Griffith Park Blog

Alligators in the sewers of the LA Times.

Donna Barstow — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:29:13 +0000

Roger McCulloch sucks, too, and the LA Times has hit the bottom of the barrel.

I picked up pen to paper today, dear readers, to share an article in last Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, the first section. (I’m a week later reading it, cause of a seriously good party LA Observed threw that weekend.)

Roger McCulloch skipped a grizzly bear hunt in Alaska to drive 18 hours to Florida with one mission: shoot an alligator with bow and arrow. McCulloch’s trophy room is full…

“I love gator hunting,” said McCulloch, who owns a Logan, Ohio construction business. “It’s just the rush of it. I’ve hunted everything — caribou, bear, elk. Gators are tough critters.”

Special rules govern the bagging of gators. Hunters are not allowed to use guns. Instead, they may use a pole, spear, bow and arrow, or rod and reel to catch the animal, then use a bang stick — a pole with an explosive charge on the end — to dispatch it point-blank before bringing it into a boat.

This year, the state is offering 6,260 permits at $270 each, entitling a holder to kill two gators. Last year, hunters harvested 7,844. Gators as small as 18 inches can be taken, but most hunters want a trophy.

Stafford produced a bang stick with a .44 Magnum charge, but before he could press the trigger, the gator’s jaws closed around it. Somehow the guide extracted the bang stick and dispatched the animal in the head.

When the gator went limp, the three men hauled it aboard and taped its jaws shut, and then Stafford severed its spinal cord.

“You feel better now you hit one?” Stafford asked.

McCulloch nodded. “I was starting to get upset.”

The American alligator once was endangered but has rebounded, said Steve Stiegler, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“Overall, the statewide alligator population is very healthy,” he said. “It’s a natural resource we can make use of that’s renewable.”

I include the grisly details here (more there) so you can appreciate how INAPPROPRIATE this is for someone’s Sunday read. And how very…regional this is. Just perfect for Southern rednecks!

roger mcculloch tortures bloody alligator - see full size in the Times

It’s written by Susan Cocking, of the Miami Herald. Maybe this is considered important journalism in Miami, detailing the extended torture of an animal killed for a guy’s trophy room, but it’s really hate journalism, and it’s sad that the Times couldn’t find anything more important to include in the Sunday paper. And is the Times really that out of step with Los Angeles, most who are NOT hunters, and the Green movement all over the country? They even name the article Happy Hunting!! It’s astonishing.

Hunting is such a mystery to me. McCulloch is a wimp, not picking a man his own size, but animals, for which he needs a guide, a variety of weapons, none of which the animal has, and most importantly, a bigger brain. Or maybe just a small wienie and a big ego.

Also, notice the words harvested, and taken, which I bolded in the quote. Hunter don’t use the word kill – they pretend they are doing something positive, something like work, something close to nature, instead of the opposite of life – death. Fish and Wildlife are the biggest killers in every state, of course – their purpose is always to kill, eradicate, and help hunters of all stripes. They are the most repulsive group in government.

———-

This is the first post I’ve written about the Times in quite a while. No wonder, when I was pitching my editorial cartoons to them each week! But once I realized that they only use one or two cartoons per week, and always the same guys, delusion gone.

They do have a collection of 3 cartoons each Sunday. However, as I have complained many times in my Op-Ed Cartoon Blog, it’s edited by a cartoonist who lives in…Lexington, Kentucky. That’s right. An international paper like the Times, with the 4th biggest circulation in the country, decides to step down and use Joel Pett, living in Kentucky to choose cartoons for the LA Times. When I told this to an editor at the Orange County Register, she was shocked!

Joel Pett has never lived here. Up until last Christmas, he had never even visited here, but one of the editors told me he finally stopped by the Times last December. I guess he read my many complaints in my own editing of cartoons for the Times! Joel chooses cartoons only from his own organization. He never chooses cartoons about Los Angeles or SoCal, but he does pick California cartoons twice a year. Since we have the BIGGEST population in the country, nice of you to notice, Joel! He also chooses his own cartoons. Editorial bias, much?

Los Angeles Times, we don’t have alligators here, though we may have bang sticks. And when you need to go to the bayou or coal mine territory to get your news, you’re not international, you’re funny. But not in a good way.

