Retox in LA

So much good stuff going on this week...TOO much. I love LA.

Tonight I saw a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Garden, thanks to Zocalo. The moving film chronicles the struggle of the countries largest (14-acres) urban community garden in South Central LA. Watch as The Garden brings together a new sense of community and sustainability in the years following the 1992 LA riots. Corrupt city hall dealings and greed test this community bond as they fight to evict the gardeners. Check out the trailer.

Thursday is looking great, with Twiistup and the amazing Twestival LA. Twestival is a global event, happening in over 300 cities, all to benefit Charity: Water. There is one in your city. Find out, and make sure to go!

Finally, this looks like another great movie, worth checking out. It's called Fuel, and I'm sure the subject matter is easy to guess...

 

I've been neglecting retox for my PhiLAnthropist column on LAist, and you can check it all out here.

Photo: Taken Jan 1, 2009 aka Super Day 2k9 that went like this: morning surf session in Santa Monica, followed by an afternoon/evening snowboard session at Mtn. High, a classy resort in Wrightwood, CA, where people drink tecate in the parking lot, snowboard in tank tops and ski on 200cm skis from 1984 while standing in a lift line with a sign that reads "No smoking or drinking allowed" . But where else can you surf and ride in the same day?

 

 

Read: The Things He Carried

Jeffrey Goldberg, correspondant for the Atlantic Monthly, shares his experiences with the TSA Security Personnel and highlights the much flawed security system.

Airport security in America is a sham—“security theater” designed to make travelers feel better and catch stupid terrorists. Smart ones can get through security with fake boarding passes and all manner of prohibited items—as our correspondent did with ease.

The Airborne Toxic Event is shooting the video for their new song "Gasoline" this Friday. They have invited all their bike riding fans in LA to come out for the shoot, this Friday, October 17th from 9:30-11:30pm.

Where: Pioneer Chicken on Echo Park Ave, just North of Sunset (1321 Echo Park Ave).

What: A late-night bike ride around Silverlake, Glendale and Los Feliz. The 7-mile ride will be filmed at different points for a music video that promotes bike culture. Woo hoo.

Spoke cards, CD's and drinks after.

Muxtape.com, which I posted about a few months ago, was an excellent site that allowed users to create and share their own playlists, or "mixtapes". You couldn't download the music, but you could stream it. The RIAA didn't like this, and eventually they were shut down. The sites founder, Justin Ouelette, details the series of events that transpired between him, the RIAA and the major record labels.

 

And so I made one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever faced: I walked away from the licensing deals. They had become too complex for a site founded on simplicity, too restrictive and hostile to continue to innovate the way I wanted to. They’d already taken so much attention away from development that I started to question my own motivations. I didn’t get into this to build a big company as fast as I could no matter what the cost, I got into this to make something simple and beautiful for people who love music, and I plan to continue doing that. As promised, the site is coming back, but not as you’ve known. I’m taking a feature that was in development in the early stages and making it the new central focus.

I realize this is a somewhat radical shift in functionality, but Muxtape’s core goals haven’t changed. I still want to challenge the way we experience music online, and I still want to work to enable what I think is the most interesting aspect of interconnected music: discovering new stuff.

 

In a world where people quickly jump on opportunities to make it big, quickly, I applaud him for his integrity and ability not to lose sight of his initial vision.

Looking forward to the new muxtape...

I finally have time to catch up on catching up with life. It's really motivating.

1. The LA Times reports that according to a new UN Report carbon dioxide output increased 3% from 2006 to 2007 despite expectations that the economic downtown turn would have a slowing effect on greenhouse gas emissions. Some scientists described the numbers as "scary" while Richard Moss, vice president and managing director for climate change at the World Wildlife Fund said "we should worried--really worried".

2. The state budget cuts for LA County were $34 million more than expected. The Daily News reports:

The budget will cut $33 million from Medi-Cal, $8 million from probation camps, $10 million from mental health and $6 million from alcohol and drug programs, according to a memo by county Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka. "Each and every item will have a significant impact on our social programs and will hit the underserved," Fujioka said.

If you saw someone get shot in Hollywood, what would you do?

Like the title says, a man got shot in Hollywood. No one did anything and he had to call 911 himself. Read his personal account of the story over at LAist. I guess this is a reminder not to assume "someone else is going to do it", because they probably won't either.

LAist: Man Gets Shot in Hollywood, Witnesses Watch, Do Nothing

Fortunately the guy is doing ok.

Apparently I have been busy...here are my most recently LAist articles:

PhiLAnthropist: Give Back to LA with Food & Paddleboats (8/6/08)
PhiLAnthropist: Give Back to LA (7/29/08)

Watching this gave me goosebumps...call me cheesy, I think it's pretty amazing.

Our favorite Sophia Petrillo lines

Estelle Getty, aka Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, passed away today.

The Kansas City Star put together this great list of Sophia lines from imdb....

Sophia: Picture it: Sicily…

Dorothy (Sophia’s daughter, played by Beatrice Arthur): Hi, Ma. Where are you going?

