POP QUIZ The Worst?

How well do you know the neighborhood --how good is your memory?

Here's a Pop Quiz for you: what is the Worst day of the year to grocery shop?

The holidays --just passed --you're thinking...day before Thanksgiving?

--Any day of the week --before Christmas --Chanukha?

You're Certain: it's the Thursday --before everything closes for Good Friday afternoon --prep for Easter?

Hmmm...Valentine's Day...or...must be...day before --to make dinner --brunch --buffet for New Year's day drop-in guests, to watch the Parade?

Which? Your guess --one of the above? bwonk! El Rongo!

Worst day to go grocery shopping? --Lines to the walls --out the door --parking lot --resembles LAX, Nothing moving? --Arrive 'a bit' late --shelves stripped bare?

The Day? Superbowl Sunday. ...Very little --'super' about searching for groceries that day.

Once, head-down-immersed in work all week, I booted up, off to the market on discovering breakfast possibilities were slim & none pickens. At some point: I realized I had been mulling-over work, day-dreaming --for a long time --without moving the tires. As I squinched up in the driver's seat, looked around, nothing was moving, not even a mouse....

As I got to the door, on auto-pilot, again, manuevered around people in my way...hmmm, no cereal, no bananas, no avacado, whoa --that whole top shelf --empty --where the chips are? usually.... I don't remember, at the dairy cold case, I guess --huh? --empty??? I asked one of the 'aprons' --'what's up with the bare shelves' --weaving, bobbing around fast-moving traffic --he rolled his eyes, chuckled, but couldn't get near enough to hear the reply...hmmm....

When another item --MIA, I leaned back to ask a man with six-pack over six-pack stuffed into cart weaving through traffic --'what's up' --"Geeze, don't you know, the game, the game." Oooh, that would be --which game? "S-u-p-e-r-b-o-w-l" --as though he was talking to an out-of-country visitor or a small child.

Back out, to the lot of cars to retrieve, retreat. But store #2: no better, worse, line began at the driveway. Trader Joe's #3: hunger and frustration drew a 'line' in willingness to keep on searching. When I finally got in: grabbed whatever still on offer, waited at the back of the store, amazed.

Skip the wasted gas, the amazement. If you need groceries: shop ASAP --as far ahead of The Game as possible. Believe it. Lest you be part of the problem, not part of the solution: Take your own bags with you.


Skip the fish: Oval Office Occupant and president of vice have done All they could --to improve "plight" of coal-fired power plant owners, who are doing to the ocean what should get them all arrested. But instead, as they all stuff gobs of money into their pants, small fish, close to the shore, eat gobs of waste --bigger fish eat those --they all wind up stuffed with mercury --and plastic --from grocery bags. "Global warming? Where's the proof that's caused by humans"....

Uhm...president of vice sure got lucky, with his wife-pick --not many women still willing to wear blinders AND rose-colored glasses and keep ON telling fairy tales, Long after 1952....

Take your own canvas -woven -straw -recycled bags To the market, for guilt-free healthy day.

Prediction? What I know, about 'nuances' of teams --would fit on the head of a pin, with room to spare for two gnats to have sex. But I learned one thing about one team that tells me: the Giants will win. Bon Apetite

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Nevermind Which candidate, You know you're Registered to vote --Location of your polling place? Doubt can be allieviated here: For Sure


"Super" Tuesday... Even though the stinking media have "covered" the campaigns as though this is a horse-race --most "reporters" come from un-sophisticated working class --don't actually give a damn Who we, voters, choose --not so secretly support one candidate--some actually admitting it--trying to manuever All of us into brokered fractured conventions.... --Their amusement, THEY just want to be entertained --and to be the first --with least-accurate 'prediction' --no thanks to electronic Dieboldt "vote"-eating machines.

Though it ain't easy: IGNORE them, especially stinking "local" media. Except for KNBC, they are the worst. Do your own Homework --look up: Who are lobbyists supporting.

Think US, local media isn't stinking?
Media presidential coverage not lousy? Look at the reports of the Green cadidate in the first debate --fair, balanced? Oops. NON-EXISTENT. Libertarian --doing good/disappointing campaign? HOW to know, MIA on-camera. The media congloms: PLENTY of time to pitch drugs, none for Equal Fair time --for any but the already-bought candidates.

Not lousy? WHAT do you learn from: "reports" on candidates giving speeches, rather 'bites' of speeches, in various locations? US dragged into invading a country --NO threat to this one --on NO evidence --via people part of crowd, not leaders, who ALSO voted "FOR" "Patriot" Act theft of rights. LOOK at their records.

