April 6, 2012

Whose Hanging Bears Are These?

Many of us want to know who's been tossing these stuffed teddy bears up onto wires all over Los Angeles. With their bright plushy bodies and pastel pink eye masks, the bears have been seen the last couple of months hanging above Sunset Blvd., Hyperion Ave., and other major thoroughfares throughout and around LA , including in Silver Lake, Los Feliz and West Hollywood.

The Newbie is rolling briefly out of hibernation to take a best guess at the answer: Hearts Challenger, also known as Hearts Revolution. It's not entirely clear what Hearts Challenger/Revolution is all into (music? ice cream? t-shirts? organized rebellions?) other than hanging these bears, but evidence is mounting:
  • Their zine links to a Tumblr page with dozens of hanging bear photos
  • According to a bio, their name comes from a song by a UK an English riot grrrl band named Huggy Bear
  • Their Twitter followers say things like, "I see your bears everywhere!"
  • Their ice cream truck, which seems to have a home in the Franklin Hills, has similarly fluffy and pink-masked adornments
And finally, in response to a direct Twitter question from yours truly, the response came simply with a link to the bear photo Tumblr.

Case closed? Or hung jury?

July 3, 2011

The Median is the Message

Los Feliz Blvd., on the way into Glendale.

April 12, 2011

Thanks for the Order, Law & Order

Thanks for the Order

PRODUCERS FROM Law & Order: Los Angeles purchased my aerial photo of downtown LA (top) for the new season's main titles (middle, bottom), debuting last night and repeating throughout the season. They found me through a Getty Images group on Flickr. Have to say, it caps a lovely, dramatic, new opening sequence on the show. Quite an honor.

January 28, 2011

Winners Along LA River

Waving Winner
HERE'S MY SNAPSHOT of cyclists rolling north along the Los Angeles River bike path, gratefully receiving impromptu applause from the group of walkers touring Glassell Park and Atwater Village. (Tour led by LA's "stair master," Bob Inman.) As seen on The Source blog of LA County's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and my Flickr stream.

January 10, 2011

Coming to Casitas Row: ATX Eatery

3245 Casitas Avenue

FARM-TO-TABLE restaurant coming to 3245 Casitas Avenue in Atwater Village, from the folks behind Atwater Crossing:
In early 2011, a new restaurant — the ATX Eatery — will warm the hearth of the complex with a menu built around the highest quality ingredients, a true passion for freshly prepared food, and a state-of-the-art Italian wood burning pizza oven.

Vegetables and herbs will be grown on an onsite linear farm, with meals served in a marvelous 4,000 square foot patio and a permeable indoor dining area.

In the evenings, this dining area will host an eclectic mix of live jazz and classical music, as well as curated film series and performances.
The Atwater Crossing complex already hosts creative spaces like Dark Dark Science Gallery and Blue Rooster Studios, all just a block down from Atwater Playhouse. As always, with interesting neighborhood news, email atwatervillagenewbie@gmail.com.

January 7, 2011

It's Not Your Backyard They're After

Suspect DescriptionDON'T FALL for it, Atwater Villagers. LAPD's latest news on recent "distraction" burglaries:
On January 5th, 2011, two elderly distraction burglaries were reported, one in Elysian Valley and the other in Atwater Village.
In both incidents, a male suspect posing as a contractor accompanied the victims to their back yards to discuss wall repairs. While there, a second unknown suspect entered the victims homes and removed cash and jewelry.
The primary suspect is described as a male Hispanic, 5'3" to 5'6", 185 to 200 lbs., 30 to 45 years old. The vehicle used is decscribed as a silver pick-up type truck.
Of course, report emergencies to 911, non-emergency police phone calls to 1-877-ASK-LAPD.

December 27, 2010

They Meet Again for the First Time

The interview

NANCY RIGG, who lived on Valleybrink Road in Atwater Village in 1980, meets James Ventrillo 30 years later on the Sunnynook footbridge over the Los Angeles River in this photo from SCPR. Nancy's fiancé, Earl Higgins, died rescuing James from the river on this spot 30 years ago. Listen to the amazing story on today's Madeleine Brand Show.

November 11, 2010

Tweet Me Like a Newbie

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS in 140 characters or less:

  • 3156 Glendale Blvd, former home of Toni's Rolling Pin Bakery, coming next week: Proof Bakery; http://bit.ly/d9TL2q
  • Big Mista's BBQ, of Atwater Village's farmers market, on 2010 edition of Jonathan Gold's 99 essential restaurants: http://bit.ly/cTBQh9
  • Theater for short attention spans: http://bit.ly/9uLUJY

November 10, 2010

Theater for Short Attention Spans

SORRY, WHAT was that? Oh, right. The Atwater Playhouse presents Puppies, Plays, Trains and Family Names, an evening of one-act performances at 3191 Casitas Avenue:

  • Friday Nov. 12, 8:00pm
  • Saturday Nov. 13, 8:00pm
  • Friday, Nov. 19, 8:00pm
  • Saturday, Nov. 20, 8:00pm

One-act plays include:

  • Puppies with Papers by Catherine Pelonero
  • What Play? by Franco D'Alessandro
  • Family Names by Catherine Pelonero
  • Night Train by Gena Acosta

Tickets are $15 each and reservations are required, (323) 769-5808.

October 14, 2010

Which Way Taco Stand?

A READER writes: "I recently noticed that the taco stand on Fletcher and Larga hasn't been at its usual post. Do you have any information on what happened to them?" Anyone know, where did it go?

UPDATE: Chatter on the AVNC forum seems to indicate the late-night tacos have moved, possibly pursuant to neighborly nudging, to Ripple Street.

Tweet Me Like a Newbie

STUFF AROUND the 'hood too good not Twitter about: