Finally got a chance to check out Kind Kream tonight, which is officially LA’s first vegan ice cream shop. While there are several shops in LA with vegan offerings, not the least of which is Scoops, Kind Kream is the first not to have any dairy based flavors. I say “finally” even though they have only been only for a few days, and under normal situations I would have been there opening day but things have been hectic, and they are in studio city so I think that gives me a pass. I had the Mint Chocolate Chip with hot fudge and it was pretty yummy.

If you are “in the know” you may have heard some of the kerfuffle about the fact that they use honey as a sweetener in some of their flavors. I think they have done a fantastic job explaining their reasonings, and I think that if you read through the comments on Quarry Girl’s post it will become extremely obvious to you that the vegan world is full of just as many whiney assholes as every other facet of society. There is no escaping. What I will say is that as someone who personally has been vegan for almost 18 years, I think there is much more important things to worry about and a place like this who is clearly trying to do the right thing should be supported. I also have seen several cycles over the years of “more vegan than you” folks come and go, and I say that because the people that scream the loudest and always want to point out what everyone else is doing wrong are generally the people who run out of people to attack, give up on veganism and find something else that they can embrace to try to make themselves feel better about their boring lives. No offense, of course.

(NOTE: Right after I wrote this they changed their name from Nice Cream to Kind Kream to avoid any potential fights with the dairy industry and the use of the word “cream” to sell non-dairy products. I updated the post accordingly.)

Yes, it’s true. After 16 years of living in El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula, I’m throwing in the towel. I’ve spent three of those years in Westwood, one in Brentwood, a dozen in Los Feliz, and probably close to two years total commuting.

But weep not, Angelenos, and please don’t start planning a farewell parade. Not only can the city not afford it at this time, but I’m also not going far—I’ll be calling the city of Glendale my new home. (Quick, how do you say “Glendale” in Armenian?)

Wait a second, isn’t Glendale in L.A. County? What’s the big f***ing deal, you ask?

Well, sadly, I’m also leaving L.A. Metblogs.

It’s been a fun ride. It all started with Meanwhile, Back at the Swamp and ended with The Triumphant Return of Fred Rated. (Well, technically, it’s ending with this post, but you get the idea.)

Yup, 101 posts in just over two years. That’s not exactly prolific for a blogger, but it’s been enough to let me live comfortably without sacrificing my creative integrity.

Many thanks to editor extraordinaire Lucinda Michele, who gave me my first writing gig back when she was kicking ass at L.A. Alternative, and to all the other talented scribes and editors here at L.A. Metblogs.

For those of you who have enjoyed my posts on science fiction-related events throughout the city, I’d encourage you to visit my blog cetialpha5, which is being updated (in a “Lost”-like non-linear fashion) as we speak. Also, if you’re into the whole social media thing, you can also “like” me on Facebook.

And since I promised myself I wouldn’t get all sad and weepy-like, let me just leave you with this:

Vulcan Mining pit, pic by me, gets bigger with a click.

The battle lines have been drawn for a while.  Due to a bizarre gerrymander with the Azusa city limits a portion lies adjacent to Duartes northern border.  It would be no big deal under normal conditions if it weren’t for the fact that stretch of Azusa is strip mined by Vulcan Mining for aggregate used in building materials.   Vulcan has now come up with a plan to increase their operation and via a land swap move closer to Duarte’s back door resulting, at least in Duarte’s position increased dust and particulates in the air to say the least in the northern end of their fair city.

The Pasadena Star News reports today that Azusa has another, possibly last public hearing on the land swap and increased mining by Vulcan, before voting on it.  That meeting is set for tonight in Azusa Council Chambers. Full Story here.

Duarte has been battling this planned swap and increased mining activity since 2008.  Their city web page is full of articles on the topic.  One advises of tonights meeting and another on their key issue with the Environmental Impact Report, the damage to the Van Tassel Creek Watershed.  Duarte maintains that the EIR done by Vulcan and Azusa is flawed in that it doesn’t address damage to the watershed, flood control mitigation, dust mitigation and other factors.  Their key argument seems to be the damage to the watershed that is not addressed in the EIR.

I hike the area where they currently mine often.  There is a definite fine sandy dust on everything, worse by the end of the summer than during the rainy season.  That dust fills the air throughout the SGV, but is most concentrated in the communities adjacent to where the mining takes place.  Flawed EIR reports aside, do we really need to increase the mining adding to the dust and particulate pollution in the region?

If you want to attend the meeting and voice an opinion on the topic here are the details you need.  May 17, 2010, 6:30PM Azusa City Council Chambers, 215 E Foothill Blvd, Azusa CA.

