My peeps in the UCLA library sent this on to me today. I think it's one of the best ways to help those affected by the WGA Strike. Anyone who's gone to an industry props & costume sale knows the treasures one might find.


As you may know, a great many people in the film and television industry - especially those "behind the scenes" (grips, techs, designers, etc) - are out of work (and out of an income) due to the ongoing Writer's Strike. To try to counter this effect, the Local 705 Costumer's Guild has set up a "Welfare Fund" to help support it's members who are unable to work during this time.

The 705 is having a HUGE YARD SALE on Saturday, February 9th from 9 a.m. til 2 p.m. The union members will be selling a wide variety of costumes and jewelry (and I'm not talking just the hokey kind of stuff - some awesome, wearable - and often unique - threads & accessories!). Each individual vendor will donate a portion of their sales to the Welfare Fund AND there will be a number of tables full of strictly donated items with 100% of those proceeds going to the Welfare Fund. So do some SHOPPING and help support some of those affected by the WGA strike. Come early to get the grooviest, funkiest and coolest stuff!!


Saturday February 9th, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Local 705 Costumers Union Yard Sale
History for Hire Prop House (a great big parking lot...)
7149 Fair Avenue
North Hollywood, 91605
Just SW of the Sherman Way/Vineland intersection

Labels: local, shopping

I have a habit of browsing Craigslist's rentals even when I don't need a new place to live. I like to keep up on what's available in the neighborhood, remind myself how crazy the cost of studio living is, and daydream about the perfect home. But I never knew Craigslist could be a portal to learning about designers, until today. See the ad here.

Labels: design, local

Check out the buzz on CurbedLA and Eater LA.
plus Daily Candy.
plus Thrillist.

The coffee and cigarette drink intrigues me. That's a fine dark roast with tobacco infused whipped cream. Plus the decor is looking awfully sharp. But I dunno if this will be the best place to park a laptop in my yoga sweats and risk the chance of dirty looks. I dare someone to order a venti cafe con panna.


Lamill Coffee
1636 Silver Lake Blvd.
Silver Lake, 90026
323.663.4441

Labels: food, local

Q: When did the word "provocative" begin to mean "gut-wrenching offensive in your face obnoxious self-glorifying smut"?

A: Right around the time that American Apparel billboard went up above the Echo Park store on Sunset & Alvarado.


For months people are talking about how from the right angle it actually looks like a nearby telephone pole is violating the faceless lady. Yes, it's yet another in Dov Charney's campaign to promote naked hipsters as provocative selling tools. Some people in New York had enough. Someone defaced the same billboard at the Houston Street store to read "Gee, I wonder why women get raped?" Good thing Jezebel shot a picture before American Apparel replaced it with another less provocative ad.


Read American Apparel's retort from a couple months back here. I especially like how they eat up the outrage with a big spoon and call it compliments. That's like calling a Tecate and a cigarette dinner. They belittle the outpsoken complaints from New York by explaining that LA is bored with their ads due to this post from Curbed LA. Exploring the American Apparel Daily Update today I gather sarcasm is not really a part of their "thing".

This is your call Los Angeles. Get up on that billboard and have some fun.

Labels: local, newsworthy, shopping

In an homage to L.A. Fashion week I spent last night at the new store opening party for Mas Boutique. OK. I went for the free beer. I stayed for the Eastside hipsters meets Beverly Hills ladies-who-lunch shenanigans. Only in Silver Lake on a Thursday night would both tribes of fashionistas fight over overpriced skinny jeans while exchanging plastic surgeon tips.

Speaking of skinny jeans - here's homeboy Jeffrey Sebelia's new Cosa Nostra Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Other blogs have been dissing on the Project Runway winner/vegan but I have to admit the embrace of the spats trend was a bold choice and upped a lot of these otherwise bland housecoats to wearable style. I also like a new designer who opts to design both a men's and women's show. But I can't embrace all the choices. The line is supposedly based on the memoir turned new movie Into The Wild. I can't say I see it. The silvery colors supposedly represent the ill-fated hiker Chriss McCandless ascent into Alaska. I just don't see it. Did McCandless fancy striped sweaters and Toms slipper shoes?






Mas is a cute clothing addition to the 'hood. I appreciate the boutique's location a little off the regular Sunset Junction track, drawing the street traffic out to the Sunset Blvd. edges. I fancied me some knit babydoll blouses and dresses there, especially the $180 yellow tank (I think it was by Clu). Hope the salesladies have a salesrack in the works.


