Poll: Your Favorite Pop Culture "B"

Cardi B is just the latest from the "B" family to hit the charts, following artists like Eric B (with Rakim, of course), Stevie B. (and his postman!) and Melanie B of the Spice Girls. How do all these killer "B"s stack up? You be the judge!

POLL: Where Should This Year's GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK Hike?

It's that time of year again! We're less than three months away from the 7th annual GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK, set to be held on Saturday, November 17, 2012. (Remember, it's always the Saturday before Thanksgiving -- think of it as your kick off to the holiday season, plus a great way to justify all that eating you'll be doing in the next week.)

The Great Los Angeles Walk has already hit Wilshire, Pico, Santa Monica/Sunset, Washington/Jefferson/Adams, Wilshire (again) and Hollywood boulevards. We're sorta running out of streets that are visually exciting the entire downtown-to-the-ocean length. (That's why we've avoided Olympic and Venice so far, as there are dull stretches of both.) Is it time to hit some of the streets that may be less exciting at times? Should we break from tradition and do the Valley (missing out on our usual ocean destination)? Or do you have some other ideas on where we should hike? Take the poll below!

Three Months Until The Great Los Angeles Walk 2011

It's coming! It's coming! As always, the Great Los Angeles Walk will take place the Saturday before Thanksgiving -- which this year means Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011.

We're still figuring out which route to take -- and that's where you come in. Vote! And let us know where you'd like to urban hike this year! Take the poll below.

Is Los Angeles Rude, or Just Insincere?

In what seems to be based on rather shaky criteria, Travel + Leisure magazine just named Los Angeles as "the rudest city in America."

Their reasoning is based on the magazine's "America’s Favorite Cities" survey, which asked readers to rate 35 cities on 54 features, (including "affordable hotels, great restaurants, romance potential, and the overall personality of the locals").

Here's what they wrote about L.A.:

No surprise, the traffic-laden city ranks last for being pedestrian-friendly, which probably cuts down on your chances to break the ice with locals. Looking good is your best revenge: the city’s brightest light for visitors is its luxury stores, which scored a red-carpet-ready No. 4.

Uh, OK. Meanwhile, L.A. Times Op-Ed columnist Gregory Rodriguez defends L.A. -- well, sorta -- by arguing that we're not rude... just insincere.

He writes:

With some exceptions, I consider Angelenos to be moderately courteous, although a tad insincere. In New York, you get honesty. If New Yorkers can't be bothered, they'll let you know. If they can, they're downright helpful.

I got a powerful hit of this bluntness one day years ago when I worked in New York right out of college. I was walking near the corner of 7th Street and Avenue A when I slipped and fell. If the embarrassment wasn't bad enough, I was shocked by the reaction of passersby. One guy chose to enjoy my misfortune and started applauding. Another fellow, his life evidently directed by the better angels of our nature, offered me his hand.

I've never taken such a public fall in L.A. — at least not physically — but if I trip tomorrow on, say, a sidewalk crack on Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, I don't think I'd receive a hand of applause or help. But a few people might, in passing, ask if I was OK, more for the sake of form than real concern.

That's not exactly rude, but it's not exactly not, either. I think it points to a fundamental lack of a shared civic culture in Los Angeles.

So what do you think? Is it better to be rude but honest, or pleasant but insincere? And how would you rate L.A. on both characteristics?

FRANKLIN AVENUE POLL: What's 2010's "Song of the Summer"?

This year's hunt to find the 2010 "Song of the Summer" feels like it was over before it ever began.

Unlike past years, when the debate over which song deserved "Song of Summer" honors ran into Labor Day, Katy Perry's "California Gurls" earned front-runner status from the beginning.

"Gurls," after all, hits all the proper hallmarks of a summer song: It's catchy, light and frothy, and everywhere. (I dare you to make it through the day without hearing Katy singing about her Daisy Duke/bikini combo somewhere.)

Most of the folks who pay close attention to the Song of the Summer competish seem to agree.

Radio consultant Sean Ross, who has extensively covered the Song of the Summer showdown for years, writes about the 2010 face-off here. And New York magazine's Vulture has been covering the competish as well.

Both Ross and Vulture have "Summer Gurls" on the brain: Ross has named it his "song of the week" for three out of the four weeks. Vulture called it "a saccharine confection we feared would be a problem from the moment it bubbled up," and believes it's the first unifying "Song of the Summer" since 2007's "Umbrella."

Buzzfeed, meanwhile, recently went one step further and compiled a list of the "Songs of Summer" for the past 70 years.

Last year, you picked the international smash "When Love Takes Over," by David Guetta and Kelly Rowlands, while I was partial to Madcon's "Beggin'."

Ross, meanwhile, chose "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas; others picked "I Got a Feelin'" by, yes, those ever-present BEPs.

But that was last year. In 2010, is it a cakewalk for Ms. Perry? Or will another song suddenly surge ahead as we head into mid-summer? Take the poll below.

The Results Are In: Hollywood and Highland is Your Least-Favorite L.A. Mall

(Flickr pic by Stuck in Customs.)

Our regrets to Hollywood and Highland, which pulled ahead to easily win our survey for worst shopping mall in Los Angeles.

The Beverly Center came closest -- and for me, it's a toss up. The Beverly Center is a hulking mess of an ugly building with no character, but at least it has some actual shopping options.

Hollywood and Highland was terribly designed, with no thought given to where stores are laid out. Some unfortunate shops are found in dead ends, and the corridor next to the Kodak Theatre entrance is particularly sad and un-pedestrian friendly. But at least it's airy, and has views of the hills.

Nonetheless, for being a disappointing example of what could have been -- but wasn't -- Hollywood and Highland wins. Here are the full results:

Franklin Avenue's Wednesday Poll: Pick The L.A. Region's Worst Shopping Mall

(Flickr pic via Champnet.

Having just spent what I assume was a less-than pleasant several weeks at Southern California's various shopping malls, you probably now have a pretty good take on which one best represents the innermost circle of hell.

It's the return of the Franklin Avenue Wednesday poll!

Fire Coverage: Why Is Local TV Missing In Action?

Local TV news has been taking a beating for its decision not to break into regular programming to cover the event, despite the magnitude of the fires. As of 10 am, as we're choking over the smoke and several thousand homeowners remain evacuated around the region, only KABC/7 is covering the fires -- and that's because it's their normal "Eyewitness News" time slot.

Former KTTV anchor John Beard -- who just announced plans to take a job in Buffalo, citing in part his disappointment in L.A. news -- is probably feeling pretty good about his decision right now. Yesterday, he tweeted:

@jb111 3 major fires burning near LA... Injuries reported, homes threatened and not one LA station is live. How times have changed.

Today, he adds:

@jb111 Will LA tv take another day off as fires thrtn hmes and lives? Does anybody in mgmnt have the guts to spnd $$ to give viewers critical info?

@jb111Are LA TV Stations not doing live fire coverage (with lives at risk) because they spent so much on excessive Michael Jackson coverage?

I retweeted Beard's commentary yesterday in agreement. A few followers added these comments:

@trojanchick99 It is disturbing because if this fire were in Malibu we'd be getting 24/7 coverage.

@cajunasian It's sad that the only way I could get updated about the fires was by listening to AM 1070.

@dodgerthoughts Scale is 1 celebrity = 10,000 commoner homes

What do you think? Have the local TV stations completely abdicated their duty in this case to inform via the public airwaves?

Franklin Avenue Poll: Emmy Nomination Edition

I've been busy with the Emmy nominations coverage this morning -- check out Variety's full coverage here. Hence the lack of updates today -- but while I wrap up, let's kick off Emmy season with your picks for outstanding comedy and drama:

Your Favorite Song About Los Angeles: "Los Angeles," by X

It was a tight race early on, as Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." threatened to win our unscientific poll on the best tune about our city. But X eventually pulled far ahead. The results:



"Los Angeles" was released in 1980 by X, still considered one of the most influential punk bands in L.A. history. According to Wikipedia, "their 1980 record Los Angeles resonated so loudly with the citizens of the city that it is named after, that the band received an Official Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles in acknowledgment of their important contributions to Los Angeles music and culture."

Here are other songs that got a vote in our poll:

"Kid Charlemagne" by Steely Dan
"Santa Monica" by Everclear
"This Is L.A." by The Briggs
"Angeles" by Elliott Smith
"Pico and Sepulveda" by Felix Figueroa
"Slash From Guns and Roses" by I See Hawks in LA
"Ask the Angels" by Patti Smith
"Califonia" by Rufus Wainwright
"Los Angeles is Burning" by Bad Religion
"House on Highland Ave." by Gun Club
"I Love LA" by Rilo Kiley
"California" by Joni Mitchell
"Santa Monica" by the Eagles
"L.A. Freeway" by Guy Clark
"Los Angeles is Burning" by Bad Religion
"The Vicodin Song" by Terra Naomi
"L.A." BY MURS
"Que Onda Guero" by Beck
"City of the Angels" by Fred Astaire
"California" by the Simpletones
"Free Falling" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"LA Woman" by the Doors

Any more that we missed? Email us or comment below!

Your Favorite Freeway: The 2

(Flickr pic by Tommy-G.)


It was no contest: When speeding down L.A.'s maze of freeways, you prefer the relatively smooth 2 Freeway (also known as the Glendale Freeway), perched high above the city, and surrounded by mountains.

The 2 is a relatively short freeway, running from La Canada Flintridge (where the 2 turns into the Angeles Crest Highway and heads into the mountains) and Echo Park, where it... just suddenly stops. The 2 suffers from a case of freewayus interruptus, as once upon a time the 2 was meant to continue heading west, over Santa Monica Blvd. -- the never-built "Beverly Hills Freeway."

Perhaps all of you are still nostalgic for "CHiPs," which frequently shot on stretches of the 2 before it officially opened in the late 1970s.

Here's how the poll shaped up:

Travel + Leisure Hates Los Angeles

Blogging.la links to the new America's Favorite Cities poll being conducted by Travel + Leisure magazine -- and Los Angeles is getting killed by the haters.

The survey ranks Los Angeles near the bottom (out of the nation's top 25 destination cities) in Environmental awareness (!), safety, access to outdoors (!), cityscape, cleanliness, pedestrian friendliness, public parks/spaces, skyline/views, architecture/notable buildings and Historical sites/monuments.

Then there's the people categories. We're ranked DEAD LAST when it comes to friendliness and intelligence, and near the bottom in "fun" and "worldly." We're below the top ten in diversity (!) as well.

Gimmie a break. Do people hate the concept of Los Angeles so much that they refuse to acknowledge our city's strengths?

"The Amazing Race" Finale: Who Will Win?

If you've been watching "The Amazing Race" this season, then you'd have to admit, it's the best competition the show has seen in a while. The characters may not be quite as compelling as past seasons, but I think the show has at least got its race mojo back. In recent seasons, it seemed as if teams would constantly be bunched up and equalized, and the tasks got easier.

It's still not quite as great as the first few seasons, but "The Amazing Race" felt a little more like a competition this time. And what's great is two of the most unlikely finalists are now racing for the million bucks: Ron and Christina, and Nicholas and Donald. (I suppose even easy-going TK and Rachel could be unlikely finalists, because they're just so mellow.)

Who do you think's gonna win it all on Sunday? Take the poll below: