On Sunday my friend Roberta and I ventured out to THREAD show. It was my first time at THREAD and I’d go back. Inevitably I find myself comparing it to Unique LA if only because I found out about THREAD from one of the Unique LA vendors, Lindsay at Felt Up.

Relative to Unique LA, THREAD is significantly smaller and less crowded. What crowd there is, though, is quite diverse, particularly racially diverse–both vendors and shoppers. There are a lot of jewelry vendors and very few food vendors. We didn’t even try for a free manicure or massage or visit with a stylist though the lines were not unreasonable. We were just entertained enough by the people watching and the shopping. Trends that I could live without: feathers and ginormous necklaces. Trends I love: knee socks and recycled fashion. More pictures of the event after the break.

Circles and Squares
Art Kills Artists
Dominique Ansari
Siobhan
Mother Plucker
Micha Design
Sonas
Naughty Blonde
Felt Up
PeaceImages Jewelry
Bela Koi
Retro Outlaw
Bipolar Gear

My favorite thing I bought? Well, I love the little gray porcelain rose earrings from Bela Koi and the tee shirt with Julie Andrews giving the finger from Retro Outlaw and the mirrored spiral earrings from PeaceImages, but my very favorite would have to be the yellow tutu from Bipolar Gear. LaRae Wilson, the creative spirit behind the operation is a force to be reckoned with. Have I ever bought an article of yellow clothing in my life? No. Am I glad I did? Yes. Thank you, LaRae for being persuasive. You can catch Bipolar Gear at LA Fashion Week’s Fashion Minga in October. I’ll be there if I’m in town.

June 8th is World Oceans Day, a day to “celebrate and honor the body of water which links us all, for what it provides humans and what it represents.” As a nod to World Oceans Day, the LA 3-D Club, in conjunction with San Diego-based PassmoreLab, is presenting the Los Angeles premiere of Ocean Voyagers 3D tomorrow night at the Downtown Independent. The 72-minute documentary features rare footage gathered by filmmakers with unprecedented access.

Narrated by Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actress Meryl Streep, and filmed over a 5-year span in the waters of French Polynesia, Hawaii, Alaska and beyond, the film follows a mother humpback whale and her newborn calf in a “coming of age” journey for the neonate giant.

Blogging.la is giving a pair of tickets to the screening to one commenter. Leave us a note and one lucky winner will be selected around Noon tomorrow.  See below for more details about the event:

Ocean Voyagers 3D Screening + Q&A
Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 8pm

Downtown Independent Theater is located at 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles, 90012

$5 for current LA3DClub members; $10 for non-members (admission is waived with USC Student ID)
FREE if your comment is selected at random!

the runway at thread

Let me start with a confession: I’ve never been to THREAD. In fact, I’d actually not even heard of it until after I posted about Unique LA and one of the vendors asked me if I were going. But don’t judge the event by my ignorance; I’ve never pretended to be a real fashionista. I can’t walk in high heels and I don’t own a purse that costs more than $20. I’ve spent most of my life in graduate school or working for nonprofits so I favor a bottom feeder aesthetic myself (you can see the whole pond from down here).  All that said, THREAD sounds super fun and I’m going.

The show travels from city to city and showcases 100 independent designers. It’s taking place Saturday June 12 at the Cooper Design Center, which is a nice space, and there will be djs, art, a photo booth, a clothing swap, spots to get manicures and shoulder rubs, and even a “man cave” with beer and darts and “entertainment for male shoppers” (one fears to think). According to the website FAQ, goods are priced $15-$200 so even those of us on a budget should be plenty happy. I love to support independent designers, and an event with music and free stuff and snacks sounds perfect. Admission is cheap ($10 or $5 with an rsvp), but even better, I’ve got pairs of passes to give away. What’s better than something for nothing? Just leave me a comment below telling me what’s on your fashion wish-list, and winners will be selected randomly by June 8.  

When: Sunday June 12, noon-6

Where: Cooper Design Space, 860 South Los Angeles Street, 11th floor

(VIP entry 11-noon is  available for $25 to the first 300 in line and includes a swag bag and a free cocktail. We’re giving away a regular entry, not a VIP pass.)

This past weekend Downtown LA played host to the Red Bull Soapbox Race, a national race for amateur drivers fueled by creativity & of course speed.  Starting at the top of 5th & Grand, the course wound it’s way down the side of Pershing Square lined with hay-bales and spectators alike.  Some were victorious, others crashed & burned but in the most spectacular of fashion, and all shared a raw enthusiasm for competition.  Over 115,000 attendees came out to cheer on their favorite teams to fame & glory, but there can only be one winner… Team Lakers FanWagon who was coincidentally first off the starting gates, held onto their lead throughout the competition, taking home the gold.  For those of you who missed the event, check out the photos below!

