Thu 11 March, 2010
[image removed]
Bleeding’s still leading the local TV newscasts.
According to a new study from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (read it here), an average half-hour of Los Angeles local newscasts contains just 22 seconds of local government coverage.
That includes stories about budgets, law enforcement, education, new ordinances, voting procedures, city and government actions and more, the study said. Coverage of local business and the economy, meanwhile, averaged just 29 seconds.
Carried out by the school’s Norman Lear Center, and sponsored by the Los Angeles Civic Alliance, researchers looked at all local news programs over the course of 14 days in August and September. The group also looked at the Los Angeles Times over that same two-week period.
The study found that crime stories averaged two minutes, 50 seconds in a newscast, while sports and weather took up 3:36. Human interest stories and other “miscellaneous fluff” made up 2:26 of a newscast.
Even teasers for what’s coming next took up two minutes and 10 seconds.
“All the L.A. TV stations tell the FCC that they’re serving the public interest, these numbers decode what they actually mean by that,” said Lear Center director Martin Kaplan.
Station by station, the study found that KNBC and KCBS spent the least amount on crime, while KCOP (which is produced by sister KTTV) carried the most.
KTTV broadcast the most entertainment news and the most human interest stories; KCAL carried the least entertainment fare. KCAL ran the most news about local government, economy and business.
As for the L.A. Times, the paper devoted 10 % of its front page space to local government and 6% to L.A. business and economy.
Here's how an average half-hour breaks down:
[image removed]
Bleeding’s still leading the local TV newscasts.
According to a new study from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism (read it here), an average half-hour of Los Angeles local newscasts contains just 22 seconds of local government coverage.
That includes stories about budgets, law enforcement, education, new ordinances, voting procedures, city and government actions and more, the study said. Coverage of local business and the economy, meanwhile, averaged just 29 seconds.
Carried out by the school’s Norman Lear Center, and sponsored by the Los Angeles Civic Alliance, researchers looked at all local news programs over the course of 14 days in August and September. The group also looked at the Los Angeles Times over that same two-week period.
The study found that crime stories averaged two minutes, 50 seconds in a newscast, while sports and weather took up 3:36. Human interest stories and other “miscellaneous fluff” made up 2:26 of a newscast.
Even teasers for what’s coming next took up two minutes and 10 seconds.
“All the L.A. TV stations tell the FCC that they’re serving the public interest, these numbers decode what they actually mean by that,” said Lear Center director Martin Kaplan.
Station by station, the study found that KNBC and KCBS spent the least amount on crime, while KCOP (which is produced by sister KTTV) carried the most.
KTTV broadcast the most entertainment news and the most human interest stories; KCAL carried the least entertainment fare. KCAL ran the most news about local government, economy and business.
As for the L.A. Times, the paper devoted 10 % of its front page space to local government and 6% to L.A. business and economy.
Here's how an average half-hour breaks down:
[image removed]
Of course, this wasn't shot in the real Los Angeles Metro Red Line subway... but Wednesday's episode of CBS' "New Adventures of Old Christine" took place there -- in the process, helping spread the word to the rest of the world that, yes, L.A. does have public transportation. (It also comes on the heels of another CBS show, "The Amazing Race," which also featured folks taking the L.A. Metro).
Here's a synopsis for the episode: "In an attempt to teach Ritchie's class some street smarts, Christine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) encourages Principal Nunley to have them take the subway on a field trip, but she ends up being stranded at the station and has her own street smarts put to the test." (Why is that such a big deal? I guess I'll have to watch the full episode to understand.)
Wed 10 March, 2010
[image removed]
Prepping your dog or cat for sainthood? You might want to head down to Olvera Street on April 3 for the annual Blessing of the Animals.
The annual event, which takes place from noon to 5 p.m., features a procession on Olvera Street at 2 p.m., with the blessing -- done by Cardinal Roger Mahony -- immediately after.
Organizers promise live music, animal-oriented information booths, as well as "an exciting charro equestrian show, pony rides for children and a petting zoo complete with llamas, sheep, cows and other animals."
I got excited for a second -- a Churro show? Sounds delicious. Oh -- a charro equestrian show. I have no idea what that is, but I'm guessing it doesn't involve a woman playing guitar and screaming "coochie coochie" on the "Love Boat."
