SoCal

Our ever-vigilant readers have struck, proving yet again that in the age of the camera phone, almost anyone with a mobile device can emulate Jim Dunne, Brenda Priddy or Hans Lehmann. The latest capture we've received comes from reader Charlie Hung, who recently spotted this black roadster on a Southern California freeway. A quick inspection of the images reveals it to be the next-generation BMW Z4

I was outside just now, smoking a cigarette, rifting through old newspapers I have scattered across my workspace, when I came across something of interest. In the June 25 LA Times sport’s section, I found a snippet about Socal basketball prep star Brandon Jennings. He is set to join the Arizona wildcats next season and [...]

The California housing market continues to face severe pressure from distressed properties.  Currently the amount of inventory on the market is near 1 year and prices for the region have fallen a stunning 27 percent on a year over year basis.  Each of the major counties are now down $100,000+ from their bubble peaks.  About [...]

According to a story in the L.A. Times, prices of luxury homes are also starting to feel the impact of a slower market. Although owners of pricier homes can withstand pricing declines longer than entry-level buyers with resetting mortgages, eventually the rich need to sell too and must lower prices in order to make a sale: The rich may indeed be like the rest of us. Prices of

Wet USC girls is always a good thing. You gotta love it. Saturday that was just the case when they had their annual Swim With Mike charity fundraiser on campus. A record $1,000,000 was raised for charity. For more info about Swim with Mike, check out the site. [...]

Rating: 2 Posted By: kingchicken Views: 368 Replies: 2 Three games are:Virtua Fighter 5Virtua Tennis 3Sonic the HedgehogThis seems to be as good as the CC deal, if these three games are worth more than $50 to you.Thanks.More Online Coupons from Fatwallet.com.

Here's a group you may not have ever heard of if you live East of the Mississippi...That's because the B-Side Players are simply a SoCal institution. Okay, SoCal, NoCal and the Southwest, but really that's about it. Coming up out of San Diego, I'd have to say I've seen these guys live at least a dozen times, they were like friends of friends... yeah, you know I love to name-drop. And while they may have never broken big like their peers Ozomatli, those who know know that these cats bring tha Latin Funk fi-yah! Check out this hot jammy, including some Santana-style geetar goodness...B-Side Players - Conajax (ysi)Good to see they're still at it... if you ever get a chance, go check 'em out. You'll thank me for it ;)

One of the reasons that builders of new homes were so quick to drop their prices was to collapse the time period between peak and trough. Owners of resale homes, however, were typically more psychologically attached to peak prices and so have been much more loathe to decrease prices, at least until recently. That's why we're now seeing price declines for existing homes continue and even escalate. From a story in the L.A. Times:Southern California home prices continued to fall at a record pace in February, and are now at 2004 levels, a real estate information service reported today. The median price for a Southland home last month was $408,000, down 17.6% from a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems. Area home prices have now fallen 19% on average from their peaks last yea

Burning wood in fireplaces within homes in Southern California has been banned. According to the LA Times, this ban will only be applied to homeowners about a dozen days throughout the year when air quality is at its worst. Here are the specifics of this ban:1. Builders are banned from installing wood burning fireplaces in new homes2. It will be illegal to buy and install a wood burning fireplace while remodeling a home.3. Gas burning fireplaces will be allowed.4. The ban does not apply to restaurants that use wood burning stoves, like California Pizza Kitchen.5. Homeowners that used a wood burning fireplace as their only source of heat will not be affected.6. Those who live above 3000 feet in elevation will not be affected.7. Beach fires will still be allowed8. Tribal ceremony f

If you haven’t noticed the DOW is up 4.5 percent from its correction point that was hit at 12,743 earlier in the week. You would think fantastic information is coming out but there are only two good pieces of news if you can call it that: 1. The Fed is practically elbowing us, wink wink, that a Fed rate cut is a foregone conclusion. 2. Oil Prices are trending lower. But is this really enough good will to cause this mini rally? Are we really at a point where housing is going to correct? Clearly the government is going to try to bailout this market at any expense to tax payers. And make no doubt about it, this is corporate welfare for Wall Street. None of these plans are going to help the people facing foreclosure in any measurable way. We’ve talked about the plan of offering legislation that will support cram downs and I’ve heard rumors that this may be an avenue that is being actively pursued.  This is the only solution that will force lenders to suck on their bile that

