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.

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.

This is why Dr. Frank Jobe should be in the Hall of Fame. (ouch)

In baseball “50 up and 50 down” would normally mean you are a mediocre team but in this sense its ironic.  Ironic that after serving a 50 game suspension for violating MLB’s drug policy, Manny Ramirez, arguably one of the greatest right handed hitters in history, returns to a team that has won 50 games and holds the best record in baseball.  50 games ago I suggested that the Dodgers might be able to pull off a .500 record (25W – 25L) in that span and maintain a 6.5 game lead on the Giants.  I was close but underestimated the team a little.  Instead the Dodgers went 29-21 in that span maintaining the same 6.5 game lead over the Giants (depending on Thursdays Giants vs Cardinals game) and continue to have the best record in baseball as I already mentioned.

One of two things will happen now; The Dodgers will go on a tear of epic proportions and finish the season with 120 wins which would establish a Major League record, or they could struggle to reaquaint themselves with Manny Ramirez cause a rift in the club house due to his lack of presence during the suspension and the displacement of Juan Pierre who filled in amazingly during the suspension and the Dodgers implode.  I’m guessing the former.

The Dodgers were 21-8 with Ramirez in the lineup.  If they play at that same pace for the remaining 83 games (wishful thinking) they will be 60-23 (or in that neighborhood) leaving them with a 110-52 record.  I think its definitely possible for me to be wrong and they add another 6 – 10 wins to that considering they won 4 more than I had expected during the suspension.  By the way, 116 wins is the major league record for wins in a season established by the Chicago Cubs of 1906 who played a 154 game season and had two rain outs that were never rescheduled or played and the 2001 Seattle Mariners who also won 116 games but played a 162 game season.  Coincidentally the 1962 Mets lost 120 games establishing a dubious record.  (That ones for you Scoot)

Manny Ramirez will play his first game back from suspension July 3rd in San Diego.  I will be driving there with a few friends to support the often misunderstood left fielder and to cheer him on.

Go Dodgers.

Really Manny?  Was this another Manny being Manny moment?  Has his legacy been tainted?  Is it all just a bad dream?

This morning, Manny Ramirez was suspended by MLB for 50 games for violating the leagues drug policy.  Hmm… This does not mean it was for steroids as everybody around baseball is already assuming.  Manny claims the drug he took was prescribed by a physician for a medical condition he would like to keep private.  My first thought was: “HAHAHAHAH it all makes sense now!  Manny has been smoking weed all these years which explains his personality and hi jinks over the last 15 years. “  I never once believed he was on roids.  Now it turns out he has been taking this medication to boost his sex drive but it is not Viagra.

So yes, it was a performance enhancer…. in the bedroom.

Seriously though… did Manny just pull a Jamaal Wilkes?  Does Manny need a sex drive boost now that he is the Mayor of Dodgertown too keep up with his “fans”.  Does Manny have his own private room where he takes his fans like Jamaal had in the Forum and Magic inherited after Jamaal left?  Or is Manny taking this drug to restart his sex drive after losing it because he juiced up while with the Red Sox?  Only time will tell.

I for one will add this to the “Manny being Manny” list.

So what will happen to the Dodgers now that Manny will miss the next 50 games?  Dodgers are currently 21-8 and a comfortable 6.5 games ahead of the 13-13 Giants.  If the Dodgers win half of the next 50 then we should still be in very good shape leaving us with a 46-33 record and 13 games above .500.  I’m not too concerned.  Yes Manny is a huge part of this teams success and yes he will be sorely missed but in a little over a month we had this record with him, then in the last three months we should be equally as good if not better.  The final 83 games of the season will be very interesting to watch as Manny tears apart the National League just like he did last year.

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.

Shortly after 2am this morning an empty and gutted home on the 600 block of New Hampshire at Melrose in East Hollywood caught on fire engulfing it in a matter of seconds.  I was the first on the scene.  Neighbors called emergency crews but by the time they arrived their apartment building also had caught on fire.  The North end of their building and the second story was ablaze as firemen raced to control the flames before they spread to yet another building to the South.  for a moment I thought perhaps it had already happened. Residents had to jump out of the second story window to reach safety as the blaze spread quickly.  Nobody was injured.

In total I believe there are three structures there; the two that I visually saw ablaze and a secondary structure in the back of the property.   Having lived on this street for seven years I’ve become familiar with the people there this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.  As little as a month ago I turned onto my street to find one of the current tenants car on fire.  An apparent retaliation for a fight earlier that night.  Although firemen refuse to tell me if arson is the cause I think its safe to say these two events are related.

It took a good hour for firemen to control the blaze needing to climb to the roof and open up ventilation holes.  The sound of the chainsaws coming from men both on top and inside the structure made me cringe at the thought of that being at one time, somebodies bedroom.  I can’t imagine how horrific and painful it must have been for those who live there. 17 people lost their homes.

Beyond the sadness of people losing their homes and all their belongings a disgusting truth was brought to my attention and I was faced with it first hand.  People who do not live or work in this quiet residential area taking photographs of the fire.  I’ll admit I too was taking pictures after I made sure that everybody was out of the home and firemen had taken over the situation.  This being my instinct after my CERT training.  Nobody was injured so I grabbed my camera.  After shooting the blaze and the firemen who worked to put them out I decided to walk back to my home only to be approached by some men asking me who I was going to sell my photos to.  What? Really?  Do people find ways to profit on other peoples tragedy?

In times like these few people step up and assist the unfortunate souls who lost everything.  One neighbor brought out bags of clothes and blankets and another gave out bottles of water.

Let it be known: The LA Native is not for sale; he cannot be bought.

More Pictures:

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