Chris Burden's Metropolis II installation opens to the public on Saturday. It was previewed for the media yesterday. Read more

Photos: Judy Graeme

Occupy LA protesters demonstrate at the end of the Rose Parade on its route through Pasadena. Photo by Iris Schneider.

The City of Los Angeles float turns onto Fair Oaks Avenue moving into position for Monday's Rose Parade. Latest in the Night Vision series by Iris Schneider.

Watching sports on TV is supposed to be entertaining. It is not supposed to give you a heart attack.

Which is why I have to find a new rooting interest. The Denver Broncos are going to kill me.

Five weeks into the NFL season, the Broncos were 1-4. They were a bad team, and we native Denverites who live in Los Angeles were happy that their incompetence could be seen on TV only by local residents, which, in NFLand, includes Bismarck, North Dakotans, who got to watch the Broncos lose to the Titans on Sept. 25 while Angelenos saw Kansas City at San Diego. On Oct. 2, the suburban Denverites of Tulsa, Oklahoma, got to watch the Broncos go down to the Green Bay Packers while we saw New England at Oakland.

They were a bad team, so they scapegoated quarterback Kyle Orton to the bench, tossed a hail-Mary Tim Tebow into the huddle and began the campaign to test the limits of my health insurance coverage.

Yes, I'm taking it personally.

With the hire of Jim Mora, Jr. as head coach, hopeful UCLA fans are comparing the hire to Pete Carroll.

Like Carroll, Mora was UCLA's fifth or sixth choice. Both Mora and Carroll coached NFL teams for three seasons (Falcons, Patriots) and saw them regress each year. Both Mora and Carroll were fired after coaching a different team for one season (Seahawks, Jets). Both coaches were fairly desperate for a job when hired and were roughly the same age. And both coaches made their marks as defensive coordinators who were particularly innovative with secondary schemes. But that doesn't mean UCLA just hired the next Pete Carroll.

The track record for former NFL head coaches in the college ranks is less than stellar. Pete Carroll is the exception to the rule. Dave Wannstedt never took Pitt to the next level. The same could be said for Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech. Mike Sherman was just fired at Texas A&M. Bill Callahan set the Nebraska program back for years.

There are some coaches who have gone back and forth (Nick Saban, Dennis Erickson, Mike Riley), but other than Carroll and June Jones, I can't think of another ex-NFL head coach with mostly pro experience who was a success at the college level.

Jim Mora, Jr. was hired because he was the biggest name UCLA could get. But sometimes the biggest name isn't always the best name. I thought the Bruins should have considered San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator, a rising young coach who was part of Jim Habraugh's successful staff at Stanford. I would have also considered Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables, and Colorado offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. I think UCLA should have looked towards a dynamic assistant coach on the rise rather than a washed up name that alumni had heard of before.

This is not to say that Mora can't do a good job. He is well-respected in coaching circles, and I'd be surprised if he has a worse record than Rick Neuheisel. But recent history suggests that Mora will be more like Chan Gailey or Mike Sherman than like Pete Carroll.

The Angels made a huge splash today by signing Albert Pujols to a 10-year $250 million contract. What does this all mean?

First off, it means the Angels are instantly the favorites to win the AL West, and probably the American League. With CJ Wilson also going from Texas to Anaheim, I believe the Rangers are going to take a step back this year. They are also probably still suffering emotionally from losing the World Series in the excruciatingly painful fashion. I personally like the Angels roster better than the Red Sox or Yankees right now.

It means the Angels have a legitimate superstar, something they haven't had since Reggie Jackson. Pujols is a player whose brand could be more powerful than any other LA athlete with the exception of Kobe Bryant. He is the best player in baseball, and probably has been for the past ten years. He might be the best player to play for the Dodgers or Angels since Sandy Koufax. It would help if he showed more personality though.

It means the Angels are probably going to have an albatross on their payroll beginning in 4-5 years. Pujols will be 32 when he starts the season, but there's always been speculation that he's 2-3 years older than his listed age. If he's actually 35, then the Angels will be on the hook for $25 million a year for a guy who is well into his 40s. Yes, he can play DH in the American League, but why would you ever want to spend $25 million a year on a DH? This is a deal that will reap considerable short-term gains at the expense of the long-term.

