Thursday, April 12, 2007

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1922 - 2007

Slaughterhouse-Five:
I held up my right hand and I made her a promise.

'Mary,' I said, 'I don't think this book is ever going to be finished. I must have written five thousand pages by now, and thrown them all away. If I ever do finish it, though, I give you my word of honor: there won't be a part for Frank Sinatra or John Wayne.

'I tell you what,' I said, 'I'll call it The Children's Crusade.

She was my friend after that.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

New Look at Newseum


The 'Today's Front Pages' feature at Newseum.org has for years presented the day's front pages from around the world.

Check it out here.

A collection of links to the front pages of several California newspapers is also available at TJ Sullivan in LA.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Friday, April 06, 2007

What will put LA back in LATimes.com?

If a tragedy on the scale of the 1992 LA riots were to occur today, it would be reported and viewed through the eyes of Los Angelenos on YouTube.com, not LATimes.com.

Read the full blog post at LA Observed.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

No More Famima!! For You


Famima!! mania may be sweeping the downtown area, but not the Westside..

Read the full post at LA Observed

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Better Get A Bucket


I'm not sure what Reebok is trying to get at with its latest "CraveThePain.com" billboard in Westwood Village, but it's, uh, erm ...

Read the new blog post at LA Observed


— TJ Sullivan in LA

Sunday, April 01, 2007

NIMFY: Not In My Front Yard


Some of my fellow Westsiders complain about traffic the way some downtowners complain about vagrancy. They cast it as a nuisance, a threat to safety, and a health hazard.

Though vagrancy and traffic are two very different issues, the solution to both problems is one in the same for some property owners. Their answer is something like: Not in my front yard, away from my stoop, and off my street. Of course, this is the outcome they desire, a detour at best, but not a solution. Nonetheless, it appears to have worked its way into the latest Los Angleles Department of Transportation effort to determine the wishes of Westsiders whose streets are adjacent to Santa Monica Blvd.

LADOT, working with homeowner associations, has posted signs at the intersections of Westside residential streets, such the one pictured on Veteran Avenue, complete with handouts (PDF LINK), to solicit participation in a SurveyMonkey.com traffic survey between now and April 15, 2007. The goal is to implement a "Neighborhood Traffic Management" plan...

Read the full post at LA Observed

— TJ Sullivan in LA