This lovely bit of electrical box art on Hyperion in Silver Lake caught my eye while I was visiting the new Silver Lake branch of the LA Public Library (a very cool place — I’ll be posting about it this week). It’s right in front of the outdoor seats at Gingergrass, so I divert two patrons from their Vietnamese fare for a moment to assure them that I was only taking pictures of the electrical box and not secretly stalking one of them. Thanks, ladies!

So, the side facing the street features two dancers:

And while you enjoy your pho, you’re entertained by a single danseuse:

It caught my eye and made me laugh on this gloomy Monday morning.

Remember how, on Star Trek: The Next Generation, you’d be at the final act of the episode, and all would seem lost, and then Geordi LaForge would pull some technobabble out of his ass that would totally save the day? Everyone would be all OH NO WE’RE ALL GONNA BE ASSIMILATED and then Geordi would get a look of dawning comprehension on his face and say something like “What if I recalibrate the transverse phase array to produce a tachyon pulse?” And it would totally work, and everyone would pat Will Riker on the back for a job well done.

So why am I reminiscing about this? Because tonight on Wilshire, Geordi LaForge is gonna be recalibrating the transverse phase array… of your Midori sour.

That’s right: Tonight, from 7 PM to 11 PM, LeVar Burton – who you also know as Kunta Kinte from Roots, and of course  from Reading Rainbow – will be serving as your Celebrity Bartender, mixing drinks behind the bar at Life on Wilshire. I’ve never been to Life, but I have seen every episode of TNG, so, y’know, Life could be a rat-infested hole in the wall and I’d try to go. (DISCLAIMER: Life is NOT a rat-infested hole in the wall.) So: Tonight. 7 PM. 6311 Wilshire Boulevard. LeVar Burton.

But don’t take my word for it.

Biking back from a trip to the dentist this morning, I did a double take passing the usually nondescript orange cinderblock wall of the auto repair shop on the south side of Melrose about a half-block west of Wilton Place. In front of it was a colorfully decorated extensive panel of photographs having to do with the Korean War. Here, see for yourself (click to majestify):

So of course, I stopped to check it out and met the proud and jovial gentleman in the picture who is the exhibit’s curator, Andrew Lo. Lo, 81, told me he mounted the display in remembrance of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Korean War, which began June 25, 1950. Lo, who is a Korean/English language instructor for the L.A. Unified School District served as a lieutenant in the South Korean Army during what’s long been colloquially referred to as the “forgotten war.”

It’s not forgotten to Lo, and so that others may learn about it, he spent more than two years acquiring the amazing collection of historic images, and they’ll be on display there for the next two weeks between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Is there anything better than fishing at Echo Park? Not when you’re Molly & Jane. No sir.

The year was 1958.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

Peace may have broken out in the battle between Venice homeowners and the California Coastal Commission regarding the epidemic of overnight parking by those sleeping in their recreational vehicles and cars on Venice streets. Last we left off, the Venice Stakeholders Association had sued the California Coastal Commission after the Commission denied the request by the City of Los Angeles to establish “overnight parking districts” on certain Venice streets, where parking without a permit would have been prohibited between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. (or 5 a.m. on some streets).

Read the rest of this entry →

What happens when you put three Metblogging ladies in a room with a few dozen donuts and a photographer?  Well, let’s just say that many, many donuts were harmed in the making of this photo:

So, yeah.  The Donut Summit is clearly going to be the social event of the season.  The deets, in case you’ve missed them:

When?  Sunday, June 13, 1pm

Where?  Griffith Park Picnic Area near Vermont, under our GIANT DONUT signs.

Price of admission: Between one to 12 donuts, either sourced at your fave donut shop OR, yes, you CAN make your own. Label box or bag with the name of the donut maker.

Donuts will be labeled by shop of origin and voted on by category, and one lucky donut shop will walk away with the crown and scepter of LOS ANGELES DONUT KING/QUEEN, regardless of whether or not that really is the name of his/her store.

And as if that weren’t enough, there will be games, goodies, limited edition artist t-shirts (for a donation) and more greasy, carby, sugar-coated fun than you can shake a stick at.

Tickets will sell out fast for this one. I recommend you go now & pick them up; we won’t be giving any out, sadly.

Returning to the first place they ever played a show, ATE will be hosting a very special benefit concert to raise funds for the Neda Project, a series of events with Amnesty International about Neda Agha-Soltan and digital democracy in Iran.

Tickets are very limited and will be first come, first served. All proceeds benefit the Neda Project. Neda Agha-Soltan became an unfortunate rallying point for the resistance protesting the disputed election of Mahmoud Ahmadenijad. The student was shot in the street by government militia for participating in peaceful protests against the disputed election. Her death, captured on video, was seen by millions worldwide on YouTube and further disseminated by national & international news outlets. As ATE writes, “It’s one of the first examples of the democratization of broadcasting—that broadcasting is no longer solely in the hands of corporations and government, but in the hands of people.  Anyone with a cell-phone camera and an internet connection can broadcast to the world. It means not only that the world is watching, but also, that the world is filming.”

