A Mini-Mag to Replace Atwater Village's Arthur?

WHEN JAY BABCOCK high-tailed it out of Atwater Village for Brooklyn NY he took the headquarters of micro-magazine Arthur with him. Would anything fill our neighborhood's publishing niche? Now along comes The Drama. The art mag's editor-in-chief and creative director, Joel Speasmaker, moved from Richmond VA to Atwater Village this summer and does Q&A with Rubin Recommends: RR: Best food you've had in your neighborhood lately or while you were traveling? Speaksmaker: Found this tiny Cuban spot [Baracoa Cuban Cafe, 3175 Glendale Blvd.] near where I live in Atwater Village that's pretty great, and I meet my buddy Justin pretty much every few days for lunch at EAT [Los Feliz Cafe, 3207 Los Feliz Blvd.] on Los Feliz. Read the rest of Joel Speasmaker's interview.

Even Exchange? Atwater Village for Brooklyn

MICRO-MAGAZINE MAGNATE Jay Babcock, of off-and-on Arthur magazine, has given up the shores of the LA River for the most populous borough of NYC. "Kaput" is his fascinating Nature Trumps blog as well as his magazine's Atwater Village HQ. From Brooklyn he reports to LA Observed: "I lived in Atwater Village, beneath the police and tv helicopters, and amidst the almost-nightly gunfire and break-ins... I don't want to live anymore in the psychic death hole that is Carusoland. And I don't want to be there when the next earthquake hits, or when Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills finally burn." Arthur, a publication where words like hirsute will always feel safe from those psychic death holes and burning hills, continues to publish from a part of NYC that is mysteriously whited out on Google Maps Street View. Meantime, Babcock rips another new one in LA's ass via the LA Times: "For a long time now I’ve been going back and forth between LA and New York, and every time I got off the plane in LA I felt dumber." Werner Herzog be damned.

Atwater Chatter - Rock and Roll Edition

SOME OF THE LATEST and greatest Internet tidbits concerning our 8,000-resident sliver of Los Angeles, just one of 173 official LA neighborhoods. ROCK #1 - Beastie Boys at The Greek Theatre - "All of the old magic is there: Adrock is still the charmer; ad-libbing at the end of 'I grabbed two girlies and a beer that's cold! And it was LOVELY!!' (from 'Paul Revere') and remembering to give LA's Atwater Village (home of their old recording studio) a proper shout-out. [Popwatch Blog] ROLL #1 - Metrolink to improve security at crossings - "The crossing at Chevy Chase Drive near the Atwater Village-Glendale border already sits locked and gated - a grim reminder of its tragic past. On Jan. 26, 2005, Juan Manuel Alvarez allegedly deserted his Jeep on the train tracks... The 28-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of capital murder and awaits trial." [Whittier Daily News] ROCK #2 - Arthur Magazine Goes to Press This Week - It's back! No. 26 of Atwater Village-based cultural icon is available for pre-order. [arthurmag.com] ROLL #2 - Elysian Valley Art Ride - "When I biked the LA River Ride last June from Griffith Park to Long Beach we ventured south of Atwater Village on through Elysian Valley ... And having seen a lot of cool artsy muralsy things along that stretch south of Fletcher I've since then wanted to go back with my camera..." [blogging.la]

Spawning in the LA River

AS REPORTED BY THE FOUNDER of the late/not-late Arthur Magazine, Jay Babcock, via LA Observed: Subject: Large carp are mating/spawning now in the Atwater area A friend first saw them Friday, March 30 around 11 am, in the hundreds, flopping in groups, splashing and mating in the shallows of the River about a hundred yards south of the Hyperion bridge. He called me, I called Lewis MacAdams from FoLAR, and we all went down there to see what Lewis said was the first-ever reported sighting of this activity in the LARiver. Absolutely amazing sights. They were going at it again Saturday and again today. Not that I'd know how to find spawning carp, but this might be a good subject for the next photo safari. Has anyone else spotted them?

Arthur Magazine Might Be Unfucked After All

THOUGH ATWATER VILLAGE-BASED Arthur Magazine seemed to meet its untimely demise in late February, now comes an update from editor Jay Babcock via LA City Beat: "As of early March, however, new developments may mean there's still hope for Arthur. "'It looks like we may have found a way to save the magazine,' Babcock says. 'That's all I can say.' "He could only acknowledge that, if the new plans went through, he would still be in charge of editorial content, adding, 'Something very, very, very unexpected happened.' "'I wouldn't write a eulogy just yet.'" So much for Babcock's earlier assessment that "the magazine can't be restarted" and "the situation can't be unfucked." Funeral arrangements on hold till further notice.

Arthur: On the Rocks

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ it by now, you've missed your chance. Arthur, the peace-and-love, music-and-drug five-year-old 'zine headquartered at an Atwater Village apartment, has gone cold turkey. "As of Friday, Feb. 23rd, Arthur Magazine is on indefinite hiatus... Thank you to staff, contributors, distributors, readers and advertisers for all your dedication." In the publishing industry quote of the year, editor Jay Babcock told the Village Voice, "The magazine can't be restarted. It's a done deal. It's dead. The situation can't be unfucked."

Atwater Chatter - Non Non-Election Edition

SURELY THERE ARE HAPPENINGS in our little slice of northeast Los Angeles beyond grammar violations and canceled elections, yes? Yes: Future of Arthur Magazine looks bleak - "A split between Babcock, who ran the editorial operation out of his Atwater Village home, and Kreslins, whose Maryland-based company holds the trademark and handled the business side, became inevitable last year." [LA Times] Kaldi Coffee and Tea - Atmosphere: 4 stars. Coffee: 3 stars. [Los Angeles Coffee Shops] Visual Artists in Los Angeles - Ian O'Phelan, contemporary drawings, pen & ink, Atwater Village, ianophelan.com [Artist Directory] Now a personal - and, at this point, garlicky - question. Tonight we hankered for Zankou Chicken, went to the Burbank superstore. I noticed something missing from the menu: the Hollywood location. Not on the paper menu, not on the web site. Isn't LA's original Zankou still open at Sunset and Normandie? Why would it be disowned?