Invisible L.A.

Eight Miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles is the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Rose Parade is traditionally done every year on New Years Day. The Rose Parade started January 1, 1890. Following the parade is the Rose Bowl football game. The Rose Bowl football game started January 1, 1923. Many of the local television stations will carry the Rose Parade live and uniterrupted of commercials. Than a rebroadcast roughly an hour later. The football game is later in the day at 2:30 PM(PST)

Now, one may wonder if this is in Pasadena, what does this have to do with Los Angeles other than the close proximity. Well this year for the 2008 Rose Bowl the beloved Trojans of USC will be playing against University of Illinois. USC is located in downtown Los Angeles.

So of course I will have to say something other than GO TROJANS!!!!!!!!!!! Right? Ok maybe not so loud. I will try and be a little unbiased and be fair. Ok maybe, NOT. GO TROJANS!!!!!!. Besides my niece goes to the esteem University of Southern California. And my son goes to high school directly across the street from USC and has about two classes on the campus as well. So it can very hard not to a wee bit biased. Sorry. Besides how many times has USC Trojans appeared in the Rose Bowl in the 105 year history. 31 times. Yup. A whopping 31 times including this 2008 year. Out of the 30 appearances. USC has won 22 of the 30 appearances. So Illinois is going to really want the ring pretty bad and work real hard to get it. The action starts at 2:30 PM(PST).

But for those who are strictly Rose Parade fans you can either reserve bleachers at certain locations of the parade route. Or you can be one of thousands who camp out the night before for a spot in the front row(curb side seating of course). The parade starts around 8 am in the morning and roughly lasts two to two and half hours. The Rose Bowl theme this year is “Passport to the World’s Celebrations.” The length of the Rose Parade route is 5 1/2 miles.

Many people are being encouraged to take the Metro system to the game and or parade. One can get there either by bus and or the light rail system(Yellow line from Union Station). The Yellow runs roughly every 8 – 12 minutes. The traffic is crazy so I would highly recommend parking at Union Station for $6 and paying the all day fare for $5. Which is much easier on the wallet and less of a headache of remembering where your car is and paying high priced parking fees. And for those who have missed the Rose Parade, you can view the floats after and on January 2, 2008. You can get a direct service to where the floats are wherehoused. For more information on Metro transportaion for the Rose Parade/Bowl festives.

One can go to Farmers Market in West Los Angeles and find many great restaurants to eat at. I recently ate at The French Crepe Co. They have two locations, but I prefer to eat at the Farmers market for nostalgia, historic value and for a possible celebrity sighting. One may get a chance to see such celebrities as Garret Morris, Vince Vaughn, Chris Rock, Frankie Munoz, Sean Continue reading

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all times. He was also known as the “King of Pop”. He had a great contribution in music, dance, fashion and charity. He debuted in music as a member of “The Jackson 5” in mid 1960s and started his solo career in 1971. THRILLER is the Jackson’s most famous album. Continue reading

Many of us in L.A. have never stopped for a minute to make human contact with our neighbors. I’m not even talking about the kind of neighbor that lives in the house next door to you (although it’s pretty pathetic that we don’t even know them, either!), I’m talking about the homeless guy that you see every day and try and ignore.

When was the last time you stopped Continue reading

Salma Hayek and Vanessa Williams joined the opening celebration of the Sergio Rossi boutique on Melrose Place. The Italian luxury shoes and accessories brand, Sergio Rossi opened its 1,500 sq. ft. store with a dinner at Bastide co-hosted by Sergio Rossi Creative Director Edmundo Castillo and Salma Hayek on January 16, 2008.

The other night, I had a lovely dinner at one of my favorite Vietnamese spots: Pho 999 in Van Nuys.

Here’s one of the reviews from Los Angeles Citisearch:
Forget the $9.00/bowl chi-chi hipster junk and try this authentic little joint. The extensive menu offers much more than just pho and the meals are true-to-form with a distinctly Vietnamese taste (as opposed to a

There is no downturn in high-end Los Angeles real estate. L.A.’s affluent neighborhoods where the money is such as Brentwood and Westwood and costal Laguna and Newport Beach are up substantially this year.

Here is how some Los Angeles neighborhoods are doing:

There are so many fantastic ways to gather in groups in L.A.

I know that some people just aren’t “joiners”, but I am, and I am a HUGE extrovert, so a fun, lively gathering of interesting people calls to me. If you need a little jolt to spur you to action, here are some ideas…

There are networking meetings for business, there are singles gatherings, there are social Continue reading

LA KINGS DOWNTOWN ON ICE OUTDOOR SKATING RINK AT PERSHING SQUARE

LA KINGS DOWNTOWN ON ICE, celebrating its 11th
spectacular season at Pershing Square, (532 South Olive, LA), open everyday November 20, 2008 through January 19, 2009.

The 11th installment of the Pershing Square Ice Skating Rink continues through Monday, January 19, 2009. There is plenty of time remaining to skate and take advantage of the activities at Continue reading

Many Angeleno’s consider Olvera Street as a center for Hispanic/Mexican history. Olvera Street boarders between downtown Los Angeles and the Los Angeles river(East Los). And South of the street is the historic Union Station, a major mass transit station for Los Angeles. North of Olver Street is Fort Moore. LA holds an annual July 4th celebration. Which includes antique cannons. To the North East is the historic Chinatown. And Continue reading