Friday, September 3, 2010

First Fridays, For Who?

"On my last First Friday I realized this: There are way too many food trucks, they are so marginally talented and they need to drive to Bakersfield and stay there. And also, people of Brentwood, Santa Monica and the Palisades, PLEASE NOTE: you are not cool for just coming to Venice one Friday of the month. Love & Hugs, as always ..."

So read the Facebook status
of one of my Venice pals the day after last month's First Friday. Yep, I think it's time for we citizens of Venice to have another little Pow Wow about it all. What started out as a thing to help out Abbot Kinney merchants at a slow-ish time, and have a cool hang for the locals to mingle and enjoy each other as they strolled along the Boulevard, has now become a bit of a monster that no locals seem to want to participate in.


August's First Friday was a madhouse. I helped out at my friend's store (Firefly) that night, so I was really immersed in it this time, rather than looking down upon it all from another friend's balcony, which has been the norm recently. The entire part of the evening that we stayed open after normal non-First Friday hours, I recognized not one single soul from Venice - and I know a lot of people. Not ONE.

When you ask Venice people these days if you'll see them on First Friday, the general response is "No way, I can't stand that mess", and it has actually propelled many of us AWAY from Venice (Helpful Hint: that would be a good day to try and lure us East of Lincoln, East side pals!).

And it really is a mess, literally and figuratively. A real mess, as people leave their food truck garbage everywhere (my bike basket is especially attractive to them for that purpose). A mess of people blocking the sidewalks, as it took me 20 minutes to get from locking Firefly's back door to get to my bike parked in front. A mess of traffic, as 40 (!) Food Trucks (the most ever, I believe) lined the streets, and a long queue more of them waited
their turn on Milwood to turn on to AKB. It's gotten to be where it's really just kind of gross, and not many locals want to participate in that.


People that live in Venice chose their home for a reason, generally, and that is that it is VENICE ... not Santa Monica, not the Marina, but Venice, and all that goes along with that. We don't want Abbot Kinney to be another cheesy Promenade. We like to support local businesses. We like to park somewhere near our homes. We like to ride our bikes or walk without a hassle. We like to recognize SOMEONE as we go about
our fun.

More and more shops and businesses on the block are talking about not staying open for First Fridays, as it doesn't seem to be that profitable. The permanent restaurants on the Boulevard are all great, and busy on Fridays anyway. With such a glut of Food Trucks that night, and locals completely avoiding it all, who really benefits from the thing - other than the night trippers that want to feel all cool and Venice for an evening, I mean?

Again, I don't have the answers, but we need to discuss it all, before the whole thing turns ugly. There's already anger with the food trucks, the crowds, the garbage, the parking, etc ... and that's not cool. I just want my friends and neighbors to be happy, and there hasn't been too much happiness (that I've heard of) with the whole First Friday deal. On the other hand, it's merely one night a month, and I guess we can all stomach that ... I guess. Most seem to think it's a passing phase/phenomenon, and we can just ride it out. People will find some other place to go litter and Twitter and get drunk at soon enough. Time will tell ...

It's a good time to talk about Venice Cityhood too. With autonomy from Los Angeles proper, we'd be more free to sort out what's best for us as a city, and as a people. FREE - that's a big big part of why I chose to live here, to feel free to live however I want to, with like sorts that also greatly value their freedom. That's why the paper is called The FREE Venice Beachhead. It's the core value, I believe, of Venice.

So let's talk about all of it ... First Fridays; supporting local business and the best ways to do that; if Cityhood is a real possibility that has support and benefits everyone, litter; parking; and anything else you want to talk about. Write to The Beachhead, or stop me on the street Monday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, since I probably won't be seeing any of you at First Friday (er, tonight).

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Boobs - The Sequel

Women - and Men - have nipples!!! Why should Women have to hide theirs?


... Said the sign held up by a Man on the Boardwalk last week, with his own impressive pair of breasts. Not Man Boobs either ... straight up ladylike boobs.


The Police presence was overkill, per usual, and gave me the idea that the next time I have to place a call to them, I'll add that everyone is topless and see if that gets a quicker response. Methinks it may.


After quite a debate, the man was let go ... though not until after a bomb type robot was also called in to search him, it appears in the photos. Apparently a compromise was reached where he agreed to hold his sign over his offending mammaries. What is wrong with our society when BOOBS get this kind of reaction? You really have to just laugh.


Rumor has it that the guy intends to sue the City ... Boring. He missed the National Topless Day by a few days, when it all would have gone unnoticed, but I admire the chutzpah that prompted him to go it alone, on we ladies' behalf.


Fight the power!

