Elephants! , finally

We no sooner left camp after tea when a call came over the radio that a hippo was headed our way and would cross right in front of our truck on his way to hippo beach. Sure enough seconds later we spotted the slick, sleek behemoth stomping through the brush. He was unfettered by our presence but we knew who was in charge. We could hear him grunting as he labored through the clearing, posing as if on queue for the cameras, before splashing into the pool to join his friends. An ox-pecker gets a free ride, and a free lunch, on his back.

At another hippo pool a different kind of crusher lays in wait. We saw what could have been mistaken for a magic log but in actuality was a crocodile stalking a pasture full of impala, red lechwe and baboons from the shoreline patiently hoping they parch and come down to the lagoon for a drink.

Frank could feel our determination to see elephants and pushed deeper into the forest than ever before leaving a field of wildebeest in the dust in search of our prize. By law guides can't drive more than so many meters (I think 30) off the trails but this was our last opportunity for Moremi to leave a lasting impression. Finally, in the thick brush we saw something very large appear to be moving. Elephants! And lots of 'em including babies. We inched closer to them as they made their way toward us until some ranger dude scolded Frank for encroaching on their habitat and we eased off hoping they would keep coming. They did and what a marvel. Elephants are extraordinary in every way. They appear to be very sensitive not to mention nurturing and protective. The babes follow behind their mommy with enough tether to learn the ropes of life but not too far to get a little suckle as needed. Elephant mammories look sort of like the human female's and are right up under their fore legs, convenient for a nursing "toddler" which can stand underneath his giant mother. It was really a warm evening and these elephants were caked with dried mud. They toss dirt on themselves and/or waller in mud puddles to keep cool. And the most interesting tidbit of all is how they communicate. They tap a front foot (hoof?) on the ground which sends a vibrational signal up to 20 kilometeres away! This peculiar telegraphic system rivaling Marconi's first invention alerts other herds of danger or signifies another's whereabouts. I've already mentioned how they mow down everything in their path but I would be remiss if I neglect to mention how the forest gets regenerated through recycled seeds. That which isn't digested is returned to the earth where the next incarnation soon sprouts.

Once we'd found the elephants we were so mesmerized that we didn't want to leave them. They were most tolerant of us cramping their style until they started to move and found us in their path. The mothers are very protective of their young and will let you know in no uncertain terms what the terms are. It was a little scary since they can and do charge but generally not without warning. At one point we were so close (and the truck engine was off - Frank was reading a map!) and the baby was heading straight for us with mommy not far behind beginning to get agitated. Yikes! In unison we urged Frank to get a move on before we were crushed like ants. We stalked them for the longest time before daylight started to fade and we had to jet back to camp by way of cocktail lagoon! I felt like it would be ok if I died having had the good fortune to cast a gaze upon these incredible, sentient beings.

I think I mentioned before that
the sunsets in Botswana are unbelievable.
Here are a couple of fiery scenes.

4 Days in Tokyo

Konnichiwa!

Wow. How to begin? I'll start by saying that Tokyo was without question one of the best experiences of my life. I didn't have any expectations and it all happened so fast I had very little time to prepare. Consequently I didn't do a lot of research and was completely bolled over. The only understanding I had of the Japanese culture was based on images projected to the Western world and I subscribed to all of them: reserved, polite, traditional, submissive - all the stereotypes. The reality being that while these things do exist in limitation they are not the overarching qualities of a Japanese life. There are so many contradictions. You'll find bowing aplenty but you're liable to get a surprising view up a young girl's skirt since the typical attire is a micro mini with garter belts, knee socks and heels. I'm sure it's just a fashion statement - although I learned that casual sex is widespread and condom shops and timely rate hotel rooms are common - but sweet innocents look like ladies of the evening. One of these little tarts could be seated on a train next to a woman donning a traditional kimono with obi and little wooden shoes. Maybe contrast is a better word. And such contrasts are glaring... like eating or smoking cigarettes while walking on the street is poo-pooed but public urination is perfectly acceptable. Mind you, most public toilets are nothing more than holes in the ground anyway.

