Red Line 20th Anniversary Contest Winner Announced!

Last week the Metro Red Line celebrated its 20th anniversary serving the subterranean commuters Los Angeles, and The Militant put on a little contest to commemorate it.

Entries were simple: Submit a one-paragraph anecdote on one of your experiences riding the subway.

And today, we have a winner, selected from an anonymous and unspecified panel of judges: Congratulations to Heather Johnson of Koreatown for winning the priceless package of Metro memorabilia!

Here's her entry:

A few years ago when I still worked in downtown LA I commuted via Red Line to the Civic Center station. I was dozing off in my seat when I had a weird feeling that I was being watched. Turns out, I was! A street artist was sketching me. When I got off at my stop, he gave me the sketch for free. It's actually quite a likeness. The sketch is currently on my wall and I keep getting told I should frame it.

Her account could be construed as either sweet or creepy, however you want to view the situation. But it nicely described the forms of human interaction that have only really occurred in the past two decades, something that rarely happens on the bus, and can never happen in a car.

We have some other great stories worth sharing, though!

Being a Clippers season ticket holder, I take the Red Line downtown to every game. Most days I take the Red Line the train is full with blank, tired faces, maybe a couple of conversations happening, nothing spectacular. One day, I invited my friend, who came from out of town, to the game. He had never been on the train before. We get in the train car and there are people getting down. Someone had a boom box blasting some funk and people were dancing. It was a party all the way town to 7th. We get of the train and my friend says "Man it must be fun to ride the train to every game.

-- Sean Baello, Los Feliz

Thanks, Sean. And if we do get to see a Clippers Parade this June, can you tell your fellow Clips Fans (diehard and bandwagon alike) to take the train for that one?

Every May Day protest, riding the red line with protest signs and wearing shirts with specific messaging, I end up having some genuine conversations with folks on the train. Folks ask what the sign are about, why am I protesting, what is May Day etc. and I answer their questions to the best of my capabilities.

More often than not, they'll see me wearing a shirt that reads, I am undocumented. That'll get the conversation started and it give me the opportunity to talk about not being a legal resident of the US, the work I do organizing with the immigrant community and putting a face to the issues folks have with immigration.

By the end of the conversation, folks leave with a little knowledge about what's going and they got to hear it from someone who is personally invested and affected by it.

-- Erick Huerta, Boyle Heights

Dude, Erick...that was more than a paragraph. But hey, a great example of how transit spurs human dialogue. Thanks!

One time, I was riding the Red Line towards Union Station, and a man with a very old and ragged-looking accordion came on. He gave a really good performance, and some people in the car, including myself, applauded him.

-- Joshua Insel, Studio City

Okay, that was shorter than a paragraph. But thanks for sharing, Joshua! BTW, was the accordion player accompanied by a woman carrying a baby and asking change from the rest of the passengers? Those are the first Metro Gypsies! How European...

There are many great experiences I've had riding the Red Line. I remember taking the Red Line with my grandmother for the first time in 2001 and there began my love for riding this train. I’d never been on a vehicle like this before. I had a great view while sitting in the front. I could see the beginning of each tunnel we passed through. I took in my surroundings and was aware of the speed of the train and in awe of the engineering it took to build this train. I saw that some seats were removed to accomodate bicycles. I saw that people from all walks of life came to ride. I met the train operator and ever since then, we would exchange greetings and small talk everytime I rode the train. I’m passionate about the Red Line, because it has impressed me from day one and has been part of my daily ritual. The Red Line has become such an important part of my life because it is the only way I get to explore our great city.

-- Marc Caraan, Burbank

Thanks, Marc! "I saw that some seats were removed to accomodate bicycles. I saw that people from all walks of life came to ride." Next time you see angry people wearing yellow shirts handing out fliers telling people how "racist" the subway is, remind them of what you just said.

And finally, this most honorable of honorable mentions:

Photo provided by Chase White

When waiting on the Red Line, I ran into this gentleman, who I actually had seen before on the bus. It wasn't Halloween. He happily let me take his picture. I asked if he was an emergency room nurse. He said "No, I'm a head nurse."

-- Chase White, Highland Park

Thanks for all your entries! Didn't win? No worries! The Militant will throw more cool contests like this, so stay tuned and STAY MILITANT!

The Last Super: Remembering Super Bowl XXVII

Twenty years ago, Los Angeles not only opened a subway (Don't forget to enter The Militant's Red Line 20th Anniversary Contest by 11:59 p.m. tonight!), but last hosted a Super Bowl.

The venue was Pasadena's Rose  Bowl, seasonal home of the UCLA Bruins football team and annual home of the, well, Rose Bowl game (duuh).

Not only did Super Bowl XXVII have the Dallas Cowboys rout the Buffalo Bills 52-17, but it was the first time The Big Game replaced its usual halftime entertainment of marching bands with the biggest pop/rock stars of the day (or even yesterday). Leave it to the Entertainment Capital of The World to inaugurate a tradition like that.

Gracing the field at halftime back in '93 was the late, great Michael Jackson, who arrived via an unforgettable intro in triplicate, and proceeded to do a lip-synched (Beyonce fans can relax, televised logistics and wayward stadium acoustics are the primary reason for this) medley of some of his biggest hits at the time:


Although Los Angeles has not hosted a Super Bowl since then (nor have we hosted an MLB All-Star Game since 1980 either, hmmph...), we are still the 2nd-most frequent Super Bowl host (Miami and current host New Orleans are tied for #1), having also staged the NFL's championship match in 1987, 1983, 1980, 1977, 1973 and most importantly, the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967.

Considering the big 50th iteration of the Super Bowl is coming up in the not-so-distant future, we may or may not get a chance to host it once again. Maybe by then we'll get an as-yet unspecified team...

As for Superb Owl XLVII, The Militant doesn't really give a crap about the NFL. He just wants to watch commercials, pig out on hot wings and nachos and watch Beyonce bounce around.

Honestly, under any other circumstances, he'd go with the 49ers...BUT, considering the fact that The City By The Frisco Bay won teh World Sereez (grumble grumble...) just four months ago, The Militant does not want to witness any more San Franciscan Gloating, so he's gonna root for the Ravens. Besides, The Militant being a writer, he's gotta give it up to the only NFL team named after literature.

Another SF championship parade? Nevermore!

Militant Contest: Win Some Historical Red Line Swag!

Twenty years ago yesterday, the Metro Red Line first opened. Twenty years ago today, people were still enjoying free rides during opening weekend. Today, The Militant is giving away a bunch of historical Metro Red Line mementos from The Militant Archives!

What You'll Win:

- Original, mint-condition 1993 vintage RTD first-ever Metro Red Line schedule from January 30, 1993

- Metro Red Line information brochure (Published 1989)

- Updated Metro Red Line information brochure (Published 1993)

- Old school 1993 RTD Metro Red Line ticket

- Red Line/MTA refrigerator magnet

- Old school Metro "M" logo stickers!

Cash value: PRICELESS! (You can't find these anywhere anymore!)

How To Enter:

1. You must have ridden the Metro Red Line at least once within the past 20 years (If you still haven't, there is no hope for you).

2. Send an email to militantangeleno@gmail.com with the following:
- Your Name
- City or Los Angeles neighborhood you live in
- A short, one-paragraph story, anecdote or interesting occurrence that happened to you while riding The Red Line.

3. One winner may or may not be chosen at random. Or maybe you have the most interesting story. The Militant hasn't quite decided yet.

4. Submission deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST,  Sunday, February 3, 2013.

The Militant will announce the winner on Monday, February 4 on the MA Blog. He may or may not also publish some of the more interesting stories!

Good luck and Stay Militant!

A Subway's Birthday: Happy 20th, Metro Red Line!

The Metro Red Line on Opening Day, January 30, 1993 (Note the "RTD" banner hanging on top and how shiny the trains were).

January 1993: Elvis appeared on a postage stamp, America inaugurated Bill Clinton as its 42nd president, teens and young adults used pagers to communicate, Michael Jackson performed at Super Bowl XXVII, held at The Rose Bowl. Speaking of the NFL, the Los Angeles Raiders and Rams didn't seem like they were going to go anywhere (both literally and figuratively), Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was the #1 song and a city long-chided for not having a subway system opened the first 4.4 miles of it to a curious, naive and skeptical public.