Mas Boutique
3511 1/2 Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake, 90026
323.663.3112

Labels: fashion, local

The power alert has been in effect since Monday. I received this message from the Flex Your Power initiative today:

Thanks to the remarkable conservation efforts of California
residents and businesses yesterday, more than 1,000 megawatts
of forecast usage was off-loaded from the grid, helping avoid
any electrical emergencies.

View energy demand graph: http://fypower.org/news/?p=1598

Because high temperatures are forecast to continue throughout
the state and region, California ISO has extended its declaration
of a Flex Alert into today (August 31), and it asks consumers
to conserve one more day, especially during the late afternoon
peak demand period.

For continuing coverage, visit the Power Plug Blog:
http://www.fypower.org/news/

View the full California ISO press release:
http://www.caiso.com/1c4a/1c4af13c2c080.pdf (PDF document)

Please take action to conserve energy:

- Turn off all unnecessary lights
- If you must use an air conditioner, turn it up to 78 degrees or
higher
- Postpone using major appliances until after 7:00 PM

Thank you for continuing to flex your power!

At least it's working. I will continue to bear the hot nights as best as I can knowing conservation efforts do help on a local level. Maybe I'll sleep better one of these days. The heat makes it hard to catch some good shut-eye, doesn't it? Happy three-day weekend everyone and happy summer (yawn!)

Labels: environmental, local

Last night around 9:00pm the power on my street went down. Just one side of the street, no streetlights, just dark houses. The chatter of the TVs and air-conditioner hums were silenced. But not for long. Before I could dig around for the flashlights and candles (I had to search my way around my apartment with the little light from my cell phone) the power came back on. But not at full power. Just eerily dim like some grid monkey had his hand on a giant lever and thought, "I'll give 'em just a little juice to start with and see how things hold." The lights flickered from dim to full in my apartment and my neighbors' until 10:00 when the power went out again. This time I ran for sanctuary in a glass of Pinot at Cliff's Edge. A couple hours later I came home to the AC and TV buzzing again. Everything seems to be working as normal now.

Today I got on the phone with LA DWP. They're a private run company - mind you, not part of the city. They've got a lot of helpful energy saving tips on their website and sponsor some good Green LA programs. I was immediately directed to an automated menu and chose to report a power outage. After more menu choices I was led to an operator who requested my information - account #, phone #, zip code and then was able to explain LA's policy of "Brown-outs". What in fact had happened last night was so minor it hadn't even registered on the the power grid as a failure. Power has to be out for over an hour to register as a Black-Out. She told me often in the summertime when everyone's running their AC units the power system makes adjustments and re-sets itself. The dim lights and the flickering would indicate a Brown-Out where the grid conserves energy in some areas to provide energy to others.

So now the question stands.... it's obviously un-environmentally sound to have so much power running nightly. The dimming and flickering lights points to an indication of grid drain. The nights are not getting cooler. I'm not missing another episode of Top Chef. What can I do?

I went to Treehugger.com. They provide tips for Green living. To conserve electricity they suggest putting your house on a diet. Do an energy self audit. Treehugger tells you briefly how to do one or our very own LA DWP walks you through it on their site. After an energy audit, like a weigh in before you hire the personal trainer, you can buy some compact fluorescent bulbs. They don't suck up as much energy. There are some super cheap and super nice ones at IKEA right now. Warning: They function a little differently than regular light bulbs. Their wattage is dimmer and there will be a slight delay, like old school fluorescent bulbs, but without that horrible green color and buzzing noise that makes you feel like you work in the office from Joe Vs. The Volcano.

You probably knew that already. But I don't think most of us know that our basic wall-socket items pull energy even when turned off. The rule is if they're plugged in, they're plugged in to the grid, especially electronic items in stand-by (like a Tivo box). Power strips are a good tip. You simply plug all your daily appliances into one and then switch it off when not in use, like when you go to bed. Some genius made Smart Power Strips that go down automatically when the items plugged in to them go idle.

The power bill savings is their big seller. Those of us that live in little apartments don't feel a huge electric bill during LA's harsher months so it's not really an incentive. I often hear renters say they don't care about leaving their lights on when they leave the house because the bills are covered by their landlord. LA probably will have to go back to rolling blackouts if we don't do something. Right now it's inconvenient, but anyone can tell you who lived in the valley two years ago how fun it was to run from supermarket to supermarket to find out who's power had gone down and who's food had gone bad when the rolling Black-Outs were mandatory. I will say that it's usually the little inconveniences that indicate a bigger problem, or a problem on the horizon. Brown-Outs here and there today, utter power failures tomorrow. I better get some more candles.

