I promised myself I would write every day in here, while I’m not sure what I will be writing about I figure it will be just about anything I can think of which means I may be getting creative which might be a little painful to read at times.

I suppose I should start with an update of the last six months. Most importantly, I was laid off December 1st from my job at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. Its no secret that non-profits all over are struggling to survive in this down economy and especially in Los Angeles with the budget crisis what it is. I feel I am fortunate enough to have a strong background and have a wealth of knowledge in both the day-to-day operations of parks and the creation of parks from the, no pun intended, grass roots on up. Okay maybe a little pun. Its this knowledge and experience that makes me an attractive option to consult in parks and particularly community based organizations. We shall see what comes of it. For the time being I will be dedicating my time and energy to other projects that I have, perhaps, not focused as much attention as I owe them. Such as…

I have agreed to stage manage a play at the USVAA Theater which I am currently a board member of. I also produce a monthly improv show there called “Nation of Improv presents the Culver City Slam“. A mouthful I know and I wish I could say the name wasn’t my idea but it was. The play is called “Bug” which was written by Tracy Letts. Its about a possible AWOL Gulf War Veteran who holes up with a cocktail waitress in some motel in Oklahoma and is a little funny in the head. The dude not the chick. I highly recommend everybody go see it and I’m sure I’ll be writing and tweeting about rehearsals and stuff along the way. It opens February 26th and will run for four weeks which means…

I’ll have to miss a few shows because I’ll be in Washington DC for a week in March to advocate for the creation of a 44 acre park in the heart of Hollywood. A project many of you know is very near and dear to my heart. This trip is a chance to get the required money to build which will be far less than the $2.25 million the Federal Government granted California to build a high speed rail system from Los Angeles to Anaheim and Los Angeles to San Francisco. This trip will be my very first to our nations capital and while I know I’ll be busy going from meeting to meeting which includes the Capitol, White House and other offices I would also like to visit historical monuments and such. Exciting for me and you can be sure I’ll have my…

I recently got very serious about my photography inspired by my friends Dana Arak, Alex Thompson and a few other online community friends. I began to bulk up my camera bag with better, more appropriate lenses for work and pleasure. For example, I will be taking promo shots for the above mentioned “Bug” which I won’t be getting paid for but could lead to work if somebody sees and likes what I take. I plan on using my “brand new” minolta 58mm f1.2 lens for this occasion. (look it up. Its legendary.) I say “brand new” because while I haven’t used it more than a couple times to test it, the lens is actually older than I am and of course Minolta no longer makes camera lenses. I’ll also try and leave you with samples of my photography at the beginning of every post.

Now, while I’ve only just touched on what I’ve been doing I didn’t have a proper lead to another project I’m working on so its just going to have to wait until tomorrow or another day to update on other stuff. But, for now, I think I have fulfilled my self imposed quota of writing for February 1st even though we are now well into February 2nd.

Here are a few things this weekend that can and should keep you busy and entertained.

First off is the City of Glendale’s Summer Night in the Plaza Friday July 31st from 6-9pm.  Not exactly LA but LA County nonetheless.  This 6th Annual festive gathering features an impressive food and dessert “taster” from many of Glendale’s best restaurants and bakeries, live entertainment and an eclectic array of silent auction items.  I attend this event every year and have an absolute blast.

Saturday morning, Mayor Villaraigosa’s Million Tree Initiative will be handing out free 15 gallon citrus trees at Home Depot in West Hills to LA City residents beginning at 9am.  Only 100 trees will be available so get there on time.

Also Saturday is the Historic Filipinotown Festival and 5k Run on Temple and Alvarado.  Cool event with a lot of local LA history and resources.  Check it out!

Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon the Shakespeare International Renaissance Festival LA (SIRFLA) in conjunction with the US Veterans Artists Alliance (USVAA) and the Veterans Center for the Performing Arts are producing Midsummer Nights Dream at the West LA Civic Center Bandshell.  The atmosphere is excellent for this play which stars several US Veterans in key roles.  I must say that I have seen this play several times already and highly recommend this production.  LA Weekly even gave it a “GO”.   Check it out!  Saturdays at 6pm and Sundays at 4:30pm after the WLA Farmers Market.