January 2013: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, pagers and Los Angeles' NFL teams are no longer with us. People can print their own postage stamps on their computers. We have an African American sitting in the Oval Office now, starting his second term (Bill Clinton refuses to be irrelevant, though). And the Little Subway That Could now stretches 17 miles to Koreatown, Hollywood and North Hollywood, connects with four other rapid transit lines, runs 24 hours on New Year's Eve, stays open to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and last month logged in a record high 158,830 daily average ridership.

Yes, our Metro Red Line subway turns 20 years old today (Which means anyone who does the "L.A. has a subway?" thing now truly deserves an ass-kicking).

Unfortunately, unlike The Militant's 20-year-old vintage video of the Blue Line's opening he posted in 2010, the video he shot for the Red Line's Opening Day wasn't nearly as ceremonious. Just a bunch of people waiting in line and a few trains passing by. There was a VIP ribbon-cutting event the previous day, and a smaller ceremony that day, with free rides the rest of the weekend.

For those of you who were still in diapers back in '93 (or worse, still in the East Coast/Midwest, etc), The Militant will give you a glimpse of how things were back then. The Red Line only had five stations -- Union Station, Civic Center, Pershing Square, 7th Street/Metro Center and Westlake/Mac Arthur Park. That was it. 4.4 miles.  The ride lasted all but seven minutes. It was only used by the folks Downtown, and that really meant the people that worked Downtown. No one really lived there yet. There were no bars and restaurants and ArtWalks. Could you imagine that?

TAP what? This is an old-school Red Line ticket from '93!

To make up for the 7-minute subterranean adventure, the RTD (Southern California Rapid Transit District, to you youngins/newbies, as Metro was known at the time) set the fare to all but 25 cents. You can connect to the Metro Blue Line, which was just a couple years old, and Metrolink, which was just a couple months old, and had only three lines going to Moorpark, Santa Clarita and Pomona, respectively.

The trippiest thing about the Red Line back then was its schedule: 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Ya rly. 7 p.m. Like The Militant said, there wasn't really a DTLA back then. 

The first Metro Red Line schedule, January 1993.

Compared to today's timetable, it really wasn't much! Hopping on board a train (they were clean and shiny back then) at Union Station, you emerged at Mac Arthur Park 7 minutes later to a dredged-up lake across the street. Crews were busy at work building the second segment which would open up in 1996, adding the Wilshire/Vermont, Wilshire/Normandie and Wilshire/Western stations to the line (there was no Purple Line then, and incidentally the Wilshire corridor segment -- which was to be re-reouted along Olympic en route to the Westside thanks to certain politicians, was originally going to be named the "Metro Orange Line"). The 25-cent one-way fare remained in effect until the second segment opened.

How did people react? The Los Angeles Times  wrote articles about how riding in a subway was a strange new paradigm. Many people were leery of being in the tunnels during an earthquake (despite undamaged subways in other earthquake-prone cities like San Francisco, Mexico City and Tokyo) and others thought the whole thing was a $1.4 billion boondoggle and would never go anywhere.

But like the great El DeBarge once said, Time will reveal. A year later, the Northridge Earthquake caused only miniscule cosmetic damage and no structural harm. Within a few months, thousands of Downtown workers suddenly discovered that they were just 25 cents and a couple minutes away from the best pastrami in town, and injected new life into a once-floundering Westlake delicatessen, right across the street from the subway's western terminus. In 1994, The Red Line got its silver screen debut playing a supporting role to Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in the transit porno flick Speed. After the Wilshire segment opened in '96, The Red Line got its real Hollywood premiere in the summer of 1999 with five new stations along Vermont Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. And a year after that, the subway as designed was finally completed, speeding underneath the Santa Monica Mountains and reaching North Hollywood. People voted for more rail and more subways. Some politicians boasted having a Subway To The Sea as other electeds undid the Wilshire tunneling ban. Park N Ride lots in the Valley became full. The only haters were Libertarians and those yellow-shirted folks who blindly spout their "rail is racist" tirades. But subways are here to stay, yo.

Come 2023, our subway will be 30 years old - and will (hopefully) reach the Westside. Our first subway, the 1-mile trolley bypass tunnel built for the Pacific Electric, itself lasted 30 years. But this time it's for keeps.

If you can, wish our subway a "Happy Birtthday" by riding the Red Line today. It opened up people to new communities and new ways of travel. It even helped open up whole communities itself. It opened up even more possibilities in the city of many possibilities.

Go Metro, it's yo birthday...Happy 20th, Metro Red Line! 