Today I also joined the Flex Your Power Flex Alert Notification Network. Flex Alert is not a private company but statewide campaign initiated in 2001. Flex Alerts were started in 2004 to alert homes and businesses when their areas were in a Stage 1 Electrical Emergency. A Stage 1 Emergency is simply defined as times when energy needs reach their peaks - typically hot summer days. So all you gotta do is sign up and alerts get emailed or texted to your cell phone when the alert is on. Then you follow 3 simple steps.


I see the goal as using these steps whenever possible. To join the network, you just spread the word to your business. I'm pledging to do the same to my neighbors and friends. When the heat gets to be too much and you can't bear to turn down your AC, then take a walk with me. We'll grab a glass of wine. Then wait for the day when the power comes back on.


Check out how much power California is using this very moment at the CA ISO Status Monitor.

Labels: environmental, local

My kind friend Matt took some fun pictures of Silver Lake's Annual Sunset Junction Street Fair on Saturday. Link to his entire Flickr pool here.




Like always the Junction fell on the hottest day of the year. We sweated out the heat and stayed for lots of bands, fair food and the eclectic round-up of local artisans, shops, sponsors, and people-watching. A highlight of the day was happy hour hosted by Malo. Their patio was an oasis of kind bartenders and top shelf margaritas for $5. Thank you to Steffie at Yelp.com LA for pointing the way and providing drink coupons. The prize wheel over at Amoeba Records' tent was an inventive way to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims and any spot with shade was a god-send. Just a buck donation and you could walk away with little prize packs courtesy of LA Weekly or just get a taste of what a Price Is Right contestant feels like.






The main stage as expected packed the biggest crowd, especially for Autolux and Blonde Redhead. And like every year technical snafus stalled set times. Sea Wolf took it in stride and was able to get to his new hit -"You're A Wolf" which got everyone and their parasols jumping after slower Bright Eyes sounding tunes.

The community vibe was strongest Saturday night at the smaller Sanborn stage where Morris Day & The Time delighted a diverse crowd. Shirtless gay men and police officers swaying in time to "The Bird" was the picture of harmony. Young and old shared stories with the clueless but impressed on-lookers which mainly started with "You know, the villian from Purple Rain" or "You know, the band from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back". I included came naively for the spectacle and stayed for the soul.

A couple new restaurants opened their doors just in time for the crowded weekend. Flore is a happy addition to the strip offering vegan cuisine. They make a tasty lemonade and offer many natural elixirs. Even though they served a limited menu I'm sure they'll have the Jicama taco roll-up creations I tried on a daily basis. Full of hummus and deligthfully seasoned the faux tacos are a welcome alternative to the dried out tempeh your veggie friends probably try to stuff down your throat.

Sunset Junction has another coffee house now too. Intelligentsia Coffee threw quite the opening bash on Friday night, thanks to jugs of sweet wine from the Silver Lake Wine gang. It sure got the Street Fair weekend off to a bang as many hipster hangovers continued to be nursed well into Sunday. Intelligentsia makes good use of the space next to the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music that has been boarded up for as long as I can remember. It's a yuppie's wet dream for sure to be able to sample gourmet coffee of varying quality grades and then pay up to $120/pound for the finest blend (plus it was plugged on Daily Candy.) Too upscale for the 'hood? Time will tell. But a decent cup of coffee is never unwelcome especially when they offer so many Direct Trade and shade grown varieties.

Dogs barking and happily exhausted by the end of the night I still am glad to live in a neighborhood that hosts one of the funnest events of the summer. Yes, I yearn for the days when it was a truly donation based event. The $15 entry fee this year (aka MANDATORY DONATION wtf?) kept the locals out for at least one of the days. Many complained about the defeat of the Street Fair's original intent to be a community building event. A message to the Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance: Please pass on to your organizer that if you truly want to continue promoting a neighborhood event you must treat the people in the neighborhood nicely. They're the people that you meet each day. As big as the Junction is it sends everyone living off of Sunset away for the weekend when they should be mingling with Latinos and Leather Daddies in the spirit the event intended 27 years ago. A lowered donation for residents is mandatory. Or give up your non-profit front all together and come out to LA as the concert promoter you want to be. Or make it a charity event worth the cost of admission. Or introduce a weekend pass deal. Or better publicize the free wristbands offered at Tsunami Coffeehouse for the residents living right on Sunset Blvd. Or let everyone in half price during the early part of the day and make the Eastside invaders who come to see the headlining acts pay the full cover price. This is what we call compromising, which after all the Silver Lake Improvement Association's petitioning this year the Junction still did not know the meaning of the word.

