Today I had brunch with creepyanonymous, magpiebofh, gaping_asshole, and sploof. Creepy mentioned a famous old deli here in LA named "Ships". I can only assume that anyone who decided to name a business after the third person present tense conjugation of "to ship", a verb in common in the retail and catering industry, did so (several decades) before they realizing that Google searches for ( Read more... )

Every day on my way to work I pass by the Kind Fahd Mosque. A month ago there was a protest, where they hung an effigy, waved some offensive signs and shouted a lot. There's a youtube video of the event. I didn't hear about the event in time to do anything about it, but I feel bad that it happened literally in my backyard. Every day I drive ( Read more... )

The biggest, best example of the success and effectiveness of torture is the plot to destroy Los Angeles's US Bank Tower, which we learned about from waterboarding Khaled Sheikh Mohammed:

Not only did they break Khaled Sheikh Mohammed; not only was the information he gave them valuable; not only did it save lives; but Ross’s sources include people ( Read more... )

While I was in San Francisco this weekend and last weekend, several people expressed their sympathy concerning how miserable I am in Los Angeles. This was somewhat surprising; as far as I knew I've actually been quite happy living in Los Angeles. It's been almost three years, and in that time I've accumulated an assortment of interesting friends ( Read more... )

A few weeks ago I was driving home along Washington, looking for somewhere to eat, and I noticed a neon sign that I hadn't noticed before.

Bharat Bazaar Samosa HouseInside was a very clean, well-stocked grocery store with a kitchen in the corner. I asked the guy behind the counter "have you guys ever been to Berkeley ( Read more... )