Well, the truth is LA traffic blows and it is related to a lot of other problems that visitors and Angelenos should be familiar with.  Smog, lack of a central “downtown”, no mass transit, and needing a car to get around. All of these are connected issues, but progress is being made.

The Expo line Phase 1 is planned to run from Downtown Los Angeles, through USC,  to Culver City is being built and has a 2011 completion date. The 7th street and Metro downtown station will be the transfer point for the expo, blue, red, purple, and silver lines.  My local station, Venice/Robertson station, is already under construction. It is located between Robertson and Exposition just a bit East of Downtown Culver City. Finally, a direct connect between Tender Greens and Seven Grand!

If that isn’t enough, the Phase 2 Expo Line is being planned to connect all the way to the Santa Monica Pier. What?! I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m hoping it happens. Don’t hold your breath though since Phase 1 has already been delayed once. I bet 2015 for Phase 2’s completion. Any takers?

Assuming it happens, connecting the coast to downtown (with numerous stops in between) is a big step towards liberating Angelenos from their cars and will hopefully reduce traffic. Then all we need is a football team.

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I really can’t believe this site is still up. Not only still up, but gaining in popularity against the heavyweight, Pandora. Coming from a loyal Pandora fan, Grooveshark has still got to be the best online music option in the United States (Euro has Spotify). Grooveshark offers both on-demand songs from an ultra-comprehensive music library and they also have a Radio option which boasts pandora-like song suggestions based on your feedback.

The only problem is that they are obviously distributing copyrighted music and don’t have permission from major record companies to do so. So either they run the clock out and wait to get sued/shut down for the illegal distribution OR they sign deals to pay the record companies in exchange for distribution rights. The latter option hasn’t proven an easy model to crack. Check this Techcrunch Teardown on Pandora. Pandora made some big sacrifices in the listening experience to pay the record company’s royalty of .097 cents per song played (even a partial play).  Grooveshark’s current “freemium” model won’t generate enough revenue alone so they may also limit their Radio option in a similar manner to Pandora: more banner ads, less song switching, and commercials every few tracks. In addition, Grooveshark may be forced to severely limit the on-demand music feature. Still, they may be up to the challenge of going legitimate since they recently signed a deal with EMI to license their music catalog.

To highlight their legal issues even more, recently Grooveshark’s iPhone app was rejected from the App Store (you can still get it on your jailbroken phone). Don’t get me wrong…I love Grooveshark. I am listening to some obscure hipster/emo rock on it right now (Bright Eyes, anyone?).  However, I predict that they fade away in popularity as they try to overcome the same challenges that Pandora is currently dealing with.

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An instantly classic skate video and behind the scenes documentary, came from Lakai’s uber-anticipated Final Flare video. Here is Guy Mariano’s award winning part which blends smooth lines and single trick bangers so well…not to mention 2 aptly chosen Band of Horses melodies. Also, check the Finally Flared documentary further below with the Guy Mariano comeback piece, which feels like a storytale. The Phelper said it best, “He’s the only guy that we’ve been waiting for”

Take it away

Here is the 6 part documentary called Finally Flared which recaps the whole process behind putting together the video which arguably boasts the the best skateboarders in the world: Eric Koston (the legend), Guy Mariano (killer comeback), Marc Johnson (footage workhorse/SOTY), Brandon Biebel (motivates), Mike “Mo” Capaldi (Battle of Berrics Champ), Cairo Foster (the Reason)  and a bunch of other rippers.

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I love thee ketchup.
I love thee,
ketchup,
with a hamburger,
on thy side.

I love thee,
ketchup,
for a midsummer night’s
wild ride.

Mustard satisfies
when there is a corn dog near;
but ketchup,
my love in Heinz packets,
you are always here.

Squirt.

www.gotdrunkandwroteablog.com

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I’m still torn about Nike trying to muscle into the skateboarding shoe world, but I guess it was only a matter of time.

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Here is Kelly Slater’s 10 point ride. He said that it was the biggest he had ever seen Huntington Beach.

HB may have been firing record breaking contest waves, but the Wedge in Newport Beach was something entirely different.

What a weekend!

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The actual match:

See the Berrics site to know more about the action from Battle of the Berrics 2.

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The concept is hilarious despite being little more than a bitter rant. I would think that they would get tired of talking trash to cute animals, but they keep thinking of new ways to call them out. Here are 2 great examples:

 I’m on to you, you smug son of a bitch - Putting a frog on blast for looking proud of hatching some master plan

Sea Horses make me less interested in real horses -  Really clowning the sea horse for its strange appearance and ruining real horses.

Another random cute animal site which is actually responsible for a whole new style of internet slang is icanhascheezburger. This site has pictures of cute animals (mostly cats, which are named Lol Cats) and displays quotes from the animal. At first, the site is only slightly odd, but after you check out a few of these posts and the comments that people leave, the site feels like an Alice in Wonderland-style trip. It is all very strange, but forward a few of these pics to your sweetie and she will forgive you for nearly anything. Trust!

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Based in the heart of the rawest skateboarding city, San Francisco, Thrasher is the most well known skateboarding mag in history. Over the years, the magazine has earned a rep for refusing to compromise its content to appease corporate sponsors. Phelps’s tenure at this institution has put him in a powerful position in skateboarding. Aside from being the Dark Lord at Thrasher, he is a Big Trick Contest Promoter, and a respected authority/historian/archivist for the sport.

His dedication to skating is unrivaled, but he has ruffled a lot of feathers with his blunt style. He tells it like he sees it and is a habitual line stepper, but he is very often correct…and always entertaining. Just don’t get on his bad side. Before youtube pulled it there was a video of Phelps tearing into pro skateboarder Frank Hirata. It may sound harsh, but being omitted from the pages of Thrasher is way harsher.

He has also done a lot for the sport by putting on Big Trick Contests like Bust or Bail. Solid performances by Andrew Reynolds, Ryan Sheckler, and some guy named…Moose?

Here he is with Quicksilver’s Reese Forbes hyping the next contest at the soon to be torn down Wallenberg Gap in SF. “Back to the Berg” is going down on May 30th at Wallenberg High School.

Finally, he has an Epicly Later’d, which is mostly Jake doing what he does best. Talking incessantly about the sport he loves.

“Back to the Berg” is going down on May 30th at Wallenberg High School. Check the Thrasher site for Contest info and more Jake Videos.

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One of the best sections is “Bart Simpson Droppin Hammers!” This 4 fingered mustard yellow kid rips some of the most iconic skate spots in the world like:

The Leap of Faith

…and now some real footage:

Carlsbad Gap

…and now some real footage:

El Toro Rail

…and now some real footage:

Wallenberg Stairs

…and now some real footage:

Hollywood High 16 Stair

…and now some real footage:

Wilshire Rail

Maxin’ with Terry Kennedy

He even wins the Skater of the Century award; further confirming his place as the world’s most famous skateboarder.

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