Wednesday, April 30, 2008

zooey deschanel + becky stark.

schoolboy crush alert!

i caught the she & him show with lavender diamond at the vista theater last night, and i have to say that it was a swoon fest.

didn't take too many photos, but i did manage to get a video of zooey deschanel joining lavender diamond covering abba's "chiquitita".

enjoy!


zooey and becky. from John Bollozos on Vimeo.
ESSAY FROM NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW
It’s Not You, It’s Your Books


By RACHEL DONADIO

Some years ago, I was awakened early one morning by a phone call from a friend. She had just broken up with a boyfriend she still loved and was desperate to justify her decision. “Can you believe it!” she shouted into the phone. “He hadn’t even heard of Pushkin!”

We’ve all been there. Or some of us have. Anyone who cares about books has at some point confronted the Pushkin problem: when a missed — or misguided — literary reference makes it chillingly clear that a romance is going nowhere fast. At least since Dante’s Paolo and Francesca fell in love over tales of Lancelot, literary taste has been a good shorthand for gauging compatibility. These days, thanks to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, listing your favorite books and authors is a crucial, if risky, part of self-branding. When it comes to online dating, even casual references can turn into deal breakers. Sussing out a date’s taste in books is “actually a pretty good way — as a sort of first pass — of getting a sense of someone,” said Anna Fels, a Manhattan psychiatrist and the author of “Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women’s Changing Lives.” “It’s a bit of a Rorschach test.” To Fels (who happens to be married to the literary publisher and writer James Atlas), reading habits can be a rough indicator of other qualities. “It tells something about ... their level of intellectual curiosity, what their style is,” Fels said. “It speaks to class, educational level.”

Pity the would-be Romeo who earnestly confesses middlebrow tastes: sometimes, it’s the Howard Roark problem as much as the Pushkin one. “I did have to break up with one guy because he was very keen on Ayn Rand,” said Laura Miller, a book critic for Salon. “He was sweet and incredibly decent despite all the grandiosely heartless ‘philosophy’ he espoused, but it wasn’t even the ideology that did it. I just thought Rand was a hilariously bad writer, and past a certain point I couldn’t hide my amusement.” (Members of theatlasphere.com, a dating and fan site for devotees of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead,” might disagree.)

Judy Heiblum, a literary agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, shudders at the memory of some attempted date-talk about Robert Pirsig’s 1974 cult classic “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” beloved of searching young men. “When a guy tells me it changed his life, I wish he’d saved us both the embarrassment,” Heiblum said, adding that “life-changing experiences” are a “tedious conversational topic at best.”

Let’s face it — this may be a gender issue. Brainy women are probably more sensitive to literary deal breakers than are brainy men. (Rare is the guy who’d throw a pretty girl out of bed for revealing her imperfect taste in books.) After all, women read more, especially when it comes to fiction. “It’s really great if you find a guy that reads, period,” said Beverly West, an author of “Bibliotherapy: The Girl’s Guide to Books for Every Phase of Our Lives.” Jessa Crispin, a blogger at the literary site Bookslut.com, agrees. “Most of my friends and men in my life are nonreaders,” she said, but “now that you mention it, if I went over to a man’s house and there were those books about life’s lessons learned from dogs, I would probably keep my clothes on.”

Still, to some reading men, literary taste does matter. “I’ve broken up with girls saying, ‘She doesn’t read, we had nothing to talk about,’” said Christian Lorentzen, an editor at Harper’s. Lorentzen recalls giving one girlfriend Nabokov’s “Ada” — since it’s “funny and long and very heterosexual, even though I guess incest is at its core.” The relationship didn’t last, but now, he added, “I think it’s on her Friendster profile as her favorite book.”

James Collins, whose new novel, “Beginner’s Greek,” is about a man who falls for a woman he sees reading “The Magic Mountain” on a plane, recalled that after college, he was “infatuated” with a woman who had a copy of “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” on her bedside table. “I basically knew nothing about Kundera, but I remember thinking, ‘Uh-oh; trendy, bogus metaphysics, sex involving a bowler hat,’ and I never did think about the person the same way (and nothing ever happened),” he wrote in an e-mail message. “I know there were occasions when I just wrote people off completely because of what they were reading long before it ever got near the point of falling in or out of love: Baudrillard (way too pretentious), John Irving (way too middlebrow), Virginia Woolf (way too Virginia Woolf).” Come to think of it, Collins added, “I do know people who almost broke up” over “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen: “‘Overrated!’ ‘Brilliant!’ ‘Overrated!’ ‘Brilliant!’”

