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Arts and culture organizations by and about young people in Southern California?

colinmarshall — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:32:13 -0800

What are some arts/culture organizations (or individual artists) in Southern California that produce film, video art, radio, sound art, criticism, etc. that are run by or work with young people, exclusively or primarily? I'm working on a journalistic project meant to cover arts and culture produced by young people here in Southern California, and I'd like to cover artists and organizations that I haven't already heard of or are generally more obscure. If that sounds like a wide net, it is, but there are certain sorts of people and groups that I'd especially like to investigate. Broadly speaking, I mean those that produce this sort of stuff:

Film, narrative or experimental
Television and video art
Radio broadcasts and sound art
Ambient or otherwise avant-garde music
Film, book or music criticism (not in the academic sense)

Also, the less political, the better, but with young people I realize that's a tall order. (And by "young", I mean anywhere from teens to early 30s.) Geographically, the region of Southern California I'm looking at would be L.A. county up to Santa Barbara county and everywhere in between.

Los Angeles to San Marcos by car: how long will it really take?

holyrood — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:47:59 -0800

Los Angeles to San Marcos by car: how long will it really take? I'm driving tomorrow from LA to San Marcos, CA for a meeting; I've never driven further south than Irvine. Google maps tells me it will take either 1 hour 45 minutes or 2 hours, 30 minutes "with traffic." That's great, but I have to be there at 8:30 AM, not a range of 45 minutes surrounding 8:30 AM. Also, I'm not sure if the route I have been given is stupid or not (Google, and the meeting organizer, suggested 405 South to CA Highway 73, to the 5, to CA Highway 78).

I was planning to leave at 6:00 AM in case there is traffic. But I am also a super-travel-anxiety person, so I'll likely stay up all night worrying about whether this is enough time (which won't really help me be fit for the meeting!). Are there any MeFites who can give me more precise advice on usual traffic for an early Friday morning, interchanges to avoid, etc.?

Exotic citrus in Southern California?

veggieboy — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:10:29 -0800

What are the best places to get exotic citrus in Southern California? The catch is that this has to happen Monday or Tuesday. I'm in town for a few days and would like to get my hand on some good, interesting citrus fruit. Meyer lemons would be great for a start, but the more unusual the better really. If "unusual" doesn't work out, then tips on top-quality local citrus in general would be appreciated.

Ordinarily I might head to the Santa Monica farmers market, but I'm leaving early Wednesday morning, so I need some options for Monday or Tuesday.

I'm in Riverside, but quite willing to travel.

Camping in So-Cal?

PostIronyIsNotaMyth — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:05:19 -0800

Nice, private campsites in Southern California? So I'm looking to go camping in late August. As I'm subject to the whims of the other people I'm going with, we've decided that we'd like to camp someplace with grass and preferrebly near a river. Not really interested n glam camping, we'd like to pitch tents. I've heard that there's camping near the Kern river, and that Mammoth is also pretty good too. Anyone got any other ideas?

What's an affordable conference center in Southern California?

YoungAmerican — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:22:20 -0800

Affordable conference/retreat facilities in Southern California? I'm thinking about putting together a small fan-con next year in Southern California. I was initially leaning towards an urban event, but after I saw the UCLA conference center, I thought maybe a more "retreat-like" venue, that's set up for conferences, would be ideal. I'm looking for somewhere affordable, with rooms (not bunkhouses), and some larger performance spaces (50-200 capacity). Performance spaces don't have to be perfect, but we'd need reinforced sound at the least. It should be reasonable driving distance (say two hours or less, arbitrarily) from a big airport in SoCal (LAX, Burbank, etc). Anyone have any ideas?

Legal urban exploration in Los Angeles?

katillathehun — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:04:45 -0800

What are some great old buildings and derelict locations in and around the Los Angeles area that can be entered legally? I love photographing old buildings, the more run-down the better, but I don't really know where to go around LA. They don't have to be abandoned, though. For example, I'd also be happy with shabby hotels that have been around for forever but haven't been kept up particularly well.

I have been to the Linda Vista hospital and around Grand Central Air Terminal. I plan on visiting the site of the old LA zoo soon. That's it, really, and I'd like to find more. I'd prefer places I can get permission to enter or that are out in the open. I'm not asking anyone to help me trespass!

Recommendatinos for installers of PV systems in SoCal?

jaimev — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:25:20 -0800

Looking for installer recommendations of grid-connected solar photovoltaic panels in the Southern California Edison area. We had a salesman from a Santa Ana installer company come by over the weekend and gave us the pitch for PV panels. We're interested, but I'd lover to hear from any folks who've actually had panels installed. How was your experience with your installer? Has the benefits of solar power matched the promises that were made to you initially?

What's the best base for 4 days in San Diego?

azure_swing — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 08:02:57 -0800

Never been to San Diego: best place to stay for a brief vacation? My sister is such a fabulous admin that her boss has offered to pay for a 4-day vacation for her in San Diego. Between the Gaslight District, Balboa, Downtown, Uptown, Waterfront, and Coronado, what's the best place to stay? Hotel recommendations (or steer-clear advisories) would be much appreciated as well.

She just wants to pay cash for a new car.

ScarletPumpernickel — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:41:56 -0800

Please help -- How do you buy a new car in California for cash? Dealer has agreed to a cash deal, but at 11th hour, insists on signing a loan agreement?!? Help my cuz get this guy to close a cash deal. My cousin has saved up to buy a new car for cash in
SoCalifornia. She got the deal she wanted, and they knew
from the start that she was paying cash. So they should've
gotten a deal they can live with, too.

