First things first. I wish to unequivocally protest the CicLAvia (taken from the Spanish Ciclovía (also ciclovia or cyclovia English pronunciation: /ˌsiːklɵˈviː.ə/, Spanish: a term which translates from Spanish into English as "bike path" and now used worldwide to describe either a permanently designated bicycle route or a temporary event, the closing of the street to automobiles for use by others) Festival held yesterday primarily in the downtown Los Angeles area, where of course I happen to live.
http://ciclavia.wordpress.com/
CicLAvia proudly admits it "closed streets between the eastern edge of Hollywood and the Westlake and Pico-Union districts, primarily along New Hampshire Avenue and 7th Street. At Figueroa and 7th streets downtown, the closure forked north to Chinatown, east to Boyle Heights, and south to “jazz row” on Central Avenue."
Jazz Row? Where the hell is Jazz Row on Central? I live right next to Central Avenue, and believe me there's nothing jazzy about it. Well, I guess we'll have to rely on Wikipedia once again, which is completely reliable as long as you're not referencing Republican presidential candidates.
"From approximately 1920 to 1955, Central Avenue was the heart of the African-American community in Los Angeles, with active Rhythm and Blues and Jazz music scenes. Local luminaries included Eric Dolphy, Art Pepper, Chico Hamilton, and Charles Mingus. Other jazz and R&B musicians associated with Central Avenue in LA include Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, Dexter Gordon, Lionel Hampton, Hampton Hawes, Big Jay McNeely, Johnny Otis, Shifty Henry, Charlie Parker (briefly), Gerald Wilson and Teddy Wilson. Commenting on its historical prominence, Wynton Marsallis once remarked that "Central Avenue was the 52nd Street of Los Angeles." Although Central Avenue is no longer the thriving jazz center it was, its legacy is preserved by the Central Avenue Jazz Festival and a small number of jazz clubs, including 2nd Street Jazz in Little Tokyo.
Lionel Hampton composed and performed a tune called 'Central Avenue Breakdown.'"
Who knew? Certainly not me.
But I digress.
As I often do.
What is CicLAvia doing and why? Good questions! I'm gland you asked.
Apparently this all started in Bogotá, Colombia, over thirty years ago as a response to the congestion and pollution of city streets. What is it exactly that they do, Rick? Stop beating around the bush.
Hundreds of thousands of human beings including little ones, came out to ride bicycles in those very areas mentioned above. Why? To purposely get cars off of the streets for awhile.
Yeah, I know, it's not a very long period of time, probably about ten hours all in all, but they seem to think it does some good. Here's what they have to say about it:
These events connect "...communities and [give] people a break from the stress of car traffic. The health benefits are immense. Ciclovías bring families outside of their homes to enjoy the streets, our largest public space. In Los Angeles we need CicLAvia more than ever. Our streets are congested with traffic, our air is polluted with toxic fumes, our children suffer from obesity and other health conditions caused by the scarcity of public space and safe, healthy transportation options. CicLAvia creates a temporary park for free, simply by removing cars from city streets. It creates a network of connections between our neighborhoods and businesses and parks with corridors filled with fun. We can’t wait to see you at CicLAvia!"
Here's what the L.A. Times had to say about it:
"This was Los Angeles’ fourth CicLAvia, which shut down numerous streets to traffic from East Los Angeles to East Hollywood and turned them into one big bike lane. The first event was held in 2010.
The event is intended to inspire people to get out of their cars, explore the city and burn a few calories at the same time.
Ten miles of city streets in and around downtown were blocked off as cyclists and pedestrians enjoyed music, food and a range of activities from rock climbing to dancing.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also used the event to unveil a new $16-million, privately funded bike share program that aims to add 4,000 bicycles at 400 kiosks across the city."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/ciclavia-100000-cyclists-pedestrians.html
That sounds all well and good, however, it is my custom to traverse the downtown area on Sundays to attend a church meeting for the sole purpose of getting the free food they give away afterward. How do I get there? The bus, of course. That's how I get everywhere (although I did ride in a car briefly about a week and a half ago, but that's another story, and I don't want to digress anymore, so I shouldn't have even brought it up. Sorry).
So yesterday I was on the nice 720 MTA Rapid double bus (two bus length sections cemented together with glue) on 5th Street headed west when traffic began to slow to a crawl as we approached Spring Street near Broadway. We finally were able to pass without having to make a vast detour, which is usually the case during these types of events, and as we passed Spring, we observed thousands of bicyclers on their bikes, headed in both directions (north and south) waiting for the traffic light to change so they could continue on their way.
How annoying.
And not a little bit rude, I must say. How would these individuals like it if hundreds of thousands of people on bikes came to where they live and wrecked havoc? I don't think they would like it very much at all.