Sophia: To the boardwalk. I like to watch the old guys rearrange themselves when they come out of the water.

Blanche (Rue McClanahan): I treat my body like a temple.

Sophia: Yeah, open to everyone, day or night.

Blanche: What do you think of my new dress? Is it me?

Sophia: It’s too tight, it’s too short and shows too much cleavage for a woman your age.

Dorothy: Yes, Blanche. It’s you.

Blanche: We just rented that movie “Aliens.” It scared us half to death.

Sophia: I found it scary, too. That Sigourney Weaver is a sweet girl but she really shouldn’t go without makeup.

Rose (Betty White): Everybody likes me.

Sophia: I don’t!

Rose: Oh, you just say that, Sophia.

Sophia: REPEATEDLY!

Stan (Dorothy’s ex, played by Herbert Edelman): Hello, Sophia, you’re looking younger every day.

Sophia: Hi Stan, and that’s a beautiful toupee you’re wearing. Great, now we’re both liars.

Dorothy: Well, Blanche is certainly taking her sister’s novel better than I would. I would kill my sister Gloria if she ever wrote about my sex life.

Sophia: You would kill your sister over a pamphlet?

Contractor: Do you want it fast or do you want it good?

Sophia: Before you answer that, Blanche, the man’s talking about a guest room.

Miles Webber (one of Rose’s boyfriends): Rose, I’ve never met anyone quite like you.

Sophia: Check the corn field on “Hee-Haw.”

Sophia: Come on, Blanche.

Rose: I’m Rose.

Sophia: Simple mistake. Means nothing.

Dorothy: Ma, Rose isn’t talking to me.

Sophia: Enjoy it while it lasts.

Blanche: Oh girls ... I’m just in ecstasy. My body is tingling all over. You will never guess what just happened.

Sophia: We know what happened. Let us just guess what part of the Middle East he’s from.

Sophia: Ow.

Dorothy: What is it, Ma?

Sophia: Pain.

Dorothy: What kind of pain?

Sophia: The kind that hurts.

Blanche: I have writer’s block. It’s the worst feeling in the world.

Sophia: Try 10 days without a bowel movement sometime.

Rose: Here you are, Sophia. The perfect after-dinner treat, a nice dish of Jell-O.

Sophia: I hate Jell-O. If God wanted peaches suspended in midair, he would have filled them with helium.

Blanche: Sophia, I need you.

Sophia: Blanche, you were strong and independent long before I got here.

Rose: I need you too, Sophia.

Sophia: Rose, you need the Wizard of Oz.

Blanche: I don’t really mind (my brother) Clayton being homosexual, I just don’t like him dating men.

Dorothy: You really haven’t grasped the concept of this gay thing yet, have you, Blanche?

Blanche: Well there must be homosexuals who date women.

Sophia: Yeah. They’re called lesbians.

Sophia: Hey, Sicilians can always recognize two things: when someone is telling the truth, and when they’ve had their fingerprints changed.

Blanche: Well, we have two choices: go and beg Ernie’s forgiveness, or hire another contractor.

Sophia: Or we could use the Sicilian method. We burn down the house, collect the fire insurance money and move to a beautiful beachside house in California. Personally, I vote for choice three.

Check out my phiLAnthropist article on LAist.com. Hopefully this will be the first in a series of upcoming posts for my favorite LA blog...

Since I clearly need more distractions, I found myself exploring twitter. At first I thought it was kind of stupid, but I think I am starting to get it. Anyway, I started "following" (or what in pre-twitter times we might call stalking) Evan Williams, Twitter's co-founder and CFO and his "twitter-feed" lead me to this new site, Trazzler. The site helps user's "answer one question, 'Where should I go?' by recommending trips unique to your location." I've been playing around on it for a little while and have already doubled my list of "things to do". I'm really impressed by the suggestions. While some don't apply (i.e. I'm not going to any 5-star hotels in Laguna Beach), many recommendations include various resources, so it helps to lead you to other ideas.

People I don't know from last years run. (phot0: la08.uncoverthecure.com/)

I recently signed up for City of Hope's The Underwear Affair, a 10-K run (and 5-K walk) to "to raise funds and unleash a voice for devastating yet “hidden” cancers like prostate, colorectal, ovarian, testicular, bladder, cervical, and uterine that may affect you or someone you know". The race takes place on August 2nd and the course begins and ends at the La Brea Tar Pits, taking runners down 6th Street and around Hancock Park. Unlike most runs that begin early in the morning, this race starts at 6pm on Saturday night and participants are encouraged (and do) dress up. So the good cause aside, that right there obviously sold me on the race. Then there is a big party after after, with live music and drinks. So there are three reasons why it sounds super fun. So go sign up or if you are feeling generous you can help me reach my fundraising goal by donating via my personal page.

I am going to see Feist play at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday and coincidentally just came across this video over at the GOOD magazine blog. Sesame Street kicks ass (it's in it's 39th season!), what a cool adaptation of her song and the original video (still one of my favorites). Enjoy.