Thanks to everyone who has been asking… I’m not in any of the fire areas of Los Angeles, so everyone here is OK. The Airechicks just sent me this great info for anyone who IS in those areas, thought I’d pass it along: VCA Animal Hospitals Offers Free Boarding for Pets Affected by Southern California Fires http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/Aktie/127…3/SOUTHERN.html http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/Aktie/12717634/News/13829613/SOUTHERN.html VCA Animal Hospitals announced today that local SOUTHERN California VCA facilities are offering free boarding for companion animals whose families have been evacuated or displaced as a result of the current firestorms. Conveniently located VCA animal hospitals will provide a safe environment for pets that have been affected by the fires through November 5, 2007, on a space available basis. As thousands of families are being evacuated to shelters or facing the loss of their homes, VCA hopes to ease their burden by offering free boarding f

Towering wildfires burned out of control across Southern California for a third day on Tuesday as 500,000 people fled the San Diego area and firefighters made a desperate stand to save a mountain town ringed by flames. My condolences go out to those that have lost family members… {read more} Pharrell Williams hopes to reclaim N.E.R.D.’s debut chaotic sound on their next LP, which is more then necessary for his sake, his productions have certainly recently reached a plateau creatively. Its time to go back to the basics. {read & watch} NadShot is a blog that posts nothing but comic book panels of violent punches and kicks to the groin. Looking at this blog is kinda like watching a train wreck. {NadShot} MySpace Games are coming in 08′ {read more} T.I. will be featured in the November 2007 issue of Complex Mag in various “home for the holidays” -themed photos {read more} How Manga Conquered the U.S., a Graphic Guide to Japan’s Coolest Export {read mo

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0003, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. I really wish these were just rain clouds 400D, California, clouds, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0006, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. more shots of the smoke clouds caused by the Orange County fire 400D, California, clouds, Cluttered Thoughts, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0007, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. Sky looks engulfed in smoke 400D, California, clouds, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0014, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. Smoke clouds quickly sweeping over Irvine 400D, California, clouds, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0016, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. the dark parts of the sky were cause by smoke. 400D, California, clouds, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0017, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. More smoke clouds in Irvine 400D, California, clouds, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

SoCal_Fire_Irvine_0018, originally uploaded by computer-Eyes. Smoke clouds from the Santiago Canyon fire 400D, California, clouds, DSLR, fire, irvine, Orange County, orange county california, photography, Photos, Santiago Canyon, So Cal, SoCal

Crew still enroute to the Ranch fire which is currently 1500 acres. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1002/The crew is encountering strong winds (50+) and poor visibility causing slow driving on the freeway. They are starting to pass other new fires that have started. Currently they see a large column from Lytle Creek in San Bernardino burning towards Glenn Helen's Regional Park. Two large fires started back home, one is in Patrero and the other is in Witchcreek burning towards Ramona. Los Angeles has the one doing well in Malibu and the one we are going to as well as two on the Los Padres National Forest.

Bradford posted this with a little message on his MY SPACE.http://www.myspace.com/136844925General Hospital Stars Josh Duhon / Julie Marie Berman / Bradford AndersonAppearing on November 18th 2007 from 1 PM – 3 PMat Lake Elsinore Outletslocated at 17600 Collier Avenuein Lake Elsinore, CA 92530for a Meet & Greet / Autograph SessionPlease call 951.245.0087 for more informationor visit www.LakeElsinoreOutlet.comhttp://bradfordanderson.net/

Rating: 3 Posted By: bookodama Views: 92 Replies: 0 Dunno if this applies to other Vons Supermarkets, but just got back from a Los Angeles Vons. Looks like a new beer (at least to LA) with an introductory no-limit price of $1.99 for a six-pack of 12oz bottles. Regular price $6.99"Arriba Importada Cerveza Especial"Imported BeerProduct of El SalvadorTastes like much like Corona or Pacifico, a good light brew for a hot summer.Just drank one bottle, not dead yet.Sign up, shop, and get paid with FatWallet Cash Back!

According to CNN, American Home Mortgage (AHM) is another company facing issues regarding the subprime fall out: “NEW YORK (Reuters) -- American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. shares sank on... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Rating: 1 Posted By: DKTVPN Views: 156 Replies: 4 Just stopped by and got quote from them:$599 for 3yr/$49 yr after that$649 for 3yr/$29 yr after that + 5 sessions trainingToday only before 7PM. You can get a better deal if you have more people sgin up, I guess.Sign up, shop, and get paid with FatWallet Cash Back!

