I’ve often thought that I could easily live a happy life going from one festival to the next. And in Los Angeles, you could probably pull that off. But the fair of all fairs? The La County Fair.
On its very last day, we headed out to the LA County Fair. And what a fair it is. Sure, it’s is extremely expensive these days. And they have this fancy card you scan instead of little brightly colored tickets, which really just makes it harder to realize how much money you’re actually spending. But for such a fun-filled day of freedom… it’s worth it.
We spent the evening eating friend food (frog legs even!), visiting cows (not the best smelling beasts), riding the carnival rides, winning stuffed animals (well, some of us) and forcing people into awkward romantic poses for photos.
Taking photos is one of my favorite hobbies, so here we go….
It can be tough to stay that way when you are attempting to enter the job market at a time when the world may in fact be ending. Or so it seems.
Stocks are plummeting (not that I have money for stocks.) Banks are closing. Hundreds of people are being laid off in the business (and building) I want to work in. The county is a financial mess. And did I mention that whole chunks of the world hate us?
I have been subconsciously ignoring the major financial upheaval until today when I was sitting in the Times’ lunch room, I couldn’t help but hear the TV. I hate to say we’re screwed– but with nothing getting done in Congress, screwed seems like a pretty tame description.
So Cal Rediscovers Lost Books
Rebecca Ford, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “1984,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Hamlet”–all books that were once banned by various libraries and governments within the United States. Children’s books, in fact, have been banned more than any other genre, and one of the most commonly banned authors in American letters is beloved children’s author Judy Blume…..
The Emmys were bad. I wish I could put a nice red bow on that statement to make it a little gentle. But let’s face it– the hosts were boring, the show was rushed and the presenters ranged from pathetic to uninteresting.
For example, why was LC from ‘The Hills’ presenting? That show, while I DO watch it, belongs no where NEAR the Emmys.
And let’s not forget the technical glitches. The mics didn’t work, there were random shots of doorways, and of course one guy’s acceptance speech got cut off, poor guy. I can’t even remember who it was…
Sure there were moments of funny. Thank goodness for Ricky Gervais. That guy is funny. His bit with Steve Carell was maybe the high point of the evening (by the way, both of them were ROBBED in my opinion.)
The Emmy planners thought it would be really creative to have the five nominees for Best Reality Host host the show– but they must have forgotten that that would be awkward and uncomfortable. Because that’s all it was.
If anything, the Emmys only saving grace was reminding me of the great shows that will start up this week and next: the Office, Grey’s, etc etc…. Thank goodness for that.
I was *shocked* today when I got a blog comment from THE DANTE MOORE himself. The comment is attached to my other post, but I thought I’d just copy this little gem here:
“The Re-Educator has entered this blog and graced the female population with his presence. Well, well, well. Look what I happen to come across today on wordpress. Women who disagree with the book before reading it, what a surprise. I’m reading so much sexual frustration from you women. Maybe your complete lack of understanding about men is a major reason why you’re probably single and alone. You better wake up before its to late.”
First of all, I’ll go ahead and say that it is almost hard for me to believe that this is actually Dante Moore and that he actually talks/ writes like that. But let’s get to the issue at hand here.
One, he seems so shocked that women would hold their own opinions of the vile and pathetic message of his book.
Two, just because I have an opinion, does not mean I am sexually frustrated. Believe it or not, women can have opinions. I know many smart, independent women who have happy, healthy relationships built on equality and respect. I don’t know what kind of women the unmarried Dante hangs around, but I don’t know ANY who are so spineless and lost that they would listen to his insane rhetoric.
Clearly, there is NO doubt that Dante Moore is simply a sexist, egotistical man who has masked his narcissism into a book. A pathetic attempt to leech off of women’s insecurities.
Finally, while I don’t want to get into the personal here, I am neither single nor alone. My life is very full and I have real success in relationships mainly because I only date men who treat women with RESPECT, something Dante clearly knows nothing about.
I’m not going to write about this book pathetic work of fiction anymore because I don’t think it deserves that much attention. It would be for the best if we all just ignore the book pathetic work of fiction–and Dante– and hope they both fall off the face of the Earth.
The Feminist Majority (they run Ms. Magazine, where I am currently spending a few days per week) created a pretty awesome PSA for getting out to vote. All these strong, interesting woman came to the office to film it. It’s a pretty neat little ditty. And I like the point. If there was any year to vote, it is this one.
When I was in college, Nalgene bottles were THE thing to keep your water in. I don’t know why. Maybe because it was fun to throw them from the 10th floor window to see if it was REALLY true that they were unbreakable. Maybe it was the cool colors. Who knows.
Now–six years later– we learn that not only do they suck, but they are bad for our health.
The LA Times (my new place of work on Mon and Tues) did a story about the danger of plastic. Here’s the main point:
“The first large-scale human study of a chemical widely used in plastic products, including baby bottles and tin can linings, found double the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver problems in people with the highest concentrations in their urine, British researchers reported Tuesday.
The findings confirm earlier results obtained in animals, increasing pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to limit use of the chemical Bisphenol A, commonly called BPA.”
AWESOME.
While it concerns me a little that it is in things like sunglasses, it is really worrisome that some stupid trend while I was in college could have cost me my health. These days, there is a replacement “cool water bottle” (it’s aluminum, I think) I think I’ll pass on the whole thing. Maybe I’ll just drink from rivers… or something.
I love LA. And no matter how many movies are made with this city as the background, I can never get enough of it.
The Soloist is the next film I’m very excited for. Not only does it show a whole lot of LA, but it is about journalist Steve Lopez (played by Downey, Jr.) You know you’ve made it when they made a movie about you….
Here’s the trailer. Try to enjoy the great shots of LA:
