First Friday of the Year - Hollywood, St. Germaine, Fuku Burger, Strangers

Joseph was excited about the weekend. He was IM'ing me every second of the last hour of the work day with ideas about our evening plans, and he finally, decisively declared that he wanted "burgers, Manhattans, and video games".  I suggested the usual: Stout, Umami, or The Bowery for the first two, we'd take care of the third at home later. He checked Scout Mob to see if there were any deals, and he found a "$30 for $50 Worth of Food and Drink" deal for FukuburgerLA on Cahuenga, as well as a happy hour event at Space 1520. Our plans took shape then and there.

We made one of of our typical strolls into Hollywood, walking past Franklin Village to see what was going on at UCB and to check up on the Scientology Celebrity Center - make sure those religious celebs weren't getting too rowdy - and then we turned onto Hollywood Blvd at Bronson, near what would normally be the always-lively crowds at the Music Box (sadly, it closed its doors this week, and last night it sat silent).

As we passed the W Hotel, we stopped to watch an a capella trio whoop it up in front of the Pantages. I desperately wish I'd gotten video of them, but they were so good that I got caught up in the moment, and forgot.

We arrived at Space 1520 to see that the happy hour was taking place within PUR, a vintage boutique.

A bartender mixed St. Germaine cocktails with a California Brut, and a DJ spun mashups while tipsy hipsters shopped the racks of carefully curated vintage.

I remarked on how very LA the clothing choices were, with lots of bright, Southwestern desert patterns, and Joseph mused on how very different the vibe of such an boutique would be if it were in San Francisco or New York. LA has a strong personality, and we like it.

After we'd over-indulged in St. Germaine, we walked around the corner to Fuku Burger. We've enjoyed the gourmet burger revival taking place in LA in recent years, and were excited to try another outpost. I ordered the Tamago Egg Burger, and devoured its Asian flavors in minutes. It is now, greasy hands-down, my favorite burger in LA.

From our table behind the bar, we had a straight-on view of the large television on the wall, which features a live feed of @fukuburgerla tweets. Joseph tweeted something about Fuku Burger being his new fave, but autocorrect changed the v to a c, making Fuku Burger his "new face". I tweeted a response, which prompted a surprising and hilarious exchange with some other folks in the restaurant, and we found ourselves crying from laughter over the whole thing.

As we wiped the tears from our faces, our server informed us that two men at the bar wanted us to join them for a couple of FukuBombs - a shot of sake dropped into a glass of Sapporo. The guys were great - funny and friendly, and we felt like tourists being treated by welcoming locals. The whole restaurant cheered as we guzzled our bombs.

It was a wonderful, very Hollywood night of walking, shopping, cajoling with strangers, and of course, drinking. I'm amazed I didn't wake up with a hangover.

How to Knit an Afghan

It's a simple thing to do, as I demonstrate in this video:

Holiday Mode: UniqueLA

I am in full-on holiday mode.  All I want to do these days is shop, bake, eat, knit, and drink cocktails.  UniqueLA satisfied all of my seasonal cravings.  Watch my video below to see what I came home with:

Some Thoughts on Occupy LA

Los Angeles suffers from a dearth of green space.

Occupy LA was evicted, and the lawn around City Hall is now a wasteland of dirt and debris.  Surfaces have been tagged with graffiti, and according to NBC, some of the debris is contaminated with urine and feces.

I believe there is a vast misdistribution of wealth in our nation.  I believe there is a severe need for more jobs, and a stronger economy.

I know that during the OWS movement, President Obama submitted the American Jobs Act to the Senate.  The Senate voted it down, and the President took it back to the drawing board.  The OWS movement uttered nary a word about it.

OWS missed an opportunity to make specific requests of our government.  In LA, it also missed the opportunity to lead by example, and to show respect for its city.

City Hall is a working service center for the people.  It is not a big bank, it is not a corporation.  Yes, it can be a liaison between people and business, but by damaging its property, we are damaging ourselves.  Our tax dollars pay for the clean up of what was previously a lush, green, public space in Downtown LA.  That is, until it was occupied by protesters who claimed to be fighting for, among other things, more funding for human services.

There is a contradiction of message here, and it bothers me.