More info:
We don't have pets -- but c'mon, Blogger Kid and Blogger Baby 2.0 are close enough.
Prepping your dog or cat for sainthood? You might want to head down to Olvera Street on April 3 for the annual Blessing of the Animals.
The annual event, which takes place from noon to 5 p.m., features a procession on Olvera Street at 2 p.m., with the blessing -- done by Cardinal Roger Mahony -- immediately after.
Organizers promise live music, animal-oriented information booths, as well as "an exciting charro equestrian show, pony rides for children and a petting zoo complete with llamas, sheep, cows and other animals."
I got excited for a second -- a Churro show? Sounds delicious. Oh -- a charro equestrian show. I have no idea what that is, but I'm guessing it doesn't involve a woman playing guitar and screaming "coochie coochie" on the "Love Boat."
More info:
The centuries-old ceremony of Blessing of the Animals dates back to the fourth century when San Antonio de Abad was recognized as the Patron Saint of the Animal Kingdom. In those days, the people would take their animals to the priest to receive a blessing and ask for fertility and health. Today, Blessing of the Animals is held in grateful recognition of the tremendous services given to the human race by the animal kingdom.
This colorful celebration has delighted visitors to Olvera Street for generations. Over the years many animals have been blessed - from cats and dogs to more exotic pets such as snakes and iguanas. A cow covered with a blanket of flowers will lead the elaborate afternoon procession down Olvera Street because it is the animal which provides the most to humanity. After the procession, His Eminence Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will individually bless all pets; however, you do not need a pet to enjoy this beautiful, time-honored event.
We don't have pets -- but c'mon, Blogger Kid and Blogger Baby 2.0 are close enough.
[image removed]
Earlier today my friend Joe Flint sent out this tweet:
[image removed]
Turns out it was a container of Dean's Guacamole Dip, which he had bought at Ralphs. The grocery chain found him through his Ralphs club card. Creepy/Big Brother move on the part of Ralphs? Perhaps -- but it did keep Joe from scarfing down some not-so-tasty salmonella.
According to Ventura Foods, which manufactures the product for Dean's Dip, a flavor enhancer may be contaminated with salmonella:
"Flavor enhancer"? Turns out Dean's Guacamole Dip is one of those "guacamole" products that is almost totally manufactured. Here's what is listed on the ingredient list:
Joe: I think Ralphs just saved your life.
Earlier today my friend Joe Flint sent out this tweet:
Got call from food company telling me dip I bought (and ate) is contaminated. Torn between being appreciative and amazed at lack of privacy.
[image removed]
Turns out it was a container of Dean's Guacamole Dip, which he had bought at Ralphs. The grocery chain found him through his Ralphs club card. Creepy/Big Brother move on the part of Ralphs? Perhaps -- but it did keep Joe from scarfing down some not-so-tasty salmonella.
According to Ventura Foods, which manufactures the product for Dean's Dip, a flavor enhancer may be contaminated with salmonella:
The voluntary recall involves a flavor enhancer called hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), which is used to make Dean’s Creamy Taco Dip. The other six Dean’s Dip products were manufactured on the same equipment.
"Flavor enhancer"? Turns out Dean's Guacamole Dip is one of those "guacamole" products that is almost totally manufactured. Here's what is listed on the ingredient list:
Skim Milk, Soybean Oil, Tomatoes, Water, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Coconut Oil, Safflower and/or Corn Oil), Eggs, Distilled Vinegar, Avocado Pulp, Onions, Salt, Nonfat Dry Milk, Egg Yolks, Lactic Acid, Sugar, Whey, Sodium Caseinate, Mono and Diglycerides, Gelatin, Soy Protein Isolate, Xanthan Gum, Corn Starch, Guar Gum, Mustard Flour, Black Pepper, Red Chili Pepper, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (Added to Retard Spoilage), Coriander, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Disodium Phosphate, Cilantro, Gum Arabic, Extractives of Garlic and Black Pepper, Paprika Oil, Oregano, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Calcium Chloride, Citric Acid, Dextrose, Artificial Color (FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6).
Joe: I think Ralphs just saved your life.
