Lazy Fridays #5

Lazy Friday's #5: Angel's Flight

Keeping with the Downtown L.A. theme this week, I wanted to introduce you to Angel's Flight.

Angels Flight was originally opened in 1901 by Colonel J.W. Eddy, and is known as the "Shortest Railway in the World." It connected Hill Street with Olive Street in the Bunker Hill neighborhood of Downtown L.A. The railway did not receive its name until 1912, when it was officially acknowledged as Angels Flight (a nod to the cities name Los Angeles, which translates from Spanish to The Angels, and as recognition to the name that hung over the Hill Street entrance).

The railway opened in 1901 and ran until 1969, when it was closed due to redevelopment in the area surrounding. The pieces of the railway were put into storage in hopes of a restoration and reopening. Angels Flight was reopened in 1996 half a block from the original site, but closed following a fatal accident in 2001. The Flight has now been opened for a third time as of March 2010, and has run safely since the reopening.

I remember taking the railway during a class field trip to Downtown in second grade about a year before it was closed. It's a cool ride to take and with the original 1901 tramcars being used, it feels a little like being a part of history. It certainly has a way of feeling like 1901, with the tram fare being twenty-five cents, probably making it the cheapest transportation you will ever take in Los Angeles.

So if you spend an afternoon in Downtown, take a time to see something that has seemingly made its way down the path of history: Angels Flight. Enjoy!

Lazy Fridays #4

Lazy Fridays #4: Abbot Kinney, Venice

It's really appropriate that this is a Friday post because what I want to talk about only happens on Fridays. Abbot Kinney Blvd. features small boutiques, art galleries and trendy restaurants. But on Fridays it becomes the site of "The Roachcoach Festival" as my friend so lovingly calls it. Starting a 6:30, food trucks from all over come and park on the Blvd. Suddenly, Abbot Kinney becomes flooded with people, making it almost impossible to walk or drive.

The food trucks range from Japanese to Mexican to Brazilian and everything in between. There are crepes and shaved ice trucks. There are tacos galore and plenty of sushi to go around. There's chocolate and ice cream and every other sweet thing you can imagine.

I was only just introduced this experience on Friday and it something fun and strangely exhilarating to do at night. While eating a coxinha (croquette) from the Brazilian truck, you can wander into the free art galleries that pass from one building to another. Or you can sit on the stoops of shops that have been closed for the night.

It's a very cool thing to do when if there's nothing else to do on a Friday night. The other pluses are that the food is cheap and the shops are open late. Enjoy!

Lazy Fridays #3

Lazy Fridays #3: Griffith Park and Observatory

First off, I'm sorry this is two days late. I fell asleep on my first attempt to write this and then forgot about it for a day.

Now that that's done, Griffith Park is a staple in Los Angeles. On the south side of Mount Hollywood, the park overlooks Hollywood, Downtown L.A, and the Pacific Ocean. Not far from the park is the Hollywood sign, now closed to the public. The Observatory sits in the center of the park, serving as a launch point for the hiking trails.

The park is a great place to hike, have a picnic and hang out. Parking is free at the observatory, but getting a space isn't guaranteed (granted, where in L.A. is parking ever available?). There are several trails that lead to the top of the mountain and you are greeted with a beautiful panoramic view of Los Angeles. As with any hikes, wear good shoes (not converse, I made that mistake) and bring lots of water. At the top, there are picnic tables so if you want to bring some food, that's perfectly acceptable and highly recommended.

The observatory however, is the main attraction. Built in 1933 and opened in 1935, the Observatory was funded by the WPA as a way to bring in money through public works. The observatory features two main telescopes, several exhibits on space and astronomy and a planetarium show. With the exception of the show, everything is free. The lawn outside is lush and makes for the perfect picnic spot. You can get a view of Los Angeles from any angle of the observatory and telescopes dot the premises if you want to take a closer look.

It is a beautiful experience to come up to the mountains and do something far detached from the usual Los Angeles culture. Up on the mountain, you can be very much at peace by yourself or in the company of your friends. The sounds of traffic and busybodies is nonexistent up in Griffith. You are more likely to here a dog bark from one of the far up properties of the Hollywood Hills than the honking of a car horn.

Enjoy this wonderful piece of L.A. life!

