Let there be landmarked homes

My parents started their own cross-country drive today. We caught up with them in Arcadia, where we ate lunch at Din Tai Fung (can you believe they have an Ikebukuro location in Tokyo?) and had that damn-good black rice in coconut dessert at Phoenix.

To get them in the spirit of all the historic sites they'll hit up, we swung by the Upton Sinclair house in Monrovia...for sale now for $1,300,000...

Sumo in Torrance

At the Torrance Art Museum on Saturday night...two heavyweight sumo champs...Daishochi and Wakanoho...



Torrance has definitely come a long way since the Torrance Community Dance Group took Westwood by storm.

Riot suppression

Governor Jerry Brown still can't strike a budget deal with the Republicans in the state legislature. That's California politics for you.

Without the tide turning against the public sector unions in the middle of the budget negotiations, there's a huge pro-union march and rally happening in Downtown Los Angeles today...Ozomatli is going to play a set at Pershing Square.

Looks like the city's gearing up for a showdown in the streets...they're sending in the elite Burger Brigade...

Peace piece

Japanese Peace Bell in front of the Los Angeles Central Library...

Help Japan

Chiune Sugihara

There's a sculpture in Little Tokyo that's easy to miss or pass over without reading up. It's the likeness of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania during World War II. He's known for saving the lives of thousands of Jewish Lithuanians and Polish refugees by issuing exit visas to get them away from the Nazis.

I overheard some misinformed folks suggesting that the American government helps out countries in times of need more so than any other people. "And who's going to help us when we need help?"

Yes, we give billions of dollars in foreign aid, but when you look at that amount in terms of a percentage of gross national income in comparison with other countries, we rank around number 18. Number one giver...Sweden!

Well, who's to say our assistance helps anyway? We do a lot, we do what we can, and if the topic of giving has to do with Japan, I can't help but think of Mr. Sugihara and his defiance of his Japanese superiors to keep good people safe.

Stormtripper

I know it's been up for "a while," but last night I finally got a photo of Mr. Brainwash's painted red sidewalk take on the red carpet...