Exene Cervenka at CAFAM

At the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) last Sunday, I had the pleasure of hearing a reading by legendary Los Angeles fixture, Exene Cervenka.  Apart from her musical, artistic, and literary endeavors–which generally take Los Angeles itself as a special focus–Cervenka’s name is quite literally inscribed in stone, at the wonderful Venice Poetry Wall (a fact I stumbled across quite accidentally a year or two ago, with great delight).[*]  As well as reading, and playing a few songs on solo guitar, Cervenka currently has several of her collages hanging on the walls of CAFAM.

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Ex nihilo LA fit

Ever since I moved to Los Angeles, and to my dear Fairfax District, I’ve been meaning to eat at the historical Johnie’s Coffee Shop on Wilshire and Fairfax.  Of course, as with most things LA, the shop is a familiar combination of wide repute and complete unreality.  During a week of fiction, simulacrum, and frenzied media creation of a whole lot of expensive something out of almost nothing, it seemed like a fine time for a meal and a photograph: A garish pop star with a history of strange behaviors and legal troubles had died, thereby disrupting all Los Angeles streets, costing the city millions, and turning all national TV news into tawdry melodramatic fiction. Like the city that hosts it, Johnie’s is a movie prop.

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I have been in rapt amazement these past few days. Sunflower seeds that I planted two months ago in the backyard (as part of the Great Sunflower Project) are now blooming. And while I’ve marveled over their steady growth from delicate newborn sprouts to gangly adolescent stems to towering mature stalks, it wasn’t until the first few blooms started opening up that I began to contemplate how such magnificent complexity comes from so small and humble a source.

Maybe I’m overblowing it by likening the experience to witnessing a miracle, but with my front-row seat to such a beautiful spectacular of color and symmetry I’m nothing short of awed — and perhaps it has something to do with not just seeing the end product for sale in some florist shop, but instead being there and having had a direct hand in bringing about its life to unfold in all its awesome glory.

(click pic to go big)

Where was this taken? It was taken here.

Previously:
Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook
Inter Here

Five people just descended into my office to look outside my windows.  Apparently, LAPD and/or other police squads have shut down portions of Avenue of the Stars, Santa Monica Boulevard, and the alley behind my building (in case you were thinking of using it as an inconvenient shortcut).  Traffic is piling up, so good luck to those of you headed to or from Century City.   I couldn’t find any information about this anywhere; anyone know what’s going on?

UPDATE:  According to my building’s people, a suspicious package was found in the 10100 Santa Monica building.  All tenants were evacuated and traffic in the immediate area is closed off.

It’s now accepted that in California, same-sex marriage will again be on the ballot in the November 2010 election. This time advocates for marriage equality, stung by the passage of Proposition 8 last year which outlawed same-sex marriage in the state, will be prepared to counter anti-gay distortions thanks to the work of people like Pam Spaulding and her blog, Pam’s House Blend.

Today she has a post about the religious right’s attempts to twist facts, lie about studies and just make stuff up about LGBTs in an attempt to scare voters into not supporting marriage equality for everyone. And she must have struck a nerve, because someone from an anti-gay group, Focus on the Family, responded to her in an email, which she quotes and answers.

It’s going to be a tough campaign, but Pam’s early primer is a good way to gird yourself for the campaign.

According to Pam, this is the first of six distortions used by the anti-gay crowd:

1. Using nonrepresentative or out-of-date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions

Example 1 – Religious right talking point: According to the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women, 43 percent of white male homosexuals had sex with 500 or more partners, with 28 percent having 1,000 or more sexual partners. Therefore gays have no concept of mongamy and certainly can’t be trusted to raise children.

Truth - Homosexualities was a book written in 1978 that only looked a certain portion of the lgbt population (gay men in the city of San Francisco). It also did not look at same-sex households. In addition, the authors of Homosexualities (Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg) said that their book should not be used to generalize about all gays in general.

And here are the the first four of 17 lies she identifies:

1. Homosexuality is a lifestyle more harmful than cigarette smoking.

2. Gay men have a short life span.

3. The gay and lesbian community have a high rate of domestic violence.

4. Unhealthy behaviors (i.e. substance abuse, promiscuous sexual behavior) is indicative of the gay or lesbian orientation.

[UPDATE:] As a result of this post, I had a spirited conversation with Sophie Jefferies from the press office at LA Phil that touched on new technology’s impact  and the challenges it presents in a public setting; as well as the attending etiquette and social participation insofar as attending outdoor concerts at the Bowl is concerned. She had a quibble with me using the word “prohibited” when the Bowl site says cell phones “may not be operated.”

We both agreed that consideration for others is essential in the uncharted territory we find ourselves in as technology advances. “For some people, their cell phones are a part of enjoying a performance, especially for younger crowds. It doesn’t seem to happen at classical concerts.”

She made some good points about different types of music drawing different crowds with different expectations; said the language on the site about cell phones and pagers needed to be updated (“People don’t really use pagers anymore, do they?”); seemed to think the provisions on the back of the ticket more accurately explained the venue rules (They’re actually stricter and threaten expulsion.); and told me that at the Incubus concert the next night you were the exception if you weren’t using a cell phone in some way during the performance.

One more thing– the other acts on the bill on Sunday evening were Blitzer Trappen and the super charming and totally amazing Jenny Lewis.

From the Hollywood Bowl site:

Turn off any pagers, watch signals, or other electronic devices. Note: Cellular telephones, pagers, cameras, laser pointing devices and recording devices may not be operated in the theater.

