Johns or Johnny's? You choose

Last Saturday, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce held its Health and Fitness Expo on the Third Street Promenade.  The event featured scores of exhibitors in the health and wellness field.  By the luck of the draw, St. Johns Health Center had its booth set up right in front of another John.  However, I’m thinking that their agendas might have been slightly different.

Queensrÿche Cabaret

Queensrÿche returns to Los Angeles on Friday night, bringing their latest creation to Club Nokia. Enter below to win your tickets to the show.

Progressive rock is about creating something. Not just the same old rock & roll with a 4/4 beat, but stretching the boundaries; trying new things. Queensrÿche has done it again, this time with their Cabaret.

Queensrÿche Cabaret is coming to Club Nokia on Friday, July 23. Geoff Tate and company will be joined onstage by caged go-go dancers, burlesque dancers, aerialists, jugglers, a contortionist and more. They’ll be performing the hits and never-before-heard selections woven together to tell a story in song. This show is being billed as “the first adults-only rock show,” and it will certainly be Queensrÿche as you’ve never seen them before.

As a special bonus, head over to BottleRock downtown (a couple of blocks from Club Nokia) before the show Friday night. Geoff Tate will be there in the lounge from noon to 4:00pm signing bottles of his own wine, Insania.

Want to see the show, courtesy of Blogging.LA? Leave me a note in the comments below telling me about your first time seeing Queensrÿche, or if this will be the first time, why you want to see this show. I’ll pick the winners and notify via email.

I’ll get things started. My first time was when I went to see Kiss at the Long Beach Arena in (I think) 1986. The opener was some unknown band called Queensrÿche. I knew nothing about them, but from the moment they hit the stage, I knew they were something special. I became an instant fan, and 24 years later Queensrÿche is still one of my favorite hard rock bands. Can’t wait to see the Cabaret!

Everyone loves a good spicy tuna roll. Or a big pile of nigiri. But eating out is expensive. And the economy sucks. My wardrobe has been reduced to a comically large barrel with a pair of suspenders attached, which makes it difficult to perform simple tasks such as driving and combing the beach for lost valuables.

But take heart, sushi lovers; this Wednesday night you’ll have the chance to learn to make your own sushi. The teacher: Sushi chef Nikki Gilbert, who has been featured on one of the less insane Japanese reality television shows (the title escapes me, probably because it’s in Japanese). Nikki was also chef at Masa Sushi, a Hokkaido sushi joint with a 70-year history.

What’s unusual about Nikki is that, traditionally, sushi chefs tend to be male, owing largely to the belief that women’s bodies aren’t the proper temperature for making sushi. This particular bit of misogyny seems pretty odd to me, since all the girls I know tend to get cold easily. You’d think a low body temperature would lend itself well to handling raw fish. But I guess nobody ever reasoned their way into a system of institutionalized sexism.

Anyway, the details: The class takes place at 7:30 PM this Wednesday night (July 21) in room 200C of the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center on 244 San Pedro Street in Little Tokyo. You’ll need to bring a cutting board, a knife, and $60 (cash or check), which might seem expensive, but if you eat sushi as often as I do, it’ll pay for itself soon enough. You’ll learn how to buy fish; how to make hand rolls, cut rolls and basic nigiri; how to prepare sushi rice and cut vegetables; and basic sushi etiquette.

Need more info? Get outta here, you.

Maple Bacon YUM

For you lovers of the famous Maple Bacon Donut at the Nickel Diner in downtown LA (and by “lovers” I mean “fanatics”) you can see your love on television tonight. The Cooking Channel (not to be confused with The Food Network, though they are sister networks) will air a show called “Unique Eats” tonight at 7:30 pst/10:30 est featuring the amazing pastries and desserts made every day by hand at The Nickel.

If you’ve not yet had the pleasure of eating at the Nickel Diner, you are missing out. Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold said: “The Nickel… is a new kind of downtown diner, a Ships for a generation for whom full-sleeve tattoos are the new black, and it’s about time.” All of their food is delicious and extremely well priced. The owners (full disclosure, I’m friends with them) work hard to make you, the guest, feel welcome and safe on a block that might not seem so welcoming at first glance. The place is always jumping, the crowd always varies and the food never disappoints. Just make sure you ask if they have any maple bacon donuts left right when you sit down, just in case.

