Maybe my dad didn’t die in Iraq …

People will do crazy things to win concert tickets, though the winner of these contests typically are just the first person to offer to wash someone’s car in their underwear. I don’t know why this is so, though I suspect there is something vaguely dominating/submissive about having a Tri Delt wash some radio goons car in her best Victoria Secret while trying to win backstage passes to My Chemical Romance.

But then there is too far.

Like when a mother not only helps her teenage daughter write a contest essay, but encourages her to invoke the name of her dead father in an attempt to win Miley Cyrus / Hannah Montana tickets.

Texas mom Priscilla Ceballos apologized Friday (January 4) on NBC’s “Today” show for writing an essay falsely claiming the girl’s father had died in Iraq just so the girl could see Hannah (a.k.a. Miley Cyrus) in person. “I just wanted to help my daughter write a compelling story,” she said. The fabricated essay won the contest’s grand prize, which included airfare for four to Albany, New York, and four tickets to a sold-out Hannah Montana concert there, as well as a makeover that included a blond Hannah Montana wig. “Please accept my heartfelt apology and please do not punish my child for my mistake,” Ceballos urged on the show. …

Defamer fills us in on the invasion of picketers at the Van Ness gate, in the shadow of our favorite Hollywood apartment building, Alexander, Ruler of the World! (Somehow, you just have to add the punctuation.)

Expect a slew of “wacky apartments” to turn up in sitcoms next season - with a group of unemployed writers across the street, AROTW!’s possibilities are just beginning.

photo: Defamer.

The LAC Dept of Health Services/Environmental Health’s list of restaurant closings always makes for a fun read. Glad to see that Christ’s Restaurant is off the list and He has risen again to open; La Luz del Dia didn’t fare so well. Sadly, more than a few local eateries just aren’t making the grade. Think of what we are missing at these fine establishments!

HOME DIAPERS, 1522 W 7TH ST, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: August 14, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

LIMA EXPRESS TRAVEL AGENCY, 9814 E GARVEY AVE 21, EL MONTE

* Date Closed: August 18, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

and sadly, they didn’t live up to their name, though they did namage to reopen:

NICE TIME DELI, 140 W VALLEY BLVD 209, SAN GABRIEL

* Date Closed: September 20, 2007
* Date Reopened: September 22, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Gross contamination of utensils/equipment
No Public Health Permit
Vermin Harborage
Vermin infestation

THE NILE CHICKEN PYRAMID, 808 1/2 E 7TH ST, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: September 20, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin infestation

VALLEY HAND CAR WASH, 9540 E VALLEY BLVD, ROSEMEAD

* Date Closed: August 15, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

And a word of warning: don’t ever, ever, ever eat at a Multiplex. Bring your own.

in SoCal, what more could you want? Oh damn, I can’t have you over, though:

$25 SHARE MY RED VAN

I’m a clean guy, I take daily showers in a public shower of a church.
I do not use drugs, but I smoke a lot Inside the Van.
The Van is clean but we have to share it.
If you have to pee in the middle of the night you can do it in a Cup (40 oz. cup will do it).
I’ll sleep in the back, you’ll sleep in the front.
Because is Summer, the Van is closed due to the incredible heat inside during the hours of 11 am. and 7pm. Sorry, no AC.
No visits allowed inside of the Van.
No bills to pay.
Sorry no cats or dogs allowed.

You are interested? drop me a line.

The Homeless Guy.

Serial killer Francis Dolorhyde & GOP candidate Fred Thompson

Jack Oakie’s Valley estate, Oakridge, once an idyllic farm, is now slated for the mini-mansion-expansion:

Until he died in 1978 at the age of 74, the radio and movie comedian battled to preserve low-density agricultural zoning around the home.

His wife, Victoria, continued his fight, persuading Los Angeles officials to designate Oakridge a historic-cultural monument in 1990. Two years before her death in 2003 at the age of 91, she bequeathed the estate to the USC School of Cinematic Arts. “I feel it is too beautiful to be torn down when I’m gone,” she told city officials.

But time is ticking at Oakridge.

USC has decided to sell the house and land, and use the money for its film school.

A developer is weeks away from buying the nine-acre estate near Devonshire Street and Reseda Boulevard for a 28-home subdivision. City officials, meantime, are scrambling to preserve Oakie’s English manor-style house. They would like to buy it and turn it into a cultural center that would salute pioneering Hollywood figures who had their own ranchettes in the Valley.

Source

sticker reads: “Powered by my PHAT ass!”

Morning update on Alexander Ruler of the World, courtesy of Franklin Avenue Blogspot! Now, it may not seem like much of a difference: but note the comment: it used to be beige.

There’s a building … in progress (for lack of a better term) on Van Ness, right before you get to Melrose. My friend and I have been watching its evolution and it’s nothing less than spectacular:

Yes, you’re right. That reads “ALEXANDER RULER OF THE WORLD” on the archway. As you can see, there’s alot of work going on, hence us being unable to get any closer. Note the olympic rings, greek letters, crosses, and symbols; inside is a massive gold chandelier.

There’s only one other Los Angeles house that rivals “ALEXANDER RULER OF THE WORLD” (you have to say it that way, really) in terms of sheer jaw-dropping awe, and that is “Youngwood Court” aka, “The House of 17 Davids” in Hancock Park. Here it is in all of its Roman splendor - doesn’t it just make you want to shout, “I, Claudius!”:

Now, The House of 17 Davids is stunning, especially at Christmastime when the faux-snow gets adorned with Santa and Mrs. Claus:

ALEXANDER RULER OF THE WORLD
vs
The House of 17 Davids:
Greco-Roman SMACKDOWN!

Tuesday night, 7pm. Promise to keep you posted with photo updates. Meanwhile, read the comments for more info on AROTW, or if you know of any, please tell!

Hollywood street character to anyone within earshot:

“She looked good - three-quarters of the time.”