Japan is the size of California with nearly half the entire population of the USA. With as many as 15 million people crowding into Tokyo it's insanely busy. There is so much visual stimulation vying for your attention that I felt like I was about to have a seizure with all the neon, flashing lights, jumbo-trons and other advertisements on a continuous feed. Everyone rushes around to and fro at all hours of the day and night. It feels like you're in an ant farm. I hope I get the opportunity to return and visit the countryside and small villages to really get a taste of Japan and her traditions. I met a European woman who said the best skiing she's ever done in her life is near Sapporo to the North. Japan encompasses 6000 islands and home to great seismic tumult. There is an entire region where natural hot springs erupt in boiling little pools.

I arrived to see the last of the cherry blossoms through the filter of a peachy sunset sky, a persimmon shade I've only seen in Asian paintings and silkscreens. After settling in at the hotel in a room so small we couldn't spread out our luggage but with the best shower I've ever had in my life, we set out in search of a good meal. Ameyoko, literally meaning American Alley, was just around the corner from our hub. During wartime this famous bazaar was the black market purchasing place for nylon hose, chocolate, cigarettes, etc. but nowadays you can find cheap designer label knockoffs, fresh fish marketeers, a litany of noodle shops and Pachinko parlors. For those of you not familiar with Pachinko it's a game like pinball that the Japanese are completely addicted to. Gambling is illegal so they play for coupons or tokens which can be exchanged for prizes but often they are sold for cash in the back room. Tokyo was practically decimated during the war so much of it's construction is more modern. It's a place where the avant guard designers come to express themselves amongst what remains of ancient temples and shrines. The city, every square inch accounted for, is webbed with all these little alley ways and walk streets where boutiques and amazing restaurants mash up for an extraordinary experience for the senses.

I was lucky enough to have an American chaperone whose made Tokyo his home. It is a very closed society and outsiders are not readily welcome. I experienced this first hand in Yakitori Yokocho in Shinjuku the night I was on my own. If you don't speak Japanese, btw, you're screwed. There is very little English spoken. My friend had left and it was pouring rain but that wasn't going to keep me from the yakitori that had evaded me the previous nights. Yakitori alley is made up of shack upon shack where yakitori, chucks of skewered meat and vegetables, is grilled in front of you. The spaces are so small with just a tiny lunch counter and five or six stools. Most of them were full but I found one with an empty seat and I tried to make myself blend in. The man behind the counter asked me if I knew so and so and when I replied no he said "no sit" and waged his finger at me. I was ousted as a gaijin (foreigner)! So much for blending in. I was waved into another shack where other Westerners were welcome too. I had 1/2 dozen skewers and a beer. If you order a beer you'll get the jumbo size as drinking is a central part of Japanese culture. It is considered a faux-pas to pour your own drink - you must wait for someone else to do it for you. It's a yummy and cheap way to eat. But beware they charge you for the "complimentary " bamboo shoots if you eat it.

As I was saying it helps to tag along with someone who speaks fluent Japanese and has been accepted into their circles. After a pint of "harf 'n harf" (a black and tan) we hooked up for oden. Oden is a traditional winter meal often made with eggs, daikon, meat and whatever else. So we duck into another alley and push back the shoji screen where the mama san heartily greets our host. Some of them are tatami style and shoes are to be left outside. Japanese business men are required to entertain clients and colleagues at least a couple nights a week so these dens are perfect to grab a drink and a small bite. Like I mentioned drinking is core to city life but it is always accompanied by some yummy little bits and bobs. When we entered we were the only three inside. The sake started flowing and I tasted the freshest most amazing sashimi squid ever. The rooms are tiny little places with a small grill and fridge in the center square. The mama san acquires the freshest seasonal things ahead of time and spends minimal time preparing the little appetizers. It is a wonderful way to eat and experience different flavors. Shortly after our arrival 2 men came in and commented on the fact that we foreigners were inside even joking that he didn't want to set his briefcase down because it was full of cash. Another moment passed and a famous Manga cartoonist showed up. Then three Swedish guys, one of them the Ambassador to Japan, squeezed in and our host happened to know them. What a wonderful night full of great conversation and first experiences. From there we went to a Belgian beer bar for more delicious goodies and, my favorite, trapiste beer. We were in celebratory mode after a stellar meeting earlier in the day and it was a great stress relief to just kick up our heels and party. What's a jaunt in Tokyo without a little karaoke? The karaoke bars are not like they are here where you get up on a makeshift stage and sing in front of the entire criticizing bar. You actually rent a little booth and can record yourself if you wish.What a hoot. So easy to lose track of time when you're having so much fun by the time we knew it the last train had chugged on down the track hours ago. A $60 dollar cab ride later put us back in our room at 3am.

Another great day is looming after sleeping in 'til 8:30. We'd been up so early the other days because the sun awakes at 5am and the city starts buzzing right around then, particularly since our hotel room was nestled between the train tracks and a thoroughfare. We spent the better part of the morning talking with other travelers and then decided to head out for a leisurely stroll in Omotesando, one of Tokyo's shi-shi neighborhoods. Michael remembered a special coffee house so we set out to find it. We climbed the teeny stairwell - all the stairwells are so small I felt like I had to tuck my elbows in to keep from touching the walls - to the second floor and entered a rustic room with a long coffee bar and a few tables. It was simply and tastefully decorated with ancient artifacts, books and gorgeous bronze ash trays (everybody smokes), everything sooty and oily with the film of coffee. The first thing I noticed coming through the door was the soothing and familiar fragrance of fresh roasted coffee. But what's special about this place is the gentleman seated in front of an open flame HAND ROASTING the coffee! The beans are nestled in a wire mesh basket resembling a bird's nest affixed to a bracket hovering over the flame and hand-turned over the fire with tender loving care. When the beans are ready they are transfered into a think greasy bag and then dumped into a large shallow basket and spread out to cool. The man then fans the beans further cooling them before they are ready to go into an old fashioned grinder. We ordered cafe au lait and watched as our most scrumptious cup 'o joe was handmade from start to finish. The process is like a tea ceremony. The water is boiled and placed in a silver tea pot. The beans come out of the grinder and the grounds for each cup are gently spooned into a small linen receptacle with a wooden handle. Not a word is exchanged behind the bar but I suspect the barista is the roasters wife. She positions the cotton sac over antique crockery and pours the boiling water over the grounds as the fresh roasted and ground coffee filters into the bowl. What an experience! And the best cup of coffee I've ever had. It was Michael's mission to make sure I got to indulge in some traditional treats. We had been roaming around town visiting different shrines and temples, even stumbled upon an earth day festival in Yoyogi park and he was determined to find a place to eat daifuku, which is mochi (a doughy rice mixture) with red bean paste inside sweetened like jam accompanied by a bowl of matcha, a supreme, finely ground, shade-grown tea. A fantastic combination for the taste buds. We also enjoyed a hand-roll size ball of rice smeared with miso and plum. I have to say the food in Tokyo is some of the best quality I've ever tasted. They don't over-process food like we do. We even had unbelievable Indian Food for lunch one day.

Our Tokyo host invited us for dinner at his home with his family. When we arrived he announced we would be having pasta. I have to admit I was a little disappointed hoping that I would get to indulge in some traditional Japanese food. But this wasn't just any pasta. I had never enjoyed homemade pasta before and certainly had never made it myself. I learned how to make pasta! What a treat. It was absolutely delicious and he served it with a slow cooked pork marinated with apples. He made a sashimi bruschetta appetizer with fresh herbs he'd picked from his container garden on the patio. Serve with a nice red wine and voila, oheeshee (delicious)!

We were staying in Ueno in Nothern Tokyo where there is a lovely park. The grounds house the oldest standing Edo period shrine, a handful of national pride museums, a lake with footpaths around the perimeter and peddle boat docks, and the Tokyo zoo. The zoo boasts a collection of panda bears - small red pandas, not giant Chinese pandas. Zoos are not favorable to me but I had some time on my hands while strolling through the park and decided to check out the pandas. I still haven't seen a panda (they were hiding) but I looked in on some of the other exhibits. Maybe it was because I've just returned from Africa and saw what an animal habitat should be but I balled my bloody eyes out the entire time. The animals looked so frightened and disturbed. There were fights in just about every cage and nothing natural about the environment. It was an awful thing to witness and I wish I hadn't.

Though we didn't participate, I'm glad I did witness the hosts of Kabukicho in Shinjuku where Tokyo goes to play. Kabukicho is Tokyo's red light district where host/hostess bars are found. Hostess bars are a modern adaptation of the traditional geisha and tea house scene whereby young women (and men) "entertain" paying customers by enjoying drinks, conversation and private time with their guests. We saw signs advertising forty minutes for 600 Yen (roughly $60) in one of these clubs. It is said that no sex is involved but who knows what happens behind closed doors. The hosts are distinctive all looking the same in fashionable jeans with a cool collared shirt and usually a sports jacket and shoes that are waaay too big for their feet. They all have bleached out hair, long and teased into a water fountain style. Hilarious. The young ladies are also well-coiffed, sexy and charming.

Tokyo is a cacophonous land of hedonism and excesses and holds a special notch in my travel belt.

[That] Girl's Gone Wild

I have beaucoup de choses to share with you. I have just been so busy doing that I haven't had time to write about it. I am not even half finished with Africa stories and then I want to tell you about The Redwood Bar & Grill, San Juan Capistrano, Beechwood, my new bathroom and Tokyo. Yes! I'm going to Tokyo, Japan - the impetus being that I am doing a little side work for my neighbor/friend who is working on launching a project stateside with the help of a Japanese firm so I am essentially a fly on the wall during the meeting/presentation he's giving next week. It's totally spontaneous, and serendipitous, in keeping with my new modus operandi which is to never pass up an opportunity. Besides, given the industry I'm in, which could go sideways at any moment, I need to be receptive. I can't wait to share with you.

Mornings are glorious in the Delta. It is a comfortable temperature and the light is stunning. I don't know what's different about it but I just loved the dramatic sky of pristine blue swept with billowy cotton ball clouds. The gentle breeze on your face alternately warmed by the sun is lovely. I can only describe the overall smell as fresh. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's God's country - paradise.

We were on a mission to see elephants, giraffes and zebras. We had nary a hope to see rhino and buffalo in these parts at this time of year - it was summer, the rainy season, which means water is readily available most places so the animals don't need to travel to the basin for access - but we had our eyeballs wide open anyway. There are a lot of "magic logs" in the bush. It's a concerted effort to spot the animals and sometimes your imagination gets the best of you. We saw lots of birds, some of our old friends like guinea fowl, hammerkop, African fish eagle and jicanas, and some new like 2 vultures scoping the area from atop their perch. We were giddy over this sighting because we thought just maybe there was some action nearby. If there was we didn't see it but what we did see waaaaayyyyy off over yonder was what looked to be giraffe. As the crow flies it was maybe a 1/2 mile from where we were but it took us a good 15 minutes or more to get over there. It felt like a lifetime since they are very mobile (as you might imagine giraffes can cover a lot of ground in no time) and this is not a zoo. Thankfully for us they found a secluded arbor to graze upon and the sweltering heat of the day hadn't driven them deep into the forest quite yet.

Their beauty is like that of a model with a neck up to 6 feet long, eyelashes to envy and lanky legs that transport them with incredible grace. They are most curious critters, staring you down for the longest time. Don't be fooled by their gentility as they will put up a ferocious fight often hoofing their predators to death in a fatal battle. From afar we'd only seen a single giraffe but as our truck approached a herd of maybe 15 including a handful of unweaned babies was within view, albeit obstructed by the surrounding acacias. We watched them and they watched us with the same intensity for the better part of an hour. They prefer to travel in herds mainly for protection as they are a favorite food source among lions. After a gestation period of fifteen long months, calves "drop" from their mother's womb 5 feet and hope not to break any bones during the process. Barring the aforementioned, babies get up and walk almost immediately. Giraffes are herbivores and prefer acacia trees. It is imperative that they chew food completely and that their neck is not bent went swallowing even water because of the design of their digestive tract. The only way to really tell males and females apart, particularly if they're not standing next to each other is by the size of their horns. Males are generally larger in stature but their horns are much thicker and often the hair is rubbed off of them because of necking. Necking is done both during fighting and sexual rituals, mostly by males. There is a range and variation in color of a giraffe's camouflage coat keeping them safer than many in the wild savannas of Africa.

During morning coffee we had the pleasure of watching an eagle soar across the sky above of us in a maniacal dance with outstretched wings spanning 6 feet. She was probably panicking that we were lingering under the tree that held her nest.

Since Judy was so omnipotent regarding the giraffe and produced them on demand (we said "we want to see giraffe" and the next thing you know Judy said "I think I see giraffe over there off in the distance") we put in our order for elephant and zebra. We heard that another truck had spotted zebra but by the time we made it over to the pasture they were gone. So we're back on the beat and drove right up on a herd of blue wildebeest. For being so ugly these creatures are positively stunning. Their "blue" coats just glisten and gleam in the sunshine as they plod along gobbling up their path. Like giraffe, wildebeest are a favorite lion lunch and the two prey can often be seen together each with the idea that the other one is an easier target.

After lunch a few of us decided to cool off in the pool. It had been a couple of days since I got sunburned so with caution I positioned myself just right under the umbrella and slipped in and out of a lovely nap resting poolside where a cooler of cold drinks including my favorite, Bolingers, was so attentively placed. Non-stop activity made it difficult to journal every day so now was a perfect opportunity to get caught up. Soon it was time for tea and I wanted to check out the library since this was our last day at Moremi so I headed up to the lounge. As I stepped off the long deck leading away from the pool there were two baboons wreaking havoc on the stairway to the lounge and Judy was yelling at them like they were family pets! Apparently she had just witnessed them pulling flowers out of the pots, eating the tops and discarding the rest on the ground. They didn't take too kindly to her ridicule so like smart alecky children they did it faster and with more aggression even swatting at her (as pictured) and showing their teeth. I have to say I was a little frightened since they were standing right in front of me and blocking my path upstairs, oh, and they're WILD ANIMALS! But this was just the beginning of their antics. One of them ripped off a book of matches from somewhere near the fire pit and the other was annoyed that he wouldn't share so the chase was on. Bouncing on and off the thatched roof like it were a trampoline, swinging from limb to limb of the surrounding trees, in and out of the lounge, on and off the deck. It was madness. I had managed to get up to the lounge but now I was trapped until they disappeared into the forest screeching and fighting the whole way.

When I emerged from my tent for tea there were more baboons, or maybe the same imps, but on MY deck this time. We hadn't been briefed on how we should behave when they are that close to you so I stopped in my tracks and waited for them to move, my girlfriend laughing at my paranoia but I wasn't about to get my face sheared off as I still had elephants to see.

Campfire visitor

The night was upon us and we were getting ready for cocktails and dinner. A chaperone came to escort us to the dining room where a hearty, delicious gourmet meal awaits. For some reason I was feeling extraordinarily tired this night and could hardly keep my head up. I also kept running to the bathroom - probably all the delicious fresh fruit. I later learned that I was not the only one but everyone else thought they had cholera having just come from Zimbabwe. I generally have an iron stomach so I wasn't too concerned - it was just a tad inconvenient. Our group was 18 in number and we took over the whole camp at Moremi. The tables are beautifully set and arranged in a square u-shape around the room with a buffet table at the head. Some of the staff join each table for conversation as the soup is served and the meal is presented by the chef. It's a time of camaraderie and to learn something of the life of those who ardently keep us protected in the wild and provide a most amazing bush experience. Launce is the camp manager at Moremi and is a native of Botswana, in particular the town of Maun, a rustic but burgeoning town considered the gateway to the Delta. It was glaringly evident in Botswana that camp managers are white and the rest of the staff is black. (I'm not sure what to make of this observation. I don't know if it's racism or lack of educational opportunity or what but it was troubling to me and obvious. It didn't appear as though the staff much minded as everybody works equally hard and seemed to have a great rapport). I remember being a little annoyed this night because I was trying to hear what Setch, a local guy, was talking about but I was getting a repetitive historical account of what had just happened out on safari from the girls over-talking him. After dessert I decided just to turn in and try to get a few Zs - my roommate snores to beat the band and my earplugs would alternately fall out or wake me up with throbbing ears. This turned out to be a regrettable decision because after I'd gone to bed a few stayed behind and sat around the fire where a 6 foot cobra snake slithered past them. Daylight comes early in the Okavango Delta and daytime holds activities I am loathe to miss even for a snake sighting.

Where's Waldo?

Imagine the feeling that rushes over you when you see a live African animal in its natural habitat 20 feet in front of you for the first time. Breathtaking is all I can say. That first afternoon out we saw hippos, a crocodile, leopard, lions, and tracked elephants - none of them with any ease I must add; it was more of a where's Waldo expedition. But the guides are amazing - very professional, intuitive, and collaborative. They work together and share information about tracks and sounds, animal behavior and movement. The safari vehicle is a land cruiser with a canopy and stadium type seating. Besides me (someone who likes nice teeth but otherwise knows nothing about them), occupants in the truck include my friend, Cheryl, a dental hygienist, Cheryl, a teacher and her husband Geoff, a dental sales rep along with Gary another dental sales rep and his wife Judy an office manager in a dental office. These factoids I reveal to give you a sense of what our group was like. The two couples have been married for ages and have amusing and sardonic interactions. Judy and Gary in particular had us all in stitches most of the time with their banter. Cheryl, the teacher, was hilarious asking Frank to repeat and spell everything he said as English is not his first language and she doesn't speak Ndebele - the mother tongue.

We were all donning our safari gear, buttoned up to the neck and down to the ankles with lightweight mosquito repellent & SPF clothing we reinforced with a covering of bug spray just to make sure. I got eaten alive anyway but at least I didn't get malaria, which evidently stays with you forever if contracted. We topped off our fashion statement with hats and rugged shoes which ended up with souvenir elephant dug between the tread. Adornments included sunglasses, binoculars, cameras, water, pen and paper (to record interesting facts). Recall that I mentioned I took my old film camera to use on safari and my digital point and shoot as backup. Well I jammed the film in my camera and broke it the first bloody night out. Hence forward I was solely reliant on my happy snappy which I'm pleased to say performed pretty well.

So after a thorough ornithology lesson and the wonderment that is birds that aren't pigeons and crows it was time to get down to serious game viewing. We first came across a hippo pool where half a dozen or so were bobbing around. Hippos are enormous! The have a slick hairless coat and jaws that will crush just about anything. They are one of the most ferocious creatures in Africa and are responsible for most human deaths there each year (aside from war and disease). They hang out in the cool water during the day, able to stay under water for 6 minutes at a time, and rove around grazing at night. It is said that they are close relatives of whales and porpoises. While not vehemently territorial by nature, hippos spread their dung on trees on the pool's perimeter to stake claim in their watering hole. We were just about to pass through a flooded out dip in the trail when we spotted a 3 foot crocodile swimming in it! Good thing Frank had good reflexes and a reverse gear.

We could tell there were elephants in the area because of the destruction all around us. Trees are uprooted in search of water and bark is peeled off a large tree to get to the sap beneath it. They wrap their strong trunks around tree limbs tearing it off its trunk and stuff the whole thing into their mouth. It seems like they would run out of food in no time in their territory. But nature is so perfect that the seeds coming out during defecation germinate and generate new growth beginning the cycle all over again. We were so excited to see elephants (which evaded us that day) but as we rounded a curve there lay a stunning, slumbering pride of lions in a meadow. Lions are the laziest creature in the wild sleeping 22 hours and hunting the other 2. It is the job of the lioness to track and capture food but the male gets first dibs. A male is not considered part of the pride beyond 3 years old and may have a few prides in his territory. At three, strong and capable lions leave their mothers' clutches and seek their own prides and territories. This pride, about a dozen strong, was guarded by a big beautiful male who acknowledged our presence making sure we weren't a threat. Most continued to dream but a few of them were curious to see who the paparazzi was.

