LA Weekly

It's funny the first time Shatner yells it out. It is, after all, the named-turned-curse heard throughout a galaxy.

That one word - that one syllable - that Kirk bellows is maybe the most quoted line that one could ever associate with any version of Star Trek. But it's still kind of funny. Video artist Daniel Martinico thought so too. "I've done a bunch of cutups, and found footage before," he said, but it was re-watching Wrath of Khan where he realized that within those few seconds before and after Kirk's word there's an incredible range of emotion, even strong acting going on.

Last week Machine Project in Echo Park showed Martinco's 15-minute meticulously re-spliced creation in a never-ending loop that transforms the moment from one of anguish (or snickering for the the audience) into a meditation, maybe even a mantra. (Read on to see a clip of the film.)

Read on...

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Guelda Voien

Global climate change put the brakes on that celebrated preamble to summer in Los Angeles - the inaugural screening at Hollywood Forever cemetery - on Saturday as only the most loyal moviegoers made it out for the lost Billy Wilder film Ace in the Hole. Generally, young Angelenos are rabid for the carefully selected classics screened in the classic setting, but temperatures in the 50’s and earlier rain deflated much of the usual enthusiasm.

The weekly L. A. event, now in it’s seventh year, kicked off on Memorial Day weekend, a fitting time for a cemetery-based occasion. But no one seemed cognizant of the holiday’s meaning, as couples huddled on technology-forward lawn chairs, swilling wine from glasses, - not plastic cups - lit candles and ate hummus in the Hollywood Forever ritual.

The night's film, Ace in the Hole, a seldom seen Billy Wilder movie, was shelved for decades because Paramount thought it too dark for release in 1951. In the movie, a young Kirk Douglas orchestrates perhaps the original media circus around a story he helped construct: a man buried by a cave-in at a New Mexico mineshaft. The film's dark tone was appreciated by the loyal contingent, who lapped up the comically stark moral dichotomies of 1950’s cinema with all the irony you’d expect of this demographic.

Read on...

Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

What’s with the meat? Our web editor brought in his bacon wallet a few days ago. Then one of our computer guys said that he had a bacon wallet, too. He muttered something about “bringing home the bacon.” There are all kinds of meat-themed accessories to be had these days.

(1) Here’s a Raw Kobe Beef iPod Nano Pouch, from GeekStuff4U. It costs $95 and is pretty close to the best thing I’ve ever seen. Except for the $95 part. For that amount of cash, you could almost have dinner for two at Fogo de Chao on La Cienega and eat all the spit-grilled meat you want.

(2) A close up of the Beef iPod cover. See the delicate marbling.

(3) Raw meat business card holder. Popular among non-vegan salarimen. From Rakuten. The site is in Japanese, though.

(4) Meat pencil toppers. Are they erasers? Whatever. These cuts of meat turn your yellow #2 pencil into meat works of art.

(5) Bacon Air Freshener. “It sets the mood for ‘makin’ bacon’,” a friend said when I asked him what he thought of this.

(6) Bacon bandages. You know when someone punches you in the eye and you put raw steak on it to make it better? Same concept, only smaller. Fifteen strips in a pack. Never doubt the healing properties of meat. (From Gags and Goods)

(7) Meat-esque Keyboard. Okay, if you look up close, it’s not really meat. It’s pink flowers on a white background that look like meat from far away. Flora that looks like fauna that feels like awesome.

Then, there's always this...

The ever popular Bacon Bra. Photo courtesy of bkusler on Flicker. The ultimate meat-as-accessory item. So, I believe the story is that his friend made this bra for him as a present. She agreed to let the photo be posted online as long as he cropped her face out. Bkusler writes on his site: "We totally deep fried the bacon and ate it later."

Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (1)

Cupcake Challenge took place Saturday in Hollywood. Read about the overload of sugar, butter, chocolate, frosting and wine here.

The winners have finally been announced - and they are....

