Even though Los Angeles boasts some of the most temperate weather in the country, many people still insist on doing their workouts within the confines of an indoor space where the recycled air mixes with the scent of many perspiring bodies. Why spend an hour on the treadmill looking at a wall or a television when you can find more invigorating workouts in the great outdoors?
Tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood in Manhattan Beach is God’s (and the Devil’s) gift to those who believe a workout is pointless unless it causes a near-death experience. The 100-foot sand dune at Sand Dune Park looks innocent enough from afar. You think, It’s just a big sand hill. What’s the big deal? Then you begin your ascent.
[Read more →]
Tags: Health · Local LA
It’s going to be a long seven months until the general election. The two Democratic contenders are in it for the long haul while the presumptive Republican nominee rests up for what promises to be one of the best cage matches of the decade. The old guy versus who? The black guy? The white chick? Only time will tell. As we await the outcome of the Democratic race, Americans grow wearier every day. He said that. She said this. Squabble, squabble, squabble.
Can’t we all just get along?
In a twisted attempt to find light where there is darkness, to find joy in the midst of misery, I devised a way to remain upbeat throughout the remainder of this election season. It’s all about make-believe, baby. I don’t think McCain, Obama or Clinton is a surfer, but what if he (or she) was? What would each one of them surf?
[Read more →]
Tags: General
April 14th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 1 Comment
Last week, adult entertainment website XBIZ.com broke the story that is reverberating throughout the “other Hollywood.” Producer John Stagliano and two of his companies were indicted by a federal grand jury for, according to the FBI press release, operating an obscenity distribution business and related offenses. Stagliano, Evil Angel Productions and John Stagliano, Inc. were charged with a total of eight counts that relate to the distribution “of films to the public by means of a common carrier and the Internet.” The charges are troubling for an industry that has heretofore legally operated within the confines of federal law.
[Read more →]
Tags: News · local news
When stripped down to its most organic state, surfing is never about money. Multi-national surf corporations spend millions of dollars on advertising in an attempt to convince the surfing and non-surfing masses that the lineups are populated by pre- and barely post-pubescent young men who bust massive airs in boardshorts that cost a small, but worthwhile fortune worthwhile for their ability to make a surfer look cool among his peers and sexy to the opposite sex. That representation of the sport is surfing at its least organic: one-dimensional and exclusive, designed to keep surf corporations in the black, and simultaneously dismissive of surfing’s storied past while being indifferent to its unpredictable future. Money, not the leash, ruined surfing.
[Read more →]
Tags: General · Lifestyle
As varied as the restaurants in Los Angeles are, Benihana remains an anomaly. Few, if any, other establishments prepare food at the table while the customers look on. The uninitiated are always surprised to discover, upon a first visit, that the diner is a willing participant in the culinary spectacle for which the restaurant is best known. In other words, first-timers are always surprised when the chef slicing up their shrimp intentionally lobs the tails in their laps rather than at their plates. If a server in a traditional restaurant threw food at a customer, it would be safe to say the dinner would be comped and the server would be out of a job. Thankfully, Benihana is anything but a traditional restaurant.
[Read more →]
Tags: Restaurants
Most, if not all, surfers in Los Angeles know by now that the County Department of Public Health recommends that ocean water be avoided for 72 hours after a rainstorm. Knowledge, however, does not always equal power. Ever the eternal optimists, many surfers gladly paddle out after a storm, perhaps giving credence to the theory that “ignorance is bliss”. While the County’s warnings about the water are generally widespread, what may prompt these surfers to flaunt the admonitions is a lack of specific knowledge.
According to the County, water directed from the storm drains “can contain disease-causing pathogens”. In other words, the bacteria present in the ocean after the County’s storm drains disgorge all that’s been thrown into them can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, sinus infections, earaches, weight loss and fatigue. The County also warns that contact with contaminated water can lead one to contract Hepatitis A.
