The Shakers and Rich Podgur @ Kibitz

It is always nice to head off to the Kibitz to hang with my friends, The Shakers, who have a Wednesday residency that starts around midnight. I was able to do this twice in the last month, because this is the holiday season and times at work aren't that intensive so hanging out late at night isn't an issue. First off for the night was Rich Podgur.



And then the Shakers.

Dreams: Car Lights Going Out

So I had this absolutely funky dream that I don’t think I’ve ever had before. I was driving to work in the pre-dawn. Who knows why. All of a sudden I hear a click and my car lights go out. Everything else about the car is fine. I pull over onto the side of the freeway. There’s a motorcycle cop behind me, but he just drives on by without offering any help. I decide to re-start the car and head for the nearest exit. I exit the freeway and decide I should find my way to work, but I am totally lost. I have no clue where I’m at and I have no clue how to get back to work. I've had a memory wipe of some sort.

That’s about all I remember from the dream. I know there was something about graduate school in the dream. And there were one or two other parts to the dream that I just can’t remember, but this was definitely one of those dreams I don’t think I’ve ever had.

News from Glendale

This is a bit of a dated story from Glendale, but sometimes I'm a bit slow in putting things up and things get lost. From the Glendale News Press ("Woman given some more freedom," Veronica Rocha, 4 May 2009): Wheelchair-bound and still recovering from injuries suffered three years ago when she went through a windshield and fell 50 feet into the Los Angeles River, Narine Bagdasaryan on Monday was finally able to leave her house by herself.For the last two years, she has relied entirely on help from her mother and sister.“This is the first time I have ever left the house by myself,” she said. “Now I can do anything on my own.”Bagdasaryan received a brand-new aluminum wheelchair ramp Monday as a donation from TMP Services, a Colton-based company that installs Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant ramps, after her ramps were stolen from outside her home Thursday . . . Three days before Christmas 2006, Bagdasaryan was exiting onto Colorado Street from the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway about 7:50 a.m. when she lost control of her Mercedes-Benz sedan and crossed the offramp’s center median. An oncoming delivery truck hit Bagdasaryan’s car, sending it against the rail. Bagdasaryan, who police said was not wearing her seat belt, went through the windshield and fell 50 feet into the Los Angeles River. Rescuers pulled her out from 2 feet of water.

Why do I bring this up? I remember driving by this scene back then. Actually, I didn't drive by it. I was forced to turn around because the area was closed down by rescue crews.

Seamonsters, Venus Illuminato, The Muddy Reds @ Silverlake Lounge

I headed off to Silverlake Lounge to catch some random bands.

I arrived a tad late. I believe I missed about three songs from Seamonsters. They're a band from NY and Washington DC. The lead singer mentioned their bass player and how a number of her family members were in the audience. There was a guy taping the whole set who I figured was either her father or uncle. They had a good set. I'd check them out again if they were based out here in Los Angeles.





Next up was a band called Venus Illuminato. First thing I noticed, a violinist (if this individual comes across this blog, I apologize if you really were playing a viola or other string instrument) was in the band and since I'm partial to strings in bands I was hooked. Next, I saw some incense at the front of the stage, which implied to me that this band was going to be a bit unique. And finally, one couldn't help but notice the bevy of beauties that stood around the stage, some with faces painted. A guy has to stick around for that. (If you're going to be a male-lead-singer band with the word Venus in your band name you better have female fans.) What about the band? They're great. I'd head out to catch one of their sets. I believe they had a set list of six, but played for 30 minutes plus. Long, lovely drawn out songs.









The final band of the night was The Muddy Reds. I almost left to go catch Mere Mortals' final night at Spaceland, but since the first two bands were so awesome, I decided to stick around for the last band of the night. They were obviously friends with Venus Illuminato, because a number of the Venus Illuminato fans were dancing away and talking with The Muddy Reds guys. In fact, someone called the sister of one of the band members and handed the phone over. And . . . the sister lived in New York, if I heard correctly, which means it was around 3 a.m. out there.

Update January 7: See comment that clarifies the connection between The Muddy Reds and Venus Illuminato.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens: 23-20

It is very likely that this last minute push is too late for the Steelers. The seeding I see show that the Steelers are fifth for the last two play-off spots. It looks like New York, Houston and either Baltimore or Denver would need to lose next week. Too bad New York beat Indianopolis, it would have made for an even better picture -- that loss was a bit stunning. Next week, I could see New York and Houston lose, but it would seem that Baltimore and Denver should win their games.

Thoughts on the Game: Is it my imagination or does Rashard Mendenhall always seem to spin at the end of his runs. It would seem to me that occasionally it would be beneficial if he'd just charge straight ahead sometimes.

The defense finally held up at the end or did they? It did seem like Baltimore destroyed themselves with all those penalties.

I guess I've lost some my hope this year, but it does look like the Steelers are playing solid again.