The Iowa amateur radio operators who for the last two years have operated a summer “special event” radio station celebrating 95 and then 96 years along the Lincoln Highway have banded together under the name Lincoln Highway Amateur Radio Group (LH-ARG). They applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a special call sign to use [...][image removed]
Cherokee County, Kan., soon will apply for federal money to stabilize the Front Street Bridge in Galena, which carries old Route 66 over the railroad tracks north of town, according to the Joplin Globe.
The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program awarded the grant in 2008. It includes $30,000 from the National Park Service [...][image removed]
[image removed]
To quote Pacino as "Scarface": "You gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the California-issued vanity license plate."
(Pic via Joe Adalian.)
To quote Pacino as "Scarface": "You gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the California-issued vanity license plate."
(Pic via Joe Adalian.)
One of the greatest cruising songs ever, courtesy of Wilson Pickett.
[image removed]
Tue 09 March, 2010
Zuzu Chicken1808 E Rt 66Glendora626-335-4555The New Diner hasn't had much luck with the city of Glendora, most of the restaurants I've tried in Glendora, have closed!! I found Zuzu Chicken while looking for a Hungry Howie's Pizza location in Glendora. Zuzu Chicken is in the same plaza as China King Buffet, which has closed!! Chicken kebob plate, $7.49, with rice pilaf, salad, and hummus. The
On the portion of Charlie's menu devoted to eggs there is a category titled Ultimate Omelets. They are. There is nothing out of the ordinary in them – choices range from fajita chicken or chili filling to vegetarian specials – but Charlie's eggs are grand. I sat at the counter and watched my omelet made (at the suggestion of Patrick Evans-Hylton it was a potato omelet topped with "habinaro salsa") and didn't see the cook do anything special; yet the fluffy cloud of eggs that arrived on my plate was sheer elegance. In concert with a filling of crisp-fried potatoes and melted jack cheese, as well as that hot-pepper topping, it was one glorious breakfast. Potential accompaniments include biscuits, cornbread, Texas toast and grits. Coffee is bottomless and tea is sweet.
Other morning choices include pancakes with chocolate chips, strawberry, pineapple, pecans or chipped beef as well as a tofu scramble and country ham or pork chops. The lunch menu is sandwiches and hamburgers and full turkey dinner every Thursday.
Locals recommended Charlie's as a great greasy spoon; and it does have a well-worn hash-house ambience. But the service is kindly, art in the walls is intriguing, and the food I ate was a cut above.
This is a restaurant that demands further investigation!
©
Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition unveiled two more of the 40 Interpretive Murals being installed along the Illinois Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway and its corridor. The two are in Cortland and Genoa, the latter never on the route but nonetheless being recognized as being within the highway’s corridor of influence. Both murals feature “The [...][image removed]
The Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce is about to release a 14-song CD filled with songs that refer to the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., according to the Quay County Sun.
The Chamber of Commerce will sell the CDs to tourists and the locals as a Chamber fundraiser. In the beginning of the research, Beaulieu [...][image removed]
Mon 08 March, 2010
The latest entry from “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible.”
Blink, and you’ll miss it.
[image removed]
A few weeks ago, the state of New Mexico erected this “Welcome to New Mexico — Land of Enchantment” structure over westbound Interstate 40 near the Glenrio Welcome Center, close to the Texas border.
Many Route 66ers don’t continue into New Mexico on I-40, opting for the gravel road that was old Route 66 leading into [...][image removed]
"Yo Gabba Gabba" is back! Season three launches TODAY at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. Guests this time out include Anthony Bourdain, Weird Al" Yankovic, The Killers, Weezer, and Devo.
Above, a sneak peak at the Bourdain appearance. And below, this is still my favorite animated music clip from the show: "Train Ride," by Tahiti 80 (and animated by PandaPanther). Go check out Yo Gabba Gabba's YouTube site here.
[image removed]
When my parents come to visit Southern California, there are a few "must" places on their checklist. Pizza at Casa Bianca. Lunch at the Oinkster (that one's because of Evan, as the Oinkster is still his fave eatery). And, of course, several stops at In-N-Out Burger.
We sometimes forget how Southern California is the envy of the fast food world. Not only did many of the nation's top fast food chains get their start here, but In-N-Out is still the gold standard when it comes to burger chains.
I don't eat many hamburgers. But when I do, it tends to be with my parents on one of their In-N-Out runs.