[Read more →]
Tags: Environment · General
The Time.com headline said it all. Apparently, discussions about race are unheard of or, at least, unexpected in a post-Civil Rights era presidential election. Hence the reason for characterizing yesterday’s speech by the Democratic frontrunner as “Obama’s Bold Gamble on Race.” Why must it be both bold and a gamble to talk about race? Do you see a happy, melting potted citizenry in this country?
It all began with the sermons of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr., now retired after decades on the pulpit at the Trinity United Church of Christ. Fox News, whether on television or online, depicts him as a hate-monger whose “inflammatory” oratory was simultaneously anti-American and anti-White. Other media outlets followed suit, condemning Obama for attending services at a church where the preacher’s use of black liberation theology was widely accepted. At first glance, with one’s God-given ability to think critically stuck in “Park” rather than shifted to “Drive,” Wright’s words are appalling:
“We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because of stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own backyard. America is [like] chickens coming home to roost.”
[Read more →]
Tags: Editorials · World news
When the tide is at its lowest, many of the local breaks come to life. Rocks sun themselves. Animate sea life, with nowhere to hide, carries on as if it’s business as usual. If the waves are good, surfers grudgingly cross the difficult divide between smooth sand and peeling rights. The lowest of low tides is a wondrous event.
[Read more →]
Tags: Image Gallery · LA Backdrop
March 10th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 1 Comment
Fans of The Wire no longer have a raison d’etre (reason for being). The series came to an end last night after a five-year run on HBO. At a time when American network television catered to the lowest common denominator with its plethora of reality programs and crime dramas whose titles begin with three distinctive letters, The Wire represented a true paradigm shift. The police were not necessarily the good guys. The men and women involved in the drug trade, both as dealers and users, were not necessarily the bad guys.
The genius of the show is its refusal to coddle the viewer. Characters spoke in the vernacular of their surroundings. If something was unclear, it was up to the viewer to figure it out. Storylines that came to an abrupt end at the finish of one season were not explained the following season. With The Wire, nothing was promised.
Here are the top four reasons, in no particular order, why The Wire was the best show on television:
[Read more →]
Tags: Reviews · Screen · TV
Over a year ago, ads began appearing in surf magazines and on surf websites for a tiny little wrist-mounted waterproof camera called the GoPro Hero. It was an intriguing idea, to say the least. Here was a camera that could shoot both stills and video, a camera small and light enough and to be barely noticeable when paddling and popping up. The camera raised many skeptical eyebrows within the surfing community. Surfers refused to believe that such a gadget could do what it promised. The only way to review such a product is to take it into the water and start shooting (in between set waves, of course).
The primary problem with the Hero is its size. At only 4.5 ounces, it is almost too light. Amateur and professional photographers all understand that one of the keys to good photographs is ensuring that the camera is still. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to take a picture with the Hero without shaking the camera, especially when shooting from the wrist. The picture below was taken on land while standing as still as possible for as long as possible. The result was less than satisfactory.
[Read more →]
Tags: Local LA · News · Reviews
February 29th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 1 Comment
James Brown said it best when he sang, “This is a man’s world.” There’s no better evidence of this fact than in the surf industry. Almost everything that is bought, sold, advertised or talked about in the lineup is understandably geared towards men. The majority of the surfing population stands up to use the bathroom and is more than happy to see surf magazine advertisements that use women to sell products.
The surf industry is also well aware of the changes afoot. Lineups are increasingly dotted with the fairer sex. Yes, it’s a man’s world, but the Godfather of Soul also reminded us that “it wouldn’t be nothing . . . without a woman or a girl.” While magazines do still run ads with well-endowed, bikini-clad women standing next to a surfboard (as if one had anything to do with the other), it is now commonplace for the same magazines to feature photos of professional female surfers who shred harder than the majority of the male surfing population. The largest surf corporations, Quiksilver and Billabong, have clothing and surf gear lines specifically for women, as do many other smaller surf companies. Helen Reddy would be proud.
[Read more →]
Tags: General · Local LA · News
February 26th, 2008 Written by: Mary M · 1 Comment
The man in the mural for Andy Nevill’s Tattoo Asylum silently watches over those who cross the threshold into and out of Venice.
[Read more →]
Tags: Image Gallery · Local LA · News