Enjoy.

Los Angeles State Historic Park, formerly known as The Cornfields, offers 32 acres of green open space right next to Chinatown with Downtown Los Angeles as a great backdrop for a quiet picnic with family or a couple of friends, but recently it has been taken over by demons, clowns and villains.

Sunday night, a friend of mine and I made our way down to The Cornfields to catch the circus that is in town. Except this isn’t your typical circus.  You wont find any elephants balancing themselves on giant red balls or a couple dozen clowns squeezing into a Gremlin or even a rabbit being pulled out of a top hat.  Quite the opposite.  You might find a top hat being pulled out of a rabbit instead.  Basically its like walking into hell with a visitor pass while the devil is having a tea party.

Cirque Berzerk is a netherworld filled with phantasmagoric visions that will grope at your senses and oddities that are bound to scorch the very tips of your soul.  Everything from a stilt-walking fire-breathing demonic clown to a contortionist and harrowing high flying acts that will leave you breathless and begging for more.

So gentlemen, dust off that top hat and ladies, stretch out those corsets and head on down to Cirque Berzerk and have a little Villain with your Vaud.

Due to popular demand, Cirque Berzerk has been extended through July 26th so don’t miss out!

Downtown LA will have several street closures tomorrow (7-7-09) due to the massive crowds expected to turn out for Michael Jacksons Memorial at the Staples Center.  Please plan accordingly.

Map of Street Closures

One thing that I would like to say however is I do not like double standards.  A couple of weeks ago the City was outraged at the thought, possibility and eventual reality of having to front the cost of police and security for a Lakers Victory Parade.  Today, I hardly hear anybody complain about having to front the cost of police and security for Michael Jacksons Memorial.  Maybe the Staples Center needs to help front the cost of this event and not have Councilwoman Jan Perry hustle on the phone trying to get donations.

Volunteers will take to city streets and help make a difference in various ways.  Big Sunday is the largest regional community service event in the Nation.  This year I will be volunteering at two separate events.  One on Saturday and another on Sunday.

Saturday in East Hollywood on the corner of St. Andrews and Virginia for a community clean-up from 8am-12pm.  After putting in a couple of hours of brush clearance, cleaning tree wells and parkways I plan on heading down the street to the Fountain Community Garden Work Day were we will finish building the garden from 9-12pm so that the community can finally begin growing their food.  After another couple of hours I will head down Fountain to Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall and participate in the 3rd annual Hollywood Clean-up Day which runs from 10am – 2pm.  Food, Fun, T-Shirts and Tote Bags to everyone who participates.  YAY!

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust is organizing a Big Sunday Event at the Francis Ave Community Garden in Koreatown.  Come by and help us plant shrubs, paint existing structures, put down gravel, mulch and help out in any other way to help this special Koreatown gem.
Another Big Sunday event that I wont be able to attend but highly recommend will be a project to build a learning garden at Thomas Star King Middle School.  Come by and help out as they clean and green their space. On Big Sunday they’ll be installing a beautiful and peaceful new learning garden. Not only will they be installing a learning garden but they will also be painting and cleaning the Fountain Avenue Breezeway entrance. They will host a “recycled clothing store” with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital, and will host a health and wellness fair, a community outreach fair, a book exchange and a safe play space for young children so everyone can get involved. All the while there will be live music.