She pays by cashier's check, signs over the trade-in, signs
all the papers, then finally comes the sales agreement...

...and it's a loan agreement.

She declines, they insist. She reads, and the contract
says:

(a) customer can choose to pay cash. Sign this form, and
you're choosing to pay by credit;

(b) oral amendments are not binding, mutual written consent
only.

She declines, they insist, complete with lies and tactics.
Around and around they go. Finally, she leaves. She has a
paper trail on everything she's given them, so she feels she
can get it back with just some hassle. Most importantly,
she'd like to buy that car -- in cash.

What tactic/consumer law/shibboleth/ninja-finger-sign can
she use to get the deal closed without a loan?

P.S. -- In between claiming that it was State Law that she
sign a loan agreement, one of them offered to make it a
"zero-dollar loan." WTF?

Thanks in advance for prompt suggestions. Clock is ticking.

My kingdom for a horse: Trustworthy SoCal car dealers/mechanics

lalochezia — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 08:14:34 -0800

Buying-a-used-Car in SoCal-filter : I'm looking for good used car dealerships in the Pomona / Inland Empire / greater LA area. Also, for good independent mechanics to examine a prospective used car. Also: Examples of dealers/mechanics to avoid and general advice. I'm looking to buy a newer-than-2001 used car for 10-13k* at the end of July near to Pomona/Claremont, CA. I'm happy to go further afield to buy, but the nearer the better.

Does anyone have (or know of) any good / bad experiences with a particular dealership? Reputations of said dealers?

Bonus if you or someone you know bought a car in the last 3 months and had a good (or bad) interaction with a particular salesman / F&I office / post-dealer experience.

After I test drive the car, I'd like to get it examined by a mechanic to make sure it's kosher. Suggestions in the Pomona / Claremont / inland-empire areas? What's the going rate for an examination? Any joy in persuading/not persuading dealers to let you have the car examined?

Any other advice on buying a used car in SoCal gratefully received.

* I'm currently narrowing my choices from the standard Accords, Civics, and their import clones (nissan, mitsubishi hyundai, etc), as well as thinking about off-the wall cars like the Scion xB, VW cabriolet, Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider, Toyota Matrix and some others. Criteria: reliable, automatic, economical, 4-seater commuter car, fun. Any advice on these would be appreciated too!

Martial arts in SoCal

kamikazegopher — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:50:31 -0800

I would like to start training in a martial art in Glendale, Burbank, or the surrounding area. I am interested in learning a discipline that would work well with my stature (short, female, low center of gravity). I have been told that I would benefit from a grappling discipline because of the traits I previously mentioned. My main goal is to have a good teacher- that is more important to me than the specific discipline. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Help me chill out in Palm Springs

scody — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:11:54 -0800

Looking for recommendations for spa/lodging in Palm Springs or Desert Hot Springs. I'm looking forward to taking some desperately needed R&R in the next month or two, and want to escape with my boyfriend to the desert for a long, lazy spa weekend (or even a full week). In an ideal world, we'd go someplace like Two Bunch Palms, but realistically that's probably out of our budget range (especially since we're in the high season for the desert right now). Are there other places folks would recommend? I'm assuming that any other full spa resort would be equally prohibitive, price-wise, but I'd love to be proven wrong. Realistically, though, I assume that I'm probably looking to hear about cool, quiet, serene accomodations (less than $200/night), plus good nearby day spas.

Any other suggestions for relaxing in Palm Springs/Desert Hot Springs/etc. is welcome too. (Restaurants/bars/antique stores not to be missed?) I'm ashamed to say I've been in SoCal for more than 6 years and never gone out to the desert for any length of time, so this is my attempt to rectify that situation!

Earthquake perception

SBMike — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:43:02 -0800

How often can you feel small earthquakes in Southern California? My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy, but I'm often convinced I've felt a small earthquake. Are there degrees of earthquake perception for different people? I've lived in Southern California for a little over 2 years now. So far I've only felt one confirmed earthquake. I was in a room with a bunch of people, and we all heard a rumbling and felt a small shake that lasted maybe 3-5 seconds. They all agreed, so I have no doubt that I felt an earthquake.

However, I ocassionally feel very slight movements that I think are earthquakes, but my girlfriend doesn't believe me (she hasn't felt one since we moved here). They are very quick and don't really feel like shaking back and forth, more like a quick lurch in one direction. No noise. It's barely perceptible. I usually check the website of the USGS to confirm, but it never turns out to be an earthquake that is reported on their page. She thinks I've usually just felt rumblings from the highway or something.

Is it possible that what I'm feeling is in fact an earthquake? If so, how come she can never feel them? Are some people more sensitive to slight motions than others? What types of things might give a false positive?

How's the traffic?

thefinned1 — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 07:27:43 -0800

Is there any place (online or otherwise) where I can get historical data on southern California freeway traffic patterns? For instance, how much traffic is on the road at what time etc...

My girlfriend and I are thinking of moving to Carlsbad,CA but working in different cities (her San Juan Capistrano, me San Diego) and before we commit to anything I would like to find out what our average commutes are going to be. Where do we look?

Los Angeles without a car

deaddodo — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 02:32:53 -0800

Los Angeles without a car. Suggestions? [more inside] I'm going to be staying in LA for a few days' holiday in the next couple of weeks. My hotel is on S Fairfax Ave, opposite the Farmers' Market and CBS.

What's accessible with public transport? Musuem of Jurassic Technology? Griffith Park? Santa Monica?

Also, what are cabs like to get from place to place?

Thanks!