I was feeling stressed that I hadn’t got my TV ready for digital conversion, but then just found out the US Senate approved a 4-month delay of the act. So now I’ve got till June 12, 2009 to get my act together. Yippie for procrastination.
M took me to this hilarious place. Long Beach City College is overrun with rabbits, big, fat, brazen ones who will run up to strangers and beg for food.
This one hopped up so fast that he almost knocked into my camera.
At first, I was just so delighted by their cute-ness:
The rabbit above was right in front of me and sat still enough for macro shots.
But then I started to see the rabbits as larger rats, campus squirrels and cats, and other campus blight.
Apparently the rabbits have been around since the college’s founding when it was on fields of beans, alfalfa, and carrots. They’re indigenous rabbits! Some rabbits there are pets who were dumped after Easter. These rabbits then get jumped or "thumped" when they’re in the wrong territory.
"We rule this skool!"
The rabbits made the news two years ago when there was a strange slaughter of them. The story is too sad to repeat.
One article I read said there were around 200 rabbits on campus. I saw at least 30 lazing about. The rabbits seem to be quite content as the campus puts out food for them. I was amazed by how tame and unafraid of people they were, and how many holes they have dug around campus. 
"What recession? We got it good here."
This truly was one of the strangest L.A. sites I have seen. Thanks M!
Long Beach City College
4901 E Carson St
Long Beach, CA 90808
(562) 938-4353
For the raw footage and more cute rabbits INCLUDING VIDEO, visit UnHipLA’s Picasa page here. The videos show just how close the rabbits get to people. This blogger has great pictures of the baby bunnies on the campus.
*** UPDATE *** 1/27/09 This bunny post, thanks to LAObserved.com, has multiplied onto other blogs and news sites. NBC Los Angeles’ Kevin Sullivan’s blog post provides more information on the bunny blight and what the campus has been trying to do about it. Thank you everyone for the views!
*** UPDATE *** 1/29/09. The bunny post hops on. LBPost.com gives the history of Long Beach City College and its rabbits. CurbedLA linked to the LAObserved story. Then on YouTube, I found this hilarious clip from a 70s film called "Night of the Lepus," in which mutant rabbits the size of trucks galavant through towns, wreak havoc, and kill humans. Hilarious.
Eat at upscale restaurants at "budget" prix-fixe prices during dineLA’s Restaurant Week. From its website www.dinela.com/restaurantweek/:
"Dining experiences during the event will be available in three price categories: Deluxe Dining is $16 for lunch and $26 for dinner; Premier Dining is $22 for lunch and $34 for dinner, and Fine Dining is $28 for lunch and $44 for dinner (beverages, tax and gratuity are not included; participating meal periods vary by restaurant)."
Dates: January 25 – 30 and February 1 – 6, 2009.
Click on the link for restaurants and their menus. For example, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse has 3-course dining from $34 - $44.
LA’s Chinatown is having its first Art Night on Saturday, January 24, 2009, from 7 - 10 pm. This will be a quarterly shindig featuring contemporary art, clothing, furniture, music, performance and design.
Sounds like fun and it’s free!
Barack Obama and Chief Justice Roberts redid the oath of office on Wednesday night. That’s good to know! I’d hate for people to try to criticize Obama on something that wasn’t even his fault. Article here.
Barack Obama is our new prez. I enjoyed watching the inauguration balls on TV. I felt like I was at the Obama’s wedding, prom, and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one. Sasha Obama with the thumbs up after her father’s speech is just too cute!
Hulu.com has a great round-up of Obama-related news, including his swearing in and a mini-biography on Michelle Obama.
Bee Vang and Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino
I’m a little late on this post, but the best movies I saw this year were Milk and Gran Torino. Milk just had so many great themes running throughout it: having passion and truth in your life, making the world better for others, giving people hope and courage, and of course, civil rights and fair treatment of all. Milk, about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California., showed a man who changed the world while in his 40s. He figured out his purpose late in life, which kind of goes along with the Barack Obama idealism that is floating around these days: It’s never too late for change, for others and yourself. I really encourage everyone to go out and see Milk. Sean Penn gave a phenomenal performance, really transforming himself for this role and channeling the charismatic Harvey Milk. James Franco, who I admit is the reason I first went to see the movie, also gives a quietly charming performance. At one point while watching the movie, I took a look at the audience while Harvey Milk was giving a speech. They (we) were all riveted. The movie also gives a great history of the gay rights movement in the 70s in San Francisco; I had no idea how tumultuous it was.
If you’d like to see a documentary on Harvey Milk, there’s a free one here on Hulu.com: The Times of Harvey Milk. Yay for Hulu.com!
