One Month Until Halloween: The Spooky Fanatics in Glendale

Peter Montgomery loves Halloween. I mean, the guy loves Halloween in an elaborate way.

For 15 years, Montgomery has decorated his Glendale home in an increasingly complicated and expensive manner. In 2008, he created a steam train barreling out of his house (above). And this year, Montgomery is plotting a "very large and elaborate steampunk inspired drilling machine."

Montgomery's "Annual Suburban ScareFest" attracts big crowds and has become an obsession for the special effects artist. But this year, he's asking for some help. Go to his SoCal Halloween website for more details.

Montgomery isn't the only Halloween fanatic in Glendale; our little suburb seems to *really* love its Halloween. Over the last few decades, the city's Geneva St. has been considered "Halloween Town" and the must-see stop for elaborate Halloween displays.

Here's one home's rendition last year of Michael Jackson's "Thriller":

Mediterranean Geckos Find a Home in L.A. County

The Mediterranean House Geckos are here! The Mediterranean House Geckos are here!

When the Natural History Museum launched its "Lost Lizard of Los Angeles (LLOLA)" survey this spring, it held a "lizard hunt" at both Exposition Park and Hancock Park.

After the event, attendees Will Bernstein and his son Reese decided to keep on hunting in their neighborhood. Their result: The discovery of a population of non-native Mediterranean House Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus) in the Chatsworth region.

"As their name implies, Mediterranean House Geckos are not native to the area. But they have been widely introduced throughout the U.S. (including Hawaii), particularly in the southeast," the museum said.

Those findings will be shown this weekend, during the second annual Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day on Sunday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Details:

The day’s mission is to raise Museum visitors’ awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the often maligned vertebrate group — reptiles and amphibians. Events include up-close animal encounters, live music (with a nature-themed, family friendly band), art projects, hands-on activities, and plenty of interaction with professional herpetologists and “herp” enthusiasts. Various rescue groups, educational organizations, professional herpetologists, veterinarians and artists will have booths and displays.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles
Open daily from 9:30 am to 5 pm
$9 for adults, $6.50 for children

L.A. Times Turns Front Page Over to "Law & Order: Los Angeles"

There's likely some hair pulling on Spring Street today, as the Los Angeles Times' Wednesday issue hit driveways with what's likely its most questionable front-page advertisement yet.

As Variety first reported a few weeks ago, NBC and the L.A. Times were plotting a marketing push for "Law & Order: Los Angeles" that promised to be bigger (read: more controversial) than previous campaigns for "Southland" and Universal Studios -- both of which also included mock stories and newspaper pages that left many journos and newspaper purists with a bad taste in their mouth.

This is what we wrote on Sept. 11:

Los Angeles Times staffers might also want to brace for another NBC ad that blurs the line between editorial and advertising: The Peacock has partnered with the paper for a stunt surrounding "Law and Order: Los Angeles," in a similar vein to the past controversial NBC/"Southland" and Universal Studios/"King Kong" ads in the paper.

Those ads caused a stir at the paper, where staffers said such ads undermined their credibility. But given the noise they generated, NBC U deemed the buys a success.

"Where our 'Southland' and King Kong ads left off, 'LOLA' will pick up," Stotsky says, "and hopefully surpass both of these events."

Looking at this full-blown section, which looks more like actual editorial copy than the previous ads, I'd say they probably will get their wish: This is not going to go over well with many folks on the journalism side of things.

From an NBC promo angle, however, I'd say it's a win -- it definitely got my attention, and "LOLA" already has strong awareness, so this can only help.

These editorial-style ads are becoming common; the L.A. Times also caught heat for an ad promoting Disney's theatrical release "Alice in Wonderland"; the paper's website also recently featured a mock old L.A. Times front promoting "Boardwalk Empire."

"Law & Order: Los Angeles" Tackles Los Angeles' Neighborhoods

"Law & Order" heads to Los Angeles starting tonight, with the launch of NBC's "Law & Order: Los Angeles."

"LOLA," as the show has been nicknamed, airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. (at least for now) in the slot once held by the original "Law & Order." This new edition promises to follow the traditional "Law & Order" format -- but utilizing L.A. locations and ripped-from-the-headlines stories.