It's really July?

• Wednesday July 16th
• Twilight at the Club in Griffith Park - Cheap-ish drinks, food and "downtempo 70's beats". All over looking the golf course at Griffith Park. And prizes for the best Caddyshack costume.

• Thursday, July 17th
• The Future at the Silverlake Lounge - 8pm - I saw them play tonight at The Airliner. They were great, and I'm not just saying that because they are my friends. Solid keyboard melodies and vocals. I'm a fan.

• The Duke Spirit and IO Echo at the Hammer - 8pm - I'd like to check this out if I have time. I visited the Hammer a few weeks ago and attended a forum/discussion about current pitfalls in the public education system. While very informative, I left feeling helpless, sort of like "ok, so the system at the elementary - high school level is messed up, and now I'm learning that the higher education system is dominated by corporate interests. So what can we do?" One of the speakers, Sir Ken Robinson, was particularly entertaining and insightful. Anyway, I got to see the space in the middle and its a cool outdoor atrium; definitely a cool place to see a show.

• A Club Called Rhonda - 10pm - Guantelinda's - Every time I read about this weekly party, specifically the part that says "Rhonda likes to party so hard she'll be handing out shots at the door", I think to myself "that sounds amazing, I want to go". So this Thursday it will finally happen, thanks to its extremely close proximity to the Silverlake Lounge. Not to mention they will be celebrating the 2008 LA Bicycle Film Fest. Looks like I'll have to hit the Hammer next week...

• Friday, July 18th
• Skid Row History Museum presents Live From Skid Row - The Lamp Communuty Art Project Gallery - 6-9pm - This exhibit, at The Box Theater, "explores Skid Row through the stories of those who live, work and inspire others there". On Friday, The Lamp Community Art Project Gallery will host "Live from Skid Row" a community discussion with Pete White and Becky Dennison of LA Community Action Network. There will be a live musical performance as well as food and drinks. The actual museum exhibit, which is at The Box Gallery, has been well received by the LA Times amongst others. Speaking of Skid Row, two weeks ago marked the 3rd Anniversary of the monthly Skid Row Walk, a community effort to bring positive change and improvements to the people and neighborhood of Skid Row while increasing awareness. So far, it sounds like the walk has made an impact; walkers have observed a decrease in the number of people sleeping on the streets. Still, it sounds like the walk has a profound effect on both "first-time" and "veteran" walkers. For more, check out Ed Fuentes' coverage of the walks at blogdowtown.
  

• Saturday, July 19th
• Party Favors: Game Day - Bonelli Contemporary - 12 - 5 - I caught this in the Weekly and it sounded cool...an exhibit in Chinatown dedicated to exploring the party as a subject, idea and state of mind. Saturday's theme is Games. It starts with Board games, Bloody Marys and mimosa's at noon and wraps up with the "Name Game" and cocktails around 3:30. Don't worry, cheap wine and beer are on the itinerary as well.
  

• The Taming of the Shrew - The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels - 8pm - After "game day", head downtown to see a modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's play as part of the LA Shakespeare Festival. The best part? Seeing the debut of the fabulous Amy Handleman. Check out what defamer had to say about it...holla!

• GLOW Santa Monica - SM Pier & Beach - 7am-7pm. An all-night/dusk-till-dawn art experience inspired by the Nuit Blanche in Paris. This is the first time they have done this, so I am eager to see how it comes together.
  

I think that's it for now...

retoxinla.muxtape.com

Bringing back the mixtape.

Go make one.

These monkeys were so damn cool. Basically it went like this...there was a DJ in the middle of the monkey wheel, or whatever its called, and he was playing music. Surrounding the base were giant drums. Hippies beat on the drums until there was enough banging to make the monkey wheel start moving...so then the music picked up, the lights got crazy and this paired with the spinning monkey wheel created the illusion that the monkeys were moving...specifically, swinging from branch to branch. It was so cool. I watched with my friend David. It was probably 3am and at the end of every monkey dance song, I kept saying "ok, one more song! I promise this is the last one!" Just call me a hippie.

Rothbury was an incredible event. Amazing on so many levels - the people, the place, the music, the sustainability aspect - the whole vibe just came together so well. I must admit, I'm not usually a huge fan of the jam band scene, but I was loving it this past weekend when I was watching Widespread Panic jam on the 4th of July. Speaking of hippies, best line I heard:
Fan of Widespread Panic during drum solo: "Dude, it's drums. Don't dance man. People will make fun of you."
My friend, another WSP fan, during drum solo: "This is when hippies pass out."
With that, here are a few pictures, for more see my flickr album.

Other highlights include the almost zero-waste and sustainability aspect. Even Snoop took the time to separate out his compost and recyclables and put them in the appropriate bins. Michael Franti led yoga sessions each morning (although I did not make it to them, thanks jager). There was an energy fair, farmers market and some great art...stay tuned for pictures of the monkeys.

Full Rothbury coverage and more at Rolling Stone