Move Update, Seesmic WP Plugin Test

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So, can you watch it?

Big Eye Roll at U Zen Sushi in WLA

The quarter is for scale.
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterz.  Replies.

Groundwork Closed Due to Power Outage?

But the lights are on! WTH?
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I'M KIND OF DONE WITH LOS ANGELES

No, I'm not moving from the city today but I have made plans to leave. No, I haven't bought plane tickets or fueled up the scooter (hell, it needs to have it's muffler welded back on) but I have made the decision to leave. That's not to say I won't stay if I have a good reason to.

Here's the deal. I came to Hollywood to write good movies and/or good TV. I got here and discovered after years of working in the entertainment industry that people here pretty much only want to make broad, safe, risk-free programming for as many people as they can convince to watch. In other words, no one wants to be challenged or take any chances that an unproven product might bomb. Sadly, taking risks is how mankind moves forward. As a result, I've decided that this city is kind of a joke. The world of media is changing around them and they are not changing with it.

It's not that Hollywood ate me up--it's that it's kind of toothless. Imagine trying to convince the smart kids to let you into chess club only, when you watch them play through the keyhole in the chess clubhouse door you see that they aren't very good at the game of chess and aren't really even sure how it's played. This is my impression of Hollywood. Sure, there are some exceptions, but generally this place is just not the industry I want to struggle for years to break into.

Sure, if all of the sudden I meet George Lucas' agent at the Ralph's on the corner of La Brea and Fountain and he offers to buy my script, then, yeah, I'll stick around.

If one of my friends still in the industry manage to hook me up with a publisher for one of my novels, sure--I'll definitely hang around to collect a check.

However, there's a big, big world out there and I'd like to see it. LA is a fun city to live in, but I've been here long enough and the world is waiting. TheWife feels similarly. If any of you have seen her perform live, you know she doesn't belong on the LA stage, but on the Broadway stage. So, here's the plan, starting, well, a couple months ago, we start saving to move from LA. I'll save up enough to get us both to NYC and then I'll go on to Japan for a couple years. Yes, she'll stay in NYC and we're staying together--we'll just be apart chasing our dreams.

What am I going to do in Japan? Well, for starters learn the damn language the right way. Next, I plan on continuing to write and self-publish my own stuff. Since I'm in Japan I'll try to hack my way into the animation industry over there which produces some of the most amazing stuff I've ever seen.

So, that's the plan.

Now, if I can just get some sort of income in the meantime, we hope to be out of LA by January or February of 2008. Want to help? Click the red support links you see at the bottom of each post or just click on any Google ad you see floating around (every bit helps!).

And, of course, I'll keep ThePete.Com going through all of this.

YAY THE NEW BEV IS BACK!

29-07-07_2136.jpg, originally uploaded by thepetecom.

YAY! After the very unfortunate and untimely passing of founder, Sherman Torgan, screenings have returned at the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood! It's the last independent single-screen revival movie house in LA (that I know of) and it runs some of the best movies made from around the world. It reopened last Tuesday, but I couldn't make it before tonight's screening of The Goonies, a film I haven't seen since the late 1980s. Back to the Future, I've seen a few THOUSAND times so we didn't stay for it, but we did get out there and show our love for the beloved New Bev. Just $7 for a double feature EVERY DAY!

Check out NewBevCinema.com for what's playing now and in the future! And GO SEE MOVIES THERE! They need our support more than ever!

LA MOVIE GOING WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Ohhhh, this is so sad.

One of us has died.

And by "us" I mean the group of people I was prominently a member of before I got all busy with politics and shit.

And by "the group of people I was prominently a member of before I got all busy with politics and shit" I mean, movie buffs.

Damn.

The guy who, since 1978, has owned, operated and programmed the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood, just down the street from CBS Television City on Beverly Blvd, has died of a heart attack.

According to a statement at NewBevCinema.Com, Sherman Torgan died doing something he loved to do--riding his bike on the Santa Monica bike path.