If you still aren’t sure, tune in tonight to see what all the good words are about!

The Nickel Diner
524 S. Main Street, Downtown
213 623-8301

Five years ago, the foods of East Los Angeles met the Latino/a-owned wineries of Napa Valley.  The rendez-vous was pre-arranged by AltaMed, which, when it is not playing matchmaker, is a network of community clinics and health care providers that provide services to those in underserved areas.  After the initial encounter, the two have met every year for the last four years as part of AltaMed’s East LA Meets Napa fundraiser event.  This year’s reunion at Union Station was the biggest yet.  A total of about 60 restaurants/eateries and wineries set up booths alongside each other in the train station’s two courtyards; for $150 per ticket, the monied and the hungry sampled as much as their tummy and blood alcohol level could take.

This is the map of the festivities.  As you can see, it was huge.

I started off with dessert from Porto’s. Not sure why – there were plenty of non-dessert dishes that looked and smelled delicious. But, I walked into the courtyard, saw the sign for Porto’s, and my stomach urged me to go to there.

Porto’s offering at the event included these pastry puffs to your left.  Not just any ol’ puffs, though – no, these were filled with seasoned ground beef.  There is something about meat desserts that gives you enough sweet and savory to last you the rest of the day.  Also on hand were mousses and cakes and their famed gauva and cheese turnovers.

The Cuban bakery currently has two locations; a third will be opening up in Downey soon.  This means even more locations to pick up everything from a cake (one of the best in town, bar none) to a deceptively simple pastries and treats.

Nearly every stand had someone making fresh tortillas.  For example, from Teresita:

A higher-end take on the tortilla – Indian spiced – came from Rivera.  First, they start off as little dough balls:

Then they are flattened, stacked, and cooked carefully one by one:

The final result:

It seemed as if everyone had some version of tacos, so I was pretty grateful to try some non-taco items.  Home Girl Cafe, for example, had sandwich sliders and tostadas; Seta (hailing from Whittier) offered delicious braised short-ribs which won most of our hearts as the best offering of the night.

Steve Arroyo – he of Cobras y Matadors and Church and State fame – was on hand, grilling up some meat and previewing his newest venture, Escuela.

Wine-wise – well, I am not very wise about wine.  I did, however, enjoy the reds from Mi Sueno.  The El Llano blend in particular melded perfectly with the smokiness of Escuela’s duck tacos.

A mariachi band – of course – entertained the winers and diners, but it was this lone trumpeter that I liked the best:

Sure, everyone knows that tacos and Coronas are fantastic together, but who knew that the tacos sneak off with Pinot every year?  An affair to remember, to be sure – next year, same time, same place.  We’ll be waiting.

Hot on the back tire of my post Friday gushing with unbridled joy at finding a photo-op of our up-to-now notoriously bike-blind mayor actually riding an actual bicycle, comes news that Villaraigosa apparently liked it so much (and perhaps the positive reaction it engendered) that he ventured forth on two wheels again this Saturday evening, this time on an actual Mid-City street in the form of Venice Boulevard, whereupon at some point the driver of a taxi put an end to the enjoyment by reportedly cutting in front of him across the bike lane, causing Villaraigosa to brake hard, lose control, fall and break his elbow.

Lest I be slammed for callousness, of course I am relieved the mayor did not suffer greater injuries and certainly I wish for his speedy recovery. But upon hearing the news I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and plant my face in my hands at such a laughably ludicrous lightning-fast reversal of fortune. Not even two days after the mayor gleefully surprises me by doing what I long considered unfathomable, the unfathomable happens.

I hope hard that the mayor will get well and get on his bike and on the street again — and maybe he will — but I can see that not happening. While opportunity exists for Villaraigosa to turn this negative into a positive campaign to increase motorist awareness, I get the feeling in the interim we’ll just hear the usual suspects step out of their cars and up to microphones bemoaning this incident as being further proof that one takes one’s life in their hands biking this city.

With the thousands of miles of success I’ve had bike commuting all over this city — not without the  occasional crash — I obviously disagree.

