LAbuzzBLOG

repeal prop 8

repeal prop 8

repeal prop 8

The 2008 California Women’s Conference is taking place this Wednesday, October 22 at the Long Beach Convention Center. The event uses the tagline “Women to be Architects of Change” and features many prominent women from all aspects of business, media, entertainment and politics.

Tickets to the main event are now closed, but you can take part in the conference through the webcast. Expect appearances from Jennifer Lopez, Condoleeza Rice, The Governator and Maria Shriver, Madeleine Albright, Bono, Warren Buffett, Sally Field, Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Simmons and Heidi Klum, to name a few.

CVS Pharmacy will be giving away 1000 free flu shots and the Minerva Awards will be presented.But the real question will be, with the current economy, what encouragement will be given to women, and how will this star-studded event change and help the progress of the women of California…women who can and should be a conduit to change.

Check back for my coverage of the event, and go to www.californiawomen.org for more information on the webcast.

The buzz this week in LA is Glendale’s upcoming S.O.U.P Kitchen en las Dias de la Muertas, Saturday Nov. 1. It’s hosted by a cavalier band of experimental noise makers, band S.O.U.P, who have been known to draw comparisons to Sonic Youth…….on acid, Built to Spill………on acid, and Pink Floyd…….on even more acid. 

It’s a backyard BBQ in its base form, but it’s the most gosh-darn fun backyard BBQ that I’ve ever been to. S.O.U.P. sets their own equipment up for open jamming between bands, there’s a psychedelic sculpture garden, there is beer…. and lots of it, and if you stick around long enough, tipsy band members from all manner bands will scurry up to the instruments, and create the most wonderfully odd versions of original and cover songs. 

Por ejemplo, at S.O.U.P Kitchen Take 2, members of What’s Their Name?, Jed’s Dead, and S.O.U.P temporarily banded together to take the audience on a wild, captivating, mind-melding head trip of “The End”, by the Doors. Oh - and speaking of crazy-arse covers, don’t miss S.O.U.P’s version of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. They usually play first, so get there early to catch it. It’s what would have happened if Queen existed in dank, smoked-out and tuned-in basements of suburbia 1960s. 

Check out their myspace for more info - see you there!

Humanity Can! Presents the After the Storms Aid Concert to benefit victims of the recent gulf storms. The headliner is an all-star conglomeration of members of Guns & Roses, Deep Purple, AC/DC, the Cars, and Megadeth. I’d pay money to see what kind of music that Frankenstein band cranks out, benefit or not! The benefit also features Ashlee Williss from the Bachelor, 2nd from Freaky Mon, and Jay from the American Music Awards.

If you’re from the Southeast, or know someone from the Southeast, or have family there, or have visited, or have seen television shows set in the Southeast (Real Housewives of Atlanta doesn’t quite count…), then you know the extent to which the hatches are battened down in response to nearly every storm that passes through. Even growing up two hours west of the coast in North Carolina, we stocked up and broke out the transistor radios. These storms are no joke, and the pictures they show in the media are only 1/16 of what’s actually happening. For once, do something, and help these guys. When the next Big One hits here, and the tables have turned, you’ll be karmically glad you did.

This takes place Wednesday Oct. 15 at V20 the Venue, 81 Aquarium Way, Long Beach. For tickets, please contact Christie at csulbdesignstudio@gmail.com

I didn’t make it to Folsom Street Fair this year, so for those of you who went, tell me about your trip … if you’re even back and recovered.

For those of you who don’t know, Folsom Street Fair is the 3rd largest leather and S&M spectator event in the world that takes place the last Sunday of September between 7th and 12th Streets, in San Francisco’s South of Market District . What started in 1984 has grown to a team 500 volunteers and sponsors and tens of thousands of visitors from all over the globe, the event raises over $250,000 for charity. For details on this and similar events, visit their website: FolsomStreetFair.org.

The buzz in LA today is that downtown Hermosa Beach hotspots Blue 32 and the Shore are being forced to close their doors earlier due to alleged violations of over-serving, overcrowding, and too many police visits regarding complaints of rowdy patrons.

City Council decided this morning in a 3-2 vote that Blue 32 must now close at midnight instead of 2 am. And in a separate 3-2 vote, they decided that the Shore must close at 1 am.  As all bar patrons know, these are crucial hours both for the people buying the drinks, and the people making money off the drinks.

This stems back to the City Councils plan to crack down on rowdy bars.  I have personally spent many Monday nights watching Monday Night Football at Blue 32, enjoying the company of friends and a few stiff drinks, and I can attest to the fact that I have frequently been there past midnight.  So now that I know their new hours, I just may have to find a new hot spot to spend my time during football season, so already they are loosing business from this decision.