Went to Griffith Park to walk around the Holiday Lights

My initial opinion: a massive advertisement for all things Los Angeles.

Anyways, it was a nice walk.

Funny: I get spam comments

My blog isn't exactly widely read, but I actually get spam comments. Funny. Oh well, I've decided to change some settings in attempt to stop spammers.

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas to All.

As bad as the photos below are, I think this is all one needs to say.

Is San Francisco the worst run big city in America?

I can’t help but wonder if Los Angeles is this bad. An article from the San Francisco Weekly (“The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.,” Benjamin Wachs and Joe Eskenazi, 14 December 2009): It's time to face facts: San Francisco is spectacularly mismanaged and arguably the worst-run big city in America. This year's city budget is an astonishing $6.6 billion — more than twice the budget for the entire state of Idaho — for roughly 800,000 residents . . . In 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that the city had, for decades, been siphoning nearly $700 million from its Hetch Hetchy water system into the San Francisco General Fund instead of maintaining the aging aqueduct. Several mayors and boards of supervisors used that money to fund pet causes, and the Public Utilities Commission didn't say no. Unfortunately, spending maintenance money elsewhere doesn't diminish the need for maintenance. By 2002, the water system was in such desperate condition that voters were asked to pass a $3.6 billion bond measure to make overdue fixes. Obligingly, they did — who doesn't like water? Since then, the projected costs have swelled by $1 billion. So far.

My Comments: There is so much juicy info in this article. If you like to read about government mismanagement, this is the article to read. But again one can't help but wonder if Los Angeles is in the same situation -- though perhaps via different means, because one has to admit that we have our own water maintenance issues in Los Angeles.

Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay: Explanation of onside kick

I only got to see the last minute or so of the Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay game (another game was on instead). I did get to see the great last minute drive, but I didn't get to see the onside kick. When I heard about it, my thought was, "That totally makes sense. Good call coach."

From Yahoo/AP ("No faith in defense led to Steelers' onside kick," Alan Robinson, 22 Dec 2009): The answer for the rest of the world was slightly more complicated, but essentially came down to this: Tomlin no longer believed his defense could stop the Packers during Green Bay’s 22-point fourth quarter.

I do believe the Steelers have lost three games (maybe two, maybe four) due to final drives by the opposite team. I could be wrong. I haven't seen all the games, but I believe this is true.

Costa Nova and The Shakers at the Kibitz

I headed off to the Kibitz to see Costa Nova and The Shakers. It was a nice pleasant night as both bands dedicated themselves to acoustic sets. What was fun during the Costa Nova set was that a guy joined in on the bongo drums. Jodie, from the Shakers, joined in during their last song. Everyone was relaxed. The bar was crowded. People were enjoying the night before Christmas Eve.

Costa Nova








The Shakers

Local Natives: A bit of mourning for missing their set at The Echo

So stupid me. I could have bought a ticket in advance, but I decided I'd just head on over to The Echo to see one of my favorite bands, Local Natives. Sold out. I blame it on this LA Times article. It is what it is . . . good for them for having a sold out show. Maybe it wasn't the article at all. Maybe the article is just catching up with the fact that this band rules. Anyways, in mourning, I paste some photos into my blog.

Katy J and Rob Z at El Cid

I headed off to El Cid to catch Katy J and Rob Z's Christmas show. This was the first time I've seen Katy J. I really enjoyed her set. I even enjoyed the moments where she was having battery and/or electric cord problems.







El Cid was decorated with Christmas cheer. Small Christmas trees were up on the stage. Decorations hung from the ceiling. Chocolate Kisses were on the tables. Even a beer (see below picture) bottle was decorated.

I didn't get to stay for the whole program, but from what I did see I can say it was a very amusing program.

Duke v. Gonzaga: 76-41

Duke took it to Gonzaga after about ten minutes had passed in the game. The first ten minutes were painful to watch. Duke pulled away in the first half and then blew the game out of the water soon into the second.

Note: Kyle Singler had a subpar game. I read he had a sprained ankle. I don't know if his ankle is still bothering him. For me, it seems he's been rather inconsistent this season.

Note 2: Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer and Andre Dawkins could become a rather lethel three man guard rotation.

November 2009 SoCal Housing Data

Over-all

Over-all, home prices in SoCal were flat year over year at $285,000. Sales also increased by 14.7% year-over-year. Home prices went up by $10,000 on a month-over-month basis in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. For the remaining counties there weren’t significant changes.

From DQNews (“Southland home sales and prices up,” 15 December 2009): Sales have been stoked in recent months by several factors: A federal tax credit for first-time buyers, which had been set to expire last month before it was extended and expanded; robust investor activity, especially inland; super-low mortgage rates; the availability of government-insured, low-down-payment mortgages for first-time buyers; and the allure of a potential “deal” on a distressed property. “This market is still really lopsided. Foreclosures and short sales are huge factors. There’s still not a lot of discretionary buying and selling outside the more affordable markets. Anybody who can sit tight is doing just that. The market won’t fully rebalance itself until financing becomes available for the higher price ranges,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.

