Just so the directions ARE VERY CLEAR… we will be on the Malibu beach north of the pier. We *SHOULD* be the only people HANGING OUT WITH A GIANT FINDING NEMO PIÑATA.

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Tonight is our first grunion run!!!! Woo hooo!!!! Remember if you don’t have time to get a fishing license today you can’t bring the critters home… but a lot of people prefer catch and releasing anyhow.

It’s just a lovely night to hang out on a beach together! Sooo, we’re using mythical fish as an excuse… :)

Okay… so for everything you need to know about grunion runs… just check out the information from the Department of Fish & Game after the jump…

Please note, no dogs are allowed on the Malibu beach. We’re as sad about that as you are.

Introduction

Along southern California’s sandy beaches, from March through September, one of the most remarkable life cycles in the sea is completed; the California grunion comes ashore to spawn. The grunion has been known to many southern Californians for more than 70 years, but there are still those who are skeptical of its existence. To be invited out in the middle of the night to go fishing with only a gunny sack and light for equipment does sound a little ridiculous, but in reality this is the most popular method.

California grunion are small silvery fish found only along the coast of southern California and northern Baja California. Most sportsmen would be unaware of their existence were it not for the unique spawning behavior of these fish. Unlike other fish, grunion come out of the water completely to lay their eggs in the wet sand of the beach. As if this behavior were not strange enough, grunion make these excursions only on particular nights, and with such regularity that the time of their arrival on the beach can be predicted a year in advance. This phenomenon can be seen on many beaches in southern California. Shortly after high tide, on certain nights, sections of these beaches sometimes are covered with thousands of grunion depositing their eggs in the sand.

Grunion hunting has become one of the famous sports of southern California. Since these fish leave the water to deposit their eggs, they may be picked up while they are briefly stranded. Racing for fish spotted far down the beach and trying to catch them by hand provides an exhilarating experience for young and old. The common sight of thousands of people lining the more popular beaches in southern California in anticipation of a grunion run attests to its ever growing popularity. Often there are more people than fish, but at other times everyone catches fish. All that is needed to catch grunion is a valid State fishing license and a willingness to get one’s feet wet.

Description
Grunion are small slender fish with bluish green backs, silvery sides and bellies. Their average length is between 5 and 6 inches. Early Spanish settlers called this fish grunion, which means grunter. This term has been anglicized into grunion. Grunion are known to make a faint squeaking noise while spawning. The scientific name for the California grunion is Leuresthes tenuis, and this fish belongs to the family Atherinidae, commonly known as silversides. Other more abundant atherinids found in California are the topsmelt, Atherinops affinis, and jacksmelt, Atherinopsis californiensis. Silversides differ from true smelts, family Osmeridae, in that they lack the trout-like adipose fin.

What Every Grunion Hunter Should Know

Regulations
A valid State fishing license is all that is required for taking grunion. The season is closed during April and May. However, this is an excellent time for observing runs. Grunion must be taken by hand only, no appliances of any kind may be used, and no holes may be dug in the beach. There is no limit to the number that may be taken, but grunion should not be wasted.

When to Go
The spawning season extends from March through September. The California Department of Fish and Game issues schedules of expected grunion runs in advance of each season. Predictions are made only through July, since runs in August and September are very erratic. These schedules of expected runs are published in newspapers and copies are given to many sporting goods stores throughout southern California. If these are not available, all that is needed by the grunion hunter to make his own predictions is a tide table. Grunion runs may occur anytime from the night of highest tide throughout the descending series of high tides. Runs are most likely to occur on the second, third, fourth, and fifth nights following the night of new or full moon. Generally, the third and fourth nights are best. The time of the run will be 30 to 60 minutes past high tide and it will last from 1 to 3 hours. The heaviest part of the run usually occurs at least 1 hour after the run starts.

Best locations
Grunion runs will occur on most southern California beaches, but may not occur every night on the same beaches and may be limited to small areas of any one beach. The ends of beaches are often the best spots. Some of the beaches in southern California that are known to have runs are: the beach between Morro Bay and Cayucos, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Hermosa Beach, Cabrillo Beach, Long Beach, Belmont Shore, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Doheny Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla, Mission Beach and the Coronado Strand. The beaches near Ensenada in Baja California also have good runs.

