UnHip LA

Tonight kicks off the Levitt Pavilion’s free outdoor concert series in Pasadena.  http://www.levittpavilionpasadena.org/summer-calendar-2009.html

And this Friday begins Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park. http://www.independentshakespeare.com/box-office/box-office.html

You can picnic at both of these places.  When I first started this blog, I was majorly enamored by both these events and wrote about them here and here.  The Levitt Pasadena is the Hollywood Bowl without the Bowl.  Both series are a great way to have fun on a dime. 

Mark your calendar - August 21 is Bollywood Night at the Levitt!!!

Indian sandwiches or naanwiches!  I’ll have to stop by this place next time I’m in the Miracle Mile.  I read about this on EatingLA.com.  I tried to do a direct link to her post about the Cowboys & Turbans restaurant but I couldn’t figure out how to do it.  Cowboys and Turbans serves Indian street food.

This CNN article says it’s not.  Well, we’ll see.  Last night’s Academy Awards was pleasantly India-dominated.  I enjoyed seeing the Indian song and dance numbers from Slumdog Millionaire, and hearing the speeches of the Indian winners which seemed to be less self-centered than the speeches of others. Jai Ho!  Indian Composer A.R. Rahman has made his country very proud after having won two Oscars in one night for best score and song. I wonder if the Academy is more globally focused now due to Obama’s presidency. 

The LATimes recently ran a story about shopping in Little India (Artesia) with Slumdog Millionaire Actress Freida Pinto.  Click here for her finds.  I’ll have to check out this Cottage Art place next time I’m down there.

 

Take your date to see "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi," Shahrukh Khan’s latest Bollywood romantic comedy offering.  It’s playing at the Naz 8 in Artesia.  The movie is about an older man who has an arranged marriage with a younger woman (who has a tragic back story), and how he tries to woo her by entering a dance contest.  The movie has Bollywood heart and soul all the way and gets pretty philosophical about what true love really is.  It steered clear of paneer (cheese) somehow and just told a satisfying story with comical yet touching acting by Shahrukh Khan and his forlorn co-star Anushka Sharma.  The soundtrack is outstanding as well, very poetic and dance beat-y at the same time.  Though I don’t understand the lyrics, I know the songs are about love and finding your true partner. The Hindi word kuch = love something (Thanks Soni).  My favorite song is Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai.

I was first introduced to Bollywood fare via Abhishek Bachchan whom I adored, but now I have finally discovered the greatness of SRK.  He delivers time and time again, and picks better projects than Abhi does.  SRK’s work seems more mature and deep than Abhi’s, yet at the same time very charming and highly entertaining.  I drool for SRK. 

After you see the movie, I suggest dining in Artesia.  Any restaurant would probably offer you a spicy and seductive meal.  Happy Valentine’s Day!   Here are my former posts on my lovely trips to Little India, Artesia, here, here, here, here, and here.  Anyone have any restaurant suggestions for Little India?  If you go, you’ll most likely have an uncrowded and pleasant Valentine’s Day!

*** UPDATE *** SRK is in another movie playing at the Naz 8 too.  It’s called Billu Barber.  I have not seen it yet.

Much media attention lately has been focused on budget ways to have fun and get by.  Take at look at this LA Times series of well-known designers, such as Philippe Starck, shopping at Big Lots and coming up with great looks:

Starck and the other designers emphasize finding simple and basic items and steering clear of the tacky.  I’m impressed by Starck’s place setting for $5.50 each. He also walked away with underwear, towels, and children’s art supplies. 

If you’re jonesing to dine out, I Google-stumbled upon this site, Entertainment.com, which offers a free 14-day membership that contains coupons galore for restaurants, stores, movies, and more.  In particular, I enjoyed their long list of Indian restaurants; Mezbaan, a new favorite Indian restaurant of mine in Old Pasadena, offers a buy one, get one free entree coupon.  Also, there are movie tickets for $6 (plus handling)!   The catch?  As soon as you sign up (with only your email address), the coupons are only good for 14 days, and you’ll most likely get spammed with advertisements.  So be sure to check off the box saying you don’t want ads and/or use an email account that you don’t care about.  Entertainment.com publishes those big coupon books that students sell as fundraisers and are in bookstores.  I have one and have been getting pretty good mileage out of it.  This is how I discovered Mezbaan, their delicious food, and $8 lunch buffet. 

