Today, June 18, 2009 marks the 67th birthday of Sir James Paul McCartney, one of the most successful artists in musical history. I cannot write enough how much Paul’s music has played a large role in my life, both good times and bad times. I thank my dad for introducing me to the music Paul made along with the rest of the Beatles, and I don’t regret a single day for him doing that.

I think that introduction to Paul’s music via my dad adds an interesting dynamic to our relationship in a number of ways.  Firstly, my dad plays the bass and I play the drums, and on a fairly consistent basis, we play along to the songs of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and many other artists. It’s not too often that a father and son get to do something like that. Secondly, I think that it is awesome that the two of us enjoy the same music, and that we get to share that mutual love between one another.

Back to Paul for a moment, I, along with my dad have been lucky enough to see Paul live in May 2002 at the Staples Center in L.A. It was an absolutely incredible experience, and one that I will not forget.

At any rate, even though I have never met Paul, in a way, I kind of have. Through his music, I have gotten a chance to catch a glimpse into Paul’s psyche, in terms of writing style.

To close out the post, here are few of my favorite songs by Paul, which is in no way comprehensive:

As you have probably heard today, the celebratory parade for the Lakers 15th championship occurred today in my hometown. Even though I am a huge fan of the Lakers (for as long as I can remember), my dad tolld me that I could not attend the parade. Undeterred, I decided (ultimately in vain) to try and go to the Coliseum anyway.

I left at around 7:30 in the morning (mistake #1), after my dad had left for work. Since I live quite a ways from Downtown L.A., I had to make a beeline to the freeway to make my way down there. Of course, traffic was heavy because  I surmised that not only people were trying to make their way not only towards the parade happenings, but to their jobs as well.

Of course, since it was 7:30 in the morning, getting on the freeway was almost next to impossible. Even though the odds were against me, I trudged onwards on my journey to the Coliseum. Surprisingly, the traffic wasn’t too bad, all things considered, and I got down to the area near the Coliseum in about 45 minutes.

But, the relative ease getting down there would not continue. I reached Exposition Blvd., one of several exits that can be used to get to the Coliseum. Obviously, a long line of cars greeted me, unmoving and inching out of the freeway slower than molasses. I sat in my car in this line for several minutes (mistake #2), hoping that I would be able to advance to the Coliseum.

Realizing I was going nowhere fast, I quickly changed lanes and tried exiting MLK Blvd. Again, another long line of cars was there, too. My car and the dozens of others slowly moved out of the freeway onto the city streets. I sat there for what seemed like an eternity (mistake #3) until I realized that I should move away from the traffic heading towards the Coliseum, and instead head in the opposite direction.

With that in mind, I did just that, with the hope that I would find a parking space. After driving around for 15-20 minutes (mistake #4), I heard on the radio that the Coliseum was being closed off, meaning it was filled to capacity, and no one else would be let in. Crestfallen, I made my way back on the freeway, towards home to watch the parade on T.V.

As evidenced by the title, the overall focus of this post is the L.A. Coliseum, and not about the Laker parade earlier this afternoon. But, I figured this story serves as a perfect segue to a brief explanation about the siginificance of this stadium, which was built decades before myself (any my parents) were born.

Firstly, the arena is the only structure in the world that hosted two separate Olympic games, one in 1932, and the other in 1984. Also, it is the only Olympic stadium to have had the opportunity to host both Super Bowls, as well as World Series games. Lastly, with all of this history clearly evident, the structure was declared a national landmark on July 27, 1984.

Even though this historic stadium is in my hometown, I have never had the distinct pleasure of being inside this arena. Sure, I’ve seen it on T.V. (including today), in photos and I have gotten a chance to walk by it a few times as well. Hopefully, someday, I can actually attend a event inside of it. Here’s hoping.

In stark contrast to yesterday’s post, today’s is a bit more serious, and slightly political, but, you’ll see the pop culture connection.

At first glance, this post is not about something in popular culture. Yes, the title is taken from a line of a song by John Lennon, “Power to the People.”

The reason why I chose that rather apt title is because of what is occurring in Iran at the moment . As many people are hopefully aware of, he results of the Iranian presidential election have been put into question, causing untold turmoil in many regions across the country. Sadly, American media hasn’t been too on top of reporting on the problems evident in the nation, but the BBC (one of my my preferred news sources), is doing an excellent job.

But, I don’t want to make this post a critique or a rebuke of American news, but, I do want to highlight the power of a often lambasted Web 2.o phenomenon, Twitter. Let me make something abundantly clear: I don’t like Twitter. More often than not, it somehow emboldens people to think that their lives are somehow the most important thing on the face of the earth. Do I care if Joe Smith ate a turkey sandwich at Subway on Tuesday? No, of course not.

However, I have reevaluated Twitter’s usefulness during the Iranian crisis. It seems as if the service has been used in order to effectively coordinate protest and gatherings in order to make their voices heard. Not only are young people using Twitter, but Facebook and YouTube have also been utilized in order to make sure that the injustices in Iran do not go unnoticed by the world community.

In closing, make sure to follow what’s happening in Iran. Arguably, what is going on is the most firery protests since the revolution in 1979. What will be the outcome of these protests is anyone’s guess, but, stay tuned, not only T.V., but the Internet, too.

As I said in an earlier post, one of my goals this summer is to explore some of the many historic locations in and around Los Angeles. Another one of those landmarks is Philippe’s, a business that has been (as this post’s title indicates) for more than100 years, from 1908 to the present.

Philippe’s is a place that I have been to since I was a  child, and my love for it has not diminished for it in the slightest. For my money, they have the best french dipped sandwiches I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The great thing about this restaurant is that people of every social class and from all over California eat there.

Most of the time, this place is packed during the lunchtime period. Fortunately, the line moves pretty quick, and it is well worth the wait in order to eat a delcious french dipped sandwich from Philippe’s. I myself (including today), usually order a turkey sandwich (sometimes with either swiss or jack cheese), some chips (Ruffles or Lay’s), a pickle and a cool glass of lemonade for all under $10. Oh, and make sure to try the bottles of hot mustard they have on the tables. You’d think that when you taste it that it has horseradish in it, but it doesn’t, incredibly.

It still amazes me that I have been going to this place for something like 20 years. The food is excellent, and the atmosphere is amazing too. It’s no wonder that I keep on coming back.

Today, June 12, would have been producer Irwin Allen’s 93rd birthday. Who is Irwin Allen you might ask? Well, Allen is simply one of the most prolific producers of both television programs as well as movies. Among his T.V. credits, “Lost in Space,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and “The Time Tunnel,” just to name a few.

But, Allen is probably most famous for producing some of the most popular disaster movies of the 1970s, as this post’s title hints at. A couple of my favorite movies were produced by Allen: “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno.”

These two films are emblematic of the star studded disaster film that was so prevalent during the 1970s. These films were usually very well made, with high budgets and they also made tons of money. Unfortunately, Allen did not always make the best choices in terms of which one of these films he would produce, but, I would argue that he made an indelible impression on many with these movies.

For me, “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno,” capture a cultural phenomenon; lightning in a bottle, for a lack of better term. These two particular films have always kept me entertained no matter how many times I have seen them. Hopefully, with these posts, you can seek them out and enjoy them too.

However, one sport I follow fairly faithfully is the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers. Since I was born in L.A., I guess I should consider myself a fan by default, but, the truth is, I love this team with all of my heart for reasons much deeper than that. And let me tell you, it was heady times when the Lakers won the championship in 2000, 2001 and 2002.  Furthermore, with tonight’s thrilling win, I can say with all honesty, I am eagerly anticipating a win in Game 5, which will bring us another championship, our fourth this decade.

With 7 years since out last win, it has a been tough time. I won’t really go into those problems, but, it has been hard being a Laker fan during those times.

However, despite those difficulties, I have maintained by like for the Lakers regardless. And as I said yesterday, “I Love L.A.”

“I Love L.A.,” in a lot of ways, should be considered the de-facto city song of Los Angeles. The song, written by Randy Newman as a part of his 1983 album, “Trouble in Paradise,” proclaims Newman’s love for all things in Los Angeles. Newman himself is a L.A. native and juxtaposes his unabashed love of his hometown, as well as dislike for it at the same time.

A funny thing about the song is that Newman wrote it as a satiric song, at least according to the Wikipedia entry on the song. If one keeps that belief, that means that Newman isn’t really expressing  a love for L.A. in a sincere manner. However, Newman has said that he does like L.A. and many of the idiosyncrasies associated with it.

Not too many cities have songs written about them, but, I feel proud knowing that “I Love L.A.” is our unofficial anthem. And to end on a slightly cliche note, I do indeed love L.A.

Donald himself doesn’t appear until about 2 minutes into the cartoon, but once you see him, the voice is immediately recognizable, along with his normal appearance in his standard sailor suit. However, something is amiss when you watch the short: Donald doesn’t have a temper.

The creation of Donald Duck, according to Leonard Maltin, occurred when Walt Disney overheard Clarence Nash (the original voice artist for Donald) reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in his “duck” voice. Moreover, Disney wanted to create a character that had more negative character traits, something that could not be placed upon Mickey Mouse.

In sum, the lasting appeal of Donald Duck, in my opinion, is that he represents an extreme example of a bad temper. I think a lot of us can relate to Donald because many of us at one time or another have gotten angry or upset at something, and we can somewhat sympathize with Donald’s plight.

Again, happy birthday, Donald. Here’s to 65 more years of entertainment.

The song started as a poem by frontman John Sebastian’s brother, Mark. John took the poem and adapted it to a more upbeat tone than what was intended by his brother. During August 1966, the song hit number one. The series of sound effects throughout the song are the first such kind used in a pop song.

The song has also been used in many other T.V. shows and movies, including, “The Simpsons,” “Family Ties” and “Die Hard: With a Vengeance.“

I don’t really have much else to say about the song, except to say that it is a classic. It has been a permanent fixture on my playlist for many summers now, and will continue for many more to come.