It is 2008 and the year of the rat. And the world is gearing up for this wonderful celebration of life and family. All the way from Los Angeles, to China, Vietnam, Korea, San Fransico. and to New York City.

Lately we have been going to the celebrations in Los Angeles due to travel and convience because of where we live. Chinatown businesses in Los Angeles pretty much closes down 1 – 3 days prior to the celebration to adhere to some of the New Years traditions. So roughly from Thursday and Friday of February 7th to the 8th many of the business will be closed. And the celebrations pick up on the morning of February 9th.

Chinatown in Los Angeles has a parade on February 9th, 2008. Get your seat early. There will be huge crowds. At times exceeding over 100,000 people plus. Be sure when the dragons pass you during the parade that they pass directly in front of you. You will be more blessed with luck during the year. And for the children, be mindful, and respect your parents and other adults and wish them a happy and prosperous New Year. There are many red envelopes to be had. The children will find money in the envelopes. Usually one will find anywhere between a nickel up to no more than $4.00. You are considered real lucky if you receive an envelope with $8.00(for its homophone for “wealth”). Sometimes they will find chocolate coins in the envelopes as well.

Prior to the parade you may want to enjoy some of the traditional Chinese and Vietnamese styled restaurants with more of the authentic foods. Not really much of the American-Asian fusion food one would eat outside such enclaved cities. All are wonderful in taste and variety. I always enjoy the traditional bowl of Vietnamese soup called Pho’. One of the many pho’ restaurants I frequent is on Broadway by the name of Pho’ 79. Order the simpliest soup called Pho’ Tai. It is pretty much a steak and noodle soup dish. One may top the soup with bean sprout, basil, hoisen sauce, nuc mum(fish sauce) and a green chile or two.

You may want to do a walking tour of the many shops that have great deals on textiles, art, clothing, toys and food at reasonable prices. You may also be surprised of the many Asian and American galleries spotted throughout Chinatown. It is also rumored that a few Hollywood stars have bought lofts in the area as well. I hear that Quentin Tarantino may be one of them. You know the producer/director/writer of such films as Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and From Dusk to Dawn.

If you are unsure what Chinese Zodiac(Horoscope) you fall under, you may find out your animal sign here. Your sign will come every 12 years. If you would like to know more about the legend of the 12 signs, you may read more about it at Chinese Zodiac Page.

One may view the LAPL as an artistic archeticual building in its own right. The building has the style of ancient Egypt. In the upper levels of the library one may find many Egytian god statues as well. As well as large wall tapestries and art work on the ceilings that reminds me of the Sistine Chapel. There are roughly eight floors to the library. And each floor is equipped with computers that the general public and library members to use. There are weekly activities on Saturdays for the children as well. From movies to puppet shows to reading books to them.

Outside the library is a beautiful park with water fountains and plenty of space for people to lay in the grass or read on many of the park style benches. Or for the kids to run and play after a few hours in the library. There is even the Lamelle movie theater two blocks north of the library. So after a day at the library, one can catch a movie.

In addition, the LAPL has a special collection of 16,000 rare books. Some written in the 1500’s, but many were published in the 18th(1700’s) and 19th(1900’s) century. The library also has teamed up with the Getty Centerand has an exhibit that runs for a few months. They have roughly three to four in the Central Library’s Getty Gallery. The current exhibit is Julius Shulman, photographer, work. It runs until January 27, 2008. I would recommend to go see it before it closes. They have an extensive genealogical research section in the history department. As well as a lecture series where well known authors come and speak.

The Kodak is a 3,600 seat theater. The Kodak also is centrally located within a shopping mall and movie thearter. It also sits comfortably on top of L.A’s mass transit, the red line subway. One of the subways major stops is the Highland/Vine – Kodak Theater Stop. Prepping the theater is done about a week ahead of the broadcast. So many fans and tourists can watch as the set up begins. Including seeing the full size statueets of Oscars lined along the red carpet walkway of the theater. Yes viewing this Hollywood history is free prior to the broadcast. Or you can attempt to be a spectator on the night of the Oscars in hopes to catch a glimpse of your favorite actor and or actress via the street in front of the theater.

The Oscars have been broadcasted from the theater since 2002. Previously they were broadcasted from the Shrine Auditorium located across from the USC campus on Jefferson and Hoover in Los Angeles. The Oscars were originally at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood on May 1, 1929. The Roosevelt Hotel is one block west of the Kodak.

Here are some of the following nominations for certain catergories

Best Picture

Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman – Juno
Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Actor

George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones – In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie – Away from Her
Marion Cotillard РLa Vie en Rose (La m̫me)
Laura Linney – The Savages
Ellen Page – Juno

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook – Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
Ruby Dee – American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Original Screenplay

Diablo Cody – Juno
Nancy Oliver – Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton
Brad Bird – Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins – The Savages

Best Adapted Screenplay

Christopher Hampton – Atonement
Sarah Polley – Away from Her
Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood

On January 22, 2008(same day the 2008 Oscars were annoucned) the 2005 Oscar nominated Best Actor, Heath Ledger died in his SoHo, New York apartment. Results of his death are unknown pending an autopsy. May are hearts go out to Heath Ledgers family.

I have been into the CBS Studios several times for several shows. It is a great experience to view live TV shows. I have seen such shows for free such as “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker, The Hollywood Squares and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. And if you are a big soap opera fan of “The Young And The Restless” and “The Bold and The Beautiful” you may get a peek at a few of the stars going and out or just hanging out in the back for small time chatter.

