insights from the digital future
2011 has been ramping up — slowly but surely — to be huge. Perhaps coincidentally, but as the Chinese New Year approaches, things are getting busy. The Year of the Rabbit ready to run.
Was lucky to hit a few fantastic live events over the past week and want to share some highlights / video / photos in a post.
Chandeliers sway in JW Marriott lobby after 6.9 Earthquake in Baja Mexico April 4, 2010
Originally uploaded by andysternberg
There were strange crack/rolling sounds from alternating sides of the building during the quake, which felt like a gentle swirling than anything else. The quake took place hundreds of miles away. Per Wikipedia:
The Ritz-Carlton/JW Marriott hotel building, a part of the LA Live development in Los Angeles, California, is the first building in Los Angeles that uses an advanced steel plate shear wall system to resist the lateral loads of strong earthquakes and winds.
20 minutes later they came on the loudspeaker to say they were investigating any possibile structural damage to the building.
I just took some photos of the steel beam wall setups and have posted them below — according to the bartender here, this building is built to withstand a 12.0 magnitude earthquake. I feel much safer now.
Continue reading “VIDEO: Chandeliers sway in JW Marriott lobby after 7.2 Earthquake South of Mexicali, Baja Mexico April 4, 2010”
This coming Tuesday, Feb. 5, 22 states including California and my birth-state Illinois go to the polls to select whether they want to elect the first black president or the first female president. (My Republican friends — you know you’re out there — have a choice between four good ol’ white boys.)
LAist is throwing a post-primary Super Tuesday bash at my fave bar, Seven Grand from 7-9, and I’ll remain planted there for the remainder of the night until I get my late-night birthday present, which (I hope) will be Sen. Barack Obama claiming a majority of the nearly 1700 delegates up for grabs (he was just endorsed by the LA Times).
We won’t necessarily be talking politics — it’s not really worth talking about. Super Tuesday is our chance to celebrate one of the rare opportunities we have to make a difference by practicing democracy. And the first 75 peeps to show up wearing an “I voted” sticker gets a drink on LAist and AnswerWithAction.
And there are much more exciting and interesting things to talk about anyway. Many of you may have already RSVP’d on the facebook or upcoming event page, but if you were on the fence or will be busy much of the night, perhaps knowing that there will be some birthday celebrating going on into the night (I’ll turn 33 on February 6th) will change your mind! Hope to see you Tuesday. Happy voting.