L.A.'s Fascinating New Top 40 Radio Station

One of the more interesting radio experiments in Los Angeles is currently taking place on KXOS-FM "Exitos 93.9." The station is Spanish-language, but the music is all English-language top 40 hits. It reminds me of traveling abroad and listening to the radio overseas (hey, I'm a geek) and hearing familiar U.S. top 40 songs coupled with announcers in other languages. If anything, the top 40 music mix on Exitos 93.9 appears to be a bit more adventurous than KIIS-FM of KAMP-FM (Amp Radio 97.1). Ross on Radio's Sean Ross writes about how unique this new station is:

Launched in 2009 as a broad-based Latin pop station, Exitos flipped last month to English-language hits with a Spanish-language presentation, the first major mainland U.S. attempt at the format for 25 years. For much of the day, it's mostly rhythmic-leaning pop that you'd hear on rivals KIIS (102.7) or KAMP (Amp 97.1), although the differences are telling. Once or twice per hour, there are international hits that most U.S. listeners don't know-"Saturday Night" by Whigfield or "New York City Boy" by the Pet Shop Boys.

And when Exitos carries Alfa morning man Tono Esquinca until 11 a.m, that same music is punctuated by stretches of alternative rock that never crossed over to top 40 in the United States. So P!nk, Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson are followed by Keane's "Is It Any Wonder?," U2's "Vertigo" and the Black Keys' "Gold on the Ceiling." At one point last Thursday morning (Nov. 22), "Love of the Common People" by Paul Young showed up.

The Mexican radio formula for English-language top 40 has always been more open than its U.S. counterpart to heritage artists, deeper library, more dance music (unaffected by its boom/bust cycles to the north) and more alternative crossover-even better if an artist combines dance and alternative.

Here's a sample playlist:



It's a novelty right now to hear English songs after a Spanish voice, but for the two Blogger Kids, both of whom are in Spanish immersion classrooms, it's a way to expose them to the language while listening to familiar music.

Life with a Toddler: Primary Day Edition

(Flickr pic by programwitch.)

Me, to the 2-and-a-half-year-old: "Hey Nathan, we're going to go vote."

The 2-and-a-half-year-old: "WE'RE GOING ON A BOAT?"

Me: "No, we're going to go on a walk to vote."

The 2-and-a-half-year-old: "I WANNA GO ON A BOAT."

Me: "Sorry, Nathan, there's no boat, we're just walking up the street."

The 2-and-a-half-year-old: "BOAT."

'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.

A Thriller Halloween in Glendale

Los Angeles has plenty of great trick-or-treating neighborhoods; we have friends who swear by Angelino Heights, thanks in part to all of those old Victorians. This year, we joined in the festivities on busy Geneva St. in Glendale's Rossmoyne district. The homes are elaborately decorated, and one address always puts on a "Thriller" show (this year from a makeshift pirate ship). The sidewalks are packed with kids and adults -- not always the best thing when you're with a group and trying to keep track of both kids -- and because there are so many people, the homes skimp on the candy. But no matter. Both of the Franklin Avenue kids had a great time, and that's all you can ask for on Halloween.

Here are more pics from Halloween:


Blogger Toddler 2.0 and Frankenstein.


Performing "Thriller" to a large crowd.


Pirate ship.


Spider web.


Yikes.


Haunted house.

Scenes from Atwater Village's Halloween Boo-levard

One of our favorite Halloween traditions? Atwater Village's annual "Trick or Treat on the Boo-levard" Fall Festival. Atwater Village businesses up and down Glendale Boulevard get into the spirit, as dressed-up tykes practice their trick or treat skills for the main event a few days later. (Actually, I'd argue the kids probably get more of a candy haul from this event than from Halloween night.)

Some scenes from Friday afternoon:





Toddlers get their treats.



Another business handing out candy.



Of all the businesses in Atwater Village, shouldn't the coffin store be a big Halloween festival participant? But sadly, they were closed.



Canine participant.



Cookie Monster and Elmo.



Not Halloween-related, but spotted a Jacknife Records and Tapes. I want this "WKRP"-branded turntable. Wow.

Visiting the Van Nuys Airport's Public Observation Area

There are few places you can get closer to a live, fully operational runway than the Van Nuys Airport's Public Observation Area. Built with kids in mind, the area includes picnic tables as well cut outs of a control tower, police car and fire truck -- in front of a mini-runway. A speaker also plays air traffic control information on the planes taking off and landing.

I first wrote about the Van Nuys public observation area in 2009:

Open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, the observation area is located off of Woodley Avenue at the end of Waterman Drive, adjacent to the east side of the airfield.

The VNY observation area hit the Blogger Preschooler's sweet spot -- we watched as airplanes and helicopters constantly took off and landed.

This time, I came with both the Blogger Kid and the Blogger Toddler 2.0, along with their grandpa. And I smartly brought along Blogger Kid's bike. He drove up and down the mini-runway, pretending to be a plane, while the Blogger Toddler kept an eye on the take offs and landings. The L.A. County fire department's helicopters are stationed there, and we watched as helicopters took off to battle a nearby brush fire.

If you've got young kids, the Van Nuys Airport public observation deck is a good way to entertain. And Balboa Park is nearby as well.

