Local TV Covers the Occupy LA Eviction

Most of the local TV stations -- with the notable exception of KABC/Channel 7 -- went with live coverage late into the evening Tuesday (and into Wednesday) as the LAPD began removing the Occupy LA protesters from the lawn outside City Hall.

The operation itself appeared to go smoothly, as protesters stuck to civil disobedience and the LAPD, under chief Charlie Beck, went about their business slowly and methodically. It could have gone much differently, but clearly Beck wanted to avoid past LAPD missteps -- of which there have been plenty over the years. (As a result, your average post-Lakers victory riot was more eventful and dangerous than what happened at City Hall on Tuesday night.)

Sadly, the local TV coverage was more predictable. L.A. TV media is notorious for parachuting into situations with general assignment reporters lacking much depth or background on a complicated subject, and that was painfully apparent on Tuesday night, as most of the local TV coverage didn't have much to offer beyond eyewitness accounts of what was going on at the moment (coupled with the occasional inane interview with an Occupy LA protester -- many of whom, granted, were hostile to the media anyway).

"Fox 11" and "KTLA" were trending nationwide by the middle of the night, although many (most?) of the Tweets weren't exactly favorable. Nonetheless, it was still notable that both of those stations went with wall-to-wall coverage, not even breaking for commercials, until 2 a.m. Those stations' competitors closed up shop earlier; and again, it was strange to see market leader KABC relegate its coverage to its website, even as things heated up a bit after midnight.

Some criticized the news media for agreeing to a news coverage pool; Fox 11's Gigi Graciette tweeted that the three pool reporters agreed not to Tweet "as to not have advantage over other stations."

Meanwhile, according to the GM of LA's recreation and parks department, the City Hall park will now be closed indefinitely for "repairs." He's no "Parks and Recreation" Ron Swanson, but is at least sporting a Swanson-style 'stache:

All-Christmas Radio En Espanol Comes to LA

We wrote a few days ago about the Christmas music war that has broken out between traditional holiday leader KOST-FM and rival smooth jazz KTWV "The Wave." Now enters a third competitor: Spanish-language oldies outlet KRCD-FM, known as "Recuerdo 103.9/98.3."

The interesting thing here: Recuerdo is playing a mix of Spanish-language Christmas songs (yes, including "Feliz Navidad") and English-language Christmas songs from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Because, let's face it, even if you don't speak English, you've been bombarded with these songs over the years and I'm sure they're pretty familiar anyway.

There aren't many Spanish stations that have gone all-Christmas over the years, but Recuerdo probably figured it could steal away from bilingual and Spanish-language listeners who tune into KOST to get into the holiday mood.

Here's a sample of Recuerdo's playlist:

'Yo Gabba Gabba Live' Gets Us Dancing

The hottest multi-generational ticket in town this weekend may have been the Yo Gabba Gabba Live! show at L.A. Live's Nokia Theatre. I do believe that the Gen X parents in the crowd may have been more excited to be there than their offspring. While many kids were dressed up as their favorite "Yo Gabba Gabba" character, parents were dressed up too.

And why not? Part of the appeal of "Yo Gaba Gabba" is the fact that it gives adults plenty to enjoy as well, from the indie rock bands to the catchy dance lessons and larger-than-life costume characters. But the highlight may have very well been the one and only diabolical Biz Markie. Biz, of course, instructs tots on "Yo Gabba Gabba" about how to beat box. He has also joined "Yo Gabba Gabba" on tour (350 dates and counting) and pumps up the crowd via music, beat boxing and interaction with a handful of kids on stage. The best part: Without instructing the audience of the words, he gets the entire crowd to sing the chorus of "Just a Friend." Yep, this is a Gen X crowd, all right.

The Blogger Kid at first felt he was too old for the show-- but he got into it, of course. And this represented the first concert experience for the Blogger Toddler 2.0, who seemed overwhelmed at first but eventually clapped along.