"Law & Order: Los Angeles" is so taken by its surroundings that each episode of season one will be named after an L.A. neighborhood. So far, episodes have been titled "Hollywood," "Echo Park," "Sylmar" and "Harbor City" (that one takes place in San Pedro and Palos Verdes).

Former L.A. blogger LA City Nerd (come back, Nerd!) once counted as many as 180 L.A. neighborhoods, as designated by those blue signs throughout the city. That should keep "LOLA" busy for quite a while.

(I do love that whenever another cop show sets up shop in Los Angeles -- think "Southland" -- the producers think they're the first to showcase the lesser-known parts of L.A.)

Los Angeles County's Top Earners

In light of the City of Bell scandal, everyone's taking a second look at compensation among our elected officials and government employees. L.A. Weekly's Dennis Romero put together a list of the county's highest-paid employees. Turns out most of them are physicians. Here are the first five:

1. Name redacted, commander (sheriff's), $440,915.61 (including a $190,070.97 base salary and $250,844.64 in "other earnings").
2. Elaine C. Yang, senior physician (Harbor-UCLA Medical Center), $430,909.32.
3. Christine H. Holschneider, chief physician I (Olive View Medical Center), $423,533.89.
4. Gail Anderson, Jr., medical director II (Harbor-UCLA Medical Center) $421,648.65.
5. John S. McDonald, chief physician I (Harbor-UCLA Medical Center) $413,807.18.

As L.A. Melts, Earthquake Hoax Freaks People Out

Yes, it was hot on Monday. Hottest recorded temperature in Los Angeles history.

But no, we'll never know how hot it really got. The National Weather Service's official thermometer at USC made it to 113 degrees at 12:15 p.m. -- but then stopped working. So who knows, the temperature may have even been higher. But nonetheless, L.A. beat its previous record, reached on June 26, 1990.

Yes, it was hot on Monday.



But no, there's no such thing as "earthquake weather." And the spooky "MAJOR EARTHQUAKE WARNING" spreading on Twitter? A hoax. Say it with me: No one can predict an earthquake. It'd be nice, but it just isn't possible right now.

Yes, it was hot on Monday.

Hope you didn't melt.

Our First Look at the New Santa Monica Place

View from the Santa Monica Place food court

It wasn't too long ago that Santa Monica was still mulling what to do with the fading Santa Monica Place. Earlier this month we finally got our first glimpse at the result: A new, open air shopping center that sits on the old Santa Monica Place foot print.

But this isn't the Santa Monica Place you remember. The old Frank Gehry-designed structure has been replaced by something that faces both the ever-popular Third Street Promenade (I'm not a big fan) and the Santa Monica Pier (bigger fan).

The food court now sits on the third floor, with viewers of the Pier and the ocean. And the mall also contains more higher-end stores than the old Santa Monica Place. The verdict? Fine, although at times I felt like I was simply at the old mall, but with the roof ripped open.

Your thoughts?

Our Day at the L.A. County Fair

All these years in Southern California, and we had never been to the Los Angeles County Fair. I've never been much of a fair kind of guy, and Pomona (where the Fairplex is located) seemed like too much of a hike.

But now that I've got kids, the Fair suddenly sounds like a nice excursion. And taking the 210 freeway, Pomona is not nearly as far as you think.

I came to the Fair with one goal in mind: I wasn't going to plop down much money for carnival rides. We live close enough to theme parks that riding a pricey carnival ride seems pointless.

I shouldn't have worried. There was enough to do and see that Blogger Kid didn't even push the issue. Instead, there was plenty of attractions right in his sweet spot: "Mojo's Jungle," featuring live insects, bugs, turtles and a bird show. "Jurassic Planet" features realistic dinosaurs -- so realistic that I'm sure that Blogger Kid believed me when I told him they weren't real.

There's also a huge pavilion with farm animals; a pirate play area; old steam engines; and Garden Railroad -- an acre of landscape with model trains speeding past miniature depictions of early California (such as missions, agriculture and more).



Then, of course, there's all that fried food. And food in general. None of it is anything special -- but there's something to be said for a complete lack of lines, as there are so many food options that no one has to wait. Also, for the adults, the fair features a Wine and Spirits marketplace.

