(This post is part of the series LA Plays Itself in the Movies – a big thanks to Julia for organizing!)

“Riot on the Sunset Strip” is a masterwork of the teen exploitation genre. Released in 1967, the film was made within six weeks of the infamous curfew riots that took place on the Strip protesting the closure of Pandora’s Box, a club that was then a huge part of the music scene.  The plot (and, as much as I love this movie, I will be the first to admit that there isn’t much of one) follows Andi (who was just seventeen, if you know what I mean) and her friends, who really, really just want to have a good time, but have to put up with flack from hapless authority figures, including a duo of local businessmen, who come off as a live action version of the Muppets’ Waldorf and Statler, and Andi’s estranged father, the head of the Hollywood division of the police department. The storyline plays pretty fast and loose with facts, giving a totally sensationalized representation of the Strip in its heyday as an unincorporated nightlife hub, full of crazy, drug-addled longhairs (that’s totally-square-1960s-grownup-speak for “teenagers”).  Basically, it’s the Los Angeles of middle-America’s worst nightmares.

I first saw the film about three years ago, shortly after I’d moved to the city.  I was mostly interested in the totally awesome musical cameos it features, from bands like the Standells and the Chocolate Watchband, and, at the time, I was really fascinated by the history of that part of town. As I become increasingly cynical (I now ride the bus along Sunset almost every day, and let me tell you, nothing will strip a place of its potential to fascinate like being stuck in the middle of it on a hot, smelly bus, for far longer than any human should be on a hot, smelly bus), I find myself appreciating the naivety of movies like “Riot on the Sunset Strip” more and more.  The movie is just so ridiculous and, at times, earnest, that I just can’t resist it.

Read the rest of this entry →

If you haven’t been to Galco’s Soda Pop Stop (located at 5702 York Blvd. in Highland Park), you’d better have a really good excuse.  The place is nothing short of wondrous.  Housed in a nondescript building that used to be an ordinary grocery store, Galco’s is home to more amazing, marvellous things than I had ever dreamt of, in the form of 450 different kinds of soda pop.  They have cucumber soda, and celery soda, and espresso soda, and almost any other flavour of soda pop you could think of, all served up in old-timey glass bottles.

Soda pop as far as the eye can see! Photo courtesy of Nick Sherman

And also, there are at least 34 different varieties of rootbeer available at Galco’s, which is an important fact that I learned last weekend.  I was having some of my esteemed colleagues over for a rootbeer tasting party (all the cool kids are doing it) so we headed up to Galco’s the day before to stock up, thinking that maybe there would be a dozen or so different rootbeers, at most, and instead came home with 34.  John Nese, the owner of Galco’s, was a total gentleman and insisted on helping us haul our spoils out to the car, and made sure that we’d picked up a bottle of Red Ribbon, one of the hardest rootbeers to find because it’s made with a process that somehow involves dry ice (sounds like mad science to me).

Nese is a fascinating guy who really believes in the importance of small businesses – you can see an interview with him here.  And I really recommend going to the Soda Pop Stop as soon as you can – and you should totally try the cucumber soda because it’s amazing.  As for the rootbeer tasting party, we only got through eight different varieties before we succumbed to sugar comas, so we’re gearing up for round two this weekend.

Fixnation, the fantastic organization that helps me spay & neuter the feral cats in my ‘hood is now offering monthly vaccine clinics for pups ‘n’ kitties. You can get vaccines for distempter for $8, rabies for $12, and even microchip the little scamps for $25(!). Do right by your best friend! If only we could innoculate our human friends similarly, and with such ease.

Fixnation is located in north Burbank near the airport at 7680 Clybourn Avenue, south of San Fernando. Times, dates of future events, & more here.

I think the kids will know what I’m talking about, but I hope I won’t lose all credibility with the music-savvy adults when I admit that one of the early records (yes, it was an LP. I’m old.) that I absolutely loved was Urban Chipmunk. It was 1981 and the Chipmunks did an album of country covers, a la Urban Cowboy.

Well, it’s nearly 30 years later, Alvin & the boys don’t seem to have aged a bit, and their career is flourishing. Perhaps you’ve heard of their latest flick, The Squeakquel? It’s made nearly half a billion dollars at the box office (worldwide.) Read on for a chance at your very own copy of the dvd.

Saturday afternoon there will be a dance party at the Glendale Galleria to celebrate the release of the dvd next week. USC dancers will be giving instruction on the dance moves from the movie, there will be an arts & crafts table, and lots of free giveaways. Take the kids; they’ll love it. After transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from parents’ pockets to studio coffers, there must be something to this.

