RSSDecember 1, 2008
Jazz pianist John Osnes, 55, was walking across the street last week on November 23rd when an SUV driven by David Jassy crossed/edged/drifted into crosswalk as it came to a stop. Osnes, known as a "stickler for pedestrian rights," struck the vehicle with his hands, prompting Jassy to exit his vehicle and punched him. The punch knocked Osnes glasses off and as he went to pick them up, Jassy kicked him in the head.
Witnesses, including an off-duty Anaheim officer tried to detain Jassy, but he got free and drove off, running over Osnes in the process.
Today, the coroner's office announced that Osnes died from “blunt trauma.” Jassy is charged with assault, battery and leaving the scene of an accident, but more could be piled on as the investigation continues. A web page from friends has been set up in memory of Osnes.
Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr
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Photo by Koga for LAist
December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008.
Eli of the Monolators
1. "With Luv'" by, natch, Luv'. Luv' was a manufactured girl group from the Netherlands circa late 1970's, basically an attempt to cash in on ABBA's success. There's three of them, all girls, and they all have different personas: there's the one who can sing, there's the "exotic" one, and there's the blonde one. Like Charlie's Angels. The thing is, though, the this record is REALLY REALLY GOOD. I highly recommend watching their videos on youtube. For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHllh7J-g2o
or this one, with bagpipes and marching smurfs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUd0XKUigW4
We love their "Shoes Off, Boots On" song (which sadly was a single and is not on this album, as good as it is) so much that we cover it in our other band, Cobra Lilies.
The Monolators - "I Must Be Dreaming"
Yes, the average price of a gallon or regular gas is now less than two bucks at $1.987 in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area. Statewide, it's $1.96 with San Francisco leading the state' highest prices at $2.073, according to AAA.
"In normal times, a 20-cent change from survey to survey is very unusual; now, it seems to happen all the time," notes Mark Lacter at LA Biz Observed. "Mostly, this is good news, of course, but you do have to wonder what it does to the efforts at developing alternative energy sources. And whether it discourages conservation measures, and whether it encourages wasteful consumption."
Today was the 75th consecutive day that gas prices dipped.
Photo taken at the corner of Beverly and La Brea on Sunday | Photo by Julie Wolfson/LAist
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December 1, 2008
lulz. photo by mondolind via LAist Flickr Photo pool. MONDAY 12/1 Latino Night, 8p Laugh Factory. Spice up your stand up. tml Long Form 1, 10p Second City. Come see the latest batch of improv grads try to hone their newfound skills. TUESDAY 12/2 Gary Austin's Improv, 8p Groundlings. Founding father Gary Austin directs the best improvisors......
Continue Reading "LAst Laugh: This Week in Comedy"
Photo by Adan Garcia via Flickr Although it was predicted to win the day after the election, Measure R, the half-cent tax increase that is expected to raise $30 to $40 billion over the next 30 years for transit projects, finally passed today with 100% of the votes tallied. It won by 27,000 votes, which was slim for a ballot measure that required two-thirds......
Continue Reading "Transit Tax Officially Wins, Time to Start Laying Track"
It's all in an effort to get a good night's rest in the Valley. The Daily News sums the aviation battle up nicely: "Burbank eventually wants to send 32 flights a day to Van Nuys to ease congestion. Van Nuys officials don't want any of Burbank's air traffic, but they want to divert their noisiest aircraft to Burbank and other airports." Both airports ultimately would like to cut nighttime flights except for emergencies, but that's up to the FAA to impose a curfew. And to make it through their process could take up to months or years. And well... Burbank is ahead in their application process with the feds.
$11.2 billion or $28 billion? Neither are good numbers when it comes to California's deficit, but that's the reality--our current budget shortfall is projected to be $11.2 billion and that could reach $28 billion in the next 18 months. That's why Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency today today, which in turn allows him......
Continue Reading "Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency for California"
Fallen Leaf at Getty | Photo by bikracer via Flickr Monday Denis Leary presents and signs Why We Suck 7pm @ Book Soup
Residents, businesses and government have all lowered their water use over the past year, but the industrial sector has increased use by 22%, says the Mayor's Office today. Here's out the reduction breaks down citywide in Los Angeles: Apartments: down 4.3% Single-Family Homes: down 7% Commercial Businesses: down 5.4% Government Sector: down 11.4% Industrial Sector: up 22% Overall, the city is down 5.1%. Some of the water usage cuts......
Continue Reading "Water Use Down 5% in LA, Are You Conserving Water?"
Photo by kpe II via LAist's flickr pool. READING: LA resident Rachel Resnick reads from her new book Love Junkie today at the Barnes & Noble Santa Monica at 7 pm. The memoir is a woman's self-exploration of how a childhood led to a self-destructive addiction to love and sex. (DAY WITHOUT) ART:: Today marks the J. Paul Getty Museum's 19th annual observance......
Continue Reading "Pencil This In: (Day Without) Art"
The LAPD's Animal Cruelty Task Force--a group formed three years ago--announced today a successful break up of a profitable dog fighting ring in South LA. Since February 2007, detectives have looked into the location on the 600 block of West 85th Street where they say they found "mistreated dogs living in horrendous conditions at the residence" along with "equipment used in the training, breeding and exercising of the animals." 17 dogs in all were rescued and two men have already been arrested, tried and convicted.
Soccer is sometimes characterized as a cruel sport, not because it is a violent sport, but instead, its cruelty in its administration of justice on the field. It is perhaps the most democratic of team sports, where on any given day, the highest ranked team in the World could lose to the lowest ranked one, and conversely, the most dominant team on the field doesn't always win. It is highly unforgiving of mistakes, perhaps more......
Continue Reading "Soccer Sees a New Champ and a New Team"
There is a noticeable shortage of shows tonight in LA. Weave! are closing out their residency at the Echo with Fool's Gold and We Are the World. The Colour Turning will be performing at the Silverlake Lounge. But the only place to be tonight is Spaceland, where the the Movies (LAist Review, #2) will be kicking off their month-long residency. Local music journalist Kevin Bronson will be DJing. And, of course, it's free!...
Continue Reading "Tonight In Rock: The Movies, Herbaliser, The Colour Turning, Jason Diaz"
Photo by Anikia Malone via Flickr Brenda Scott Royce, director of publications for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, sounded off this weekend at Huffington Post about all the elephant talk going on these days. Animal activists and Councilman Tony Cardenas want the exhibit currently under construction to halt work and have a search a large expansive elephant sanctuary. Royce, along with others, believe the exhibit is......
Continue Reading "The LA Zoo Elephant Controversy from the Zoo's Side "
Los Angeles has no shortage of amazing places to shop for toys. Whether you are shopping for a little one or a very big kid at heart, here are 5 suggestion for buying playful gifts this holiday season. 1. I Heart Guts: LAist loves I Heart Guts plush toys. Find the adorable anatomical heart and other internal organs at Monkeyhouse Toys,......
Continue Reading "Toys in LA Holiday Gift Guide"