So if you’re budget entertaining or dining out, you still have options! 

I just hope things don’t get so bad for you that you’re eating on $1 a day.

 

From the Pacific Asia Museum: 

Sunday September 28, 11:00am-5:00pm
Free Family Day - Himalayan Festival We’re celebrating the people of the world’s highest region with the biggest FREE Family Festival of the year! Enjoy hands-on crafts, music, dance, exhibitions, demonstrations, and food and crafts for sale from Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. The Himalayan Festival is presented in association with the Tibetan Association of Southern California and is made possible in part by the City of Pasadena Arts and Culture Commission and Cultural Affairs Division, Pasadena Art League, Target, Dharma Arts, Tibetan Arts, India Sweets and Spices and Bodhi Tree Bookstore. In-kind support provided by Dolphin Rents, Sierra Club, and Whole Life Times. Special thanks to the volunteers of Pacific Asia Museum’s Himalayan Arts Council and Pakistan Arts Council.

I read somewhere that one way to be environmentally conscious is to buy recycled clothes, as in thrift store shopping. Could me boycotting The Gap really make that much of a difference?  For the past week, I have been looking for inexpensive, thin, 100% cotton, long sleeved shirts for traveling to India.  I scoured many stores and came up with nothing reasonably priced.  Then it dawned on me to try the Goodwill.  Score, score, score.  Thrift stores are perfect for buying clothes that are out of season, as long sleeve shirts seem to be right now.

I was amazed at the really good selection at this Wesssside Goodwill:
8905 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 845-9327 

The fashionable cast-offs here were aplenty.  Seriously!  The Wessside’s good for something.

Right down the street from here is Govinda’s, a Hare Krishna restaurant, store, museum, and temple.  I actually stopped here first to try to find shirts but didn’t find anything I liked (the shop is nice and worth a visit).  The LATimes has written about Govinda’s food many times, and I would have given it a try, but I wasn’t hungry.  The vegetarian buffet did not look that extensive though.  It’s $7 all you can eat or $4.15 a pound.  On Sundays at 6 pm, they offer a free six course feast, according to their website.  It was very peaceful there.

Govinda’s  www.govindsla.com

3764 Watseka Avenue • Los Angeles, California • 90034 • 310-836-1269
>> DIRECTIONS <<

And while you’re over there thrift shopping and eating Indian food, might as well stop by the Musuem of Jurassic Technology which is also nearby.  It’s probably L.A.’s most unique, imaginative museum consisting of fictitious displays.  It’s a great and freaky.  So there you have it, UnHip LA does the Wessside: Govinda’s, The Goodwill, and The Museum of Jurassic Technology. You might even forget where you are.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology 
www.mjt.org
9341 Venice Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232
four blocks west of Robertson Boulevard in the historic Palms district of Los Angeles across the street from Main Street, Culver City.
See Map

(310) 836-6131

PS  The LATimes also recommends eating at Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine for their $4.99 lunch specials.  Tara’s is near the other stops mentioned above  and is number 16 on the Time’s recent Delciious Deals list.  I plan to try it someday.

Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine, 10855 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 836-9696.

 

 

On July 26, 2008, the first family of Indian Cinema (the Bachchans), Preity Zinta, Madhuri Dixit and more Bollywood superstars come to Los Angeles for a song and dance concert.  Wow!  Tickets start at $59 and the show starts at 7:30 pm, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. 

Tour website: www.theunforgettabletour.com

Tickets: www.superentertainmentinc.com

This tour will undoubtedly will live up to its name.  

All’s been quiet on the blog front lately as I have been getting ready for a trip to India next month.  Yep, next month, I’ll be traveling up and down India, having all my Bollywood dreams come true.  Right, not quite, but still I’m sure I’ll have lots of exciting new adventures to share.  So, I’ve been on the quest for a 22" duffel bag with wheels.  I have looked online and at REI, Target, Mervyns, TJ Maxx, Kohls, Chinatown, and even the Fashion District downtown and have discovered two extremes: either a cheap-ass $13-15 duffel that a child could probably rip apart or $165 extremely rugged, well-made bag.  I need something in between.  I don’t want anything too nice as I’ll most likely be caught in some monsoons and will get messed up, but at the same time I need something that can withstand some rough terrain.  I cannot in good UnHip LA conscience buy something too pricey.  Anyone know where to buy some good yet cheap luggage in L.A.?  I haven’t really scoured the SGV yet.  When I find the place, I’ll let you know.  The hunt continues.

Luggage buying tips here.

Coupon for 15% off REI purchase. 

Here’s an online, REI-like store with a good selection of luggage www.travelcountry.com that has free shipping (for orders over $50) and no tax outside of Florida. 

 

I wish I lived in Chicago so that I could go to the free Saturday Millenium Park Workouts, June 7 to September 27.  The schedule sounds so fun:  Yoga - 8 am, Pilates - 9 am, Dance - 10 am, Tai Chi -7 am, and Kids and Family workouts at 11 am.  Just click this link to see the great pictures of happy Chicagoans working out in their fabulous Millenium Park.  Pictured above.  This is what L.A. needs - one big happy family workout.

The Dance workouts feature different styles of dance: hip hop, salsa, modern, and in September, it’s four Saturdays of the Chicago Bollywood Explosion with Shamila Khetarpal.  There are also workouts called Body Combat, Kung Fu Hustle, and Get Moving with Ronald McDonald.  Way to do some public programming Chicago! 

Wouldn’t you like to workout in front of this thingy?   Frank Gehry of L.A.’s Disney Concet Hall designed this outdoor concert hall in Millenium Park. 

 

(Source: Flickr) 

Click here for another post on Millennium Park with pictures.

Rajmohan Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Ghandi, Speaks at Pasadena City College 

Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Ghandi, will be visiting Pasadena City College on Feb. 22 to speak about his grandfather’s teachings. The lecture, titled “Relevance of Gandhi in the 21st Century,” will be held in Sexson Auditorium at 10:30 a.m.

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. 

From  http://www.pasadena.edu/news/newsitem.cfm?ID=2073 

I caught Ang Lee’s new masterpiece "Lust, Caution" last night.  I left thinking, "Man, Ang Lee is really disturbed and has a wacked-out take on love."  In all his movies I have seen, most notably, "The Ice Storm," "Brokeback Mountain," "The Wedding Banquet." and now LC, I don’t recall any tender romances. Sex seems to mean take people by surprise, wrestle them, inflict pain, and then afterwards pretend like it didn’t happen, but then end up liking the brutality of it all and declaring you’re in love.  Ang Lee is the Ingmar Bergman of Asian directors.  Ah, I would hate to be Ang Lee’s wife!  I give him major props though, the film is beautifullly shot, the costuming exquisite, and the acting cruel but powerful.  Tony Leung and newcomer Wei Tang gave disturbing and daring performances (I suggest they both do a comedy next.).  A matronly Joan Chen gave a fine performance.  I hope they all win awards!

Seeing Hong Kong and Shang Hai during World War II under Japanese rule was quite interesting, especially since I just visited Hong Kong. It’s an international city now and then. I doubt I could ever watch this movie again though.  It left me feeling ill, perhaps this is a metaphor for what the Japanese did to Hong Kong and Shang Hai.

In other tragedy news, I saw "Laaga Chunari Mein Dag" ("I have stained my veil") by Pradeep Sarkar at the good ol’ Naz 8.  It’s been a week or two since I saw the movie and I don’t really think about it, so that puts it at about average fare for Bollywood movies.  I do recall it being entertaining but cheesy at many points, but what Bollywood film isn’t cheesy?  My friend hated it and declared it anti-woman (and he’s a guy).  He actually got mad at me in the car for saying I liked it.  All the acting of the main characters was excellent; they could make this preposterous storyline of a village girl who becomes a high-class escort to support her crumbling, son-less, family pretty believable.  Rani Mukherjee gave a great performance but perhaps even more memorable (or just had the better part) was Kokona Sen Sharma playing her younger sister reaping the advantages of her sister’s sacrifices. Kokona’s character gets an MBA and a great job at an ad agency while her sister meets clients as "Miss Natasha."  Abhishek Bachchan makes a guest cameo which, you know, I loved as I am president of his Meetup fan club (okay, no such club exists but I do love the mischievous yet compassionate Abhi who marries divorcees, prostitutes, and single mothers in his movies.  Abhi is the knight in shining armor.)