What: Chipmunks Dance Party
Where: Glendale Galleria – JC Penney Court
When: Saturday, 27 March, 11am-5pm

Now for the free dvd…
The Chipmunks have done a country album, punk, Christmas tunes. For your chance to win a dvd copy of The Squeakquel, leave a note in the comments telling me which artist/genre the ‘Munks should cover next. I’ll start by saying I’d like to hear them do an album of Motörhead songs. Contest ends Sunday at 6:00pm pdt; winner notified via email sometime after that.

click to embiggen

According to the locals I spoke with we are about another week or so before the peak blossom for the Mojave around Palm Springs.  As it is the entire valley floor is awash in bright yellows and whites.  Under it all is this petite little wild flower (name escapes me and I can’t find the note I made on it).

The Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve is blooming right now and should be really nice as we are approaching peak bloom for up there.  More info on the Preserve HERE.

My digging around the web also yielded “Carol Leigh’s Wildflower” .  That web site has tons of info on where flowers are blooming and updated nearly daily.  In it I learned the High Desert (think Barstow/Calico) aren’t doing much yet, but Death Valley around Stovepipe Wells is blooming.  How many road trips can I squeeze into the the spring blooming is the question of the moment.

Of course there are blooms locally.  The San Gabriel River along the Lario Bike Trail was in heavy bud last week and I intend to check it out and spend some time walking in the area this week.   I may even take the Santa Fe Dam nature trail walk just to see what is different in there this week as last week it was mostly just in bud.

One thing to remember…this is snake season and wear appropriate foot wear.  Also a final reminder,  our native flowers are really tender so tread lightly and don’t disturb them.

At the risk of sounding like a PSA, did you know that the streets south of Pico were named after our presidents, in order of succession?  Or that there was a mixup involved in the naming of Los Angeles Street and Main Street?   Ah, yes, well, now you do.  On this lazy Sunday afternooon (for some us, anyway), you can learn more: the Natural History Museum has a pretty nifty YouTube series on the history of Los Angeles, as told through the origins of Los Angeles street names.  I just got through the one below – it’s just a tad dry, but overall, pretty fascinating.  Streets names covered in the series include La Cienega Boulevard, Los Feliz Boulevard, Ord Street, Figueora Street, and Aliso Street.

I have it on good word that a bunch of zombies will be making a zombie-ish cacophony at Mile 12 of the Marathon in Hollywood, on the south side of Sunset from Gardner to Sierra Bonita. Join the zombie army and show up in your own makeup as they stagger after the hapless runners, incentivizing them to run faster, ideally. From about 10:30a-2p.

gets bigger with a click, courtesy from Daphne Wang who was there last year.

This is billed as the world’s ultimate radio-control expo which will be an action-packed event featuring the world’s latest and fastest radio control products, such as tanks and boats; planes and helicopters as well as trucks and race cars.  Attendees have opportunity to test drive some of the best RC rock crawling trucks on the market on a 1,200 square-foot course, as well as see and try out the newest products on the market.

With tons of excitement for both adults and children, the expo also offers the chance to witness the world’s most advanced micro RC drivers competing for a spot in the PN Worlds Championships; hotshot pilots flying everything from micro planes and helicopters with extreme aerobats; pro drivers from across the country competing in the first-ever RCP Rock Crawling Challenge and the world’s best nitro racers in trucks and buggies competing on a 10,000 square foot dirt track!  Whew, got it all out.

If you love cars and RC toys as much as I do this is a must attend event.

Where: Fairplex, Pomona 1101 W. McKinley Ave. Pomona, CA 91768
When: March 20-21, 2010 Sat. 10am – 6pm and Sun. 10am – 5pm
1 Day General Admission: $15.00
Children 12 and under are free with a paid adult. More details at the LA Fairplex.com.

Designate your driver early no matter where you are in LA, not just in Arcadia.  Let the kiss you get be on the cheeks not the one you plant on the car in front of you.  Direct from the APOA website the warning for tonight:

Members of the Arcadia Police Department will be conducting a DUI Checkpoint at a location within the City of Arcadia during the evening or St. Patrick’s Day, Wednesday, March 17, 2010, between 8:00 pm to 2:00 am. St. Patrick’s Day will undoubtedly see many celebrations and the Arcadia Police Department reminds you to party responsibly; don’t drink & drive! If you have been drinking and don’t have a designated driver, consider the use of Jan’s Towing and their free “Tipsy Tow” program. Jan’s will tow your vehicle and offer you a ride home in the local service area for free.