It means that the Angels could very well be LA's team next year. The new Dodgers owner will probably be greeted as a hero, but he won't be able to do anything substantial until after the 2012 season. I believe the Lakers have begun a serious decline and I don't see them being a title team. With a big name superstar like Pujols, the Angels may get the most media attention of any LA team, something that hasn't ever happened outside of their 2002 World Series run.

It means that new GM Jerry DiPoto will be fawned over by the LA media. He's going to be praised for his bold moves, for his risk taking, for his ability to make a move. He might also be bashed in five years, once Pujols starts to decline.

It means that Arte Moreno will continue to receive praise for spending money and "doing what it takes to win." I'm surprised the Angels had the money to take on Pujols after spending a fortune on the ill-fated Vernon Wells deal. And they overspent for CJ Wilson at $77 million on five years, but I actually believe he will perform.

It means the Angels will have to be creative to improve their bullpen. I was surprised that the Angels didn't make a bigger play for Heath Bell this offseason. If it wasn't for their bullpen last season, the Angels probably would have made the playoffs. I can't imagine they have much cash to spend on relievers, so they'll have to find good players off the scrap heap. Other teams have done it, so it's not out of the realm of possibility.

It means the Angels are empowered to trade Mark Trumbo and/or Kendrys Morales for some useful pieces. They're stuck with Bob Abreu at $9 million this year, reducing the opportunities for either player to DH. I'd expect Trumbo to get moved for more pitching help or for a third baseman. Expect Morales to come along slowly, DH a little, and maybe get dealt next year once he shows he can be healthy.

It means that Vernon Wells can bat in front of Pujols, see better pitches, and potentially have a bounce back season. Eventually though, the Angels will have to think about trading Wells, eating some of his salary, and then make room for Mike Trout. There has been talk that they'd trade Trout for immediate help, but with a high payroll, they will need the all contributions for a low salaried guy like Trout that they can get.

It means that Pujols will hit his 500th home run as an Angel. And probably his 600th home run too. It's not even impossible to think he'll be able to pass Barry Bonds' 762 home runs as Angel (although Alex Rodriguez might also pass Bonds). But this also means that this signing will be disastrous if it's discovered that Pujols used steroids.

If I were the Angels, then I probably wouldn't have made this deal. I think they already had a contending team that could have made a run at the World Series with some tweaking. This contract will eventually feel like a major burden. But I cannot deny the short-term impact this deal has, and the Angels have made a splash like they've never made before. This is bigger than Vlad Guerrero. It's bigger than Reggie Jackson. It will get a ton of attention. But it's a 10-year deal that will probably only bear fruit for 3-4 years.

During the doldrums, say twice a year, I take a little Beverly Hills excursion into that luxe emporium, Neiman Marcus, or, as some have called it, Needless Markup.

Not to buy, but to be awed. Because, after all, everyone needs some enlightenment, some sense of what else is out there besides the saddening news that one in every six Americans lives in poverty, while CEO's take home 100's of millions, telling us that the wealth gap has never been greater...

Especially now, that stroll among pricey items can be an Alice-in-Wonderland experience. $1500 for a pair of designer shoes? At last year's visit I tried on a $700 Christian Louboutin number -- you know him, the guy whose trademark is the red shiny leather sole (seen as Sandra Bullock climbed a small ladder from boat to dock in a scene in "The Proposal").

So what would I find now on this island of insanity?

More bedazzlement. As much by the inventory as the tags. Even with advance notice -- gained by eyeing the designer ads in glossy fashion pages -- these marvels of sculptural shape and engineering acuity (available in lots of high-end stores) were wondrous to behold. As preparation, I oggled Lady Gaga in her be-sequinned, hoof-like platforms by Alexander McQueen.

The display seemed endless - easily 70 different styles. Every famous and emerging designer seems to have indulged in this new sport of erecting skyscraper shoes: stiletto heels of 1/8 inch diameter rising 6" with 3" platforms. And, yes, I dared to try one on. That I couldn't even stand in place, let alone take a step, should not come as a surprise.

