Save The Whales

I saw a new mural by Chase on Abbot Kinney for the new store Vaute (a fashion house for animal lovers), that asks the very important question, When Whale It End, Sea World?

Seriously. When? I'll tell you. It will stop when people stop going there. When people stop taking their kids to see beautiful, giant whales kept in captivity in tiny pools. I'd think it would be the saddest thing in the world to take kids to see that. Save your money (and the whales) and take them to nature, to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, wild and free. Don't teach your children that this is in any way ok.

You need only to watch the documentary Blackfish once to feel this way, but it should really just be a no-brainer anyway. There was a great mini-series event on PBS a couple weeks ago called Big Blue Live that took viewers along whale watching with them, and it was pure majesty to behold these enormous blue whales having the whole open range of the oceans to traverse (and eat, breed, calve, etc ..). No one should feel right about these guys being held in captivity, never mind pay to take their kids to see this horror show.

Right?

Thanks for the reminder, Chase/Vaute!

Home And Away - Back In The Venice Bubble (Where I Belong)

Well, I just got back from a beautiful Summer vacation in Minnesota, where I was born and raised. The entire state was showing off the whole time, with breathtaking beauty, perfect Summer weather (I include a couple thunderstorms in that, because to me and any other Californian, they're now so wonderful and rare), cool new spots, wonderful old haunts, and the laughter and fun of family and friends. It was awesome, and this picture pretty much sums up me the whole time, soaking it all in, and deep in thought.

There were outstanding, inspiring times ... volunteering at the Hendrickson Foundation Charity Golf Tournament, where they raise funds and celebrate the incredible achievements of disabled hockey players. Talking my way in to the National Association of Black Journalists party put on by Prince at Paisley Park. Prince! In bronze lounge pajamas and giant afro, right there, Prince! There was swimming in the freshwater lakes and rivers that no matter how great the ocean is (and it is), it just isn't the same. There were great new restaurants (Lyn65, Betty Danger's Country Club, the brand new WOW Fireside Pizza, Revival, Sun Street Bakery, Glam Doll Donuts, Izzy's Ice Cream), and ones that have gotten too big for their britches by far (http://www.yelp.com/biz/psycho-suzis-motor-lounge-minneapolis-2?hrid=lQjQhu46gl72hRzfFAHESA&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)).

There was seeing children grow, reuniting with college roommates, meeting new neighbors, and waving to old ones. There was still an Ice Cream truck playing music down my old block! I saw the Twins win in their new to me stadium! I went to my favorite art museum (The Walker) for their great International Pop show. There were deep talks and solid reflection. There were laughs and conversations with very best friends for life. There were my brothers, both. There was Mom (really, the main point).

But within all that, I'm a little worried about Minnesota. This was the longest I've been there since I first ever moved right after college, so it got more into what it's like to live there, vs. just being a good time holiday run. I noticed a distinct lack of Minnesota Nice - the one trait I'm most proud of when I describe where I'm from. It has always been THE thing ... and I'm afraid it might be endangered, like so many other things in our world.

People were uptight. I heard the word "terrorists" brought up in several conversations, from vastly different people. WHAT?! Like, you think about that normally? I heard both "Somalians" and "Mexicans" being spoken of disparagingly, by people I formerly thought highly of. I heard people speak of gay marriage with an eye roll. People afraid to go downtown. I heard someone actually PRAISE Michelle Bachmann. People were HONKING in roundabouts! Psycho Suzi's set the tone for bitchy service, but they weren't alone. I was all proud of all the bikes being ridden everywhere, and then I saw a news story that bikers were being targeted by people in cars throwing concrete bricks at them! Like two metal plates and jaw wired shut getting hit, for RIDING THEIR BIKE IN THE BIKE LANE! This is a GOOD thing, that helps traffic and the environment, Minnesota Commuters! Man. Talk about road rage.

