July 31, 2008
Longtime Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens (he’s older than John McCain!) has been given a remarkably speedy trial date as he faces seven felony counts before the upcoming senatorial election. The six-term activist Senator who was often quoted saying, “to hell with politics, just do what’s right for Alaska,” is charged with neglecting to report gifts and construction work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska. Reportedly the gifts from an oil services and construction company included adding a second floor to his home, and totaled about $250,000. If convicted, Stevens could serve up to five years in prison for each of the seven counts. Associated Press gives an update on the Senator’s troubles in this article. Read More
July 30, 2008
The troubling trend of American homeowners choosing to simply walk away from homes facing foreclosure has caught the attention of the international media. News outlets stateside have been telling the stories of “walkers” all year. It has been estimated Read More
July 29, 2008
Sorry, citizens. The U.S. is still the “World’s Most Obese Country.” But California, ranked 41st most obese state in a 2008 study, is taking action. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has sided with legislators forcing restaurants to cook without artery-clogging trans fats. The law Read More
July 25, 2008
The lights of Santa Monica Pier glowed brighter than usual last week when Los Angeles-based art collective SASSAS (Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound) created Glow, a 12-hour, dusk-till-dawn festival. Partly inspired by Paris’ Nuit Blanche (“White Night”) events, Glow attracted over 200,000 people to 21 performances and installations, the brightest Read More
July 25, 2008
Two heavyweights of urban thinking are duking it out. Joel Kotkin, author of The City and frequent L.A. Times contributor, is getting flamed by William Fulton, author of The Regional City and editor of California Planning and Development Report. In his blog post, “What’s The Difference Between Glendale and Palmdale? Don’t Ask Joel Kotkin!” Fulton calls out Kotkin for his frequent downtown-bashing Read More
July 25, 2008
Forget lavish open houses and desperate Craigslist posts. The most devoted sellers are getting religious about unloading unwanted homes, reports the Wall Street Journal’s June Fletcher. StJosephStatue.com produces plastic statues that believers bury in their yard to help sell their homes. Apparently the statue should be buried near the “for sale” sign. And it should be buried upside-down. Read More
July 24, 2008
Following China’s recent edict requiring public transportation use on certain days to improve Beijing Olympic air quality, residents are now subject to a new dictate regulating their conversations with foreign visitors. Posters positioned around Beijing list eight taboo topics such as age, income, personal experience, health and romantic life among others. Read More
July 24, 2008
On the surface, it was junk. But the organizing eye of Robert Rauschenberg elevated the random into the refined. Rauschenberg’s “combines” – unruly, 3-D collages of found materials – marked the transition of American art from Abstract Expressionism (Jackson Pollock) to Pop (Andy Warhol). But Rauschenberg’s work was always its own animal. Read More
July 23, 2008
Remember the old joke? “Hey, I went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out.” Well, add another fight to the undercard, because the WNBA wants a piece of the action. In case you missed it, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and Detroit Shock wowed fans and sportscasters alike with the league’s first-ever brawl Tuesday night. Read More
July 23, 2008
By now, most of us have heard that Starbucks Coffee will close approximately 600 stores in the U.S. beginning this month and continuing through mid 2009. Over the weekend, the writer of this entry observed a group of friends standing outside a neighborhood Starbucks who were speculating if “their” favorite store is one of the doomed. Read More
