier. She's on vacation." I told her about the "NIXIE" sticker on my envelope. "Oh, you have a sticker? That's because you moved away and gave a forwarding address." No, no, I still live here. See? It's me, standing before you, and I'm still here. Is there someone I should talk to at the Post Office, other than just the 800 number? "No, the supervisor won't know, none of the carriers will know, no one will know anything. Your regular carrier will be back Monday. You will have to ask her." Got that? Your letter carrier goes on vacation, she takes all knowledge and accountability with her.

Now, I would think that magically disappearing and reappearing mailboxes would raise alarms in the computerized systems rather than print yellow stickers, but that is just me. I would think reliability is paramount in a mail system. Hell, I would even go so far as to think that a system as large and experienced as the USPS would have some backup systems to catch and work around the fuckwittery of a substitute mail carrier who can't find a mailbox that's only clearly marked and numbered and placed in order among all the other clearly numbered mailboxes.

Email has stolen a lot of business from the USPS, but the Post Office still plays a critical role in delivering physical things such as checks, legal papers, etc. There has been talk of dropping Saturday delivery as a way to make up for sagging sales, and I'm all for it -- if the savings are applied to increasing the reliability of the system and removing opportunities for one person to fuck up the chain of delivery all by themselves.

I would ask my regular carrier about this Monday, as the sub carrier had suggested, but their is no delivery on MLK day.

Happy new year!

2010-01-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Although us mommy-and-daddy types were in bed soon after the ball fell in Times Square, the younger set in our building were partying 'till oh-five-hundred, god bless 'em.

So from our little family to you and yours, here's wishing for a joy filled 2010!

Spotted on Spring Street

2009-12-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know why. But there it is.

Downtown grows up!

2009-12-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

MB here,

Those of you who regularly read our little blog (and we thank you for your attention!) have probably noticed by now that we just haven't been posting that much. Sure, there's the occasional rant about noise or street corner comedians or whatnot, but we aren't writing as much about our life downtown as we used to.

I wondered why, myself. We aren't tired of writing, or bored of the blog, or blogging in general. It is, I think, that this was conceived as a blog about our adventures of moving downtown with a child, and that part of our life is no longer interesting, and I mean interesting in the sense of that old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times!"

When we started this blog, it was an exciting event to hear of a new shop or eatery opening, and trying to minimize our car trips outside the 'hood was something of a puzzle. Now, we have burgers and groceries across the street, ice cream and waffles around the corner, several choices for Breakfast and I either walk to Ralphs and complain about the prices or bite the bullet and drive to the newley remodled Vons on glendale (or better yet, Gold Line to Trader Joes!) The Downtown Parents Group is going great, the play dates and get togethers are crowded and I spot pregnant hipsters scooting in and out of the loft buildings most every weekend. Hell, H'wood is even setting rom-coms down here in dreamy dreamy DTLA (still waiting for the "300 days of summer" mash-up.)

So what does this mean? We are more comfortable here. And as our comfort grows, the prod of discomfort that pushes us to post dulls somewhat and becomes, how can I say it? Less Pokey.

This is not a "sorry I havn't updated my blog" post, or a good-bye of any sort. It's a recognition that Downtown, or more correctly our relationship to Downtown, has turned a corner. I'm posting to recognise that, to mark the moment, as it were.

And now it's time to get on with it. My next post may or may not be directly Downtown related. Perhaps I'll expand the area of interest of this blog beyond just navel-gazing in the City. Oh, who am I kidding? It will be about Awesome Coffee available right around the corner.

--MB

Beep beep BEEP

2009-11-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

MB here...

It's noisy downtown. The general noise and hubub of the city doesn't bother me. Our loft doesn't face the street, we face a "light court". The building is U-shaped, and we have a nice little patio on one leg of the U, high enough to overlook the open air above the "arcade" portion of the Mercantile Arcade building. I have a nice view of the California Plaza buildings, and overall, it's pretty quiet back there. What noise there is is of the background variety. Traffic, laughing neighbors, etc.

The Arcade building consists of two 12-story towers, one facing Broadway just north of 6th street, and one fracing Spring street. Connecting the two towers is a walkable arcade filled with shops, so you can walk from Spring st. straight through the building to Broadway. It's been sitting empty above the ground floor ever since we moved in, but recently there has been an explosion of activity. Apparently the owners have overcome whatever obstacle has been in the road, and the conversion of the building to lofts is back on track.

The construction hasn't been loud or annoying at all. What has been annoying is the alarms. Occasionally, an alarm would go off in the building. Either a whoop-whoop alternating with a prerecorded voice instructing all within earshot to stop work and make for the exits, or an exceptionally annoying electronic beep. Beep beep beep. Three loud electronic tones emitting from the upper floors or roof of the broadway-side tower. Oddly enough, you really can't here the alarm from the floor of the arcade, but you can hear it from the parking lot north of the building on Spring, and you sure as hell can hear it in my loft.

For a while the alarm had been going off at odd times and running for anywhere from half an hour to a few hours before shutting off. But a week ago monday the alarm started beeping at noon and didn't quit until 10:00 PM. Really annoying.

Beep beep beep.

The following Wednesday, it went off again around Noon. Beep beep beep. I went next door and wandered around until I spotted some guys with "fire control" on their shirts. They really couldn't say anything about it, but they went and fetched a well-dressed young-ish dark haired guy they identified as their "big boss". "We are doing occasional tests, but it shouldnt' be going off on weekends" he told me. "It's going off now" I replied. "Now?" "Yes, Now." "Um, ok..." He got on the phone, and got the alarm shut off, but it was clear he had no idea it was running at all.

Beep beep beep.

Of course the beeps where back the very next day, at 10:00 AM. I had no idea how to contact anyone over there... I had neglected to get a number for the Fire Control guy, and there is no "In case of emergency" or "Managed by..." numbers on the building itself. There's probably some easy and simple way to get emergency contact info for any building downtown, but I don't know it. The building permits I retrieved from the Dept. of Building and Safety's web site gave the contractor as "Santa Fe Construction Co Inc; Lic. No.: 871003", with an address that Google showed to be a single family home in Winnetka. The contractor's phone #, (818) 326-3533, was a cell phone the no one picked up. The listed "Responsible Managing Officer (RMO)" for Santa Fe is Gregory Martin, and some googling of that name found that Greg Martin is the owner of the Arcade building, or a VP of the developer, "Fifth Street Funding", or perhaps the elusive avatar of a trio of front companies holding real estate on behalf of a wealthy and mysterious Australian family. Whatever. Calling Fifth Street Funding led me to Lucia Parisi, the manager of the Arcade Building.

Beep beep beep.

Lucia was able to get the alarm shut off in short order, once I convinced her that this wasn't just "testing", and that it was in fact running continuously. And the alarm pretty much stayed off, 'till today.