Here are a few more pics from our day at the fair:


Pigs at "Fairview Farms," at the Big Red Barn


Kids dancing at the Plaza de las Américas


"Dead men tell no tales" at "A Pirate's Life"


Dinos at "Jurassic Planet" (title apparently cleared by the Fair lawyers)


Visitors check in


Snookie's Cookies tent -- yes, we got an ice cream cookie sandwich


Master of the pan flute


Sir Knight Blogger Kid at ""A Time Long Ago"


The Fair crowd


The kind of fire hydrant your dog dreams about


Corny bird show at "Mojo's Jungle"


Celebrating Mexican independence at the Flower & Garden Pavillion


Trains! Blogger Kid approves


Pink's on location

The L.A. County Fair continues through Oct. 3. Prices vary for tix; Adults 13+ are $12 on weekdays and $17 weekend. Group discounts are available, and kids and seniors are cheaper (with kids 5 and under free). Parking starts at $10.

Thanks to Daphne Wang and congrats to Franklin Avenue reader Elizabeth, who won tix to this year's Fair from us!

L.A. County Fair
Pomona Fairplex
1101 W. McKinley Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768

The Downtown Art Walk Is Off, Is On, Is Off, Is On

(Flickr pic by Brian Lau.

Confused about the mega-popular Downtown Art Walk, and whether it has really been scrapped?

We were too. The official Downtown Art Walk website even proclaims the end of the event, and its return next year as a more low key, quarterly affair on the weekend.

So we turned to the experts on all things downtown -- the Blogdowntown website -- where Eric writes that the Walk is still on for Oct. 14, the second Thursday of the month, as usual. He gets the lowdown:

The Downtown Art Walk's future is still up for debate, but the event will be proceeding as planned on October 14 despite a Friday announcement that it had been cancelled.

That announcement, posted on the Downtown Art Walk website, said that the event was "ceasing all event operations until January 2011," when it would return as a quarterly, weekend event.

The board of the non-profit set up to run Art Walk this afternoon issued a release blaming Executive Director Jay Lopez for making the statement without its approval.

There's quite a bit of drama surrounding the management of the Downtown Art Walk -- read the comments in the story if you want your eyes to glaze over. It does seem like the event could continue as a much more organic affair, as people might show up anyway as long as food trucks are there and bars stay open late.

L.A. Times Turns to HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire' For Next Paid Fake Cover

The L.A. Times has taken plenty of grief for running paid advertisements that look a lot like editorial -- remember the infamous front page "Southland" ad or the more recent page that looked like a breathless news report on destruction at Universal Studios (an ad for the park's King Kong ride)?

Next up, HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" is featured front and center on today's L.A. Times website. When users navigate to the page, the actual content is briefly covered up by a mock news page, complete with the L.A. Times' 1920s-era masthead and fake news articles from the show.

No one would confuse it for real news... but it's still a reminder that the Times is willing to slap its name on these kind of things. (Of course, the Times isn't the only one.)

Meanwhile, NBC and the L.A. Times are cooking up another ad next week -- this time for the launch of "Law & Order: Los Angeles."

Big Festival Weekend: Moon Festival in Chinatown and San Gennaro Feast in Hollywood

:: 72nd Annual Chinatown Moon Festival (Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, 5 p.m. to midnight) FREE

Held in Chinatown’s Central and West Plaza, the event includes activities for all ages including dancing, performances, demos, art viewings, dining and shopping. KCRW’s Anthony Valadez and several guest DJs; the LA Craft Experience, featuring over 50 independent artists, crafters and designers; traditional calligraphy classes; a mooncake-making demo; ping-pong tournament; and mid-autumn moon viewings with telescopes provided by Griffith Observatory. Food trucks and many Chinatown restaurants will be open and offering specials.


:: 9th Annual Feast of San Gennaro Los Angeles (Friday, September 24 - Sunday 26, 2010, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) $5 (kids under 12 FREE)

Held at 1651 N. Highland Ave. (south of Hollywood Blvd)., the Feast celebrates Italian culture, food and entertainment, and features live music, street performers, strolling musicians, a kid’s corner, and many rides and games. Food and wine from L.A. eateries, as well as a cooking stage. Hollywood Italian-American celebrity Jimmy Kimmel helped launch the event and now plays host every year.

