Perhapse inspired by MadEx’s foot trek to the Beverly Center, this weekend (July 17th/18th) a group of people are hosting a two-day urban hike through Los Angeles called The Big Parade.  From Angel’s Flight stairway to the Hollywood Sign, the walk covers 40 miles, 135 flights of stairs, an over-night campout at the famous Music Box stairs and dozens of Los Angeles landmarks — some well-known and many hardly-known.

The best part is it’s COMPLETELY FREE!  The second best part is you don’t have to do all 40 miles if you don’t want to. The walk is broken into specific segments so that walkers of all ages and levels of fitness can join at specific times.

Schedules and routes are available on the website.  RSVP is required for the campout portion (only available to two-day participants).  If you know me, you know that I prefer to get around by bicycle but this just sounds like a great way to experience our beloved LA so check it out.  I’m going to try to get out of working this weekend so I can do both days.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that somehow they have a marching band involved too so if all that doesn’t spark your interest then I suggest you move to Florida.

Putting all other summer blockbusters to shame.

Thank you, Lakers for making Los Angeles so proud.

Thank you, Lakers fans for bringing us all back down to reality.

Images courtesy of The Inquisitor.

I’m an Ebay addict and I love to find crazy shit that people are auctioning off.  Yesterday I happened upon my friend’s RV, named The Box.  It’s not just any RV.  The Box is every teenager’s when-I-get-my-license fantasy in the flesh.  A true party RV with custom paint by some of LA’s best graffiti artists including a few of my personal faves: Cache, Eyer, and Unit LOD.  The Box lives forever in Los Angeles infamy from being the official support vehicle of the completely-out-of-control bike party/ride C.R.A.N.K. MOB.  I’m sad to see it go but hopefully whoever wins it won’t paint it over.

Click the pictures to see more…

Dorothy Hollingsworth (f.k.a. Dorothy  Zbornak) died today due to complications from cancer. She was born Dorothy Petrillo in 1929 to Italian immigrants in New York and nicknamed “Pussycat” as a child. As a teenager she married Stanley Zbornak and had two children: Michael and Kate. Dorothy and Stanley later moved to Miami but divorced after 38 years of marriage. In 1985, Dorothy moved into a home with Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund, later joined by her mother Sophia Petrillo. Over the course of 7 years the girls formed a unique and special bond with Dorothy, often taking pleasure in her trademark brand of dry sarcastic quips. Dorothy’s endless strength and tough-but-comforting love served as anchors to both Blanche’s brash sassiness and Rose’s endearing naiveté. Living together, the girls experienced many ups and downs and became such good friends that they all considered themselves to be family. In 1992, Dorothy married Lucas Hollingsworth and moved out. Dorothy will always be remembered for her wit, intelligence and level-headedness. She was never afraid to let you know exactly how it was and never failed to give advice when you needed it the most. For that, Dorothy… I want to personally thank you for being a friend. You will be missed.

All this and more at badpaintingsofbarackobama.com

And if you think that’s embarrassing, check out his big exit after the jump…

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Is it really happening?  According to Ron Howard and Jeffrey Tambor…  YES!

Read full article (plus video) on Paste Magazine.

This Saturday the 22nd, The Steve Allen Theater will have medieval knights battling in their parking lot presented by The Society For Creative Anachronism. Yeah with full armor sword fights, dirty wenches, hulky barbarians and lowly peasants. I’ve never seen medieval knights do battle in a Hollywood parking lot so this sounds like fun. Oh also, metal warriors Crom will be melting some faces inside the theater. 8pm. $10 cover. Located at 4773 Hollywood Blvd.

photo not by me... but it is from last night.

Dear Mother Nature,

Thank you for the awesome light show last night. The lightning storms off the shore of Santa Monica were some of the more amazing things I’ve ever seen in the sky. We’re talking giant bolts of blue and white lightning forking across the midnight sky. To top it off, each burst of electricity was far from infrequent. Every three to five seconds there were several huge bolts lighting up the clouds from different angles. Having lived in Vancouver, Portland, Detroit and the Caribbean, I’ve been through a fair share of lightning storms… but I think this one was the best one I’ve ever seen. And I’ve definitely never witnessed anything like it in Los Angeles after 14 years of living here. It was like a cross between Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and a totally rad Iron Maiden album cover. The best part was there was no rain and barely any thunder so I was able to sit on the grass outside my work in Santa Monica and have a chat with a friend while the light show went on over our heads. If this is an effect of global warming, maybe I should start driving more.

Did anyone else catch the lightning show last night?

UPDATE: Just found some more photos of the storm.  You can really see what I mean where there were two or three bolts going off at the same time.  Check out the original set on Flickr but here are my favorites:

Spotted on page 112 of this week’s LA Weekly:

Oh P.S. I called the number…  but I don’t think I’m ready.

Saturday night (i.e. tomorrow) there will be a huge all-night arts and music festival taking
place at the Santa Monica Pier called Glow. I’m not sure what the entire deal is but there’s going to be music and huge interactive art installations going from dusk until dawn so it sounds like it could be fun. I also hear there’s going to be some big rambunctious bike ride crashing the event at some point.

The annual Bicycle Film Festival hits Los Angeles this weekend starting with a launch party on Thursday night and ending with a all-day block party at the Heliotrope/Melrose Bicycle District on Sunday which shouldn’t be missed.