Kids were climbing on the lake monster, so the city just took it away. No more fun. I'd just be happy kids WERE out climbing on things, instead of on their screens! Families (both that I knew and strangers in public) bickered and bitched to where I'm not sure I believe in the marital institution at all anymore. The same people asking me when I'm going to ever settle down. No, thanks. Not if that's what it ends up being. I was seeing a lot of Settled, not Down. There are still a few wonderful examples, but they would take up maybe one hand of fingers. Seriously, what is going on back there? Or is it everywhere, and I just live in the Venice bubble?

Not that we're immune in the bubble, of course. The moment I got back, I'm all riled up about an article depicting just how badly Google and Snapchat and pure GREED (and people like Tony Bill saying that if you're an ESTABLISHED artist you can afford the rents here - what a DICK thing to say after all the years he's lived here. I'm shocked.) are threatening to make OUR Venice extinct. No way. There's no way I'm giving up our bubble. It's WHY I moved here, to be free, to try not to judge, to express myself however I want, to support and encourage others like me. To live how we want to live, without judgement, with acceptance. Not to have the same chain stores, and road rage, and bickering, and fear, and rigidity that everywhere else seems to have. NO. WAY. It's well worth fighting for. And preserving, no matter what.

Minnesota - I think you need to be next to legalize marijuana (Ok, after California, technically. It just seems like it always has been legal here). Everyone needs to RELAX and breathe deeply, and appreciate the abundant beauty and quality of life and cool places and people. Stop freaking out over traffic, the Viking Stadium, guns, lion killers, and people that aren't Scandinavian. It's very unbecoming, especially when I used to be so proud that we would always be the only Blue State. Think of Paul Wellstone ... you're better than this. I love you so much, I always have the best time, but honestly, I think it's time for some real reflection back there. Thanks and love to the kindest woman at the Cub grocery store, who made me go in front of her giant cart with my three things, chatting and complimenting me the whole time. Two strangers leaving as friends, everywhere you go. That's what I remember. That's how I grew up to be who I am. That's what gave me hope that it's still there, it just needs encouragement.

Venice - The moment I got back, I started getting the signs that this is exactly where I belong. Friends honked and waved and welcomed me back. A big sign saying WE DON'T JUDGE was the first thing I saw on my walk. A butterfly landed on my shoe just as I was saying how happy I was to be back, and maybe I questioned it, but now I know this is my spot. It wouldn't leave until I laughed. It grounded me to the spot. I'm HERE. And that just means I'm going to be even more vocal and even more staunch in my belief that all we who truly LOVE it here (and not just the money to be scrounged out of creative people that can't hack it) have a responsibility to protect and preserve our town from the tech carpetbaggers who would have it be another whitebread office park. Again, NO WAY. It's not over, not as long as we're here. And we're not going anywhere.

Yet ... with all of this ... we're all under the same shooting stars tonight. And if we don't work TOGETHER to preserve the whole EARTH (seriously, read the climate change article in the current Kevin Hart Rolling Stone - there won't be any beach front property in Venice - or a Venice at all - real soon if emissions don't stop. Minnesota will BE the Venice of America. That's why I'm trying to cool it up now. Let's get to work.

"There's only one kind of folks - FOLKS." - Scout, To Kill A Mocking Bird.



*Special shout out to Wilco! Their fantastic new and FREE album, Star Wars, provided the soundtrack for my beach walk reflection and is the perfect album for one foot in the traditional Midwest, and one in the experimental, swaggering West. Awesome. Download it for free today, and thank them by purchasing an album from someone they dig.

Take A Breather - Gone Fishing!

I'm leaving today for Summer vacation back home in Minnesota, so Blogtown is taking a little breather while I'm away as well. As I was walking down Abbot Kinney this morning, I saw a whole bunch of Buddhas sitting there, reminding us all to remain calm. To take it all in. To breathe. To relax. To be here in the moment - now.

That sentiment carried on as I walked along the beach, soaking up and breathing in all the fresh, salty beach air to sustain me while I'm in the Land of Lakes. And Rivers.

I'll leave you with a little beach meditation and Summertime Pacific splendor ....

