Early Morning May 25th...

…shots ring out in the Hollywood sky.

that’s right…last night i witnessed my first ever shooting (sort of).

i suppose it was inevitable, not that i live in a bad neighborhood per se, but it’s certainly not a gated community (well…actually i do live in a gated apartment complex, but you know what i mean).

while drifting off to sleep last night/early this morning I was startled by the sound of two very odd, loud POPS. then there was a brief pause of silence. then four more loud POPS.

since i was half asleep it took me a few seconds to realize what had just happened, but after about 30 seconds passed and the wail of police sirens began to approach from the distance I realized that the aforementioned POPS had to have been gunshots.

i rose from my bed and made my way to my bedroom window to look out and see what was going on…

and sure enough, about 10-12 police cars came speeding up Cahuenga Blvd, and pulled to a stop a block away at the Franklin Ave intersection.

unfortunately my view was partially obstructed by a large billboard (damn you corporate america!), however i was able to determine that at least someone who was involved in the (presumed) altercation was no longer at the scene.

this deduction of logic was made when about 6 of the cars sped off in various directions, and was further reinforced when the police chopper arrived and began circling the area shining their spotlight into the various alleys and corners of the neighborhood.

pretty soon the police had established a perimeter and blocked off the road, and at one point there were some officers with flashlights on the roof of a building nearby.

I don’t think anyone was injured as there didn’t seem to be any ambulance or first aid vehicles on the scene, just cops.

and unfortunately, as of yet, i have been unable to find any details regarding the incident online or in the news.

to be honest, i’m not quite sure how i feel about the whole situation. never once were my thoughts anything other than “gee, i wonder what the hell happened/is happening?” which is similar to the thoughts that i have whenever the occassional high speed chase comes flying down the 101 past my window.

that said, unlike the occassional high speed chase, the idea of gunplay a mere block from my apartment is, to be sure, slightly unsettling.

of course, it’s not like i live in an area where there are gang drive by’s going on, but still.

in the immediate vicinity of the Franklin/Cahuenga intersection there is a small, kinda shady looking liquor store, a small, kinda shady looking pool hall, and a size-unknown, kinda shady looking club.

my guess would be that the shooting probably took place in or involving patrons of one of these three establishments.

i’ve never felt unsafe walking around my area (including at night), whether it was by myself or in a group…and as of the moment i don’t think this is going to change.

i mean, prior to last night the scariest thing i’ve seen in the area was a homeless man peeing on the side of the road (and this took place in the middle of the day, and was seen while driving…so admittedly, the level of actual fear involved was not too much).

still…it would probably be comforting to know what the circumstances were that led to the shooting.

you know, like if the shooting was the result of a heated argument between ardent Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O’Donnell supporters or the result of some crazed junkie trying to rob someone to get some money to support his crystal meth habbit.

stuff like that.

anyways, i didn’t have any trouble falling back to sleep, and when i woke up this morning there was no sign of any remaining police activity, so i suppose whatever went down was taken care of (that, or the cops couldn’t find whomever it was they were looking for and called it a night when their shift ended…either way).

regardless…coming at a time when the majority of my weekly tv shows are on summer hiatus, perhaps this (and potential future) shooting(s) might be just the source of entertainment i need to carry me through till the fall when fictional violence and entertainment resumes.

i am strongly considering purchasing some binoculars so as to have a better view next time stuff goes down.

now, if only i could figure out some way to get rid of the damn billboard…

Curiousity #2

although this post is less curiousity and more an example of what’s wrong with the world, the title is, i believe, still aplicable.

i’ve recently begun picking up the occassional copy of Los Angeles magazine, mostly for the reviews on new restaurants as well as news of what’s going on around town.

however, along with the aforementioned information, the Los Angeles magazine has become a source of frequent comedic entertainment, as i’ve taken to perusing the “Super Lawyers” section located in the back pages.

the “Super Lawyers” section, for all those unfamiliar with the magazine, is essentially an advertisement that allows lawyers to put up pictures and blurbs about who they are and what area their legal expertise is in.

now, most of the time the blurbs are boring and of no value whatsoever to someone like myself not currently seeking any kind of litigation services.

but, occassionally i stumble across a blurb that makes me realize not only how unbelievably stupid most people in our society are, but also makes me wonder (hence the inclusion under this post title) why in the hell any educated person (which presumably most attorneys are) can not only take part in enabling these stupid people, but also boast about it as means to attract similarly stupid people searching for an attorney to sue someone.

for example…

one attorney’s (who shall remain nameless, after all he’s an attorney and clearly has no problem suing people) ad reads as followed:

“______ has obtained verdicts and settlements in many difficult cases including: $1.555 million for a diabetic who burned his feet in his bathtub, $1 million for a broken leg in a car accident where the client was ruled at fault by police, $865,000 for a broken ankle when a lady fell off a roof she built, $600,000 for a man struck by a door he opened during a wind storm, $300,000 for a man hit by a tennis ball, $262,000 for soft tissue injury in a car accident - despite no visible property damage, and (my personal favorite) $122,500 for a woman with $800 in medical bills who claimed she fell on a sidewalk, but her medical records indicated she fell “at home.” _____’s strength is complex liability cases involving significant injury.”

ahh…i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, there’s really nothing better than having pride in what you do for a living and being able to contribute to making this world a better place.