baldilocks

A Different Kind of Ice Cream

There use to be a mosque near my home, but the adherents have since move their digs to Crenshaw Boulevard. 

The congregants were all black and but I’m not sure if they were Black Muslims (Explanation: back in the day, the distinction “Black Muslim” indicated that the persons under discussion belonged to the Nation of Islam and therefore subscribed to the ideology set forth by Elijah Muhammad—an ideology considered an anathema to other Muslims.  These days, the term merely means a Muslim who is black, that is, they may be NOI adherents or they may not be. I make the distinction to indicate that I did not see anything other than black people coming and going from that mosque, but that's not a surprising thing in South Central Los Angeles and, therefore, no indication of whether the mosque belonged to NOI or not.)

A number of years ago, four perhaps, something occurred that, up until a few weeks ago, I've thought about every now and then.  However, since the terror attack on Fort Hood and the revelations regarding the prior behavior of its perpetrator, I have been thinking of that four-year-old something nearly every day.

At midday, I was in the back of the house in my office—blogging, of course.  At some point, a noise entered my consciousness.  It was a voice, a tinned one and, as I listened I became aware of three things: that the voice was male, that it was coming out of a bullhorn and that it was repeating the same phrase over and over again.  However, I could not make out the words at first.

As the volume decreased, I originally thought that the origin of the voice had moved on.  But it had only gone around the block a few times.  Finally, the origin of the voice came back around on my street and, apparently, the driver decided to park for a few minutes almost directly in front of my house. The unintelligible phrase was being repeated once more.  And once again.

Finally I got up from in front of my computer, went to the front of the house, peered through the blinds of the large picture window in the living room and…froze.

The voice was coming from speakers attached to the type of truck that is sometimes used by ice cream vendors. The truck was spotlessly clean and gleaming white except for the design on the side: the huge blood-red star-and-crescent symbol of Islam.

The occupant had been exhorting the residents of this neighborhood using a two-sentence phrase, most of which I have blocked out of my memory.  But I do remember one part and, really, it’s the only relevant part.  The occupant was advising us to…

“Embrace Islam.” 

By the time I gained the presence of mind to grab a camera, the gleaming white truck had moved on.  I haven't seen it since.

From the time that it came to light the Major Nidal Malik Hasan basically warned the FBI and the Army of what he was--if not of what he was about to do—I’ve been thinking of that “ice cream” truck and what that particular vendor was selling.  Aren't Jihadis required to warn their infidel foes and invite them to convert before any attack?

“Embrace Islam,” he said.  Left unspoken was the alternative.

UPDATE: Robert Spencer says that it's called a dawah truck.

UPDATE:  Welcome, AboveTopSecret.com denizens.  Two things: 1) Those who know me know that I don't believe in subtlety except as a writing style and 2) I'm not a guy.

Working

Here is one of my blurbs for the Best of LA feature in LA Weekly.

Best Beauty Supply for Black Hair Care

You can find tons of others here--some mine, most not, almost all fun.  And we need some fun just now, don't we?

(Thanks to Jill)

Through the Looking Glass

Max Taves of LA Weekly interviews me about my parallel/mirror life with Obama and about my effort to save the school in the senator's father's hometown and named in his honor. The profile is pretty accurate, though I don't recall saying that I "worry about my bills." And I have never met my father face-to-face, though we do talk by phone and e-mail.

I've already been called irresponsible by an Obama supporter for "naming" the school "Barack Obama's School" and advised that I needed to "re-think" that decision. I received no apology for all the erroneous assumptions in the friendly advice, however, when I pointed out that it was the residents of Nyang'oma-Kogelo, Kenya who dubbed their secondary school 'Senator Obama Kogelo Secondary School.'

(And, yes, I hate the picture. The bougainvillea were swelling me up yeah, I've gotten fatter since this latest bout of not-smoking--ten months.)

(Thanks to Michael Bowen, Patrick Frey and Jill Stewart)

No More Burgers

...say our betters at the LA City Council. I need to stay away from In-n-Out, etc. anyway.

So I guess the next mandate will be to put a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods Market across from the County building. That would be fine with me if I didn't know that it would be another sign that the leaders of this fair metropolis were emboldened enough to their true colors: Red.

Stupid, shaky city.

PREVIOUSLY:

How About a Moratorium on Shootings First?

Earthquake (UPDATED: It's Not That Serious)

In LA right now...rockin the house.