Like so many popular summer events around LA, the Junction has outgrown her britches. The new location layout where the majority of vendors sat on Santa Monica Blvd. was disorientating at first but on the bright side allowed breathing room further East on Sunset for the daily traffic. The local shop owners along Sunset were cut out of the action but provided dinner & drink specials, sales, Air-Conditioning, and after parties. Bingo the wiener dog at cute store Pull My Daisy was especially friendly when I saw him early in the day. The gang at Thinkspace Gallery not only hosted live painters and a flashy gold tee-pee but a couple doors down sold homemade cupcakes with a smile. Overall everyone was cashing in and acting neighborly, just as they have in past years. In the words of much more cliched man "They may take our mandatory donations but they will never take our freedom."

Labels: events, local, reviews

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council (SLNC) is holding its annual issues meeting and election kick-off this upcoming Saturday at the Bellevue Recreation Center. If you've ever been curious to what goes down during these meetings Saturday morning you'll get a good chance to meet the major players around our fair neighborhood, observe the election process, and get to know your neighbors' gripes at the open mic.

I've never been disappointed at these meetings. The turnout is always a batch of concerned citizens and passionate people from all walks of life. The common ground is they walk the sidewalks of Silver Lake with the rest of us. The best aspect of the Council is that it is a sounding board for the neighborhood. All concerns are taken seriously and everyone is encouraged to get their voice heard by attending meetings and voting. I've found that just being bale to observe and be another neighbor in a an empty seat is a good statement to start. So SLNC is luring us more apathetic folks in with a FREE breakfast at 9am.

The Issues meeting begins at 10am. After a presentation regarding Emergency Preparedness, it's an open mic for anyone to step up and let the SLNC Governing Board know what are the important issues that SLNC should be addressing. Then it's all followed by the SLNC Annual Election Kick-Off. You can meet all the candidates and maybe dream of throwing your hat in the race.


Saturday, July 14th
Speak Out Silver Lake! SLNC Annual Issue Meeting and Election Kick-Off
Bellevue Recreation Center
826 Lucile Avenue
9:00 am - Breakfast with the Board
10:00 am - Speak Out Silver Lake! Emergency Preparedness and open mic
11:30 am - SLNC Election Kick-Off

Labels: events, local, politics

I knew Blonde Redhead were touring a lot this summer but I am pleased as punch to know they will be making a stop in our own backyard. Sunset Junction is Silver Lake's annual street fair where local vendors and musicians takeover Sunset Blvd. for what usually falls on the hottest weekend of the summer. This year's heatwave is Aug. 18-19. The main stage on Saturday will see such great bands like The Parson Redheads, Autoloux, Seawolf, Blonde Redhead and Ben Harper. As of today the headliners for Sunday night are still TBA. Past year's bands have included The New York Dolls, Rilo Kiley, X, Sleater Kinney, Elliot Smith, and Beck to give you an idea.

Who would be your dream Sunset Junction headliner?

Labels: events, local, music

Tonight Silver Lake's one and only Anarchy Jordan takes his idealist politics to the masses via his new musical title Your Violent Desires who hail from the Dimension of Love, U.S.A. Nobody makes lyrics like "Liars keep the war-machine running" so toe-tapping. You can find Jordan's songs plus lyrics on his demo website The Poetry of Revolt.

Also playing at the latest coffee house jamboree stylings from the Magic Cafe are Morgan Rabbit and special appearance by rapper Apoc of Chicago's Lab-Oratory Records. If nothing else, come support the local coffee house that geniusly built a new coffee shop from an old gas station. Chango may be right across the street but who doesn't like more walls for amateur photography and more chai tea choices?

Monday, May 21st 7:00pm
Anarchy Jordan's Jailhouse Jamboree
Magic Cafe
1600 N. Echo Park Blvd.
Echo Park, 90026

Labels: local, music

A guy friend of mine told me once he knows girls dress up for other girls (versus the fellas) and I couldn't agree more. Ladies, start picking out your outfit now - competition should be fierce come Saturday night.


