Caught in the Act

LOS ANGELES RIVER CARP caught on video by Jay Babcock (of Arthur fame) and Carmelo Gaeta (of LA Times fame) around noon Thursday. Originally posted to Babcock's new Nature Trumps blog about the LA River.

Run for Your Life

OR JUST YOUR HEALTH. Users at FavoriteRun map their best running routes. This one goes four miles on the "flat neighborhood streets" of Atwater Village. Plus, on each of the six zigs between Los Feliz Blvd. and Glendale Blvd., there's usually something new or interesting to see. Atwater Village Jaunt [FavoriteRun]

Fear of God

HERE'S A PICTURE OF that odd dome, the one with parking for thousands, behind Costco in Atwater Village. It houses the heavily protected New Hope Chapel, where this security guard demanded, "Who are you taking pictures for?" What, you mean this picture and this picture? "Myself," I replied. "Am I free to go?" Photography is the new terrorism.

Recreating Atwater Village's Beastie Boys Days

THREE GENTS OVER AT clothes maker XLarge have recreated this classic Beastie Boys photograph. In the 1990s Ari Marcopoulos shot the Beasties in front of our neighborhood sign. The rappers Atwater Village studio was at 3218 1/2 Glendale Blvd. XLarge founder Eli Bonerz (far right) and two designers posted their recreation today. Eli credits Beastie Mike D for his help "creating a unique concept" for the company, which keeps offices at 3222 Glendale Blvd., next to the old studio. Find the sign - which could, incidentally, use a shine! - along southbound Riverside Drive [map], just before Glendale Blvd.

Four Hours with Don Suggs

HOW DOES AN ARTIST stay with the same gallery for 30 years? Based in our northeast corner of Los Angeles, Don Suggs has been showing with LA Louver in Venice since 1977. This April 24 LA Weekly piece gets to the center of the painter, illustrator, photographer and sculptor: "His spacious Atwater Village studio, though packed with books, tools, materials of all kinds, mountainous bins of plasticware, and a contraption the size of a small room designed to spin a canvas horizontally while the artist applies pigment from a mattress-lined perch above, is minimally stocked with chairs, and we make little - in fact, no - use of them over the course of my nearly four-hour visit..." Suggs' next show, Concentric, opens at LA Louver May 17 with a reception Saturday, May 19, 6:00pm. Don Suggs is all over the place - in a good way [LA Weekly] Artist profile of Don Suggs [LA Louver] Don Suggs biography [Wikipedia] [Photo of Don Suggs in his studio by Meg Linton, Director, Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design]

X Marks the Hints

THIS IS MY LATEST submission to Guess Where LA. Let Flickr users flounder with guesses. You, dear readers, get hints: It's within Los Angeles city limits. (Duh.) It's within Atwater Village neighborhood boundaries. (Also, duh.) A lot of people have been shot here. Comment below or hazard a guess on the Flickr page.

Everything But the Carp

WATCHING VIDEO PODCAST HOST Jacob Soboroff pratfall into the Los Angeles River (at the 0:43 mark) is only one reason to watch his LA Observed video report on new attempts to revitalize the flood channel. There's also the chance to watch Army Corps engineers (at the 3:41 mark) squirm out of "narrow minded" decisions made by other Army Corps engineers 60 years ago. VIDEO: Rethinking environmentalism on the LA River [LA Observed] PHOTOS: From LA River video shoot and tour [Flickr] Look for shots along the more natural-looking portions of the river in the Glendale Narrows and in Atwater Village. Here the Army Corps contended with bubbling groundwater by lining the riverbed with pebbles and boulders instead of concrete. Lucky break for us!

Why Costco Doesn't Have Day Care

Los Angeles Independent, January 10, 1996 from the Los Angeles Public Library

THIS THOUGHT HAS OCCURRED to me on more than one occasion. All these rugrats running under carts at our cramped Costco: Can't someone babysit them here? In a word, no, thanks to Franciscan Pottery. From the entry for 2901 Los Feliz Bvld. at California's EnviroStor database: "The Franciscan site is a former ceramics manufacturing facility, situated on 45 acres in Atwater Village. It was in operation for approximately 70 years, during which time ceramic waste and sludges were disposed of onsite. Elevated levels of zinc, cadmium, and lead were identified in the soils, both in the surface and in the subsurface. Soils contaminated with weathered diesel fuel were also found on the eastern boundary of the site. Asbestos was also discovered, as a result of various salvaging and demolition activities, inside the building structures and along the immediate perimeter of the site." Amongst the prohibited uses: DAY CARE CENTER PROHIBITED ELDER CARE CENTER PROHIBITED RAISING OF FOOD PROHIBITED HOSPITAL USE PROHIBITED RESIDENCE USE PROHIBITED PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR PERSONS UNDER 21 PROHIBITED Alas, then, no day care at Costco. But how did Toys'R'Us end up in the same parking lot?

What the Carp Is Going On in the LA River

Carp swimming upstream under Hyperion Bridge March 31 2007, originally uploaded by smashhands.

AS MENTIONED HERE ABOUT 16 days ago, there's something fishy going on in the Atwater Village stretch of the Los Angeles River. The fish in question: carp. From the LA Times: "Then came the events of three weeks ago when hundreds of carp in the Glendale Narrows were seen thrashing about in the river - apparently they were spawning... "Carmelo Gaeta, an Atwater Village native who recently moved back to town and has become thoroughly obsessed with carp fishing in the Los Angeles River: 'There are some monsters in there...' "Do the carp glow, have three eyes or look like extras from 'Jurassic Park'? "No, said Gaeta, though he added that he tries not to touch them when releasing them. He also had a bottle of hand sanitizer in his backpack." Not everyone is as fastidiously giddy about new life in the old channel. From Valley News: "Although the carp have not yet been identified as to type, carp generally have a reputation as an invasive species to established ecosystems - invading and quickly dominating new ecosystems often with serious negative effects... FoLAR has said they will be conducting a study this summer..." Despite living yards from the river, I have yet to witness the invasion. Next best thing: this page of photos with closeups of fish and anglers alike.

Artists May Save Us From the Rain

IF THE RAIN CONTINUES these open studios might be a good way to participate in Saturday's Artwater Music & Art Festival. From Steve Stanard: Artwater Open Studio Tour Saturday April 21, 3:00 to 6:00pm "Here's your chance to meet neighborhood artists and experience their work in a casual setting. On this self-guided tour, you’ll see the art your neighbors are making right here in Atwater Village. There’s nothing to sign up for, and it's free." (Click to enlarge map.) Samuel Saga (drawing, painting) - 3149 1/2 Glendale Blvd., upstairs Christi McAva (painting) - 3181 Glendale Blvd., #6 - Enter at back door in alley Lorraine & Rick Heitzman (painting, drawing, jewelry) - 3251 Garden Ave. Cathy Ford (painting, photography) - 3910 Glenfeliz Blvd. Eban Leher (painting; adult content) - 3933 Legion Lane, off Dover Juan Rosenfeldt (painting, assemblage) - 3828 Valleybrink Road Ed, Vivian & Ian Flynn, Flynn Art Studios (painting, drawing, assemblage) - 3765 Legion Lane, off Sunnynook Just don't be surprised if upcoming exhibits include variations of a"wet shoeprints on studio floor" theme.

How to Play the 'Planet Earth' Drinking Game

RESPECT MOTHER NATURE and get a good buzz at the same time. Watch episodes of the Discovery Channel's miniseries Planet Earth with your favorite libation. Here's how Mrs. Newbie and I play the drinking game:

• Sex! Any time narrator Sigourney Weaver coyly describes an animalistic mating ritual, take a drink.
• Death! A fox scoops up a hatchling for breakfast? A polar bear flops over from starvation? Take a drink.
• History! Every time the show purports to show anything "for the very first time" - baby pandas in the wild, snow leopards on the hunt - take a drink.
• Technology! When Weaver boasts that only a recent innovation could provide the awesome pictures and sounds on your TV, take a drink.
• Time Lapse! Anything sped up to Koyaanisqatsi-like exposures - flower fields suddenly blooming, buffalo herds racing across the plains - enjoy a quick shot.

This game not recommended for Discovery Channel's three-hour marathon viewings. Please watch responsibly.