Recently in Stuff to do Category

Speaking of planetaria ... as of last month the Griffith Observatory dispensed with the reservations and shuttles, making spontaneous visitation possible again.

Drove up and parked right in the old lot at the top last night. With the major renovation work being subterranean, the structure's footprint is little changed, and the interior still offers an unchanged, intimate experience. After more than a year, a couple of the exhibits no longer functioned, which struck a sentimental chord with me.

"Just when I think I'm out, they keep pulling me back in."

Because I missed losing half of the most frenetic day in the newsroom ... and because Producer Stuart Johnson made with the puppy-dog eyes, I joined the fine people of KPAS to appear on the new City Beat with the inimitable likes of Tami DeVine, Barry Gordon and Steve Madison of District 6.

Topics included Pasadena Heritage's bid to designate the Central and Lower Arroyo a protected cultural landscape, the YAC and -- as much as I wished otherwise -- Measure D.

City Beat airs on cable channel 55 and streams throughout the week.

From Magic Mountain to the Rose Bowl stadium, here's a map of Stage 7 of the 2008 AMGEN Tour of California.

The PUSD & Altadena Town Council Joint Meeting:

Pasadena Unified School District and Altadena Town Council will participate in a joint meeting to be held on December 4 at 7 p.m. in the Eliot Middle School Auditorium, 2184 N. Lake Avenue in Altadena. Issues regarding Altadena and its schools will be discussed. Also, representatives from the County of Los Angeles will be on hand to discuss joint use of green space. The public are welcome to attend.

I love Altadena. With more crazies per square mile, it's one of the best things about Pasadena. When my cell phone signal cuts out just above New York Drive, I feel like I'm back in Jalalabad. Altadenastan?

The boys (and girl) on the PUSD board will be grasping for breath up in that rarified, oxygen-deprived atmosphere when they head up to absorb a decade's worth of pent-up angst and rage over the school district many Altadenans feel they have no voice in.

So I knocked out a little "pre" (that's what we call a story before an event) for this weekend's Jan. 1-esque traffic expected from the Cal/UCLA game at the Rose Bowl.

Factoring in knowledge that quantum physician Stephen Hawking is more qualified to write about sports than myself, guess which paragraph is courtesy "Staff Writer Fred Robledo?"

Football fans facing traffic
By Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/18/2007 08:58:39 PM PDT

PASADENA -- Growls coming from the Bruins-Bears mauling this weekend inside the Rose Bowl will be accompanied by snarls in the streets.

Tailgaters should plan to start early.

Stadium officials are urging fans to arrive as early as possible for the sold-out game between UCLA and UC Berkeley, as the city expects the event to affect traffic throughout Pasadena before and after the game.

"It's become the hot ticket," said Rose Bowl General Manager Darryl Dunn. "Whoever wins will be in strong contention to be in the Rose Bowl on January 1."

With many eager Cal fans on the move from Berkeley, the choke of traffic is expected to be at its worst in the morning before the 12:30p.m. game, and again in the late afternoon after its conclusion.

Stadium parking lots open at dawn; a free shuttle from Parsons at 100 W. Walnut St. begins service at 8:30 a.m. Parking at Parsons cost $9.

Saturday's sold-out game at the Rose Bowl still has national title implications for Cal (5-1, 2-1), who dropped to No. 12 in this week's BCS poll. And both UCLA (4-2, 3-0) and Cal are still in contention for the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth.

After coming close - but falling short- on several tries, Berkeley fans are ravenous for re-entering the Rose Bowl, which hasn't seen a Cal presence since 1959.

Bowl neighbors without a pass to navigate police barricades should seek one today from the stadium administrative office or fire stations at 1140 N. Fair Oaks Ave., or 1150 Linda Vista Ave.

Staff Writer Fred Robledo contributed to this story.

The usual suspects will say Sunday's story on liquor stores is about deflecting responsibility, but it's an attempt to understand how a particular dynamic plays out, with some attempt at nuance.

We're a society that loves to drink, and in some contexts, alcohol can have a positive, lubricating role in civilization. The European Peace Pipe.

But poor areas are saturated in liquor stores, for whichever of a variety of reasons, and in Northwest Pasadena and Altadena, they serve as nexii for criminal activity. Maybe anyplace would that people congregate, but 40 ounces of Cobra doesn't bring out the best in a restive community.

Anyhoo, I pulled my scripting skills out of retirement for this interactive map showing the locations of liquor stores. The final product would also serve as a handy tool for local alcoholics.

Oh snap, I had no idea grandfather of cyberpunk, dystopian fiction William Gibson, who coined the term 'cyberspace' with Neuromancer in 1983, was speaking at Vroman's tonight.

Time: Friday, August 10, 2007 7:00 p.m. Title of Event: William Gibson discusses and signs Spook Country Gibson, the critically-acclaimed author of 8 previous novels, picks up the threat left off last in Pattern Recognition. Continuing to probe cultural changes in the U.S. since 9/11, Gibson's newest novel takes us into a new century where ideas of technology, globalization, and terrorism reign supreme.

UPDATED: So that turned out a strange and oddly circular experience. My friend and former supervisor Matt Ashton tipped me off to the Gibson appearance. I walked over to Vroman's and ran into Gavin Doughtie, who I'd interviewed with for an IT job back in 1996 in what was then the Western Asset building above Moose's in Old Pas -- where much of City Hall was until May. I didn't get the job, but Matt hired me one week later to work at 3D software/animation co. Electric Image Inc., which was then in the same building.

And Gavin, I learned this evening, is the same Gavin of Jill and Gavin at Eye Level Pasadena. I'd go lie down and process all this, but it's time to get serious about the whole packing thing before Sunday's move.

New episode of City Beat taped today and will be streaming/broadcast daily. Sort of an odd show, topics included:

* The Heritage Square/Bakewell denouement
* Affordable Housing
* Herkimer Arms
* Some Proctor worship
* Me
* My blog
* My imminent return to Pasadena (*Not* Riverside, Ann!)

My caffeine levels had me doing this kind of shrill thing, but I really warmed up to the last three topics. <.<

Come for the popcorn, stay for the councilwoman.

District 2 Councilwoman Margaret McAustin is inviting her Central District constituents (come on, like she's checking ID's?) to catch a movie under the stars on Friday night on Craig Avenue "between Brigden and Woodlyn" according to her 100% legal mailer.

The movie? E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Yeah.

Call me when The Night Porter or Blue Velvet is showing.

UPDATED: Forgot to mention movie starts at 8 p.m.