A Teacher's Secret Life Hillel Aron's look at the life and death of Harry Major, a Hollywood High teacher with a penchant for taking in ex-cons, had readers riveted last week ("The Pen Pal Murder," Oct. 17). Anon can't wait for the movie version, saying, "Great story and writing. Write...
Looking for the perfect place to show off your Black Widow costume? Stan Lee’s fourth annual Comikaze Expo launches on Halloween at the Los Angeles Convention Center. At this pop culture extravaganza, learn how to pose for cosplay photos or get a crash course in steampunk. Check out a screening of Return to Nuke ’Em High Volume 1 with Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman. Bring the kids: On Friday, the convention’s exhibit hall hosts a massive trick-or-treat adventure. Stick around throughout the weekend for a huge Tetris 30th-anniversary gathering or catch Spike and Mike’s new Halloween special on Saturday. Sunday is “Family Day,” with fun for all ages, including a panel with the stars of Power Rangers Megaforce and a Land of the Lost reunion. The whole weekend is filled with celebrity guests — from Adam West and Julie Newmar to Game of Thrones stars Gwendoline Christie and Alfie Allen. Look out for the convention’s founder, Stan Lee, as well as Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira), who is a partner in the event. Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., dwntwn.; Fri., Oct. 31, 1-7 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 1, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; $30 day pass, $70 weekend pass, children under 12 free with paying adult. comikazeexpo.com. More
Though it’s the fleshiest gathering outside the Playboy Mansion, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is not clothing-optional. In fact, the 500,000 attention-getters expected tonight have been working on their amazing outfits almost since the day they shed last year’s Miley Cyrus’ wrecking-ball gear. The biggest people-watching event in town — and, as a parade, second only to the Tournament of Roses — includes 50-plus performers, live bands and DJs across six stages, a costume contest and the crowning of the honorary “Queen of the Carnaval” (last year, Queen Latifah held that title). So what will be the most popular costume idea this year? Maleficent? The three-breasted woman? Ebola? Put on a hospital mask or hazmat suit and find out. Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny Drive & La Cienega Boulevard, W. Hlywd.; Fri., Oct. 31, 6-11 p.m.; free. (800) 368-6020, visitwesthollywood.com.More
Día de los Muertos, which technically runs from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, is one of Mexico’s most celebrated holidays. The result of Spanish influence on a centuries-old Aztec festival honoring Mictecacihuatl, goddess of the afterlife, Día de los Muertos now is celebrated around the world — and especially in Los Angeles, where festivals from the traditional to the contemporary celebrate los muertos all over the city. Traditionally tonight is reserved for honoring children who have passed, but since it falls on a Saturday, it’s when the city’s best Día de los Muertos celebrations are happening. Hollywood Forever, which claims to be the only cemetery in the United States where Día de los Muertos is celebrated, hosts its 15th annual event with the fitting theme of Quinceañera. Expect a traditional procession among the tombstones, more than 100 altars, musical performances on three stages, and an art exhibit in the Cathedral Mausoleum curated by Luis Villanueva. Downtown, head to Grand Park for a huge, free celebration featuring 50 traditional and contemporary altars (on view through Nov. 2), dance performances by Danza Azteca Xocoyote, Oaxacan group Nueva Antequera and Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, and live music from Very Be Careful and Palenke Soultribe. Plus: giant sugar skulls. If you’re near Long Beach, head to MoLAA, the only U.S. museum devoted to modern and contemporary Latin American art. Saturday night, catch La Muerte Vive! — Where Rock Opera Meets Cabaret, featuring musician Santos de Los Angeles, burlesque dancer Ruby Champagne and giant puppets (judas). Bring the family back the next morning for Target Free Sundays Festival de los Muertos — admission is free all day, so after you’ve decorated sugar skulls and checked out the community altar honoring author Gabriel García Márquez, head inside the galleries to check out some of the best of Latin American art (MoLAA altars on display through Nov. 9). Hollywood Forever Día de los Muertos, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Sat. Nov. 1, noon-mid.; $20; ladayofthedead.com.More
Día de los Muertos, which technically runs from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, is one of Mexico’s most celebrated holidays. The result of Spanish influence on a centuries-old Aztec festival honoring Mictecacihuatl, goddess of the afterlife, Día de los Muertos now is celebrated around the world — and especially in Los Angeles, where festivals from the traditional to the contemporary celebrate los muertos all over the city. Traditionally tonight is reserved for honoring children who have passed, but since it falls on a Saturday, it’s when the city’s best Día de los Muertos celebrations are happening. Hollywood Forever, which claims to be the only cemetery in the United States where Día de los Muertos is celebrated, hosts its 15th annual event with the fitting theme of Quinceañera. Expect a traditional procession among the tombstones, more than 100 altars, musical performances on three stages, and an art exhibit in the Cathedral Mausoleum curated by Luis Villanueva. Downtown, head to Grand Park for a huge, free celebration featuring 50 traditional and contemporary altars (on view through Nov. 2), dance performances by Danza Azteca Xocoyote, Oaxacan group Nueva Antequera and Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, and live music from Very Be Careful and Palenke Soultribe. Plus: giant sugar skulls. If you’re near Long Beach, head to MoLAA, the only U.S. museum devoted to modern and contemporary Latin American art. Saturday night, catch La Muerte Vive! — Where Rock Opera Meets Cabaret, featuring musician Santos de Los Angeles, burlesque dancer Ruby Champagne and giant puppets (judas). Bring the family back the next morning for Target Free Sundays Festival de los Muertos — admission is free all day, so after you’ve decorated sugar skulls and checked out the community altar honoring author Gabriel García Márquez, head inside the galleries to check out some of the best of Latin American art (MoLAA altars on display through Nov. 9). Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos Concert, Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., dwntwn.; Sat., Nov. 1, 3-10 p.m.; free; grandparkla.org.More
When it comes to the life of Bruce Haack, separating truth from fiction is not easy. The groundbreaking electronic music composer and inventor is said to have taught himself to play piano by age 3. By 8, he apparently was escaping his abusive mother's wrath by sneaking off to Indian...
Visual allure often isn't a virtue we value when chasing obscure flavors in L.A.'s international neighborhoods. In fact, adventurous diners tend to appreciate the opposite: The grungier the location, the more accomplished we feel for having sought it out. Looks be damned — let the fireworks happen on the flavor...
The Los Angeles art world has been saying a collective "hallelujah" since the arrival in January of Philippe Vergne as MOCA's new director. Although some East Coast commentators condemned the appointment — citing in particular a budget crisis scandal in which Vergne resorted to selling off a number of works...
It's just math. With ever more overflowing arts districts and only so many Saturday nights a month, a bumper crop of shows opens tonight in Culver City — and several galleries are ringing in the new season by showing off their marquee rosters. Exact hours and show durations vary, so you'll want to check gallery sites for complete details. Promising and must-see highlights include Brooklyn-based artist KAWS at Honor Fraser, offering new work extrapolating from the Peanuts comics. The artist styles these images to the point of abstraction with his trademark bold color schemes, along with more gestural, black-and-white works (through Oct. 31). Also Kehinde Wiley's World Stage series at Roberts & Tilton (through Oct. 25) continues with an iteration based on Haiti's pageant culture, using the artist's iconic portraits of everyday folks rendered in his lavishly regal style. Zackary Drucker & Rhys Ernst's Post / Relationship / X at Luis de Jesus (through Nov. 1) surveys their years-long transgender love affair and artistic collaboration with recent photos that debuted at Paris Photo L.A., as well as a brand-new video piece. Sandow Birk at Koplin Del Rio (through Oct. 17) presents the third in his aesthetically and emotionally intense series transcribing the entire Koran and illuminating it with images of contemporary secular life in America. Rebecca Farr offers haunting mixed media paintings on canvas and the release of her new book at Klowden Mann through Oct. 18). The Miaz Brothers take on "The Masters" in a new series of ghostly, witty paintings at Fabien Castanier (through Oct. 11), in the Italian sibling-collaborators' first U.S. show. Tim Gratkowski at Walter Maciel (through Nov. 1) shows new two- and three-dimensional, retro-slick and expressively abstract mixed-media collages. Patricia Chidlaw at George Billis Gallery (through Nov. 1) installs a diverse suite of urban landscape paintings, which go beyond photorealism to show us our common world in an uncommon light. Honor Fraser Gallery, 2622 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City; thru Nov. 1; free. (310) 837-0191, honorfraser.com.More
“Adam Mars: Once Upon a Time, We Weren’t Stalkers” opens this week at Gusford Gallery, but at least one of its key text-based images (“I Loved You, Then I Googled You”) is already up on a billboard — which is kind of perfect, since the work is about how much we relentlessly chronicle every moment of our lives in public. The emotional highs and lows, triumphs, epic fails and misapprehensions that once were private affairs have become 140-character public confessions, one-way broadcasts in which we hurl our bullshit into the public sphere without filter. OK, so maybe social media–fueled narcissism isn’t a sign of the apocalypse, but the confluence of word, image, technology and bottomless need for attention is certainly a phenomenon worth addressing — and Mars’ visual art, which both celebrates and impugns the practice, is the perfect way to do it. By painting his texts on a tactile, expressive, brick-backed abstract patterning, he both evokes the “real world” in a literal brick-and-mortar sense, and addresses the outside voice represented by truncated, decontextualized online pronouncements. Also, they are hilarious. Please try to remain aware of the irony when you repost them on Instagram, OK? Gusford Gallery. 7016 Melrose Ave., W. Hlywd. Thu., Nov. 6, 6-9 p.m.; continues Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m., through Dec. 20; free. (323) 452-9563, gusfordgallery.com.More
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 6-9 p.m. and Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Continues through Dec. 20
Alexandre Aja's Horns is the rare YA-ish romance that doesn't make like a guidance counselor and force the characters to shake hands and forgive. It's a biblically tinged, eye-for-an-eye vengeance thriller about an emo boyfriend named Ig (Daniel Radcliffe) whose childhood sweetheart Merrin (Juno Temple) has been murdered underneath the...
Jake Gyllenhaal, not a particularly bulky guy to begin with, dropped 20 pounds or so to play a Los Angeles misfit who finds his calling as a freelance crime videographer in Dan Gilroy's nervy thriller Nightcrawler. Even when Robert De Niro does it, weight change isn't acting — it's the...
The best that can be said of The Pact 2 is that its existence might draw the attention of more viewers to The Pact, a superior indie creep-out from 2012 whose creator, the writer-director Nicholas McCarthy, fashioned it according to three inviolable principles.
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Before the job had a name, the king of a television show was usually unknown beyond his kingdom -- the gangs of tool-belt-wearing union workers, divisions of actor prettifiers, regiments of writers and editors.
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The autumn passage of the New Wavers continues apace with this, the final film by the late great postmodernist, whose movies were always fraught with our often self-destructive need for narrative.
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Above the Hermosillo brewpub sits an illuminated sign depicting a Tinkerbell-esque blonde in an emerald bodysuit, a remnant from the escort club previously housed in the space.
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Eighty-five years ago, Encarnación Elias Gomez took a huge risk — opening the doors on her new taqueria, El Carmen, at La Brea and Third. Back in 1929, this was about as far as the trolley cars went, and for the widow Gomez to open up her own business? Well, that was a scandal.
But Gomez didn't just succeed. El Carmen was a smash hit of a restaurant, one whose regulars — who later included D.W. Griffith, Cecil B. DeMille, Boris Karloff, Ricardo Montalban, Nat King Cole, Loretta Young, Diego Rivera, Busby Berkeley, Mario Lanza, Vincent Price and a young actor named John Wayne – came to know her as “Mama.” Even today it still has a strong presence in the neighborhood, a rarity in ever-changing Los Angeles.
Today, some people believe Mama — and maybe someone else from the family — still have a presence at the darkly-lit, romantic restaurant. But who was Encarnación really? And how did she come to open El Carmen, as a woman alone?
A new study published in the October Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease indicates that a diet including walnuts may help reduce the risk, delay the onset, slow the progression of and even prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Research led by Abha Chauhan, head of the Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR), found significant improvement in learning skills, memory, reducing anxiety and motor development in mice fed a walnut-enriched diet.