A Newspaper Rodeo

From the San Diego Union Tribune (“Median home price at $325,000 – again,” Roger Showley, 15 December 2009): For the fourth straight month, the county’s median price stood at $325,000 in November, MDA DataQuick reported yesterday. It’s the first time in 21 years of record keeping that the median price has stayed the same for so long . . . Erik Weichelt, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors, said he has heard that because many developers and condo converters want to clear out inventories, they are making bargains available. “Builders really need to get liquid by year’s end and pay off some of those (lender) notes,” he said. “We’ve definitely seen an increase.” . . . While stable prices often indicate a turn in the market, it’s unknown whether this is the precursor to an upward swing or a pause before prices fall again. The median price reached a record in November 2005 of $517,500 and fell 45.9 percent to this past January’s low of $280,000. But there’s no guarantee the $45,000 turnaround since then will result in prices everywhere returning to their records anytime soon.

My comments: Interesting comment about builders needing to sell to pay off notes.

From the Ventura County Star (“Housing market will continue to face challenges into 2010, Allison Bruce, 15 December 2009): The coming year likely will be a rough one for housing as loans reset, foreclosures continue to climb and high unemployment keeps the market from stabilizing. That was the 2010 forecast provided in a conference call Tuesday by leaders with foreclosure information company RealtyTrac Inc. and real estate search company Trulia Inc.. While they had slightly different outlooks, one part of the message was the same — don’t expect things to start turning around anytime soon. Ventura County sales totaled 752 in November, 3.2 percent higher than a year ago, while the median sales price of new and existing homes and condominiums was $365,000 last month. The median — where half the homes sell for more and half for less — was unchanged from October, but up from $355,000 a year ago . . . For California, Arizona, Florida and Nevada, an abundance of adjustable rate mortgage loans will reset to higher rates starting next year and keep those states at unusually high levels of foreclosure for at least 18 months, Sharga [Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac] said. These are the same states that recorded massive increases in home prices during the boom years and have a high number of “exotic” loans that offered low teaser rates or even avoided payments on the principal. Sharga said there is about $2.5 trillion worth of loans that will reset between July 2010 and August 2011.

My comments: Warning about resets.

From the Press-Enterprise (“Inland home sales, prices rise,” Leslie Berkman, 15 December 2009): It was the second consecutive month that Riverside County's median price increased, in November reaching $200,000, but nonetheless a decline of more than 9 percent from a year earlier, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego. San Bernardino's median price last month was $160,000, down not quite 14 percent from November 2008 . . . "This market is still really lopsided. Foreclosures and short sales are huge factors. There's still not a lot of discretionary buying and selling outside the more affordable markets," said MDA DataQuick President John Walsh . . . Real estate experts say home sales are being limited by banks, which are holding back distressed homes from the market, possibly to prop up prices or in an effort to use mortgage modification to reduce foreclosures.

From the LA Times (“Southern California home prices and sales improve in November,” Alejandro Lazo, 16 December 2009): Still, rising home prices have translated into some jobs for real estate professionals this year, and more will follow in 2010 if the economy continues to rebound, those in the industry said. For instance, hiring of temporary workers at real estate firms in the region has picked up in the last six weeks, said JoAnne Williams, chief executive of JWilliams Staffing in Irvine. "Things are starting to move in a positive direction, very slowly, very cautiously, but moving," Williams said. "They are gearing up. There is just a sense that the demand is there." The official numbers don't reflect a hiring increase yet. In Los Angeles County, the number of jobs in the real estate sector -- which includes agents, property managers and appraisers in the commercial and residential property markets -- fell by 400 in the 12 months ended in October, according to government statistics, with 53,300 people employed in those professions.

My comment: Interesting note about potential job growth in real estate.

One Mile Radius Project in Hollywood Part III

It's been awhile since I've done one of these blogs. Actually, it's been awhile since I've gone on one of these walks. The walks had previously occurred on a weekday late afternoon, which makes it difficult for me to attend. Due to the winter hours, the walks have shifted to Sunday afternoons.

The below map isn't the greatest, but the walk was around the borders of Hollywood and Fountain (north/south) and Wilton and Saint Andrews (west/east). Fountain is the last west/east street at the bottom of the map. Saint Andrews is the north/south street on the left.



The below photo shows that this area is just east of the revised Vine area of Hollywood.



On Wilton, I believe this is the Grant Elementary School.



The main focus was the Fountain Community Garden, which is on Fountain and Saint Andrews.





Some paintings. Our guide said these were put up to try and prevent graffiti.







By the community garden, this apartment complex. Who would want to live in an apartment that narrow? Actually, why would someone build an apartment that narrow. It did look like an apartment. I half suspect it used to be an office building.



Some places to eat on Sunset.



The main business in this section that we walked, Home Depot.