Naming a favorite book or author can be fraught. Go too low, and you risk looking dumb. Go too high, and you risk looking like a bore — or a phony. “Manhattan dating is a highly competitive, ruthlessly selective sport,” Augusten Burroughs, the author of “Running With Scissors” and other vivid memoirs, said. “Generally, if a guy had read a book in the last year, or ever, that was good enough.” The author recalled a date with one Michael, a “robust blond from Germany.” As he walked to meet him outside Dean & DeLuca, “I saw, to my horror, an artfully worn, older-than-me copy of ‘Proust’ by Samuel Beckett.” That, Burroughs claims, was a deal breaker. “If there existed a more hackneyed, achingly obvious method of telegraphing one’s education, literary standards and general intelligence, I couldn’t imagine it.”

But how much of all this agonizing is really about the books? Often, divergent literary taste is a shorthand for other problems or defenses. “I had a boyfriend I was crazy about, and it didn’t work out,” Nora Ephron said. “Twenty-five years later he accused me of not having laughed while reading ‘Candy’ by Terry Southern. This was not the reason it didn’t work out, I promise you.” Sloane Crosley, a publicist at Vintage/Anchor Books and the author of “I Was Told There’d Be Cake,” essays about single life in New York, put it this way: “If you’re a person who loves Alice Munro and you’re going out with someone whose favorite book is ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ perhaps the flags of incompatibility were there prior to the big reveal.”

Some people just prefer to compartmentalize. “As a writer, the last thing I want in my personal life is somebody who is overly focused on the whole literary world in general,” said Ariel Levy, the author of “Female Chauvinist Pigs” and a contributing writer at The New Yorker. Her partner, a green-building consultant, “doesn’t like to read,” Levy said. When she wants to talk about books, she goes to her book group. Compatibility in reading taste is a “luxury” and kind of irrelevant, Levy said. The goal, she added, is “to find somebody where your perversions match and who you can stand.”

Marco Roth, an editor at the magazine n+1, said: “I think sometimes it’s better if books are just books. It’s part of the romantic tragedy of our age that our partners must be seen as compatible on every level.” Besides, he added, “sometimes people can end up liking the same things for vastly different reasons, and they build up these whole private fantasy lives around the meaning of these supposedly shared books, only to discover, too late, that the other person had a different fantasy completely.” After all, a couple may love “The Portrait of a Lady,” but if one half identifies with Gilbert Osmond and the other with Isabel Archer, they may have radically different ideas about the relationship.

For most people, love conquers literary taste. “Most of my friends are indeed quite shallow, but not so shallow as to break up with someone over a literary difference,” said Ben Karlin, a former executive producer of “The Daily Show” and the editor of the new anthology “Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me.” “If that person slept with the novelist in question, that would probably be a deal breaker — more than, ‘I don’t like Don DeLillo, therefore we’re not dating anymore.’”

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Jeff Soto in Riverside



Pretty excited about this...

Jeff Soto, world-renowned fine artist and illustrator, will be coming to Riverside Community College to talk about his life, art and experiences with the world. A native of Riverside, Jeff Soto attended Riverside Community College and developed his skills as an artist before applying to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. From there, Soto continued to grow and eventually began his career as an incredible artist. Although the college will be hosting this event, guests from all walks of life are encouraged to attend.

Jeff Soto's work is frequently displayed in Juxtapoz magazine, as well as various publications throughout the globe. For more info on the event, feel free to contact me. For more info on the artist, feel free to contact google.

JEFF SOTO -- Free!
May 8th @ Noon
Riverside Community College Art Room 101
4800 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, CA 92506
(951) 222-8000


* Sidenote: Personally, I'm digging this so much. It's really cool to see someone who's "living the dream" come back to the school, a school booming with talent, they attended and give some words of wisdom to younger hopefuls. I'll be in attendance and can't wait to see the turn out. Tell your friends.