DataQuick says ... • Last month was the slowest May for Southern California home sales in 12 years. • The median price paid for a SoCal home in May was $505,000, matching record high set in March and April. • Quote: "Sales have been dropping now for the last 20 months. The first part of that was just coming off the frenzy of 2004 and 2005 and didn't put that much downward pressure on prices. The sales declines of the last half year, though, will have more of an effect on prices. It's remarkable they haven't come down more than they have," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president. Details by county ... County Price Vs. '06 Sales Vs. '06 LA $550,000 +6.8% 7,426 -30.7% Riverside $406,000 -3.3% 3,307 -45.4% San Berdoo $361,750 +0.5% 2,220 -46.5% San Diego $492,000 -1.6% 3,385 -24.4% Ventura $590,000 -1.6% 861 -24.8% All So. Cal. $505,000 +4.9% 19,874 -34.4%

A Los Angeles jury has ordered a New Jersey engineering and construction firm to pay $5.2 million in an asbestos exposure case, determining the company acted with malice.The verdict in Los Angeles County Superior Court ordered Foster Wheeler Corp. to pay the survivors of Richard Walmach, a career naval machinist who died in 2006 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer related to asbestos exposure.Walmach died after filing the suit, which claimed the company failed to disclose asbestos risks. The company is a longtime supplier of boilers, steam generators and other power equipment to the U.S. Navy.The firm has faced 20 other asbestos-related suits and been found liable for $100 million in general damages, but this was the first time it was ordered to pay punitive damages, said lead plaintiff's attorney Sean P. Tracey.Of the $5.2 million total award, $2 million was for punitive damages. An attorney for Foster Wheeler said a motion was pending before the judge challenging juris

SoCal housing inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, cooled in April. Barely. Here's the details: • Overall SoCal housing inflation ran at a 5.4 percent annual rate, same as March's. Compare that with overall inflation at 3.5 percent for the entire region. • Home fuel and utility costs around town rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate last month. This volatile component surged 14.3 percent for all of 2006. • Household furnishings and operations actually fell at a 0.4 percent annual rate in April, the first drop since September 2004. • Renters' costs in SoCal were up at a 6.4 percent yearly pace in April, down from March's 6.9 percent, but still above 2006's 5.8 percent average. • A SoCal homeowner's estimated costs (not including home values, remember) rose at a 6 percent annual pace, the lowest since November. Nationwide, housing CPI rose at a 3.4 percent annual pace in April, unchanged from March. The last time it was higher was Septembe

BarkBoard.com attended the 2007 Scout.com SoCal Combine at the Home Depot Center in Carson on Sunday. Over 300 of the top high school prospects in the West were on hand for what it is arguably the top combine in the nation.to read more click here... (note TAP subscription to BarkBoard.com is required)I will post some general video from the combine through YouTube later this week or early next.©Copyright 2006, The Fresno State Football Blog/barkboard.com and Scout.com. All rights reserved.

Those of you who are regular Stiletto Jungle readers know our Girl Talk panel is nothing if not diverse. The wide range of fashion and beauty ideas they come up with is what makes them so much fun to have around! So, when two different members of our panel named Reef Sandals as one of their top 5 fashion and beauty must-haves, I was naturally a little curious, but I let it go. That was months ago. Flash forward to this week when our friends over at Active Sandals, a fab online store specializing in beachwear and activewear sandals, asked if we would be interested in reviewing Reef Sandals for our site. I instantly knew exactly who I had to ask about Reef. I called in Pearl and Tina, two of our fab Girl Talk panelists, to give their two cents on why Reefs are on their must have list.Reef "Butter" Sandals$36.00Available at: Active Sandals"My love affair of flip flops dates back to when I converted from being an East Coast girl to West Coast bum seven years ago, and I can never go back,"