Best Traditional
1st place: Vanilla Bake Shop Red Velvet (judges' choice)
2nd place: Yummy Cupcakes Red Velvet
3rd place: Hotcakes Red Velvet (public's choice)

(Above: Leyna's Strawberrilicious)

Best Original
1st place: Sugar Jones "Paradise" (judges' choice)
2nd place: The Oinkster Peanut Butter and Jelly
3rd place: Essential Chocolate Desserts "Blood Orange Fudge"

**Public's choice was Leyna's Strawberrilicious


(Oinkster's Peanutbutter and jelly)

Best Overall
1st place: Leyna's Kitchen "Strawberrilicious"(public's choice)
2nd place: Sugar Jones "Paradise" (judges' choice)
3rd place: The Oinkster Peanut Butter and Jelly

I just want to point out that my own favorites were Leyna's and Oinkster's, so I have hereby proven that my taste buds are both in touch with the public and sophisticated enough to match those of the judges as well. Actually, I don't even remember the Sugar Jones cupcake... and my notes are a mess of sugar-addled scrawls. Many photos follow:

Early in the day. Before the chaos began. Before things turned ugly...

Read on...

Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Its bastardization of The Beatles in those relentlessly dizzying TV commercials aside, we still pledge undying love for Target. Where else can you buy milk, makeup and designer duds in fell swoop? Thanks to the discount chain’s Go International fashion collaborations, we’ve been getting plenty of the later too- Proenza Schouler, Luella Bartley, Libertine, Jovovich-Hawk being favorites. (Erin Featherston and Alice Temperley’s offerings? Not so much. )

Rogan, the latest designer to create clothing for the chain, unveiled his collection last week, but not amid the frozen food and tampons at one of our local Tar-jays. The preview sale (open to VIPs Thursday night and the public over the weekend) was at uber-pricey Beverly Hills designer depot Barney’s New York, and we’re guessing the clothes were the cheapest pieces ever to be seen there.

The designer, whose full name is Rogan Gregory, was on hand for the event –along with a host of celebs (see this week's Nightranger to find out who) and the handsome, ponytail sporting chap told us he was overwhelmed by the turnout and response to the line (blogs are loving it), which has a decidedly 80’s feel with an abundance of animal prints emblazoning everything from dresses to bathing suits.

The designer hangs at the racks.

“I’m obsessed with black and white,” he told us. “ But there are meaningful pops of color too. I was going for soulful modernism.”

Did he accomplish this? Yes and no. As a self-professed ‘70’s boho babe, we’re admittedly biased against '80’s flavored fashion, and we found the zebra print pieces (tops, denim skirts, shorts) a bit too loud (Heidiwood for Anchor Blue uses a similar size zebra print- nuff said). Still, twentysomethings who didn’t wear stuff like this the first time around will probably love it, and the subtle color notes (turquoise and yellow tees, hot pink buttons) recall the new wave wear that’s so hot with the Rayban-sporting set right now.

There's actually something here for everyone. The cuts on some of the dresses -which run about 40 bucks- are extremely flattering especially for this price point. We snatched up a less gaudy black (on black) zebra print halter dress that makes our waist look tiny, matching leggings, a strapless tube frock with ruched-top ala Juicy, and a blue tank with burned-out leopard spots (they really pop with a black bra underneath). The ‘80s accents are there, but they’re more Madonna than metal mama. Our total for all of it was under $150. A real steal.

The shopping frenzy at Barney's.

Other pieces we liked (just not for our bod): a black shorts jumper (with pink, blue and yellow buttons), a black and white leopard spotted bikini and, the piece that’s sure to be the hottest item in the line- the snow-leopard spotted tunic/tent dress- seen in the ads and the first to go at the bash.

The best part about Rogan for Target’s collection? All of it is 100% organic, which the designer told us wasn’t as difficult to manufacture as some might assume. “Sustainable fabrics are perceived as a luxury,” he said. “But they’re really not. Target’s pretty good at this by now, so they didn’t have a problem when I requested these materials. It’s our responsibility not to leave this world a total disaster for our offspring.”

These shoes (on Rachel Bilson) have nothing to do with the line, but how wild are they?

If eco-friendly can be fierce and cheap too, all the better! The line is currently available at a Target near you, but as with previous GO collabs, the best stuff is probably already gone. Try buying it online here.

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The first annual Guacamole Festival, though light on the green stuff, was a good-spirited and relatively well-attended community fundraising event to benefit Sacred Heart High School in Lincoln Heights.

Unfortunately, on Saturday blistering heat kept many people away and the guacamole mostly in the fridge. However, the scant guacamole that was available was fresh, spicy, and served with pride. The low guacamole quotient also in no way detracted from the other delicious food, including tacos, burritos, pupusas, enchiladas, corn on the cob, aquas frescas, fresh fruit, and whole avocados straight off the tree.

The soda drinking contest was also a highlight, and Sunday's headlining performers, a 12-piece Latin rock/jazz band, were the perfect musical backdrop for a Mexican meal.

Read on...

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We've been calling plus-size punny (lad)y Jackie Beat our "favorite drag queen" for years (and that's saying something... we know a lot of crossdressers!) and once again, the droll diva proves she's got bigger balls than all the rest with this brilliant parody of Mariah Carey (Cannon)'s "Touch My Body."

It's all over the web for good reason, but we gotta say, we've seen Beat without the warpaint, and believe us, she's much more attractive than this video might lead you to believe. Mariah without her lashes, gloss, highlighter -and yes retouchers- not so sure.

Anyway, check out Beat in her lash-o-licious glory on her website and on the fabulous new, feel good pay service site www.dailydragqueenaffirmations.com.

Photog Austin Young, who directed the above clip tells us he'll be premiering his latest work "The Worm, Episode 9" at Hollywood Blvd gallery World of Wonder's new art show ("Dial M For Madonna") celebrating the Material Girl herself on May 21.

It's from a short video series in which Mariah, Britney and Madonna turn into a giant worm that's let loose onto the unsuspecting citizens of L.A. Check out earlier episodes here.

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Once the epicenter of all that was hip and cutting edge in fashion, Melrose -at least the part between La Brea and Fairfax- is now just a mish-mash of kinda-sorta trendy threads and Downtown LA fashion alley type shops. The punks are gone. The boho types are all on the Eastside. The rich bitches and celebs are on Robertson. And most of the tourists would rather see superheroes on Hollywood Blvd.

De la Barracuda (see previous post) is an exception, and there are a few others, but even vintage stalwarts like Wasteland and Slow have lost the raw electricity and wearable whimsy they used to have back in the old days. You used to see the coolest, most creative looks at these shops and not just on the racks, but on the sales people themselves.

We should know. We were what you might call a Melrose maven (as a gothed-out teen, we’d take the bus there practically every weekend to ogle hot rock dudes slacking behind the counters at stores like Flash Feet, Soap Plant and Retail Slut and later, we became a sales gal there ourselves, "working" day in and day out behind the counter at a myriad of shops over the years including Necromance (still there!), Terri King, The Slut (for a second) and Erica Courtney (now on 3rd and on Robertson).

But these days the only place we ever seem to drop any dough on the avenue is at Urban Outfitters. A chain! Telling...

Okay, we gotta admit, we might be a bit bitter after our recent Wasteland experience. It’d been years since we attempted to sell clothing there -i.e. endure the humiliation of having some snotty gal in bad ‘80s garb comb through our past fashion faves, and yes some faux pas too, only to –if we’re lucky- give us a fraction of the frock’s cost. After last week, we remember why.

Photo by Wild Don Lewis for a 2006 LA Weekly story about re-selling clothes. Click here to read it.

“Have you sold here before?,” the mismatched miss asks robotically as she starts pilfering our piles.

“Yes, but it's been a while,” we say.

“Well, were looking for designer stuff… she rattles off. "Juicy, Marc Jacobs, Diesel….”

We cut her off. “There’s a few things you might be into,” we say. “Lots of good vintage pieces.”

And there was. Anna Sui slides (with glitter hearts!). A brand new cream-colored Reebok track suit (Sundance swag from 2 years ago). Some totally cute flower covered slip dresses and ‘70’s mod minis... stuff we could easily sell on Ebay if we had the time and energy.

All were rejected. From a suit case and duffle bag filled with easily 60 pieces of clothing, the buyer took 3 things, and as has been our experience in the past, it was the sub-par stuff: a black 80’s era (shocker!) spandex skirt, a mustard colored 60s-style men’s shirt that was our hubby’s (okay that was a good one), and a pair of blah black shorts. We got 20 bucks for what felt like mercy buys.

As we perused the store, it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise. Gone was the eclectic mix of authentic retro wear we used to love about Wasteland (‘80’s is NOT vintage people!) and in its place, a bunch of designer labels and new stuff that already saturates other shops on the block (Dim Mak hoodies have a prominent display in the men’s section).

Some amazing dresses and sweaters we got from the original Wasteland in San Francisco back in the early ‘90’s still hang in our closets, and we can remember the excitement we felt the day the Melrose post first opened its doors. Along with Jet Rag (which has also lost its mojo unfortunately), the vintage options in LA were so bountiful in the ‘90’s. It’s too bad the later has turned into another label whore re-sale store. (We like designer stuff as much as the next gal, and paying less for it used is cool –we do it on Ebay all the time- but a recognizable label doesn’t always equal a stylish piece). And lets face it, most designers these days are just knocking off the older styles to begin with.