PBS' "This Old House" Comes to Silver Lake

We told you back in May that after 30 years, PBS' "This Old House" is finally renovating its first-ever Los Angeles home.

Now, after putting out a call to find a home, the "This Old House" producers have chosen a 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival home in Silver Lake to renovate. The transformation will take place over 10 episodes, which begin on Jan. 27, 2011.

Here are the details:

Homeowner Kurt Albrecht purchased this home in 1998 and moved in with his wife, Mary Blee, shortly thereafter. The couple was not only drawn to the original period style of the house and its view of the Silver Lake Reservoir, but they loved the diverse community and its central location. The one floor, 1,500-sq.-ft. house was the perfect size for a young, married couple so they only made minor cosmetic updates at first. However, in recent years as their family began to expand and basically outgrow the two-bedroom, one-bath house, they decided it was time for more extensive renovations.

The This Old House experts are working with Los Angeles-based contractor Steve Pallrand and his design-build firm Home Front on a modest 750-sq.ft. expansion which includes a new second floor, larger kitchen, new family room, two additional baths and two more bedrooms. The plan also calls for preserving and replicating some of the homeowner's favorite existing period details such as arched doorways, tray ceilings, plaster ornamentation, inlaid floors and art deco light fixtures.

The Los Angeles episodes will also look at L.A. architecture such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, and highlight preservation efforts at the Silver Lake home and studio of the late architect Richard Neutra.

Scenes from the Second "Blogger Prom"

(Photo: Heather Kincaid.)

Yes, I know, the idea of a "Blogger Prom" is a little geeky. But we're geeks. The theme at Wednesday night's event, held at Yamashiro, was "Hollywood Confidential," and Maria and I tried our best to make it work. I grabbed an old tux sitting in the back of my closet, adding a hat to the mix... and Maria always looks classy.

Like last year's event, the organizers managed to get quite a few sponsors to offer up their wares, from Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches and Eagle Rock Brewery craft beers to Crumbs cupcakes and gourmet tacos from Chef Brock, who regularly sells his food at Yamashiro's Thursday night farmers' market.

We enjoyed running into and chatting with several fellow bloggers, including Blogdowntown's David Markland, jozjozjoz's Joz, Slackmistress' Nina, LA Story's Laura (a former Variety colleague), and others.



Some images from the night:


Classy.


Bloggers stand amid the Tweetdeck.


Chef Brock's taco menu -- we went with the black cod


Jozjozjoz named Blogger Prom queen.


Friend of Franklin Avenue, L.A. Story's Laura Clark.


Coolhaus -- Maria had salted caramel ice cream between two chocolate cookies, while I went with green tea ice cream between two Snickerdoodles.


Old Hollywood on the video screen.


LAist's Lindsay William-Ross and e*starla's Esther Tseng at the check-in.


Mini-cupcakes from Crumbs.


Cocktails.


Enjoyed the food, including the (above) hukilau poke: Ahi, teardrop tomato, macadamia nuts and soy-sesame marinade on a wonton crisp.

Other food included Asian baby back ribs with house-made BBQ sauce; hoisin-braised Kurobuta pork carnitas with scallion risotto and honey-mustard sauce; charred albacore with serrano chilies, blackened shallots, cilantro and tomatillo-ponzu salsa on a tortilla chip; and Japanese rice-cracker crispy chicken with spiced plum sauce.

-- Written by Mike

KABC Radio Brings Back Larry Elder

The "Sage of South Central" is back on the air.

Larry Elder, who was dumped by talk radio KABC (790 AM) in 2008 by a previous management team, is back on the station as of this Monday, Sept. 27. Elder will run from 9 a.m. to noon, taking the slot previously held by "Frosty, Heidi and Frank," who have been canned by the station.

"The final piece of the puzzle putting KABC back to a position of dominance in the Los Angeles TalkRadio arena is in place," said KABC president/GM Bob Moore.

Well, that's throwing it on a bit thick. Once-dominant KABC is such an also-ran in the L.A. market Arbitron ratings that it would take a near-miracle to get the station competitive again.