Happy New Year...Where's The Party?

Uh, like, where IS everybody?

Where did you spend your last moments of 2012? At a house party? At a bar? Freezing your ass off on Colorado Boulevard?

The Militant was all set to have a festive New Year's Eve in Downtown Los Angeles last night. After all, there were a plethora of NYE activities in DTLA. He set out at 9 p.m. to take advantage of the free Metro fares until 2 a.m.. Then, he went out to Angels Flight for a couple of one-cent rides for its 111th Birthday, and ended up as the last rider of the year (for two out of the last three years!).

He then walked due north along Hill Street to Grand Park. As you may or may not know, it opened last Summer to much fanfare and soon became a popular gathering spot for CicLAvias, concerts and even election night observing.

So surely they'd have a big New Year's Eve celebration where Angelenos can finally count down the last seconds of the year. Right? RIGHT?

Welp, The Militant got there at about 10:30 p.m. and found the place...empty.

He first thought it was just a classic case of Angelenos showing up late. But as it turned into 11 p.m., he started to get worried. Shouldn't there be like a program or something? Maybe it was a poorly-publicized event. But even then there would be a few people hanging around....there was nada.

Maybe it was a smaller event at another part of the park! He walked due west and went to the court of flags plaza thingy. Maybe they were all there!

Is this some sort of bizarro 'Twilight Zone' episode or what?

Nope.

Okay, maybe it was by the Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain. Like the fountain would turn all sorts of funky colors at the stroke of midnight and it would shoot out silly string or marshmallows or free tamales or something...

(Notice how the Comic Sans font actually looks good when used in the proper context)

Damn. Whatup with that?!

It was like 11:30 already and The Militant walked over to the bar by The Alexandria Hotel, where he got frisked and was treated to some really awful douchey rap songs from 2005-2008. At the stroke of midnight we were forced to watch a 3-hour old broadcast of an illuminated ball drop some 3,000 miles away. Whoop, whoop.

Okay, folks. Every New Year's Eve we get the same old thing. Time Square Tape Delay, or if we're online, we get shown a slideshow of various cities around the world ushering in the new year, which usually involves an assload of pyrotechnics shooting out from some of its most famous landmarks (Hmmm...imagine if the Hollywood Sign did that. Hey, why the big frown Mr. LAFD Fire Chief?).

So here's the deal. Grand Park Peoples, County Supes and Erryone In Between: In 364 days, please give us Angelenos a public New Year's Eve celebration we so long deserve. And make some fireworks shoot out of City Hall (That...would...be...Bad...Ass). Okay, okay, scratch the City Hall fireworks, we all know the City won't have the budget for that. But give us something on 12/31/13.

Pwetty Pweeze?

If not, The Militant will have his OWN New Year's Eve celebration at Grand Park, AND YOU'RE ALL INVITED!

Happy New Year, and Stay Militant in da Twenny-One-Tray!

Shuttling Down 2012: Event Of The Year

You voted, and The Militant agreed: THE event of 2012 was the return of the Space Shuttle Endeavour to its Southern California birthplace.

Out of 40 Militant Readers, nearly half chose the Endeavour's homecoming journey in September and October of this year. Coming up in second place was the looooong-awaited opening of the Metro Expo Line in April. A distant third was the opening of DTLA's Grand Park, and the sports-related events, namely the Dodgers' acquisition by Guggenheim Baseball Management, and the Kings' Stanley Cup championship, came up 4th and 5th, respectively. Gaining no votes was Dwight Howard's signing to The Lakers, which was sort of included as a joke anyway.

Los Angeles will always have transit line openings, new parks and sports victories, but what we'll never see again in our lifetimes is a big-ass spaceship being shown-off around town. And that's what made the Endeavour THE event of 2012 in Los Angeles. It was a moment that brought Angelenos together, for myriad reasons -- we were all curious, excited, thrilled and behaved. Our homeboy Endeavour brought out the best in us.

It was such a big deal, The Militant forgot about the heavy-ass LACMA Rock that was similarly paraded around in our streets in early 2012!

And the Endeavour's story ain't even done yet! Look forward to 2015 when it'll be reunited with its rocket friends and displayed a la launch style at a new permanent structure at the California ScienCenter.

What will hold for 2013? Only time will tell! Stay tuned for The Militant's projections and predictions for '13!

