May 7, 2010

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #4 Jackie Johnson


It may be a shock to some that Jackie Johnson is ranked a paltry #4 in my rankings since Jackie burst onto the weather scene here in SoCal only a few years ago and has become very popular due to her looks. My wife used to work at KCAL and I remember a certain friend of mine trying very hard to get her to set him up with Jackie... nice try bud. As appealing to the eye as Jackie is, to me she seems a little too stoic and lacking of an outgoing personality. At times it actually seems forced. You can tell that she takes forecasting very serious but weather.com is also serious, the viewing audience appreciates a little personality to lighten it up. Like I mentioned before, much of the newscast is devoted to drive by's, bank robberies, etc. Let's have some fun when the weather comes on... since it's SoCal, weather is never a serious topic like it would be most any other place. But a small victory for Jackie will be that she is the only meteorologist in my rankings to score a perfect 10 on appearance which definitely drove her overall score up and can't be too bad for the confidence.
Jackie is from Michigan and dated Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame last year for a while. You can find her on Channel 9 and Channel 2.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 8
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 10
Total: 25

Apr 27, 2010

Santa Monica Place - Update



At the end of the promenade once stood a dilapidated mall called the Santa Monica Place that originally was opened in 1980, during the large indoor mall boom that this country went through. Although it was designed by one of my favorite architects, Santa Monica's own Frank Gehry, and had also been in several films including the Terminator and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the mall had seen better days. It became a relic of the 80's with the subpar chain retail stores and greasy food court eateries. The malls of the 80's and early 90's are no longer desirable places to shop, especially in Southern California where the weather is too nice to spend a full day of shopping indoors. The only time I would go there was to shop at Macy's but the rest of the mall was very quiet and kind of eery.

Macerich, a REIT (I work for a REIT as well) based out of Santa Monica purchased and has completely gutted Santa Monica place and is putting in more of an open air shopping center with outdoor dining terraces and high end retail stores.

From Macerichs website:

The retail attractions of Santa Monica Place include a new Bloomingdale’s and a new Nordstrom plus a growing roster of specialty stores: Burberry, Kitson, Nike, CB2, Tory Burch, Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, Ted Baker, AllSaints Spitalfields, 7 For All Mankind, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Coach, Ed Hardy, True Religion, Joe’s Jeans, Swarovski, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Angl, Bernini, Charles David, Parc 81 (formerly Michael Brandon), East 5th Hub (formerly ROC/Republic of Couture), Eva Varro and Solstice Sunglass Boutique. Newly signed for the property are, on the first level, Betsey Johnson, Barneys Co-Op, Johnny Was, Pandora, L'Occitane, White House Black Market and Bird Pick Tea & Herb; and on the second level, Chilli Beans, Tous, Foreign Exchange, Kensington Luggage, Sea of Silver, and GNC. As well, Love Culture will open a larger, 10,069-square foot store rather than the 7,500-square foot space originally planned.

The rooftop Dining Deck will offer ocean and city views and a carefully selected set of chef-driven restaurants and quick-casual dining options. Already announced restaurants include two concepts from nationally recognized restaurateur Richard Sandoval, Zengo and La Sandia, plus Pizza Antica, Ozumo Sushi, and XINO Restaurant + Lounge.



I think this will be a great extension of the Third Street Promenade, whose retail stores are more aimed towards tourists. It will be nice to not have to drive to Century City or South Coast Plaza to get some nice shopping in. I am sure traffic will be worse now, but at least we are walking distance to the Santa Monica place.

Apr 26, 2010

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #5 Dallas Raines


Here's the thing about Dallas Raines, you either love him or hate him. There is no middle ground on his likeability. I personally used to hate him but now fall into the latter group. Initially I had a "you have got to be effing kidding me" moments when I first watched Dallas doing our local weather several years ago. Who is this guy with a ridiculous name, orange overtanned skin, and cheesy car salesman persona. I couldn't stand him. But he grew on me like mold. He is actually an extremely talented weatherman, second only to one other who shall be mentioned later. He communicates well, has a lot of energy, and seems to be much more detailed when we do have weather systems coming through the Southland. You just have to get over his shiny veneer and accept Dallas for who he is. And I have to give him some credit, he came out and was very forthright when he found out he had prostate cancer which was a very brave thing to do.