Monday, April 21, 2008

carne asada is not a crime.



Led by District 1 County Supervisor Gloria Molina, the L.A. Board of Supervisors has passed new restrictions that will effectively eliminate taco trucks from our streets. Under Supervisor Molina’s new rules, taco trucks will have to change location every hour, or face a misdemeanor charge carrying a $1000 fine and/or jail. Yes, jail.

Taco Trucks are a special facet of Los Angeles, and something we don’t want to lose. Though this ordinance currently affects just unincorporated parts of L.A., that’s 65% of the County. And of course it opens up the doors for legislation closer to home too.


more info here.

sign the petition here.

DONT EVER GO TO GRADUATE SCHOOL

and if you do, make sure it isn't outside of southern california. ok maybe norcal.

anyway, in a constant effort to put off the never ending tidal wave of xeroxed readings on assorted mish mash, i was reminded that the santogold album comes out next week!

finally!

i can't tell if she is getting any airplay on the best coast, but she is persona non grata in my neck of the woods and its simply a travesty. her voice is hot, when i first heard it i must admit i though it was a less nasal new track from tegan and sarah (a la walking with a ghost)

anyway, she seems destined to become a new sweetheart, she is going to be on letterman etc. but im mostly excited for finally happening my hands on an album.  here is the vid for her single.


also, I just got the muhly album and it is pretty awesome. i guess he knows what he is doing.  incidentally, the guy who works at the music shop i live on top of wrote the liner notes to the album and says the next one will be even better. so watch out for that. 

back to derrida...

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Two Step

Title:"Piece of Me, Piece of You."
Created by: Three Legged Legs
Music: Chromeo's "Fancy Footwork."



Check out more of these little videos on Zune Arts

And special Thanks to the wonderful DH for sharing this video to the homies.
This bushmills whiskey poured on the concrete floor goes out to you.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Human Giant.



If you saw our earlier post of the "Shittiest Mixtape Ever" sketch and enjoyed it, you're probably not wack.

Aziz Ansari, Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel, collectively known as Human Giant, will be performing live and for free at Amoeba Music in Hollywood this Thursday. They'll be there to sign and release their new DVD, but you don't have to buy a thing to watch. If you're a fan of coolness, come on down.

Amoeba Music

6400 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

* Like what you see? Human Giant is also known to perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre located just blocks away off of Franklin. Come down and bring your friends. ...unless they're lame, then don't come. Don't need no lame-Os, laming up the place, lamey.

See UCBtheatre.com/la for more details.

Get some Mojo.

Go grab the latest issue of Mojo and I swear to you, you'll be tappin' your toes and swayin' your shoulders, at least just a little bit, by the end of the night.

Aside from featuring an interesting article on LA's own the Roxy, and an article that's made me gain more respect for Jackson Browne, this month's issue features the real reason for the this post: a really great soul and blues compilation.

This compilation has every right ingredient to make you want to sway. Catchy, emotional, raw, rhythmic... I could go on. And the best part of all? They're all contemporary artists! Yep, so you can still catch live performances and even expect more great hits from 'em.

If you're a fan of blues or soul or being awesome, check this comp out, you won't be disappointed. The track listing is as follows, my personal favorite is "Nobody's fault but mine" by Beth Rowley.


"(Doin' The) Boom Boom" - Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Lovers
"Necessary Evil" - Edgar "Jones" Jones
"Chicken Half" - Sugarman 3
"What Have You Done" - Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens
"If This Ain't Love" - Nicole Willis
"No Smoke Without Fire" - James Hunter
"Return To Gijon" - The New Mastersounds
"100 Days, 100 Nights" - Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
"Hard Times" - Watermelon Slim
"So He Won't Break" - The Black Keys
"Blackeyedsusan" - Jose James
"Nobody's Fault But Mine" - Beth Rowley
"Things Go Up" - Seasick Steve
"I Don't Like The Man I Am" - Pete Molinari
"Let Us Get Together" - Marie Knight

Monday, April 7, 2008

laser cats 3D.

perhaps a bit too cute and random for this place, but i've always been a rebel when it came to cute and random shit.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

velocity weekend - los angeles.



next weekend will be a huge one in terms of the los angeles bike community. a whole weekend of events put together by cyclehawk, swarm, and bicycle kitchen all topped off with a block party at the end at our very own bicycle district.

details below:

Don’t ruin your social life by missing out on these great events next week!