Many people who came to the church service stated that they had been inconvenienced by all of the brouhaha and traffic congestion on their way there.
Many came late.
Why do they always have to come downtown to do these things? Why not Reseda for Christsakes? Or Pasadena. Nothing ever goes on there.
Anyway, I wish a 100,000 American citizens would get off their butts every once in a while a come out to protest the continuing useless occupation of Afghanistan, which seems to be only helping defense contractors squeeze out more profits, or women's rights, or the continuing housing crisis
Oh yeah... Occupy Wall Street was doing that, but they aren't being allowed to anymore.
Instead we have anarchy in the streets like yesterday.
Be that as it may, Fox so-called News came up with their very own presidential poll last Thursday, that has Mitt (Mitt) Romeny edging out President Obama 46-44% if the election were held today (and if only Fox viewers voted).
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2012/04/12/fox-news-poll-romney-edges-obama-as-approval-president-drops/
Fox asserts this indicates the President's approval rating is dropping which of course should be the case when unemployment is dropping, the economy is improving, and Obama's not trying to persecute blacks, latino's and women, which happen to be a rather large portion of the voting block.
With just a 2 point lead the "poll" is in a statistical tie with the margin of error factored in.
As Politico, the American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia pointed out, the Fox poll is a fairly drastic swing from the ABC News/Washington Post poll from last week that showed Obama leading Romney 51 to 44. "The differences in results suggest either a very volatile race or very different polling methodologies."
And as Care2.com points out, one place likely to have created a difference? The response of women and Independents. According to Fox, women supported Obama over Romney by 8 points, and Independents broke for Romney 43 to 37. In the WP/ABC poll, Obama leads Romney by 19 points, and Romney leads Obama with Independents by just two points.
In response to the "Fox poll," I wish to hereby announce the results of the well known Joyce's Take / Las Americas Hotel poll taken just Saturday, which indicates it's results are the very latest reflection of the voting public. This poll puts President Obama leading Mittens 73 to 17, which is well out of the margin of error and a true indication of the voting inclination of the American populace.
Apparently 10% of the Las Americas residents and Joyce's Take staff have their collective heads up their butts and don't know what's going on around them.
Anyway, please keep in mind that the Joyce's Take / Las Americas poll has been correct 95% of the time in predicting the final outcome of the general election since 1940 (we backed Adlai Stevenson in 52... I don't know why).
And if you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell you, and that Mitt Romney is anywhere close to being tied with Obama, now or at anytime in the foreseeable future.
It was Fox who first claimed Bush won Florida in 2000, and we all know what BS that was.
http://ciclavia.wordpress.com/
CicLAvia proudly admits it "closed streets between the eastern edge of Hollywood and the Westlake and Pico-Union districts, primarily along New Hampshire Avenue and 7th Street. At Figueroa and 7th streets downtown, the closure forked north to Chinatown, east to Boyle Heights, and south to “jazz row” on Central Avenue."
Jazz Row? Where the hell is Jazz Row on Central? I live right next to Central Avenue, and believe me there's nothing jazzy about it. Well, I guess we'll have to rely on Wikipedia once again, which is completely reliable as long as you're not referencing Republican presidential candidates.
"From approximately 1920 to 1955, Central Avenue was the heart of the African-American community in Los Angeles, with active Rhythm and Blues and Jazz music scenes. Local luminaries included Eric Dolphy, Art Pepper, Chico Hamilton, and Charles Mingus. Other jazz and R&B musicians associated with Central Avenue in LA include Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, Dexter Gordon, Lionel Hampton, Hampton Hawes, Big Jay McNeely, Johnny Otis, Shifty Henry, Charlie Parker (briefly), Gerald Wilson and Teddy Wilson. Commenting on its historical prominence, Wynton Marsallis once remarked that "Central Avenue was the 52nd Street of Los Angeles." Although Central Avenue is no longer the thriving jazz center it was, its legacy is preserved by the Central Avenue Jazz Festival and a small number of jazz clubs, including 2nd Street Jazz in Little Tokyo.
Lionel Hampton composed and performed a tune called 'Central Avenue Breakdown.'"
Who knew? Certainly not me.
But I digress.
As I often do.
What is CicLAvia doing and why? Good questions! I'm gland you asked.
Apparently this all started in Bogotá, Colombia, over thirty years ago as a response to the congestion and pollution of city streets. What is it exactly that they do, Rick? Stop beating around the bush.
Hundreds of thousands of human beings including little ones, came out to ride bicycles in those very areas mentioned above. Why? To purposely get cars off of the streets for awhile.
Yeah, I know, it's not a very long period of time, probably about ten hours all in all, but they seem to think it does some good. Here's what they have to say about it:
These events connect "...communities and [give] people a break from the stress of car traffic. The health benefits are immense. Ciclovías bring families outside of their homes to enjoy the streets, our largest public space. In Los Angeles we need CicLAvia more than ever. Our streets are congested with traffic, our air is polluted with toxic fumes, our children suffer from obesity and other health conditions caused by the scarcity of public space and safe, healthy transportation options. CicLAvia creates a temporary park for free, simply by removing cars from city streets. It creates a network of connections between our neighborhoods and businesses and parks with corridors filled with fun. We can’t wait to see you at CicLAvia!"
Here's what the L.A. Times had to say about it:
"This was Los Angeles’ fourth CicLAvia, which shut down numerous streets to traffic from East Los Angeles to East Hollywood and turned them into one big bike lane. The first event was held in 2010.
The event is intended to inspire people to get out of their cars, explore the city and burn a few calories at the same time.
Ten miles of city streets in and around downtown were blocked off as cyclists and pedestrians enjoyed music, food and a range of activities from rock climbing to dancing.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also used the event to unveil a new $16-million, privately funded bike share program that aims to add 4,000 bicycles at 400 kiosks across the city."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/04/ciclavia-100000-cyclists-pedestrians.html
That sounds all well and good, however, it is my custom to traverse the downtown area on Sundays to attend a church meeting for the sole purpose of getting the free food they give away afterward. How do I get there? The bus, of course. That's how I get everywhere (although I did ride in a car briefly about a week and a half ago, but that's another story, and I don't want to digress anymore, so I shouldn't have even brought it up. Sorry).
So yesterday I was on the nice 720 MTA Rapid double bus (two bus length sections cemented together with glue) on 5th Street headed west when traffic began to slow to a crawl as we approached Spring Street near Broadway. We finally were able to pass without having to make a vast detour, which is usually the case during these types of events, and as we passed Spring, we observed thousands of bicyclers on their bikes, headed in both directions (north and south) waiting for the traffic light to change so they could continue on their way.
How annoying.
And not a little bit rude, I must say. How would these individuals like it if hundreds of thousands of people on bikes came to where they live and wrecked havoc? I don't think they would like it very much at all.
Many people who came to the church service stated that they had been inconvenienced by all of the brouhaha and traffic congestion on their way there.
Many came late.
Why do they always have to come downtown to do these things? Why not Reseda for Christsakes? Or Pasadena. Nothing ever goes on there.
Anyway, I wish a 100,000 American citizens would get off their butts every once in a while a come out to protest the continuing useless occupation of Afghanistan, which seems to be only helping defense contractors squeeze out more profits, or women's rights, or the continuing housing crisis
Oh yeah... Occupy Wall Street was doing that, but they aren't being allowed to anymore.
Instead we have anarchy in the streets like yesterday.
Be that as it may, Fox so-called News came up with their very own presidential poll last Thursday, that has Mitt (Mitt) Romeny edging out President Obama 46-44% if the election were held today (and if only Fox viewers voted).
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2012/04/12/fox-news-poll-romney-edges-obama-as-approval-president-drops/
Fox asserts this indicates the President's approval rating is dropping which of course should be the case when unemployment is dropping, the economy is improving, and Obama's not trying to persecute blacks, latino's and women, which happen to be a rather large portion of the voting block.
With just a 2 point lead the "poll" is in a statistical tie with the margin of error factored in.
As Politico, the American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia pointed out, the Fox poll is a fairly drastic swing from the ABC News/Washington Post poll from last week that showed Obama leading Romney 51 to 44. "The differences in results suggest either a very volatile race or very different polling methodologies."
And as Care2.com points out, one place likely to have created a difference? The response of women and Independents. According to Fox, women supported Obama over Romney by 8 points, and Independents broke for Romney 43 to 37. In the WP/ABC poll, Obama leads Romney by 19 points, and Romney leads Obama with Independents by just two points.
In response to the "Fox poll," I wish to hereby announce the results of the well known Joyce's Take / Las Americas Hotel poll taken just Saturday, which indicates it's results are the very latest reflection of the voting public. This poll puts President Obama leading Mittens 73 to 17, which is well out of the margin of error and a true indication of the voting inclination of the American populace.
Apparently 10% of the Las Americas residents and Joyce's Take staff have their collective heads up their butts and don't know what's going on around them.
Anyway, please keep in mind that the Joyce's Take / Las Americas poll has been correct 95% of the time in predicting the final outcome of the general election since 1940 (we backed Adlai Stevenson in 52... I don't know why).
And if you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell you, and that Mitt Romney is anywhere close to being tied with Obama, now or at anytime in the foreseeable future.
It was Fox who first claimed Bush won Florida in 2000, and we all know what BS that was.
As long as Godless fat corporate pigs lay the balance, we who support them get shit on by them. Because of their greed they roll up politicos by the dozens.
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