My first ride on the shortest railway in the world, also known as Angel’s Flight, was certainly memorable for that reason alone, but made even moreso because of who I happened to share the tiny trip with. Back then, long before the city got the level of bike culture it has today, I was prone to getting on my bike and going places just for the hell of it. And in this case on the morning of Saturday, March 24, 1996, I set out from where I was living in Encino and pedaled across the valley to the L.A. River downstream first for a double-dipped helping of lamb sammich goodnesh at Philippe’s, followed by a casual cruise to explore other places such as Union Station, Olvera Street, Pershing Square, Central Library, as well as the famed funicular that had only been rededicated about a month earlier that year.

Eventually I found myself atop Bunker Hill, doing my best to avoid and placate the bike-bothered security guards first at the Music Center and then at California Plaza where I locked up and paid the 25-cent fair for the downhill trip on the funicular that would connect me to a meander through Grand Central Market.

Upon boarding I found myself standing behind a gentleman in a blindingly white leather blazer, and it didn’t take long to recognize him to be actor Nicolas Cage. Having been in the same high school drama class until he dropped out to go make “Valley Girl” and get his career launched, I toyed with the idea of asking if he remembered me and what brought him downtown, but instead I kept my yap snapped because I already knew the answer to the first question, and the the answer to the second dawned on me. He was probably on lunch between rehearsals for a little show called the 68th Academy Awards airing the next day from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, during which he would end up being presented with the best actor Oscar for “Leaving Las Vegas.”

Read the rest of this entry →

Just what we need in the land of uber water using St Augustine lawns, a homeowner that rips it out and puts in native and Mediterranean type plants that thrive in our wet winter dry summer climate.  Good thing they don’t live in Orange or Glendale where those sorts of actions are frowned upon and a homeowner could be sued by the city.  (In fairness the dude in Glendale put in fake astroturf but the intent was the same…no lawn watering in a drought).

I like this yard, socially responsible yet has the look and feel of a cottage garden.

Long live individuality and the space free of an HOA!

Pic by me and get’s bigger with a click.

fried chicken, greens and mac and cheese.

Okay, really I actually hate okra, but it’s a sort of acid test for whether a place is a real soul food restaurant, in my book. If there is no fried okra and no cobbler, well…it may be good, but it’s not really soul food. Anyone who knows LA well knows that Soul Food Kitchen is pretty much the sina qua non of soul food, but for those of us in the far reaches of the Valley (Chatsworth to be exact…here be dragons) Inglewood might as well be Savannah.

Oh happy day! Now we have our own soul food place in Northridge. Today I finally checked out Amelia’s on Nordhoff (behind the Guitar Center across from Bev Mo). OMFG. The fried chicken was unbelievably good (see the picture for evidence–can you make out the packets of Tapatio and honey? nice). First of all that was one obese foul, ladies and gentleman. It was not cheap for take out, but it was literally enough food for three meals for me. The entree came with a sizeable wing and a breast the size of my head, thank you very much, as well as two sides. The greens were good. The mac and cheese was slammin’. The fried chicken was pretty damn amazing. I ate until I was stuffed like a tick.

They also have a new weekly meal service delivery option they are offering. In case you know anyone who needs fattening up.

Amelia’s: 19520-4 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91324, Phone:  818-717-8782

I didn’t want to like these guys, with their snotty Brit swagger and their line, “These girls fall like dominoes…” I mean, come on, fuc*er.  You already know you’re in a band and you’re gonna get a lot of groupies. But is it classy at all to brag about it?

So it’s a testament to their talent that this cynical broad, who’s been dumped by many a jaded rocker, ACTUALLY came around and can admit I LOVE THESE SONGS. They’re great. Moody, lush, layered, swirling expansive rock. So I’m actually going to attend this show, although hoo boy, if any of those rocker boys come up to me I’m gonna deck ‘em.

Screw you guys, I’m gonna learn to play my own music. I think I’ll going to abscond with my mom’s old accordion and take lessons…

Wanna go to the show? Tell me YOUR favorite band that you love to hate. Please leave an email contact where you can be reached promptly…I’ve contacted winners before only to have them get back to me far after deadline with a “Sorry! I don’t check this email during the day!” You snooze, you lose.

Show info from Goldenvoice here.

According to several websites, members of neo-Nazi organization the National Socialist Movement will hold a “national annual meeting and rally” at Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, April 17.  The Anti-Defamation League’s website indicates that “[t]he National Socialist Movement (NSM) is currently the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States ….  The NSM promotes its virulently anti-Semitic and racist ideology at rallies throughout the country, particularly in the Midwest, and through the group’s Website, Internet-based radio programs, white power music company and videogames.”  Which begs the question of why they aren’t holding their rally in front of the Capitol Records building instead.

I have not yet seen any indication of an organized counter-protest.  However, individuals who desire to come down to City Hall and voice their opinion, whatever it may be, will presumably be permitted to do so.   I’m thinking this might be a good opportunity to head down there and express my own free speech rights.