Sales Pitch | Sophia Sighting | Huizar Watch | OC Influence on Fox News | Music, Poetry, Light Show

This column is posting a bit early, and we’re keeping it short for the holiday … Don’t forget to subscribe in order to ensure you’ll get it each Tuesday, starting on January 1 – it won’t be posted for free once 2019 rolls around …

And next week is when you’ll find out where on the Westside you’ll have the best chance of spotting Sophia Loren … and hear why word on the Eastside points to the Inland Empire when talk turns to troubled 4^th District Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar … and learn about Westways hip triptych … and see which Orange County-based consumer brands are playing a role in the fate of Fox News talker Tucker Carlson’s show …

Stay tuned for more on those items, and give Mark Williams a hand in the meantime. The denizen of Hollywood has been adding his pleasant stylings on the trumpet as background music to appeals for the Salvation Army’s Christmas bucket in the underground garage of the Ralphs grocery store at Wilshire Boulevard & Hauser …

… It’s remarkable how good the acoustics are down there—and even better for the passersby on Wilshire who have been hearing Williams offerings waft up to the sidewalk like a mysterious soundtrack for everyday life in the Miracle Mile district for the past week or so …The least I can do this week is pitch in with a poem, so here you go …

SoCal’s Christmas Symphonica

The day before Christmas
Some days after Hanukkah
Our landscape is stirring
A SoCal symphonica

 

Shoppers on Broadway
Like peas in a pod
Wishing each other
Feliz Navidad

 

Crowds keep an eye out
For gifts that will thrill
From Fashion Island to Melrose
South Coast Plaza to Hill

 

When down Santee Alley
Who should appear
But Hanukkah Harry
And a team of reindeer

 

He pulls up his sleigh
Steps down to the street
He smiles and he waves
To all those he meets

 

He cannot stay long
He just stopped to say
That Santa and he
Are working away

 

“There’s trouble around
all through our world
Enough to be frightful
for each boy and girl

 

So Santa and I
Must share this year’s load
For only one person
It’s too long of a road

 

It’s a good thing we’re pals
Old Santa and I
Although our faiths differ
He’s still a good guy

 

So we’re splitting the load
All through the city
We’ll visit all homes
The gorgeous and gritty

 

Whether Christmas or Kwanzaa
Hanukkah or New Year’s
We want to bring hope
And ease some of your fears

 

If you see Santa or me
Or perhaps another fellow
Dressed in red or white
Or green or yellow

 

Remember that different
Doesn’t mean wrong
We all have our customs
Faith, feast and song

 

So be like Santa and me
As we’re dashing around
Look past the difference
And find common ground”

Digital Delight

Here’s hoping that anyone feeling lonesome or forgotten or otherwise having a tough stretch finds some cheer this holiday season. Anyone in need of a pick-me-up might try going for a gander the artsy photography featured in this video of the digital billboard at Western & Wilshire – they aren’t Christmas lights, but do seem to have a jump on a New Year’s Eve feel while serving as a reminder of what makes Koreatown cool.

Sullivan Says: There’s potential for some sort of YouTube sensation when a dozen or so members of the Jonathan Club’s weekly Breakfast Club raise their hands in response to a query about ukulele players among the bunch.