FRIDAY 4.11 BLADERUNNER alleycat from the fool who brought you the infamous FALLING DOWN alleycat!!! None other than JIMMY LIZAMA...

SATURDAY 4.12 starting at 10am there will be races at the Encino Velodrome. There will be prizes for Messengers and commonfolk alike! Come and watch Jack Linquist get his ass handed to him!

Sunday 4.13 Melrose and Heliotrope Block Party.
We will be raffling off a vintage FALCON track bike with COMPLETE Campagnolo Supergroup!
There will also be a secret raffle prize addition of a complete Campagnolo Record Road Bike!

We will be giving away prizes all weekend long and raffling off a ton of dope stuff

http://www.cyclehawk.com/?page=VeloCity2008

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Artist of the week: Lisa Papineau


I just heard a great song with Lisa Papineau and Mathieu Boogarets, literally 5 minutes ago on KCRW. And I must say, I'm in love with this Lisa Papineau. She's the main vocalist for big Sir.

Check her out:

Website: http://www.lisapapineau.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lisapapineau

Lisa Papineau - "Power and Glory Part 1" music video

Friday, April 4, 2008

Smile.

This guy made my day yesterday.





The locals told me that you can always find him chillin at Balboa Beach just wylin' out. Not in those words of course.

R.I.P. Frosty Freeze



Rest In Peace Frosty Freeze

Wayne “Frosty Freeze” Frost, a hip-hop pioneer whose acrobatic performance with the legendary Rock Steady Crew in the 1983 movie “Flashdance” helped set off a worldwide breakdancing craze, has died. He was 44. He fell extremely ill during early 2008, and went on life support on March 27, 2008 and passed away on April 3, 2008.

Read more here: MSNBC Article

tribute video by bboyjungth via old2thenew

Thursday, April 3, 2008

the best thing about world of dance

yeah. i'm a little late i know.
but you know what?

Ruen of killa4nia

is just awesome.

LA vs. WAR




LA vs WAR


Inter Active Art show unites community around anti-war message.


The Los Angeles art community is uniting April 10-13, 2008 for an event titled LA vs. WAR.


This four-day event is produced by John Carr and will take place in Downtown Los Angeles at The Firehouse, 710 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90013. All ages are welcome and admission is free. Street parking will be available and shuttle vans will also carry visitors to and from a Little Tokyo parking lot located at 1st Street and Central on specific dates/times.


Updates will be added to www. LAvsWAR. com


LA vs WAR aims to highlight the travesty of a senseless war now going into its 6th year and to give a platform for LA's artists to exercise their freedom of speech.


Artwork by hundreds of artists will represent our diverse communities in delivering a universal message of peace and understanding,
and offering resistance and opposition to the US government's war policies.


Wednesday, April 2, 2008

GO!



REPPIN' A NEW SPOT FOR EVERYONE....

"GO!"
A Monthly Musical Excursion

EVERY 2ND TUESDAY
@ THE CONTINENTAL ROOM

(downtown fullerton)






The Crosby is finally here...



This is the grand opening week of The Corsby's. About darn time.
Bowie
2008

Make your own Obama Logo : http://logobama.com


Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Whitest Kids U Know

love it.

slow jerk.

This Week's Low End Theory, is going to be a good one...

On Wednesday, April 2nd, Low End Theory presents the official record release party for Gaslamp Killer's I Spit On Your Grave CD/7-inch release on OBEY Records. To honor this special occasion, we're bringing you DJ sets from Flying Lotus, Sam I Yam and Kutmah. All residents (Daddy Kev, Nobody, D-Styles, Gaslamp Killer and Nocando) will also be in the house. Now please be aware that Airliner is STILL going through zoning issues with L.A. city, so the back area will be CLOSED again.



Bummer, we know! With the limited capacity, early arrival is highly suggested.



We'll also have a small supply of the OBEY/GLK Box Set (7" & Mix), along with the individually packed mix CD's available for sale.