I've been going to the New Bev for over ten years. I remember when he charged just $3 for a double feature. It's now $7, but it's still the best deal in town.

Oh, I'm so depressed now...

Fuck.

I think I saw him almost every time I saw a movie there and despite that, I never spoke more than a few words to him. Truth be told, he wasn't the warmest of fellows, but his love of great and diverse cinema put us in that same group. And now, he's gone and the LA movie-going landscape will never be the same.

I'll probably see a movie this weekend and as cheesy as it sounds, the picture will seem a bit less bright.

Yeah, it's corny, so what? He was one of us.

....and he will be remembered!

RIP SHERMAN TORGAN .

I'M THE PROBLEM, CLEARLY

OK, rant time. I'm running a bit late for work this morning. I've got to leave at 11:30 to safely get to Hollywood by 12:30pm to set up a film festival I'm projecting for. Not a huge deal if I'm late, but still, I like to be on time/professional so when I get out of the house at 11:45, I realize I'm going to be taking full advantage of my 80cc scooter--especially since I need to hit the PO Box to check on a check from a web client. Of course, the check wasn't there, but the slight detour slowed me down nonetheless.

See, that's what makes a scooter, even a slow one like mine, a great choice for a traffic-stupid city like LA. It may have the smallest engine on the road, but thanks to the absurd traffic situation in this city, during rush hour I can beat a Ferrari across town--seriously. When I used to drive a Nissan Maxima, a trip from the West Side into Hollywood would take an hour. I can do it in half that time if I take full advantage of my scooterness.

What that means is that I drive in between stopped cars at traffic lights and when making right-hand turns I move inbetween stopped cars and the curb. Once in a blue moon I'll pass moving traffic, but that's only for safety's sake, to get out of the way of a vehicle that can't pick a lane.

So, it's now about 12 Noon and I'm zipping along, not being dangerous in the least, but I do drive in between cars when they are stopped. I see other bikers doing this all the time. I did have a weak moment where I actually passed moving cars, but it was only for about ten seconds--again, not dangerous in the least. Oh and I ALWAYS signal.

So, about halfway through my trip I've just turned off SM Blvd for Beverly Blvd and I am coming up behind this big cargo truck when I see a black Mercedes slowly move into the right lane (my lane), just as I am about to take up the same space as it. The driver isn't signalling. He's just veering. He sees me (I assume), stops, moves back into his lane despite the fact that I've slowed down to let him in. I speak outloud when I ride because no one can really hear me over my own engine. I suppose it's possible he could have read my lips in his rear view mirror as I called him a dickhead for not just going since he wasn't bothering to signal anyway. Regardless, he doesn't, the light changes and he takes off.

I hit the throttle as well, racing up behind him and then cutting in front of the big cargo truck which is lumbering along slowly, now behind me. I then zoom off as traffic in the lefthand lane slows down (I don't really "zoom" at all since it was really just traffic slowing down that made me feel like I was moving fast). At the next light the black Mercedes pulls up next to me and the white guy behind the wheel calls out to me.

"Hey," he says smiling, holding his black cell phone to his face--he's not calling anyone, just holding it to his jaw absent-mindedly.

"Hi," I say back in a tone that suggests I'm suspicious of strange men talking to me in traffic.

"You drive that thing pretty aggressively," he tells me.

"I have to," I reply.

"Well, be careful on that thing."

"OK."

Light changes and I take off.

Fuckin' hell, man! How old will I be before people stop lecturing me on my behavior? How old will I have to look before people like this rich idiot think "no, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

I mean, OH YEAH, my little 80cc Honda Elite is a major danger on the roads of Los Angeles!! WOOOOO!! LOOK OUT!

Here comes ThePete RACING ALONG AT A WHOPPING 43mph!! 47 down a hill!! YOWZA!!

I know it was just a few words exchanged an he probably wasn't even thinking about what he was saying (which is still lame) but when you consider just how many conversations LA drivers have with one another while on the road, you'll realize that this was a serious anomoly.

