Space Babies Take Los Angeles

I don't have a blog to go along with this photo, really. I just think it is a fab photo. Taken from the edge of Chavez Ravine (location of Dodger Stadium for my out-of-town readers) in the Echo Park area of LA, looking down a super steep street at the Downtown LA skyline, as we were parking in front of my friend's apartment, at the end of a long day exploring downtown.

'Tis the Season . . . for panhandling in the name of charity

It is probably the many years I have spent being constantly panhandled in Downtown LA, but I get pretty annoyed by it. And don't call me heartless, either, because I know more about the politics, laws and motives behind panhandling than just about anyone, after the years I spent working on policies affecting the homeless.
So I get a little taken aback when I have essentially the same feeling around this time of year at seemingly every store I go into. But this sign at Trader Joe's in Torrance takes the cake. Give it a good read. And remember that the lady is so dumb that she is still standing right next to it.

Wearing the same ultra-bright-white-drum-major-get-up, but looking decidedly like a gang member, was THIS guy, at the 110 freeway onramp in Wilmington. The picture doesn't capture how sketchy looking he was. And working the freeway onramp. Nothing says "I have legitimate 501(c)3 status and I'm going to make every penny you donate go to help the less fortunate" than giving menacing looks to drivers stuck in the light at the freeway entrance.

And P.S.: Ralphs, when I'm checking out, please don't ask me if I want to donate a dollar to Ronald McDonald House or whatever. I DON'T!
Yes, Bah Humbug to YOU, too!

Pilgrim Place Festival

Just in case anyone might think that Binghamton was the only place that had really hokey festivals, or that my addiction to them was time/place-specific, behold the most awesomest (yes, I meant to write that) festival of all- the annual Pilgrim Place Festival in Claremont, CA.

Pilgrim Place is a beautiful community: a gracefully laid-out neighborhood of low-rise pre-WWII looking California bungalows- that I literally stumbled across while jogging in California. It was so lovely that I had to inquire further, and I found that it is a retirement community for those who have served in religious and/or charitable careers. It seems to attract a super-educated crowd of really interesting people who have lived all over the world, e.g., PhDs who worked as missionaries. These people are drawn to Claremont probably for the proximity to the Claremont Colleges and the Claremont School of Theology, where they sometimes guest lecture.

I admit to posting the corniest of photos, but the Festival really does beat all. Basically, these "Pilgrims" (and yes, they all dress up like Pilgrims and they even call each other "Pilgrim"!!) work all year at their handicrafts (woodworking, pottery, stained glass, painting) and sell the stuff at rock bottom prices to raise money for those among them who need subsidy. Win/Win and damn good Christmas shopping!

It is just a bonus that there is a corny side to the event, too. This guy was the best. John's photo is much better than the one I've posted, so here is his.

American Apparel: Uniquely LA

For those of you over 35, you might not be aware of the super-popular brand of clothing, American Apparel. In addition to $30 T-shirts, the core of the American Apparel empire, AA now sells all manner of accessories that have become the Hipster Uniform. In fact, my buddy Wikipedia tells me it is the largest clothing manufacturer in the United States. Who knew?

American Apparel gets a lot of press because 1) its marketing materials look like softcore child pornography, 2) its founder is apparently sex-crazed (if you call masturbating during interviews during interviews "crazy"), 3) it takes strong, politically-charged positions, most notably in support of immigration reform, and 4) it has been one of the country's fastest-growing companies in recent years (with funky management practices, like free massages). But mostly, AA is famous because of #1. Let's discuss.

Soft Core Porn
Call me prude and/or old, but AA's ads are really a bit shocking. They usually consist of very skinny, very young-looking people in various stages of undress, spread-eagle in some pastel-colored underwear. AA ads seem to be everywhere; I think I remember reading that they were the biggest advertiser on Facebook at one point [I believe that because I thought they were permanently embedded in the right hand column of my screen, as I frittered away the summer of 2008 on FB.]

The first AA store I ventured into was in LA's Little Tokyo. Upon entering the dressing room, I was greeted by a wall full of creepy, bad-quality polaroids of people who did not look like models, but who did look very sex-starved, wearing bits of AA clothing here and there. I remembered reading somewhere that AA ad photos consisted of photos of AA employees, mostly taken by (or including) Dov Charney, the above-referenced founder of the company. Hello, lawsuit, anyone??

Sparkly Gold Leggings
AA's empire may be built on tshirts, but the clothes they now also feature are nothing short of ridiculous: hotpants, lace body stockings, odd tube tops, weird quasi-leg-warmer socks, gold leggings . . . for toddlers??

The Sun Never Sets on the American Apparel Empire
I was aware of AA because its headquarters occupy one of the largest (the largest?) industrial building complexes in Los Angeles- three massive former Southern Pacific Railway warehouses downtown. But it was not until I left LA that I realized how far the American Apparel empire reached . . . in what has been described as the fastest retail roll-out in history, there are now over 200 AA stores in nearly 20 countries. Apparently what happens in Downtown LA does not stay in Downtown LA, because we were greeted by AA stores in our recent travels to Berlin, Paris, all over NYC. But the craziest one I saw was in boring old Claremont, CA. Claremont? The sleepy little college town of my misspent youth? AA is becoming as ubiquitous as Starbucks or (gasp) Subway?

Why we still love AA
At the end of the day, I am still an AA fan. Theirs are the best overpriced tshirts of all the overpriced tshirts on the market, and come in great colors. Sooooo soft. For now, though, I will skip the lace bodystockings. Or wait until they go on sale at the factory outlet.