Lazy Fridays #2

Lazy Fridays #2: The Farmer's Market

The Original Farmer's Market opened in 1934, and has become another landmark in Los Angeles' cityscape. Located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, the simple and chaotic charm of the Farmer's Market is nestled, if not overshadowed by the Grove.

The Farmer's Market is located at the very end of the Grove, where a sudden change becomes apparent. The Grove is very polished with expensive stores, art deco style buildings and a trolley. The Farmer's Market is a collection of small novelty stores and restaurants reminiscent of food stands. Many places require you to come up to the window to order before you go and sit down at one of the many picnic style or cafe style tables. Other restaurants have you sitting right up at the counter (much like the delicious crepe place where you watch them flip crepes in front of you).

Many of the original restaurants are still there, while included in the blend are new restaurants and coffee shops like Chipotle and Coffee Bean. The shops range from the expensive to the cheap; everything from Sur La Table to Sticker Planet (a childhood favorite of many of my friends).

While you do need some money to enjoy the delights of the Farmer's Market, it is a Los Angeles experience not to be missed. Enjoy!

Lazy Fridays #1

Lazy Fridays #1: 3rd Street Promenade

What? 3rd Street is a shopping center? What does this have to do with free places to visit?

Well, I'm not talking about 3rd Street Shopping in this post, but if you are ever so inclined, go ahead and shop. I'm talking about the performers who come out everyday and put on shows for shoppers.

Street Performance is a huge thing in L.A. Go to any of the major entertainment centers and you will find a performer there. You have the options of Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Hollywood, etc. to experience the untapped talent of L.A.'s performance circuit.

On and around 3rd Street, there are at least fifty performers a day showing off what they can do. It ranges from stunning Slavic acrobats to Regina Spektor-esque singers on tiny pianos to crowd-pleasing hip-hop dancers asking for crowd participation.

If you don't have the money to shop, its always great to just sit on the sidewalk in front of your favorite act and listen to them. If you love them, then there is no shame in dropping a couple dollar bills into their guitar cases and hats.

Some of the more eccentric acts on 3rd Street include: the Slavic acrobats that I mentioned earlier (a father and son pair, although now they bring in students from the acrobat school they run); another acrobat who is a war veteran with amputated legs, his skills are brilliants as he only balances on his hands not only on the floor but on poles as well; belly dancers and traditional Eastern European dance who generally space out on each block of the promenade; and a silver/gold man who makes himself a statue to the music of the Black Eyed Peas.

Some of my favorite performers are John West (a guitarist who performs nearly every weekend), the hip hop dancers who usually are performing in front of the Forever 21, the salsa dancers (who you can join in with) on Sundays and the aforementioned amputated acrobat.

This is only a small list of performers on the promenade, but new ones come in every day, so it's impossible to name them all.

Go out and see for yourself. Enjoy a free concert, dance performance, or acrobatics show if you have a day to spend lazily. Enjoy!

Simple Tip #8

Simple Tip #8: Movie Options

Los Angeles. The movie Mecca. Movies are to L.A. what Broadway is to New York. Famous theatres are not only world renown but cultural landmarks.

The Grauman Chinese. El Capitan. Fox Village Theatre. All of them are apart of the sprawling illustrious history that is the Movie Industry.

Unfortunately, these theatres, as well as every single other theatre in L.A, have jacked up movie prices, jacked up concession prices, and if they could, they would probably make you pay to use the bathroom.

What's an average movie ticket price? Well, it varies from theatre to theatre, but I can definitely tell you how much prices are to the theatres I go to most.

1. AMC Century City: 13.50 (add about 5 bucks for IMAX and a couple more if you're seeing it in 3D).

2. Landmark Theatres: 12.50

3. Fox Village Theatre: 11.00

4. AMC Santa Monica: 11.50 (This I don't understand. Why can't ticket prices be the same for all AMC theatres?)

As you can see, this is just ridiculous. And then you have the 7.50 for popcorn and 3.50 for a box of raisinets.

Well, you have a couple options if you want to see a movie in the theatre (or see a movie a couple times). One would be going for the student discount. You usually end up paying for a child's ticket. However, if you're going to the AMC Century City, you can only get a student discount on Thursdays. Another, would be do what my friend does and order your tickets before or pay at the self purchasing stations. Here you have the advantage of buying children's and senior tickets without anyone guessing your real age.

For a really cheap option, try Culver Plaza Theatres. They show popular movies for five dollars all the time.

And if you don't want to spend money going to the movie theatre...well, you're just going to have to wait till the movie comes out on DVD or BluRay because I wouldn't suggest trying to watch a movie online. Once a movie comes out, you can get a subscription to Netflicks, which is a really really great option because you get unlimited movies for one price and there is also free streaming of certain TV shows and movies on the actual site.

Also, there's the option of sharing movies with your friends. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, share your entertainment. If your friend owns a movie you're dying to watch, ask if you can borrow it for the weekend, and vice versa. If your friend is worried you're going to lose the DVD, then have a movie marathon with him/her.

And that comes to my next thing. Get all the movies you have, pick a few, and have a marathon of it with your friends. Look for a better description of this in future posts.

When it comes to movies, there are always great options of enjoying them at a cheaper price or at no cost at all. Just remember to enjoy the entertainment.

Entertainment: Donating

Simple Tip #4 Supplement: Entertainment

Here are some links on where to donate your books, movies, and music:

Books for People

Los Angeles Public Library

Book Ends

The Wonder of Reading

Los Angeles Women in Music

Hospitals

Local Schools

If there are anymore, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments

Simple Tip #4

Simple Tip #4: Donating, Sharing and Enjoying Entertainment

Now, L.A. essentially is one of the largest capitals of entertainment in the world. There are bookstores around every corner, hundreds of movie theatres, and famous music stores (Amoeba Records anyone?).

If you're like me, then you probably love books, movies, music and other entertainment. If you're also like me, you have an emotional attachment to all of them (especially books).

Well, the sad thing is, you can't always keep all your books unless you intend on reading all of them over and over again or you have a giant library (lucky git, but you should still go through it once and a while). Same goes for movies and music.

So, first off donating. Donating your sources of entertainment is a lot like cleaning out clutter and your clothes. Its the same basic steps: what you need, what you can donate/sell, and what you can throw away.

What you need (or hold most precious is another way of putting it) are going to be the sources of entertainment that you love the most. For me, its Harry Potter, Twilight, the Royal Diaries, and Nancy Drew. These are books that I would never give away, but I will go through my others and willingly pick out books I've never read more than once. The same for music and movies. I would give away a mixtape I got at a concert, but never give away my Panic! CDs. I'd give away Stuart Little, which I've never watched more than once, but not The Young Victoria because its one of my favorites.

The key is merely to decide which things are most important. And eventually you should be able to sort out those things that you lost interest in a long time ago. Those would go to donations so someone else can enjoy what you once did, or you can sell them, and hopefully it will be the same outcome.

What you should throw away are books that are mangled to the point that no one would want it (as much as that would hurt to through away), broken CDs and DVDs, and Videotapes that you can't watch anymore because you don't own a VCR (unless of course, you can donate those to a foundation that still uses VCRs, like schools).

Sharing your entertainment is an excellent option compared to going out and buying new items. Swap movies with friends. Make mixtapes or burn whole CDs. Swap books. Although, you should always make sure that you get your things back within a reasonable amount of time. If you don't want to donate something, see if your friends or family members (outside your immediate family preferably) want it.

Enjoying your entertainment is very important. Once all is said and done, researching events where you can enjoy the things you love is always a good thing.

For book lovers, there is always the UCLA Book Festival, Borders and Barnes and Noble always have author appearances (sometimes just to do book signings or otherwise discussions), or creating book clubs, among other options.

For music lovers, finding cheap concerts or even free ones in L.A. isn't very hard. There are many concerts that have tickets for as low as 10 dollars, Santa Monica Beach sometimes hosts free concerts (a recent one was Jack Johnson), and maybe you have a friend whose in a band; attend a garage concert (or real venue if they play in one) of theirs.

For movie lovers, it can get a bit tricky, especially with the skyrocketing prices of movie tickets these days. A good option is to buy AMC movie passes at Costco for about 40 dollars; these are always perfect gifts for movie lovers too. Century City has free movies in the food court playing all through summer. Culver Plaza Theatres has movies for five bucks.

You should never not enjoy what you love, and that's part of living a good, simple life: Enjoying the things that give you pleasure without going overboard. Donating always makes you feel good, and even in L.A. you don't need to spend tons of money to enjoy yourself.