It's 5 minutes til Rose Parade time here in Pasadena, California

and the rain is a-comin' down. First time in over 50 years.

They should have known better than to make Sandra Day O'Connor the Grand Marshall this year. Someone's not happy...

not because of O'Connor, but because I grew tired of the corporate-sponsored "extravaganza" years ago.

exactly that, by the Tournament, in the runup to last year's parade, because of Disney's heavy-handedness. And in these parts, the city-built floats are all-volunteer projects, and a really big deal for the locals. Look for my hometown's float (South Pasadena) featuring the (I kid you not) big green Frankenstein monster.

I've stopped chuckling now. I hope you have a great day...and send some of the rain our way (in Dallas). We are in the midst of a long-term drought and grassfires are becoming a very dangerous problem.

will bring some of the rains home with them. Go Longhorns!

of the California state song:

I love You California
Written by F. B. Silverwood
Composed by A. F. Frankenstein

I love you, California, you're the greatest state of all
I love you in the winter, summer, spring, and in the fall.
I love your fertile valleys; your dear mountains I adore,
I love your grand old ocean and I love her rugged shore.

chorus

I love your redwood forests - love your fields of yellow grain,
I love your summer breezes, and I love your winter rain,
I love you, land of flowers; land of honey, fruit and wine,
I love you, California; you have won this heart of mine.

chorus

I love your old gray Missions - love your vineyards streteching far,
I love you, California, with your Golden Gate ajar,
I love your purple sunsets, love your skies of azure blue,
I love you, California; I just can't help loving you.

chorus

I love you, Catalina - you are very dear to me,
I love you, Tamalpais, and I love Yosemite,
I love you, Land of Sunshine, half your beauties are untold,
I loved you in my childhood, and I'll love you when I'm old.

chorus

When the snow crowned Golden Sierras
Keep their watch o'er the valleys bloom.
It is there I would be in our land by the sea,
Ev'ry breeze bearing rich perfume,
It is here nature gives of her rarest,
It is Home Sweet Home to me.
And I know when I die I shall breathe my last sigh
For my sunny California.

but rather a green witch. (I saw it before they put the hat on her head),

The Ivory Soap float just went by. They're using the float to introduce their new product - "Ivory Lavender" The bubbles coming out of the bathtub are filled with the same lavender fragrance as used in their new soap. And it won the prize for "Best New Innovation in Float Design." Yech.

When't the viagra float coming?

Hey there, Ronnie -- Great to finally meet you at the LA DU Meetup last month.

I had a great time.

when my "conspiracy board" is going to meet again. She had a great time and thought that RonnyK was hilarious!

Can you believe this rain?? At least it will keep the people back east from considering a move to Southern California.

We'll post the idea in the California board and see what happens.

:shrug:

Happy New Year So Cal. DUers! :hi:

Can't wait for the next get together!

I'm gonna record it for later since I'm working... *runs to the Tivo*

anticlimatic this year?

for one thing.

The Rose Parade is never held on a Sunday, because back in the old days, when people rode their horses and horse-drawn carriages to Church (and all the churches were on Colorado Boulevard in those days) and parked their horses in front of the churches, the floats would scare the horses.

not only rain, but a fierce wind. Don't see how they could take floats out in this.

if they don't hold it on Sundays? Some kind of pact with God? I thought I remembered reading that when we went last year. Looks like God reneged on the deal. ;)

My son just left for California to go to the game. I wish he could have gone to the parade, too, but the whole trip was due to last-minute generosity from some friends while he's home on leave from Japan.

I've always watched the parade but had no idea how fantastic it is until we saw it in person. You're so lucky to live there!

Hook 'em, Horns!

It's one of those things wherre it's great on TV, but it's much, much better in person. The floats are sooo big. And the fragrance from all those flowers is just amazing.

Our local weekly peace protesters were going to go down to find a spot within camera range. Look for them.

what the Firesign Theater used to do on radio.
Turn the sound down on the TV and turn up KPFK I think....

I've been looking forward to watching it--I always do.

Great to bundle up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and watch the floats; so much effort has gone into creating them.

Honestly, it *does* look dreary there today.

that the football on the USC float is melting.

I was gonna start some shit ...... (in Texas accent) "Hey, them guys from SC said Texas is a buncha pussies" ..... and then stand back and watch the fun!!

Damn it. I may be a UCLA fan but I love the USC band.

I know what you mean. Catch them on the re-runs later today. I've still got the USC fight song in my head.

Hey, are you watching Ch 5? What's w/ this woman reporter? I want Stephanie Edwards!!!!!

Her voice did not sound good. Kind of like "old lady voice", which I thought was odd. Maybe she's got a bad case of laryngitis this year.

She's been demoted this year. I wonder why?

' on the ground ' this year. i wonder if they are grooming that other woman in case stephanie retires or is retired.

considering the god awful weather. You'd think they'd all just melt and disintegrate before our eyes. I still enjoyed the show. Our local station cut off coverage before it was over, so I watched it on Univision. The Spanish commentary was fun to try to figure out! :) Thanks to all the locals who work so hard to create the floats year after year.

Let's give her a big DU welcome.

The faucet's been turned on. Yikes.

Gave her the one finger salute.

It's a'stormin' here in WeHo.

sorry if the rest of the country doesn't sympathize right now.

:)

How ironic.

The floats will float away. Homes will slide down surrounding hills. Jobs will become even more scarce. Don't move to Los Angeles.



This year a 100,000 less people will move to LA because they saw crappy weather during the Rose Parade. Oh, and remember we get earthquakes!

here in south bay

power went off for a second.

thumbs up to my friend, dt, who spent Friday decorating our city's float!

edited to correct day.

I don't think the Rose Parade peeps would be too thrilled with a giant go-go boy made out of flowers.

I'd pay good money to see that! :D

I almost said that.

I'd love to hear Stephanie Edwards (KTLA Ch 5) say: "If you notice there is a hint of pubic hair peeking out of the g-string."

"The pubic hair on this go-go boy is composed entirely of peat moss; his nipples are dried rose petals; and his black leather g-string is dried seaweed and poppyseed."

Can you just imagine what West Hollywood would come up with? Something, say, featuring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, maybe?

(Tournament officials' heads exploding).

I cheerleader line up of Sisters?

With the float decorated entirely in edible produce - grapes, pineapples, etc. We could call it "West Hollywood - the Fruit Basket of the West!"

Hee hee.

That's a great idea!

populated entirely by drag queens? We could hold a competition. (Can you imagine the catfights?)

What categories could we judge them in? (You can forget about "poise"). How about "Best use of duct tape in hiding a basket?"

we're getting some rain too. It's such a gloomy day I'm staying in my PJs. I liked the girl band from Japan.

Cool! We got a democrat in the parade!

I thought that was neat. Their float was really beautiful and neat. Was it their float that had a baby colt and donkey? Or was that another one?

for all of Los Angeles County. You've gone and done it now, Sandy.

I'm glad we are on the 4th floor.

not quite a river, more like a stream.

not San LOUIE Obispo!!!

I hate when people say that!

and it's great! Some of the floats are amazing. I just saw the little bitty horses and they were so cute! What time is the parade over?

Do I need to worry about her safety?

We tend to have really good storm drain systems, at least in the flatlands areas of LA County.

If she lives in a hilly area or adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway, then yes.

(UP being the operative word), just off Highway 10, and works in downtown LA. I think I'd better check in with her. Thanks for the info.

torrential downpours we are having............the TV commentator said something about waterproof glue for the floats, but that's obviously not correct. It seems like the brown seeds on things are all washing off. They need to use SUPERGLUE.

It has rained 5.1" since Saturday AM here in Encino, and we are still having very hard rain. It's also VERY windy. Just plain nasty, and that's not typical for New Year's. Oh well, we can't have perfection all the time.

Flash Flood Warning for LA County til this afternoon some time. I think I will just stay inside.

in fact, I got to march in it this year! :-)

They are about drowned. I've been talking on the phone to my friend who is there with her daughter.

The poor kids have had a rough trip. About a third of the band got food poisoning and they have thrown up for two days. One girl fell yesterday at Universal split her chin open and chipped her teeth.

Now they're marching 5 miles in a monsoon.

:(