Squid ink radiatori, red wine-braised squid, mussels, peas, dried tomato at Alimento
iHeartSilverlake EastSide Food Festival Silver Lake is getting its own food festival, with 25 vendors, chefs, DJs, musicians and more, hosted by
Mack Sennett Studios, Castle Gourmet and Food Is the New Rock. Who's coming? Alimento, Auntie Em's Kitchen, Angel City Brewing, Black Hogg, Donut Friend, HomeState, Kitchen Mouse, Little Beast, Mexicali Taco & Co., McConnell's Ice Cream, Starry Kitchen, Sticky Rice, Oinkster and more.
WHAT: iHeartSilverlake EastSide Food Festival
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 9, 4-8 p.m.
WHERE: Mack Sennett Studios, 1215 Bates Ave., Silver Lake.
COST: Tickets are $45 to $75.
Horror stories about apples with razor blades and anthrax-laced candy terrified trick-or-treaters in the 1980s and '90s. But this year, one Beverly Hills mom is purposely resurrecting the fear and paranoia surrounding trick-or-treating, with a modern spin.
Rainbeau Mars (and yes, that's her real name, according to her publicist, who says she was born in a teepee under a double rainbow) will be dishing out something really scary to trick-or-treaters in her gated community — live worms.
Forget mazes, rides, haunted hayrides and houses of horror with their hordes of mask-wearing actors providing cheap thrills. Instead, grab a drink at one of L.A.'s haunted restaurants — seven dining and drinking spots that all have real resident ghosts far spookier than most made-up macabre.
Befitting their age, most are downtown, but Hollywood and Long Beach also offer eerie places for your dining delight this spooky season.
Thirteen is a lucky number for Pasadena, which just acquired the 13th California outlet of the Taiwanese bakery cafe 85°C.
In case you’re not familiar with this chain—until now the closest branches were in Torrance and Gardena—the name indicates the perfect temperature for hot coffee. This leaves out the bakery cafe’s most famous beverage, sea salt coffee, which is served iced. The salt is in thick cream on a base of strong Guatemalan coffee. You shake it up before you drink. If you’re not a coffee drinker, you can have sea salt green tea.
Mung Bean Jelly Noodle with Chili Sauce, Chengdu Taste, Alhambra
Folks that have been in Los Angeles for a while know that fall still brings plenty of hot days with it. On days when highs near 90 in the San Gabriel Valley — which is the forecast for today — one of the best ways to beat the heat is with some cold noodles.
If you find yourself on the Eastside (the real Eastside) or are willing to make a short drive, here are three different cold noodle dishes and where to find them in the SGV.
Butternut Squash and Sage Soup with Maple Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Gruyère Croutons
We've all been there. When we were kids it was trick or treating and sugar highs. Later, we found ourselves at out-of-control Halloween parties where, for some reason, wearing costumes empowered guests to behave erratically.
Now, you fancy the idea of a quiet night in handing out candy to lots of adorably dressed children. But your neighborhood is sadly not exactly trick-or-treat friendly and you usually end up eating that untouched bowl of Jujubes all by yourself. So if you have a “been there, done that” attitude towards the spooky holiday but still want to celebrate in a more relaxed way, there’s always the good old-fashioned dinner party. And what better time of year in Los Angeles than late October for an enchanting fall menu? Don't forget to remind your guests to wear a costume. It's still Halloween, after all.
If we loved Lou Amdur's little wine shop when it was tucked in next door to Sqirl (and we did), we really love his new wine shop, 1.5 miles away in Los Feliz. With a much bigger selection and a tasting counter, it's a wine-geek's paradise, especially if you get Lou himself to start rhapsodizing about what's on the shelves.
If you haven't had a chance to make it over there, there's a pretty great reason to go: Amdur, along with Santa Barabara sea urchin diver Stephanie Muntz, will be holding an uni and wine pairing/tasting tonight. You have to buy tickets in advance, and choose from a 6 or 7 p.m. time slot, but for $20 you get to taste four different wines along with your very own whole urchin.
At Bountiful Bakery in Montrose, owner Denise Assad is no stranger to early mornings (if you can even call them that): She wakes up at 3 a.m., makes her way to some Stumptown coffee and then heads to the kitchen where hours are spent kneading, twisting, stirring, pounding. The real fun begins around 9 a.m., when that buttery sweet aroma fills the air and customers trickle in to sample the goods.
