Is it April already?

Is this a joke? Three limited edition Louis Vuitton skateboards (in cases) inspired by designer Stephen Sprouse will supposedly retail for $8,250 at one of Louis Vuitton's NYC stores. The good part is that proceeds will go towards Free Arts NYC, which provides underserved children throughout New York City with special arts programs.

I hope someone buys these boards, grinds the hell out of them, and throws the cases under passing trains.

The best of Horacio

Ajumma thinks about football once every four years and that's during the World Cup. The World Cup is as exciting as the Olympics, but without Michael Phelps. Last week I mentioned to my cousin that I hope to attend the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Brad, who has been living in Africa for the past six years, told me the hotels are almost sold out so I better get my ass in gear. Well, I just learned that my favorite referee, Horacio Elizondo, is now retired. This makes not being at the 2010 games easier to stomach. Here are my favorite Horacio moments from 2006:

"There will be no balls stomping on my field."

"There will be no headbutting on my field."

Easy grip design?

These dog chews stopped me dead in my tracks at the grocery store. I wonder how they got past the marketing execs. Surely some sort of redesign is in order.

* Delightful matchbox design *

I am in love with the matchboxes by the husband and wife team of Driscoll Design. Their whimsical designs feature cute graphics on four sides and are sparkle with hand-applied glitter. The fun doesn't stop with the boxes, though. The sturdy matchsticks come with black, red, pink and blue tips. I found mine at Digs in Northfield, Minnesota.

Adam Beach takes aim at dinosaurs

Last April, NBC reported that Adam Beach would not be returning as a detective on Law and Order. Since that time Beach has said he'll be starring as Turok, a Native American dinosaur hunter. Beach says, “He’s the first Native American superhero that I ever looked up to,” he said. “He basically [comes from] a family where they’re protecting our universe from an alternate universe that wants to take it over. He uses his wits, and his might, and his special bow and arrow to take over the world.”

Does this mean Adam Beach is growing his hair long, again?

Miso happy

This is how you can tell we've been to California.

You're going to need shades

Thank goodness for the recent rain in Southern California. Besides making the landscape greener, it pushed out the smog for a few days, made the mountains visible, and left buildings shiny. Yesterday Los Angeles warmed up to a perfect 66 degrees.

Looking up Grand from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown

City Hall

A lovely outdoor garden at the Disney Concert Hall

"Peace on Earth" by Jacques Lipchitz at the nearby Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Today in LA

There's quite a bit of creative Obama street art around Los Angeles. There are many smokers, too. More young people are smoking in LA than I remember from when we lived here.

I've called in two dead dogs to animal control during my vacation. One morning a brown pit bull was lying in a gutter on Whittier Blvd. What a shame. The next day I saw a dead black and white border collie on the inside lane of a busy highway overpass. A dog wouldn't find its way up there, a human dumped the poor thing. California can seem wonderful, but these are reminders of the trashy side of life there.

Make cupcakes, not t-shirts

We parked outside Johnny Cupcakes on Melrose, yesterday. Ajumma was super psyched to order a cupcake or two, and then I discovered that Johnny Cupcakes is a streetwear company with a pop-punk bakery theme.

Ho, ho, ho, here's your burger

Rick's Drive In & Out in Whittier, CA does it up big for Christmas. Santa, his sleigh, and reindeer sit on one end of the display and Jesus in his manger sits on the other.