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The L.A. Times is doing a pretty awesome project in which they map out L.A.’s 87 neighborhoods based on official borders that they can find but molded by user-input.  You can draw/modify boundaries as you see fit, and take part in conversation and debate regarding them.  It’s quite fun.  *sigh*, L.A. has soooooo much more culture than the O.C.  I mean, to even raise a comparison between the two is a pretty hardcore joke.

This map is particularly interesting to me because coincidentally every place I’ve lived in L.A. has always been borderline with me never fully sure of which neighborhood I lived in.

1. Firstly, I lived in what I thought for a long time was Los Feliz, as the apartment complex was even named Rancho Los Feliz, but it turns out as I suspected and thought later on, that it is really in Atwater Village.
2. Then I lived in Van Nuys, right?  But I always described it as really being right on the border of Van Nuys, Panorama City, and Sun Valley.  The zip code always resolved to Panorama City though and turns out according to the current map that I lived in the bottom right corner of Panorama City.
3. The last place I lived was in Sherman Oaks, but the main zip code would resolve to Van Nuys.  Turns out according to the map that I loved… (I meant to type lived but I really did love there!) indeed in Sherman Oaks, as it seems pretty settled that Burbank Blvd. marks the border between Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys.

Yep, definitely miss it.

[Update] This map also validates the problem I’ve had with associating an identity with the South Bay area (visual representation).  Perhaps part of the problem is due to the fact that so much of that area is removed from the City of L.A.  Most other cities that are not technically part of L.A. have often broken away and are either almost completely encompassed by L.A. (Santa Monica, Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, etc) or are still super close to L.A. (Compton, Lynwood, South Gate, Huntington Park, etc).  I suppose the same issue exists for the San Gabriel Valley, around which I did live before living in any official L.A. cities… but if I hadn’t, and actually even though I have, I can’t really describe a look/feel/culture to it.

I really like when Emily lays on top of me.  Recently, I asked my mom to take a picture of this.  Just after the picture was taken, as she continued to lay on top of me, Emily told me that I didn’t know about “the twist”.  When I looked at the picture I loved it and laughed.

Continue reading “Why I Love My Lady”

I started a new YouTube channel for videos which feature myself, it’s called Jozzy Direct.  Friend that account bitches, so I can easily share private videos with you that include you.

A few things about the speech.  First of all, what a great speech!  So uplifting and powerful.  It’s like this is the stuff we need to hear, and what a leader.  It was so good.  Classic Obama (already exists )

Secondly, I didn’t plan to watch it live as I had some other things to get done.  I was walking by a TV in the gym when I first saw it, and I saw the President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House in the State of the Union style seating format, and it just brought a huge smile to my face.  I mean, what a change.  I want any of you people who run into any of these idiots that say “there’s no difference between the two parties” to send them here, tell them to take a good look at this picture and really think about that statement, and then also become a bit more politically savvy.

[Pictures/comparison courtesy Daily Kos]

Capitalism FAIL! - So, I was trying to watch this speech online about a half hour after it ended.  Went to CNN’s site, first had to install some eyebrow-raising flash plugin??  Anyway, they have a lot of the speech… in out of order separate clips… that won’t do.  Went to MSNBC’s site, they have it quickly ready to watch the whole thing (alriiight!) in one nice long video.  I load it, watch the 30-second commercial first, then start enjoying the speech.  9 minutes in it just stops, and doesn’t start back up for over a minute.  I seek around, nothing works.  It’s dead.  Reloading the page and seeking to the spot works, but it dies again in short time.  Nothing on YouTube yet.  Finally I check out the official White House website, and dog-gone!, they have the whole thing there already.  I load it up, no commercials, no weird shady software installs, watch the whole thing successfully.  Now, maybe this is because people aren’t (yet) used to going to government sites and actually being able to get good service, so traffic was not as high as the commercial sites, but just now government service defeated multiple private sector offerings.

Oooophhhh, Bobby Jindal response speech, almost rofl-bad.  Why does he talk to us like we’re in elementary school?  I guess that’s how Republicans have to talk to their base.

[Update!] - LOL, I don’t know what’s funnier, Jindal’s walk out/introduction of himself or someone at MSNBC going “oh God” as it occurs:

This is the first year I’ve ever seen all the nominated movies, so:

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. The Reader
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Milk
5. Frost/Nixon

Number 3&4 could be flipped.  Those two are very close, but I put Benjamin Button ahead simply because I had a deeper emotional feeling from it, but I go back and forth on these two.  Frost/Nixon didn’t seem like it was up to this Best Picture level, and so I’m not sure what it’s doing here - and this is from someone who is into politics.  I’d have nominated Revolutionary Road or The Dark Knight in place of that.  The Reader was the final movie I just saw recently and I was very impressed.  I feel like it’s a really important/powerful/deep movie.  I might even have a blog post regarding it.  I still think Slumdog Millionaire is the best movie out of these, but The Reader is not *too* far behind, and I wouldn’t be terribly upset if it somehow won either.  Would I?  Would I??  Just give it to Slumdog Millionaire, that’s the best one.

Girls Aloud have announced their third single off Out of Control.  It is going to be “Untouchable”.  That’s right, the epic near 7 minute song will be a single!  Fans could have only hoped that such would occur, but I think most expected them to go with something more friendly and safe, such as “Rolling Back the Rivers in Time”.  This is like the best possible single that we thought would be too good to actually happen.

Anyway, Girls Aloud are already awesome, but this sets up my true test of awesomeness for this act.  I’m fairly confident that there will be a radio edit version of this single, but the true test is the music video.  They’re awesome if they do the full 7 minute video for this.

Make it great.  Make it artistic.  Have it tell some sort of story.

-Luke

Following UFC 94 (Penn vs. St. Pierre 2), controversy quickly arose regarding the improper wiping of vaseline on Georges St. Pierre’s body, making him slippery and this far less susceptible to jiu-jitsu holds.  UFC President Dana White stated in the post-fight press conference that while he didn’t think it changed the outcome of the fight…

I saw the commission jump up there and flip out.  They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges’ back in between rounds.  It was one and two, I think.  The guys from the athletic commission went up there and started screaming at them, knocked the Vaseline and kicked the Vaseline out of the Octagon.

Now I don’t believe that GSP (Georges St. Pierre) is a cheater, but his cornerman was giving him an advantage, intentionally or not.  Matt Hughes and other GSP opponents have talked about having the same problem.  Anyway, I raise this issue at this late date because I thought that this didn’t really affect the outcome of the fight, but now BJ Penn’s camp has released this video which is pretty compelling:

Honestly, I don’t know why they allow vaseline on the face at all in these fights.  It should only be allowed on a cut, and nowhere else.  I mean, they grease your face up before the fight starts.  I was always like “wtf” in regards to that.  They never allowed that shit in PRIDE:

The application of oil, ointment, spray, Vaseline, massaging cream, hair cream, or any other substances to any part of the fighter’s body before and during the fights is prohibited. The discovery of any of these substances will result in a disqualification.

This is one of the PRIDE rules that the UFC should adopt.  I honestly don’t get what is up with the greasing.  See all the problems it causes?

In case you missed this one:

I wonder where they got that idea?  What else is new.  Steve, comment?

Cool!

Tomorrow huh?  I guess it’s a week later, but here’s one of my favorite parts from that Obama press conference that I’ve been wanting to post.  It’s just like, thank you, somebody is finally saying what I want to say!