There is nothing special about this picture, right? Well, it would be just an ordinary "No Traspassing" sign if it were not hung on a fence of the new townhome construction in Venice, CA. If you know Venice (specially area near Venice Blvd/Abbot Kinney) you know there there are no fishing areas here, and I have not seen a deer for a while (ever actually). If you click on the picture you will see the construction...

I often defend the people of LA when others say that everybody here (LA) is shallow. It's all about the looks and not the mind... There is no cuiture here... some might say. But it's all how you make it for yourself - I would reply. It's not all Hollywood and not everybody is a dumb-blond-wannabe with a tan and perfect teeth. 

But... then I read an article in LA Times about a new bookstore in Beverly Hills and I wander... Apparently, a new, independent bookstore just opened in Beverly Hills, after a decade that that town had no bookstore. It seems that the city decided they needed one, but they did not want a chain, like Borders or Barnes and Noble, I am sure not because of books but because of the image... they had a couple of bookstores over time, but they did not survive for long. I wander how long this one is going to last?

However, According to the Beverly Hills Chamber od Commerce (and LA Times) these businesses are doing just fine:

• 55 full-service restaurants;
• 33 jewelers;
• 17 caterers (?);
• at least 27 clothing boutiques;
• 13 art dealers;
• 11 shoe stores;
• 9 plastic surgeons (?);
• 4 interior design studios;
• at least one furrier...

I guess with all this shopping one does not have time to read books...

Some time ago my husband and I were discussing what we would do if the elections did not turn out the way we wanted... Half jokingly, we said we would move up to Canada.

After the elections, when we did end up on the losing side, we discussed (again half jokingly) where in Canada we would move, and decided on Vancouver... What can we do, we like the left coast and we (mostly I) do not like snow... And the other day, I found a dream house, just 26 miles outside of Vancouver, with a view of the mountains and 5 acres of land... All I need now - is to win the lottery and we are gone...

But this is not the end to the Canada story... just two days before the elections, we were talking to our friends, who (also half jokingly) said they discussed moving to Canada too, in case... At that time I thought this was just a coincidence, however, this is what New York TImes reported yesterday:

One might only guess that a few of the 58 million people that voted for President Bush were motivated by a love-it-or-leave-it view of the country. But it is statistically demostrable that after John Kerry's defeat, some Democratic supporters gave that statement some real thought, too.

Canada's ministry of immigration and citizenship reported a record-shattering jump in the number of visits to it's website - www.cic.gc.ca - on the day after last week's election. The average number of visitors to the site on any given day hovers around 65,000, according to Maria Iadinardi, a spokeswomen for the ministry. About 20,000 of those daily visits come from the United States.

But last Wednesday, the number of visists to the site more than doubled, to around 179,000, with 115,000 hits coming from Canada's neighbor to the south, although Ms. Iadinardi added that she has yet to detect any corresponding uptick in actual applications for asylum. "That will take between four and six months to measure", she said. (written by Tom Zeller Jr.)

And, there is even more: in case you want to marry a canadian...

Finally, let me finish this post with a picture, a map actually that a friend (married to a Canadian) sent to me...