Our First Summer Art Walk

MONTHS AGO, COVERING the proliferation of artistic venues along Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village, I mused, "If only they could schedule their openings on the same nights..." Voila, the first summer Atwater Art Walk, Saturday July 28, 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Go get your art on. jFerrari Gallery - 3015 Glendale Blvd. - Now showing a group exhibition of landscape paintings, Earthly Delights. Live music and live paintings by artist Dan Wooster. Black Maria Gallery - 3137 Glendale Blvd. - Opening reception for The Re-run Show, featuring works from memorable past exhibitions. Open bar and food, with a DJ spinning cool afternoon tunes and even maybe a surprise performance piece by Ladyspoke. Little Bird Gallery - 3195 Glendale Blvd. - Solo show featuring new works by Thomas Mulvane. Open bar and live music. Pounder Kone ArtSpace - 3407 Glendale Blvd. -Closing reception for Fully Fledged, an all women group show, including Artis Lane, Pamela Mower Conner and Dominique Moody.

Neighborhood Author Crosses River to Sell Book

GRAPHIC NOVELIST TOM NEELY from here on the east side of the Los Angeles River has apparently decided not to make furniture out of 142 boxes that arrived at his house last month. Instead, he's opened the boxes, lovingly hand-wrapped belly bands around hundreds of books, and is releasing The Blot tonight: An evening with Tom Neely and his new book The Blot The Secret Headquarters Friday July 20, 8:00pm 3817 W. Sunset Blvd. Silver Lake, Los Angeles Go help him make sure no one tries to lounge on one of his books.

Thrones of Southern California

WE'VE BEEN PLAYING TOURIST this week with out-of-town friends and family. Both photographs were shot in the County of Los Angeles, but not in the City of Los Angeles, for submission to Guess Where LA. Any guesses?

The Photos the LA Galaxy Tried to Confiscate

IT COULD BE A CLEVER BIT of reverse psychology. Threaten fans, the strategy might go, and make them think their David Beckham photos are worth something. Maybe they'll post them on Flickr. But the suit who approached me at tonight's LA Galaxy game probably isn't that clever.

Suit: Getting good shots?

Me: They're OK.

Suit: I'm have to confiscate that camera. You're not allowed to have that kind of camera here.

Me: What kind of camera?

Suit (pointing at the D50 on my Nikon D50): The number means that it's professional.

Guy in front of me with a cheap-ass camera being no help whatsoever: Yeah, it's nothing like my camera.

Me (knowing that D50 is strictly an entry-level consumer digital SLR and calling the suit's bluff): This is a personal camera. I'm on vacation.

Suit: Are you media accredited?

Me: No.

Suit (giving up): Well, keep the camera pointed at the field.

One would think that the LA Galaxy would take time to realize: a) it scored the first genuine soccer star in three decades, b) it brought him to a city obsessed with photography, c) the future of Major League Soccer may depend somewhat on DINKs with $120 to blow on back-row seats, and d) these very same DINKs could have half-decent cameras and blogs with only slightly less of an audience than the "accredited" media willing to have every shot micromanaged from a sideline pen.

Or maybe it is all reverse psychology. Ha! I guess the joke's on me.

Here's the complete gallery on Flickr.

Putting the Rock Back in Eagle Rock

EXCEPT FOR THE HORCHATA STAND, this outdoor concert could have been in Anytown, USA. But this was in the New York Times-beloved northeast Los Angeles (NELA), the first of a summer series at Eagle Rock Recreation Center.

LA city councilmember Jose Huizar dragged some children (probably his own) on stage to boast about the five-month old NYT coverage and give out platitudes to Chamber of Commerce people. (Lemongrass somehow didn't win Longest Wait for a New Restaurant.)

As you can see, fun was had by groupies of all ages. See all 21 photos of the event in my Eagle Rocks set on Flickr.

Fish, Yes. Game, Not So Much

Los Angeles River Fishing in Atwater Village (37), originally uploaded by Luis Lopez.

A NEW REPORT FROM the Atwater Village Fish and Game Club: "LA River fish are not fit for human consumption; all fish were released back into the river."

Atwater Chatter: Independence Week Edition

I HEREBY DECLARE that I am willing to sign any petition legally requiring Independence Day to be celebrated on either the first Friday or first Monday of July. Anything but Wednesday. Now, onto news from in and around our little banana-shaped microcosm of Los Angeles: Vince's Market: Now - "One of those rare local family owned markets still in existence here in LA." [Goodgoings] Vince's Market: Then - "Opened in June 1939... the store was purchased by Joseph Caravella and his wife Mabel and named for their son Vince." [Friends of Atwater Village] How To Get Pot. Ted. I mean, POT-TED - "Dedicated to flipping a sad outdoor spot like mine into a happy, chic entertaining mecca." [LA Apartmenttherapy] Sounds of Atwater Village - "Aaron & Paula give listeners a taste of what goes on outside their windows on a daily basis and, folks, it ain't always pretty." [MP3 podcast from StopPopAndRoll] Rent Check! $465, $1,695, $1,850, $2,450, [Craigslist]

East vs. West: Our Celebrities Try to Settle It

MAYBE SOMEONE WHO MOVED to Los Angeles last year can't be considered a guru on where the city splits. That's why for America's birthday I turn to America's experts: celebrities. Here they are, VIPs and sort-of-IPs, in quotes actual and alleged, helping us build the wall: John Cusack - "I never go east of the 405" Lauren Graham - "I get nervous if I get west of La Cienega" Scott Neeson - "You never go east of La Brea" Cari Beauchamp - "Don't go east of La Cienega" Robbi Chong - "Why should we have to go west of Vermont?" Adrian Woolrich - "People say they never go past La Brea" Jade Howe - "Never move east of the 405"

Infiltrating Altadena Country Club

WE HAD TO SEE some fireworks last night. Had to. Big ones. The LAFD-sponsored site, SafeJuly4th.org, listed Altadena Town & Country Club as one of eight hot spots for July 3. Great! Fireworks and a chance to find out where the hell Altadena is. The streets of this suburb of a suburb were packed. Parked cars, lawn chairs, bands of roving teens, all drawn like metal shavings to the country club magnet. Should we resign ourselves to a darkened curb? Or try to get closer? Country Club Parking Lot Guard: You members? Us: No Guard: Friends of members? Us: Umm, yeah. Guard: Down the hill, entrance on the left. We were in. Before us, a smorgasbord of American independence. Literally: the country club put out rows of buffet food, a hosted pie table, freezers of ice cream, a live band and a bar. Little did we know "friends" of members were expected to pay $55.95 each. No one asked us for money. (And we didn't eat.) After a while, one guy gave us the parking guard interrogation. He wanted to who we came with. Mrs. Newbie smartly, vaguely pointed toward the crowded tennis courts, lined with dozens of banquet tables. The Pattersons, she said. (Good thing she didn't say Martinez. Or Chang.) He bought it. We settled on a grassy knoll near the swimming pool. The fireworks started late, well past the promised 9:30 launch. (Or so we overheard from the key party couples on the next blanket.) And the giant tree seemed even more giant this year (or so we heard) and blocked part of the show. Next year, we'll ask the Pattersons to say something about that tree. 13 photos from Altadena Country Club [Flickr]

What the Fuck Do You Have to Do for an 'R' Around Here

THE NEWBIE GOT DINGED for two incidences of "hell," one of "heroin."