UPDATE: Alles in Ordnung. For now.

UPDATE:5.6 5.8; felt from San Diego to San Francisco Santa Barbara. LA Times server must have caught something heavy. It's down.

Epicenter: 29 miles east of LA...Chino Hills.

UPDATE:LAT back up.

UPDATE: Breitbart (AP):

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury in Los Angeles. San Bernardino County fire dispatch also had no immediate reports of damage.

The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. PDT. Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds.

Workers quickly evacuated some office buildings.

"It was dramatic. The whole building moved and it lasted for a while," said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, who was in the sheriff's suburban Monterey Park headquarters east of Los Angeles.

UPDATE: My great-aunt, a Californian through and through: "Enough with the earthquake coverage already!"

UPDATE: They're still talking about it on FNC. Overheard passing by the TV: "...as soon as we get some video of those [presumably broken] ceiling tiles..." ZZZZ

East Coasters, relax. We're used to this.

UPDATE: Gabriel Malor was taking his bar exam in the LA Ontario Convention Center where the ceiling tiles in question fell and that they're heavy enough to hurt someone. My bad. I'm glad that no future lawyers were hurt.

Seriously, though.

Living Among the Boors

7/27/08 around 4:15PM

I’m sick of this town. I’m sick of this state.

A man, late forties or early fifties, walked out in front of me while I was sitting in line at an In-n-Out drive-thru and while my car was rolling forward, so I said “hey could you make sure that I see you before you walk in front of me? I almost hit you.” He looked at me with a mixture of incomprehension, disgust and bluster, but said nothing. He was Latino, so I asked, “do you speak English?” He did, at least a bit. “F*ck you, b*tch.”

I watched open-mouthed as he walked over to a light-green Toyota Rav 4. As some may remember I carry a camera everywhere I go. So I got out and took his photo and took one of his vehicle. “You want my ID too?” he asked. “No," I said and walked back to my car.

He began cursing me in Spanish so I yelled back: “None of this would have happened if you had just said you were sorry! NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING IF YOU WOULD HAVE SAID ‘LO SIENTO!!’

His wife tried to block the plate but I got a photo of it when I got back in my car. So he gets out and writes down my plate number. I have veteran’s plates and two window stickers: 'United States Air Force Retired' and 'National Rifle Association.'

“You make sure you tell whoever it is that I’m a veteran of the United States Air Force protecting your right to be an A**HOLE!” This was at the top of my lungs also.

If it’s the LAPD he’s telling I should be okay, but if it’s some gang member, who knows? There is a low-level race war going on here, you know. That’s the only reason that I’m making this information public.

I won’t post his face or his plate number unless something crazy happens, but I’ve sent the images to someone I can trust.

I’m tired of people-of whatever race--who can’t even be bothered to display simple manners and who then have the nerve to get offended when you take exception to it.

Go ahead, lambaste me for this post, but I've had enough of this crap.

UPDATE:++undead says that just wearing this outfit would adjust pedestrians' attitudes appropriately.

How About a Moratorium on Shootings First?

LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry (not my council-critter) wants a moratorium on the opening of fast food joints here in South Central LA because someone is telling her that none of us down here in the 'hood can get a ready-made salad unless we go to the "other" 'hood.

"You try to get a salad within 20 minutes of our location; it's virtually impossible," said [executive director of South Central LA's Community Coalition, Marqueece] Harris-Dawson.

Apparently, neither Harris-Dawson or Perry hasn't been in a McDonald's or a Subway or darn near any fast-food restaurant lately. I have and guess what! They sell salads in all of them--and in Subway's case, a pretty decent one. I know exactly where this Community Coalition is located. Guess which fast food franchise is about to open up down the street from it.

Perry quoted research showing that although 16 percent of restaurants in prosperous West L.A. serve fast food, they account for 45 percent in South L.A. Experts see an obvious link to a health department study that found that 29 percent of South-Central children are obese, compared with 23 percent county-wide.

I'll tell you why children are obese and why no chi-chi food businesses other than franchised ones will be opening 'round my way. In order to help illustrate why, I'll paste the following paragraph, in which the only thing relevant to my point is the bolded phrase.

Polishing his minivan at the corner of Slauson and Vermont avenues -- where the dining options were KFC/Hot Wings, Taco Bell/Pizza Hut, McDonald's and, on the fourth corner, Quiznos -- Tony Dubon said he walks home and cooks a plate of eggs [Ed note: that's not salad] rather than eat at any of them.