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Do golfers lie?

Donna Barstow — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:53:23 +0000

I don’t know, are golfers older and white, except for Tiger Woods?

irvine golf course fire set by golfer

Just came across this news on a fire that burned 25 acres in Irvine, that the golfer claims was started by a golf ball hitting a rock. From the LA Times:

A golfer accidentally chipped a rock, setting off a 12-acre blaze next to the Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, officials said.

McKeown said no charges have been filed against the golfer, whose name has been withheld. Apparently, the golfer was in the rough and was trying to hit his ball out of it when he accidentally swiped at a rock, which sparked the blaze at 12:07 p.m. Saturday, officials said.

McKeown said brush fires are not uncommon when temperatures reach into the high 70s and lower 80s and conditions are right.

Yahoo Sports seems to think this is really funny.

Over the weekend, a golfer’s routine swing in the rough at the Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Calif., struck a rock. Not so different from the way you play, right? Only this time, the impact caused a spark, and the spark set off a blaze that eventually covered 25 acres, according to the Steven Buck, General Manager of Shady Canyon Golf Course, and required the efforts of 150 Orange County firefighters, writes the Associated Press.

Wow. And I felt bad the time I shanked a ball through the window of a house too close to the fairway.

As it was, the blaze required both helicopters and on-the-ground crews.

And now, your turn. This is going to inspire a raft of bad Sportscenter-esque “When we say he set the course on fire, he really set the course on fire!” jokes.

Yeah, if you’re a total jackass. There are over 2700 comments, so I guess a lot of golfers think they’re funny. Maybe they’ll trot over and dance on the graves of all the animals and trees that died. Hopefully, they’ll also win some tournaments, and pay back the thousands of dollars spent on 150 firefighters and the helicopters putting it out.

Did you read the temperatures? It was a very cool weekend – almost like fall. I don’t believe it was a ball hitting a stone. Has anyone actually ever seen this happen? Wouldn’t it have to be a particular stone, like granite? I don’t know the science of fires.

No, this anonymous bad golfer was a smoker, or maybe even deliberately set it, who knows. Did you know that even after the Griffith Park horrendous fire that burned 800 acres, Councilman Tom LaBonge STILL wanted to allow smoking on the golf course?! They’re special folks there!

My fervent wish is for this anonymous golfer to have a relaxing dinner and drinks at the Shady Canyon Golf Course Clubhouse, if they have one, and then spill his guts to the other golfers hanging around there.

Then I shall get his name and report it here.

Photo credit: Thanks to Zach Bates

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Strange sort of suicide for The Walking Man.

Donna Barstow — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:56:20 +0000

I only bothered to read about the Walking Man because he was called The Silver Lake Walking Man.

Then I saw a small memorial for him on the Silver Lake reservoir path when I ran last night. I hate memorials – they don’t have them back east. It’s like there’s no real land here, or people don’t understand what a cemetery is. The flowers die in a day in the blazing sun, so you have dead flowers in worthless vases, or a dirty teddy bear. Ugly, smelly, and no, it’s not the thought that counts when it’s such a thoughtless thing to do.

Anyway, turns out he walked all over town locally, said his obit.

Abrams traversed 20 to 30 miles of pavement each day and wore out four pairs of shoes each year. He walked swiftly — often hunched over a newspaper — slowing only to shout hellos to friends or give medical advice to those who asked for it.

walking man mural

I can’t believe Tom LaBonge had to get his quote in someone’s obituary.

“He had the greatest tan of anyone in town,” said City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who lives a few blocks from the quiet hillside home Abrams shared with his wife. Whenever LaBonge spotted Abrams striding down the sidewalk he would stop to shout, “What up, Doc?”

(Btw, Tom LaBonge called me last week! No, not to ask me out, as one of my exes guessed. He got my blog confused with the OTHER Griffith Park blog, and was calling to correct the facts about something published there!)

I saw someone on Facebook link to the article in the Eastsider, and one of the commenters there, instead of expressing regrets about the WM, who I would have called Reading Man, said it was a suicide, and wondered why the news was covering it up. Turns out he was right.

