T Minus 11 Days

On a day when all MPR talks about is the Iraq war 3-year anniversary, the Red Lake shootings 1-year anniversary, and the kid who got shot to death in Uptown on Saturday, it seems quite shallow and selfish to whine about how utterly sick I am. 

But I'm sick, goddammit.  I'm just now up and out of bed for the first time since Sunday night.  I can't afford to take this kind of time off from the tanning bed.  I'm scheduled to arrive in L.A. in just 11 days!  Hey, I've never been to L.A. before, so if you have any travel tips, please drop them in the comments.

- Twin Cities Originals is having another gift certificate sale this Thursday.  At a 30% discount, they go fast, so be sure to visit the site first thing in the morning.

- If you missed Diablo on Letterman last night (like I did, because I was half-dead), here's the clip.  You go, girl. 

- More peeps in the media: Chuck and Lori in a Strib article on short-term furniture.

- Mark Pritchard adds yet another interview to his What are You Working On? feature.  My fellow fans of intelligent erotica are advised to check it out for such familiar names as Violet Blue, Alison Tyler, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Michelle Richmond, and M Christian, among others.

Comments

[dab]

AND!

they started tearing down the Liquor Depot late yesterday.

[Alexis too]

I lived in LA for 2 and a half years. One of my best friends was vegan so I must INSIST that you check out this fabulous vegan restaurant since you are after all, a vegetarian. It is called Real Food Daily and they have two locations. Here is their site: www.realfood.com. I CRAVE the burrito and the have the most excellent desserts! Enjoy!
I'll try to think of other places you should check out and you can email me if you have any questions.

[Geoff]

If you end up tired of the shiny shallow newness of LA & it's inhabitants, Chez Jay in Santa Monica is a great historically presrved relic of a dive bar....

http://www.calendarlive.com/dining/96712,0,124292.venue

Not much there on the menu for vegetarians (relish tray, mushrooms, garlic bread) but the cocktails and setting are right up your alley.

[herb]

when living in Germany I was a substitute teacher for American kindergarten kids. the other teacher i would teach with was originally from the Caribbean. I know...American, in Germany, teaching kindergarten with a women from the Caribbean...go figure.

anyway, she taught me this great cold/sickness fighter recipe. and for whatever reason, it works...and it's great salsa on top of that.

2 onions, chopped (yep, that's alot of onion)
2 red peppers, chopped,
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 thing of cilantro, chopped (yep, that's alot of cilantro)
3 lemons, squeezed for juice
hot sauce...Caribbean or southern Mexican style hot sauce
jalapeños if you want.

mix everything in a bowl. eat. chips or with a spoon. the reason i was told was that this was such a good cold/sickness fighter was that the onion and peppers and hot sauce make you sweat. cilantro has the most vitamin C for a green plant...and i forget the other reasons. but, this and a hot totty seems to always work for me.

here to your health, hope you get well

[former angilino]

After living in LA I am convinced that the one must see event is the weekly turtle race at Brennan's in MDR. Thursday nights. Remember not to point, buy yourself a turtle (rent actually - and they are very consious of turtle health and well being), and do not bend your knees.

http://www.brennanspub-la.com

And it is not too far from Chez Jay if you really want to go there. It is not that exciting if you ask me. They really like it when you get drunk and start demanding to see Chez because you and him go way back. When they don't produce anyone named Chez declare the place "dead anyway" and order more drinks. Always pronounce the "z". At least I think they liked that.

Of course there is the whole Sunset Strip thing if you are into that. If you must go I like the Standard personally because of the pool, but I always felt a little funny valet parking my sweet 1994 Taurus here.

Other than nightlife there is a lot of great places to visit. Drive to Malibo on the PCH and get dinner at the Reel Inn (but not the one on third street). Go to the observatory in Griffith park and look at the Hollywood sign. See the Getty at lunchtime on a sunny day.

http://www.getty.edu/

And go see the Watts Tower.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Watts_Towers.html

Things not to do:
1) Disneyland
2) Legoland
3) Citywalk
4) Univeral Studios
5) The price is right
6) anything in the valley

[Sheep 3]