All the tickets are free to get to see the shows. There are several ways to get free tickets. One way is to drive to the CBS studios on Beverly and Fairfax and walk to the ticket window. The ticket window is open 5 days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM. You pick the show, the date and what time(several shows do several tapings per day). Another way to get free tickets is of course to do a search via the net, there are many services out there that you can order tickets from. Or you can call directly to the studios, which is: 1 – 323 – 575 – 2458. And if you are a local of the Los Angeles area, many studios hire temporary agencies or firms to hire what many call in the industry as “Audience Paticipants”. Yes indeed they do get paid. You may not know who they are in the audience because one of the rules is they can not tell others they are there to fill seats and to get paid.

If you want to see a listing of the television shows that are not affected by the 2007 – 2008 writers strike. Here is the listing as of January 21, 2008. Reports are coming in that some studios are actually closing in on deals with the writers union. Many believe the strike will relatively end at the end of January 2008. Here is some information about CBS television show dress code, parking, arrival time and attending the show.

Tickets run for $15.00. In which you may purchase online at the Downtown Comedy website. But I was able to purchase mine for a discounted price at Goldstar for roughly $5.00 plus a service fee of $3 or $4.00. The comedy shows are typically on Friday and Saturday nights and start roughly around 9:00 pm or so and runs approximately 2 hours. Age mininium is 18 and over.

The comedy club can be found in the Hotel Alexandria’s Charlie O’s bar (at Fifth and Spring streets). The decor of the club reminds me of something that Frank Sinatra would sing at. It had that kind of feel to me. A very nostalgia type of moment. In addition the comedy club is a smoke free environment as well.

And if you want to do something prior to the show. On Spring street is Gallery Row. There are small galleries one may view many up and coming artists. There are plenty of bistro’s and sidewalk cafe’s to visit.

The night I went, the headliner was Jason Stuart. There were five other acts that went on. In addition there was a house band by the name of Eden Tree. Before the show started one of the bartenders got up and asked two questions from the audience. If you got one of the questions right you would get a free alcoholic drink. They also have wonderful sliders(baby hamburgers with caramelized onions and mustard) and a great chicken nachos.

The experience overall is great. All the acts were great and the sounds that Eden Tree provided were worth the money. The ambience of the club gives one a feel of the Frank Sinatra 50’s club feel. So if you are ever looking for a great place at a inexpensive price to go to on the weekend in Los Angeles, I would recommend the Downtown Comedy Club.

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.

Olvera Street dates back as early as 1877. The street is named after Augustin Olvera. The first LA County Judge. He also owned a house at the end of the street as well. Within the street is the Avila Adobe House(built 1818) which still stands. Francisco Avila was one of LA’s first mayors. You may visit the Avila Adobe, roughly between the hours of 10AM – 4PM. Admission is free. Olvera Street also housed many Olympians during the 1932 which was hosted in Los Angeles. Many famous and important people would visit or frequent the street. Such as: Ronald Reagan, Charlie Chaplin, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Selma Hayak, Penelope Cruz, Ceasar Chavez, Oscar de La Hoya as well as many others.

In between touring the street and the Avila Adobe you can find some restaurants and sidewalk cafes to eat at. Many of the plates range between $4.00 – $15.00. You may be so lucky to hear live Mexican Folk to Mariachi music. Each group has anywhere between one to five singing and playing accordias and acoustical guitars.

At the end of Olvera Street is the plaza. One may be entertained by Aztec dancers and Peruvian music. During Cinco de Mayo(May 5th) there is always a festival that last 3 days. With pinatas, food, Mariachi music and more. The Plaza also has another festival Mid September in remembrace of Mexicos Independance from Spain, You may also find one of many other Olvera Street festivals. Anything from the Blessing of the Animals, Dia de Los Muetros(day of the dead is around Halloween), to the Annual celebration of the founding of Los Angeles(In 2008 it will be 226 years old). And the mural of the Blessing of the Animals was done by an Angeleno by the name of Leo Politi. The mural can be found on the Biscailuz Building in El Pueblo which is at the end of Olvera Street, across the street from the plaza. Politi was an artist as well as an author.

El Cholo restaurant has been a fixture in the Los Angeles area since 1926. And the restaurant has been ran by the descendants of Alejandro Borquez and George Salisbury. The hours are generally around 11 AM – 10 PM. They do have vallet parking. And the busiest times of the year are in May around Cinco De Mayo(May 5th) and in September around the independence of Mexico from Spain(September 16th). El Cholo is widely known and famous for their margarita’s. Plan to spend between $10.00 – $20.00 per person,

I have been going to El Cholo restaurant for the last 12 years. Everytime has been a wonderful experience. I would recommend being seated in the patio area. My favorite dishes are the “Taste Of History”($12.25). It includes 1 taco, 1 enchilada, 1 tamale, 1 chile relleno with rice, beans and a salad. I usually order the Taste Of History when I really can’t decide on what I want. I never can finish the plate, so I take the remaining food home. The other plate I love to have is the Chile Colorado. Its chunks of beef in a spicy sauce, with the sides of rice, beans and cup of their fresh guacomole sauce and their homemade tortillas($10.75). You will also recieve free, fresh corn chips and salsa. And at the end of your mill will get sweet, savory prelaine candies.