Today the LA Times reported:

Marc Abrams, the doctor known as the “walking man” for his shirtless walks around Silver Lake, died by drowning himself in his hot tub, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Monday.“He was found in the Jacuzzi with the Jacuzzi lid pulled over the Jacuzzi itself,” said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Department of Coroner Investigations. “There was no suicide note found.”…

At the time of his death, Abrams was under investigation for prescribing drugs to a 25-year-old patient who died of an overdose, according to law enforcement authorities and a lawyer for the patient’s family.

What a strange way to commit suicide – drowning in the dark? Can one not lift the lid off a hot tub? There’s no air? And he was a fitness buff, too. He was probably proud of his tan, since he walked SHIRTLESS everywhere.

Poor guy.

PS. I think he may have been murdered.

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Bad restaurants and bad foodies.

Donna Barstow — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:02:05 +0000

Zocalo recently posted a chat in the weekly updates and announcements they send out, called What is the Cruelest Food You’ve Ever Eaten?

I haven’t been to Zocalo in a couple of years, but they do have some good events and free food, (which isn’t cruel at all). Their lectures are free, and they tackle a lot of serious and interesting topics.

But WTF? Is cruelty a viable subject for humor now? – desperate and fame-whorish, Zocalo. You had an opportunity to explore this disgusting practice, or at least look at both sides, but instead you treat cruelty to animals as a game, or entertainment. Why not ask who eats dogs? Or hobbles horses? Shame on you, Zocalo.

Of course, there’s always cruelty when you eat animals alive, which seems to be a big part of sushi now. Raw is unhealthy, and alive is repulsive to civilized people. But read the quotes below and decide for yourself .

From Roy Choi at Kogi:

I’ve killed a goat with my own two hands. I chased him around a dirt field in the desert, wrestled him to the ground, got him in a head lock, looked him in the eye, and slit his throat. We hung him, skinned him, drained his blood, gutted him, butchered him into primals, then sub-primals. We packed him up and took him across the border to Mexicali where we made birria, the most delicious birria.

This was not a cruel moment for me. It was seven in the morning and I learned about the spirituality of cooking and what my responsibility is as a chef. I did not kill this goat out of haste or carelessness. This was a tradition that my dishwasher Salvador’s family has been doing for many generations and he trusted me enough to show me.

First of all, he’s lying. No one could capture a terrified goat without help. He’s pretending it’s some sort of macho thing, but notice the “we”. And a dishwasher thinks that how to knife a creature is a “tradition”? I hope I never meet him in a dark alley. Barbaric.

You should probably read Dr. Suess to get this one. Here's a Chinese restaurant that doesn't torture anyone.

From Charlie Grosso:

It was not until I was much older that I realized that Shark Fin is not a euphemism for anything. Shark fin actually is the fin of a shark. Then at some cousin’s wedding banquet one day, I discovered that the sharks are often caught, their fins cut off, and then released back into the water to meet their untimely ends.

Would I eat it again? I think I would. Not because I have no compassion for the shark but because not consuming my bowl of soup in a banquette of a hundred would not have stirred the consciences of the restaurant or the other guests. The only conscience that would be disturbed by my meager objection would be my own — at the fact that I wasted good, clean, edible food.

Yeah, that’s how I make my moral decisions: How many other people around me agree with me? What a jackass.

Javier Cabrol is the Teenage Glutster.

Which brings me to what I think is the most inhumane thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire eating career: live lobster sashimi. This dish made full use of those murky lobster tanks that are synonymous with seafood Chinese restaurants. The chosen lobsters were brought to our table for our approval, taken to the back of the house for five minutes at most, then brought back to the table, severed in half and facing each other. Not to mention still pinching with all their translucent flesh scooped out and served on their dislocated tails, all ready for our top-of-the-food-chain chow down. Their beady eyes followed our chopstick ends and they attempted to defend themselves one last time as we nonchalantly reached over for their ultra-fresh sinewy flesh.

My heart pounded and I got tears in my eyes when I read this. This is almost exactly how Hannibal ends. I see no difference between torturing cats, burning insects, killing people, and eating animals while they are still alive.

From Kat Odell at Eater LA.

Since I eat out so frequently for work, I eat a lot of foie gras and I do have to say I love it. There are more humane ways to produce foie that have been mostly explored in France, and it’s a shame that people in the U.S. don’t consider this alternative method (save for Dan Barber at Blue Hill).