Hints for Successful Grunioning
It is best to go to the end of an uncrowded beach. This is not always possible, but the fewer people the better. Fires and lanterns should be used sparingly. Light may scare the fish and they will not come out of the water. After a wave has receded, flashlights may be used to help locate fish. A small gunny sack makes a good grunion creel. Finally, plan to stay late, many grunioners quit an hour after high tide and miss a good run.

Cooking Your Catch
Grunion should be cleaned and scaled. For best results they should be rolled in a mixture of flour and yellow corn meal to which a little salt has been added and deep fried until golden brown. Although bony, they have a very delicate flavor and provide excellent table fare when prepared fresh.

So just a little heads up… according to Original Tommy’s Facebook status today, you might wanna stop by 2575 Beverly Boulevard for lunch today and say a few magic words:

“Today is the Shack’s 64th birthday. At the Shack only from 12 noon till 1 PM we will give free chiliburgers to the first 64 people that say Happy 64th Birthday. The big party is next year when the Shack turns 65, it will be BIG.”

Calling all fans of The Mystic Knights of The Oingo Boingo…
have we got a contest for YOU! (Scroll down for details!)

Click here to view the embedded video.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN: A pair of tickets to The 30th Anniversary Screening of the 1982 cult film, Forbidden Zone. The event will feature an original 35mm B/W print of the spectacle, people in crazy costumes and a Q&A with Director Richard Elfman after the show (Richard is the brother of Danny… Danny plays the Devil in the film). Richard is currently in pre-production on the sequel! No kidding!
WHEN: Saturday, April 3rd, 2010, 10:30pm
WHERE: Cinefamily @ The Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Avenue
MOVIE DETAILS: On March 20th, a screening of the colorized version of the film sold-out at MOMA in New York. What can be said about a film where the only paid actor was Tattoo from Fantasy Island? If you aren’t an Oingo Boingo fan and haven’t seen or heard of this movie, it’s not for children or those with delicate sensibilities… there’s nudity, blackface, oh, all sorts of fun things. But hey, at least the castration scene ended up on the cutting room floor! (Thank you!) To quote a review by our HLA Facebook fan Cedric: “I’m still torn between (Forbidden Zone) as awesome or crap. I may just settle on it being Awesome Crap!” Well said, Cedric. Well said!

CONTEST DETAILS:

Time to have some wacky fun, so put on your creative cap and show us what YOU think life in the sixth dimension looks like. We will most likely be judging on creativity and pure entertainment value – we could use a good laugh today! You can use video, photos, art supplies, found objects, Photoshop, whatever you like. Just send a link or a digital file of your vision (no larger than 1mb, please!!!) along with an explanation of what we’re looking at to the e-mail address contest@hiddenLA.com with the words FORBIDDEN ZONE in the subject header.

We will be accepting submissions until MIDNIGHT, TUESDAY, MARCH 30th and selecting two winners. We’ll announce our decision early in the week.

HAVE FUN!!!

WHERE: The most uniquely awesome shop in Farmer’s Market… The Shine Gallery! 6333 W. 3rd St., #134, (323) 954-4700

WHEN: Thursday, April 1st, 7-9pm

COST: Freeee! 30% of all sales made during the event will go directly to benefit ModCom.

DETAILS:

Owner Bernie Shine is an eclectic and eccentric collector, a treasure hunter of sorts. But he does not seek sunken ships, buried treasures, or archeological ruins. Rather he recovers GENUINE VINTAGE MEMORABILIA from dusty warehouses, old factories, and closed stores. He searches the world over for quantity finds from bygone eras, all in unused condition.

Shine Gallery is a collector’s paradise for bona fide period items mostly from the 1910s through the 1950s, all guaranteed to be AUTHENTIC & VINTAGE. Named by Los Angeles Magazine as Best of LA® 2009.

Bernie will be presenting an amusing look at the history of joyful junk, featuring vintage jokes, novelties, tricks, pranks, prizes, trinkets & treasures from the incredible inventory of Shine Gallery.

Please join us at Shine Gallery on Thursday, April 1, 2010, between 7 PM and 9:00 PM for this special meet and greet. Shine Gallery will donate 30% of gross sales made during this event to the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee. It’s a FUN FUNDRAISER!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE . . .they have a FREE gift for the first 50 guests, a mystery GRAB BAG containing a genuine vintage item from Shine Gallery! Lots of FUN and SURPRISES!