Flickr photoset of the above thumbnails are viewable here.

Looking either custom-built and/or a bit like a stripped-down refugee from some back-in-the-day Saturday morning sci-fi kids show, I’d never heard of Vixen after spying the nameplate on the front of the unique vehicle, so of course I googled that shit at first opportunity.

Turns out, via the Vixen’s wiki page and the Vixen Owners Association website the RVs were made by Vixen Motor Company in good old Motor City, USA from 1986-1989 — and waaaay ahead of their time. This is one of only 578 of the 21-footers to come off the assembly line before the company folded. With an exterior completely encased in fiberglass, a comparatively light 5,100-pound curb weight, its low center of gravity and a windtunnel-honed drag coefficient of a low .29 (better than many sedans and sports cars of that day), the turbodiesel-powered model could top 100 mph and get 30 mpgs (gas-powered versions got 20 mpgs).

* Or in this case in the parking lot across the street from the Regal Cinemas
downtown where a matinee of Bridesmaids was soon after ripsnortingly enjoyed.

A thank you to these honeybees upon this matilija poppy who let me get all up in their bzzzzzzness while visiting the oasis otherwise known as Vista Hermosa Park:

Creative Commons /MarcoFromHouston.com

That’s right kids, Wednesday June 1st, Usher will be doing his thing at the Staples Center here in LA and I have a FREE pair of tickets to give away. But I refuse to just give it to anyone. I want to make sure the person who gets to go is a true fan.

This is a 2 part process, so pay attention.

First, in one of Usher’s first singles, he states “I tried, I tried to fight it but…..”
But what??
(This really isn’t that difficult)

Last, I want you to tell me why you should go over the others who answer correctly.

You all have 1 week to submit your answers/reasons in the comments section. I will announce the winner Wednesday May 25.

And now, to get you in the mood, here is a little Usher mashup from DJs From Mars via the Bootie Mashup gang.

Make sure your account is linked to an email address or I can’t tell you you’ve won!!!!!!

This weekend, the LA 3-D Club (Stereo Club of Southern California) is hosting the 8th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival at the Downtown Independent Theater. The festivities begin at 1pm on Saturday with two blocks of short film competitions, followed by an evening feature screening. On Sunday, you can attend free 3-D demos and presentations and see local student 3-D films. The festival wraps up with an award ceremony and screening, followed by a rooftop reception.

If you buy a pass to the festival, you could be the lucky winner of a FujiFilm FinePix REAL 3D W3 digital camera. A Festival Pass is $30 and gets you into all screenings and events during the weekend and enters you into a drawing to be held at the awards ceremony on Sunday night.

Come out and support a great local organization, a fantastic independent theater and see some amazing indie 3-D films and music videos from all over the world.

The 8th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival
May 14th and 15th, 2011
Downtown Independent Theater
251 S. Main Street, Los Angeles 90012

So Saturday, we did venture out to Unique LA, as we commented that we might. My friend Roberta said Monstertrocity was her favorite booth, and it was certainly among mine.

I remember when Kat was selling wares off her bike in front of Bazaar Bizarre and I loved her stuff then and I do now. If you missed it, fear not, Unique LA is adding a summer show so you can go buy cool monster stuff or all kinds of other wonderful things. More pictures from the show after the break. Read the rest of this entry →

Apparently, the recent takesies-backsies of the Los Angeles Dodgers by Major League Baseball has quiet a few suits talking. Their discussions are starting to get interesting. Yahoo Sports takes a look at how the baseball power struggle may help L.A.’s bid for an NFL franchise.

In short, the Dodgers could move to a new baseball stadium downtown on the site of the currently proposed new NFL stadium. A new football facility would go up in place of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. Stadium swap.

It’s a fascinating idea. Football fans would now be able to tailgate outside a brand new stadium, as opposed to the downtown site. It would also provide an opportunity to correct an injustice done decades ago – a new stadium could be situated to face Downtown Los Angeles instead of turning its back on the heart of the city. The new Dodger Stadium could also boast DTLA as a dramatic backdrop. Baseball would become more a part of the urban fabric of the city.

Take the subway to a ballgame? In Los Angeles?

What do you think?

The lineup for the Los Angeles Film Festival will be announced next week, on May 3. To celebrate, organizers are hosting a special free screening of Pretty in Pink that night in the Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live.

Do I need to say more? Jump for details.

