And The Bias Continues...

Yesterday I attended the NBA's All Star Jam Session at the convention center.  I'll be the first to admit that they put on a great showcase and marketed a great product for fans well beyond those attending the Weekend's main events.  BUT... The NBA committed a cardinal sin this weekend when it comes to connecting with the local audience this weekend, akin to calling a guy named John, 'Robert.'

Both inside and outside the convention center, Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind was played over and over and over.  Don't get me wrong, I like Jigga, and I liked that song until it became grossly overplayed, but the All Star Weekend was not in New York, no matter how many times Alicia Keyes screamed for the Big Apple over the sound system.  Agreed, LA needs a new anthem (see a previous post), but don't dis the host city like that, Dave....not cool!

Evolving the Slam Dunk Contest

Last night, Blake Griffin took home the Slam Dunk Contest trophy for All-Star Weekend 2011 in LA.  Here's the run-down on how he did it....





I was watching this, and while Blake Griffin clearly dominated this contest, and jumping over a car was absolutely raising the bar, it occurred to me that this was just a logical progression in the evolution of the dunk contest.

About 15 years ago, it was all about how far out you could start your jump from, or could you do a 360 in midair, or put the ball between your legs.  The dunk contest was dynamic and fun to watch.  Then Vince Carter came along and showed us the perfected versions of each of the past great dunks in 2000.  And that's where the bar stayed for an entire decade.  Look at all of the winners, and though there are good dunks, nothing truly pushed the actual competition forward during that time.  But then came Blake.

Genius, boy, genius!  Going for both height and distance by jumping over the hood of a car while catching an alley-oop, that is the creativity this contest needed!  Harlem gospel choir...questionable, but I get the sentiment; the NBA knew that this was going to be a money-making dunk- and they were right.

The idea that Blake gave me, though, was that the next step in the evolution of the dunk contest is pretty simple; it becomes a math equation of how far out you can start, and how high up you can get before you get to the rim and make the dunk, right?  So, I'll set the over/under at 5 years for the time it takes for us to see someone use a high-jump bar for one of their dunks.  If the true measurement for the degree of difficulty is how high up you were and for how long before you still were able to throw the ball down, then the high-jump bar is a damn good measurement tool.  Keep on the lookout, it's a comin'...

Glendale's City Center Entering Huge Transformation

It's no secret, I work at the Glendale office of Community Bank.  Do just a bit of homework, and you know that the office was, until recently, at 100 N Brand Blvd at the corner of Broadway.  It's the 100-100 intersection, the Center of the grid for the City of Glendale.  Since January 31, the ground level of the historic Security Savings building on Brand and Broadway has been empty with cBank's move up the street to 500.  Caddy corner to that building lies the outskirts of the Glendale Galleria, and the storefront on Brand is a temporary space that is typically rented out by Halloween Stores and tax preparers.

Then, just this week, Borders announced that it would close 200 stores and guess what, one of them happens to be the location at Brand and Broadway.  From the untrained eye, it might look like there are problems at the core of the commercial center of Glendale, but a deeper look will show quite to the contrary.  The Circuit City that went out of business has finally been knocked down and the project to build new condos is underway.  More residents in the neighborhood will equate to higher demand, and these two spaces are prime retail locations in the #1 corridor in Glendale.

I'll keep updating on the developments for the spaces as they progress...

Below Fresh: The Corporate Destruction of a Great Brand

Last weekend I went to Baja Fresh for the first time in a while.  Now, I remember Baja Fresh as being that quick, but quality Mexican food place where the food was plentiful, delicious, and pretty reasonably priced.  I can recall barely being able to finish one of their burritos, let alone the side of chips and tasty fresh salsa, and it would cost me just over 6 bucks.  But that was then.

Ever since Wendy's purchased Baja Fresh in 2002, things have gotten more corporate, streamlined, and the customer experience has suffered immensely.  Now, I understand that we are living in a period where there has been significant inflation in consumables over the past 15 years, but the fact that I paid $13 for a smaller burrito with no chips, a side of chips and guac, and 2 small drinks was a bit unnerving. Have their costs doubled?  The more logical explanation is that they are using a price increase to fund expansion while preserving investor return.  Makes sense financially, but then the whole point of a restaurant is to provide a product that the customer actually wants, right?

For as corporate as McDonalds might be, their product has remained consistent over decades, and that brand image that comes with the consistent product has remained the same over that time as well.  What Wendy's has done by changing the quality and offerings at Baja Fresh has completely changed the brand image that Baja Fresh has.

Thus, since the Baja Fresh that disappointed me last weekend is completely a different place than the Baja Fresh I once knew, I've made peace with the fact that the original Baja Fresh is dead and gone, and feel no need to have to go back to the Baja that exists today.

Breakfast With The Chief of Police

It's no secret; I'm a member of the West LA Chamber of Commerce. On Wednesday was the monthly breakfast the Chamber holds, with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck as the guest speaker for the morning. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to hear the chief speak, and he and I see eye to eye on most issues.

Primarily, we both believe that from an overall perspective, public safety is the core function of government; I think most would agree. Chief Beck made the point that if the public does not feel safe in the city of LA, it has a direct ripple effect into the economy as businesses are deterred, property values depress, and so on. He is absolutely correct in that manner.

However, it is the means in which to achieve the end that he and I diverge on our views. I can absolutely understand that from a law enforcement professional's opinion, policing is the primary means with which to achieve public safety. But I would argue that policing is simply one of many tools in which public safety is achieved, and just like any other approach, becomes ineffective when too much emphasis is placed on one method alone.

While policing is indeed an important pillar of public safety, I would argue that education is a more integral service provided by government that affects public safety. Granted, education is not going to reduce the overall crime rate, but will certainly reduce violent crime, which has the most bearing on public safety. Now, in California, and in LA in particular, the education system has it's own massive issues and logistical problems, so perhaps Chief Beck is looking at the best practical application, but I'm a bit of a social altruist, so I stick by the education argument.

Either way though, good talk, Chuck, and thanks for coming to the Chamber breakfast and your service to the City of Los Angeles!