A few weeks ago, I was in my car about to turn right from Vermont into a small shopping center located at Slauson and Vermont Avenues. I stopped to allow a pair of pedestrians to cross, then turned. Literally two seconds later, I hear gunfire behind me. I look in my rear-view mirror to see several young men, clad in white t-shirts, running as fast as they could. Gang members. I notice that the (stupid) people around me are running toward the shooting area as I am driving away from it. It's roughly 5:00PM on a weekday.

(It was only later when the magnitude of what had happened hit me. It was as if God had halted the shooters briefly so that I could get to safety; once I had turned into the shopping center parking lot, I was out of the line of fire and blocked by buildings on either side.)

Here's the point: city children are going to continue to have an obesity problem--not because of Mickey Ds, but because of a**holes like those gang members who would endanger anyone and everyone in broad daylight--at rush hour! Here's another point: few non-franchise chi-chi restaurants are going to locate in such areas because they can't afford the insurance and why should they spend the extra money? Who the heck would want to under such circumstances? I wouldn't.

All such a ban would do is depress the area further, deprive area kids of jobs and make gang-banging more attractive to some.

But maybe that's part of the social(ist) agenda of LA. BTW, salad fixings are always available in Ralph's and Vons. Free choice, folks. Every heard of it? And stop whining about food!

(Thanks to My Undead Brutha from anutha mutha)

Celtics Win

The Boston Celtics have won the 2008 NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers four games to two. It wasn't even that close, IMO.

Yes, Boston Celtics and fans, I must admit that yours was far-and-away the better team. Congratulations.

Is this the start of a new Celtic-Laker rivalry?

2008 Lakers Hold to Tradition

Wow. I look away for a minute--or a few years--and Kobe Bryant pulls his head out of his nether regions to put the Lakers back in the NBA Finals!

Out of one of the most competitive Western Conference seasons in NBA history, the Lakers have emerged as its champion.

They beat the San Antonio Spurs, 100-92, tonight at Staples Center in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, winning the series, 4-1.

The Lakers advance to the NBA Finals to face the Eastern Conference champion winner between the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Game 6 of that series is Friday in Detroit, with the Celtics leading, 3-2.

Actually, after hanging out with Jill Stewart at a Culver City sports bar a couple of weeks ago watching Kobe, Luke Walton, Pau Gasol and company take care of the Utah Jazz, I thought it seemed likely that this new breed was ready to join its legendary predecessors--or at least try.

Nice to see that Kobe has grown up.

Now if the Celtics make it, it'll be like old times!

Hidden War

From Jill Stewart:

[T]he testimony was riveting this morning before the Los Angeles City Council when a group of black residents pleaded with the 15 elected council members to rescind Special Order 40, the longtime local rule protecting illegal immigrants from arrest by the LAPD.

The black residents are seeking a decision by the council to enact the so-called Jamiel's Law, named after Jamiel Shaw, a promising and law-abiding 17-year-old high school student allegedly shot by an illegal immigrant, 18th Street Gang member Pedro Espinoza. The noxious Espinoza, who has a massively long rap sheet, was arrested by cops in Culver City, and then released by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jailers, shortly before he allegedly murdered Jamiel.

Jamiel's family members cried openly in the ornate Council Chambers, asking the council to allow cops to check on the illegal status of people like Espinoza so they can be deported rather than released.

Yesterday, I saw Sergeant Anita Shaw, US Army--who had to come home from Iraq to attend her son's funeral--get on the TV and lament that she had been safer in Iraq than her son had been in his native country, standing in front of his own home.

Living in LA is dangerous. Many of the native-born criminal element make living in any large American city an ordeal. But the native born have a right to be in this country. Must we put up with a criminal element of other countries also--those who do not have a right to be here? Is that the price the country must pay for cheap labor?

I suppose that our betters believe that illegal immigration labor plus the attendant criminality is the price we must pay to add to the Social Security coffers. (Yes, that's the reason that nothing meaningful will be done about illegals--not that the amount of workers contributing to the fund will ever be enough to make SS viable before it runs out next decade.) A few dead youngsters--murdered by sins of commission and omission--are but a small sacrifice to that "noble" end.

Personal note: trust me, I look both ways when stepping out of my door.

(Thanks to Instapundit)

Heart-Breaker

LA Times’ Steve Lopez accurately describes the neighborhood in which young Los Angeles High School football star and all around good kid Jamiel "Jazz" Shaw, Jr. grew up. In spite of stereotypes about South Central Los Angeles, it's been a nice neighborhood for a long time. I remember its middle-class diversity well since my old house sits only a few blocks away from Shaw’s; LA High is my alma mater.

It seems that the neighborhood remained relatively tranquil right up to the time when Shaw was shot to death in front of his own home—in front of his father.

The preliminary report from police suggested a random gang hit on a kid who was clean, Latino suspects targeting a black kid, here on a block that had defied ignorance and hatred and knocked down the walls we build between ourselves.

Jazz may be a victim of the low-level war at home. (In a brutally ironic twist, his mother had to come home on emergency leave from Iraq. She’s a U.S. Army sergeant.)

I look at that boy’s face and I see my nephews and the sons of my friends. I think of all the times that I’ve ranted about black unwed mothers and the types of progeny they generally set forth into the world. And then I look at this kid, who had both of his biological parents, a good home, a clean record and a bright future.

And I understand why people just give up.

My prayers go out to the Shaw family, because it’s the only thing I can give them. In a way, it always was.

(Thanks to Patterico)

Slick in LA

Former President Clinton is going to be here in South Central assuming a familiar position: puckering up to kiss black booty.

On Sunday he is scheduled to visit black churches in South Central Los Angeles, where he's expected to offer a mea culpa to those who "dearly loved him" when he was their president, Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) says.

Watson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), tells us she'll usher the former president to more than half a dozen churches in her district where she says he needs to "renew his relationship" with congregants who were turned off by his racially tinged comments in the days leading up to and following the South Carolina primary.

I'll keep my eyes peeled. Somebody watch my six.

I know that the former president won't be at my church for two reasons: it doesn't have a predominately black congregation and it correctly doesn't concern itself with politics. (And could MSM types stop calling churches with predominantly black congregations "black churches"--as if no one of other races is allowed membership or as if all such churches are preaching "blackness?")

Looking at Rep. Watson's district--in which I do not reside--I'd bet my own unkissed backside that one of the churches to be visited is this one--a church that has many successful black entertainers in the congregation. That means the former president will be near the money, honey.

(Thanks to Hot Air)

Deadly Weapons

Last month, Britney Spears got busted for hit-and-run and driving without a valid license.

According to prosecutors, on Aug. 6 Spears struck a vehicle in a parking lot at 12800 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City, then drove away.

"The incident was captured on videotape," said Nick Velasquez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office. [SNIP]

In a video of the incident, Spears' Mercedes-Benz convertible is seen grazing a Mercedes station wagon as the pop singer attempts to steer into an empty space. The video seems to show a small dog on Spears' lap. Afterward, Spears is seen apparently inspecting the vehicles.

You know and I know that that girl was baked. Most perpetrators of hit-and-run are and this is Britney we’re talking about here.

“So what,” I hear you say. Well here’s what: when Britney or Paris or Nicole or Lindsay kills someone else’s child or someone’s grandparent while engaging in yet another iteration of insufficiently-punished sociopathic behavior, the relatives of those murdered persons will indeed care. And they will not give a rat’s backside that these “women” are famous and/or “attractive.” And, as is the case when other types of offenders repeat their crimes, the relatives will wonder what these creatures were doing free in the first place.

Mindless “starlets” following the well-worn (pun intended) path of narcissistic bimbos everywhere are making the streets unsafe. (One might call this contemporary way of life the Monroe Doctrine, but at least Monroe seemed to be a danger only to herself.)

Between the various classes of inebriated drivers—the bimbos and the illegal immigrants, both of whom seem to be free to offend over and over again--and the just plain reckless variety, (can you say “cell phone?”), driving in LA is a daily exercise in avoidance.

(Aside: How bad is it in LA? I got cut off by the LAPD the other day! No emergency lights and no signal; I managed not to hit him though, since he spotted my in his mirror and swerved back into his own lane. Unfortunate; I could use a new car.)

It’s harder to find the illegals, but Britney and her ilk are easily found. When will LA’s legal authorities stop putting up with these menaces? I am sick of these bleach-headed [expletive deleted]. Throw the book at Spears, LA prosecutors. Make an example of her before she kills someone—perhaps one of her own children.

