C’mon. Skip the Starbucks once and spend that money to help those in need. Who knows? It could be you seeking out the Red Cross after a huge quake here. Wouldn’t you want them to have enough supplies for you?

Michael Stahl's Helms photo used through Creative Commons license

Get dad a sharkskin suit or a vintage tie for Father’s Day–head to the Helms Bakery building for what sounds like a damned cool event. Billed as “part ‘Pop-Up Shop,’ part vintage expo, part art opening,” this one day event should be good shopping and people watching. If you’ve ever been to the clothing and textile show in Burbank, you know that there promise to be plenty of Rockabilly and Bettys at the Helms Saturday.  I met the event organizer, Dave from Clever Vintage Clothing, at a Hidden LA meet-up and then I saw him at the Burbank show, and I can tell you the man will find you what you’re looking for. If you’ve got a vintage itch, he’ll help you scratch it. For this event, he’s gathered 12 of his favorite dealers.

The details:
Saturday, June 19, 2010
10:00am – 4:00pm
At the LightSpace Studio at the Historic Helm’s Bakery Building
8755 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA

We’ll see you there tomorrow, in Griffith Park (find us near the Vermont entrance), at 1pm, with your donuts!  I’m super excited – word on the street is that there will be strawberry donuts from the Donut Man, and I’m bringing blueberry donuts from my own beloved little Tasty Donuts, and all kinds of general donut-themed foolishness is planned!  You can find more information about what’s in store here.

And big thanks to the fine folks over at Brand X for the shout out!

And as you’re getting ready for Sunday, you might want to think about brushing up on your donut know-how, because if you think we’re just going to be eating donuts, think again:  we have all kinds of donut fun and games cooked up!  There will be donut trivia contests!  (Do you know who invented the donut?  Hint:  It wasn’t the Earl of Donut.)  There will  the Amazing Hands-Free Donut Eating Challenge!  And, for you literary types, there will be a prize for the best donut haiku!

To get you inspired, here is a donut poem that is not, in fact, a haiku, but rather, is modeled after the oeuvre of William Blake:

Cruller, cruller, burning bright,

In a strip mall late at night,

What immortal pastry

Could better harden arteries?

If that’s not inspiring, please, tell me what is.  And tell me in person, at the Donut Summit!  Sunday, 1pm, picnic area near the intersection of Vermont and Commonwealth Canyon in Griffith Park.  And BRING DONUTS!!

Also, gotta put the brakes on State Measure 16.  PG & E has poured millions and millions of dollars into this, trying to hoodwink the public into granting them a virtually monopoly and very little accountability.  A big no for me.  Big corporate entities have shown us their lack of responsibility all around and I’m not inclined to support them any more.

Kamala Harris gets my vote for Attorney General.  She seems the most sane…

Anyway, see you at the polls!

1.  What will happen at the Donut Summit?
It’s going to work a little something like this:

- The festivities kick off at 1pm. So, from about 1-1:30, we’ll have Donut Registration. Just show up with your Donuts, check in with our illustrious Metbloggers, and we’ll make sure your donut box is clearly labeled with the name of your donut shop.

- Once everyone’s donuts are registered (so, by about 1:30), donut tasting will begin and will last until about 2:30. We’ll have donut tasting stations set up, and we’ll provide you with a ballot for voting on your top donuts. We’ll have Donut Marshalls on hand cutting up donuts for sharing, so that everyone can taste lots of different donuts from all over the city.

- Once all of the ballots are submitted, we’ll tally the votes! While vote tallying is going on, you lucky people get to hang out with Metbloggers, and there will be fun and games!

- At around 3:30, we’ll crown the Donut King!
(Please note that all times listed above are approximate and subject to change!)

2.  Where is the Donut Summit?
In Griffith Park, near the intersection of Vermont and Commonewealth Canyon – see here for a map!

3.  Where should I bring donuts from?
Anywhere! From Winchell’s to Spudnuts to Stan’s to your own kitchen – it’s all fair game. We’ve put together a short list of local donut shops to give you some ideas, but don’t feel restricted to that list.

4.  How many donuts should I bring?
As many as you like – just bring donuts!

5.  What’s going to happen to any leftover donuts?
While we would have liked to donate any leftover donuts to a local food bank or soup kitchen, we haven’t been able to find any local organizations that are willing to deal with perishables (but if any of you, dear readers, do know of a local charity who might be interested, please let us know). So any extra donuts will be sent home with Donut Summit attendees in donut doggie bags, so you’ll have breakfast for the week! And there are lots of tasty things to be done with leftover donuts: you can do donut bread pudding, donut trifle, donut french toast, and I, personally, an an advocate of the refried donut – just throw a stale donut into a non-stick pan and the inside will get soft and the glaze will carmelize and go crispy, and it will become the most delicious thing in the world.

6.  Why did you spell donut wrong?  It’s spelled d-o-u-g-h-n-u-t.

Look, I just spell it the way Randy’s spells it.  And a giant cement donut can’t be wrong.

Watercress Cafe

Mine is a simple life with small pleasures. A good lunch spot counts for a lot in my world. I live around the corner from Watercress Cafe on Woodman and so I’ve passed it a bazillion times, but somehow I’d never eaten there until recently. They close at 7 weeknights (4 and 3 Saturday and Sunday respectively) and I’m usually not in the neighborhood lunch hours, but now that I’m in on the secret, I’ll be having lunch there when I can.

We’re talking about the ultimate turkey sandwich, people. It has apple slices and herbed goat cheese and greens and it is on raisin bread. It is a perfect mixture of sweet and savory, smooth and crunchy. Watercress‘s turkey sandwich is, as the cute counter guy describes: a party in your mouth. Since the turkey sandwich experience, I’ve been back for a salad that had chicken and pine nuts and greens so good you don’t want to dress them.

the turkey sandwich in question

(I like my greens naked, like I like my… ahem…) I had breakfast there last weekend and it was good but not as great (in my opinion) as the lunches (but then it’s hard to keep pace with Hugo’s as far as Sherman Oaks breakfasts go).

There’s parking in the back and a coffee roaster next door. What could be wrong with that?

Hours: Monday-Friday 7 am – 7 pm, Saturday 7 am – 4 pm, Sunday 8 am – 3 pm
Watercress
13565 Ventura Boulevard
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

2009 promo shot--32 years after their first single release

When I was a wee punk girl, I had a mix tape (oh yes, my cubs, I am indeed that old) that ended with the Buzzcocks‘ “Something’s Gone Wrong Again,” except cassette recording being the inexact science it is, I’d misoverestimated the amount of time left on the tape, and the song was cut off part way through. I played the hell out of that tape even so, and it was months before my best friend heard the song on vinyl and realized it wasn’t supposed to be like that. The line between artful choice and silly mistake is a thin one sometimes.

Fast forward…here we are decades later and the Buzzcocks are one of those bands that remains awesome. Art school punk rockers, auteurs of the unrequited love song, the Buzzcocks make the kind of music you put on and sing super loud in your car by yourself even though the people in the cars next to you are staring in when you belt out the lyrics to “You Know You Can’t Help It” or “Orgasm Addict.” If this sounds familiar to you, you’ll be thrilled to hear that not only are the Buzzcocks at the Nokia a week from Saturday but they are playing all of the songs off of Love Bites and Another Music in a Different Kitchen as well as other material. Yippee. Seriously it’s like punk rock Santa is coming.

You want to sit on Santa’s lap? Just leave a comment telling us about a time when something went wrong again for you. Winners will be selected randomly. Make sure you leave contact information when you post your comment or I won’t be able to reach you, which would give you more to sing about, but would suck nonetheless.