In hindsight I really feel like I should have read him the riot act. He's the rich guy driving around in a Mercedes--not one of the most energy or cost efficient vehicles around. I pay less than $3 to fill my tank even these days while he must pay over $30. I spew a tiny fraction of the polution he does into the air.

My scooter cost me $800--he probably pays more than half that every month in financing payments. Hell, if I crash my bike into something, the damage on most vehicles will be minimal if existent at all--sure, I'll be horribly mamed or killed, but that's my risk.

To me it struck me that this guy was suffering from two things and I'm not sure which:

1) Jealousy. Seeing another little prick on a bike blow past me in rush hour traffic, seemingly without a care in the world is something I myself have experienced. I beat that feeling by selling my car and buying a bike. ;)

2) Pomposity. A typical male affliction--especially typical among white men. Again, I suffer from this every so often, too. That doesn't make it right. The idea, here, is that you always think you are right, so when you see something you think is wrong, you have to say something about it (without considering whether you maybe wrong). He saw me and thought "he's not driving the way I would!" and decided to say something if/when he had the chance.

I'm all for interacting with my fellow human. I just wish people could think before they interact with me. Sure, I do/say stupid things, too. But I can at least say that I think about what I am about to say/do before I say/do it. I highly doubt this guy did that.

I mean, hell--I'm a licensed driver of motorcycles. I'd wager he's never even set his clammy white buttcheeks on one. Of all the things he had to speak up about, it was me--in the middle of traffic. NO ONE talks to other drivers in LA traffic, yet something I was doing was SO WRONG that he HAD to say something.

Get a hobby, dude.

Another thing that annoyed me about that guy was that I could barely hear him--do you know how hard it is to have a conversation with a helmet on? I can hear traffic sounds just fine, but words are muffled.

And what was that thing with the cell phone? Why was he holding it like that? Was that some sort of threat? "Oh, if you don't drive the way I want you to, I'll call the cops!"

Yeah, and then I'll tell them how you endangered my life by not checking to see if there was another vehicle in the lane before you started to swerve into my space--without signalling, no less (you didn't even signal when you decided to move back into your lane).

I hate to think of myself as a misanthrope--but what the hell else am I supposed to be when my fellow human gives me so many reasons to dislike him?

BACK FROM THE LA PROTEST

Yeehaw...

Yeah, I shouldn't bag on protests but I really feel like they're boring as hell. Half the people that are supposed to show up don't and then there's no real focus to the protest. At the State of the Empire speech protest back in January Gore Vidal was supposed to show and at the last minute he bailed, but they read a something he had "sent along" in his stead. It was his version of the State of the Union speech and I had already heard it on that day's podcast of DemocracyNow.

Today we were supposed to be treated to a speech from actress and relative hottie Mario Bello. Turns out, she spoke at the pre-rally rally but couldn't stick around. I decided if Maria didn't have to stick around, neither did I, so I left.

See, when I got there, I thought, according to the flyer I got from ANSWER.org that I would see a huge crowd at Hollywood and Vine. Again, according to the flyer, the march began at H'wood and Vine and ended at H'wood and Highland. I was running late, so I decided to just go to H'wood and Highland (a big shopping area in the literal heart of Hollywood) and join the fun then.

I get there 40 minutes after the start time and no crowd was there. A few booths and tables were set up, but that was it. H'wood Blvd was blocked off but empty. I decide to walk down to Vine--it's only 10 blocks or so. I reach Cahuenga and see that there is a huge crowd, a block south from H'wood, on Cahuenga and Sunset. I figure it's a huge protest that probably started at H'wood and Vine and stretches that far, so I keep walking a few more blocks to Vine.

I get there and no crowd. I look down to Sunset and nothing--nada. The streets are partially blocked and some traffic is being let through.

WTH??

So, I turn around and head back to H'wood and H'land. About halfway there, I see the march turn the corner of Highland, onto Hollywood Blvd. NICE. The flyer says start at H'wood and Vine, end at H'wood and H'land. WTF!! NICE organization, ANSWERLA.ORG!!!