Earthquake Weather

109 yesterday here in LA, 103 today. Thankfully, a change is going to come...

Relief was in sight with cooler temperatures forecast over the next several days.

"Everyone will see a drop of eight to 11 degrees on Tuesday," said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service. "By Thursday, things will be getting back to normal."

Darleen Click says that there was a moderate quake in the area yesterday, which is unsurprising. It's the perfect weather for a little shake.

VA Hospital Dumping Patients?

From KABC-7 in Los Angeles:

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating two more alleged cases of hospital patients being dumped on L.A.'s Skid Row. In one incident, police are checking surveillance video.

LA-area private healthcare facilities have an ugly reputation for dumping homeless patients--that is, those with no medical insurance--onto the streets of its downtown-Skid Row area.

Security guards at the Union Rescue Mission saw video just after midnight on Sunday: A man, barefoot, face bandaged, who had just been dropped off -- not by an ambulance or a health care provider, but by a United Independent taxicab. He told the guards that he was in severe pain and could barely walk, and had come from the Veterans Administration Hospital.

The reporter, Miriam Hernandez, also tells of another dumped patient--a mentally-ill man--who came from the civilian and privately-incorporated Western Medical Center in Anaheim. It's a looong way from Anaheim to downtown LA.

In an update, Hernandez states that

The one from the VA Hospital was returned to that hospital, but in the care of paramedics. The second man was cared for at the Union Rescue Mission for two days, then he walked off.

Now, I'm not one to say the VA hospitals dispenses pristinely perfect health care--far from it; it is socialized medicine--but something about the VA part of this story smells. Can't quite put my finger on it.

If the first man had actually belonged at the VA, why would he be dumped on purpose at Skid Row? It's not as though he had any huge bill to pay.

It would be interesting to discover to which LA area VA hospital the man was returned, the West LA facility (near Santa Monica) or the one in Long Beach--or whether he was actually returned to a VA facility at all.

(Thanks to Don Surber and to Glenn Reynolds)

UPDATE: :::two Instalanches in two days---->>>always link to Don Surber:::

Blackout

Just to make things interesting, there was a blackout of short duration here in the other LA. A call to the LA Department of Water and Power told me that it was major; the circuits were busy. So I took a short little tool around the area to map the extent of the outage, using the traffic signals as a gauge. The outage's south and west boundaries extended only a few blocks, but the distance of the north and east boundary lines were much farther. I wasn't willing to drive to see just how far, since average Angeleno driving ability is dubious at best, even with the signals working (and I did pass a rear-ending). Good thing I didn't try to make that drive; minutes after I made the decision to go back home, a radio bulletin informed listeners that the outage was widespread and extended as far the San Fernando Valley which is many miles north of here.

Power is obviously back on again. Let's see what happened...

UPDATE: Bear Flaggers affected:

Master of None

BoifromTroy

UPDATE: From FoxNews:

LOS ANGELES — A major portion of Los Angeles (search) lost power Monday afternoon and officials said early indications were that a power line was accidentally cut.

Outages were reported shortly before 1 p.m. from downtown to the coast and north into the San Fernando Valley (search), an area encompassing hundreds of thousands of residents and thousands of businesses, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. [SNIP]

Fire officials said they received reports of people stuck in elevators and traffic was snarled at intersections throughout the city when stop lights went dark. Neighboring cities, including Burbank and Glendale, also were affected.

Considering that my home isn't far from LAX, this a huge area.

Bill Quick reminds us that the Sheikh of OC--Adam Gadahn--threatened to blow up LA (and Melbourne, Australia) just yesterday, but the authorities say that terrorism isn't suspected. However, "the Los Angeles Police Department went on 'full tactical alert,' meaning no officers were allowed to leave duty."

It's Bush's fault. Where da feds at?

UPDATE: BFLer Matt Szabo is thinking along the same lines.

KATRINA RELIEF: Black Enterprise Top 100 Companies

Bright Lights, Big City

Great. Another LA-car-race-shooting drama.

The LA County Sheriff Department shoots up a Compton neighborhood to get a guy—Winston Hayes--who isn’t exactly public enemy number one, but is stupid (or drugged up) enough to keep driving when the long, if inaccurate, arm of the law has him cornered. I don’t blame the officers for shooting at him. For heaven’s sake, Hayes was driving up on the sidewalks and into other cars including the police cars! Being in front of an SUV driven by a crazy man will make a person as dead as a bullet will.

