Temple Bags hits all the right notes. The luggage, tote and accessories collection is handcrafted in Los Angeles from repurposed WWII military tents, bags and canvases found sifting through warehouses in the city. The "extremely limited edition" Holiday 2009 collection, launched earlier in December....read more
This one may seem a little LA-centric at first. But it's really kind of global. Inspired by Matt Logue’s wonderful Empty L.A. photo book, filmmaker Ross Ching asked “What if tomorrow everyone’s car disappeared?," then set out to create a time-lapse video that envisions an L.A. without automobiles. The outcome is beautiful. To learn about the process behind the......read more
The Los Angeles Board of Public Works has announced sustainable new rules for residential parkways. LA Times Greenspace reports that Los Angeles-area homeowners will now be allowed to plant drought-tolerant, turf substitute ground-cover plants in residential parkways without a permit. Previously, homeowners were only allowed to plant street trees and grass without a permit. Residential parkways......read more
If you don't live in southern California, you'd be forgiven for not knowing what a loquat is. Hell, a lot of Los Angeleans don't even know. That's because the fuzzy orange fruit that grows all over the city is largely ignored in kitchens — and entirely ignored commercially. Well it's time to put a stop to loquat neglect. Boasting a sweet-tart flavor that falls somewhere between an apricot......read more
It's hard to imagine a Los Angeles without the daring modernism of John Lautner. The Michigan-born, Frank Lloyd Wright-trained architect created iconic buildings — such as the visionary Chemosphere Residence (1960) and the panoramic Silvertop Residence (1963-67) — that have helped define the city's built environment. Futuristic, cinematic, and sexy......read more
Last year, director Ross Ching's original "Running on Empty" video set the internet on fire for its beautiful, haunting depiction of a Los Angeles without cars. With "Carmageddon" looming in LA a couple weeks ago, Ching decided to re-edit the video with new music, coloring and opening shots. Here is the result. The track is "Often a Bird" by Belgian composer Wim Mertens. More info on......read more
We love Los Angeles, especially at night, when the endless sunshine gives way to the electic glow of city lights. So this video is pure joy for us. Over a period of six months, photographer Colin Rich cruised around the city at night, shooting time-lapse footage from all sorts of locations, some of them fairly ballsy (the Hollywood sign). It wasn't always easy, as Rich......read more
Farmscape, California's largest urban farming operation, has recently launched what may be its most ambitious project to date: a 200-square-foot custom garden on the roof of The Jonathan Club in Downtown Los Angeles. Completed in December, the garden provides fresh, organic produce for chefs working in the kitchen of the private social club. Writing for LAist, Lauren Lloyd sums it......read more
Forget what you heard about the Occupy movement being dead. If last Saturday's All in for the 99% event is any indication, there's plenty of life left yet. The arts and music festival on South La Brea Avenue amplified the voices of the 99 percent with Funny or Die short film screenings, Slake magazine readings, a Van Jones talk, DJ sets, and an art exhibit featuring over a hundred artists......read more
Do you know where your garbage is from last week? Us neither. "From Lunch to Landfill," a short film brought to us by Mae Ryan of KPSeeSee (the visuals team for SoCal public radio station KPCC), tracks the movement of trash from a restaurant table in Los Angeles to a landfill outside the city. What you'd expect to be a didactic and depressing take on the garbage issue is actually a......read more