Beep beep beep.

The alarm is running when I get home today at 1:30PM.

Beep beep beep.

I call Lucia at 2, she's not in.

Beep beep beep.

I call Lucia an hour later, she's in but in a meeting.

Beep beep beep.

I convince the receptionist to break into the meeting, but Lucia "is aware of the situation and will take care of it ASAP"

Beep beep beep.

I call again at 4:30, everyone is gone for the day.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Listen developer people. I am your neighbor. I live here. I get to watch the comings and goings of your little construction project. And I'm not going away. Do you really want me to be the pissed off neighbor who spends his time filing complaints and taking photos and raising "issues" with the city and county, the police and the BID? Organizing the community? Showing up at every hearing to voice my concerns? Filing complaints with the LAPD Noise Enforcement Team? LA Building and safety? Of course not. And I don't want to be that guy. So shut off your goddamned alarm and pick up the phone when it rings. ok?

NY Magazine Profiles Bratton

2009-11-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share: New York Magazine profiles former LA police chief William Bratton.

In the debate over whether policing is an art or a science, Bratton is a firm believer that it’s a science. His successes, he says, were attributable to two basic policing strategies: CompStat and “broken windows.” The former is the system Bratton and his NYPD deputy commissioner, the late Jack Maple, developed in 1994 that introduced computer analysis of crime patterns and strict accountability measures to modern policing. The latter is the theory first articulated by the academics George Kelling and James Q. Wilson in 1982, and later put into practice by Bratton with New York’s transit cops and then with the NYPD, that by cracking down on minor quality-of-life crimes—graffiti, fare-hopping, breaking windows—police can reduce serious crime as well. “There’s nothing going on in Los Angeles that’s different from what I did in New York,” Bratton says. “I have CompStat and I have very assertive cops making a lot of arrests.”

And yet it was Bratton’s willingness to adapt these strategies to two very different environments that accounts for his successes. In other words, he was as much of an artist as he was a scientist. One crucial adjustment was patience. In New York City, Bratton had commanded 38,000 cops and was able to flood multiple high-crime areas simultaneously with hundreds of officers. In Los Angeles, he had only 9,000 cops. “Throwing 50 cops at a problem in Los Angeles was really difficult,” says Kelling, a consultant to the LAPD during Bratton’s tenure. “It meant he couldn’t do everything at once.” So, while Bratton cracked down immediately on prostitution in Hollywood, cleaning up the city’s notorious skid row had to wait. “This was much more of a patient, unfolding enterprise,” says John Linder, a consultant who worked with Bratton in New York and Los Angeles. “He was not as worried about the immediate impact as he was in New York.”

More here.

Kidlo gets his Swine Flu Shot on Skid Row.

2009-11-12T11:08:00.000-08:00

MB here...

I wanted to get Kidlo his Swine Flu shot while the season was still young enough for it to do him some good. But no one seems to have it... His pediatrician doesn't have any, my doctor doesn't have any, Walgreens is out of stock... Kaiser Permanente has some, due to a decision by the state that the LA times says was "not previously discussed publicly" but the state says was not made in secret. "It was done openly with all our public health partners," said Mike Sicilia, spokesman for the Department of Public Health. I'm not sure who those partners are, but I expect these meetings could take place in a phone booth and still have room for coffee and snack service.

Anyway, this pretty much leaves the county Flu POD (Point of Dispensing) clinics as the only place for Kidlo to get the H1N1 shot, and as luck would have it, today there was one on 6th and San Pedro, not half a mile from our loft, in the heart of Skid Row.

The flyer said 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and as I had read about the mess that was the Glendale POD last weekend, I decided to get there early and be prepared to stay the day. County Dept. of Public Health had blocked off 6th street between San Julian and San Pedro, and set up tents and tables. There was six or eight cops hanging out watching over a small crowd that had gathered.

And by small crowd I mean small. They put us in two lines, one "Family" line (kids, pregnant mothers, caretakers of babies under 6 months, etc.) and another line for "everyone else". The "everyone else" line was in the hundreds, stretching around the corner and down San Pedro for a block or so, and seemed to be mostly Skid Row people, homeless or sheltered. Our line, the "Family line" as the staff called it, was maybe forty people. Maybe.

We waited. Volunteers came around with forms to fill out. I talked to the other families on line. The family crowd was pretty diverse. The family behind me had driven an hour to come here from the 'Burbs. He had actually driven around here last night to see if the neighborhood was safe enough to bring his wife and kid to. I guess it was, or at least his fear of Flu won over his fear of Skid Row. I lent my cell phone to the family in front of me so they could call their relatives and give them directions. No one in the family had used a cell phone before, so I had to dial it for them.

A KNBC news guy and cameraman came around talked to some of the families at the head of the line. They didn't seem interested in Kidlo or the Suburbanites behind me.

Soon enough, the line was moving. There was a short delay as they rearranged the tables -- all us parental units were blocking the way with our strollers -- but we were in and out in under an hour. Sweet!

So if you are hankerin' for a Flu Shot (they have seasonal flu shots as well as N1H1) and are in the neighborhood (and in the target group), drop on by.

It's a great day to be a Newsman!

Citizen journalism

2009-10-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Reader Chad passed on this news:

I live at Santa Fe and I enjoy your blog. Last week there was a guy who climbed up on our buildings AC pipes about 15 feet up off of the ground. This was during one of those rainy cold days that we had.

After a big the police showed up, then the firetrucks. He got down via a ladder the firemen placed.

With bonus cool pics!

Channeling Carter's Blog

2009-10-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's 74 degrees, going up to 83, and I just saw a woman in Starbucks wearing a wool coat with a fur collar, tights and boots. WTF, Angelenos.

Inventing LA (and downtown)

2009-10-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

MB and I watched a great documentary last night: Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Lives. It's about the family who founded the LA Times and owned it until it was sold to the Tribune Company in 2000. The Chandlers didn't just run a newspaper--they also played a huge role in the land acquisitions and water rights shenanigans that shaped modern LA. (John Huston's character in Chinatown was based on Harry Chandler). As a downtowner, it was very cool to see photos and footage of downtown from the late 19th Century to today. Downtown LA was amazingly crowded and vital all the way into the 50s. It's kind of sad to see the old photos and films and compare it to downtown today. Even though the neighborhood is taking off, the streets are really empty in comparison.

You can watch the documentary online here. Also check out the great photo galleries with pics of downtown and Hollywood.

ETA: The segment covering the 1910 bombing of the LA Times building on 1st and Broadway.

Anyone want an old TV?

2009-10-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

We just bought a new TV and are looking to get rid of our old one. It's old and bulky and has a non-working VCR attached, but the TV part works and comes with a digital converter box. We can cart it down to Goodwill but I figured I'd ask if anyone is interested taking it off our hands--maybe one of the residential hotels or shelters could use it? Let me know. If I don't hear from anyone, it's going to Goodwill this weekend.

Seen at La Parrilla

2009-10-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Offer I refused on 6th Street

2009-10-01T09:42:00.001-07:00

"I'll tell you funny stories about black people if you give me a dollar."

Space for Yoga Classes

2009-09-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today I got this request from a friend of mine:

I am emailing you because you live and/or work in or near downtown. I'm looking into possibly renting out my own space for a couple hours every other week to teach some classes. I am trying to gauge if you, anyone you know or your company might be interested in something like this? Also, let me know if you know of any places renting out by the hour for this kind of thing...they might be nicer and cheaper than the ones I am looking into.

Does anyone know of a space that would work? Maybe a loft space that's used as a studio?

Throwdown at Ralphs Fresh Fare!

2009-09-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

'Sup G, MB here.

So I needed to buy a few thangs, so I go to the Ralphs Fresh Fare in Southpark. Not my hood, ya know, but whatever. So I'm at the checkout, and there's some noise over by the door...

A security guard is all up in the face of a big bearded guy in a white t-shirt with an armload of groceries. They're bumping chests, next thing I know, the guard grabs a double-handfull of t-shirt and shoves the guy four feet accross the lobby and on to his ass!

You bet it's on now! The big guy comes up swinging. The guard lowers his head and takes the fight down to the mat, UFC style. They roll around trading punches while the ~~fans~~ customers run around excitedly. I grab my camera, but by the time it's powered up the fight is almost over:

That slight woman in the blue? That's my checker. Yah, she ran over and stopped the fight, while everyone else was standing around with their hands in their pockets, picken' their noses and taking bets on the outcome.

After the fight, and after Daniel wimped out and didn't bring the guard over, my checker brought the guard back to where the dry cleaning is. The manager steamed over, no doubt annoyed that the guard made like Royce Gracie and went straight to the mat instead of boxing a little and making it interesting. I think I saw smoke coming out of his ears.

SO that was it. I gathered my groceries and took the elevator down with a very nice Grandmama who'd bought a silver balloon for her g'daughter. Sweet!

Loco (motive) on Spring Street

2009-09-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Small annoyances

2009-09-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

The upstairs neighbors are screaming 80s tunes into a karaoke machine. It wouldn't be so bad except they're drunk, tone deaf and slaughtering classics like Little Red Corvette. *sigh*

ETA: Ah shit, they just started in with Men at Work.

ETAA: MB pointed out that karaoke is, by definition, supposed to be sung by drunken tone-deaf people. Fine. /curmudgeon

ETAAA: Now they're doing Blitzkrieg Bop. This one I approve of.

Wayback Machine

2009-09-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Found this cool photo on Wikipedia and thought I'd share. It's a shot of 4th and Main in 1923. Look at how crowded it is!

Any questions?

2009-09-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Music for your wheels

2009-09-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

I see this guy on 6th Street almost every day. His taste in music runs to funk--no surprise there.

Quote from my mother

2009-09-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

"There are a lot of people in this neighborhood who walk around talking to themselves."

Sweet

2009-09-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

MB and I hung out at Syrup Desserts today. He had a root beer float made with a locally brewed (and amazingly tasty) root beer and I had a latte and a macaroon. It's a really comfortable space, especially the second floor lounge, and they have wifi. I'm always looking for new places to write and I think this is going to be great--out of the apartment so that I don't get distracted by Kidlo, but close enough for me to pop in and out when I need to. Also, because they have outdoor seating, they really fit in on a block that has a lot of outdoor seating already--LA Cafe, the Mexican joint (sorry, can't remember the name), California Pizza and even the grocery store all have their little bistro areas. I hope Syrup Desserts sticks around.

One New York import we don't need

2009-09-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

Went to the new 7-11 on Broadway and preaching right next to the entrance was a group of Real Israelites. They believe that blacks are descended from the lost tribes of Israel and are the true Jews. They are also obnoxious aggressive assholes. They make a lot of noise, block the sidewalk, yell at people who take pictures. You get the idea. I used to see these people all the time in Times Square and it sucks that they're now in Downtown LA. Below is a sample of what they're like.

Grandma Downtown

2009-09-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

So my mother is visiting for 10 days and it's been really cool to see her reaction to Downtown. She's a total New Yorker, has lived in the Bronx since her family moved there from Puerto Rico when she was five. And she loves Downtown LA. She keeps saying, "Wow, it's so lively down here! There's so much to do! It's really nice!" Art Walk was a huge success. Kidlo got his photo taken at a gallery, MB and my mom bought some gear at Kapsoul (which is owned by our former neighbor and had its grand opening yesterday), and I scored two fabulous prints photographed by two Marshall High School students for $30. Mom loved all of it, the crowds, the art, the music.

Mom had actually been kind of biased against Downtown because she'd seen a news story about Skid Row. She'd called me afterwards and was like, "I saw on TV that there's a shelter on 6th Street. Don't you live on 6th Street? Are you guys safe?" But she's been here three days and she's cruising around the neighborhood by herself, bought a sandwich at LA Cafe ("Damn, that was a good sandwich!"), has been hanging out with Kidlo at his preschool and just generally fitting right in. I've had a bit of a sense of Downtown LA not being quite ready for primetime, but at least one New Yorker thinks it's great right now.

Good news for 9th Street Elementary

2009-09-08T10:50:00.001-07:00

Right on the heels of my post on kids on Skid Row is news that the LAUSD is going to build a $58 million facility to house 9th Street Elementary and a new middle school to be run by Para Los Niños. The facility will also feature a clinic offering medical and mental health services. According to Blogdowntown, construction will start in the fall of 2011, with the new facility completed in the fall of 2013.

This is truly fantastic news. Para Los Niños is a very well-respected organization and the services they provide are badly needed by the children who attend 9th Street Elementary. It's a good day for the kids of skid row.

Up on the roof

2009-09-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Kidlo and I were using the pool this morning when an emaciated platinum blond appeared wearing a thong bikini, double-D factory installed boobs and stripper heels. She climbed up on the roof and posed for photos snapped by someone I presume is her boyfriend, then put her robe back on and scampered off.

Living downtown can be so weird.

Tale of Two Downtowns, Redux

2009-09-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I walked past the residential hotel on 7th and Main and saw a young woman with her son, who was about Kidlo's age, two or thereabouts. The woman looked no older than 20 but she was so sad and the little boy looked listless and unhappy too. It must be hell to be in a shelter with a little kid, no air conditioning, having to listen to the drug dealers out on Main all night.

When I got home I did some googling and found a documentary about kids on skid row. It's a terrible situation and it's a terrible situation unfolding just a few blocks from our loft.

ETA: Turns out the NY Times did a story in Sunday's paper on homeless children: A Surge in Homeless Children Tests School Aid Programs

Saturday on Broadway

2009-09-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

Minor annoyances

2009-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Jesus People on Broadway,

Just because I'm wearing a dress and pearls doesn't mean I want a copy of your damned pamphlet. And it especially doesn't mean that I want to have that pamphlet shoved at me by four different people within two blocks.

You worship whoever you want. Just stay out of my face, mmmkay?

Smooches,
Li

Los Angeles is burning

2009-08-31T19:27:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the crappy cell phone quality. I'll try to get legit shots tomorrow.

We're crazy but not that crazy

2009-08-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

I got this email through the blog this weekend:

Hi there,

My cousin introduced me to your blog because I live in the Alexandria as well, and I was just curious how a family of three is able to manage in that building. I could be wrong, but I had thought the biggest units were one bedroom, and that the income stipulations were pretty strict so that only low income people could qualify. I'm not accusing you of being a fraud or anything, like I said I'm just curious.

Nice blog, btw.

Your neighbor,
Ian

Just to clarify: we *PARK* under the Alexandria, we don't live there. We love downtown but we're not insane enough to raise a child in a residential hotel, even one that has a fancy schmancy restaurant in the lobby.

ETA: The post that inspired the blog name.

Building Momentum

2009-08-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

Susana Benavidez hosted a pool party on Saturday for Downtown families and it had a big turnout! At least 20 families showed up over the course of the day. It's been really challenging to get people together for various events, but now that we have a Facebook group for Downtown families, they are realizing that yes, there are other people raising kids downtown.

For those of you who are interested in meeting families downtown, Susana has also organized a weekly playdate. Details of the next meetup:

Date: Saturday, September 5, 2009
Time: 9:00am - 10:00am
Location: Grand Hope Park, Hope/9th St in front of FIDM

You can also get more information by joining the Downtown LA Families Facebook group.

Art Walk, Old Skool.

2009-08-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

Art!

You kids are probably too young to remember, but once upon a time images were captured not with electrons and silicon, but with "film", a gooey mixture of chemicals slathered on a strip of (probably flammable) plastic or paper or whatever happened to be at hand. And there was none of this "instant gratification" you youngsters talk about. With film, you didn't get to see your photos until you took the film home and soaked it in poisonous chemicals in your bathtub. Yuck. "How could this be possible" you ask? Well, luckily for you, I discovered a working example of one of these ancient devices during an archaeological dig in the ruins of a garage in Burbank, California, and I brought it with me to Art Walk. What follows was recorded using that quaint and now-so-obsolete technology.

To say that Art Walk was "crowded" is an understatement. Wall to wall people made it hard to walk on the sidewalk (but there were plenty of cops to keep you from stepping on to the street.)

There was art, as you would expect. But it seems the more popular Art Walk gets, and the more people there are, the less art I see. This isn't a cut an Art Walk, mind you. This is me people watching rather than art gazing. As I live in the 'hood, Art Walk has become an adventure in finding art I would like to return to and enjoy later while enjoying the party in the right-now.

Art, meet commerce.

I have no idea what was going on here.

The newly-expanded Art Parking Lot, featuring extra fuse-popping lights.

Bars and bands were hoppin'.

A new bar "Down and Out" at the site of the old "Charlie O's" soft-opened for Art Walk. The place has sliding glass doors that give the effect of the party spilling out into the street. Note the portraits inside above the bar. Not seen in this shot: O.J. Simpson.

But mostly just people, people, people...

These old-fashioned cameras don't focus themselves, they rely on you to do it for them. You get to twist a knob whilst peering through the viewfinder until you stop seeing double, which is impossible to do when it is dark, and you are drunk.

Commies!

You kids with your new-fangled electric cameras... (The police car is responding to a "415", which seems to be the police code for "a guy holding a bag of ice to his face.")

On the way back to the loft, I was hit by frozen tater-tots thrown from one of these windows. The bastards ducked back inside when I turned and pointed the camera at them... There is nothing subtle about these antiques. Getting a candid shot takes skillz with a "Z".

6th Street Bridge

2009-08-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Whoops

2009-08-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

4th Street

Do you think the Downtown News understands how funny this article is?

2009-08-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

From the Downtown News:

Over two months, Central Area detectives had been investigating two suspects believed to be responsible for six armed robberies and an additional attempted robbery. One suspect, described as heavyset, was known as the “Braids Bandit,” because of his braided hair; the other, who appeared slimmer, was labeled the “Do-rag Bandit,” for the head covering — a sort of nylon bandana — that he wore.

Police now believe that Anthony Brown, a parolee who was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 5, in Skid Row, is behind both sets of crimes.

...

“We were prepared to… ask the public for their help in capturing the Do-rag Bandit,” Vernon said. “Turns out, we can let everyone know instead his crime spree is over.”

For when you have a 2 a.m. jones for Botox

2009-08-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Main and Washington

2nd & Fig on a Sunday Morning

2009-08-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

My Husband Loves Me

2009-07-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

MB is away for the weekend, and when I came home from work I found this.

Free Diapers

2009-07-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have about 50 size 5 diapers and 60 size 6 diapers that we can't use (it's a brand my son doesn't like). Does anyone want them? Do you know of a shelter that can use them?

Update: Someone has claimed the diapers. Meanwhile, if any of you are interested in donating diapers to poor families, a commenter named Santos made the following suggestion:

my neighbours donated their unused diapers to LA diaper drive, you can contact them at contact@diaperdrive.com or call (310) 230-8626. i don't recall if they were picked up or dropped off.

baby2baby also accepts opened packages of diapers.

Nanny needed in South Park

2009-07-25T10:06:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine in South Park needs a full time nanny ASAP for her seven-month-old daughter. My friend works from home so the nanny needs to be able to deal with that. If you know of anyone looking for work, email me through the contact button in the right hand column of the blog and I'll put you in touch with her.

New Facebook Group for Downtown Families

2009-07-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

There's now a Facebook Group for Downtown families. Join the group and find out about weekly kid-friendly events and planned playdates.

When worlds collide

2009-07-16T14:50:00.001-07:00

Seen in the cereal aisle at Food4Less: Three hipsters, two guys and one girl, earnestly discussing why it is essential to always use organic maple syrup.

Think they made a wrong turn on the way to Trader Joe's?

Downtown Parent and Kids Meet and Greet on Sunday!

2009-07-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

From the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council:

Ever wonder if you’re the only parent downtown? Bring the kids and meet other parents who call Downtown LA home.

Light refreshments and snacks will be provided.

WHEN:
Sunday July 19th 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE:
The Exchange
114 W. 5th Street between Spring and Main

For more information, email susanabenavides@hotmail.com or danielle.duran.dlanc@gmail.com (please write Downtown Parent Meet & Greet on subject line)

Another View of the East Side

2009-07-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

I followed a Flickr link on Curbed LA and found the most amazing series of photos by a photographer named Tom Andrews. I think the subjects, Cassy & Sethesha, epitomize the LA ethos--the ability to think of yourself as a *~star~* no matter what your surroundings.

I sent the link to a friend of mine and she said, They make me feel all kinds of things, mostly sadness and tenderness for humanity. I agree.

Cassy & Sethesha Gallery, photographed by Tom Andrews

Craft fair this weekend

2009-07-10T09:31:00.001-07:00

The Renegade Craft Fair

Hello! The first ever Renegade Craft Fair in LOS ANGELES will take place JULY 11 + 12 from 11am – 7pm, at the California Market Center. We’ll be taking over the entire 13th floor penthouse of the Center, where gorgeous 360-degree views of downtown LA will provide the backdrop for our FREE urban art, craft and DIY extravaganza! We’re so excited, let’s say it one more time: FREE!

Over 200 artists are traveling from all over the country and abroad to participate and sell their handmade goods at Renegade Craft Fair – Los Angeles. From clothing and accessories, to stationary and concert posters, with everything from bath products and ceramics in between – there’s surely something for everyone! Be sure to check out our artist page to start working on your wish list.

The most exciting contemporary crafts organizations from across the LA area will be on site hosting interactive workshops and demonstrations. Silver Lake-based ReForm School is offering hands-on lessons in linoleum block-printing both days of the Fair, and The Urban Craft Center of Santa Monica will be leading workshops in zine-making and needle-felting on Saturday, July 11. Clean out your closets before heading to the Fair on Saturday, July 11, as Swap-O-Rama-Rama will be in full swing that day – transforming your discarded clothes into one-of-a-kind, recycled creations!

DJs from Silver Lake’s KXLU will be on site both days of the Fair providing the best indie, commercial free radio found on either side of the Mississippi – breaking only for a penthouse-shaking, hour long performance by LA based jazz-punk mobile ensemble KILLSONIC on Sunday, July 12 at 3pm!

Other event features include free raffles from Jenny Hart’s Sublime Stitching, Stencil 1, Craftside Publishers and Faythe Levine’s book Handmade Nation at the Renegade Craft Welcome Station, food and beverages for purchase from Tiara Cafe, and, as always, lots of surprises! Be sure to check out The Postcard Machine for a little fun with robots and don’t forget to get your photo snapped at a free-photobooth provided by Oh, Hello Friend!

We hope to see you July 11 + 12 at the California Market Center!!

A Tale of Two Downtowns

2009-07-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I met with the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council’s education committee. I attended so I could ~~bitch~~ share some of the frustrations loft-swelling families are having with the downtown school and park situation. But instead I got a reality check.

At the meeting was a rep from the LAUSD who oversees programs for homeless children and works closely with 9th Street Elementary, which is the school zoned for downtown. He had a lot to say about the school, most of it not good. Approximately 75 percent of the children at the school are homeless. The school has some of the lowest test scores in the LAUSD. In addition, the school has “safety issues” (his wording, so not sure exactly what that means) and they also have a big problem with churn–-kids entering and leaving the school mid-year because of their housing situation. In addition, because LAUSD has eliminated summer school for the elementary grades, these kids are not getting free breakfast and lunch during the summer and there are concerns about their basic nutrition.

One bright spot is the principal, who I'm told has a lot of energy and is working hard to improve the school. But other than that, it’s a pretty dire situation overall. The DLANC is trying to launch volunteer efforts to support the school as well as reach out to businesses based downtown to get some financial support for the school.

In terms of middle class parents downtown, I really think that there is no way in the foreseeable future that middle class families will be able to send their kids to 9th Street. The reality is that the school is struggling to adequately serve the poorest and most at risk kids in the city. With the economic crisis and a lack of a stable population base (which means no stable community of parents to organize and rally around school reform), I don’t see the situation changing any time soon.

If you own a condo and can't sell and move to a neighborhood with better schools, you're going to have to scramble for a charter/magnet school spot or drop a lot of money on private school tuition. Of course, in comparison with what the homeless families are going through, this is not a tremendous hardship. But it is going to be a big disincentive to living/buying downtown for any couples who are planning to have kids.

I’m still going to be doing volunteer work with DLANC and the school because they need all the support they can get. What I'm hoping is that we can reach out to the local business and art community and get them involved in working with 9th Street Elementary, either as volunteers or helping with fundraising events. Even $1,000 would mean so much to them.

The Downtown community is really two communities, one relatively affluent, the other desperately poor, all sharing a compact neighborhood. It's a situation that you don't see anywhere else in LA and it creates a lot of very difficult problems. I'm not sure how these problems are going to be resolved, especially as the downtown population grows on both sides of the spectrum--people are moving into the new buildings downtown while at the same time more and more people are pushed into homelessness by the economic crisis.

As for us, we're renters and have a lot of flexibility in where we live, and as I said in an earlier post, we've pretty much resigned ourselves to moving in a year or two. But while I'm a part of this community I'm going to do what I can for 9th Street Elementary.

Daycare slots available in Highland Park

2009-06-26T11:44:00.001-07:00

We finally found a daycare for Kidlo, La Casita Verde in Highland Park. A little farther than I wanted to be, but it's only about a 15 minute drive in the morning since it's a reverse commute. I really got a great feeling about it when I visited--it's clean, the house and yard are beautiful and the kids look happy and well-behaved.

As it turns out, they have plenty of openings for kids age 2 1/2 and up, because parents are pulling their kids out due to state funding cuts and job losses (we've been very lucky on that score, at least so far, knock wood). They are actively recruiting kids for the open slots and have asked me to put the word out to other parents. So...the word is out!

Art Walk Kitty

2009-06-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Neon Nights

2009-06-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

Art Walk Ice Cream

2009-06-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

A Crime Under the Alexandria!

2009-06-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

"A Terrible Theft"

Scene of the Crime

A terrible theft has inconvenienced the residents of the Alexandria, as well as the clientele of the Parking garage therein.

Yes, that's right, someone stole the pushbuttons to the elevators on the garage level. An employee of the Alexandria (who shall not be identified as he is not authorized to speak on this subject, but rather to park cars) said "It's crazy!"

See? This is why we can't have nice things.

School Daze

2009-06-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's a clean machine

2009-06-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Did they take a wrong turn on the way to Echo Park?

2009-05-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

Celeb sighting in front of my building

2009-05-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tina Fey is really petite, maybe 5'4". Looks very young, very pretty. Steve Carrell is short--same height as Tina. Huge schnozz. Cuter on film than in person.

Donate Your Old DVDs and VHS Tapes

2009-05-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

The PITA Factor: How much inconvenience are you willing to put up with in order to live Downtown?

2009-05-20T09:13:00.001-07:00

My recent column on our one year anniversary Downtown and our realization that we will have to leave the neighborhood eventually for a more kid-friendly area got a big reaction. I got emails from an LAUSD rep and the publisher of Downtown News, as well as being featured in an editorial in Blogdowntown. Unfortunately, a lot of feedback seemed to be along the lines of "you must not really want to live downtown, because if you did, you'd be willing to send-your-kid-to-a-subpar-school/ship-your-kid-to-a-far-away-school/wrestle-with-the-LAUSD-to-reform-the-local-school." You get the idea.

My question for these people and really the entire Downtown community is this: how much hassle should people have to put up with in order to live down here? I know there isn't one answer to this question and that people have a range of tolerance, from the Bert Greens who moved down here when Main Street was crack alley to the people who wouldn't be caught dead even drinking at a Downtown bar, much less living down here.

But in the middle of these extremes are a lot of people like me, who enjoy being Downtown (Walkable neighborhood! Arts and culture! Getting to know your neighbors!) but find that the inconveniences eventually outweigh the advantages. Not having decent parks, not having good schools, being forced to drive outside of downtown because there aren't enough places locally to shop for basics--all of these things can start to add up.

The problem is that whenever these issues are brought up, Downtown boosters tend to kill the messenger. Living down here becomes equated to belonging to some sort of sooper-speshul and exclusive club reserved for the worthy. But the reality is that Downtown is competing with other communities for potential residents, and now that rents are dropping across the city, this competition has only gotten tougher. The average person isn't looking for a cause or crusade--they just want a place to live. And if living downtown becomes too much of a pain in the ass, they won't stay here.

This really came home for me during a discussion on Blogdowntown about whether local retail is lagging. The owner of Pussy and Pooch commented that people aren't supporting his business and instead are going to Petco. As one of those Petco shoppers, I pointed out that he doesn't carry the brand of cat food I need. His response? He lectured me on how terrible the food is and how I should be buying one of his brands instead. Which is completely missing the point. You don't carry what I want, so I'm not going to shop at your store. If you don't want to carry the brand, fine, but then don't lecture me about how I'm not supporting local businesses.

Downtown really needs to let go of the "true believer" mentality. If the neighborhood is going to continue to grow and become a stable and sustainable community, these issues need to be addressed. Rather than tossing tomatoes at people who point out these problems, start thinking about ways to solve them.

New recruits

2009-05-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

Downtown Los Angeles
May 16, 2009

I was feeling annoyed with Downtown...and then I remembered why we left Silverlake

2009-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

So we're still in the process of trying to find a daycare center for Nathan (something that has turned out to be a far bigger PITA than I expected). I've been striking out at places in and near downtown, so we decided to see what was available in Silverlake. MB contacted a place called Camelot Kids and was told a) they don't like getting phone calls--all contacts have to be made through their website, b) they had no openings for 2009 c) they had very few openings for 2010 and they had a selective admissions policy. Wo.

MB decided to check out their website and discovered the following gems:

* There's a "Conflict Resolution Word of the Month," described as follows:

Conflict resolution is something that we all work on, on a daily basis here at Camelot. We have brainstormed and come up with various ways on better educating our children about conflict-resolution. We have decided to showcase a different word each month that every class will discuss during one of their school days. We hope that by doing this they may have a better understanding of that word and can formulate different tools to apply to their everyday lives.

MB and I were guessing which words they used. He came up with FAIL and I came up with CRETIN and POSEUR.

* The website includes a lovingly detailed description of their toilet cleaning routine:

* Every urinal, commode, sink and even the floor is treated with Sanis Ultra clean, followed by a fresh water rinse.
* Water is vacuumed away along with all bacteria and soil, allowing floors to dry quickly.
* All fixtures are blown dry so your restroom is ready for immediate use.

Along with this, we have Suzanna our cleaning lady who comes twice a week and cleans each and every bathroom as well as all the other rooms in the facility. The toilets have also been fitted with an anti-bacterial solution that sanitizes after every flush.

We also have an air purifier in each class-room to remove airborne particles and hopefully reduce the spread of gems between the children.

*They offer classes in organic gardening, Bollywood and "Pixies, Fairies & Imps!"

My boss has a theory that modern liberals, in the absence of a meaningful spirituality, have taken to turning their children into fetish objects. I laughed when she told me, but now I think she's on to something.

May Art Walk photos

2009-05-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Old Banks

2009-05-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Old Bank District
May 10, 2009

Grand Central Market

2009-05-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Downtown Los Angeles
March 22, 2009

One Year Downtown

2009-05-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

This week marks our one year anniversary living in Downtown Los Angeles. It's been a momentous year, both for our little family, and for the city, state and country at large. Back in July I wrote a two-part post on future of downtown (Part 1 and Part 2). Just ten months ago, I was complaining about California's 5.5% unemployment rate, little knowing that today we'd be looking at more than 11% unemployment and climbing and the prospect of the state completely running out of money.

Some of the predictions I made back then have come true: the condo market has indeed collapsed and people in the know are saying it may not return for another decade. Retail is floundering and the prospect of downtown attracting a big box retailer like Target is dimming as chains shut down stores and in some cases (Circuit City) are completely going out of business. A flood of rental units has come onto the market as a result of the condo collapse, with mixed results for downtown: fewer buyers with substantial ties to the community but more people living downtown overall. Also, rents are coming down, which is attracting a more diverse pool of people to the neighborhood. Downtown is also seeing the loss of local jobs as banks and government both take big hits.

Despite the ugly economic realities, Downtown has been undergoing an amazing transformation right before our eyes, one that is embodied by what has happened on 6th Street between Los Angeles and Broadway (and where we happen to live). The past year has seen the reopening of Cole's, the launch of the Association, and the launch of new restaurants/cafes, including Blu LA Cafe and the D-Town Burger Bar. The Cecil Hotel (on Main but close to 6th) and the Hayward have refurbished their retail spaces and are getting new tenants (or in the case of the Hayward, launching their own clothing store, Crack Gallery). There have been some casualties--626 Reserve has shut down, along with a handbag store located in the Hayward--but other retailers are moving in to replace them. Even Barry Shy's buildings are seeing a flurry of retail occupancy with a make-up school, clothing store and a coffee shop all opening in the SB Lofts.

With the new retail has been an influx of foot traffic on 6th Street, which has dramatically changed the block for the better. It feels safer, especially after dark. And it feels like a destination, a place people want to visit and move to. Considering the economic climate, the transformation of 6th Street has been truly remarkable. Add to this the fact that people in LA are still driving less even though gas prices have dropped to reasonable levels, and I think you are seeing a community that will thrive in the long term.

Unfortunately, that long term isn't likely to include our family. My husband and I absolutely love living downtown. We love being able to walk to work, to walk to our favorite restaurants and bars. The cultural environment is incredibly rich, and it's a tremendous pleasure to do things like walk to MOCA and attend plays at the theater on Spring Street. But we have Kidlo to think of, and Downtown isn't a viable place for our family in the long-term. The two big sticking points: parks and schools, especially the latter.

