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.

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 the L.A. Kings Downtown on Ice rink in Pershing Square. With a low admission price of only $6 (+skate rental $2), it’s a fun thing to do without spending lots of money.

Pershing Square Downtown on Ice, which will stay open until January 19th, so make a date! It’s still worth the trip, though, I would HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you go at night when it’s all sparkly and magical and there aren’t as many people on the ice.

Free L.A. Kings Youth Hockey Clinics Ages 14 and under with advance registration Register Now!

The Pershing Square Ice Rink is open every day from Nov. 20, 2008 to Jan 19, 2008. Admission is $6 and skate rental is $2.

Centrally located in the heart of the City of Angels, the facility is easily accessible by car, bus or rail. Rewarding commuters, a collaboration with Metro allows mass transit riders to receive a $1 skating session discount by showing a coupon available for downloading via the Destinations Discounts webpage at www.metro.net. The convenient stop at Pershing Square Station makes getting there easy. Underground discount parking is available with validation.

Pershing Square Ice Rink
532 S Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 624-4289
TOLLFREE: 1-888-LA-PARKS (527-2757) or visit www.laparks.org and click on Pershing Square

THREE WEEK HOLIDAY SCHEDULE – 2008-2009 Season
Friday, December 19, 2008 through Sunday, January 11, 2009
Monday – Sunday 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
NOTE: CHRISTMAS DAY – PUBLIC SKATING HOURS ARE 12:00 NOON to 10:00 PM

SKATING SESSION TIMES – 2008-2009 Season
Monday, January 12, 2009 through Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday – Thursday 12:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Friday – Sunday 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
NOTE: MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY (JAN 19) – PUBLIC SKATING HOURS ARE 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Other guests included Mia Maestro, Ana Ortiz, Giannina Facio, Eva Chow, celebrity florist Eric Buterbaugh, and celebrity stylists Elizabeth Stewart and Rachel Zoe. Teri Weinberg of NBC and writer Marc Abrams were also in attendance.

Sergio Rossi at 8424 Melrose Place, West Hollywood. (323) 944-0864. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Jennifer Lopez was named by Forbes magazine as the richest Latin American in Hollywood. She film credits include The Governess (2009), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Anaconda (1997),and Selena (1997). Jennifer Lopez has sold more than 48 million records worldwide.

The listing is here.

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.