Well, it’s Friday at lunch… time to clean out the accumulated links that didn’t form a theme. Actually, the first four links do have a theme, which I call “Dressing It Up”:
- Being a Queen. Some of my daughter’s favorite shows are those from RuPaul. So I thought of her when I saw this article in the Las Vegas Weekly about the life of a drag queen in Las Vegas: what goes on behind the scenes, the families that the shows create, and what it brings to the performers.
- Plating It. One of the bills signed recently by Gov. Brown permits cars to obtain “vintage” California plates to match the vehicle. Yes, this means you could get the 1960s yellow on black plates (I fondly remember WVB 978 and PJX 816) or the 1970s yellow on blue plates (there I remember 1FEB470).
- Tracking the Hat. An interesting article from the OC Register about new interactive mouse-ear hats at Disneyland, which communicate via IR signals with attractions to light colorful LEDs in the hat. These hats can transmit as well, and they are thinking about using them to track what attractions you visit or give you birthday surprises.
- French Food. An interesting article from the LA Times on how the restaurant chain Mimi’s is trying to update their style and menu with a French theme. They will try it first at the Santa Clarita location. I’m not sure it will entice me to try the updated restaurants, tho.
Lastly, a few additional articles of interest:
- Games to the Screen. They obviously didn’t learn from Battleship. They are now talking about bringing Hungry Hungry Hippos and Monopoly to the silver screen. This is on top of other projects like Candyland and Stretch Armstrong. And people wonder why I prefer live theatre.
- New Vans. This article on the commercial van competition caught my eye because I drive and operate a vanpool. We had been driving a Ford Econoline E-150, but recently downsized to a Toyota Sienna, which we love. The article notes the Econoline ceases production in 2014, and there will be a new crop of vans coming out, ranging from the MBZ Sprinter, the various Ford Transit series, the Nissan NV, a new Ram Commercial van, and possibly some Fiat models as well.
- Bad Timing. Word is starting to leak out that the access to the Shuttle as it slowly moves across LA will be very limited. But that’s not what worries me. It is the timing. According to one article I read, Endeavour will leave LAX and hit Westchester Boulevard about 2 a.m. Friday 10/12. From there, the shuttle will roll toward Sepulveda Boulevard, where it will sit in a parking lot for about nine hours beginning at 4 a.m. as crews de-energize and raise transformer lines ahead on the route. By 2 p.m. Friday, the shuttle will depart down Manchester Boulevard toward the City of Inglewood, entering city limits about 4:15 p.m. The shuttle will make another six-hour stop in Inglewood as crews work on another transformer and should cross I-405 Friday night. The orbiter will pass Inglewood City Hall about 8 a.m. Saturday. An hour later, Endeavour will make a 30-minute stop at the Forum. Endeavour will cross back into Los Angeles city limits about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and at about 2 p.m. will stop at the intersection of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards for another planned public viewing. So why does this worry me? Our van leaves the ranch S of LA at 330p. This means we will likely be crossing the initial traffic jams of the first movement. In particular, it means that traffic may be stopped on Sepulveda and Lincoln N of LAX at around 3pm Friday. Of course, one answer might just be to stop and get some donuts.
- Bad Timing (Update). ETA: The street closures have been confirmed: On Friday October 12, 2012: (a) Lincoln Boulevard between Sepulveda Boulevard and Manchester Avenue; (b) Westchester Parkway between Sepulveda Boulevard and Airport Boulevard; (c) La Tijera between Sepulveda Boulevard and Manchester Avenue; (d) Manchester Avenue between La Tijera Boulevard and Crenshaw Drive (City of Inglewood). [I’d also expect there to be rolling closures of the N/S cross streets]. On Saturday October 13, 2012: (a) Manchester Boulevard between (Inglewood Forum) and Crenshaw Drive; (b) Crenshaw Drive between Manchester Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard; (c) Crenshaw Boulevard between Manchester Boulevard and Martin Luther King Boulevard; (d) Martin Luther King Boulevard Between Crenshaw Boulevard and Figueroa Avenue. [Same note about rolling closures] I guess this means we won’t be taking the airport shortcut home!
