Silver Lake Egrets, Black Balls and Choppers

I'm not really going to say anything much about the earthquake except, yeah, that happened. I've experienced many of them over my decades, but never one up on a 20th floor. Long after the quake, we were still moving from side to side like a ship in heavy seas. One of the paintings on my wall just went side to side for what seemed like forever. Weird. Still, I got that feeling that I always get after a moderate to big ass scary mofo quake: delighted to be alive.

Now, in reverse order to the above title. Sunday, we were coming back to Atwater from Cliff's Edge Restaurant and saw a helicopter hovering directly over the Resevoir. We tried to pull around to grab a shot, but by the time we got there, it had taken off. At the time, we thought it was odd because there was no local brush fire...but indeed, there was, right by the zoo. Luckily, it seemed most escaped unscathed.

Then, this morning, while taking a constitutional around the resevoir (too lazy to make it to Runyon and too tired because the dogs were acting strangely all night, no doubt due to the upcoming quake), and, lo and behold, I saw an egret flying overhead until it perched in a tree on the west side of the lake. Perhaps, they're back.




Or, perhaps, they're attacted by the black balls they continue to dump in to Ivanhoe. I caught this in action just after the egret. And I thought they were done, but apparently they won't be until it looks more like an oil slick...whichI guess is appropriate given these end days.




At least the egrets are back -- at least one. That is all.

Cool

Mortgage Crisis Blues

(via curbedla) Current TV explains the crisis, as interpreted by Schoolhouse Rock.

Capturing A Moment In Time

This is an amazing portrait of two young, good looking twins who lived in a different world at a different time. Insert yourself into the Factory circa 1978.

Hello

(Thanks Paul) I love the internets, I do. I really do.

Vote for John McCain

(hat tip atrios)

The McCain Poster

If you haven't seen it yet, you just gotta. It's really the equivalent of Dukakis in the Tank. If only the fighter jets were being shot out of his orifices. That's the only way it would be better. Take a look.

Facebook Friends

I get messages. Today was a doozy:

Eric says, "So the score is 30-0 and there's a basehit to left, simpson comes up with a long throw from the outfield and crakow tags him out at the plate to preserve the shutout. Oh those beautiful summer softball days.".

This is from a guy I literally haven't seen or heard from in almost 30 years and the message was right on the money. I saw his name and I immediately wondered if it was him. I read the request and I knew it was.

I was 12 at the time, I couldn't have been over 5 feet tall and our playground was on asphalt. No grass. I remember distinctly that we were kicking ass and we wanted to keep the shutout. The guy hit the ball hard. He rounded all the bases. Eric -- who had an amazing arm -- hurled it at me and the hitter, who must have been ten feet tall and ten feed wide, came charging at me. The ball reached me first and i caught it. Then the hitter. He barreled over me like the five foot tall kid I was and...and...and I held the ball.

Hitter out. Game over. Shutout preserved. Team rejoiced.

Totally one of my favorite childhood memories and all brought back to me out of the ether on Facebook.

Yay Internets!

saving the la times

what if 2-3000 concerned Angelenos forms a cooperative partnership and invested 1-2 thousand dollars and bought back the times? Could it be saved? Reinvigorated? Rebuilt? Damn right. Who's on board?!!

Anyone care to put money where their mouths have been?

The Intertubes

Always worth another look-see.

Olympics

Well, here's some good news for animal lovers going to the Beijing Olympics.

Shirley

How I should start my drive into work every day and how I intend to. Listening to this.

Ted Kennedy

He returned to the Senate today to cast an important vote. As noted before, despite his personal failings, this is a man who cares deeply for his country. We're lucky to have him around.

McCain Excitement

(h/t Steve)

Happy 4th of July

from the NY Times editiorial today (and I couldn't agree more):

"This is a good day to be sitting on an ice chest full of something cold to drink in your own backyard, watching the grill smoke and waiting for the fireworks off in the distance that say high summer has finally come. That’s how much better it is to be celebrating the Fourth of July than the Ninth of December or the Eleventh of February."

Los Angeles Times

Zell is cutting back the Time staff further and reducing its page output by another 15%. How much more can it and the city and world that it used to serve proudly take? That's a reduction in staff over the past few years of 50%. 50% editorial! When will somebody step in? The fact is newspapers, combined with the web, are still profitable. Will they turn insane profits like they used to? No, but should that really matter? Aren't they as much a public service as a "profit center"?

There are a lot of uber rich people in Los Angeles who allegedly care about the city and the Times. Anybody out there care enough?

Here's what the blog-la-sphere is saying...

Carol Channing, Liza Minelli, Larry King

Brilliant (hat tip, Simon)

Joe Cocker Translated