On Saturday, Beverly Hills hosts a "public art party" to celebrate the work of Yayoi Kusama. I’ve experienced a Kusama installation before at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. It was cool and wacky. This event’s free and the Paley Center for Media will be free as well that day as part of the festivities.
http://www.publicartparty.com/
Combine this day with a visit to the Renegade Craft Fair (also free) and you’ll have a great, creative Saturday.
Happy 4th of July!
For listing of free things to do for the 4th, go here:
http://www.freefunguides.com/?page_id=4
Sierra Madre’s 4th activities sound pretty happening!
826LA, a non-profit writing and tutoring center, is having its First Annual Winter Ball on Saturday, February 14, 2009, from 9 pm to 2 am, at the Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Though the day is Valentine’s, the invite stresses this is not a VD-themed event. Singles are welcome. The $30 admission (in advance; $40 at door) goes to fund 826LA’s educational programs. This is a formal event; floor-length gowns, tuxes, gems, and coiffed do’s are all encouraged, but be creative about it. "Please don’t worry, this is a fun modern Ball. No old timey’ music and you do not have to ballroom dance."
Barack Obama is our new prez. I enjoyed watching the inauguration balls on TV. I felt like I was at the Obama’s wedding, prom, and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one. Sasha Obama with the thumbs up after her father’s speech is just too cute!
Hulu.com has a great round-up of Obama-related news, including his swearing in and a mini-biography on Michelle Obama.
January 25th is the Whale Fiesta at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Look at the nifty whale sand sculptures on the beach. Also admission to the aquarium is free that day. I predict lots of youngsters will be at the event as this looks extremely family friendly. Their website write-up is funny:
"Join us for tons of fun as we celebrate the migration of the Pacific Gray Whale past our shores and the start of the Whalewatch season at the annual Whale Fiesta on Sunday, January 25, 2009 from 10 am to 4:30 pm. Co-sponsored by CMA and the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, it’s a family day filled with activities and exhibits for all. We’ll have our famous Duct Tape Whale Sculpture Contest, games, arts and crafts, puppet shows for children of all ages, talks by whale experts, food and gift vendors, marine awareness organizations and music! This year we are building a life-sized rare Cuvier’s beaked whale out of sand on our beach. Grab your shovels and come lend a hand! Admission is free and a 25-cent park and ride shuttle is available at 22nd and Miner Streets (at the end of Harbor Blvd.). For more information, please call Larry Fukuhara at (310) 548-7562 x223."
The American Cetacean Society and duct tape whale sculptures? Who can resist that? 
UnHip LA wishes you a wonderful 2009! May all your New Years resolutions stick!
Here are some pics from 2008 when I went to see the Rose Parade floats on display.
Here are Christmas lawn decorations from the South Bay, found on Human Google Day.
Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!
I finally have the ability to upload my old photos! Here are a few from August 28, 2008 when Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination. We were at a viewing party at Blair High School in Pasadena, CA. Read my post about it here.
Actor James Reynolds was the emcee.
Lotsa free parties are happening Thursday night (8-28-08) to celebrate Barack’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination. Just plug in your zip code here and you’ll get a listing. Many people are opening up their homes to strangers for the event. This is all part of the community building Barack is pushing for. Locally, there’s going to be a big bash in Pasadena at Blair High School. From PasadenaDemocrats.com:
Join the United Democratic Headquarters for a historic celebration as
BARACK OBAMA Thursday, August 28, 2008
Time 6pm
Location: Blair High School
1201 S. Marengo Ave. Pasadena Live television feed from the Democratic Convention. If you’re interested in being a sponsor for the event, contribute online by clicking here.
*** UPDATE ***
We went to this and it was great fun and very inspirational. It was also almost an aerobic workout with how many times people got up and clapped. CNN was there to get Pasadena reaction coverage, and this absolutely delighted the audience at Blair H.S. when we saw our images on the monitor during Barack’s speech. For my photos click here.
*** UPDATE - The Flyaway is now $6 from Union Station to LAX. Still, it’s a great deal and very comfortable! ***
With some upcoming summer travel and crazy high gas prices , I was vexed with how I would get to LAX without going bankrupt. Then a friend told me about the $4 LAX Flyaway bus. What a deal! It picks up and drops off at three locations: Union Station, Van Nuys, and UCLA. Here are the deets:
Now I don’t have to feel guilty asking someone to take me all the way to LAX.
And now that Megabus is dead, at least I have a new bus service to champion. RIP Megabus.
*** UPDATE *** I rode this the other day. It’s great! Clean, very comfortable seats, air conditioned. I caught the 4 pm bus (it runs on the hour and half hour, and then in the wee hours, it runs on the hour - check site for hours for your location) and it only took 40 minutes to get to LAX from Union Station. It drops you off right at your terminal. This was so much better than driving myself, paying for long term parking, catching a shuttle, lugging stuff… The bus was relatively full too, so I guess many people take advantage of this service. The bus was much more comfortable than a Megabus. Also, the bus terminal behind Union Station is very pretty. I think I will ask all my friends to drop me off at the Flyaway from now on. The bus driver navigates LAX better than a little car would. All this for only $4!
