Los Angeles, CA

I once was an ice cream-aholic, going into cosmic brain freezes from a flavor which echoed my sentiment - Death By Chocolate. It was a weekly summer ritual, indulging in this textured scoop of nirvana perched atop a sugar cone. It was followed by the purchase of a clear cylinder containing Carvel’s chocolate & vanilla Flying Saucers (round ice cream sandwich cookies); the dairy version of a tea party for me and my grandmother. Her banana split was also ordered to go, for I knew she was waiting back home for the sugary soirée . Yeah, I had it bad…

About seven years ago, lactose intolerance entered my world, ending my enjoyment of all things relevant to dairy AND chocolate. I’m not crying any more, thanks to MILK. Located at 7290 Beverly Blvd. in West Hollywood, its homemade ice cream is reminiscent of the happy days when ice cream parlors were not associated with calories or shipped-in deliveries. Most importantly, they are showing love for the lactose-intolerant, with a selection of soy vanilla, chocolate and coffee toffee for our reactive bellies.

I know my grandmother is smiling down from heaven, knowing that we would still be able to sit and enjoy ice cream together at MILK; she enjoying her banana split, and I creating custom-built ice cream sandwiches from their soy milk ice cream.

Once upon a time, there was no such thing as a clothes closet, let alone a walk-in. Early Americana stored their clothing in chests, trunks and upon wall-mounted pegs, while Europeans utilized armoires (or chifferobes, as my parent’s generation likes to call them). Fast-forward to this day and age of excessive consumption, where one’s closet space is just as significant as the bedroom itself. Designed to rival the amenities of The Beverly Hills Hotel, closets have chaise lounges, chandeliers and PANACHE.

Call me a vintage whore, but I prefer to have my clothing storage components intermixed with my home decor, versus being a destination spot. It could be I don’t have the option - or square footage - that comes with one of these walk-in creations, which can cost you between $2500-$40,000.

LA Furniture Store has aesthetically-pleasing wardrobes which provide both style and function. The SMA Wardrobe, shown above, is constructed of a wood veneer and available in a variety of front finishes to compliment your decor: cherry, tobacco oak, bleached oak, ebony, or teak. (A gloss lacquer color palette of ruby red, silk grey, white is also available for order.)

Call 866.397.0933 or visit for prices.

LA Furniture Store is located at 3828 Santa Fe in Vernon City. Store hours are Monday-Saturday from 9am-6pm, and Sundays 11am-5pm.

Los Angeles is an arena which favors the Princess & Prince Charming attributes of sculpted cheekbones, perfecty-coifed hair and veneered smiles. It might come as a relief to those who are not as easy on the eye that the sound of their voice can break open doors of opportunity. Even the most elite celebs are embracing the art of the voice over, creating multi-tiered careers within the film and TV commercial industry. I have to admit, though, it took me a while to pick up on the fact it was Queen Latifah pimping Pizza Hut (although my fave has always been Lauren Bacall’s raspy solicitation for Fancy Feast cat food).

Looks aside, it’s still a viciously competitive field, considering you can bank up to a six-figure income. With the lack of eye contact, your voice has to “smile” and paint the picture. Or seduce the listener, depending on the product or service.

Kalmenson & Kalmenson is a leading voice casting agency in L.A., having recently landed the bragging rights as Project Management for all voice implementation involving Harry Potter consumer products. Known for their reputable training, they provide several levels of workshops for clients, from the non-acting novice to the seasoned actor looking to sharpen his/her voice over “signature”.

Now if that doesn’t appeal to you, The Next Best Thing TV show for impersonators has yet to have a Shrek contestant.

Calling all femme fatales: dust off your silk charmeuse cocktail dresses, paint on those ruby red lips and have Honey polish his spats in preparation for the guest-list-only event of the summer.

An Old Hollywood Glamour Party will be held this Saturday, July 14th, 2007 from 7:30pm - 2am. This gala will be held at Memphis, the last remaining residential mansion on Hollywood Blvd. Jeffrey R. Gund Music & Sound Design, in conjunction with Australian Institute of Dramatic Arts, will provide the musical backdrop for a vintage-infused evening of free appetizers and giveaways from LA.com. Free drinks from 8pm - 9pm will be provided, courtesy of TRUMP Vodka & Motley Bird energy drinks.

