Celebrated author, Ray Bradbury paid a visit to his favorite local bookstore, Acres of Books, Wednesday afternoon to show his love and support for the soon to be closing Long Beach landmark. With only a days notice, local press and fans still managed to fill the store’s funky music room/gallery space to ask questions, take photos, get books signed and listen to reminiscences of a master story teller. Mr. Bradbury is a great raconteur and... [continue]

Photos by Lori Nyx for LAist Put down that mouse for a second and take a deep breath. Imagine yourself in a cavernous bookstore, wandering through endless stacks in search of the rare and the wonderful. Drink in the eclectic surroundings, the musty scent of wood, paper and 5 decades of history. How did you get here? Maybe you just happened to be passing the quaint 30's era store front and felt the need... [continue]

Being still somewhat youngish, there are few people that I open up to on the Obit page that have impacted my life greatly (except maybe musicians and TV actors from the 70's). Seriously, all of the great movers and shakers out there, industrialists, world leaders, inventors, Nobel Prize winners, I feel little connection to. Yesterday, when a friend told me that Gary Gygax had passed, the high school, geeky girl in me felt the end... [continue]

Ever feel like rolling out of bed and rolling into your neighbor's kitchen to a tasty plate of banana hotcakes or an omelet smothered in avocado and jack? Breakfast at The Cozy Cafe in Redondo Beach is a lot like that. It's the kind of place where frills are not allowed, but where you can feel free to stroll in with a jacket tossed over your PJ's and the paper under your arm any... [continue]

Has the New Year got you asking those “life, the universe and everything” kind of questions? If, like me, one of your resolutions in 2008 is to improve your mind, body and spirit, a great place to get busy is at the 6th Annual Conscious Life Expo, which takes place Friday through Sunday at the LAX Hilton. The Expo features lectures, workshops and intensives presented by nationally and internationally renowned speakers, teachers and authors, as... [continue]

A few months ago I noticed a nekkid lady’s torso perched on a plinth in the middle of the Windward Traffic Circle in Venice. Considering the calle vida thereabouts, this shouldn’t have raised an eyebrow. Yet, the utter incongruousness of a slick, black, metal, larger-than-life sculpture in the midst of "don’t harsh my mellow" Bohemia, made me stop and gawk. Regardless of yellow caution tape, I sprinted across to the island, which is roomy enough... [continue]

Detail of creepy-cool clown mural painted by "Wizard" in 1975, which marks the entrance to fun! A few weeks back I promised to continue the photo essay of my next-door neighbor, the Redondo Beach Pier, where there is always something weird and wonderful to see and do. The Fun Factory is the next best thing to a cheesy, down-the-shore/midway arcade. Sure, Santa Monica Pier has its Ferris wheel, calliope and similar games of chance,... [continue]

Last Friday I trundled up in the tram at The Getty Center to see a 'sold out', intimate performance. For the mere cost of parking and a little bumper-to-bumper on the 405, I and my brother from another mother, MX, got to sit in a comfy auditorium and listen to the laconic stylings of ex-punk (no pun intended) troubadour, John Doe. Now, ain't yah jealous? Of course, I've always had a crush on Mr.... [continue]

Yes, I know. Saturday's a busy night. So many places to go. So many people to do. But there's always time to fit in a signing of a really cool book at a really cool gallery space and store, especially if there's gonna be live music. So, why not roll into La Luz De Jesus/Wacko tomorrow night between 6 and 9pm to celebrate the publication of what all us musical nerds have long awaited: Bomp!... [continue]

If Maila Nurmi had never created her alter ego, Vampira, I wouldn't know how to act, dress or put on make-up. As the Misfits sang: “Two inch nails, micro waist, with a pale white feline face, inclination eyebrows to there.” Nor would it have been as cool to be into all the weird, spooky, horror show stuff that I’ve loved since childhood. We all need role models, and without mine, I would have been... [continue]

After a visit to the doctor for my yearly oil change and lube, I was in the need of a bit of fresh air. Don't you just hate the irony of a heavy-set doctor telling you that your blood pressure is closer to high than it should be and that losing all the weight you gained back might be a really good idea? Yeah, me too. Damn it, I really wasn't planning on any... [continue]

This unexpected Tiki God has materilized on Mildred Ave. between Pacific and Dell--steps from my weekend gig in Venice. A few weeks back when I caught a glimpse of a resident with a machete, I was a little concerned. Thankfully, this friendly neighborhood Tiki was the result! I wonder if he is meant to be Lono, the god of Peace, or Kanaloa, the god of the Sea, or just a whimsical protector of the local... [continue]

I was looking through the recipe box for ways to use up the old Christmas carcass, when I re-discovered a little gem from days gone by: 1969 to be exact. It's one of those tiny paperbacks that they used to sell, a Flash World Library For Modern Living publication called: bachelor's cook book (all lower case for style's sake). The bachelor's cook book was created to help those fellas with just a hot plate,... [continue]

Sometimes the old remedies are the best remedies. Then again, sometimes they're not! No doubt by tomorrow morning we will all be scrambling for pills, potions and greasy breakfasts in the vain hope that the nausea, pounding in our temples and sensitivity to any and all stimuli will cease. Sure, lots of water and some Advil before bedtime or a Bloody Mary the next morning may do the trick in the year 2008, but... [continue]

Have a taste for deliciously scary eye candy? Check out Christopher Ulrich's phantasmagorical paintings: Demoneater Series One in Santa Monica! ... [continue]

This scary Santa is a relic from my childhood. It's a mechanical bank toy, the kind you drop a penny in to make it twitch and shake. Circa 1960 (4 years before my birth) it still kind of-sort of works, if the rusted contact points connect with 2 D batteries...and you pray hard. As I recall, it has always been freakish, even when new. It makes a whirring/jangling sound, lurching back and forth on its... [continue]

The Romans are often bagged on as being the Borg of the ancient world: assimilating barbarian cultures left and right, stealing the style and grace of the Greeks, tossing the odd Christian to lions. Yet, you must admit they did know how to PARTY, especially during those barren winter months. In antiquity, the feast of Saturn or “Saturnalia” was celebrated from about December 17th through the 23rd. It was a winter solstice festival in... [continue]

As a send off to photographer, Ann Summa's Los Angelesshow, bands/performers from the bad old days of early L.A. punk played in the gallery. Dude, it was both awesome and bitchin. ... [continue]

Does Depp's Sweeney Todd rip off Dave Vanian? ... [continue]

All right, I know this was only supposed to be a cookie recipe exchange, but the power of Santa compels me to share my Italian American aunt's killer "Frangelico Balls." I suspect it was either her allegiance to the old country or a whacked out jones for hazelnuts that made her tweak the classic rum ball recipe. So yeah, there's no actual baking required and these are technically considered candy, but we're talking alcoholic candy.... [continue]