Rose Parade 2022

New thing today, watched the Rose Parade on time live from start to end from 8am-10am, instead of just catching replays or bits here and there. Also loved this 2022 Grand Marshall LeVar Burton! I have a strange affection for the Rose Parade. I don't actually like it that much, but something about waking up on New Year's day and watching some of the parade or having it on in the background during the morning is kind of a tradition. My favorite memory is a hungover drunken morning sometime in college, and the parade playing in the background. I also think we saw it when I was a little kid, miserable waiting in the wee hours for it to happen. We watched the parade live when I was an adult when my cousin was a dancer with KC and the Sunshine Band float one year. Mom knew the secret Pasadena parking spots and watch spots. 

I know next year it will play January 2, so I'm not sure how i'll feel about that. But, just... waking up and having it on in the New Year makes it feel, like a new year, like new beginnings are possible, or just another stamp in time. 

This year was kind of hilarious because I love KTLA coverage but the sound was all off. We kept overhearing the announcer at the parade route - who was very good - but also very loud interrupting and discordant with the KTLA news anchors and announcers. We also kept hearing LeVar Burton with a mic and yelling "Happy New Year" over some of the commentary, which was pretty funny. Overall though I love watching it on TV (or laptop) or from a cozy home listening to random commentary, instead of trying to watch it in person as it looks like it would be miserable. KTLA always does a great job and I like their coverage. I also liked their morning show when I had to be at work at 6am, KTLA is my favorite morning show. 

Additionally the miniature therapy horses were adorable, and I was amazed that the LAUSD marching band played "Beggin" a song that just came out in (I think) in August 2021 - so it was cool to hear it and be like, what is that, and be able to spot it. Floats are floats, not a huge fan, but one year we did go to Sierra Madre and walk around the floats parked - so you could really appreciate them. I would recommend that and do it again too. You can smell all the flowers and plants, you can see up close all the handiwork, and it was just amazing. 

I suppose what I love most of all about the Rose Parade are all the other memories connected to it, and the way this tradition, for some reason, has a soft spot in my heart. 

Throughout the morning we had the parade on but I tuned out here and there. We had breakfast and I played some video games so I wasn't glued to the parade the entire time. I don't even like parades, but I think the tradition of New Years morning, bleary eyed and watching commentary and video on the Rose Parade is something of a tradition. Happy New Year 2022!

LA Times Festival of Books 2011

New thing of the day, went to the LA Times Festival of Books! 

Been dying to go since I heard about this, although every single year it's on a weekend that we're busy or unavailable. This year I'm studying for finals, plus we helped a friend move and had a birthday party, so I wasn't sure we'd make it. I was very good in studying yesterday Saturday, so felt confident we could spare half a day on Sunday to go to the Festival. Also as another excuse, as a library student, I felt it was part of my duty to go to book events. 

It was a lot of fun and 10am-2pm was the perfect amount of time to spend there. We wanted to get there early at opening, so drove down through traffic to get to USC by 10am. Then wandered around the multiple stalls, booths, author signings and other venues.

Highlights

Free Stuff

Free ice cream from Ben and Jerry's, along with free iced coffee sponsored by McDonalds. Such a great way to start the morning. Although we didn't get ice cream, my mom and sister got in line two or three times for the good stuff. We also got free tote bags, laundry detergent, poetry books, frisbees and other goodies. 

We got a copy of Make magazine. It's a neat book on DIY projects that are incredibly creative. Our issue cover shows how to create a cigar box into an electric guitar. It's a bit techy and hip, and we'll have to see what other articles they have but the website and issue look really interesting.

Another great freebie was from the LA Museum organization. I got a flyer listing all the free days at the local LA museums. We also got some coupons for the Skirball Cultural Center's Houdini & Magician Exhibit which is on the list of things to do this summer. 

Celebrities, authors and illustrators

Our morning started out pretty awesome. As we were walking the husband was "Hey there's Patton Oswalt". In case you didn't know him, he's the voice of Remy in Ratatouille, but also a more famous comedian and actor. I was like "Oh what stage is he on?" and the husband was like "No he's right there". Standing in front of us less than 5 feet away was Patton. He looked a bit lost and was making a phone call. The husband is big into comedy and I was like "Want a photo?", but he didn't want to bug Patton. Then a few other people recognized him, asked for his photo, and he was obliging. So the husband and I went over and I snapped a photo of the two of them. Patton was super nice about it all. We also watched a bit of him on stage promoting his new book. Funny guy :)

We saw R.L. Stine of Goosebumps signing autographs. The line wasn't too long so if we were fans we could have waited 20 minutes, but decided not to.  We also saw one of the creators of the Archie comic signing stuff. There were a lot of lesser known authors giving away free copies of their books for recognition, as well as signing and promoting their work. 

Books

My favorite free book copy, and I think the greatest treasure was a copy of the Al-Qur'an below. We saw an interfaith Islam society booth with a sign saying "Free Qurans". My sister and I were curious and interested. The guy handing out the books told us a bit about the Quran itself and it's place in the religion and the teachings it presents. He also gave us a CD of the recitation of the Quran. One of them explained that the book was meant to be heard, to be read out loud. He said that it's kind of an oral tradition and if it's always heard, it's ok, but if only the book survives and no one reads it out loud, they're at a loss. So he read a line or two, and it's very musical and melodic. The guys in the booth were really cool. There was a sense of peace about them, and a sense of wanting to share. It was very much an interfaith and peace mission by the group. There was absolutely no tone of trying to convert or degrade other religions. It wasn't a scientology attempt to join or take the book literally. It was almost like this is our holy book and our culture and we want to share the goodness of it. Islamic faith needs the PR in America unfortunately, so we enjoyed the chat and the book. The booth was hosted by the Why Islam group. Sister and I are both into studying world religions, so we found it interesting and I am curious about what it has to say. It can go along with my reading of Arabian Nights :) 

My absolute favorite booth though, was the Philippine Expressions Bookshop. It took up two booth spaces and was all books on Filipino stuff. They had kids books, language study, culture and history, fiction, and lots of other good stuff. They had a book I'd read years ago, When Elephants Dance. It's a fiction book based on the experiences of the Filipinos during WWII. The beginning quote from the book was "When elephants dance, the chickens must be careful" (Tess Uriza Holthe). I was hooked and the book had some vivid and striking images about what happened to Filipinos and Manila during that time. I forgot about it and was pleasantly reminded of it. I'll need to dig it out and make sure I don't give that one away. Perhaps re-read it. 

I really wanted to get a Filipino cookbook but wasn't sure which one. This one book caught my eye and I had to have it. Filipino Ghost Stories! I totally wanted to support the store and give over more of my money, but decided to be prudent. Plus carrying around a lot of books during the festival got pretty tiring. 

In conclusion, we really enjoyed our half day at the festival. It was sunny and I'm sure I have a sunburn. I got tired in the end and should get and wear some better walking sandals. Overall though it was lovely watching people passionate about reading, sharing books and ideas. We'll be going as many times as we get the chance. 

Map of USC Festival of Books 2011