But don’t think you’ll earn points or entrance just by pulling up in your gangsta Rolls Royce; you must RSVP to jeffsviplist@mindspring.com BEFORE 4:00pm Saturday, July 14th.

When channeling your favorite screen siren of yesteryear, your Beatnick cigarette holder is best left at home.

Every woman should have a purse of her own. Little did Susan B. Anthony know that her famous quote would be represented so well in Los Angeles.

According to a report from Center for Women’s Business Research, Los Angeles leads the pack as the the top county within the 50 metropolitan areas in three major categories: overall size of privately-held (majority of 51% or more) women-owned companies, employment and sales, respectively. In a growth spurt reflective of a 39.6% increase in women-owned businesses since 1997, the Los Angeles boss-in-heels is tightening her grip within a dominantly majority men-owned business world.

With women-owned companies like Dean Ryan, the engineering and environmental planning services firm (for which Wanda Martinez has been holding court as its 100%-in-charge CEO for over 17 years, thank you), to the domestic diva who collected her inherited culinary prowess to join forces with an existing cafe, they are collectively pouring $125 billion in revenue and employing 692,094.

Which totally justifies replacing the standard turkey with a Birkin bag as the staff holiday gift of choice.

This site is currently in need of a writer. If you have any interest in writing on the topic this site covers, feel free to submit an application at 451 Press. Thank you.

451 Press, Los Angeles, Writers Needed

Last week I wrote about The Old Spaghetti Factory soon being closed down in LA.

Now there’s an event being held by the Southern California Restaurant Historical Society in which they will celebrate restaurants both past and present. By commemorating restaurants still open, they also keep the memory alive of former places that no longer exist. At 10:00A.M. on May 26th, the event is going to be held at Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria. The cost is completely free to attend, with the motto of “Pay What you Wish, Dine Free Unless Delighted”.

Special guests to be present at the event are D.J. Waldie, Charlie Perry, Chris Nichols, and Robert Clifton, all of whom have a strong connection to culinary arts in the L.A. basin.

For more information on how to attend, and details of the event, visit LottaLiving.com and Clifton’s Cafeteria.

[From blogging.la]

Today in the suburb of Lake View Terrace, people from Girl Scout troops, wildlife lovers, and all walks of life are planting trees. Supported by volunteers from TreePeople, everyone was instructed and trained on what to do, and as a result, the trees were able to be planted in 20 minutes or less. The last day of the planting season was today, so everyone is making the most of it.

One girl scout troop reportedly planted 25 trees in the Lake View Terrace Recreational Center.

All planted trees were named as well.

Okay, enough of the brushfire talk. We’re long overdue for some good news in this blog.

FilmRacing.com will be coming to Los Angeles on June 2nd for their 2007 Film Race.

Basically they’re looking for film makers of all expertise, whether amateur or veteran, to make a film in 12 hours. You grab your team of people, get assigned a theme for your film, and off you go. You’re given 12 hours to come up with the writing, shooting, and editing of your film, which can be a maximum of 4 minutes in length. Themes can vary from anything about revenge, to silly whimsical ideas.

Entry fees are $75 per team if you register before May 17th, and $95 all days up until May 30th, which is the last day to enter.

Cash prizes will be given out to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, ranging from $500 - $2500

Check out FilmRacing.com for more information about the contest, and details on how to register.

As if we haven’t had enough brushfire’s in So. Cal these past few weeks. Now Catalina Island is on fire. Or rather, has been on fire for a while now. It’s expected to be out in the next few days though. I believe I heard something about 85% containment so far.

So basically right now, if you’re looking for a nice place to go hang out at this summer, all the places with green are probably going up in smoke or are being plotted to go up in smoke by an arsonist. It’s insaaaane. I don’t remember ever having this many brushfires at one time. It’s like a domino effect or something. I sure hope they catch the people doing this stuff. Crazy people.

I don’t know about you, but to me, it seems like if I were to continue talking about great places to visit, restaurants to eat at, and so on during a time when there’s a brush fire ravaging one of the greatest landmarks in L.A., it’d be a little insensitive.

And out of place.