The deputies, however, were no less of a hazard to the health of the neighborhood. They fired 120 rounds at the guy, but he barely gets scratched. Plenty of collateral targets, like houses and windows belonging to same are hit, however. One of the deputies even stops one of his buddy's bullets with his vest; 'friendly fire.' (The phrase sounds so benign, doesn’t it?) And no gun was found on the suspect.

So, now the community is in an uproar--and justifiably so. On the front page of yesterday’s internet Los Angeles Times there was a photo of Compton councilman Isadore Hall, a young, squared-away looking man; his mouth is open and he is gesturing in outrage and I’m there with him…I used to live not far from the area in question. Couldn't they have trapped the guy near one of the numerous freeway underpasses or the like? One wonders whether a crazy driver would have had 120 rounds fired at him in a less black and Hispanic residential neighborhood in, say, Santa Monica. (And, believe me, there are plenty of nuts in that fair city driving SUVs.)

But while no one died or was seriously hurt from this latest LA drama, another drama ended with the funeral of a brutally murdered man this past Saturday—like Winston Hayes, a black man. But, this man, Tommy Edward Scott, won’t have the likes of Councilman Hall holding press conferences on his behalf; no marches will be held to protest the unjustifiable and gruesome nature of his death. See if you can guess the reason.

Officer Tommy Edward Scott became the first Los Angeles airport policeman to die in the line of duty in the department's 59-year history when he tried Friday to stop a pedestrian from commandeering his patrol car near LAX.

Scott, a 3-year veteran of the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, was trying to regain control of his car by hanging onto the driver's side door when the vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant, Deputy LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said.

"As the suspect drove away at a very high rate of speed, the officer attempted to disable the vehicle," Moore said. "The suspect hit the hydrant, and that led to the horrific crash."

I found out about the latter incident from Cobb who contrasts reactions to the Scott murder with that of the Stanley Miller beating.

My brother Doc was furious at the Fungibles and the 'black community' because of this relative silence. I suffered through his tirade against LA Urban League Mogul John Mack whose opinion on the matter was probably not sought by local media, but he sure did make enough noise about the flashlight upside Stanley Miller's head. No charges were brought against the arresting officers in the Miller case because of a lack of evidence. If that sounds too technical, understand this: Miller didn't bleed. He took an aspirin. The LAPD officer's blood was all over the car door, and the sidewalk, and the windshield. [SNIP]

I wonder what would happen if for once in the entire history of Los Angeles, somebody would think something of this nature would merit a big turnout from the people who live where I grew up. It's not a revolutionary idea, but it's a good one.

My condolences to the Scott family.

And mine.

Meanwhile, I sit in the back of the house.

Seeing the Sights

Spring is in the air, at least on this coast. I finally have a new camera and got to test it out this weekend.

Those are the faces of past Laker glory: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kurt Rambis and James Worthy. These buildings are at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street, across the street from the Staples Center. A few years back, the images were of Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher (IIRC for the last one). Also gracing these buildings in the past were the images of the great Laker centers: Wilt Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and O’Neal. With last year’s departure of O’Neal and this dismal non-playoff year, I figure it will be a while before any current Lakers are immortalized here.
This is the sea of moonbattery humanity at the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books located at UCLA. I’ve been going there every year for the last four years, mainly as an excuse to check out UCLA’s book store and to climb the steps of Mount Sileah the main drag without dropping dead. In 2003, however, I happened to run into a college friend whom I hadn’t seen since 1980. He was hawking his novel. (Seeing him do that was part of what spurred me to blog.)The guy holding this sign was only too happy for me to take a photo of it. Nothing like free advertising. Hopefully, the author will write a follow-up about what to do when called in to court for back child-support payments. "Don't do the crime...."This line-up sat at the Libreria Martinez Books And Arts booth. I simply took their photo because they Looked Like Authors more than anyone else I saw there.This year, I had great reason to attend the festival. One of the highlights of the weekend was saying hello to and shaking hands with the fedora-less Roger L. Simon. Go check out his series on the UN Oil-For-Food Scandal.

UPDATE: Little Miss Attila attended the LAT Festival of Books panel discussions; one including Roger, the other including Hugh Hewitt. Both gentlemen came out of the closet, so to speak.

UPDATE: Better?