Falling on a bike whether it results in a broken elbow or a bruised ego can certainly shake the confidence and motivation of even the most seasoned urban cyclist. It’s easy to take for granted the omni-precariousness of the activity: we’re balanced on two strips of rubber and rolling fully exposed alongside thousands of pounds of powerful steel boxes a percentage of which are operated by distracted and/or disrespectful drivers and we do so across debris-strewn city streets in various states of increasing disrepair most of which are designed to exclude us. When any of those myriad things that can go wrong do,  that delicate balance is broken and it’s a rude awakening to the ever-inherent risks and dangers involved. I defy anyone who has fallen to get back up in the saddle without feeling a sense of hesitation or fear. For some it’s momentary. For some — especially those just starting out –  that hesitation can fast-track into “what the fuck was I thinking!?” and it’ll be a looooong time before they ride the streets again.

That’s what might happen with the mayor, not because he’s unwilling, but because he’s the leader of the fifth largest economy in the world, and there are going to be a lot of official people in his official ear and on his official Blackberry telling him that whole bicycling thing was cute and nice while it barely lasted, but if he wants to officially keep that hobby up it’s time to strap the Schwinn to the back of the mayoral SUV, hop in the back seat and get on over to the LA River or Ballona Creek bikeways or the Marvin Braude beach bikepath or the Sepulveda Basin — anyplace where some motherfucking cab driver can’t pick the wrong time to be inattentive and nearly ruin everything.

Don’t listen to them Mr. Mayor. Get well. Get back on the bike, and get back on the streets.

I’m visiting New York City this week and stumbled across these new bike lanes that they are beginning to install all over the city. These are amazing and akin to the lanes you see all over much of bike friendly European cities. It’s a subtle change, but makes a world of difference. In case you are missing what you are looking at, let me explain:

In the photo above the order of things, from left to right, is: Sidewalk, Bike Lane, Car Parking, Moving Car Traffic
In Los Angeles, the order of things, from left to right, is: Sidewalk, Car Parking, Bike Lane, Moving Car Traffic

Swapping parking and the bike lane might seem small but it makes a world of difference. It reduces the chances of getting “doored” when a driver opens a parked car door without looking at the bike lane, it reduces the chance that people will block the bike lane with their trash cans forcing bikes into lanes of traffic which annoys the drivers, it reduces the chance of a driver suddenly pulling into a bike lane and double parking, the list goes on and on… Dear Los Angeles, can we have these please? Please??

Probably one of the worst things about living in a major city is the trash. LA probably has more than its fair share — around the corner from my apartment is a public trash can that struggles mightily to contain its daily load — but we’re not as bad as some other cities, like New York (which constantly smells of piss no matter where you go) and Dallas (where libertarian building regulations allow middle schools to be constructed entirely of discarded McDonald’s styrofoam clamshell containers from the 1980s).

Of course, part of that is due to the efforts of responsible Angelenos to keep things neat and tidy. Take South Park, for instance — a neighborhood that real estate agents are legally required to refer to as “up and coming.” This weekend, South Parkers (is that what they’re called?) will be cleaning up their own streets, and they’re asking for volunteers to help out.

Because South Park is a Business Improvement District, much of its trash is picked up by a staff paid by a combination of commercial aresidential tax revenues and government grants. But anyone who’s ever been through South Park knows that it’s not all lofts and concert venues. Parts of the neighborhood aren’t covered by the BID; thus the community clean-up.

If you’d like to help out, volunteers are organizing on the patio of J Restaurant and Lounge this Saturday (July 17) at 7:30 AM. After a morning of cleaning up, you’ll be treated to a lunch of hot dogs, chips and soft drinks. If you can’t show up but would like to donate tools, snacks or bottled water, shoot an email to mail@southpark.la or call 213.612.3612.

Earlier today Mayor Villaraigosa(‘s aide) tweeted about how much he enjoyed last night’s Summer Night Lights event at the Jim Gilliam Recreation Center in Baldwin Hills. In the tweet the mayor(‘s aide) wrote about eating, doing arts and crafts and bicycling with the community.

Wait a minute: bicycling? It took all of his first term and a year into his second before I heard him even utter the word “bicycle,” and it was in the sentence “What the hell is a bicycle?” Now he’s claiming to actually have rode around on one?

Cynicaliciously skeptified, of course I was all set to tweet back the proverbial “Pix or it didn’t the hell happen,” but instead I clicked on the link in the tweet that took me to his Flickr photoset of him doing various picture-perfect things. Just when I thought there was no visual proof of him actually riding, behold — and on the brand and make of bike I ride. It’s like we’re related all of a sudden.

Photo opp or not (borrowed fixie or not), I am seriously in shock and awe. I honestly never ever ever thought I’d see such a sight.

860 North Gower was home to one of the Big Five – RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. It’s latest film was considered a critical success, but a box office failure. How would history come to remember Citizen Kane?

The year was 1941.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

“If you live in a city, it’s your home.  You should be proud of that.”

– Sonja Rasula, on connecting the dots from the big world of Los Angeles to your backyard

Not too toot our own horn, but there is something to the idea that grounds our little almost-didn’t-make-it blogging network known as Metblogs: that you, as a netizen, have a resource other than the big guys for information, news,  and commentary about what’s going on in your block.  Because, ultimately what goes down at your corner store is a microcosm of what goes on in your neighborhood, your side of town, your city; if you work on improving your little corner of the world, you help improve all four corners of the world.  This hyperlocality of action parallels what Sonja Rasula is doing, one event (Unique LA) and food festival (next week’s Street Food Fest) at a time.

I met Sonja for the first time at this spring’s Unique LA, an event where some 300 (mostly) local designers and crafty people brought their, yes, unique items to sell in a giant room at the California Market Center downtown.  Keeping up with Sonja is an exercise in – well, exercise.  I caught her somewhere between managing her volunteer staff of 9 and trying to get a bite to eat.  After pausing to resolve a situation with the tote bags (the $10 admission price to the event included a free tote bag designed by a local artist), we headed over to grab a bite at the Flying Pig’s stand — but not before Sonja stopped by the booth of a vendor named Homako.  Homako is a petite Japanese woman based here in LA; her Etsy store contains her mission statement:  “To create stuff to make me so Happy..  I want my friends(=my creations) to make you happy too!!!!!!!”  Aw.  She was so bubbly and excited by all the people – not just Sonja, but others as well – who ooh’ed and ah’ed at her where-did-you-get-it origami necklaces that you just couldn’t help feel peppy too.  Sonja picked up a necklace.  “If I don’t buy this now, I’m never going to get to it,” she said.

Sonja, sporting Homako's origami necklace, talks to Joe Kim of the Flying Pig truck. The Flying Pig's "tacos" are wrapped in a steamed bao bun - delicious.

Unique LA is a now bi-annual event, one in the spring and one in the winter, right before Christmas.  For the $10 admission fee, participants got free booze, the nifty tote bag designed especially for the event, and the opportunity to shop at the vendors handpicked, by Sonja, to set up temporary shop at Unique LA.  For those of you (me) who hate shopping precisely because your taste is buds only with food and not style, Sonja did the legwork for you.  It’s easy to take it from here.

Saba Horuni is super excited about the dinosaur purse she picked up at Unique LA. If anyone knows who made the purse, email me so I can give them proper credit!

“Buy local” is a such an oft-repeated mantra that it almost – almost – is devoid of the reasons behind the thought.  The only remnant of the phrase left is the connotation of expense – that, because of the economies of scale, buying locally-produced products is generally more expensive than, say, going to Target.  Nonetheless, over 12,000 people attended Unique LA; in total, Sonja estimated that $500,000 was injected into the local economy as a byproduct of the two-day event.  (Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, for all his pride about various national events held in LA and contributing to the local economy, remained conspicuously silent – guess he can’t catch every half million dollar event that happens under his nose.).

The sight of Angelenos – me, you, our neighbors, their mothers- paying the admission price and buying at Unique LA, in a recession no less, was a bit of surprise to me.

Not entirely for Sonja.  “The challenge, actually, is getting more people to come” to Unique LA and to “understand why you should buy local,” she said.  She credits her “incredible” street team and certain wry social media strategies for the turnout at Unique LA (but otherwise stayed mum on the specifics of her techniques – the details are Coca-Cola-trade-secret tight), but notes that she still “wants to reach beyond the hipsters and young people.”  Sonja appreciates good design, wants others to appreciate it as well and not settle for less – even if it means paying a little more.

In addition to shopping, Unique LA offered everyone the chance to learn a thing or two about the lost art of sewing.

She hopes that once we recognize that local artists produce unique things that you can not find at your neighborhood Third Street Promenade, a change in mindset from a passive to more active buyer will naturally follow.  She raised the fact that guests often visit LA and end up at Third Street.  “That’s so funny,” she said.  “You can find most of those stores anywhere.”  Instead, “I want to have a mall comprised of local vendors” so that the visiting New Yorker can have something a little more LA than shirt from BCBG.  And vice versa – Sonja has planned a Unique event for NYC (and Atlanta), so if we happen to visit the Big Apple during Unique NYC, we can take home something a little more New York than a “I Heart NYC” mug created specifically to boost tourism.

It’s easy to write off Unique LA as a cute two-day affair for hipsters, and nothing more.  It’s more thought provoking – and a little scary for corporations, and the publications and governments they sponsor – to take it seriously as a step towards modifying our shopping habits (again, all of our shopping habits, not just those of 20somethings with Clark Kent glasses and skinny jeans) that travels beyond the walls of the California Market Center.  Now, instead of only Target and Wal-Mart on our list of places to go for, say, stationary, we’ll consider Rock Scissor Paper as well.  Shopping with that mentality of choice is the first step towards fully taking advantage of the wonders of capitalism.

In this market of choice, price is only a factor.  Sonja is convinced that once people attend Unique LA, they will appreciate the quality and uniqueness of our locally made products and have little qualms about shelling out a little extra for the cost of ownership.  In turn, the dollars, earned and spent at the local level, will help support local infrastructures, like schools and public parks.  Seeing the state of these infrastructures will motivate us to do things like vote in local elections; after all, as Sonja pointed out, we are most directly and immediately affected by the problems and solutions addressed in the local elections.  This is the urban circle of life.  It is this circle that is the reason why buying local is so important as to almost be a political act itself.  If Simba figured out how to fulfill his role in the jungle, so can we.

Good luck finding this tote at your local Wal-Mart.

That we include the local designers on our shortlist of places to buy is the least we can do.  After all, their designs are lifted, sometimes blatantly, from the big guys.  Urban Outfitters, for example, strains very hard to duplicate and commoditize a certain street look, popularized by designers actually living in those streets.  Indeed, at least one blog tracks instances where retailers brazenly rip off other designers’ work.  Supporting your local designer, in a way, helps support your local Urban as well.  Irony, she’s rich.  Almost as rich as Urban.

Sonja is clear about not hating (too much) on the big guys, however.  There should be room for everyone: “Sometimes, you just really need a plain black leotard from the Gap,” she laughs.  At some point, she would like to help retailers enlist local designers and launch local lines within their brands.  With supermarkets of all places now heralding locally-sourced fruits and veggies, it is not at all unfathomable that the Gap or J Crew’s Madewell would roll out a line from (and appropriately credited to) a local designer.

All politics is local (RIP Tip O’Neill). The urban circle of life is something Sonja has been contemplating for quite some time.  Having spent a significant amount of time in Canada, “making sure your neighbors are taken care of” simply was part of the community mindset.  Taking that ethos with her when she moved to LA, she became heavily involved in the Youth Progressive Majority, encouraging young voters to learn the issues and, um, vote.

Sonja mindfully uses her events to “give back” to local non-profits.  Some proceeds from the spring Unique LA event, for example, were donated to Greenwish (which helps raise funds and awareness for green businesses), and a portion of each ticket sold for the upcoming LA Street Food Fest will benefit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels and Woolly School Gardens.

Supporting your local artist is less of a problem, it seems, when your local artist happens to be creating food. The last five years or so has seen this city come to its own in terms of food.  Among other causes, blame/credit gentrification, the rise of celebrity chefs, and a young demographic with an appetite for taste beyond the scene.  Late last year, just as the whole food truck thing was reaching its pinnacle, Sonja organized the city’s first major gathering of food trucks downtown.

