Thursday, July 29, 2010

Tow Nailers

A few years ago, as detailed here, I had an unpleasant encounter with a local tow-truck operator. I believe what this person did was grossly immoral and deceitful...but in my little journey to try and extract some justice, I came to the following conclusion: That skillful lobbying and legal work by the tow-truck industry had made it very difficult for the law to prosecute such actions and even more difficult for a wronged individual to fight back. An awful lot of e-mails since then — some from others in the towing business who agreed with my outrage — affirmed my conclusion for me.

My pal Dana Gabbard e-mails me this link to news that the Los Angeles Police Commission has set up a hotline to accept complaints about those who tow. If they're serious about prosecuting transgressions, good for them. The authorities with whom I spoke all kind of said, "Yeah, it sucks but we can't do much about it."

• Posted at 11:09 PM · LINK

The Way Home

Actual photo of my dinner.

I drove back from the San Diego area Tuesday evening, stopping first at a recently-opened Five Guys on Truxtun Road in that fair city. There, I ate a "little hamburger" — or as any other burger place would call it, a hamburger. I also got through about a third of an order of fries. The Dominican Republic could live for a week on one order of Five Guys french fries.

No sooner had I settled in with my order than someone came over to say hello. It was Paul Horn, a fine cartoonist I had not encountered at the convention. He was there with his lovely wife whose name, in my not-infrequent oafishness, I neglected to memorize. (I'm thinking Darlene...) Anyway, good conversation, good burger, good fries.

Then it was back on the 5, which took me to the 73, which took me to the 405. Just south of Lawndale, I got off to stretch legs and waddled into a little mini-mart. Immediately, a guy shopping there said to me, "Hey, Quick Draw! was great this year!" Which it was but I didn't expect a review in a Lawndale convenience store. The fellow (his name was Steve) told me he's been going to the con whenever he can afford it, which in the last five years has happened three times, once for just a day.

"What was the best part of this year?" I asked him...and then I quickly added, "Besides Quick Draw!," just in case he wasn't going to say that. He answered that the best parts were (a) getting Stan Lee's autograph, (b) meeting voice actor Maurice LaMarche and (c) some lady barely dressed as Princess Leia, who I gather made more of an impression than Stan or Maurice. He showed me a microscopic cell phone photo but I'm not sure which of the three I was looking at.

Then it was back on the 5 and on to Los Angeles. I kinda like it when parts of the con follow me home.

• Posted at 8:35 PM · LINK

Today's Video Links

I could embed these but it'll be easier for both of us if you go to this page and click there. Editorial cartoonist Steve Brodner is hosting a series of videos for the website of the Sundance Channel in which he interviews cartoonists he admires. The series is called "Strokes of Genius" and there are two videos each up of chats with Al Jaffee and Sergio Aragonés. Enjoy.