VISUAL ARTS

• Glow: Dusk to Dawn Festival | Saturday, July 19, 2008 | 7 p.m. | Free | Santa Monica Pier - Map | For 12 hours, experience media art, performances, music and sculpture installations at the Santa Monica Pier. GLOW is the only event that has ever gotten ever gotten permission to open the pier and beach to the public all night from 7 pm to 7 am.

FASHION

• Collective Souls Yard Sale | Sunday, July 20, 2008 | 10Collective Souls Yard Sale | El Nene Restaurant Parking Lot - Map | You won’t want to miss this (even though it’s cash only). Collective Soul will have vintage clothing, jewelry, art and L.A. Brands for your buying pleasure at this event. And if you get hungry, you can pop on over to El Nene for some tasty Mexican food.

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• Four police officers injured in Canoga Park fire - A car fire that started early this morning caused four Los Angeles police officers to be treated for smoke inhalation. The fire started in a carport, however the flames extended to a second-floor apartment, said d’Lisa Davies, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. It’s unclear how the fire began.
• 101 Freeway reopened following closure and arrest - the westbound Ventura Freeway is back open after a 7 hour closure and the arrest of a gunman who was in a nearby condominium. It all started when Los Angeles police responded to a domestic dispute at about 3 a.m. and encountered a man with a rifle who fired several shots, Deputy Chief Michel Moore said. A SWAT team was eventually called and the gunman was arrested around 10 a.m. The California Highway Patrol shut down the 101’s westbound lanes at DeSoto Avenue shortly after the incident occurred. No one was injured.
• Alleged snipper arrested in Downtown - Police arrested an alleged sniper on suspicion of firing shots from the Hayworth Hotel in Downtown on Spring St. The shots were reported before 8 p.m. Police blocked off Broadway and Spring Street between Fifth and Sevenths streets until the suspect was found around 9:15 p.m., Los Angeles police officer April Harding of the Media Relations section.

Photo by VeryBadLady via Flickr

Lactose intolerant? Allergic to peanuts? Can shellfish kill you?

Well, the good folks over at Angelenic have taken it upon themselves to scope out the most food-allergy friendly restaurants in the downtown area. They checked in with over half a dozen places, and you might be surprised to find out what they discovered (or you might not be).

Check out their review and their advice!

Photo by Dan4th

Who would have guessed that a small innocuous little café in a random part of downtown
would offer not only decent food, but fairly authentic French café food?

No one was as surprised as I was, let me tell you. After all, restaurants that boast French food (including places actually staffed and run by French people) rarely if ever actually deliver on the claim.

But I’m happy to report that Angelique Café makes good! [ Read The Full Story -> ]

Little Tokyo is riddled with little eateries, ranging from your questionable sushi buffets to Omakase places to Shabu Shabu houses. Most common is probably the ramen joints, the bulk of which seem to litter 1st Street. I’d never been particularly impressed with any of those places, however, opting instead for my personal fav, Orochon, in Weller Court (just west of the Plaza). Then one day I noticed a line out the door to get into Daikokuya, a ramen place with a bright yellow awning, just across the street from the Little Tokyo Plaza. Something told me that if people are waiting in line upwards of 30 minutes to eat here, it must be worth checking out.

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Knitting is becoming the hot new trend. Over the past few years, several of my girlfriends have mentioned knitting classes. There is even a knitting studio on 3rd Street near Fairfax which features cleverly knitted teddies in the window.

Emma Roberts (right) started a free knitting class/group at the downtown Central Library one year ago and it was an instant hit. I attended her class and she agreed to sit down for an interview.

Big Al, the gal: I’d like to learn a little about you. Where are you from? What is your roll at Central Library?

Emma: I’m originally from the UK, but I’ve lived in LA for almost ten years. I went to library school in the UK, and I also have a BA in Art History.

I’m the Subject Specialist for Art, Music & Recreation / Rare Books at Central Library. We have a fantastic collection, which is really a privilege to work with.

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Cafe 630 is a tasty little soup, salad, and sandwich shop located in the Central Library building. You’ll also find Panda Express and TCBY, but I’m not a junk food fan. Have I mentioned I have the metabolism of a large dead man?

Café 630 is a great place to grab a tuna sandwich and fruit salad (my favorite). Sometimes they have Lentil soup, which is great for us vegetarians. Their daily soup and half sandwich special will run you $5.99 and is plenty of food.

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While I was crossing the street, I realized the Democratic Presidential Debate was on the t.v. at the downtown Hilton Checkers. Obama! Hillary! Some announcer people whose names I don’t know!

They said the same old stuff and I am sure you’ll find hundreds of places to go that will give you better coverage than I can. What caught my attention was how hard it was to hear the debate because everyone was drinking and yapping!

I wanted to jump on top of the bar and declare, “Why are you ungrateful drunks not paying attention to a debate between the two leading Democratic candidates for the U.S. Presidency?! Is there too much freedom in this world?? Do you think democracies grow on trees??

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Sandwich Shop
Verdict: Cat’s Pajamas!

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm (will open weekend starting this spring!)
Address: 531 West 6th Street, LA, CA 90014
Phone: (213) 627-1508
Price: $
Website: www.SandwichShopLA.com

When my husband and I moved in to our place downtown, we met several of our neighbors, one of whom is Jimmy Kwon. Soon after getting to know Jimmy, my husband learned that his company had been ordering lunch from Jimmy’s shop, then La Baguette, for months. And everyone loved the food!

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While I was crossing the street, my step was springing as I eagerly anticipated a super-cool interview.

MAN ONE, graffiti artist and co-owner of Crewest Gallery (www.crewest.com) was kind enough to sit down with me for several hours on Monday while I interrogated him about his history, his work, and the graffiti art form as a whole.

Man One (real name not given, but hey! Who is Big Al, the gal, to throw stones?) was born and raised in Alhambra. In high school, he tuned-in to hip-hop and break dancing, but didn’t connect the prevalent graffiti he saw with actual artists.I shared my story of being mesmerized by the comics pages while not understanding that they had been drawn by human hands. All of the sudden, one day, the light goes on for an artist. We realize humans create the art form that touches our soul and, in that realization, understand that we can create too.

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FATALLY YOURS at Crewest“A show featuring work by artists disheartened with Valentine’s Day.”
February 9 – March 2110 Winston Street, LAHours:Tu-Th noon-7pm; Fri-Sat noon-8pm; Sun noon-6pmPhone: (213) 627-8272
Website: www.crewest.com
Email: info@crewest.com

Tomorrow, February 14, is not just Valentine’s Day but also the second Thursday of the month. Do you know what that means? Downtown Art Walk!
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$ - RUN to Colori (don’t walk) before they wise up!

HOME OF THE CIOPPINO! (big enough, Joe?)

Variety: even the manager doesn’t know the specials or the desserts until that night
Notable: food, service, atmosphere, location, price
Price: $ - go now before they wise up!
Delivery: small order 2 block radius / catering, anywhere
Verdict: KICK YOUR MAMA GOOD!
*They are still in the process of acquiring a liquor license, so b.y.o.b. and enjoy free corkage.

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