And then, from a short distance, another specimen drew me close. It was a multi-colored patent leather - the front panels were chartreuse, shocking pink and black; the heel cup was outfitted with actual spikes (the better to defend against a mugger? a rude date? or just to identify the wearer's dominatrix status? or just to pretend same? or just an expensive joke?).

I stopped a department sales person on his way to the stock room and asked about this particular Ruthie Davis shoe. "Oh, that one," he volunteered, in a surprisingly unappreciative tone. "Can you believe it? We're actually sold out." Phew, I sighed, relieved that there would be no further dissemination of frightening shoe-wear. Even at the bargain price of $1300.

Surely something is amiss. And not just an economy blown to smithereens, with a hole in the middle class and a top 1% owning multiple jets while unloading their lucre on every exorbitant item in sight. But a whole culture that is reflecting extreme taste. Why not? We're having extreme weather, extreme market volatility, extreme sacrifices, austerity for all (but the rich.)

Five years ago it was streetwalkers who wore these high-off-the-ground clodhoppers, and sausaged themselves into spandex skirts that rose to short-shorts level. Now we've got gorgeous young concert pianists wearing the same. So-called high society has lowered itself to pulp fictions.

Surely there's a message here. Sexual power for women, maybe? It used to be the man-tailored suit, that "dress for success" meme, the big padded-shoulders look. Now it's rise high on stilettos, tower over your men, knock them out with nudity, you know, legs, legs and more legs, breast implants and deep decolletage. We can concede, I suppose, this is the new feminine power statement.

But back to the wealthy elite and its exclusive price tags. F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said "Let me tell you about the very rich - they're different from you and me."

Yes, I think we can see that. Nothing is new. If you sit down in the NM shoe department to watch and listen, you'll see women walking to and fro, not talking of Michelangelo, but adrift in their insular worlds of couture fashion, enclosed in their bubble of gadabout galas, living far above the fray and in an outré universe.

Still, I don't think foot-fetish fancying was ever this much fun before.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

• Barry Livingston, star of "My Three Sons", signing copies of The Importance of Being Ernie at Book Soup at 7 PM
• Michael Wissot, political analyst, KABC Talk Radio, contributes to A Year in Politics panel at USC. 5:30 PM
• Henry Rollins, Corey Taylor and Dave Navarro join other musicians for a benefit concert for Drop in the Bucket and other charities. Avalon Theater in Hollywood. 8 PM
• BAFTA/L.A. honors Warren Beatty, Ben Stiller, David Yates and John Lasseter at its Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
• Joseph Mattson, James Greer, Jess Walter, Susan Straight, Jervey Tervalon and Gary Phillips read at The Speed Chronicles & The Cocaine Chronicles spectacular at Stories Book Store in Echo Park. 7:30 PM
• Lady Gaga headlines a special benefit performance for the Grammy Foundation at the Grammy Museum. 9 PM

• Sparkle 90210 kicks off at 5 PM with snow and lighting effects featured at Beverly Cañon Gardens and Two Rodeo Drive.
• Northridge Hospital Medical Center hosts Festival of Trees Opening Night (Festival continues through December 3) reception at Unicel Corporate Building in Chatsworth. 6:00 PM
• Hispanas Organized for Political Equality honors Cynthia Ruiz and Catherine J.K. Sandoval at its 22nd Anniversary Awards Dinner at the Center at Cathedral Plaza. 6:00 PM
• Children's Defense Fund hosts its 21st Annual Beat The Odds Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel. 6:30 PM
• Tyra Banks, supermodel & talk show host, signing copies of Modelland at EsoWon Books- Degnan Blvd. Los Angeles, CA. 6 PM

• Catholic Charities of Los Angeles hosts its City of Angels Christmas Gala at the California Club.
• March of Dimes hosts its Sixth Annual Celebration of Babies Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. 11 AM.
• Sandpipers host the opening day of their Holday Homes Tour of three residences in the South Bay (Continues through December 4)
• International Documentary Association honors Les Blank and Danfung Dennis at its
• 27th Annual Documentary Awards at the Directors Guild of American at 8:00 PM
• Richardo Acuna and David Strother host their monthly Majestical Roof Poetry & Wine Salon at The Majestical Roof store, 88 North Fair Oaks Ave # 102 (COURTYARD) in Pasadena. 7 PM