Knowledge and Professionalism: 9
Entertainment Value: 8
Appearance: 7
Total: 24

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #6 Elita Loresca



Elita, a native of the Philippines, who moved to LA when she was 10 months old and after a brief stint doing the weather for the folks of Miami came back to make Channel 4 her home much to the delight of many Angelenos. Although I rarely see Elita doing the weather since I don't watch the news in the morning or midday while she is on, I have definitely heard a lot about her due in no small part to her being voted "America's Sexiest Newscaster" in 2006 by the readers of FHM Online magazine while she was in Miami. As far as I know this is not an annual poll so she seems to be the only meteorologist to hold this distinction as of right now and there is definitely a lot of competition out there. I pulled up a few clips of her weather reports and she is an above average weather reporter who is very calming and has a good style about her. I also have to admit, she seems to have a ton of fan sites online which definitely helped her ranking. It also turns out she is good friends with rival meteorologist Maria Quiban who ranked #8 in this poll.



Knowledge and Professionalism: 7
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 9
Total: 23

Apr 9, 2010

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #7 Johnny Mountain


So here we are #7 and the first truly cheesy weatherman name. Who knows if Johnny's real last name is Mountain and if so why not be called John Mountain? But what I do know is that Johnny Mountain is cheesy. After some thought, I think if I were to become a weatherman I would opt for a name with more local relevance such as Jimbo Ocean or Jimmy Heatwave... Johnny Mountain seems better suited for a Denver based meteorologist.

I actually came pretty close to not including Johnny in these rankings as he has recently announced his retirement... I guess I will consider this my homage to a long illustrious career of forecasting the weather for us grateful Angeleno's. Johnny, no stranger to the tanning salon has always been well dressed, wearing a big smile, and has had above average energy which made him more than tolerable. The good and the bad of this is that the lovely Jackie Johnson and the annoying Josh Rubinstein will be picking up more air time. I really hope this "retirement" wasn't another wave of "restructuring" due to the slow economy. In any case... we salute you and your 30+ years of service to us Johnny... godspeed my friend and feel free to change your name back to something somewhat normal.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 7
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 8
Total: 22

Mar 25, 2010

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #8 Maria Quiban


There isn't a lot of layers to peel back with the native Hawaiian nor any drama like our previous two meteorologists... and that's actually refreshing. Maria definitely has her fans and although I am not one of them, I certainly am in no hurry to change the channel when she is forecasting our sunny Southern Californian skies. Maria has her own basic travel website where you can go check out random information such as how much to tip people, how to pack, as well as several other pages still under construction... but I dig that she is trying. I am not sure how long she will be a weatherlady as she has built up a pretty solid resume on IMBD with filmwork lately (mostly playing a tv anchor or meteorologist though) but in the meantime we will all enjoy your appealing appearance and above average forecasting skills.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 6
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 8
Total: 21

Mar 17, 2010

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #9 Mark Kriski


There is really nothing I can say about poor Mark Kriski that Howard Stern hasn't already said unless that is I chose to say some nice thing about Kriski. There are few people in this world that you do not pick a fight with, and I would say that Shock Jockey Howard Stern probably belongs to that list. Stern went on a tirade of the irrelevance of weatherman (specifically Kriski) for a good 20 minutes in retort to Kriski saying that Stern has been more irrelevant since leaving radio to go to Sirius, obviously something that Stern is pretty sensitive about. It's actually pretty hilarious how bad Stern rips on Kriski saying things like he has a spray painted head and a facelift, he's a f*@king douchebag, etc. Check it here if you are so inclined.

I have been watching Kriski off and on since I was in high school back in the 90's, back then he seemed like a used car salesman who would always flirt with Jennifer York in the Skycam helicopter.... kind of made your skin crawl sometimes actually. Over the years though Kriski has mellowed out and takes his job as seriously as he can while being on the KTLA morning news I guess and now that he has gotten the attention of Stern for a nano-second he is hated by millions of Stern listeners instead of just disliked by thousands of Angeleno's.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 6
Entertainment Value: 6
Appearance: 7
Total: 19

Mar 8, 2010

SoCal Meteorologist Rankings - #10 Jillian Reynolds


Jillian Reynolds (formerly Barberie) is part of the Entertainment (Not News) triumvirate of Good Day LA on Fox. Look, this team has their niche and it just happens to not be news reporting. They have a following of fans that enjoy their banter, cutting each other off as they speak, blunt remarks, and over caffeinated opinions.

Jillian has in fact made a great name for herself over the last decade or so. She is a spokesperson for Nutri System, she does a National weather segment on FOX NFL Sundays, and she has appeared in several men's magazines as a sex symbol. She's definitely entertaining to her Cougar nation and probably appeals to many Angeleno's in that she is completely self absorbed. You really can't take a meteorologist who reads magazine and sends text messages while on air seriously. Although Jillian may be a meteorologist by trade, she is really an entertainer (to those who find her entertaining that is) and she is an iconic representation of LA as she is probably the one newswoman that is recognizable across the country.

Knowledge and Professionalism: 4
Entertainment Value: 7
Appearance: 7
Total: 18

Mar 4, 2010

Jalames 1st Annual Southern California Meteorologist Rankings

When we consume our local news at night or morning we are exposed to a great deal of information and often many depressing stories about what is going on in Southern Cal and the rest of our country be it car chases, homicides, traffic, and as of late news about the recession and unemployment.... booo. I would say in a given newscast, 70-80% of the information that we consume is overwhelmingly negative... and then the weatherman/woman comes on and moods lighten! This is especially the case since we live in Southern Cal and aside from Rain, Santa Ana winds, occasional flooding, and fires our weathermen have great news of sunny skies and beautiful beaches... they are the purveyors of information that effect every single one of us. So there was an overturned semi on the 10 you say?? Well that may effect a few thousand for an hour or so but the weather is universal. We all talk about it and we all bask in it or shake our fists collectively at it. And this my friends is why our meteorologists are celebrities. But not just anyone will do.... this is LA, the entertainment capital of our country. The land of self obsession, vanity, and microscopic attention spans. Our meteorologists need to be excellent.


I have ranked the top 10 meteorologists for Southern California and did so based on the scientific Jalames Meterologist ranking formula:

Categories (each on a scale of 1-10):
Knowledge and Professionalism
Entertainment Value
Appearance

The maximum score would be a 30


I hope you enjoy the rankings as much as I enjoyed putting them together, obviously this is a very subjective ranking by yours truly and while you may disagree you would probably be wrong! I will rank them in reverse order starting at #12 and finishing at #1 over the next week or so... let's get started

Mar 1, 2010

Sustainable Seafood and Bad Shrimp

If you are like me and are enamored by the taste of a perfectly seared piece of Ahi or a perfectly cooked piece of Chilean Sea Bass (Thomas Keller has the best recipe for this), then you should also be cognisant of the sustainability of seafood as to preserve its availability for several years to come. Overfishing is rampant and types of fish that you may enjoy today may be extinct in our lifetime.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has created a handy pocket guide for you to print out and take with you to the market the next time you pick up some fish. Please use it.



Another Seafood item that I am passionate about is the huge supply of shrimp in our markets from Thailand and Vietnam. This could be the most lethal item in your supermarket. DO NOT EAT IT. Here is an excerpt from one of many articles I have read on this large influx of dangerous shellfish being imported into the US:

"Once the shrimp arrive stateside, less than 2 percent of the shipments are inspected, according to the FDA. About half of the inspected shipments are detained for safety, packaging, or sanitation violations. Shrimp account for nearly a quarter of all detained seafood. They comprise 38 percent of seafood turned away for salmonella violations, and 35 percent turned away for "filth.""