All the beautiful hipster ladies ban together this Saturday. Fight the local sausage fest and join in the bunches of fun all for a worthy cause. Hang The DJs host their 4th Annual All Girls Benefit Dance Party at The Echo. Proceeds will go to The Downtown Woman's Center who have been helping find homes for women of Skid Row since 1978.

There will be a slew of female DJs, live music, Cory Kennedy shenanigans, cocktails, raffles, free manicures, free haircuts, and naturally, free ice cream from the Heartschallenger Ice Cream truck...

I'm especially stoked to see Catherine Campion take the stage with Hearts of Palm UK. She'll be on cello. They'll all probably be wearing something one-of-a-kind. You can catch their pretty tunes at the Silverlake Lounge tomorrow night as well. They go on at 10:00pm.

...About the dance party? Okay, fine. Your boyfriend can come too.

Saturday, May 19 8:00pm
Hang the DJ's All Girls Benefit Dance Party
The Echo
1822 Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, 90026
18 year olds and up
only $10

Labels: events, local, music

Congrats to the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music for its impressive fundraiser this past Saturday. A star-studded concert lead by Conservatory founder, Flea and the rest of The Chili Peppers headlining, raised a boatload of cash and showcased two student bands. Full story on LAist today.

Labels: local, music, newsworthy

For the bohemian eastsider who has everything, get her tickets to the Silver Lake Film Festival kick-off party tomorrow night.

Not only will parties pop up all over town plus musical acts at all the usual suspects til next Saturday along with a huge list of new films, but Thursday Night will honor filmmaker Hal Hartley and Parker Posey in their new film Fay Grim.

The sequel to Hartley's critically acclaimed, offbeat, original, low budget, little seen 1997 indie Henry Fool Posey revives the role of Ms. Fay Grim in all her indie queen glory. Fay a seemingly normal unhappy housewife has to outwit the CIA to save her husband, or something. (Sorry, still waiting for my Henry Fool Netflix to show up). I hope Ms. Posey shows up rockin' that Jew-fro she had going on a couple years back. I will know she will look great and act adorably aloof. Hartley will eat up more critical accolades, and why not, he's one of the few writer/directors/composers we got out there.




Silver Lake Film Festival
May 3-12

Fay Grim Screening with Hal Hartley & Parker Posey
Thursday, May 3 7:30pm
Barnsdall Art Center
Tickets here
or call 1.800.838.3006

Labels: events, film, local

The meadow area has been behind the fence as long as any of you can remember. As the Silver Lake Reservoir continues its development into a positive public park space, this second phase includes the opening of the reservoir's meadow. This Saturday, The Committee to Save Silver Lake's Reservoirs hosts a groundbreaking ceremony on the meadow with Earth Day themed celebrations. Guesses are out there as to whether pieces of chain link will be given away when the wall comes down.


The opposition is out there. Last weekend a bunch of nasty sounding fliers went up near the 7-11 on Silver Lake Blvd. calling for a call-off of the meadow opening. The concerns included the increase of traffic, decrease of parking spaces, increase of noise and loitering. It sounds like some fearful neighbors to me. It must be nice to live in one of those big lakeside houses but it's also nice to have more park space. Silver Lake is a neighborhood that suffers L.A.'s epidemic of lack of public parks. The national standard of parks per person ratio is 6.25 acres for very 1,000 residents. Here in Silver Lake we've got a mere 0.35 acres per 1,000 residents. The meadow is 6 more precious acres of existing park space.



There are still chances to voice your opinions at the event. The reservoir project's landscape designers will be on hand to present the entire new meadow park and answer concerns before the meadow officially opens.

Silver Lake Meadow Groundbreaking & Speakout
Saturday, Apr. 21
9:00-11:00am

Directions:
Going north on Silver Lake Blvd from Sunset, the Meadow is located on the west side of the street, just before SLB turns sharply to the right (east) to intersect with Glendale Boulevard.
Parking is limited so please carpool, walk, or bike if possible. The nearest transit is MTA Line 92 @ Glendale & SLB. (message from CSSLR)

Labels: environmental, events, local

Source: LosAnjealous.com

...This time at the Arclight parking garage. This pic was snapped by a blogger's cell phone. Gentrification strikes again. Why? To make room for a curbside latte and caviar stand, of course.