***UPDATE 2*** I took this on the way back, LAX to Union Station. You do not have to have a ticket beforehand. You can buy it at Union Station when you get off there. I thought I would need a ticket to get my luggage from the bus driver, but he didn’t even ask for it. I caught the around 10 pm Flyaway and got to Union Station a little before 10:30. The Van Nuys and Union Station Flyaways seemed the most crowded and with large buses, whereas the Westwood Flyaway was a smaller shuttle type bus. The Flyaways are operated by Coach USA.
Info from http://makemusicpasadena.org/about.html
Make Music Pasadena is a FREE musical celebration throughout the main districts in Pasadena, including Old Pasadena, One Colorado, the Playhouse District, and throughout the city.
Make Music Pasadena takes place on World Music Day, the Summer Solstice, Saturday, June 21, 2008. On that day, sidewalks, parks, courtyards, alleys, building lobbies and other unconventional performance spaces will become spontaneous musical stages and social gathering places. Amateur musicians will bring their musical talents to the streets of Pasadena and perform to new crowds. Top selling and internationally known artists will perform at SIX themed main stages. What better way to jump start the summer than by dancing in the streets, throughout the day, to these wonderful music performances. All performances are free and open to the public.
Make Music Pasadena is presented in part by Levitt Pavilions Free Music across America and is produced by One Colorado, Old Pasadena Management District, Playhouse District Association, Pasadena Arts Council, Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau, Armory Center for the Arts, the Alliance Française de Pasadena, French Cultural Services in Los Angeles and FLAX, France Los Angeles Exchange. Bringing Music to the Streets The purpose of Make Music Pasadena is to encourage the community to find their inner artistic talents, and to unite them with new audiences. From professional musicians performing on main stages, to amateur musicians taking to the streets to showcase their talents, to people whistling while they walk, our mission is to encourage the community to Make Music where ever and how ever they can.
Where Will Musicians Play? On city streets, sidewalks, alleyways, parks, museums, courtyards, rooftops, in private homes, on balconies, in lobbies, in gardens, at bus stops – or wherever a person decides to display their musical talent.
For the schedule, click here. Sounds like a fun day!
….is BOOKEXPO! It’s coming to the L.A. Convention Center, May 29 - June 1st. It’s a book publishing trade show. Tons of book publishers come out and give out FREE copies of their new books. There is also a HUGE authors’ petting zoo, where you can get autographed copies of new books for $1. BookExpo is primarily for publishing industry professionals and costs $50 - 65 per day. You can also buy 3-day passes.
http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/
The last time BookExpo was in L.A. was about 6 years ago. It was massive fun and I almost got a hernia from all the books I lugged out. This is like the L.A. Times Festival of Books but all the books are freeeeee!
Ah, the lovely spa week - $50 treatments - is back! Here’s a blurb from Chilloutla.com, a website dedicated to finding good deals of Socal spas:
Spa Week Reminder:
Spa Week, taking place April 14th through 20th, will be bringing $50 spa treatments to consumers at over 500 spas across the United States and Canada in an effort to introduce a new generation of consumers to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and to open up the spa industry to the masses. By educating and introducing the health benefits of the "spa lifestyle" to as many people as possible, Spa Week is leading the campaign to change the unhealthy course our Country is navigating. For more information on Spa Week and a list of the participating day spas, please visit SpaWeek.org.
Enjoy! I know I need it. The SpaWeek lists looks really great and the treatments last 45-75 minutes. I’ve been MIA because I started a new job which is sucking up all my time. I hope to be posting more during the summer.
The talk will cover the author’s new, monumental biography of his grandfather, “Gandhi: The Man, His People and the Empire.” The book is said to be the first to give a complete and balanced account of Mahatma Gandhi’s life. With unprecedented insight and access to family archives, Rajmohan explores the evolution of his grandfather’s teachings of non-violent resistance, while examining the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.
“PCC is extremely honored to host Professor Rajmohan Gandhi,” said Susie Ling curator of the event. “His grandfather fought for civil rights and peaceful change in South Africa and India. His ideals inspired many, including Martin Luther King and Caesar Chavez. With today’s chaos in the Middle East and chaos in our neighborhoods, we need to listen again to Gandhi’s words and be reminded of the integrity of ‘nonviolent civil disobedience’ to bring about positive change.”
Rajmohan, a peace activist, once served on the Indian Parliament. He also led the Indian delegation to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in 1990. He is currently in the South Asian Middle Eastern Studies program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For more information, contact Susie Ling at shling@pasadena.edu.
Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Rat. Reader C told me about the New Year’s Eve celebration happening at the beautiful Thien Hau Temple in Chinatown, L.A., so I went down to check it out last night. The festivities included a lion dance and martial arts demonstration, which were excellent and very fun, and throngs of Buddhists burning incense and offering prayers. Too bad my camera did not capture it well. I did get some great video of a paparazzi-like crush upon the lions as people tried to pet them. I’ll load it once I figure out how to. Petting the lions was a highlight, also was stuffing money into a lion statue’s mouth.
Look in the back to see the lion with bills in its mouth.
Petting the lions who have entered the temple. Come back for my video of the mosh-pit like atmosphere. Very fun!