*Photos by Pegarty

Friday, August 27, 2010

Fistful Of Mercy

So there's a new band based in Venice that I think you might enjoy. Fistful Of Mercy is Joseph Arthur, Ben Harper and Dhani Harrison (yeah, George's Son). Check 'em out:

Fistful of Mercy from Fistful of Mercy on Vimeo.



Told you.

Keep an eye out for local gigs that you will not want to miss, for Heaven's sakes.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Free Your Breasts, Free Your Mind!

Yesterday was the annual topless protest put on by the group Go Topless.org, wherein a group of ladies of all breast shapes and sizes (and realness) walk down the Venice Boardwalk topless to illustrate the inequality between Men getting to walk around with no shirts on in the hot Summer (finally!), while Women are forced to cover up their chests. Why? The event coincides with Women's Equality Day on August 26th, which I think is kind of funny that we still find that necessary in this day and age. Isn't EVERYONE supposed to be equal?


While we're in Venice, and not Afghanistan (phew), it IS a drag to think that we accept violence so readily as a society, but are still so freaked out by a mammary gland. Like the furor over Janet Jackson's nipple at that one Superbowl ... WHO CARES?! I'd way rather have a kid see that then most anything on the evening news.

I had beach time to catch up on, so I missed the chance to participate in the Protits/Protest, but I commend each and every lady out there for being like, "Yeah, man. What is the big deal?" on my and my fellow ladies' behalves.

I hope it catches on and one of these days we can tear off our tops on the beach. Tan lines are weak. (But I'm happy to have them back again for our last burst of Summer!)




*Photo courtesy of LA Weekly.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Sunshine AND Dolphins!

Well, Lo and behold ... SUNSHINE in Venice, to start the day!

Already thrilled about that, Jenny and I had taken exactly one step off the sandy hill crest down to the water's edge to begin our morning walk, when she yelled, "LOOOOK!" Right off the bat, this:




It was the dazzling bonus to an already glorious morning. Where you just have to stop what you're doing, and reflect. The one-two punch of happiness let us know that absolutely everything will be cool, as long as your attitude and appreciation levels stay high.

This is also a good time to mark your television viewing calendars/recorders for Animal Planet's new mini-series, Blood Dolphins, premiering on that channel August 27th. In it, Ric O'Barry and his son, Lincoln, return to the waters of Taiji, Japan, where they shot their Academy Award winning documentary, The Cove. Important viewing, especially when you get to stand in your beach town's front yard and watch/love the joyous frolic of our local dolphins.

Jacques Cousteau said, "The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it".

And perhaps embrace that happiness ourselves.

Which I'm about to do. Steph and I were about to have nervous breakdowns from our lack of Summer at the Beach. So we're off to Palm Springs in search of sunshine ... just as the sun comes out here. Funny how life works sometimes ...

I'll spread the love, and happiness. Promise.


*Happy dolphin filming by Jennifer Everhart on Venice Beach. This morning.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Abbot Kinney's Capri

We know all about Abbot Kinney's dream for an American Venice, but we also have an American Capri here. Alona Cooke's Capri Restaurant on Abbot Kinney came about in a kind of similar fashion too. After many visits to the Italian island of Capri (including a memorable 11th birthday trip), she wanted to recreate a place that shared the vibe of the Capri cafes she'd eaten and felt comfortable at, in her own town - Venice, CA. Twenty years later, Capri has catered to locals and tourists alike, and watched out its windows as Abbot Kinney Boulevard has morphed and shifted.


Alona grew up in West Covina, California, the daughter of parents who liked to travel - and eat - a lot. They'd go to Europe by ship, and young Alona developed a palate for good food, and a curiosity for trying new things. She was interested in architecture and design, and studied at Long Beach State, but wasn't positive about the direction she wanted her life to take. She got political, and did a lot of speaking on behalf of Women's Rights, moving to L.A. proper in the middle of it all. There she befriended a group of artists (dating Chuck Arnoldi for a bit), who encouraged her to join them in moving down to Venice, which was still real cheap and ever-funky.

The first house Alona lived in was on the canals, and she opened a little clothing shop where Cafe Collage is now, called "Chi Chi Del Rey", where all the local girls bought their bikinis and cute dresses. After that stint, she started getting freelance design work, to decorate homes and stores, but it wound up not being as fun or social as she'd imagined, and she started to think about other lines of work. That led to her being a founding owner of the West Beach Cafe (now James' Beach), because she just wanted a good cup of coffee, she says, and the West Beach was the first place to have a legitimate espresso machine. She and the other owner parted ways after a while, and Alona began thinking about a place of her own.


While traveling around Italy to look at furniture and things for design clients, Alona kept thinking about all the great little cafes on Capri, and how she'd find one she loved, and would keep eating there night after night, because it was just how she liked it. Relaxed, no scene, good Italian food, good wine, and cool people for regulars. That was it. "I just do it", says Alona, "I have a vision and I make it happen."