Read the rest of this entry →

“Cochon” is either a pig, a piglet, or a dirty pig (this last definition is the only non-literal one of the three).  Cochon 555 is all about the first meaning: it’s Pork Fest 2011.  Five chefs in select cities across the country choose five heritage breed pigs of about 175 pounds each (i.e., the ever popular Berkshire farm pig) and pair them with five wines.  The chefs break down the whole pig, from nose to curly tail, ham it up and create pork-tastic plates, and are evaluated by attendees and judges.

The nationwide event aims to raise awareness for these special breeds and encourage sustainable butchering.  New York, Seattle, and Denver all have had their go at the swine; this Sunday, May 1, LA gets its turn.  Octavio Becerra (Palate Food & Wine), Chad Colby (Mozza), Suzanne Tracht (Jar), Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station), and Joshua Whigham (The Bazaar) each will compete for best in show.  In the process of the butchering, watching, and pigging out, you’ll meet the farmers, learn about sustainable practices, why you should, if you can, bypass the huge processor as you travel from farm to table, and possibly have flashbacks of Laura Ingalls Wilder using a pig’s bladder as a little soccer ball.  That, people, is an excellent example of using all parts of the pig.

Eating meat from farms following sustainable practices isn’t cheap (unfortunately), and this event isn’t either.  But, if you can afford the entrance fee, this seems well worth it: general admission tickets are $125 and sold out a few weeks ago.  For the extra $50 for the still-remaining VIP tickets, you get early admittance, private tastings of Sonoma-area vitners, “access to a sustainable oyster station”, and a butchering demo by sustainable butchers Lindy & Grundy (whose shop on Fairfax just opened, and you should go and have a look-see at what they’ve got, because they got a lot, and it’s all pretty great).  Hopefully, events like Cochon 555 this will encourage trickle down eat-onomics.

Cochon 555
Sunday, May 1 starting at 3:30 (for VIPs) and 5 (for the generals)
$125 general (sold out)/$175 VIP
At the Vibiana in the Historic Core, 214 S. Main St. Downtown

Yesterday’s Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street once again lived up to its wonderful and well-deserved reputation as a magnet to all manner of fauna. And as has been our habit over the years, my wife Susan and I basketed up and brought with us Buster our Russian tortoise who once again ably executed her duties as Official Ambassador for the rest of our extended household menagerie, taking a dose of archibishop-flung holy water for the team (thumbnailed at right).

If I had to pick a favorite critter that I got to confront it would have to be the very personable “Piglet,” below, who was so ready for her close-up:

Image from the DubLab

So what are you doing after the upcoming Grilled Cheese Invitational? Why you’re heading downtown to party at the Natural History Museum, duh!

This Saturday, Cinefamily and Cinespia are hosting a FREE ADMISSION museum-wide party at the Natural History Museum, presented as the closing event to the “Art In The Streets” film retrospective. First, they’re showing Cave of Forgotten Dreams directed by Werner Herzog at 5:30pm. (the film-rsvp list is already closed, but there will be some seats held for the standby line) Also, the Herzog Q&A will be projected live in the Museum’s Whale Room at approximately 7PM, for those who are unable to get into the screening. Once the movie is over, then the party starts!

At 8PM, the doors open and guests are invited to wander the Museum’s exhibit halls for FREE! There will be live bands, DJs spinning, food trucks, cash bar & an art installation by Mastodon Mesa.

Live Music Schedule

On the Fin Whale Passage stage:
Live performances by Nite Jewel, Islands, White Magic and Matt Baldwin starting at 8:30pm.

In the African Mammal Hall:
DJs Dntel (aka Jimmy Tamborello of The Postal Service), David Holmes and Carlos Nino will spin records starting at 5pm.

In the Gems & Mineral Hall:
DJ collective Dublab will also host a second set of live performances starting at 5pm.

This whole event is generously sponsored by: First Fridays at The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, in association with History Films, Sundance Selects, Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, Dublab

cave of forgotten dreams: herzog premiere & museum-wide party
Saturday, April 23rd
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA, 90007
5:00-11:00pm
Admission: FREE

I’ve come to consider last October’s inaugural CicLAvia something of the Los Angeles cycling community’s Woodstock, both in the fact that it was a defining and shining moment for our city and also because as the years go by I get the feeling that a lot more people are going to say they were there than actually were.

Whether you were or you weren’t a part that street party spanning between East Hollywood and Boyle Heights, your chance to get out and enjoy the second CicLAvia is imminent. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday, April 10, the same 7.5-mile route as the first one will be closed to vehicular traffic and open to all manner of self-propellers. Be it bike, skateboard or just your feet you really should set aside some time to soak up what is such a unique and sensational experience.

Here’s a slightly remodeled version (higher res with an original soundlayer I created with the iPhone Bloom app) of the timelapse I made during part of my CicLAvia’ings from Boyle Heights back to East Hollywood: