Today I'm gonna pass the thinking off to you. In honor of the earthquake and McCain's Paris/Britney/Obama ad, we'll do it LA style, in the form of a quiz. Answers will be revealed next week. Whoever gets the most right will win a date with my wonderful pet owl Huggie. He's a bit wild, so if you think you're going to ace this test, be prepared to chase after him. Let's begin!
1. How many Chihuahuas are there in Los Angeles?
A) 1,000,000
B) 7,000
C) 59,000
D) 25,000
E) 150,000
2. How many Chihuahuas named "Princess" are there in LA?
A) 308
B) 1,262
C) 688
D) 3,701
E) 911
3. What year was my office building built (The tall black building on Fairfax and Wilshire- 6100)?
A) 1965
B) 1974
C) 1981
D) 1986
E) 1992
4. According to a 50-year old widow living in Park La Brea, the massive housing complex welcomed an influx of Korean residents because of which of the following:
A) LA city officials began limiting the number of Koreans allowed within the limits of Koreatown, stating that "more Korean residents may cause a separatist movement"
B) Koreans felt targeted after the LA riots and wanted to live within a gated community
C) Park La Brea wanted to put on a good face for the 1984 Olympic Commission since they knew the Olympics would soon be in Seoul, so they began to recruit Korean residents
D) A visit of Park La Brea by then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung revealed that almost no Koreans lived in Park La Brea. Outraged, President Kim threatened lawsuit and possible invasion unless measures were taken.
E) Chance.
5. Who is the first "celebrity" I saw in LA?
A) RuPaul
B) Jay Leno
C) Dr. Dre
D) Dana Carvey
E) Dr. Phil
6. Which Los Angeles location did I NOT see when I visited LA in 1991?
A) The Hollywood Bowl
B) La Brea Tar Pits
C) Universal Studios
D) The Hollywood Walk of Fame
E) The Peterson Automotive Museum
Ah, that's enough for now. I wanted to do more, but my job has me a bit swamped. If there's a tie, I'll throw out a tie breaker question next week...
PLEASE POST YOUR RESPONSES IN THE COMMENTS SECTION... AND NO CHEATING!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
WAGONWHEEL WEDNESDAYS: ILLINOIS
And we're back!
Thanks again to Laurel for last week's monumental Hawaii entry. Now we're moving to somewhere a bit less exotic. Yes, you guessed it: Illinois. Like many Illinois travelers, my experience doesn't go far beyond the Chicago metro area. I'll hit on that in a second. First, the rest of the state.
Really no clue. I've driven through south-central Illinois and I've driven through southern Illinois. Not much to say about south-central Illinois since it was 2:00AM and I couldn't see anything. The truck stops were commodious and clean at least. There weren't many truck stops in southern Illinois though. Just farms. I went about 100 miles with no gas station. I had to get off the highway and explore a little farm town to keep the car going. I finally found a small gas station. You know, the kind that closes at 8:00.
So enough of all that. Dull unless you live there I guess.
Chicago on the other hand is a fantastic city. Great architecture, great food, great music. I've visited Chicago only a few times. I did spend a summer across the lake in Evanston. That's back when I wanted to act for a living. Ah, what a summer. We were each given plays to be in. About fifteen kids to a play. Mine was the worst. It was a Suffragette Movement play that featured clowns. I had to wear a little red nose and all. We took tumbling classes. Fucking hoot I tell you. All my friends said it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. But it was. Trust me. Clowns are annoying enough. Mediocre actors who think they're great pretending to be clowns? Ca-fucking-tastrophe.
Chicago gets a bum deal, mostly because of its weather. The winters are cold in real temperature but downright satanic if you include the wind chill. It's that mammoth lake. The lake literally has beaches for the summer that turn to ice fields in the winter. Not that the summers are pleasant. They can be, but when a heatwave hits, you may as well just camp out in the frozen section of your favorite supermarket. A vicious heatwave vanquished the region when I lived there. I was at Northwestern in an un-airconditioned dorm and holy shit. You see, the whole place is really insulated for the winter time. Meaning the humid air gets trapped and never leaves. Damn, what sad memories.
But if you can get over the weather, it's a city of many charms. A small town in a massive metropolis' body. Jen always hates on the place because it's "landlocked." To me Echo Park feels more landlocked than Chicago. Unless you've seen Lake Michigan, it's hard to get it fully. Chicago is not a landlocked city by any stretch. Sure, the sea is inland, but it's still a sea... Basically. And it's not like Jen likes the beach! She never goes in the water, and she hates sand. We'll visit one day and she'll see.
Not much else to report. It's worth mentioning that Brian over at Two Points Collapsing hails from outside Chicago. Let's give Brian a hand, shall we!
Oh and one more thing. For those who saw the Dark Knight (which is almost certainly everybody), Chicago is the stand-in for Gotham.
Thanks again to Laurel for last week's monumental Hawaii entry. Now we're moving to somewhere a bit less exotic. Yes, you guessed it: Illinois. Like many Illinois travelers, my experience doesn't go far beyond the Chicago metro area. I'll hit on that in a second. First, the rest of the state.
Really no clue. I've driven through south-central Illinois and I've driven through southern Illinois. Not much to say about south-central Illinois since it was 2:00AM and I couldn't see anything. The truck stops were commodious and clean at least. There weren't many truck stops in southern Illinois though. Just farms. I went about 100 miles with no gas station. I had to get off the highway and explore a little farm town to keep the car going. I finally found a small gas station. You know, the kind that closes at 8:00.
So enough of all that. Dull unless you live there I guess.
Chicago on the other hand is a fantastic city. Great architecture, great food, great music. I've visited Chicago only a few times. I did spend a summer across the lake in Evanston. That's back when I wanted to act for a living. Ah, what a summer. We were each given plays to be in. About fifteen kids to a play. Mine was the worst. It was a Suffragette Movement play that featured clowns. I had to wear a little red nose and all. We took tumbling classes. Fucking hoot I tell you. All my friends said it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. But it was. Trust me. Clowns are annoying enough. Mediocre actors who think they're great pretending to be clowns? Ca-fucking-tastrophe.
Chicago gets a bum deal, mostly because of its weather. The winters are cold in real temperature but downright satanic if you include the wind chill. It's that mammoth lake. The lake literally has beaches for the summer that turn to ice fields in the winter. Not that the summers are pleasant. They can be, but when a heatwave hits, you may as well just camp out in the frozen section of your favorite supermarket. A vicious heatwave vanquished the region when I lived there. I was at Northwestern in an un-airconditioned dorm and holy shit. You see, the whole place is really insulated for the winter time. Meaning the humid air gets trapped and never leaves. Damn, what sad memories.
But if you can get over the weather, it's a city of many charms. A small town in a massive metropolis' body. Jen always hates on the place because it's "landlocked." To me Echo Park feels more landlocked than Chicago. Unless you've seen Lake Michigan, it's hard to get it fully. Chicago is not a landlocked city by any stretch. Sure, the sea is inland, but it's still a sea... Basically. And it's not like Jen likes the beach! She never goes in the water, and she hates sand. We'll visit one day and she'll see.
Not much else to report. It's worth mentioning that Brian over at Two Points Collapsing hails from outside Chicago. Let's give Brian a hand, shall we!
Oh and one more thing. For those who saw the Dark Knight (which is almost certainly everybody), Chicago is the stand-in for Gotham.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
TOPICAL TUESDAYS: EVERY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RESIDENT'S BLOG ENTRY
EARTH-QUAKE, EVERYBODY JUMP UP AND DOWN... EARTHQUAKE! THERE'S A BRAND NEW GROOVE GOING ROUND!
Okay fine, those aren't the lyrics to Housequake, but those are the lyrics to my Earthquake song. Please don't sue me, Prince. I'm sorta covering your song and making it my own, like you did with Creep.
But yes, today there was an earthquake in LA. Not a major one, but definitely the biggest one that's hit since I've moved here. I work on the 11th floor of a building, so I really felt it. Oh yes I did. The rollers they put under this building are no joke. It's like what it must be for a thumb sized man going through airport security.