When you are raising a kid without a backyard, having access to a good park is absolutely essential, and Downtown just doesn't cut it. Pershing Square is a travesty and Grand Hope Park, while lovely and clean, is a fairly long walk for us and doesn't have a very good playground. I believe that Pershing Square will eventually get a playground, but it won't come soon enough for us. My son is old enough that some outdoor play every day is important and I can see that very soon the lack of a park is going to become a big problem.

The school situation is an even bigger problem. 9th Street Elementary is the only public school zoned for Downtown and they primarily serve homeless kids. According to Susana Benavidez, they are doing a great job for those students, but in terms of test scores they are ranked among the lowest in the city--not a surprise, given the unsettled lives these kids lead, but not a great fit for a kid who is achieving at grade level or better. The only other alternative is private school. As it turns out, there is a good private school in City West, the Pilgrim School. But we can't afford to shell out $15K-$20 a year for tuition, so that's not an option for us (I'd much rather save money to pay for Kidlo's college tuition).

The upshot of all this is that we are likely to be moving out of the neighborhood two or three years from now, when Kidlo is ready for kindergarten. It's really a damned shame because we love living a pedestrian lifestyle, we love having relationships with all the local merchants, and we love seeing the neighborhood grow and change before our eyes. It's something so rare in Los Angeles. But when you have a family you ultimately have to do what's best for the kid, and in this case, moving to a decent school district is what we need to do.

In the long term, will Downtown become a family-friendly (or at least friendlier) place? I think so. I just got back from a trip to New York City and was on the Upper East Side when the schools were letting out. The streets were clogged with families, kids in school uniforms and their younger siblings in carriages. Central Park's playgrounds were full of kids playing after school for a bit before walking home for dinner. I can see that happening in Downtown LA as well--eventually. But the eventually won't come soon enough for us.

At any rate, we plan to completely enjoy the neighborhood while we're still here. And I know when we leave we will definitely shed a tear.

Hey, did you know about this? I didn't know about this.

2009-04-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

So there's a community meeting over at the 9th Street Elementary school, which is great. It's at 5:00 PM, which isn't so great for working parents such as ourselves. In fact it pretty much eliminates any chance of my wife attending in any capacity other than "One Hour Late". But then, I'm not sure if I am supposed to consider myself a "Stakeholder". I didn't get this flyer through the mail or slipped under my door or from a pile in the lobby. I stole this copy from the door handle of a bar.

I think she's shit out of luck

2009-04-25T16:59:00.001-07:00

I was just walking into my building when I overheard a girl talking to two cops:

"So like I sublet an apartment in this building and then they evicted the guy I was renting from and the sheriffs showed up and locked us out and now I can't get my stuff..."

Yikes. I'm guessing she was paying rent to the original tenant and he never passed it on to the landlord. Also, it was probably an illegal sublet. Will she ever see her stuff again? Does she have any rights at all in this situation?

Artist Identified

2009-04-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

A reader identified the wonderful sculpture I posted about back in March: Unexpected art is unexpected. It's by an artist named Tom Otterness who is based in New York. The sculpture is called The New World and he has photos of it on his site. I've seen his work in NYC but didn't make the connection. How cool to have such great art tucked away in Downtown.

Sunset on KPMG

2009-04-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Grim Times, Los Angeles
April 12, 2009

Performances (and mopeds) at Art Walk

2009-04-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

As time goes on, there seem to be more and more performances at Art Walk. I understand that some people are peeved over this, but I kinda like it. Gives our little neighb the sort of energy I so fondly remember from the East Village in the early seventies. The shot above is from the French fest at the Continental Gallery last night. Besides the bandstand and some nifty $1,800 chairs there was a herd of electric scooters:

Not so arty, but I knew it was just a matter of time before Corporate Sponsorship crept in to this scene. No matter, I have a professional interest in electric vehicles, so I asked around and was directed to Alex, who explained that the mopeds are a purely French design, although he couldn't really tell me much about them, and the company rep had split and wouldn't be back 'till the band played. Oh, well. We posed for the photo op and Alex floated off to continue his meet-n-greet.

One look at the band's set list:
And I decided not to wait. However, the "E-Road" Electric bicycle looks nifty and light, and probably qualifies as a "motorized bicycle" under California V.C 406(b) and 24016(a)(3,4), which means no license or registration or insurance needed (unlike a gas moped), but you have to be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet. No prices were given at the event, but EBay seller "E-Road electric bike" has them for $838 shipped. E-Road/BHM LLC, 3113 S. Grand Ave 90007, 213-746-0250

Speaking of performances, I spotted this at the Regent:

When did this happen? I'm so out of touch. Wait, it hasn't happened even yet, at least, no renovations that I can tell. There was a band on stage, but they weren't performing, just doing a sound check. Unless that is the performance. Which it could be... Every time I'm here during Art Walk, the band is doing sound check. Like I said, I'm out of touch.

Cowboy Steele is missing his guns!

2009-04-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

This big guy at the corner of Sixth and Spring used to have a brace of oversize pistols. A few months ago, paper went up over the window as construction work went on inside. When the paper came down, the pistols were gone.

So if someone tries to hold you up with some suspiciously large six-guns, well, you know where they came from...

Chickens and Art: Just another Sunday downtown

2009-04-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a great day for me and Kidlo. It started out with a morning trip to Chinatown to pick up two chickens at Superior Poultry (the poultry is superior because it was clucking just a few minutes before you arrive to take it home).

It was my first time buying a chicken in Chinatown so I was a little nervous, but it couldn't have been easier. At some live poultry places, you come eye to beady eye with dinner before it's dispatched, but at Superior Poultry, the chickens were already bagged when I got there. That doesn't mean the chickens weren't fresh, though--in the picture below, you can see the chicken cleaning going on in the back of the store.

The chickens were $8.50 each, which is a great price for a whole chicken (and I do mean the whole chicken--more on that later).

On the same block as Superior Chicken were two live seafood places. They both had catfish, tilapia and lobster in huge tanks.

One place also had a big softshelled turtle and a tank full of huge frogs. I tried to get a photo, but the owner gave me the stink-eye, which makes me think that maybe dinner was being served off the endangered species list.

After we went home and Kidlo had a little nap, we were off to MOCA for their First Sundays are for Families event. It included a free tour (which we had to bail on since Kidlo decided modern art is booooring) and a chance to make your own art (Kidlo gave that part the thumbs up).

It was hot...really hot. But MB was kind enough to drive us to the museum so that I didn't have to push Kidlo's stroller up Bunker Hill (note to City: open Angel's Flight already, will ya?). The walk home was nice, except that I had to keep a death grip on Kidlo's stroller so that it didn't go careening down Grand Street.