What Was THE Event of 2012? YOU DECIDE!

Yep, it's that time of the year when we wrap up those times of the year that made this year. Los Angeles had a pretty interesting year, to say the least. Here are some big stories that may or may not have made Twenty-Twelve the year that was:

Kings win the Stanley Cup
It took the Dodgers two years to win a title since arriving in Los Angeles. The Sparks, six. The Galaxy, seven. The Lakers, 12. But the Los Angeles Kings? 45 years of frustration, until this year, when they beat the New Jersey Devils in June to win their very first Stanley Cup. Kings fans, who are the most diehard in all of Los Angeles sportsdom, celebrated joyfully and responsibly. Look ma, no riot! From Disneyland to Dodger Stadium they proudly and rightfully showed off The Cup across the Southland. And with the 2012-2013 NHL season still being in limbo due to the lockout, it looks like we might get to hold on to the Stanley Cup a little bit longer...

Space Shuttle Endeavour returns
The most photographed subject in all of Los Angeles this year was not a celebrity nor a sunset, but the Space Shuttle Endeavour, decommissioned by NASA and making a triumphant return to its Southern California birthplace this past Fall. I wasn't just one event, but three: The playful flight of the shuttle atop a NASA 747 got nearly every one of us looking skyward on September 21; in mid-October, the impromptu parade through Westchester, Inglewood and South Los Angeles drew a million people in simultaneous displays of patriotism, scientific achievement and local pride. And in late October, the shuttle finally went on display at its new home at the California ScienCenter. In a year that saw the loss of the USC-educated Neil Armstrong and San Fernando Valley native Sally Ride,  the shuttle seemingly passed their pioneering astronaut spirit on to all Angelenos.

The opening of Grand Park
Los Angeles finally has its own town square in the opening of Grand Park, which stretches from Los Angeles City Hall to the Music Center in DTLA. Opened in two phases in July and October, the park has already been put to good use as a concert venue, a CicLAvia stopover and a place to watch the results of this year's presidential election. Gee, could we have like a New Year's Eve countdown celebration there sometime?

The Metro Expo Line opens
Rail transit finally reached the Westside for the first time in 60-something years as the newest branch of Metro's rail network had a new set of commuters "Going Metro" for the first time. Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Trojans and concert fans have already seen the wonders of Expo. And the story isn't over yet: By 2016, the Expo Line will become "The Trolley To The Sea" when it finally reaches Santa Monica.

Guggenheim buys the Dodgers
The long nightmare that was the Frank and Jamie McCourt era finally ended this year when Magic Johnson and some of his wealthy friends in the form of Guggenheim Baseball Management got together and made their 2-billion bid to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. The organization wasted no time in flexing its financial muscle, doing things like lowering the stadium parking fee to $10, resurrecting the Cool-A-Coo and making some high-profile mid-season acquisitions on the roster. If only the team's physical muscle were as strong...But hey, at least no more McCourt!

Dwight Howard joins the Lakers
Lakers diehards have talked about getting him for a while, and this year we finally landed Superman Iron Man. And okay, so he hasn't really done much this season aside from being a glorified (and expensive) cheerleader for the Purple & Gold, but he will be the face of the franchise following Kobe's inevitable retirement.

You as a reader of The Militant's blog has the opportunity to vote on which one of these was the Los Angeles event of 2012. Just select it on the upper right side of This Here Blog and vote! Polls are open from now until 11:59 p.m., Sunday, December 30, 2012 (That's New Year's Eve Eve!).

The Militant may or may not have missed some other important events this year...if you think there were some more he should have added to the list, feel free to list them in the comments!

Dia de los Muertos 2012: The Militant Visits the Dead at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Everyone knows Los Angeles is home of some of the most famous people alive, but it's also home to the most famous people in the afterlife! For the past few years on this date, The Militant has made it a tradition to pay his respects to some famous (and infamous) Angelenos who make this City their eternal resting place.

Back in 2010, The Militant made a visit to Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver city. Last year, he visited Inglewood Park Cemetery, walking along through dimly-lit mausoleums just to bring you a blog post.

This year, he takes you to Hollywood.

Though it's popularly known as a hipster outdoor movie palace, or a place to see concerts, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally Hollywood Memorial Park, is one of Los Angeles' most historic and storied graveyards. It was founded in 1899 by early Angeleno developers Isaac Lankershim and Isaac N. Van Nuys (yes, those guys...Interestingly they were interred at the Eastside's Evergreen Cemetery).