I'm happy to say I was the first one out of the building. I hopped right up and went to the stairwell. Then down I went. A lot of people just stayed in their seats. I guess earthquakes are normal. But here's the thing, you shouldn't assume it's an earthquake! If the building's on rollers, it'll sway from an explosion too won't it? Maybe not. Nonetheless, I have some great survival extincts. Jen? Not so much. I told her that's her white blood. Luckily she has me to drag her out of the burning building.
Speaking of burning, once I got outside, I was pretty shocked to find the landscape positively quiescent. As I conquered each step, I prepared myself for horrific images. Charred cars and bloody shards swirling through the air. Oh well. They say that for the next 24 hours, there's a 5% chance that the big one can hit. Or at least a bigger one.
I hope my home is alright. Jen's afraid that the toys are all over the place. Perhaps. I know my pet owls are running amok. Toddlers love any excuse to act out.
Wow, this is like the post of two sentence paragraphs.
Maybe I should
Really
Drive
This
Point home.
Ah, poetry. It's all about how you place it on the p
....................................................a
.....................................................g
......................................................E
See what these quakes have done to my brain! Here's an interesting quake fact: unlike the movies, the earth doesn't crack and separate during an earthquake. I'm sure some old roads crumble a bit, but the pavement won't swallow you whole. A building could land on your head, or if you're a percussionist, a cowbell and some castanets. But you won't journey to the center of the earth.
The
CENTER
of the
.........EARTH...
Okay fine, those aren't the lyrics to Housequake, but those are the lyrics to my Earthquake song. Please don't sue me, Prince. I'm sorta covering your song and making it my own, like you did with Creep.
But yes, today there was an earthquake in LA. Not a major one, but definitely the biggest one that's hit since I've moved here. I work on the 11th floor of a building, so I really felt it. Oh yes I did. The rollers they put under this building are no joke. It's like what it must be for a thumb sized man going through airport security.
I'm happy to say I was the first one out of the building. I hopped right up and went to the stairwell. Then down I went. A lot of people just stayed in their seats. I guess earthquakes are normal. But here's the thing, you shouldn't assume it's an earthquake! If the building's on rollers, it'll sway from an explosion too won't it? Maybe not. Nonetheless, I have some great survival extincts. Jen? Not so much. I told her that's her white blood. Luckily she has me to drag her out of the burning building.
Speaking of burning, once I got outside, I was pretty shocked to find the landscape positively quiescent. As I conquered each step, I prepared myself for horrific images. Charred cars and bloody shards swirling through the air. Oh well. They say that for the next 24 hours, there's a 5% chance that the big one can hit. Or at least a bigger one.
I hope my home is alright. Jen's afraid that the toys are all over the place. Perhaps. I know my pet owls are running amok. Toddlers love any excuse to act out.
Wow, this is like the post of two sentence paragraphs.
Maybe I should
Really
Drive
This
Point home.
Ah, poetry. It's all about how you place it on the p
....................................................a
.....................................................g
......................................................E
See what these quakes have done to my brain! Here's an interesting quake fact: unlike the movies, the earth doesn't crack and separate during an earthquake. I'm sure some old roads crumble a bit, but the pavement won't swallow you whole. A building could land on your head, or if you're a percussionist, a cowbell and some castanets. But you won't journey to the center of the earth.
The
CENTER
of the
.........EARTH...
Monday, July 28, 2008
MUSIC MONDAYS: THE BEST OF CEE-LO GREEN
Ah happy Monday! I saw Gnarls Barkley last night at the bowl. It was pretty good, but the whole time I kept thinking about how much better Cee-Lo used to be. Sure he gets to really show his creativity in this format, but remember when this man used to rhyme!?
I saw Goodie Mob in '96 with The Roots and Grandmaster Flash. For those who don't know, Goodie Mob were/sorta still are the Atlanta based hip-hop group (cohorts of Outkast) where Cee-Lo got his start. This concert was... wow. Goodie Mob were absolutely mind blowing. Like they completely upstaged The Roots. It was a 10 piece band with back-up singers and all. Their first album Soul Food is a minor masterpiece of sorts. Their second album Still Standing was pretty damn eh. A few nice tunes, but overall a drop-off. Not as big a drop-off as their third album "World Party" though. With the except of maybe one song, that album is truly trash. Then Cee-Lo left and they released an album called "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show." They claim that this is in no way a reference to Cee-Lo... Look at the album cover though!