Messy Thursdays

I hated every second of it, the yoga class I took this morning at the Hollywood YMCA.  It was only my second of the entire year, and the last one, nearly eight months ago, was all rest and relaxation.  The instructor of this morning's class, however, didn't seem profess to anything that could be called easy.  The room was filled well over-capacity, and the collective body heat created a rather unpleasant hotbox.  The man next to me was much too close, and he dripped sweat to the rhythm of Hetch Hetchy.  The intensity of the hatha flow had my every muscle trembling within the first fifteen minutes, and it didn't let up for the next sixty.

I had been unprepared to shower at the gym, because I hadn't expected to sweat as much as I did.  My hair was dripping, and my clothes were spotted with wet patches.  I only had ten minutes to get to work, so I quickly dowsed myself under a shower head, and got dressed.  I have spent the day at my fashion and beauty network production job with my face completely un-made up, and my nappy half-wet hair tied back into a pony tail.  I have done my best to appear vibrant and wakeful to all of my fashionista co-workers, despite knowing that my visage today is not up to snuff.

It's just something that I - and they - are going to have to get used to, because I do believe I will put myself through the same suffering each and every Thursday: rising early to claim a sliver of space in an over-crowded sweat-box so that my every muscle may tremble for ninety minutes, and then rushing to work wearing a basic, easy-to-throw on outfit, with my hair still wet and every blemish on my face visible to the world.  This is, after all, what I look like sometimes, and everyone may as well know it.

Autumn in LA

The air is different here.  The leaves on the deciduous trees have changed color, and the temperatures are seasonably cool.  Still, though, it's different.  Sixty-two degrees comes with a scent of warmth, comforting rays upon the face, instead of the nibbling chill of East Coast air.

This is nothing new.  This is Los Angeles.  Yet, after three and a half years, it is still surprising.  I'll probably always comment on it.

Los Angeles Metro Regional Connector

I am a fan of public transportation, but particularly of public transportation that works.  For it to work, it needs to be efficient, timely, and expansive - that is, it needs to cover the majority of a city, so that folks of all demographics, from all areas and neighborhoods, can have easy access.

I, then, was excited to hear a KPCC interview with Damien Newton of LA Streets Blog about the Regional Connector.  That's a proposed mass-transit rail project to create a new metro corridor through Downtown.  The corridor will connect all of the LA-area metro lines.  Imagine being able to get from the South Bay to Little Tokyo or Hollywood with only one transfer.  Beautiful.  

From the interview, it sounded like the Community Connector Coalition has been at work on this proposal for a number of years, conducting environmental impact reviews, community surveys, etc. etc.  However, just last month, Eli Broad, an LA-philanthropist with lots of money and tons of influence, wrote them a letter proposing that they make adjustments to the routes and/or stations at Bunker Hill, Little Tokyo, and Broadway Civic Center.

The letter states that the Coalition's main concern is Bunker Hill.  They propose moving the planned station from the current location below Bunker Hill to the top of Bunker Hill.  The primary argument is that pedestrians will have to walk up the hill to get to the cultural institutions that sit atop it.  However, it's pretty clear that the real, underlying argument is that a station at the top of Bunker Hill will empty out  right near the steps of Eli Broad's soon-to-be-built contemporary art museum.  How convenient.

Broad's influence is such that his letter has put the project into the public eye, in a way it wasn't before,  and people are inclined to agree with Broad simply because of who he is and how much money he has.  However, moving the station is no easy feat.  The coalition will have to re-do all the ground-work and research that they put into determining the original proposed location, and this could set the project back by another five years or more.

I admit, I have a lot more research to do on this project in order to feel fully informed.  But here is my immediate reaction: the top of Bunker Hill is all that many people know of downtown.  Angelenos who don't live or work downtown know little of the wonders that exist below the hill.  Grand Central Market, the historic theatres of Broadway, the numerous bars and restaurants and musical venues, as well as the discount shopping options that many low-income families frequent.  And let's not forget those that do live Downtown - it's a very diverse area, demographically speaking.  Eli Broad is concerned about patrons to his museum having to walk up the hill to access his museum - but what about the 40,000+ residents of Downtown LA who will have to walk up the hill to access the transit station at his proposed location?

Listen to the interview with Damien Newton here.

Read Eli Broad's letter here.

I want our local transit to grow, and to work, and I'm glad that our city has people like Mr. Newton leading the way.