Most people know that foie gras comes from geese that have force-fed. You know that pain when you eat too much? Think of your whole life in pain, with food clogging your throat all day long, not allowed to move -total torture. According to Wiki, only 5 countries left in Europe still allow this animal cruelty. Oh, and the gluttonous US, of course.

From Maite Gomez-Rejon at ARtbites.

The cruelest food I’ve ever eaten is live lobster at Sanuki No Sato, housed in an obscure strip mall in Gardena….Always game for trying new foods — especially those that will give me a good story to tell — I was anxious for our lobster’s arrival. When it came to the table it was enormously regal, its eyes staring straight at us, antennas moving as if pleading for help, its now useless armor cut open revealing perfectly sliced flesh.

Um, Maite, that was a terrible story, so, sorry, you will continue to be a bore wherever you go.

See a trend here? Sushi restaurants have been promoting this myth for years: torturing the creature makes it taste better. FDA and USDA, why can’t you crack down on this instead of your asinine regulations on the tiny stuff?

And who’s behind Zocalo?

Gregory Rodriguez, Founder

Thomas Tseng, President of the Board

Swati Pandey, Editor

They are responsible for glorifying this reprehensible topic – and making animal cruelty – their own word – an acceptable, even attractive trait for people who like to eat. They have a Code of Civility posted on their site:

At its lecture series events (”Events”) Zócalo seeks to create an open and civil environment of mutual respect, where all participants can feel welcome.

There is no respect towards other species, when you pick a topic targeting living creatures. I hope the agencies that fund this org will take a closer look at these practices and reconsider whether this non-profit (if it is one) meets anyone’s decency standards. Zocalo FAIL.

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Earthquake feels like seasickness. (Updated)

Donna Barstow — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 23:32:36 +0000

In my place the floor rolled long enough for me to find my shoes, get ready to grab the bird cage, and decide it wasn’t worth turning off the computer, my LIFEBLOOD.

From the LA Times:

A 6.9 earthquake struck Baja Calfornia this afternoon, rattling a large swath of Los Angeles and Southern California.

The temblor struck about 3:40 p.m. about 108 miles east of Tijuana. In Los Angeles, the shaking persisted for several seconds. It was felt across Southern California, with skyscrapers shaking in San Diego. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

My friend Geri Mars, in Redondo Beach (45 min south of LA) tweeted:

No wonder such great rolling motion. My large aquarium was sloshing. That woke up the turtles!

There was an interesting link to a place called USGS – don’t know what it means – called Did you feel it? (Since the LA Times hates to link to any place other than themselves (Internal Narcissism) you know it must be a good link.) As of this moment over 4300 people have said yes. You have to answer a lot of questions. Nothing I like better than filling out a 6 page form in the middle of a possible emergency!

* LA Times reports:

No major damage reported in Los Angeles.

How does the saying go? When there’s no news, they still turn it into news. I’m going to add important info to this report by saying,” The sun is out in Los Angeles.”

My earthquake cartoon for Slate today is in my editorial cartoons blog.

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Sushi restaurant in Los Angeles serves whale meat and horse meat. Euwww!

Donna Barstow — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:03:48 +0000

Found on CNN:

Prosecutors charged Typhoon Restaurant Inc., the parent company of Santa Monica’s The Hump, and chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, with the illegal sale of a marine mammal product for an unauthorized purpose.

Although it is considered a delicacy in Japan and some other countries, meat from whales — an endangered species — is illegal to consume in the United States.

The restaurant pledged to set up procedures to ensure that it complies with laws and “becomes a good corporate citizen.”

“We sincerely apologize. We pledge to work hard to re-earn the trust of the public and respect of our customers.”

The investigation into the restaurant began in October, when two members of the team that made the documentary “The Cove” visited The Hump, officials said.

…A receipt from the restaurant at the end of the meal identified their selection as “whale” and “horse” with the cost — $85 — written next to them.

[Side Note.] Have you noticed the trend the last couple of years to write each sentence as a separate paragraph online now? All the big news sources do it – it’s part of the copywriter rules for teh LA Times!

Anyway, any restaurant that serves horse meat – with all the stolen and butchered horses in various states, especially Florida – should be shut down. I actually joined that famous food blog, Chowhound, just to ask a question about horse meat and which country does eat the most, because they are the ones forming a black market for the horse killings here in the US, and for all the horses shipped down to Mexico for slaughter. I guess now we know: it’s Japan, at least some of whom have so little self-esteem that they have to eat illegal and raw animals to feel like they are truly human.

For Typhoon Restaurant, a big fat #typhoon FAIL.

Interesting horse sculpture photo by Dan Shouse.

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Mountain Lion sighting in Griffith Park.

Donna Barstow — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:01:16 +0000

Got an interesting comment today to a post I made on mountain lions 2 years ago:

A good friend (we’re both ultra runners) spotted a mtn lion at the hub (5-way) junction up above the east side of the park in ‘09. I’m emailing him to get more information.

I run at least 60 miles a week on the fireroads and trails in the park and have for years, but I’ve never seen a lion, heck I saw my first bobcat only last week.

– Dan

Last time I talked with Animal Services, back in September, one of the guys mentioned a mountain lion, but I ignored it, because sightings like this are pretty iffy, and I’ve never heard a valid report from the rangers. I was running alongside Silver Lake reservoir one night, and a guy stopped his car and waved to me. UH OH! I reluctantly stopped, but he just wanted to warn me that there was a bobcat on the barbed wire fence that surrounds the reservoir. Well, um, I don’t think so! I’ve seen several raccoons up on that barbed wire. Ouch, with their long fur! And they do look a little mean! But never a bobcat.

If someone has a picture or proof, feel free to prove me wrong. I would love for there to be more wildlife inside the Silver Lake reservoir, since the LADWP ruined it, by keeping it empty for 4 months, and then taking away half of the Meadows. (And thanks to Labonge and Garcetti! Spread the bad vibe!)

Dan may very well have seen one in the Park, however.

Photo by permission from flickr.

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You could hug a Dalai today.

Donna Barstow — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:51:11 +0000

The Dalai is coming, the Dalai is coming! To Los Angeles!

Saith the LA Times:

The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism arrived in Los Angeles on Friday and planned to spend the weekend here in support of Whole Child International, a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of orphaned and abandoned children. In an interview with The Times, he acknowledged that there had been no progress in the latest round of talks with China over his call for greater autonomy in Tibet.

Hmm, I don’t know what that means.

His L.A. visit included a luncheon speech Saturday and a public address scheduled for Sunday at Gibson Amphitheatre, where he will be joined by musician Sheryl Crow.

I do recognize the name of Sheryl Crow, however. It’s too bad that a religious leader has hired Sitrick to get more PR… JUST KIDDING! Apparently, they’re just “good friends.” I don’t have a cartoon of Sheryl, but will an artistic image of Sheryl Crow using for commissioning a Genuine Oil Painting of Sheryl Crow in highest professional quality, completely 100% hand-painted by high-skilled oil portrait artist. Art style: art-nouveau do?

Anyway, the reason I noted this is because I was wondering what to do for my next cartoon for Slate, and I had been reading about Tiger Woods’ impending conference, and then Dalai Lama’s secret visit to the White House, and things snowballed from there. This cartoon is in LA Daily News today. (print only) It’s not in the LA Times because, well, the Times Sunday cartoons are outsourced, and run by a cartoonist in Lexington KY.

From the LA Times:

As expected, Woods did not reveal when he would return to playing golf, saying he will return to therapy Saturday “for guidance on the issues he is facing.”

Wearing a dark blazer and a blue shirt, Woods often had tears in his eyes during his statement, telling a group of reporters he was responsible for the scandal that has engulfed his family.

UPDATED: 8:47 a.m.: Woods also appeared angry when he asked the media to respect the privacy of his family.

The LA Times cares about your feelings.

I am one of the very few (seemingly) who believe Tiger Woods was hung up by his toes for his very personal issues. I wouldn’t read anything about it. Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes were stupid, and I never laughed. I DON’T CARE WHAT PEOPLE DO IN THE BEDROOM. And who am I to judge his marriage dealie? Maybe they had an open marriage.

More about the cartoon, the Dalai, and even Tiger Woods over at The Opposite of Wrong.

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