i’ve been slacking on my los angeles isn’t so bad series.

Machine Project - these people do cool stuff in echo park. i went to a talk about real life super heroes, like vigilantes, but with capes and names. it was cool. i also went to a lecture about sea slugs. sounds boring, but i promise it was amazing. they also had a thing where you go and make your own jam.

here’s a picture of the guy talking about the real life super heroes.

that’s a really terrible photo from my phone but you get the idea.

i like places with people doing creative stuff that’s might be a little out of the ordinary.

trying to keep a weekly praise for los angeles on here.

#2 reason why los angeles isn’t so bad.

farmer’s markets. (and NOT the one by the grove) correct me if i’m wrong, but isn’t southern california the only place in the united states with a year-round farmer’s market? i know there wasn’t one in texas, but i haven’t lived everywhere. not only that but there is at least one a few miles from my house every day of the week.

carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts and broccoli are all in season right now

i know people say brussel sprouts are gross but that is untrue. if you cut them in half and coat them in olive oil, salt and pepper, then throw them in the oven on broil for 10 minutes or so depending on how crispy you like them - they are virtually like french fries. but better for you. (i also add more salt at the end to make them a little bad for me)

oh and if you do one of those online carbon footprint tests, you score way higher if you buy all local produce. especially if it’s organic.

sorry if this blog was boring for those who don’t care about vegetables.

an official i-love-la post. a couple of my friends came to town this past week and i forget the ideas people have about los angeles - that it’s full of sprawl and you have to drive everywhere and people are pretentious and it’s full of pollution. actually…all those are true. BUT it’s also not so bad sometimes. so in an attempt to take up for los angeles as the city i mostly live in, i’m going to be periodically posting reasons to like los angeles.

and please, angelinos, feel free to send me your own ideas. just fill in this sentence –

los angeles is not so bad because:

the silent movie theatre and cinefamily. when trying to think of a cool place to take my film-savvy friend this week, i thought of these emails i get weekly about cinefamily. i had only been once but they were showing If… and my friend seemed interested. it was pretty awesome. first of all, the movie theatre in itself is a cool place. second, the guy who runs it seems really enthusiastic about all the events they are having. third, the crowd was just one step cooler than your general los angeles crowd.

basically, they show weird and unusual films five or six days a week. and if you can’t see a good movie in los angeles, we’ve really lost the whole point of the city.