IGNORE the national campaign "coverage" --even if your choice, and mine, droped out/got booted by failure of "press" to cover, there Are other important issues to vote on....

Yes, I am This Close to skipping the 'top' of the ticket, so far.... 'Window dressing' --pretty words, clever quick words --doesn't un-do invasion of Iraq, "Patriot" Act, giantic hole in the Treasury. --Nor STOP nuke and drug lobbyists from piling on the dough, to the "front" runners.

WHICH candidate: WILL vow --Promise to call for/demand that national gigantic Congloms, who use OUR airwaves to make money, Give Up some air time --to run FREE candidate messages? --GET FCC rules --Back --Force them to Actually DO Public Service?

If the Good/Best candidates: are forced to drop out because they cannot raise $100 MILLION bucks to BUY air time that the Congloms get for Free, then we get 2nd tier of candidates --stolen democracy --the shaft.

We get: whomever bomb-maker and contractor to Penta-goons GE wants to shove on to its money-maker NBC, via "entertainment" show & tell of Jay-I'm-a pimp-for-Republicans-Leno. Oppostion candidates? "We don't have to put those on, it's an "entertainment" show."

Oh. Then SMALL surprise: Democratic California got inexperienced know-nothing right-wing nazi-loving admitted sexual predator --as a governor, after Two apearances on the dog & pony network. His Democratic opponent: MIA. When he filed complaint with FCC? Still pending.

In four years: How Much will it take to get elected? --Even in Silver Lake? --City Council? --Billionaire boys club? I Don't like our chances with That gene pool.

Eat well, Enjoy Super bowl...'super' Tuesday...if those don't do it for you: then enjoy Fat Tuesday, and pray the good times roll back....

Meadow Meadow Who's Got the Meadow... Meeting...

Like surprises? Want to see the reservoir --empty --without knowing what's go'n on? If you'd Rather be IN the loop than out of it (lol, sorry), clear some time Saturday afternoon and show up. On tap: Reservoir plans --DWP deigns to spaketh unto us, Silver Lake stakeholders, and anybody else who shows up; others on: "plans" for the surrounding area, AKA The Meadow.

Community Meeting
Saturday January 26, 2008
2 PM to 4 PM (ish?)
at the Michaeltorena Elementary School
auditorium
1511 Michaeltorena Street --at Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake CA
If you haven't been there: has a parking lot

Meeting: sponsored by CD 4 Rep Tom LaBonge, CD 13 Rep Eric Garcetti

Bring your high-heeled sneakers, knowledge -open mind -indoor voice -dare I say it, optimism and umbrella --it will be raining...and remember those words by the man who, after acquital of the cops who beat him set off Major LA riot #2, said: "can't we all just...get along".... Hey! Maybe they'll tell us DWP managers will kick in part of their new raise to buy us a DASH! Why yes, yes I Do believe in the Tooth Fairy, why do you ask? Ah...Silver Lake daVine....



Want fish? It will be OK to order, eventually, after all the fish swallowing the plastic bags Southern Californians currently toss out, are dead.

After Tuesday's LA County Board of Supervisors meeting: PLASTIC bag volume must be reduced by grocery stores in Los Angeles County within twelve months OR will be banned 100%. Yippee. Thanks Green coalition, Heal the Bay.

Headed to the store? Take: bags WITH you --reusable, recycled, paper --woven --braided remnants --backpack --satchel --basket --cart, any kind; put next to the front door so you won't forget.

Trees --birds --sea creatures --ocean won, oily boys network: lost. That's Silver Lake daVine --even without a beachfront border, lol....

Now, if we could just get dioxin-leeching stretch-wrap banned --off the planet...till then pick up roll of wax paper....

NOTE: GOOGLE is screwed up --I can't fix --find solution --find techs --get a reply --this must be the day they Ignore, while they count the money they haul in on blogs they can't be bothered to maintain bug-free.

SL Neighborhood Council Election: Singing...Over...

Silver Lake election: held fall 2007, results held up because there were two challenges.

Challenge: filed by candidate Noah Stein, on his opponent for alleged campaign violation at polling place.

Challenge: filed by Election Committee Chair Leanna Dickstein, on At-Large candidate Jason Lyons on using SLNC e-mail for campaign.

Summary of election here without much specifics, except the new SLNC board does not include either candidate, which means: Challenge by Noah Stein was not upheld. Challenge by Chair Dickstein was upheld, as the new board does not list Mr. Lyons.

All the new board members, listed in the annual report, were seated mid-December. I don't know how to copy/paste from pdf (hate pdf) pages (if you know how: please post in Comments below or shoot over in an e-mail), so you can read their names in the 2006-2007 Annual Report.

The board is almost entirely new people --neighbors, who got involved, asked for votes, got elected --represent us, in each region of Silver Lake.

What's it got to do with you? You CAN have influence over what goes on in your neighborhood --your street, your block. You have a representative --speak up. Your ideas to your board member, they to other members, together: influences what happens in Silver Lake, in Los Angeles City Council. --IF the board is receiving in-put from the community. Silence: not golden.

SLNC: looking for ideas...how to involve more of the community.

SL Board members also: work with other Neighborhood Councils, nearby and across Los Angeles. So what? With in-put from stakeholders, together: they can have direct influence --on things like the proposed 23% increase of your DWP bill and much more.

IF Councils had in-put --from stakeholders, enough to exert their power: perhaps, e.g., a fireman, who quit for "harrassment" on detecting pet food in a dish --after he spent months taunting another fireman, would NOT have received over Two MILLION "gift" --from LA City Council --from us, residents of Los Angeles. CC members: Saw the evidence, voted to give him the money anyway. Mayor V? Vetoed the payment --the first time; signed the check, the second time.

Ditto: Fast hired/fast fired transportation 'chief' --imported by Mayor V from another state, even though she had no actual "Transportation" experience, but exited with $95,000 'bonus' anyway, thanks to Council member Bernard Parks --and Los Angelenos' 'reps.' Did YOU ever receive a bonus for failure to perform? NOT in the real world....

It is OUR money they are spending; our life they are affecting. People, after they asked for our vote, sitting on City Council: NEED to hear from the people they are Supposed to represent. NC SHOULD be: our voice. --That begins with you, and neighbors.

You cannot get Eric Garcetti on the phone, I tried, long ago; he Might show up at a community event, in between his on-camera elbow-hugging appearances with Mayor V., but, believe it, you can't have dialogue with him then either.

But you can reach: your region's board member --entire board. --Too much graffitti -not enough Neighborhood Watch -more meadow -too many speeding cars -perfect spot for planting flowers -stop that condo-conversion -too many cell-phone towers -not enough bicycle racks -parking meters going in front of residences? Speak up --contact!

Of the multi-thousands who live in Silver Lake: not even 1% go to once-a-month general or to committee meetings. Don't know about Neighborhood Council --still believe 'Can't fight city hall'? Get involved. SLNC publishes dates of meetings on the website, SEE: link in Sidebar, and I published, here, nearly every month last year.

If you don't speak up --put your body where your thoughts are: City Council, City Hall will keep on keeping on --ignoring you.

Already know about Silver Lake Neighborhood Council? Where are you? Want to preserve Silver Lake buildings? --Fill reservoir with trout? --Improve traffic flow -more bicycle paths -a park for kitten equality with dogs --Jacaronda trees around entire boundary --bury overhead utility wires --Styro-foam-free zone --thatched fire-proof roof Housing code?

Get Moving! Get involved. Hook up with a neighbor: show up --at a meeting. Following month: bring Two new neighbors, who each bring a neighbor the following month. If you don't: Who will?

Don't know any neighbors? Then they don't know you either, but you have something in common: you live/work in Silver Lake daVine. Say 'hello' --to a senior adult, a young adult, the not-your-type, the crabby, the interesting customer --invite to a meeting. --Who doesn't like getting invitation?

Think. If you got acquainted with one neighbor, who introduced you to another, eventually entire block of neighbors got together on an issue: united front, powerful....

Did you know: to sway a US Senator on an issue --no matter how many lobbyists have visited, tried to influence, takes only 100 individual letters? You, and 99 others, could rule, lol....

While looking up election results: Came across this article about Neighborhood Councils, background, bit of history, so since I don't know what you've read, thought it worth posting in case you missed it. Whether you are familiar with SLNC or not, it's a well-written good snap-shot: Neighborhood Councils and City of LA posted at LA Cowboy blog. Thanks, Cowboy.

Your comments, thoughts, wishes, crabbing, ideas welcome in Comments, below. --But keep it clean!



Note: I have attempted to post this, and a few others, so many times it's spooky...booted -crashed -electrical outages -'illegal op' messages -Blogspot probs & their outages...beginning to wonder if I'm not supposed to post, lol...I will keep on attempting until I succeed, or puter burns up....