Some pics:

A 2-Year-Old in the House

Blogger Baby 2.0 is now Blogger Toddler 2.0. The baby turned 2 last week, and has become a talking machine in recent weeks. That's great for communicating... but it's also trying when he communicates exactly what he wants two, three or (most likely) 20 times. Right now he's obsessed with the song "Shyness" by Thieves Like Us (which was a part of my 2010 end-of-year "Choice Cuts" mix). If we don't play "Shyness" every time we get in the car... well, the toddler will just repeat "Shyness." "Shyness." "Dadda, 'Shyness.'" "Shyness." You get the idea.

To be fair, the mind of a 2-year-old is a fascinating and fun thing to behold. Here's the toddler counting: "Two, Three, Five, Seven, Eight, Four, Three, Five..."

Yesterday, the toddler shoved a tiny Lego up his nose. While we were on vacation. Visions of spending the day in the emergency room... until I thankfully was able to fish it out with a coffee stirrer. A belated Happy Birthday to our little character.

Saturday Night at Dodger Stadium

Sure, attendance is down, the Dodgers are having a terrible season and Frank McCourt is hated. But on a warm August night in Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium is still a pretty cool place to bring Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0.

And as a bonus, the Dodgers were facing an even weaker opponent, the Houston Astros, giving the team a 6-1 win that night.

The Family That Bikes on the L.A. River Bike Path

"Look at that family on their bikes," we heard one patron at Atwater Village's The Village bakery/cafe whisper to another. Maria and I grinned. That was us.

On Monday morning, we were inspired by the beautiful Memorial Day weather to grab our bikes and go on a little adventure. It's become a Sunday afternoon tradition for Blogger Kid and I, but Maria and Blogger Baby 2.0 had been missing out on the fun. No onger. I hooked the baby trailer to my bike (for the Baby's sweet ride), and the remaining three of us got out our bikes.

Blogger Kid had dropped his training wheels about six months ago, and is now biking like a pro. That has allowed us for the first time to take him on lengthy bike rides. On Monday, we outdid ourselves. The original goal was the 1923 Glendale Train Station, as famously seen in the film noir classic "Double Indemnity." After that, we decided to get even more ambitious and hit the Village on Los Feliz.

And then... we were so close to the L.A. River bike path, we had to ride over there. And indeed, it was a blast -- cruising along the river, no fear of cars, with Blogger Kid in front. We headed north to the 134, then turned around and rode down to Atwater Village and Glendale Blvd.

Some more sights from our ride along the river:

A Day at Legoland, Including First Look: The New Star Wars Miniland

Blogger Kid's definitely in the Legoland sweet spot at the moment -- He's 6, after all, so it's all-Legos-all-the-time at our house (which is kinda cool by me). So as we pulled up to the Legoland amusement park in Carlsbad this weekend, the BK couldn't contain his excitement.

"YES. YES. LOVE IT. LOVE. IT."

I'm not sure when Evan started talking like a 16 year-old girl, but hey, I could appreciate the enthusiasm. It was our second trip to the park, and this time was extra exciting for Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0: We had made the trip with their two cousins (and their parents). (Read all about our first trip here.)

The eight of us arrived, unfortunately, just days before Legoland's new Star Wars miniland opened to the public... but with most of the work already done, we were able to sneak some peeks:







Here's more info:

Guests can enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action STAR WARS movies, as well as a scene from the animated series STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale.

Guests will be further immersed into the STAR WARS experience as they pose with life-size LEGO models of Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader.

Following a chronological path through the STAR WARS timeline, LEGOLAND guests retrace the major events of the beloved Saga. Some of the 2,000 LEGO models will be more than 6-feet-tall. Interactive buttons will allow children to activate animations throughout the scenes.

The individual film scenes were selected after careful consultation with Lucasfilm Ltd. Pictures and drawings of the figures, spacecraft, vehicles, landscapes, etc. were taken as the basis for the detailed construction blueprints. The model designers used a special LEGO drawing paper for this, on which one square is equivalent to one LEGO knob. In the next step, they calculated how many bricks and which colors and forms would be needed for the models. For particularly difficult model parts, prototypes are first built, before the model is constructed brick by brick. To help the LEGO models last longer, all of the bricks are glued together and then sprayed with a special UV coating.

Of course, Blogger Kid and his cousins enjoyed the rides -- particularly the Volvo Cars, which (unlike Disneyland's Autopia) run without a track. Evan may only be 6, but he's a stickler for rules -- and obeyed the rules of the road while driving. It was a treat to watch -- he stopped at the proper points, stayed in his lane and drove cautiously.

But Blogger Kid's favorite part of the park remains the Minilands. New York City, New Orleans, Washington, San Francisco, Vegas and more -- all built with Legos. Some shots of the Lego creations found there and throughout the park:


Lego Washington gets his ears cleaned (look for the Lego guys using a Lego Q-tip on his left ear)


Lego Sydney Concert Hall (featuring a real duck terrorizing the harbor)


Lego Pharoah


Lego New York


Lego Hollywood Bowl and Lego Griffith Observatory


Lego Vegas Wedding Chapel


Lego Grauman's Chinese Theatre


Blogger Kid and Cousin watch the Lego Boats


Lego Times Square