After watching Huell Howser's recent look inside In N Out, which featured a trip to the chain's company store in Baldwin Park, I imeediately thought of my parents. I've already exhausted most L.A. attractions for them, so the In-N-Out Store would be perfect.
In February, they visited -- and we took a short drive to Baldwin Park to see it first hand.
The store itself isn't big, but does indeed carry plenty of In-N-Out paraphernalia. That includes every In-N-Out t-shirt (new designs come out annually), back to the late 1980s. Jackets, blankets, polo shirts, aloha shirts, baby onesies, all with the In-N-Out logo. Mugs, notepads, Christmas ornaments -- all there.
[image removed]
Above, the original In-N-Out sign, located just outside the chain's HQ in Baldwin Park.
[image removed]
In-N-Out University, where management is trained.
[image removed]
And the In-N-Out company store.
The shop, which is one of two (the other in Las Vegas), normally has specials on certain items (the location had piles of discounted $5 tees). We picked up a few $10 retro shirts (although I think mine was this year's design) and a few $1 sticky note pads shaped like an In-N-Out burger.
We also ate at the nearby In-N-Out -- the flagship Store #1 -- and somehow, and I don't if this was because of the proximity to the corporate headquarters -- but it just tasted better.
A word of caution: Construction around the offramp to the Baldwin Park store has made it tough to get off the freeway, at least for now.
When my parents come to visit Southern California, there are a few "must" places on their checklist. Pizza at Casa Bianca. Lunch at the Oinkster (that one's because of Evan, as the Oinkster is still his fave eatery). And, of course, several stops at In-N-Out Burger.
We sometimes forget how Southern California is the envy of the fast food world. Not only did many of the nation's top fast food chains get their start here, but In-N-Out is still the gold standard when it comes to burger chains.
I don't eat many hamburgers. But when I do, it tends to be with my parents on one of their In-N-Out runs.
After watching Huell Howser's recent look inside In N Out, which featured a trip to the chain's company store in Baldwin Park, I imeediately thought of my parents. I've already exhausted most L.A. attractions for them, so the In-N-Out Store would be perfect.
In February, they visited -- and we took a short drive to Baldwin Park to see it first hand.
The store itself isn't big, but does indeed carry plenty of In-N-Out paraphernalia. That includes every In-N-Out t-shirt (new designs come out annually), back to the late 1980s. Jackets, blankets, polo shirts, aloha shirts, baby onesies, all with the In-N-Out logo. Mugs, notepads, Christmas ornaments -- all there.
[image removed]
Above, the original In-N-Out sign, located just outside the chain's HQ in Baldwin Park.
[image removed]
In-N-Out University, where management is trained.
[image removed]
And the In-N-Out company store.
The shop, which is one of two (the other in Las Vegas), normally has specials on certain items (the location had piles of discounted $5 tees). We picked up a few $10 retro shirts (although I think mine was this year's design) and a few $1 sticky note pads shaped like an In-N-Out burger.
We also ate at the nearby In-N-Out -- the flagship Store #1 -- and somehow, and I don't if this was because of the proximity to the corporate headquarters -- but it just tasted better.
A word of caution: Construction around the offramp to the Baldwin Park store has made it tough to get off the freeway, at least for now.
Author Lee Whiteley will present “Old Trails of Northern Colorado: From Foot Paths to Interstate” at 7 p.m. tonight, March 8, at the Loveland Museum/Gallery, 503 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland, Colorado. The slide show, sponsored by the Loveland Historical Society, will revisit the Trappers’ Trail, Cherokee Trail, Overland Trail, several auto trails, and the Lincoln [...][image removed]
Whatever It Is, I'm Against. No, I really mean it. It Whatever It Is, I'm Against It: On "Ten Days for Oppositional Architecture"
The annual Kingman Street Drags event in downtown Kingman, Ariz., will be canceled this year because of the construction of a new school, reports the Kingman Daily Miner.
Typically, the grounds of the White Cliffs Middle School campus at 400 Granview Ave. served as a staging ground for racers, as well as a place for spectators [...][image removed]
This is a promotional video created by the Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce in Tucumcari, N.M. It touts the town’s Route 66 heritage and other attractions. It’s an excellent video … every bit as good what I’ve seen from much bigger cities.
[image removed]
