VENICE BEACH DEBACLE: After showing up at City Hall for over two years, all which started over my mistreatment at Venice Beach, only to have the City make a bunch of the changes ZD was complaining about in the first place -- things sure were full circle today as it was the return of Zuma Dogg at Venice Beach.Matt Dowd called me this morning and invited me to sit in with him at his guitar show, where he also burns his incense and has them for display.
He had to take off to pick up some things for his permitted space, so he shut down the amplifier -- left the guitar -- and ZD watched the space until he returned.
Meanwhile, someone who wanted to juggle machete knives on a tall utility ladder, above the crowd of onlookers below wanted to use some of Matt's space. (He requested some space from Matt before Matt left and he was told, "Sorry, no. The knife juggling on a ladder isn't cool when we are standing here with our crowd.
So while Matt is gone, Rob from Parks and Rec shows up with LAPD and they want me to let the guy juggle machetes over my head...AND tell me Matt cannot display his incense (even though I was not even selling them while he was gone and he had a sign on the table saying, "you do not have to donate" or something like that. With Matt, it's about the right. He makes enough playing guitar, he's not trippin' on the incense money.)
Rob shows me in the ordinance where it says, if performers are waiting, you have to rotate them in for an hour. So I say, "Great, well Matt promised me ten minutes as soon as he got back", so since he's not here, and you want performers, I'll start.
BUT NO...they wanted it to be the person they wanted it to be. (The juggler, not Zuma Dogg wearing his "Zuma Dogg For Mayor" shirt.) Meanwhile, now about twenty-five to thirty people are watching Zuma Dogg take on LAPD on an on the spot first amendment discussion that ended up with Zuma Dogg singing and marching all up in front of the juggler while I delivered a speech on first amendment and what the City was trying to pull.
And someone stepped out of the crowd to shake my hand in support who said he had just returned from Iraq and was stabbed three times. (And he rubbed my hand over the nasty scar tissue that freaked ZD out.) And the crowd cheered. And Zuma Dogg continued and after the police realized ZD could there all day long, they knew the best thing to do was to walk away. And they did.
Finally, to show the crowd that Zuma Dogg had the right to be there, I said to Rob, "Rob, please tell these people I can stand here all day long and do this." Rob gave a shy nod in confirmation, and I let the show carry on.
What I did not like, is that in a hostile move by the juggler -- his assistant threw him two of the machetes; and the guy on the ladder let them fly past him and they landed on the grassy part of the beach...well past the space. (COULD HAVE EASILY HIT SOMEONE IF THEY WERE STANDING BEHIND HIM OR PASSING BY, JUST AS I WAS MOMENTS BEFORE.)
He then says on the amplified mic, "You shouldn't have your display back there." (Which signaled to me and others watching that he obviously let the knives fly in the area I was just standing in, on purpose.
So I said to Rob, you don't have a problem with that? He said, "I'll tell you what I DO have a problem with...(un-audible) incense."
I let Rob know that if anything, now it is an issue of a guy on a ladder throwing knives into the crowd on the beach grass.
So I wasn't able to stay at Venice Beach and maybe take in some donations singing "Comfortably Numb" with Matt on guitar...or take in donations like the $5.00 bill some veteran gave me -- because he saw me on TV 35 and then just heard what I was saying to the cops and he appreciated it.
So here I am, with way too much time on my hands to catch up on all the blogging I have been getting so behind on...HEY CM ROSENDAHL...ARE YOU TELLING ME OUT OF THE ENTIRE VENICE BEACH OCEAN FRONT WALK, THE ONLY PLACE THIS GUY COULD JUGGLE HIS MACHETES OVER THE CROWD WAS RIGHT WHERE ZUMA DOGG WAS STANDING? HELL NAW! Selective enforcement as hell! Rob and Parks and Rec just HAD to have that guy juggle knives there and HAD to tell Zuma Dogg HE COULD NOT PERFORM IN THE SPACE, EVEN THOUGH I WAS ALREADY THERE AND HADN'T EVEN BEEN THERE LONG ENOUGH TO CALL FOR A PERFORMER ROTATION! ROB JUST HAD TO PUT THAT KNIFE JUGGLER THERE!
AMEND VENICE 42.15 TO MAKE SURE PERFORMERS CANNOT JUGGLE MACHETES ON TALL UTILITY LADDERS OVER THE CROWD'S HEADS! Kinda unsafe, wouldn't you say Supervisor Parks? I THINK THAT SHOULD BE A "NO BRAINER" (No pun intended.)
ZUMA TIMES HEARS THE STREET BUZZ IS SAYINGMAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA WILL NEVER BE GOVERNOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA: Recently, I was discussing the L.A. Mayoral Election in 2009 and my hopes of Antonio Villaraigosa becoming Governor of California were shattered.
You see, Villaraigosa wants to win the mayoral election in '09; sit in his office for a year; then run for Governor in '10 (after only serving a year of his term). THEN, he'll pop in one of his amigos as Mayor if he wins Governor.
Zuma Dogg liked this scenario, because first of all...it means no matter what, only one extra year of Villar. Secondly, if Zuma doesn't win in '09, he has another chance only a year later (instead of four years later!) And CMs Hahn, Wesson, alarCON, Huizar and everyone else who foolishly thinks they have a shot against Zuma Dogg in '10 is hoping for the same outcome.
(Price Is Right Stinger): Whomp, whomp, whomp, whomp...(deflated) Whooooooooomp.
Did you know that convicted felons cannot be Governor of the State of California (even if it has been expunged)?
So now Zuma Dogg feels more pressure to win in '09, cause I don't think Antonio will become Governor in '10.
IF ANYONE SEES CM BILL ROSENDAHL BEFORE I HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE HIM, CAN YOU AKS HIM TO CALL ZUMA DOGG, PLEASE. I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED TODAY AT VENICE AND SEE IF THERE IS A WAY ROB (FROM PARKS AND REC) AND LAPD COULD HAVE JUST LET ZD PERFORM SO I CAN SPEND MORE TIME AT VENICE BEACH ON SATURDAY AND LESS TIME BLOGGING:
AND REMEMBER TO "DONATE" AT VENICE BEACH, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO: Hey, in case you didn't know, in this down economy, there are real values at Venice Beach. Anything people have for sale only requires a donation. So stop by, pick a few things up off the table, and throw in a dollar. They'll try and get more money out of you, but they'll understand. And if they say, "No", just get any LAPD and you'll end up with the stuff you want...all for a dollar! Make sure to check out Mike "Shea Butter Man" Hunt's display near the Sidewalk Cafe!(He's back on the beach and you can pick up a whole bunch of his product and since it's donation based, just pay him as much as you feel.)
DONATE TO ZUMA DOGG: Now that Villaraigosa's LAPD/Parks & Rec shut Zuma Dogg down, I'm in serious financial trouble today. Hit the paypal link. You can use credit cards, too, even if you don't have paypal.If you donate $20, I'll send you a shirt, or give it to you at City Hall. Indicate what color shirt (black or white) and what you want it to say at the bottom if you don't want it to say "For Mayor '09". You can have your OWN custom message.) This ain't funny AT ALL TODAY...and I'm gonna have to blast the Villaraigosa administration as much as possible on City TV 35 over this. I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A LIVING TOO MUTHERPHUGHERS! If not...I'll blog hard to put out the REAL info that may cause him to have to step down before the next election. I CAN'T AFFORD TO BE PUSHED AROUND BY HIS PARK AND REC THUGS! If the paypal link doesn't function, you can email to zumadogg@netzero.com if you HAVE paypal.
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