We've been big "Yo Gabba Gabba" fans from the beginning. Check out our post from when we saw the live show in 2009, and here's when we visited the show as it was in production in 2008. Meanwhile, here some more pics from the "Yo Gabba Gabba" live show on Saturday:


Hey kids, gather 'round -- it's time for Biz's Beat of the Day!


My name is Brobee!


DJ Lance Rock.


The Gabba gang on stage.


Tori Spelling and husband Dean (fresh off accidentally Tweeting his wife's boobs) do the Dancey Dance.


Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0 play with balloons, as Foofa poses for photos in the background.

Electricity in the Air and On the Floor at the LA Auto Show

It was all about electric cars, hybrids and fuel economy at this year's L.A. Auto Show, which just wrapped up on Sunday. We finally made it over to the Convention Center on Saturday night to take it all in, and it was truly a brave new world. Small is big, electric is electric and hybrids are the new norm.

All told, the Auto show boasted 17 vehicles that achieve 40+ miles per gallon, as well as 35 hybrids/plug-in hybrids, nine clean diesels, two alternative fuel vehicles (the Honda FCX Clarity and the Honda Civic Natural Gas) and eight electric cars (BMW i3, Coda Sedan, Ford Focus Electric, Honda Fit EV, Mitsubishi i, Nissan Leaf, Toyota RAV4 and DOK-ING XD).

Debuts included the Camaro Zl1 Convertible, the Ford Mustang Boss 302, the new Honda CR-V, and more.

The one downside: We spent money on the Convention Center's horrible, overpriced fare for dinner, only to discover food trucks outside once we left one of the two showroom floors. The L.A. Auto Show needs to do a better job explaining the food options.

But other than that, it was a great way to spend an evening with the kids. Some photos:


Prius plug-in hybrid prototype


Blogger Toddler 2.0 likes Mercedes-Benz's AMG Black Series


Coda all-electric car.


Smart cars.


Now we're getting pricy: Bentley's New Continental GTC.


The most expensive sticker we found on the floor: Bentley's Mulsanne, at just under $300,000.


Nissan Leaf.


I told the Blogger Toddler 2.0 about those J-Lo ads, and how she didn't really shoot them in the Bronx. The Toddler sighed.


Mitsubishi concept car loves Los Angeles.


Ford is pushing its Mustang hard -- big appearance in this week's "The Amazing Race." On the floor, this one's "Boss."


Sorry, Blogger Toddler 2.0. This is just a truck on display at the Ford booth. There are no fish tacos inside.


Attendees go for a test drive on the Ford floor.


Because we haven't let a video game console into the house yet, the Blogger Kid sneaks a play where ever he can -- here, at a Nintendo booth outside the Auto Show.

Hollywood Christmas Parade Catches Our Pal Jessica Off-Guard

Our pal Jessica brought her kids to the El Capitan in Hollywood yesterday to see "The Muppet Movie." When she came out, she was pretty much trapped from going home by the Hollywood Christmas Parade. KCBS/KCAL's cameras were there -- and caught her surprise! See above.

Our Annual Thanksgiving Post: The Classic 'WKRP' Thanksgiving Episode

Best Thanksgiving episode ever? No doubt. An annual Thanksgiving tradition: The "Turkeys Away" episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati."

"As God Is My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly!"

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

FREE L.A.: Snoopy Ice Show in Pershing Square

Downtown on Ice

As we mentioned in the blog post below (and our flurry of posts over the years), we love the Downtown on Ice skating rink in Pershing Square. Next Tuesday, the rink goes extra kid-friendly as the cast of Knotts Berry Farm's "It's Christmas Snoopy" ice revue does a free show.

Here are some details:

With festive music and colorful costumes, the special “mini” showcase presentation features the famous skating beagle and his friends as they look for the true meaning of Christmas. “It’s Christmas, Snoopy!” premieres at Knott’s “Merry” Farm with performances at select times from November 24, 2011 through January 1, 2012.

Free to the public, the outdoor showcase is part of a community outreach program in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and Knott's Berry Farm. Immediately following the performance, Snoopy and friends will be available for a meet & greet with fans.