More from KABC:

A social liberal, Elder is a true libertarian, supporting the legalization of drugs and a woman’s right to choose. He is against gun control, and believes in eliminating public welfare, entitlement programs, race and gender-based affirmative action policies and minimum wage. Referring to himself as “The Sage from South Central,” Elder engages his listeners and political and cultural leaders in meaningful debates over race, government, personal responsibility and education.

"Having Larry rejoin our station is the first step in returning KABC to the market dominance it has enjoyed,” said KABC program director Jack Silver.

OK, that's a bit more reasonable of a statement. But it's still a long climb for KABC. Elder will air between Peter Tilden's morning show and Sean Hannity's syndicated show.

L.A. Times Festival of Books Moves to USC

This is gonna get that UCLA/USC rivalry pumping: After 15 years at UCLA, the L.A. Times is moving its popular Festival of Books to USC.

The details, via press release:

The Los Angeles Times and the University of Southern California today announced that the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, one of the Southland’s most cherished and engaging weekend celebrations, will kick off its 16th storied year in a brand new home at USC's University Park Campus April 30-May 1, 2011. Angelenos of all ages interested in famous authors, celebrity appearances, speaker panels, superstar chefs and local musicians will have something extra special to look forward as the celebration debuts downtown.

"After 15 years on the Westside, we are very excited to move the Festival of Books to its beautiful new home and have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with USC to ensure we grow bigger and better in the future," said Times Publisher Eddy Hartenstein. "Attendees and exhibitors can expect more to see, do and experience in addition to great access and a refreshing change of scenery."

Westsiders aren't gonna be thrilled... but for those of us further east, this is good news indeed.

L.A. Times spun the move as good for increased attendance "due to USC’s central location, proximity to public transportation, abundant parking and newly enhanced campus facilities. The Times and the university will work together to best utilize the University Park Campus to expand programming, provide exhibitors and sponsors with the benefit of more usable space for activation and offer sampling, pouring and concession opportunities."

The Festival of Books continues to be a free event. Check out our past coverage of the event here.

Los Angeles Cameo: The Real High School on "Glee"

Fox's "Glee" takes place at the fictional McKinley High in Ohio. But Los Angeles viewers watching Tuesday night's season two premiere may have been thrown off by a familiar school doubling for McKinley.

As anyone who as driven down Sunset near the Hollywood freeway -- or has taken the Wilton shortcut -- might have noticed, the "Glee" kids were singing and dancing on the campus of Hollywood's Helen Bernstein High School.



And how's this for coincidence (or perhaps not, if "Glee's" location scout has a sense of history?): Helen Bernstein High was built on the land once inhabited by the Fox Television Center. That's right, those "Glee" kids were performing "Empire State of Mind" on the same spot where Fox's early days were mapped out. (Before its stint as the Fox TV Center, the site was Metromedia Square -- where some of Norman Lear's most memorable sitcoms were produced).

Bernstein High opened up in 2008. "Glee" has used the school a few times -- but it's never been as noticeable as in this week's episode.

Here are a few more shots from the episode:

New Owner to Keep Clifton's Cafeteria Open 24 Hours

Like many of you, I was concerned over news that downtown's legendary Clifton's Cafeteria had a new owner: The Edison's Andrew Meieran.

So far, Meieran has said all the right things, and is promising some exciting new features.

First and foremost, Blogdowntown reports that Meieran plans to open Clifton's 24 hours a day -- something a revitalized downtown can finally support. He'll also restore Clifton's to its 1930s glory, and will even model a new tiki bar after Clifton's one-time Pacific Seas downtown location.

Reports Blogdowntown:

An expanded menu will focus on comfort food, adding several items from the restaurant's collection of recipes dating back to the 1930s. The large commercial bakery on the building's top floor will also be revitalized and reactivated, and Meieran said this morning that he hopes to see it supply baked goods across Downtown.

Meieren said a “sympathetic restoration” could begin immediately with an eventual goal of restoring Clifton’s to “what it was like in the ‘30s.”

As long as Clifton's kitschy outdoor woods decor survives, I'm happy. Clifton's food is nothing spectacular -- it's not what Clifton's is all about -- so a dining upgrade is welcome.

Read our 2006 visit to Clifton's here.