"I try to bring back the time in my life when I was baking with my grandmother. Whatever I bake, that’s what I remember," says Assad. She stays true to tradition. Nothing is too sweet; there's lots of spice and lots of butter. "Butter satisfies the soul," Assad adds, "It's a taste of your youth, your family. That’s what I do. I bake to remember."
Eighty-five years ago, Encarnación Elias Gomez took a huge risk — opening the doors on her new taqueria, El Carmen, at La Brea and Third. Back in 1929, this was about as far as the trolley cars went, and for the widow Gomez to open up her own business? Well, that was...
Standing in front of a coffee shop in Huntington Beach, Shaile Socher is taking a photo of the potted succulents on the table. It looks like a typical centerpiece. “I won an award for this piece at the San Diego Cake Show,” she says. It’s made out of sugar and...
To the list of great things to eat at Grand Central Market, add yet one more: Belcampo Meat Co. just added a Fast Burger to its menu. And it's $5. The Fast Burger is essentially your ideal burger stand or drive-through burger: a three-ounce patty made with grass-fed beef, melted...
A new study published in the October Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease indicates that a diet including walnuts may help reduce the risk, delay the onset, slow the progression of and even prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Research led by Abha Chauhan, head of the Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory at the New York State Institute...
The transition from tiny, gleeful candy-grabbing Miss Piggy to hoodied teenager sullenly knocking on neighbor's doors at 9 p.m. seeking Tootsie Roll dregs to cocktail-quaffing "sexy witch" is one of the bitterest rites of passage. But there's no reason you can't grow up and have your Halloween treats, too. In...
We've all been there. When we were kids it was trick or treating and sugar highs. Later, we found ourselves at out-of-control Halloween parties where, for some reason, wearing costumes empowered guests to behave erratically. Now, you fancy the idea of a quiet night in handing out candy to lots...
Folks that have been in Los Angeles for a while know that fall still brings plenty of hot days with it. On days when highs near 90 in the San Gabriel Valley — which is the forecast for today — one of the best ways to beat the heat is...
Horror stories about apples with razor blades and anthrax-laced candy terrified trick-or-treaters in the 1980s and '90s. But this year, one Beverly Hills mom is purposely resurrecting the fear and paranoia surrounding trick-or-treating, with a modern spin. Rainbeau Mars (and yes, that's her real name, according to her publicist, who says...
iHeartSilverlake EastSide Food Festival Silver Lake is getting its own food festival, with 25 vendors, chefs, DJs, musicians and more, hosted by Mack Sennett Studios, Castle Gourmet and Food Is the New Rock. Who's coming? Alimento, Auntie Em's Kitchen, Angel City Brewing, Black Hogg, Donut Friend, HomeState, Kitchen Mouse, Little Beast, Mexicali...
Brunch. You'd think it was invented in Los Angeles, the way we revere this epic, midday meal. Come the weekend, we line up for it on unshaded sidewalks, among the crowds of sunglasses and messy hair, and we wait patiently, determinedly, like we're in line for Prince tickets. There's a...
When Hinoki and the Bird opened, Kuniko Yagi perhaps didn't get as much attention as she deserved. While she's always been the executive chef of the restaurant, David Myers had the star power and name recognition, and most of us in the media focused on Meyers' vision for the restaurant. Myers...
What started during 27-year-old Robert Kronfli’s sophomore year at USC as a weekly dinner party for friends in an off-campus apartment has blossomed into a mini-hospitality empire: the small plates hotspot Bacaro L.A. near the USC campus, Nature’s Brew café and coffeehouse located two doors down, Kronfli Brothers line of...
Ever seen the movie Somm? In the film, four wine professionals put it all on the line to pass a crazy difficult exam in order to receive the title of Master Sommelier. Well, the beer industry has an equivalent. It’s called the Master Cicerone. Last week eleven people congregated in...
Murry’s Inc., a Lebanon, Pa. company, is recalling about 31,689 pounds of gluten-free breaded chicken products that may be contaminated with staphylococcal enterotoxin, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The frozen, uncooked products have a best by date of Aug. 9, 2015 and...
The menu tussle is one of those conversations we can't seem to stop having. "What are you going to have? The mackerel? I was going to get the fish, but if you're getting it, then I guess I'll get the steak." And so it goes. For many people the point...