Without bothering to get into any spoilers, I feel I must point out that I'm going to miss some of the drama I've come to love on Step It Up and Dance. What can I say, I love it when the contestants whine, especially to the judges, because invariably they get beaten the fuck down. It's a delicious experience. One of the things I love about that show is that it's filmed right here in LA, which means that when they include little clips on the air of surrounding scenery, I jump out of my chair and shout things like "hey I've seen that up close!" or "I was just there last week!" Mostly, this excitement only strikes when I see the Capitol Records building; it reminds me of the first time I saw it, and I was like "Dude, it's the Capitol Records building."

Wednesday, unfortunately, brought sad tidings for that area. A building recently burned down at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. It strikes me especially hard because only a month ago, I was standing at that very corner with my partner, and we stood there for a bit and tried to remember exactly why that spot is so famous. (Turns out it's a corner that historically had bars and clubs that used to be frequented by big name Hollywood stars, and they all used to hang out at that corner or something.)

The fire destroyed mostly just that corner. Fortunately, it happened in the early hours of the morning, and the rest of the block was okay. A relief, since no one was hurt, and also since the Pantages Theater is practically right there. LA, despite the traffic and the many negative aspects people are quick to point out, has a lot of history, and much to be proud of. Hopefully nothing like this happens again, if at all.