Frank got word that there was a leopard draped over a branch reserving his energy for hunting and waiting for the blistering heat to pass. So we sped off hoping to catch up with him before the other lookieloos chased him away. He let us gawk at him for a few minutes before becoming perturbed. He leaped off the tree and meandered back and forth in front of our vehicles for a while in search of private solitude. He was very cool to let us encroach on his space and most tolerant of our following his every move.

Night was falling and as I've already described cocktail hour as being critical to the safari experience so we high-tailed it over to the lagoon for a glass of wine as the sun set the sky on fire. A botswana sunset is one to behold and one I'll never forget.

March 5, 2009

Check out what Ron Kaye has to say about the election results and Measure B.

My dog has more sense

So I woke this am with hope in my heart that things took a drastic detour from the upsetting news last night that the mayor of Los Angeles was probably still the mayor - sadly, he is. But I don't think it was the landslide victory he was hoping for. He earned a paultry 55% meaning only 8% of the voting populous gave him the thumbs up which loosens the cog in his chances of becoming governor next year. Just when you think it couldn't get worse than Arnie "the governator" Shwartzenegger enter Tony V. That would really be a travesty. As it is I am baffled that he sneaked in however narrowly. There isn't anyone I know - conservative or liberal, white, black, brown, purple, rich or poor, who think he is doing a good job. The cronyism is rampant and troubling in this town but that's only part of the issue. If people don't care we're bound to get more of the same and we deserve every lousy, expensive thing they lay on us.

Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves

Los Angeles voters may have been disenfranchised today. True to form the corrupt city government machine is at work yet again and here's why I make this claim. It could be a series of coincidences but I am not in the mood to give Villaraigosa and his village idiots the benefit of the doubt.

I usually vote at 7am before go to work but this day Damon and I had talked about going together after work. I was on my way home when I got a phone call from my neighbor saying that the polling place where we've voted in every election for 8 years was locked up tight. Alright, so they moved the polling place. We located it on the back of our sample ballots and found that it had moved from a large classroom in a church school with plenty of parking to the back of a minuscule carpet store with no designated parking and inconvenient access. This made me think that well-intentioned voters may have just shined it not willing to endure the grief.

I walked in with my neighbor at 6pm and the volunteers congratulated him as being the 100th voter. One hundred voters in a Mayoral election of the 2nd largest city in America 2 hours before the poll closes? Are you kidding me? I shouldn't be so surprised as the election is being held one month earlier than it usually is and has gotten relatively little press. This particular polling venue was barely identifiable marked only with a dwarfed US flag stuck in the mud street side and a scribbled sign on the entrance to the store which is on a different corner than the building address and front entrance. When we questioned the poll workers they said "hey we just put out what they give us". Finding Easter eggs or the f'n Easter bunny for that matter is probably easier than locating our polling place.

My hope is that there was a enough dissonance with the abysmal performance of this mayor to spur a runoff in May. Tony V doesn't even want to be mayor - he has his sights set on the gubernatorial race next year. But the honest truth is that most people are apathetic - living in little bubbles not paying attention to what their government is doing. And more often than not they are plundering us. The incumbent mayor refused to debate any of his competitors citing that they were insignificant. This sends a message to me that he hasn't got a clue about what's going on in his city because he's never here doing the people's business and would be walloped on the issues. Moreover, it illustrates total contempt for the people of Los Angeles.

I decided to check in on the results before I post this and find that I too have contempt for LA voters. It appears as though the mayor will keep his job and I wonder which city his supporters live in...certainly not the same Los Angeles that I do. It is staggering how poorly engaged people are.

Exercise your right - VOTE!!!!!

If we are to save Los Angeles and have a hope in hell of restoring our standing as a safe and prosperous city we must unseat this do nothing, corrupt, incompetent mayor. Please go to the polls tomorrow and cast your ballot. It is your duty as a taxpaying American to engage in the political process and get involved in the future of your city. Viva Los Angeles and send Villaragosa back to cleaning toilets!