An Ode

Hello, Los Angeles? I know it's late, but I was just wondering: why did I leave you? Could you remind me? At the moment I can't recall. Yes, I need to remember, because I miss your winding Sunday canyons tonight. I miss them more than you'll ever know; perhaps more than any other aspect of you. I miss your In & Out cheeseburgers with onions and mustard; your too-bright for the time of night “rock 'n roll” Ralph's Grocery where one can buy a bottle of wine at 11:02 PM on a Sunday night if the mood strikes. I miss “The Tamale Guy”, making rounds in Silver Lake, appeasing the masses with his carefully wrapped piping hot delicacies. I miss your nuveaux residential architecture and art deco, your giant sucking tar pits and your magnificent Getty museum resplendent with glorious vistas of art and nature. I miss 8:00 AM at the Farmer's Market on 3rd and Fairfax in the mellow morning sunlight, when the picnic tables are occupied by handsome elderly Jewish men drinking coffee and eating blintzes while arguing about the politics on the CBS lot. I miss watching boys (who think they're Philip Marlowe) brood over French cigarettes at Peet's Coffee. I miss your rolled tacos at El Coyote and your Kibitz Room martinis with the itty-bitty jug for the extra gin. I miss driving west on Sunset through three different cities in four miles. I miss 20 minutes to the ocean. I miss four hours to Vegas (not that I ever went, but it was a wonderful prospect). I miss your unforgiving freeway signs, with their unreasonable expectations that any visiting driver knows geography well enough to gather at 15-90 mph that Ventura is up and Santa Monica is down. I miss talking about traffic, instead of weather. I miss complaining about the LA Times not covering LA. I miss the complainers-about-Los Angeles who could never, ever leave. I miss laughing when we are surprised (every single year) by “June gloom.” I miss that your very best restaurants are tucked away consistently in strip malls. I miss your mish-mash. You're the trophy bimbo, Los Angeles; you're the one everybody wants. That's why they snicker at you-- they're jealous. The irony is that you have soul-- just as much or more than even New York, my other flame. But you're the one I want back, if you'll have me. What we had is gone and going back to discover this might be too painful right now. Presently, I choose to memorialize you from a safe distance and to move forward in a different direction, but someday, please, I hope you'll take me back.

[Alexis]

Nice! Thank you so much, everyone.

Except you, herb. Anyone caught coming around here with cilantro is shot dead on sight. I'm sorry, those are the brakes.

[taylor]

I can't believe that you haven't blogged your klingon joke. That shit is hilarious.

[potpie]

I live in LA right now, (10 yrs in Mpls) and can say without a doubt that "former angilino" and "sheep 3" listed some pretty great places. Do follow ALL their advice, esp. the places NOT to go.

Chez Jay, I am not so sure about unless you are in that 'hood, its very near the beach, so I guess? There are tons of dive bars in LA--but you can do that in MN right? You should do a beach day, but its not warm enough to swim or lay out, there are places along the boardwalk in Venice where you can rent rollerblades or bikes to stroll along the beach.
Start in Venice, ride bikes to the Santa Monica Pier, ride the ferris wheel, get some snacks, then check out
the wonderful nomadic museum exhibit on the beach right now called Ashes and Snow, in Santa Monica. It is worth seeing. Go early, give yourself about 2-3 hrs. www.ashesandsnow.com
Next, take the time to check out the Getty Museum also on the west side, off the 405 freeway. Must drive there. Free parking. Amazing views.

Do drive down the PCH, Reel Inn is good, messy, low key seafood (you can go to Chez Jay on the way back).

Back in Los Angeles, eat at El Coyote - so much fun with a group of friends (cheesy Mexican place, loud, fun, be prepared to wait for awhile but do it in the bar). Yes, visit Griffith Park for a view of the entire city (best done at nite if you can find someone to drive you up there). Sunset Strip at nite is worth doing, the bars are expensive but fun, expect to get snubbed some by rude bouncers, the Standard is the easiest to get into of the hotel bars. For very late night eating, head down Beverly Blvd to Swingers for late nite nosh with veggie options or over to Los Feliz to Fred 62 (similar food, yummy and eclectic-diner ambiance).

Check out the Dresden Room, in Los Feliz, not too far from Griffith Park, it's where they shot Swingers the movie and has some worn out old-school glamour left, its like Nye's, but way better. There is this cute old lounge couple with matching dyed black hair, Elaine and Marty, who do their show every nite.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/losangeles/N27976.html

Skip Hollywood Blvd unless you are going to a movie in one of the old classic theatres. Everything else is trashed out, touristy crap.

Shopping - Melrose boutiques (clothes, shoes, junk, but very trendy, decent restaurants), Beverly (window shopping), 3rd Street (fun specialty design shops) Silverlake and Los Feliz boutiques (everything). Skip the malls unless you want to do alot of people watching or really need certain things. In which case, I will recommend the Grove, or 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, both are outdoor malls. Going to either will take up your entire day though.

Very few people here have tans, but they do all wear flip flops all year round. It gets chilly at night, bring a jacket.