By most accounts – including Sonja’s – the February event did not go well.  Scheduled to start at 10am, the fire marshal’s inspection caused undue delay.  Meanwhile, countless people descended upon the lot; pretty soon, the line (and the parking) snaked so far down 6th street that it was reminiscent of the early, two-hour-in-line days of the Kogi truck.  When the festival finally did open, the grounds quickly became overcrowded.  The lines at each food truck were enormous, hours-long even.  Hungry masses went crankily from one line to another.

Tickets to July 24th's Street Food Festival are pre-sale only, so that this ^^^ doesn't happen again.

Sonja strikes me as the type of person who, if she arrived 15 minutes late one day, would show up 15 minutes early the next.  And so, after apologizing in the face of the backlash and anger over the event, she and Shawna Dawson organized a second LA Street Food Fest, slated for next Saturday evening, July 24th, at the Rose Bowl.  There is a little hesitation about the second go-around of the food fest, given the problems of the first (indeed, a few food vendors told me they declined to participate precisely because of how the first was executed).

Crossing my fingers that Antojitos Carmen will have quesadillas. Above, a quesadilla de flor de calabaza - quesadilla stuffed to the gills with squash blossoms - on a recent trip to the storefront in Boyle Heights

Yet, to give them both credit, Sonja and Shawna learned a-plenty from their first go and upgraded accordingly.  Unlike version 1.0, there will be no giant lines spilling over into the huge parking lot that subs as a flea market every month.  Rather, version 2.0 caps the capacity, and makes tickets available only via pre-sale.  In addition, the pay-as-you-go format has been dropped in favor of a one-time admission fee of $45.  This seems a little steep at first, but you do get your money’s worth: liberty to sample all you can sample at each of the 60 participating food vendors and to drink all you can imbibe.  Just remember that no one likes an overly drunken foodie (no one).

The little boy, and little girl in me, watched eagerly as batter is poured for Fry Girl's Metblogs award-winning mini-donuts.

In addition, the event will bring together both new skool (i.e., Filipino food truck Manila Machine and Fry Girl, who won TWO awards at our First Annual Donut Summit last month!) and old skool (Tamales Elana from Watts and former Breed Street vendor Antojitos Carmen (<– if she has them, you absolutely must – must – pick up a few fried quesadillas)).  There also will be a cook-off, so you can watch all sorts of one-chefmanship take place.  And, finally, because eating and a competition about eating are not entertainment enough, The Deadly Syndrome and Warpaint will be jamming as the summer night falls.  All this on the grasses where Reggie Bush pushed Matt Leinart and where a stunned audience witnessed future Pro Bowler Vince Young handily hand the Trojans their asses.

Regardless of the struggles of the first food event, and how well this second improves on the first, the idea of the food truck powwow undoubtedly will endure.  America at the Brand, for example, organized two Street Feasts in March and June of this year, with stores in the outdoor mall running specials and discounts.  Similar events at other retail shopping courtyards followed.  While I’m personally happy to see local food trucks getting the business, it’s a little … disingenuous? insidious? genius? to use them as the worm to hook people in to spend at the retail mall.  Riffing from local ideas, it seems, is not limited to design (oh, right, who can forget Baja Fresh’s ridiculous attempt to put “Baja Kogi” tacos and burritos on its menu?).

Unlike other cities (Sonja points to Austin and Portland), we here in LA are still in the nascent stages of recognizing that we even have a local culture to support.  Also, we sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot: as she organized Unique LA and her food fests, Sonja learned that the climate in Los Angeles is “hyper-competitive.”  I guess the fact that a celebrity very realistically may wander into your store and pick up your ware to wear makes for a hypercompetitive market.  But that competition is giving way to mutual respect.  Sonja was pleasantly surprised when she learned that vendors picked to set up shop at Unique LA actively encouraged their patrons to attend the fair.  “[T]hese vendors were encouraging their customers to possibly shop with their competitors.  And they were ok with that.”  Similarly, participating food vendors are actively encouraging their followers to attend next week’s Food Fest.  And so, everyone wins.  See?  A little community building never hurt anyone.  We should be proud of us.