So there you have it - two movies I saw recently.  I don’t recommend either, but I bet both will rack up some awards.  Both did have excellent acting.   

This Friday, September 28, the Music Center will host a free Bhangra dance night with DJ Sandeep Kumar and lessons by Achinta of the Blue13 Dance company. How fun!  What is Bhangra?  It’s a folk dance and music form from Punjab that has been fused with hip hop moves and featured in many Bollywood movies.

Bhangra dance is also a great adult P.E. activity, so this will be adult P.E. idea #3!  You can take classes with the Blue School.  Or get the Bollywood Workout DVD. I’ve had lots of fun with my DVD but know it’s nowhere near what Aishwarya or Bipasha do in the movies. Well, you gotta start somewhere! 

Bhangra Dance Downtown 
Friday, Sept. 28, 6:30 pm - 10 pm.
The Music Center
135 North Grand Ave., between Temple & 1st
Los Angeles, CA

P.S.  I was just told a secret place for free parking downtown near the Music Center.  If you want to know, leave a comment and I will get back to you.  It’s super secret….   

(Photo credit) 

*** UDPATE ***  We went to this and it was great fun!  We learned moves called "alligator, Indian airlines, turn the door knob, pat the dough….."  So much fun!  I definitely would take a class with the Blue School if I were in the ‘hood.  The great thing about Bhangra - you can totally be doing it wrong but you won’t look that off.  It’s an aerobics workout without the annoying counting of reps thing. Just dance and have fun. When the instructor Achinta separated us into two groups who faced each other, it was like a dance-off, showdown, Michael Jackson style.  My first time doing that, and I would love to do it again.

 

Pistachio Kulfi at Saffron Spot in Artesia.  So good….

Saffron Spot
18744 Pioneer Blvd.
Artesia, CA 90701
(562) 809-4554
www.saffronspot.com

 

While in the Midwest, I couldn’t resist the chance to check out Bollywood flick "Chak De India," (Buck Up India!) which was playing at the AMC 30 in Barrington, IL.  To my surprise, they were playing two Bollywood films, "Heyy Babyy" being the other one.  I give "Chak De India" 5 out of 5 samosas, and more if my own ratiing system would allow it.  It’s a compelling story about the rag-tag Indian women’s field hockey team and their coach who led them to World Cup Gold.  It’s based on a true story about a male Indian field hockey player who was ostracized and vilified by Indians after losing to the Pakistani team in the World Cup finals.  He later becomes the coach of the women’s field hockey team and redeems himself. 

The team in the movie comes from many different states in India, and it’s very interesting to watch how the women interact, get past their prejudices, and learn how to be a team.  Who would think field hockey could be so inspiring and empowering?  This is not like the Madonna movie "A League of Their Own" and it’s better than "Bend it Like Beckham."  There are no songs or dances in this film and no love stories either, except for the patriotic love of India.  The movie has a  great cast of unknown actors, real sports action (many of the actors played field hockey in school or on professional teams), and Shah Rukh Khan who doesn’t dominate the movie.  The women do.  Go India!   "Chak De India" is now playing at the Naz 8.

Previous post with tips for the Naz 8.
Articles about the movie:  here, here, and here.

 

I had four courses of delicious ice cream at the Saffron Spot in Little India (Artesia) with Abby’s Pleasure Palate group. This was ice cream with depth and silky, rich textures, made with saffron, basil, rose, pistachios, pomegranate, chikoo…  Really, I could not get enough. This was the best ice cream I have ever tasted, none of that artificial Breyer’s or Baskin Robbins or even Ben and Jerry’s (!) nonsense. Saffron Spot puts Pinkberry to shame.

