Christmas Carols too have been given a bad wrap, sullied by their association with joyless, joint-zapping visits to the mall. For those working in retail, imagine how much worse it is. The fact that the same roughly eight or so songs mercilessly begin mannheim steamrolling anyone that ventures outdoors around mid-September is enough to justify anyone feeling like the Grinch. However, having avoided malls and shopping centers altogether this Yuletide, and running my own store (Brightwell - shameless plug) have allowed me to hear Christmas music in a new and holy light. I decided in this newly-awakened joy/mania to attempt to come up with my Top 10 Christmas Carols.

So I recently went on a much-needed vacation to Cabo San Lucas with a motley assortment of friends. Cabo San Lucas was chosen because it was a friend's birthday, a friend whose father owns a bar, Happy Ending Cantina. 

To be completely forthcoming, Cabo San Lucas has never been high on my list of desired vacation destinations, placing somewhere between Gilbert, Arizona and Hutchinson, Kansas. Admittedly, my ignorance on the subject of Cabo San Lucas was vast... I only knew that Sammy "The Red Rocker" Hagar (Montrose, Van Hagar and now, Chickenfoot) owns a bar there... and that it's frequently referred to simply as "Cabo" by people who I'm guessing neither know what "cabo" means or that there are many other "Cabos."

However, despite my well of cynicism, reservations and the somewhat awkward circumstances, I can honestly say that I had a great vacation. My opinions of Cabo San Lucas might come off as sarcastic and snide but I honestly don't mean in any way to insult or discourage the tourist for whom Cabo San Lucas might be Heaven on Earth. I am merely not the typical "Caboholic." I've also little interest in visiting Acapulco, Cancún or taking a Disney cruise. On the other hand, if you, dear reader, are in the position -- or know anyone who can -- get me a free vacation to Mexico I'm very, very interested in visiting and blogging about Oaxaca, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Guadalajara, Mexico City or Monterrey. I'm pretty sure I'll love any of them. 

A TALE OF TWO WESTSIDES

Just as Los Angeles has two Eastsides (one being the Latino enclave east of the LA River and the other being South Los Angeles east of the 110 and/or Main St) it also has two Westsides. One Westside is a collection of LA's westernmost neighborhoods (such as Bel Air and Brentwood) and the surrounding cities (like Santa Monica and Beverly Hills). The other is the area of South Los Angeles (and the surrounding communities) that lie west of the 110, south of the 10 and east and north of the 405.


The region of South LA's Westside is a large area bounded by South LA's Eastside to the east, The Harbor to the southeast, The South Bay to the west and south west, The Westside to the northwest and Midtown to the north. Definitions differ of exactly what communities constitute the region with several also claiming the South Bay and/or The Harbor. No doubt part of the reason these neighborhoods are in question are due to residents of and developers in those communities eager to disassociate themselves with South LA, which carries negative connotations for many.

INTRODUCTION TO SAN GABRIEL

For this blog entry, I ventured to the city of San Gabriel. Accompanying me were veteran three traveling companions. Cheryl Anne, a designer, hadn't appeared since her Season 4, episode 10 debut, "Gardena - The South Bay's city of opportunity." Artist Chris Urias made his debut appearance and regular audiences are well acquainted with Club Underground's DJ Modernbrit, aka Tim Shimbles, who has appeared in numerous episodes, debuting back in Season 2, episode 4, "Morningside Circle" in which we first discovered South LA's Westside.

To vote for other Los Angeles County communities to be covered on the blog, vote here. To vote forLos Angeles neighborhoods, vote here. To vote vote for Orange County neighborhoods and communities, vote here.

It's curated by Terri "Tooter" Berman and features Halloween-appropriate works by Grace Albelda, Douglas Alvarez, Kim Bagwill, Brooke Bearup, Terri "Tooter" Berman, Airom Bleicher, Julie Bossinger, Jonathan Bueno, Michelle Caplan, Deryke Cardenaz, Marcel DeJure, J Fuchs, Cristian "Smear" Gheorghiu, John Michael Gill, Harrel Goldstein, Dan Goodsell, Kio Griffith, Patrick Haemmerlein, Walter Hall, Mary J Hoffman, Lisa Hull, Jinxed Art, Billy Kheel, Aaron Kraten, Supersmash Max, Isabella Electra McGrath, Marlon McWilliams, Jon Measures, Sal Mendez, Yuki Miyazaki, Delphia Nikolaus, Tom Oliver, Jerry Paeff, Vera Paras, Carol Powell, Sarah Ramirez, Shannon Rowland, Uddon Soup, Mike Street, Paula Tade, Mayumi Tanaka, Kelly Thompson, Paul Torres, Jessica Valencia, David VonDerLinn, Susan Catherine Weber and more...