Mods n' Rockers

I wrote an article about Whyred, a Swedish designer in the latest issue of metro.pop, a fashion/lifestyles publication.  The magazine is available at a newsstand near you, please check it out!

Love and Death in L.A.

A friend of mine, Alejandro Romero, had his film debut during a private screening at the Sunset 5 this past weekend that he held for an indie film, Powder Blue, bound for straight-to-DVD release.

If you have not heard of this film yet, it is worth checking out, especially for moody L.A. dwellers destined to wander amidst blue skies.

It is a shame that it's not headed for theaters, while at an obvious disadvantage in marketing and distribution. Powder Blue is about lost souls in L.A. that find each other and was panned by critics. The film has a poetic quality through its photography, although hindered by a lack of character backstory and the occasional unexplained plot point. The star-studded cast includes Jessica Biel, Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, and Lisa Kudrow, not to mention others of note (ok, and Patrick Swayze as a sleazy strip club owner. And Kris Kristofferson as Liotta's father? What?). However, the apparent high point of the film from the trailer is Biel as a masochistic stripper.

The trailer is posted below. Alejandro plays Lexus, a transgender prostitute. I am biased, but he is great in this:

Daisy, Daisy

Picked up a copy of The Beats: A Graphic Rendition by Harvey Pekar at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books the other weekend.  Although I'm not really into graphic novels, they can summarize an era in as few words as possible.

The Beats mentions a short film narrated by Jack Kerouac, "Pull My Daisy", that features Alan Ginsberg:

I'm on a Boat, Yo

SNL doesn't always have keepers, but this clip featuring comic Andy Samburg and T-Pain is a gem. Watch out for expletives!:

Save the Earth!

DIY'ers are often both eco-conscious and crafty in re-purposing with a purpose.  Check out this trailer, Handmade Nation, a documentary film touring the U.S. and abroad at the moment, if you're up for a little nostalgia in connecting with your environment on Earth Day.



A friend of mine once laminated French newspapers over an old wooden side table with great results. 

I worked on a documentary film short last year for Live Earth on DIY biodiesel.  Don't try that at home, kids.



If you're a little less motivated, peruse fashion designer Mary Ping's wares from her line, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, in which she incorporates eco-friendly materials.  Or get a plant!

Record Store Day

Record Store Day was this past Sat., April 23rd, the weekend of the Coachella Music Festival.  I am not a collector of records per se, and have always been intimidated by knowledgeable aficiondos perusing the shelves.  But it's never too late for a new hobby.

Origami just opened in Echo Park and is also a label for California-based artists like wait.think.fast. and Writer.         Managed to pick up some 7"s on vinyl, and the sound is in fact, as they say, way better.  Also, there's something about locating a find out while out and about, rather than downloading a digital MP3 on to a computer.

Here's what I found at Origami:

Blitzen Trappen with the tracks "War is Placebo" and "Booksmart Baby".  They were signed to Sub Pop with their last album, Furr.

Florence and The Machine is a British group.  The record had "Kiss with a Fist" on the A side and "Hospital Beds", a Cold War Kids cover on the B Side.  They don't have a full-length record out yet, but Florence has an amazing voice, and I am a fan of the track "Ghosts".  As the ladies in the UK have been belting it out R&B style, so it seems, Florence's pipes are definitely comparable to the likes of Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and Duffy.

Writer is a San Diego band and my favorite track of theirs is "Try and Stop Me".  I am now the proud owner of "Don't Wake the Sun" and "I Think She Died" on vinyl.  I like just writing that, as a matter of fact.

Stuart Smalley Wins!

Al Franken has won the Minnesota Democratic Senator seat by 312 votes to Republican incumbent Norman Cole.

Cole is not going down without a fight, sending the vote count to federal courts so that even more taxpayer dollars head down the drain.

Are politicians the new celebrity?  Other than Dancing with the Stars comebacks and Twitter-rama, the allure of Brangelina has lost its sheen with reality TV and Obamamania.

Franken had his last stint as a lame-duck comedian during the Presidential election.

Incidentally, it's impossible to find any video clips of Al Franken as Stuart Smalley on the Internet, which is disappointing.  That's a remnant of pop culture the Franken team is erasing!  And what's wrong with starting a career in politics at SNL?  Surely it's important to have a sense of humor; just ask George Bush Jr.