LACM 5/29/09

Last Friday's Los Angeles Critical Mass ride was a success in its smoothness of operation, lack of rousting from cops, and overall fun factor. South Central (above) was representing from start to finish.







Sorry for the crappy video quality. Enjoy!

Getty Museum raises parking rates again! Bikes still park free!

Like everyone else, the Getty lost a ton of cash in the stock market. To make up for the shortfall, they're firing 60+ people and raising parking fees to $15. You can still ride your bike and lock it up for free. LA Observed thinks the only way you can get there is in a car.

So the fact remains, what is free to do at LACMA — stroll the grounds, browse in the gift store or take in the view — will cost $15 at the Getty on July 1 and raise anew the elitism questions. Once you do gain access to the top of the hill, though, the museum part of the experience does remain free.

Where's the free parking at LACMA?! The Getty lets you see the art for free, LACMA charges! The only elitism I see is in the eyes of Angelenos unwilling to get out of their cars, ride bikes and support public transit. Parking is not a right, it's a privilege! So I say Bike On!

Critical Mass Los Angeles: An exercise in chaos

photo by alexbcthompson

On the heels of multiple bicyclists being hit and killed by motorists, last friday night's Critical Mass bike ride began as it always does, with a gregarious gathering of cyclists at Wilshire and Western. The ride had a planned destination, the ghost bike erected in honor of Jesus Castillo, a bicyclist killed by a motorist. Upon heading out, the mass quickly splintered into numerous groups of riders separated by vehicular traffic. It seems the ones at the front were riding way too quickly and not keeping the ride organized and tightly gathered in one continuous group. The usually ordered process of "corking" the lights was almost non-existent, with cars getting stuck between groups of riders, and drivers growing impatient at their pace and lack of road sharing abilities.

This led to the police becoming increasingly agitated as the ride meandered into downtown. Since the mass was not unified, the usually safe and organized system of rolling thru red lights became haphazard at best, with single riders making poor decisions in an effort to catch the pack. I belive the police responded to this lack of cohesion by citing a few riders they singled out for running a red light.

Though I've only attended a handfull of rides, this was by far the least organized, especially considering there was a planned destination and reason for this ride, namely to honor the life and death of a fellow cyclist. Everyone in attendance had their own political and philosophical views which is to be expected with a anarchic assembly of independent minds. However, past rides almost always stuck together and kept a unified mass that could safely make its way thru the city with a tolerable amount of disturbance to vehicular traffic.

Usually I would see drivers honk in support of the riders. While I did see many drivers in support of us that last night, a negative and adversarial tone by both drivers and riders dominated the evening. It wasn't the best ride, and I hope the organization improves next month.

Kyle Field, Little Wings at McCabes

Tonight, I got to see Little Wings ~ Kyle Field and friends perform at McCabes. It was an intimate setting to hear Kyle sing some of his amazing songs. His new albums are filled with gentle sonic blankets of coz. Click here to hear a track, or here as well. Thanks Kyle!

Help Conyers Stand Up To His Special Interests

While I am thrilled with the election victories progressives achieved in November, I am starting to see troubling signs that special interests are increasingly calling the shots. Take a seemingly incomprehensible bill sponsored by John Conyers, a heroic congressman who for years called out the Bush administration for the lies that led to war & the war crimes it perpetrated. As I've become more politically educated and informed, I've consistently found John Conyers fighting the good fight, exposing corruption and looking out for my interests.

The bill, H.R.801 , carries the deceptive title of Fair Copyright in Research Works Act. What it does is effectively double tax Americans who wish to access information that they have already paid to have produced.

Imagine you hire a scientist to come up with a new technology to increase your company's productivity. You give them money, and they give you information. Now, imagine the scientist charges you a fee for the privelege of reading the report you hired him to produce. Would you be upset with this arrangement? This is exactly what John Conyers is trying to push thru Congress. The bill would essentially allow publishers to charge for access to tax-funded research.

Why is John Conyers pushing this legislation? A great article on the Huffington Post follows the money to find out.

...sponsors of this bill -- led by Rep. John Conyers -- received twice as much money from the publishing industry as those on the relevant committee who are not sponsors.

The lesson to be learned here is that just because the party in power is generally one you might prefer, you cannot simply assume everything is now going to be all rainbows and unicorns in Washington. In fact, progressives should be even more vigilent now, keeping corruption and special interests in check, to ensure Americans do not lose confidence in our hard fought victories. Change Congress is a campaign to force congress to commit to real campaign finance reform:

Reforming the system will never be Congress’s first priority until a grassroots movement gives politicians a choice: You can have our money or special interest money, but not both. Now is the time to push for this change, and that’s why the donor strike is important. Please sign on the right.

All citizens, democrats and republicans, progressives and conservatives, should find this a worthwhile goal.

Vote Today Against Antonio's Legacy. Remember The Garden!

from Ron Kaye:

Unplanted trees, unfilled potholes, unfulfilled promises, soaring rates, fees and taxes, politics over policy, personality without progress, 1.000 digital billboards, over-development without planning, worsening traffic congestion and the fatal blow: A $1 billion and rising budget deficit that will lead to even higher rates, fees and taxes and fewer services...

Let's hear it for our Mayor "Villain" Villaraigosa !


Yes: Zuma Dogg and David Hernandez(Mayor), Nick Patsaouras (Controller), Carmen Trutanich (Attorney)
NO: Measure B, and almost any incumbents!

Shout out to Jan "Bulldozer" Perry, the singular force behind the desecration of the South Central Garden!

Westboro Baptists visit my neighborhood

It's a fact. Homeschooled Bigots Prefer Volcom 1 to 1!

Passing their traditions to the next generation

If I could just slip away, I'd be free to live in Hollywood!

That's a lot of look!