Labels: local, random

Sunday March 18, lil' indie artspace GhettoGloss is hosting Krafworks - a gathering of local artisans along with bands, DJs and hipster fashion ogglers. They are still looking to fill their parking lot. The more new vendors the better, I say. Get your wares in order and $50 buys you a spot.

Email ghettogloss@ghettogloss.com for Applications.

Applications and entry fee must be in before March 13, 2007.

Labels: DIY, events, local

This morning at Egret Park Mayor Villarogioa and Councilman Reyes unveiled the LA River Revitalization Plan.

Workshops have been held over the last 16 months to determine a plan to green 32 miles of the LA river that flows through downtown. Now included in the Revitalization Plan are processes to modify the river's channel itself in order to sustain a healthy environment. Along with the city identifying flood concerns, there's also a sensitivity to urban development along the river. A plan to make a walking path along the river has been in the works since the mid 90s with controversy but ultimately good intentions.
Contrary to what the Mulhollands made Angelenos think, the LA river has always been a natural waterway, dry in the summer and protecting from floods during the rain. Many neighborhoods can benefit from a revitalization in the forms of parks and prettier scenery but everyone especially benefits from an environment protected from over-development and species degradation.

You can voice your opinions and hear more info at these upcoming hearings sponsored by The City Project.

Saturday, February 24, 2007:
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Hollenbeck Middle School
2510 E. 6th St., Boyle Heights

Tuesday, February 27:
6:30-9:00 p.m.
Canoga Park High School Auditorium
6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park

Wednesday, February 28:
6:30-9:00 p.m.
Metropolitan Water District Board Room
700 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles

Labels: environmental, local, politics

A: Because Mayor Villaraigosa plans to make LA a WiFi city.

Via Laist.com, Villaraigosa and team kicked off the first stage today which is to hire a tech expert to design the infrastructure needed to make every corner of our city a free wireless internet access point. The plan is to have a city wide high-speed wireless network by 2009. A plan in the works exists downtown already. You can access a "hot spot" at Pershing Square, for example, for a small amount of time once you log in to LA WiFi. They call it the "unwired Pershing Square" now. Like a college library, these internet spots are not encouraging 24/7 use, just quick ways to access free info. Villaraigosa hopes to address a handful of issues with this large scale plan such as public building needs, internet in the classroom, internet for the poor, and emergency use. Imagine - in a couple years if you were stuck downtown in an earthquake you could just find the nearest Red Cross station or Google for up to the minute facts.

Labels: local, politics

Those of you still recovering from your Sundance sniffles and hangovers will be happy to know the fascinating documentary screenings do not stop in Utah. This Thursday night join the filmmakers of Frank & Cindy, for a free screening of this new documentary. Frank & Cindy is a film of the cinema verite flavor. Filmmaker G.J. Echternkamp turned the cameras on his stepdad Frank, a one-hit wonder pop song writer who now lives in the basement of the filmmaker's mom's house "drinking zinfandel all day and peeing into coffee cans". The Grey Gardens references are already flying as the doc's premise becomes a much more intimate portrait of human nature and inescapable family ties. Ira Glass' new "This American Life" TV show will be devoting an entire episode to Frank's story. Showtime starts airing the show March 22.

Thursday, Feb. 8
Frank & Cindy - Free Screening
7:30pm Sharp
Fine Arts Theater
8556 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills

Free Parking at the Flynt Building
8484 Wilshire Blvd.

Labels: events, film, local

Yesterday was ridiculously warm. I spent the afternoon pre-super bowl festivities strolling LosFeliz. I made sure to leave the house with obligatory Sunday Times for the crossword puzzle, and with obligatory latte and obligatory dog to walk had no hands left for a camera. Wish I had captured every beautiful person in their resurrected summer wardrobe. Breezy dresses and over-sized sunglasses were everywhere and a couple celeb sightings on Vermont Ave: Nathan Corddry, the adorable "Studio 60" comic, who walks pigeon-toed, grabbing a bite at Greco's; Eclectic songstress Sia walking out of Skylight Books with a dog almost as adorable as mine.*

*not really my dog.

Labels: celeb sighting, local

Do you have a special occasion in your office and the basic cake and candles just isn't cutting it anymore? Have you jumped on the cookie bandwagon yet? If not, you and your sugar-fiending co-workers are missing out.
Newly formed Sweet Cheeks Cookies offers dozens and dozens of unique recipes and will make you a made-to-order box and deliver to your next cookie craving crisis. Just contact owner/baker Courtney Cowan to work out all the details.
Each dozen comes packaged beautifully in a white box tied up with a pink satin bow. Priced at just $22.95 a dozen, Sweet Cheeks Cookies is a perfect solution for birthdays, Valentine's Day and just because.
Order by email: info@sweetcheekscookies.com
or phone: (310) 360-1074.

Labels: local, reviews, shopping

The Silver Lake Improvement Association will hold an important community meeting tonight regarding a proposed homeless facility in the neighborhood.

The 975 Vendome Building has been sold, and the owners are planning to convert it into a homeless facility. It's that large brick apartment building right on Vendome & Sunset Blvd. across the street from Club Los Globos. The block has historically housed a diverse group of people, and had it's share of problems, including the devastating fire in December of '05 that vacated the majority of the residents. Is a homeless shelter what the neighborhood needs?

The Silver Lake Improvement Association is not unfriendly to the plight of the homeless. The meeting will take into consideration the other facilities that we already have in Silver Lake including Regency Manor on the corner of Robinson and Descanso and the new facility on the corner of Hoover and London. Without taking a stand one way or the other, the SLIA would like to offer this forum for those who wish to express their views or hear those of others.

Message from SLIA: "We hope to have a good turn out of our members and neighbors to give us their views and opinions of this proposed permanent, supportive facility slated to house about 40 formerly homeless, mentally disabled adults. The property was purchased on the private market, and it's a done deal; however, the application process to get additional funds to rehabilitate the property and the search for a service provider has yet to be completed. If you have a concern about this property one way or the other, this community meeting is the place to have your voice heard. BE there if you CARE!"

Thursday, Jan. 18
7:00-9:00pm
Russian Orthodox Meeting Hall
650 Micheltorena Street

Labels: local, politics

This past November the 32 acres of downtown Los Angeles known as The Cornfields was saved from building development once more thanks to the City Project.
I thank the City Project for providing me with these eye-opening facts:
- In Los Angeles, children of color living in poverty with no access to cars have the worst access to parks and recreation.
- Too many people live more than half a mile from the nearest park throughout the region of Los Angeles.
- Children of color disproportionately live in the California state assembly districts with the highest levels of child obesity and the worst access to parks and recreation. The levels of obesity are intolerably high for children throughout the region ranging from 23% to 40%.
- This is the first generation in the history of the country in which children will have a lower life expectancy than their parents if present trends in obesity and other diseases related to inactivity continue.

The City Project calls on a new form of social action: to Green LA. In the past six years, The City Project has spearheaded efforts to create new urban parks; to establish schools as centers of their communities; and to influence the investment of billions of dollars for public works projects in under-served communities.

The Daily Breeze reported:

"Robert Garcia, executive director of the City Project, a nonprofit group that focuses on parks, health and transit issues for low-income Los Angeles residents, said a pedestrian trail and bus route should link [the Los Angeles State Historic Park] with El Pueblo to the south, and another state park planned on the east bank of the Los Angeles River to the north. 'They should not be treated as isolated, separate parks but as one continuous parkway system,' he said... 'This is a wonderful opportunity. Los Angeles is hungry for its history."

Other victories for the group include preserving El Rio de Los Angeles State Park at Taylor Yard, 2 square miles of Baldwin Hills Park, and a dedicated 100 acres to Ascot Hills Park in East L.A. Their goals for next year include: to influence billions of dollars from resource bonds passed in November 2006 for parks, schools, housing, transit, clean water, and local jobs, to restore the Great Wall of Los Angeles, to Build an urban environmental movement that puts children and families first, and serves the needs of Latinos and diverse communities in ways no one else has. What does that mean? It means they hold politicians like Villaraigosa and Schwarzenegger to their word when they pass Green bills. It means there are organizations out there who care more about the cultural impact of development in Los Angeles than loft space.
It may be a tad late for year-end tax deductions but you can give to The City Project here.

Labels: environmental, local, politics

3rd & Rimpau, Los Angeles, 2007.

Courtesy of losanjealous.com.

Even more pictures at Blogging LA.

Labels: local, random

Gasp! Is it redundant or odd to critique a critique? Republish an article? This morning I read LA Weekly's cover story on the Silver Lake music scene, and while there isn't a lot of shocking information, it does a good job recognizing Silver Lake has always been a region, not a sound. The article deserves discussion. Plenty of artists have come out of here, defining themselves by their humble coffee shop/dive bar roots but there has never been one unifying movement or "sound" associated with it. Beck and Elliot Smith constantly defied expectations and genres unlike than say, the East Village scene in 1980s New York. And sure, you can always label the music, the people, even the brand of smokes they buy Hipster. But even that word has lost its meaning, gone the way of the Yippie it seems.
The Weekly gives props to local legends Autolux and Silversun Pickups as well as Hit Me Back, South Central teenagers with hardcore DIY know-how. The article outlines a history we all might not know. I was pleased to see attention paid to the Onyx Cafe, the coffee shop/performance space that used to be next to the Vista. How great would it be to see that reopen?

Labels: local, newsworthy, reviews

I can't believe 5 days have gone by with no updates in sight. I'm as disappointed in myself as you must be. It just means I have work to do and graduate school to contemplate.

Dear friends of Libby's Vintage Home & Garden, I heard some sad news today. Owner Libby Simon will be closing shop and moving out of her beyond adorable store to pursue her art and landscaping career. By the end of the month, no more succulent displays, no more vintage hankies, no more antique lawn ornaments in Silver Lake. A frequent stop on my weekend stroll around Sunset Blvd. I will miss Libby's. To cheer us up she's having a holiday sale till the end of the month before she vacates. Vintage Christmas postcards make the best snail mail holiday items. Ornaments and handmade goodies abound there too. Libby will throw a holiday party for her friends and faithful shoppers this Friday night.

Libby's Vintage Home & Garden
3821 W. Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake
323.663.2600

Holiday Reception Friday, Dec. 9
6:00 - 10:00pm

Labels: local, newsworthy, shopping

The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council is holding a town hall style meeting tonight in conjunction with the other East LA neighborhoods to speak out about the city's new budget plans for the coming year. Hosted by The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Office of the Mayor, this community forum hopes to give neighborhood voices a chance to be heard. The city will outline their plan for next year, probably cutting the budget drastically. This is every local's chance to add what's missing to the city's outlook for 2007 or remove measures. If you can't make the meeting but would like to express your opinion take the mayor's survey. It's very straight-forward and enlightening to know what the city thinks should be its major improvements including fair housing, transportation, environmental protection, and security. The survey takes less than 10 minutes and appears to be a good way to make a little dent in the system before the system dents you.

Tuesday Nov. 14
6:30-9:00pm
Glassell Park Community Center (in the Public Storage building at 3750 N. Verdugo Rd. and Eagle Rock Blvd.)
From Silver Lake, take the 2 and exit Eagle Rock Blvd. and you'll see the building. There's plenty of parking.

Labels: environmental, local, politics

Finally! A Friday evening Farmer's Market in our own backyard. While I'm stuck in rushhour traffic, I hear there's great stuff to be found here 3:00-7:00pm every Friday like Japanese dandelion greens and cheap flower arrangements. Made some killer salsa with Jalapenos and fresh peppers from some local gardens from the innagural market last week. Many say, puts the small Saturday farmer's market on Sunset to shame.

Echo Park Farmer's Market
Logan & Sunset Blvd. Fridays 3:00-7:00pm

Silver Lake Farmer's Market
Sunset Blvd. & Edgecliffe Saturdays 8:00am-1:00pm

Labels: food, local, shopping

Too bad it's not real.

By Damien Goodman - look for his full scale campaign soon to make this vision a reality for all commuters.
Thanks green LA girl.

Labels: environmental, local, random

According to a recent LA Weekly article, my favorite new gelato shop, not to mention Chango one of my favorite coffee shops, are cited as signs of Silver Lake/Echo Park gentrification. In fact, the LA weekly likens the movement of gentrified neighborhoods to a flood -- a little insensitive I think to our friends in New Orleans, but titillating none the less. While enjoying a delectable cup of frozen strawberry yogurt and mint limencello the other night I even said out loud "I love my neighborhood". A plethora of races and classes was packed in the little shop at 9pm on a weekday making quite the pretty sidewalk scene. Yes, the hipsters often outnumber the locals regularly at the east end of Sunset Blvd, but I would much rather deal with the sign of the times at hand and fight poorly crafted condos going up over historical landmarks instead of locally run businesses. In a nutshell, the article gives something for us all to ponder but provides little new information. Nor does the paper suggest solutions to ease the guilt. We can't take where we're living for granted. As the LA Weekly warns us, Echo Park could be bulldozed just as easily as McMansions replaced the bungalows in Manhattan Beach. Very scary indeed.

Labels: local, newsworthy