Cee-Lo patched things up and Goodie Mob is going to release another album one day, or so they say.
Cee-Lo's first solo album is quite good. "Closet Freak" was a blistering single I tell ya, blistering. His second album despite the title "Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine" was actually pretty mediocre and not at all what you'd expect from a "Soul Machine." More like "Cee Lo Green is the C&C Music Factory." Okay, maybe not that bad.
Then he had some others stints with folks like Jazzy Pha and his least memorable moment, penning and producing "The Pussycat Dolls" DON'T CHA.
Let's focus on the highlights though... All pre-Gnarls, video heavy... enjoy
CELL THERAPY from Goodie Mob's "Soul Food"(Cee-Lo goes second... wild video too)
WATCH FOR THE HOOK Cool Breeze ft Goodie Mob and Outkast... There's some great rapid fire trading between Cee-Lo and hmmm not sure who that is. Cool Breeze maybe?
Now take a break and prepare yourself...
The best and perhaps most disturbing Cee-Lo video is "Gettin Grown" from his first solo album. A few people last night were saying how he looks like a giant baby. Well here he is seen with an adorable baby... oh and he dresses up as several Teletubbie like creatures that represent his various vices. Man. REQUIRED VIEWING... Of course none of the links let me embed... So just visit the site. It's worth it.
Also check out the Closet Freak video.
I saw Goodie Mob in '96 with The Roots and Grandmaster Flash. For those who don't know, Goodie Mob were/sorta still are the Atlanta based hip-hop group (cohorts of Outkast) where Cee-Lo got his start. This concert was... wow. Goodie Mob were absolutely mind blowing. Like they completely upstaged The Roots. It was a 10 piece band with back-up singers and all. Their first album Soul Food is a minor masterpiece of sorts. Their second album Still Standing was pretty damn eh. A few nice tunes, but overall a drop-off. Not as big a drop-off as their third album "World Party" though. With the except of maybe one song, that album is truly trash. Then Cee-Lo left and they released an album called "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show." They claim that this is in no way a reference to Cee-Lo... Look at the album cover though!
Cee-Lo patched things up and Goodie Mob is going to release another album one day, or so they say.
Cee-Lo's first solo album is quite good. "Closet Freak" was a blistering single I tell ya, blistering. His second album despite the title "Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine" was actually pretty mediocre and not at all what you'd expect from a "Soul Machine." More like "Cee Lo Green is the C&C Music Factory." Okay, maybe not that bad.
Then he had some others stints with folks like Jazzy Pha and his least memorable moment, penning and producing "The Pussycat Dolls" DON'T CHA.
Let's focus on the highlights though... All pre-Gnarls, video heavy... enjoy
CELL THERAPY from Goodie Mob's "Soul Food"(Cee-Lo goes second... wild video too)
WATCH FOR THE HOOK Cool Breeze ft Goodie Mob and Outkast... There's some great rapid fire trading between Cee-Lo and hmmm not sure who that is. Cool Breeze maybe?
Now take a break and prepare yourself...
The best and perhaps most disturbing Cee-Lo video is "Gettin Grown" from his first solo album. A few people last night were saying how he looks like a giant baby. Well here he is seen with an adorable baby... oh and he dresses up as several Teletubbie like creatures that represent his various vices. Man. REQUIRED VIEWING... Of course none of the links let me embed... So just visit the site. It's worth it.
Also check out the Closet Freak video.
Friday, July 25, 2008
FRIENDLY FRIDAYS: uh...
I would've never guessed this when I first divvied up the blog, but I've been having a real hell of a time with Friendly Fridays. Maybe it's because Cute Overload already has a lock on the warm and fuzzy. I'm not sure what to do. Here are the options as I see them:
A) Change Fridays. Ferocious Fridays or Fuck Fridays or Football Fridays. Hmm the last isn't a bad idea once Football season actually starts...
B) I can stop blogging altogether on Fridays. Hmm, kinda weak.
C) I can search out cute things... Like go into a Google images and type "Cute ________"
Like Cute hyena
Eh, not so cute... I didn't realize that hyenas were such monstrous animals. Damn.
How about Cute Vulture
HOW IS THAT CUTE? The caption on the page I found this says "cute vulture." I know adorability is in the eye of the beholder, but whoever thinks this is cute has some fucked up eyes. Like drunk drivers who swear the light was green.
I guess this vulture is sorta cute. As cute as vultures can get at least.
Damn. See why I'm so disillusioned here?
Now THIS is cute...
Baby Alex drinking water. It wouldn't have been cute had I fallen and cracked my head open though. IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS! No no, I'm just kidding. My parents are wonderful and more responsible than most. Yeah they gave me cigarettes as a boy, but it was the eighties, people didn't know better.
So where does this leave our Friendly Fridays? Let me think about it over the weekend... I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
A) Change Fridays. Ferocious Fridays or Fuck Fridays or Football Fridays. Hmm the last isn't a bad idea once Football season actually starts...
B) I can stop blogging altogether on Fridays. Hmm, kinda weak.
C) I can search out cute things... Like go into a Google images and type "Cute ________"
Like Cute hyena
Eh, not so cute... I didn't realize that hyenas were such monstrous animals. Damn.
How about Cute Vulture
HOW IS THAT CUTE? The caption on the page I found this says "cute vulture." I know adorability is in the eye of the beholder, but whoever thinks this is cute has some fucked up eyes. Like drunk drivers who swear the light was green.
I guess this vulture is sorta cute. As cute as vultures can get at least.
Damn. See why I'm so disillusioned here?
Now THIS is cute...
Baby Alex drinking water. It wouldn't have been cute had I fallen and cracked my head open though. IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS! No no, I'm just kidding. My parents are wonderful and more responsible than most. Yeah they gave me cigarettes as a boy, but it was the eighties, people didn't know better.
So where does this leave our Friendly Fridays? Let me think about it over the weekend... I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
THOUGHTFUL THURSDAYS: LOST STATES AND ANDY ROONEY
You know what I find amazing? States that almost were. I realize that last sentence doesn't make much sense. But it really does if you know where I'm coming from. Like madmen who think the rest of the world is insane... I'm serious! STATES THAT ALMOST WERE... See, there are a few states, as in United States (not states of mind for instance) that don't exist but ALMOST existed. Like the State of Franklin in East Tennessee. Today I read a great article about a proposed state that would have encompassed part of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. As you'll see in the article, the state of Absaroka may've just been some cowboy tall tale. Or maybe it was closer than that. Who knows. Not sure how many Wyomans could read or write in the 1930s to give a realistic account.
Enough of all that state talk though. This isn't Wednesday. I'm going to search to try to find a list of all proposed states and on Wednesday I'll fill you in... But in the meantime, a word on Andy Rooney. As my original readers know, Thoughtful Thursdays was supposed to be my Andy Rooney day of the week. That quickly ended since rants get a bit old after a minute or so. Don't worry, I'm not going to start ranting. But I am going to talk about Andy Rooney for a minute. He's a pretty intriguing dude. Not because he has anything worthwhile to say, but rather because he's such an easy target. I went to YouTube to search for some old videos of Andy Rooney, mainly because I can't imagine this guy as a young man and I was pretty surprised by what I found. I couldn't find any useful vintage Rooney footage, but there were hundreds of Rooney parodies. My this man has quite an eclectic base of mimics. Everyone makes fun of him. Even kids! There was this 10 year old doing an Andy Rooney impression. Let me see if I can find him.
Yes. Here he is!
Amazing.
Why aren't there clips of Mr. Rooney from his old TV shows? I had this romantic picture of the old Andy Rooney, back when he was a dashing hungry reporter, stealing women's hearts from coast to coast. But nothing. I did have the chance to rewatch this classic Andy Rooney/Ali G encounter though:
I don't know what else I can say... It takes a lot to make me laugh. I'm a bit of a serious guy. But that shit is FUCKING HILARIOUS. I could watch that every day and never get bored.
Andy Rooney and Ali G need a show together. But Sacha Baron-Cohen's retired the roll, so I guess I'll just have to imagine my own version.
Shit, I'm hungry. All I had was a salad. That's never enough. It fills me up for about a minute. Unless it's a cheeseburger salad on a bun with no lettuce. That's delicious. Rib salad without lettuce or any other vegetables other than corn on the cob is quite good too. But salad salad? I'm a growing boy damn it! Give me my meals!!