Another web-inquiry on my site http://thefundingshop.com came in today from a young couple looking to buy their first home valued at $294,000.  They have no money down, no money in savings.  The husband’s gross income is $3,000 per month and the wife’s is $1,200.   The husband has been on his job for four months but in his line of work for five years.  The wife has been at her job for only six months and prior to that had not worked. In talking to them I learned that when the wife got her new job she learned that there would be an opportunity to earn bonuses come July of 2007.  At best the bonuses would amount to a mere few hundred dollars per month.  But with this in mind the couple decided it was time to buy a home.  Heck when those bonuses kicked in they’d be sitting pretty. A real estate agent told them that now was a great time to buy and that she could get them into this house with a mortgage payment below $2,000.  The couple had already spoken with one mortgage br

SoCal Small Business Tapping Into SEM for Customer AcquisitionSmall Business Informer (press release), IL - 36 minutes ago… Nikki HM Jackson of Goldranking Website Marketing and Sally Falkow of Expansion Plus Internet Marketing and PR, the Google AdWords training team will be … Source: Internet-Marketing - Google News

After years of complaints from the community, city officials in Santa Monica, Calif., are trying to stem the population of the city’s squirrels by injecting the pests with a birth-control drug. If the method works, they’re thinking of taking it up the road and shooting up Tom Cruise, also due to complaints from the community. You know who else was interested? Paris Hilton. Yeah, she thought it’d be convenient. I’m not sure she understood how it all worked though, she’s been seen hanging out in Palisades Park trying to seduce the squirrels. It’s the creepiest re-make of the “Pied Piper” ever. Now New York is trying to hire her to get rid of all the damned rats. They figure all it takes is one rat to go out with Paris, then he’ll slowly spread disease to all the other rats. They can carry the bubonic plague, but can they take on Paris? We’ll see. Michael Jackson made a public appearance in Tokyo this weekend for one of the firs

USC kicker Mario Danelo was found dead at the bottom of a 100 foot cliff. An autopsy performed Monday showed that Danelo's blood alcohol content was a stifling .23 at the time of death. That is more than three times the legal limit in California. So to say that Alcohol played a part in Mario's death would be an understatement.Police have ruled out homicide, and at this point his family, friends, and teammates say that suicide is also out of the question. If this is true than the USC football team has succumb to an extremely tragic accident.Mario Danelo, son of NFL kicker Joe Danelo was a walk on in 2003. In the last two years he has only missed two FGs going 26-28 in his USC career. Danelo made 15 of 16 field goals this season and led the Trojans in scoring with 89 points. He made two field goals in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day to help USC beat Michigan 32-18. This kid, from what I've read, was a good kid and looks like he would have made a great kicker in the NFL. My condolence

var AdBrite_Title_Color = '99C9FF'; var AdBrite_Text_Color = 'FFFFFF'; var AdBrite_Background_Color = '454545'; var AdBrite_Border_Color = '454545'; The housing... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

How I learned to Love SoCal and Forget the Bubble Thanks for taking time to stop by this humble blogger’s spot on the net. First, some background about myself: Believing that having an advanced... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Funny how the Americans can sound French when they talk about reforming their Social Security system. The Dems seem reluctant to contribute to a potential Bush victory and say there's no hurry to do what they pointed out as a priority during the campaign while the Reps are having one of these gallic fights where the conservative, the neo-conservative, the ultra-conservative, the not-so-conservative and the don't-tell-ma-i'm-rather-liberal-conservative discuss the consistency of the reform with the Adam Smith dogma. Even Dubya manages talking about being a good civil servant and boosting private accounts. I say if I needed some private security I'd hire Governor Arnold to get rid ov'em bugs. That would be the so-called social SoCal sekurity.

Yeah! I finally figured this out. How to post with the picture the way I want it. (I think so!). Well, we explored out surroundings Friday night and joe and I got a babysitter and drove to the local resort and casino (45 min) and saw Jerry Seinfeld perform. It was hysterical. We had always wanted to see him, and it never worked out for one reason or another. It was great. Saturday we went to "snow" day. Let me tell you it was cute, yet at the same time, pathetic. It was about 2 tennis courts (if that) filled with 3 inches of snow. People showed up in snow gear, hats, gloves, boots and it was 70 degrees out. People were also "sledding". Try taking a sled and going across your kitchen floor - same thing. Then we went and got a tree. Picking out a tree in Cali is much different than NJ. It was nice and pleasant and I wasn't cold and tempted to pick out any damn tree just to stop freezing. I also included some pics. Remember: Wrap the presents the day you buy them!!! (just thought i'd gi