Ice cream… 

 

Kulfi Falooda… 

 

Kulfi… 

 

Shaved Ice… 

 

Now what exactly are all these things?  I’m going to have to link you to Abby’s blog and this article to get a better sense of the cream.  Sorry, I’m not a foodie and don’t follow ingredients.  I just hunt and gather.  Speaking of which:

To find the place, look for the newish-looking Little India Village shopping plaza on Pioneer Boulevard, just off South Street.  The plaza has a curved exterior with two small elephant statues in the front and a free parking lot.

 

Saffron Spot is the perfect after-Bollywood-movie treat!
18744 Pioneer Blvd.
Artesia, CA 90701
(562) 809-4554
www.saffronspot.com 

Suggestion:  See a movie at the Naz 8, then dinner at Jay Bharat’s, then dessert at Saffron Spot!

For my Bollywood posts, click here!
To learn more about Pleasure Palate click here and sign up via Meetin.org. They have some hard core foodies in that group.

Caught the 11pm screening of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Dance Baby Dance) at the Naz 8 in Lakewood / Artesia.  The movie, of course, stars my favorite actor Abhishek Bachchan, who does a great job.  Preity Zinta also takes a nice turn as his love interest.  She’s so cute and pretty at the same time, a little Drew Barrymore-ish, but that comparison doesn’t do Preity’s dimples justice.  A campy, romantic comedy, the story follows a couple who meet at a London train station and fall in love with each other, despite both being engaged, or are they?  The silly, over-the-top script - a wax Superman statue at Madame Tussaud’s flying down and almost hitting Preity who gets saved by an ultra-suave lawyer played by Bobby Deol, as one example - is a fun romp. Also enjoyable is the intergenerational cast, always nice to see father and son, Amitabh and Abhishek, together.

The only irony was that the dancing was pretty weak considering there’s a big Southall dance competition in it and the word dance is in the title.  The choreography was simple, and Preity and Lara Dutta were stiff.  Their moves made me wish for Aishwarya and Bipasha to come in.  Aishwarya does make a voice cameo as Abhishek’s cell phone ringer voice, "Hey handsome," so says Wikipedia.  For snacks, the samosas were warm and delicious.  The Naz staff were also very polite and nice, which goes back to my previous posts that South Asians are the nicest Asians. Seriously, compared to Chinese and Koreans, South Asians are like royalty in the manners department.  

Preity and Abhi have great chemistry! Both excel in playing mini con artists, who try to one up each other. The European locations, the hip and colorful costumes (Abhishek sports a one-of-a-kind jacket) and decor make this film a great escape. The soundtrack is bumping, but I would have liked to hear more traditional singing.  I give this movie 4 out of 5 samosas.  If you want to see this movie, you should hurry for it looks like it’s about out of the rotation at Naz. For more Bollywood posts, please click here.

UnHip LA’s Bollywood screenings thus far:  Dhoom 2 (5 samosas), Cheeni Kum (5s), Bunty Aur Babli (5s), Bluff Master (5s), Kuch Naa Kaho (4s), Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke (0.5s), Partner (0s), Yuva (4.5s).

Hi there reader,

East West magazine, "Life through an Eastern lens," is offering UnHipLA readers a $7 a year subscription rate.  (Offer good till the end of July.)  EW is a wonderful publication covering global Asian issues as well as Asian American life and style, everything from Bollywood to political figures.  I’ve been contributing to them for a couple of years now.  

You don’t have to be Asian to enjoy the magazine.  It seems like everything nowadays has an Asian-influence. 
www.eastwestmagazine.com
Click on Subscribe and use the special blog exclusive rate:
code “ BlogEW2007” on checkout.
One dollar of each subscription goes to charity.

Without this offer, a subscription costs $17.50; a single issue costs $4.25.  Just think, for cheaper than a movie, you’ll get a quality publication delivered all year to you.  Makes a fanta-bulous gift! 

Thank you!  And Happy Reading! 

P.S.  If you do subscribe, could you let me know?