Grunge "marcs" a moment in Vogue circa '93

The nature of vintage is that there’s only so much of it out there. And our distain for ‘80’s threads aside, time changes not only taste but the feelings evoked by certain looks. Soon enough, the ‘80’s (nu) romance will falter and ‘90’s looks will rear their ugly heads. Yup, grunge is gonna be back in a big way, and we fully expect to see Wasteland lined with flannels and doc martins when it does. Of course, they’ll probably only take the Marc Jacobs ones.

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

They put Cahuenga on the clubber map, made manicures and martinis a classic combo (wish we could always sip a cocktail while getting clipped and dipped!) and continue to offer some of our favorite, off-beat DJ nights (Still Fucking Awesome on Mondays, Trans-Am on Fridays), and now, The Beauty Bar is out to put a "beauty" mark on the face of fashion too.

The drinking spot's retro parlour aesthetics, particularly the bar's sassy silhouette logo, now emblazon a new line of t-shirts and tops, and a couple of weekends ago, we checked out the collection debut party at De La Barracuda on Melrose ( a shop and party hub we’re really loving lately- see Nightranger). Unfortunately we got there late, so we missed the BBQ and free manis! Still, we haven't been to Melrose in like forever, so we took the opportunity to hit up some old haunts. (See our next post for the not-so-rosey report from that part of the afternoon).

Sprfkr (pronounced Superfucker) with his design.

As for the Beauty collection, it fits in real well with the edgy, streetwear stuff at Barracuda, with looks by hip designers and graphic artists including FREE GOLD WATCH (San Francisco), CTRL(Helsinki, Finland), BRAINS ON FIRE (New York, NY), SEARCH + RESQ (Los Angeles), HEEBEEGEEBEE (Grand Rapids, MI.) and SPRFKR (Los Angeles, CA). The line will be sold exclusively at the Melrose store and online beginning May 15th, and as you might expect, it’s all super-cute, girlie-glam goodness, though it really takes something special to get us to shell out cash for tees these days. We have sooooo many (who doesn't, right?). We'd love to see the designs go beyond t-shirts, with the logo as a print, on maybe some dresses or skirts in the future.

Currently in the works: a Beauty Bar jewelry and accessory line, and a nail polish brand (natch) with URBAN DECAY.

Buy the BB booty at the store now, or order it online (starting this Thursday) here:
www.beautybar.com
www.barracudashop.com

Here's a couple of designs:

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CFIWest / Steve Allen Theater, Hollywood
May 7

(l-r) Scott Thompson, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch

A line of comedy fans dozens deep snaked around the corner of Berendo and Hollywood Wednesday night - and not all of them made it in - for a secret late-show warmup from the Kids in the Hall, about to embark on their North American summer tour. The Steve Allen Theater has been a cozy little home away from Tronno for the revered Canadian sketch comedy troupe in the past couple of years; all of them have performed and screened various projects at the Center for Inquiry West’s H’wood home, most recently Scott Thompson and Kevin McDonald's one-man shows. Last night's packed house was treated to "The Final Kiss," a hilarious gory short (makeup by KNB FX - gnarly!) co-starring Thompson and Dave Foley (and directed by Allen artistic director Amit Itelman), as well as a live set which while devoid of material from the upcoming tour nevertheless struck a chord (or several) with the die-hards in the audience.

Anyone who missed out is SOL for this Friday’s Orpheum Theater KITH show, which is sold out like a mutha. However, as Foley and Thompson noted at the top of the evening, The Grove of Anaheim gig is apparently still half empty for tonight. (“There are scalpers out on the street crying,” Foley noted. “Please come.”)

McCulloch and Kevin McDonald

Mark McKinney and Foley

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

They're so sweet and innocent. Photos by Rena Kosnett.

Writing about the experience of seeing Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job! live on tour would be akin to dancing about architecture—some weird, fucked up architecture. It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.

One certainty is that the live show is a thousand times better than seeing Tim & Eric on TV, or watching videos on Youtube, because in addition to watching and hearing them, you can smell and taste Tim & Eric as well. Some highlights: an instructional video about properly poisoning your child clown slave, Papa John’s email upgrades, a prayer for Robin Williams, enlarged testicle bodysuits, a video with John C. Reilly eating paninis prepared with horse grease and then saying "Ooh, it smells like horse."

Read on...

Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)