More info on the show is here.

As you already know and have put into your calendars, next Saturday and Sunday, May 22/23, is the Very Special Classic Eats Blog-a-thon at Canter’s Deli and Bakery.

Your humble* LA Metbloggers are going to take turns at a booth at Canter’s, blogging about the people, the ambiance, the kibitizing, and the noshing. We will get a 24 hour view of a piece Los Angeles, via Canter’s. Starting at noon on Saturday and ending at noon on Sunday, we’ll see the weekend lunchers, the early bird-specialers, the post movie noshers, the “What’s open after 10?” crowd, the post-club hangover avoiders, the pre-dawn transition crowd, the Sunday breakfast, then Sunday brunch crowd.

We are also blogging for a good cause. We want to raise $1000 in cash and 200 canned food items for the LA Foodbank. For every $1 donated, the LA Foodbank is able to acquire and distribute 4 meals. $1 = 4 meals. $1 = 5 pounds of food. (And you thought a dollar didn’t go very far these days.) Please stop by the Metblog table and drop whatever you can into the collection jar. Canter’s will also donate all their leftover bakery goods on Sunday.

Canter’s is old school, in case you weren’t aware. They originally opened in the 40′s in Boyle Heights then headed west to Fairfax after WWII where they have been ever since. Canter’s is still old school and doesn’t have wifi or internet of any kind. But we are not letting that stop us because Verizon very kindly donated a set of Mifi Mobile Hotspots to us to achieve our blog-a-thon dream. For 24 hours, you can enjoy free internet access with us at Canter’s. That’s a worth a buck in the Foodbank donation jar, right?

Free wifi, donations for a good cause, amazing food — there are no excuses for you not to be there!

*I know, “mostly” humble.

This weekend, three of my favorite things are coming together. Downtown L.A., 3-D, and the Downtown Independent Theater. If you haven’t been to this venue yet, you are missing out. Also, you have a great opportunity to visit the theater this weekend for an independent 3-D film festival.

The Stereo Club of Southern California is hosting the 7th Annual Los Angeles 3-D Movie Festival this Saturday, May 15th, 2010, at the Downtown Independent Theater. The festival will present a special 3-D theatrical premiere screening of Dark Country, the feature film directorial debut of actor Thomas Jane. The festival will also showcase a selection of over twenty international 3-D shorts in competition, stereoscopic art installations, and demonstrations of do-it-yourself 3-D production.

The festival begins at 1pm, with the first block of 3-D shorts in competition followed by a free demonstration of 3-DIY: Do-It-Yourself 3-D at 3pm. The second block of shorts is at 4pm. The evening’s events begin at 8pm, with the presentation of the Jury Awards and the Premiere Screening of Dark Country, culminating with a reception and after-party on the theater rooftop. This may be your one and only chance to see Dark Country in a theater and the way it was meant to be seen in glorious 3-D.

All events will be held at the Downtown Independent Theater, 251 S. Main street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012. For more info and the complete schedule, visit the festival website. Advance tickets are available online.

Happy Hour is one of those concepts that I have to admit to not understanding. Do people go there to unwind after a day at the office? Do they go there to meet people with whom they hope to have romantic encounters? Do they go there for the cheap food and booze?

I’m a freelancer who shares a domicile with my significant other, so all of my office work and romantic encounters happen in my apartment (fortunately, though, rarely at the same time). So the first two reasons mean very little to me. But I do enjoy half-price appetizers and beer, so overall I’m fully in support of Happy Hour.

Which is why I was jazzed to discover that friend-of-the-blog Caroline on Crack had compiled a damn-near-comprehensive Google Calendar of Happy Hours across the city. Now all your afternoon-planning needs — whether that planning involves rest, romance or repast — can be met in one place.

Caroline, thy name is convenience. Thanks for doing this.

Grab your friends and head on down to the new Regal Beagle in Silver Lake this Friday, May 14 when Sock Puppet Sitcom Theater presents “Three’s Company.”

Sock Puppet Sitcom Theater is the brainchild of Mark Hayward (pawubu), whose unmatched master sock puppetry skills have been thrilling audiences for generations. Check out this link for a preview of what you can expect to see Friday night: www.youtube.com/user/pawubu.

The puppet show begins at 8:00 PM and will be followed by three bands, The Edges at 9:00 PM, Irradio at 10:00 PM and Ray Argyle’s “Saving Grace” EP CD release show at 11:00 PM.

Admission is $5 ($20 including open bar).

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