Time to stick it to those trying to take away our personal freedoms and our fun! The protest against Jack Scott’s proposed Mylar Ban of Evil is today at 3 p.m. at Memorial Park here in Pasadena. It’s being hosted by John & Ken from KFI AM. Yours truly shall most definitely be there! Here’s the info once again:

John and Ken’s Balloon Ban Protest opposing the Senate bill that would ban those happy foil balloons you find at birthday parties will be held next Wednesday, June 11 at Memorial Park in Pasadena. Broadcast starts at 3:00 p.m. Bring the kids!

Memorial Park
85 E Holly St
Pasadena CA 91103
We will set up on Raymond Street between Holly and Walnut Streets.
The nearest parking garages are the Courtyard Marriott Garage on Raymond Street (b/w Walnut & Holly) and the Holly Garage on Holly Street (b/w Arroyo & Marengo).
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The woman you just can’t stay mad at for more than a millisecond and Pasadena Minister Of Truth Public Information Officer, Ann Erdman, has a blog now. Still crossing my fingers that City Councilmembers set up their own blogs in the not too distant future.

Speaking of Council, Dormitas has another excellent blow-by-blow of Monday’s meeting. Included in Monday’s meeting was a hipster/trendy night club in Pasadena, Vive, being the subject of debate about a dance floor and noise levels. Of course, neighbors complained about booze sales “causing crime” and things like that. Great. Way to scare businesses away and way to make Old Town even less fun. I mean, I’m not really into going to places like Vive (read yesterday’s post) - but since when are we banning nightclubs? Nightclubs?! Is anyone allowed to have fun around here? Christ, sometimes Pasadena Council and some Pasadenans really need to grow a pair. If we keep this up, we’re going to have to change our city’s logo:

Or….as inspired by something I saw on the Interwebs the other day:

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Guess who wasn’t at City Council on Monday night? Ya know, the meeting where they sorta disbanded the Youth Violence Committee? Why, it was Steve Madison! For some reason, he was at Council’s closed sessions..but not at the meeting.

I guess Steve had something (or someone) more important to do than to tend to the issues that he’s responsible for.

** POP QUIZ **
Where was Madison on Monday night?

a. Watching Vince McMahon’s Million Dollar Giveaway on WWE RAW
b. “Polishing The Maserati” (if you know what I mean)
c. Banging a stripper
d. In a three-way with his girlfriend and a stripper
e. Spending quality time with his son Julian, bonding and teaching him the ins and outs of life while playing catch in the backyard (as “That’s My Boy” plays in the background).
f. A through D.

B-R-L-F-Q spells “no show a City Council meeting.” If you guessed “f”, you’re right and you win a prize. I don’t know what yet, but I’ll figure out something. How about I won’t kick your ass? If you guessed anything but “e”, you’ve gotta learn a little bit more about Mr. Maserati. If you guessed “e”, you’re probably Madison himself.
Poor District 6. Out there in the wild. All alone with no Councilman to take care of them.

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Well, this picture above isn’t happening, according to Emma Peel in the Pasadena Star-News:

PASADENA - The Ambassador West project, one of the largest and most prestigious in the city’s history, has been foreclosed on and the property is back on the market for the fourth time in a decade.

“We no longer own any of the property,” Howard Weinberg, a part-owner of Ambassador West, said Monday. “A foreclosure sale has occurred.”

In a double blow to a 10-year effort to develop the former Ambassador College campus, plans for the Sterling of Pasadena luxury senior-living complex on an adjoining site have been scrapped.

Anybody got a couple million they could spare? I’d love to turn that into a Graceland-esque estate for myself. Just to fuck with the people who live over there.

Seriously, it’s a nice piece of land and I always wonder what it’s going to become. For those who don’t know, that place used to be the headquarters for the Worldwide Church of God. I heard they kept all over their Flavor-Aid in one building alone. Oh, and Bobby Fischer had his own Anti-Semitic version of a chessboard there.

If you’ve ever been over to that campus, it looks like an excellent place to begin filming my Pasadena version of The Prisoner.

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Photo by Frazgo

Madison’s no-show at City Council is awfully dull compared to all the shenanigans and tomfoolery in Monrovia. How about we trade, All-American City? You can have Steve Madison and I’ll get all the hot, sweaty, cop-on-minor gay sex scandals?

This stuff is great, I’d just appreciate it more if it were happening in the Dena. Robert Parry reports on The Foothill Cities Blog that there’s been a lawsuit against the City of Monrovia. They’re some pretty bold charges of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, even more sexual misconduct, and sexual healing. Basically, some cop allegedly was banging some minor and having their summer lovin’ in the backseat of his car. Inner Circle wasn’t kidding about “Bad Boys”!

I don’t know how true all of this is or how this is all going to pan out, but bravo Monrovia, bravo indeed for giving me something to talk about besides the location of my favorite Wendy’s.

This looks like a job for…

Yep.

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Because it’s Fred Ortega’s last day at the PSN, The Proc has decided to interview another one of his Ham-and-eggin’ co-workers as part of the Aaron Proctor Interview Series. (I guess he didn’t like my song?) I sat down with Caroline An (well, I sat as close as she’d let me sit - so - e-mailed her under my alias, Ross Cutler). Caroline runs the sometimes-updated Hallway Monitor blog and is the education reporter for the PSN. Since she mainly covers PUSD, make that “schools reporter.” That’s her pictured above in Larry Wilson’s tiara. I’d tap that (her, not Larry Wilson’s tiara).

Don’t let that small frame you could fit nicely into a overhead compartment fool you, though - she’s one tough cookie.

Look out for a Frank Girardot cameo, too!

