Jingle Bells

Well, after hearing from a vocal group of folks who wondered why I wasn't wearing it, I've dug out the Santa Hats and will continue my annual tradition.

Ho, ho, ho and all that jazz. --
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. . .

No words today. --
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Shots Fired, One Killed.

I hate to burst your bubble, but we live in a society where bad things happen (yeah, you might have already been aware of that).

Now, by bad things I'm talking about violent crime.



That's what were dealing with on Tuesday this week.

You know, it just amazes me that people are so tolerant of shootings and gang activity.



We had two breaking stories on Tuesday night.  Both involved shootings.



The first shooting incident of the night happened in Boyle Heights near a Boys and Girls Club.



The victims sought shelter at the Boys and Girls club.  They were able to get help and were transported to a local hospital.



I was working with Serene Branson and I don't know anything more about that story because we were sent from Boyle Heights to Monrovia for a "better" shooting.

This one involved a fatality.

One man was shot and killed and a woman was shot, but her injuries were non-life threatening.



It seems like a lot for an average night in Los Angeles.  I don't know if it's human nature or just an aspect of society.



It's not my intent to keep you awake at night by pointing out how violent a world it is that we live in.  I think most people, on some level, already know that.  The problem is we can only control what we do.  Sorry, but we can't control what other people do.

Thankfully, most of us have our hands full just going to work and raising our families.  We don't carry a gun and aren't running around out there willing or intending to shoot anyone.

Unfortunately, we have to live in the same world with people who are.


BTW - I wasn't going to mention her, but someday I think I will write about the 300 pound lesbian who I offended while covering this story.  I'm very lucky that harsh language, even the most powerful F-bomb, doesn't hurt like a bullet.

Still, I'll be watching my back if we go out for a follow up.

It's just not a safe world out there.

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Beauty!

Just felt like somebody needed to mention what a beautiful day it is.

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Melrose Lightspace

You know, I just want every picture I take to be a small step towards getting to be really good at taking better pictures.



A good way to get better at something is to do it and keep doing it.

When I told a buddy of mine that I might be taking pictures this weekend, he had a bit of advice for me.

"Take pictures your ass off!"

It was an inspiring bit of advice. Even more for the knowledge that my buddy was sober when he imparted it.

I've got a lot going on at home in the next few weeks, what with the holidays and all, but I actually always try to follow his advice.

I'm absolutely going to take pictures my ass off.

Rainy Night in Geor-- um, Ventura!

It was supposed to rain yesterday and I knew that when I left for work, but the streets were dry and they stayed dry all afternoon. I shoot news, so if the big news of the day is all about the rain, then I know I'm probably going to get wet.

It's usually only a matter of time.



The storm was moving down the coast from the North, so I was sent out to meet up with Reporter Serene Branson.

Cool.

We were sent towards Ventura with the goal of getting on TV as soon as the storm hit. The only problem with that plan was that nobody could really predict what time exactly the storm was going to roll through.

There's a lot of pressure to be in the lead on the weather stories. After the build-up and tease that rain is coming, I can understand that it might be difficult to keep it all in perspective.

Particularly when you're inside back at the station.

We spent the early part of the evening fielding a persistent string of calls for status updates.



"Is it raining yet?" "No." "Not at all?" "Well, there's some misting." "Did you shoot it?"

(pause) "The ground is dry. There's really nothing to shoot." "Call us as soon as it starts to rain."
"Okay."

(A few minutes later)
"Is it raining yet?"



The rain hit a little after 8:00pm. Serene and I managed to find a good spot for the live shot on Main Street in Ventura.

I'd never been live from that area, so it was a gamble. Okay, I've been live from nearby, so it was a calculated gamble, but still a gamble.

It paid off.

We locked in the microwave signal, I quickly connected the cables and Serene stepped in front of the camera and the rain came down hard.

After the first hit, Serene and I talked about the weather getting back at us. Earlier we'd been joking about the distinct lack of rain.

We did the first liveshot in a downpour and even though it let up later, it rained through the rest of the evening. It could have easily been a totally miserable night and I'm not sure I would have survived it at all if not for a couple of things.



Serene's mom (whom I'm told reads my blog, "Hiiiii, Mrs. Branson!") sent Serene out with a tin of homemade Krumkake. That's a Norweigen pastry that absolutely warmed my cookie monster heart.

Mmmmm, Krumkake.



The other thing that kind of made it easier to make it through the evening?

Serene and I were both up on the Grapevine earlier this week. It was bitterly cold and windy in the snow. We were doing liveshots over the closed I-5 and had to stay overnight at the Flying "J" Truck Stop.

Talk about putting things in perspective.

Shucks, a little rain wasn't going to bother us.

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Lost in Thought.

I had a long drive in traffic to face at the end of my shift yesterday.  I needed to grab a bite to eat and that made me even less inclined to dive into the LA freeway system.



Instead of heading for home straight away, I made a quick run up to a favored lookout spot on Mulholland.

I've been wanting to snap a few shots from there with the new camera.  It was peaceful and continued a day that inspired me (did you see the eye surgery story?) and I wanted to share one of the pictures.

This view really beat sitting in traffic.

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