Losers...

By the time I caught up with the march, I could only be part of it for like ten minutes before we got where we were going. With a shrug I decided to take some pics and listen to the speakers. Of course, you know how that turned out.

Before I made my way (foolishly) to H'wood and Vine I did have a look a the tables and booths set up by various groups only to discover the same lack of focus I mentioned earlier. There were all sorts of folks there including, just one table away from a booth on socialism, a booth selling T-shirts for profit. Sure, according to their website "A percentage of" my "purchase goes to worthy politically progressive causes…" whatever those are, but do you really need to charge $20-30 for an anti-war T-shirt? Isn't getting the anti-war message out more important than making a profit?

And they were cool T-shirts, too--I even saw the one Natalie Portman wears in the shot you see to the left. It was $25. Too much to spend on my meager budget, so I decided to skip it and check their website out after a few more paychecks. You can check them out at COTAM.org. Don't ask me what it stands for--it's too long to type it all out.

There were also two people handing out postcards advertizing a site called "RabbleRouzer.com" which sold protestery-type shirts. So, when I get home, I check out the site and they've got a whopping three designs and, in my humble opinion, they kinda suck. You'd think they'd have more than three designs, though. I guess the hook is that each design connects with a particular charity--so a chunk of money you spend on one shirt goes to that shirt's charity--definitely cool, but I need a bigger selection than three.

So, in the end it was pretty so-so. The LAPD didn't even send any SWAT cops. There were a few motorcycle cops and the odd B&W cruiser, but mostly there were just bicycle cops. That's how far the peace movement has come--we're so effective they don't even send SWAT out for us anymore.

Sheesh...

I think I'll sit the next one out, thank you very much.

[http://flickr.com/photos/thepete/tags/march182006antiwarprotest/|Check out all of the pics I took] at Flickr.com.

OFF TO THE BIG PROTEST

Here's the protest I'm leaving for right now:

Click for more info on protests in your area. ([http://thepete.com/theblog/go.php?http://www.stopwar.org.uk/march20/events.asp|Outside the US?])

Yes, I know I have yet to finish editing the footage I shot at the last (5) protests I've been to, but I've been busy!! And yes, I'm leaving late, but I figure I'll get to H'wood and H'land and shoot the march arriving. I hate to admit it, but if you've been to one protest, you've been to them all. Still, it's the only voice we've got left--if we don't use it--we just might lose it, too.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE (that's us)!!

LOS ANGELES MASS TRANSIT SUCKS

I'd just like to take a moment to bitch about Los Angeles Mass Transit. It sucks. It takes nearly 2 hours to make a trip that takes 30-45 minutes on my scooter. But because of the recent rains here it's too damn cold to take the scooter. Of course, because I have to be in Hollywood at 7pm for a screening, I'm going to have to take the scooter. I love dressing for winter in March.

UPDATE: Weee! It was 50 degrees out there tonight!

The Famima Experience...

So, I'm a Japanophile. I am a fan of just about all things Japanese. So upon a recent walk down Westwood Boulevard, south of Wilshire, I saw that an old "mom and pop" style pharmacy had finally been replaced after quite a while of being closed. I'm always sad to see a business close--especially so when it is a "mom and pop" style place. The catch is, the pharmacy was replaced by a corner store chain--from Japan.

It's a place called Famima--you can check out there American website at Famima-USA.com or their Japanese site at Famima.com, if you happen to know how to read Japanese :)

I had been meaning to swing by to check it out but I haven't had the time or money to do so until just this past weekend. It was completely spur of the moment, too--myself, -TheWife- and -Jen- were out for a joy ride with -TimToon- in his new car--with the side interest of finding some food, we sped down Westwood Blvd and spotted Famima's bright green facade and decided then was a good time to check it out.

