/blog-gone

I'm excited about what is going on in Little Tokyo:

While the Related Companies is snagging headlines for its $1.8 billion plan to turn Grand Avenue into a vibrant promenade, the New York-based developer has been quietly at work on another mega-project that will transform Little Tokyo with more than 750 apartments and condos.

The $250 million market-rate housing community could break ground by next summer, according to company officials. It would include four structures on an existing surface parking lot bordered by Second, Third, Los Angeles and San Pedro streets. Though the project has yet to be named, the parcel has historically been referred to in the community as Block 8.

A lot of what is mentioned in the article reminded me of my recommendations for Little Tokyo, which I blogged about back on June 17, 2004.

1. Address parking - Increase the maximum meter time from one to three hours. Strategically build a new parking structure. Subsidize the existing parking lot to offer an hour and a half free (like Old Town).

2. Add residential units - There are some local apartments but "The LT" needs more condos. I've got to believe that there is a market for LT/downtown livin'. I'd do it.

3. Sell out (a bit) - I suggest that "The LT" needs to be a little more tourist friendly. Start a program to encourage stores to be more accessible to non-japanese customers (language, etc.). Along that train of thought, add more variety to the retail mix.

I suppose they are all fairly obvious. It's interesting that of all the major elements of the article, the one major issue that I didn't mention in my blog is affordable housing. Yup.

Nowadays, I'm beginning to formulate ideas on another topic. Last week (?) I heard a radio interview that got me thinking in a new way. I wonder if we are building enough non-suburban, family friendly neighborhoods in places like Little Tokyo. Right now, development is all very urban hipster. There has got to be a better balance somehow...

I got a new apartment in Koreatown. I'll be moving this upcoming Sunday.

I always thought that Chinese people were going to be seen as the bad guy in popular culture... but then 9/11 happened and the trend got sidetracked. Here in LA, I call asian girls "the new blonde" in the sense that it seems like every guy wants one so there is inevitably a bit of a backlash against them. On a more serious note, I read this Washington Times article today:

"We may be seeing in China the first true fascist society on the model of Nazi Germany, where you have this incredible resource base in a commercial economy with strong nationalism, which the military was able to reach into and ramp up incredible production," a senior defense official said.

It's a bit much, but it sure sounds frightening doesn't it? I actually do worry for Taiwan. I hope I'm wrong, but sometimes I get the feeling that if and when the conflict does come, Americans won't want to stick up for little Taiwan.

Worse than buying a new car? Some think so:

Consumer Reports describes mattress shopping as a "greater ordeal" than car shopping. If that's what its like for the experts, woe to the rest of us! It doesn't have to be that way though. This mattress primer will enable you to quickly identify sales gimmicks, save time and ask the right questions. In minutes you can learn what the mattress industry does not want you to know about the product you spend "1/3 of your life on."

I'm looking forward to upgrading to a full, but I might even opt for a queen. We'll see. I can't believe the prices we saw today. I expect to spend some good money but I didn't expect them to cost four digits.

Since we were talking about urban planning backlashes in the last post, it reminded me of Measure 37 from Portland. While I was in school, Portland was the cool place for planners. But now, people want their property value back:

These new provisions allow a property owner to seek compensation if a public entity enacts or enforces a land use regulation that restricts the use of private property and has the effect of reducing the fair market value of the property.

We'll see how things turn out. I have a feeling that it won't end up being a hot trend in American planning that some are worried about.

Well well well. My profession just got more powerful.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that governments - such as the city of Norwood - can seize private property for economic development even if done for a private developer, a move Norwood's attorney calls "good news" for the city's eminent domain battle.

This is a new powerful tool that can be used for good, but I still think that it is the path to the dark side.

Transit wet dream.

???

From today's Daily Breeze:

The view here is that Hershiser would be well suited for public office, especially in the part of the world that considers Charles Barkley a future politician. Hershiser, a man of deep faith, likes being a role model and likely hasn't thrown a baseball through a window, let alone another person.

"The Republican Party came to me at the end of my career and wanted to get me involved, they had a couple seats open for me (for the Pasadena area)," Hershiser said. "I was still playing.

"(Politics) could be a possibility, but they would have to court me and lay it out, because it is a game I don't understand. It's a game you'd love to make an impact at, but it's not a game I understand. They should actually have educational seminars on that stuff early and show people what the life is like and how they can work at it.'' [Emph. added]

Must be Pasadena in Texas right?

Anyway, it'll never happen. If and when Bud Black becomes the manager of his own team, I hope Scioscia grabs Orel off the waiver wire before the Dodgers figure out what's best for them.

I got this flyer from World Vision titled: Vision for a Village. It included a map of an ideal agrarian society, complete with areas designated for crops, a local church, the marketplace, a health clinic, a school, and so on and so on.

I immediately thought to myself, "Is this something I could get involved with?". But I think it's just a pretty picture describing their overall approach. I'll look into it some more, just in case.

I've started using Cindy's voice recorder for kicks. This is what recording number 18 said: "Sheraton is too close to the Port office. Too frequently interupted. Need to hold next meeting further away."

Isn't this very Coop? Did you know that people used to call me that in high school? I should think of a name for her. Yes, the voice recorder has a gender.

Mark D. Roberts' blog series that examines a recent LA Weekly article about Christian boycotts. I've never participated or understood them myself so I'm very much enjoying this.

Yesterday was probably the worst single game in Angels baseball in over three years. Donnelly looks like a cheater. Scioscia looks petty. The hated Guillen looks clutch. And of course, the Angels lose.

Then again, it's only one game.

Google searches: From Katie Holmes to Tom Cruise to Scientology to L Ron Hubbard to Jack Parsons to Aleister Crowley to Illuminati to Eyes Wide Shut to... Tom Cruise?

The conspiracy is out there.

I also started reading The Superficial.

From The Economist (June 11-17):

Another facet of this study was that the researchers used a survey to tease out other factors that might be influencing semen quality. Keeping a mobile phone close to the testes, they found, had a significant negative impact on sperm numbers and motility, though they do not speculate why that might be. [Emph. added]

Sorry there isn't a link but doesn't that sound like something straight out of a Chinese newspaper?

I believe it.

I'll probably never go again.

Don't get me wrong, Babita gets my recommendation. Excellent authentic Mexican cooking. It's just one of those restaurants that are great to experience but not necessarily for my rotation.

Betsy's Page links to a Wall Street Journal article on how more people are eating in the car.

I didn't get to read the article itself since I don't subscribe to that paper.

From the little part that she posted, I was amused by the increase in stains and the measures that people and snack food producers go through to accomodate car eating cracks me up. Probably because I eat in my car so often. I'd say that a good 15 percent of my meals are in my car. Breakfast in the car when my mom hands me a sandwich before I head out the door. Lunch in the car because I get anti-social and would rather fall asleep to the radio than talk to anyone. Dinner in the car when I figure that I'll be driving for the next hour anyway.

I've used towels, spread napkins, and even sun shades to keep my car from getting completely destroyed by fries and salad bits. Most of you are probably disgusted but what can I say? It ain't all that bad.

This morning's sports talk guy commended LA (Pasadena) and NY (Manhattan) for rejecting NFL Stadium deals.

He puts it this way. The NFL is like the prettiest girl in the room and LA and NY are the only guys cool enough not to spill their drinks as she walks by.

There's a rumor that there are some disgruntled Port employees who have blogs. Haven't had a chance to look for them, but it sure would be an interesting read.

Good thing I never disclose anything about work. :)

/mike wasn't working for most of yesterday. Dunno what the issue was but hopefully it won't happen too often.

Pasadena, according to this month's Planning, is the "model of smart growth for other California communities". Planning.org doesn't have a link yet.

I'm happy for Pasadena. It's my choice for best place to live in LA. Unfortunately, this ain't gonna help with housing prices...

Listened to the new Spoon CD this morning. Good stuff. Let's go see them live.

You know, the sleeve graphics got me a little creeped out. And the title of track 1 is "Beast and Dragon, Adored". Seemed like a reference to the occult! Instantly curious, I read the lyrics and analyzed the songs (all while driving to work, of course - I pictured myself getting into an accident and being found dead on the road with an open lyric book on my lap.) Upon review, there were other references to what very well could be about the occult. At least four! Now I'm really into it.

Note: This kind thing is a recurring fascination with me. I'll read into Bono theology, catch Trashies references about their Ouija board, and speculate on the Pet Shop Boys catholic upbringing... Often, my speculation is way off, but sometimes, there are interesting things going on... and sometimes... people are into crazy occult religions!! (Ok, that has only been confirmed with comic book writers, Grant Morrison and Alan Moore).

Anyway, I have to know, so I do a few interview searches on Spoon and find out what the songs are about. Found this:

'The Beast and Dragon, Adored'

You have to go all the way back to Daniel's boyhood in Temple to unpack that one.

"Temple was a lonely place," Daniel says, digging into his brisket tacos. "Sometimes I can't believe I turned out like I did, coming from the town I did and the parents that I did.

"I love them, but they're not big-city people," he continues. "They're not very fond of, say, New York City, and that's my favorite place in the world."

His deeply religious parents split up when he was kid. "My mom is Presbyterian, and my father is Catholic now," he said. "He was a Baptist but married a Catholic and now he's super-Catholic. In fact, I'm gonna have to call him today because of the Pope. He's going to be upset about this." (John Paul II's health was faltering at the time of the interview).
The upshot of this religious upbringing was lots of talk about the end times, all the time.

"I was raised in a family where both sides talked about the apocalypse like it was gonna happen in their lifetime," Daniel says. "They seem to kind of expect it, and I don't know that they're not looking forward to it."

Needless to say, Daniel was kind of an anxious kid. Those anxieties stayed with him, amping up as the country turned to the Iraqi war.

"I found myself thinking, 'This is it, if (former deputy defense secretary Paul) Wolfowitz gets his way, that's the end of the world,' " he says, "Then I found myself trying to figure out who's the anti-Christ."

His pals weren't buying it. "I started saying these things to my friends and they were like, 'You must be living in a really dark place.' I couldn't believe that they couldn't believe it.

"And then I started thinking to myself, 'This is ridiculous.' It always bothered me when my family would say, 'It's gonna happen soon,' because every generation thinks that."

He grabbed his fork. "It's very self-centered, and I don't buy into it, but it's still part of me."

In fact, the working title for "Gimme Fiction" was "The Beast and Dragon, Adored," which is also the name of the lead-off track. It's a phrase that Daniel found in a book of French tapestries; one of them was called "Apocalypse: The Beast and Dragon Adored." Perfect.

"But everybody is going to think it's a Dungeons & Dragons reference," Daniel sighs. "Which is totally incorrect."

OK. I get it now. Whew. I'm glad it wasn't anything crazy. And at least I didn't think it was about Dungeons and Dragons. Hey man, I know my Revelations references.

I love the Supernanny! What a great concept. Quite educational too.

Unfortunately, I do wonder about the shelf life of the show. How much variety can there be until the producers start manipulating things to the point where it becomes a freakshow?

Almost 6 years after graduation, I've joined the UCSD Alumni Association. I ask myself, "why now?" I honestly don't know. I also gave a humble donation to the Urban Studies and Planning program. Did you know for all intents and purposes, I shouldn't have graduated college? The kind folk at USP gave this kid a second chance at his senior sequence. Now I'm all grown up with a real planning job. My hope is that one day, Planning at UCSD will become APA accredited.

Oddly enough, I feel no compulsion to donate to San Marino High School.

Current Playlist:
The Rat, The Walkmen
Bizarre Love Triangle, New Order
Temptation, New Order
Claw, Trash Can Sinatras