The free show takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. Then stay around to skate: Admission is just $6, plus $2 for skate rental.

Ten Years Ago: A Thanksgiving Eve Engagement

Yes, it was 10 years ago on the night before Thanksgiving that I dropped down and asked Maria to marry me... in the center of the ice rink at Pershing Square. In hindsite, a cheesy move. (My original plan was to find a historic theatre on Broadway and see about putting my proposal on the marquee. But hey, I was young!)

A few notes: No, despite my media whorish-ness, I didn't call the news media. I planned it out with the Pershing Square "Downtown on Ice" rink, and they called around -- managing to get both KNBC and KTLA out there! (I assume both stations were looking for quick, simple feel good news kickers the night before Thanksgiving, when things are pretty quiet.)

And also: I go to experience the laziness of local TV journalism first hand. No one ever came up to me to get any sort of information, so they just made things up. KTLA said Maria and I met at the rink -- not true. KNBC went a step further and called me an "L.A. Kings fan." Whaa? Because we were ice skating?

It didn't go off without a hitch. I had given the rink a CD of two songs to play. But when the rink cleared at 9, I waited for my musical cue. Nothing. I wrote about out engagement back in 2003:

Then it hit 9 p.m.--time for the rink to close for the evening. As they told everyone to clear the ice, I asked Maria if we could get our photo taken on the ice. So I gave my camera to one of the workers, and we went to the middle of the ice. And I waited for the music.

And waited.

The guy kept taking our picture and radioing to his bosses, "What's going on? Where's the music?"

He told us to go ahead and skate a few laps. I knew something was wrong, but Maria was just confused.

I made up something on the spot: "Oh, he probably just feels bad that all of those little kids were giving us trouble on the ice all night, and wanted you to skate a few rounds when no one was around." Whew, she bought it.

Finally, though, I couldn't wait for the music any longer. The cameras were on us. I took her back to the middle of the rink and dropped to one knee, while pulling out the ring.

The ring, sadly, is no longer with us. But that's a depressing story for another day.

License Plate of the Day: If Not Now Edition

If not now, when? If not you, who? Good questions, license plate. Referring to life in general, or asking the non-Prius owners when and if they're going to join the hybrid ride too?

THE GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK 2011 RECAP: 19.5 Miles of Downtown, Hollywood and Beyond

And they're off! (Photo by Anthony Uy)

We made it! After a semi-grueling 19.5 mile hike across Los Angeles, a few hundred passionate Angelenos successfully endured the sixth annual Great Los Angeles Walk.

More than 200 participants -- including visitors from locales such as London (at least two British visitors!) and Pennsylvania -- met at downtown's gaudy Triforium sculpture (across the street from City Hall) on Saturday. From there, they hit the sidewalks of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica on their way to the ocean.

"This has to be the most diverse number of neighborhoods we have ever walked through," Great Los Angeles Walk regular Waltarrrrr wrote on Twitter.

Along the way, this year's Walk centered on Hollywood, where Walkers took a look at classic theatres like the Pantages, the Warner Pacific, the Egyptian, the Chinese, the Henry Fonda and the El Capitan, as well as historic buildings such as the Taft Building, the Janes House (the last remaining Victorian Queen Anne house on Hollywood) and the Guaranty Building.

The morning started with a guest speaker: L.A.'s and America's favorite histo-tainer, Charles Phoenix. Charles gave a brief speech about downtown kitsch -- including the 1975 Triforium sculpture we were standing under. (In Charles' famed "Disneyland" Tour of Downtown Los Angeles, he includes the Triforium as part of "Tomorrowland.") "I thought this was a 'cake walk' to the ocean," Phoenix quipped. "Maybe you should do that next year." Sounds like a delicious idea.

At 9:15, we embarked on our journey -- and quickly experienced a wide swath of Los Angeles neighborhoods. From downtown, we continued down Temple, through Historic Filipinotown, to Beverly and Vermont. We then hiked north on Vermont, past the Los Angeles City College and past the neighborhood swap meet and plenty of street vendors. Turning west on Hollywood Boulevard, we marched through Little Armenia and Thai Town to Hollywood.