If you dare to read more, and I hope you do, check out this article.

Oct 13, 2009

Next Up...

ALCS against the Yankee's. It provides me little comfort that the Angels have a 78-63 record, including playoff games, against the Yankees since 1996, and 32-17 in the last 49 games between the teams. The Angels also eliminated New York in the 2002 and 2005 American League division series.

This will be a battle.

Red October

What an amazing series against the Red Sawx. Below are some great motivationals from my favorite Angel blog Halos Heaven





Oct 7, 2009

Angels all the way this year!

First up...



Streaks are meant to be broken.

Sep 3, 2009

Ode to the Los Angeles Rams



R.I.P. Los Angeles Rams (1946 - 1994)

Ahh yet another NFL season is almost upon us and one can't help but to get excited to get your fantasy football lineups set, get together with friends on Sundays for buffalo wings, cold beers, and cooler weather. Although for a so cal native such as myself every new NFL season brings with it a little bit of bitterness. You see, I grew up an LA Rams fan, we even had season tickets for a few years and while the Rams were never really great it has been the only NFL team I have ever really cared about enough to call my team. There are many theories as to why we were robbed of the Rams I still blame Georgia Frontiere for taking them from us.

From Wikipedia:

Georgia Frontiere inherited the team. Georgia got her last name Frontiere when she later married the musician and Hollywood composer Dominic Frontiere. Under the terms of the Rams' deal with Anaheim, they were to receive the rights to develop plots of land near the Stadium. When nothing came of these plans, and with attendance falling, Georgia Frontiere got permission to relocate the team.


The Raiders left soon after this and even though I could never succumb to becoming a Raiders fan... the Los Angeles area has been with out an NFL team ever since. Mindblowing isn't it. Especially since LA has 2 MLB teams and 2 NBA teams.



The Rams while never bringing the Lombardi trophy to LA were actually pretty decent. From 1973 to 1989 the Rams went to the playoffs, that's 14 out of 16 years (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1989). My all time favorite players were Jim Everett (who punched out Jim Rome when he called him Chrissy Everett after the female tennis player), Henry Ellard, Flipper Anderson, offensive rookie of the year in 1993 Jerome Bettis, and my all time favorite Ram Eric Dickerson.

Anaheim Stadium back in the day before Disney got a hold of it...



May the memories of the yellow and blue stay strong and hopefully one day we can reclaim whats rightfully ours from St. Louis.

Sep 2, 2009

TFLN: The most amusing site I have seen in ages





There are very few times in web browsing history that I have found a website that has made me laugh so hard in such a short period of time. This website now rivals my favorite website "Stuff White People Like". Texts From Last Night is here to show you how boring the texts in on your phone are by posting the most outlandish texts from all over the USA. Think I’m kidding? Check it:

Best Night Section:

(847): i took some ambien and I TRIPPED out...i went into my mom's room to say goodnight and i don't remember anything...she said that i got really pissed at her because we were living in the Keebler elf tree and she was visiting other trees, then i started laughing hysterically and she goes "whats so funny?" and i go "there are 7 people sitting on my knees" and she goes "doesn't that hurt?" and i said "no we're sitting in a bowl" and then i capped it off and said "join the crazy train bro" and passed out.

Worst Night Section:

(323): You got in a fight last night?
(818): Yeah! Some dude in the bathroom...he was standing there and I notice he's got the same shirt as me on so I'm like...dude you should have called me, we look like idiots...he didn't say anything...so i got pissed and hit him...completely decimated and my hand was all bloody and covered with glass afterward...weird dude, never saw him again that night or since.
(323): Um...Did this guy happen to look almost exactly like you?


Texts From Last Night will cheer you up on days like today when the stock market is down and half of Los Angeles is burning.

May 18, 2009

Demotivational Posters

Okay, the recession has got me all bummed out over the last few months so I thought I would put something on here to lighten the mood. I get a ton of these e-mails with the demotivational posters and I always find a few that will crack me up regardless of the mood I am in, so I put together a compilation of my favorites.












