The Blogger Kid Attends His First Concert: Coldplay at the Rose Bowl

It all started with the 2011 video to Coldplay's "Paradise." The Blogger Kid, who was 6 at the time, loved the story of Chris Martin, dressed as an elephant, escaping a London zoo and traveling to Africa to find his home. But last year Coldplay easily became Evan's favorite band thanks to the video to "Adventure of a Lifetime," the motion-capture short inspired by Andy Serkis. (Mat Whitecross directed both videos.)

When the Blogger Kid got his first iPod, he had me upload Coldplay's catalog of hit songs, which he now knows by heart. So when Coldplay announced its shows at the Rose Bowl, I knew it would be the perfect first concert for him. (He's seen plenty of live music over the years at events like the Kids' Choice Awards, but this was his first full-blown concert by a major artist.)

We made it to the Aug. 20 show, and indeed, this was quite the experience -- the huge crowd, the epic size of the show and the energy inside the Rose Bowl. (On the down side, stadium shows mean a long wait just to get past security and inside. Then there was trying to leave after the show -- we sat in a car for an hour, not even moving.)

Despite being inside a huge stadium, the show felt surprisingly intimate, even from way up in the stands. Chris Martin connected with the fans (even apologizing for the expensive experience -- I know, I know, but it worked) and the group played most of its big hits.

Some pics from the show:

CicLAvia Returns to Wilshire Boulevard, and Blogger Kid 2.0 is Ready (PHOTOS)

CicLAvia was back for a shorter course this Sunday, shutting down Wilshire Boulevard between downtown and Western. But that was good enough for the thousands who came out and took advantage of the empty street to ride their bikes, skateboards and other contraptions -- or even just walk it.

It was an even bigger deal for the Franklin Avenue crew, as it was the first time Blogger Kid 2.0 rode his own bike, without training wheels, at a CicLAvia! We only took the training wheels off a few weeks ago, so we were mighty proud.

Also: A shout-out to the CicLAvia personnel on hand, who rushed to our aid when the Blogger Kid 1.0 snapped off his bike pedal and tumbled to the ground. Luckily, he only got a few scrapes. But his bike is going to need some work!

More shots from a beautiful -- but hot! -- Sunday at CicLAvia:

'Ghostbusters': Our Boys Embrace a New Movie for Their Generation

The boys had been looking forward to this weekend all summer. “Ghostbusters” has become as important to them as it was to me 32 years ago.

The 11-year-old and his buddies own “Ghostbusters” costumes – ordered off the internet – and have used iPhones to shoot their own homages to the franchise. The 6-year-old fell in love with the original movie when he was still a toddler (questionable parenting, yes), and helped me build a Lego set re-creating the Ecto-1. Along with “Back to the Future,” “Star Wars” and “The Simpsons,” it’s a joy to see their childhoods influenced by the same titles that influenced my childhood.

Saturday afternoon, after catching the brand-new “Ghostbusters” at the Burbank Town Center, I asked for their honest reviews.

The pint-size verdict from my mini-reviewers: The new movie is “funnier” and “more modern” than the OG, says the 11-year-old. The 6-year-old loves ‘em both. Equally.

Lost in all this talk of grown-ups accusing Paul Feig of robbing their childhood: Actual moviegoers in the middle of their actual childhood. For my boys, this is their “Ghostbusters.” The technology, the setting, the cars, the dialogue, the music — it’s theirs.

The fact that the new “Ghostbusters” are women? That’s also theirs. When my 11-year-old says the new movie is “more modern,” he’s not making a statement on feminism. He doesn’t have to. But that’s because he grew up in an age where there’s no question the “Ghostbusters” could be women.

The boys, after all, have just spent the last six months watching and re-watching “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” starring Daisy Ridley. Their favorite TV shows include Disney Channel’s “K.C. Undercover,” starring Zendaya as a kick-ass spy. Some of their favorite recent animated movies, “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory,” were led by female characters. And of course, they only remember a world where an African-American man is president, and a woman is a major party’s candidate to succeed him. These are kids who would be a bit baffled by the debate being held in some circles of social media. Can’t anyone be a Ghostbuster?

Lorne Michaels is fond of saying that your favorite “Saturday Night Live” cast is the group that starred when you were in your teens – which is why the Dana Carvey/Phil Hartman/Jan Hooks/Mike Myers/etc. group will always be my crew. And yes, I will always be partial to the 1984 “Ghostbusters,” because that movie came out when I was 11.

But now it’s my son who is 11, and he has his own “Ghostbusters.” That doesn’t negate my “Ghostbusters,” of course. And hey, what’s more exciting is I now get TWO “Ghostbusters”: The one that the pre-teen me adored, and now one that the fortysomething me enjoyed. (My one quibble: Not enough ghostbusting!)