Now for Gran Torino. I don’t know what it is about Clint Eastwood, but he’s just so cool. He plays a 78-year-old hero who saves his young Hmong neighbors from gang violence. The ending alone is reason to see this film and how the story builds up to it is great filmmaking (though the beginning of the film is bumpy). I also loved watching the cranky Eastwood character interact with his culturally different neighhors and how he takes the boy and girl under his wing. Also in terms of filmmaking, it seems like Eastwood is passing the torch onto a younger generation and by casting real Hmongs in the film, he is making cinema more authentic and inclusive. I’m Asian American and seeing Clint Eastwood, a quintessential American, with a Hmong cast is unexpected and wonderful. Go Clint go! The two young Hmong actors in this film, Bee Vang and Ahney Her, gave fine performances as well.
Ultimately, both movies are about making America better for the next generation.
I’ve never been to the Doo Dah Parade, so don’t know what it’s like. Here’s their press release:
Doo Dah Parade on Heels of Rose Parade!
WHAT: The 32nd “OCASSIONAL” PASADENA DOO DAH PARADE celebrates the post-holiday season in its typically loud, irreverent style on SUNDAY, JANUARY 18th, stepping off at 11:30am. The boisterous, twisted sister to Pasadena’s prim and proper Rose Parade is expected to draw an estimated 45,000 fun-lovers from all over Southern California and parts unknown. Since 1978, Doo Dah has received national attention and has been named “Best Parade in America” by Readers’ Digest, and is included in the book 50 Places To See Before You Die.
WHERE: The OLD PASADENA historic retail and entertainment district. Convenient parking is located in structures adjacent to the parade route. Metro Gold Line stops nearest to the Parade are Del Mar and Memorial Park stations. Lawn chairs are encouraged!
WHO: Over 1,500 revelers will be led by 2009 Grand Marshal Charles Phoenix, loved by fans for his live, hilarious Retro Slide Show performances, fun-filled School Bus Field Trip Tours, crazy kitchen experiments and colorful coffee table books. Charles will be perched atop a bright red fire marshal’s station wagon towing a classic trailer followed by a troupe of colorfully coutured roller skaters.
January 25th is the Whale Fiesta at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Look at the nifty whale sand sculptures on the beach. Also admission to the aquarium is free that day. I predict lots of youngsters will be at the event as this looks extremely family friendly. Their website write-up is funny:
"Join us for tons of fun as we celebrate the migration of the Pacific Gray Whale past our shores and the start of the Whalewatch season at the annual Whale Fiesta on Sunday, January 25, 2009 from 10 am to 4:30 pm. Co-sponsored by CMA and the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, it’s a family day filled with activities and exhibits for all. We’ll have our famous Duct Tape Whale Sculpture Contest, games, arts and crafts, puppet shows for children of all ages, talks by whale experts, food and gift vendors, marine awareness organizations and music! This year we are building a life-sized rare Cuvier’s beaked whale out of sand on our beach. Grab your shovels and come lend a hand! Admission is free and a 25-cent park and ride shuttle is available at 22nd and Miner Streets (at the end of Harbor Blvd.). For more information, please call Larry Fukuhara at (310) 548-7562 x223."
The American Cetacean Society and duct tape whale sculptures? Who can resist that? 
Delicious lamb kebabs can be found at this hole-in-the-wall in the northern part of Pasadena. Click the menu picture to see the prices. The cook is very nice too.
Shish Kebab Express
2495 E Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 398-9777
The Fresh & Easy website says that the Alhambra location of this budget grocery chain will open January 14th. I’m curious about this British-owned market, which seems to be a cross of Trader Joes and Aldi markets. Supposedly Fresh & Easy has fresh foods at low prices and a happening ready-made aisle. We shall see! I did stop very quickly at a Fresh & Easy in Escondido around 10 pm when the prices on sandwiches and salads were being reduced to a dollar. I will reserve judgment on the sandwiches until I try more of Fresh & Easy’s goods. A website criticizing Fresh & Easy says it is owned by the "Wal-mart of Britain." In these tough times, I don’t think those words are a deterrent.
Fresh & Easy
MAIN ST & RAYMOND AVE
2121 W Main Street, Suite 300
Alhambra, CA 91801
*** UPDATE *** For my review of my first Fresh & Easy visit, click here.
The Facts of Life….are online!
http://www.hulu.com/the-facts-of-life?c=Comedy/Sitcoms
Yippie for hulu.com, a YouTube-like website, run by television networks which offers free TV shows - current faves like 30 Rock and nostalgic ones like Diff’rent Strokes and One Day at a Time. Blast from the past!
UnHip LA wishes you a wonderful 2009! May all your New Years resolutions stick!
Here are some pics from 2008 when I went to see the Rose Parade floats on display.
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