My Birthday

It's my birthday!

Hello Berlin

This ones for you!

I get more hits from this shit than anything else.

But whatever. I'll include my story about riding the bus to work.

The Crush


It’s early, 5:50am, and I’m out the front door at my loft on Spring St. in downtown L.A. The air is warm, the sidewalk soft and migrant workers mix with the homeless as they shuffle around the streets. Shop owners are unlocking the security shields and slide them up. The hum of buses leads the chorus of traffic through the streets and then the breaks; then the engines revving up to hum again. Every other morning one of the homeless hits me up for some change; he’s drawn to a guy in a suit and I’m the only dude in a suit on Broadway and Fifth at 6am in the morning. My fucking peers and their car culture have left me out to dry. Like the little sewer flies to the front doors of Rite Aide he bumps right up against me and asks me for something, anything.
I cross the street and try to explain that I’ve only brought enough coin to get on the bus. $1.25. He tells me that’s exactly how much he needs, too. I see my bus pass by and stop so I bid my new friend (he’s here every morning) goodbye and sprint to the Rapid bus stop. It’s a black metal structure with the word Rapid on it and a digital clock of when the next bus will arrive. I see there is a line so I slow it down to a trot.
With my fare in hand I jump on this extra long bus. It’s the Rapid 720, it’s massive, with seats for 50 people and room for 120 or so it seems. It goes from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica and back again along Wilshire Blvd. There must be a fleet of 300 buses. I do this five days a week and so I know to get inside and look for a seat before the crush begins. We stop in the financial district and then somewhere around Alvarado and then all of the seats are taken. The crush starts when the bus gets to Vermont. Then more people get on at Western and now I can’t even see three feet in front of me because I’m sitting down, and loving it. I try to watch the TV if I can see it, but people usually stand in front of it so I end up falling asleep most of the time. All the while the bus inhales more riders.
Amidst being jarred awake and falling back asleep I see that the Latino population of downtown and west of downtown are being squeezed toward the center of the bus by the Korean population of K town and it’s like some weird burrito with Korean tortillas and Latino ingredients. I’m just a topping. I’m here to look good and be the white guy in a suit. A few Jewish students get on in Hancock Park and Beverly Hills, more garnish, but that’s where I get off and walk two blocks to work. I get off at Santa Monica and Wilshire.
It’s nice taking the bus to work in the morning.
Taking the bus back home after work is a different story.
High school cliques with screaming kids and the back of the bus is for the Latino Heshers with some migrant workers sprinkled in there dozing off. The front of the bus is all the smart Korean girls and their friends. The African American kids sit in the middle.
There’s nowhere to sit, so I usually stand toward the front with some Korean girls and listen to their conversation until they notice and start talking in Korean. A lot of Koreans get off around Western and the last of the students are gone at Vermont. This is when I usually find a seat. If you’re crafty then you can get a seat around La Cienega, but whatever. On the final mile between K town and downtown the bus goes right by Macarthur Park. It’s buzzing this time of the day. Tan Latinos playing soccer on every possible surface. A group of guys have taken over a tennis court and play some perverted game of soccer over the net. The bus exhales more riders at every stop and we’re losing density.
The bus roars down Wilshire to Witmer and makes a left. It comes up a small hill to 6th and turns right. It picks up speed and on a perfect day if you hit all the green lights before the overpass, then it feels like your descending on downtown Los Angeles in a star ship coming into land in a major space port. My exit is the second stop once we’re in the city. The bus takes about 40 minutes each way and I challenge you to make it from Beverly Hills to Downtown any faster. It’s well worth the $1.25. Daily passes are $5. Weekly passes are $17. Monthly passes are $62. Don’t forget to bring a book and know where you’re going.

Lets Hear it For Berlin

Whats going on in downtown los angeles? Well, we've got all kinds of shit going on! I no longer work at that stupid hotel in downtown and have since moved on to the good life in Beverly Hills.
I still live downtown and so I will report on some of the stupid things that I have seen in the past little while.

I'll also post some stuff on solar power stocks.
FSLR
DSTI
RATE
SPWR
ESLR
RSOL

start investing people. This is the ground floor.

We've got some Laker madness happening down around here today. Head over to J's lounge and watch the game on the Big Screen. Wait a second, that's not a TV. That's the wall. Well, you can really enjoy yourself and watch the wall and have a soda.