Today, after letting the chickens sit in the fridge for a day to let the rigor mortis subside (I am so not kidding), I pulled one of the birds out of the fridge in order to brine it for roasting tomorrow. Now the thing is, I know that Chinese cuisine makes use of every part of the bird, so seeing the feet was no surprise.

But for some reason, the head scared the hell out of me. (You can't see it in the photo, but underneath the chicken's beak is a very neatly slit vein. Gulp.)

Sawing off the head and feet turned out to be easier than I expected. And the chicken smells wonderful. It doesn't have that slightly rancid smell that supermarket chicken can have. It's just very clean, very fresh. I'll update you tomorrow on how it tastes. If it's as good as the smell, I know where I'll be getting my chickens from now on.

Back Under the Alexandria

2009-04-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

The garage under the Alexandria Hotel is now going to be staffed by valets 24-7. That means that no one has to relive the experience I had when I first began parking in the Alexandria last year.

Anyway, I said good-morning and asked the guards to open the gate to the garage. They were nice and polite, as always, but they're not valets and they won't actually get the car for you. I walked onto a waiting elevator and punched the button for the basement. The doors slid open onto a narrow hallway with dirty tile floors and holes punched into the plaster walls. I walked through and into the garage, praying that my car was parked on the first basement level. The first level is pretty dark and pretty dank, but getting my car out of the first level is a straightforward job--just pull out and drive it up the ramp.

But of course, my car wasn't parked on the first level.

Oh shit, the elevator.

Not the elevator I'd just gotten out of. This was a car elevator, painted red, all metal with no door. To run it you have to hold two buttons at the same time. When you do the elevator lurches, then slowly and loudly slides down to the second basement level.

The second basement level makes the first look like paradise. It's dark, there are puddles and chunks of plaster in piles on the floor and I'm the only person down there--well, me and the guy who is hidden under a car, waiting to kill me (har har).

I found my car and backed it into the elevator--and since the elevator is narrow and I drive a 1985 Mercedes Benz with a body that's 17 feet long, this took me a few minutes. Then I pressed the two buttons again and made sure I didn't overshoot the floor, and then I pulled out of the elevator, up the ramp, paused a moment to let a man pushing a shopping cart go past, waved to the guard and finally pulled out onto Spring Street.

Since I usually have my kid with me when I park, I decided that parking at the Alexandria was a little too edgy for me and after a couple of months I moved my car to the lot at 6th and Main. But with the Alexandria offering valet parking for $130/mo, guess what? We're back, baby. The name of the blog makes sense again!

I think we just saw a patient dump...

2009-03-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

About 1:05PM, third and spring, a guy walking towards main in a hospital gown. Purple patrol guy rode past him without giving a second look.

Was it the City attorneys office that was going after hospitals for dumping patients downtown? Is anyone still working on that issue?

Pwnage at Sixth and Spring

2009-03-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

So the attention of the city parking folks has once again returned to Sixth and spring. They take that "No Stopping - Tow Away 3PM-6PM" stuff seriously. Yesterday they took a nice BMW, today it was another Beemer plus a Nissan truck. All this started at 3:28, so... Hmph.

There was another tow rig between spring and Main waiting in front of an SUV. The driver of the SUV got out and started shoving coins in the meter. "Don't, stop, Tow away!" I yelled. "What?" She asked. "Tow away. No parking after three!" I waved my arms. "TOW AWAY! NO PARKING" I gestured at the tow truck. "He's here to tow YOU!" "Oh..." She seemed unsure, thought a minute, consulted with her passengers, then got in and drove off. I walked up to talk to the Tow driver. "Did you hear me? I was telling her 'Don't do it!' He said. "I tell people, 'Don't park it, man, I'll tow you!' And they say "You ain't gonna tell me what to do!" So I go forward a spot, and I wait, and as soon as they walk away, BAM!" He grinned. "Oh, well, I tried!"

Ok, so if people are even ignoring the advice of the guy in the tow truck idling right in front of their car, well, I don't think any amount of signage is going to help.

BTW, if either of these are yours, the number to call is apparently (213) 687-1003.

That singing guy!

2009-03-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

That Singing Guy we spoke of two weeks ago? Well, as he can no longer sing on the roof (or where ever he was that echoed into our loft) during the day, he's taken to singing on the corner of Fifth and Spring:

(Please excuse the shakeycam, my camera is really too light for video work.)

Impressive set of pipes on that guy, he is loud! He sang for about ten minutes longer, then when he was done, he got in his mobility scooter and drove back into The Alexandria.

Seen in front of the Hayward

2009-03-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Classin' up the joint!

Geez, open a burger joint and a gallery named after dangerous drugs and next thing you know the Rolls-Royce crowd is out front.

Speaking of burgers, the D-town Burger Bar has been stuffed, business seems busy at the Bodega next door to it, and of course the Nickel has been doing well. See, you Retailers? Just because a neighborhood has a six-figure median income doesn't mean it wants nothing but fru-fru restaurants and boutiques. Man does not live by Tuna Carpaccio alone. I was wandering around Old Town Pasadena last week wondering where the natives go to buy a pint of Half-n-Half.

Santa Fe Lofts in the Rain

2009-03-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Unexpected art is unexpected

2009-03-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

I had to stop by the Federal Building last week and found this:

Cop stop

2009-03-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

This happened last week but I didn't get around to pulling the pic off my camera until now: I was walking home when I saw the cops had pulled over a car at the corner of 6th and Hill. I snapped one photo, walked around to get another shot and realized that the cops had their guns drawn. That's when the police copter showed up and two more cop cars came screaming around the corner. At that point I remembered that A) I wasn't wearing a bullet proof vest, B) I'm not a photojournalist and C) Getting home in one piece to my kid is more important than snapping pictures for my blog. So my apologies for the blurry photo but this was the best I could get.

Hard to see, but yes, he's holding a gun.

On Top of the Alexandria

2009-03-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, a man has been standing on the roof of the Alexandria after dark and singing loudly enough for us to hear him. It sounds like his voice is going through an old megaphone, sort of a Rudy Vallee kind of sound. It's pretty cool, almost like we're being sung to sleep.

6th Street in the Rain

2009-03-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

More gold pain... t

2009-03-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

This town sure loves the gold-painted doors.

The iron gates at the Title Insurance Building (433 S. Spring) are taking their turn for the gold-paint treatment. Which is fine, I guess. Spring St. is a former Banking district, after all. These buildings are monuments to a bygone era of financial excess. (Not that era, the previous one.) When we run out of doors, we can get on to gilding the pavement itself.

Various things seen while walking home tonight

2009-02-24T07:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

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

Them doors at the Stock Exchange

2009-02-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Boogying in Chinatown

2009-02-21T18:09:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

I want to run away and join the circus

2009-02-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-18T04:00:00.001-08:00

Ay chihuahua

2009-02-16T04:00:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

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.