Lions dancing in the dark.
The San Gabriel Valley has a huge Lunar New Year Parade and Festival on Saturday, February 16, 2008, from 10 am to 5:30 pm on Valley between Almansor and Garfield, with the parade starting at 11 am. Don’t miss this! www.lunarnewyearparade.com/city_parade.htm
From the site:
The Festival will be held in the heart of one of the largest Chinese / American commercial districts in the southland. The one-day festivities attract about 50,000 people and consist of more than 250 booths. There are many theme-oriented venues giving attendees a taste of the Chinese culture. The food court is an ideal place to sample dishes from different regions. Admission is free.
On their nuptials today in Seal Beach and then reception at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim.
It was a beautiful ceremony and day. And the food was excellent.
This was the best wedding cake I have ever tasted! It came from Amazing Cakes of California in Anaheim. I encourage everyone to buy all their future cakes and pastries from this place.
On Christmas Eve, I volunteered for the Union Station Foundation, taking toys out of storage and sorting them by gender and age group. Also, ironically, I had to unwrap hundreds of presents that were thoughtfully already wrapped. You know how organizations always ask for unwrapped presents during the holidays? Did you ever wonder why? The Union Station Foundation said they didn’t want wrapped gifts to cut back on the paper trash that would occur after a gift opening fest. The group sponsors Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in Central Park in Pasadena. Imagine crumpled wrapping paper all over the lawn, not a pretty site. Anyhoo, it felt good to work as a team with people and get our work done. I didn’t get a picture of the mountains of toys in storage, but here are some of the dolls that I unwrapped. The pile of white trash bag full of dolls against the wall was much higher when we started. There were enough different toys for each child to get two to three. That’s nice to know.
To volunteer, visit the Union Station Foundation at www.unionstationfoundation.org. The organization runs a shelter, offers job training, and provides meals and much more for the homeless and poor.
<tooting and horn sounds>
Happy 2008, people!
<confetti>
Here’s a list of New Year’s Eve celebrations in Pasadena.
Ohmygoodness, I just saw that the Militant Angeleno wrote up my blog on its wonderful site. And now I am just aflutter thinking I might be having visitors over here to UnHipLA. I feel as if I should be cleaning up my room now. So, uh, I have been slacking a little on the postings….but I got a whole camera-full of pics to post (herbal store deer antlers, TCM exhibit, another microcar, more Pa Pa Walk, volunteering at Union Station, birds’ nests)…so please do come back….thanks Militant! I hope to make some new blog friends. Please feel free to ravage my blog. I am particularly proud of my Beach category because of its secrets. I also had a great time at Under Spring, Fort MacArthur Days, Bollywood dance class, and the Tankland museum. The Naz 8 movie theatre in Artesia’s Little India is a favorite escape of mine, and over the summer I was a Shakespeare fiend. Please root around in my different categories; most things I go to are free because L.A.’s a great city like that.
BTW, the Militant has a very fine blog and all should check it out stat. I wanted to post something to do during the holidays, but didn’t get around to it. Luckily, the Militant did (an art show at Barnsdall about Asian Americans having a sense of humor, interesting). Also the Militant has a great series on ethnic iced desserts (great for future reference when it’s not so cold anymore.) I am mightily impressed by the amount of research in its posts. Go Militant go!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JKL!
Happy be-lated birthday to Wandering Chopsticks!!!
~ May you have a wanderful year! ~
and Happy Birthday today to Bongo!!!
~ Party on! ~
Well, it’s another year for Ben-jie. Seems as if I just wished you a happy birthday here last year.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE! You’re still young and beautiful. 
This Friday in L.A., artists, architects, environmentalists, and community groups will be turning parking spaces into mini-public parks. Imagine pulling up to a meter and seeing sod, grass, a bench, and conceptual art there instead. It’s Park[ing] Day LA, a day for creating public spaces, even if just for a couple of hours, in a city that needs more of them. Here’s a video from Park[ing] Day in San Francisco, where the event originated, and here’s where to see more videos and pics of the fanciful installations.
To learn more about the project and find a parking lot near you that will be transformed, click here. There will be a party at the end of day:
Friday, 7 – 10 p.m.
610 S. Ardmore (Public Counsel Parking Lot) Los Angeles, CA 90005
$5 Suggested Donation
Ride your bike! Take Transit!
Parking is scarce in Korea-town and besides, riding your bike or taking transit will keep the spirit of Park(ing) Day alive! (add any bike advice, rides, etc.) Take the bus or train to the Wilshire/Normandie stop and walk a block west to Ardmore. Easy access from Metro bus lines 20, 720 or 206 and the Metro Red/Purple Line (use the Wilshire/Western train - not the North Hollywood one). The party is at the top of the street, just south of 6th.
In Pasadena, advanced PCC art students will be creating an installation here:
Park(ing) as an Art Park:This event synthesizes many things I love: public art, public space, installation art, education, playful activism, and free parking!
*** UPDATE *** Here’s the LATimes coverage of the day with a happy video.
Tivoli Terrace, Laguna Beach
The paparazzi were all over you today!
It was a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple!
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