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Celebrate Super Tuesday And My B-Day at Seven Grand

laist super tuesday party at seven grand los angelesThis 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.

[Seven Grand Google Map]

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Tony Pierce to the LA Times

Pajamas likely headed to Blogger Hall of Fame

tony pierce will be ditching the pajamas and blogging for spring streetThe blogger and LAist editor who inspired myself (among others) to dedicate much time, passion, and keystrokes to group blogging, is moving on after 17 months at the helm of Gothamist‘s Los Angeles operation.

Myself and Zach Behrens interviewed Pierce soon after he dropped the bomb on LAist staffers last Friday.
Read the whole damn thing here.

The news doesn’t surprise me — Known to some as “The Blogfather,” Tony Pierce worked hard for many years to land this gig. LA Times Interactive under Meredith Artley continues being proactive, taking chances and gaining steam tony pierce in pajamas at LAist party popping a celebratory bottle of champagnetoward staking its claim as the new media beast it should be.
Perfect match.

Pierce worked his ass off for LAist as I imagine he did in previous jobs — always doing it his own unique but successful way. A big fan of city-centric sites since my days with Centerstage, I considered trying to write for Chicagoist and LAist but it wasn’t until I got hooked on Tony’s and his bulked-up, liberated staff’s posts (OK, and also because Tony is an insanely die-hard Cubs fan like myself) — about one year ago — that I gave it a shot.

Continue reading “Tony Pierce to the LA Times”

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This Los Angeles Weekend

My early observations on BarCamp:

BarCamp LA at Little RadioJust come on down, BarCamp is free (thanks to sponsors) and its fun. Day one is winding down but many are expected to hang long into the night (geeking out with DJ’s, werewolf and Wiis) and even sleep here at the spacious Little Radio Warehouse. There are four presentation spaces and two breakout areas where sessions thus far have included:

— Foodies: Classically Trained Cook Chef Joanna answers your culinary questions
— How to create disruptive content: Make your own online comic book.
— Fight Back: Know Your Rights in California Moving Violations — Fight Them & Win!
— Photography, Galleries, and Administration

We’re especially looking forward to PowerPoint karaoke, after dinner, in which 5 volunteers will each take their best shot at presenting a PPT presentation they’ve never seen before. Audience applause will determine the winner, who (we hope) will already be drunk and make a total fool of themselves. Photos as-it-happens posted here.

My ramblings on the LA Times sorry-ass attempt at recovery:

Daniel Hernandez, journalistStopping just short of demanding abstinence from its Opinion column contributors, the LA Times most likely paid a pretty price to scrounge together today’s “Current” section.

Case in point: The lead column is by the venerable Daniel Hernandez, the 26-year-old LA Weekly staff writer who left the Times last year. Why? Because, as he told us last August, the culture of the Times was exhausting and unfulfilling. He felt he was “challenging the institutional and cultural barriers of an ultimately very conservative place.” And this was before Herrs Hiller and O’Shea showed up. Hernandez seemed to kiss off the Times once and for all in a December Weekly column, which only reinforces how desperate Timespublisher David Hiller must be.

Ah, but we digress. Hiller deemed it necessary to scrap this week’s all-but printed “Current” because the section editor (Andrés Martinez) makes out with an LA girl involved in media (in this case a publicist for Brian Grazer, who guest-edited the unprinted section). But without even pausing to laugh at himself, Hiller ass-kissingly announced his “hope [that] there will be an avenue to bring these creative, thoughtful and insightful pieces to our readers in the near future.”

This is hardly Clark Kent and Lois Lane. We hope you paid your former staffers, like D. Hernandez (who could have written his column in his sleep) big bucks. He deserves it and so do we. Because LA needs to hear from its many voices, be it Grazer or Hernandez. Some respect, please, Mr. IMAGE man “(Showing off what L.A. does best“). Quit messing with what LA really does best.

 

Originally posted at LAist.