Yes, she did. She found the little place on Abbot Kinney that Capri still resides at (1616), and knew she would call it Capri, as "There's just something very special and magical about that place". The size of it was little, like Capri, and it just fit. Since 1989, Capri has been serving great food (honestly, every bite I've ever had there has been delicious) to the locals, and tourists love it because they can always get a table, a good meal with delicious wine, warm hospitality, and Venice flavor all at once.

I sat down to chat with Alona last week, and right off the bat, she gave me an education via a demonstration about how the different size and shape (both matter) of the glasses she poured our wine into, made a drastic difference as to bouquet, flavor and feel. Even subtle differences in shape were uncanny, and I humbly apologize to any people I waited on in college who I thought were bitchy for being super particular about the glass their wine came in (though it was a glass tumbler kind of joint).

Alona's didactic flow continues, with seminar brunches from a James Beard Award winning cookbook author here, and a wine tasting from a California vintner there, with something interesting to glean every time. Capri hosts special events all the time, like closing down last year to host our dear friend, Erinn and Tim's, wedding ceremony right there in the dining room. Special, special memories have gone down in this room, and you sense that every time you clink a glass.


As far as local flavor goes, right now Alan Shaffer's Neighborhood Numbnuts photo exhibition is up on the Capri walls, featuring photos of and works by the guys around the neighborhood named Moses, Conal, Edge, Dill, and Bell. This again, education, in local art is up until August 28th, when it will soon thereafter be replaced by a show of surf art ... just in time for Summer, if it ever arrives.


Alona has been feeding food, drink, stories, and fun to Abbot Kinney denizens all along, as fancier, newer restaurants open and close all up and down the street. Capri is a place that just feels like it's always been there, so you can forget about it as a dining option with all the hoopla going on around it. Being that place that feels like it's always been there isn't easy, and I'm so glad that I got to dig a little deeper into the story behind what is a true neighborhood landmark. I also got to dig a little deeper into some delectable swordfish with light fluffy mashed potatoes and crisp zucchini, with my gorgeous red wine (in the perfect glass for it).


The people of Venice amble by outside, there is no rush to turn you out of your table, and everything just feels comfortable, cozy and, best of all, easy. This is real, old school, artist Venice, and Alona invites you to "C'mon down!" anytime ... because "You gotta get up to get down". Exactly.


Rediscover Capri Restaurant ... it's delicious.

And located at:

1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, 90291
310.392.8777

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

French New Wave Venice

There are many times in life - especially in Venice - where you go, "This is like a movie", or "I couldn't even make this up". The place is full of characters, that as a writer, you think, "No one would ever believe this person was real, if they weren't". I'm constantly writing down little moments in my notebook, to use in a script or book later on, as inspiration is constantly everywhere.


A good example of this happened the other day. I was on my way home from my morning walk at the beach when I saw my Creepy Landlord pull up in front of my place. If you know me at all, you probably know about this guy. The problems - CREEPY problems - with this person go way back, and our relations lately have devolved in a big way. I recently let him have it in a letter, and seeing him pull up in front was the first I'd seen of him since his receiving it, and frankly, I was not in the mood to deal.

So I went on over to the French Market to get my coffee, and kill some time, hopefully long enough to miss The Creep. I told my friend and waiter extraordinaire, Christopher, that I was sorry I was going to take up a table with just coffee, but I was hiding out from my Creepy Landlord, blahblahblah. I'm usually in and out of there in a hurry, so it's out of the ordinary for me to linger. It wasn't super busy at that moment, so we had more time to chat than normal, and I shared just some of the Creepiness with my French pals.

After a bit, I said my goodbyes to Carole and Christopher, and biked back towards my house. I went an odd way, so I could sneak up and see my place without being seen. When I turned down an alley, I heard the puttering of an engine behind me, but I had my hood up and shades on, so I didn't have any peripheral view, and didn't feel like glancing back and having to deal with something else. Another weird turn by me, another weird turn by the puttering engine. I kept going until I reached the corner where I could see my house. The coast was clear. One second later, a scooter pulled up alongside me, the helmet came off, and there was Christopher, on the delivery scooter!


"I had to make sure zat you were alright", he said in his super thick French accent. He'd hopped on the scooter and followed me as soon as I'd left, going above and beyond the call of waiter, into true friend territory. (And he didn't want any credit or his picture taken, so I had to snap this in passing):


That's what a Community is all about, man. Caring, taking a moment of your own time to make sure someone else is ok, and doing it just because you're a good person, not because you expect anything in return. I treasure that about the relationships I've formed over the years here in Venice. They are legit, and people really do care.

So you see ... cool things don't just happen in the movies, they happen right here, every single day.