The new "Ghostbusters" is an enjoyable ride, and one I look forward to visiting again. We'll see you at the sequel!

La Gran Limpieza: Giving Back to the Los Angeles River

If you ever need to make a case to someone why it's smart to ban plastic bags in Los Angeles, just take them down to the L.A. river. The bags are everywhere, along with every kind of trash imaginable -- small things like food wrappers, to big things like shopping carts, hangers, clothes, rubber tires and, yes, even a busted bike.



The Blogger Kid and I saw all of that, and more, down in the Glendale Narrows portion of the Los Angeles River on Saturday. Our love of the river extends to frequent bike rides (and visits to the Frog Spot) throughout the year, so it only seemed appropriate that we give back. On Saturday, we were two of hundreds who ventured down to the river to help clean it up. It was the Friends of the Los Angeles River's "La Gran Limpieza" -- also known as "The Great Los Angeles River Cleanup." Three hours later, we hauled out hefty bags of trash, and left with a feeling that in a small way we helped give our fragile river a bit more life.


Just some of the trash found down in our portion of the river!


It was quite a festive event. Free t-shirts, plenty of snacks and water, even live music (above)!


The Blogger Kid wasn't even close to being the youngest one there. Volunteers of all ages -- including a few toddlers! -- helped out.


More info from the Daily News:

Thus began 26th Annual Great Los Angeles River CleanUp, an art, music and food-filled round-up of FOLAR volunteers who aim to scoop 20 tons of trash in the next few weeks.

During the nine-to-noon cleanup Saturday across the San Fernando Valley, hundreds of volunteers descended into the weeds of the river’s non-concrete natural bottoms in sections of Griffith Park, the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk, Big Tujunga Wash and Sepulveda Basin.

Next Saturday they’ll scour the middle river around the Glendale Narrows, through Atwater Village and Griffith Park.

Then they’ll march into the lower river on April 18 to skim detritus out of Lower Compton Creek, Willow Street Estuary in Long Beach and the Golden Shore Marine Reserve, one of the last Los Angeles County wetlands. Volunteers can register at folar.org.

It was 26 years ago that poet Lewis MacAdams founded his Friends of the L.A. River group and held an outdoor fundraiser on the Bette Davis glade at Griffith Park, with political activist Tom Hayden in attendance. Someone toted a kayak, but they had to dredge the river for an effective run.

Since then, the non-profit group has worked to restore the mostly concrete L.A. River into a swimmable, fishable, boatable and bikeable riverway central to citizens of Los Angeles. Plans call for restoring an 11-mile stretch north of downtown in hopes of drawing steelhead trout, for a cost of $1.1 billion.

The cleanup continues in additional parts of the River over the next two weekends. It's fun and not much of a time commitment -- head to FOLAR's website for more info!

Happy Easter: A Visit to the San Gabriel Mission

It's a rite of passage for California 4th graders: The California Mission project. Now that the Blogger Kid is in 4th grade, we're in the middle of it as we speak. As the Kid is busy working on his project (Assignment: San Luis Obispo's mission), we recently visited the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel to tour the grounds and attend Palm Sunday mass. According to Wikipedia:

The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish missions in California. San Gabriel Arcángel, named after the Archangel Gabriel and often referred to as the "Godmother of the Pueblo of Los Angeles", was designed by Father Antonio Cruzado, who hailed from Córdoba, Spain. Cruzado gave the building its strong Moorish architectural influence. The capped buttresses and the tall, narrow windows are unique among the missions of the California chain.

Here are more images from our visit to the San Gabriel Mission:


Mission church


Inside the Mission, after Sunday mass


More from inside the Mission


Closer up to the altar


The foundation of the San Gabriel Mission was first layed in 1791 and dedicated in 1805.


Father Junipero Serra


Original aqueduct, how water got to the mission


Cemetery, used for burials between 1778 and 1865.


Anchor


Original tannery vats


Re-creation of Tongva housing


cannon

Scenes from a Valley Cic-LA-Via

Back in November The Great Los Angeles Walk took on the Valley, walking Ventura east from Topanga Canyon all the way up Lankershim to North Hollywood. On Sunday, Cic-LA-via followed the tail end of that course, picking up from Coldwater Canyon. I brought along the Blogger Kid, and together we biked the entire route, 6 miles each way. As usual, it was a blast, and we had a chance to revisit some of the things we spied on foot back on the Walk. Some pics from the day:



The Cic-LA-via bus


A brass band joins in


Even E.T. and Elliott joined in!


Free books from the LA Public Library on this book bike (bookcycle?).


The Blogger Kid and I discussed the merits of this NoHo sign. I still find it gaudy, but he points out it's at least not boring.


No cars were being washed on Sunday!