... and hope you all have the best time ever while we're apart. I sure plan on it.

Happy Summer Vacation!!! Yessss.

Ponds, Lakes, Rivers, and Oceans

Ah, what a gift it is to return to the remarkable Venice after a visit somewhere else. We always say, "Thank Goodness we're coming back to Venice", after a trip somewhere cool ... like Jamaica ... or Hawai'i ... or The Virgin Islands ... or Minnesota, because if it wasn't Venice you came back to, you might be bummed to be back. Instead, you just appreciate it more.

The same goes for my home state of Minnesota. I just got back and it was so great, it was like the Chamber of Commerce put on a special show - starring people AND place - to lure me back. From my very first awakening after a quick nap post red-eye, it was magic.


I always make my pilgrimage to Wood Lake Nature Center, a few blocks from the house I grew up in. The main freeway (35W) is literally right next to this blessing of a place, but you would never know it. It is a pristine refuge of wildlife and peace, smack in the center of the city. I said out loud to my Mom and Brother, "We're going to see deer" ... and - three minutes later - two twin fawns stepped into the dappled sunlight of the woods.


(*Note: my photos are just for visual aid. Just WAIT until you see what my brother, Paul, got up to with his camera! They'll make mine look like I took them with a Fisher-Price camera.)


I went and checked out the gorgeous (and roasting hot in the bright sunshine OUTDOORS) new Twins Stadium, Target Field, where everyone was in a good mood, all Minnesota Nice.


I went to the best music club in America, (Happy 40th Birthday!) First Avenue (The Purple Rain club for the uninformed), where I spent countless hours and had transcendent rock show moments that give me chills to this day. They have a new diner attached, and I swear that when I walked into the open garage door of The Depot, Kris Kristofferson was playing. First Ave had just re-painted the stars on the outside of the building, naming just some of the classic bands that have graced the stage ... I was happy to see some of my favorites right next to the front door.


I ran through a sprinkler in the middle of the city to cool off from the sweltering heat, that just a few short months ago was only dreamed of, as everything was covered with feet of snow. Seeking relief from almost-sure heat stroke, I found another sprinkler in the Walker Sculpture Garden.


When I was completely wet, I went and sat under the shade of a new sculpture made up of tree after tree filled with chimes, and let the variety of tones and cool umbrella of the leaves lull me into a lush, reverential trance.


I surprise partied my dear, sweet, beloved Mother (the whole point of the trip) for her 70th (crazy and unbelievable!) birthday, and saw the love shining out of everyone's eyes for a lady with a life well (and selflessly) lived, filling my heart to almost bursting.


I spent time with friends that I love as much as I do myself, and played with their kids that I now feel the same about.


I caroused with friends from birth, kindergarten, high school (a rare bunch that still all show up and WANT to hang out together, from every walk of clique), college, and beyond. We laughed and told stories, old and new, until a thunder and lightning extravaganza blew us outside to run around in it.


Speaking of extravaganza, I saw the best fireworks - I believe ever - in front of a gigantically full Moon as I floated on the St. Croix with friends for life, as a Led Zeppelin cover band played on the shore, and actually sounded great. Afterward, we cruised down the river in the path of that moonlight, smelling the fresh, clean mud and green, as stars shot about like the earlier pyrotechnics. I'll never forget the serenity of that moonlight drive (so serene that I didn't even take pictures).


I walked around my favorite city lake, Lake of The Isles, and loved every leaf, blade of grass, puffy cloud, and yeah, even the lake scum the good people canoed through. I licked an ice cream cone (Bailey's Raspberry Truffle. I'm not kidding. mmMM!) from Sebastian Joe's at a table outside, remembering Liquor Lyle's tomfoolery. I loved the wit and sense of fun of my hometown, as I beheld the Sea Monster of Lake Harriet.