LINE UP:


FLYING LOTUS
[Warp]
Point blank, Flying Lotus is one of the most gifted musicians on the planet.



Plug Research dropped his first album 1983 last year to unanimous, global critical acclaim, which resulted in a multi-album deal with Warp Records. That "next level shit" artists are always talking about? This is it. In the past, he's blazed Low End Theory on several occasions, with solo sets and at the Beat Invitationals. Now, Flying Lotus is back to celebrate the release of GLK's CD/7-inch on OBEY.





SAM I YAM
[Poo Bah Records]
As one-half of the FLYamSAM production duo (countered by Flying Lotus), recent transplant Sam I Yam is an exciting addition to the L.A. beat producer community. He's rocked Low End with Lotus, solo, at the Beat Invitational. Now he's back again to shred your mind to bits.





KUTMAH
[Dublab]
One of L.A.'s greatest DJ talents, the goliath behind the decks known as Kutmah has been holding down Angelino hotspots like Firecracker and Soundlessons for years. He's rocked Low End on countless occasions, and we're glad to have him on the team for this week's show.




As well as your Resident DJs


DADDY KEV
[Alpha Pup]
Batting first on the Low End Theory lineup is legendary producer and label boss Daddy Kev. As a producer and engineer, he's spent the last decade crafting classics for the likes of AWOL One, Busdriver, The Grouch, Sage Francis, Mix Master Mike, Abstract Rude, D-Styles, Freestyle Fellowship, The Shape Shifters and many more. His DJ sets are a high-tech affair with Kev primarily engaged in live remixes, slicing experimental beats and hip-hop classics to shreds.





NOBODY
[Plug Research]
From his adventures on the road with Mars Volta and Prefuse 73, to his production and remixes for Postal Service, Mystic Chords of Memory and Busdriver, coupled with his own solo work on labels such as Rough Trade and Plug Research, Nobody is a living tour de force of creative genius.




D-STYLES
[Funkshitup]
His virtuoso skills on the turntables have been compared to that of Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane. As a former member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz and Beat Junkies, he toured the globe, helping transform turntablism into a global phenomenon. Now, the legendary D-Styles is back on the frontlines of underground culture, shredding your soul every week at Low End Theory.





THE GASLAMP KILLER
[Low End Theory]
Over the course of the last few years, Gaslamp Killer has established a solid rep for devastating beats and intricate cuts. This nomadic West Coaster has steadily smashed the scene from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco, earning the respect of heavyweight players in the process. Bear witness to one of his epic sets and see what the buzz is all about.



Plus Resident MC


NOCANDO
[Alpha Pup]
He's no longer a secret. After winning the 2007 Scribble Jam MC Battle Championship, Nocando has been catapulted to new levels of international fame. He spent many Thursday nights honing his skills at Project Blowed, and has broken the dreams and hopes of countless would-be-MCs.




Screening in the movie lounge:
TEMPLE OF DOOM + THE HULK


Low End Theory goes down every Wednesday
@ The Airliner, 2419 N.



Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90031
18+ $10 guests, $5 members 10PM-2AM Fully stocked bar

"One of the best things to happen to L.A.



music since The Troubadour opened in 1957"
-- RE:UP Magazine

"An ambience that simply can't be found elsewhere" -- L.A.



Times

The illest resident DJ lineup to hit L.A. in years, rocking one of the most ridiculous sound systems in the city. Over 25,000 watts of amplification flowing through the legendary Pure Filth sound system that will take your breath away. Come hear the music as it was meant to be heard...

Upcoming Shows

4/5: LOW END THEORY NYC starring
DAEDELUS + EDIT + NOBODY + NOCANDO + ELIOT LIPP
4/9: THE GROUCH - RECORD RELEASE PARTY
4/16: UNRELEASED BEAT INVITATIONAL #7
4/23: KILLA JEWEL + MORE TBA

www.myspace.com/lowendtheoryclub





Bjork -Wanderlust

Here's Bjork's new video, Wanderlust:





and the making of the video:





directed by
Encyclopedia Pictura
.

I love their chart book on their site:



I recommend you clicking the image to enlarge it.

yeah.
 
'

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