The Sowden House

I am truly the blogger's anti-blogger because I do so many things that I should report on my blog, but never take the incentive to actually do it. I was at a private party this Saturday held exclusively at the Sowden House in Hollywood (Los Feliz). The shot above is an ugly phone shot, but it was all I had. I left my actual camera in my car which was valeted (as usual). I must say that this place is TRULY AMAZING! Gorgeous and so awesome, lightly put. We had the most delicious hors d'oeuvres, followed by a definitely high class dinner where everything was so tasty and unique. The open bar at the kitchen was a plus. I simply cannot put in words how 'grandeur' this place is in style. What a fun filled, long lasting evening into the late night it was!

Interesting tidbits: This is a Lloyd Wright design (son of the famous Franklin Lloyd Wright). This is the house that the 'surgeon' from the famous L.A. Black Dahlia murder was linked to in the 30s. The son of the surgeon lived here at one time, who was a police officer who worked on the case. Not to mention this house has hidden rooms.


Google it as much as you want, or also you can read the wikipedia link: HERE.

You can view the PHOTO GALLERY HERE.

Stuff like this is why I love Los Angeles and Southern California!

TONIGHT: Cigar Night & Youth Speak Friendraiser

Dignity Premium Cigars & Youth Speak Collective presents:

A Thursday Night Friendraiser
Fine Cigars | Good People | Great Cause

$25 includes:
3 Dignity Premium Cigars & Cutter
Complimentary Wine & Cheese
Live Music & Live Art

Taking place at:
2nd Street Cigar Lounge & Art Gallery
124 W. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA

Come smoke with us and support a great cause.
Dignity Premium Cigars are organic hand grown cigars from Costa Rica
www.dignitycigars.com

2nd Street Cigar Lounge & Art Galley - best kept secret in Downtown LA
www.fujipub.com/2ndstreetcigars

A portion of the proceeds go to benefit the non-profit Youth Speak Collective www.youthspeakcollective.org

***No need to purchase package to attend. Cigars also sold separately. No need to smoke to attend either, just come to meet new people and support a great cause.

The Visual History of TSA and Flight Terrorism

I received this in my inbox this morning (thanks Lauren).

"Even before September 11th 44% of American airline passengers reported they "felt fearful" when flying. How has September 11th changed airport security? What other attacks have happened? Did these attacks stop people from flying?"

Here's a look at our recent history with airline terror, and see how we got to backscatter X-ray machines and enhanced pat-downs:

The full visual image project can be clicking here:

What Is Your State Worst At?

(Click to enlarge)


Source: Pleated-Jeans.com

Oh Pomona, You Lazy Ass City

It been over a month since I've taken the Lincoln Avenue street sign to City Hall that had fallen during the late December rains. I spoke to someone over the phone who was grateful and seemed to want to fix the situation. I personally walked it over to their engineering department as well. In fact, the head of Public Works also returned my call (after 2 1/2 weeks) saying he wasn't aware and would handle it. The location of the sign is on Lincoln Ave & Indian Hill if you'd like to see it yourself.

As of today, the sign remains a bare florescent light bulb case. I'm holding back on calling the city because I will rip them a new one. I'll wait 'til I'm a bit more patient and relaxed. It would take them a few minutes to put it back and re-clip it. I probably should have kept the sign for my garage as I had joked about it, would've gotten more use.

There's a reason why I called this the 'Ignored Northeast Area', which is fast becoming the bad Pomona due to neglect and the economy. The disease will probably continue to spread into the nice streets of some of the North Pomona areas. I've already noticed the influx of parked cars along Indian Hill from San Bernardino to American Ave. There were never parked cars on that street at night, but now about 4 of the homes there have become renter motels.

Here's another example why we're not the City of Trees as our neighbor in Claremont surely is (tree maintenance along the American Avenue city border):


When I first moved here, the street trees were maintained every 2 years. Now it's been over 4 years since any maintenance has been done. Oh, but to chop trees down, the city will be there in a flash, because that's less work for them regardless of the city looking worse and crime going up. Nice.

Paula Lantz, our Councilwoman, do you hear this?

UPDATE: It is now February the 1st, and NOTHING has been done about the Lincoln Ave. sign. Everyone in the city/public works seem to think it's been completed, but it obviously hasn't. Can it go 2 months now?

Props To Monrovia

With the holidays taking most of my time the past few weeks, and yes, this news bit is VERY late, I just wanted to congratulate the awesome Wildcats football team from Monrovia High School who won the CIF-Southern Section Mid-Valley Division title last month. The Monrovia Patch wrote a great article titled "A Sleigh Full of Wildcats Celebrates CIF Championship in Victory Parade". The Wildcats win came with sacrifices:

"The team was forced to practice at Clifton Middle School over the summer as their field was being renovated and worked out at a local gym instead of their weight room for the same reason.

"During this time they displayed fortitude and persevered," Jackson said.

The season brought more challenges, as the Wildcats had to play two home games away from home because of more renovations. And, naturally, their championship game had to be moved to Arcadia High School when CIF officials discovered flaws with the bleachers at MHS."

In addition, Keith of Gem City Images has posted an amazing high above shot of the high school, which you can view and zoom in by clicking here.

Facebook Obsession

Do you Facebook? Chances are you do... It looks like a 26 year old kid is the ruler of the world. Check out these staggering facts about Facebook:

(click to enlarge)

Arcadia To Lose A Natural Treasure

It looks like the battle has been lost.

Today, this grove of about 250 native oaks and sycamore trees in Arcadia, California is scheduled to be destroyed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, in order to install a dumping site for mud, dirt, and debris that has accumulated behind flood control dams. This grove is the last surviving example of untouched flatland woodlands in the alluvial plains exiting the San Gabriel Mountains. In addition to the native trees, the area is home to wildlife, birds, insects, and migrating water fowl. It produces clean oxygen into the air. Other cost-effective options exist to dispose of the dirt and debris. The grove is located in northeast Arcadia, CA.

Stories can be found at:
Arcadia Patch.com and Pasadena Star News.

You can watch a video of the site here:

A Doctor, A Prostitute And A TSA Agent

What do they have in common?

Sad Day, The Media Isn't Telling It All

This report was made on September 23, 2010 when Sarah Palin launched a new website:


Sarah Palin has just thrown down the gauntlet with a new site called Take Back The 20, which is aimed at knocking off 20 Democrats who voted for Obamacare in GOP-leaning districts.

On the map, the districts are marked by snipers, which includes Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' district. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head on saturday at an event in her community. The Site was taken down by the afternoon the same day.

The media is trying hard to downplay this and is getting into another 'as Americans blah blah' mode again. I'm not saying she personally had her shot, but the loons of the radical tea party are so easily led that it's dangerous to do something as stupid as this.

Here is Congresswoman Giffords speaking about Sarah Palin's crossfire hit list recently:


There's even an online petition going around:
Tell Sarah Plain: Violent Threats Have Consequences.

2nd Saturday ArtWalk Tonight at 6pm

More info & maps at: PomonaArtsColony.com or MetroPomona.com

2011... More Crap

The holidays have had me non-stop in the busy world. Too much going on and no time to sit and blog at all. Just wanted to check myself in and take a sec from all the parties, events, kids, errands, visits, family and friends. I'm still alive and I guess that's a good thing. May 2011 be something other than the misery & fallout left from the Bush administration we're still dealing with. I hope it ends soon. We need to bring jobs back to the USA, plain and simple. We need to remove all the privatization that is eating us alive.

But enough of that... I was at the Lakers vs Hornets game earlier, but managed to get home about an hour ago from some fun at ESPN Zone at L.A. Live with friends. The only Pale Ale on tap was Sierra Nevada... I was expecting more. Oh well...

My sons won their basketball games earlier too, so that was fun (freshman and varsity). Not much else to say, I'm not feeling too well, got a slight cold keeping me congested.