I received a press release from LA Department of Transportation regarding Downtown Street Closures for May Day.  They are as follow.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bruce Gillman
Public Information Office Bruce.Gillman@lacity.org
LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ANTICIPATES MAY 1, 2009 INTERRUPTIONS FOR DASH DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES AND COMMUTER EXPRESS ROUTES SERVING DOWNTOWN
LOS ANGELES (April 30, 2009)—The City of Los Angeles, Department of Transportation
(LADOT) is anticipating DASH Downtown and Commuter Express bus service slowdowns, possible service disruptions and/or service cancellations on Friday May 1, 2009 due to the Labor and Immigration Marches and Rally that will occur throughout the day. Street closures and severely impacted traffic flow are expected within the area bounded by Cesar Chavez Avenue to the north, Alameda Street to the east, Pico Boulevard to the south and Hoover Street to the west.
“LADOT will endeavor to keep our DASH Downtown LA and Commuter Express buses running as efficiently as possible under the circumstances. We encourage Downtown workers, residents and visitors to use other transit alternatives such as Metro’s Red Line, Blue Line and Gold Line or Metrolink, to travel in and out of Downtown on Friday. We will be working closely with LAPD in order to keep Downtown area traffic moving, but we do expect significant impacts” said Rita L. Robinson, General Manager, LADOT.
Specific routing changes will be announced on board buses on April 30, 2009 as well as on the LADOT transit website at www.ladottransit.com.. In addition, on May 1, LADOT’s transit web site will be updated hourly to reflect current bus information.
Area commuters can visit http://trafficinfo.lacity.org/ for real-time traffic information and more detailed information on each march’s route. Real-time traffic reports are a product of LADOT, innovators of Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control System (ATSAC) technology.
For specific information about DASH Downtown or Commuter Express routes, schedules or fares, please visit our website at www.ladottransit.com or call (213, 310, 323 or 818) 808-2273.

Plan accordingly.

This past weekend was full of events and things to do.  There are weekends where I struggle to find stuff to do then there are weekend where I don’t have enough time to squeeze in all I want to do.

As I mentioned in an earlier post this weekend had the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival and an Art Gallery Fundraiser in Chinatown.  What I forgot to mention was the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA.  I somehow managed to do a little of all three.

First I attended the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival at the Vermont/Santa Monica Metro Station.  I got to see lots of friends and a few musical performances as well as one Aztec Dancing group which is always fun to watch.

At the festival the EHNC also dedicated a tree in honor of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was tragically assassinated in 2007.

After a little fun in the East Hollywood sun I was off to Chinatown and the Chinatown Art Walk.  This quarterly event has some fantastic galleries in Chung King Court off of Hill Street.   With over 35 art galleries in Chinatown this event is one of the better art walks in LA if not the best rivaling that of the Downtown variety.  My interest in this event was a fundraiser I helped produce at the Fifth Floor Gallery.  Over 500 people came through the gallery looking at and buying art from various artists from around the world benefiting Empowerment Works and their Global Summit as well as their Grassroots Orphan Care Program in Zimbabwe.

After a well needed few hours of sleep I went down to UCLA Sunday morning to catch the Festival of Books.  Unfortunately I did not get a chance to see any of my favorite authors and the discussion panels I was interested in were either too late or already filled.  I did manage to buy a new book by Kevin J. Anderson “The Edge of the World” and I am anxiously awaiting the release of  “The Winds of Dune” later this year.

I leave you with a few more pictures from my weekend.  Enjoy.

Busy times are here.  Two events will take place this weekend which I will be attending and recommend them both.

1st is the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival that will take place Saturday and Sunday April 25/26 at the Vermont / Santa Monica Metro Station in wonderful East Hollywood.  This event will have live music, green booths and more.  This event will also have a satellite location at the Cahuenga Branch Library located at 4591 Santa Monica Blvd just a few blocks East of the main festival where there Voices from Chernobyl will be performed at 1pm and later at 5pm on Saturday starring good friend Enci.

2nd is an event that I helped coordinate, The Empowerment Works, Humanity Uniting; Gallery Event located at Fifth Floor Gallery in Chinatown.  This event coincides with the quarterly Chinatown Art Walk and is a fundraiser for the Empowerment Works’ Orphan Care Program in Zimbabwe.

Displayed will be art by Carolina Marchiori, Michelle Carmen Gomez, Hieronymus, Rebecca Setareh, Aaron Edelson, Mike Chamness, Cathy Wysocki, Kevin Balluff, Rebecca Elswit, Bonnie Munoz, Toufic Beyhum, Nancy Mungcal, Renee Barron, Dana Arak, Sara Sikich, and more!

DJ Nero will be spinning and there will be drinks served by Transphusion.

Both events are free to the public.  Hope to see some of you there.

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