The LA Street Food Fest is on Saturday, July 24th, 5:30pm to 9:00pm, at the Rose Bowl.  General admission tickets are $45, which includes unlimited eats and drinks, parking, and entertainment by The Deadly Syndrome and Warpaint.  VIP tickets are $60, which gets your car a little closer to the stadium and you in a little earlier into the Fest. Tickets are pre-sale only, so get them while they last.  And, mark your calendars: the holiday edition of Unique LA is scheduled for December 11 and 12 at the California Market Center downtown.  Think of it as a way to avoid those nasty post-Halloween crowds.

EaterLA is reporting that Ye Coach & Horses pub on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is set to close its doors after 73 years. Something about a lease dispute with next door neighbor and building owner Samuel French Bookstore. At least the owners weren’t evicted in the dead of night. Friends of the joint are showing their support of Ye Coach’s Facebook page.

Hopefully, Sam French will understand the significance of something even being around for 73 years in Los Angeles, and reconsider their stance. Not only would the city lose yet another historical icon – thousands of actors and writers will be left to wander the streets of Hollywood is search of a new watering hole. One that is only further away from the bookstore to which they are paying customers.

One of the sweetest things about a 98 degree day like today in Los Angeles, is the cool night that follows.  Just when I thought I couldn’t take the fiery heat anymore… the sun set and a cool breeze blew in.  It was time to light the candles and dine alfresco on the deck.

As the crescent moon set over the canyon, I broke out a new organic sparkling wine from Spain I found at Trader Joes.  “Albero”  is the name.  Super perfection when paired with the strawberries growing on the deck.  And even delicious without them!  I can’t really remember exactly how much it cost, but it had to be relatively cheap since I’m not buying the expensive stuff much!  Yummy.  A perfect summer compliment to the soft summer night.

I welcome summer in LA!  Yes, the hillsides burn, we sweat and swear at the heat, but oh!!!! the nights!

A few weeks ago I alerted our next-door neighbor that what had started off as a few bees had blossomed in short notice into a small colony that had been busy under a roof eave making his house their home. I told him I don’t have a problem with them but that if he did an option would be to call Backwards Beekeepers to remove and rescue them rather than have them exterminated by some heartless giant-mallet-wielding pest control company.

In the weeks since the neighbor has opted to let the bees be bees, which is totally awesome — especially since my little backyard patch of Great Sunflower Project sunflowers will be blooming any day now. And extraspecially that the hive — now huge compared to its humble beginnings — has basically come outside for reasons unknown to me (the heat, maybe?) to literally hang out in a giant writhing mass of honeybee orgyfication, a wall-to-wall portion of which you see above (click here to view emBEEgified version) who didn’t mind at all that I got my camera all up in their beeswax.

Those Canadians!  Giving us great things like poutine, part of a title of a Calvin & Hobbes collection, and a pretty great band pretty awesomely called The New Pornographers (band name history: founder and lead singer A.C. Newman was contemplating the use of placing “new” as a descriptor; after seeing the Japanese movie The Pornographers, the band name was born).   Pitchfork labeled the band as a “Canadian supergroup,” owing to the fact that the bands’ albums consistently are top ranked, and that all eight members of the group are just as successful in their individual ventures as they are when they work together.  This is, after all, the band that counts Neko Case as a member.  “Canadian supergroup”, though, sounds much too much like they’re readying for battle against evil doers; to the contrary, their brand of hyperkinetic indie pop is as innocent as the Swiss army.  Not to say that they aren’t powerful in the least – the music is infectious, you just want to dance, and their current album, Together, is fantastic.

The New Pornographers currently are touring their neighbor to the south, and I have tickets for their July 20th show at the Music Box in Hollywood to give away!  In honor of The New Pornographer’s nomenclature, just give come up with your best porn star name in the comments below.  Your name could follow the eons-old rule (i.e., first pet’s name + the street you grew up on = Idgie Michaels for me), or you could just make up your own rule as you go along (like real porn stars).  Best name wins the tickets.  Be sure to include a valid e-mail; I’ll contact the winner by the end of the business day on Friday.  Best of luck!

– Idgie Michaels