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The historic Angels Flight funicular will resume regular service today, more than nine years after being closed because of a fatal accident.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday approved the replaced cable system and a new automatic brake system for what has been dubbed “the shortest railway in the world.”

Demonstration rides were conducted Sunday on the hillside track connecting Hill Street near the Grand Central Market to California Plaza on Grand Avenue.

Angels Flight will operate from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The fare is 25 cents.

“This is good news for all the people who were tired walking up and down that hill,” said John H. Welborne, president of the Angels Flight Railway Foundation.

Passengers might encounter occasional temporary slow service “and maybe even a daytime closure” during the first “couple of weeks” of resumed service if “our vendors want to do any testing or fine-tuning to maximize efficiency,” Welborne told City News Service.

“We apologize in advance if there are any short service interruptions,” Welborne said.

Angels Flight was shut down Feb. 1, 2001, when a funicular cable failed, causing a rail car to slide downhill on the tracks and collide head on with the other car. The accident killed an 83-year-old man visiting from New Jersey, Holocaust survivor Leon Praport, and injured seven other people, including his 80-year-old wife.

Angels Flight was ready to reopen in April 2009, following tests of the new machinery running the railway a month earlier, Welborne said.

California Public Utilities Commission staff approved the safety processing paperwork in August. A request to reopen the railway was placed on the agenda of the Nov. 20 commission meeting, when the paperwork was approved, Welborne said.

In December, commission staff requested that gates be placed at the ends of the railway cars, which were added by February. The commission announced Wednesday that it had given final approval for the funicular to reopen.

Angels Flight was opened in 1901 to take passengers on one-minute trips up and down Bunker Hill, initially for a penny. It was dismantled and put into storage in 1969 because of the Bunker Hill urban renewal project. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1996, a half-block south of the original site.

The railway still uses its original cars from 1901, Olivet and Sinai.

CLUES AND DIRECTIONS:

1. Off of Franklin turn left on Canyon Rd. or right depending on which way you come from….
2. Follow Canyon Rd. until you reach the gates to Griffith Park. Keep driving until you can’t drive any further…
3. Start walking the trail…
4. You are on the right track when you pass the dragon on the right. Kudos to the artist…
5. Keep on past the potential kickball field on the right…
6. Ahead you will see a small brook…I don’t recommend drinking the water.
7. Follow the path as it winds around…if you look up you will see the Hollywood sign…admire.
8. Keep walking but go slow because the view is quite pretty.
9. The trail seems open at this point but keep going… just as you go around another corner on the right, on the side of the cliffs edge you will see a tree…the branches are overgrown and touch the trails path. Look for the red box and you have reached “The Giving Tree”…
10. Give it your thoughts and prayers or anything laying heavy on your heart. Then twirl… Peace and Love! Taylor ;-)

Just remember… the joy is in the journey, not the destination. We haven’t followed the directions to find the box ourselves, so please let us know what you find if you do! (And whatever you do, *please* don’t litter along the way.)

Happy Saturday, folks!

WHEN: Thursday, February 25, 2010, 7:30-9:30pm
WHERE: HMS Bounty, 3357 Wilshire Blvd. (213) 385-7275

This week our HiddenLA soiree will be held at the ever-so-nautically-themed HMS Bounty on Wilshire! Ramon has been at the Bounty for over 40 years and especially in this crazy economy he’s looking very forward to our visit… so let’s be on our best behavior and PACK the joint! Where else in town can you sip cheap cocktails and munch on fried food while lounging in red leather booths bearing the names of impressive regulars from a long ago era… customers like Winston Churchill, William Randolph Hearst and Jack Webb? Nowhere else, that’s where!

Parking and historical information about the HMS Bounty after the jump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

PARKING: I tend to park on the street, although you might have to walk a bit if it fills up. The lot on the corner at the Brown Derby Plaza on the corner of Wilshire and Alexandria – $5.00 with no validation, I believe it’s $2.00 with validation from the restaurant.

HISTORY: In 1921, Gaylord Wilshire built the 14-story Apartment Hotel (now the Gaylord Apartments) facing the Ambassador Hotel. The neighborhood soon filled up with elegant New York-style apartment buildings and became home to many film stars of the early 20th Century. In 1926, Gloria Swanson’s husband (Herbert Somborn) opened the world famous Brown Derby Restaurant, a hat-shaped building, at the end of the block. The hat now sits fossilized on the third floor of the strip mall next door, but the HMS Bounty lives on virtually unchanged… worn brass plaques still adorn booths in the back dining room, waiting for the likes of notable regulars like Jack Webb and William Randolph Hearst to return.
From LATimeMachines.com:

The Bounty started out as “the Gay Room” (Gay was H. Gaylord Wilshire’s nickname – long before the word took on another connotation). It appears the Gay Room opened in 1948 with music and dancing (an early act featured Carol Mitchum, Robert Mitchum’s sister). It was advertised as a place with a high movie star quotient. It later did a stint as Jane (nee Hoffman) Assell’s Gaylord Dining Room (approx. 1950 -1953). Then it became Dimsdale’s Secret Harbor (possibly in 1954), and then briefly it was known as the Golden Anchor in 1962. When it became the HMS Bounty, the first owners were Richard O’Neill (descendent of one of California’s most famous pioneering families and still co-owner) Ron Waller (of football fame) and Gordon Fields.

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With this site going from 3,000 Facebook fans to now over 100,000 in a matter of days… I can honestly say I’ve never felt so much Valentine’s Day love flowing through this city my life. It suddenly hit me this morning… OUR HIDDEN LOS ANGELES FRIENDS COULDN’T FIT IN THE ROSE BOWL. Yeah, that was about when I had a nervous breakdown, and wished I would get off my butt to get all of you to give me a dollar. :)

Anyhoo, in honor of Valentine’s Day and as a very sincere thank you to our local fans in particular for their support, the very fabulous Vincent at the (very hidden!) Bluebird Cafe in Culver City has kindly offered to help us spread a little love your way. During the rest of February, if you walk into the Bluebird Cafe and tell Vincent that HiddenLA sent you, he’ll give you a free cupcake. Naturally I hope you’ll stay and have other food and maybe a glass of wine or something, but either way. Free cupcake. From us. Try the red velvet.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Los Angeles!!! WE LOVE YOU! :D

*******

The Bluebird Cafe is Open Monday through Friday from 11am-4pm. Their hours are short because the area they’re located is deserted on the weekends. They’re giving it a try though and are having a grand opening of their brand new Mexican cafe in the same space on the weekends! Pajaro Azul Mexican Cafe will be open on the weekends for lunch and dinner from 12 noon-9pm.

LOCATION: 8572 National Blvd, Culver City, Ca 90232 (310) 841-0939

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From the Red Car’s official web page:

“For sixty years, the Los Angeles area was served by a vast network of electric railway lines operated by the Pacific Electric Railway. Affectionately known as “Red Cars”, the Pacific Electric’s trolleys and interurban cars blanketed the Los Angeles area on more than 1000 miles of rail lines. The last remnant of the system was abandoned in 1961. Forty-two years later, a small piece of the system has been resurrected in San Pedro, as the Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line.

Riders can experience the thrill of a real 1920s-era trolley ride, thanks to the remarkable railcars that have been built to serve the line. Regular operation is conducted with two new replica railcars carefully patterned after an actual 1909 Pacific Electric “Red Car” design. A third car, restored in the 1960’s from an actual 1907-vintage Pacific Electric car, is available for special operations including charters.”

12th Annual DOWNTOWN ON ICE – Pershing Square, 532 South Olive Street
Hours: Open daily Thursday through Monday until January 18, 2010.
Cost: $6 admission (plus $2 for skate rental)
Details: From Yelp reviewer Diana L:

“Don’t expect Rockefeller Center. It’s Downtown LA for crying out loud. What you’ll find here:
small rink, completely open to the buzz and shattered dreams in the DTLA air
$6 admission + $2 skate rental
endearingly cheap and beat-up skates
diverse crowd and GREAT people watching
twinkling trees
usually hardcore Angelenos letting their guard down long enough to fall on their asses or clutch onto the wall, nervously giggling
live band playing party music, which results in people singing Bon Jovi on the ice

It is also within walking distance to various bars. I ended up walking from Pershing Square to LA Live after the rink closed. The whole night smelled of LA flavor. I likey.”

Have a good time! Just be sure you don’t forget about the flowers…

Click here to view the embedded video.