It was then sold to Jules Roth, a known felon and racist, who forbade Gone With The Wind actress Hattie McDaniel from being buried there, as per her wishes. In the 1980s, Roth sold the front lawn properties of the cemetery fronting Santa Monica Blvd to a minimall developer to settle taxes. Local girl and Go-Gos singer Belinda Carlisle once called it "The worst thing to happen to Hollywood." The shady-ass old mofo finally croaked in 1998, prompting the sale of the cemetery to the Missouri-based Cassity Brothers for $375,000, and re-named and re-marketed the memorial park as "Hollywood Forever."

Its proximity not only to Hollywood, but to Paramount Studios helped make it a final production wrap for some of Hollywood's elite, such as filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, but it's also the resting place of historical Angelenos, most notably Col. Griffith J. Griffith, who donated Griffith Park to the City in 1896. Early Hollywood pioneers Cornelius Cole, Hobart Whitley and Harvey Wilcox are also interred here, as well as Los Angeles Times founder Harrison Gray Otis (a.k.a. The Pointing Guy at MacArthur Park).

Griffith Griffith's grave.

Greatest. Epitaph. Evar.

Valentino.

Johnny Ramone rocks on for all eternity here.

There's also long-standing legends that the cemetery may or may not be haunted.  Guess you'll have to find out for yourself...Happy Dia de los Muertos from Hollywood!

Happy (West) Hollyween!

Last year, The Militant, dressed in full camo garb, went out in public for what may or may not be the first time during the Halloween festivities on Hollywood Blvd. But for several years, THE party has been a couple miles west, along Santa Monica Blvd for West Hollywood's annual Halloween Parade, where hundreds of thousands of folks turn the street from Doheny to La Cienega into a huge public space for the costumed.

This was the Militant's first time, mainly kept away by the traffic snarls. He was considering riding his bike there, but the cold weather was sort of a deterrent as well. But this time he rode an unspecified Metro Local bus west and walked a few blocks to the festivities. Easy as pie, and no need for parking hassles!

There were concerts on a few stages, oodles of food trucks, and restaurants and bars along the street that bled into the mayhem. This year there were suprisingly lots of Pokemon-related costumes, a good number of Dedmau5es (or is that Dedmic3?), astronauts (must be Endeavour-mania), the usual ghouls and superheroes, Star Wars, Gangnam Style and sexy maids (in both hot chick and drag varieties).

The Militant had a fun time, though someone asked him, "Are you the Taliban?" The Militant didn't know how to answer that question. Perhaps it was a golden opportunity to educate someone about his blog. The Militant just let is pass, though it kinda bothered him a bit.

Go Go Power Ranger!

What did the Tardis say to the Robot? Oh never mind.

Omit Romney, heh heh.

Wonder if Omit Romney tried to convince this guy.

This guy may or may not be dressed as a Metro bus driver.

Dedmic3!

Dunno what tis is supposed to be, but it's kinda cool.

SF Giants Win The World Series, LOL!

Los Angeles vs. San Francisco, circa October, 2012. Note the incidental Dodgers-Giants team color contrast between the two pics.

The Militant, eternal Dodger fan he is, was downright crushed to learn that the hated SF Giants won their 2nd World Series title in three seasons on Sunday, sweeping the docile Detroit Tigers 4-0 in the 2012 Fall Classic. 

Fortunately, following the game, rioting, arson fires and people doing all sorts of crazy shit broke out in the streets of San Francisco. The Militant enjoyed reading #sfriots pics on Twitter and munched on popcorn as he watched live streaming video of their "celebration."

Oh sure, Los Angeles has been known for riots. But let's face it, it's all in the past. Lakers championship rioting has become mellower with each title since 2000. And when the Kings won the Stanley Cup this past June, aside from a couple newspaper stands getting knocked down on Figueroa, there was no riot. 

In the meantime, we had real cool stuff like CicLAvia, a big-ass rock and a big-ass spaceship go through our streets, and no one caused any problems. 

Maybe Los Angeles is finally progressing, and SF is regressing? Guess it's time for us to be the smug ones now.

Congrats on your World Series title, BTW. Besides, two is still less than five. Giants still suck.