terra non firma

random bits

its been way too long since I've posted here. and yet my traffic seems to be rising prodigiously, mostly due to international traffic. so welcome, all my non-American readers. yet I will still try to keep this focused on LA as much as I can. so what's new?

• going to CA Boom 4 this weekend. the organizers have very kindly offered curbed LA press passes again this year. last year I skipped most of the home tours and the party. this year josh and I are going to both the party and some tours on sunday, as well as the show itself. will be bringing my new digital cam to take some pix for the site, and hopefully will post a few here as well.
• went to a panel discussion and performance by ozomatli on tuesday, as a guest of the lear center. (this is my week of free stuff apparently). I mention that here because most of the discussion related to the impact of los angeles, and their sense of place, on their music. while I wish they were slightly more articulate about the band's relationship to this city, the way they recombine and fuse diverse musical influences, and the role a band can play in the fight for social justice, ultimately I have to remember, they're musicians. they're already worlds ahead of the pablum most mainstream musicians spew. they're closer in spirit to musicians turned politicians like gilberto gil than to musicians turned messiah like Bono. and they put on a great show at usc.
  
• first resolution of 2007 is completed: I am now fully caught up in Battlestar Galactica. I was a little underwhelmed by the first season after all the hype, but seasons 2 and 3 really drew me in. its the smartest show on TV right now. now I am spending my time evangelizing BSG to john, who seems to believe allegory is somehow less important, less capable of eliciting genuine emotional responses than watching CNN. he's so misguided.
  
• I just booked some travel in april for a couple of conferences I'm speaking at: adtech in SF and the media in transition conference in MIT (those MIT kids are so smart! the conference initials and the school are the same). I left the travel plans for almost last min so I was forced to look for a nearby hotel in SF that was reasonably priced and I'm actually kind of pleased with my find: the mosser. granted, I haven't been there yet but its a 1913 victorian building that's recently been renovated so it looks like an interesting fusion on modern and victorian touches. and I can also pat myself on the back for another reason: The Mosser family donates a portion of hotel proceeds to their non-profit dedicated to the reforestation of the rain forest. its been literally years since I've been to SF, so I'm looking forward to the trip.
  
• and finally, curbed LA is running its Ugliest Building in LA contest. Its a contest born from josh's twisted head one random monday when our comments seemed low. apparently necessity and low comments are the mother of invention. but the submissions are starting to come in fast and furious now - everyone has a favorite most-hated building. our judges are christopher hawthorne from the latimes, lorcan o'herlihy, alissa walker from unbeige, and ryan from losanjealous . judging begins next week - can't wait.
  

posted by marissa @ 9:46 AM