After a bit of an accidental trip extension, I was ready to return to Venice. Total exhaustion from no sleep at all, and multiple city stopovers, were no match for the excellence of Venice, California. I was met by fun friends pouring champagne, some catching up to the hometown people in years of friendship themselves. My first morning back on the beach this morning, I was greeted by dolphins leaping all the way out of the water to say what's up. I waved at all my pals at the Farmer's Market, and got my favorite mocha in town at The French Market. Which reminded me of the Garrison Keillor article I read as I sat outside in Minnesota, thinking somewhat along the same lines, and almost completely explaining humanity:

Some people believe that God has revealed Himself to us and not to the others, the barbarians, and it is His Will that our tribe vanquish the others and rain death and destruction on them. Others believe that our understanding of God is incomplete but that He has bestowed this beautiful world on us, and other gifts, which should be shared, and we should walk softly and praise His Name. I walk softly to the cafe and order a large mocha and pray for the forgiveness of incompetence and for mercy to children. And thanks for the day, which happens to be perfect.

Ponds, Lakes, and Rivers ... lead to Oceans, with all their vastness and possibilities. Which is the same as what happened to me. I love my beginnings dearly, and they are what pushed me on to bigger places and adventures. I love them all the same, with all their differences, as I do all the people who reside next to them. I am all of them. And Perfect Days happen everywhere.









*Thank you to Minnesota, for welcoming me home so spectacularly every single time. And Thank you to Venice, for doing the same exact thing.

Love Your Oceans - Be The Solution

Maybe it's because of all the horror of the Gulf Oil Spill down South, but it seems to me that people here in California are getting a lot more riled up lately about saving our own waters from the same fate. Because we MUST.

In that vein, I recently went out with the Santa Monica Baykeeper folks to observe National Oceans Day, and also to take a look at what shape our beloved Bay is in. Started in 1993, the Baykeeper's mission is to protect and restore our waters through enforcement, field work, and community action. As we've seen down in the Gulf, if people are allowed to do whatever they want to our environment, they will - and with disastrous results.

So it was that I woke up early on a Sunday morning and pedaled over to the Marina to meet up with Brian Meux, Baykeeper's Marine Programs Manager, and Kristy Pyke, their lovely P.R. Lady. The idea was to take the boat up to Point Dume and meet up with reps from Heal The Bay, The Surfrider Foundation, and Below The Surface, who were paddling out on stand up paddleboards to highlight our most diverse and productive ocean area, and check out the health of the kelp forests that keep our entire oceanic eco-system thriving (hopefully) while we were at it.


It was a misty morning, with waves just big enough to make us happy that we'd behaved ourselves (somewhat) the night before. It was, in all honesty, a joy just to look down and see blue water, after all the black globby images we've seen coming out of the Gulf Of Mexico. It was not a joy, however, to see a giant cluster of mylar balloons floating by, way out at sea. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... LEAVE YOUR DANG BALLOONS OFF THE BEACH!


Your kids will still have a happy birthday, I promise. They kill marine life, period. That is not a good lesson to teach the birthday party kids, now, is it? We scooped up that bunch of balloons, and just wished we'd had a chance to wring the necks of those who thought it best to leave them in the sea. Grrr.


Cruising along, we spotted the Paddlers up ahead, and we all met up to discuss what they were doing, and what we can ALL do to make sure that we continue to have beautiful beaches and waters to enjoy for generations to come. It's all about involvement, after all. Each of the organizations mentioned above has events or clean-ups you can volunteer for pretty much every week. And you should.


It's good for the soul to participate in things that are bigger than you,and that make the world better in one instant. I pick up after some of you fools every morning as I walk along the beach, and you have the instant gratification of it being more lovely than you met it each morning, just by bending down and grabbing that broken bottle (REALLY?!) or picnic remnant or stupid balloon scrap.


We were all encouraged (and one surfer a little spooked) when a gigantic purple striped jellyfish wafted by right under the guy's board who was next to the boat. If that big jelly was happy where he or she was, things may be looking up for our Bay. The stories these guys can tell you, from their paddle-outs, their aerial surveys, and kelp forest dives are full of both dismay, and hope.


