No bones about it...

Courtesy Rossetti Archive

Like the mighty fist of God, Armageddon will descend upon the fashion world. I predict and slow miserable death...truth be told it's long over due. I don't claim to know who/what/where/how it started. Pirates? Secret societies? Animists? Headhunters? The Aryan Brotherhood? Yale University? OPEC? Yes, blame OPEC!

Enough!

In the new days--I reckon the culprits reside mostly in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In fact, I'm convinced it's mandatory for every angry asshole in LV to sport that shit. I digress, what more can be said of fashion that hasn't already been said? In this case, that Wilde fellow was wrong when he wrote, fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Sorry Oscar, you weren't around long enough to meet Sir Ed Hardy. The imagery probably says something about our society today. What exactly, I don't know. I have my theories; War. Guns. Violence. Cage fighting. Fear. Paranoia. Ten-fold increase in karate school enrollment. An affliction indeed. I'm being vague. I'll get to the point. It's got to end. Please. God. End it now. Save humanity and fashion. I'll make a deal with you...how about this-- ban any clothing with skulls and/or bones, crosses, guns or roses printed, flocked, stitched, stamped, or glued on it from every town save for Las Vegas and I will vote Republican this November. Fair? Strike them down God. Thanks! Oh, and if you could get Hollywood to stop casting talentless fat curly-haired Jewish dudes named Seth in every film I would totally stop using your name in vain.

Truth Alert & Update: 5 years ago I purchased a black Affliction t-shirt with skulls/horses on it. It has since been donated to an angry White guy in Clark County, NV. In return, he gave me all of his old flames/dice garb.

Does anyone still sport Von Dutch?


Borderline White-Supremacist Imagery?

61

Courtesy Ronin 2.0

The Library.

I'm back. Hi. I realize I don't write much about the library anymore--truth be told this is due mostly to laziness, apathy and genuine embarrassment...so here goes...catching up with the happenings and goings on the the Los Angeles Public Library. Some old news, but my take on things is important. Yea.

Beware the Trees

The signs were there. We just didn't heed their warnings. It started with the sap. For months it's been the sap. The dog-forsaken sap. More sap than I've ever seen--ruining many a car exterior and literally flowing down the driveway--staining everything in its wake. Then the Yellowjackets came (bees for the non-naturalists) buzzin' around the Peppercorn tree--instilling fear into the hearts of the evil-doers--library patrons rather. Finally culminating last week--a most brazen daytime assault. An angry Eucalyptus tree in the lot attacked our Adult Librarian's Honda. It was a sight to behold. A freak accident some proclaimed--as a large branch snapped, fell, defied the laws of physics, then made a hard left into the hatchback window. Smash! Absolutely amazing. But this was no freak accident. I know better--the parking lot was designed around the existing trees--much to the displeasure of the public today--the same public, I may point out, during the early public hearings, asked that the trees not be cut down when the new library was constructed. But I digress...much verbal venom has been spewed at those poor trees since--something had to the give. The message they sent was clear. Park elsewhere. Nature 1 Honda 0.

Smile

All library employees had to go in for a new photo-identification card recently. No reason provided. The two gentleman who took our photos--equipped with a notepad and simple low quality slim digi-cam--the kind popluar among myspace-skank-mirror-self-shot takers), didn't look like they were from the library personnel department. I wore a light grey button-up which blended into the white background of the ID. So all you is my brown head floating in space. Next person in line please.

Careful what you wish for

After much public outcry, celebrity op-eds, media scrutiny, a silly Save LAPL website (who claim today that they "Saved LAPL") combined with countless complaints from old White ladies, the city library and librarian (who has since stepped down) rescinded its controversial (not to me) interagency (inter-library to the layperson) planned loan fee of $1.00/per book--which btw costs the city one half hour of work per book, and more importantly makes life for library clerks miserable (I'm looking at you serial reservists). A compromise would have been to simply limit the number of Interagency requests a month. Right now of course there is no limit--so we have patrons who literally have 90 requests (on multiple cards).

So, in lieu of that, the library decided to--shorten the loan period for books back to two weeks instead of three (more I think about it hurts slow readers or our English as second language friends). Increase overdue fees to .30/per day. New non-Resident fee of $25. Increase the collections fee to $15. Among other recent increases--photocopier fee increase to .25. I'm sure I am forgetting other increases, but you get the idea. Yes, careful what you wish for indeed. Ha. Ha.

Public Libraries more popular than ever

Videos stores beware.

TKO

The company that provides every L.A. Public Library with "free" wireless is called Telkonet Inc. with it's Ethostream service. Listed on the AMEX (I've been watching the stock for almost two years), is trading at near its yearly low @ .44/share even though it reported a recent revenue increase. I don't know how long the the city's contract with the company is, but how hard could it possibly be for the city to provide its own wireless service?

More library related news/insights/adventures to come....hang on tight.