Category Archives: In The News

In The News

MJ bits and pieces

Michael Jackson died, and its sad when anyone dies. But I didn’t know him, so I didn’t cry or even feel much of a loss when it was confirmed. Mostly, the day it happened, our entire newsroom just jumped into breaking news coverage mode. I was also more concerned with the fact that I was going to be off in a few days for vacation.

However, everyone else wanted a glimpse of MJ, er, his memorials. Whilst I drove my houseguests around the next week, we happened to stumble upon Jackson’s rental in Holmby Hills, which I didn’t realize was along Sunset. Belinda cajoled me into stopping, so I figured I better get some photos for the blog. The set is here.

Was anyone else wondering who the woman singing the lead on “Heal The World” was? I was. Turns out she’s a SoCal native of Japanese and black descent. I only noticed her because it was on both screens at the gym that day. I found out who she was via RollingStone.com.

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Please stop using Octomom

Is there anyone else disturbed by the increasing use of “Octomom” as a title or proper noun? It has me very perturbed recently. I’m fully aware that people online are going to use this term. But it is seeping into news reports, being used the same way as Sergeant or Assemblyman. Octomom is not a title. It is not a proper noun.

I’ve found, in most cases, these media-appointed or pop culture-appointed nicknames are often derogatory. Its easier to say “Octomom” with a sneer than it is to say her name with a sneer. I mean, you’re not going to use Octomom for the other lady who had octuplets.

In fact, my recent status update expressing misgivings about the nickname garnered these comments:

I tried to use Mommie-granate, but it didn’t catch on.

Octopussy is just perfect for her, IMHO.

how dare you defame a great Bond character like that. Besides we know it was all c-section

Did you hear about the new Octomom Breakfast Special at Dennys? You get 14 eggs, no sausage, and the guy at the next table picks up the tab!

Sigh. LOL.

Nadya Suleman’s story is, quite frankly, disturbing. In a way, I’d simply like her to go away. But everyone is totally fascinated by her and her 14 kids. And, I suppose that she’s fascinating, if you find a single woman with no job, six kids, who just had 8 kids all at one time fascinating. I guess she’s just the latest in a long line of regular people thrust into the spotlight by their circumstances. And regular people thrust into the spotlight always need a nickname. Like the Long Island Lolita or the Hero Pilot. How about the DC Madam?

Sigh. We are sick, sick people.

Shoe Pavilion website goes bye-bye

Back in the day, when I was in between journalism jobs, working part-time gigs at Coffee Bean and the art gallery, I would do occasional shopping trips to Ross and Shoe Pavilion along Wilshire in West L.A., along the border of Santa Monica. So Shoe Pavilion has a special place in my shopping heart — the shoes I’ve bought there have been reliably well-made and inexpensive. Even most recently, when I needed a classic pair of black pumps for my mom’s funeral, but didn’t want to pay $80 for a pair at Macy’s, I managed to fine a great pair for about $40 at Shoe Pavilion at the Topanga mall.

Even five years later, I still like Shoe Pavilion — during down time, I would often go to their site to check out what they had online, to get an idea of what I might want for my next shoe purchase. Their site wasn’t as nice as Famous Footwear’s (another favorite) or DSW, but still not bad considering. So hearing the news that Shoe Pavilion would be liquidating their stores, I am actually quite sad, but now flummoxed by what I saw when I tried to go to their website.

Shoe Pavilion website, now offline

Shoe Pavilion website, now offline

Dude. Did the 64 locations being closed include their website??? *sob*

My hometown McDonalds goes feng shui

Feng Shui McDonalds
Photo ripped off from Eater LA

McDonalds, when you’re a kid, is the spot to go to when you’ve been exceptionally good. When you’re a teenager, its the spot to find freedom from adults. As an adult, its the spot to avoid, since nearly everything served at McDonalds is going to net you one pound. So where Feng Shui fits in there, I’m not sure.

Anyway, yeah, this is my hometown McDonalds. For the longest time, it was the only one in town. A couple years before we had to move away, they built a second one within walking distance of my old house. Bastards.

I’m not entirely sure that remodeling a McDonalds in a largely Hispanic neighborhood to be feng shui was the best strategy, but hey. What do I know?

hat tip to LAO and Eater LA

Bixby Knolls a year later

I know that today is the anniversary of the Bixby Knolls’ Halloween attack. Forgive me for not writing about it sooner — there were all sorts of fires going on and I couldn’t seem to tear myself away. But what could I say that’s not going to be reiterated by the LAT or the Long Beach PT or even my own station? Not much. Except for the fact that maybe I’m the only one willing to take a look at these kids’ Myspace pages to try and discern for myself if the ordeal has had any impact on their lives. As you can see, I provided screen shots of their pages, but not their addresses or the kids’ names. That’s not my job. If you like, you can dig through this article and find their pages on your own.

At first glance, you wouldn’t think so. Especially at this one kid’s page. This is the same Anthony Ross whose page I found last year, thanks to one LAT report. His page is now locked down, as you can see, but his “username” — the title above his picture — is still essentially the same, sporting the same “cc” that prosecutors claimed were characteristic of Crips associates. Interestingly, I found a discussion on this listserv:

Similarly, since the letters ‘CK’ stood for ‘Crip killer’, the Crip gang avoided any use of the letters ‘ck’. If the word, such as ‘kick back’ required a ‘ck’, they would instead write a double ‘cc’, as in ‘kicc bacc’.

Now, most of the pages seem to be pretty tame or simply locked down. But that’s because you didn’t see them last year. I know their pages were way more tricked out. At least two of these kids had the good sense to lock their pages down so curious looky loos like myself can’t try to see in their minds through their Myspace pages anymore.

I’m not entirely sure that there’s much else to say about these kids. They don’t seem remorseful — if their pages are any indication of anything. All these pages feature pictures of them grinning big or posing with friends like nothing ever happened that sent them to juvenile hall for several months. I just don’t understand it. If I were a parent of one of these kids, I would have taken down my kid’s Myspace page as soon as it became a point of attack by a prosecutor, regardless of whether I believed my kid was guilty or not.

I just hope these kids can get themselves straightened out, stop hanging out with the wrong people and focus on school. All of them claim to look at Jesus as a hero, but their actions really don’t seem to support what they claim. Since when did Jesus shy from telling the truth, even when it got Him killed? I don’t believe all these kids participated in the beating, but I know they know who did. It’s just their bad they decided to take the fall for the actions of others.