Dismay that people actually still have the mental capacity to think it fine to dump old toilets and tires IN the sea, 3 miles out from the coast! What in the world is WRONG with these brains that could do that? Dismay at the "Plastic to Plankton ratio" that some say is like 6 bits of plastic to each one of plankton. I just almost puked as I typed that, but it's true.


But there is hope for us yet. I felt it as we raced across the waves and watched about 30 dolphins race alongside us and in our wake, jumping out into the sunshine and gracing us with their sleek beauty and natural smiles. Hope that we were all out there early in the morning, because there are these organizations and people who care so much, and actually get out to DO SOMETHING about it.

Hope was evident again this past weekend as Baykeeper, Surfrider, Heal The Bay, and a whole bunch of concerned citizens met up for "Hands Across The Sand" down by the Venice and Santa Monica Piers, and at over 650 other coastal beaches around the world at noon our time.


We all gathered by the Venice Pier, and talk was less what you did last night, and mainly all how much we love our beaches, and how badly we all want to preserve and IMPROVE them, and especially save them from any oil related fate. On that note, Venice friends and neighbors laid down on the sand to spell out "Go Green" and "End Oil" out of humans. Then all of us who were not being used in a letter, held hands all across the beach to demonstrate to the world that we mean business about our beaches. We have to.


As the motto of Below the Surface states, "Be The Solution". That can mean many things, but it HAS to mean doing SOMETHING. Bring your own bags to the market. BAN Plastic bags. Use a stainless steel water bottle every time, and phase out those plastic ones. Participate in beach clean-ups. Throw your beach trash away in the first place - duh. Get rid of your cigarette butts in an ashtray, not out your car window, jerks. (I will make a citizen's arrest on that one. Every time.) Reduce your filthy oil habit, as best you can. Reuse and Recycle. Ride your bike. Take a WALK, L.A.! Hold hands across the sand with your friends to bring attention to it all. Walk the talk.

As Summer takes over Venice, get to know your H2o. Our health depends upon its health. Imagine our Summer months down at the beach, looking out at black tar islands and choking sea creatures, instead of shimmering blue waters full of life. That would wreck your buzz for sure ... and we really don't want that.



- CJ Gronner


*Photos by Paul Gronner (Baykeeper) and Sean James (Hands Across The Sand).

Happy 40th Birthday, Earth Day!

Earth Day began in 1970, founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as a way to inspire awareness and appreciation for our environment. Though we need to be thinking like that EVERY day, it's nice to set aside a special day for that reason. I remember being a real little kid and seeing this commercial with the Native American canoeing through a filthy city, and the solitary tear coursing down his face was enough to make me never dream of littering.



They need to re-run this one now-a-days, that's for sure. Maybe if enough people re-watch it, they'll think twice about tossing their trash around in a place where it winds up in the Ocean. This very morning I nearly stepped on the top of a Jack Daniels bottle, broken off as if to shank someone in a bar fight. A few feet from where the waves lapped the shore. Who does that?! (And if I would've stepped on it, I was going to take it as a sign that Jack and I have to break up for good. But I didn't.) Balloons litter the shore, all sad and shriveled, but deadly to fish all the same. Cigarette butts are scattered about as if the gorgeous beach is a bus station ashtray. Even if you're in the middle of Hollywood and toss your own suicide device out the window, it winds up in the storm drain that spews out into the Pacific. How can you do that, honestly? Just please PLEASE stop it!

In a beautiful sign that our Oceans are still fighting back, a few dolphins broke the surface right when we looked up from our Earth Day reverie walking. They constantly make everyone's day, and the excitement of seeing a dolphin arc through the water never goes away. They deserve better than they're getting from us. Look!



We're going. Tonight. For our own awareness and appreciation celebration of those majestic - and endangered - waters. Maybe if kids today (of all ages) see the new Oceans movie (opening today from Disney), they'll recognize ... and never litter again. It really is the very least we can do.

Happy Birthday, Earth Day!