Enough of all that state talk though. This isn't Wednesday. I'm going to search to try to find a list of all proposed states and on Wednesday I'll fill you in... But in the meantime, a word on Andy Rooney. As my original readers know, Thoughtful Thursdays was supposed to be my Andy Rooney day of the week. That quickly ended since rants get a bit old after a minute or so. Don't worry, I'm not going to start ranting. But I am going to talk about Andy Rooney for a minute. He's a pretty intriguing dude. Not because he has anything worthwhile to say, but rather because he's such an easy target. I went to YouTube to search for some old videos of Andy Rooney, mainly because I can't imagine this guy as a young man and I was pretty surprised by what I found. I couldn't find any useful vintage Rooney footage, but there were hundreds of Rooney parodies. My this man has quite an eclectic base of mimics. Everyone makes fun of him. Even kids! There was this 10 year old doing an Andy Rooney impression. Let me see if I can find him.
Yes. Here he is!
Amazing.
Why aren't there clips of Mr. Rooney from his old TV shows? I had this romantic picture of the old Andy Rooney, back when he was a dashing hungry reporter, stealing women's hearts from coast to coast. But nothing. I did have the chance to rewatch this classic Andy Rooney/Ali G encounter though:
I don't know what else I can say... It takes a lot to make me laugh. I'm a bit of a serious guy. But that shit is FUCKING HILARIOUS. I could watch that every day and never get bored.
Andy Rooney and Ali G need a show together. But Sacha Baron-Cohen's retired the roll, so I guess I'll just have to imagine my own version.
Shit, I'm hungry. All I had was a salad. That's never enough. It fills me up for about a minute. Unless it's a cheeseburger salad on a bun with no lettuce. That's delicious. Rib salad without lettuce or any other vegetables other than corn on the cob is quite good too. But salad salad? I'm a growing boy damn it! Give me my meals!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
WAGONWHEEL WEDNESDAYS: HAWAII
AH!!! Alex felt so bad that he skipped over Hawaii that he visited it last week just so he could write a Wagonwheel: Hawaii! ... Uh, no. Not quite. A fellow blogger, friend, traveler, etc over at Blinking Against the Brightness offered to a guest entry!
For one, I'm impressed that she even offered. Clearly this is someone who cares a great deal about Wagonwheel Wednesdays. Second, she did a damn damn good job. Maybe so good that I'll have to have her do all the Wagonwheel Wednesdays from now... Okay maybe not. I'd feel like a quitter. But that doesn't change the fact that her entry is wonderful. Amazing pictures (to be expected from a photographer I guess) but also a real understanding of what makes the wagon wheels spin so to speak.
Here are some things to look out for.
1. Hawaii looks mysteriously like the island on Lost... HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM... interesting.
2. Look at that crazy animal! Hawaii's worth it just for those beasts alone. Mainland America has cows and dogs and cats. Hawaii has snarling monsters!
3. Look at that map of Hawaii! It's like 8 states in one!
But enough of my recap. See for yourself..... WAGONWHEEL WEDNESDAYS: HAWAII!
I shall return next week with a state I actually have been to... Illinois I believe...
For one, I'm impressed that she even offered. Clearly this is someone who cares a great deal about Wagonwheel Wednesdays. Second, she did a damn damn good job. Maybe so good that I'll have to have her do all the Wagonwheel Wednesdays from now... Okay maybe not. I'd feel like a quitter. But that doesn't change the fact that her entry is wonderful. Amazing pictures (to be expected from a photographer I guess) but also a real understanding of what makes the wagon wheels spin so to speak.
Here are some things to look out for.
1. Hawaii looks mysteriously like the island on Lost... HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM... interesting.
2. Look at that crazy animal! Hawaii's worth it just for those beasts alone. Mainland America has cows and dogs and cats. Hawaii has snarling monsters!
3. Look at that map of Hawaii! It's like 8 states in one!
But enough of my recap. See for yourself..... WAGONWHEEL WEDNESDAYS: HAWAII!
I shall return next week with a state I actually have been to... Illinois I believe...
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