I really hate it when I’m watching the local news, and they go from talking about a murder, car accident, or some other terrible tragedy, and directly proceed into another “happy” story with huge smiles on their faces. The same thing has been happening the past few days with coverage on the fire. Something kinda like I heard today: “800 acres have now been burned in the fire. In other news, the Dodgers beat the Marlins 5-3 today.” It makes me sick, and I refuse to be the same way.

So hopefully this will be my last post on the Griffith Park Fire. As of last night, it was 75% contained, and expected to be fully contained by late tonight.

City Councilman Tom LaBonge said that this fire is the worst Los Angeles has seen since the Bel Air fire of 1961.

Picture taken by mil8 on Flickr

A brushfire suspected to have been caused by an arsonist broke out in an unoccupied area of Griffith Park at around 1:15PM this afternoon. As of now, approximately 150 acres of land has been burned. There’s currently 120 firefighters and 5 water-dropping helicopters battling the blaze that has expanded in such a short amount of time. The wind, and the fact that we’ve gotten so little rain this season is only feeding the flames. The Griffith Park Observatory, L.A. Zoo, and Autry Museum have all been evacuated, as well as a local charter school and golf courses. The smoke from the blaze can be seen from miles away.

The L.A. County sheriff’s have announced that they have a possible suspect under arrest for connection with the fire. They are currently being treated for burns at the hospital.

LAist has a bunch of images of the fire available to view here.

No trip in L.A. could ever be complete without going the extra couple miles to Hollywood to check out the famous landmark sign.

There’s a ton of pictures of the Hollywood Sign out there, but in my opinion, nothing ever comes close to seeing it up close with your own eyes. In 1923, it was originally a 50-foot advertisement for new housing development in the area. The sign actually read “Hollywoodland” at that time. But now it’s become both a Landmark and Trademark for Hollywood as a city.

You have to be careful when going to view the sign, as the sign is protected, and many of the closest places are off-limits and illegal. One of the best legal places to get a nice view from is Beachwood Canyon Drive. This area is pretty much dead center to the sign. Great for taking pictures!

For more information on the Hollywood Sign, and other recommended and designated viewing spots of the sign, check out HollywoodSign.org.

It’s telling me that the Spider City at the Los Angeles Zoo opened a few days ago, and needs some arachnid lovers to come check it out. ^_~ That is, if you’re not arachnophobic, of course.

What better a time to open Spider City than when Spider-Man 3 is in theaters? Coincidence?

I think not.

But that’s not really the point here.

In Spider City, you’ll find at least 25 different species of spiders, including the Cobalt Blue Tarantula, Brown Recluse, Goliath Birdeater, and Chilean Rosehair. It’s a temporary exhibit, located in the old koala house. The exhibit will only be open for viewing until October 31st, so if you wanna check it out, be sure to mark your calendars so you won’t be too late.

The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is home to well over 200 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and invertebrates. Amongst the many animal exhibits throughout the park, the zoo features a number of shows featuring trained animals, such as the Worlds Bird Show. The zoo is located at the northeast corner of Griffith Park, at the Junction of the I-5 and I-134 freeways. Open everyday but Christmas, the zoo hours are from 10AM-5PM. Ticket prices are $10 for Adults (13 and up), $7 for Senior (62 and up), and $5 for Kids (2-12 years old). Kids under 2 get in free.

Tired of going to the movies and hittin’ up the mall every weekend? Looking for a change of pace?

How about a scavenger hunt?

On May 19th, the Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts will be coming to the Santa Monica Pier for some humorous historical and puzzle fun.

Rather than going about collecting random objects, you and your group of 2-6 people will be scavenging for answers to witty and tricky questions about the places you’ll be visiting and things you see during the hunt. You get a set of clues, sometimes a map, and off you go; no prior knowledge necessary. The scavenger hunts take about 90 minutes to 2 hours to complete, not including the meeting beforehand and distribution of materials.

There will be two different hunts on the 19th: An adult’s-only, and family hunt. The cost of each is $19.50 and $17.50 per person, respectively.

Sound like fun? If so, check out the Watson Adventure’s website here for more info.

For purchasing tickets, see here, or call OvationTix, at (866)811-4111

Happy Hunting!