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tag: Silver Lake Neighborhood Council board election September 2007 results challenge general meeting annual report Silver Lake daVine

Cheers...

Good New Year to you...

May the New Year bring...less division, more harmony...less traffic, more bicycles... less pollution, more Greening... swift fair end to Writers' strike, quality entertainment...less local corruption, better representation...fewer parking tickets, more celebration of daVine Silver Lake...an honest election, a Democratic president....


Thanks to: Antique Clipart.com


Where have I been...

Morphing...
I went to take out the trash...my beautiful car, only 46,000 miles, parked in the driveway --Morphed into the air *poof* --vanished...made everything more difficult, balance of the year.

Out...injured --good health --Morphed --into 'crooked' bent-over stay-at-home.... Then: Perfectly good neck --Morphed --so painful, to call it 'stiff neck' equivalent
to calling Grand Canyon "ditch" --dread sitting, rising, turning, breathing....

Blogging...Wrote several posts --lined them up, clicked "publish" --Yikes --Morphed --into the ether. That used to happen often with Google, but not in years. Looked for a way --to retrieve --communicate with Google techs --protest --complain. Useless...out partying?...gone. Recreated the posts. But --holy cow --Morphed --into nothing --again --when my puter crashed. DRATS. Exhausted, annoyed, cranky, still sore from injury...slowly s l o w l y re-wrote.... No --NO --Nooo --CURSES --Morphed --again.... Only pieces...a few headlines remained.... Too annoyed to do all over again, immediately....

Crept/limped outdoors...Forced out, to do regular and a bit of holiday shopping, and ran out of my regular preventative remedies. While out Somebody: "gave" me --the flu. Perfect Flawless record --no cold -flu -sore throat -cough or even sniffles: since fall 1987 --Morphed --into...well, uncomfortable person, still....

Home...Needed repairs --I shifted this, then that, then those, endlessly --as workmen did whatever, slowly. --Morphed into giant mess.... Eventually: so many repairs --so slowly, a judge got very angry with the Moron property owner. --So angry I had to move into a hotel, my entire household into storage, while he got his act, and my home, together, slowly....

Moved back...Repairs, finally, finished --with way more boxes than made Any logical sense...explained on discovering: movers put a single item in a box, many items...sheesh. Movers: also not Good Listeners --stacked huge boxes --in NONE of the rooms marked on the box --three and four rows high --'iced' with the rug --on top --left only narrow space to navigate through each room. Mystery packages, in boxes too high/heavy to reach, utter chaos. --Can opener, hair brush, blender top, the fan --the Fan --FAN, yikes --where the heck is the fan, when the temp --hit 112??? Location unknown....

Shifting a box at a time, still bent from injury, un-packed, slowly...inching towards
the holidays...How to get ready
--Morphed --from 'warehouse' to Home --with dining room dressed in custom paint, in unique technique, thrilling ...kitchen --now 'square' instead of squished, with heavy large stove against the other wall, thanks to excellent Jeff... living room now painted the way I always wanted, re-assembled better than before...repaired fully-functioning --fresh --cozy --HOME! Who needs gifts, with such de-lish pleasures....

Morphed...
My usual joke: I am two years older now, after a birthday and New Year's, than I was before the holidays. But so what.... Much talk about 'recession' in the news, but so what --turn off the news. If you have good Health...if you have a Home...who needs a car, tech toys, junk --jabber.

Fresh...We have A New year.... We'll get through whatever...we don't have flood -snow -drought -hurricane -war -famine -bombs -epidemic disease -tsunami -cameras on corners.... We can still make our own luck. We still have brains -energy -free will -creativity -ideas -Possibilities --Griffith Park!

It doesn't matter, even if there is a recession --pay --You --First...pay the others: some amount, even small, every month --so nobody can sue to get more, faster.... The worst thing ever to happen to America, spent, impotent: clearing out of OUR house in 11 short months, 3 weeks..."8" is considered a lucky number...UCLA has a new coach!

Too much weight, not enough money? Relax...go look at Griffith Park --Observatory...or up...watch squirrels play...treat yourself to a scented flower...
...eat eat fresh fruit, tons of veggies...have a nap --it's free!

We'll put everything right...we'll get through it, together, in daVine Silver Lake.... May you and those you care about have a happy year.

Poppy


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tag: New Year 2008, election, neighborhood Silver Lake daVine