Mar 25, 2009

March Madness LA Taco Style

lataco.com is doing a bracket for the best taco stand in Los Angeles. This is pure awesomeness. It is down the the final 8 and Tacos Por Favor, a Santa Monica favorite is still in it. There is some very stiff competition left though including Tito's Taco's and Cactus. Get over there and vote for TPF. And if you haven't been yet, I will gladly take you for some of the best crispy tacos ever.

Go here to vote.

Feb 17, 2009

Rain

The wet season is apparently on us, February through April are the three months in which we get almost 90% of our water here in So Cal. It's interesting to watch peoples reactions every year from disbelief and complaints that it's raining to the oft quoted "I am glad it's raining, we really need it." Well, we always need rain. Most people don't realize where our water comes from though. 30% comes from groundwater sources locally, the rest is split between the State Water project which brings water from Northern California and the Colorado River. It does vary by community so if you want to know specifically where your area gets its water check this site out:

http://www.water-ed.org/watersources/

Although it has seemed really wet lately we are still below where we should be at for the year.



Keep on conserving and enjoy the rain.

Feb 6, 2009

Anatomy of a Democratic Stimulus Package

I think it goes with out saying that I vehemently oppose the package that is being lobbied so hard in congress right now. The only stimulus this will provide is to the lobbyists that helped these politicians get into office. What it will do is put our country into massive debt and support social programs that will not give back to the overall economy and get us out of this recession.

It's simple. Cut taxes to the working class and corporations, earnings and profits go up and more money gets pumped into the economy.

Below is a breakdown (from Glenn Beck's Website):

Energy
$32 billion: Funding for "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste
$16 billion: Renewable energy tax cuts and a tax credit for research and development on energy-related work, and a multiyear extension of renewable energy production tax credit
$6 billion: Funding to weatherize modest-income homes

Science and Technology
$10 billion: Science facilities
$6 billion: High-speed Internet access for rural and underserved areas

Infrastructure
$30 billion: Transportation projects
$31 billion: Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure
$19 billion: Water projects
$10 billion: Rail and mass transit projects

Education
$41 billion: Grants to local school districts
$79 billion: State fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid
$21 billion: School modernization ($15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500; $6 billion for higher education modernization)

Health Care
$39 billion: Subsidies to health insurance for unemployed; providing coverage through Medicaid
$87 billion: Help to states with Medicaid
$20 billion: Modernization of health-information technology systems
$4.1 billion: Preventative care

Jobless Benefits
$43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.
$39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.
$20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.

Taxes

Individuals:

*$500 per worker, $1,000 per couple tax cut for two years, costing about $140 billion.
*Greater access to the $1,000-per-child tax credit for the working poor.
*Expansion of the earned-income tax credit to include families with three children
*A $2,500 college tuition tax credit.
*Repeal of a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time.

Businesses:

*An infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of two.
*Bonus depreciation for businesses investing in new plants and equipment
*Doubling of the amount small businesses can write off for capital investments and new equipment purchases.
*Allowing businesses to claim a tax credit for hiring disconnected youth and veterans

Feb 4, 2009

State of the So Cal RE Market

Lately I have had a lot of discussions with my friends and peers on when the Real Estate market is going to bottom out. So many non homeowners are waiting for the "bottom" to hit and get into a house before the floodgates open and we see another upward swing in home prices. As with anything supply and demand need to be in sync to reach market stability. Those are the normal rules but with this market there are so many exterior factors at work and we have no idea what the supply will look like. The supply is coming from people who sell, foreclose, or die. The foreclosures are what is making this market so interesting. Another big factor are mortgages rates, they are very low right now and it is very enticing.

There are thousands of articles and blogs that are following this closely and my buddy Jake forwarded me this link...

www.drhousingbubble.com

This is a very analytical and information dense blog that I have started to check on a daily basis.

I am exercising patience, I think that the supply will continue to increase and drive down prices through the next 2 years. Below is an interesting chart that shows the exotic mortgages and when they will cause defaults.