How will this decision effect the overall nightlife in downtown Hermosa? If these are the only bars affected by these new regulations chances are it won’t effect anything. People will just walk next door to the bars that are open later and continue their “rowdy” evenings there instead.

The buzz in L.A. is this weekend’s upcoming annual Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice.

The festival is in it’s 24th year and features two stages of live music, food booths, drinking, shopping, other street fair offerings and great Venice people watching.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful this coming weekend, so check out the scene on AK and then cruise on down to the beach.

Browsing the LAbuzzBLOG from your phone just got easier. Our new mobile interface automatically adjusts the display to a format easy for most devices to display. Catch the buzz in LA on the run!

We’ve also included a mobile admin interface so our bloggers can post from their phones. The LAbuzzBLOG is totally untethered.

As if I needed another frozen treat to add to my list of current obsessions. With the launch of its new liquid frozen treat, Granita, Pinkberry has once again stolen my heart, just when I thought I’d weaned myself off two-a-days.

Yes, I went through a phase where I would consume more than one Pinkberry a day. No one’s perfect, okay. Don’t judge.

I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peak of the tasty little devil on Tuesday, although it officially hits (select) stores today. Uh, I’d like to add it MIGHT be the food of champions, as I happened to run into an Olympic silver medalist in water polo and COSMO mag HOTTIE Peter Hudnut. I even got to wear his Jade embedded medal. Jealous?

Perfect for the Pinkberry pro on-the-go, Granita is a mouth-watering new drink with a refreshing icy texture and the signature Pinkberry tang.   Granita is served in a convenient cup with a straw, perfect for a midday pick-me-up, a trip back to the office or an after-dinner treat.

Granita is made with real nonfat yogurt and nonfat milk, and totes itself as a healthy nonfat treat that is a good source of Calcium with live and active cultures.  Granita comes in two sizes: Small ($3.00) and Large ($3.50).

Granita will initially be available in select Pinkberry locations in California, including: Americana in Glendale; West Hollywood and Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles; Fashion Island in Newport Beach; and Gaslamp District and Hillcrest in San Diego.

Oh and for those of you skeptics asking, “Why not just get an original Pinkberry smoothie?” I say this and only this:

Try it. Then we’ll talk.

Locations after the jump. Read More »

The buzz in LA today are the Proper Behavioral Codes and Standards of Dockweiler Beach. They are as follows:

• DO get there by 6pm to get a fire pit. 
• DO find your own Secret Parking Spot. Street parking is unreliable and dangerous for everyone involved.
• DO NOT bring too much beer. Like a whole cooler dedicated to beer. The cops will find you and laugh as they watch you pour it out.
• DO NOT burn the couch. DO NOT burn anything toxic. DO NOT burn anything that emits black smoke. DO NOT burn anything that smells like you may be getting cancer. 
• DO share your fire pit with whatever wandering band of poor souls goofed around for too long and now can’t find a free fire pit. Especially if they have food. They will share, and you’ll find some new buddies!
• DO NOT get too crazy with your fire-spinning. The cops don’t get it, they don’t understand it, and they don’t have time for your shenaniganery. They’ll laugh as they make you sit your ass down and stop spinning fire. 
• DO NO bitch about the airplane noise. It’s actually pretty cool. 
• DO pack up and leave the beach by 9:45pm. The parking cops are vultures and will laugh as they merrily date your parking ticket “10:00:01pm”
• DO remember that if you’re already wet from being in the ocean, you’ll stay wet. Fire will blister your bare skin before it dries your wet clothes. 
• DO NOT bring your frat party to the beach. DO remember that everyone else who’s not in a frat hates frat parties. And no one else on the beach is in a frat. 
• DO skitter down the hill if you can’t find the path down. You’ll be fine.
• DO NOT hold hands as you walk on the quasi-sidewalk at the top of the hill. You will fall down the hill and you’ll take everyone with you.
• And lastly, DO NOT take my Secret Parking Spot. I will hunt you down and throw sand on your fire.

Follow these rules and it’s sure to be a blast!

You don’t have to sacrifice style to be earth-friendly, especially when it comes to your home. That’s the basis of Alter Eco, an eco lifestyle and makeover series presented by actor Adrian Grenier and his team of green activists, experts and friends. The show airs on Discovery’s Planet Green.

In fact, you can see for yourself this Sunday, Sept. 7 from 4pm-8pm at a custom-built LEED Platinum home that was featured on the show.