Here's what it looked like as we approached it:


Positively euro-trashy, huh? But in a good way, of course. Inside the place felt like a Pret-a-Mange on steroids, though because we were there so late in the day stocks did seem kind of low. Here's what it looked like from the window:



As we entered we were greeted by quite a few Japanese products--in fact, most of the products were from Japan. Sushi, onigiri, various beverages including some truly disgusting coffee:



Cute can, weak-ass coffee. Blech--with a name like "Black Coffee" on the can, you'd think it wouldn't taste like pee. All right, so it doesn't fully taste like urine--just the weakest damn coffee you've ever had--like water with a vague aftertaste of coffee.

I was disappointed with their selection of [http://images.google.com/images?q=onigiri&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&tab=wi|onigiri]--or as they're called in English, rice balls. No, rice don't have testicles--these are like meatballs, only they're made of rice but then, you probably knew that. :D

Anyway, so all they had left was onigiri with tuna and mayo--sounded kind of gross, but I LOVE onigiri they were priced at $1.20 per, so I figured I could afford the mistake if they were bad. Luckily, the one I tried was downright yummy--but I'd still like to go back when they have more salmon rice balls. LOVE the salmon...

The thing that struck me the most about this place was that it seemed to be like a classed-up 7-11. It had just as wide a selection of items, too--not just food, but stationary, DVDs, toys and more (hot, steamy buns!). The two things that made it classier than a 7-11 were design and quality. Like I said, the place looked like Pret-a-Mange--a chain of British health-fast-food shops. Very "euro". The food was very good, too. And the toy I bought was extremely high-quality for the price. I bought a tiny replica of Osaka Castle, also known as [http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=422|Himeji-jo]. Here's a pic:



Pretty amazing detail for just $2.77, wouldn't you say?

In the end, my first Famima experience was a positive one and I look forward to more. The place is about a thirty minute walk from my apartment and about ten minutes on my scooter, so I'm definitely going to check it out again soon. I'll be sure and blog again when I do.

JIM CAMERON'S AQUAMAN???

I was walking through Westwood Village near my home earlier today and saw this at the historic Fox Village theater:



What the hell? How could I have missed an entire new super-hero movie? Well, I don't think I did--I think it was a shoot for a TV show or movie... have a closer look:



Still, kinda surreal nonetheless. :)

Hey! It's Wednesday! Time to Start Planning Your Weekend!

If you're in LA, odds are you don't go to the theater much. Most people think live theater in LA is a joke compared to Broadway. The thing is, while LA theaters can't really compare to the Great White Way, Broadway ticket prices can't compare to LA ticket prices. So, the next time you're contemplating dropping $10-$15 for a movie ticket, think about spending twice that on seeing a live performance with actual actors breathing the same air as you. It's a whole different and wonderful experience, for sure. It may not be a huge house like on Broadway, but in many LA theaters you're right up close and personal with the actors, which makes it a pretty unique experience.

Now, if you're thinking about taking my advice and you live in Los Angeles, then I have just the play for you. No, I didn't write this one, but my wife is in and the guy who did write it is just about brilliant.

The show is called Mulholland Christmas Carol and follows the adventures of a truly Scroogian William Mulholland as he tosses his morals aside to get a young and growing Los Angeles her water from "nearby" Owen's Valley (just 200 miles away!). The show does a superb job of mixing parody, satire, commentary, history and musical theater together to make a show that every Angelino should see. After all, this show tells the story of the man who basically allowed LA to exist to this day.

It's true--LA has no local water supply. It has to be piped in from a very far away place. The catch is, at that far away place, they need water, too.

Jammed with great actors (not just my wife ;) ), great music, and great musicians, this show is both a crowd pleaser and an eye-opener. You can't go wrong with great lines like:

"Los Angeles is a thirsty bitch-goddess..."

"Are there no prisons? Is there no BARSTOW?"

"Christmas... Ba-BULLSHIT!"

There's also a brilliant solo by TheWife that will leave you giggling madly in your seat. OK, well, it makes me madly giggle. :)

For more info, check out MulhollandChristmasCarol.com

Shows are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 4pm. Thursday and Sunday shows are $20 with Friday and Saturday shows going for $25. See that? Not much more expensive and I bet you'll have a much better time than at Aeon Flux.

Call (323) 856-8611 for reservations!

Mulholland Christmas Carol runs until December 18, so pick your performance soon and make your reservations fast! This show always does well and the house is always packed when I see it. It's written by Bill Robens, a man far too cool to be this talented (not fair!!), and is directed by the incredibly talented and funny Kiff Scholl (all right, moderately talented ;) KIDDING). [http://www.laweekly.com/ink/06/02/theater-morris.php|Read more about this show] at LAWeekly.com. Also, [http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2915&IssueNum=129|You can read about the show] at LACityBeat.com.

FINAL NIGHT OF DIRECTOR'S CUT

Live in LA? Not doing anything tonight?

Well, swing by the John Raitt Theater at 6520 Hollywood Blvd. and see the final performance of Director's Cut, a live show written by yours truly. It's been up for a month now and while things haven't gone as well as we had hoped, tonight is our last chance to pay off investors, so if you can make it, you'll be helping a LOT. Plus it's a pretty fun show, if I do say so myself!

Tickets are $20 cash (hey, it's cheaper than Broadway!). Swing by any time before 8pm (that's when the show starts) to get your ticket. Be sure to ask for Pete so you can meet me in person!! EXCITING!! ;) (I'll be the one behind the camcorder.)

OH YEAH, and rumor has it that George Clinton will be there tonight, so if you dig him, it'll be a great opportunity to rub elbows with him. (Actually, this is no rumor--he'll definitely be there!)

So come on over!! Parking is available behind the Raitt for $6 (enter on Wilcox, south of Hollywood Blvd) and $6 is pretty damn cheap for Hollywood, these days.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! Thanks!

From Zero-to-Show in 7 Weeks

So, two months ago, today, I got married in Scotland. A week later, we were back in LA. A week after that (or so) we started seriously working on ThePlay that would eventually come to be called [http://undergroundparadigm.com/dc|Director's Cut]. That was seven whopping weeks ago.

Opening night was last night and while the show was far from perfect, I'm pretty damn happy with what we have to show for the past 7 weeks of extreme effort. Acting-wise, everyone did a great job. While they did rush things, I think generally everyone did their jobs just fine and I'm sure they can only get better. Alas, on the technical side of things, we had a much bumpier time. This is thanks to having no full tech rehearsal with all of the systems we'd actually be using for the show. I missed about 8 of my 15-20 cues (see? I haven't even had time to count my cues) and the lighting board has somehow spit out different lighting and fading time almost every time we used it. I don't understand why it's a better idea to program a board to do the cues for you when a human is about a thousand times more reliable than some wonky board.

Keep in mind, however, that I have precisely ZERO experience in the booth--I'm a part-time, occasional projectionist and have never set foot in a lighting booth as an adult EVER. So, the board could be perfectly fine--all I know is that with our inexperience with it we couldn't get the lighthing we told it to give us.

So, I'm bowing out of the technical side of things for this and other reasons. I'm terrible at catching cues--it's all about performance anxiety. Trying to keep things straight in my head while following the events on stage, or at the very least the script of the stage manager is difficult for my easily-distracted brain. The director wants me to keep doing it because she knows I'll get better at it, but really she just doesn't want to take the time to find someone who has experience. I don't blame her since there's still work to be done to get the alternate cast up and running for this coming Friday's show.

In the end, people seemed to like the show just fine. They spotted a couple of technical errors but said they were still able to enjoy the show. So, I'm very glad about that. Still, the show did go as badly as I expected and the rest of my life is kind of falling apart now that I've been living and breathing this damn show for the past 7 weeks. I really need to stop doing stuff for the show and get back to the job hunt. I need a job fast or I won't make rent in three weeks. Ugh, and I don't want to work at some restaurant or retail place. I'm an immensely talented guy who just wrote about 80 percent of a show in about 3-4 weeks. After that I designed a poster for the show, flyers and even the stage bill in the 3 weeks that followed my work on the script. I also redesigned how our multimedia cues were done (I work with audio/video technology) and heavily tweaked the videos we use in the show in about three days.

There's got to be someone out there who can pay me to do one of those things!!

So, here's my list of things to do once I'm done working on the show:

1) find a job
2) sell my first novel
3) write more
4) draw more
5) spend more quality time with TheWife
6) schedule my wedding reception
7) start working on my next play
8) sleep... a LOT

VIDEO FROM LA ANTI-INAUGURAL BASH

Here is the first batch of footage from the big protest in Westwood today. This is all stuff from my minicam because I'm a shmuck and left my firewire cable at home. I'll cap and edit the footage later tonight. In the meantime, here's some minicam fun:

antiinaugural01.mov

This is the very first shot of the protest I took from across the street from it. It's just the tip of the iceberg! When Angelinos (Angelenos?) want to protest Bush, they go all out! Peacefully, of course! That's what always cracks me up about LAPD--they come out big-time with SWAT gear just because violence MIGHT occur--despite the fact that it hardly ever does--it's all about the SWAT gear.

antiinaugural02abughraib.mov

This one protester dressed up as one of the victims at Abu Ghraib. Good stuff. This is what half of America voted for--more torture and more protests.

YEEHAW!

Kudos to anyone who shows up to a protest dressed in a torture outfit. Depressing, but effective!

antiinaugural03.mov

Now THIS clip is what I'm talkin' about!!

Impeach the bastard!! Clinton did NOTHING compared to Bush. Monicagate?

TRY NO WMD, bitch!!

But seriously, check out the clip, it's a good one :)

antiinaugural04.mov

This is a shot during the march through Westwood. There was something strangely empowering to walk through my neighborhood with a few hundred screaming protesters.

Frankly, there's so much to protest, it's a shame we don't do this more often...

antiinaugural05.mov

This is a long shot (about 10 minutes) of the march ending back on Wilshire Boulevard. I decided to get artsy and shoot this from the point of view of one of those yellow stripes on the road.

Comments welcome!

I HATE RANDY NEWMAN!

Well, really I don't hate Randy Newman. I just hate his damn song I Love LA I mean - does this guy actually know what the rest of the world is like?

If so, LOS ANGELES is his idea of greatness??

I've lived in the over-called "City of Angels" for over five years now. While there are more beautiful people here than in any city I've ever lived in before, that's about the only good thing I can think of. Oh well - the beautiful people AND the coolest movie theaters in the country, but that's really it. Overall, it's one of the most boring places to live.

Sure there are clubs - but they all feel the same after the first few.

Sure there are restaurants, but who can afford to eat out enough to not get bored?

And the weather? DAMN - more like - WHAT weather? I know CONSTANT rain sucks, but then, so does CONSTANT sun. Rain is GOOD - it cleans the smog out of the air and gives us all free car washes. Plus it's DIFFERENT. People talk about how they just LOVE sunny weather - I am so BORED by it. I have to wear sunglasses EVERY damn day out here. I get to where my motorcycle jacket all of three months a year - I LOVE MY MOTORCYCLE JACKET!!

Another good thing about rain is that if there's more rain, Angelino Drivers (morons that they are), would learn how to be better drivers in the rain and therefore there would be less traffic accidents. Also, back east, when the weather was crappy over the winter, I remember how great it was when the first warm day hit. It was great - we'd go out and play Frisbee and where short sleeves - it was great.

You really appreciated nice weather when it was around on the East Coast, but here? I have no reason to rush to the beach when it'll still be there next week. You think LA has some great nightlife? Not past 2am or so. LA practically closes up shop after midnight and only the hottest clubs stay open until two in the morning. If you want to stay out later its time for Denny's or one of the few IHOPs that stays open 24 hours. Aside from that, there is very little in LA to enjoy in a recreational sense.

In the end, it's just a city like any other. You can do the touristy stuff, but after that, zip. I'm bored by LA.