For me and probably others, cell phone use at Hollywood Bowl is ruining performances and up to this point nothing is being done about it. I went to the Ray LaMontagne/LA Phil  show on Sunday (LA Phil produces most of the summer concerts) and people were using their cell phones for texting and video recording so much it was impossible to enjoy the show.

At the beginning of the performance Anne Litt from KCRW, a co-producer of many Bowl shows, made an announcement asking people “to secure their open bottles and electronic devices” but she did NOT say that using cell phones is PROHIBITED at the Bowl, cell phones “may not be operated” as it states on their web site.

Six of the eight people in the row directly in front of me (in section K2) were texting, snapping  photos, recording video and talking on their phones DURING THE PERFORMANCES and I could see it happening throughout the audience in front of me. I did not see any usher telling people to stop. Read the rest of this entry →

El Cholo has won by a whopping two votes! We are off to the original (as of 1927 anyway) location on Western. Here are all the details:

Saturday July 18
5:30pm — ??

I’ll make a reservation for 15 since that seems like the average amount of Classic Eaters who come along. I’ll also be there with a sign as per usual.

El Cholo
1121 Western Ave.
(323) 734-2773

Want more incentive to come other than great nachos and margaritas? You may hear some funny tales of bloggers and guns from earlier in the day. I’ll say no more.

Thanks again for the votes and we all look forward to seeing you at El Cholo!

On a small wall typically tagged up territorially, I’m OK with this. It’ll be painted out soon enough, but in the meantime I’ll take my inspiration wherever I can find it, in this case the Ballona Creek meteorological substation:

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Where was this taken? It was taken here.

Previously on Today’s Snapshot: Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook

Driving to Palos Verdes for an impromptu excursion yesterday, my traveling companion and I were surprised at the lack of traffic on PCH/Route 1 at mid-day.  Armed only with this article from Wiki Travel, we turned right onto Palos Verdes Drive (I’ll leave out the directionals since they’re confusing), and within moments, were greeted by the stunning views of the Paseo Del Mar bluffs.  Walking along the steep cliffs, we could see the entire Santa Monica Bay, as well as boats and kayakers in the green water below.
Click for more of the afternoon in Palos Verdes

El photo's cotillion shot used under Creative Commons

Sick of salsa? Tiring of tango? Feeling a bit jaded about the Jitterbug? Well, on the last Saturday of the month, you can get your minuet on at the 6th Annual Revolutionary Ball held in the rotunda at UCLA library.

The Revolutionary Ball is part of a series of historical dances including the Romeo and Juliet Italian Renaissance Ball and the Jane Austen ball.

Costumes are optional, though they are requesting at least semi-formal attire–despite the “revolutionary” moniker, coming sans-culottes is apparently discouraged. And you have to RSVP as space is limited. I myself wouldn’t know a Virginia Reel if it hit me over the head, but I plan to go.

There will be dance lessons throughout the night, and heck, I wrote a dissertation on 18th century pop culture; it’s almost a moral imperative for me. So bust out the powdered wig and join me for a minuet. And if you’ve been to one of the historical balls before leave a comment and tell us how it was.

As the battle heats up over who should foot the bill for the Michael Jackson memorial held last week at the Staples Center, the Mayor returned from vacation to throw in his 2 cents.

Today, he spoke with reporters, while his press secretary, Angry Matt Szabo, tweeted from the sidelines:

Mayor just told reporters he will not ask AEG or the Jackson family to cover city expenses for Michael Jackson memorial.

Mayor: Los Angeles is a “world class city.” Providing police and fire protection is “what we do.”

Good to know.

Should a member of your family pass on, rest assured that the LAPD will clear a lane on the freeway for your procession – free of charge.

This is Abigail, a one year old Pit Bull mix who became the victim of shocking, barbaric abuse when she was inexplicably set on fire. Abigail was brought to the Lancaster Shelter where Karma Rescue heard of her tragic story. Karma immediately transported Abigail to a local animal hospital where she received intensive care for her injuries including second and third degree burns throughout her body.

It has been a long road to recovery. Abigail has had multiple surgeries requiring skin grafts, but she is going to make it, thanks to the generous care and support of Karma Rescue’s donors and volunteers.

Unfortunately, the perpetrators of this heinous crime were never caught, Read the rest of this entry →

Saturday July 18 is Classic Eats #6 and today is the last day to vote!

El Cholo is ahead of Roscoe’s by 1 vote! Lucy’s El Adobe is a distant third.

Click here to vote. The voting ends this evening.

Click through past the jump for details on all candidates on the ballot. Read the rest of this entry →

From Noah Korda’s blog:

The final update for now. 7/12 11:55pm

Thank you everyone.
Noah Korda

Tonight’s free concert at California Plaza features local Perla Batalla and Barcelona-based Buika. Both women offer much to the world of Spanish music in general and Latin Jazz in particular.

Perla Batalla is known for her soulful brand of Spanish music. Raised by a father who owned a Spanish music store Batalla was once a back up singer for Leonard Cohen. Her self-named debut album was releasd in 1993.

Concha Buika’s smoky voice and funk infusion with jazz make her a must see. Buika has traveled the world singing, including a stint at the the Luxor as a Tina Turner impersonator. Her debut album, Buika, was released in 2005 and since then Buika has proven that she can bring her own style to many music genres.

For more information about the Grand Performances Summer Series at California plaza, you can call 213.687.2159 visit their website.