The home is located at 4415 Dundee Drive in Los Feliz, 9002.

For $150 (or a sliding scale for artists) your ticket includes admission, valet parking, entertainment by String Theory, wine by The Mendocino Wine Company, opening remarks by Los Angeles City Council member Jan Perry and hors d’oeuvres by Divine Nourishment.

Your donation goes to the annual programming and operations budget of PHARMAKA, a 501 (c)3 organization dedicated to building a sustainable and creative community in Downtown Los Angeles.

Green is the new black.

TO RSVP:

e-mail rsvp@pharmaka-art.org or call 213.689.7799

The buzz this week in LA is local emerging band Triclops, a three piece band (the three clops!), that grew out of local sensation Very Be Careful. If you can dedicate the day on Saturday to music, head down to Sunset Junction first and catch them live, then head on down to Glendale’s S.O.U.P Kitchen and catch them again around 6pmish.Triclops is groove heavy and sparse on the vocals, reminiscent of a young Queens of the Stone Age that listened to too much Metallica while watching Dazed and Confused  on repeat with the sound off. Their Sunset Junction set is a straight-ahead set, and they’ll let loose at the S.O.U.P Kitchen, where a they’ll have a few guest musicians sit in on their set to jam. It’s sure to be a mind-bending ride!

 The buzz in LA this week is upcoming Riot Life/Redrawn Arts fashion show at the Libertine. Designers Keoki Tavares and Trisha Hanudel have teamed up for Tavares’ first fashion show since his store on Melrose, Riot, got cleaned out. Both male and female models from Fierce Models will be sporting Riot graphics in Redrawn Arts cuts.This show is notable, as it’s the first time Redrawn Arts has cut their signature t-shirt corsets for the fellows. We’re sure we’re not the only ones on the edge of our seats waiting to see what boy corsets will look like. However, it’s called Fierce Models for a reason, and we can’t wait for the four-on-the-floor fierceness to be raging in the new boy corsets!Where: Libertine No, Really: 8210 Sunset Blvd, LA, CA, 90046When: 8/20/08, this Wednesday, 7pm-2amWhy: Fierceness, Fabulousness, and Fashion!!  

The buzz in LA these days is about Research in Motion’s newest nifty gadget, the Blackberry Bold smartphone (AKA the RIM Blackberry 9000). While an official release date has yet to be announced, rumors continue to circulate that the Bold will be available for purchase in the US as early as this month. For those of you crackberry addicts that are agonizing in anticipation, consider taking a trip down south to Chile. Chilean carrier Movistar became “Primeros en el Mundo” to carry the Bold, officially launching it today. Inpatient fanatics who want to save themselves the 5,000-mile trek can also try EBay, where the Bold is going for $1,000 and up.

While AT&T recently announced that they will be the official carrier of the Bold, rumors persist that T-Mobile and Verizon will eventually carry the smartphone as well. Like its other blackberry predecessors, expect the Bold to debut in the $300 to $400 range.

The Bold apparently maintains the same features and QWERTY keyboard that have kept blackberry aficionados loyal for so long, while matching the sleek design and technical innovations of its only real competitor, the iPhone. Like the iPhone, the Bold boasts 3G technology, a 2-megapizel camera, and an MP3 player. Best of all, the Bold is thin and smooth, with rounded corners, and a screen vibrant enough to make Steve Jobs quake in his Nike + iPod sneakers.

The buzz this week in LA is Richard Branson’s deep-seated psychological needs. Has everyone heard about his latest “Hey! Look at me!” ploy, Virgin Galactic and the White Knight Two. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was launching Virgin Air. A couple things about this make me furrow my brow. 1) The airline industry is obviously a sinking ship and it has been for a long time. So Branson goes in, buys up some planes, and sells some tickets. It’s no secret that this guy’s earwax is the currency of some small countries, but of all the businesses to start, you go for the one that hasn’t made an industry profit in a decade? Hmmmm.2) Space travel??? WTF and why???!?!? We’ve got enough problems here, why would we want to go and junk up another planet? Even if people are paying $200,000 for their round-trip reservation just to go in a spaceship, fly around space, and come back….You’re still not making any money, Branson. And even if all the prophecies of ancient cultures worldwide foretell some catastrophic event here on earth and the survivors fly to another planet to start another civilization, you’re still not making any money, Branson.What do you call a for-profit business that’s not making any money? Community Service. Somebody check Branson’s records and/or give him a finance lesson. And for Zeus’ sake, keep him out of Virgin Financial.