So many things are happening in Downtown these days! First there was a shootout in the Hayward Hotel and the S.W.A.T. team had to show up to squash things.

Hmmmmmmmm. Memorial day bbq was windy but we all still had a good time. I need some valium.

bye bye downtown

I'm moving to starship 7 and working in Beverly Hills, so I can afford it.

Goodbye blog.

Lakers are in Utah

This is what the middle of a blog meltdown looks like kiddos.
I can't write everyday. It's fucking tough! So go pick up the fucking newspaper or check out

http://www.angelenic.com

and see whats really happening as all posts for the rest of the year will be without photos unless there really needs to be one.

Thanks to all my loyal fans and hang tight, a new more glorious blog is around the corner.

Art Fart Thursday

Get down here and have some fun.

Lakers Vs. Jazz

This shall be the last post.
Lakers are playing the jazz.
get into it!

try to find my new blog about my new stuff.

ALOUD at LA library

Yea! Either get a new Job in Beverly Hills or scramble around downtown to get some of those Lakers tickets for tomorrow night!!

Also you can check out the ALOUD series at the LA central Library.

Tue, May 06, 7 PM
Millard Kaufman
Bowl of Cherries
In conversation with Leo Braudy, Professor of English & American Lit, USC
McSweeney's, publisher of the young and hip, brings us a debut novel of breadth, glee and sharp consequence by a 90-year-old ex-Marine who is also a two-time screenwriting Oscar nominee (Bad Day at Black Rock) and co-creator of Mr. Magoo.

Come on folks, the guy is the co-creator of Mr. Magoo. The guy also landed on Guam and Okinawa for the D-Day landings. This guy is a star.

WOW!

Iron Man becomes instant Blockbuster

Get down to the Lamelle 4plex down over there by the Marriot on Figueroa.

100 Million dollars and fun fun fun.

Let's hear it for Robert Downey Jr.

Yea Iron Man!!

Sunday Playoff Basketball

Lakers? When are the Lakers coming back?

Today!

Lakers vs. Utah Jazz.

The Spread is 8 1/2 points.

Will you take it? You should, the Lakers are going to pound the Jazz!!! Go Lakers!!

How much are tickets you ask? Well? Expensive. I've found some nice tickets on Craigslist for about $500 bucks.

Enjoy it!! Maybe next year you'll get some season tickets!! Oh Yea!

Smelly Saturday

Dudes and Dudettes!

The Warlocks are playing down at the smell. It's probably like $5 to get in. Bring your own beer and pound it in the alley. Sneer at all the people heading toward the Edison and kick the empty beer cans in their direction. Yea!! The Smell vs The Edison. Two completely different marketing schemes. Whatever. They're both cool, and after The Warlocks are over you should walk over to the Edison.

Tonight the Avengers are playing the Rattlers in the Staples Center. Boy, when do the Lakers get back in town!?!

Enjoy your stuff and get out and do something, write that new song! Write that story and enjoy today because it might be your last Saturday!!

Redcat Fridays

Oh god it's May. What the fuck happened to April?!? I've taken my psychadelic RV on a time traveling mission to Temecula and I missed April. Don't you hate it when you do that?! I've also landed myself in 1942, so I probably won't get home till June.

Let's get it together folks. Summer is right around the corner and you've got to go swimsuit shopping. There's a host of shops in the city and you can even give yourself a little trial run during the week at Venice Beach or somewhere around there.

Let's see what's happening tonight?!? Everything. Everywhere.

Our Pick:

CalArts Film/Video Showcase
The School of Film/Video presents a juried selection of new live-action works by students in the Program in Film and Video and the Film Directing Program.
Film Directing ShowcaseFriday, May 2
See film.calarts.edu for more information.

Fri 5.2.08 8:00 pm
free
free
free
reservations please call the REDCAT box office at 213-237-2800.

So yea. Get out there and do something with your life. Cash those government checks and spend it on a cruise to Temecula. A cruise to Temecula you say? Yes! Get an RV and go land cruising.

Get down to the Crash Mansion today

Happy hour food specials? Get the fuck out of here at the Crash Mansion. You are going to love the hip hop and r&b scene. Don't bring your guns or your knives, bring some love and burnt CDs to hand out.

Let's enjoy ourselves in downtown today.

It's DJ Hapa and Mr. Choc are spinning all night and the food specials start at 5pm.