The Proc: You run the “Hallway Monitor” blog for the PSN. What do you think of the blogosphere?

Caroline An: I didn’t know you had a blog until my office-mates told me about it.

AP: Suuure. Does Fred Ortega copy off of your notes when Larry Wilson isn’t looking?

CA: He sits too far from me to copy my notes, but we pass notes to each other when Hector isn’t looking.

AP: Remember that commercial in the 80’s with the California Raisins rapping “Books! Check em out”. Did you know that’s really Sir Mix-a-lot rapping? He liked big books and he could not lie.

CA: Yes I do but that commercial scared me. I don’t like raisins and seeing shriveled up fruit talking freaked me out. Here’s my favorite lyric though…”You got a fantasy imagination can take you to where you want to be. Are you curious? How can you find out? Books check em out .

AP: Remember that book “Island Of The Blue Dolphins“? I read that in like 5th grade.

CA: 5th grade? What remedial school did you attend? I think I read that book in third grade.

AP: Marcus Hook Elementary, Marcus Hook, PA. (Proc’s note - Janet Szper is still the school nurse? She looked like Odo. I kid you not). If you don’t get a story in by its deadline, do you get detention or just a demerit?

CA: Deadline? What’s a deadline? I make my own deadlines!

AP: What’s in your Trapper Keeper?

CA: I was a Pee Chee girl. No Trapper Keepers for me!

AP: If somebody took the average IQ of students in PUSD, would the answer be somewhere below “mildly retarded”?

CA: Aren’t you mildly retarded?

AP: We should do a remake of “Billy Madison” but use Steve Madison instead.

CA: As an education reporter, I’m appalled at any film that glorifies a grown man who has not completed grade school. Shame on you for including this as a question.

AP: How come every time Zack Morris and one of his girlfriends “decided to be friends” on “Saved By The Bell“, you never saw that chick again in any future episode?

CA: Because he’s not worth staying friends with since Screech is his wingman!

AP: Since you report on schools, do you eat your lunch on a plastic tray with chocolate milk and crinkle-cut fries?

CA: No. Plastic trays are very bad for the environment, chocolate milk and crinkle-cut fries will make me fat. I have to watch my girlish figure. :)

AP: Pick a flap on this little flower-shaped thing I made out of college-ruled notebook paper.

CA: the top left, please

AP: Pick a color.

CA: *Pink*

AP: Pick a number.

CA: *9*

AP: You’re going to live in a mansion with 3 pools and have 4 Mercedes-Benzes.

CA: Promise? Cross your heart and swear to die? Stick a needle in your eye?

AP: Ever throw a paper airplane across the newsroom?

CA: Paper airplanes are SO 1992. I have thrown my stress ball at Fred Ortega when he stressed me out.

AP: How many John Muir students does it take to screw in a light bulb?

CA: Do you know how to screw in a light bulb? Or do you have to get Kelli to do that?

AP: Want to go to the prom with me?

CA: I already have a date. His name is Larry Wilson.

AP: You made fun of the fact the Ham And Egger award you all got was printed out in black and white. You’re not an art teacher, though.

CA: Well, you’re not one to judge our newspaper so if you’re not going to pay the extra 20 cents for color copies, please keep the 42 cents you wasted in mailing us that sorry excuse of an award. Besides, I heard from several sources that you can’t afford to buy a round of alcoholic beverages so start saving those pennies!

CA (cont’d): BTW – Frank Girardot wants me to pass this note along to you (Stop giggling Aaron, it’s not a love note.)

Frank Girardot: Stop telling people to go into my bottom desk drawer. Gentleman Jack is expensive.

AP: So, any way, Caroline - Which was bigger? Todd Ruiz’ rolodex of story sources or Todd Ruiz’ rolodex of women’s phone numbers?

CA: I’m going to assume they are the same size…but I haven’t seen Hot Toddy’s little black book of female numbers. His rolodex was actually an excel spreadsheet. :)

AP: Want a Now And Later? It’s strawberry.

CA: Naw..You got Dots or a Ring Pop? Or even Airheads?

AP: Remember when we would read a book in English class and then watch the movie but the movie was not even remotely close to the plot of the book and then you’d confuse the two and then get all your questions wrong on your test?

CA: Um..no. That never happened to me. I was a perfect student in school. :)

AP: Wouldn’t our public schools be a lot better if Steve Haderlein made the switch to teaching at them and he taught Home Ec wearing only an apron that says “Kiss The Vice Mayor”?

CA: No. He would probably get arrested for inappropriate behavior. Since this is your idea will you bail him out of jail?

AP: What the fuck is a gerund?

CA: What is with the language? You just landed yourself in detention. A gerund is a word that ends in -ing.

CA (cont’d): Example: Aaron I think you’ve been drinking too much. Come up with better questions next time.

AP: How many textbooks can Edwin Diaz walk around with on his head without having them fall to the ground?

CA: You know who can answer that question? Binti Harvey, the PUSD public information officer. I’m sure she will have the answer for you by the end of the day. Maybe you can record it and post the video on your blog. The video of you yelling “South Pasadena Sucks” out the window to unassuming strangers was just riveting. You must have a lot of free time.

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Wow! What a total bitch! Nahh, I’m kidding: she’s funny and “gets it” (either that, or Fred helped her out with half of the survey). At least I’m pretty sure she wants a piece of the Most Electrifying Man In Pasadena..but she’s gotta get in line, and that’s a long line, and Kelli is a bouncer in that line, so, maybe not….

See some of you later today at Memorial Park?

Will the sun shine tomorrow in an Fred Ortega-less Pasadena?

- AP