Waiting for us in the Toyota of Hollywood parking lot, the Food Truck Army had brought along three gourmet food trucks for us to enjoy lunch: Cheer Burger, Gypsy Toast and Sura Truck.

From there, it was off to Hollywood, where some Walkers took our advice to grab a martini at Musso & Franks and a jalapeno margarita at Loteria Grill. After Hollywood, we made our way down Fairfax to Santa Monica Boulevard, then hiked through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Brentwood and Santa Monica.

Swift walkers got to the end by sunset. Most made it to the end during the 5 p.m. hour, while the Walkers who did it right (i.e., stopped at Mussos, Loteria or Trader Vic's at the Beverly Hilton) made it closer to 7 p.m. In the end, we overwhelmed the waiters and cooks at Locando del Lago in Santa Monica -- but for those who got a table, we munched on $8 pizzas and finally rested our feet.

Among my highlights: The guy who screamed, "COMMUNISTAS!" at us (assuming we were part of the Occupy LA crowd). Also: The foul-mouthed, cigarette-chomping, green-wearing little person who was standing outside a Hollywood theater.

It was another successful walk -- and even the weather cooperated, as cool temps and partly sunny skies greeted the Great LA Walkers as they made their way through town. I hope to see all of you -- and even more -- at next year's event -- remember to always keep the Saturday before Thanksgiving free!

Read most of the Tweets from the day -- at least the ones with the #glaw hashtag -- here!

And post your Great Los Angeles Walk photos to our Flickr stream here.

Some pics from the day:


The crowd gathers. (Photo by Anthony Uy)


Charles Phoenix talks to the crowd


The crowd listens.


Organizer Michael Schneider (hey, that's me, identifying myself in the third person!), with Charles Phoenix, as the walk kicks off.


Occupy LA, as we "Occupy LA Sidewalks."


The walk heads down Temple.


Hands Across Temple. (Photo by Anthony Uy)


The Ukulele Bunny of Temple


The infamous headquarters from "CHiPs," on Vermont Ave.


Outside the Vermont Ave. swap meet, it's the official food of Los Angeles: Bacon-wrapped hot dogs.


The real star of Hollywood: Self-loathing.


Quite possibly the coolest mural of the walk: Michael Jackson.


Hollywood Premiere Motel.


Self-affirmation on Hollywood Boulevard.


Gateway to Thai Town.


Keeping guard on Hollywood.


Lunch with the Food Truck Army.


Museum of Death.


Capitol Records.


Warner Pacific Theatre.


Musso and Franks.


Joni poses with the cigarette-chomping, foul-mouthed, green-suited little person. What's going on?


Anthony poses with the Hollywood crew. Still not clear what's going on.


Handless Elvis.


Religious marchers attempt to educate us unwashed Hollywood masses.


Suddenly, a popular star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: Charlie Sheen.


Blues on Hollywood. (Photo by Anthony Uy)


In Beverly Hills. Still not sure what this is supposed to be.


Mormon temple on Santa Monica.


Style is confidence, says Amir.


We made it to the ocean at around 5:40 a.m. -- toward the end of the pack (along with several others). Groups were pretty spread out by the end. (Photo by Anthony Uy)

Thanks to Charles Phoenix, Rocky from the Food Truck Army, and Lago in Santa Monica for participating in this year's event! And most importantly, thank you to the 200-plus die-hard Los Angeles fans who took part in the walk!

Save the date for next year -- Saturday, November 17, 2012. And yes, we'll trim a few miles off next year's walk.

Here are some links to other recaps of this year's Great Los Angeles Walk. Send us your links!

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2011 Flickr Pool

Charles Phoenix, Bullet Casings & O.J.'s Last Stop: the Great Los Angeles Walk in Photos (LAist)

Jonathan Wilson's Great LA Walk Photos (Jawsnap.net)